The Truth Will Bind You

Chapter 5

     After a while Sydney decided to end her pity party. Instead she thought about what the voice had said to her. The thing that stuck most in her mind was that she had said Sydney sounded like her mother. Oh how Sydney missed her mother! She was ashamed to admit it but she  had long ago forgotten her voice. How could this creature (because that is what she would be until Sydney got a good look at her) know her mother. Mother had died very suddenly in a car accident when Sydney was only six. Originally Sydney was supposed to be with her, but Father had insisted, without warning, that Sydney must come with him. It was after all Take Your Daughter to Work Day, and how would it look if he, the boss, did not bring his daughter with him. Sydney had almost forgotten about that part so wrought were the memories of the police coming to the door to inform them that her mother had died on a slick and windy road on her way back that evening. Sydney couldn't remember where her mother had gone that day, just that she never returned.
      A memory that had always been a blur suddenly came back with alarming clarity. When they got to her father's office no other employee had brought his or her daughter to work. When she asked her father about this he had said his employees had given him the wrong date and he was of half a mind to fire the lot of them. Sydney was ushered off with his father's secretary, a deplorable woman named Agnes, she smelled of roses that, like her, were past her prime. Agnes spent most of the day listing the things Sydney couldn't touch or pointing out places children were not allowed. Sydney spent the day drawing and riding up and down the elevator (much to Agnes' chagrin). It was boring but she did feel special that Father had invited her since he usually showed no interest in her at all. The tentacles of her mind started to go into directions she had never dared to venture down before. She wasn't happy with the dots she was connecting. Could her father had known that her mother would never make it back home again? Had he planned all of this? She had to admit to herself that she really didn't know her father well. He trotted Sydney out when there was a fund raiser or some other public event but was seldom home and when he was he was locked in his library. In some ways Sydney had raised herself with a succession of nannies and boarding schools. She couldn't recount a single tender moment between the two of them. She had loved him simply because he was her father, who now appeared to be little more than a stranger. She let out her breath in a hiss, had she just uncovered one of his sins? An uneasiness began to seep into her bones and she felt, in that moment, that she might shatter on the spot.

Sidney sat quietly stuck in her quagmire of thoughts. What other lies would she discover if she gave her life enough thought. To even suspect her father of having to do anything with her mother's death was beyond reason, yet here she was stuck in some ancient box ruminating about her father's sins and it would seem she had just discovered a big one.

Time passed or stood still Sydney was unsure. One thing she did notice was that she did not seem to need to eat or drink or for that matter see to any bodily functions. She just was, no more, no less. She let her mind go and it seemed to fly into the darkness but she was not afraid. It brought her a sense of peace to empty her mind into the great void.

Just when she had forgotten where she was, or who she was, for that matter the voice came out of the dark once more.

      "Sydney, I suspect you have uncovered the first sin. I am so sorry it must be revealed in this manner, but for your journey to start you had to be the one to open the first door and as for the pain it is the key you require."

      "Who are you? Sydney asked in a tremulous voice.

      "Me, I am known as Bes. In ancient Egyptian homes I was depicted as a fat little dwarf but as you can see I am no such thing," she said.

       A small woman stepped forward and for the first time Sydney could see her in light as pale as moonlight. She was diminutive and delicate. Her skin was a beautiful sienna and her eyes were sparkling pools of intelligence. She had hair  blacker than midnight and it was braided down the length of her back. She wore a beautiful golden dress that seemed to shimmer around her rather than rest on her body. She was breathtaking.

      "Did the ancient Egyptians worship you?" asked Sydney in a voice filled with wonder.

      "I was not considered one of the big players back then but my role was important, I am the protector of everything good and the enemy of all that is bad. You may not yet realize it but you, Sydney, have been surrounded by evil for most of your life. I have been waiting here in this box for you. I knew the time would come and that you would need me. I promised your mother that when the evil began to consume her daughter I would intervene on her behalf."

      "You said that before, that you knew my mother. How did you know her?"

      "I met your mother over 30 years ago. She of course did not know who I was at the time. She would learn that later. Your mother was an Egyptologist of some renown and I met her on a trip she had taken to Cairo. She specialized in magical antiquities and one beautiful day she came into my shop. She was interested in finding a wand made from hippo bone covered in very intricate carvings of powerful Egyptian gods. The particular wand she was looking for was a defensive wand. It is used in to protect the bearer against magical attacks or could be held up to use as a shield against black magic. She was quite enamored by one that I happened to have. Of course these wands could be misused in the wrong hands but I knew at once that your mother was trustworthy and that her magic was white. She was afraid when she came to see me. She thought that perhaps she was under some kind of magical attack, and although she wasn't positive, she felt she had a good idea as to who was attempting to harm her. She was right of course, she was dead within the year. The wand proved inefficient I am sorry to say. The magic used against her was more ancient than I and stronger than we ever suspected."

      "Did she share with you who she thought wanted to harm her?" Sydney asked with trepidation.

      The answer did not really surprise her, Bes looked directly at her as Sydney held her breath.

      "Why your father, and that loathsome German Hoffman of course. They have been involved in many treacherous activities. They are very evil men. Your father is dead thanks to Hoffman but you should not mourn him.  I feared for you Sydney so I made sure that Hoffman would find this box. I also knew, with his overblown ego, that he would think this box would be a way to trap you and get you out of the way, but instead we shall trap him at his own game."

      Sydney sighed, "I had feared as much. What is it you want me to do?"

Reviews

[Lyn Anderson]

This is so entertaining. I love it, truly. I will have to fine tooth comb it, but I see no errors, save a few missing commas in non restrictive clauses. I stumble over the thought of "overripe" roses -- roses past their prime maybe? not sure -- I like the idea, just the execution stumps me.

[icelandicblue]

Thanks, I was looking for those roses that become cloying as they start to die. I stink at restrictive clauses including that and which...thanks so much. I am so happy you like the story.

[Lyn Anderson]

yes so "she smelled of roses that, like her, were past her prime." :)

[icelandicblue]

Perfect! Thank you so much.

[therisa]

Thanks, Icelandicblue, for revealing who, the voice belongs to. Must admit, my knowledge of Egyptian Gods and Goddess, has been forgotten, over the years, but I don't remember Bes, being talked about, by my high school teacher. Interesting, Wikipedia describes Bes, as being male identified, represented by a lion rearing up, on its hind legs.

Just one typo, I noticed, when you started to describe Bes, you have "here" instead of "her".

[icelandicblue]

Thanks...from what I have read Bes was as a short pot-bellied dwarf that protected the home and those who lived there. I took that information and had Bes address its historical "inaccuracy." That's the beauty of fiction. I'll fix the typo. Thanks.

[therisa]

So very true, and your welcome, Icelandicblue.

[icelandicblue]

Oh and thanks for reading all 5 chapters! I do appreciate it. Bes isn't even really Egyptian...he's from Nubia and adopted by the Egyptians. There are quite a few depictions of Bes on the internet if you care to look. I wanted the protector to be female and most of the Egyptian gods don't seem too friendly. ; )

[therisa]

From the Wikipedia article, Bes did protect women, child and family. And Bes' origins is up for debate, whether of Nubia descent or existed, in the Nile Valley, prior to that period of time. Only later on, does Bes become to represent all things goods, like your story depicts, Icelandicblue.

[icelandicblue]

; ) plus Bes is a girlie name. ; )

[therisa]

Lol. Your welcome.