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Hours passed as the storm raged. Rowan explored as much as he could, documented what he found, then settled in to wait out the storm. All the thoughts he’d pushed aside initially came flooding in on him. He was worried about Jean-René and Greg, and he missed his wife and children.
Rowan wondered if he tried extremely hard if he could make Lauren appear. He was starting to understand what he thought of as her magic, but neither of them really knew how it worked. Somehow, she had gotten to Mexico unaided in time to save his life, and hers as well. Then the little magic tricks in South Africa had aided her brother in his quest. He’d seen the truth of the events that had occurred then. He understood the magnitude of his wife’s power, but Rowan didn’t know how it worked. He was sure he had nothing to do with it. He wasn’t the one who called her to him. She’d done it. It was all her. It was weird. It freaked him out. But he trusted her and was in awe of the powers she had; powers that appeared to be growing with each passing year.
Their son had powers, too. Henry, it seemed, was somewhat instrumental in Lauren’s abilities to teleport — translocate — or whatever it was called. Raising a child with such powers made it difficult. They’d had to lay down rules for him. Lauren had been coaching him to make good choices, not to disappear unexpectedly, or go somewhere he wasn’t supposed to.
He forced his thoughts back to the present and the space he occupied. He’d made rubbings of some of the markings on a scroll of butcher paper with a charcoal crayon he carried in his field kit. He hoped he had enough that Lauren would be able to make something of it when she had a chance to see it. He’d send the pictures as soon as he could. He studied the markings by flashlight, trying to make sense of the symbols.
When the light began to flicker and fade, Rowan realized his battery was starting to die. He found his small Sterno camp stove in his supply kit and lit it, deciding he might as well make something to eat while he could. The Sterno would run for a while, long enough, he hoped for the storm to pass. If nothing else, he could put his flashlight away and conserve his battery. With snakes a known hazard, he needed enough light to be on the lookout for cobras.
* * *
Henry woke up screaming and frantic. Ahmose rolled over and pulled him into her. She’d let him come crawl into bed with her sometime before midnight, and now, the pink haze of dawn illuminated the room. She cuddled him and patted his back, trying to soothe him as her mother had done a few days before.
This wasn’t how she’d intended to spend her holiday from college, but she was happy to be able to get the little boy to curl up against her as he whimpered and drifted back to sleep. Anyone else’s kid she’d have been less interested in, but she thought highly of Rowan and Lauren Pierce. Rowan was adorable beyond measure, and Lauren was everything Ahmose wanted to be when she grew up. She didn’t care much for the idea of being on television, but she wanted to be a doctor like Lauren. Maybe when she was older, she would find a tall husband, too.
If truth be told, Ahmose had a bit of a crush on the American archaeology student. Who wouldn’t? His charming smile and his witty repartee were two of his best features. He was handsome and a great conversationalist. And he made beautiful babies. That made her smile as she petted Henry’s hair.
“Ahmose?” Henry’s voice almost startled her.
“Yes, baby?” She kissed his head.
“You can’t like my daddy,” he said. The little boy looked up at her with an angry scowl. “My momma wouldn’t like that.”
“What?” Ahmose asked, perplexed. “Are you reading my mind, Henry?” The boy just scowled at her. She didn’t know how he knew what she was thinking, but she tried to reassure him. “I do hope someday to find someone like your daddy. But what I like best about him is how much he loves your momma. I would never come between them.” Henry nodded, but his sour expression didn’t abate. “Are you all right? Another bad dream?”
“Daddy found a cobra,” Henry said. “It wants to bite him. The cobra likes to bite people.”
“Oh, my!” Ahmose scowled. She placated the child, since she couldn’t convince him dreams weren’t real. “What is your daddy going to do?”
“He’s stuck in a hole,” Henry said. “I think he’ll get out, if the snake doesn’t bite him first.”
First, he’s wailing because his mom is fighting the Devil, now he’s worried about a snake biting his daddy. What a vivid imagination this boy had. She also suspected there was a theme. But where would Henry have heard about Devils and snakes? Maybe he’d been watching his dad’s favorite Indiana Jones movies.
* * *
“More bad dreams?”
“Snakes are after his dad,” Ahmose said as she staggered into the kitchen and found her mother at the stove.
“Oh?” Tima arched a brow. “That child has a vivid imagination.”
“Yes.” Ahmose made herself a cup of tea. “He does.”
“Today we will go to the market,” Tima decided. “The boys will like that.”
“My friend Ishan is having a party for his nephew,” Ahmose said. “Maybe I will take the boys this afternoon.”
“They would like that,” Tima nodded.
Henry came in dragging his blanket looking like a lost Linus in a Snoopy cartoon. “Auntie Tima?”
