by Liliana Hart
“Believe me, that’s the farthest thing from the truth. You’ll realize it one day when some woman knocks you on your ass and won’t put up with your bullshit.”
“Until that time I’m going to enjoy the single life. I’ve still got plenty of time to settle down. Like when I’m dead.” He grinned and punched Riley in the shoulder. “Unless I can get Maggie to leave your sorry ass and run away with me. What do you say, sweetheart?”
“Have you had all your shots?” she asked sweetly and then walked off toward the waiting Jeep.
“I do love your wife, MacKenzie. If I could find someone like her I might not wait until death to settle down.”
“Maggie is one of a kind. Looks like death is your only option.” And then Riley took off after his wife, leaving Sam with his mouth hanging open.
The ride back to the site was uneventful, and Riley was itching to get back inside the tomb. Now that he had Maggie beside him he could focus back on his work. But when they arrived at the camp the other Jeep was gone. And so was everyone else as far as he could see.
“What the hell?” Sam asked from the back seat.
“Good question,” Riley said.
He hopped out of the Jeep before it had come to a complete stop, looking over the tented area where they’d been cataloging artifacts. And then he breathed out a sigh of relief when he saw Dr. Bekhit looking intently in one of the journals Jay had been making notes in.
He looked up absentmindedly when he heard the car door slam, and he waved, shutting the book and standing to go greet them.
Where is everyone?” Riley asked.
“Your friend Walker became ill during the night. I sent all the guards with him to ensure he made it to the hospital safely since it was well after curfew. And I didn’t feel it was wise to wait until sun up to move him. His fever was quite high. I knew the other Jeep was returning with you, so I decided to wait here and ride back this morning.”
“Shit,” Riley said, scrubbing a hand across his face. “I need to go back and check on him.”
“With all due respect, there is nothing you can do for him there,” Bekhit said. “And there is much you can do here. I am happy to go to the hospital and check on his progress for you, but your time is running short here and I feel there is much still to be found.”
“I’d appreciate it very much,” Riley said. “But I must insist you come get me if things take a turn for the worse.”
“That is a deal, my friend. You look quite healthy this morning. I believe a good night’s sleep agreed with you.” Bekhit laughed at himself and then gestured to the book he’d left on the table. “These hieroglyphs are very exciting, but I want your professional opinion to see if I’m on the mark.”
Riley knew what Bekhit was going to ask before he opened the journal and pointed to the hieroglyphs that very few people in the world would recognize.
“Is this what I think it is?” he asked, pointing to a passage in the journal. Jay had made crude sketches of the interior walls of the tomb, but Jay hadn’t recognized the hieroglyph depicting the Book of Souls. The giddiness in Dr. Bekhit’s eyes exclaimed that he knew exactly what it meant.
“I believe so,” Riley said. “But I’m not sure it’s worth getting our hopes up at this point. We have yet to find any sign of it, and I’m afraid with the remains we found upon opening the tomb that it may have already been looted some time ago.”
“But this is proof of its existence,” Dr. Bekhit exclaimed. “If there is proof then we will keep searching for it until we find it. Do you realize what a find of this magnitude will do for my country? Not to mention your reputation. I insist that you focus all of your efforts on its discovery.”
Riley nodded. “Believe me, I want to find it as much as you do.”
“I know you do,” Bekhit said, satisfied. “I had a feeling this discovery would be big. It’s why I insisted that you head it up. I will go check on your friend and be back when I can. You know the importance of keeping a discovery such as the Book of Souls quiet. There are many who would kill just at the mention of the possibility of its existence.”
“I know,” Riley said. Bekhit spoke the truth. There were fortune hunters and thieves everywhere. And they had no law except the law unto themselves. They were the most violent kind of criminals.
It wasn’t long after they all watched as the Jeep disappeared over a dune and they were once again stranded with no one to call on except each other. Riley trusted Sam and Jay, but the only person he trusted enough to tell about the Book of Souls was Maggie. Greed had a tendency to turn even the best of men into something they weren’t.
“You’re hiding something,” Maggie said after Jay and Sam had gone back to the jobs they’d been doing the previous afternoon.
“You know me well, my love. Let me show you something.”
She was dressed almost the same as she’d been the day before, but he wanted her armed. Just in case. So he went into his tent and returned with the spare holster and gun he’d had hidden in his belongings.
“I want you to wear this,” he said, fastening it to her belt. And then he handed her a sheathed knife with a four-inch blade and she tucked it into her waistband. He knew she was capable of using both if the need arose. He handed her a flashlight and grabbed one for himself, and then he led her into the entrance of the tomb.
“Well, that’s unfortunate,” she said, noting the remains near the center of the first room.
“Unfortunate, but not our problem. We’re waiting on the forensic anthropologist to come collect him. This is what I want to show you.”
Riley handed her a pair of latex gloves so the oils from their fingers wouldn’t damage any of the interior and he showed her the first mention of the Book of Souls.
“It’s beautiful,” Maggie said, tracing her finger lightly over the carvings in the walls.
