Cleopatra Occult (12 page)

Phaedra asked, “Where else could new books come from, if not from ships sailing in from the sea?”

“The Nile takes you back into the real Egypt, and beyond, all the way up to Nubia where Egypt gets its gold.
Nubia
was Egypt’s first word for
gold
. The Nile was discovered to be a land of many magic ideas that became even more powerful when civilization wrote them down.” He gestured to his entire tent shop. “These copies are from Cairo and all the way south at Aswan, and even into Nubia south of Khartoum and even south of Juba.”

She asked, “Egypt loves the foreign words from so far away into the south?”

He frowned. “
Love
? No. Egypt has always mocked the Nubian tongue, thinking that what they don’t understand sounds like nonsense. But if you write it down in their own language the Egyptians see its value.”

“I can’t read Egyptian.”

“These scrolls are all in Latin, for all to see.”

She looked suspicious. “Doesn’t translation ruin it all?”

“Everything has always been in layers of translation.
Egypt
is a Greek word.”

“What’s it really called here then?”

“It first had four names; its upper and lower parts, its river or desert parts. They first called the land at the river, Kemet, which means
black soil
or
soil of the riverbank
. The desert was Deshret. That means
red land
. Translation changes nothing and everything.”

She argued, “That changes it all so much.”

He replied, “Change adds such energy to anything. Touch this scroll—you can feel the new fuel. I’m sure your Roman neighbors haven’t heard of these spells. I’m sure they’ll gossip about this scroll for days.”

She asked, “Are you a Nubian slave?”

“I own this bookstore.”

“I just thought…”

He explained, “When a country loses a war they lose many of their people to slavery to the winner. And then they lose some more to tributes and taxes. Nubia and Egypt have always been at war. Nubia has paid many times to Egypt. But otherwise slavery here on this side of the sea works no different than anywhere else. There are otherwise free Nubians in Egypt and Egyptian slaves in Nubia.” He held the scroll out to her. “You didn’t offend at the assumption. The
Nubian slave
is a cliché in this land, after so many wars. But I, myself, am of the merchant class… as you.”

“How could you tell?”

“I
just
figured that out.” He smiled.

“Oh, okay. Thanks for telling me so much about everything. I see this land isn’t really so mysterious after all—everywhere it’s all always the usual
war
.” Phaedra gently took the scroll. “The paper is new.”

“It’s a copy, of course.”

“May I see what’s inside?”

The Nubian asked, “Will you recollect but not pay?”

“I’m not witchy enough for that trick. My memory isn’t
that
good.” She laughed nervously.

“I’ll show you a little.” He partly unrolled the papyrus.

Phaedra leaned forward. “That’s for blocking a reflecting pool spell. That sounds too complicated for me. I wouldn’t ever need to do that—put a spell against another spell. Is that a mirror spell against a mirror spell? How many times can something reflect into itself to push something away? Oh my head spins wondering about that.”

He spoke enticingly, “The neighbors will gossip.”

She laughed again. “Oh by the gods yes they would.”

“Fifty denarius.”

“I only have ten.”

“I’m not a charity for witches.”

The centurion made up the difference, knowing he’d be reimbursed by Octavian. She bought the scroll then sat at the shore on a stone retaining wall and tried to read. She couldn’t focus. All she could think about was the library. From where she sat she could see it up the shore—several grand pillared buildings making up a campus that also included a large school, laboratory, gardens and dining areas. Smoke wafted from a kitchen. She said to herself, “I know what I must do. I must give this scroll to the library. This spell is all too complicated for me.” She walked to the edge of the plaza, left the centurion, and with the maidservant alongside, Phaedra walked down a wide stone path to the gates of the Library of Alexandria. She asked the maidservant to wait at the entrance.

Past a deep shady colonnade, Phaedra timidly entered a hall that had under its door a large inscription that read,
the place of the cure of the soul
. The vast room contained tall shelves for the collections of the hundreds of thousands of papyrus scrolls. She smelled mint. She put her scroll on the first table and turned to leave.

