Pharaoh’s Curse Pt. 08

"Thank you, my lord; I'll get out of your hair so you can enjoy your meal," Halima said; happiness and pride filled her heart that he truly appreciated her talent. As she neared the tent's exit, Andrew's voice stopped causing her to turn back to him. "Yes?"

"Tomorrow, you will be leaving with me; you are my bodyguard, yes?"

"I am, might I ask; where are we going?" Halima asked, curious.

"Cairo, then a trip up the Nile," Andrew said factually.

"Andrew?!" Alex puffed out her cheeks, knowing exactly where he was going.

"What, you're here doing your job, a job I might add you left Dad and me for, so you just can't run off and follow your son to NeoHierakonpolis," Andrew said, taunting his mother.

"I swear to you, I will not divulge its location to anyone," Halima swore.

"Oh, I know you won't; if you do, Ammit will devour you," Andrew said with deathly undertones with a gaze to match. Their heads turned as a panting Haas came running up to the mess tent.

"Please... you have... to stop... him," Haas said through heaves of breath.

"Stop who?" Andrew asked confused as Haas stared right at him. Ever since the night at the museum, she and Bill had pretty much gone out of their way to avoid him. Not that he cared if they didn't want to be friendly with one another; he was under no obligation to be a welcome mat for them.

"Bill... he's going to your tent," Haas gulped for breath.

"Stupid idiot," Andrew grumbled as he surged from his seat. He knew the Uraeus would keep anyone from taking the crown from where it rested. That wasn't the problem; the problem was the fire that the Uraeus tended to spit out at whomever it was. It didn't care it was in a flammable tent at the moment. As he predicted, the moment he was a few feet out of the mess tent, Bill came rushing out of his tent in a ball of flame. Luckily Andrew didn't see flames coming out of his tent, so he had to assume until he got there, the fire only struck Bill. Watching how one of the Medjay tackled Bill in a blanket smothering out the fire. Breathing out a sigh of relief when he peered into his tent, seeing it unharmed by Bill's stupidity. Turning around, noting how the nurse was rushing towards Bill as the smell of his burnt hair left a foul odor in the air. "You know, I would have thought someone who's attending college would have more smarts than trying to steal something that doesn't belong to them," Andrew said coldly as he glared down at Bill.

"It belongs in a museum," Bill stammered through rough coughs. While he lost the hair on his head, his eyebrows, forearms, and lower legs, a light singe to his skin, he was relatively unharmed.

"No, it belongs to the Pharaoh, and I am the Pharaoh. Next time you won't get away with a smack on the wrist, thief; the Gods don't take kindly to those that interfere with their plans. May Ra help you if you try to steal from me again, for I will send Set to swallow you whole if you dare take what is mine again," Andrew said with a coldness even he didn't think he had in him. "Now take him to the nurse's station and see to his wounds, but I want someone watching him while I'm here," he ordered, looking over at Halima.

"Of course, my lord, I will see that the man doesn't interfere with you again," Halima said, bowing to him and gesturing for two of her order to escort Bill to the nurse's station and the rest to keep their eyes on the man.

"Andy..." Carla's voice drifted on the wind as he turned towards her, "did you have to be so harsh?" she asked, wondering if this side of him was always present and she was just now seeing it.

"Sometimes a Pharaoh needs to be harsh, Carla; I don't have the luxury of being nice all the time. That only shows weakness to Egypt's enemies who think they can take what isn't theirs. Why do you think the Hyksos could have invaded? Because the Thirteenth Dynasty were weak, and their enemies smelled it and plundered the land. I cannot bring Egypt back from this stagnation by being weak, Carla. I can't think just about myself any longer, Carla; it's taken me this long to come to terms with what I have to do. What I do from this day forward until the day I die and meet Osiris in Duat to be judged will echo for the rest of eternity. It's just not me that you have to worry about; it's every single soul that calls Egypt home that I must concern myself with. I'm not saying it will be easy; nothing worth having is ever easy. Yet when its all said and done, the land, its people, and its place on the world stage will shine like no other in all of human history. That is what I've been tasked with, Carla. I've gone through too much just to let it all go to waste. I am sorry if that upsets you; if you want..." Andrew's words were cut off as Carla took hold of his face and planted a passionate kiss on his lips.

