Chapter One: Name on the Wall

The heat bore down on us in waves. Mini electric fans that misted were heavily coveted and used as often as un-frugally possible; which is to say, all the time! Much as the heat was despised and abhorred, there was no deterring us from our goal. We'd all paid an arm, an eye, some teeth, a leg, and in some cases, a rib, in order to go on this adventure to Egypt. Thankfully, so far, the trip was more than worth it.

Our guide was more than hospitable and knowledgeable – he was a freaking EXPERT on absolutely everything; whether it was ancient local cuisine or the reason why this pharaoh built that pyramid, he knew it and would grin widely with his in-depth response.

I had never thought that Egypt would be a pleasant place to visit, but was I ever glad that I had listened to my best friend, Talie! To my previous thinking, Egypt was too hot, too sandy, too dirty, and too crazy for me to feel comfortable visiting – EVER! But I was finding, little by little, that mine was indeed a ridiculous misconception.

The highlight of our schedule that day was visiting the former tomb (it had been raided by robbers long before it was found) of a very old, time-forgotten pharaoh, which had only recently been opened to the public. Naturally, there were certain limits and rules by which we were to abide, but when was the last time Talie and I ever completely followed the rules, no questions asked? Never. That's why, despite the obvious warning sign saying "Do Not Enter" in plain English (for stupid tourists and people like us, I suppose), Talie and I snuck away from the herd of our schoolmates, hopping over the Hollywood-style red retaining ropes with no regrets.

Grinning from ear to ear at each other in our shared guiltiness, Talie and I approached the surprisingly well-lit, spacious back room, searching it immediately for any interesting artifacts or even a stone tablet! Talie instantly found the jackpot with two matching sets of bangles and anklets hidden in the far corner.

We figured that they'd been overlooked by some archeologists, but we weren't going to take them! That would've been stealing! What we DID do was put them on. The ones that she handed me were gold inlaid with emeralds with tiny, bell-like objects on the anklet. My favorite, next to diamonds, that is. Talie's were a silver-gold mixture set with large, precious lapis-lazuli stones.

Giggling, Talie spun into the center of the room, bowing dramatically. "I feel like such a girl!" she snorted playfully.

I beamed, "I feel like a freaking belly-dancer! Listen!"

With each graceful, smooth step I took, the bell-like objects clinked together to produce a beautiful chime. Talie agreed that they did suit me well. Standing next to her in the center, very pleased with our find, we searched with our eyes for a spot we could stick these (no doubt) priceless jewelry where they could easily be found by someone who knew this room wasn't a waste of space, but wouldn't be picked up by someone with blacker hearts than ours who weren't at all squeamish about thievery.

UGH, thieves! I couldn't stand the THOUGHT of them! It was a vilely stupid and insensibly moronic thing to me for someone to do something as morally wrong as stealing – especially objects that should be on display as treasures in museums.

Finally, we decided on the little nook Talie had originally found the things in. As I set mine lovingly down, I noticed something odd on the wall behind them. Hieroglyphs, no larger than the tip of my pinky (which is really saying something because my hands are small), were painted discreetly yet noticeably there. And if I wasn't mistaken, they were carved before being painted!

Talie brushed my shoulder impatiently as she tossed hers down, telling me to hurry up or Zahlink, our tour guide, would notice our absence and send out search parties before we could catch up.

"Hold on a minute. I want to feel this, real quick," I shrugged, completely captivated by the symbols before me.

"Are you gonna do your weird voo-doo thing and 'read' the glyphs with your fingers, again?" Talie whined with a sigh.

She was referring to a special ability I possess. If a language, any language, is carved into something (smooth preferably), I can close my eyes, feel it carefully with my fingers, and give its literal translation into English. Now if it were English itself, I could read an entire book just by brushing the ink-shapes on the page with my fingers (kinda like Braille, but not), my eyes closed and with no prior affiliation with the book in question.

"Yep, I am. I'll be real quick, promise!"

