The Amulet of Amon-Ra (12 page)

“These are serious times,” he said softly. “Demons walk the night and are not stopped from possessing its people. This did not happen in your father's time. It is an indication of how far Kemet, the Black Land, has fallen.”

The smile on Hatshepsut' lips did not reach her eyes. “I see. And what is it you suggest we do?”

“Why, we must do what we always do with demons,” said Ka-Aper. “We must drive it out of her body.”

“As I recall, the last time you tried that, you weren't satisfied that your exorcism had worked,” said Hatshepsut. “The girl died.”

“Sometimes that happens,” said Ka-Aper.

“No!” Meryt-Re choked out. “Not my daughter!”

“Woman, she is not your daughter,” said Ka-Aper. “We will do what we can. It may not be enough.”

“I don't understand,” said Ramose. “The amulet is proof against demons, and she has been wearing it…”

“Perhaps you were not as precise in your carving as you thought,” said Ka-Aper. “Or perhaps this is a very strong demon, drawn to our country in its…weakness.”

“I see,” Hatshepsut said again, tapping her fingers on the arm of her throne. “Truly I do.” The black man behind the Pharaoh's throne shifted slightly to the right.

Ka-Aper pointed at one of the soldiers who guarded the dais. “Come here! Take this girl away and put her in a cell.”

The guard hesitated, looking not at Hatshepsut, but at Thutmose, who slowly nodded. Catching this, Hatshepsut's eyes narrowed. The soldier slipped a short sword out of the scabbard at his hip and advanced on Jennifer.

“No!” Meryt-Re wailed, pulling on Ka-Aper's arm. “Please!”

Ka-Aper's hand slipped off Jennifer's shoulder as he shoved Meryt-Re back into Ramose's embrace. He whirled and reached for Jennifer again.

She had to get out of here. If she ended up in one of the cells, she would probably never see daylight again. She whipped her gaze around her, looking for a place to escape. There! She could see an open doorway behind the black man. Jennifer dived past him. He reached for her, but amazingly, she slipped through his grasp and was off, running for the exit. A roar of anger followed her.

She ducked through the door and found herself in an empty, torch-lit hall which branched off in several directions. She picked one at random and pelted down it, skidding around the corners.

At Satyah's request, a palace servant had given them a short tour of the palace, before the feast, but they had taken so many twists and turns in the huge stone building to get to the banquet hall that she had no idea where she was. She trotted down the narrow corridor, which opened into a much larger one. Faint cries of pursuit followed her, spurring her to greater speed. She needed to find a way out of the palace. At least there was no one around to stop her.

Jennifer ran around another corner, her sandals slapping against the sand-coated floor, and slammed into someone. Both of them fell in a jumble of tangling limbs. Jennifer's hand jerked open, and the beads bounced away.

“Ooof,” said the person Jennifer had run into.

Jennifer struggled to get away, then caught sight of the woman's face.

“Mutemwija!” she said, helping her to rise. “What are you doing here?”

The old woman from the market was breathing heavily, her clothes twisted and her gray hair mussed. Food and other items had sprayed out of a black fabric bag that spun across the floor. She put a hand on her head and laughed. “Good thing I'm well-padded. Jennifer, you sure pack a wallop!”

Jennifer sat back on her haunches, hard.

“Jennifer?” said the woman. “Are you all right, dear?”

“Mutemwija?”

“Not today, Jennifer.”

“G-g-grandma Jo?” said Jennifer. “Is it you?”

“Of course, dear,” she said. A shout, echoing down the corridor, interrupted her. “What's going on?”

Jennifer glanced over her shoulder. “They're after me.”

“Who's after you?” asked Grandma Jo, stuffing the dropped items into a shapeless black bag, much like the one she carried in their own time. The sight of it convinced Jennifer that this really was Grandma Jo.

“Uh, some soldiers. And a priest.”

“What?”

“Never mind. We have to get out of here,” said Jennifer. She grabbed her grandmother's hand. “Come on!”

“Oooh,” said Grandma Jo, taking a step.

“What's wrong?”

“I'm not sure I can walk,” said Grandma Jo, massaging her leg. “I think I may have twisted something, when you plowed into me.”

“Oh, no,” said Jennifer. “We'll have to hide somewhere while you rest up.”

She padded down the hall, Grandma Jo limping beside her. The sound of running feet was getting closer, and she thought she heard a familiar voice. Sound bounced off the walls, distorting the echoes.

Jennifer spotted a darkened doorway.

“Quick! In here,” she whispered, pulling her grandmother through into the shadows.

“Where are we?” asked Grandma Jo.

“No idea,” said Jennifer, one hand outstretched to feel her way along the wall. She cracked her shin against something large and hard. “Ow!”

