Chapter 20
A mother's strongest instinct is to protect her young.
"How is your first client, child?" Mrs. McPhee asked.
"Oh, all right, I suppose," McKenzie shrugged.
"Do you find the work enjoyable, fulfilling?"
"Time will tell. For now, yes, it's fun most of the time, though I've certainly hit more roadblocks than I'd cared to."
"Well, perhaps you should move on! That's always helped me when I've been in a rut..."
"I didn't say I was in a rut, I merely have encountered a few difficulties. Perfectly understandable, given my chosen profession."
"All the same dear, I was thinking. Do you really wish to continue in the Museum of Natural History?"
McKenzie paused, letting her fork drop onto her plate. "Why do you ask?"
"Nothing, it's just a rather gloomy place, if you ask me. Not where a young lady should be working! Especially since you're not even interested in history."
"Perhaps not as much as you were, but who says I'm not? I happen to enjoy the riveting rise and fall of civilizations! And since when have you ever professed interest in my workplace?"
"I'm simply not certain it's safe."
"Oh Mum! Trust me, the greatest threat to that place is myself- you know my coordination defects! Now excuse me, got to run!" She left before her mother could say another word.
For once when she arrived, she couldn't find the pharaoh. "Good evening, young lady! Ahk and Nicky are playing hide-and-seek," Teddy informed her cheerfully.
"Thank you!" She cried as she skipped merrily along. Maybe it was the holiday season, maybe the magic was contagious; either way, McKenzie was in better spirits than she remembered being in for a long time. Even better when she spotted the pharaoh, a fact which would come in handy shortly. Indeed, she was in such excellent spirits she almost didn't mind when she collided with Nicky.
"Sorry McKenzie! I'm looking for Ahk- we're playing hide-and-seek!"
"So I've heard. As it is, I happened to spot him hiding behind a pedestle on my way here," she winked conspiratorially.
"Gotcha!"
"No fair, she helped you!" He laughed.
"Care to join us, Ms. McPhee?" Nicky asked in a mock British accent. Ahkmenrah tried giving him a stern glare, but McKenzie only giggled.
"At least someone appreciates British culture. Yes, I believe I will join you gentlemen."
Another round later, Ahkmenrah was seeking his two playmates. They were certainly worthy opponents- while he was usually able to find the boy in under fifteen minutes, Nicky seemed eerily able to predict where to find him, so they were fairly evenly matched. As for McKenzie, he had no idea how proficient she was in the game yet. It made the game all the more enjoyable.
"Nicky! Where are you? McKenzie!" He wasn't too surprised- in this kind of place, there were plenty of places to hide away. This was why Larry had instituted that there could be no more than five inhabitants playing at a time; once, half of the museum had participated in a massive hiding tournament and it had taken forever to find everyone in time. Many, such as the Huns, refused to admit defeat. Even today, they claimed prowess above anyone else in hiding and seeking.
Guide me in darkness past the light,
Mold my image, shape my sight.
"Hello?" Ahkmenrah called. Sudden, impending silence. "Hello, is anyone there?" More silence. It waited with baited breath; he waited likewise, certain there was more to come. Sure enough after five minutes more eerie syllables wafted from around the bend.
"Who is there? Ahkmenrah called. No mistaking it- someone was chanting. A deep, male voice was chanting in a language he had not heard for many moons. Ancient Egyptian, the language of his fathers. It should have been comforting; he'd often longed to converse with someone in his native tongue. Yet the notes crawled up his skin in alternating bursts and muted tones- there was something remarkably unsettling about the chanting, which was gained momentum and reverberated off the walls. It never rose- it fell further and deeper into his consciousness, into his brain, into every pore of his body.
He was becoming absorbed by it, until someone knocked him down. "Goodness boy! Are you all right?" Mr. Harris asked, shaking himself off and helping Ahkmenrah to his feet.