She scooped him up and sat down with him in her lap, turning in her chair. He lay his head on her chest. “Did my daddy call back yet? Did he?”
Tima’s heart broke for him. “No, not yet,” she said. “Ahmose has a friend who’s having a birthday party for his nephew this afternoon. Would you like to go to a birthday party?”
Henry didn’t perk up, but he did ask. “Will there be cake?”
“Egyptian birthday parties are very much like parties in America,” Ahmose said. “We call it a hafla. We eat a lot of food, and we sing Egyptian songs. There is cake, but it’s a little different than in America. There are other desserts, too.”
“I can’t go to a party.” Henry sighed sadly.
“Why not, sweet boy?” Tima kissed his head.
“I don’t have a present to take. I can’t go without a present. It isn’t nice,” he said.
“Presents aren’t required,” Tima said.
“My momma wouldn’t want me to be rude,” Henry said. “We always take presents to parties.”
“Well, we have to go to the market today; we can shop for a present.”
“I wouldn’t know what to get him,” Henry said.
“I’m sure Shemi and I can help you pick something out,” Ahmose said.
* * *
John Carter loved the marketplace. It was crowded, but the energy of the surging bodies was exciting to the little boy. Henry didn’t seem so moved. He held on to Tima’s hand tightly, while Shemi and Ahmose took turns carrying John Carter in fear he’d get lost in the crowd too easily.
“What kind of presents do little boys in Egypt like?” Henry asked, standing in front of the table loaded with dried figs, dates, and mangos. Tima bought a few small bags of each. The vendor offered a large slice of dried mango to each of the boys, smiling a toothless grin at them. Henry took it and said, “Thank you.”
“Whatever toys little boys in America like,” Shemi said.
“I don’t even know how old this little boy is,” Henry said.
“Braheem is going to be six,” Ahmose said. “Not much older than you.”
Henry nodded, taking a bite from his piece of mango. He walked ahead studying every object he saw along the way. Each of the booths had something different. There were baskets, clothing, jewelry, and all kinds of things to eat. He paused to study the wooden carvings of Egyptian sarcophagi and the ceramic canopic jars. Clearly, he was interested, but even he knew these were knock-offs, trinkets for the tourists. “I don’t see any toys.”
“There’s a shop up ahead,” Shemi said. “We’re almost there.”
“Auntie Tima! Yook! Yook!” John Carter squealed. “Yook, Shemi. Ahmose. Yook!”
The girls stopped to see what he was pointing at. A man operating a large puppet — a camel — was moving through the crowd. The camel was wearing a red fez with a gold tassel and had big lips, a moustache, and large eyelashes. It was a funny puppet. John Carter giggled with delight as the puppeteer came towards him, working the controls to make the camel blink. The long eyelashes waved as the camel lowered its head and bowed in front of the crowd that paused to watch the show. A crier followed singing a sales pitch, encouraging people to come to Jumbo’s Toys.
“Henry, look at the puppet,” Tima said, as she turned back to where the boy had been standing. Henry was nowhere to be seen.
* * *
Henry felt dark eyes on him the moment they entered the marketplace. He’d been vaguely aware of them at the pyramids the day before. At first, he wasn’t able to identify the source, or recognize the threat, but today, he finally began to put the pieces together. The Devil had come to Egypt.
He stood, oblivious to the puppet that had enchanted the crowd and searched the spaces in between for the presence of the Devil. He knew he was there; knew he was watching him. He shifted his own position between time and space even though he was strictly forbidden to do so. The monster that had been stalking his momma had come for him, and might even hurt him and his little brother, given the chance.
Henry sensed John Carter would have gifts of his own, some day. But for now, he was limited to being a perfectly typical two-year-old. Henry had never had that luxury. He had powers from the first moment he felt his mind form; powers that came with responsibilities. Even his momma and daddy lacked a complete understanding of the gifts he had been given.
His Uncle Michael was fully aware. Uncle Michael had powers, too. He took the boy under his wing and was teaching him how to control his abilities. When his parents were otherwise occupied, Michael took him to visit the sky gods, who taught him even more wonderful things. They stressed the importance of controlling his power, of thoughtful use and timing of any actions because anything he might do outside his own time could have disastrous results for the future.
He had been a studious pupil and had not made this shift lightly or without careful consideration. The Devil was there, watching, always watching; waiting. But he was good at the game and Henry couldn’t see him, even though he sensed him. He shifted again, searching the cosmos both for his momma and daddy, while he was at it. He found his mother safe in a cathedral, and his father, safe in a cavern. Shifting again, he returned to his own place and time, before he got lost or stuck. Uncle Michael warned that could happen.