Chapter Twelve
The following day, as the moon started to eclipse the sun, a colorful procession of barges came down the Nile. Pharoah Seti I's vessel arrived first, pulling up to the pier ahead of eleven more smaller replicants that moved into position and anchored. A small sail boat was tied to the end, overlooked by the new arrivals. Seated on a golden throne beneath a sun canopy, the pharoah was held on a platform carried on the shoulders of tall African male slaves. The other vessels formed a line down the Nile river, weighing anchor and prepared to send the priests and soldiers ashore on smaller craft.
The Temple of Osiris dominated the east bank of the river, jutting out of a burned jungle, nearly as large and impressive as the temple at Karnak. Seated beside him on small thrones were his beautiful mistress, Ankh-Su-Namun and daughter, Neferteri, guarded by Akhenaton. At their feet slaves played music soltly on harps, while young half-clad girls ran up and down the side of the galley, tossing handfuls of lotus petals into the water. The other barges were filled with citizens of Thebes, cheering loudly and celebrating their pharaoh's birthday with wine, song and food.
Along side the east bank of the river, the Medjai royal house guards marched past, carrying banners and spears, followed by men
in gold armor riding chariots. A column of foot soldiers caped with leopard skins and carrying short sword ran behind, keeping ahead of a long line of mounted soldiers and a throng of the Egyptian populace who left their homes along the river to follow the large entorage from Thebes, as they did every year, to Karnak.
The journey to the temple built by Imhotep was a shorter distance and ended on the banks of the Nile, miles before from the grandest of all temples and the minor temples built further up river. The soldiers formed a large circle around the gardens surrounding the temple, keeping the populace at a safe distance from the sacred grounds. A camp ground was immediately organized and tents were set up and camp fires started, while the majority of the citizens rushed toward the river to watch the royal family disembark under a trumpet fanfare and walk down the thin pier to meet Imhotep and his priests where they waited onshore.
"Homage to thee, O great Pharoah," called out Alex. His head shaved, wearing only a white loincloth, he appeared as natural and as relaxed as though he'd offered greetings to an Egyptian pharoah all his life. The priests of Osiris fanned out, waving palm leaves to create a mock breeze that Seti I pretended cooled him as he saunted down the pier, a mask of pomposity hanging on his rather gloomy long face. Behind him followed his beautiful mistress and lovely daughter, then a dozen guards, and finally a line of priests. Alex bowed before them, sweeping his arms wide.
"Thou first-born son of Ra, thou art mighty and king of the great city of Thebes, thou is the Governor of the Nile, and lord of strength, blessed are thee for coming, for though haste landed upon holy ground, where yonder waits thy temple for the god of the dead, great Osiris."
Pharoah Seti I, adorned in a large red crown and a cloak of
gold, waited for Ankh-Su-Namun to reach him only inches from where Alex stood. He held his breath, hoping no one would ask for Imhotep, seeing only Ankh-Su-Naman look surprised to see someone else greeting them. She glared at Alex as she took her lord and master's arm, and continuing down the pier, past where Alex and the priests surviving from the prior evening's battle, waited. Without acknowledging Alex or inquiring as to who was replacing Imhotep for the proceedings, the pharoah and his entorage walked on.
Achmed stood behind Alex. As the royal family past, he quickly lowered her head, hoping to remain unseen, hopeful that there efforts were not in vain. All that day they'd worked to resore the beauty of the temple, using colorful drapes to hang over the burned areas, the bodies of the slain buried in another area, further off, and sanctified by the priests. Along with Alex, they'd left Amanda with Imhotep to watch the royal barge come in, but unlike the woman's cousin, he was concerned that a sacrifice might still be made by the high priest.
Not far away, standing in the courtyard, Imhotep dressed in a grand golden robe draped with a leapard skin and wearing a blue loincloth, accessed the damage and determined that the day's work to cover the blemishes was satisfactory. Amanda remained at his side, sumptuously dressed as well in a close fitting golden gown, wearing both her hair and makeup in Egyptian style. She heard the trumpet fanfare and grabbed Imhotep by the arm, drawing him away from the workers and desperately threw her arms around his neck. He grabbed and kissed her one last time, softly and sweetly, then drew her back.
