Samuel emerged from the bubbles once again as Sophia stood watching. Her face registered surprise when she looked at the figurine in his hand.
“Samuel, you’ve found it!” she rushed toward him.
“I have?” he gazed down at the figure in his hand before slumping to the ground. Akeim stood behind him with the butt of a revolver in his hand.
“He had it coming,” Akeim replied as Sophia raised a brow.
Alec and Genevieve followed the path through the bubbles that Samuel and Akeim had left behind. They found Samuel flat on his back with the warrior standing over him.
Sophia took the statue of a woman he was still holding within his hand.
“He found it?” Genevieve looked at the figurine in wonder. A five-pointed star with two cobras on either side crowned the statue.
“And a lot of thanks I get for it too,” Samuel sat up rubbing his head. “Damn, what did you hit me with?”
Akeim said nothing as he tucked his gun back into his belt.
“You cold-cocked me?” Samuel glared up at him accusingly, “I should have known.”
“I take it we can leave here now that we have the artifact?” Alec reached out a hand to Samuel and pulled him up.
Sophia looked around them, “Unfortunately, I haven’t a clue as to how.” She looked over at Genevieve, “Did you notice anything in the writings before these bubbles overwhelmed us?
“No,” Genevieve stifled a yawn as she shook her head, “I’m afraid not.”
“Why don’t we get some sleep while we wait for them to subside,” Alec suggested.
“It doesn’t seem we have any other choice,” Sophia covered a yawn of her own.
~*~
An hour later, Alec found Samuel in one of the storerooms sitting in a throne chair that he’d pulled up to a table. Pieces of a game were scattered across the top, while on either side he had placed the statues of Thoth and Anubis. “What are you doing?” Alec came forward.
“Having a bit of sport with my two chums here,” Samuel held out his bottle. “Care for some?”
“No thank you,” Alec shook his head. “I know where that has been.”
“Ah… right,” Samuel glanced down at the bottle with mixed feelings. Shrugging he took a healthy sip. “Aaugh!” he sighed, wiping his mouth as he eyed Alec thoughtfully, “Couldn’t sleep?”
“No,” Alec dragged a hand through his hair as he looked around.
“Then you’ll be excited to see what I’ve found,” Samuel reached over, picking up the rope he’d hung from the stiff member of a statue of the god Amun.
“We obviously have differing opinions,” Alec raised a brow at the huge phallus.
“What?” sitting at eye level to the appendage, Samuel chuckled. “Oh, you mean this. Yes, well apparently there is something in the afterlife worth getting worked up over after all.” Amusement danced in his eyes as he looked up. “I’m thinking I’ll get a replica for my foyer, I believe it would make an excellent umbrella holder.”
“I think you might be shunned by polite society. Not to mention your mother may disown you.”
“You think so? Then I’m definitely getting one,” he laughed as he pointed to the hieroglyphs etched lower on the statue. “Look here.”
“What have you found now, the secret to male potency?”
“This is the symbol for gold.”
“Not this again,” Alec groaned.
“No, this is different,” Samuel promised as his head bent under the huge projection. “Just listen."
Alec shook his head as he watched the spectacle, “If you could only see yourself.”
“I believe this is talking about the land where the gold came from. See this ship with the sails? It implies that it’s traveling against the current, in this case south.” He pointed to another, “and this tells of cataracts.” He looked up at him, “We were so close.”
“Samuel… we weren’t close.”
“You mean to tell me you’re not the least bit excited about it?”
Alec gave him a wry smile as he shook his head.
“Com’on man, a map to the Pharaoh’s gold, to the same mines as that of King Solomon?”
Alec chose to change tactics, “Aren’t you forgetting one important fact?”
“What is that?”
“We’re not going anywhere while we’re stuck here.”
“I’ve been thinking about that too.” Samuel grinned as he stood, maneuvering around the statues protruding anatomy. Stepping further into the room he returned with a forked pole. “Remember this?” He jabbed the floor with the end. He tossed Alec the rope. “Perhaps all we need to do is hold Apophis at bay?”