“The colors have already started to fade. It always makes me a little sad to know we try our best to preserve, but we can’t save everything. This is the first true reference I’ve ever seen of the Book of Souls. I’ve come across it in obscure journals and it’s whispered by a select few who believe its existence, but I’ve never seen the proof with my own eyes.”
“You think it’s here?” she asked, her eyes lighting with excitement.
“I think it’s possible. I’ve diagrammed the tomb and we’ve entered every room but one. You and I will try to breach it today.”
“Try?”
“The door is sealed. You’ll see once we get there. The locking mechanism is a code of some sort, but I haven’t figured out the combination yet. And it’s better to figure it out first instead of experimenting. Experimenting with Egyptian encryptions is a good way to lose a hand. Or a head.”
“Very comforting. I rather enjoy your head. Lets try to keep it attached.”
Riley winked and then led her out of the tomb and back into the sunlight. He wanted to bring the journal Jay had used to copy the hieroglyphs from the wall and to grab a larger backpack just in case they did find the book. He knew finding it would be dangerous. And he would show it to no one until he could put it in Bekhit’s hands. He’d never risk Maggie’s life that way.
“Dr. MacKenzie,” Jay said as they approached. “I was just about to come find you. It looks like Walker made a few notations near the back of the book before he got sick. But from what I can tell it doesn’t have anything to do with the hieroglyphs. It looks like numbers, but you know how bad his writing is.”
“I’m glad to see his handwriting is getting worse. I told him I wouldn’t approve his dissertation and allow the committee to pass him through if he didn’t start writing like a doctor.”
Jay handed over the book and Riley flipped to the back to the scribbled pages and then closed it again.
“Can you make anything of it?”
“Looks like he was balancing his checkbook to me,” Riley said, shrugging. “We’re heading back in the tomb. There’s still plenty to pull and catalog in sector C.”
Riley took Maggie’s hand and the headed back inside the tomb, the journal held securely in his other hand. His heart started pounding the moment he saw the mix of numbers and letters Walker had entered on the blank pages at the back of the leather bound book.
“How long are you going to make me wait before you tell me exactly what the Book of Souls is?” Maggie asked once they were alone inside the tomb.
Riley squeezed her hand in warning and led her down the narrow hallway that led to the different sectors, and they passed the markers he’d left behind earlier in the week and kept going. The hall grew narrower the farther they went and the ceiling grew shorter, so they were stuck walking single file, barely squeezing through the last opening that led into sector D. Once they were finally through Riley felt Maggie’s shuddering breath of relief.
This room was shaped like a shoebox and the walls were covered with hieroglyphs. A rectangular platform sat in the center of the room, also covered with hieroglyphs on all sides. But on top of the platform was a series of raised blocks, similar to a tic-tac-toe board, and each of the squares had one hieroglyph inside.
“The Book of Souls has always been more legend than truth in archaeological circles,” he began. “It was said that after Ramses the Great’s first born was killed during The Passover that his sorcerers combined their powers and the Book of Souls was born. It was a dark magic and they warned him that though the book might bring good and comfort to whoever used it, that it was possible to fall into the spell of the book’s power and lose your humanity. But Ramses and Nefertari didn’t care. They wanted to be able to see and communicate with their son again. And the Book of Souls was the only way to do that. When the book is held in human hands it opens the gates to the passageway between the earthly world and the spirit world. When the words inscribed inside the book are spoken and the name of the deceased is called then the two worlds become one for a short moment in time. But once the two bodies meet it’s often difficult for them to let go and return to where they belong.”
“I can imagine,” Maggie said. “A difficult thing for any parent to willingly walk away from. If it ended up in the wrong hands it could do unspeakable damage. If it exists at all.”
“We’re going to find out very soon,” Riley said, opening the journal to the pages Walker had scrawled on. “I think Walker cracked the code to open the door.”
“How can you tell?”
“Walker was a mathematical genius, among other things. I recognized the coding system he used immediately. It’s similar to the one used during World War II. Each number equals a letter of the alphabet. But in this case, each number represents a specific hieroglyph.”
“Very handy, that Walker,” Maggie said, looking over his shoulder at the writing.
“Be careful around the top of the platform,” Riley said, holding onto her arm when she moved around him to inspect the raised sections. “Those are like giant buttons. But if you press them in the wrong order there’s no telling what might happen. But chances are we’d both be dead before we knew what hit us.”
Maggie shined her flashlight on the corner of the platform and said, “It looks like someone didn’t follow instructions.” The blood was dark and already browning, but it was enough to be able to tell exactly what it was. And that it was reasonably fresh.
Riley looked backed toward the passageway they’d come from and felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. And then he walked the entire way around the platform, checking for any other signs of human injury.
“Whoever that blood belongs to didn’t try to open the sealed door. If they’d made an attempt at pressing the right combination of the buttons, and they’d chosen poorly, then there’d be a lot more blood. The Egyptians weren’t known for their humane killing or subtleties either one. And they weren’t much on second chances either. More than likely a wrong attempt would collapse the room we’re in or block the passageway completely.”
“You’re really boring me with this two week vacation thing. I was hoping we could navigate our way through a field of land mines or maybe jump out of a plane without a parachute.”
