“Easy to have overlooked another burial chamber?”
Maggie shrugged. “If it’s hidden, sure.”
Henry raised his eyebrows. “We’ll see.” He paused. “I’m not sure where. They haven’t found any clues.”
“Oh, right,” Maggie tossed her hands in the air before falling backward to lie in the sand. “EMMA, the supreme authority on the tomb, can’t find it, so it must not be there!”
The sun dipped below the horizon as Henry lay back next to her. They stared at the night sky, awaiting the first star to appear. Henry remained silent.
“You know, I’ll remind you she struggled to read the staff when we were searching for the tomb, so she’s not got a great track record on this stuff.”
Henry studied the darkening sky.
“Why aren’t you answering me,” Maggie inquired. She rolled over to stare at him.
“Huh?” he said.
Maggie shot him a glance. “You heard what I said.”
“Oh, right, yes, I heard you, princess.”
“Then why didn’t you answer?”
“Ah, well…”
“It bothers me you’re not answering. It usually means you don’t agree.”
“Now, princess, you know when I don’t agree, I just tell you.”
“Oh, really? Like the time you didn’t agree about that lasagna I made? I said it tasted okay and asked if you agreed and you pretended not to hear me?”
“Well, that was different.”
“How?”
“Just was,” Henry hedged.
Maggie sat up and crossed her arms. She stared at Henry.
“Look!” Henry pointed to the sky. “The first star, princess!”
Maggie raised her eyebrows at him, her mouth forming into a pout. Henry grimaced. “Okay, okay,” Henry said. “I just… don’t see why she gets to you.”
“She’s a traitor!” Maggie exclaimed.
“She had a reason, Maggie. She was backed into a corner.”
Maggie scowled and flung herself back down onto the sand.
“Don’t be mad at me, princess. I just hate to see you upset.”
Maggie sighed. “I’m not mad at you,” she admitted. “She just bugs me.”
“I thought you understood. Plus, part of the reason she was backed into a corner was because we put her there,” Henry reminded her.
“I know. And I did understand! At least I thought I did. When we went back to Cairo after we found the tomb, I realized what the situation was. But then I just went over and over it and got madder and madder.” Maggie rolled over to stare at Henry, propped up on her elbows. “I mean, she literally was ready to leave you, Charlie, Tarik AND Uncle Ollie behind to die! She just wanted to walk away! How are you okay with this?”
Henry shrugged. “People make snap decisions when they’re under duress. Everyone reacts to a stressful, life-and-death situation differently.”
“Oh, so you’re okay with excusing her poor choices and potentially costing four people their lives because she was stressed?” Maggie argued.
“Don’t put words in my mouth, princess, I didn’t say that at all.”
Maggie’s shoulders sagged. “I’m just saying she’s got a poor character! How can you not agree?”
“Leo was ready to leave us behind, too,” Henry countered.
“Yes, and I dumped him,” Maggie contended. “Plus, you DO think he has poor character! And stop deflecting! We’re talking about Emma NOT Leo.”
“Emma’s not my favorite person either,” Henry admitted. “But she’s not worth this much upset. And the decision she made is understandable. She was frightened. They probably threatened her.”
“Oh, so are you ready to let Leo off the hook?”
“I thought we were leaving Leo out of this?”
“You brought him up!”
“I don’t want to argue,” Henry began.
“Neither do I, but it’s too late for that!”
“Why do we always end up arguing about that bloke every time we’re in the desert?”
Maggie shook her head without answering.
“All right, all right. I guess…” Henry paused, grimacing. “I guess Leo’s decision is understandable. And yes, I think it shows poor character on his part. And Emma’s. But she’s not a terrible person.” Henry lowered his voice to a mumble. “And neither is Leo.”
“Wait, what? Neither is Leo? Henry Taylor! Are you admitting he’s not an ass?”
“Oh, no,” Henry countered. “He’s definitely an arse. He’s just not a terrible person.”
Maggie giggled at his admission.
“Your turn,” Henry said.
“My turn for what?”