“Let’s get this straight… You’re plan is to lasso and hold an immovable statue at bay?” Alec’s voice was incredulous.
“Don’t look so damn skeptical,” Samuel scowled at him. “I’m thinking it could be the key.” He went back again, returning this time with a net, “We might need this as well.
“Yes,” Alec replied sarcastically. “It might put up a struggle.”
“Your cynicism is misplaced,” Samuel tossed the old piece to him. “You yourself pointed out the hieroglyph that showed several gods using a magical rope against him?”
“A magical rope?” Alec raised an eyebrow, “And just how did you know it was magical?”
“Com’on,” Samuel sighed, “What do we have we to lose?” he watched as Alec lifted the net, eyeing it skeptically. “Are you willing to give this a go or not?”
“This is falling apart,” Alec watched as small pieces fell away as he handled it.
“Well, it’s like you said,” Samuel passed him on the way out. “It probably won’t put up much of a struggle.”
“If it’s all the same to you, I’d rather not wake the others for this,” Alec tiptoed across the hall where they slept.
“Nothing to it,” Samuel grinned as he stood under the giant serpent. “We’ll just lasso this beast and be on our way.” He made a small loop at the end, tossing it over the hood of the cobra. “Hold tight,” he whispered, motioning for Alec to catch it.
Alec cast a quick glance toward the others before taking up the dangling rope in his hands. He shook his head as he watched Samuel jump on and swing over the pool in a wide arc. The rope slipped through Alec’s hands, threatening to land Samuel in the foam again.
“You’re doing it all wrong,” Samuel whispered looking over at him harshly.
Alec briefly thought about letting it go as he watched him try to gain a foothold on the slick stone.
“You’re going to have to pull harder,” Samuel instructed as he reached up higher. “Put your toe in that loop at the end.”
~*~
Akeim awoke to see Alec and Samuel dangling awkwardly from the head of the snake above a sea of foam. They bobbed upside down on each side, looking like a mismatched pair of earrings. He blinked, rubbing his eyes.
“Now look what you’ve done,” Samuel accused his cohort in crime as he struggled against the rope which bound both his ankles together.
“Whose bright idea was it to put my toe in the loop?” Alec retorted in a whisper.
“At least it only captured on of your feet.” Samuel pointed out.
“What happened to voting?” Akeim stood with his hands folded over his chest.
Alec groaned.
Samuel smiled brightly, “Oh, hello.” Dangling upside down, his head was at eye level to the warrior’s, “Just what we needed, another hand.”
“Why so he can be strung up like a goose as well?” Alec had crossed his booted feet as well as his arms. He swayed gently back and forth upside down on his side of the impromptu swing.
“Here, give me your hand,” Samuel reached out.
Akeim remained unmoving. “How did you ever survive?”
“Fine then, don’t help lasso the beast with the magical rope,” Samuel replied loftily as he bent at the waist. Reaching up, he grasped his foot, trying to untangle the knot that
held him there.
“A magical rope?” Akeim lifted a brow.
“What’s this about a magical rope?” Sophia asked.
Alec groaned again, looking up to see both Sophia and Genevieve watching the spectacle they made. Genevieve smiled at him, her eyes dancing with merriment.
Samuel fell back, swinging in an arc. “Back in the torturous bottom half of the hour glass, just before it was filled with grain, we noticed a drawing of Apophis being fettered by the gods with a magical rope.”
“Why didn’t you say so earlier?” Sophia asked in surprise.
“I had forgotten myself until a few minutes ago,” Samuel reached up again.
“Explain to me exactly what you saw,” Sophia took a step back eyeing the beast.
“Well there was—” Samuel started.
“Wait,” Alec interrupted him. “You mean this idea of his actually has some merit?”
“It may,” she nodded.
With a groan Alec bent at the waist, taking hold of the rope above his feet and pulled himself upright.
“You mean you’ve been letting me dangle here like a worm on a hook when you could have done something about it?” Samuel asked incredulous.
