Passage to Queen Mesentia (13 page)

“Help! Let me go! Help me!” she screamed and kicked and swung out her arms and scratched at them. The two men overpowered her and carried her without even a wince. She lost the next couple of seconds, as her instincts took over because the next thing she knew, she had been thrown inside another vehicle. A blast of chilled air hit her face, and then the door slammed shut. She frantically pulled on the handle, but it was locked.  She banged on the door and on the darkly tinted window. “Let me out! Let me out!”

“Lillian.”

Lilly turned to the voice. As her eyes adjusted to the dimly lit surroundings, she noticed Ben sitting across from her. “Oh my goodness,” she said, her spirits lifted. She flung herself across the car and grabbed hold of him, hugging him. She was so happy to see him, and thoughts raced through her mind, like he had been captured, too. And she wondered where Wade was. But then… no.

She pulled away slowly, seeing clearer. She took small notice of the car moving. She stared at Ben. He sat straight and appeared refreshed and confident. His hair was pulled away from his face, sunglasses on top of his head like a tourist. He didn’t look like a man who had been dragged out of bed and forced to leave a slumber. No, he seemed like a man who was on mission. An important, well-rested and well-dressed man in a crisp, ironed, white button down shirt and black trousers.

“What’s going on?” she whispered, examining her surroundings.  She sat inside some kind of limousine. That she knew for sure. It had long, black leather seats on either side, a bar with clear decanters of liquor and crystal glasses. There was even a television. “Where’s Wade?”

“Don’t worry about Wade. He will find you soon. I’m counting on it.”

“What are you talking about? Ben? I don’t understand. You’re scaring me.”

“Don’t be afraid of destiny. We all have a place, but mine has been denied for far too long. You understand.”

Lilly’s hands shook and she felt light-headed. Things were not right. “We’re out in the middle of nowhere… in the desert. Where are we going?”

“That’s not important,” he spoke gently. “What’s important is where
I’m
going. You see, Lillian, this is my destiny. My love awaits. Mesentia can not be left waiting any longer.” Ben lifted his right hand, revealing a small gold pyramid that looked exactly how he had described it. 

“The statuette!”

“You… and Wade found it. I will be forever grateful to you and to your parents for finding the source of my curse… and the cure. Don’t you see how important you are? Without you, this would not have been possible. Your love is a third of the cure.”

Lilly’s confusion overwhelmed her. Tears began to seep down her face. “You’re acting so strange. I don’t understand. I want to go back to the office. Take me back to Wade. I’m glad you found it and that Schelsteder can’t get it, but—”

At that moment, someone cleared their throat.

Lilly turned her head to the right, to a small window like opening to where the driver seat was located. Even though he was a good ten feet away, Lilly knew that face, the white face of Schelsteder. Lilly put her hand over her mouth to muffle the scream that caught in her throat.

And then he spoke, “We’re here, your majesty.”

***

Wade tried to stay calm, because he had no other choice but to ride. He tapped his foot as he opened and closed his new knife, wishing he had an apple, a piece of gum… or better yet, a cigarette. The note on the desk had read, “Depart at JaJa on your way to Al-Kharga Oasis or Lillian will die.” It had been signed, Binpanek; the name Ben had said Unas had given him with the curse of immortality.

Wade had shown the two city names from the note to the bus driver. Even though he hadn’t understood the words, he knew by the bus driver’s expression and mannerism that he had implied some sort of warning. Wade had smiled, thanked him, and found a seat.

He cursed himself a thousand times for leaving Lilly in that taxi. If he’d only woken her, this wouldn’t be happening. Why had he let Lilly call Ben and tell them exactly where they and that statue were? The real reasons gnawed at him. He had been angry and didn’t think he gave a shit anymore. He tried not to think about what Lilly had said on the ferry. She’d said she regretted everything. At the time, he couldn’t shake the heaviness of it all. From the beginning he had believed that Lilly’s mind had become jumbled with grief and she’d pushed him away because she was deep in mourning. But things changed, and she had made him really doubt their connection. He shook his head trying to give himself a break; because it would’ve taken anyone a bit of rewinding after all she had put him through.

