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Cheops watched her group dissipate then turned to Will. "You want to let the children run a bit behind the temple?"

Will nodded her head. "Good idea, Malone. They've been good. Let them burn off some energy."

Cheops pulled a small rubber ball, that she had picked up at the market that day, from her knapsack and gave it to the delighted children. In Egyptian, she gave them instructions about where to play safely. Amand smiled happily, took her little brother's hand and led him over to the edge of the huge archaeological site to play.

Cheops took Will by the arm and led her through the nearby rubble to show her the ruins of the harem. Will found herself wrapping an arm around Cheops to help her along. On flat surfaces, Cheops' limp was barely noticeable but on uneven terrain she had great difficulty. Will wondered how she managed on archaeological sites.

"Do you see the beauty of these walls, Will? Isn't it amazing?!" enthused Cheops, her eyes dancing with delight.

Will smiled despite herself. Cheops was beautiful. Her hair was golden firelight in the sun and her cute face was lit with animation. The woman still has the power to excite me to the core of my being, Will acknowledged to herself. The smile faded. She'd have to be careful not to let Cheops use her desire to try to seduce her from her mission.

"You know what they found here, Will? Hundreds of covers of poetry books. They had titles like, 'To My True Love', or 'To My Absent Love'. But only one small phrase survived of the pages inside. One small glimpse of the beautiful souls of those ancient people."

"What was the fragment?" asked Will softly, pulling Cheops into the shadows well away from prying eyes.

Cheops ran her hands up Will's chest, only stopping when her hands lay softly on the tall woman's shoulders. "For I have loved you, as the strong, river wind embraces the fragile reed," Cheops coached.

Will leaned down, hesitated and then whispered, "For I have loved you, Malone, as the strong river wind embraces the fragile reed." They kissed, Will pushing Cheops against the wall in her hunger. Cheops raised her chin and exposed her soft neck to Will's kisses.

"You don't want to kill me, Will. You still can love. Please try to find that warm spot inside your soul. Give up the hate before you do something that you will regret for the rest of your life."

Will stopped; her arms dropped away from Cheops' body. She stood looking down at the small archaeologist, who was half lost in shadows. There was confusion in Will's eyes for a second, then they hardened in determination. "Desire is not love. You killed our children," she growled and then stormed off.

Cheops watched her go, anger ripping across her own face. Why should she bother trying to save Will's soul? She owed this woman nothing! Tonight, she should have an e-mail waiting for her at her apartment, and if she was advised to hand Will over to the authorities, that was exactly what she was going to do before she hurt either her or the children.

"Amand, Zahi, it is time to go," she called out in Egyptian. Then she waited for the children to run over so that they could help her keep her balance on the rough terrain.

Amand looked with worried eyes at the beautiful blond woman and then off in the distance to where the strange dark woman stood in the shadows of a temple. They did not seem to like each other and yet they did everything together. It did not make sense. She and Zahi had talked, and they did not understand why the two women were helping them or what they wanted to do with them. Part of her was very grateful but the other part was very afraid. Were they going to be made slaves? She looked at the blue and red ball with the band of white that Zahi held tightly in his hand. For a while, they could be happy. This was good. But she had learned in her short but hard life, that every kindness had a price.

The day had gone well and the group chatted happily over dinner. Even the Scotts were more sociable than usual. Cheops had arranged that evening that she would take them back to Karnak to see the Sound and Light show. As the show was a guided walk through the site, Cheops wasn't needed once she had got their tickets and shown them where to meet the bus for the ride home. She had got her group organized, she said her good nights and used the opportunity of a free evening to slip back to her apartment. These tours helped meet the expenses but Cheops was an archaeologist first and she was anxious to learn about her dig, now tantalizingly close just the other side of the river.

The encounter with Will, that afternoon, had left her feeling bitter and short tempered. It was hard to have to live with the memories of Deir el-Bahari and with the losses. So many losses; her daughter, Will's son, her lower leg and Will's love. Too many loses for one person to absorb with out very deep wounds and Will insisted on rubbing salt into them.

