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Chapter 7 of Egyptian fantasy novel Ra's Warrior
Chapter 7
Modern day Cairo
Since the sun first warned of dawn’s onset, swarms of people combed the plateau. Huts were ransacked one by one. Armed guards marched on and off of all outgoing vehicles, scaring some into leaving because they thought there was some crazed terrorist on the loose. Planks of wood, which were recently crates, littered the cargo loading areas. Shipping containers were emptied, repacked, and then resealed. Police officers questioned some Bedouin travelers who, on their way out of Cairo, passed by the plateau last night. Nightshift security guards had seen Andrea leaving her apartment, but quickly lost track of her. The consistent and notable oddity was a set of unusual lights similar to an aurora borealis seen over the Sphinx just after midnight. Superstitious Bedouin elders described it as “the fires of Armageddon”.
A mob of reporters had cornered Adel earlier because they had nothing better to do than splatter someone else’s sorrows all over the news. He was grateful for the publicity, yet annoyed by the media’s insistent questions. The constant flashbulbs exploding in his face caused his blood pressure to rise until tiny little stars filled his peripheral vision. Every news station wanted an exclusive, but that wouldn’t do him much good so he released a generalized statement.
Concern became a rolling boil of fear as the sun climbed. Signs of foul-play were absent, but it remained a viable possibility. The plateau’s growing influx of traffic trampled any clues that may have been left behind. Adel tried to maintain his composure for Elise’s sake, but his mind could not escape what horrors Andrea might be facing. Women who disappeared in Egypt ended up either dead or drugged and sold on the black market. With each passing hour, the salt began to outnumber the pepper in Adel’s hair and his crows-feet deepened.
Adel labored to keep track of the raving woman left in the wake of a missing sibling. Sand stuck to the pools of tears rimming her swollen sockets; blood filled the white oceans surrounding her green irises; her snarled hair, and mud-caked robe and slippers drew looks of reproach. Trenches formed between her kinked brows. Slightly stretched lips trembled. She tugged violently on the hair knotted around her bent digit.
Seeing her reminded Adel that he had delayed the dreaded call long enough. This was more than he could handle alone. He fished in his over-sized side pocket for his cell phone, and hit the speed dial. It rang, and rang, and rang again before a slurred voice answered.
“Hello?”
“Hello, Mark.”
“Adel? Do you realize what time it is here?”
“Yes,” he replied plainly.
“You must have a reason for calling so late so spit it out, old man.” Mark chuckled.
“You need to come to Egypt.”
“What’s wrong?” Mark’s deep voice tensed.
Adel intended on being gentle, but it just spluttered out, “Andrea is missing.”
“Missing? What the Hell do you mean missing?” he squalled, fully alert.
“Elise woke last night and Andrea was gone. I called every place she might go. The police have issued an APB. I’m doing all I can to find her. I’m sorry.” Adel’s voice cracked.
“I know, old friend.” Mark’s sharpness was unintentional, but instinctive. “How’s Elise?”
“Not well, I’m afraid.” Adel held the phone out so Mark could hear her barking orders at the already exhausted workers. “See what I mean?”
“I’ll be on the next flight out.” His statement was followed by the buzz of a disconnected line.
Adel approached Elise cautiously, but she turned on him like a rabid dog and thoughtless words bit into him, “How could you let this happen?”
The rampant emotional outburst stung, but he ignored the comment, knowing it was simply the tension talking. Her mood swung like a pendulum. “Your father is coming,” he said, which stopped her tyranny. For the first time today, she allowed him to get close enough to hold her. And although it was hot, her flesh was as frigid as her posture.
“This isn’t like her. She wouldn’t leave without saying good-bye.” Her lips twisted with disdain and the veins in her neck protruded.
“Perhaps she needed time alone. As you said before we have been hard on her lately. She will turn up.” Adel’s attempt at reassurance failed them both.
“We’re never going to see her again.” Her shrilly voice was a razor-blade of despair.
“We must think positive,” he said, rubbing his throbbing temples.
“You’ve called every hotel, bar, and hospital within a hundred miles. Nobody’s seen her. She isn’t coming back!” Elise stomped off.
Adel clung to an unraveling thread of hope. Police were everywhere so he felt somewhat confident in Elise’s safety; he climbed into the jeep and continued searching.
#
His cane clicked on the parquet floor. Where could she have gone? She only knows colleagues and Adel’s already called them. Was she kidnapped? Is she being tortured? Do they intend on selling her to some foreigner? Why haven’t they called with a ransom demand yet? His stomach curdled and his hands shook like a speaker with bad woofers that were turned up too high. The only flight he could get was leaving the day after tomorrow, which wasn’t soon enough for him.
Mark ran his fingers through his dark blonde mop, which miraculously had maintained its vernal luster and color. All the years spent digging holes, crawling through confined spaces, and being hunched over at dig sites were finally affecting him. As he stared at his furrowed hands, he regressed to the days when youthful firmness was taken for granted.
Memories flickered against a snow covered backdrop. The lawn, vibrant green and infused with flowers, splayed across the rolling hills. Two blonde toddlers, barely old enough to walk without wobbling, ran circles around the grand oak tree out back. Mark moused around behind them, taking care not to reach them too quickly; squeals erupted when the big, bad tickle monster captured his pint-sized victims. Salena, who had been crouched behind nearby bushes, would spring out and lunge at the tickle monster with her aluminum foil sword. Falling to the ground, Mark would put one hand over his heart and howl. He could still feel Salena’s foot pressed gently into his washboard stomach as she yelled, “Victory!” The twins and his wife would fall down next to him, laughing, and dispensing their resurrecting kisses onto the defeated monster.
