We were to leave the next morning for the Tomb of Ancients.
“Abü, where exactly is the tomb?” Kym asked.
The old sheikha smiled, her nut-brown hand patting the child’s dark one in affection. “That is a very good question, Kym,” Abü smiled down at Kym, then called over her shoulder for her waiting chief court wizard, who came forward with a scroll.
“This took me nearly twenty years to track down, and there are plenty of thieves who’d give their right arm for the chance to steal it,” Abü said, unrolling the scroll.
We hurried to clear the bowls and platters off the table to make room.
Inscribed on the scroll, marked in deep grooves and black shading, was a map.
We all bent forward, fascinated.
The map measured about two feet by three feet, and each of us held down a corner, eager to help.
“This is a map for the location of the Tomb of Ancients. We actually know where the tomb is, and it is not that hard to find.” She pointed to an area on the old parchment. “This is the inlet bay; it extends far to the west. You see here?” She took an hour to discuss the map with us, instructing us on where to find water, and what creatures to avoid.
“And down close to the mouth of the valley, near where you’ll find the door, there is a nest of rocs. Be careful of those. I advise approaching the area at night,” Abü said.
“Well, it seems pretty straightforward, Abü. Looks like it’ll take about two weeks to get there,” I said.
“I think you should take a number of the mercenaries with you,” said Abü.
“I think we’ll be all right,” Khepri said.
“Maybe a dozen, they can help with things?” Abü countered.
“Actually, I think Khepri is right,” I said firmly.
Abü shrugged. “If you make your way in, you may want help with things, plus, help to carry treasure out. You never know. There are many hazards in the desert, as you know.”
“We’re aware. I think we’ll be fine,” I smiled. “Listen, I want to be clear on this.” I leaned forward, looking serious.
Abü waited.
“You are giving me the map, and the box with the key. These I keep.”
Abü nodded. “Yes,” she said.
I continued. “In exchange, I am bringing you some of the treasure.”
Abü nodded.
“As I understand it, I am taking some, not all, but some,” I paused, looking into her eyes. “And bringing you half of what I bring out.” She nodded.
“Who decides which items I give you?” I asked.
Abü thought a minute. “You do, Charlotte.”
“Are you sure?” I asked in a serious tone.
“Yes,” she said simply. “I trust you. Furthermore, I am at your mercy. I cannot get into the tomb without you.”
I nodded at this.
She continued. “Any treasure you find in the tomb will be of immense wealth. Even if you come out with some fantastic item, and keep it for yourself, as long as you give me some other treasure, we shall be equal.”
“I just wanted to be sure,” I said.
“I understand,” Abü patted my arm. “Charlotte, you are granting me an incredible boon by going into the cave. I am grateful we’ve even gone this far.”
“It’s certainly been a unique event to prepare for,” I smiled.
“Will you be taking Tikiko with you?” Abü asked.
“She has indicated she’d like to return home to her village, and since you did promise an armed transport home safely, I think both Tikiko and Pala should return home,” I said.
Abü nodded.
“We will be happy to escort them both back to their village,” the sheikha said. “What about Akim? He does not seem to know where his uncle was taken.”
“He wouldn’t have any idea. They were both sold into slavery. Akim was sold to sheikh Abdü, but his uncle was not. We don’t know where he was taken.” I thought for a moment. “I think we should leave him here to fully recover, he has a few health issues that need to be resolved,” I glanced at Khepri and she nodded. “Then we’ll pick him up when we return from the cave. Can your healer work on him while we are gone?” I asked.
“Of course,” said Abü. “That should not be a problem.” She moved to her chief wizard, speaking a few words to him. He passed her a small satchel, which she brought back over to the table.
“Here are the herbs and magical tinctures my wizard has prepared for your journey,” she handed the bag to Khepri.
I turned to Abü and smiled. “Okay, well, I think we’re set. It’s getting late, the sun has set, so I want to start out immediately at dawn.”
The sheikha smiled. “I wish you every marvelous kismet, and look forward to your return.”
She turned and retreated with her wizard to her chambers.
I raised an eyebrow as I watched her go. Turning back to the others, I met Caroline’s eye. We exchanged a meaningful look, then.
I caught Tupu’s eye then, next to Khepri. She looked bright and eager.
“You okay?” I had been assured by Khepri that Tupu was in excellent health and fighting-fine. At ten weeks gestation, her baby was about the size of a kumquat. Khepri had said the effect on Tupu would be added strength and resiliency that would help her on our upcoming adventure.
“Never better,” Tupu replied with an enthusiastic smile. “I am so pumped for this!”
I laughed in delight.
I had a good feeling about this quest.
We set out immediately the next morning. Shêtân pranced under me in anticipation, eagerness in his every movement.
Kym rode her pony beside me. I saw the small horse’s mane had been braided, and sprigs of white blossoms woven throughout.
“Almond?” I asked Kym, and she nodded eagerly.
Kym had been happy since we’d first left the Abdü compound, and I was happy to see she seemed to be showing no adverse effects from Malík’s attack.
After hearing of the man’s maltreatment and molestation of Akim, I’d felt even better about Kym separating his head from his body. What an abomination!
