~Chapter 23~
The Return of "Hathor the Solar Deity"
Battle worn and tired, all now searched for refuge on the other side of Khufu, the Great Pyramid. Gliding into another open burial chamber, and out of the brooding storm above, the three Pegasus with riders landed safely.
"Baron you are injured?" asked Tut-ankh-Amon in an alarmed state "your wing has been burned."
"Battle scare, nothing more. I have suffered worse in combat over the years," declared a courageous Baron.
"We all have," added Charlie "and I have a feeling there will more wounds, and more scares, before the campaign is through."
"We must not be deterred in our mission. We have won the first clash with Petar, and The Fire-Bird will return. He will be raised from the dead once again, you can be sure of that, only he will be stronger, and wiser next time. He will not be as easily defeated. The sun will be darkened by the full moon and Hathor's passing, so we will lose our advantage in the sun," said Aswan the White.
"Aswan is correct; Petar now has control, and guards the entrance to the Neither World."
"What are you talking about Mr. Beamer?" asked Chug.
"The Mausoleum of the Kings is the crypt from which the past Dark World lords, trolls, ogres, dragons and other unworldly-beasts will emerge, if we fail in our quest. That is why we first landed there, that is where the Compass of Nubia guided us.
We were to guard that opening, and try to seal the two stone doors forever upon our arrival, but we arrived too late, and were immediately called into battle against Rukh and Petar. We will now have to think of another way to keep the Under Dark creatures at bay, until Hathor passes."
"Why this is getting worse by the minute Charlie. Louis is still under the evil spell of the Bodhi berries, Hathor arrives within the hour, Petar has the upper hand, and one of our own is now injured", made known an ever-worried Chug.
Digger popped out of Louis's shirt; landing on the ground in front of Mr. Beamer, he placed a finger to the side of his nose, lost in thought.
All eyes were transfixed on him.
"The thief appears. What is on the burglar's mind as we ponder our next move," asked Tut-ankh-Amon, showing a sneer on his face.
"Your name calling does not ingratiate you to me, nor do I like it," replied a stoic Digger "but what you say is true. I am all that you say I truly am, but I have a plan, that may aid us."
"But you are a spy for the Under Dark, for Peter the Terrible. Why should we trust you? We should be having rabbit stew right now, instead of talking with you," said a mean-spirited Chug.
"I do not taste very well Chug. Too many poisonous berries line my stomach. You might get sick by eating me. Plus I am old, and my meat will be tough to digest."
"This is true, you've made your point, now go on, and your plan is?"
"Well when I was in the Neither World a few days back with Louis trapped inside of the Bodhi Tree, my mind was clouded with toxins, and I was lost in the dark, with Petar controlling my mind. I saw how Louis beat the Under Dark lord, how he bested him, and became a High-Thinker. I think I can become a High-Thinker as well".
"Continue on," said Tut-ankh-Amon "I am interested in your theory and plans".
"Well I have to perform a selfless act to be saved from myself, and my ultimate demise. I am still under the influence of the berries, but I have not eaten any of them for an hour or more, and my mind is becoming clearer as I speak. Their hold on me is wearing off. I have eaten them straight for over one year; with not going more than an hour without one in my mouth or stomach, they are that habit forming. I now have run out of my supply, and I begin to see the truth once again."
"You are doing well Digger, go on..." said Chug.
"I propose to you. I know the ways of the Neither World and Petar does not know that I have become, how do you say, human again with real feelings. I cried twice since Chug showed me my faults.
I propose that I become a spy for you instead. I will dig, which is what I do best, back into the Under Dark, into The Chamber of the Kings, listen to Petar and his evil plans then steal what I can from him. Remember I am a master thief, as we all know."
"How can we trust you Digger?" asked a tentative Aswan "you might align again with our enemies and become a double-agent working both sides, for your bounty".
"I will not betray you. I was once held in Louis's arms and Chugs when I was much younger. I know Hattie May, and Louis's father Jeremy. I know your wife Mr. Beamer, Abigail. I have roots in Centerville. I wish to return there one day, to steal from your garden and Hattie Mays's. I want to live out the rest of my natural born life there."
"That is the most honest thing I have ever heard, and it rings truthful. Because that is our dream and wish as well, to live out the rest of our natural born lives in Centerville. I can trust you that you are one of us again. No one else could have thought of that, you see you are already in one form or another, a, High-Thinker. You have our blessings. Go at once" directed Mr. Beamer as he reached out his open arms towards Digger.
Digger hopped into Mr. Beamer's confidence once again as Chug, Junior and the others gathered closer.
Digger began to cry, tears of joy.
"I am so sorry. I have placed you all in great harm's way, by deceiving you, by filling Louis's mind with emptiness. I will not let you down."
Digger looked about the stone temple, through the faint light, seeing a newborn confidence in his friend's eyes. He jumped out of Mr. Beamer's arms, landing squarely, into the middle of the stone dwelling. A smile crossed his face, as he wiped away another tear.
Dig and dig, Digger did.
Digger thrust his oversized furry feet deep into the reddened, burnt desert sands. Sand grains shot out from behind him as he quickly disappeared from sight, down a rabbit hole heading due south towards the Neither World and the Mausoleum of the Kings on the far side of the Pyramid of Khufu.
Louis still stood about with emptiness, gripping him. The Bodhi berries still seized his thoughts, and sickened his belly.
He then spoke.
