Free The Jovian Legacy by Lilla Nicholas-Holt Page B

after
another hour Jack finally reads the translation: “To
believe is to place your trust in the Almighty.”
    “O kaay….”
he says with a lilt in his voice.
    He slowly lifts the lid and sees not an
empty book with red felt lining, but a box filled with luminous green
light. One by one letters appear and form into words. Egyptian
words. With a now shaky hand Jack tries to write the words down,
aware now that it is a race against time. He shoots a look at his
bedroom clock: 4.30 p.m. He has time. At 6.50 p.m., with only ten
minutes to spare, Jack stares at his translated message, trying to
come to terms with it.
    “Your
soul is one with Pharaoh Siptah, King of Egypt, ruler of the 19 th Dynasty. Your journey is now predetermined by Queen Meryt-Neith,
ruler of Jovian.”

    Jack
sat back at his computer, dumbfounded.
    “King
Siptah, ruler of the 19 th Dynasty, Queen Meryt-Neith, ruler of Jovian?” he questioned out
loud. He had always held a fascination for the Egyptian race, and
now knew why, his gut feeling telling him his interest in Egyptology
as a boy was pretty significant.
    He
delved into his wardrobe to look for the Lucre Box, and after much
hunting Jack couldn’t find it. He tried to recall what had
happened to it.
    “That’s
it!” He’d suddenly remembered that he’d taken the
box to his parents to show them what he had discovered. They had
shown a half-hearted interest in it and his father had said that he
would take the Lucre Box back to the store Nick Findlay had purchased
it from, and ask the storeowner about it. That was the last Jack
ever saw of his Lucre Box. When he had asked them when he was
getting it back his parents had told him that Mr Walker, the
shopkeeper, was going to ring up the man who had brought the Lucre
Box into his shop in the first place, to find out more about it. A
few months down the track, Jack had completely forgotten all about
it.
    It’s
like piecing together a jigsaw puzzle .

Chapter 7

    O ver
the next few days Jack was left alone by everyone - Megan, the Jovian
men, and his parents. He didn’t realise the time had drifted
into three weeks and he still hadn’t been prompted by anyone,
or anything. Not until mid-September.

    It
was a usual morning, the smell of spring and his favourite time of
year. He lay awake in his bed for a while, pondering over the last
few weeks, ever since he found out about his ‘Egyptian roots.’
It seemed to be too far fetched to him.
    Gazing
into the mirror he regarded himself. For a young man of seventeen he
thought looked older. Probably due to the events of the last few
months, he considered. Was
this the turning point? He had always wondered what he was
supposed to be doing on this Earth.
    “Let’s
not get too philosophical aye,” he spoke to his reflection.
    As
he ate his Weetbix he stared out the kitchen window, catching sight
of a fat tui flitting amongst the puriri tree. His self-contained
unit was attached to his landlord’s house, friends of his aunt
and uncle, who had promised they would keep an eye on him. Jack ate
his dinners with them while his Aunt Pippa looked after the modest
rent payments. His landlord’s house backed onto native bush so
he often heard tui in the trees that feed on the tiny berries.
Another tui joined his friend and they set about doing some sort of
cat and mouse chase as if they were playing. Jack liked being close
to nature. Although he lived in a town he had a taste of country as
well.
    He
thought about Megan. His beautiful young girlfriend, so
young, but never to be his.
It occurred to him then and there that he loved her.
    Jack
rinsed his breakfast bowl under the hot tap when he heard the
computer buzzing again. With a deep breath he placed the bowl in the
dish rack and went to his computer.
    This
is it, he thought, though
he wasn’t quite sure what ‘ it’ meant.
    The
computer screen showed a clear image of Jack’s parents, faces
beaming, over the moon that they would all soon be