"Don't you ever, and I mean ever," staring intently into Andrew's eyes, "think I'm going to leave you because of what you must do. I love you, Andy. I've loved you since the moment you saved my life when I fell off that ladder, and you caught me. I'm just worried all this... will change you into something I know you're not," Carla said heatedly. Her nostrils flared; her heart drummed against her ribs as Andrew pulled her close against him.

"You sure? It is going to get rough from here on out," Andrew warned.

"What kind of Queen would I be if I didn't stand by my King?" Carla whispered yearning just to taste those lips again. Also, she wanted to hear the words he said to Anta in the club directed at her.

"Good, because I don't want just anyone as my Queen," Andrew said lovingly as he gently palmed her ass. Feeling her fingers curling around his shirt as she pressed her 36B breasts into his chest, waiting for him to say those three words. He wasn't an idiot; he knew what they'd been dying to hear. He just never knew the best time to say them. Then again, when was the best time to tell someone you loved them?

"Baby?!" Carla whined softly so only Andrew could hear.

"Love you too, Carla." If he had known speaking those words would lead to her shoving her tongue down his throat or how the act set his body on fire, Andrew would have spoken the words months ago.

"Come, we still have work to do before dinner, then we'll help you get packed," Carla said, leading him by the hand towards the temple. While she was going to miss him when he was away, yet she knew he would be on this plane, not off in the Duat... she hoped.

Chapter Six

"You promise to be safe?" Alex asked in a worried motherly tone, knowing Andrew would be wading into waters she didn't know how to navigate.

"Mmmhmm," Andrew nodded as he stood beside the Land Rover that had been rented by the museum to take him back to Cairo early the next morning.

"And you promise to call every day?" Anta asked as she held his hand.

"Of course," Andrew nodded again.

"And you promise you won't go looking for another wife?" Carla asked sternly, knowing Halima and a man Andrew had picked out last night waited patiently in the SUV.

"Of course, I have all I need right here," Andrew said warmly.

"Good, you better not forget that; now you better go before I change my mind and keep you tied to the hammock," Carla said, letting some of her more adventurous side out.

"Kinky, I like it," Andrew uttered with a coy smile. "I'm holding you responsible for their safety while I'm gone," he spoke, peering at the man Halima had put in charge while they were away from the site.

"You have my word, my lord, not a hair will be harmed on their bodies," the man stated firmly as he placed his right arm diagonally across his chest and bowed to Andrew.

"Don't work too hard; I'll be back soon," Andrew stated after getting his goodbye kisses in. "In you go, Bast," he said, waving for her to hop into the back of the vehicle as he held the door open. Reaching up and taking off his crown, he couldn't very well sit in the car with it on, and he wasn't about to leave it behind. Waving to the three of them as the SUV turned around and pulled onto the road.

"Where to, Lord Menes?" the man asked, looking at Andrew in the rearview mirror.

"Memphis," Andrew ordered, seeing the man nodding in understanding.

As Andrew was relaxing in his seat, watching the land of Egypt flying past him from his window with his arm resting on the top of his crown. He began to wonder just how he was going to store it given he didn't have a place at the moment, nor did he have guards he could trust to safe guard it from people too stupid to heed the warnings the Uraeus gave before it set them on fire or whatever would happen to the person if they tried to wear it. Shivering in his mind at what that would entail. Looking down at the seat as Bast pushed something toward him with her tail. A curious look appeared in his eyes when he noted the small black box covered in hieroglyphics. A name burned into the back of his eyes as Ptah's name appeared on top of the box. Glancing up, her green eyes met his eyes, conveying that he should open the box. His head snapped back as that once ring-sized box grew to a size that would accommodate his crown.

"Give Ptah my thanks," Andrew whispered as he placed his crown into it, seeing Bast nod in understanding as he closed it. While it was bulky in his pocket, it was better than having a beacon on his head. He wasn't ready to take on the current establishment. He wanted the transition to be bloodless, yet he knew that was never the case. He just wanted to keep the blood to a minimum as much as he could. He didn't want to tear Egypt apart because the Gods had decreed that the Pharaonic line must once again rise up and lead the nation. Yet this was his job now, and he would make the best of it.

"My lord Pharaoh?" Halima's voice drew him out of his meandering thoughts.

"Hmm?" Andrew hummed.

"Might I ask, without seeming to be offensive, do you regularly talk to animals like they're the Gods?" Halima asked from the front passenger seat, remembering how he had spoken to the falcon who once used his head as a perch.