"Where is Petar, my master, why has he not come to me, and taken me back to his father? I did not come all the way to Egypt to loiter and dawdle about, and not meet his friends."
"Oh Louis...my Louis, what can I do to help you...I need to think..." said a distraught Chug "I have got a solution to this, somewhere in my mind, I just know it..."
Louis faded once again into a nonbeing.
"With Digger off on a mission, we must now gather our own thoughts and regroup here. Hathor and the full moon are still on the rise and the Precession of the Equinoxes continues. The earth will begin to fully-shift her axis after the noon hour, and The Staff of Thebans has now been destroyed, we must now turn to our other plan Aswan."
"You are right Tut. Remember the Snatchers".
"What are you two talking about?" asked Chug.
"You have arrived late Chug. We do not have time to inform you of our past plans. Have trust in us. We must now gather our bribe to Hathor then prepare ourselves for another battle with Rukh."
"You are correct Tut. Junior and I will take to the skies once again, and come in from the backside as before around, Khufu. The Baron can fly in straightly to distract Petra after he drops off Louis, and Chug behind the crypt. Petar will most likely be standing guard outside of the crypt, waiting for Hathor's, glorious entrance, as in the past. She is never late for her earthly arrival. The stars, the sun, and the moon do not change their paths across the skies, just as the tides follow the path of moon and sun."
"I will mount you as before Aswan, because you are the strongest in flight. With Louis and Chug safe, we can move forward. If we can only get the Book of Aka Manah back, for then Petar will not be able to call his father back to the world of the living, and he will not be able to find the right words to lull Hathor into stayi
ng. His powers will diminish."
"It might not matter if we have the evil book, for Petar will have brought fabulous gemstones, jewel crusted tiara's, golden coins, out of the ordinary and very valuable baubles, silver, and the like. What we have brought might not impress her to depart as she should this time," said Aswan.
"We can only move forward, and not think of the negative. Let's mount up, Chug" said Tut-ankh-Amon.
With help from Tut-ankh-Amon, Louis was placed in front of Chug on The Baron then Tut mounted Aswan. Junior stepped in behind his father as they once again took to flight.
The skies were stormy and violent overhead. The clouds moved in a counter-clockwise motion, against the natural flow of the winds, tides, and rotation of the earth. It was a super-natural storm. Sheet lighting slashed out at the upper exosphere above the tops of the dark storm, shooting out in a horizontal direction. Inside the center of the great brooding storm was still found, a small clearing above the two great Pyramids of Khufu and Khafre.
The summer solstice was almost complete.
The full summer moon of Hathor the Mistress of the West had risen almost to her apex. It lazily hung in the daytime sky, like a dead man swinging from a hangman's noose, strung across a tree branch at high noon.
As the dwarf-planet stalled in its lunar orbit, the Blue Hour, began to slither across it predestinated path.
"The Blue Hour, it arrives, Tut-ankh-Amon, and look below and to the north, to the mouth of the Nile, the great waters have flooded her banks. The tides of the river has raised her waters, the foretold has started. We are running out of time Aswan," stated a startled Mr. Beamer.
Banking around the far side of Khafre, The Baron touched down. Chug pulled Louis to safety behind a large stone block, into a safe hiding place for the time being. The Baron straightaway lifted upwards then banked off to the left. Seeing Aswan and Junior hovering above the tip of the great pyramid, The Baron shot downwards towards the stone doors of the king's crypt.
Both immense stone doors were closed tightly, not a soul could be found guarding her doors. He circled back around, noticing nothing out of the ordinary. No a dead soul, or living thing in sight, no beast or Under Dark creatures lurked. He motioned for Aswan, Tut-ankh-Amon, and Junior to join him.
"I don't understand. Where is Petar?"
"Unfathomable, the time is right, look at the Compass of Nubia it points to due north, at high-noon" said a very troubled Tut.
The two vast stone doors of the tomb began to creak and groan.
A tall dark irreligious and ungodly figure, started to appear at the very back of the last resting place of the dead.
It was a creature of the Neither World.
It was a creature of the labyrinths of the Dark World.
It was a Minotaur!
Digger surfaced next to an inside back wall of the mausoleum, down below in an anti-chamber, adjacent to the main Hall of Kings, inside of the last place on earth he wanted to be but the first place he had to be the most.
After shaking dirt off of his ears and head, he spy-hopped about the grand rocky chasm surrounding him. An eerie blue light hung above and around him, the light of the Blue Hour in the Under Verse.
A lone Bodhi Tree glowed off to his left side about a hundred yards away. The sweet smelling blueberries pulled at his mind and soul. He hesitantly, turned towards the tree, took in a deep breath, letting the agreeable smell of the blueberries waft across his rather large fuzzy nose. Another step forwards towards the tree, then another.
A pause, then a deep thought perplexed him. He spoke out.
"No...no...no...I cannot..."
"My Louis...Chug...Centerville and Mr. Beamer's sweet carrots...his garden..."
He began to shake and shimmy.
Profuse sweat came sweeping across his forehead.
His whiskers grew stiff as he fought off the evil pull on his mind.
Digger closed his eyes, shutting out the world, trying to make his world go blank.
At last the cravings passed.
Digger, finally and completely, he had broken the spell of the Neither World upon his helpless soul.
His mind was clear again once.
"Towards the great room of the burial chamber, I will find it there. A thief I am and a thief I will always be...in a good way of course" said Digger as he stealthily and with great design hopped downward, towards the bounty that he sought.