Now there was the extra worry of the children. Will had to be using them. She knew Will, knew how focused she was when she was on an assignment. The woman would have worked out her plot in detail, how, when, where and she would have escape plans too. It was unlikely that the children were an impulse decision. They had to have a part in Will's plans, but how?

Cheops walked up the dusty street greeting those she knew along the way. She wore a galabeeya, the long, hooded robe of the Arab nations. This was Cheops' eastern world. The other side of her existence. Cheops had been born in Egypt of British parents and enjoyed the privilege of dual citizenship. Having spent so much of her life in sites along the Nile, and at her parent's small home in Giza, she was just as Egyptian as she was English in her outlook. Willtoo had been the child of two cultures.

That summer, they had rented a sailboat and taken the children fishing down the Nile. Will had cleaned the fish they had caught, and Cheops had cooked them on a small charcoal brazier. In the afternoon, the two children had cooled off with a swim, while the adults watched on.

"How did you come by your Greek name?" Cheops had asked, absently stroking Will's hand, that rested near her own, with a finger tip.

"My father was a Greek resistance fighter and my mother was an English WAC stationed in liberated Greece at the end of the war. My father always said that Hitler he could resist, but mom, he couldn't! It was love at first sight, so they told me."

Cheops had gathered her courage and responded softly, "I know that feeling."

Those sky-blue eyes had turned to her. "Yes, so do I. I love you Cheops," Will had responded giving Cheops far more than she had expected.

Cheops had smiled broadly. Her green eyes sparkling like emeralds. "I love you too, Will."

Cheops shook the memory from her thoughts as she entered the government owned apartment building and took the elevator up to the sixth floor. The apartment she entered was basic. It was, officially, the apartment given to the chief archaeologist working at site KV5. The walls were cinder block and there were only three rooms; basic bathroom, a small bedroom, and the main room which was used for storage and research. Three make shift tables filled the space. Two were loaded down with the trappings of an archaeology lab, the other was Cheops' computer station.

Cheops didn't bother turning on a light. She walked over, and taking a seat, she clicked her computer on and waited for it to load. Then she went to her e-mail, clicking on the Leeds' response.

It read:

Cheops, get out of there! You are in grave danger! People suffering from deep drug induced psychosis and/or the effects of torture can be deeply psychopathic. You could well be dealing with a killer! Symptoms could include: joint pain, flashbacks, seizures, headaches, disorientation, slurred speech, lack of balance, confusion, acute paranoia, personality changes, violence and/or other anti-social behaviour. I advise you to get away and call the authorities to deal with this individual. Roger.

Cheops face tightened into grim lines. To save her own life and to protect the children, she was going to have to betray Will to the police. She didn't think it would help. The police would have little power or resources to deal with a crazed tourist. But the reality was, she didn't have too many options left. Will's behaviour was becoming more and more irrational and unpredictable.

Today, had taught her not to believe in the gentle moments. They seemed always to be followed with emotional violence.

She sensed her more than heard her. The energy that ebbed and flowed in the air whenever Will was near. Cheops turned in her chair. A figure in black stood silhouetted against the open balcony doors. Dangling from one hand was a garrotte.

Realization swept over Cheops. Her murder would look like a break and entry. Will would be back on the ship, babysitting her sleeping children. The prefect alibi. Such a tragedy about Cheops! She stood, squared her shoulders and looked death in the face.

The door rattled as a key was put in. Cheops twisted to look at the door. Inge! Her heart pounded in fear for her assistant, who was going to walk into a death trap unawares. Cheops looked back with pleading eyes to her killer. No one was there. The curtains blew gently on the night air.

"Cheops! You scared me! What are you doing in the lab in the dark?! Cheops. Are you alright?!"

Cheops slumped into her chair and put her head on the desk.

On the stern of the ship was a wide, railess platform that the crew used when loading cargo. It was there that Will went. She sat with her feet hanging over the edge, looking out into the darkness. Over the dark strip of the Nile, she could make out the old escarpment, silhouetted in front of the starry sky. The escarpment was eroded into two deep canyons, The Valley of the Kings and The Valley of the Queens. Deir el-Bahari lay there.

