Shadows of the Nile (4 page)

They hurriedly finished their breakfast and rushed off to collect their things.

Aline, however, lingered at the table and looked enquiringly at Achmed. “Could I ask you something? I'll be very quick.”

“Of course.”

“Just after you left me last night there was someone else on the top deck, a man. I just wondered, did you see him and if so do you know who he is?”

“I didn't meet anyone going down,” he answered, thoughtfully. “But someone could have passed me and I didn't notice him. There were one or two business people around. He could have been one of them. But we wouldn't know who they are. They are employed by the cruise ship owners and come and go a lot.”

“Thank you,” Aline said gratefully.

*

Aline sat behind Achmed on the coach. He'd invited her to take the near seat because she seemed to be the only person without a partner and Aline guessed he might think she was a bit lonely. That wasn't the case, however, because she'd made friends with many people on the tour already and everyone seemed to join in together. However, she was quite determined that when they reached the temple she'd wander off on her own, so she could gather facts and write about what she saw and meet up with the party at the end.

Achmed tried to dissuade her when he heard her plan.

“It is best we all stay together,” he said.

“I have work to do,” Aline insisted. “I won't leave the area, I promise.”

“Do be careful.”

Aline didn't think anything would happen.

After arriving, she soon set off. She was glad to get away from the crowds so she could think and concentrate. She held her treasured notebook and pencil close to her as she walked up what seemed like a million steps. Almost at the top she turned and the whole of Egypt seemed to lie at her feet stretching for miles in the distance. The coaches and the people down below were so small they looked like toys. It was as if she'd climbed a mountain. There were pillars all around her and she somehow felt protected by them. Soon she came to the very top. There she found a small rectangular enclosure with a closed door which led to a further area beyond. She wrote notes quickly. There was no one else around and she wanted to explore whatever was beyond the door, without being bothered by anyone. She went to it and pushed it open – there was no lock. She stood for a brief moment. Would anything here help her with solving the secret of the Valley of the Kings? Tentatively she went in. At first she couldn't see very much because it was so dark, and then as she went down a short corridor she reached a room which was bathed in light from torches.

“Wow,” she breathed. “How very authentic, almost as it was.”

She wandered further in, amazed at the ornate furnishings and gold everywhere, and rich fabrics. Then she stopped. Something was wrong. Surely with all the wealth on display there would be someone guarding the artefacts. It suddenly didn't make sense. And then she gasped. She saw him. He seemed so familiar, so familiar. Her heart suddenly ached for him. He had his back to her. He wore a long golden headdress which covered his hair, and a gold skirt which just came down to his thighs, and gold and jewelled sandals on his feet. He was certainly Egyptian, with a smooth, brown skin. He moved slightly; the muscles in his back and arms rippled sensuously, and then he moved his legs. She felt a terrific longing for him; it made her almost stop breathing. She wanted to reach out and touch him, and feel his body close to hers. She wanted to run her fingers along his neck and back, and smell his skin. “It's been such a long time, such a long time,” she cried out. She tried to reach him.

But at that moment there was a tremendous bang, as if the world was about to split open. She looked up and the walls began to shake. The floor started to rock and become unstable. The drapes and furniture began to disintegrate. The man turned, but there was so much dust she couldn't see his face. He stretched out his arm and pointed towards the exit. He wanted her to go. The place was becoming dangerous. But she didn't want to leave. She needed to be near him. It didn't matter if she got hurt by anything as long as she was close to him. Then, as if he'd decided for her, a sudden gust of wind sprang up and pushed her towards the entrance. She tried to look back, but she couldn't fight the power that gripped her so firmly and wouldn't release her till she was safely outside the door.

Achmed stood there. He had come to find her.

“Aline. What has happened?”

“I don't know. I went to look inside,” she murmured. “I… I… it was all wrong. It had gold and jewels and chairs I've never seen the like of, and everything so richly decorated. I couldn't stop myself walking further and further into what seemed unearthly.”