“Admitting Emma is not a terrible person.”
Maggie rolled over to stare at the sky, now full of stars. She bit her lower lip. After a breath, she answered. “Fine, okay, she’s NOT a terrible person.”
“And you’re not going to let her bother you?”
Maggie groaned. “And I’m not going to let her bother me.”
“Promise?”
Maggie rolled her eyes. “Fine, I promise.”
Henry put his arm around her, pulling her close to him. He kissed the top of her head. “You do NOT have poor character. That’s why I love you, Maggie Edwards.”
Maggie giggled. “And that’s why I love you.”
“Because I also have great character?”
“No, because you realize how great I am,” she joked. They settled back into the sand to watch the stars for another hour before heading to bed for the night.
Maggie tiptoed into the large tent. Blackness surrounded her. Unfamiliar with the layout, Maggie bumped into a small table, scattering its contents onto the tent’s floor. “Shoot!” she hissed as she hopped on one foot to stop the pain from panging through her big toe.
She placed her foot on the floor only to raise it after stumbling on an unidentified object. With a sigh, she staggered a few more steps as she pulled her phone from her pocket. Maggie toggled on the flashlight.
“Hey!” Emma shouted from her cot. She held her hand up in front of her face to block the light. “Turn that thing off, we’re trying to sleep!”
“Yeah, boss lady,” Piper chimed in, “we’re trying to sleep.”
“Sorry!” Maggie exclaimed. “I’m just trying to get to bed without hurting myself!”
“If you would have gone to bed when everyone else did instead of slinking off to make eyes at Henry, you could have without disturbing the rest of us,” Emma complained.
Maggie bit her tongue as she recalled her promise to Henry. “I’ll just be a minute,” she promised.
“Turn off the light,” Emma entreated.
“Just turn over,” Maggie suggested.
“I’ll still see the light shining even if I turn over.”
Maggie rolled her eyes. “What happened to Emma ‘I can sleep through anything’ Fielding?” Maggie muttered.
“Huh?” Piper responded.
“Nothing, go to sleep, Maggie,” Emma snarked as she rolled over on her cot.
“In college, Emma could sleep through ANYTHING,” Maggie explained. She chuckled to herself. “One time, the guys from Kappa Kappa Sigma raided our sorority house and…” Maggie giggled. “Emma slept RIGHT through it. I mean, not even a peep.”
“Really?” Piper inquired.
“Yeah, really. Oh, those boys were blowing those little party horns. You know, the kind you get on New Year’s Eve. And running through the house. Girls were screaming and Emma never budged.”
“This does not need to be discussed,” Emma complained.
“Oh, come on, Emma,” Maggie replied, “it’s funny!”
“It’s not funny,” Emma countered. “You only find it funny because it makes me look bad.”
“How does it make you look bad?” Maggie asked. “Stop being a spoil sport.”
“Just get in bed and turn that light off.”
“Fine, whatever,” Maggi
e answered. She climbed under the thin blanket on her cot. With her flashlight toggled off, she plugged her cell phone into the generator-powered charger and settled back into the pillow.
Maggie tossed and turned on the cot. She spent a few minutes laying on her back before she flipped onto her side with a sigh. Her cot creaked with every movement.
“Will you quit jumping around?” Emma grumbled into the darkness.
“I can’t get comfortable!” Maggie answered.
“Bed not cushy enough for you?” Emma retorted.
“First of all, this isn’t a bed, it’s a cot. Second, no, it’s not cushy enough for my tastes. And third, I’m not going to lie here uncomfortable because my squeaky cot is annoying you.”
“Well, there are two other people in here trying to sleep, but you’re right. Don’t trouble yourself with being considerate.”
Maggie rolled her eyes at Emma in the dark. She flopped from her side to her back. Her cot protested under her movement. She heard a sigh from Emma. Maggie tossed the thin covering off her. She fumbled around on the small table next to her. Items rattled around as Maggie searched for an object to fan herself.
Light shattered the darkness. Maggie squinted against it. “What are you doing?” she asked Emma.
