Flight of Souls
Chapter 33 – What Now?
"Would you like some more?" Tia started slightly at Evie's question and smiled a refusal. The canned stew was far less appetizing than the gourmet meal Tia had eaten nearly twenty-four hours ago aboard Sir Randolph's yacht, but she'd eaten heartily. Now she felt dull and sleepy. They were seated under an awning at the dig site the O'Connells had abandoned the week before. The diggers weren't back from their two-week leave yet, but the tents and supplies were still there.
Tia glanced around the group. Ardeth sat immediately to her right, once again wearing his black robe. Evie had given Tia some of her clothing to wear, so she'd returned the Medjai warrior's robe to him. Rick sat in a low camp chair, a glass of scotch in his hand. Evie sat on the ground next to him, her shoulder leaning against his leg. Both seemed relaxed and content. Evie's left eye showed a faint trace of purple – a souvenir from the blow she'd received aboard Sir Randolph's yacht.
Tia's own black eye wasn't precisely faint. Her right cheekbone was the center of a large and colorful bruise that extended around her right eye. In addition she had several bruises around her throat, and a multitude of minor scrapes and cuts on her back, shoulders, arms and hands. She considered herself lucky. Scrapes and bruises would quickly heal.
Robert Varne sat on another camp chair, slightly apart from the others. He did not seem content and relaxed. He'd scarcely spoken a word since they'd left the tomb, and now merely picked at his stew.
There had been quite a bit of 'clean up' work at the tomb before they'd left. Rick and Ardeth had carried Sir Randolph's body to the secondary burial chamber, leaving him on the bier that he'd previously left Tia on. They'd arranged his hands and the gun so that it appeared to be suicide. The door to the secondary burial chamber was then left slightly ajar so that it would be discovered before too long. Tia and Evie had cleaned up the blood in the Chariot room as best they could. No point in staging a suicide and then having someone get curious about blood in another area of the tomb. After dealing with the dead Sir Randolph, Rick and Ardeth disposed of the body of the driver, with Tia and Evie again cleaning up or at least covering over any traces of blood. During all this work, Robert Varne had sat disconsolately in the car, earning the exasperation of the other men.
Tia felt for him. Even though Robert and his father had never gotten along, she was sure he was wracked with guilt over accidentally shooting him. She itched to comfort him, but was unsure if she should. Ardeth's demeanor toward Robert was one of cold contempt, and Tia was reluctant to cause problems.
In addition, she wasn't at all sure of how she should act toward Ardeth. Would he take her back to the desert after this, or would he wash his hands of her? Which would she prefer? She scarcely knew him after all. They'd spent very little time together. Most of what she knew of him, she knew from his mother. Aren't mothers supposed to be biased toward their children?
Ardeth too felt unsure. He saw Rick and Evie sitting together. She was leaning comfortably against him, and his hand lay casually on her shoulder. From the time they'd left the tomb, he'd seen numerous small gestures of affection – looks, touches, and kisses. It made him envious. He wanted to put his arm around Tia's shoulders and pull her against him, but he'd seen the furtive glances she'd sent toward Robert Varne. Did she still desire that puppy? He knew if he reached out to Tia, she would acquiesce. But would it be sincere acceptance of his attentions or would it be just an effort to please the man who held her future in his hands? Or did he? If she asked to stay with the O'Connells, or (God forbid) with Varne, could he deny her? Should he?
Rick glanced at the two of them sitting stiffly side-by-side and wanted to shake them both. Ah well. It'll sort itself out, he thought. Since he couldn't comprehend how any woman in her right mind could possibly choose a boy like Robert over a man like Ardeth, he had no doubt of the eventual outcome. To distract them, he gave voice to a nagging doubt he'd been feeling. "So what's to keep our friend Sir Randolph, or Ramses rather, from being reincarnated again?"
Evie frowned and turned her head to look at him. "What do you mean?"
"Well, he was reincarnated without benefit of the Book of the Dead, magic bracelets or any other mumbo jumbo," Rick explained. "What's to keep it from happening again?"
