The Scepter

by Tom Hunter

  For a moment, there was nothing but the sound of people eating, as the adventurers greedily shoveled up the food.

  “We are so very grateful for you retrieving the scepter for us,” Abdul said at last. “We thought our ancient treasure lost forever in the catacombs. Truly this is a day of celebration.” He turned to Basile, who was sitting next to him. “Would you mind telling us about your adventures? What did you find down there? You are the first people to enter the catacombs for decades. I have always been curious to what secrets lurked down there.”

  Basile looked to Samuel for approval before starting his tale. Samuel nodded slightly. A natural born storyteller, Basile took the lead on relating their experiences.

  “When we arrived at the bottom of the ladder, we were greeted with a darkness blacker than the night,” he began. “None of us knew what was waiting for us in the depths, as we lit our torches and began the long and perilous journey to unearth the treasure chamber…”

  As Basile continued to talk, Samuel helped himself to another large helping of fava beans. His serving spoon was so full that some of the mix slopped onto the table next to his bowl. He scooped it up with his fingers and plopped it in with the rest of his food, leaving a dark stain on the tablecloth.

  “Samuel!” Shafira mock scolded him. “Couldn’t you at least try and stay clean for the sake of our hosts?”

  The archaeologist shrugged good-naturedly. “You know me,” he replied. “I like to leave my mark wherever I go.”

  Shafira chuckled. “You certainly do,” she agreed. She looked down at her plate, neatly placing her knife and fork in the middle to signify that she’d finished eating.

  “You know, this has been an amazing journey so far,” she remarked. “And it’s barely even half done. I can’t even begin to imagine what’s still to come as we take the next step in completing our mission.”

  “Me neither,” Samuel told her. “It’s strange to think that life will have to go back to normal once this is all over. What do you think you’ll do after all this is said and done?”

  “I don’t know,” Shafira replied. “I’m not sure that I could go back to an office after all this excitement. Trawling through reams of repetitive reports doesn’t have the same fascination it used to–not that they were ever that fascinating to begin with.”

  “Indeed,” Samuel nodded. “I can’t picture you behind a desk, not after everything you’ve done. So what do you think you’ll do instead?”

  “Hmm.” Shafira drummed her fingers against the table. “I’m not sure. Maybe I might get lucky and find an experienced archaeologist to work with. He could be looking for a research colleague and appreciate someone with my skills.”

  She glanced sideways at Samuel.

  “Hey, I’d be glad to have you along, even if only for the company,” Samuel said. “It’s only fair to warn you, though, that just because you think I’m amazing, doesn’t mean I’ll let you get off easy. Talk to my team and many of them will tell you that I’m a hard task master.”

  “You think I’m amazing, huh?” Shafira leaned towards Samuel, a flirtatious sparkle in her eyes.

  “Doesn’t everyone?” he countered, smiling back at her.

  “Hm-hmm.” Josh cleared his throat loudly to get their attention. He glared at the pair, but when they caught his expression, they both laughed.

  “You’re such an old prude,” giggled Shafira.

  “Just think yourself lucky that your father isn’t here to see you,” Josh warned.

  “Yesh. Your behavior’s outra- outrage- really bad,” said Waleed, half-tipsy from the combination of lack of sleep and a little too much of the free-flowing wine the Knights served with the food. While the others had sensibly decided to stick to water, to keep their focus sharp, he hadn’t been able to resist the alcohol when it was offered.

  “I think that’s quite enough of that.” Akhenaton reached out and took away Waleed’s glass as he held it up for a refill.

  “No fair,” Waleed pouted. “That was good!”

  Samuel chuckled and shook his head. His team were all good people. He looked over at Basile to see what story he was telling now. A group of Knights had gathered around him, so caught up in listening to his adventures that they forgot they were meant to be serving food.

