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“I SHOULD HAVE PUT TWO and two together,” Faye exclaimed to Nick after he was awake enough to understand. As he ate chicken, she’d told him about her visitor.
“Akhenaten, Nefertiti, and what was left of their family lived in the doomed city of Amarna. It was where history last knew of them. They disappeared after that. All of them. That’s where Ankhesenaton wants us to go first.”
Nick glared at her. He’d begun having doubts about going to Egypt. It wasn’t that his memory of the earlier scare had diminished, it was more a realization that by going to Egypt things might get worse.
“If monsters stalk us in our own back yard,” he’d asked, “knock down solid wooden doors, what will they do in Egypt, their home turf?”
“Perhaps worse, but then Ankhesenaton would be stronger, too. It should even out.”
“You hope.”
“I thought you said we had no choice, remember?”
“But it’s dangerous, Faye. Maybe we’d better regroup and rethink all this a bit before we go romping off to a hostile foreign country.”
“Nick, we’re going to have to go, one way or another. I believe that more than ever now. If we don’t I’m afraid what will happen here would be far worse than what could happen there.
“I think I’ve known all my life that one day I’d end up in Egypt. One day.”
Nick was still unconvinced, but she didn’t fight with him about it. He went off to work at the bar at the regular time, only to come running back, breathing hard, terrified, a few hours later.
“You won’t believe what I saw...you won’t believe...flying creatures—like birds—but with—I swear to God!” he put both his hands up as if he were trying to stop a truck, “human faces! Everywhere. They were everywhere.
“They flew in the bar. Chased me all around it. Dive bombed at the customers I’d left inside and there weren’t a hell of a lot of people in there. Goddamn! Some even tracked me back here. Hit the bloody door, too, when I slammed it on them. I heard them hitting. Thud-thud-thud.”
So that was what those knocks had been after he’d come in.
He slid into the chair across from her, his eyes on the closed door. She couldn’t tell if he shook from terror or anger. “They were the darndest things I’ve ever seen, except for that escapee from the freak show last night.” His expression was a hopeless grimace. His hands at his face, in his hair, along his scalp, massaging away in a frenzy as if there were something in his hair.
Shaking and dipping his head, he let his shoulders droop. She couldn’t see his face.
“Feathers...wings...as big across as the length of one of my arms...tiny human faces, though. They were screaming at me in a foreign language. Couldn’t understand a thing they were babbling. Gibberish. Just gibberish. But they were mean bastards. Vicious. Tried to peck at me. Get to my flesh, my eyes.”
Faye went to him and, kneeling on the floor, tugged his fingers away from his face. “They were the souls of the dead, Nick.”
“Souls of the dead?”
“Yes. Ba-birds. The ancient Egyptians believed their souls escaped from their mummified bodies in the form of human-headed birds. They fly across the earth and return at dawn to their homes.”
“What the hell were they attacking me for, then? What did they want?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “Could be they’re the souls of Ankhesenaton’s enemies. They don’t want us finding out the truth.”
His mouth was open like a fish, but the wildness in his eyes had dissipated. His body was motionless at last. “Enemies like those croc-head nightmares sent last night to scare us? Or hurt us?”
“Yes.”
“The croc-head was one of their ancient myths?”
She shrugged. “Sounds like the demon-god Ammit. The one who was supposed to devour the souls and bodies of those who weren’t judged true hearted when they died.”
“Then why was it coming after me?”
“I’m only telling you what I’ve read about the ancient beliefs. I’m as much in the dark about its real motives as you. I’m only guessing.”
“Why don’t you ask that ghost friend of yours?”
Faye grinned. She hadn’t thought of that.
“Good idea. Next time she shows up, I will. If she lets me. And if she’ll answer. She’s just started talking to me, remember?”
“Okay. Next time ask her. And,” he let out a held-in breath, “don’t tell me what other horrors the ancient Egyptians believed in. I don’t want to know. They might come after me, and I want to be surprised.” He looked at his wife, his jaw tensing in that obstinate way she knew so well. Slowly the anger drained from his face.
