Hathor's Return Read online

  While Jo slept most of the way, I purchased several books on the Egyptian language and hieroglyphics. I knew the language like the back of my hand, but you can never be too careful when traveling to a country you have never been to. There was still loads about the Egyptians we had yet to discover.

  Wow, do I sound like a broken record. Hey, Kris. Why don’t you learn to stop talking to yourself and get a life? You are 27 years old. You have never been kissed, you are addicted to dead people, and own over a thousand books. No wonder no one wants to date you.

  “What are you and your inner self arguing about this time, Kris?”

  Taking my eyes off the desert below us, I turned to see Jo’s brown eyes staring up at me. “Bite me, Jo.”

  “Gladly.” Jo went to bite my shoulder, but I pushed her off me.

  “What the hell?” I asked, a little shocked that she was actually going to bite me. “I was just joking.”

  “You get this weird look on your face when you have an inner dialogue with yourself. So I figured why not have some fun?” Jo winked and wrapped her arms around my shoulders. “Everything will be fine, shrimpy. You are the smartest person I know and incredibly fluent in four languages. I am in the best capable hands. Besides, you are the brains and I am the beauty and fun. We are the perfect combo.”

  “Shrimpy? You do realize that you are the same height as me. We are both 5 foot 4 inches.” I tried to keep the smile off my face, but when you have a best friend like Jo, who says the weirdest things, it’s hard not to smile.

  “Feel better?” She asked with concern in her eyes.

  “I am. Thanks, hun.”

  “Why are you so nervous? You have talked my ear off about this trip for eight months.”

  “This is the trip I promised to take my mom on since I was a little girl. Now that she is gone, it’s hard.” I took my glasses off and pretended to clean them, to hide my nerves. I lost my mom when I was sixteen years old and that day will forever haunt me. I was in the middle of my state volleyball tournament, when I got the news. My mom was a few blocks from the place, when she was hit by a drunk driver. It was the worst year of my life.

  If it wasn’t for Jo, I don’t know what I would have done. She followed me to Pennsylvania, started a degree in business, and does whatever her heart desires. I am not sure how we became friends since she is loaded, everyone loves her, and is the life of the party. But I was blessed to have her. Jo is the party girl and I am the librarian who has her nose stuck in books, trying to absorb everything the world has to offer. Jo set me up on a couple dates, but they had no interest in a girl who has a love for dead things. When I talked about my work, they zoned off or started to flirt with the waitress.

  After my last date, I swore off men and relationships in general. Lobster, butter, and a fork. My body shivered at the memory. I’ll just get a cat and call it good.

  “I know, Kris.” Jo planted a kiss on my head and went about preparing for landing.

  Arriving in Cairo was steady. We departed the plane and met up with a representative from the Archaeological Paths Tour Company, who transported us to the hotel we were staying at.

  When we arrived at our hotel, we were both speechless. Which for Jo, is a big deal. She always has something to say about everything. The hotel was not only gorgeous and out of this world, but in the background, you could see the Great Pyramids. I knew we were staying in fancy hotels, but this was out of a dream.

  “Doesn’t look like we are in Kansas anymore, Toto.” Jo said, snapping me out of my daze.

  “But… I mean… huh…” I tried to form sentences, but my brain and mouth were not communicating.

  “Well, that’s a first.” Jo quipped, and jumped out of the car.

  Retrieving our luggage from our guide, we trekked up the steps to the hotel. The front of the building reminded me of Aladdin. The hotel was five stories high with intricate artwork all around. Large potted plants adorned the pillars, while the archway was curved on the sides with the top being a pointed tip.

  Palm trees were as far as the eye could see. Jo kept silent the entire way to the concierge desk.

  “Nurahib alsayadat. Welcome, ladies. Welcome to the Mena House.” The concierge had a warm smile and white turban on his head. His name tag said his name was Rafa.

  “Marhaba. Hello, Rafa. I’m Kristina Bulfer and this is Josephine Clayton. We are here with the Egypt 2 Undiscovered Tour.” Grabbing the paperwork from my purse, I handed him everything he would need to check us in. From everything I read online and the countless phone calls we made, each day we would be spending the night at a different hotel.

