LXVIII: Four of Pentacles

QBLH

The Four of Pentacles

often symbolizes holding

onto wealth or resources tightly,

sometimes indicating greed

or fear of loss.

Chapter LXVIII

Xiang and Ay

Xiang rematerialized within the king's chamber and found his way through the tunnels to the Sphinx.

Very few knew the secret way and Xiang easily made his reappearance to Egypt unnoticed by anyone. As "high priest to Isis" no one ever would obstruct Xiang as he walked amongst the nobility. Cloaked, no one took much notice of him, and if they challenged him, then they would immediately retreat excusing themselves for disturbing him. All knew him now as Ay, the chief of staff who served Queen Tiye, and he was also the chief priest who acted for her power. Crown Prince Tutankhamun detested Ay, but needed the cooperation of Ay’s abilities if he intended to rule. His frequent plots to assassinate Xiang were always thwarted, and Xiang always laughed at the feeble attempts mocking the Prince in the process. "Someday little one, perhaps you may rule, but I would pity your subjects. You Pharaoh 'wants to be' are all alike."

Xiang had child by Tiye’s grandmother, another Queen Tiye, who had become Pharaoh of Egypt. He was not known as Ay then, but had another name, but still acted as the high priest for Isis. His granddaughter Princess Tiye, birthed in Egypt, was a good hearted child and her mother would have intended her to rule Egypt instead of her foster father, Pharaoh Thutmoses IV , but the men still resented the rule of women and were eager to have a male Pharaoh and their old false gods once again. Xiang’s daughter, and also granddaughter, Princesss Tiye was pure Amazon blood. Princess Tiye had also taken a fondness for a child which she had fished out of the river. Tiye would never discover the child was Hebrew. Amenhotep hated his foster brother Moses as well. After Moses had killed one of his slave masters, Amenhotep would convict Moses even though it broke his daughter's heart by doing so. Xiang had liked Moses and befriended him, but at the time he was visiting Greece with his half-sister Nefertiti, and thus unable to plea for his friend..

Moses was gone now and Xiang felt so alone He had wondered what had happened to his friend and if he would ever amount to anything. Jim had told him that Moses was alive and would play an important role in Egypt's future. He wasn't specific. Besides Moses, the other members of the court were simple minded fools with not an ounce of integrity amongst the lot of them. They all feared him because of his power. None of them knew that he, Xiang, was the son of their beloved Isis.

He knew himself not to be a god, and he knew his mother not to be a goddess. They were simply beings from another space and time.

Finding his way back to the palace he found Tiye who was ready to have him in her chambers once again. "Where have you been off too, my deari? I've missed you."

"I saw my father."

Queen Tiye raised her eyebrow a wee bit. "Your father? Now that's impossible, but perhaps we need to discuss this in private."

She put an immediate end to court business despite the nobles' objections and retired to her chambers.

Alone, she turned to him. "Now what is this about you seeing your father. Are you suggesting he is here now. Does Isis know?"

"Isis is gone. Father returned her to Artemis. We are alone now."

"Alone! How are we to control the masses without the Pegasus? They'll massacre us when they discover we no longer have our power. Certainly Qblh would abandon You and I to such a fate."

"Relax, I’ve done this before. I can see us both safely to Artemis, and we’ll leave the throne to Horemheb and his friends"

"That irreverent and conceited squirt? I'd just as soon kill him off, and leave Egypt to another."

"Father suggests that is not our concern, and he is offering you a way home. He suggested very strongly that you accept his offer. This way you can serve Isis again. He will not guarantee our survival for long."

"Do you mean that he is here now?"

Xiang demonstrated a powerful link with Genie as he drew a hologram model of the Giza complex.

"Yes, I'm online with the Box for now, and we have a little time before we must depart."

Tiye reflected on her affair with Qblh and her blood rushed with anticipation of seeing him again.. Certainly, he would forgive her for involving herself with his son, in spite of the fact she had promised to love no other. For Tiye thought nothing of having affairs with both father and son. Such behavior was not that uncommon in either royal Egyptian or Amazon culture. Qblh had involvement's with many mother daughter combinations. Sophia was a prime example. Jim did not have affairs with his own daughters however; it went against Amazon tradition..

"With us gone who will keep Horemheb under control?"

"Moses will deal with him."

"Moses has long since fled Egypt. He killed one of Horemheb's favorite slavemasters. I could not spare the death penalty that the law would demand. Perhaps if you would have been here, you could have done something. He was as a son to me. My daughter loved him, Qblh's daughter, and she wanted Moses to rule Egypt with her and free the slaves. She was a little like Jim, impractical. Free the slaves, such hogwash!"

"That might not be such a bad idea."

"Xiang, what is wrong with you. Who will do the work?"

"Perhaps we'll think of something. It is what father wants."

"Qblh wants us to free the slaves? That is impossible."

"You won't have to do it. Set’s son Rameses will."

