The Sahara Legacy

by Ernest Dempsey

  Slater sighed. “Okay. That’s all well and good, but are we here to discuss ancient technology, or are we going to try to find that missing stone?”

  Tommy raised a finger. “Good point.”

  He looked around, spinning in circles as he tried to get his bearings.

  “Sun is setting over there,” Sean said, pointing at the bright yellow ball in the sky. It was getting late in the afternoon. Darkness was creeping into the east. They wouldn’t have much time.

  “Yes, yes. I know. I’m looking for a keyhole.”

  “A keyhole?” Hank asked.

  Tommy gave a curt nod. “Yes. The first clue says that the sun will point to the spot in the shadow of Anubis.”

  “So, we need to find Anubis and a keyhole?”

  “There,” Sean said, cutting off Hank’s question. He pointed at a rock wall to the west where a tiny hole—about the size of a silver dollar—had been cut into the stone. He shuffled his feet to get closer. Sure enough, he could see daylight on the other side. The sun was getting near the apex of the wall. Soon, it would be directly behind the hole.

  “Good,” Tommy said. “Now we need to find Anubis. Where could he be hiding?”

  He looked all around the huge area but didn’t see anything even remotely close to the deity or his likeness.

  “Quick, fan out,” Tommy ordered. “Search the entire area. Look for a painting, carving, statue, anything that has a dog head and a human body.”

  The others did as told and spread out, each taking a different section of the four walls surrounding the pyramid’s interior.

  Sean walked over to the end where the keyhole was located and started scanning the walls for a clue as to where Anubis might be found.

  Hank moved slowly, worried he could possibly miss something and ruin the venture for everyone.

  Slater was a little more relaxed with his effort, but he did the best he could and walked casually down the north wall, eyes panning the stone as he went.

  Tommy took the farthest wall to the east. He spent nearly five minutes searching for a scrap of evidence as to Anubis’s location. After he’d scoured the entire wall and the floor around it, he still had nothing.

  Frustrated, he spun around and looked at the others. They’d finished their search and joined Tommy where he was standing.

  “You guys find anything?” he asked.

  They shook their heads.

  “No. Not a thing,” Sean said.

  Tommy put his hands on his hips. “It has to be here. The clue wouldn’t lead us here if there wasn’t something to find.”

  “Maybe someone already got here before us and took it,” Hank said.

  “He could be right,” Slater agreed. “Haven’t grave robbers been coming to places like this for a long time, stealing valuable items and such?”

  “Yes,” Tommy said. “But this is something they would have missed. It wouldn’t have been left around in a burial chamber or out in the open for someone to see. It was hidden with great care.”

  “How do you know that?”

  Tommy sighed and rolled his shoulders. “I don’t know. Call it a hunch.”

  “What if we’re not at the right pyramid?” Hank asked. “It could be one of the others, and we’re standing around here with our hands in our pockets while the stone is hiding somewhere else.”

  “I thought about that,” Sean said. “Tommy’s right. This is the correct place. We’re just missing something.”

  Then Sean noticed something out of the corner of his eye. A little yellowish-white dot was inching its way down a column on the eastern wall—the wall Tommy had just been examining.

  “What is that?” Sean asked, pointing at the dot.

  The other three turned around and saw the anomaly.

  Tommy’s eyes went wide. He drifted back over to the wall and stood in front of the pillar. He looked over his shoulder at the western wall where the keyhole was located. He swallowed hard and then stared up at the column again. There was an ankh carved into it about eight feet up.

  “That’s it,” Tommy said with an air of reverence in his voice.

  “What’s it?” Hank asked.

  “The ankh. It’s one of the most important symbols from ancient Egyptian religions and mythology. There’s one on the tablet.”

  “And,” Sean added, “we’ve seen a good number of pictures featuring Anubis holding an ankh.”

  “Right,” Tommy said. “We were looking for Anubis when we should have been looking for the symbol he carried.”

