"The jackal rises to greet, the crow and he must meet?" repeated Firouz.
Bacheet nodded. Firouz said, "isn't there a god who is depicted with the head of a jackal?"
Bacheet nodded, "Anubis, the God of the dead. He is worshipped during the embalming of the dead. The head of a crow depicts Hathor. But I don't know about the vixen and Anubis's child. "
"Wait a minute," said Sinbad, "what were the first few lines of this inscription?"
"You are fools to be on this quest, you may know one by Taita knows the rest…"
"Maeve?" said Sinbad, "could he mean that we are a bunch of fools because we haven't got some riddle right?"
"But Sinbad, we did get an inscription at the next point… "
"Yes I know, but, what if Taita anticipated that. I mean the inscription does not have to mean one particular thing, you know…"
"Well then where could we have gone wrong?
"The second riddle maybe…"
"Are you tying to say," challenged Mike, "that my men made a mistake in deciphering the clues?"
"Mike," said Firouz, "Egyptian culture has been known to give double meanings to most writings…"
"He is right, boss…" said Bacheet, "I mean, the engraving in Taita's quarters were direct, so were the engravings on the wall of Hapi's temple. But these don't make sense at all."
"Little master, " Maeve said to Bacheet, "read out the second riddle again…"
"Well, it goes like this:
I will not see my fire die,
I will not see my love burn,
But they will not stop me from being the light,
They will not stop me from showing my fire,
They will not stop me from earning my desire.
I shall shine upon the earth,
Warm them if I have to,
Burn them if I want to."
"Okay," said Firouz, "what are the things we associate with fire?"
"The Fiery Eye," said Bacheet.
Anger, signed Rongar.
"Maeve." Said Doubar; they all laughed.
"Okay…lets be serious," said Maeve.
"Firouz?" said Sinbad when he saw that the inventor was in deep thought.
"What does fire bring out?" said Firouz after long thought.
"Heat and light." Answered Doubar.
"Exactly…now Taita mentions here that they cannot stop him from being the light, or showing his fire. Now by fire we would generally assume it would be his anger, but what about light?"
"The last lines say: 'Warm them if I have to, burn them if I want to.'" Said Bacheet.
"Well, that does make sense," said Maeve, "fire can be destructive as well as constructive. It can burn lives just as it can provide them heat and light."
"Yes but what does he mean by I shall shine upon the earth?"
"He probably means that he'll take control of the seasons…you know rain or shine" said Maeve.
"Yeah! The next thing you know, he'll probably want the sun…" said Doubar sarcastically.
"Hmm…" said Bacheet.
"Well he probably means that he'll unleash the…" Firouz broke off suddenly, and frowned.
"Unleash what Firouz?" asked Duraid.
"Doubar, " said Firouz, "what was that you just said?"
"What did I say?"
"You said something just before I did…"
"I just joked…"
"Joked what?"
"I said that Taita will probably want the sun…why?"
"THE SUN! " exclaimed Firouz, "that's it! The sun! Doubar you are a genius! That is what he means…"
"How could he mean 'the sun'?" frowned Mike.
"The sun is like fire…in fact we all believe that the sun is a great ball of fire. The sun shines upon the earth. What he means by warm them if I have to, is the pleasant days when one enjoys the sun, and burn them if I have to are those days when the sun is scorching hot."
"By Osiris!" said Bacheet, "he's right!"
"So what Taita must have meant by all this is that we must go to the temple of Ra the sun god." Said Maeve.
"But the temple is at Heliopolis," said Duraid, "Taita couldn't have gotten that far, could he?"
"It's in Greece?" asked Firouz.
They nodded.
Hales then spoke up, "but the pharaoh has a shrine for Ra."
"Where?" asked Sinbad.
"In the palace. He follows Ra."
"Well, then lets go see if there is anything worth seeing." Said Maeve.
"Yeah right! Like he's going to invite us as if we are old friends." Said Mike sarcastically.
"No, but if Sinbad the Sailor goes to him with some goods to offer, he might allow us in." said Sinbad.
Mike raised an eyebrow at Sinbad, Maeve intervened, "No, I have a better idea, Hales, you could ask the Pharaoh to ask for Sinbad's help, he does have some fame here doesn't he?"