“What is it?”

Jennifer fingered the round clay vessel, which was tightly stoppered and sealed with wax. “I think it's a big jar.”

As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she could see that the room was full of dozens of them, all about the size of a basketball. There were stacks of them close to one wall.

“We can hide behind these,” she said. She led Grandma Jo over to the stack.

“Ugh,” said Grandma Jo. “I've stepped in something sticky.”

Jennifer realized that her sandals were making a sucking sound on the floor. She must have stepped in it too.

Grandma Jo felt at the floor, then sniffed her fingers. “It smells sharp and bitter. And familiar.”

Jennifer sniffed. It did smell familiar. Like…

“The amulet! Grandma, this smells like the stuff that was in my amulet!”

“My goodness, you're right,” said Grandma Jo. “Maybe that's what sent us here.”

“What? You mean you…”

“Well, of course, dear. How else do you think I got here?” said Grandma Jo. “Poor Dje-Nefer. She was very confused. And scared. So was I, until I figured out what had happened.”

“So I was right?” asked Jennifer. “We did switch bodies?”

“I think so. After you—she—fainted in the car, I brought you, um, her back to my place. When she woke up, she was babbling. It took me a while to realize that it wasn't just you doing a really good acting job. The things she said convinced me.”

“Why didn't you send Dje-Nefer back with the dust?” asked Jennifer.

“We tried. But nothing happened. So I tried it instead. I didn't know if it would work. Anyway, I had to try. I couldn't just leave you here alone.”

Jennifer smiled. She had to admit it felt good to have Grandma Jo with her.

“Then Mutemwija's in your body now? Is that going to be a problem?” she asked.

“I hope not. Anyway, I left Harriet in charge. I told her I had something much more interesting than bingo for her to do,” said Grandma Jo. “She may not have believed me, but she was willing to go along with it. I'm sure she's coping with both of them. She's unflappable.”

“Do you think Harriet will try to time travel, too?”

“She can't. There was only a tiny bit of dust left in the amulet. It would have been all gone after I…left. And found myself here.”

“In Ancient Egypt,” said Jennifer.

“Yes. I was kind of expecting it, after what happened to you, but it still caught me by surprise. I panicked when I woke up in Mutemwija's body. Her grandson was not amused.”

“So that was you, in the market,” said Jennifer. “Didn't you recognize me?”

“Of course I did. But I couldn't very well say anything in front of Meryt-Re, could I? I realized she had no idea of who you really were, and I didn't want to give you away.”

“I haven't told her, or anyone, who I am,” said Jennifer.

“That's probably wise,” said Grandma Jo.

“Do Mom and Dad know? About the time travel?” asked Jennifer.

“No,” said Grandma Jo. “I didn't want to worry them. I just asked your mother if she minded me keeping you for a weekend sleepover.”

“What day is it? Back home, I mean?” asked Jennifer.

“I'm not sure. It might be Monday,” said Grandma Jo. Jennifer gasped. “But don't worry. It's a holiday, remember?”

“Oh, yeah. But what will happen if I don't get back home before Dje-Nefer has to go to school for me?” asked Jennifer.

“Harriet will think of something,” said Grandma Jo. “Meanwhile, we need to think of a way to get out of this situation. What's going on?”

“It's…complicated. But there's a guy who thinks I'm a demon,” said Jennifer.

“A what?”

“Ssh,” said Jennifer. Someone was coming. They ducked behind the stack of pots.

“Try that way,” said a man, his voice rebounding off the walls.

“All right,” said another. “But she could be anywhere by now.”

Jennifer sucked in a breath. It was the same voice she had heard in the warehouse basement, where she had found the beads.

She stiffened. The beads! They were probably still in the corridor where she had dropped them when she and Grandma Jo had collided.

The voices drifted away down the hall. Jennifer inched her way back to the open door of the storage room.

“Where are you going?” asked Grandma Jo.

“I have to get something,” said Jennifer. “It's important.”

As she reached the door, she heard someone coming again and flattened herself against the wall inside the room. The person peeked inside, light from the torch he held high throwing the room's furnishings into view. His face was in shadow. He looked around carefully, then hesitated, staring at the floor. He lifted his gaze and stared intently at the pile of stacked jars where Grandma Jo was hiding. Beyond it, Jennifer could see the dark slash of another exit. Jennifer waited, breathing silently through her nose, expecting him to enter at any moment.

Instead he withdrew, apparently satisfied that the room was empty, and kept going down the hall, taking the light with him. Jennifer cautiously peered around the wall, to see the back of a bald-headed man, as he strode away under the flickering torchlight. Ka-Aper? He turned his head slightly, and she recognized him. Not Ka-Aper. Neferhotep!

