Page 55 of Ra
“Azi, we’ve all got something rather shameful to tell you. I hope you’ll hear us all out,” her father said.
“I’m tired of being the only person that doesn’t know what the hell is going on here,” Azi said angrily.
“It’s The Scarab Prophecy,” Ra said.
“What the hell is a scarab prophecy?” Azi demanded.
Chapter 13
“Who are these men, Azi?” Ra asked, having stepped up beside her and gently encircled her arm with his hand. It was clear to both Abasi and Dr. Henry Clement that it was meant to show his protection of Azi, no matter who they were.
“This is Abasi, he is my assistant and supervises the workers on all my digs. And this is my father, Dr. Henry Clement.”
Ra actually performed a slight bow to Azi’s father. “All respect due you, Dr. Clement.”
“It is I who respect you, endlessly, your…” Henry Clement looked at Abasi with a worried expression. “Highness? Excellency?”
Ra smiled, inclining his head. “I am just Ra. There is no other word that implies such reverence.”
“Ra,” Azi’s father said, bowing his head.
“It is with great pleasure that we have awaited your return, Ra,” Abasi said.
“Of course, you have.” Ra said, his chin raised as he instinctively became the god and sovereign he’d always been, in personality at least. After a second or two of thought, he focused on Abasi. “Who is ‘we’?”
“Myself and my family. We have watched over your temple, guarding it from disturbance of any kind until the right individual arrived to welcome you into the modern world.”
“How did you know of my temple if it hadn’t yet been discovered?” Ra asked.
“My ancestors were priests of your temples. We and several other families were given the responsibility of keeping watch and nurturing the prophecy,” Abasi said, as he bowed yet again.
“Naturally,” Ra said with more than a slight bit of sarcasm. “I suppose you knew we were locked away, forgotten for thousands of years as well,” Ra snapped.
“Unfortunately, so. But we had great faith that you’d be awakened by the right person, in the right time,” Abasi said, keeping his eyes on the floor.
Azi turned her back on them and calmly walked toward the side-stage.
“Azenath!” her father called before she got more than a few steps away.
“Azi! Where are you going?” Ra demanded, going to her side, where she’d stopped to glare at them when her father called her name.
Ra reached out and tried to take her hands, but she yanked her hands away from him. “Don’t touch me.”
“What have I done? They are the few that have manipulated and betrayed your trust! I have done nothing wrong!”
“Do you actually believe I’m that clueless, or just hoping that I am? The three of you are working together on something that I’ve obviously been kept in the dark about. The actions of all three of you are needed for whatever this prophecy is! I have no doubt that each of you has made me your pawn, and none of you hesitated to make a fool of me in the meantime. How could you? How could any of you? I trusted all of you,” she said.
“We are not working together! I do not know these men! I am nothing but what I’ve presented myself to be, Azi,” Ra said, his voice nearing exasperation.
Abasi took the scarab that had been part of her ring out of his pocket and walked over to her, extending his hand toward her with the scarab sitting in his palm.
“How did you get that out of the wall?!” she demanded.
“A magnet,” he confessed.
“How did you know I even got it stuck? And then to use a magnet… never mind. You simply waited for me to figure it all out, then for me to place my scarab into the wall so you could go back for it.”
“The Scarab Prophecy cannot be activated without this scarab, and only this scarab,” Abasi explained. “That’s why it was gifted to you. We knew you’d do your part when the timing was right.”
