He laughed. “Trust me, it’s not like I didn’t try. Andie’s…” he turned to look at me with a chuckle, “got her own things going on. The news just didn’t reach her until now.”
Delores dropped the subject before settling into her seat for the ride but if the look on her face when she heard my name was any indication of how this trip was going to go, then I was going to refrain from spreading the word about my last name. The shuttle bus to the hotel was dense with the hot, dry air of Cairo but it was also thankfully short. I longed to dip my parched face into a sink of water and be alone with my thoughts.
And my vodka.
Howard said very little as he checked us in and walked me to my room. It was the one right next to his. We stopped at the doors and he handed me my key. Not a plastic key card of most modern hotels but an actual key, a worn and tarnished metal piece that I had to jiggle into the keyhole.
“Get some rest,” he said before entering his own room. “We’ll get a decent meal later before we head out to meet the local brains.”
I nodded wordlessly and entered the silence of my tiny, narrow room. A twin bed under an even smaller window, a three-drawer dresser that looked like it came from a yard sale, and the tiniest bathroom I’d ever seen. My knees touched the shower doors when I sat on the toilet. But it would do. I hoped to spend as much time as I could down in the tomb anyway.
I threw my black leather backpack down on the bed and paced the length of the room a few times, fighting internally before giving in and dumping the contents onto the lumpy mattress. Along with my headphones, journal, and other carry-on items, a Ziploc bag containing a bunch of mini bottles of vodka tumbled out. I chewed at my lip as I stared at them. Crystal clear promises. The sweat that covered my body had since dried to a sticky sheen as new sweat began to pool in unsightly areas. Every fiber of my being wanted to crack all the bottles open and binge. But I plucked Silas’s necklace from inside my white tank top and clenched the stone firmly in my grasp.
“I can do this,” I told myself. “I can get a handle on this.”
I just had to keep it at bay. Don’t let the withdrawals get too bad. Micro-dose. In a couple of weeks, I’ll be perfectly fine. I cracked open the tiny stopper of one bottle and took the shot. Hot and cold singed my dry throat and spread through my veins, calming my nerves and silencing the whispers in my head.
I stripped down and hopped in a cool shower, washing away the remnants of the flight and layers of vodka sweats. It felt good. It felt…renewing. A decent meal and a good night’s sleep would do wonders, and I smiled as I thought about the adventure ahead while I wrapped a towel around me.
I stepped back out into a minuscule room and yelped when I found someone sitting in the one chair by the window.
“Jesus Christ, Howard,” I said and tightened my grip on the towel. “Privacy?”
“Sorry,” he replied and stood. I noticed him side eye the items spilled onto my bed, but he said nothing. He pointed to a door that I thought was a closet, but it hung open and revealed the inside of a mirrored room. “It’s an adjoining room. I’d hoped we could get some rest, but I have news.”
Hastily, I scrambled to shove everything back into my backpack without losing the towel that hugged my body. “Oh, yeah?”
“Yes, get dressed. We’ll grab a bite to eat before heading to the site.” Professor Danes walked past me as he headed for the door.
“What’s the big news?” I asked.
Howard stopped and turned to look over his shoulder. An unusual look on his face. Something of a mix between excitement and sadness hidden by a mask. “They’ve removed the very last of the rubble.”
A gasp escaped my throat, pushed out by the sudden hard thump of my heart, and my wide eyes searched his for an answer. “You mean…did they find–”
“Just get ready,” Howard replied with a solemn smile. “I’ll meet you down in the lobby.”
And just like that, he shut the door behind him, and I was left standing in a towel in the silence of my hotel room. The only sound to be heard was that of my feverish heartbeat throbbing in its cage. I couldn’t face it like this. My hands trembled as I fought with my resolve and it only took a second to cave. I scrambled for one of my vodka bottles and twisted the top off before downing the whole thing.