Hales nodded and Sinbad grinned, "we'll go and have a look at Ra's shrine. Hales will come with us, so the Pharaoh can be sure that we do not commit any sacrilege."
Mike swallowed whatever he had to say next. Hales nodded, "that is a good idea."
"We will all go, " said Maeve, "I will search if anything is written… don't worry Mikey, your identity will not be revealed, we will just say that we want to see the shrines and temples of all the gods."
"But I cannot guarantee entrance to the shrine. " said Hales.
"Maeve." Said Firouz; "Ra was always represented with the head of a hawk, it was always sacred to him. Maybe taking Dermott along would help."
Maeve smiled and nodded. Sinbad said, "so it is settled then, we go to the palace."
"I'll talk to the pharaoh today, in fact that is where I am headed." Said Hales.
"Oh and one more thing…" said Mike, "Lynn, the Woizero of Isis's temple wanted to see you. She was very excited when she came to know you were here. She always liked you, you know."
Maeve smiled, "I know…in fact I wanted to see her too. "
Section 2:
By noon, Bacheet took Firouz along to show where they had found the inscriptions, Firouz promised to check up on the other sailors. Maeve assured Firouz that Bacheet was not like the other gang members; Firouz liked the man so he readily went along. Duraid and Doubar had a bet on who could beat each other at a game of fists, Talia decided to stay and watch. Hales went to see the Pharaoh. Maeve had to go to see the Woizero. Mike decided to go along with her. Sinbad did not want Maeve to be alone with Mike so he decided to go along with her, too. Rongar also decided to go along; he could sense the tension between Mike and Sinbad. He knew that they were both extremely jealous of each other. He wanted to make sure the two would not kill each other on the way.
It was dreadfully cold. By the looks of it, it could be a blizzard soon. Maeve walked along in her usual tall and proud stride, Sinbad and Mike on either side of her. Both men scowled at each other. Whenever one got closer, the other would try to get her away from him. Rongar walked behind them shaking his head. Finally, Maeve got tired of walking with those two egotists, so she fell behind and walked with Rongar. Sinbad tried to get closer to her, but Mike seemed to come in the way and vice versa. Maeve rolled her eyes at their display of chivalry. She whispered to Rongar, "I think you are a real gentleman Rongar, compared to these nincompoops."
Rongar laughed silently. He couldn't wait to reach their destination. He was growing weary of this rivalry.
The Woizero of the temple of Isis was staying with the Woizero at the temple of Hapi, on the bank of the Nile. Maeve took a liking to both the women when she met them, but more to the former woman. She was Hales' sister. Her name was Tessay. Like Hales she preferred being called by her name. She liked young girls, and took an instant liking to Maeve, because of the warrior in her. Maeve liked Tessay a lot. She reminded her of her own mother. Tessay was always there for Maeve whenever the latter needed a woman's advice. Working with men would sometimes drive Maeve crazy. Tessay had this amazing ability to calm Maeve's restlessness.
Unlike other Woizeros, Tessay was unconventional. The only reason she was a Woizero was because she was appointed so, from birth. Maeve reminded Tessay of herself. A fiery spirited girl, who believed in the strength of women. Yet, unlike other bold women, she was not loose. She had her principles. That was what drew Tessay to Maeve in the first place. It was an attractive quality, since, that was what drew Sinbad to Maeve, too.
Maeve and Rongar sighed when they reached the temple of Hapi. The long journey, not to mention Sinbad and Mike's rivalry tired them. Sinbad and Rongar were amazed at the beauty of the temple. It was built in the best marble. It was painted with real gold. They all climbed up the 30 stairs and went into the main prayer chamber. There was no one around since it wasn't prayer time. Except for a figure that was bowing to the statue of Hapi. The person was wearing a white cloak. Mike went up to the person and said softly, "Woizero?"