Was he one of the tomb robbers, too? Jennifer shook her head. She hadn't wanted it to be him.

She quickly ran down the corridor, but couldn't spot the glitter of the beads. Where were they? It sounded like Neferhotep was coming back. Maybe he'd seen her and Grandma Jo after all. Jennifer whisked back to where Grandma Jo was hiding, slumped against the wall.

“We have to get out of here,” she said.

“Sweetheart, I can't. I think my ankle is sprained,” said Grandma Jo.

“I'll help you,” said Jennifer. “There's a door at the end.”

With Jennifer supporting her, they limped over to the door and slipped through. Jennifer gave the storage room a last glance over her shoulder. Her eyes widened. There, in plain sight on the floor and illuminated by the light from the corridor, were their footprints. They had tracked sand in on their sandals and left it in the sticky puddle in perfect outlines.

Neferhotep must have seen the footprints when he looked in the storage room. But why had he left again, then? Maybe to get Ka-Aper! She walked a little faster, pulling Grandma Jo along as quickly as she dared, reaching out with her other hand to feel her way in the pitch blackness. Soon, she encountered another wall, but it opened into another room. She stepped out into it, feeling somehow that this was a much larger space.

A strong, warm hand clamped around her wrist. Jennifer screamed.

“What? What is it?” asked Grandma Jo.

“Ssh, you must be quiet,” someone rumbled.

“K-K-Ka-Aper?” said Jennifer.

The man chuckled. “No. You have not such luck.”

“Who are you?” asked Grandma Jo.

“No one important. And no one you must fear. But you must come with me.” He tugged on Jennifer's arm, and Grandma Jo staggered against her with a cry.

“Wait,” he said. “You are hurt?”

“My grandm— my friend is,” said Jennifer.

“I see.” He released Jennifer and gently probed along her shoulder, finding Grandma Jo's arm held tight around it. “What is hurting?”

“My ankle,” said Grandma Jo.

“Let me help,” said the man. He took Grandma Jo from Jennifer. She couldn't see what he was doing, but something made Grandma Jo gasp.

“Grandma? Uh, Mutemwija?”

“It's all right. He's carrying me over his shoulder,” said Grandma Jo.

“Oh.” Jennifer was torn. She wanted to run from this strange man. But he had Grandma Jo. She couldn't leave her.

“Come with me,” he said again. “Someone wishes to speak with you.”

“Who?”

“Someone who wishes you no ill. Now, you must be silent.”

She felt, rather than heard him move away. His steps were silent on the stone floor. No matter how quiet Jennifer tried to be, her sandals made squeaking sounds. She finally slipped them off, and jogged to catch up with him.

He led them through several of the storage rooms, some filled with objects, which he carefully navigated around. After she stubbed a toe on something, he reached out and held her hand in his own, leading them further and further away from their pursuers. How he could see so well in such deep darkness, she didn't know.

At last, they seemed to have finished threading their way through the maze of storage rooms. Jennifer wasn't sure, but she thought they were deep within the palace. Faint light beckoned to them from an arched doorway. He led them through it, and Jennifer felt fresh, cool air whispering against her skin, scented with the aroma of green, growing things. She looked up. Stars twinkled overhead, real ones, not just paintings on a ceiling.

Jennifer took a deep breath, heavy with moisture. Large, tree-shaped shadows loomed over a pebbled path. Jennifer let go of the man's hand and followed him as he led her into a fragrant jungle of trees and bushes. The faint drip and trickle of water grew louder as they ducked under leaves, following the path. It led to a small clearing, and now Jennifer could make out a wall behind it, dotted here and there with small torches.

Tall plants with long stems and hairy tops lined the edges of a small rectangular pool in the middle of the clearing, its surface broken by flat leaves like lily pads, with small flowers.

“Where are we?” asked Grandma Jo. The black man didn't answer.

“I don't know,” said Jennifer.

The man lowered Grandma Jo to the ground. She landed on her sore leg with a grunt.

“Are you all right, Grandma?” asked Jennifer.

“I'm fine, dear,” she said. “Just sore. I'll be better in a little while.”

“I wonder who this garden belongs to,” said Jennifer.

“It belongs to the Pharaoh.”

“How do you know?” asked Jennifer.

“Um, Jennifer dear, that wasn't me speaking,” said Grandma Jo.

“Then who…”

“It was I.”

Jennifer whirled, trying to place the source of the soft, pleasant voice. A white shape came into focus as she peered into the gloom under the trees. A woman was sitting on a stone bench, her hands folded in her lap.

“Welcome,” said Hatshepsut.