She heard a harp. It was inviting, playing the melody
Into a Swan
.

Phaedra called out, “Mark Antony? Is that you? Are you playing games with me? You are alive? You
did
make it ashore!” Phaedra walked up a set of marble stairs as she found herself quietly singing along, “
Into a swan, into a swan, love and terror is a god as a swan
.”

She turned and didn’t see anybody. She continued deeper into the colossal building, not seeing any harp. The smell of mint grew stronger. She walked down a hallway to a side room. A woman stepped out from between two sets of shelves. Phaedra yelped with surprise.

“I am Cleopatra.” The music stopped.

“But . . .”

Cleopatra blinked. “But I’m dead?”

Phaedra jolted with fear.

Cleopatra nodded sadly. “That’s what they say, I know. No I’m not dead, here I am.” She rubbed her own arms.

“Why are you here?”

Cleopatra impatiently answered, “Waiting for you.”

“You led me with here with witchcraft!”

Cleopatra looked around. “There is magic fighting over us both, I fear. Yes, there is witchcraft but it isn’t mine.”

“Oh by the gods… did good or bad lead me? Am I in trouble?”

Cleopatra said she didn’t know. 

Phaedra trembled. “I must sit.”

Cleopatra gestured for Phaedra to follow. “Yes, we will sit. And we must do it over here where we won’t be seen.” She took Phaedra past several rows of shelves to a small table and they sat facing each other. Cleopatra put her hand on a cloth that covered a tablet. “This spell requires two. Two witches.”

“How did you know? But I am only... how did you know?”

Cleopatra grinned at her. “Your arrival was foretold. You are my witch and you know that. As my witch you must compliment me, complete me and ground me.”

“But I’m not much of a witch.”

“And I’m not much of an outlaw, either. I’m a queen. We will have to do. Your power is intuitive and that’s the deepest, strongest and most lasting. You are like the ground that flowers bloom from.”

“Are you sure?”

Cleopatra nodded. “I can now smell the soil before a thunderstorm.”

“I just smell mint.”

Cleopatra said, “Your witchcraft is strong in you now. You have nothing with you from your past. You are wild and free.”

“I lost everything at sea. Wild and free? I feel like nothing. But you!” Phaedra marveled, “I’m with the queen! I mean
Isis
, by the gods!”

“Keep your voice down. Close your mouth before your soul leaks out. We’re now to act as equals, as two witches, and that’s
all
for the moment.”

“You and me? Equals? How?”

Cleopatra asked, “Did you ever play on a teeter-totter? The forces that rock it don’t care who is peasant and who is king.”

“I would still notice.”

Cleopatra continued, “The wheel of fortune spins and there is no top or bottom. O Fortuna, like the moon you are changeable, ever waxing and waning. Poverty and power, the goddess melts them both in her mouth like the same piece of ice.”

“But… you are Isis.”

“Between you and me in this room at this grim hour we must only be two witches on a teeter-totter of one balance. Later, in the palace, we will resume our respective societal roles. Naturally.” Cleopatra took an impatient breath and glared commandingly.   

Phaedra nodded that she understood, saying, “The balance of shadow and light, sky above and earth below, planting and harvest.”

“To make old magic new again. On the teeter-totter you can’t just stay up in the air. You must take your turn coming back down to the ground. I feel that is hard for you to stay grounded for long.”

Phaedra asked, “How did you make the music play just now?”

Cleopatra looked toward the door. “What music?”

“You didn’t hear any?”

“No.” Cleopatra shook her head. “I haven’t heard a thing, other than the waves of the sea… and something else I just forgot…”

“You can’t hear the waves from here.”

Cleopatra looked to the far windows in confusion.

Phaedra asked, “How did you know I was coming?”

