Yet it was unquestionably real.
They continued forward, eyes widening in amazement.
Here was a funeral car like none other imaginable, for above the great wheels rose what could only be described as a miniature Greek temple of extraordinary detail and workmanship. Slender Ionic columns, each entwined with delicately fashioned garlands, formed a colonnade that upheld a vaulted roof literally encrusted with twinkling jewels. A winged victory guarded each corner, and projecting out from the cornice beneath were ram heads, all with graceful horns sweeping back and around.
Everywhere David looked were marvels of ancient artistry, exquisite creations so lovely and varied that his mind could scarcely absorb it all. And the greatest of these, he believed, yet remained to be seen.
With Wassef’s aid, Rashidi led them up a flight of low steps; then moved aside, allowing them to move forward on their own. He saw the depth of their emotion, well recalling his own feelings when viewing this ancient wonder for the first time.
The summit of the shallow stairs was flanked by two magnificent gold lions, but it was the rectangular mass lying further within the carriage’s colonnade that held their gaze. Partially obscured behind thin curtains of net-like cloth, it was unquestionably a sarcophagus of truly staggering size.
They parted the silken gauze and stepped through.
The enormous coffin was made of solid gold and unlike anything David had ever beheld—or even imagined possible. The sides were a true masterpiece of Greek craftsmanship, the shining surface embossed with detailed depictions of fighting warriors, rearing horsemen, exotic animals—and a multitude of mythological scenes of every kind and description. But most dazzling of all was the coffin’s arched cover, for it was constructed of literally hundreds of pieces of colored glass, each held in place by a delicate framework of pure gold. And surrounding this, David now saw, was the final proof of what lay within—and the origin of Lionel’s enigmatic artifact. Here was a border of identical palm-size circles, each bearing the ancient sunburst symbol of Macedonian kingship.
He lifted the lantern high as they both moved even closer.
What they then beheld would stay with them for the rest of their lives. The ancient glass was somewhat milky and flawed, yet transparent enough for light to shine through, revealing the stunning contents within. The sight fairly numbed the mind. Here, embedded in precious spices, lay the body of one considered by many to be the most remarkable man ever produced by western civilization. A bejeweled crown lay above a wide brow, his majestic form garbed in an embroidered robe of royal purple, and upon his breast was a classic Greek olive wreath fashioned from gold leaves.
But most startling of all was Alexander’s serene face.
Before them was the most towering figure of all antiquity, a man who had drawn his last breath in distant Babylon no less than twenty-three centuries ago—and yet his youthful features still remained astonishingly intact, as if somehow frozen in time.
Rashidi now stood beside them.
“Save for our brotherhood,” he said, “all of this would most certainly have been destroyed and plundered long ago. Surely you know this to be true. We have been the guardians of Alexander. His protectors. Nothing more. Too, I want you to understand it was always our ultimate purpose, even from the distant time of this chamber’s construction, to bring him forth again. It was the great vision of Satepihu—the genius who created this resting place—that a time would surely come when a reborn Egypt, one finally free of foreign domination, would eventually come to pass.”
David was encouraged by the man’s solemn tone.
“And has it finally come, Ahmed?”
Rashidi was silent for a moment; then gave an affirmative nod.
“It may surprise you to know, Professor, that Lewis also came to believe this long-awaited day was perhaps finally at hand, for he saw in his own lifetime that our beloved Egypt—after two thousand years of servitude to others—had finally regained its rightful freedom and independence from all foreign powers. So encouraged was he, in fact, that he often spoke to me of how difficult it will be to properly accomplish this feat. He understood the many complex problems that must, of necessity, be resolved before any disclosure could be made. Once begun, it will doubtless take many months of hard work—perhaps years—to bring about. Nor will it be a simple task to manage.”
David believed he understood where this was going.
“He wasn’t wrong, Ahmed. But by what you’re saying, it appears Lewis really did give this considerable thought.” He cocked his head, looking at the younger man intently. “Can I assume you took plenty of notes?”
“Indeed, I did.”
David glanced back into Elizabeth’s bright eyes. “Then it sounds to me,” he said, “as if you could probably use some dedicated help to make it all work. In fact, I just happen to know two very willing people if you’re asking for volunteers.”
Rashidi smiled in obvious pleasure.
“Ah, we are truly of a like mind, Professor. This was my thought exactly!”
EPILOGUE
With a fresh cup of brewed coffee in hand, Elizabeth leaned back on her favorite wicker chair, enjoying the view of their secluded beachfront on Pleasant Bay. The wide, screened porch was a recent addition—scarcely more than a year old—and she smiled to remember how determined David was to see it finished before Jake was born. He wanted everything to be perfect, he said, the better to enjoy all of their future vacations here on the Cape. And for her it truly was perfect.