She had never been back. She wandered if Cheops had. It must be hard for the archaeologist to work just a narrow ridge away from the place where their children had died.

There had been lots of time to kill Cheops tonight. There had been time for her to slip from her spot in the shadows of the balcony and move to stand close enough that she could read the screen over Cheops' shoulder. She had the garrotte taut between her two hands. It would have been so easy.

Instead, she had backed quietly away until the flap of the curtain on a sudden gust of wind had alerted Cheops to her presence. The knock at the door had given her the seconds she needed to escape and avoid a confrontation. It would have been the prefect murder! She'd planned it for months while she lay in agony. The bitch deserved to die! Why the hell had she not killed her?!

An unsteady hand wiped over her face. Tonight, her joints were throbbing. The pain felt good. It was the punishment for climbing up to Cheops' apartment and then not having the guts to do her in! Maybe, it was being in that apartment again after all this time that unnerved her.

"This is where you live?!" she had asked looking into a packing case filled with styrofoam chips. "The artifacts have a better place to sleep!"

Cheops had laughed and walked over to rub her hands up Will's chest as she had done earlier that day. "Why would it concern you that my bed is a double mattress on the floor?"

"Maybe, I thought I'd like to try it out," Will had challenged, her eyes locking on Cheops like a missile seeking its target.

"Maybe, I like sleeping alone," she had teased.

"You can't ever be alone again," Will had muttered sexily, "nuzzling Cheops' ear and throat as she talked, "We are one. Our bond is forever!"

Tears rolled down Will's face and she wiped them away with annoyance. It should have lasted forever. They should have watched their children grow and gotten old together. Damn! Damn Cheops! Why did she have to lead our children to their deaths?

She had read the e-mail. It had said she was dangerous. It used words like psychosis and psychopathic. Was she crazy? Had she broken under torture after all? A break so deep inside her soul that no one but Cheops could detect it. Would she regret it if she killed Cheops? If?! When had that word crept into her plans? If. Damn.

Cheops slept on Inge's couch that night. Well, not slept; she had been too tense to sleep, although she had been exhausted after the police had left. 'Yes, madame, they understood the problem, but if she had not seen the face of the intruder, if no one could verify the threats, then there was little they could do. Will was a British subject and not their problem. They would take her in for questioning tomorrow and see what they could do. And they would arrange for the children to be taken to an orphanage.'

Cheops stared at the cracked plaster ceiling. I've betrayed Will again. And once again, Will's hate had betrayed their love. It was a vicious circle that could only lead to disaster.

The next day, Cheops gathered her group together after breakfast and they boarded the bus to take them to the Valley of the Kings across the other side of the river via the Luxor bridge. Will had got the children fed and dressed but left them with Cheops at the front of the bus. Looking pale and shaky, Will went to the back and sat quietly, with her head leaning against the window.

The bus ride was fairly long as it involved going down river, crossing the bridge and then heading north again before turning inland to the Valley of the Kings. The group was quiet as they piled out. This was a place of legends and although there was little to see above ground, the power of this sacred place flooded their hearts with awe.

The terrain was rocky and dry; a silent waste land filled only with the anguished whimper of the wind. Square, stone tunnels marked the entrance way of each famous tomb. Each had a wrought iron gate that would be closed and locked at night. Not that there was anything left to steal. Ancient grave robbers and collectors had long since drained Egypt of its heritage. Now tourists saw only the shadowy remains, painted in frescoes on the tomb walls.

Cheops led them through Ramses II's tomb and several of the other tombs near by, taking them down the long sloping corridors to the deep shafts where the sarcophaguses lie. Along the way, she would point out the false passages and traps that the grave robbers overcame on their quest for treasure. She would stop at a scene painted on a wall and make the stiff figures come alive as she related their stories.