"Fine…" she conceded, sitting down on the floor with an air of finalty.

Closing my eyes, measuring the rhythms of both our breathing and slowly synchronizing them, and also internally calculating my steady-as-ever heartbeat, I slowly, painstakingly ran my fingers over and into the ridges of the carvings. My head tilted to my right as I concentrated while I started mouthing the words that evanesced into my mind.

"What's it say, Thami?"

I smiled. Always curious, my Talie.

"Woe… woe unto they who dare remove these mine treasures till I come for them… After the year – "

I gasped, my eyes flaring open. I scrambled away in a fluster, wringing my hands and feeling due fear.

"What is it, Thami?!" Talie was at my side in an instant.

Stuttering madly, incomprehensively, I tried to explain the impossible reason for my panic. "M-m-my n-n-n-n-na-name! It said my name, Ta! My FULL name!"

She pulled me into a comforting hug and held me, trying to calm me. Sadly, it wasn't really working.

"Shhh… It's okay, Tham. Just take a deep breath in – and out." I did as according to her count. "Now tell me everything it said, exactly," Talie commanded, pulling me further away from the corner protectively.

I took another deep breath and quoted, "Woe… woe unto them who dare remove these mine treasures till I come for them… After the year two thousand AD, I, Thamigail Effera Zeylar, will claim these prizes. And until that time, I will punish those who dare disturb these bangles and anklets with a sore curse till they are returned as I will…"

Talie was silent for a long time as I hiccupped my way back to near serenity. "And you got all that from those tiny carvings?" she questioned.

"Ta! Quit!" I whined with a gentle slap to her shoulder.

"What?" she chirped. "Anyway, how did you get to your name before you got to that part aloud?"

I gave my tall, blonde best friend a droll stare. "It's called multitasking. I was reading aloud to you while my fingers read ahead."

Talie took my hand and held it up to her face, staring at it observantly. Snorting, I tried to slip out of her slight grip, but she wasn't about to let me. She was entirely intent on examining my finger prints in detail.

"You know," she began, "you're far too smart for your own good."

Rolling my eyes emphatically, I saucily replied, "Tell me something I DON'T know… But Ta, what do you think this means? With my name and all…"

Whiffing her exhale heavily, Talie moaned pathetically, "I don't know, Thami! Since it's your entire freaking NAME, I suppose they rightfully belong to you. I have no idea how that happened, but I DO know that if we don't leave soon, Zahlink will have everyone up in arms by the time we get back."

I bit my lip. I had a decision to make, and it wasn't an easy one.

On the one hand, those things were absolutely gorgeous! On another, they were undoubtedly priceless. But on the other hand, my name marked clearly that I was the true owner of the beautiful decorations. And again on another hand, who was to say that Thamigail Effera Zeylar wasn't the super long name/title of whomever it was that put them there in the first place? But on the OTHER hand… Wait, where was I getting all these different hands from?!

I glanced over at the jewelry with irresistible longing, then turned back to Talie, my mind still unsettled but decided. "We're gonna take these and stick them someplace a guard, or something, will be able to see. We'll let them handle it," I decreed firmly.

By her expression, I knew Talie was thinking I was wasting a serendipitous opportunity, but she wasn't about to argue. She knew that I could be more stubborn than a pernicious stone that was to be pried from the surrounding, ridiculously firm earth, when I wanted to be. Shaking her head, Talie retrieved the jewelry from their cubby, no doubt thinking me the fool for giving away what could've been the rest of my college tuition.

She handed over the emerald encrusted ones to me immediately, but kept the lapis-lazuli ones in her clenched fist. Inwardly, I shrugged. Talie could nearly be as stubborn as me, when SHE wanted to be! I'd make sure that they didn't suddenly make a "magical" reappearance in her pockets, later.

We approached the doorway on silent feet, praying that our absence had gone unnoticed and no one was suddenly watching the forbidden entrance for intruders…

We soon found out why it was forbidden.