Tiye laughed. "You are crazy, Xiang. If I know Horemheb and Rameses' family, and I know them well, you will never get them to free the slaves. That would be completely out of character."

"Nevertheless, I repeat, father has assured me that such will happen and it would be best if we were not around when it does. He did not say what will happen and when it will. He is very secretive about it, but he did say Egypt will begin its decline from power when you leave."

"It is an event of great importance, is it?"

"Apparently so."

"And Moses is involved, ahh me. It wouldn't have something to do with revenge for slaying of those children by Amenhotep, would it? When we fished that child from the Nile?"

"I really don't know my dear, father would not tell me, and he assures me that Isis knows nothing about it either."

"The great queen has no knowledge? I find that difficult to believe."

"There is no use quizzing me any further, Tiye,, I don't know what you wish to find out. Are you willing to give up Egypt?"

“As long as you put it that way, I don’t object.”

Xiang kissed her tenderly. "Lover, irregardless of the fate of Egypt, we will be together again on Artemis and you can be my favorite. Father loves Antiope and Helen as well as Isis. I love you Tiye, and I don't want to remember you as a corpse rotting in Earth's past when I am before the golden throne once again. Think of our future children, we can't leave them to die in this time."

Tiye thought of Qblh again. He loved her. She could have Xiang, her children and Jim on Artemis. Yet she didn't want to appear easy.

"I'll consider it Xiang. Is there a time limit?"

"I'm sure there is a grace period. He mentioned we might need a little time to make good our disappearance."

"I do have an image to maintain Xiang. I do not want to go down in history as betraying Isis."

"I don't think you will have to worry about that. Father was not too concerned, and he is going through some rather extreme efforts to save you Tiye."

"Well whatever Qblh does, I doubt that the event will eradicate the slavery which you are so concerned about. It is too deeply rooted in Earth culture to eliminate."

"Just consider this, my Queen Father is fighting on behalf of the earth people to prevent us from enslaving them. That much he has told me, and heaven help anyone who stands in his way."

"Let me tell you a secret, Xiang." Tiye smiled seductively at Xiang and began an attempt to arouse him. "Isis is wise to all of your father's tricks. I know better than to fight him. We all do, yet he will not win against Isis. She is his equal if not his superior. Look how she managed to use Qblh to conquer Earth. His future Star Wars battle will mean nothing now that we have conquered Earth's past."

"Father assures me that history is not changed, and the efforts of Isis to conquer Earth are doomed to failure."

"Xiang, you are just as pig-headed as your father. Sometimes I can't tell you two apart. It is no use in arguing. I'll go along with this little game of yours and see how you two pull off your next miracle."

Xiang grew silent. He understood that Tiye, like Hatshepsut, would follow his wishes. It was now up to him to effect a retreat. The Queen Pharaoh, for indeed she was just as powerful at the time, returned pensively to her throne. Xiang followed behind her. He would stand at her side a few more years, displaying his staff of power as the Pharaoh of all Egypt.

As time passed, Hoeremheb became more obnoxious. In the earlier days, Horemheb had pushed aside from the boy Crown Prince Tutankhamen Moses as the boy’s closest friend. He charmed the young prince into a dream world of the former false gods and goddesses of his vizier, Rameses and his poor, starving priests could get fat again. Although popular in the North, monotheism did not help the wealthy and nobility of Egypt who depended on false belief so as to support slavery.

Horemheb even challenged Xiang on several occasions over his claim to the throne. Horemheb would say in public that the boy King had personally selected him as his chosen successor. It didn’t occur to him that the boy, being years younger than Horemheb would simply think nothing of it as he would expect to outlive the elder Horemheb. However, Horemheb encouraged the young Prince to take risks, and as a result the Pharaoh King Tutankhamen died quite young. Xiang, suspecting treachery and lies assumed the throne and allowed Tiye to rule. While watching from the peanut gallery, Ay kept an eye out for the treachery of Rameses and Horemheb.

Xiang’s tremendous strength and long experience with court intrigue kept him close watch on the loyalty of the royal guards and staff. However, greater numbers of the military might of Egypt under the command of their General Horemheb posed a critical threat to the Pharaoh Ay and his Amazon Priestess, Tiye. In order to avoid the slaughter of his weaker friends as victims of a pointless fight, Ay decided it was time to disappear.

Being the greatest magician of Egypt, Xiang decided to make a little sport from his enemies before departure.

They called for a great gathering to the Royal Court. It was time for a ceremony and magic from the Pharaoh. Xiang made ready the beacon for activation. On the throne, he whispered to Tiye, “So the Land of Pharaohs now calls for me .”

Queen Tiye recalled the ceremony and the story of Hatshepsut’s famous departure. Xiang had told her the tale several times. Tiye had told Xiang that she wanted to go back to the heavens in a similar fashion. Now would be her chance. Her enemies would react in the predictable fashion.