  “Plus, Anubis was a god of the underworld. It would make sense he wouldn’t be out here in the open if someone was trying to hide a valuable relic.”

  “Good point.”

  The men watched eagerly as the tiny dot made its way down the side of the column. The journey took several minutes, and more than once Sean turned his head to check the entrance, making sure no one was coming down the passage. The last thing they needed was some random tourists to show up on a whim while he and his companions were unearthing a lost treasure.

  At the base of the pillar, the little dot came to a stop for a moment, right on the seam between the huge plinth and the floor. Then, just as suddenly as it had appeared, the dot vanished.

  The four men gazed at the bottom of the pillar for a long moment before anyone said anything.

  “So…what do we do now?” Slater asked in a hushed tone.

  Sean drew closer to the column. He figured it was about ten feet tall, right around the same height as a basketball rim. The corner wall next to it was only three feet away, as best as he could tell. That gave him an idea.

  He handed Tommy his gear bag they’d picked up in Cairo before coming to the site and then stood between the column and the wall.

  “What are you doing?” Tommy asked.

  Sean gazed up at the top of the pillar, making sure his assessment was correct. “I’m gonna push the column over. You three should probably step back.”

  “Push it over?” Hank chuffed. “That thing weighs several tons. We’d need a crane to get that thing out of the way.”

  “A crane or leverage.”

  Sean pressed his shoulders into the corner and then planted his feet on the side of the pillar. He shuffled one foot up and then the other, then shimmied his shoulders upward. When he repeated the process, the others realized what he had in mind.

  “You’ll have to get near the top to get enough leverage,” Tommy said. “You sure you’re okay with that?”

  “Why wouldn’t he be okay with it?” Slater asked as he and the other two took a step back.

  “Sean’s afraid of heights,” Tommy answered, staring up at his friend as he continued his slow ascent.

  “Afraid of heights? I thought he was some kind of super spy.”

  “Even superheroes have their kryptonite,” Sean grunted. “And I’ll be fine, Schultzie. This isn’t too bad.”

  “Just checking,” Tommy said. He turned to the other two. “Anything over 25 feet or so, and he gets a little sketchy.”

  “I can hear you,” Sean huffed.

  Sweat rolled down the side of his face. Other beads of moisture trickled into his eyes, causing them to sting and blur. He kept working his way upward, though, fighting the aching from his back and shoulders digging into the wall and the burning in his legs.

  He locked his focus on the pillar in front of him to ward off the urge to quit and let himself drop to the ground. He was more than halfway up when he started to feel the pillar shift a little. It didn’t give much, for which he was thankful. At this height, he wouldn’t be able to get enough leverage to topple the heavy stone. He’d need to be at the very top.

  The other three watched in mesmerized awe as Sean continued climbing. He was nearly to the top when one of his feet slipped. He started to fall. Tommy jumped forward first, ready to attempt a catch if his friend dropped. Luckily, he didn’t have to. Sean pushed his neck and shoulders back even harder and steadied himself with his right foot to keep
from falling. He let out a weary gasp and then kept working toward the top.

  After what seemed like twenty minutes, Sean felt the top edge of the pillar with one of his boots. He swallowed hard. The perspiration was pouring off his head and face now. Fortunately, the warm, dry air evaporated it relatively fast. He bent his body forward as much as he could without losing pressure on both points of contact and then flexed his quads. He pushed with as much power as he could muster.

  The column trembled for a second and then broke loose from the ground where it had been planted for thousands of years. The three men on the ground watched as the giant stone wobbled to the left and then tipped back to the right, bending Sean nearly in half.

  One last push would do it. At least that’s what Sean hoped.

  He grunted and shoved the pillar again, this time a little harder. The heavy stone swung back the other direction like a huge, upside-down pendulum. This time, it went far enough that Sean’s feet came free. He fell as the pillar toppled beyond its tipping point.

