Chapter 21

He normally wouldn't associate with such riff raff, but desperate times called for desperate measures. Joseph wasn't above cajoling when it came to serving God's will, even if it meant talking to... "Cecil, just the gentleman I wished to see!"

Startled, Cecile looked up from his job. "Preacher? What brings you here?" If he had hackles, they would've been raised. He might have been a thief once, but he was no fool-the "holy man's" reputation preceded him.

"Please, call me Joseph. What is a fine man such as yourself doing here?"

"Sweeping. Perhaps you've heard of it? Actually, if you'd like to do an old man a favor, perhaps you could pick up a broomstick and give me a hand?" He asked, helpfully providing him with the cleaning implement.

"Ha!" Cried the preacher, briefly wiping his hand on his breeches. "Such menial labor is beneath me. I merely hoped you might need some company." Silence ensued as Cecil resumed his task. "Actually, I was wondering if you could assist me."

"Sure. What might I do for you?" Cecil purposefully hunched over, squinting up at him with one eye. None of the exhibits knew about the tablet's affect on him or his friends. He, Reginald, and Gus intended to keep it that way.

Superiority emanated from Joseph as he looked down the end of his nose-or tried to. Even scrunched over, the janitor was as tall as he was. "I need all the information you possess about the tablet." Watching the tablet sparking so suddenly, so unexpectedly, had unnerved him greatly. The thing must be destroyed!

"Ah." Cecil leaned his broom against a wall as he turned to face Joseph. "Shouldn't you be asking the pharaoh about this? Surely as its guardian, he'd know the most about it."

"I have no desire to associate with that fiend! Besides, as former keepers of this fine institution, surely you would know a little about it's source of power?"

"Ah, well, I'll have to disappoint you there. You see, we never really found out anything about that tablet-all I know is it was found in the pharaoh's tomb, along with the rest of his funerary items."

"I see. Very well, then, what can you tell me about the pharaoh himself?"

Cecil did not like where this was going. "Again, not much. I could tell you where he was found, but that's the extent of my knowledge. He's actually kind of a mysterious figure, history wise... Anyway, sorry I can't tell you more than that."

"I see." Still, the preacher wouldn't leave.

Straightening to his full height, Cecil looked down at him. "Anything else I can help you with, my good fellow?" For the first time, he became aware of how alone he was-his friends were nowhere to be seen, and he was up against this guy. Alone.

For a moment, Joseph peered sharply into Cecil's eyes, as if he could burn his secrets out with laser pointers. Finally, adjusting his hat, he set his mouth in a grim line. "No, thank you, Cecil. I shall be on my way." Despite his advanced age, something told him the janitor was not to be messed with. Shame, he could've used a sturdy ally. He'd just have to discover another way to acquire more information. In the meantime, he had his brethren to guide.

"Aw come on! That was unnecessary!"

"All is fair in love and war, my friend."

"Did you have to knock me into the lava?"

The pharaoh, who'd been absorbed in an American History book Teddy had lent him, got rudely brought back to the present by Jed's shouts. What in Ra's name were they up to?

His stopped dead in his tracks as he stared at their activity. "What are you doing?"

"GAME OVER" blared onscreen as both miniatures looked up at him. "Oh, hey there, Ahk. We were just playing a helluva good game of Mario Carts-or at least we were, until this Roman here knocked me off a mushroom head!"

"Romans always win chariot races," Octavius replied smugly.

"What is 'Mario Carts'? I have never seen such strange magic!"

"You mean you've never heard of it?!"

Ahkmenrah shook his head. Curiosity overwhelming him, he leaned a bit closer to the computer screen. Jed immediately pointed out the human-sized controls to the pharaoh, who picked it up and began examining it much like one would a rubix cube. "Here, let's show that Roman a thing or two about racing!"

Fifteen minutes later, both Jed and Octavius were gently coaxing Ahkmenrah along the video game's racetrack, their rivalry temporarily forgotten.

"Now, slowly ease her around the curve, that's it," the cowboy murmured. He cringed as the pharaoh accidentally veered off into some bushes. "Oh, that's gonna leave a scratch!" Ahkmenrah's face was cast in a frown of intense concentration, but to his chargrin, his gaming skills were seriously lacking.

"Jedediah, you are rushing him far too much. Allow me." Sadly, he didn't have any better luck teaching Ahkmenrah.

"Whatcha guys doing?" Nicky asked, peering curiously through the doorway.

"Nothing much, just crashing," Jed sighed. Ahkmenrah winced and looked at him apologetically.

"The young king has never played video games before. Jed and I have endeavored to teach him," Octavius explained.

Nicky picked up the game's jacket. "With Mario Carts? I remember playing with my dad years ago." As Ahkmenrah's race cart got struck by lightning, he grimaced. "Oooh, that's gotta hurt!"

Ahkmenrah slumped down his seat in defeat. "Thank you for instructing me, gentlemen, but I should not keep you from your race any longer," he sighed, dropping the controller. "I must discuss my riding lesson with Teddy." He ran off before anyone could stop him.

"Ahk, wait up!" Nicky called, jogging to keep up with his longer stride. "I know some tricks that might help you. Come on, let's go to the night guard's lounge."

Half an hour later, Ahkmenrah's gaming skills had improved enough for him to earn third place on the intermediate level of Mario Carts. "Ease up on the stick a bit," Nicky instructed.

"This feels quite different from racing chariots in Egypt," Ahkmenrah murmured.

"Did you race those a lot?"

"Yes, every other day!"

"For fun, or was it only for going to war and stuff?"

"Both. During my father's reign, there were fewer wars, so we used chariots more for entertainment." He grinned as he reminisced, his eyes now seeing the golden chariots of Ancient Egypt instead of the virtual carts.

"Were you good?" Nicky asked.

"Better than here. My brother was the only one who was able to defeat me." His smile faded. Who knew this bizarre entertainment could bring back such painful yet wonderful memories?

"I didn't know you had a brother," Nicky said, looking up at him with an intense new curiosity.

Ahkmenrah heaved a sigh. "Yes, well... What about you? Do you have any siblings?"

Nicky could take the hint. When Ahk was ready to tell him more, he would. Until then, pressing him would be as futile as pressing a wall to divulge its secrets. "Nope, I'm an only child, which is partly why it's so cool to come here. There's always someone for me to hang out with." Comfortable silence ensued as Ahkmenrah tried-and failed-to avoid a jet of lava.

"Wanna take a break? I could show you some other cool stuff in here."

Ahkmenrah nodded. His eyes were beginning to ache from the screen. "Teddy promised me another riding lesson this evening."

"Can I watch?"

Grinning, the pharaoh nodded. "Thank you, Nicky, for teaching me how to play Mario Carts."

Thank you all for your awesome reviews! Wow, I can't believe I have so many already!

littlecrackedsapphire: Again, thank you so much for your kind, thoughtful comments! I can't wait to hear more from you.

Dragon Heart: Indeed, the father/son relationship is growing nicely. :)

VibeQuake: Thank you, too, for your steady stream of reviews! :)

LadyofStarClan: Thank you so much for your encouragement! Don't worry, with museum life, there's bound to be some tablet magic. ;)