Three Wishes: Cairo, page 22
“I made it up,” the Genie laughed.
Darius had his nose in the small opening and was wagging his tail as he peeked out into the passage.
“So that was just to make you look much smarter than I am?” said Aladdin.
“I don't really need to work that hard to look smarter,” said the Genie. “You make that a very easy task all on your own.”
They both smiled and moved into the dimly lit passageway.
“It looks as if this chamber does not see the kind of traffic that the lion does. It is likely that this is mostly a burial plot at this point. A majority of the valuables would be impossible to reach, so this is probably not as well guarded as in the other structure. We should still be very careful; as I'm sure they would not appreciate our attendance here on any count.” The Genie looked wary but confident.
“Are you safe to be, you know, yourself here?” said Aladdin with a question in his voice.
‘I think we're quite alone; at least for now. I will maintain this form, but at the first sight of trouble, I will return to the lamp.”
“What exactly are we looking for Genie?”
“I would imagine we'd be looking for stairs leading downward.”
“Stairs?” offered Aladdin, “but why?”
“You would need to get below the base layer of sand to find solid rock to tunnel out passages that wouldn't instantly cave in each time the sands shifted. I believe that there may be underground passages which stretch out beneath all of these structures that connect them all. If I'm right, then I think we're looking for a set of stairs facing northwest.”
The Genie's theory proved to be correct, for, as the two colleagues and Darius continued on their path through the narrow tunnel, they saw a series of stairwells cut into the rock heading downward in various directions.
“There seem to be many tunnels carved out, Genie. Where would they all go?” said Aladdin.
“I believe that there is much more to this area than meets the eye, Aladdin. I think it would be quite interesting to spend some time searching these passages. You might be quite enlightened with what you would find.”
“There,” said Aladdin pointing at a series of stairs straight ahead. “You said toward the lion, and if I have been correctly tracking our position; that would be the stairwell we should take.”
“I agree with you. Most of the stairs we’ve been seeing seem to lead under the pyramid but these certainly are heading in the opposite direction. Let's go.”
As they headed downward, it was amazing how much cooler it became. Aladdin hugged himself and rubbed his arms. “At first, this chill felt very good. Now I’m just cold.”
It seemed as if they’d reached the lowest level, as the path no longer slanted down and mostly leveled out. Now they saw another series of tunnels, wider than those they'd just traveled in, branching out in either left or right of their position. They headed left without discussion as they both determined the direction to head toward the lion.
After walking quite some time and watching Darius run ahead and then bark, they saw a series of stairs heading upward. The ascended the stairwell and saw a well lit corridor ahead. They checked the hallway in front of them and then stepped quietly into hallway.
After a few minutes, the Genie stopped.
“It might be wise for me to return to the lamp at this juncture. We're not sure where we are and my appearance would doom us with any guards we might meet.”
Aladdin reached for his belt and then registered a look of fear. “I don't have the lamp. I must have left it lying on the table in the first antechamber. I'm sorry Genie. We should go back and retrieve it.”
“Do not move!” commanded a new voice that shocked Aladdin and caused Darius to issue a low growl from deep within his throat.
Welcome
The two huge guards who’d had such success denying Aladdin entry to the lion now lay sprawled across the entrance like broken toys. A beautiful young girl walked directly over their inanimate bodies.
“I shall pass,” muttered Alchemy.
Reunion
Aladdin turned slowly to face the man who had issued the command. His flight instinct was telling him that he should quickly scan the fitness level of the issuer of the command. He was already plotting an escape route back through the various tunnels and chambers they'd just navigated. But when he turned around he was staring at the two older warriors they'd seen at the entrance of the lion earlier in the day. He immediately relaxed and smiled at the older men.
“Rosco and Artemus; it is a pleasure to meet you both.” He moved to embrace the older men and was greeted with a sword at his neck. “Ouch.”
“Young man, I suggest that you not even consider the plan that's running through your brain at this moment. We might be old, even slow, but I can assure you that in the end, you will be quite dead and we will be having a drink and not even remembering this conversation in the morning.” And then he spoke to the Genie, “And what about you, strange one?”
“Aladdin, you got the names wrong. The fat one is Rorgue. Trust me; he would chase you for all of ten seconds and then give up. The overly skinny one is Atiene and he hasn't killed anyone except with kindness in about thirty years. The only truth he told was that in fact, they will end up in a bar this evening and forget all of this in the morning.”
That statement caused Rorgue to puff out his chest and suck in his overly large stomach. “My friend, whoever you are, you are currently addressing two members of the ruling council of Cairo. I will repeat myself only one more time. Who are you strange one, and how do you know our names?”
“My name is Khayri and I am your king.” He turned and faced his oldest and dearest friends.
His appearance was met with a certain amount of disbelief by the two people who he knew better than anyone on the planet.
It was comical how two grown men stood and stared at another with mouths agape and eyes wide as saucers. They so wanted to believe what this strange creature was telling them, but his almost supernatural glow and their faded memories left them puzzled and unsure.