“What are YOU doing?” Emma inquired. She held a large flashlight in her hands, aimed directly at Maggie.
“Trying to find something to fan myself with. It’s hot in here.”
“It’s the desert. It’s hot. Get over it. If you lay still, you won’t be so hot.”
Piper pulled her pillow from under her head and squashed it over her face.
“Fine, fine,” Maggie acquiesced. “Just turn that off and let’s try to go to sleep.”
Maggie laid awake for over an hour contemplating their situation. If they found nothing in the tomb, then what? They would have no leads. They had risked their lives to gather the first two pieces of the puzzle. Would they find the third? Emma did not expect they would. What if she turned out to be right? As much as Maggie hated to admit it, Emma may be correct. Despite the issues between them, Emma was knowledgeable, especially about the tomb.
Maggie shook her head and rolled onto her side. There had to be something here. They weren’t beaten yet. She had to hold on to that hope.
Chapter 16
The bright sun beat down on the desert sands. Despite the early hour, temperatures already soared. Maggie stood over the schematic of the tomb, fanning herself with a stack of folders.
“Still hot, huh?” Emma snarked.
“Yes, it’s the desert, remember? And unlike some people, I don’t have ice water coursing through my veins.”
Henry pinched Maggie’s arm, sliding his eyes sideways and his eyebrows up in a silent warning. Maggie held her arms up in defeat.
“Are we all ready?” Ollie inquired, steering the conversation back to the task at hand.
Everyone nodded. Ollie continued. “Search every inch of your area. If you find ANYTHING, report it to me. I’ll stay in the antechamber for this portion of the search.”
“And if we find nothing…” Maggie began.
Ollie nodded. “If we find nothing, we move on to the larger treasure and burial chamber area this afternoon. All right, everyone have their flashlights?”
Everyone nodded. “Okay, let’s move out!” Ollie commanded.
They filed from the tent and hurried through the heat across the short distance to the tomb’s entrance. Maggie took a deep breath as they faced the large gaping entrance to the tomb. A flicker of memories from her last encounter here flitted through her mind. She swallowed hard and shook the memories from her brain. There was no danger here this time. She could enjoy perusing the tomb. The craftsmanship and intricate details enthralled her even when she was held at gunpoint. She would enjoy the exploration this time.
Excitement built as she stared into the lit entrance. A smile spread across Maggie’s face. “Wait until you see this place!” Maggie said to Piper. “It’s AMAZING!”
They entered the passageway leading to the tomb’s antechamber. Maggie’s eyes took in the space. She lowered them to the stone floor. Her foot rubbed one of the stone tiles. She explained to Piper about the poison-dipped arrows triggered by them.
“They’ve been disabled,” Ollie assured them. To prove his point, he trod on several of the tiles. “All right, Piper and Charlie, you two start here.”
Maggie, Ollie, Tarik, Emma and Henry continued down the passage and to the massive antechamber at the end. Here they split into two teams, with Maggie and Henry stepping into the left chamber where a massive ship to serve Cleopatra in the afterlife had sat. Emma and Tarik entered the servants’ burial chamber across the antechamber. Large temporary lighting lit the area.
“Gosh,” Maggie said, her voice echoing in the colossal space, “this room is so empty without the ship.”
“Yep,” Henry answered.
“That ship was amazing,” Maggie added. “Too bad it wasn’t still here. I’d have loved to show it to Piper.”
“She doesn’t seem too keen on this whole thing.”
“No,” Maggie admitted. “I didn’t realize she was such a ‘fraidy cat! She seems so carefree.”
“When she’s in her comfort zone,” Henry noted.
Maggie nodded in agreement. “Well, I guess we better start our inspection!”
“Pick a corner, princess, any corner.”
Maggie spun in a circle. “That one!” she declared, pointing across the room.
Maggie strode to their starting point. Hieroglyphs covered the walls even in this room. She studied them. In the middle, a depiction of Cleopatra sailing in a dark river adorned the wall.