I took a deep breath. Think good thoughts. Good luck will follow.
“Kym, have you thought of a name for your pony yet?” I asked.
She patted the beast’s neck, murmuring, and its eye swiveled back and forth. “I have decided to call him Taimim. It means ‘perfect one’ ” She smiled shyly.
“I love it.” I beamed. “And it really suits him well. He’s gotten so much better at following your commands.”
“I’ve been practicing with him, and Tupu has been helping me. Her parents keep a few horses back in her village, and she’s really good at teaching animals,” Kym leaned down to hug Taimim’s neck. The pony snorted and seemed happy.
The map from the old sheikha showed a convoluted path around the eastern mountains, so we decided to travel up to the beach and follow the coastline. Within four days we were at the water’s edge. The horses loved trotting in the surf, and I’ll admit it was a wonderful way to cool off. It had grown warmer still as the land approached summer.
I thought of home, then, and how the wych elms and hazel trees would be in full leaf by now. My eyes looked out to the Mare Internum and its brilliant blue turquoise water, so clear I could see the coral reef and seaweed beneath the surface.
This is a very beautiful land, I thought. But it does not hold a candle to Swerighe. I sighed, feeling momentarily homesick.
I shook my head. This will never do, Charlotte. Snap out of it! You have a task ahead of you; you should be thinking of that.
We camped on the beach as much as we could, and traveled fast on the packed, wet sand. We ended up shaving a day and a half off our estimated travel time.
At one point, Caroline had ridden up to me, she had been riding rear guard, and had news.
“We’re being followed,” she said.
“By whom?”
“That I cannot say. I did not get close enough to tell whether t
hey were attached to one of the caliphates, or if they were highwaymen. But I counted six men on horses. They are staying back about half a day’s ride, but they have been tracking us for at least a full day.”
I ruminated on this. I had my suspicions, but given the history of the legends about this cave, and sheikha Abü’s words on the subject, it could be anyone. There wasn’t much I could do about it, so I decided to note the information, be watchful and continue on. I imparted as much to my troupe that night at the fire.
“Hmph,” said Christianne.
“Well, well,” said Tupu.
“Not unexpected,” Khepri stated grimly.
The topic then turned to Malík.
“He had it coming,” Kym looked defiant. Ever since she’d spoken at length to Akim, she’d been doubly adamant that she’d dealt with Malík in an absolutely correct manner.
Caroline just raised her eyebrows and nodded sagely.
Finally, after exactly twelve days of travel, we found ourselves on the cliffs overlooking the box canyon containing the entrance to the cave. We could see the nest of rocs three-quarters of the way up the side of the facing cliff wall. It was massive.
“That nest is easily the size of the throne room tent at the Abdü compound,” I remarked.
“And twice as smelly, no doubt,” Kym whispered, suppressing a snicker.
Caroline crawled up to us then. “Coast looks clear, Miss.”
“Carrie, are you ever going to stop calling me ‘Miss’?” I whispered.
“Not likely anytime soon, Miss. It’s been more than eighteen years, and I’m a creature of habit.”
“Listen up, you two,” said Tupu, creeping up just then. We turned to her. “I found a path down to the canyon floor, and I think I’ve spotted one of the landmarks on the map.”
“Which one?” I wondered. We’d been over the opposite side of the cliffs, from our vantage point, using the brass sight, several times.
“The massive boulder with the black fissure. It’s on this side, and it’s down about fifty feet that way,” Tupu pointed to her left, away from the canyon mouth.
I gauged the sun’s position. “Let’s wait until after twilight, it shouldn’t be more than three hours,” I suggested.
We settled down for the afternoon.
I was double-checking my equipment, and conferring with Khepri on her medical stores, in preparation for descending into the cave, when Caroline spoke.
“Where’s Kym?” she asked.
I looked around. Everyone did. Kym was nowhere to be seen. We stood up and scouted the area.
No Kym.
I sighed. I was not worried, but hoped not to be delayed another day while we sent out a search party. Plus, there was the matter of the marauders following us, and their imminent approach. I closed my eyes, trying to think. Where would a young chimera go?
I opened my eyes and brought the brass sight up to my face. Focusing on the roc nest across the canyon expanse, I trained my senses on it.
I didn’t see Kym at the nest, but I did see her returning to us, halfway back already.
She was very pleased with herself, and carrying a roc egg. Beaming, she walked up and patted the egg.
It was enormous. The roc egg was a mottled cream color, speckled with greyish-blue spots, and it was about the size of a small lamb, which is to say, enormous.
Kym didn’t say a word, but walked up to our campfire, bent over, and balanced the egg right on top.
I shrugged and sat down to wait.
Half an hour later we were all feasting on boiled roc egg, the top broken open between us and our hands scooping out the steaming yellow food. It was delicious.
“I gotta hand it to you, Kym. Sometimes you have really good ideas,” Christianne said between bites.
Tupu licked her fingers and smiled, “I have to ask, were you scared going for this thing?”
“I’m not afraid of anything,” grinned Kym.
A tickle of worry fluttered in my stomach. I met Caroline’s eye over the fire, she looked concerned as well. But it was Khepri who spoke up.