The precious poison burned all the way down but did very little to calm my nerves. The words in my head were just too loud. They removed the last of the rubble, the crumbled stone that had trapped my father and Silas for two years. I would finally get some answers.
And some closure.
Chapter Six
I met Howard in the lobby a few minutes later, along with Delores and a couple of local men loaded up with gear hanging from every limb. We waited for our ride. A rickety tanned colored Jeep with the windows taken out. The dry breeze whipped through the vehicle and offered a slight relief from the blistering heat as we headed toward the site.
I glanced behind us and watched as the cityscape of Cairo narrowed with every second that ticked by and smiled when I noticed the Great Pyramid to our far left, flagged by its sisters. The jalopy kept bounding for a large hill range and everyone in the vehicle was conversing with excitement as I stared out across the endless desert. Lost in my own mind. With every passing moment, I was nearing the site of my father’s death and the death of the man I love. For two years, I’d wanted nothing but some sort of closure. Something to help me put them to rest.
Until now.
My backpack sat on my lap and I gripped it tightly. Dad’s research and the secret journal tucked safely inside. Yeah, I’d wanted some closure to help me move on with my life but now I had a new mission. Figure out what Dad and Silas had really been up to. Why had they hidden research from the university? Why had Dad suddenly cut Howard out of the circle? And what exactly happened down in that tomb? All questions that I hoped to gain answers to over the next few weeks.
We pulled to a dusty stop next to a hill that towered just above our heads. Solid stone the same color as the surrounding sand dunes. To the right was a pile of crushed stone and other rubble, bigger and taller than the hill itself. I swallowed hard as I stared at it. Those were the rocks that had crushed the life from Dad and Silas. I willed myself to look away and focused my attention on the team that stood in a circle.
Howard looked at his watch. “We’ve got about four hours of daylight left. I’d like to be in and out before then. We start at the entrance and work our way through the rooms, winding down to the pit. Take pictures, make notes. Let’s try and paint the full picture here, guys.” He stopped and clicked the light on his hat. “Check your lights. Stay close. And radio if you need anything. Delores, you take Andie and Rashid. Abdel, you’re with me.”
Delores waggled her eyebrows at me in anticipation and I followed them to the hill where the two local men hauled a makeshift wooden door to the side, revealing a small and narrow entrance. Soft granules of sand blew through the air, catching in my hair. I was the last to step inside and after a few long paces down a narrow hallway, I clicked my headlamp and came to a halt next to Delores where the hallway finally ended on a round landing.
“Have you ever seen anything like it?” she said with wonder. “I’ve been here five times now and it never gets old.”
I followed her gaze toward the interior of the tomb and the sight before me stole the breath right from my lungs. Mouth gaped, I stood and stared at the hollow space before us. Our team of five stood at the top of a huge set of descending stairs. It must have been at least a hundred feet before the last stair met the floor of a great room, circular in shape and lined with half a dozen archways. Each leading to endless possibilities just waiting to be discovered.
Delores gave a hefty pat on my back before passing me to go down the stone stairway. “Told ya you were in for a treat!” she called behind her.
I hurried to catch up. “Is this where the cave-in happened?”
“No,” she replied. “This is just the main entranc
e to the city.”
“City?” I repeated with confusion. “I thought this was a tomb.”
“You and everyone else,” she replied as we finally reached the bottom where Howard, Rashid, and Abdel waited. “But we’ve yet to find evidence that this was used as burial chambers. To me, they seem more like living quarters.” She stopped a pursed her lips. “Just wait. You’ll see what I mean.”
Howard looked to Delores. “Take Andie to the Great Hall while I check out what’s been revealed in the pit.”
“Wait,” I said. “The pit? Is that where my Dad was?”
Howard stepped forward and grasped my shoulder with a sigh. “Yes, but you’re not ready to go down there. Let me go see if it’s safe. You’ll get there in time, don’t worry. Plus,” he turned his attention to Delores at my side, “I’m sure there’s enough to keep you busy in the meantime.”