Cleopatra glanced in the direction of the harbor. “Outside, a raven came to me. I was afraid, fearing it was coming to tell me of my death.” She looked down at her hands and wiggled her fingers. “For a moment I feared I was dead. But the raven flew into this building and so I followed. Then I was assured I wasn’t dead because I was walking.”

Phaedra tensely nodded. “By the gods the dead don’t walk.”

Cleopatra continued, “I found magic tablets. I saw you. I realized the raven was leading me to you. And there was some other occurrence that escapes me now. It clouds my mind with its magic. It was shocking to me. Somebody else was there… like a ghost… I think I saw a ghost but I’m not sure!” She blinked as if that would help her see into clouded memory.

Phaedra shivered.

“Don’t be afraid. Just repeat after me.” Cleopatra removed a cloth from a silver tablet that was on the table. “I pray this spell will work best. Repeat after me.” Cleopatra read it.

Phaedra asked, “What was that spell? It didn’t seem to make sense to you—I could tell how you struggled to read it.”

“You could tell?” Cleopatra looked nervous.

“Yes, you didn’t seem to know what you were doing at all.”

“I don’t know this type of Egyptian language. It’s so old. I only know modern Egyptian.”

Phaedra asked, “How do you know what you read?”

“It’s hard to say. I only know it was a spell to protect me and destroy my enemies. I could tell that it talked about fire. Fire is always a very ancient word. And there were stars.” Cleopatra looked off in a trance.

“Are you going to faint?”

Cleopatra said, “Stars brought them to me. But my star has fallen from the sky, the star that I’d chosen to pray to. Has it done this just to terrify…”

“I don’t understand! What are you talking about?”

Cleopatra’s eyes widened. “I just remembered who led me into the library… my long lost mother!”

“Your mother may have left you and abandoned you but I’m sure she still loved you very much anyway. She comes in love!”

“She had no choice but abandon me. She was killed.” Cleopatra shivered and rubbed her own arms. “Though killed, I remember her presence and her great love. I have memories of a ghost. And she was here, just now…”

~

Inside the palace’s baths, Sorceress Thrace stood at the edge of a pool and threw strontium and lithium salts over the water. The top of the water flashed with blood red flames. She smiled and shouted, “The mirror pool has saved the pharaoh! We have sent the danger back to where it was sent!”

Ptolemy asked her if it was over.

She backed away from the water, glaring at it as if it was toxic. “No! It will come into me and not you.” She grabbed her own wrists and her forearms burst into flames. She grabbed the wrists of the handmaiden next to her and all the fire went into her, head to toe, flashing off her skin in a loud shower of sparks. The blazing handmaiden screamed until she jumped into the pool and drowned. Sorceress Thrace quickly took a few more steps back so she wouldn’t get splashed on.

Ptolemy tried not to appear as frightened and amazed as he was.

Sorceress Thrace looked at her own sleeves to see how much fabric had burned. She brushed at them, then looked up to Ptolemy and gave a content smile. “I was one step ahead of your sister, again. I have sent Cleopatra’s own fire right back to her, wherever she may be. And no harm to me either. Am I not more beautiful to your eyes, now?”

“You look atrocious.”

“Like what?”

“You look like a witch!”

Sorceress Thrace looked baffled. “Is that bad?”

Ptolemy insisted, “You just threw fire about like it was nothing, and we had a human sacrifice for some reason. That makes you look like a scary witch!”

“I was first a mountain witch. It was sensible for me to master fire. My cave was so very cold and dark… and lonely. I didn’t like that. I corrected that.” She smiled. “I have mastered fire and now fire always makes me look more beautiful. I have mastered it completely. Do I not look younger now? And this time I did not even have to summon up the fire by myself. It was sent by assassins to kill you but they have not mastered fire as I have, so I saved you again. And look at how beautiful it has made me. I am on fire with beauty. I burn with beauty! Are you not on fire with me? Do you not burn for me?”