“Kym,” she said quietly. “Don’t do anything stupid. And don’t be fooled into thinking there’s nothing that can harm you in that cave.”
“We don’t know what’s in that cave, Kym,” I said. “You have to be careful. Cautious. We need to explore, and all of us have to be focused.”
“Don’t be foolhardy, again, Kym,” said Caroline.
The child sobered up, the smile falling off her face.
“I’ll be careful, I promise,” she said.
I dearly hope so, I thought.
Night fell. The rocs settled down in their nest, and all was quiet.
We rode the horses single file at a walk, down to the mouth of the box canyon, around, and into the canyon floor.
From the top cliffs, the canyon had seemed somewhat large, and but when we got down inside it, we realized it was actually enormous: I estimated it was at least five hundred feet from the ground level to the top edge of the cliff.
As we passed the roc nest, our necks craned up. It was maybe two-thirds of the way up, over three hundred feet above our heads.
I gulped, impressed. Something told me the inside of the cave where the tomb lay was probably vast.
It took us an hour to get to the massive boulder on the map that marked the entrance to the tomb.
As we approached, I could see the huge black crack that scarred the boulder from top to bottom, an ancient remnant of another, primeval time when the earth was spitting up mountains, spewing fire-rock forth into the oceans.
The boulder was firmly embedded in the side of the cliff, so passing beneath it was easy: The bottom of the boulder was more than twenty feet above our heads.
We dismounted when we were ten feet inside the cave, lit our torches, and walked forward, leading our horses. The flames flickered, making our shadows dance against the cool rock face, and providing more than enough light to see by.
The cave appeared to extend about fifteen feet into the cliff, where it ended in what seemed like a blank rock face. But we had been apprised of this illusion.
“Hold my torch,” I said to Caroline beside me, and I brought out the map. The corner of the scroll bore a drawing of the tomb entrance, and explained how to access it. Ancient Arabic script, tiny and cramped, filled one corner of the parchment with instructions that I read again carefully, checking the details just to make sure.
Nodding to myself, I rolled the map back up and carefully stowed it in my pack. I turned forward again, held my hands out and closed my eyes.
The evening air was cool, and a slight breeze blew in from the box canyon floor behind us.
As I closed my eyes, my other senses were heightened. After a few moments, I shifted my arms to the right, extending them another few inches along the rough stone wall.
I could feel the air currents ruffling my hair, and I inhaled deeply, trying to find the elusive scent the map mentioned.
Ah, I had found it. A tiny, imperceptible breach in the stone, so slight it could not be seen with the naked eye in firelight.
But I had sensed the tiny draft of air pass through it on its way inside. And I smelled water. I opened my eyes, not taking my hands from their position.
“Box,” I whispered.
Christianne came forward then with the ebony box. The runes on its sides glowed once again, although it had not been against my body or warmed in any way.
It knows where it belongs.
Keeping my eye on the breach, and one hand there, my finger poised at the rift, I extended my other hand out to the box.
Christianne lifted the lid, and I reached inside, grasping the cool metal key lying on the old velvet. Withdrawing it from the box, I manipulated the key until the pin was against the finger of my other hand, which lay at the aperture.
I inserted the key into the invisible keyhole until the key shaft nearly disappeared into the rock. There was a slight, nearly inaudible ‘pop,’ the
n a soft chime sounded.
We had passed the first challenge.
The rock face disappeared then, and in its place was an ancient oak door, weathered almost black, the wood’s deep grain smoothed over by the eons.
The key was inside a keyhole in the door, the iron fittings smooth and black. Above the keyhole was a handle, also made of iron.
I carefully turned the key, and we heard a click as the door unlocked. The massive door, released from its bolt, swung open an inch.
I held my breath.
We’d been told nothing about what to expect in this tomb; I thought it might be an elaborate system of caves inside the mountain, perhaps with ancient crypts and treasure.
But really, now that we were here, now that the door was unlocked, my heart was racing, because in the end, I had no idea what I would find once I walked across this threshold.
I withdrew the key from the lock and placed it back in the box Christianne still held aloft beside me. She closed the ebony lid and stowed it in my pack.
I motioned for Caroline, who handed the torch back to me, and I extended it like a beacon in front of me as I pulled the door to the Tomb of Ancients open and we all stepped inside.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Trap of Sorrows
I stepped into a dark, pitch-black tunnel, and reached out with my hands to feel the walls, but I encountered nothing but empty space. Then I blinked and my eyes were confronted with the sight of my bedroom in Swerighe.
Huh?
I didn’t understand.
“Charlotte, dear, are you there?” My mother’s voice rang out from beyond the door to the castle hallway on the far side of the room.
I looked around, feeling dazed.
There was my bed, with its four wooden posts, gold brocade covers and silk pillows.
What the heck was going on?
I saw my vanity, the hairbrush I used every morning, the polished wood floor with the woven carpets here and there.
I saw the window next to the bed and walked over to it, then turned my head to see where I’d been and saw the massive wardrobe with gowns and robes hanging in it. Had I just stepped out of that wardrobe?
The Pirates of Moonlit Bay Page 19
