"And how can we gain access to it?" Marcus frowned over the map, tracing the streets with one finger. The Temple was bounded on the north by the harbour, on the west by a ca.n.a.l and on the east by a large, open square. On the southern side was another courtyard, onto which the main front doors opened. It would be difficult to approach unseen from any direction.
"You can"t," Heron shook his head. "There is no access to the public at any time and the entrances are all well-guarded. I"ve only been in there once when I was installing door openers for the front doors. The place is impregnable. The walls are eight gradii high and there are over a hundred priest-warriors in the building."
They were silent awhile, pondering the maps without any brilliant ideas emerging.
Phoenix scrubbed his fingers through his hair. "It"s no use. We need to see the place before we can come up with anything solid. We"ll have to go there now and come up with something on the spot."
Jade grimaced. "I hate to go in blind, but I think you"re right. Let"s gather whatever gear we might need and put it in the Bag. Quickly. It"s almost midnight already."
"The city is under curfew," Heron reminded them. "There will be soldiers patrolling."
"We"ll just have to avoid them, won"t we?" Phoenix folded the map and tucked it away in his shirt. It was time to get moving.
A short time later the four crept from shadow to shadow, through the centre of the city. Heron had insisted on coming and they couldn"t refuse. His knowledge of the city was invaluable, even if his skill in sneaking wasn"t the best. The streets were poorly lit by smoky torches that hung in sconces from stone walled buildings, but the waning moon had risen and was casting a feeble silver light. For a city under curfew, the streets were extremely busy. Soldiers patrolled in pairs and city firemen made random checks on torches and households to ensure household fires were safely contained. It made hiding very tricky.
As they neared the Harbour, their pace slowed. This was the centre of town and better lit than the outer suburbs. Large, stone buildings loomed high into the night sky. Smaller ones, housing small businesses, were shuttered and closed for the night. They could smell the ocean and hear the distant slosh of waves against the harbour walls.
Feeling nervous without his sword, Phoenix nudged Jade. "You"ve definitely got all our weapons in the Bag, then?"
"Yes," Jade nodded. "Heron said that if we"re found by the Romans, we"ll have a better chance if we"re unarmed, but I should be able to get out a weapon or two for us if something goes pear-shaped."
"Good," Phoenix shoved his hands into the pockets of his breeches. He"d felt the tug of Blodbal"s power and thought it might be close by. The idea was both rea.s.suring and scary.
Jade paused and turned apprehensive green eyes on him. Her hand crept to the front of her shirt and held it closed. "You want Blodbal back, don"t you?"
Phoenix clenched his jaw. He"d been trying to think about something else, but she was right. Underneath everything was a burning ache to have that sword back in his grasp.
"Well, don"t give it to me, if you want to survive this game," he gave a rough laugh, trying to turn it into a joke.
There was an awkward pause as they began walking again and Jade stayed silent. She still held her shirt and the Hyllion Bagia beneath it. At last, she spoke softly again.
"I don"t blame you for being afraid of the sword, you"re pretty scary when you"re in berserker mode."
Phoenix jerked a shoulder, trying to ignore the urge to yell at her. He wasn"t scared of Blodbal well, ok he was, but more than anything, he wanted it back.
"But," she glanced around at the shadowed streets, "I don"t think you"ll be able to avoid using it. You"re going to have to learn to control it, Phoenix."
Phoenix grunted, hoping she"d take it for agreement. Truth was, he didn"t have a hope of controlling the sword. That was the only part that did frighten him.
"Oh!" Jade stopped and Phoenix looked wildly around, wondering what was wrong. He followed her rapt gaze and saw....a big building. It was a nice, impressive, stone building with fluted columns and artistic sculptures on the walls, but still, just a building.
"It"s the Library of Alexandria," Jade whispered in awe. "It was the centre of learning and culture for hundreds of years before it burnt down and all the books were lost forever."
"You"ve gone all gooey over a library?" He groaned.