Riley grinned at her and saw the same excitement shining in her eyes as he knew must be in his. Maybe they were crazy. But at least they were crazy together.
“You want to go back to the tent?” he asked.
“Only if we can get naked once we’re there. By my calculations it’s been hours since you’ve been inside me.”
“Damn woman, I’m not a machine.”
“Could’ve fooled me,” she said, arching a brow at his obvious erection. Adrenaline was a weird thing.
“I’ll make you a deal. If we unseal the door and manage not to get killed, I’ll let you be the boss once we’re inside the tent.”
“Well you know I’d never pass up a deal like that. Lets get busy.” She smiled but then her grin faltered. “In all seriousness, who do you think the blood belongs to?”
“I don’t know,” Riley admitted. “But I have a feeling Walker may have gotten a little help with his illness. There’s one thing I’ve learned in this business, and that is you can’t trust anyone. Not colleagues and certainly not friends. You and me, babe. That’s where it begins and ends.”
Riley opened the journal and studied the code Walker had left incomplete. But it was just enough for him to see the pattern. He scribbled it out twice on his own and tried other variables just to make sure there were no other options, and once he was satisfied he laid the journal flat on top of the platform, next to the raised blocks.
“Maggie, I want you to go back into the passageway. Just to be safe. That way you can get out to call for help if you need to.”
“I’ll pass, thanks. I’m not leaving you in here by yourself.”
He rolled his eyes, but didn’t argue with her. He wouldn’t have left her alone if the tables were turned either. “Stand directly behind me then and shine your flashlight from up above. I want to make sure I’m seeing the marks clearly. Some of them are very similar.”
She did as he asked and then he traced the markings on each of the blocks gently. Then he took a deep breath and he pressed the one in the middle with two hands. It took a great deal of strength and the stone of the block grated as he pushed it so the top was even with the platform. The noise seemed louder than it should have, an echo that surely they could hear from outside the tomb, but he knew it was his own heightened senses.
A loud click echoed in the room once the block was in place and the silence that followed was deafening. They both held their breath as they waited for the first sign of danger. But there was nothing.
Riley moved to the next block, this one in the upper right corner, and did the same thing, pressing it until it was level with the platform. Sweat dripped from his brow, but his hands were steady, just as Maggie’s were as she held the light.
The next block pushed down much easier than the previous two, and then he was left with the final block. At least according to the code that had been deciphered. Once he pushed down the fourth block there were still two blocks that remained. But that didn’t necessarily mean they were part of the key.
“Here goes nothing,” he whispered, and pressed down the fourth block. It clicked into place just as the other three had, but then there was nothing but silence. And the door didn’t open.
They were quiet for several minutes, listening for any sign of change in the room. Riley started looking around for the final piece to the puzzle and then found it on the floor just in front of the door to the sealed room. There was another grid of nine square stones, but each one had four different hieroglyphs etched on every square. Only one of them had the four he’d just pressed onto the platform in the correct order.
Riley grabbed Maggie’s hand and carefully stepped onto the correct square. The floor trembled slightly as the stone sunk with his weight, and he was careful to stay completely still so he didn’t accidentally touch one of the other stones. Another click was heard as the ston
e went down as far as it could and the sealed door in front of him snicked open with a soft pop of stale air and dust.
“No matter what you do,” Riley said, pushing the door open wider and shining his flashlight inside. “Don’t step on any of those other squares. I don’t have a good feeling about being in here. Let’s look for the book quickly and get out. Patience is going to keep us alive today.”
Maggie nodded and he helped her cross over the threshold without touching the squares.
“Oh, my God,” she whispered once they were inside.
“You can say that again.”
The room was a treasure trove of priceless artifacts and gold. So much gold that the light from the flashlight reflected off its surface and glared into their faces. The temptation to look at every piece and touch was overwhelming. He knew without a doubt he’d never be a part of a find like this for the rest of his life. It was a possibility this was the last find of this magnitude for all eternity. But his life with Maggie was the priority. There was nothing worth the risk of losing that.
“Do you know what it looks like?” Maggie asked, standing perfectly still. They both knew that sometimes the interior rooms could be booby-trapped as well.
“I’m hoping we’ll know it when we see it.”
He looked around the room to see if anything looked off or out of place, and it was then he noticed the small pedestal against the far corner. On top of the pedestal was a golden statue unlike any he’d ever seen before. It was an obvious likeness of both Ramses and Nefertari, and golden tears trailed down their unsmiling faces. Though the busts of their heads were separated, a long boat sat on their heads—a funeral barge that the Egyptians used to transport goods into the afterlife—connected them together.
And inside the barge was a small book, no larger than the size of his hands resting side by side. It was really quite beautiful. The outside was made of pure gold and encrusted with all facets of precious gems.
“It’s beautiful,” Maggie said.
“And deadly.” Riley took a soft cloth from the inside of his pocket and wrapped it gently. And then he held his breath as he lifted it from the pedestal. It was so small there was no need to put it inside the backpack he’d brought. Instead he slipped it inside the pocket of his cargo pants.
