The Archaeological Chronicles - The New World

So are you gonna die today or make it out alive?

You gotta conquer the monster in your head and then you’ll fly

Fly, phoenix, fly

Go bury your demons then tear down the ceiling

Phoenix, fly

--

Mari

I wake to the sound to constant banging on the door. Gudrun’s constant yelling and Zuuri’s uncertain voice.

A thundering headache left me groaning loudly. The pressure behind my eyes made it feel like they were about to pop out any minute.

‘’Yda,’’ Kai’ine murmur gently.

I could identify that voice anywhere, anytime. I hastily pat the area around me. Trying to feel if he’s touching me.

He isn’t.

‘’My head hurts,’’ I groan as I turn to my side, hiding from the light.

Gudrun keeps banging on the door. Wanting to be let in. Probably kicking it down, any minute now.

‘’I am going to touch you briefly,’’ he notifies, and before I can react, he has his palm placed over my forehead.

Pain subsiding into nothingness within seconds.

I open my eyes in surprise, as he retreats his palm. He’s looking down at me.

Eyes so white, nearly transparent.

He swiftly moves his hand through the air. The banging stops immediately. So did every sound outside of the window.

I frown.

‘’You stopped time, didn’t you?’’ I murmur as I rub my eyes.

A weird feeling still lingers in my brain after the exchange of memories.

‘’I don’t know how to handle her otherwise,’’ he admits.

A dry laugh escapes my mouth. I felt completely calm. No pain, no constriction in my chest. I felt almost … almost free. Free of the pain. My eyes meet his once again.

‘’Why are you sad?’’ I ask.

‘’Because I saw your memories, felt your emotions,’’ he answers.

He’s standing at the far end of the living room, almost in the kitchen. Keeping his distance. Nothing portrays his sadness, other than his eyes.

I look away. Twirling the ring he gave me around my finger.

‘’I saw yours too,’’ I murmur.

‘’Was it different from how you experienced me?’’ he asks quietly.

I nod.

Tears gather in my eyes. His intentions were never malicious. He just wanted to care for someone. It breaks my heart. Not that it gives him any excuse for what it did, it just makes me view the whole situation a bit differently.

Broken from whatever trance he was in, he strides over to me quickly. He lifts me into his arms and sits down, cradling me in his arms.

I don’t feel scared. Or trapped.

He holds on to me tightly as he brushes a tear away from my cheek. Looking deep into my eyes.

‘’I never understood why humans leaked through their eyes,’’ he murmurs to himself.

He takes a deep breath. There is only us in this moment, the rest of the world frozen in time.

‘’The pain you felt. The pain you experienced,’’ he starts. Visibly hunching from the pain he feels inside.

‘’As I re-live your memories over and over again … I now understand why things went the way they did. I apologize, Mai’yri,’’ he says as his forehead touches mine. His eyes closed.

‘’Prexeli ie, yda,’’ he murmurs in his mother tongue. ‘’Forgive me,’’ he translates in a broken whisper.

I touch his face. For the first time. Ever.

His eyes open, surprised. Palm against his cheek. The energy his body is containing makes his skin nearly vibrate. In constant movement. Like his hair.

‘’I’m sorry, too,’’ I answer.

An overwhelming feeling of relief passes through me, and I’m uncertain if it’s his feeling or mine. Maybe both. We sit like that for a while. Just enjoying the feeling of inner peace. Enjoying the silence.

‘’Maybe you should let time pass again?’’ I suggest after a while of comfortable silence.

‘’It can wait a little while longer,’’ he answers as I feel his lips press to my temple.

His eyes tear into mine. The blue and yellow merged together is a color combination I’ll never forget.

‘’This time; maybe you can show me your country?’’ he asks, a ghost of a smile on his lips.

‘’You’re staying?’’ I ask. A feeling of anticipation grows inside of me.

Do I want him to stay?

‘’For a while, at least,’’ he answers. ‘’If you let me,’’ he adds.

‘’We can hike up Svarttinden and watch the midnight sun,’’ I say with a smile.

