Death of a Pharaoh (20 page)

She bowed and
quickly left.

She wasn’t
anything like he had imagined her. He’d anticipated a more bookish, academic
type with thick reading glasses; not the vision he just saw. How could a woman
that stunning be an expert in ancient funeral rites?

Five minutes later
and fully clothed, he stepped out the door and located Mariam sitting at a
small table in the garden framed by a cascade of brilliant purple
bougainvillea. She was gorgeous.

“I hope that I
didn’t frighten you!”

She quickly rose
to her feet and bowed.

“It was not such
an unpleasant experience, my Lord,” she assured him with a shy smile.

Her English was
excellent. Chief Mbaye told him that she had studied in the United States.

“Your uncle
indicated to me that you are preparing my grandmother’s Book of the Dead,” he
commented.

“It is a great
honor that she entrusted me with such an important task.”

Ryan picked up a
chair from beside the door and carried it over to the table. He noticed Ethan
arriving late. His Head of Security surveyed the scene and discreetly turned
around. He was smiling. Ryan spoke to Mariam.

“Please, sit and
tell me all about the Book of the Dead,” he requested.

Her lips started
to move but Ryan barely heard the words. Her eyes captivated him along with the
color of her lips and the way she wrinkled her nose when she laughed. He didn’t
come back down to earth until she had to repeat a question.

“My Lord Pharaoh,
will you be reading the prayers in English or in Ancient Egyptian?” she
reiterated.

“Uh, I don’t know.
Does it matter?”

“Not to the Gods,”
she responded with a laugh.

“Should I be
taking notes?”

“Don’t worry about
remembering everything,” she reassured him. “I will prepare a complete briefing
book and I will also be there in the temple to prompt you if necessary.”

“You will be
coming with me to Egypt?”

“If that is my
Lord’s wish?”

“Absolutely, I
mean… of course you have to be there due to your extensive mummy expertise and
all that…” Ryan felt like he was back in the fifth grade.

“Mariam, please
tell me what the Opening of the Mouth ceremony will do for my grandmother.”

“The purpose of
mummification has always been to preserve the body for the Pharaoh’s use in the
next life. Your grandmother’s will be the first not to be mummified.
Instead, it has been placed into a state of biostatis using cryogenics. The
result is even better. The ceremony is the symbolic animation of her corpse so
that she may breathe, eat and speak again. Since they took her body to
Switzerland, you have probably not heard her in your dreams. After the
ceremony, you will feel her presence and she will be able to offer you her
wisdom again.”

Her heartfelt
explanation moved him, “I would like that very much.”

Mariam observed
him closely; she had not imagined her young Pharaoh to be so sensitive. It only
made him more attractive.

Ryan blushed and
wondered if she realized he could read her thoughts.

She was about to
continue when Ethan returned with Zach and signaled that they needed to speak
with the Pharaoh.

“Mariam, why don’t
we pick up over lunch?”

She bowed her head
and turned to leave.

The three men
watched with interest as she strolled across the garden, her hips swaying
seductively.

Ryan smacked Ethan
on the shoulder. “You could have told me that she was a babe. I thought she was
you earlier and I walked out in a towel.”

“Did she scream?”

“I think she likes
me, actually.”

“She has to;
you’re a living God for her.”

“Seriously Ethan;
does she have a boyfriend or anything?”

“Ryan, put it back
in your pants for a second.” Zach blurted, “Here we are facing Armageddon and
all you can think about is getting laid,” he scolded in mock horror.

“Alright you two,
but do your Pharaoh a favor and invite the Chief to lunch so that I can spend
some time alone with her.”

“I’ll think about
it,” Ethan offered, “but only if you take your mind off of her long enough to
concentrate on the latest news from London.”

“Shoot!” Ryan
responded, “Oops, wrong choice of word.”

They all chuckled
and it felt great.

“My Lord
Horniness…” Ethan joked struggling to keep a straight face. “Herbert called to
say that he will arrive tomorrow at noon with a full report. I did not mention
your decision to name him Vizier.”

“Zach and I would
like to brief you on an upgrade to the security here at Chief Mbaye’s
residence,”

“Go ahead,” Ryan
prompted as he recovered a more regal demeanor.

They led him on a one-hour
tour of the compound explaining their concerns as they went along. Their
earnest professionalism impressed Ryan and he was pleased they were working so
well together.

“Tony is liaising
with David in New York to coordinate the safety of Manuel and Ricky. Zach’s
mother has accepted that Ricky is safer with us but she has refused additional
security. She wants to stay with her husband.”