"I love you, Imhotep. I always have and always will." Amanda put his hand on his shoulder, preventing him from leaving her too quickly. "I once said that a person can love more than one person. That we can have more than one soul-mate. In another time and another place, I hope that I find we are together, and that you love me as you have loved me in this life time."
"Know that I do love you. I always have and always shall." Imhotep kissed his fingertips, pressed them to her lips, then with a sorrowful expression on his broad, handsome face, he touched her cheek. "It is time, Aman-Da-Shaw. I will summon you when Osiris is ready. Be waiting for me. You and your friends."
"I'll be waiting. And Imhotep, thank you."
Amanda smiled at the high priest as she was joined by a breathless Alex and Achmed. Imhotep motioned for his friends to remain out of sight and took up position beside his golden painted priests before the large outdoor altar, draped with silken clothes, waiting for his pharoah to arrive.
"Who are they getting to sacrifice, if not you?" Alex whispered into Amanda's ear. She pointed to the side where four armored soldiers guarded Senmut, stripped to his waist, barefoot, battered and bruised. The former high priest of Anubis hung his head, his pride broken. "Good choice."
"I thought you'd like that," said Amanda, beaming.
The royal family arrived under the cheers of a loud audience and greeted by the high priest, were taken to their positions at a pavilian in the courtyard with a view of the altar and the eclipse. After a brief dance performed by slave girls, supported by musicians playing and the cheers of a pleased audience, the courtyard was cleared.
Standing at the altar, canopied by the darkness of an eclipse, Imhotep turned toward his pharaoh, never once looking at the mistress seated at his side, nor Neferteri, and motioned for the prisoner to be brought forward. A gasp came from the crowd and Seti leaned forward in his seat, Ankh-Su-Namun's hand falling onto his leg in surprise, as Imhotep pointed out his defeated opponent and Senmut was led over to the altar and forced to lay down upon it. The priests of Osiris gathered around the altar.
"Rise up, O Osiris, for I have struck down thine enemies in the night, and I have taken vengeance upon Senmut and his priests for thee. I am Horus upon this beautiful eve of the Night of Souls, which you guard and have dominion over. Behold, O mighty god, thou great one of two-fold strength, thy son Horus has avengeth thee and clensed thy house of evil. Thus temple art raised up, O Osiris, as a gift for thy great pharoah in your honor, on this eve of his day of birth."
Imhotep turned to Senmut and with his knife, slit him from sternum to groing, spilling his blood upon the altar, and lifting his hands high, his eyes closed, he mutered words that only he and his priests could hear. A stillness fell over the audience, that turned to a gasp of awe as Imhotep produced the radiant Orb of Osiris and held it above the slain body of Senmut. In an instance, dazzling light surrounded the body and it vanished.
"This is a good birthday," said Seti to his family.
Imhotep turned to the three people standing in the wings, findng the eyes of the one he loved, and seeing Amanda's face turn towrad him, he motioned them foward. A great hush fell over the audience as Imhotep handed the Orb to a beautiful blonde woman, despite an outraged cry from Ankh-Su-Namun, soon hushed by Seti, yet he did not release it. He waited for Alex and Achmed to join them, and when all four touched the orb, Imhotep pushed the sceptre high over their heads.
"May Osiris return thee to your own place and time. May he keep you safe and watch over you for all eternity."
The Orb glowed bright white, blinding the crowd, and as the impressed pharoah threw one arm over his eyes to shut out the light, he suddenly gasped as all but Imhotep vanished in the blink of an eye.
Moments later, Amanda found herself careening into the wall of the Egyptian Antiquities Museum in Cairo, nearly dropping the Orb of Osiris upon realizing that she was actually carrying it in her hands, wearing a slack outfit she'd worn only a few days early. Alex and Achmed stood with her, dressed in the same garments they'd worn earlier, looking just as baffled as she did to find themselves in a museum and not back in the temple.
"I don't feel quite right," said Alex, touching himself all over. "In fact, I know I don't. Don't I seem thinner?"
"You do indeed," Achmed stated. "And I have a beard."
