Chapter 7:
Secrets Revealed
Michelle brushed away another cobweb. "How far below are we?"
"About three feet. We should be arriving at our destination soon." Michelle made a face. "Yes, but exactly where are we going" I stopped abruptly, and ran my fingers over ancient symbols marking the walls. "We're here," I breathed.
"You've got to be kidding me," Michelle grumbled. "Is it just going to be yet another cobweb infested corridor?"
"Something much better than that, my dear cousin; just try to remember one thing along the way."
"And what might that be?"
"'Patience is a virtue.'" I could sense Michelle grinning madly behind me. That was one of our favorite quotations by Evy in The Mummy.
The ingress was older than my half- brother, Tutankhamen. The hinges were rusting, the wood rotting. "Are you having visions, like Aunt Evy?" Michelle assumed. I shook my head. "I'm just remembering the last time I came through these doors." A dozen memories passed through my mind. Father carrying a body wrapped in linen. Mother kneeling, lamenting at the foot of Tut's sarcophagus. I, standing behind her, clench back a river of tears, while Father and his priests prepared my brother's body for the afterlife.
More memories, this time as an adolescent, leading Cleopatra the seventh down these same tunnels while Octavian took over Egypt. I knelt at the door, offering a prayer to my sister, Isis, to guide us along the right path. I touched my palm to the focal point of the door, and it creaked open. I stood up, and brushed the grime off my jeans. "We go this way," I pointed to the tunnel to the right. "Let's go,"
Michelle's eyes rolled in the back of her head. They took on a bluish luminosity, deeply worrying me. "Sister," she said. Tremors ran up my spine; Isis scared me, when we children. Now, she was just a minor nuisance, an obstacle in my path. "Hello, Isis, so nice of you to appear."
"You called on me for help. I could not let you destroy yourself."
A spasm of frustration spread throughout my being. "Sister, I will not destroy myself. I remember the ways of these tunnels. I know every corridor, Sister Dearest. You needn't help me right now." I took a step forward, and, to my alarm, fell through a hole in the floor. "Aaaagggghhhhhh!" I screamed. I hit rock bottom an instant later. "Ouch," I shouted. I held the torch up, and inhaled. All around me were walls, covered in glittering gems. "Isis, come down here!"
My sister's face appeared above me. "Are there spiders?" She asked fearfully. "No," I chortled. "Isis, please, there must be something down here you can use for your potions. It's stunning!" Isis shrieked as she fell. She, too, landed on her bum, and rubbed it tenderly while she tried to stand up. "Now I recall why I never went through these channels after Uncle took us," she complained. "But, you were veracious. I think I can use some of these stones for my concoctions."
Isis pried away a few precious gems from the wall. "So beautiful," she purred. "Absolutely magnificent," She regarded me carefully. "Thank you, Khepri. This means so much to me." I stooped next to her, and we embraced tenderly. "I love you, Isis," I crooned. "Forever and always, my twin,"
We separated, smiling at each other. I erected, ready to move on. Isis still sat, staring at the ruby in her hands. "How could we have not known?" she said. "This cave has to be around three thousand years old. You traveled through here many times, have you not, sister?"
I gaped around me. "Not in this life, but I led Cleopatra through these very same paths as Octavian took Egypt. We discovered no secret passageways during our stay." Isis thought on that. "Then someone must have excavated this cavern recently, then. One of Octavian's men, perchance?"
"Quite possibly Octavian himself."
"No, can't have been. He wouldn't have dirtied his toga for all the riches of Rome."
"True, but he would have overseen the excavation. He must have at least have had several hundred gemstones taken to Rome. Look how empty this cavern is!"
Isis and I traveled into the next chamber. "He left the less extravagant stones for tomb raiders to find." I put a hand on her shoulder. "Or for the gods to weep over their lost treasure. If you may remember, Octavian was the child of Mars. My husband," I added bitterly. "He murdered me when our child was only twelve. I watched him kill her only a year later."
I wept for my past life. I knew he was more than mortal, yet I was blinded by his supposed affection for me to see his true nature. Isis encompassed me, comforting me. "I cannot stay longer, my sister," she whispered. "My Eye is stronger this time, but if I stay any longer, she will burn up."
"Then go. I don't want her to die. Take care of my family. Punish my "husband" as much as you want."
"He hurt you terribly, didn't he?"
I buried my face in her hair. "Octavian killed me, Isis. He left me to die in the pouring rain, after I gave him a daughter. He already had an heir, and a son of his own. Why did he kill me, Isis?" My sister drew away. "I cannot tell why. Really, Kaoma, I must leave. I will send Seth soon. He will protect you like he did Ra."