If only that was the problem now. If only he had let her talk and just expect that the last few weeks would be like trying to forget a nightmare—the funky feelings would linger far longer than the actual specifics. Because at that moment, nothing mattered except for Lilly. Nothing mattered, except her safety. He hated himself for letting Ben inside his head and forgetting his goal.

Now he wondered, what in the hell was Ben’s deal? Obviously, he wasn’t who he’d said he was—like Wade had suspected all along—he was after that statue for his own reasons. So what did he want with Lilly?  Especially if the statuette had been in one of those crates, why all the drama? He and Lilly would have taken it right back to him, and he could’ve been on his way, and they would’ve never thought twice about it. Wade also wondered why Ben showed his hand before the game was over. If he wouldn’t have signed that note, he would have thought it was Schelsteder who had kidnapped her. Perhaps Ben didn’t find it. Maybe they thought he had it, maybe Ben thought he was already on to him?

When the bus came to an abrupt stop in the middle of the desert, without saying a word, the driver opened the door. Wade stuck the knife inside his boot, giving his foot a jiggle as he stood up.

Adjusting his hat to shield the sun, he stepped off the bus. Since there had been no other instructions on the note, he looked for a clue as to what to do.  His stomach sank as the bus drove away, leaving him standing by himself. Miles of sky and sand laughed at him, and the thought that Ben was somewhere sipping wine and laughing with Lilly crept into his mind. Maybe this was just an elaborate way to get rid of the babysitter. He kicked the dirt a couple of times and his curses echoed loud into the waves of heat.

After his little fit, he stood with his hands on his hips for a few more minutes before deciding to start walking back towards town. Suddenly, he heard something behind him. He turned to see a cloud of dust in the distance. Someone was coming.

A few seconds later, three men in white turbans and long desert robes jumped out of a once-blue, rusty pick-up truck and grabbed him by both arms.

“Do you have Lilly?” Wade didn’t struggle. He had to take the chance that these men were taking him to Lilly. They pushed at him indicating they wanted him to climb in the bed of the truck. Two of the three men jumped in behind him, while the last man got inside the cab.

“Lilly?” Wade tried again but slower. “Are you taking me to her?”

They spoke Arabic to one another as they turned him around and tied his hands behind his back.

He took it all without protest, but then they removed his hat and covered his head with a dark hood. Suddenly, he had visions of being left in the middle of the desert with his hands tied behind his back and not being able to see.  “Hey, get this thing off of me!” Wade shouted and struggled, but all he accomplished was falling on his face. The men laughed, but did pick him up.  

They made a sharp turn, and the ride became extremely rough and bumpy. The sun beat down on the hood making salty sweat pour down Wade’s face. He fought the dizziness, taking short, steady breaths so he wouldn’t pass out. He focused on Lilly, but then tried to not think about her being treated in the same way.

When they stopped, the men pulled Wade out of the truck. He landed on his knees and they dragged him until he regained his feet. After a few steps, the ground became harder and Wade could tell they walked on a downward slope, the air increasingly cooler with each step.

“Where are we?” Wade asked as soon as they stopped walking. “Can we take this off now? Where’s Lilly? Are you taking me to her? Will someone talk to me?”

He heard Ben say, “I think you should have gagged him, too.”

“You Mother—”

“Not in front of the lady.”

“Lilly? Lilly?” Wade moved his head around trying to hear her. “Are you here? Are you okay? Lilly?” His blindness and the situation began to fill him with panic. Finally, after a moment, he heard a distant sound… a muffled scream? “Lilly!” Not thinking about what he would do in complete darkness and with his hands tied behind his back, Wade fought and squirmed, and stomped on a foot, until he broke free of his captor’s grip. He ran in the direction he thought he had heard her, but two seconds later, someone grabbed him and hit him several times on the head and neck with something solid, reopening the wound that had finally stopped bleeding. 

“Ow! Ow!” Wade yelled, dropping to his knees in surrender. Instant coolness and light swept over him as someone lifted the hood from his head. He was in a wide stone corridor. Every few feet, open-flamed torches burned on the walls. Ben stood in front of him with two men at his side. Wade searched for Lilly and found her to his right, where the walkway cornered and seemed to continue. She sat in a chair, her hands tied behind her back and her mouth gagged. “Lilly!” He stood and made a step toward her.