"And look," Jade pointed off toward the north to where, just past the Library, Phoenix could just make out a large harbour, surrounded on three sides by torch-lit buildings. Dozens of small and large boats were moored close together on the dark water, bobbing gently in the swell. It was a pretty scene, but hardly worth staring at in wonder.
"So what, it"s the ocean," he grabbed her arm and pulled her along in the wake of the others.
"No, it"s the Lighthouse," she breathed.
Phoenix could even hear the capital L in her voice.
"What, that light out there?" There appeared to be a fire burning high up and out to sea probably on an island or spit. In the faint moonlight, he couldn"t see much of the building but he a.s.sumed that was what she meant. "Whoopee, so it"s a lighthouse. You"ll probably even get to see it closer if you hurry. The Temple is right on the harbour."
Jade shook her arm free and sent him an irritated look. "The Great Lighthouse was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient world. Don"t you even care how they built it over a hundred and thirty metres high, or how they generated the light without electricity?"
Phoenix glanced sideways at her and shook his head. He didn"t want to hurt her feelings by saying flat out, "no", but they really did have more important things to be doing than drooling over old buildings. Where on earth did she store all this information? Just when he thought he was getting the hang of being her friend, she went off into her own head and spouted trivia.
Jade"s expression changed to regret and she sighed. "You"re right. I"m sorry. Brynn is more important that a stupid lighthouse or some two thousand year old books. Let"s go."
Phoenix was still in shock at Jade"s admission when they caught up with Marcus and Heron at the waterfront. He was only half-listening as they joined the two Romans until he heard a name come up in conversation which surprised him to a standstill. Heron said the name "Zhudai".
Phoenix grabbed the old man"s arm, spinning him about with rough disregard for his age. "What did you say?"
Heron blinked at him. "I was just telling Marcus that the Proconsul"s advisor, Feng Zhudai, is also reputed to be a close confidante of the High Priest of Set which is probably how they found you at my house."
Phoenix let go and paced back and forward. "So that"s how it all ties together. I was wondering where Zhudai fit into all this. If he"s in league with Set, then of course he"ll want to stop us from freeing Anuket. Releasing her would undo all his plans by restoring Balance to Egypt." He smacked his own forehead. "Why didn"t I see it before?"
Heron interrupted. "How do you know Zhudai? And how does he know you? Why would he want to stop you from freeing Anuket?"
Phoenix scrubbed a hand through his hair. "It"s a long story. Basically, Zhudai"s the ultimate badguy we"re supposed to foil. Everywhere we go, he keeps popping up as someone"s advisor and trying to stop us from fulfilling our quest. I"m darned if I know how he does it, either."
"Well, he is a powerful sorcerer," Jade reminded him, tilting her head as she watched the streets for signs of patrols.
"Is he?" Heron seemed surprised. "Proconsul Priscus is well-known for his hatred of sorcerers and Zhudai has been at court for many months without any signs of magic."
"How does he do that?" Phoenix felt frustration welling up in his guts again. "How can Zhudai be the advisor to Agricola, Loki and Priscus all at once? And, for that matter, how did Zhudai get here from Sweden so fast?"
"Oh!" Jade gave him a wide-eyed look. "He must know about the portals."
Phoenix thought about it for a moment, then shook his head. "How could he? If he was using the portals to get around, he would have ended up Snefru"s chapel like we did."
"Unless there"s another one somewhere here, in Alexandria," she exclaimed. "Heron, do you know of a group of three stones somewhere around? They"d be shaped like a big doorway and made of grey rock different from anything you"d normally see in Egypt. They could be set into a wall or standing on their own somewhere."
The old inventor looked off into the distance, thinking hard. Finally, he shook his head. "I don"t believe I"ve seen anything like that and I"ve been into most of the major buildings. Of course, if it"s in a private home I wouldn"t know."
"When you say "most" of the major buildings," Phoenix mused as an unwelcome thought intruded, "which ones haven"t you been into?"
"Well, the only place I"ve actually been denied access is, of course, the Temple of Set," Heron sounded mildly annoyed. "They really are most unpleasant fellows. Most of the recent riots we"ve had have been because the priests of Set have stirred up trouble between the Jews, the Romans and native people. When I was installing the door-openers, they wouldn"t even let me past the front doors of the Temple. I only wanted to see the statue of.....oh....I see what you mean. Your portal could be there...." He trailed off.