  Jo’s parents offered to pay for the entire trip, since we were celebrating our graduations and my promotion at the museum, but I refused to let them pay for my half. Of course, having the best friend that I do, Jo refused to let me pay for a single thing on this trip because this was a graduation gift from her family. She caved when I told her I was going to pay for food, shopping and necessities, but those are minimal things. I may love her family to death, but they drive me insane.

  “Here is your room key. Please enjoy your stay.” Bowing his head slightly when he gave me our room key, we followed the bellhop to our room.

  “Is it me or are the men here delicious?” Jo whispered over her shoulder as we followed the bellhop.

  Rolling my eyes at her, I kept my comments to myself. She was on a mission and who knows what she had cooking, in that brain of hers.

  CHAPTER 2

  ~ Josephine ~

  The view from behind the bellhop was incredible. He had a backside that you could just bite into. I heard Kris sigh and I knew she was rolling her eyes at me. She always rolls her eyes when I make comments about men.

  She wants to learn about the history of Egypt during this trip, which is fine, it is fascinating, but I had been here before. Of course, I couldn’t remember it, but it didn’t seem like anything different than everywhere else in the world. The Bahamas would have been a blast.

  I wanted to see Kris relax and enjoy life, for once in her life. I understood the position she was in, but it doesn’t hurt to enjoy. I was determined to get her to do just that.

  After settling into the suite, I turned and looked at Kris. “Get dressed. We are going to go to town and have cocktails. Maybe scope out some interesting guys before we start our tour tomorrow. I am feeling adventurous.”

  She wrinkled her nose at me and I noticed the book in her hands. “Jo, I think we need to read up on the culture before we take off and go bar hopping.”

  “No, we don’t, Kris. It doesn’t take studying to get hot guys to buy us a drink. Maybe you will find a treasure hunter or mummy slayer down there. You never know. It could happen.”

  I batted my eyes at her, trying to convince her to loosen up. I know she has a playful side, it is just trying to get it to come out that’s the problem. Kris had a rough time with her mother passing and dealing with everything in her family life, so my family did everything we could to help out.

  She sometimes thinks that we feel sorry for her, but I don’t. If it wasn’t for Kris, I probably wouldn’t be here to tell this story. I was kind of a wild child. Still am, actually. She has talked me out of doing some pretty stupid things.

  Finally relenting, Kris stood up and put her book on the desk, before digging through her bag. I knew she didn’t pack any party clothes since she had no intentions on partying while we were here.

  I stood up and went to my hanging bag, pulling out a skimpy black dress that screamed ‘take me’. It would show off her cleavage, and make her legs look longer. Handing her the dress, I dug around my suitcase for a pair of black heels. Finding the perfect pair, I tossed them to her.

  “Here. Put this on, it will look fabulous on you.”

  She rolled her eyes but smiled as she turned with the dress in her hand to change. I wandered to the window and had a sense of déjà vu as I looked out the window at the pyramids.

  My fingers slid across the ne
cklace, in a familiar gesture. It felt warm on my skin. I still wasn’t sure where it came from, but I loved it nonetheless. It was like a piece of home, and it felt like it belonged on my neck.

  I stared at the unfamiliar scene before me, but couldn’t help but feel like I had seen it, in person, before. I tried to shake off the feeling, so Kris wouldn’t come up with a reason to back out of going down to the bar.

  “I look like a slut,” Kris muttered as she came out of the bathroom.

  I turned and looked at her, smiling. “You look beautiful. If you want to go slutty, I brought my Wonder Woman cosplay costume with me.” Her eyebrows shot up, and it was my turn to sigh. “Okay, maybe it isn’t cosplay, but if I find someone that wants to dress up as Superman with me, well, ya know?”

  She chuckled as she put the heels on. When Kris dressed up, I would always feel a twinge of jealousy and pride. She was so beautiful, but she was also so insecure that she doesn’t know how beautiful she truly is.