  The drop to the ground was considerable. Sean flailed his arms to keep his balance as he fell. When he hit the ground, he landed on the balls of his feet, bent his knees instantly, and rolled along the stone to absorb the impact. He tumbled clear of the destruction as the pillar crashed to the ground in a thunderous boom. Dust and debris erupted from the ground and clouded the entire chamber.

  Sean and the others pulled their shirts over their faces to keep from breathing the dirty air. They watched and waited patiently as the dust settled. It took a few minutes before they were able to see everything clearly again.

  The four men stepped forward once the air had cleared and stared down at the destruction. The big pillar was on its side and had split in two when it hit the ground. At its base, a hole slightly smaller than the diameter of the column was cut into the stone floor.

  “Well, I’ll be,” Hank said.

  Tommy moved ahead of the others and stopped short of the cavity. He gazed into it with wide eyes.

  Shadows enveloped the chamber, and the sky above was turning darker by the second. Even so, there was enough light for the four men to see what was inside the hole.

  A small stone box with the image of Anubis carved into the top.

  Sean blinked rapidly, still trying to get some of the debris and sweat out of his eyes. “Looks like the right spot,” he said, wiping his forehead with the bottom of his shirt.

  Tommy nodded. “Yep. Time to see what’s inside.”

  Chapter 13

  Giza

  Tommy reached into the hole and clasped the ends of the box as tightly as he could. He lifted but was surprised at how heavy the object was, almost as if it were attached to the ground. He let go of it and tilted his head to the right.

  “There are little handles cut into the lid,” Sean pointed out. “Maybe just take it off.”

  Tommy snickered at his friend’s helpful yet sarcastic comment. He worked his fingers under the edges of the lid and pried it off the main part of the container. It was much easier to pick up, and he set the top off to the side of the hole.

  The four men held their collective breath, staring into the box.

  “What is that?” Slater asked in a whisper.

  Tommy almost didn’t believe what he was seeing. Within the ancient container was an amulet of pure gold. It was shaped like an ankh but with one major addition. Just below the hoop at the top, a gem was embedded into the precious metal.

  “Is that a ruby?” Hank asked, nearly licking his lips at the possibility.

  “Might be,” Tommy said. “Sure looks like it.”

  Tommy picked up the amulet, cradling it in both hands as if it were a newborn baby. The others circled around him as he held it in the middle for all to see. He waited a moment before flipping it over and examining the entire piece. On the back was an inscription.

  “What is that?” Hank asked.

  “Coptic,” Tommy said. “And it’s a slightly more modern version of it than what they might have used in the earlier kingdoms of Ancient Egypt.”

  Slater scratched his head. “Um…can you read it?”

  Tommy looked up with his best how dare you ask me that face. “Yeah, I can read it.”

  He ran his finger along the yellow metal, taking a moment to process the information. He shook his head and ran his finger along the inscription again, this time with a scowl on his face.

  “Something wrong?” Sean asked.

  “Maybe.”

  “Maybe?” Hank asked. “What do you mean, maybe? Can you read it or not?”

  “I definitely can,” Tommy said with a slight hint of defensiveness to his voice. “That isn’t the problem.”

  “Then what is?”

  “The problem is where it’s telling us to go next.” He looked to Sean. “Hand me the tablets. I want to make sure this is right.”

  Sean jogged over to the middle of the chamber where they’d set down the case and retrieved it. He placed it on the ground next to Tommy and unlatched the clasps. Tommy took it from there. He set the medallion on his lap and carefully opened the case.

  “Could one of you shine a light on this?” he asked.

  Slater whipped out his phone and switched on the light, shining down onto the ancient script carved into the tablets.

  “Right here,” Tommy said, pointing at a blank space in the script. “It says the second stone can be found here.”

  “The line is blank,” Sean said.

  “Apparently,” Tommy said, raising the talisman, “we use this to fill in the gap.” He laid the relic down onto the tablet and then read it out loud. “The second stone of power can be found in the arch where Dorieus failed, a tribute of three.”

