"Let"s get going, then," Phoenix nudged his horse with a heel to get it moving. The others followed suit with an air of resignation. Jade glanced back at the village several times, obviously wishing they could be helped. Phoenix was glad she didn"t suggest it. Last time they"d helped villagers in trouble, she had lost a life and they really had to avoid that sort of thing if they wanted to win this game.
After only a more few minutes of riding, Phoenix cast a shrewd glance at her and another at the sun. Her pale skin was flushed with heat and sunburn. As a half-elf, her close connection with all things growing and living must be tenuous in this parched, lifeless land. Without the cool, green woods of Albion and Svealand, she had to be suffering more than the others. He felt the first twinges of real worry. She might annoy the heck out of him, but he still felt responsible for her. He called out to Marcus, who lead.
"Wait up. We still have several hours until dusk. If Memphis is so close then maybe we should find a shady place and wait until evening to find it and get clothes?"
"Good idea," Jade"s voice was faint.
At that moment, a breeze sprang up in their faces. Rather than being blessedly cooling, it was a hot, dry wind that s.n.a.t.c.hed at their loosened clothing and tossed gritty dirt into their eyes. Hastily, they wrapped cloth over their noses and mouths again.
"Which way do we go to find shelter?" Jade"s weary question was m.u.f.fled.
Marcus pointed to the west. Not far away, the fertile ground ended abruptly against the desert. A short distance beyond that were low, rocky valleys and hills.
"There"s nothing there," Phoenix protested.
"There are more necropoli and tombs. Look," Marcus pointed at one of the hills. Phoenix squinted then blinked in surprise. What he had taken for a small hill was actually a crumbling pyramid. Instead of being smooth-sided, like Snefru"s, this one looked like a giant staircase its sides were enormous steps.
"There will be accessible tombs near that mer. We shouldn"t be disturbed." Marcus added.
"Except by mummies," Jade"s muttered comment was almost inaudible, so Phoenix ignored it.
They turned the horses west and headed into the desert again. The horses whinnied in protest when their unshod hooves touched the hot sand. Phoenix patted his stallion rea.s.suringly and urged him to go a little faster. All the animals picked up their pace and the dry valleys came closer.
It took very little time to reach the first buildings but most were either collapsed ruins or too buried in sand to be useful. Turning north, they found a dry wadi. In this, a recent sandslide had uncovered what appeared to be a door. Well, it was a slab of stone with two carved pillars on either side, set into the wall of the valley.
After some discussion, they decided to move on in search of an already-opened tomb. They had already destroyed one ancient building today. They were out of luck. Further north were only more ruins, desert and the step pyramid. When Marcus mentioned that the entrances to pyramids were usually high up in the sloping walls they decided to ignore it.
Phoenix glanced at Jade. She was wilting in the heat. The wind picked up, too and they all suffered from its effects. Out here, it carried sand and forced each grain deep into their clothes and eyes. It was becoming hard to see and breathe. His nose felt like it had an entire beach in it.
"Er..Phoenix?" Brynn"s too-casual tone got his attention. He was staring off into the southeast, looking worried. "What"s that?"
They followed his pointing finger. Beyond the Nile floodplains, a ma.s.sive smudged wall of grey-brownness towered into the otherwise clear blue sky.
"Storm clouds?" Phoenix hazarded.
"No," Marcus sounded troubled. "It"s the sirocco."
"The what?" A "sirocco" sounded like something you"d order in an Italian restaurant; or perhaps a flavour of icecream; but Marcus" tone carried the conviction that it wasn"t anything that good.
"A sandstorm carried by fierce winds that come every year at this time," Marcus watched the ma.s.sive storm front. "Trust me, we do not want to be caught out in it."
"How long til it gets here?" Brynn cast anxious looks at the distant blur.
"No more than fifteen or twenty minutes," Marcus"s answer shocked them into action.
"What?" Phoenix spun his horse on its heels. "We can"t worry about destruction of ancient property any more. We have to get to that unopened tomb back there. Agreed?"
They all kicked their horses into motion. The animals seemed to sense their fear and responded, jumping straight to a slow canter. Brynn clung on for dear life, his thin legs and elbows flapping as his pony followed Jade"s bay back out of the dead end they had been searching.
