Chapter Six

John had been awake for some time, but he was willing to stay where he was with Charlotte draped across him on the bed. She was fast asleep or so he thought. A smile crossed her face. She slowly opened her eyes and let out a gasp. John reluctantly untangled himself from her, and made his way across the room to the mirror hanging on the wall. They were making so much noise they did not hear the knock on the door. They did hear it the second time though because of Abdul's raised voice accompanied it. Abdul entered the room his head bowed low. He kept his eyes on his feet as he spoke. Abdul carried on as if Charlotte was not in the room. Continuing to address John he said, Abdul bowed even lower. Taking care not to look up he carefully walked backwards out of the room. They quietly got dressed each occupied with their own thoughts. On leaving the room, Charlotte arranged to meet John for breakfast.

In the meantime Charlotte had ridden into town with some of her guards to purchase new silks for the wedding. She was annoyed that their special day had been spoiled by her early morning visitor. Why did this have to happen today of all days? The envoy who had come from a neighbouring village had told her of the villages plight. She had allowed herself to become distracted, otherwise, she may have sensed the danger. She felt guilty that she had allowed Set to punish the villagers. He had poisoned their water supply and many women and children had died needlessly.

As she walked through the market, Charlotte had an uneasy feeling that something was not right. She turned to her guards. A small child came towards her carrying a solitary flower holding it out towards her to smell. She crouched down, and as she did so a fine mist sprayed over her face. She immediately felt weak. Her legs buckled beneath her, and she fell to the ground. The next thing she knew she was being lifted up and laid across the back of a horse. She tried to struggle against the weariness but finally she blacked out.

She awoke to find herself blindfolded, and tied to a chair. She broke the bindings holding her by force, her powers were weak. Then, she removed the blindfold. Blinking against the dim surrounding she found she was totally alone. The chair she was sitting on was the only furniture in the room. A flame torch supplied the sole light.

It was not an ordinary room. It was entirely encased in steel, and without any windows. Although fresh air, was coming from somewhere. Charlotte spent hours looking for an escape from the room but all her attempts were fruitless. She still felt weary, and for the first time in a while Charlotte had to admit she was afraid.

She did not panic, but her mind started to work overtime. Why had she been placed here. If this was Set's doing, he would certainly be trying to contain her. She decided that she had no choice but to make herself as inaccessible to him as possible. She closed her eyes and started chanting. Gradually she went into a trance. In her mind she could faintly hear Ra calling her. He seemed a long way off, and he was not able to communicate with her in his usual way. She tried thinking of John, and found that it relaxed her even more. Gradually she went ever deeper into the trance...

John had ridden out to look for Charlotte. He had sensed that something was amiss when she had not returned by mid-afternoon. He was further alarmed for her safety when he found some of her personal guard's mutilated bodies on the outskirts of the town. He had been searching for hours, and was just about to turn back to get more help when he heard Charlotte's voice calling. It was so weak he could not make out what she was saying. He reigned in his horse. Closed his eyes and concentrated as hard as he could on the sound of her voice. John found himself and his horse being lifted into the air. He was gently placed back on the ground outside a strange building. The building looked out of place. It was not of its time, but of the future. He wondered how that could be. John was stunned, if Ra could not help Charlotte how could he a mere mortal. He called out to Ra, but this time there was no answer. He climbed down from his horse tying it against a tree. He then walked around the sides of the building but could not locate an entrance. John climbed up to the side of the hill, until he reached the top of the building. Still he could not discover a way in. He was beginning to despair, and climbed back-down. He lost his footing, and found himself sliding down the hill towards the bottom. On reaching the bottom he was cut and bruised. His foot was trapped in a small gap at the base of the building. After a brief struggle he managed to release it. This made him think that perhaps he could tunnel underneath the building to reach Charlotte. If only, he had brought some digging tools with him.

As quickly as the thought had crossed his mind a lightning flash filled the sky, followed by something falling at his feet. The implement could only be described as a primitive shovel. He picked it up, and started digging furiously around the area his foot had previously been. He found he had great strength but he made little impact. He wished he had some help it would take hours of digging at this rate. He heard a horn being blown, followed by the sound of galloping horses coming ever closer. John began to feel uncomfortable the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. He sensed he was no longer alone. Indeed, he had the feeling that he was surrounded by unseen beings.

Suddenly the soil at his feet was being dug at a rapid rate. John realized that his request for help had come true. In no time at all the area was being cleared. He had no idea who his helpers were, but he was grateful for their help and earnestly joined them in digging. He tried to enter the hole that had been had dug out, but it was not large enough yet. John was concerned dusk was falling, and knew he had to act quickly. The hole was being made larger as he spoke. Then everything went quiet. The helpers had stopped digging. John felt immense despair. He was exhausted and doubted that his invisible helpers had managed to break through. Listlessly he walked over to a rock and sat down. How could he possibly be expected to rescue Charlotte, he was running out of time and options. Furthermore, why was Set so inconspicuous by his absence? He had half expected him to thwart his rescue attempts by now.

Unashamedly, a teardrop splashed silently onto the back of his hand. He was startled out of his thoughts by a white dove fluttering out of a tree and began soaring skywards. John read this as a signal that there is still hope and got to his feet. Then he heard the sweet sound of Charlotte's voice. There was no reply. He ran over to where they had been digging, and pushed his head and shoulders into the hole as far as they would go.

It was pitch black, and he could not see anything. He instinctively closed his eyes. To his surprise with them closed, he could see the Sahara people, and all around him. He was shocked to see that the mighty warriors were as small as pygmies. John had an overwhelming compulsion to put his finger tips to his temples, when he did this there was a massive explosion. He was thrown backward by the force of it. He feared for the safety of the Sahara people as they had taken the full force of the explosion. He did not to have to worry he could hear the sound of galloping horses receding into the distance. Looking up, he saw Charlotte standing in front of him smiling. John jumped to his feet. They arrived back quickly thanks to the return of Charlotte's powers. When John eventually had Charlotte to himself they discussed the day's events. She relayed her story, and told him about that morning's envoy. In retrospect she wondered if he had been a decoy to take Akunosh away. She went onto tell him about the child in the market, and finally her inability to escape from the building.

After they had bathed and changed their clothes. Abdul brought them a drink. John asked Abdul to make sure the guests were entertained for a little while longer. Then, Charlotte and he changed before joining their wedding guests outside. That night they were married under the stars. It was a simple wedding on a perfect balmy night, with the stars in the night sky seemingly shining brighter than ever. There were dancers, entertainers, fire-eaters, performing animals, even a play. Abdul had done them proud.

They danced and laughed enjoying one another's company, and that of their guests. One of which was Abdul. He was seated at the top table with them in place of honour alongside Akunosh. Both of whom were enjoying the experience of being waited on.

When the newly weds were finally alone they made a pact to put an end to Set's reign of terror, they had come to recognize that between the pair of them, they were a formidable force. Charlotte stood in the garden looking skywards with John beside her. A few wispy clouds began to develop and floated across the moon. One of them formed into a shape which was unmistakably that of Ra. In his hand he held a globe that he inverted, and gold dust began pouring from it covering them both. The clouds melted away into nothing, and their perfect evening had come to an end. John took his bride's hand as they walked back inside...