  Hank and Slater frowned. “What in the world does that mean?” Hank asked.

  Tommy shook his head. “I’m not entirely sure.”

  “You’re not sure? I thought you were some kind of expert in this sort of thing.”

  Tommy snorted. “I like to think I am, but world history is a broad and deep subject. I can’t remember everything I studied. There’s only so much space in this noggin.” He tapped his head.

  “So, what do we do?” Slater asked.

  Sean and Tommy cast each other a knowing glance and nodded.

  “The kids,” they said at the same time.

  “The kids?”

  Tommy reached into his pocket and pulled out the temporary phone he’d picked up in Cairo. He tapped on the app to make the numbers appear on the screen and then started pecking away.

  He paused after entering the area code and looked up, clearly trying to remember what the rest of the numbers were.

  “Can’t remember it, can you?” Sean asked with a hint of mischief in his eyes.

  “Shut up,” Tommy said.

  “Seriously? It’s your building, man.”

  “Do you remember it?”

  “No, but I rarely need to call. And besides, it’s not my building.”

  “What number? What are you two talking about? And who are the kids?” Hank was clearly getting frustrated by the lack of answers coming his way.

  Sean sighed. “Tommy has a crack team of researchers working for him back at the IAA headquarters. Personally, I think there’s something romantic going on between the two of them, but who knows.”

  “Sean,” Tommy said.

  “Sorry, tangent. Anyway, they’re good at getting us fast answers when we need them.”

  “And since I have a cell signal here—barely—I can call them much faster than I can probably get the internet to work on this thing.” He paused again, and then his face brightened. “Oh, got it.”

  He typed in the rest of the numbers and hit the green call button.

  The phone rang three times before a young woman answered.

  “Hello, IAA labs, Tara speaking.”

  “Tara, it’s Tommy.”

  “Oh, hey, Tommy. You sound a little crackly.”

  “I’m out in the middle of nowhere.�
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  “Is this a Cairo area code?”

  “Yeah, long story. Had to get a temporary phone. Listen, I need your help.”

  “That’s why we’re here.”

  Tara and her partner, Alex, had been working for Tommy for several years now. They were more than a decade younger than Tommy and Sean, which was how they received the nickname “the kids.” Most of the time, they worked on analyzing new artifacts that were brought into the lab, but now and then they performed a different kind of task, the kind that required the use of the internet and a few other tricks they had up their sleeves. Aside from being experts in the field of archaeological research, Tara and Alex were brilliant with computers and other technology.

  “I need you to find out what you can about a person named Dorieus. It sounds familiar, but I can’t recall exactly who it is or what he did.”

  “And you’re somewhere you can’t look that up on your phone.”

  “Correct.”

  “Okay, give me a few minutes, and I’ll call you back.”

  “Thanks, Tara. I appreciate it.”

  “Not a problem.”

  He could hear her say, “Hey, Alex,” as he ended the call.

  “She’s going to call me back,” Tommy said to the others who were hovering over him with expectant stares on their faces.

  He opened the camera app and took a few pictures of the talisman and the tablet before closing the case.

  “That name,” Tommy said in an absent tone. “It sounds so familiar. I’m mad at myself that I can’t remember it.”

  “Like you said,” Slater chimed in, “world history is a big subject. You can’t expect to remember every detail from every kingdom and culture that ever existed. And if you could, you should be on Jeopardy. You’d go undefeated.”

  Tommy chuckled. “Yeah, I know. Still, Dorieus sounds like a name I’ve come across before.”

  “Is it one of the caesars?” Sean asked. “I don’t recall him being one of them, but I don’t have that list of rulers memorized, either.”

  Tommy shook his head. “I don’t think so. I mean, yeah, it sounds like a caesar, but that isn’t it. He’s from somewhere else.”

  “Persian? Greek, maybe?”