Isis left, leaving Michelle and me to figure out how to get out of the caverns. "I would really appreciate it if Isis would leave more carefully." Michelle grumbled, rubbing her head. "Or at least take care of my body while she's using it." I took off my hiking boots, and grimaced when I stood up. "I guess my sister doesn't understand how much pain it is for the humans when the gods inhabit you."
"What, you never inhabited a mortal? How were you born?"
Michelle stared at me. "Speaking of mortals, did you really marry Octavian?" I sighed. "I didn't necessarily marry Octavian, but yes, we were together for quite some time."
"You spent thirteen years, thinking you had the perfect life with a man who was already married? Not to mention a daughter by him?" Michelle bit her lip. "Everything I thought I knew about you is wrong, Elizabeth. I hope you realize that now."
I held back my tears. "I'm sorry, Michelle," I whispered. "I never meant to hurt you. I only pieced everything together a few days after we sent the O'Connell's back. Isis and the rest of my immortal family came to me in a dream. They- they told me everything about me, and memories from all those lives flooded back."
Michelle held her own tears. "Is there anything else I should know?" I opened my mouth to speak, and she held up her hand. "I want to know everything, Liz, not just half-truths and lies." I nodded. "Um, I don't know how to explain this, but… Cody and I…"
"You have a connection with him, like we do?"
"H-how did you guess?" She smiled dryly. "I can piece things together, too, Elizabeth. This morning, when we were waiting in Jonathan's car, and you two were staring at each other, making weird faces, and he was nodding, well I couldn't help but notice how…intimate your relationship was becoming after only two weeks. Then, also this morning, when he said, 'Well, if you knew what was going on in my head, maybe you'd understand better,' I really understood why you two were acting that way toward each other when I read your memories."
I pulled my knees to my chest, and shivered. "I didn't know it would hurt you so much." I whispered. "I do have a talent of hiding my feelings. After all, it got me through having to hear how gorgeous Cody looked in his navy blue polo and red Reeboks last year." My eyes watered as Michelle went on about how annoying I was, blathering on like an idiot about Cody.
"Well, now you know how I feel, when you used to stare dreamily at pictures of Freddie off the Internet." Michelle's eyes flashed dangerously. "Oh, you did not just disrespect my feelings for him!" she screeched. I shut my eyes tight; how could we be rowing on like this? We were best friends, cousins.
"And then, you hurt Cody today. I cannot believe you actually told him you didn't care about his feelings. Not even to his face." My eyes popped out of my head. "Don't you dare," I snarled. "I made a mistake this morning. I didn't mean to hurt his feelings. I never wanted to break him. I knew the risks, when we started going out, but I didn't mention anything to him." Michelle sneered. "You wanted him, Elizabeth, since the seventh grade. Now, after four years, you have him, and you just snapped your little goddess fingers, and kicked him out of your life. How can he stand you, even now? Does he know about your true love? Or should I say loves? I totally forgot about Seth."
"Stop it!" I shouted, and covered my ears. "Stop it, Michelle." Tears streamed down my face, and Michelle's. "We need to go home."
"How?" Michelle snapped. "We're lost, Elizabeth. We're in a hole, miles underneath London. How are we going to get back?" I placed my palms on the ground, and let myself absorb their secrets. Michelle tapped her foot impatiently. "I hope you know what you're doing. I don't want to end up dying here." I glared at her underneath my lashes. "Trust me; this is harder than it looks." I clenched my teeth, and dug my fingernails into the earth.
Michelle rubbed her arms; Goosebumps were appearing quickly out of nowhere. I furrowed my brows in frustration, and a large, thick blanket materialized around her shoulders. "Thanks," Michelle muttered. "No…problem," I gasped. I let go of the earth, and curled into a fetal position. "I've been here before," I gulped. "No surprise there," Michelle muttered. "It's a burial chamber," I sobbed. "Octavian buried me here." I hugged my knees, and yanked on my hair. "He buried me with his family."
I scrambled to my feet instantly. "If there's an entrance, there must also be an exit." Michelle rolled her eyes. "So your one- time husband who died thousands of years ago buried you in his family chamber. What's so important about that?" I gripped her shoulders and frantically searched her eyes. "Octavian…he was never one for extravagant burials, especially for those with 'false' gods. He must have loved me more than I thought."
Michelle shrieked and pointed behind me. I turned; a spirit light floated towards us. "Very good, wife," A man's alto boomed. "Octavian?!" I cried.
