Chapter 17
Debbie looked at the hole in the ground. This was not just a little hole in the ground. There was building carved out of rock right in the middle of the hole. The building was two stories tall and carved into the shape of a cross. Awed by the amount of work that it must have taken to carve the building out of the surrounding rock, she said, "This church is carved from the rock."
"That's right. This is the famous Bet Giorgis church of Lalibela. It was carved about nine hundred years ago during the reign of King Lalibela," Oscar said while walking around the rim of the excavation. It was a huge hole.
"Why did he do that?" Georgia asked.
Oscar said, "It is said that Saint George, mounted on his horse and wearing his armor, appeared to King Lalibela and asked why a church had not been constructed for him. King Lalibela promised that he would build a church of great beauty. This is the church he built."
"It is definitely impressive," Debbie said.
Looking down at the building, Oscar said, "I think it is amazing what people can accomplish when motivated by a greater power. When we get to Egypt, we'll go to some of the minor pyramids."
"They were built by slaves," Georgia said.
"No, they weren't. They were built by skilled craftsmen who worked in the employ of the Pharaohs," Debbie said. She had watched a special on the pyramids while in Israel and had found the topic fascinating.
Oscar looked down at the church and said, "I'll climb down. Do you want to go with me?"
Debbie looked at the climb down. She wanted to see the inside of the church more than she dreaded the trip down and back. Nodding her head, she said, "I'll go."
Georgia frowned at the thought of the climb down and back. She looked over at Debbie wondering why she was willing to exert the effort. Shrugging her shoulders, she said, "Okay."
The trio went down into the excavation and over to the church. Georgia hung back thinking she would spend the time waiting outside like usual. Debbie stood behind Oscar trying to see inside the church.
Oscar hit the butt end of his staff on the door. The echo was strangely muted as if it recognized that volume wasn't necessary. Surprised by the knock, a monk came to the door and looked at Oscar. He asked, "What do you want?"
"I am the Druid Oscar Meyers and I seek entry into this church."
"Sure, come in," the monk said puzzled by the request. They had many tourists, some of whom weren't of the faith. He wondered why the man went through the formality of asking for entry.
From behind him, a deep voice said, "Enter Druid Oscar Meyers and bring your wives with you."
The monk stepped back and walked off with a puzzled expression on his face. He went over to where candles were burning and straightened up the area. It looked to Oscar as if the man didn't even see them anymore.
The smell of roses filled the air. Oscar entered the building and paused to look at the frescos on the walls. The colors were as bright as the day they had been painted. He walked to the center of the building and said, "I have come to hear your message."
The voice replied, "You have a different need."
Debbie stood behind Oscar turning slowly to look at every detail. The hard rock, softened by the diffuse light, was covered with frescos and icons. The altar at the head of the room was covered with items of gold. In a soft voice, she said, "This is beautiful."
"Yes, it is," the voice from the altar said a moment before Debbie fell to the ground. She started to have a seizure, her body thrashing around on the floor as if she were being electrocuted. The expression on her face suggested that she was being tortured.
Terrified by what was happening to her wife, Georgia ran to Debbie. A softly glowing shield prevented her from reaching her wife. She knelt down as if to crawl under the shield. Oscar turned and looked down at Debbie with a pleased smile on his face. He said, "Georgia, leave her alone. This is a private matter."
Georgia looked up at Oscar with tears in her eyes. It seemed to her that the seizure was lasting forever. Hardly able to breath, she said, "She's being hurt."
Shaking his head, Oscar said, "No, she's not."
Once it dawned on her that this was the same as when she had been given the gift of languages, a single thought came to her. 'Please let her keep the red hair.'
An amused chuckle filled the air. The voice said, "She shall keep her red hair and green eyes."
Oscar lowered his head and said, "Thank you."
Georgia looked around the room at the priests and monks. They were walking around as if nothing was happening. She waved at one of them, but he looked past her. An elderly priest kneeled off to the side of the altar; his lips moving in prayer. It seemed to her that he was the only one in the room who realized that something was happening. Her eyes caught a glimpse of a small wooden cross around the man's neck.
The deep voice said, "You have done well in your service, Oscar Meyers. It will last only a little longer."
"Thank you," Oscar said.
"Take her to the sun where she will recover," the voice said slowly descending in volume until the last word was the barest whisper. The scent of roses slowly disappeared.
Noticing them for the first since they had entered, the youngest priest approached them. He knelt down beside Debbie. With concern in his voice, he asked, "Is she all right?"
Georgia and Oscar knelt down to help Debbie to her feet. She looked from one to the other with eyes that wouldn't focus. Oscar said, "She'll be all right once we get her outside."
"I can get her some water," the priest said.
"No thank you. We just need to get her in the sun," Oscar said giving the priest a short nod of his head. He appreciated the offer, but felt it was more important to get her outside.
Between the two of them, Oscar and Georgia managed to carry Debbie out of the church. Putting her where she was in the sun, Georgia held her wife in her arms. With a worried expression, she said, "Oh honey, I was so worried about you."