  Freshening up my lipstick, I looked at her in the mirror. “Let’s go.”

  We sat at the bar, cocktails in hand. I knew that Kris would attempt to nurse her drink all night, if I let her. I promised we wouldn’t be out too late, since we had to leave early to get started on our tour. A part of me was bored with the aspect of all the history lessons we were going to get, but I was entertained with the thought of Kris arguing with the tour guides. I knew she was going to. She argued with everyone.

  Egypt was her specialty. She had always been fascinated and always asked my parents a thousand questions about it. They always had time to answer her questions and show her pictures from our time here. But, when she asked why we moved, they always seemed to skirt around the question.

  “Kris, please try to have a good time,” I begged.

  “I’ll try,” she grumbled into her drink. She wasn’t much of a drinker, but I tended to drink enough for the both of us.

  I finished my first drink and wandered out to the dance floor, my hips swaying gently to the music. It didn’t take long before I had a hot guy pressed to my hips, dancing with me. I turned so I was facing him and pressed my hand to his chest, to back him up just a little.

  His eyes drifted down and stopped at my chest. I glanced down to see the necklace and realized he was staring at it with wide eyes. At least I thought he was staring at it. He could have been staring at my rack, which was fine, but the wide eyes had me concerned.

  “Are you okay?” I asked over the music.

  His eyes flew back to mine and he nodded. When the dance ended, he walked off and I walked back over to Kris. I had never seen a guy disappear as quickly as that one had. I shook off the feeling and ordered another drink. This time my favorite: sex on the beach.

  I downed it and ordered another. I pulled Kris onto the dance floor with me and began to dance with her. She stood in one spot, not wanting to show off how bad of a dancer she was, and glared at me. I made faces at her until I saw her lips start to twitch.

  Finally, she started to warm up and dance. We danced to several songs before she started to complain about her feet hurting from the shoes. I let her go back to the bar and I walked out to the patio, to get a view of the city.

  While I stared out, everything seemed to fade away, and it looked like the lights had turned into torches. I blinked several times before I finally could see what was actually in front of me again.

  Shaking my head, I walked back inside. I think I had enough to drink and it was time to lie down. I walked over to Kris, and looped an arm through hers. “Hey love, let’s go back to the room and watch a nerd show before we pass out.”

  “Now, you’re talking,” Kris beamed. She looked at my face and stopped suddenly. “Are you okay? You are kind of pale.”

  “I’m fine. Just had too much to drink, I think. You weren’t having fun anyway.” I pulled her toward the elevators.

  I walked through the temple like I owned it. My hand slid along the wall, where I could feel the indentations from the hieroglyphics. I approached a man standing with his back to me, dressed in a loin cloth and gold jewelry.

  He turned and looked at me over his shoulder, then smiled. “My love, I am so glad that you could join me down here.”

  “Of course, what is it you need?”

  “I have a present for you.”

  I felt my stomach flip in excitement. I couldn’t wait to see what he had in store for me. He was always giving me extravagant gifts. He signaled for me to turn around, and I did so, feeling the anticipation.

  “Close your eyes.”

  Obediently, my eyes closed; a smile was on my lips. I could feel his arms move over my shoulders and the weight of something on my neck. I stood still, waiting until I was told that I could open my eyes again.

  “Now open them.”

  Looking down, I saw the pendant sitting brilliantly between my breasts. It was warm and felt like it belonged there. I could feel the power pulsating into my skin. I gently ran my fingers across it, revering the beauty and magnificence of it.

  “Thank you, my love,” I whispered as I pressed my lips to his.

  His hands ran down my arms and pulled me closer. I kept my hands at my sides, trying to control the urge to climb up his body like a monkey. When he broke the kiss, he put his lips near my ear and whispered, “The necklace looks perfect on you, Eayni.”

  I sat straight up in bed, putting my fingers to my lips. I could still feel his lips pressed against mine. Who was he? I knew it wasn’t someone I had seen since I had been here; I would have remembered him. I climbed out of bed, careful as not to wake Kris and walked out to the balcony. I leaned on the edge and wished I had a cigarette. I had quit smoking at 22, when Kris begged me to stop. She talked for hours about how I could get cancer, or end up with a hole in my neck to breathe through.