My nerves seethed but I masked it with a smile. I wanted nothing more than to go with Howard and he knew it. How could he not? Dad and Silas’s deaths had torn me up, flipped my life upside down. Now I had a chance to get answers, or some peace at the very least. I was this close, and he wanted me to wait?
I eyeballed him as he seemed to purposely avoid my gaze and gather up a few pieces of equipment that hung from Abdel’s shoulder. The two of them headed off through one of the dark archways and I listened as the sound of their footsteps crunching against the stone quickly faded away.
“So,” Delores spoke, breaking me out of my sulky haze. She raised her eyebrows in excitement. “You ready? Stick close. It’s easy to get lost down here.”
“Lead the way,” I replied with a smile.
Delores was easy to like. She had this smart energy about her that I admired. She led me through a second archway, and I followed her as the light from my headlamp lit the narrow space. I scanned the walls as we trekked through the never-ending winding hallways, trying to see if any looked like the ones I found in Dad’s journal. But none were. I did recognize most of them, however. Symbols and hieroglyphs telling stories of family and community. We passed numerous smaller doorways that led to dark spaces, but Delores didn’t even give so much as a second glance.
“What are some of these rooms?” I finally asked her after about fifteen minutes of walking through the twists and turns.
The woman turned on her heel and shined her light over one of the openings before looking to me proudly. “At first, we thought they were holding cells for detaining criminals. But the further we excavated, the more rooms we found and realized they were something else entirely. What do these symbols mean to you?”
I squinted as I read the images above the doorway. They were clearly ancient Egyptian, but there were other symbols mixed in. Ones I’d never seen in all my years of university or traveling with Dad. A square with a break on one side. An owl. These made sense to me. But then there were other symbols, similar to actual letters, mixed in.
“I think it’s saying home or house, for sure,” I replied, still studying the space above the door. “But I’m not certain about the rest.”
“Good eye,” Delores told me with a pat on the back. “But these two letters here,” she pointed, “is the house name. The family that resided inside.”
Wide eyed, I looked to her with excitement. “Are you sure? That would definitely back up your theory that this was a city of some kind.”
“See for yourself,” she said with a chuckle and stepped aside.
With a deep breath, I walked through the opening and took a few steps inside. The space seemed to be much bigger than I had thought. From the hallway it was hard to tell, but once inside, with a flashlight, I could see exactly why Delores thought they were living quarters. The obvious shape of a table and chairs carved from stone still sat off to the right, untouched by the outside world. Short rectangular mounds, three of them, lined the back wall. If covered in straw or something soft, they would surely be beds. I slowly walked the perimeter of the room, gently running my fingers across the nooks dug out of the walls and imagined how they may have once held books or other objects.
Delores came and stood in the center of the room as I continued to walk around and admire. “After the grand entrance, we found the first three of these rooms. Naturally, everyone jumped to the conclusion that they were like cells. But after we uncovered dozens it was evident that they were more than that. These rooms were homes to families. They contained entire lives.”
I snapped to attention. “Dozens?”
Delores grinned. “Come. There’s more.”
I followed her through more winding hallways until the mouth of one opened up to an enormous space. Bigger than the grand entrance with a ceiling that rose above our heads by at least thirty feet. Long stone tables and benches fell in rows upon rows and the light of my headlamp seemed to compete with a foreign illumination. I craned my neck and cast my gaze upward where I noted half a dozen round holes in the high ceiling and how a strange yellow light filtered in from them.
“Genius, isn’t it?” Delores stepped to my side. “The holes are connected to the surface through a series of tunnels. We found reflective surfaces inside.”
I gasped. “You mean…” I walked to stand directly under one and tried to look inside but it was far too high. “They were advanced enough to create periscopes?”
Delores smiled and nodded.