“Yes, yes I have.” Alec replied evenly as he climbed the rope until he straddled the head of the huge serpent. Holding the rope taut he started pulling Samuel up.
“As I was saying…” Samuel frowned, which looked oddly comical upside down. “The gods were standing on top of Apophis who was wrapped in a net with a magical rope around his neck.”
“Like this?” Sophia drew the shape in the fading bubbles at her feet.
“One and the same,” Samuel nodded as Alec gave him a hand up.
Akeim would you do the honors?” Sophia indicated the net beside the pool where Alec had left it.
It didn’t take long for the great statue to be fettered by the dilapidated net and magical rope. “What now?” Alec asked. Other than the decorations nothing had changed.
“The triton!” Samuel pointed to the forked pole.
“And you think that will be the deciding factor in this asinine idea of yours?” Alec whispered over to him shaking his head.
“Yes, yes I do,” Samuel replied, mimicking Alec’s earlier tone while he waited for Akeim to tie the staff onto the end of the rope.
Alec held onto the hood of the great cobra while Samuel stood on the head stabbing the stone with the end as the picture had portrayed. “I don’t understand,” Samuel paused. “Why is it not succumbing?”
“Maybe it already has,” Alec replied. “It looks pretty dead to me.”
Samuel stopped looking over at him. “Why don’t you give it a try then if you think you can do it better?” When it appeared he would refuse, Samuel held out the pole. “I insist.”
“All right,” Alec climbed up to stand on the back. He took the forked staff from Samuel. “The picture did show the beast being fettered by the gods as Ra sailed on. In this little reenactment we want to be in the position of Ra, correct?”
“He sailed on to the next register,” Samuel replied sarcastically.
“Exactly,” Alec replied as he tied the magical rope onto the end of the triton.
“I didn’t see the next register.” Samuel looked over at him.
“I did,” Alec smiled before moving back his arm and letting the makeshift harpoon fly. It stuck into a wooden crate that stood against the wall, with a resounding thud.
“What are you doing?” Sophia asked from down below.
“The sun god sailed past the fettered snake transforming into a creature with a scarab body and a falcon head with great wings.” Alec said as he tested the rope with his foot. “Like the one above you.”
They all looked up to see the ceiling above where they stood. In the center was a winged creature like the one Alec had described.
“Of course,” Sophia said, “Why didn’t I see it before?”
Alec cut a piece of rope from the end and wrapped it around the rope sliding down to the other side. Prying the staff from the wood he went to stand before a statue of a winged man with the head of a falcon. “And this fellow was on the other side of that.”
Alec examined the statue for a moment before he was joined by the others. Samuel remained on the great snake, supervising from his perch high above. “Look at his hand. It’s as if he’s supposed to be holding something.”
Alec slipped the end of the staff he held down through the statues curled fingers.
“Shouldn’t you untie it first?” Samuel fingered the rope, which was still connected to the giant snake.
Alec stood back to survey his handiwork.
“I really think you should—” Samuel began.
“He was connected to the others by your magical rope,” Alec cut him off.
“Well, it’s not as if it’s mine,” Samuel defended. “Although I was right about needing it,” he smiled.
Akeim came forward and pressed down on the arm of the stone statue. To everyone’s surprise it rotated down until the staff hit the base that it stood upon.
“Hey, what about voting? Samuel lost his grin.
“Listen,” Genevieve whispered. “The hissing has stopped.”
The silence was deafening as they waited.
“I think I’ll join you,” Samuel tested the line as Alec had with his foot. When it appeared that it would hold, he swung down, lowering himself hand over hand. He’d only gone a few feet before a deafening groan filled the chamber and the huge snake rocked forward. Samuel looked over his shoulder at the open jaws of the snake that threatened to swallow him. “Aaa-aagh,” he screamed as the head crashed to the floor, taking him with it.
“Samuel,” Genevieve called as dust billowed out from the wreckage.
