Gene of Isis

‘What possessed you, lady?’ Akbar pried me off to look me in the eye.

I looked back into the chasm, realising that there would be no retrieving Albray’s stone and just burst into tears.

‘You are traumatised.’ Akbar excused my emotional outburst and without further ado he carried me all the way back to camp.

In my tent I sat on the side of my bed and cried uncontrollably, not entirely sure if it was the loss of my guide or the near loss of my own life that scared me more. At least if I had died I would finally have joined my knight. I should have been wearing the stone, I scolded myself. Had I not doubted Albray, I would have had no cause not to wear it. He had warned me that Molier was trying to undermine my trust in my guardian, and it seemed that Molier’s tactic had worked. I couldn’t even confront Molier over what had taken place; I would look and sound like a complete lunatic, for I had no proof of his treachery. Now I had lost an irreplaceable family heirloom…but was it irreplaceable? My tears finally ebbed, for I realised that I knew the summons that Ashlee had used. All I need do was find the same kind of ringed stone required for the summons.

Akbar returned to my tent after a short absence, with a bucket of water and a cloth.

‘What is that for?’ I asked, as my sensibilities were still somewhat scattered.

The Arab placed the bucket beside me and knelt down. ‘Your feet, lady.’ I realised what a bloody toll my misadventure had had on my person when he took up my left foot.

I suppressed a groan as my injuries were washed clean of blood, dirt and gravel; I really hadn’t felt the pain of my injuries until now. To take my mind off my woes, I focused my consciousness into my third eye in the hope of glimpsing Akbar’s aura. I had to suppress a gasp when I perceived a goldenred hue emanating from his subtle body with its light centres whirling with bright light—he was definitely one of the good guys.

‘You are most fortunate to have escaped so lightly.’ Akbar tried not to sound as if he was lecturing. ‘These few scratches and bruises will heal.’ He was gentle with his first aid, but I felt awkward and not a little honoured that this man would bathe my feet.

‘I praise the goddess for your vigilance, Akbar,’ I placed a hand on his shoulder to distract him from his task, ‘but is it not against your customs to bathe the feet of a woman?’

‘You are not just any woman.’ He continued his service, but said no more due to his suspicions about surveillance in Molier’s camp.

His words made me rather curious about something. ‘Have you ever heard of Lilith del Aquae, who was reportedly murdered by a group of assassins known as the Melchi during the time of the first crusade?’

‘Never.’ He stopped what he was doing to place a finger to his lips, reminding me it was not safe to speak openly. ‘Can you walk? You might fancy something to eat, perhaps?’

‘Ah…sure.’ I slipped my feet into my scuffs and, treading timidly at first, I accompanied Akbar outside.

The man would not say anything until we were well clear of Molier’s dwelling in particular, which he eyed with mistrust. We strolled down the centre of the dirt road that ran through our camp.

‘My order has the greatest respect for the daughters of the blood,’ Akbar said in a whisper. ‘I assure you that Lilith del Aquae was not murdered by my people.’

‘Your people?’ I queried as if I was surprised to learn this. ‘Do you mean to say that you belong to the same order of assassins as are mentioned in the legend?’

He gave a slight nod in confession. ‘It is true that the Melchi tried to stop Lilith del Aquae’s party from leaving the Sinai. My predecessors appealed to the priestess to return the keys to safekeeping within the mountain, where they had been since the time of the Exodus when this site was abandoned for greener pastures. When it became obvious that the Lady del Aquae was inclined to honour our request, she was killed by the knights in her company as a traitor, and although my order fought to avenge her murder and obtain the stolen keys, one knight escaped our grasp. After that, my brotherhood had some of our highest initiates penetrate the ranks of the knights of Sion to protect the daughters of Isis who lived on the Continent.’

I had forgotten that lower France and Spain were once in the possession of the Moorish peoples, and this might have been why they had fought so hard to retain the kingdoms where the descendants of their royal bloodlines now lived. Albray could have been one such knight and the Grand Master of the Order of Sion probably would have been aware of this. Which would explain why Marie de Saint-Clair sent Albray to lead Lillet to the site in the Sinai, and why he could claim to know the way to their obscure destination!

Albray couldn’t pditossibly have been part of Sion’s first expeion to the site. He hadn’t even been born at the time. What’s more, there was no evidence to suggest that the Order of Sion had revisited the site between that time and Molier’s expedition. While Lillet’s order had possession of the keys, Sion would have no cause to revisit the remote Mt Serabit. So, how had Albray known the way to the Star-Fire Temple of the Elohim goddesses? Why had he been so influential with the Melchi assassins during Lillet’s debacle? He had been able to persuade them to assist his quest. Was it just the promise that he could deliver the keys back to their rightful resting place? ‘So your order has kept a history of all the comings and goings to this site in the past?’ I raised this topic with Akbar, to see what he could tell me of Albray.

‘I assure you that if we had murdered the priestess, the Melchi would have secured possession of the keys.’ He avoided my question, or perhaps he thought I was inquiring about the accuracy of his version of events.

‘But you have had limited success in keeping the keys secure within the mountain.’ I hinted at the other occasions the vials had passed in and out of the site.

‘It is true that the keys have slipped through our defences more than once,’ he confessed.

‘Lord Hereford, for example?’ I wondered how the explorer had managed to avoid being confronted by the Melchi.

Akbar seemed embarrassed by my question. ‘After arranging for his excavation permit to be revoked, we believed he had no chance of opening the gateway. By the time word got back to us that he had, at the last minute, succeeded, it was too late. My people did manage to track him down. He swore he had not taken anything from the temple. He claimed a strange entity had scared both he and his wife from the mount.’

‘But why did he lie? Because it relieved him of the burden of hiding the treasure from all who were pursuing it?’ This seemed odd to me. ‘I suppose, by that time, and with Molier on the loose, the lord could trust no one with his secret.’

‘But my order will not repeat the mistakes of the past,’ Akbar stated in a determined fashion. ‘When you open