“There is nothing I would like more than for that to be so,” said Atiene. “But the years have eroded the memory of the face of my king and your appearance is, shall I say, novel?”
Khayri just smiled. “It was, as I remember, after the battle of Trianna. We spent the night celebrating a hard fought victory over a band of thieves who had taken hostages and killed several important leaders…”
Rorgue interjected. “That is well known history, my friend.”
“Oh, I’m not quite finished. Later that evening Rorgue met with a lovely young woman named Regina and spent quite an enjoyable time. We later found out that his real name was Reginald…”
“KHAYRI!” interrupted Rorgue.
Now looks of relief and joy spread over the older men's faces and their eyes filled with tears of joy. On any other occasion when warriors met with their king, they would instantly fall to their knees as a sign of respect. But in this case, no formality was needed. They were soon locked in a three-way embrace. There were tears of joy, slaps on the back and such a mixture of emotions that it was hard to determine exactly what had gone on if witnessed by an unknowing third party. Once the celebration had died down, the three friends stood at arm’s length and simply stared at each other.
Rorgue held his friend but was too overcome with emotion to even speak.
“Khayri, we have been searching for you for the better part of forty years. Where have you been? Why are you glowing?” said Atiene when he finally found his own voice.
“Alchemy,” was the only answer that Khayri provided.
“But what happened?” said Rorgue.
“He turned me into a Genie and imprisoned me in a lamp. Aladdin, and his dog Darius dug up the lamp a few days ago and I am currently traveling with them.” The older men nodded at the boy.
“So you’re a Genie,” smiled Atiene. “Can you make us younger?”
“He’s a little picky about wishes he can and can’t honor,” said Aladdin with a smile.
“I’ll say this about Alchemy; he sure has a keen imagination. Ameerah knew that he hadn't killed you, she…”
“Ameerah?” Khayri interrupted.
“Of course, forgive me, my friend,” said Rorgue. “She is alive. She is driven. She is merciless. She has forced these old men way past their breaking points. But she has never stopped looking for you.”
“I told you,” said Aladdin quietly.
Khayri nodded. His hopes had all been true. The love of his life was still the love of his life.
“Where is she?” he asked casually, though the anxiety and anxiousness in his voice was evident.
“She is in a council meeting at the moment. She is currently trying to organize yet another search party for a young man who used to be king. I'm told that now he glows,” said Rorgue with a smile.
“Why would the Egyptian Council search for me at all?” questioned Khayri.
“Well, you already know three of the eight members, so it's usually just a matter of convincing two of the more suggestible members that this annual crusade has merit. Not sure if you realize this, but Ameerah can be pretty persuasive when she wants to be,” added Atiene.
All three friends shared a laugh.
Then Rorgue explained further, “When we came here searching for you, many years ago, the government was in flux after the death of Caesarion, son of Cleopatra.”
“But Caesarion ruled before we were born,” said Khayri.
“True,” answered Rorgue. “Believe me; I had a hard time wrapping my head around the situation that your old friend Alchemy placed us in. But that is a long story that we can share over beers at some point this evening. Let’s just say that when we arrived, the Egyptians had their own void of leadership and with our help, the council was born. I also believe that our Egyptian friends hoped that Alchemy would trail us here and they’d have a chance at capturing his powers for their own gains.”
“Cairo is a city with many secrets” said Atiene. “We have experienced the powers first hand. Impossible is not a word used too often in this city. You see the magnificent structures they’ve built and you’ve barely scratched the surface. When we banished Alchemy, we used…”
“Wait a minute. You banished Alchemy? How could you possibly do that?” questioned Khayri.
“That is a story for another day, my friend. There have been many changes since you’ve been gone. We were quite fortunate to arrive when we did. But Ameerah was the key. She alone was the reason that the Egyptians adopted us in their council of elders. Us! Can you believe that?” Rorgue held his arms apart, laughed and looked down at his own sprawling figure. “I just think they were just searching for a pretty face.”
“Of course,” laughed Khayri.
“Let us go and find Ameerah. I can hardly wait to see the look on her face when she sees you. I know she always imagined it would be her who claimed the prize. It will be priceless when realizes that we've won the contest.”
“Contest?” said Khayri with a puzzled look on his face.
“Of course. We've been searching for almost forty years. You have to admit, that is quite a long time to search for anything without one clue. So we created a little wager that whoever found you would be treated to a feast by the losers,” said Atiene with a playful look on his face.
“So, the search for your friend and king was a bit of a game for you?” said Khayri. “Finding the sole heir to the kingdom wasn't enough so you had to spice it up to make it more interesting for each other?”
“Exactly,” said Rorgue. “For twenty years we were driven. For the next ten, it was a quest. For the final ten, it became a game. You have to admit, you never thought you'd see us again.” He looked a little sheepish.
Khayri burst out laughing. “Indeed. I would have stopped searching for me years ago. I have to admire your motivation.”
“Ameerah never gave up. She always knew she'd find you. During nights on the road, she'd simply stare off into the horizon and say, ‘maybe tomorrow we'll find him. ’ She always knew that you were still alive and she made it her life's work to find you,” Atiene added.