“So, this is–”
“Sunlight,” she finished for me. “This is the Great Hall. We’re pretty sure it was a communal eating place. Like a cafeteria. And, considering we’re about two hundred feet underground now, I’d say that’s pretty impressive. Wouldn’t you?”
Still stunned by the magnitude of it all, I only nodded.
Delores’s face turned skeptical. “But your father studied this place for months. He knew it like the back of his hand. Surely, he told you all this. No?”
I sighed. “Yeah, after I enrolled in university, Dad kind of started leaving out the details of his work. Everything was on a…need to know basis near the end.”
“Well, you’re here now and that’s all that matters. I’m sure he’d be very proud of you.”
“Thanks,” I replied and chewed at my bottom lip. “Do you mind if I take a look around? Take some notes? Unless you need me for something?”
“Of course,” Delores said and waved around the room. “There’s lots to see. Just don’t stray too far, it’s incredibly easy to get lost. Trust me.” She laughed. “Just radio if you need me, I’ll be down that hall.”
After she was out of sight, I let out a deep breath that I hadn’t even realized I was holding in. It was all so overwhelming. Being there. Exactly where my father and Silas worked together, uncovering the secrets of a past the world knew nothing about. I pulled my phone from my pocket and noticed the absence of a signal. No wonder they wouldn’t return my phone calls those first few days. Knowing them, they ventured down here and never left. Dad always consumed himself with work. It was as essential to him as breathing.
I opened the camera app and began clicking away, capturing the endless rows and stacks of symbols that quite literally covered every structural surface. I studied ancient languages, was trilingual and lived all over the world while Dad hauled me along on his digs. But nothing ever taught me about the alphabetical symbols mixed in with these hieroglyphs. Yet…they seemed familiar.
I wandered the Great Hall and took notes in my own journal which I held open with Dad’s journal behind it, keeping it close to reference different things. Trying to piece together the puzzle that was my father’s mind. Eventually, I left the space and ventured down a hallway filled with more rooms. I quickly realized that no two were exactly alike; some were small with one bed. Others were larger with more rooms inside. I tried to imagine the spaces filled with people. Friends and families. Children running around. And one major question ticked in the back of my mind the whole time.
What happened to them all?
Was that the ultimate question Dad and Silas were trying
to answer? An underground city such as this wasn’t depicted or recorded in any textbook I’d ever read. The endless hallways winding downward. How far did they go, I wondered? How many people lived down here? And why? Better yet, when?
Ancient Egypt had a fairly advanced civilization some four thousand years ago. Above ground. So, did these people live down here during the reign of so many pharaohs? Or was this place booming with life well before all that and then eventually move above ground?
I wandered the twists and turns, making notes and taking pictures. All the while, I had one mission in the back of my mind; to find the clock-like symbol Dad had in his photos. I had tucked the photograph into his journal and slipped it out then, studying it as I compared the images to those on the walls around me. But I found nothing that even indicated I was going in the right direction.
I lost all sense of time as I consumed myself with the work. With the absorption of knowledge and discovery. Comfortable in the silence of it all. So, when my radio crackled, and a loud voice pierced the air, it startled me.
“Andie,” Delores spoke through the speaker. “I’m headed back to the Great Hall. Meet you there.”
I plucked the device from my belt and held down the button as I held it to my face. “Roger that, Delores. See you soon.”
I turned around and began to make my way back through the shadowed corridors, delighted with all the material I collected and could study back in my room. But unsatisfied that I failed to find the wheel my father seemed to think was important enough not to report to the university. I had no other reason other than a gut feeling to believe that it was where the answer awaited. The key to figuring out what really happened to Dad and Silas, and why they were so secretive about this site.
When I finally turned a corner and found myself in the Great Hall once again, I was met with the whole team waiting. Howard had an impatient look about him, but it suddenly washed away at the sight of me.
“Sorry,” I said. “I was just lost in my own little world.”
Ancient Hearts: A Time Travel Fantasy Romance (Kingdom of Sand & Stars Book 1) Page 6