"Here is Ramses and his bride, in a boat, hunting water fowl along the Nile. You see, they are nestled in a patch of flowering lotus reeds, the symbol of eternal life. See his pride as he shows off for his sister and queen, shooting at the ducks with a jeweled and gold-leafed bow and arrow. His Queen reaches to him in love and adoration. It must have been a special day that he shared with her. He must have ordered that it be painted here amongst the history of his battles and achievements. I wonder if his immortal soul still wanders at night and stops to relive this day again. He must have loved her very deeply."

As the strong wind embraces the fragile reed, Malone, Will thought while she followed along at the end of the group, watching Cheops' animated face and her sparkling eyes, as she talked softly to the children explaining to them about their proud heritage.

Lastly, she lead them through the tomb of King Tutankhamen. Earlier that day she had pointed out to them the house of Howard Carter, which sat on top of a high mesa down from the Valley of the Kings. She related his remarkable story and laughed at the so called curses that the popular press had created around his discovery.

"No, Carter did not die of a mysterious, poisonous bite! He died from a simple mosquito bite that got infected. Infected wounds were a common death in those days. Remember this was well before antibiotics. Carter was already weak from malaria and dysentery, so his immune system could not fight off the infection. I'm sorry, I know people love mystery and curses, but I'm afraid archaeology is just hard, meticulous, and back- breaking work."

Cheops finished answering questions as she brought them back to the entrance of KV5. "This is where I am currently working. This is the famous KV5. It was only discovered in 1995. Actually, rediscovered. The explorer James Burton noted its existence way back in 1825. We know he had explored the tomb because he had made a map of it. In the pillared hall, he wrote his name on the ceiling with the smoke from his candle. It can still be quite clearly seen; Burton 1925."

"The tomb was lost for two reasons. First, because the early archaeologist working in this area thought that it was an unfinished tomb and not of any importance. Second, because you'll notice that Tut's tomb is conveniently close. We have a picture of Carter in 1922, toasting his guests as they ate lunch in an unfinished tomb, nearby the Tut site. We think this might have been the tomb. The American team that rediscovered this site and are overseeing the excavation found a wine glass buried in the rubble near the entrance. It might very well have been left over from one of Carter's famous luncheons!"

Cheops pointed back to the entrance of Tut's tomb. "We believe that Carter dumped the waste from his own dig into what he thought was a convenient empty pit! We now know that in reality this is an extensive tomb site associated with the sons of Ramses II. I'm sorry, I can't take you in. It is not open to the public yet because it is structurally unsafe. The roof is badly cracked because the heavy tourist buses used to come up this far and the chambers are full of rumble and years of eroded debris."

"Hello, Will," came a voice from the tall woman's right. Will pulled her attention away from what Cheops was saying to look down at a small, wiry woman.

"Hello, Inge. It has been a long time."

"Yes."

Will looked back to where Cheops stood on the other side of the group. She found it hard, for some reason, to look Inge in the eyes. "Ahhh, I heard you were there for Cheops...after...." Will looked down at her feet.

"Some one had to be," came the bitter response.

Will nodded, her jaw muscles rippling with tension. "Thank you," she said, so low that Inge was not sure she heard her.

"Inge! Come up here!" called Cheops catching sight of her feisty assistant and breaking out in a big smile. "Ladies and gentlemen, this is my chief assistant, Dr. Inge Gardener. She's going to lead you over the Agatha Christie's Walk to visit Deir El-Bahari and the temple of Hatshepsut. While you are doing that, I'm going to check out how the dig is going. If anything new has been discovered, I'll show you when you get back."

Cheops turned and spoke to the two children in Egyptian. "Our bus driver, Fekri Hawass has to go back to Luxor to have the bus serviced. He said he would take you with him and buy you ice-cream while I work. Would you like that?"

Zahi smiled broadly and looked at his big sister with pleading eyes. Amand wrapped a protective arm around him. "Thank you, Cheops Malone. We would like this very much. We do not wish to go to Deir El-Bahari and ice cream is very good." Cheops' heart went out to this poor, serious child, who had had to face so much in her short life. She gave each of them a hug and turned them over to the fatherly Fekri to guide back to the bus.