“Even more fun how it will kill her when we win,” blurted out Rorgue and again, the old friends shared a laugh.
“Let us go and make this family whole again. Tonight we celebrate no more search parties, no more sleeping on the trail, no more terrible pickled rations, and most of all…”Atiene stared at Khayri and a hush fell over the three friends. “WE WON THE BET!”
Khayri laughed. It was good to be loved again. He hadn't felt sheer joy in a very long time, but now, the stars were aligning and he felt a churning in his stomach. Now he was heading toward a reunion with his one true love. He was an all-powerful genie, a former king and commander, yet right now, he felt like a nervous teenager about to ask his first love to a dance.
“What is this place?” asked Aladdin.
“Isn't it amazing?” said Rorgue. “The first time I saw it, I had put a few drinks away and I had to rub my eyes a few times just to verify that it was real.”
“There is little really known about it,” added Atiene. “Though the ancients built the pyramids to honor previous rulers, this particular creation predates everything. The story I've heard was that this was built before man ruled the earth. It is said to protect a vast water supply that runs under the entire desert. It has a series of secret underground chambers that connect to the various pyramids that were constructed much later. I know that we're over water because there is a deep well that runs down through this entire structure and you can actually hear the water if you listen at the opening in the chantry on the very top floor. We are heading for that very chamber to meet with Ameerah right now. But Ameerah recognized this place right away when she saw it. She said you had told her about it.”
“Alchemy told me about the Sphinx,” said Khayri.
“Once she knew where we were, it was just a matter of time,” Rorgue added.
But the good feelings of the reunion abruptly ended when they rounded the next corner. Suddenly they were staring at the body of a guard, who’d been attacked and murdered. He was lying at an awkward angle and a pool of blood was evident. Things grew eerily quiet as they picked up the pace, continued upward and found more bodies littering the hallways.
“Something is wrong!” shouted Rorgue. “Someone has invaded this temple and killed the guards!”
“We'd better get to the top!” answered Aladdin.
“Ameerah,” Khayri said quietly.
Within seconds the years had melted away and the group once again moved as a cohesive unit toward the head of the beast. There was no time to think about anything but those who were in trouble. A reunion was near, but so was the danger.
Still Transparent
A solitary figure sat at the head of the large marble table where the council met weekly to discuss affairs of state. The chamber was quite large and occupied the entire head of the lion. The two eyes in the sculpture let in the light from the sun outside during the day and torch holders lined the walls of this rather unusual room so that night meetings were also possible. In the middle, a large wooden rail surrounded a deep looking circular hole in the ground. Rushing water could be heard from the unknown depths of the well.
It was not normal for a woman to be seated in the seat of power, but neither the Egyptians nor Ameerah could ever be construed as normal. Always a forward thinking people, they had adopted both Ameerah and her companions. At first they appreciated the different voices that the three strangers brought to the council. When the same three banished an evil wizard who had the potential to invade Egypt, they added respect and just a little healthy fear for the strangers. Over time, all three were asked to join the council. They had proved their allegiance and worth a dozen times over in the years since.
When Enna entered, Ameerah had her back to the door.
“I heard a commotion out there, is everything okay?” she asked.
“I'm not sure,” said Enna. “I am seeking the council regarding some issues in my village. I heard yelling, so I came in here. It sounds scary out there.”
Ameerah turned to face the voice. “You are welcome here child. There are many guards in the hallways; I wouldn’t worry too much over our safety.”
Enna just stood and stared in complete silence. She seemed to want to speak, but could not find the words. Finally, she forced something to the surface.
“But how? You are supposed to be…”
“Old?” answered Ameerah.
“I must apologize Councilwoman, I just meant…”
“I know exactly what you meant Alchemy. Not as old and helpless as you'd hoped.” Ameerah stepped out from behind the table with her sword drawn. She hadn’t aged one day since he’d last seen her. She was beautiful and full of fire as she strode confidently toward him.
Enna’s face smiled, but the voice of Alchemy came from her mouth. “When did you know?”
“I've always seen through your simple parlor tricks Alchemy. You didn't fool me then and you certainly can't fool me now. What have you done to the guards?” she moved slowly toward him. “Tell me why I shouldn't slice your throat from ear to ear?” she spit out the words with enough hatred to betray her calm exterior.
“Well, thanks to you and your friends, I'm not exactly someone you can kill. I’m sure that disappoints you to no end. Have at it if you will. You'll just kill this vessel and I'll find another to inhabit. Perhaps even yours?” He smiled evilly and now began to walk toward Ameerah. She quickly realized that she was not in control of this situation but didn’t let it show. She knew that he would have to still be leery of her because of the reversal she had achieved many years ago. Alchemy still moved slowly toward her and spoke up quite cheerfully, “I have always wanted to pay you back for the irritation you caused me.”
“No payment necessary,” said Ameerah with a smile. “It was my pleasure. I just made a joke out of the jester rather than the other way around.”