She must go back. She looked at where she had gone in. There was still an entrance but it was securely boarded up. There was no way in.

“Aline,” Achmed said gently. He took off his sunglasses. She stared into his dark eyes. “What else did you see?”

She hesitated.

“A place of colours and incredible beauty. I saw more gold in one place than I've ever seen before. I saw drapes of silk, and things richly embroidered with birds and stars, and many tiny animals. I wanted to stay but I couldn't.”

“Why couldn't you stay?”

“Everything started to break up. It was as if I was in a film, nothing was real, and then suddenly something broke the image.”

“Are you certain?”

“I… probably. I think so.”

“There is nothing in there. It was the inner sanctum of the temple. It is no longer open to the public because it is no longer safe. There certainly wouldn't have been anything in there apart from rubble.”

“The inner sanctum? But there was a way in! I don't understand all this,” Aline admitted. “I don't know how it happened, but it did.”

Achmed was sympathetic. “These places are very, very old,” he explained, and then, seeing her distress, he added gently, “Sometimes things happen which no one can understand. Some people are sensitive to atmospheres.”

She stared at him, trying to understand what he was saying, realising her account might not have been convincing. She wanted to go back. If the way in reappeared she'd have been gone straightaway. Nothing would stop her. But it didn't.

“Did anything else happen?”

She hesitated. She wouldn't tell him about the person she'd seen – at least not for the moment.

“There was a strong forceful wind which wouldn't allow me to stay; it sent me back towards the door. I tried to fight it but it was impossible.”

Achmed looked at her thoughtfully.

“It might be best if you didn't wander off on your own. Try to keep with the others when we are out.”

They walked back to the coach, Aline busy with her thoughts. She didn't understand why she'd been so instantly attracted to the man she'd just seen. It was unusual for her to feel so passionately on a first encounter with anyone of the opposite sex. And she knew she wouldn't take Achmed's advice to try and keep with the crowd. She'd want to be on her own as much as possible when they went out on trips – not only to do her research. She had to find out more about the Egyptian from another time.

*

They had nearly finished lunch when the cruise ship set sail, rocking gently as it left its moorings.

“I can feel us moving,” Jan cried excitedly.

“Quick, let's go and take our drinks up to the top and see what's happening,” Gerald said.

Aline was one of the first to reach the deck, and she watched as the ship manoeuvred its way through the other big cruise ships, to take its place in the long line of them.

Soon they had left Luxor and were going down the river.

Aline sat at a table and was immediately joined by the others, including Peter who managed somehow to sit next to her.

“So what did you think of the temple this morning?” he asked.

“Very impressive.” Aline braced herself for his next remark.

“So did you get all the facts down? Who it was used by? Which year it was built?”

“I think so.”

“And what about the romance. I'd think a lot of these old places had a lot of liaisons. Have you started your alternative book on intrigue?”

“Maybe.”

Aline smiled to herself. She was doing just that. One notebook recorded the cold facts, dressed up a little by the scenery and ambience, and another notebook was about the odd things which were happening to her. She pulled her shawl around her, as if to protect herself.

“Who's for a swim?” Mary called out. “We could try out the swimming pool. It's not very big, but it does look inviting.”

“Count me in,” Aline said. She'd had enough of Peter reading her mind. She needed to relax after the trauma of the morning.

Only three of the ladies used the pool, in the end. The water was quite cold, and in spite of the warm day Aline soon left the water, and she lay with a towel over her, soaking up the sun in a quiet corner where no one else was around.

She became very dreamy, watching the banks of the Nile rush past her – an unchanged scene for thousands of years. There were very few animals and people on the shore, but there were young lads in fishing boats trying out their techniques and landing one or two fish.

Soon the voices started to fade, as she was lulled into sleep. It became very dark. The boat became bumpy, as if she was no longer on the cruise ship but in a much smaller one which rocked, and she was very uncomfortable and she dared not move. Something thick was covering her, and she couldn't see, and she had difficulty breathing. If she didn't get out soon she felt she might die.