She turned around; Mike nodded his head in respect. She patted him on the shoulder. Then she walked up to Maeve and said, "you must be Maevelyn, the Woizero of the temple of Isis, speaks highly of you… I am the Woizero of this temple. "
Maeve bowed slightly. She introduced Sinbad and Rongar. Sinbad as usual, put on his charming attitude and kissed the Woizero's hand. Maeve almost giggled when she saw the Woizero blush. The older woman was known to be never impressed by such demonstrations.
"The Woizero has been awaiting you." Said she.
Maeve smiled and nodded. The Woizero led them through a series of corridors and staircases to a room. She knocked on the large door.
"Come in." came a woman's voice.
The Woizero pushed the door open and walked in followed by the others. There was a woman sitting on the couch, she had grey but thick and beautiful hair that was let down. Her face seemed beautiful even at her age. She was wearing a white silk robe.
"Ah Michael! My boy! How are you?" she kissed Mike's forehead. The other Woizero did not approve of the woman's display of emotions; it was evident on her face.
"Hey Woizero Tessay!" smiled Mike; "I got you a present!" He pointed to Maeve.
"Maevelyn!" she exclaimed. Maeve almost ran into the woman's arms. Tessay kissed Maeve as if she was her long lost daughter. Maeve motioned for Sinbad and Rongar to come forward.
"Woizero Tessay, this is Sinbad." she pointed to the captain.
"Your husband! My! My! He is very handsome! I always knew you would marry well!" Mike almost growled; Maeve and Sinbad blushed while Rongar put on an idiotic grin.
"No! No! He isn't my husband!" she babbled, "him and Rongar are my very good friends. Sinbad is my captain."
"Oh!" said Tessay, with a slightly disappointed look. Sinbad kissed Tessay's hand. Tessay nodded and said, "Oh I am far too old for such courtesy! You mustn't waste it on me…some others should be more worthy of this!" she said looking at Maeve.
Maeve blushed and Sinbad said, "you look quite beautiful to me, Woizero, as do others." Casting a glance at Maeve. He said the last part purposely to irritate Mike.
"Come and sit!" she patted the seat next to her. Maeve sat down there, while the others occupied the other chairs. The other Woizero left the room shaking her head.
"Maevey, " she said fondly to Maeve, "where is that beautiful hawk you had, my sweet little incarnation of Osiris?"
"Oh he's on the ship Tessay, he doesn't like the cold."
"But of course!"
Sinbad liked this woman, just as he liked Hales. She was a lot like Chaipra. Tessay liked Sinbad and Rongar too. She offered all of them some chocolate.
"I made this especially for you Maevey, I know how you love chocolate."
"I thought Woizeros aren't supposed to cook." Said Maeve as she readily took it.
"They can't stop me from enjoying can they?"
Maeve giggled. Sinbad loved the chocolate… it had been long since he had tasted it; Rongar enjoyed it too.
They talked for hours. Sinbad felt very comfortable with this woman and vice versa. Before long they began talking like mother and son. She fussed all over them, and the strangest thing was that they loved it. She told them quite a lot about Isis, and the pearl. When she came to know why Rongar didn't speak, she said, "everything has a purpose, son, I think you have understood that."
Rongar was comforted by the way she said it, she understood in one second what he had learned in all these years.
By evening time it was a major blizzard. Tessay refused to let any of them go in such conditions. She had rooms arranged for each one of them. She said, "after dinner we shall talk about Taita. I knew him, you see. There are some things you must understand about him."
So as scheduled after a delicious hot dinner, they were once again sitting with Tessay. Tessay came straight to the point and said, "Taita and I studied together. He was a very nice man. I think I could have loved him. But he always suffered this complex with his family. Ishmitar was powerful; his family was a clan of black magic practitioners.
"By nature, Taita wanted to use his magic for good, but he also wanted to show his family that he was good at magic. They never gave him all the attention they gave Ishmitar. He wanted that attention. The truth is Taita may not be strong, but he is extremely skilled. He had a knack for manipulation. He was also good at giving riddles and disguising himself. But his family never recognized that.
"Taita became so obsessed with this lack of respect that he started doing things trying to impress them. He tried to imitate their destructive ways. I tried to stop him, but his own dark side already took him in. The last time I saw him was when he and I had completed out training. He told me e would show the world, and make it pay for what they had done to him."