Debbie brushed a hand across her face as if trying to move a hair from in front of her eyes. She missed and repeated the gesture a second time before giving up. Speaking in Twi! Debbie answered, "I'm fine."
Georgia chuckled and said, "Sure you are, my little African bushman."
Even Oscar had to laugh at that. Shaking his head, he knelt beside Debbie and said, "Just relax; everything is going to be all right."
"I must have stepped on a wire or something," Debbie said in Japanese. She shook her head trying to clear the cobwebs out of it.
"It was the 'or something' that you experienced," Georgia said lifting a hand to her white hair. She remembered the disorientation she had experienced after being struck by lightening in the middle of the field in Pakistan.
"What do you mean?" This time her question was in German.
"You were given the gift of languages," Georgia said.
Debbie slowly turned to look at Georgia. After a few seconds, she grabbed a lock of her hair and looked at it. Relieved, she said, "It's still red."
"Yeah. You get to keep your pretty red locks and I'm stuck with granny hair," Georgia said shaking her head. She added, "It's not fair."
"Hey, I like your hair," Oscar said.
"Pervert."
"Pervert."
Oscar caught a glance of something odd when he looked down at Debbie when she echoed Georgia's declaration of him as a pervert. Her shirt had come unbuttoned as a result of their carrying her outdoors; exposing a little of her chest. He reached over and unbuttoned another button. Georgia said, "What are you doing?"
Looking at the area right over Debbie's heart, he said, "I like the tattoo."
"What tattoo?" Debbie asked.
Georgia looked around and down at Debbie's chest. Putting a hand over her mouth, she said, "It looks like a knight on horseback killing a dragon with a lance."
"Saint George," Oscar said. He smiled at the expression on Debbie's face and said, "Don't look so worried. I think it looks kind of sexy."
"Pervert."
"Pervert."
Debbie stared up at the monster obelisk with a grin. Georgia took one look at her wife and said, "She's getting ideas."
"Why do you think I wanted to come here?" Oscar asked.
Georgia said, "Pervert."
"Big pointy topped erections," Debbie said pointing to the obelisk. She repeated it in German and French, but decided that she liked how it sounded in English the best. Gesturing to the field of obelisks, she added, "Lots of them."
Looking over at Oscar, Georgia said, "I guess you aren't the only pervert around here."
Oscar laughed and said, "There are some trees over there. I'm sure that we won't be disturbed."
The guard on duty at the largest obelisk watched the three of them walk off to the trees. It was an odd group of people. The red head was wearing blue jeans, a long sleeved shirt, and tennis shoes. The white haired woman was wearing combat boots and army fatigues. The man was wearing a robe and a cloak. The guard would have gone to see what they were doing, but the thought slipped out of his mind as fast as it had come to him. Shifting, he adjusted the rifle so that it was more comfortable and settled down to watch his surroundings.
Once they had reached a small cluster of trees, Oscar laid down his cloak and robe to serve as a blanket. Debbie stood in the center and removed her shirt. She shook her head so that her long red hair swung and tickled her back. Oscar stared up at her thinking that he had never seen such a beautiful sight. Then Georgia stripped off her shirt. Looking at the pair of women standing side by side took his breath away. In a soft voice, he said, "I'm the luckiest man in the world."
Debbie knelt down next to Oscar and rubbed a hand over his face. The beard tickled the palm of her hand. Staring into his eyes, she said, "I'm not leaving your side ever again. I missed too much. I missed you. I missed sharing your adventures with you."
"We missed you so much," Oscar replied. He ran a hand through her hair, brushing it away from her face. Her pale skin had not darkened despite the days spent in the sun.
Georgia finished undressing. She knelt down behind her wife and put her arms around her. She ran her fingers over the redhead's breast taking pleasure in how the nipples quickly rose to attention. When Debbie turned her head to look at her, she kissed Debbie on the cheek. In a soft voice, she said, "Finish undressing so that we can make love to you properly."
Together, Oscar and Georgia undressed Debbie and made long leisurely love to her. It was the kind of tender love that occurs after lovers have finished the mad passionate coupling that follows a long separation. There, in the outdoors, the three touched the souls of each other. Crying tears of joy, Debbie said, "I love you both so much."
"We love you," Oscar and Georgia said together.
It was dark when Oscar, Debbie, and Georgia slipped out of the small stand of trees. Oscar led them to the Land Roamer through a circuitous route. Debbie asked, "Why are we weaving all over the field?"
"Snakes," Oscar answered.
"There are snakes out here?" Georgia asked. She started lifting her feet higher off the ground with each step as if that would keep her from getting bit. She hated snakes.
"What's the matter?" Debbie asked.
"I hate snakes," Georgia answered with a shudder of revulsion.
Debbie couldn't believe that the warrior woman, Georgia, was afraid of snakes. This was just too good of an opportunity to pass up. She grinned and let loose a long loud hiss.
"Stop that," Georgia said slapping her wife lightly on the shoulder. When Oscar hissed, she swung a little harder.