Betty poked the long suffering Abe. "You see what you can do to find me one of those hidden treasures along the way," she ordered with a smile.

Abe scoffed, "At my age I'll need every ounce of energy I've got just to get up that path, woman! Find your own gold!"

"Come on, Betty," laughed Jean hooking her arm around the New Yorker's. We'll go ahead so the men don't slow us down!"

With much scoffs and teasing, the small group started off with Inge in the lead. Bob hung back,

"I could stay behind and help if you want, Cheops," he oiled.

"No," Cheops answered firmly and turned away.

"Hey, you'd better treat me right or..."

"Or what?" came a icy growl from behind him. Bob turned to see Willy Kyrtsakas standing arms folded looking at him with eyes as cold as a glacier.

"I'd better go," he muttered and trotted to catch up to the others.

Will turned to meet Cheops' sad eyes. "I don't understand you anymore, Will," she said.

Will nodded and looked at her foot piling loose gravel into a ridge. "You ever go there?"

"Each year, to leave flowers. Many people do. I keep their grave nice, too."

"Where did you send Amand and Zahi?"

"I didn't think they needed to see Deir el- Bahari. Fekri is going to take them for ice cream in Luxor."

Will nodded to the ground again. Then she squared her shoulders and without a word started to walk up the valley to where the dirt trail led over the ridge to the Valley of the Queens. Cheops watched her go. Part of her was relieved that Will was leaving her alone and part of her was aching to go after her.

"Dr. Malone, we've finished the survey of the hall of the sixty chambers."

"Coming," called Cheops over her shoulder, then turning, she joined her crew below ground. It was difficult for her to get about the cave with her prosthesis. Often, in low areas, she had to crawl propelling herself forward with her arms. On rough ground, with enough head room, she would use a small spade for balance. As a last resort, if the exploration of the cave involved tight fits, she simply removed the leg altogether.

Will walked to the base of the ridge and stopped. She turned and looked down the narrow canyon now crowded with tourists eager to see the various grave sites. Cheops must have brought them on site before it was open to the public, Will realized. She turned and started off again. Three steps, then she stopped. She wasn't afraid to go to the site of her son's death. In her career, she had come to terms with the loss of close comrades. The site couldn't hurt her, only the memories, and she carried them with her all the time.

Then why did something keep pulling her back? Some uneasiness deep in her gut. She found a patch of shade and sat down. She needed to think. From her waist pouch, she pulled a bottle of water and took a long swig, then slipped the plastic bottle back into place. She sat for a long time but no clear thoughts came. Sitting there, still and quiet, she felt like she was going through a metamorphosis. It tired her. She should move, make a decision, do something, instead she just sat, not sure any longer who she was or who she might become.

There really was very little sound. Not a roar nor a bang, more of a whoosh, like air released from a giant balloon. Will looked up to see a dust cloud shooting from the mouth of KV5 and drifting out over the surprised tourists who yelled and coughed, now ghostly figures in the small dust storm. Will stood slowly and watched the scene as it unfolded like an action movie. Then she was in motion, hitting the wall of tourists like a football player and plowing through to the entrance. Gasping, coughing workers were staggering out and falling to the ground, eyes red and weeping. The outside workers grabbed water and rags and started to help those that were on the ground.

Will grabbed an emergency knapsack from its peg on the wall, pulled out a gas mask and slipped it in place. Picking up a flashlight, she entered the collapsing tomb. Two blackened figures staggered past her. She let them go. They could make it on their own. Some of the electrical lighting was still functioning, casting yellow pools of light in the grey haze of dust. But visibility was almost nil.

Only the first room was cleared to any extent. After that, Will had to crawl on her belly through room two and then on to the hall of the sixteen pillars. The tops of the pillars stood out like lonely sentinels guarding a lost frontier. Some of the roof blocks had fallen, huge squares of rock weighing tons each. Will crawled around them, like a slalom skier, trying not to think about the tons of rock just inches over her head.