They worked their way around the room, studying the pictures. Maggie hoped to find a clue suggesting a hidden passage, though she didn’t expect much. People with far more knowledge of hieroglyphs and tomb structure likely already poured over these. They had found nothing.
Maggie rounded to the final wall. “I wonder what all of this says,” she pondered aloud.
“I can’t help you there, princess. I don’t have much knowledge of Egyptian hieroglyphics.”
“Do you think they translated all of this already?”
“Good question. Let’s get the answer.” Henry wandered to the entrance as Maggie continued her circuit around the room. He called Ollie into the chamber.
“Did you find something?” Ollie asked breathlessly as he hurried inside.
“Sorry to get your hopes up,” Maggie answered. “No. We were wondering if all this has been translated yet.”
Ollie shook his head. “Not yet,” Ollie admitted. “We’ve photographed all of it and sent it out to be analyzed, but we don’t have full translations back.”
“I wondered if anything on these walls suggested another passage.”
Ollie shrugged his shoulders. “Nothing was obvious to me, but I’ll admit I didn’t translate the entire thing. It seems mainly to discuss the ship, to detail the building of it, who was involved, how it would be used by Cleopatra in the afterlife and a little about her use of ships during her lifetime.”
Maggie returned her gaze to the walls. “Got it. Well, we’ll make a thorough inspection of the room, anyway.”
“Good luck! I’ll check on the other teams.” Ollie strolled from the room.
“Okay!” Maggie said. “Let’s get to it!”
They examined every inch of the wall with their hands. Henry climbed the scaffolding, working his way around the top of the room as Maggie worked on the bottom half. They felt for any triggers, abnormalities, or hidden mechanisms. Maggie’s enthusiastic attitude waned with each passing moment.
They reached the end of the first of the four walls. Maggie’s fingers ached from meticulously testing the stone walls. She collapsed on the floor. “I need a break,” she said with a sigh.
Henry descended from the scaffolding, sliding down to sit next to her. “Tired already?”
“Frustrated,�
�� Maggie admitted.
Henry put his arm around Maggie and pulled her close to him. “You can’t win ‘em all, princess.”
“My fingers are sore.”
“Let’s take a break.”
Maggie sighed and rubbed her fingers against her leggings. “No,” she said with a shake of her head. She climbed to their feet. “No, let’s keep going. Let’s at least get halfway done before I pitch a fit.”
Henry chuckled at her as he stood. “If you insist! We’ll take a break for your pity party after this wall.”
Maggie pursed her lips at him. “It’s not a pity party. It’s an ‘I’m frustrated’ party.”
She began her inspection of the wall’s lower half. “Don’t let it get you down, princess,” Henry said as he climbed the scaffolding for his probe.
“You realize if we find nothing here, we have no leads on what to do next.”
“Let’s keep our fingers crossed we find something then.”
“Which is why I’m frustrated with each hieroglyph that passes with no breakthroughs!”
Maggie reached the corner after over forty minutes of careful work. Maggie pounded against the final few inches of the wall. “Found something?” Henry questioned as he joined her on the floor.
“Yeah,” Maggie answered. “I found just how frustrated I can become in under an hour.”
“Come on, let’s take a break before we tackle the other half of the room.”
“Good idea. I need a break from this place.”
Maggie stomped from the room into the antechamber beyond. “Maggie!” Ollie called from the room’s center. “Great timing! I just brought drinks and sandwiches for everyone.”
Emma, Piper, Charlie and Tarik already sat on the floor nibbling on sandwiches. Maggie collapsed next to Piper. She grabbed one of the sandwiches, unwrapped it and took a bite.
“Anyone find anything?” she inquired.
“No,” Piper answered, “but you were right. This place is awesome!”
Maggie grinned at her. “I told you!”
“How about you?”
“Nothing but sore fingers, a sore back and sore feet,” Maggie admitted.
“How about you two?” Maggie inquired of Tarik and Emma.
Secret of the Ankhs: A Maggie Edwards Adventure (Maggie Edwards Adventures Book 2) Page 18