Amanda suddenly laughed. "Stop complaining. We're home. It couldn't get any better than this. We are home, Alex. And look what we brought with us. The Orb. I don't know how I have it, but I do."
"Only Osiris knows." Achmed shrugged. "I'm a believer."
~~~~~~~~~~~
Pausing at seeing her reflection in the mirror, Amanda found she looked exactly the same, with short hair, a tan face and she even still wore the ankh about her neck. Even better, she was in the company of both Alex and Achmed, and they were safe in Cairo. While trying to get her bearings and understand what had just happened, leaving Alex and Achmed to debate the principles of time travel, she heard the voices of her father, Jonathan O'Connell and another familiar voice coming down the hall, chatting away as if it was perfectly natural for them to do.
"I really don't won't to be a guest lecturer," said Jonathan, his voice carrying down the hall to his daughter. "I know I was with Amanda when she found the Orb near Karnak, at the old ruins of the temple, but she should really take all the credit, Bill. I told you I had a stomach ache and wasn't much help."
"Just like you to refuse to take a bow," replied a familiar voice that sounded a tad bit testy. "If your daughter and nephew would ever arrive with the Orb, I might at least have some way of knowing how many people we should invite to the opening of the exhibit. Without the Orb, the really isn't point to it all."
Amanda suddenly cried out in sheer delight and started running down the hall, closely tailed by her cousin and Achmed. She rounded a corner and slammed right into a tall body as hard as a rock that caught her before she fell to the ground. She bobbled the Orb and nearly dropped it, but her father quickly reached out and caught it, sighing with relief. She muttered an apology and looked up to stare in utter disbelief at Imhotep's reincarnation, plastered against her, holding onto her arms to keep her from sagging when her knees went out from under her. She smiled at the man with such love in her face that he could not help but return the smile, then give Jonathan a quizzical look that the older man simply could not explain, nor bothered to try.
"Hello, father."
"You missed my birthday, Amanda. At least you could say is happy birthday."
"Okay. Happy birthday, dad."
"And do let go of Bill. You haven't even been properly introduced and you're already throwing yourself at him. Really, Amanda. This is the curator of the Cairo museum. This is William Landers. I wrote and told you about him. He has been waiting for you for weeks to find the Orb. So have I. It's about time you showed up, and you two, I see you back there, Alex O'Connell and your little friend Achmed. I'm an old man. I don't like to wait."
Jonathan O'Connell shook Alex's and Achmed's as soon as they joined him, seeming little surprised by their appearance, but all too concern as Amanda, for she was staring at William Landers as if she was postively smitten with love. And with a stranger, he thought. Alex took one look at the pair standing so close together, threw his hands up in the air and muttering under his breath, walked off, with Achmed and Jonathan with the Orb hurrying after him, demanding an explanation.
"Sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going," said Amanda.
"I'm not at all worried. You brought me the Orb."
"Oh, that was nothing. Just doing my job." She slowly disengaged herself from William's hand, bringing an amused yet hopeful expression to his face, but attached herself right away to his arm. "Tell me, I am getting paid for all this, aren't I? I mean, I hate doing anything free, unles there is dinner involved and maybe a bit of dancing. Do you like to go dancing, Bill? I can call you Bill, can't I?"
"Do you have another name you'd like to use?"
"No. Bill will do. In fact, it's perfect. Oh, and I'm Professor Amanda Shaw. But just call me Amanda."
"It's a pleasure meeting you, Amanda. At long last. Your father knew you were the one to find the Orb and I couldn't have been happier when he told me that you and your cousin, whom I admire a great deal, were going in search of it. You must tell me all about it. I'm a stickler for details."
"That's good. Because I like to talk."
"Your father mentioned something about that too," said William, unable to take his eyes away from the woman. "But I don't believe he told me that you were beautiful. You are...single?"
"Oh, you can count on it. And you?"
"Yes, as a matter-of-fact. Quite single."
"Then we'll just have to do something about that," said Amanda. She suddenly found herself telling him all about herself and leading William Landers off from the others in the opposite direction, going in nowhere particular, just letting the natural progression of true love take its natural course.