When they reached the Land Roamer, Oscar said, "I've got a special detour to make. I hope you don't mind."
"I don't mind," Georgia said wondering what he had in mind.
"It's fine with me," Debbie said.
"It'll be late before we get there. You might want to sleep in the back while I'm driving," Oscar said. Both women exchanged glances trying to figure out what he was planning now.
Georgia said, "That's fine."
When she was climbing into the back of the Land Roamer over the front seatback, Oscar looked at her butt wiggling in the air. There were just some temptations that he couldn't resist. Giving into it, he hissed and goosed her. She jumped. He drove off nursing a bloody nose.
The old man stood at the gate and looked at Oscar. Heavy metal bars separated the two men. The gate was held closed by a thick chain padlocked with a massive lock that appeared to be fifty years old. It was late at night, but the full moon bathed the area in a gentle light.
In a soft voice, the old man said, "You serve."
"Yes, I do," Oscar said looking at the man with sad eyes. The man was bent with age, but his eyes still had the sparkle of youth. The joints of the fingers wrapped around the iron bars were swollen with arthritis. The man was old, but he had many more years of service ahead of him. He sighed and said, "I do not envy your service."
"The women with you have been touched by the hand of God," the old man said looking over at Georgia and Debbie. The hair of one glowed and there was a glow over the heart of the other. They were standing by the Land Roamer distant enough to give the two men privacy. It was a shame that he couldn't talk to them, but that was forbidden to him.
"They've been given the gift of languages," Oscar said with a nod of his head.
Tears rolled down the cheeks of the old man at the idea of being the gift of languages. It was a gift that allowed people to talk to each other. He had joined the monastery for a life of quiet and contemplation. He had received that as well as a life of isolation. There were times when it was hard. He said, "It has been twenty years since I've talked to anyone. You are the only one who serves that has come by in all that time."
"Your's is a lonely service," Oscar said feeling the man's pain. As guardian of the greatest treasure known to man, the old man was to remain separate from all others. His food was left just inside the gate by a monk who would leave before the old man came out to collect it.
"The treasure I guard must never fall into the wrong hands," the old man said looking back at the building behind him. He was the only person who was allowed in that building. When he died, another would be appointed to replace him. The man's first job would be to visit the treasure. If he survived that visit, his second job would be to bury him.
"One day, you or one of your successors will bring that treasure out into the light," Oscar said.
"It won't be me," the old man said with relief evident in his voice.
"I'm glad," Oscar said.
"You are the one who will pay the highest price for my prayer," the old man said.
"You know that?"
"I know about your service. The one that I serve has told me about it," the old man said. He didn't know if it was worse to have a long lonely service or a short one that ended brutally. He wondered if he would have the nerve to do as Oscar. He said, "The end of your service is coming soon."
"I know," Oscar said dropping his voice so that it wouldn't carry over to Debbie or Georgia. He said, "I will be going to Israel in three months and that will be the end of my service."
"I'm sorry," the old man said. He turned away from Oscar and stared at the building. Shaking his head, he said, "I would invite you in to see it, but..."
"I do not serve him," Oscar said relieving the old man the burden of explaining it to him.
"I'm glad you understand," the old man said fondling the wooden cross that hung around his neck. Many men had been killed by getting too close to the treasure he guarded. Men who thought they were great and could rule the world had fallen to ash in front of the treasure.
Oscar said, "I would have accepted, but it would kill me as it has killed others in the past."
"There are some mysteries that the eyes of men are not intended to see. It is only his will that protects me," the old man said.
"And the purity of your heart," Oscar said.
"I am not the only one who is pure of heart. There is another who serves him. I shall take him to see the treasure," the old man said listening to a voice from another world.
"That would be Reverend Leroy Jones. He has served long and well. I know that he would like that a lot," Oscar said.
"He is fated to die with you." The old man stepped away from the gate. In a gentle voice, he said, "Go in peace, son. Although it doesn't mean much compared to those who have already blessed you, you have my blessing."
"Thank you, sir." Oscar watched the old man make his way to the building. Swallowing heavily, he said, "You have my blessing as well."
Georgia walked over to Oscar and asked, "Who is he?"
"He's the guardian of the greatest treasure known to man."
"What kind of treasure?" Georgia asked thinking of diamonds, emeralds, and rubies.
"The Arc of the Covenant," Oscar answered.
"I thought it was somewhere else," Georgia said looking at the distant building with wide eyes. She had read several stories about locations where the Arc was hidden and this place wasn't in any of them.
"So does everyone else," Oscar said with a sigh. The old man was destined to a life of lonely service and no one would ever recognize it except for a handful of monks in the monastery off to the side. One day he would die and a monk would be chosen to replace him.
"He looked so lonely," Georgia said watching the door close behind the old man.
Turning to her, Oscar said, "Let us leave here."
Glancing at the building, Georgia wished she could see the Arc of the Covenant. She asked, "How come he didn't show it to you?"
Not wanting to explain, Oscar answered, "That's a long story. I
suggest that you read the Old Testament if you want the whole story."