Every Last Kiss, Final Copy, June 30, 2011 (14 page)

        “My lady… you have a message.” 

        She pushed a small piece of rolled papyrus into my hands and turned to leave. 

        “Wait…who left this?” I questioned urgently.

She noticed my tone and turned back to me, her face instantly anxious as though she was afraid she would be in trouble. 

        “I’m so sorry, my lady.  I know not.  A boy brought it for his master.”  She waited with her head bowed for me to reprimand her, but of course I didn’t.  It wasn’t her fault.  She had no idea there was a madman on the loose.

        “It’s okay.  Thank you,” I murmured dismissively and she turned once again, walking rapidly away from me before I could change my mind. 

        My hands were shaking and I didn’t know why.  It was a piece of paper.  Unless it had somehow been dipped in poison or wrapped around a scorpion, it couldn’t hurt me.  I gritted my teeth and unrolled it quickly. 

        Two words were scrawled in bold black ink. 

       
The Lighthouse.

        In confusion, I thought about Alexandria’s magnificent lighthouse, the Pharos.  It was a landmark… in fact, it would later be classified as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world because for centuries it had remained the tallest man-made structure in the world. 

        It seemed to rise hauntingly out of the sea, situated on the small Pharos island, just off the coast of Alexandria.  The building itself was magnificent, its base a perfect square made from white stone blocks with sixteen arch-ways carved on each of the four sides. A giant statue of a triton was posted at each of the four corners.

        But it was the octagonal tower that rose majestically almost 500 feet into the air that travelers first saw when they sailed into the Alexandrian harbor.  During the day, a giant mirror reflected the sun as a beacon for sailors, drawing them in from far out at sea. Massive fires were burned all night for the same reason.  As a crowning touch, a magnificent statue of Poseidon, god of the sea and storms, stood at the top of the tower watching over the harbor. 

        It seemed humorous to me that I had once called Derek my Poseidon. I had known nothing.  He was just a gangly boy on a high school swim team who paled sharply in comparison to the fierceness of the fabled Poseidon’s face. 

        A mighty god of the sea, Egyptians believed that Poseidon held their lives in his hands as they sailed on his oceans. They fervently prayed to him and brought him bountiful offerings to the base of the lighthouse before they embarked on any journey on his waters. 

        Therefore, the lighthouse was as much a beautiful temple to Poseidon as it was a functional piece of safety equipment.  Eerily haunting at night, it earned its place on the list of Seven Ancient Wonders.  Even Julius Caesar, who was well-accustomed to the archeological magnificence of Rome, commented on its beauty when he first arrived on the shores of Egypt. I felt a rush of regret that it had not survived the passage of time.  Archeologists would only recover its toppled stones from the floor of Alexandria’s Eastern Harbor in the early 1990’s. 

        But it was still intact right now.   And it appeared that Pothinus was waiting there for me. I quickly rushed through several plans of action- and unfortunately, none seemed to end well for me.  But one thing was obvious.  I couldn’t go there right now.  I would stand out like a sore thumb in the daylight. 

        There was only one way onto Pharos Island from the mainland, a small causeway called the Heptastadion.  Only sailors, travelers and servants of the lighthouse could be found walking on it.  My presence would certainly be noticed…particularly now, with the impending battle with Rome approaching. 

        If I was seen traveling to the harbor, it would likely be interpreted that I was arranging a journey for Cleopatra.  Because of the timing, her people would wonder if she was abandoning them.  I couldn’t let that happen…there would be riots. 

        I would have to go to the island to meet Pothinus after dinner this evening. Under the cover of night. I gulped hard, knowing that I would somehow have to get through another banquet trying to avoid Hasani’s concern, without giving anything away. Being Charmian was certainly complicated.

        Cleopatra would need to know this latest turn of events.  I was sure that she was waiting breathlessly for me to return from the temple… little did she know that I had never even left.  I sighed heavily as I turned and trudged toward her royal chambers with the crumpled message clutched in my hand. 