  “Of course, once we had Akhenaton on our side, we were able to make fast progress,” Basile was saying. “I will always remember the thrill of walking into the treasure chamber for the first time. St. Augustine’s hat was proudly displayed, intricate statuary lining the room. There were priceless artifacts wherever you looked, so many relics that it would have taken a decade to catalog them all. I had never felt so alive as that moment when I realized that we had ancient history at our fingertips. What we could have learned, had we only been allowed to investigate the room fully.

  “Yet all that potential was laid to waste when the Bruard returned. They ordered us at gunpoint to hand over the papal cap before-

  BOOM!

  Basile’s story was interrupted by an almighty explosion rocking the building.

  “Stay where you are!” Samuel ordered, getting up and running over to a window. Keeping himself out of sight of the people below, he watched as a large, armored jeep pulled up outside the cultural center. Armed men poured out, Pin at their helm. St. Augustine’s hat sat prominently on his head as he shouted out to the Knights inside the building.

  “I call to the Knights of the Spring Dream!” he yelled. “Come out, come out, wherever you are! You have one minute for your leader to submit to me before I give the order to destroy this entire city in the name of the Bruard. The clock’s ticking. Sixty… Fifty-nine…”

  Thirty-Eight

  Samuel ducked back in the room.

  “In case you haven’t guessed, we’ve got trouble,” he said grimly. “They say that Abdul has one minute to give himself up before they start destroying Meroe.”

  “No matter what happens, you cannot allow yourselves to be captured by the Bruard,” Abdul urged Samuel. “The relic has to remain out of their grasp. They should never have been able to get so close, but now that they are here, at least you can transport the scepter away.”

  “You can’t go out there to him,” protested Samuel. “It’ll be certain death. They don’t mess around. They’ll shoot you if they don’t get what they want.”

  “If God wills it, then I will submit to my fate,” Abdul shrugged. “Under my leadership, I have allowed the Order to grow fat and lazy. I was complacent, believing that peace would always prevail. It is time for us to take responsibility for our actions. I can buy you the space you need to escape with the scepter. The Bruard will never know that you were here. I can at least do that much for you.”

  “No, you can’t!” burst out Akhenaton. “We won’t leave you here. We’ll find a way to get everyone out and save Meroe. Give us some time to come up with a plan, but we’ll think of something. There’s no way I’m going to abandon this cell, not after what happened with Fatima.”

  “I’m sorry, Akhenaton, but there’s no time,” Samuel told him. “Your duty is to the greater good. Fatima made it quite clear. We can’t save everyone, but we can save the world. We have to keep our eyes on the prize. I understand how you feel about your kin, but you have to stay with us. We need you. The world needs you.”

  “I don’t care,” protested Akhenaton. “If we leave one man to fall, then we’re as bad as the Bruard. We can evacuate, set up a decoy. There must be something we can do.”

  “There’s no time.” Abdul stood in front of Akhenaton, hands on both shoulders to make sure he paid attention. “As High Marshal, I order you to leave with Samuel. Let us perform our duty so you can do yours. There is no time to argue. Any minute now, the Bruard will start shooting. You have to leave. Keep the scepter safe.”

  Reluctantly, Akhenaton nodded, sighing deeply.

  “There’s a back exit leading directly from the cultural center to the parking lot,” Abdul told them. “I will dist
ract the Bruard while you escape. I reckon I can keep them talking for long enough that they won’t notice what’s happening. Worst case scenario, I’ll lead them to the stele and show them the underground tunnels. You’ll be long gone before they realize they’re too late.”

  “Very well. May God be with you.” Samuel was not a religious man, but it felt right to offer a blessing to the brave Knight who was undoubtedly walking out to his death.

  “And with you.” Abdul smiled sadly.

  Samuel and his team quickly gathered up their supplies and followed Abdul downstairs.

  “The exit’s back there,” he whispered, pointing to a door not far from Ayesha’s office. “Wait a few moments before you leave. If I can, I’ll lure them away so they don’t hear the sound of your car when you go.”

  The adventurers huddled together, crouching down in the shadows as they listened to Abdul walk out to meet Pin.