By the time they reached the mouth of the valley, the wind had already picked up speed and more sand. Phoenix could feel grains grating in his mouth, his ears, his eyes and clogging up his nose. It seemed to be working its way into every crack and crevice of his body. He could barely see through slitted, sand-clotted eyelids and it was harder to breathe as dust clogged the cloth over his mouth.
How the heck were they going to find that tomb again? The air was already thick and dense. Visibility dropped. In a few minutes they"d be lucky to be able to see their own hands.
He"d underestimated Jade. Spurring her horse ahead, she made some odd gesture with one hand then pointed toward the south. Next, a length of rope slapped Phoenix in the thigh and he barely managed to grab it before it slid to the ground. Looking up, he saw the length extended from Jade"s saddle, to Marcus" and on to his. Quickly, he wrapped a couple of loops around his arm then flicked the rest to Brynn. The boy caught it and gave him the thumbs up. Relieved that they wouldn"t get separated, Phoenix signalled to Jade. She kicked her horse into a trot and they forged ahead through the darkening day.
It seemed to take an hour to make the short return trip to the unopened tomb. Every second made the wind"s howling louder, the sting of sand sharper, the suffocating heat worse. The horses began to fidget and toss their heads, sidling sideways to try and keep their faces out of the wind. Soon they"d be going backwards. Just when Phoenix was certain Jade had missed the tomb, the rope tugged at him arm, pulling him to the right. He hauled blindly on the reins. His horse whickered in protest but obeyed.
The stallion stumbled to a halt, its nose in the tail of Marcus" horse. Phoenix heard Brynn"s m.u.f.fled protest from behind as his horse jerked to a halt. Sliding off his mount, Phoenix grabbed the reins and kept a tight hold of the rope. He could barely see two feet in front of his face now and every exposed inch of skin felt like it was being sandpapered off. Every breath drawn was heavy with grit and tasted of dirt. They were all coughing now. Hunching over, he leaned into the wind and pulled with both hands, following the rope closer to Marcus he hoped.
The dark shapes of Marcus, Jade and their horses loomed up. All the companions huddled together in the middle of a horse-circle of protection.
"The door is just there," Jade shouted, pointing behind her. "Marcus is going to have to use the hammer again. We don"t have time to dig or hunt for secret levers."
Marcus unlimbered the G.o.d"s weapon. Handing his reins to Jade, he staggered over to the smooth slab and swung the hammer in a test circle. Even over the howl of the sandstorm, they could hear the distant rumble of thunder generated by Mjollnir. Fleetingly, Phoenix wondered if Marcus could cause rain and whether that would just turn the flying dust and sand into a mud-storm.
There was an almighty crash. Phoenix looked up in sudden concern. Marcus" actions might trigger another sandslide one that would bury the door, rather than revealing it. Luck was with them. The stone imploded and a gaping, dark void appeared in the valley wall.
Jade stepped forward but Phoenix grabbed her arm.
"What if the air"s bad?"
"I don"t think we have much choice," she yelled. "We won"t go far in just enough to get out of the worst of this."
He nodded, spitting out sand, reluctant to open his mouth again.
Within moments, they managed to coax all the nervous horses into what appeared to be a small antechamber. They couldn"t close the door, as its remains now lay as scattered debris over the flagged stone floor; but the horses seemed content to stand with their backsides to the opening, serving as a wind-break for the humans. Dust still swirled in the hot air, but the wind carried the worst of the driving sand away from the opening. Even the terrifying howl of the sirocco was muted to a bearable shriek by thick stone.
Jade lit a few little green witch-lights and sent them floating through the dusty air. Tugging at the cloth over his eyes and nose, Phoenix tried to blink and rub away the worst of the grit. His eyes felt like the Sandman had dumped his entire sack into them. Unstoppering his waterskin, he dribbled a few drops of precious water into each eye before taking a much-needed swallow to clear his mouth. Dampening a cloth, he gently wiped the stallion"s gritty eyes clean, too. The animal nuzzled him with affection and stomped on the stone floor.
Finally over his fit of pique and feeling slightly less suffocated, Phoenix glanced around the tomb with interest. It did seem to be more like an antechamber, with a wide, dark exit in the wall opposite the entrance. There were pillars and decorated walls all around, but no sarcophagi. That meant no mummies. Jade would be happy.
He turned to tell her so, but found she"d wandered over to inspect the hieroglyphs on the nearest wall.
