Eye of Ra (31 page)

“Then complete your journey,” she whispered with a smile. “And hurry back to me quickly Eye of Ra.”

He leaned in to press his third eye against hers, but she lunged in stealing a deep kiss from him. She was the sweetest thing he had ever tasted as he held her in his arms. They appeared to be both drunk from the kiss as she slowly pulled away from him breaking their embrace.

She then took her place respectfully flanking her father, who glared at Laurence as if he were a big piece of meat. 

˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

Ten minutes later, Laurence and Ma’at landed via a shuttle transport at Setepenre, one of the major hubs for interstellar starships. He had visited the hub before, but he was still in awe at all the different types of ships that were there. All meant for travel to other planets.

As they walked down the steps of the shuttle, the final person he had to see before leaving was waiting for him in full armor. Anubis walked out from between the row of ships holding his father’s war staff familiar Morbus.

“Was almost thinking you didn’t want to see me,” he grinned.

“Why would I not want to see you?” Anubis asked with a perplexed look.

“Naw homie …joke … that was a …”

Anubis’ face quickly changed to a grin of his own revealing that he was the one doing the jesting.

“Okay, you got me,” Laurence laughed wagging a finger.

“How could I leave without seeing your expression upon receiving your gift?”

“You got me a gift?” Laurence furrowed his brow.

“Your armor. We re-educated your Menos,” Anubis smirked. “Summon it and see for yourself.”

Laurence closed his eyes concentrating; communicating with his Menos. It quickly covered his body going into sentry mode.

“So what’s different?” He curiously looked it over.

“Command it to Celestial mode and see for yourself.” Anubis gestured.

Once again Laurence focused as the disk formed on the back of the armor, and the Ember burned bright with Awakening energy. His eyes widened as his Menos turned from silver to gold. As his hands and feet were being covered, he realized his face plate did not come down on his helm. Instead his Menos began to cover his face, similar to Anubis’ Menos.

“Oh! Okay!” he uttered, a bit nervous.

As the Menos covered his entire head, it began to take shape, forming into the visage of a creature similar to an eagle. The eyes of his new Menos shaped helm blazed furiously with Awakening energy as it emitted a booming, screaming sound. Within the Menos helm, small nodes attaching to different parts of his head allowed his eyes and ears to see and hear what the helm saw and heard. By focusing, he picked up and tracked a transport ship entering the planet’s atmosphere from where he stood. An amazed Laurence took a minute to take in his armor’s new transformation.

“Now this is the hotness right here!” he beamed.

“Normally we would have just switched out your Menos for a new one,” Anubis scoffed. “But since you made such a stink about keeping that one, we were able to strengthen and condition it to take an advanced form.”

“This thing saved and protected my ass,” he grinned while reverting back to sentry mode. “Especially from you. I wouldn’t want anything else feeding off of me.”

“So what do you think of this beauty over here?”

Anubis motioned to the ship behind him. It was much smaller than the transport that was on Earth, about the length and depth of a US battleship with the width of an aircraft carrier. Forged from Alder, it had a reflective gold shine to it. It was constructed to resemble the head and hood of a Seni with a snub tail. It lay semi-flat, giving it a slight curve. Silver hieroglyphics lined each side of the hull, while an etching of the star disk insignia of the House of Ra was displayed on the nose.  The ship hovered two feet off the ground via antigravity propulsion for atmospheric flight.

“A Star-Class Chariot,” Anubis folded his arms proudly. “It is one of the fastest ships in the Annunaki fleet.”

“It looks off the chain,” Laurence nodded with approval.

“It’s yours,” Ma’at smiled.

“What’s mine?” He looked at her with dumbfounded look.

As she gestured to the ship, he took a step back while his mouth fell open.

“You do not approve,” she asked, wearing a concerned look.

“No, it’s not that,” he swallowed. “I’ve never even owned a car …and now I’m on my second ship.”

“The transport that we retrieved from Earth was far too outdated.” Anubis snorted. “Although I still think your quest to better yourself is a waste, as there is nothing in the universe better than what you can find on Anu. If you are going to be gallivanting around the universe searching for ‘knowledge’, you might as well do it in, as your other home world would say, ‘style’. It will obey your commands as well as the commands of your familiar without fail.”

“Thank you both,” he turned to each of them.

“So where is your first destination?” Anubis asked.

“Ma’at helped me chart out my path. The first planet on my road trip is called Sokatel. She told me the inhabitants are universal scholars and very generous with sharing their knowledge with those who come willing to learn,” answered Laurence. “I figure I’d go there first and see what they had to offer.”

 “In your journeys, make your way to Sephram,” Anubis stepped closer to him. “Their combat teachings are decently on par with the ones here on Anu. Ask for headmaster Orion Mar; tell him you come with my recommendation. And anything that they miss, I shall finish upon your return.”

“I’ll be sure to check them out,” he smiled.

 Anubis extended his hand; Laurence clasped his forearm, while Anubis did the same as they locked eyes with one another.

“Això no és Dit is nie vaarwel Kjo herumfobo.” Laurence spoke in fluent Annunaki, which meant, “This is not goodbye my brother.”

“No it is not … Eye of Ra,” Anubis nodded. “Remember, that your bloodline no longer just extends to Earth. Represent us proudly.”

“You have my word that I will.”

Laurence finally turned to Ma’at grasping both her hands for one final goodbye.

“I never got to thank you … for accepting me as fam …”

She stopped him by placing two fingers on his lips, and then wiped the tears that formed on his eyes.

“My child …that was never hard to do,” she smiled.

He pulled her in for a human hug. She returned the embrace, both knowing that this was not goodbye forever. As they finally broke their embrace, Laurence turned to board his new ship.

As he neared it a portal opened. He stepped through, allowing it to transport him to the ship’s command deck. It was bare like the transport.