A gust of artic air thrust the French doors open and flooded the room, bringing him back to reality. His joints ached and pain shot down his leg; his cane slipped. Mark, fighting the invading wind, struggled to maintain his balance. After closing the doors, Mark fell into his chair and stared at an empty staircase. In the days before Salena’s death, the twins would run down those steps with laughter on their lips and dolls slung under their scrawny arms. They would launch themselves into his lap and beg him to tell a story. His angels with gilded wings, how his soul longed to have those beloved days returned to him, but bad luck plagued them. God had betrayed him one time too many: Salena’s death, the accident in Luxor, and now his precious baby was missing. “Why, God, why do you hate me?” he whispered.
#
The last useless tear trailed down her cheek as resolve suffocated sadness. What good would crying do anyway? What they needed were answers. Swallowed by the overstuffed chair, Elise sat behind the massive cherry-stained desk studying the infernal piece of paper. She scrutinized each delicate stroke with her magnifying glass trying desperately to find something that simply was not there. Opening all the drawers, she sorted through Andrea’s research papers and stacked them into neat piles. What seemed important, she placed aside for further study. Most of the shelved artifacts behind her were from unrelated sites, but some were from the plateau and those she carefully inspected. Foraging for clues, the hours passed like minutes.
A family photo surfaced. Her mother knelt between the twins, disregarding the dirt attacking her floral skirt with neon pink flowers. Mark stood behind them with his hands resting on Salena’s shoulder. The shoreline dotted with temples, fields of barley, and buff cliffs in the distance provided a beautiful backdrop. It was the girls’ first trip to Luxor. Their dad taught them how to write their names in hieroglyphs that day, which sparked their first interests in Egypt. Traveling with both parents was the greatest memory she had; Elise had almost forgotten how much fun life was back then. Stopping for a moment, she wondered how Dad was coping. She propped the photo against the canopic jar Andrea kept as a top-notch example of how modern forgeries mimicked the ancient techniques so precisely that even a professional would have a difficult time distinguishing the difference. The photo reminded Elise of how important it was to keep her dwindling family intact.
#
A tsunami of relief washed over him when he saw Elise, still in yesterday’s pajamas, sleeping with her head on Andrea’s desk. He glanced at the open notebook half under her arm, and contemplated pulling it free to see if she had made progress, but the little nuisance, Max, hissed at him. Adel snarled back; he only tolerated it because Elise was attached to the retched creature. “Best leave her be,” he told the cat as he brushed the hair from her face and backed away. A small desk lamp provided ample lighting so he went to the door, bolted the latch, and flicked off the overhead light before lying on the couch across from the desk.
After what seemed like hours, he somehow managed to fall asleep only to be woken by a horrendous scream fracturing the serenity of night.
With blanched knuckles, petrified eyes, and sopping from sweat, Elise sat upright in the chair. Mumbling unintelligible words, she glowered in his direction almost as if she were stuck in a waking dream. Sleepwalkers could be a danger to themselves and others when awakened, and being unsure if this was the case or not he approached cautiously. Once Elise realized Adel was beside her, she stood and wrapped her arms around him.
Tears welled up as he curbed the impending emotional crash. Comforting her soothed the inherited tortures inflicted upon him personally. The “honor”, or more precisely “burden”, fell to him. In the darkest depths of his ancestry unrevealed secrets governed every strategic move he made, just as it had in his last lifetime. Warning the ones he loved most was an unquestionable mistake. But avoiding the inevitable was insurmountable.
“I want my sister back,” she uttered.
Her head rested on his chest, which intensified the guilt. “Everything will be fine. You have to believe that.” He kissed her forehead.
“I saw Andrea in my dream. They took her prisoner and put her in this huge room with antique Egyptian furnishings. Fields stretched for miles outside the window. A servant brings in some clothes and when she leaves I can hear a bolt slide. She wants to come home but can’t. Everything gets blurry before it shifts. Now she’s a garden- - the statues from the tomb are there too. I can’t understand what’s being said, but she’s talking to a very important man. What’s so amazing is he’s dressed in a shendyt. It seems so real, Adel.”
“It was only a dream.”
“No,” she retorted with certainty, “I’m telling you, it was real!”
“Okay,” he agreed. “Do you want me to get something from the doctor to help you sleep?” Elise nodded. “Will you be okay until I get back?”
“As long as I don’t go back to sleep.”
Adel raced to the doctor’s unit. When he returned she was sitting on the bed rocking back and forth with her arms clamped against her legs. She popped the two pills into the back of her throat, almost gagging from the chalkiness, and chugged down the glass of water.
“Don’t leave me alone again, Adel.”
“I am here, do not worry. The medication will work soon.”
It took an hour for her to doze off with her head in his lap. Maneuvering from under her, he stayed in the room a few extra minutes and then went back to the couch.
Bent on one knee, he prayed. “I cannot hope to know why you have chosen Andrea, but I ask you, no I beg you, keep her safe. Had I known this burden was to fall upon me, I would have prepared them both. Empower me so I am able to protect my family. Guide us in our time of need and hinder the pain to follow. Keep us together in spirit, Lady Auset, for only then will we be strong enough to survive unscathed. Amen.”
Chapter 8
Chapter 8
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