Hoping he wasn't as visibly shaken as he felt, Ahkmenrah nodded. "My apologies, Mr. Harris! I did not see you there! I should have been-"
"Nonsense, dear boy. The fault was mine, entirely mine." Dusting his hands off on his worn, blue jeans, Harris didn't meet his eyes, odd for a man who was taller than himself. "What might I ask would a polite young exhibit like yourself be doing in this part of the museum?"
Only now did Ahkmenrah realize he'd wandered into the oldest part of the building, close to the archives. Big blunder on his part- Teddy would have scolded him for a week if he'd known! "I am playing hide-and-seek with the night guard's son, and I suppose I wandered too far from our usual area. Again, my apologies, I will leave you to your work now-"
"Now now, dear boy, it's quite all right. Just curious." There was a malicious gleam in his eyes which failed to match his reassuring tone. He shifted form one leg to the other, clearly upset. Was he sweating? It certainly wasn't warm enough for that!
"Are you ill, Mr. Harris?"
"I'm wonderful, child, simply blossoming! Why do you ask?"
"You seem agitated."
"Oh, that's nothing- old wound from a work accident, kept me unemployed for three months!" He roughly batted his thigh for emphasis. "At least I can move it a bit now."
A reasonable enough explanation, yet Ahkmenrah remained on guard. Would an old wound make one so fidgety? "I am sorry the doctors could not do more for you."
"Nothing we can do about it now, eh?" In a complete one-eighty, Harris's friendly demeanor turned thoughtful and piercing, as if he was trying to trespass on the pharaoh's mind. "You know, you remind me of a nephew of mine; he's off at university now. How about spending some one-on-one time with me, if you're not busy?"
"Now? I-"
"It would truly mean a lot to meA little bonding time, you know? As the help, it is my duty to know all of you as well as I'd know my own family, and out of all of them so far, I'm afraid the only one I haven't figured out is you." He hugged an arm tightly around Ahkmenrah's shoulder. "What do you say? Cup of coffee, or some ice cream, perhaps?"
For a second, Ahkmenrah hesitated. He felt for the man, understanding what it was like to be so far away from one's loved ones. The way he spoke of his nephew showed nothing but fondness. Then he looked up and glimpsed something- a madness, a darkness in stark contrast to the kindly uncle facade. Only then did he remember he didn't really know Mr. Harris at all. "I apologize, sir, but I cannot leave with you now. I am playing with the guardian's son, and it would be remiss of me to abandon him. Surely you understand this?"
Harris's arm instantly slunk off of his shoulder. "Of course I do, lad, of course I do! One mustn't forget one's responsibilities, right? Speaking of the Devil, I must return to mine."
Nicky poked his head from around a corner. "Seriously, Ahk? I waited for twenty minutes and you couldn't find me? You're usually more with it than that."
"It is not my fault you are so talented in this field," Ahkmenrah teased, ruffling his hair.
"Were you talking Mr. Harris's ear off? Fair warning, his favorite topic is history."
"If anyone was bothering anyone, it was me. I'm terribly sorry, I'll resume my job at once." Harris even saluted, the picture of friendly efficiency.
Nicky all but dragged his friend out of the hall, with Ahkmenrah determinedly not craning his neck around to just to glimpse the mysterious janitor again.
"You both know the rules: you are to race through the Hall of Miniatures, across the Oceans Exhibit, through the Hall of African Mammals, and finally finish here near Rexy's mound. Compete fairly and amicably! On your mark..." Teddy called.
"This was not my finest idea," Ahkmenrah sighed as he appraised his opponent.
"Get set..."
"It will be a glorious battle! A race to the death!"
"Enrik, remember what we discussed about fights to the death? This is a race, not a war," Ahkmenrah reminded him gently.
"Of course, my friend! This will be a great feat to add to my expanding list of feats!" Enrik laughed.