        As I walked past an open window, the warm breeze tickled my face, bringing with it a whisper. 

       
Charmian.

        The hiss of the whisper  startled me and I spun around, seeing nothing but the golden opulence of the empty hallway. 

       
Charmian.

        I rushed to the window and stared down.  Annen stood partially concealed on the lower walkway of the palace, staring calmly up at me.  The wind blew his dark robes around him, making him look like a  human tornado.  I sprinted for the nearest door.

        As I emerged on the lower level, I glanced around and saw no one.  I would be alone with the priest.  Marching up to  him, I held my hand out.

        “Give it to me,” I commanded.  “It’s mine.  You had no right to take it.”

        He smiled, the action making him seem scarier than ever as his lips stretched wide and thin over his jagged teeth. 

        “I only desired your attention, dear Charmian.”

        “And you have received it,” I answered.  “Now give me my bloodstone.”

        Before I even registered movement, my bloodstone was in my hand.  I closed my fingers around it and clenched it tight. 

        “Annen, I don’t appreciate any of this.  I realize that you think you know things about the Order… but I believe that you are mistaken—“

        He interrupted curtly.  “We’ll need to discuss that at a later date, my lady.  I apologize, but there are more pressing matters to attend to currently.  I wanted you to have your bloodstone when you meet Pothinus at the lighthouse this night. You will need it.”

        “How did you know… You know what?  Never mind.  That’s not important.  What can you tell me about Pothinus?  Something tells me that you were involved in his presence here.”

        “And I was.” His pleased expression showed no sign whatsoever of remorse.  “Bringing you here with your bloodstone opened a portal that will remain open until you leave. I used the opportunity to make this a learning experience for you.  I bent time just a little bit more… and brought Pothinus to our little party.  You need to see that changing history won’t really change anything at all.”

        I stared at him in disgust.

        “You have no idea what you have done, priest.  Pothinus has kidnapped Iras.  She has nothing to do with your stupid plot and doesn’t deserve to be harmed by that fat eunuch. If he harms even one hair on her head, I swear to god that I will make you a eunuch as well.”

        Annen clucked  my threats away. 

        “It matters not, Charmian.  She will be dead in a week, one way or another.  But you…  you cannot be harmed by him.  I cannot allow that.  That would ruin everything.”

        “What do you mean by that?” I demanded. 

        But it was too late.  No sooner had the words left my mouth before he disappeared into thin air yet again and I was left standing alone in the hallway, talking to myself. 

CHAPTER TEN

C
leopatra was already in a panic when I arrived in her rooms. 

        “Charmian, all is lost.”

        She was wringing her hands and distress practically dripped from her face.  Adrenaline instantly burst through me in reaction.

        “What is it, my queen?  Has Pothinus…”

        “No, no.  Not that cur.”  She turned her frantic gaze toward me. 

        “I have come to terms with what you told me.  My whole life is lost, Charmian.  It is lost.” 

        She collapsed into a heap on the floor and began rocking with her eyes closed.  Her alarm was contagious and my heart pounded hard against my sternum as I watched her composure disintegrate. 

        I rushed across the room and knelt in front of her.

        “Cleopatra,” I started firmly, grasping her arms.  “You have to pull yourself together.  We cannot do what we must unless you are calm and clear-headed. You are a queen, your highness.  You have been bred to make difficult decisions.  All is not lost.  It’s only a matter of perspective.”  

        She raised bleary eyes to me and whimpered and I felt my heart break just a little more. 

        “So, you are saying that we
won’t
die—that Hasani and Antony
won’t
die?  And I won’t lose my throne to Rome?” 

        She paused her muted hysteria, tiny glimmering rays of hope emerging in her dark eyes.  Hopeful of what?  That I had lied before?  I didn’t know what to say, so I stared at her helplessly for a minute before answering.  

        “No, my queen.  That is not what I’m saying.  Everything I said before is true.  We will all die.  But we go on to live in other lives.  You will live over and over.  And you are always magnificent and important.”