"Who says they aren't the Gods?" Andrew retorted, noting the intense interest in the man's eyes as he glanced in the mirror.

"So you're saying that cat, that falcon, and the lion were actually all Gods?"

"Yes, yes, and yes," Andrew answered plainly. "Do you honestly think I go around talking to animals like a crazy person... scratch that, you might actually think that. Do you think I could sit in front of a lion, a real lion, and not get eaten? That would mean I'm like the Beast Master or some... although that would be kind of cool walking around with ferrets in a satchel," Andrew mused, referring to his father's favorite show growing up.

"So... that is really Bast... the cat goddess?" Halima asked with a tad bit of fear in her voice.

"Yes, she is that Bast," Andrew stated, sensing Bast's enjoyment out of the whole conversation. "Hey, question, since you're the cat goddess and all, what's the deal with cats and boxes?" he asked, snorting at the answer she spoke in his mind.

"And she speaks to you... regularly?" Halima asked in awe of the interaction between the two. Although no sound came from the cat, she knew, she didn't know how she knew, she just did, that the cat was indeed speaking to Andrew.

"Pretty much."

"And the falcon, was Horus, the god of kingship?"

Andrew arched an eyebrow as Halima quickly turned around in her seat, rapidly muttering under her breath when he nodded his answer. Reaching over and scratching her right hind leg as he went back to peering out the window. Asking her how she would like her new temple there as they rode along the Nile. "Oh? Not there; how about the Delta, all that water," Andrew teased, getting a hiss out of Bast.

"My lord, maybe it wouldn't be wise to anger a goddess in the car," Halima said fearfully.

"Don't you stroke her ego; it's big enough as it is; you don't want to know how many times she's regaled me with the fact she's the Eye..." Andrew's words were cut off as a flying ball of fur launched herself at Andrew's face. "So cute when you get all angry in this form," Andrew mused, keeping his face well away from her kicking hind feet as he held her at arm's length. "Oh, now is a perfect time; you can't run away from me in a car," he said, grinning evilly. He just wanted to know why she was so against belly rubs. Only to feel her power breaking his grip on her and bashing him in the nose for the thought of defiling her divine body. "Damn, Bast, what was that for?" Andrew asked, his voice muffled as his hands cupped his nose.

"Next time, you'll get the claws," Bast said heatedly, extending her very sharp, wicked claws to him. "It's undignified to rub your protector's belly," she lied; she just didn't want Andrew to know how she acted when that happened. It was how mankind had gotten her drunk in the first place when Ra ordered her to exterminate the human race. She was not about to allow that to happen ever again.

"If you're going to be like that, then go back to the Duat or Anta," Andrew grumbled, checking to see if his nose was bleeding as he rubbed it.

"No," Bast spoke, knowing he was only saying it out of anger. "It's what you get for trying to humiliate me. You shouldn't do that to your wife; I thought you were smarter than that."

"Menes?" the man's voice interrupted Andrew's ongoing fight with Bast as the car sped down the Genish road as they approached Helwan as they cruised beside the Nile.

"Yeah?" Andrew answered; agitation could be heard in the tone of his voice.

"Might I inquire about Ra?"

"What about him?" Andrew asked, looking at the back of the man's head.

"He is still with the people of Egypt, isn't he? He hasn't forgotten about us, right?"

"Who do you think put this whole thing together? It certainly wasn't me. I'd rather be back in New York with my family than dealing with abusive wives," Andrew answered, glancing at Bast from the corner of his eye just to be argumentative with her. Noticing how she narrowed her eyes at that.

"You speak like you've met the Great Sun god," the man said as he peered intently at Andrew from the rearview mirror.

"Yeah, many a time, cool dude, even lets me play around with his godly weapons," Andrew joked, blocking Bast's attempts to kick him in the side of his head.

"Then the night at the museum, those were the true weapons of Ra?" Halima asked in wonder. Never before had she ever heard of such a thing. "Is that why it felt like a miniature sun in that room?"

"Yep," Andrew answered with a pop of his lips.

"And you've talked to Ra, mean face to face?" Halima asked, peering around her seat.

