Episode 2: For the Pharaoh's Cat, chapter 3

Eve looked out at the blue waters of the Nile river. Flynn was by her side. Nobody was chasing them. Ezekiel was back home, well on the road to recovery. Cassandra and Stone were happy and, at least as far as she knew, working together on a job that had provided even less danger than her own one. And Jenkins was always okay. Taciturn, usually. Grumpy, occasionally. But, nevertheless, always okay. And Flynn was by her side. Everything was perfect.

Eve Baird hadn't looked for, or even hoped for, another husband. After the death of her first husband, and following her acceptance into the NATO Counter-Terrorism Unit, she had always assumed that the job would be her life. She was okay with that. It worked for her. It didn't bother her when cousins or friends sent her pictures of their engagement rings or bumps or scans or even their children. She had built her life up around her like armour, and she was content with that. Then she had watched as a mysterious and remarkable man stole an opal that sounded like children's laughter. She had never come across an opal that sounded like anything before, never mind someone who knew how to find one, and disarm a nuclear bomb at the same time. And keep count of bullets. She had been fascinated with him ever since.

She worried sometimes. What if that fascination died away over time? What if, when they did really get to know one another, things went wrong? Sure they had a son in the future, but he hadn't told her anything about the state of their marriage. They didn't have the full picture there. What if it wasn't true love? The selkie had said there were those who thought they had found it, but hadn't. Stone and Cassandra knew, at least, what they had. Eve hadn't dared try out the spell herself. What if it didn't show Flynn?

She leant forward on the railing with a sigh, looking down at the shimmering ripples drifting away from the boat's hull. A gentle touch brushed a stray lock of hair back from her face. She looked round to see Flynn, looking down at her with a worried expression.

"It's nothing," she said, reading the questions in his eyes. "Just wedding jitters, I guess."

"You've been through all this once," he said softly. "I haven't. I'm new at this game. But I'm not nervous. I love you. I know a heck of a lot of stuff, but there is nothing I am more sure of than that one fact. I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life loving you. I want to raise a family with you, grow old with you, take care of you when you need me to, and when you don't. Maybe I should be more worried about who my Best Man is or what I ought to wear, or who has to sit next to Jenkins at the meal. By the way, who would it be wise to sit Ezekiel next to? He wouldn't 'borrow' anyone's jewellery, would he?"

"Not if I tell him not to firmly enough," Eve smiled.

"You mean threaten him with physical violence, don't you," said Flynn.

She nodded. "Usually works."

"Fair enough," he replied.

"You've decided, haven't you?" Eve asked, turning to face him. "You're going to ask Stone to be your Best Man."

"What gave me away?" Flynn grinned, wrapping an arm around her.

"You mentioned Jenkins and Ezekiel's seats," she shrugged. "You didn't say anything about Stone's. You already know where he'll be sitting."

Flynn nodded at the logic of this statement. "It seemed the best fit. Besides, it's traditional, if the groom reneges on his promise and doesn't show up, that the Best Man marries the bride instead, and I didn't think you'd get on quite so well with the other two. I mean if what you tell me about the alternate timelines is correct..."

He broke off as she swatted at his arm in mock disbelief. "Don't you dare tell him about that!" Eve warned. "None of them need to know what their alternate selves were like, especially not Stone!"

"You never did answer my question about that," Flynn mused mischievously.

"And I don't intend to," replied Eve, turning away from him with a sly smile. "Especially not now."

"Is that a fact?" Flynn smiled back and turned to the railing. His face took on a smug, teasing look. "Well, I guess it can't have been that memorable then. Nothing to worry about."

"You keep telling yourself that, honey," she breezed.

"Not that a bit more practice wouldn't hurt, of course," he grinned, turning his most charming smile on her and holding out an arm.

Rolling her eyes, she condescended to be gathered into a warm embrace. The kiss was certainly one of the most peaceful since their engagement had become known, with the warm sun shining it's last rays down on them and the cool breeze of the river enveloping them in its wake.

"Please tell me I won't ever have to fight alternate dimension Jacob Stone for you," said Flynn when they broke apart. "He was a little scary. I really don't fancy my chances."

"I thought you didn't remember?" Eve pulled back and raised a suspicious eyebrow at him.

"Bits and pieces," he reminded her, pulling a face.

"Hmm," she wasn't convinced. "And you're going to say that every time you let something slip, aren't you?"

"Well, it's not as though I haven't tried to get all the memories back," he breezed. "Its so very vexing to think I was there and yet not."

"You never did tell me what alternate Cassandra said to you when I left you two alone," she reminded him.

"When I remember, I'll be sure and tell you," he assured her.

"That's your 'I have no intention of doing this' voice," said Eve.

"I do not have an 'I have no intention of doing this' voice!" Flynn complained half-heartedly.

Wordlessly, Eve raised her eyebrows.

"Okay, maybe I have an 'I have no intention of doing this' voice," he admitted, "but that wasn't it."

"No?"

"It may have sounded..." Flynn searched for the right word, "similar, but it definitely wasn't it."

"Uh-huh," Eve murmured, unconvinced, and turned to watch the sunset.