She sighed when she had finished. Maeve put a comforting arm around Tessay. "It is sad, " said Sinbad, " what mere negligence can do to a person."
Tessay nodded, then said, "what I wanted to say was, if there is anyway you could bring Taita to his senses, instead of killing him, I would appreciate it. He does not know what he is doing. He has lost it completely. "
"We can only try Tessay, " said Mike, "but we cannot guarantee."
"Whatever must happen, will happen." She sighed, "now it is time for bed, hurry along, all of you."
Maeve dutifully kissed Tessay on the cheek, who returned it. The men bade Tessay good night and headed for their rooms. Maeve's room was first. She bade the guys good night and was about to go in, when Sinbad stopped her saying, "Maeve? Can I speak to you for a moment…privately?"
She nodded and let him in her room. Rongar bade them goodnight and went to his assigned room. Mike hesitated before going. He scowled at Sinbad and stomped off to his room.
Once inside her room, Sinbad chuckled, "he's jealous."
"And that is what you want, isn't it?" Maeve gave him a smirk.
He walked up to her and pulled her gently into his arms. He whispered, "No! What I want is you to be with me…always."
Maeve raised her eyebrow at him. She broke away from his embrace, went up to the bed, and sat on it. She slid of her boots and placed her sword on the table nearby. She got up and went to stoke up the fire. Then she went up to the dresser and took a brush and began to smoothen her hair by combing it. Sinbad walked up to her and put his arms around her. He kissed her head, she finally said, "you wanted to tell me something?"
"Yeah!" he said huskily, "I wanted to tell you this." Saying so he cupped her face and kissed her. She responded with equal passion. He wove his hands into her silky hair as she dropped the brush as she reached up to caress his face. Sinbad's hands moved down to her waist as he deepened the kiss even further. His fingers started playing with the laces of her vest. He finally undid them, letting her vest fall open. He pulled it off her, as he kissed her neck. She gasped as his lips moved to her mouth. He picked her up and carried her to the bed, still kissing her. He laid her on it as, he slipped his boots off and straddled her waist. She clutched his hair and brought his head down to hers, and he complied by kissing her passionately. He lay on top of her as he re-familiarized himself with the feel of her. She kneaded his back with her long fingers as he played with her hair. Her fingers moved to remove his vest, she giggled as he nibbled on her ear lobe. They were lip-locked, when suddenly she realized something.
"Sinbad." she gasped.
"What?" he mumbled, his lips still over hers.
She pulled him away from her. He was still sitting on her. She whispered, "this is a temple."
"So?" he leaned forward to kiss her.
"So," she stopped him, "we cannot do this here."
"We could be real quiet." He whispered slyly.
"Yes, but what if someone comes in…"
"Lock the door." He pushed her hands away and kissed her.
"It…doesn't…have…a…lock." She said between kisses.
Sinbad broke the kiss and sat up (still sitting on her). He had a disappointed look on his face, he simply said, "oh!"
"We'll do this later."
"Yeah…we always do this later, don't we?"
Maeve giggled as he climbed off her. He sat on the edge of the bed as she propped herself up on her elbow. He sighed and said, "I guess that means we have to be in separate rooms tonight…"
Maeve nodded and sat up. She put an arm around his shoulder and kissed his cheek. He, suddenly, pushed her onto the bed and kissed her fully, as if he wasn't going to see her for a long time. He broke it when they were breathless.
"Don't be surprised if I sleepwalk into your room, tonight." He told her with a mock expression on his face that seemed as if he had lost a fight.
"Same here." She said and kissed him again. "Sweet dreams, my love." She whispered.
"Yeah right!" Sinbad muttered.
"Oh come on! Stop acting like a baby!" she scolded and kissed him again.
He pouted, then he buried his head in her shoulders and said in a childish voice, "I want my girlfwiend."
She stroked his hair and said, "later, love."
He frowned as he reluctantly got up and slid his feet into his boots. He kissed Maeve softly before he saluted her, and left the room. Maeve sank back in the bed.
Tonight is gonna be a looooong night! She thought.
She giggled as she heard Sinbad's voice in her head saying, tell me about it!
When We Were Thieves - Part 11
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