  “Three… two… Ah, High Marshal. How good of you to join us.” Even through the walls, Pin’s voice was clear as he greeted Abdul. “I was beginning to think that we were going to have to drag you out of there by force. That would have been most unfortunate.”

  “What is this?” blustered Abdul. “What are you doing here? How dare you set explosives in Meroe! You have no right to be here. I demand that you leave at once.”

  “Demand?” Abdul burst into mocking laughter. “You are in no position to make any demands, old man.”

  “Time to go.” Samuel lead the way towards the exit, staying low so that no one would spot them through the windows. He put his hand up on the door knob, but didn’t open it just yet. “Josh, you go first. Try and get the car started as quickly as you can. Abdul’s doing his best, but we may not have as much time as he hoped. Pin’s not going to put up with his delaying tactics for long. We have to put as much distance between us and the Bruard as possible.”

  “Look at you,” sneered Pin, his voice penetrating the walls of the cultural center. “You’re weak, overweight. You disgust me with how soft you’ve become.”

  “I know,” sighed Abdul. “I disgust myself.”

  Samuel and Josh frowned at each other.

  “What’s he talking about?” mouthed Josh.

  Samuel shook his head in bewilderment. This wasn’t the approach he’d expected Pin or Abdul to take.

  “Aren’t you afraid for your Knights?” Pin went on. “It’s not as though you can fight to protect them. You couldn’t even fight your way out of a wet paper bag!” He laughed at his weak joke, but no one else found it funny.

  “You’re a failure,” Pin sneered. “Imagine what will happen to your people, to the precious relics you’ve given your life to protecting, when I let my men loose in Meroe. You know that the Bruard is thorough in our ruthlessness. The state police are powerless against us. We will leave nothing behind. The pyramids will be rubble. Your so-called cultural center will be nothing but a pile of ashes. The blood of your Knights will run as freely as a river. Could you really live with yourself knowing that all those innocent people have died and you could have stopped them?”

  “He’s really piling on the guilt, isn’t he?” observed Josh.

  “Abdul will resist,” said Akhenaton confidently. “As High Marshal, he is devoted to the ways of our Order. He will never betray his fellows.”

  “Now,” Pin continued. “I understand that there is a group of deviants in the area. They were last seen heading this way–perhaps you have encountered them? There are six in total, one woman and five men. They’re lead by an archaeologist, one Samuel McCarthy. If you were to tell me whether he has arrived here, perhaps I might be convinced to spare you and your Knights.”

  “I think that’s our cue to leave,” said Josh, reaching for the door knob.

  “Wait.” Samuel put up a hand to stop him. “Abdul will take him to the stele, like he promised. That’s when we go.”

  To his horror, he couldn’t have been more wrong.

  “Samuel… is inside,” Abdul’s voice was quivering with fear as he forced the words out.

  “Go! Go! Go!” urged Samuel, as a gunshot rang out, announcing Abdul’s fate.

  Josh needed no second telling, as he raced for the car, deftly throwing himself into the driver’s seat to get the engine started. Shafira followed hot on his heels, Waleed scurrying along after them.

  “Get to the car,” Samuel ordered Akhenaton and Basile. “We can’t waste any time.”

  “Not without you,” Akhenaton told him.

  “We can’t leave without you,” Basile reminded him. “The Bruard are coming–and Pin has a particular grudge against you.”

  As if summoned by name, Pin’s men burst through the doors to the store. Knights swarmed out to fight them, swords flashing, but they were no match for the Bruard. Gun shots cracked the air, and the first Knights fell.

  “Samuel! Get your butt out here now!”

  Their car roared up as close to the back door as it could get. Shafira flung open the passenger door, Josh yelling for them to get in.

  “We can’t help them.” Basile tugged on Samuel’s arm, forcing him to tear his gaze away from the doomed Knights. Reluctantly, the remaining three adventurers got into the car.

  Josh slammed his foot down as the doors closed. Tires screeching, he yanked the steering wheel round to get them away and back to the safety of Atbara.