Ryan felt they
couldn’t force her. “Can we maintain discreet surveillance without her
knowing?”

“Absolutely, I’ll
take care of it.”

“Anything else?”
he asked them.

“That’s all for
now, my Lord”

“Good. I’m
starved,” he commented with an impish grin. “Unless the Horsemen of the
Apocalypse show up asking for me, no interruptions,” he ordered. “Understood?”

Mustafa Abdelaziz owned one of Egypt’s largest construction firms. He
was also a dedicated Servant of Ma’at. An illustrious ancestor had even served
as a Vizier to a True Pharaoh. As a young civil engineer right out of school,
he worked on the completion of the Aswan Dam in the early seventies. Later, he
was responsible for much of the civil infrastructure that helped change the
face of his beloved country over the past four decades. After completing
numerous airport expansions to meet the growing tourism industry, hundreds of
kilometers of highways and countless bridges, he had done very well for
himself.

He made certain
that all of his six children, including both girls, received excellent
educations abroad. They were all married now with honorable careers and each
had contributed to his treasure trove of wonderful grandchildren, some of them
already teenagers. Yet all of these fine accomplishments, paled beside the
enormous responsibility that the True Pharaoh gave him before she died; the
building of a new tomb for the mummies of her more than 170 predecessors and a
state of the art cryopreservation facility for her body and those of future
Pharaohs who, like her, would no longer be mummified. She had also commanded
him to include a magnificent temple dedicated to the Goddess of Ma’at and a
throne room for coronations.

The current Royal
Tomb was under threat. Although it had served for more than two and a half
millennia, zealously watched over by a loyal Bedouin tribe known as the
Guardians, population growth as well as the pace of archeological excavations
in the region made the location less tenable with every passing year. It became
increasingly risky to hope that so many mummies could remain hidden to the
world with such technological advances as satellites equipped with powerful
microwaves and other rays that could detect structures well below the sands of
time and even beneath the urban sprawl of Cairo and Tanis. At some points, the
existing royal tomb was less than two meters under the surface. The architects
who built it thousands of years ago could never have imagined that small metal
objects in space would someday be able to see through stone.

He initiated the
project for the new royal complex six years after the tragic death of Princess
Eshe. The hotel would bear her name. With a grant from the Falcon foundation,
his private holding company purchased a large tract of land in a barren hilly
area just to the southwest of Saqqara. He soon announced plans to develop a
luxury hotel with a golf course, an artificial oasis and decent housing for the
workers. It was an ambitious as well as a risky project and more than a few of
his colleagues wondered if the old man had finally lost his touch.

Mustafa knew that
he could not build in a heavily populated area. During the initial construction
phase, he would be obliged to excavate massive chambers in the bedrock deep
enough to hide the contents from probing eyes in orbit. He camouflaged the
extensive program of blasting and tunneling as an audacious plan to bring water
directly from the Nile valley to the resort, as well as the construction of
underground parking and storage facilities. His engineers solved the disposal
of the large amount of stone removed from the excavations by the construction
of a pyramid patterned after the world-famous Step pyramid of Djoser; which
would serve as the architectural centerpiece of the hotel. Dozens of
stonemasons quarried the beautiful stone from deep within the ridge adjacent to
the hotel.

It was a
monumental undertaking that had consumed his every waking moment for the last
decade and now it was nearing completion. The cost of the project made it
unfeasible as a commercial endeavor, unless you had a foundation that didn’t
care about the return on its investment. Government support had also never been
a problem, the construction provided thousands of good paying jobs in a time of
massive unemployment and in addition, the company contributed decent housing
and facilities for the future employees of the hotel that would get many of
them out of the squalid slums surrounding Cairo. It was a social undertaking of
enormous scope and in its short lifetime had already received numerous prizes
for architecture and social awareness from prestigious international
organizations.

The resulting
hotel had over 400 rooms and a convention center for gatherings of up to 2,000.
It offered the perfect cover for publically recognized members of the Royal
Council to be able to attend meetings and secret ceremonies without raising
suspicions. With all of the major construction finished, designers were now
decorating the lobby and rooms, in three weeks all would be ready. Just in time
for the young Pharaoh’s coronation and Fannie’s Opening of the Mouth ceremony.