        She whimpered again and dropped her head back down, her hair swinging forward and surrounding her face like a curtain.  I brushed it back for her and tucked it behind her ears. 

        “My queen, I’m sorry.  To expect your usual composure and grace in the face of this enormity is unfair.  But I still need to ask it.  I need you to be the strong leader that I know you are.  You’re the strongest person that I know.”

        “You’re right,” she agreed softly, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. “I
am
strong, aren’t I?”

        As I nodded, I felt the soft texture of the papyrus in my hand, reminding me of why I was here.  And now was just as good a time as any to show her.  She was already upset.  I handed it to her and watched confusion and then realization ripple over her lovely face. 

        And then she started wailing.

        There was nothing I could do but stand by calmly and wait, as I stroked her back comfortingly.  Her eyes finally flew open and stared at me in panic.

        “What can we do, Charmian?  What shall we do?”

        Her voice was drenched in hopelessness and I flinched.  I had never heard that from her before and I had to be honest and admit that it unnerved me.  She was the strong, confident queenly one.  Her distress just drove home our dire situation like a stake to the heart.   We were screwed. But we were screwed in every life.  She just didn’t know that. 

        “I don’t know, Cleopatra,” I murmured quietly. “I suppose I will just meet him and see what happens.”

        “You’ll
see what happens
? How is that a plan?” She screeched.  “We need to think this through!  We can’t make a mistake- not with
fate itself
hanging in the balance.  You’ve already said that everything hinges on us- on our decisions. We cannot allow him to ruin everything.   He must have taken Iras for some specific reason- probably to strong-arm us into doing something.  But what?” 

        She wrung her hands as she stood and paced restlessly across her carpets, before she finally sank onto her cushioned vanity table stool. 

        “This wasn’t supposed to happen. I am the queen of Egypt. My life was not supposed to end like this.”

        Her eyes were unfocused and wild and my alarm grew. 

        “Cleopatra, you must calm yourself.  We cannot think of a plan if you are hysterical.” 

        As I spoke, I grasped her shoulders and silently willed her to calm.  As I felt each vein in my hand throb against my palm, I literally felt peace from inside of me ebb into her.  I had no idea how I knew to do it, but it didn’t matter.  It was working.  I kept my voice quiet and soothing, a difficult feat in the face of her hysteria. 

        She looked at me in utter amazement, and I could see that my surprising little parlor trick had worked.  Her breathing had slowed, her chest was no longer heaving, her eyes became focused and bright.  

        Leveling her obsidian gaze at me, she murmured coolly, “Who are you and what have you done with my friend? You’re not the calm one, I am.  How did you do that?”

        I smiled, crossing the room to kneel next to her, grasping one of her hands within my own. 

        “I wouldn’t go so far as to say that
you’re
the calm one.  And I don’t know how I did that. I keep discovering interesting tricks like that.  But Cleopatra, I want you to realize that this is not the end.  It will only be the end of Charmian and Cleopatra.  We’ll be other people and have other full lives.  And I know that if we fall apart now, either one of us, we will accomplish nothing.”  

        She nodded slowly, her astonishment still evident on her face. 

        “Who will I be, Charmian?” She turned watery eyes to me.  “In the next life, who will I be?”

        “That’s something I don’t know, Cleopatra.  I am not able to recall anything between the time that we died here and the time that I am reborn 2,000 years from now.  That’s the way the Order works- it’s for our own protection, to ensure that we are able to do what we must.”

        She nodded and stared absently into space, tapping her toe nervously against the stool leg. 

        “Cleopatra, you were right.  This particular incident with Pothinus wasn’t meant to happen.  But this is just a blip. A mistake.  And we will fix it.  As long as we are able to figure out what he wants, we can continue with our lives as we were meant and everything will be fine.”

        “How will we do that?” A level of calmness had returned to her voice and I felt a rush of relief.   This was the woman I knew and loved. 

        “I’m not sure just yet.  We’ll figure out something. I need to speak with Ahmose.  He’ll surely have some ideas.”