  I stood there, watching the sky lighten as the sun began to peek over the top of the pyramid. I didn’t hear Kris wake up or start moving around. I couldn’t shake the dream. It seemed so real. It couldn’t be though, since I had never been to the pyramids or any other structure here. I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off.

  Kris leaned against the rail beside me and handed me a cup of coffee. I sipped it, knowing I was going to need the energy boost. I could feel her staring at me.

  “Take a picture, it will last longer.” I snapped.

  “Who pissed in your Cheerios this morning?”

  “Sorry, Kris,” I sighed. “I had a weird dream last night. It messed with my head.”

  “Tell me.”

  I gave her the condensed version of the dream, then we went off to get dressed and ready for check-out, so we could start our adventures of Egypt.

  I was dressed in a tight spaghetti strap tank top that dipped in all the right places and a pair of white short shorts. I was pulling my tennis shoes on when Kris pulled her shirt over her head. She was wearing a Lord of the Rings t-shirt and shorts. It was hot out already, but I was still impressed she put the shorts on. All she ever wears is jeans and some nerd shirt stained with dirt or ink stains.

  We made our way down to the desk to check out. After setting our bags on the ground, so the bellhop could get them loaded on the bus, we checked out. When everything was taken care of, we made our way outside to settle in on the bus with the rest of the tour group.

  When the bus started moving, I couldn’t help but feel like I was being watched. I couldn’t shake the feeling, but no one was looking directly at me. I leaned my head back and closed my eyes.

  I could feel Kris beside me, flipping through one of her books, probably trying to make sure she wouldn’t forget anything.

  I didn’t even open my eyes to see what she was reading. I could hear Kris mutter something under her breath, and flip the page. The feeling of being watch gnawed at the back of my mind, so I tried to focus on something else. If I kept my eyes closed, maybe the feeling would go away.

  “Kris, is there someone staring at me?” I asked quietly. I opened my ey
es slightly and saw her glasses barely on her nose and four books open on her lap.

  She pushed her glasses back and looked at me. She looked around the bus and shrugged her shoulders when she looked at me. “I don’t see anyone looking. Why?”

  “I must be going crazy. I feel like someone is staring at me.”

  “How odd.”

  “Yeah. Must be because I didn’t get much sleep last night.”

  We rode the rest of the way in silence. When the bus slowed, I opened my eyes and stared up in amazement at the pyramids as they were our first stop. I looked at Kris with excitement. This was the first true excitement I had felt since being here.

  I had another feeling wash over me. I felt like I was home.

  CHAPTER 3

  ~ Kristina ~

  Last night was a blur. One cocktail and I felt like I was floating on air. Jo calls me a lightweight, but I never found the fun in it. But since we were on vacation and she ambushed me with partying clothes, I decided what the heck. It’s time to live a little.

  But something was bothering me. I woke up to see Jo out on the balcony with a dazed look on her face and her fingers caressing her necklace. Not to mention, the dream she told me about when she snapped out of whatever zone she was in.

  She felt the kiss from this mysterious man and remembers a time from thousands of years ago. Not to mention, he called her Eayni. Well not her exactly, but the woman in the dream. I needed to find out more about this necklace. The problem was, there was a page missing and Miss Goody-Two-Shoes won’t let me do my work.

  So while on the bus to our first stop on the tour, I decided to do some research. It would take two hours to get to the Great Pyramids, per our tour guide, Dr. Tarek Hawass.

  After Jo told me everything that happened, we made our way to the meeting room near the concierge desk. Dr. Hawass had informed our group that we would be visiting the Great Pyramids, then off to the oldest street in Cairo, where we will see the greatest concentration of medieval architectural treasures in the Islamic world. We would then visit the Textile Museum, which holds a unique collection of ancient Egyptian, Roman, Coptic, and Islamic textiles. Then off to the Coptic Museum, which contains the world’s largest collection of artifacts and rare manuscripts from the time period.