The sky glowed in all the iridescent colours of the Egyptian Nile sunset, fading slowly from the deep blue of the darkening heavens to the sandy russet gold of the horizon. As the light faded, the boat engines faded and the anchor was dropped. They would spend the night here, mid-river, though out of the way of the main thoroughfare, and complete the journey to Al Minya tomorrow.

Eve slept fitfully that night. Whether it was the heat, the bed, the water or just everything that had been going on in her mind that day, sleep was determined to elude her for almost half the night. As fatigue overcame her she moved from that half-sleeping, half wakeful state where you are no longer sure if you have woken yet again, or are merely dreaming. She rose from the bed and slipped on her boots. She took care to tie the laces, lest they should come loose and clump across the deck, waking the others on board. She wrapped a blanket round her shoulders, even though the interior of the boat was still warm. Then, carefully, quietly, she crept through the corridors of the small boat.

She reached the deck without incident or encounter and looked out over the starlit river and silvery desert. And it was desert that she saw. The lush green of the riverside fields was gone. The palm trees were gone. Even the scattered farm buildings were gone. She gazed out to a break in the cliffs, where the dry riverbed of a wadi broke through to the low lying land along the river. As she watched, she became aware of movement at the mouth of the wadi. A small, gently padding creature moved sleekly towards her. The movement, more than the shape, suggested something feline, and Eve wondered what big cats were still prevalent in this part of Africa, and how well they could swim. Still the creature walked on, heading directly for the boat and for her.

The land dipped down, perhaps into a drainage ditch or a tributary, or perhaps just behind some rocks that otherwise lifted the landscape. The cat walked on, starlight glinting off its eyes now. It disappeared into the dip. Eve waited, eyes locked on the place where it must surely reappear. No cat walked forth. Still she waited. And waited.

A noise behind her made Eve turn and look up. There, on the roof of the boat, where it overhung the deck, sat the cat. Its overlong, pointed ears twitched as it watched her. Languidly, it lifted an elegant paw and licked it. Eve noticed, when it put the paw down again, that it held it gingerly, unwilling to put its weight on it. It watched her with luminous amber eyes. She stepped forward, against all natural instincts, until she was level with the edge of the roof. The cat watched her every move. When she stopped, it lay down, hanging its front paws over the edge of the roof, at eye level with Eve. She reached up and wrapped gentle fingers around the damaged paw. The cat watched her, but allowed her to turn the paw without complaint. Stuck between the pads was a thorn. She removed it. If it had broken the skin, it had not done so enough to bleed freely, but it must still have been uncomfortable.

When the thorn was gone, the cat sat up. Acting on some unknown instinct, Eve stepped back. The cat stood and, taking its eyes off her for the first time, turned and walked away. It melted away into the silent night, and Eve turned back to look at the desert. Sure enough, pacing back towards the mouth of the wadi, was a cat. When it reached the wadi, the cat paused, glancing back towards the boat and the Guardian. She watched until it vanished from sight, then turned an made her own way back to her room. She walked slowly. She took care to remove her boots quietly. She lay down and closed her eyes.

When she next opened them, it was morning.

XXXX

Eve joined Flynn at the breakfast table, still yawning. He had already finished eating and was replacing his phone on the table as she walked in.

"Jenkins says hi," he said, pouring a cup of coffee for her. "Ezekiel says 'bring me a present'."

"He was in the office?" Eve frowned. "Should he be up and about yet?"

"He was bored and decided he could play games on his phone just as easily with a change of scenery," shrugged Flynn. "Are you okay? You look like you're still asleep."

"Weird dreams," she waved away his concern and picked up the mug. "Coffee will fix. How are Stone and Cassandra?"

"Stop deflecting," said Flynn feeling her forehead. "One illness in the team is enough this month."

"I'm fine," she batted his hand away. "Nothing a good night's sleep won't cure. Stone and Cassandra?"

"They're in Rheims. The case is going well. They expect to be home later today, tomorrow at the very latest."

"Same time zone?" Eve queried. "We should call them."

"Probably not at this hour of the morning," Flynn frowned. "It's still early. Portland is several hours behind us and Jenkins is a night owl."

"Okay, later then," ceded Eve.

"Okay," agreed Flynn. "Once we've finished here."

Eve nodded and helped herself to more coffee and some eggs. "Tell me again who the temple is dedicated to?"

"Pakhet," said Flynn. "Huntress goddess, linked by the Greeks to Artemis. Often depicted as a caracal, or having the head of a caracal."

"A caracal being?"

"An Egyptian wild cat, larger than a domestic cat but smaller than a lioness," rambled Flynn under his beloved's indulgent, and sleep-deprived, gaze. "Also called the Egyptian Lynx because of its long pointed ears, but no close relation. Pakhet was known as the 'Night huntress with sharp eye and pointed claw', probably because the caracal is a nocturnal predator, although that is only one of her many titles. She was also called 'She who has great magic' and 'Goddess of the mouth of the wadi', which is the remains of a dry river, but you probably already know that. Anyway, neither of those titles, nor many of the others, have anything to do with..."

Eve zoned out, her eyes fixed on a spot at the edge of the roof.