"It says we"re in the tomb of Mehu, Chief Justice and Vizier to Pharaoh Pepi the First," she called out, tracing her fingers over the complex hieroglyphs. Above the pictographs was a brightly painted carving of a man. Brown-skinned and with straight, shoulder-length black hair, he sat on a carved chair with his right hand outstretched, touching what looked like a model boat. He held a stick of some sort in his left hand. All around him were more hieroglyphs. Jade pointed at them.
"They"re all telling of his greatness; his usefulness to the Pharaoh; the names of his three wives: Iku, Nebt and Nefertkawes."
"Vizier, huh?" Phoenix grinned as she jumped. "They always turn out to be the badguy, as far as I can tell."
"Don"t sneak up on me like that," she scolded.
He laughed mockingly at her reaction. "Scared of the mummies?"
"If you had seen the movie, "The Mummy", you would be, too," Jade said, shuddering.
"Hey, that was a great movie. Anyway, looks like Brynn"s keen to investigate." He glanced over at the dark exit. Brynn was already there, peering in, trying to coax one of Jade"s witch-lights to precede him.
With a grimace, Jade wrapped her arms around herself and backed away. "No thankyou. We should all stay here."
"I think you"ve got zero chance of persuading Brynn to stay here when there might be treasure down there." Phoenix pointed out.
"What about staying focussed and not getting sidetracked?" She put her hands on her hips.
He shrugged. "I still think that"s what we need to do, but like I said, I think we have zero chance of stopping Brynn. Besides," he admitted with slight difficulty, "I did listen before. I think you"re right about taking opportunities. I keep forgetting that things might not be completely random here; that opportunities might come up for a reason."
Jade blinked at him, her mouth falling open.
He gave her a wry grin. "Sorry. I know I overreacted, but I"ve thought about it." He pointed outside, into the howling, dusty windstorm. "This storm came up awfully quickly. We might be here for a reason. Besides, it"s not like we"re going anywhere for awhile. We may as well investigate - carefully."
"But what about curses and things?" She eyed the decorated walls as though trying to decipher all the hieroglyphs at once.
"C"mon," Phoenix scoffed, "you don"t believe in ancient Egyptian curses, do you?"
She sent him a long, cool look. "Not in our world, no."
He stared back at her for a moment and frowned. "Good point. Look, I don"t want us to take unnecessary risks. We need all our lives. But if we don"t go with him, you can bet Brynn will go on his own and get in trouble. We"ll just have to be careful and we could use your help."
Hearing them, Brynn sent her a pleading look over his shoulder. "Come on. We need your lights. Please?"
Closing her eyes, Jade sighed. "I guess it"s probably safer for us all to stay together, mummies or not." She tied their horses" reins to various chunks of exploded door, created some more lights and joined the others. Shoulder to shoulder, the four of them stood facing the blackness of the tomb. Phoenix laid a hand on his sword, feeling his blood quicken as its fire tingled in his veins.
As Jade sent the first of the witch-lights bobbing ahead, she sighed again, "So explain to me again why we"re going into a tomb full of dead people?"
CHAPTER FIVE.
Her voice echoed down the tunnel ahead, followed by the staccato of their bootheels on the stone floor.
Brynn grinned up at her. "Treasure?"
"We don"t need treasure," Jade frowned at him.
The boy grunted. "You might not where you come from, but I can always use it. Besides, there"s no point sitting around here getting sand in our ears. May as well see what"s down there."
"It"s only a vizier"s tomb," Jade reminded them. "It"s not like he"ll be buried with lots of gold like a Pharaoh."
Brynn looked at her straitly. "Even a little bit is more than I have right now. Remember part of our original deal was that I get a cut of any treasure we find."
"You can have all the Roman coins in the Hyllion Bagia," she returned.
He c.o.c.ked his head, dark eyes twinkling. "Thanks, I"ll hold you to that, but how can you resist the temptation to find out what"s down here?"
"Easily," she said sourly. Then they emerged into a slightly bigger room and she gasped. "I take it back. This is incredible."
Brynn grunted, clearly unimpressed. Jade ignored him. The walls were richly decorated with images of daily life in Egypt; all in exquisite, jewel colours. All around were pictures of people hunting and fishing in swamplands; trapping birds, mending nets, preparing food. The background was a beautiful grey-blue colour that made the brown-skinned people seem almost lifelike.
Another short corridor led into a longer one that was similarly carved and painted with images of harvesting, baking, sailing, metalworking and fishing. Jade sighed in awe and ran her fingers over the bright colours, amazed at their clarity and beauty.