"Most reincarnation happens without benefit of any 'mumbo jumbo' as you put it," Evie explained. "The Scorpion King wasn't actually reincarnated, if you recall, since he was never actually really dead. And Imhotep's soul hadn't been free to travel because of the curse."
"I suppose the 'mumbo jumbo' isn't necessary for ordinary souls," Tia said, "since both Evie and I were reincarnated without that."
"So there's nothing to keep Randolph from coming back?" Rick asked.
"Not Sir Randolph," said Evie slowly. "Ramses. He's the one we need to worry about. It's his soul that's the problem."
"So what can we do about Ramses's soul? Anything?"
Tia frowned and looked at Evie. "You kept that scroll, didn't you?" she asked. "Didn't it talk about trapping souls?"
"Your right!" Evie exclaimed excitedly. She sat up abruptly, knocking Rick's hand off her shoulder. "The Opening of the Mouth ceremony! It was never done on Horemheb, so his soul was trapped!"
"Horem-who?" Rick asked, bewildered.
"Listen to this," Evie said. She pulled out the scroll and read aloud.
"Okay," said Rick slowly. "So the kid Imhotep thought was his was actually Seti's after all, but Ramses had the kid's soul trapped so that it couldn't be a danger to him. Do I have this right?"
"Yes, that's right," Evie replied enthusiastically.
"So I guess the second part of the curse came true as well." Ardeth put in, looking at Robert. "The part about the soul of Imhotep's son being a danger to Ramses."
Robert looked startled. "What?"
"You are apparently the reincarnation of Princess Tiye's unborn child," Rick said to him.
He looked stunned. "I am?"
Evie and Tia exchanged surprised looks. "He is?"
"Tell them about that night in London," Rick prompted. Robert looked mystified, but complied.
"You see," Rick explained. "That makes you Imhotep's son, and the one who was destined to be the downfall of Ramses II. You get it? You're the one who shot Sir Randolph. You are the one that caused the downfall of Ramses's current incarnation."
"Now that we have our reincarnations sorted out," Ardeth said dryly, "is there anything we can do to trap Ramses's soul? He was, after all, mummified properly."
"Yes," Evie said, "but if we reverse the Opening of the Mouth ceremony, we might be able to trap it, much as Horemheb's soul was trapped."
"Wouldn't we need his mummy to do that?" Tia asked. "Where is his mummy, anyway?"
"Right here in Thebes," Evie said promptly. "His mummy was removed from its tomb in ancient times because of grave robbers, and hidden along with several others. It was found in 1881."
"There is a facility near the temple built by Queen Hatshepsut in Deir el-Bahri where some scientists are studying the mummies," Ardeth explained. "Eventually, I understand, they will be moved to the Museum of Antiquities in Cairo."
Evie nodded. "Deir el-Bahri is north of here, pretty close to Ramses's tomb as a matter of fact."
"Okay," Rick said, "So we need to get into the room where they're storing the mummies and stage some sort of Closing of the Mouth ceremony, right?"
"Right," Evie confirmed, then went on. "But we have to do it tonight."
"Tonight?" Rick objected. "Why tonight?"
"The Egyptians believed that the soul is released at death and flies around the world during the day, but comes back to the body at night," Ardeth explained. "If we want to trap it inside the mummy, we need to do it at night."
"Why tonight?" Rick lamented. "Can't we wait until tomorrow night?"
Tia answered this time. "We don't know how much time we have before the soul is reincarnated again, Rick. We don't dare wait."
Rick looked at the last rays of light from the setting sun, then at the half full glass of scotch in his hand. "God help us," he muttered, and knocked the drink back.
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Author's Notes:
I have no idea when or how Ramses II's mummy was examined or moved to Cairo, but it's currently in the Cairo Museum of Antiquities, completely unwrapped. I saw it recently on a Discovery Channel show. The mummy was lying in some sort of glass case, wrappings removed. I decided to leave the mummy in a made up facility near the temple of Hatshepsut for the purposes of my story. It was important that my characters do the "closing of the mouth" thing quickly, and I was also tired of having to have them run back and forth to Cairo all the time.
Thank you for the reviews, Lometari, LalaithCat and lilylynn.