  Thirty-Nine

  Josh expertly piloted the car out of Meroe, taking corners at a breakneck speed.

  “Hold on,” he warned, as he hit the horn, yelling at a car dawdling on the road ahead of them to get out of the way. He swerved round it, throwing the passengers violently right and left.

  “Er… guys? We’ve got company,” warned Basile, looking out of the rear window to see Pin’s jeep coming up fast behind them. A mercenary was driving, with Gord sitting next to him.

  “I’ll deal with this.” Waleed pulled his gun out, checking that it was fully loaded. “I’ve been waiting to do this for ages!” Rolling down the window, he leaned out and fired off a few shots at the jeep.

  Ratatatatatatatatatatat!

  The response to his shots was a hail of bullet fire from the machine gun mounted on top of the jeep.

  “Nice one, Waleed,” sneered Basile, as the man ducked down and away from the bullets.

  “Climbing the stele was easier than this,” muttered Waleed. “Josh, can’t you pick up the pace? You drive like an old lady!”

  “I’m doing the best I can, but this vehicle isn’t exactly built for speed,” complained Josh. “Their engine’s got a lot more grunt than this pile of junk. Maybe next time we should shell out for a decent car and stop expecting me to work miracles. I’m doing my best, all right?”

  “They’re getting closer!” cried Shafira. “Josh, they’re almost on top of us!”

  The jeep edged towards them, pulling alongside. Its driver grinned at Josh, who made a rude gesture in response.

  “Gord’s coming to get us!”

  Sure enough, Gord pulled himself out of the jeep window, clambering up to the roof of the vehicle. Steadying himself, he prepared to leap across to their car. Nobody wanted to think about what would happen when he did.

  BLAM!

  Samuel leaned out of his window and fired a shot at Gord. He ducked, falling to the side. He scrambled to get his feet back under him, buying them a precious few seconds, but it wasn’t going to be enough.

  “All right, time for Plan B.” Samuel tucked his gun back in his belt.

  “Plan B?” Waleed frowned. “What Plan B? I didn’t even think we had a Plan A!”

  “Help me out here.” Samuel reached out for one of the crates of gold coins. It was too heavy for him to lift on his own, but Basile reached down and between them, they manoeuvred it onto Samuel’s lap.

  “What are you doing?” asked Waleed. “You better not be doing what I think you’re doing…”

  “Depends. Do you think that I’m going to get the Bruard to back off?” Samuel smirked before
yanking open the passenger door. He almost fell out as the force of the wind threatened to rip the door off its hinges.

  Taking the hint, Basile added his strength to Samuel’s, pushing the crate out of the car and right into the wheel rim of the jeep. Its driver swerved wildly to avoid the crate, which smashed against the ground, scattering its precious cargo across the road.

  “What are you doing?” shrieked Waleed, pulling at his hair in anguish. “Do you know how much money you’ve just thrown away?”

  “Enough to buy us some time,” Samuel replied, struggling to shut the door again. He finally managed to get it closed. He looked over his shoulder to see that the Bruard had fallen back. It wouldn’t be long before they caught up again, though.

  “There’s no way we’re going to make Atbara,” Josh told them. “Not at this speed. The engine’s struggling to cope as it is. Hear that whine?”

  He held up a finger to make everyone listen. A high pitched whining noise could be heard over the sound of the engine.

  “That’s the head gasket warning us that it’s about to blow,” Josh continued. “I can do a temporary patch, but the second we stop, the Bruard will jump us.”

  “So that’s it then,” sighed Waleed. “We’re screwed.”

  “Not necessarily,” Josh countered. “I don’t think we’ll make Atbara, especially not if we keep up this pace. But if we detoured to Ad-Damir, we might be able to give them the slip. It’s the capital city of the state of the River Nile, so it’s pretty busy. We can lose them in a crowd and hole up somewhere while we figure out another way to get to an airplane. One way or another, we can get out of the country from there.”