The pharaoh chittered along nervously; ordinarily he'd have been loking forward to the footrace, but this one was taking place under precarious circumstances. Ahkmenrah spotted Teddy eyeing him as if to say, Are you sure this is necessary? It became necessary when that fool Capuchin elected to invade the Vikings' territory, along with several elephants and two mating rhinos. It had taken all of Ahkmenrah's skills of diplomacy to persuade Enrik and his men not to execute Dexter on the spot. The crux? If he lost, Dexter would become subject to the Vikings' justice; if he won, the Norsefolk would forget the incident. When he got a hold of that monkey... The pharaoh smiled back at the president reassuringly, though he felt heart palpitations beginning. He trusted Enrik. It was the king's berserkers he feared, especially if Enrik lost. Why did the Vikings have to take competitions so seriously? Then again, he trusted them to be relatively honorable. Besides, Enrik would keep his warriors in line. Hopefully.
"This is fun, not life threatening," he muttered to himself as he and Enrik knelt into runners' stances.
"3-2-1-GO!" Teddy shouted, lowering the starting flag. The runners took off in flurries of gold and silver.
Ahkmenrah was slow to begin, to the Norsemens' roaring delight. Then he drew nearly level to Enrik. The Viking leader looked back in shock as they entered the miniatures territories. This part took some time, for they were careful to tread delicately in order to avoid accidentally crushing any tiny denizens. Fortunately, the path proved uneventful.
By the time they'd arrived at the Oceans Exhibit, Ahkmenrah had caught up to Enrik. Both managed to flash grins at each other before ducking to avoid getting doused in whale water. Both ducked beneath the enormous blue whale and continued, the lights from the aquariums casting flickering fairy orbs on their armor. So far, so good. The most difficult part was not stopping to admire the fantastical sea creatures lurking behind the glass tanks.
"OUCH!" Enrik cried, clutching his left foot. Ahkmenrah skidded to a halt and turned in surprise. "Vile see urchin!" Sure enough, there were several urchins scattered on the floor. Had Ahk stepped forward by a toe, he'd have also stepped on one of them. How did they get there?
"Are you able to walk?" He asked. He remembered those animals had poisonous barbs.
"Yes, I can walk well enough. Such small vermin will not stop me from winning!" Enrik laughed, but he was still hobbling slightly.
"Here, let me look-"
"No! A warrior never lets a limp best him! I shall manage on my own. As I said, urchins will not stop me!"
Crack.
Ahk and Enrik looked up to see a spiderweb of splinters in the giant squid's tank expanding above their heads. A droplet wept into the pharaoh's eye. More mesmerizing than the soothing aquarium lights, the cracks converged into a single dramatic, deadly fracture, which spread ahead of them.
"That will," Ahkmenrah whispered. "RUN!" He yanked Enrik with him and sprang forward as the tank shattered, sending a waterfall crashing down on them.
Ahkmenrah barely retained consciousness enough to see Enrik getting blasted away by the monstrous flood as he himself was caught up in the tide. Tossed about like a lost clam, he only stopped when he was slammed against the wall as water rushed out of the exhibit, flooding the hall. Sadly, even then he couldn't catch his breath; bile and copper rose in his throat as old memories threatened to overwhelm him. He gasped for air.
Somebody knelt before him. "Are you injured?" Enrik asked.
Ahkmenrah coughed. "I was just smashed into a wall by tons of rushing water. How do you imagine I feel?" His voice sounded too raspy and weak to his liking, and when he coughed again, he swore he felt a rib crack. At least his friend looked none the worse for wear, merely soaked. "How are you?"
"Oh, I'm well enough. This armor is heavy, but it comes in handy, I suppose. Can you breath?" The pharaoh nodded, but winced when he tried to rise, and he feel back against the wall. "Good. Stay here, I'll run for aid!" As he rose, Ahk yanked him back down.
"Don't... Leave-"
Enrik gently placed his palm on his friend's "I must get aid. I am no healer, and you might be badly injured- you certainly sound like it. Fear not, I will not leave you for long! I'll be back with help!" Though he hated leaving Ahkmenrah in such a state, he knew he had no choice.
Ahkmenrah barely possessed the strength to nod.