The suspicious
activities of a Swiss NGO in the proximity of the old tomb had set off multiple
alarms and necessitated a change in the calendar concerning the preparation of
the more than one hundred and seventy mummies and their sarcophagi for removal
and their undetected transfer from the current location to the new resting
place. It was far more complicated than it might seem.

The number of mummified
remains in the hands of the Servants of Ma’at represented a significant
increase in the total known to modern archeology. All of them had been True
Pharaohs but many had also been historically significant figures holding high
positions in the Courts of temporal Pharaohs through the ages, including
several Viziers. Others were important figures in Europe in later centuries and
even as far away as China and the Mongol empire before the True Pharaohs become
a hereditary dynasty. At least three that he knew of had been reigning monarchs
as well as True Pharaoh. The curator of any museum in the world would be
delighted to possess even one of these mummies, untouched by the depredations
of unscrupulous grave robbers.

Today, it was the
body of Jesus of Nazareth that demanded much of his attention. The remains of
every True Pharaoh were equally important to the Servants of Ma’at, even if
Jesus had inspired one of the great religions in world history. The fanatical
obsession of Sanctus Verum to find the body of their Savior was a threat to all
the mummies and to the security of the operation. With Nkosana’s coronation,
only weeks away and the arrival of Fannie’s preserved body from Switzerland
imminent, Mustafa was about to convene a special committee of his most trusted
advisors to devise a strategy to frustrate the plans of the infamous Father
Marco and his Swiss acolytes.

Ryan spent most of the morning with Mariam learning prayers from the
Book of the Dead. He was mesmerized. Not so much with the words, she was trying
to teach him with such patience rather with everything about her. She had this
way of furrowing her brow when she concentrated and she was always attentive as
if he was the most important person in the world for her at that moment. He was
certain everyone she dealt with felt the same way. Some people have that gift.
She liked him too and he didn’t have to be clairvoyant to know it. He was
marveling at her long sensual eyelashes when Chief Mbaye walked up and begged
to interrupt.

“My Lord, Herbert
Lewis will be arriving shortly and I knew you would want to greet him
yourself.”

“Thank you Chief,
we were just finishing,” he said. “Mariam, we will continue tomorrow.”

“Of course, my
Lord,” she answered lowering her eyes as she took her leave.

“Things seem to be
going well with your lessons, my Lord,” the Chief observed.

“Yes, she is
wonderful… I mean a wonderful teacher and smart, very smart also.” He coughed
to hide his embarrassment.

Chief Mbaye smiled
to himself. It was unexpected but it was obvious that the feelings between the
two were mutual. He had seen it in his niece’s eyes. Half the household had
noticed it as well. Even Lord Thoth was purported to be delighted with the
prospect.

Ryan read his
thoughts.

“Don’t tell me the
Gods are sitting up there eavesdropping on my feelings about Mariam?” he asked
already knowing the answer.

“I am afraid so.”

“What about some
privacy here,” he looked up in exasperation at the heavens, “I’m only
seventeen, I don’t have filters for this kind of thing. They’re going to think
I’m a sex maniac.”

“It would not be
the first time.”

“Great, now
they’ll get to compare. That helps a lot.”

“I meant that
there have been other True Pharaohs your age and the Gods weren’t scandalized
then and I doubt they will be now.”

“What happens when
I get married, are they going to be like watching and giving each other high
fives every night?”

“What is a high
five?” Chief Mbaye asked in total innocence.

The question
brought Ryan down off his high horse and he had to laugh.

Chief Mbaye step
was lighter as he escorted the Pharaoh to the front entrance just in time for
Herbert Lewis’ car to pull up.

“Hello Herbert,
how was the flight?” Ryan asked as they shook hands.

“Good, my Lord. It
is always easier traveling north to south; no time difference.”

“Wonderful to see
you again Herbert,” Chief Mbaye added. “I believe lunch is in order.”

They followed the
Chief to a table on the veranda. Unlike previous occasions, this time they got
right down to business.

“Any news
regarding the Consortium?” Ryan inquired.

“Yes, we’ve
developed a better picture of their ambitions and it is not good. They are much
closer to the fulfillment of their nefarious plan to dominate the global
economy than we ever imagined. Our experts fear that they may be only months,
perhaps as little as six, from achieving a veritable stranglehold on vital
commodities such as petroleum, strategic minerals, steel and even major food
supplies,” he confirmed. “Regrettably, due to our unforgiveable delay in
discovering their plans, we inadvertently assisted them in achieving many of
their goals.”

“Are they well
financed?” Chief Mbaye asked.