A great part of her contentment, she recognized, came from finally having her grandfather home. The decision to bring Lionel’s remains back to Chatham from Egypt was definitely the right one. Now he lay close to Norman, his dearest friend, his long journey finally over.
The previous eleven months were certainly busy ones. Besides the full veranda, a fair number of other necessary additions and alterations had been made to the house, not the least being the renovation of the guest bedroom into a spacious nursery. Now David still referred to it as the ‘boys’ room, his less-than-subtle way of expressing his desire for a bigger family. This, too, was in her plans, for the very last thing she wanted was Jake growing up without siblings. Particularly not here. As she knew firsthand, this picturesque setting was ideal for generating wonderful childhood memories.
She turned to the squeak of the screen door as David stepped out and dropped into the chair beside her. In his hand were a dozen or more sheets of paper.
“What, more e-mail from Ahmed?”
“Mostly, but not all.” He took a sip from her cup. “There’s actually some pretty interesting stuff here if you want to read through them.”
“Jake’s still sleeping, so I’m going to be lazy. How about you give me the highlights. And please don’t tell me all that negotiating with the Egyptian government is still going on. It’s been god knows how long since—”
“You’ll be happy to learn that’s now officially over. It’s a done deal!”
“You’re kidding, right?”
“According to this, it was all hammered out about three days ago. He apologizes for not getting word to us sooner. Apparently, they agreed to pretty much everything we proposed. But then again, it’s not like Ahmed gave them a whole lot of options, is it? Without a deal, the location remained secret. I guess the gold disk—plus all those color photos we made him take inside the chamber—was more than enough to convince them. Too bad it took so long, but it was only inevitable they would cave.”
“Oh, I’m so glad! Does he give any specifics?”
“Well, let me see . . .” He shuffled through several sheets. “He obviously couldn’t get into all the nitty-gritty, but there’s a few things here you’ll enjoy hearing. For example, special advance units of the Egyptian army have already taken control of the valley, with a lot more to follow. It’s going to take some time to properly excavate the tomb and fully document everything.”
He paused, flipping to another sheet.
“And speak
ing of which,” he continued, “top level communications are being sent out as we speak to the governments of Greece, Iraq, Syria, Turkey, Iran, and several other countries, inviting their best people to participate in all of this. As part of Alexander’s former empire, it’s only proper. Ahmed doesn’t exactly say here, but I get the impression this was probably one of the main sticking points in the negotiations.”
She looked at him curiously. “What if Greece wants you to be one of those people? With your involvement in all this, you’re sure to be high on their list. Given it any thought?”
“Actually, I have. I’d say thanks, but no thanks. Been there, done that.”
“Really?”
“But I’ll give them my best recommendation. I’m thinking Nick Travlos would do an outstanding job for them.”
She grinned her approval. “And just where do you suppose everything inside the tomb will end up? Cairo?”
“Ah, now that’s where it kind of gets interesting! Since the Cairo Museum is already so overcrowded, the government is apparently going to construct a huge, state of the art complex to accommodate it all, probably in Alexandria—and guess who they’re insisting head up the project and become it’s first Director?”
“No—! Ahmed?”
“You got it.” David chuckled. “I suspect it surprised even him. I think they figured it was the most logical decision. I mean, who better to protect and guard over the tomb’s contents? Plus, he’ll have free rein to employ whomever he chooses. And it’s not like he and his people won’t be totally dedicated.” He chuckled. “Hey, how many people can put two thousand years of job experience down on their resume?”
She laughed in appreciation “So, what else you got there? You said not all of this was from Ahmed.”
“Well, there’s one from Thessalonika University I’m not all too thrilled about. According to them, the land purchase alongside my dig outside Pella is still being held up in court. They now estimate maybe as much as another six months before I can get back to work on it.”
“I’m sorry.” She moved her head in sympathy. “You were so looking forward to finally reopening that excavation. What will you do now?”
He pursed his lips.
“Well, now that’s something we need to talk about—and please try and keep an open mind here, okay? It’s actually kind of weird, but it seems Nick recently got a sizable inheritance from a distant uncle—and, believe it or not, he’s come across some really old letters he wants me to look over.”
“David—?”
“Just out of curiosity, darling,” he asked, his expression dead serious, “exactly how much do you know about Genghis Khan?”
Table of Contents
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
EPILOGUE
Table of Contents
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
EPILOGUE
The Amun Chamber Page 36