“Please,” Ben said. “We don’t want to hurt you again.”

One of the men already had his arm up in the air, a baseball bat in his hand. He shook his head slowly letting Wade know it was a bad idea to take another step.

“What the hell is going on? We trusted you… Well, Lilly did.”

“None of this would have been possible without her. My lovely Lillian.”

“You must rest.” Schelsteder came into view. “I can take care of them.”  

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Wade said.  “You two are in cahoots? So you’re the one who wanted this pyramid statue for an army? You’re the one who wants to take over the world?”

Schelsteder laughed. “They actually believed all this Nazi nonsense?”

“What’s he talking about? Nonsense?”

“Although it was truly necessary, I do apologize for my deceit.”

“I’m guessing you don’t really want an army of darkness. This whole thing was for the money? Like I thought. You got what you wanted. You don’t need us. Let Lilly go.
Now
!” 

Ben said, “The Pyramidion Statuette does hold great value to me, but it is intangible. It holds my cure. It holds my passage to the afterlife and to Mesentia. Now, since I have the statuette in my possession, I can take my rightful place in the sky, among the other Deities. Hydra’s stars are aligned and will be in the perfect position in a few hours, waiting for me to take my place. There I will be reunited with my queen, and we shall rule the Heavens.” 

“Wow,” Wade said and then gave a low whistle. “Good luck with that. It’s been real, but I’m going—”

“Three elements were used to capture my soul,” Ben continued. “Mesentia’s love, blood, and Unas’ hate. Those three elements will also release me and transform me into the higher plane.”

Wade’s heart began to pound. Something told him Ben’s insane plans somehow included them. “What does this have to do with us? We helped you find it. That’s all you needed from us. We’re done.” 

“At first, yes, that was all I needed. Your journey would have ended in the park that night.” Ben smiled and eased his gaze down the corridor to Lilly. “After I saw the way Lillian reacted to me, I knew her mortal lust needed a soft hand, a little romance, to change into love.”

Ben looked at Wade. “And you… distrust and jealousy transformed into hate with one touch, with one kiss. Even now, you hate me so completely. I could not search this world and find anyone who would be more perfect. You are ruled by your heart but led by your anger. You will actually serve another purpose, as well. Since I no longer possess organs, yours will fit nicely in my canopic jar.”

“What?” Wade wanted to laugh, but the look on Ben’s face made him realize he was serious.

“The last element—”

“Blood,” Wade whispered, a rush of realization sickening him.

“Yes,” Ben said. “The life of someone who loves me will set my soul free, exactly as it had captured it. I assure you… both of you, this is nothing personal. It goes way beyond human comprehension.”

Wade swallowed. Ben obviously believed every single word he spoke. He figured trying to reason with him, or call him crazy, would not help them at the moment. All he had was doubt. “You have me on the hate. You do have that right. But even if Lilly found you somewhat attractive, you’re one arrogant son-of-a bitch if you think for a minute what was going on between you two was love. You know, I don’t think I would have believed it before we met you, and I can’t believe I didn’t see if before, but I think you actually did do some sort of vampire, snaky voodoo shit on her. And even if she did love you, she doesn’t anymore. You have her tied to a chair threatening to kill her. Come on!”

Ben smiled. “Mortal emotions run deep. You can attest to that. Lillian has broken your heart a million times in only the last few weeks. Do you not still love her? But alas, all will be revealed tonight. Her blood will spill, and if there is any love in her heart for me, I will be free. If not, it will be a true tragedy. I will be remorseful. However, I will try again with love. It shouldn’t take long; women seem to worship this human shell. Nevertheless you, Wade, your hate will fester. I will not have to search for another.”

“I’ll kill you!” Wade said and charged head first, ramming into Ben’s chest. He felt Ben give a little and backed up, ready to hit again, when someone stopped him. Schelsteder and the man with the bat had him by each arm and forced him to sit in a chair. They tightly wrapped a rope around his arms and chest, tying him to the chair and then tied his feet together. They finished by gagging his mouth with some sort of sandy-tasting rag.

“I’m not evil,” Ben said. “This is what must be done. I have gone lifetimes without having to hurt anyone. Sometimes, in order to continue in my pursuit, sacrifices had to be made.”