He reached into the back housing of his armor and pulled out Sol, who extended to full staff mode.

“What is your command, Eye of Ra?” Sol asked.

“Number one, between you and me it’s still Laurence,” he turned to it. “And you have the conn. Take us up and let’s see what this bad boy can do.”

“As you command,” answered Sol. “Course has been plot. Do you wish to sit?”

 “Nah,” Laurence shook his head with a grin. “I want to stand for this.”

On Sol’s command, the Star-Class Chariot lit up coming alive. The underside of the wings erupted with a blue energy as it ascended into the heavens.  

Tearing through the atmosphere of Anu into the dark void of space, the ship wasted no time as it glowed brighter and accelerated to the speed of light. Laurence stood both proud and determined at the helm of his own ship, traveling with an open courageous mind into the unknown, ready to absorb knowledge and new adventures.

In his mind, Laurence Danjuma of Earth was dead, and good riddance to him.

He was Laurence Danjuma, son of Douglas and Harriet Danjuma, and a descendant of Amun-Ra of the House of Ra.

In time he would prove himself worthy of the mantle bestowed upon him.

The Eye of Ra.

CHAPTER 13

Early spring 2014, twenty four years later:

Douglas Danjuma sat on his porch, taking in the warm Florida air, doing what he had always done for the past twenty-four years.

Waiting.

The night he came home from his shift and walked into the kitchen to see a stack of twenty large gold bars on his table and a small crystal pyramid device projecting a holographic image of his son in a hi-tech alien armor, he put in his notice at the Livery cab company he had worked for since coming to the States. His son was gone; there was no reason for him to stay in Brooklyn anymore.

Three days later, after converting half of the gold to cash and selling off majority of his belongings, he purchased a reliable vehicle and made his way to a permanent warmer climate. Once there, he purchased a four-bedroom three-bathroom home and acquired a job as a janitor in a local elementary school for something to do as he waited. Every day when he got home from work, he had himself an early dinner, then headed out to sit on his porch rocking away in his chair with two soda pops on a small table, waiting.

As the years rolled by, he adopted a black and white bull terrier to take the edge off his loneliness. 

On that day, like any other day, he sat rocking in his chair with Mr. Pips who lay on his belly panting away as they watched the gate together.

On that day, Mr. Danjuma would rock a bit harder while tears rained down from his eyes, as the gate finally opened after twenty-four years.

On that day, Mr. Pips would let out a whine followed by a high pitched bark as Mr. Danjuma lifted himself from his chair blubbering. Slowly he gripped the guardrail of his porch and descended the steps, crossing his walkway into the warm embrace of his son.

A lazy Mr. Pips finally scampered down the steps to get a whiff of the man who smelled similar to his owner, while curious neighbors watched from afar wondering who was the “young man” who could bring the nice old quiet Mr. Danjuma, the man who they believed had no family, to tears.   

Mr. Danjuma took a step back to look at his son, whose eyes were as soaked as his. Wearing a simple white button dress shirt and blue jeans, he was a stronger version of the broken, hurting man of two decades ago.

Barely aged since that time, Laurence’s near irisless eyes revealed abilities, knowledge, wisdom and adventures to last several lifetimes. Mr. Danjuma realized at that moment that Laurence had aged more than him.

“May I say hi to it?” Mr. Danjuma requested from his son.

A stunned Laurence, understanding what he was asking, obeyed as he unbuttoned the right sleeve of his shirt to reveal a cobra fashioned bracelet wrapped around his arm.

“Sol.”

On command Sol became animated, raising its head as it remained wrapped around his arm.

“Greetings Douglas Danjuma of the House of Ra,” it addressed him.

“I see you are no longer known as “Staff of the Ancients,” Mr. Danjuma smiled.

“Negative sir,” it answered back. “Per your son’s command, I answer to the name Sol, which is short for Solomon.”

“A great and fitting name for you,” he nodded as he became emotional again. “Thank you for protecting my son, and taking care of him.”

“It is my prime directive to protect and serve the Eye of Ra without fail,” it answered.

“Wait, hold on,” Laurence held up a hand. “All this time you knew about Sol, and what he was?”

“Why yes,” his father nodded.

“And Sol,” he became a bit irritated. “You lying little bastard, all this time you
did
know that my father knew about you!”

“I cannot be a ‘lying little bastard’, because I cannot lie nor was I born,” Sol answered. “As I stated, I have no record of your father or any interactions with him of any kind until now.”

“That is because I commanded him to erase all memory of me,” Mr. Danjuma smirked.

“How?” he threw up his hands. “Why?”

“The
how
, I have been waiting decades to tell you. Back in the time of Moses, the Israelites were not the only slaves in Egypt,” grinned Mr. Danjuma. “Your great ancestor Demekech was a Nubian slave and concubine of Ramesses the second, who was a direct descendant of the bloodline of Amun-Ra. She became pregnant with his child, and if discovered would have been put to death along with the child.

Luckily for her, at that time the Israelites were being set free. So during the confusion she entered Ramesses’ private treasure room, looking for something so that the child within her would know where its bloodline came from, and ended up stealing the Staff of the Ancients. She left, escaping amongst the Israelites to freedom. It is said that her theft was the additional motivation for Ramesses to chase down and kill the Israelites, but again events played out where she and the staff were lost to him forever.

Demekech managed to return to her homeland and give birth to a son, but never married. When her son, who was named Beryihun, was old enough, she presented him with the staff to do as he pleased with it. Upon touching it, it came alive recognizing him as a descendant of Amun-Ra, telling him of his birthright. Beryihun however was extremely wise for his age, and he realized that he was both unworthy of such power and that the world was not ready for it. He relinquished his birthright and commanded the staff to become dormant once again until a proper successor came.”