‘’I would like that,’’

And just like that, time resumes. The door bangs open. The twins and Gudrun rush inside.

The mortification in Gudrun’s eyes as she sees me in his arms is priceless. She points a daring finger at Kai’ine, ready to fight him.

‘’You!’’ she snarls.

Zuuri holds her back. ‘’Hold on a minute, tiny aggressive human. We have more pressing matters right now!’’ he urges.

Zuki looks at his brother with serious eyes.

‘’We went to the new exhibition,’’ she pants out.

‘’Mari, you got to see this!’’ Gudrun says hurriedly. ‘’I will kick your ass later, giant Smurf, but we need to head to the museum right now!’’ she rushes out as they motion us to follow.

We jump into action, slipping on my shoes and coat and rush out the door. Luckily, the apartment building is only ten minutes away from the museum.

We jog down the street and as we round the corner, I fish out the keycard that gives us access after closing hours.

My employment was through NTNU, but in collaboration with the Archaeological Museum of Stavanger.

‘’We will wait outside, scouting the area. No other humans can come near this. This is not good,’’ Zuki pants.

Kai’ine nods.

I hurriedly scan the keycard and type in the four digits quickly. Gudrun nearly rips the door open and runs inside.

‘’I need you to look at it, Mari. You have the most knowledge about Ancient Egypt,’’ she rushes.

I nearly stop in my tracks. The museum doesn’t have any artefacts from Ancient Egypt?

I look up at Kai’ine, worriedly. We run through the museum store and head for the exhibition.

‘’I need you to open these doors without setting off the alarm!’’ I say to Kai’ine.

His arms move quickly, and the doors literally turn to dust.

‘’You better fix that after we’re done here!’’ I warn.

A glowing light seeps through the corner.

‘’Hurry Mari!’’ Gudrun calls.

I run after her.

I stop abruptly. A small, very glowing, plaque is situated in the middle of the room. Surrounded by the Bronze Age ritual exhibition.

‘’What the hell?’’ I mutter. ‘’I was here this morning! This wasn’t here!’’ I say.

It’s not in a glassed container, either. It’s just standing there, glowing. In the middle of the room.

‘’What do you think it is?’’ Gudrun asks.

‘’I’m not sure, but it has hieroglyphics spelling Ramses the great’s name. It’s around the same time period, but all of the artefacts from his grave is in the museum in Cairo,’’ I say as I rub the spot between my eyebrows.

‘’This is ancient magic,’’ Kai’ine interrupts.

We both look up at him, disbelief evident on our faces.

‘’You can’t be serious?’’ Gudrun states. ‘’This thing here?’’ she points at it, nearing it. ‘’I guess Santa is real too,’’ she says sarcastically before touching the plaque.

‘’Don’t-‘’ I shout.

Before any of us can react a gust of wind hits us all, and if it wasn’t for Kai’ine steadying me, I would have fallen straight to the ground. The glowing intensifies. I have to shield my eyes from the light.

As soon as it started, it stopped. Like nothing ever happened. The stand with the plaque was gone.

But so was Gudrun.

‘’Gudrun!’’ I yell.

I look around desperately, trying to spot her in the darkness. The exhibition looked just as it did this morning. Nothing out of the ordinary.

‘’Kaine!’’ I yell as I clutch his hands. ‘’Can you find her?’’ I plead.

He look down at me, a grim look on his face.

’’I knew I had seen her before,’’ he mutters.

Realization hits me.

‘’Ah, I remember this. Neferankhrun is a pseudonym. A girl, from the future, appeared in the royal gardens one day. I don’t remember her real name. It was quite the scene. The high priest thought she was a goddess from the future, Rameses did not agree. They bickered like siblings at one point … I think she’s from our time, actually. Scandinavian, as well,’.

Neferankhrun is Gudrun! She’s in Ancient Egypt!

---

A/N

Alright guys! Last chapter :) What do you think?

Do you hope to see Kai'ine and Mari in book two also?

Thank you so much for reading my book. I hope you liked it!

Stay tuned for more <3