“The amount of
money at stake is beyond all imagination,” Herbert assured them, “it makes the
assets of the Foundation look like mere pocket change.”

“I never did
understand all of this high finance,” the Chief apologized, “your grandmother
was a genius in such matters,” he informed Ryan in an aside.

“Lord Vizier, I
think the situation is grave enough that I recommend you call a meeting of the
full Royal Council as soon as possible,” Herbert urged.

“I am afraid I
cannot do that,” Chief Mbaye replied.

Herbert looked
shocked.

“It is no longer
my decision to make,” he explained as he glanced at Ryan.

“Herbert, I have
told the Chief that I want to name you as my Lord Vizier.”

“My Lord, it is
too…”

“Herbert, my
decision is made. Will you accept?”

“Of course, it
will be an honor.”

“Then it is
settled. With so many youngsters around here, a little gray will serve me
well.”

Mbaye beamed,
“Congratulations my old friend, it is an inspired choice.”

“I can only hope
to live up to your example.”

“So what do we
have to do to make it official?” Ryan asked.

“I brought the Great
Seal with me. We’ll draft a document after lunch and once you sign and seal it
then the appointment takes effect.”

“Good, I have
asked Ethan to replace you as Head of Security. Are you in agreement?”

“He would have
been my first choice.”

“So now that my
team is in place. What is this about a meeting of the Royal Council?”

“They are the most
senior members of the Servants of Ma’at who form what the British would refer
to as a Privy Council. They serve to offer you guidance and advice.”

“How many are
there?”

“Almost one
hundred right now,” Chief Mbaye answered, “As Lord Vizier, Herbert will chair
the proceedings.”

“My Lord, we have
the advantage that your presence here is still a secret. If we act quickly, we
can gather the Council before anyone begins to suspect. Your grandmother was a
frequent guest here and it won’t take our enemies long to send spies.”

“Let’s do it,”
Ryan ordered.

“I propose Tuesday
of next week. It gives us just enough time to make the arrangements.”

“Then I have six
days to come up with a plan. I don’t want to disappoint my council.”

“Expectations will
be high.”

“Thanks for the
added pressure,” he joked. Anything else?”

“The matter of the
coronation,” Herbert added. “How are the classes going?”

“Very well,
wouldn’t you say Chief Mbaye?”

“Indeed, my Lord,
indeed.”

“On the flight, I
received an update from your loyal Servant tasked with the construction of the
new Royal Tomb. The complex includes a throne room where your coronation will
take place. He assures me that everything will be ready on time. The body of
your grandmother will arrive from Switzerland in three weeks. All that remains
is the transfer of the mummies of your predecessors to the new necropolis.”

“Is that
complicated?”

“Normally, it is
an operation we would have completed in several phases and under cover of one
of the many sandstorms common in the area in March or April. Unfortunately,
your Grandmother’s murder forced us to advance the timetable by several months.
In addition, our old enemy Sanctus Verum, has shown too much interest in the
site of the old tomb. We fear that the location is close to being compromised.”

“What is the
interest of Sanctus Verum in a bunch of mummies?”

Herbert and Chief
Mbaye exchanged glances.

“Do you remember
everything your grandmother told you the day you got out of prison?” Herbert
asked.

Ryan tried to
recall if she had mentioned mummies. It seemed a lifetime ago and so much had
happened since then. It was hard to believe only two weeks had passed. Suddenly
it dawned on him.

“They are looking
for Jesus’ body aren’t they?”

“Yes, my Lord and
they will stop at nothing to find it.”

“Do they want to
destroy it?”

“I doubt it. The
real danger to them is the fact that we know their religion is based on a lie.
Jesus never rose to heaven, at least not in the manner they believe and we have
the body to prove it.”

“I can see how
they would fear the truth,” Ryan confessed.

“The danger to us,
my Lord, is that their obsession to locate the holy relic may lead them to
discover that you didn’t die sixteen years ago,” Chief Mbaye added. “Remember,
the fanatic who leads them killed your mother and believed you perished with
her.”

Ryan lost his
appetite and set the fork back on his plate. He realized the extent of the
forces arrayed against them. He looked at the two men sitting across from him,
together they summed over one hundred and sixteen years of life and experience.
Ryan was still three away from his second decade. He was going to have to do
some growing up and fast.

“Let’s hope the
Consortium and the Catholic Church never meet and decide to work together,”
Ryan prayed aloud.

The trio was
silent as they imagined a possibility they all knew to be unfathomable.