"C"mon!" Brynn"s eager call interrupted her thoughts. The boy had found a doorway leading off the corridor to the right. She sent three lights in with him as he vanished through it. Phoenix shook his head and hurried after with Marcus close behind. Jade reluctantly left the corridor and followed.
"Wow!" Even Brynn couldn"t fail to be impressed by the size and grandeur of the room they entered. He stood in the middle, gazing raptly around. The roof was supported by two square pillars near the far end and the tomb"s owner, Mehu, gazed serenely down at them from both columns. All around, the walls were adorned with rich images of servants gardening and carrying food offerings to Mehu. There was no furniture or sarcophagi.
At the far end of the room, between the pillars, was what appeared to be a large door, ornately carved in hieroglyphs. Brynn hurried over, beckoning her closer.
"What does it say?" He jiggled in eagerness.
Jade frowned, scanning the pictographs. She shook her head. "It"s just a dedication to Mehu"s son, Kahotep. I don"t think it"s a real door."
Disappointed, he pushed and pulled at the wall, but nothing opened under his touch so he turned away. She held her breath. No mummies and no treasure. Maybe he would give up now.
Her hope was short-lived. After he dashed back out into the corridor, they heard his excited voice calling again and jogged to catch up. At the other end of the long hall, he"d found yet another dark doorway.
Here, were scenes of people picking fruit and bringing animal offerings to Mehu. The walls danced with images of bulls, gazelle, oryx, fruits and birds. Beyond that was another room lined with musicians and dancers. Two more openings lead out of the room. Brynn peered into one and emerged looking crestfallen.
"Just more decorations. No treasure at all. Not even a statue!" Glum, the boy wandered over to the last room and stuck his head in.
By this time, Jade"s fears were evaporating. Mehu"s tomb was gloriously ornamented, but it seemed to be empty of either treasure or terrifying undead. She watched Brynn"s disappointment with understanding and a trace of amus.e.m.e.nt. Phoenix followed him into the room. Jade and Marcus trailed in after them.
"Hey look, a coffin!" Brynn"s excited comment sent a shiver down her spine and all her worries returned in a rush. Coffins meant mummies....
"Rats," he was standing beside a stone sarcophagus, looking into it disgustedly. The stone lid was pushed askew and the floor was littered with shards of broken pottery, thickly covered in dust. "It"s empty. Not even a body!"
Jade tried to look upset, but in reality she was hugely relieved. She inspected the open coffin for herself, glad to confirm that Mehu"s sah wasn"t there. Hieroglyphs and painted images on the lid and sides confirmed that the vizier had, indeed, been entombed there. Robbers must have found this place long ago and managed to open and close the front entrance without leaving traces. There was nothing left of any treasure Mehu might have had with him in the chamber. Even his body and the small icons that would have been wrapped with him were gone.
Brynn wandered away and began inspecting the end wall.
"What does this one say, Jade?" His tone said he wasn"t hoping for much any more, but was determined not to overlook anything.
She looked over and saw yet another false door. This one was beautifully carved and painted a dark red colour so the hieroglyphs, which were carved into the white limestone wall, stood out clearly in the dim light.
Skimming the texts, she translated. "It seems to be mostly about Mehu himself. All his t.i.tles and jobs Vizier; Chief Justice; Seal-bearer to the King of Lower Egypt; Overseer of Upper Egypt; Overseer of all Judges and Law-courts; Sole friend to the King; Overseer of the two Treasuries. That sort of thing." She raised her eyebrows. "It says he was some sort of priest, too; or a prophet, maybe. He must have been a pretty important guy."
"Two Treasuries!" Brynn caught onto her words, face alight. "So if he was that important, where"s his body? Where"s his treasure?"
"It"s obviously been stolen," Jade pointed out.
"But it says two treasuries," Brynn shot back. "Maybe he just had a few things here because he knew his tomb would be broken into. Maybe he hid the rest."
She turned, glancing pointedly around the empty room for treasure that wasn"t there. There were a few low plinths where statues might have stood, but otherwise, nothing. Even Phoenix and Marcus looked doubtful. Brynn, however, was not to be deterred. He examined the false door, knocking on it with his knuckles and listening hard.
"I"m sure it sounds hollow. Maybe this one"s not a fake door. Did you read everything it says?" He asked, running his hands over the stone frame. "Maybe there"s a clue to how to open it!"