Phoenix looked at Jade then they both turned to see what Marcus thought.
The Roman nodded. "So everything hinges on the Temple of Set, then."
"And I have a feeling we"re going to need a serious plan," Phoenix agreed. "Thinking with my sword arm won"t get us what we need this time. Jade?" He looked at her and she blinked back at him in alarm.
Then she sighed, accepting her part in the team. "We"ll still need to see the temple. Somehow I don"t think the "concubine" trick we pulled last time will work. They will have been warned by the temple in Memphis by now."
For awhile they were all silent, following Heron west along the harbour wall, listening to the gentle slap of waves against the rocky sh.o.r.e. Before long they had left the brightly-lit centre of Alexandria and were in a dark, unpleasant area of town.
"Why do they build the Temples of Set in such nasty parts of town?" Jade whispered as they crept along the rubbish-strewn harbour-front and crouched behind the rotting carcase of an old rowboat. There was definitely something, or someone, dead around. A rat squeaked and scurried away. Jade shuddered and held her breath.
"This used to be a nice area," Heron said with soft regret. "Something about the unholy practices of the Priesthood draws the worst elements and repels ordinary citizens."
Finally, they came up against a high, wooden fence that blocked their path and ran down to the water"s edge. Peering through a gap in the palings, Heron pointed across the open square beyond, toward the imposing facade of the Temple of Set. Its ma.s.sive walls dominated the area, dwarfing the decaying remains of old mansions nearby. Ten armed monks paced along its length, guarding the high, stone walls. More walked the boundary marked by the wooden fence. Surrounded by high, smooth walls, the Temple itself loomed, dark and forbidding, against the star-speckled sky. A lone, greenish light shone in its highest tower.
"First of all, we have to get around this fence and inside the compound," Phoenix whispered. "Then we need to find a way inside the temple walls."
"The fence goes all the way down to the water and it"s guarded on the landward side," Heron hissed, eyeing the glittering black sea with distaste.
"You"re right," Phoenix noted. "Jade, I don"t suppose you"ve got a handy spell for drying clothes, do you?"
Jade thought for a moment before nodding. "Ummm, actually, I think I do have one that would suit. What"s the plan?"
"I was thinking that we should slip into the sea and swim around the fence then sneak up under that," he indicated a small jetty poking out into the harbour. There looked to be just enough room to hide on the rocky beach beneath it, out of sight of the guards.
Jade sent him an admiring glance. "Nice." Behind them, Marcus murmured agreement and Phoenix felt a rush of pride and grat.i.tude. Maybe they were getting closer to working like a real team if he could control his connection with his sword and think clearly.
Heron raised a hand. "I am sorry to cause trouble, but I can"t swim."
"Ah," Phoenix said, stumped. "I hadn"t thought of that. Ummm."
"I can tow him," Marcus said. "Take off your shoes and most your clothes so they don"t weigh you down."
"We should all do that," Jade chimed in. "We can put them in the Bag so we don"t have to carry them."
"Let"s do it, then," Phoenix began to strip off his shirt. "The sooner we get ash.o.r.e and get to the Temple, the more chance we have of saving Brynn."
As they picked their way carefully down to the water, Phoenix glanced back over his shoulder at the Temple. The fence angled down here and the roofline of the temple was clearly visible.
"Look!" He whispered to Jade. She looked up and her expression sharpened into anxiety, her face pale and set. There, just poking out behind the roof of the temple, was the distinctive, pointed silhouette of an obelisk. Behind them, the dying moon drifted in the night sky, creating a silvery path across the harbour, directly toward the Temple of Set. They were running out of time.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN.