Alec ran forward, clearing broken rock and bubbles from around the fallen statue. “Samuel, can you hear me?” he called rolling a large chunk away.
Aaugh-choo, came the answer as Samuel crawled from between the open jaws of the snake.
“Oh, thank God!” Sophia sighed.
“Tell me that was worth it, did we find the door?”
“Indeed,” Akeim replied as he held a torch up, shedding light on an opening where the snake had once stood.
Samuel brushed himself off, looking over the debris before turning to Sophia. “Do you think they might guess someone was here?”
“Samuel,” she shook her head, “What am I going to do with you?”
The stairs were long and steep, twisting and turning as they climbed higher. The walls were oddly vacant of any markings. “Are you sure we are on the right path?” Samuel asked as he followed behind the others.
“How many other ways do you think led out of there?” Alec glanced over his shoulder at him.
“Good point,” he murmured.
“Here we are,” Sophia sighed as she rounded the next corner. Above her, the winged disk that was on the map spread across the archway.
“Where is here exactly?” Samuel asked as the stairs ended.
“These are the wings of Isis, the gates of heaven.” Sophia said looking up at them before stepping into the small, square room on the other side. Though small, it was decorated from floor to ceiling with hieroglyphs on each wall.
“Didn’t think I’d miss these,” Samuel replied as he stood in front of a rendering of Ra being towed by twelve snake goddesses.
“Why is the boat so different?” Alec asked as he too looked at the scene.
“It’s the solar boat,” Genevieve smiled. “We’re getting close.”
“To what?” Samuel asked looking around.
“To the end, of course,” Genevieve laughed.
“That is entirely too subjective for my taste,” Samuel leaned closer to Alec, whispering. “The end is near…”
“Alec,” Sophia spoke up. “Was there anything else that you noticed in the hieroglyphs after Apophis was fettered?”
Alec took a moment to consider her question, “Yes, there was a round sp
eckled disk.”
“Speckled?” her brow rose.
“Like this,” Alec drew it in the dirt at their feet.
“Ah,” Samuel nodded, “the sieve.”
“That is not a sieve,” Sophia chuckled, “honestly, how did they get that out of it?”
“A polka-dotted moon then?”
She smiled, shaking her head. “It is the Aten, the solar calendar.”
“Why is that one lost as the others were?” Genevieve went to stand in front of the symbol on the wall. “It has nothing to do with the moon.”
“It fell out of use after the Pharaoh Akhenaten died,” Sophia replied as she too looked up at the symbol. “He had closed the temples of Amun, replacing it with his monotheistic sun cult.”
“And here I thought it was because of the art. Now there was a bizarre figure of a man,” Samuel replied sarcastically.
“He wanted to be portrayed as both female and male,” Sophia looked over at him.
Samuel looked positively horrified, “Why?”
“For the usual reasons most likely,” Sophia looked back to the Aten.
“What usual reasons could there be for that?” Samuel snorted.
“Corruption and greed by those in power, I would imagine.” Sophia replied. “It was his attempt to reclaim the power that the Pharaoh had once held. Placing himself at the center of the new religion, as the only one who could speak to the gods, proved to be quite effective. Until he died of course.”
“What happened then?” Alec asked.
“His temples were desecrated and everything that had been used to represent him, fell out of use. Even though his young heir went so far as to reopen the temples and change his name to Tutankhamen, which means the living image of Amun, he died tragically young, under suspicious circumstance.”
Sophia sighed, shaking her head. “His young queen was forced to marry the former General and then she too disappeared,” she looked over at him. “In fact, all of Akhenaten’s descendants quickly died out and were replaced by a new dynasty that eventually gave birth to Ramesses the Great.”
“All’s fair in love and war,” Alec replied cynically.
“So it seems,” Sophia nodded. “As for this symbol, it has scarcely been used since Akhenaten’s sun cult perished. Who knows, if it hadn’t been used to mark the regnal years of the pharaoh, it may have fallen out of use completely.” Sophia reached up inserting her knife around the outer edge of the disk.
Treasure of Egypt Page 34