Xiang grinned at Horemheb when he rose to speak. Amid the ritual and ceremony, Xiang then made his magical announcement. "My lady wishes to visit the pyramid temple, which was constructed by your ancients, and I shall accompany her. Lord Horemheb will act as regent during our absence until our return, and if we return not, forbidden be the thought, then Horemheb will continue on as your lord Pharaoh. As you are aware, our lady Isis is displeased with all the land we are willing to sacrifice ourselves for the son of Isis and for the better of all of Egypt. If we return not, then know full well that our sacrifice was accepted and Egypt will prosper as never before. We shall go to the stars to join our ancestors .”

Like déjà vu, the past was so much like the present.

"To the stars?" mocked a priest. "What you are saying is that when you return if you could not find a path to the stars?

"What I say is true, as I am Pharaoh. Queen Tiye, Queen of the living, will ascend to the heavens, and I shall accompany her. We are announcing this in advance so that you will not be disturbed by our disappearance."

"To the stars, you say? Certainly you can't let the outlandish utterances of your high priests sway you into believing such nonsense."

"It is nonsense," laughed another well-educated priest. "They are not going to the stars, but they are probably going to the Land of the Dead instead. I say let them go to the Land of the Dead in peace. This is only a sign from the gods that no woman should rule Egypt and he is nothing but that impotent old priest of hers. Remember Hatshepsut? He and her high priest went to the Land of the Dead, and of course, did not return.”

"It is no nonsense. We are ready. You are not yet ready for the journey, Horemheb, I doubt that you or your successors will ever be."

Horemheb laughed and smiled with glee. He could barely believe his ears. She was abdicating and going on some impossible pursuit with her lover. Good riddance then. He would have some of his trusted captains follow and do what they could to see that she never returned.

"Beware, those of you who rule while the Pharaoh is absent. Our sacrifice may not fare well for our land if wickedness prevails during our absence." Xiang carefully slipped in a disclaimer so that Horemheb could bear the blame for his misdeeds in case Egypt did not prosper after they left.

Dismissing the crowd and the court, Xiang and Tiye retreated out a backway as Xiang led Tiye the secret way to the portal entry point. Horemheb’s guards and spies had to give up trying to follow them.

The priests were rejoicing at the prospect of such powerful magic, and the captains just sneered in disbelief. It was more likely that the duo will make an escape through some secret tunnel.

The captains were partially correct, because once inside the innermost chambers, Xiang summoned Genie's power and effected a transfer of them both to the king's chamber of the great pyramid to await Jim.

Jim's meditations were disturbed by the Idiot. "Jim, Xiang has activated the beacon.

He was ready to be delivered from Egypt. Genie retrieved the signal and inserted a way-point into the Box's flight plan. It would advise Jim once he was finished with his current business. It also activated a special manifold which intersected the king's chamber to make the living conditions a little more comfortable for Xiang and Hatshepsut, and now Tiye. This manifold exhibited spatially distorting effects which was the Box's specialty. It was larger on the inside than the outside, plus it had all the modern conveniences. Xiang would delight both Tiye, and Hatshepsut when he showed them the confusion of their pursuers, who had no clue to where they went. They had managed to persuade the priests to show the way to the inner chamber after the priests had observed and reported that Xiang and Tiye had ascended. The captains pushed their way through the priests as they fervently performed their rituals searching for the escape route.

The humans could be so ignorant at times. The other pharaohs had at least been the sons of Amazon women. This new bastard would claim as a right something which was simply not true. He was not a true descendant of the stellar family. His mother was human, not Amazon. Tiye could have been the mother of the next pharaoh, but she refused to sacrifice any men, claiming that it was barbaric. She had also remembered her pledge to Jim and Xiang. Isis accepted her reason and agreed that Tiye, like Hatshepsut, could rule as Pharaoh while Xiang stood at her side. It would be a good experience for her son in both cases. She had approved of her son's attraction to Hatshepsut, and considered the possibility that they could make for Egypt a great pharaoh as Ay with Tiye.

Idiot advised with the progress. "Jim, Xiang hasa passenger.”

“Good boy,” whispered Jim.

On Earth, Xiang received acknowledgment of his “Call Home” signal. He let Tiye know. "I am receiving a very clear flight path window for you and I. It will be open in five minutes."

Tiye commented. " I am completely unprepared for this flight. Can’t I freshen up a little."

"No time Tiye. These windows of opportunity give rather short notice. You can freshen up as we are underway.."

"Very well. I shall continue then."

" Jim. Xiang has been notified and is standing by."

"You are keeping track of all these interruptions, aren't you."

"Of course Jim. Everything is well under control, and frankly my circuits are a little bored. I could use some exercise."

"I just don't know whether I'm ready for another one of these time twists just yet, but I suppose we may as well proceed. Are you awaiting my command, Idiot?"

"Affirmative, Jim. Two minutes left till your window opens."

'Power reserves?"

"Twelve million decibels."

"I suppose that is good enough for starters. Plot another course by Cygnus anyway so we can increase our energy surplus."

"Authorization to open new manifolds?

"Granted. Open a portal."