Squeezing through into the next chamber, she skidded down the sharp limestone flakes to a room that was relatively clear of debris. Here, in the settling dust, she found Mohammed. He was breathing shallowly and coughing up mud and phlegm but conscious. Will quickly squirted some water over his face and into his mouth, then wiped his face clean as best she good. She slipped a mask over his face and left him for the rescue team to find. She knew they would not be too far behind her.

She found Cheops partly buried by limestone chips at the far end of the chamber. Her body was still and limp. Will listened for a heart beat and was relieved to hear one, pounding still on its adrenalin rush. Gently, she washed the woman's face and cleaned the mud from her eyes and nose. Cheops moaned and Will squirted some water on her lips. A hand came up and wiped her face as she coughed. "Water," Cheops choked. Will squirted a little into her mouth and the archaeologist washed it around and spat it out. Then she took the bottle from Will's hand and took a bigger swig, swallowing this time only to throw it up again.

Will pulled a mask out of the bag and slipped it into place. Then, she used her bloodied hands to scoop Cheops free. Cheops lay still, only lifting the mask now and again for a quick drink. She felt dazed and sick to her stomach and just wanted the pain in her chest to go away. Soon figures loomed out of the fog, and Cheops was carefully lifted and strapped to a stretcher although she hoarsely protested that she was all right. Slowly, the group inched back out of the cave, Will staying close to Cheops' side and only now wondering why she had come to the archaeologist's aid.

The light was dazzling when they emerged. Order had been restored and except for the nosy stares of passing tourists, on their way to see the tombs farther up the canyon, things were back to normal. No one had been seriously hurt, although those caught inside were cut and bruised and suffering from asthmatic conditions caused by the amount of dust on their lungs.

Cheops sat on a wood box and wheezed instructions. She had a nasty bruise and lump on her right temple but insisted that she was all right. Will had stood back, quietly watching with worried eyes. She too was badly scraped and she had the chemical taste in her mouth that forewarned of another drug rush. Her joints throbbed and her head ached painfully. Slowly, she sat on the ground and lowered her head to her knees.

"Madame, you are Major Wilhelminia Kyrtsakas?"

Will looked up with blurry eyes feeling very disorientated, "Yes," she slurred at a pair of navy police pants.

"I have here a warrant for your arrest. I am to take you to police headquarters in Luxor for questioning. You will please stand and face the cliff wall."

Will looked up in surprise, trying to focus on the police officer's face. "What did I do? What charge?" she managed to get out with difficulty.

"A complaint has been made by Dr. Cheops Malone that you threatened to kill her. You will stand please and face the cliff wall."

Will nodded in shock and slowly pulled herself to her feet. She turned and leaned her hands against the wall, allowing the young police officer to pat her down. Her arms were pulled painfully behind her back and metal hand cuffs snapped into place. Turning, her eyes made contact with Cheops' as she sat by the tomb entrance. The green eyes were hurt and filled with sorrow, the innocent face streaked with dirt and distorted with pent up emotion.

Cheops, with a jolt of guilt, had seen a young police officer ask a question of one of her workers and watch him walked over to where Will sat on the ground. She stared in horror as Will was searched for weapons and then handcuffed. The tall woman turned and her eyes locked onto Cheops. The blue was dull, lifeless, the face, an empty plain devoid of any emotion. The young officer pulled on Will's arm and like an obedient child, Will turned and followed the policeman down the road to his waiting car. My God, what have I done?! Cheops moaned inside.

Inge had stopped at the stone wall two hundred yards back from the outer courtyards of Hatshepsut's temple. She had explained to Cheops' group about the architectural importance of this site and about the powerful female pharaoh, who had taken the crown at her husband's death and often portrayed herself in statues and paintings with a beard. "Her first minister's grave is just over there," Inge explained. "From paintings, we know that he was very close to Hatshepsut and her children. The close proximity of his grave reinforces speculation that their relationship might have been more than the running of the State."

Дата добавления: 2015-11-14