“Aline.”

Someone was prodding her very gently. “Wake up. I think you're having a bad dream.”

She opened her eyes. Gerald stared at her in concern. “You were moaning and shaking your head. I thought it best to wake you.”

“Yes, yes, thanks. It was awful. I'm cold now. I must go and shower. I'll see you later.”

She hurried off, noting that the young fishermen had gone, left far behind as the cruise ship journeyed on.

*

The cleaners had left her a present. It was a snake made out of towelling and it sat neatly on her bed. Aline picked it up. She held it gently for a moment, admiring its artistry, and then put it back on the bed. She went to shower, feeling so much better after the warm water had washed off the smell of the pool. She lay down on the bed relaxing.

She fell into a drowsy state. Suddenly she realised with a start that the snake had disappeared.

“What!” she cried. She was almost certain no one could have got into her room whilst she was in the bathroom. The door was securely locked. So where was the snake? It couldn't move – it was an inanimate object. She searched round the cabin. It was nowhere to be seen. Mystified, she decided to dress and go and see the people at reception to find out if anyone had been into her room.

She opened the cupboard door and took out her shawl, which she wrapped around her to keep warm. Then, as she sorted through other things which were further back in the cupboard, she froze in horror. A big snake sat in the half-light, looking out at her. It was as if the towel snake had been taken over. This was a deadly cobra! Its eyes glittered at her, and its forked tongue flicked threateningly. She stood very still, fully aware of how vulnerable she was, alone, defenceless, completely at its mercy. But she faced it bravely, daring it to hurt her. She knew that in ancient Egypt snakes protected their own. It continued to stare at her. Then after a minute it suddenly made a move and slid towards her! It circled her neck. She momentarily stopped breathing, transfixed. Then it wrapped itself around her entire body. It stayed there for some minutes. Aline kept very still. Finally it moved off and settled itself on the bed, its bright calm eyes boring into hers. She stood quietly, not moving. But she began to feel its power.

Yet she refused to give way to any feelings of fear. The snake had not attacked her. She'd not been bitten. Ordinarily it would have finished her off by now.

“What do you want?” she asked. “Are you real, or just another of these dreams someone or something keeps sending me? If you're trying to drive me insane or want me dead then I suggest you do it right now. I've become used to tricks of time turning back. I won't have you dictating to me just because I've come here. I love this country; it has always felt like a part of me. So, my little cobra, tell me what you want – or leave me alone. Do you understand?”

The air suddenly became very dark and very dusty. Aline still stood her ground. She could see nothing. She tried to wipe the dust from her eyes.

“Kneel!”

It was a woman's voice.

“Cover your head with my shawl and lower your eyes. Do not look up.”

Her voice was so commanding that Aline did just as she was told.

“Tadinanefer, you have always served me faithfully. Now I have to set you more tasks. I will leave you once again something which is more powerful than the sword, and I know you will use it wisely against all evil.”

A soft breeze blew the dust away.

Aline sat up on her bed. She had been asleep. Or had she?

Tadinanefer, she mused. Who was she? Tasks? Her shawl? Why did she call it ‘her shawl'? What did it all mean?

She looked at the snake. It was just towelling, a model.

It was another nightmare, she concluded. She picked up her shawl which was lying next to her. Then she noticed something under it. It was a gold ring. ‘What!' she thought. ‘That wasn't there before! I would have seen it.' It was a woman's thin decorative ring but one with a wide gold band. She examined the outside; it was completely plain. But the inside was different. It was engraved all the way round with snakes, and the Ankh, which she knew to be the symbol of eternal life. She slipped it onto the middle finger of her left hand, thinking it was much too big for her and would come off easily. But she was wrong. As soon as the ring touched the base of her finger it mysteriously became instantly smaller and tightened. How could it do that? She tugged at it to get it off. But to no avail. Something had happened. She now wore something which looked suspiciously like an ancient ring. Ancient rings could have some sort of power, couldn't they?