"Mmmhmm, really tall dude, kind of shiny too." Andrew tilted his head when the two of them started mumbling prayers to the Gods. Rolling his eyes at the display, giving Bast the opening she needed to slip into his lap. Rubbing his jaw when she gave it a few swats with her paw before standing on his lap, her front paws pressing on his chest as her face filled his view. Her head thumped hard against his as those green eyes of hers pulled him into their depths. Feeling the sand paper texture of her tongue as she licked up the glabella of his face, which was weird if you asked him. Andrew took that as it was her way of saying she was sorry, given how god or goddess wasn't ever going to say the words, even if they were in the wrong, to begin with. "You better be glad you're so pretty," he mumbled down to her as she laid on his lap. The thump of her tail against his leg told him she was.

"So after you speak with Mal, where will we be taking you?" Halima asked as the sign for Cairo's city limit flew past them.

"To the docks past the last bridge north of the city," Andrew stated, blowing out a breath in his mind, knowing the rise of his kingdom starts the moment he got out of the Rover.

"Might I inquire why the docks when we have a car?" the man asked; he was willing to follow Andrew wherever he wanted to go; he just thought the Rover would get them there fast and cooler than on a ship.

"Where I'm going, there are no roads to it," Andrew said factually.

"Maybe we can have workers build one to it; we do have a few members that do that kind of work," Halima offered as she peered back at him. The moment he turned his gaze to her, she knew his answer as those blue-green eyes with a strange light within them had a hard look to them. A look of a man that's seen things, things she couldn't possibly understand.

"No."

"May I ask why you're so vehement about not connecting your capital to the rest of Egypt?" Halima asked, trying to understand.

"It's to keep the villagers safe and not fall prey to people of this age," Andrew said in a monotone voice as he turned his gaze back out the window. Feeling Bast purring on his lap as he stroked along her spine.

"I don't understand."

"You don't have to understand to heed my command, do you?" Andrew spoke, his eyes glancing over at her.

"Please, my lord, please don't take offense to my inquiring nature; I just wish to learn how best to protect you from Egypt's enemies," Halima said with downcast eyes. "But might I ask, what did you mean by people of this age?"

"The people of my capital are from an age long, long since passed, an age where none of what we have today existed. Long ago, something fell from the sky onto the land of Punt, killing Pharaoh Baka on his expedition to it. Destroy the kingdom of Punt in the process and trapping the people of the capital city of Punt in a place out of time..."

"Whoa, whoa, back up, I thought Punt was like a city or something, and what's this thing that fell from the sky?! Was it a meteor or something?" Halima asked, knowing what he was telling her she could never divulge to anyone. She knew, and her peer knew he wouldn't hesitate to enact his threat.

"Far worse than a meteor," Andrew replied, feeling Bast tensing up beneath his touch.

"What could be worse than a meteor wiping out a kingdom?!" Halima exclaimed; the sound of her hands striking the center console filled the air.

"A goddess, a fallen one, to be precise," Andrew said with deathly undertones, causing Bast to release a blood-curdling growl at just the hint of Ba'al.

"There are others?!"

"Many more," Andrew nodded. "So anyway, this goddess trapped the people of the capital of Punt in this other dimension sort of, and I freed them and brought them back so they can live out the lives they would have if this goddess hadn't altered their fate. This is why, for now, the modern world cannot interact with them so they can adjust to life four thousand years after they were trapped by this goddess."

"You're telling me these people are from four thousand years ago?!" Halima asked in shock.

"They are," Andrew nodded. "I expect you two to keep this to yourselves."

"Of course, Pharaoh, we would never betray your trust as to divulge such delicate information you have just imparted to us," Halima stated, with her counterpart nodding along. "I know you don't have a high opinion of our order at the moment, yet we, Medjay, know how to keep the Pharaoh's secrets secret," she said with pride, getting an 'Mmmhmm' out of her counterpart. "Even on the pain of death, we would never reveal what you have spoken to us." Hoping Andrew believed her words as his eyes studied her as they roamed her face, also that her parents were proud of her to be traveling alongside their Pharaoh. "Can I ask, what was this goddess' name?"

"Ba'al, the usurper," Andrew said with disdain.

"We're almost to the University, my lord," the man said, pointing to the sign for it a few feet a head of them.

"I just texted Mal; he said he'll meet you in the quad on the east end since he's just now getting out of class," Halima said, pocketing her phone. "I know where it is; it's not that hard to find from the parking lot," she stated, peering at him in the vanity mirror, seeing him nod in response.