She didn’t have to say anything else. She waited. Nick was a smart man; he’d figure it out. She was correct. It didn’t take long.
“You were right, Faye. Something else has been released. Some force beyond our understanding. There’s a war going on, isn’t there? Begun three thousand years ago in a faraway land, and we’re caught right in the middle. Human pawns.
“It must be one hell of a heinous crime they’re hiding, to bring the souls back from the dead to intimidate us.”
“Yes,” a soft murmur.
“You think we have to fight back? Do as she asks or we’ll never be free?”
“I’m beginning to think it’s the only chance we have.
“But if you’re absolutely adamant about it, we can give up, Nick, accept defeat. Ignore the entreaties, the intimidation. Pray the other side leaves us alone. They might.” For a brief moment even Faye wanted to believe that would work. Then it’d be so easy.
“Accept defeat? Let those nightmares win?” His head came up. “No way. Not after that last attack. Made me mad as hell, that’s what it’s done.” Nick was a proud man; a brave man. An ex-soldier. Faye’s close brush with death had unsettled him, weakened him. For a time. Now she was seeing the man she loved in front of her again at last. Ready for a good fight. The righter of wrongs. Her protector.
He took her hands in his. “We’re going to Egypt. We are. We’re going to settle this once and for all.” His loving eyes met hers. “And,” he added softly as if it had just occurred to him, “maybe then you’ll be free as well from Ankhesenaton. Forever. No more hauntings.” As if he finally understood how it must have been for her all these years. For the first time.
Faye melted into her husband’s arms. It felt good to know he was on her side one hundred percent. At last.
“Well, when do we go?” he asked.
“Soon. I know we just can’t pick up and leave. There are arrangements to make. Money, for one. We have all those hospital and doctor bills.”
“Our insurance is covering more than I thought it would. I found that out today in town.”
“So then,” she told him what he already knew, “we have our savings.” They’d been putting money away for a year for a much needed and long dreamed of vacation. They’d expected to stay in the States, though. Maybe do Yellowstone. Or the Grand Canyon. Faye had always wanted to go to both places.
“It’s not enough for an overseas trip, though.” He should know, he’d also kept track of their bank book.
“We can borrow the rest from my mom and dad,” Faye suggested. Her parents knew about her ghost. They’d understand and support her as always.
“Faye, you know I hate borrowing from your parents.”
“We’ll pay them back. Business won’t be bad forever.”
“We hope.”
“We’ll have to get passports. Shots.” Faye was recalling everything she’d read about traveling to Egypt. Nick made a face.
“Visas,” she went on. “I believe we can apply to the Egyptian Consulate for permission to enter the country. I’ll have to check on flight schedules. We’ll have to fly into Cairo from New York. Don’t know how we’ll get to the ruins of Amarna from there. Let’s hope there’s a domestic flight.
“Wait a minute. It’s the end of summer in Egypt. One hundred and twenty degrees by midday. Foreigners are advised not to come until at least late October unless they’re used to that kind of heat. We aren’t. Two months from now. Eight weeks.” Faye turned to her husband. “Can we be ready in eight weeks?”
“We can.”
She stopped. It was staggering. They were actually going. They both sat there and looked at each other, awe on their faces.
“It’s going to be quite an adventure, isn’t it?” Nick stated the obvious.
“It sure is.” But something inside Faye was awakening. An inner, secret happiness, long buried. As if she were going home, her heart was singing.
“I know a hell of a lot more about ancient Egypt than the modern one. I have some research to do. Eight weeks sounds like a long time, but it’ll go quickly.”
“Maybe not quickly enough. You’ll need it to get your strength back.”
“That, too.”
His eyes went to the rear of the house. The windows.
“Worried?”
“No,” he replied. “But while you’re at it, honey—doing that research you’re talking about?—you might look up protective spells and amulets against evil spirits. I think we’re going to need some. Extra strong.”
“I think you’re right.”
Faye glanced at the night outside the windows. But for the moment they were safe. Darkness was all that was out there.