Phoenix"s plan went surprisingly well. They all slipped into the water, hidden by the very fence that was supposed to keep them out. Heron panicked for a moment until Jade firmly told him the seawater was warm and calm and to stop behaving like a baby. He glowered as Marcus wrapped an arm around him and began a smooth sidestroke. They moved slowly, keeping their heads low to reduce ripples on the smooth night ocean. The final few metres were in full view of the temple guards and had to be done underwater. Heron came up beneath the dock sputtering and coughing until Marcus shushed him by placing a hand over his mouth. The old inventor looked extremely unhappy. His white beard and hair were bedraggled; his skinny, wrinkled body white and dripping.
"Now I know why I never learned," he muttered, wringing out his beard.
Jade her spell to dry off the scant clothing they wore, then pulled their other things out of the Bag. They were saturated. Surprised and obviously annoyed, she had to dry them as well. Shaking her head in puzzlement, she asked Marcus to remind her later to check out the other things they had stowed in the bag. He nodded, watching for patrols or signs that they had been detected.
Phoenix turned to Jade. "You"re going to have to give me my sword." His heart raced with reluctance and excitement. His hand itched to hold Blodbal once more even while he feared to do so.
Jade"s expression was uneasy. "Will you be able to control it?"
"I don"t know," he admitted. "I"m not angry at you or Brynn any more, so I don"t think it will turn me against you again. I just don"t know. You"ll have to watch me."
"Maybe you could just use your old sword," she offered.
He shook his head, dismayed by the surge of resentment he felt at her words. "Brynn had it. Besides, with the High Priest and Zhudai both lurking about, I don"t think an ordinary sword will cut it if you"ll forgive the pun. In fact, I think Marcus had better have Mjolnir ready, too, just in case we get a chance to knock down the tekhen on our way through."
Marcus nodded, his eyes fixed on Phoenix. Jade pulled out her staff and dagger before offering the Bag to Marcus. He drew out his bow, dagger and sword before retrieving Thor"s hammer along with the iron gloves and belt that allowed him to heft its great weight. Jade dried them off.
"I hope the gloves don"t go rusty or Thor may get a little irritated when we give them back," Marcus murmured as he drew them on and flexed his fingers.
"I still don"t understand why everything"s wet," Jade complained again.
Phoenix suppressed the urge to tell her to shut up and just give him the sword. She slid it out of the bag and dried it before handing it to him with obvious reluctance. With their hands on their own weapons, his friends watched him as he strapped the blade to his hip and closed his eyes.
It was like taking a drink after a day in the desert. He felt complete again; clear-headed and full of energy. The low-grade pulse of Blodbal"s eagerness burned like a banked fire just waiting to be stoked back to life. Opening his eyes, Phoenix found his friends still eyeing him.
"It"s ok," Their caution was irritating. "I"m fine. Let"s work on a plan of attack. We need some distraction so we can get into the Temple of Set without having to fight our way in from the start."
Clearly encouraged by his lack of desire to fight, they relaxed and began to toss ideas around.
Ten minutes later, they were no closer to a solution. It seemed impossible. Hidden beneath the rotting old dock, they could now see the open square and there was no way to cross it unseen. Phoenix suggested Jade use her illusion or command spell to distract the guards. She argued that there were just too many guards and too much distance to run without cover. Then, even if they did make it to the walls, they had no way of getting inside.
At a loss for a solution, they fell silent. Jade pulled out a packet of nuts and dried fruits, drying them before handing them around. As they nibbled and watched the temple, they listened to Heron complaining about the Priests of Set and state of the city.
"It"s getting worse, too," Heron sighed. "The drought has brought great hardship, food shortages and diseases. Priscus has been taking every able-bodied slave for the Games in Rome. The priests of Set walk among the Egyptians, blaming the Romans for every problem. Then they take their poisonous words to the Jewish quarter and stir them against the Romans and Christians. Everywhere they go, riots and death follow. The Proconsul is holding onto his rule by the merest thread. n.o.body can understand why he listens so closely to Zhudai and the High Priest of Set. If something is not done soon, I fear the whole city will go up in flames."
Phoenix, Jade and Marcus exchanged wondering looks as the same idea occurred to all of them at once.
"Have we still got those priests" robes from Memphis?" Phoenix asked Jade.
Jade nodded. "I think they ended up in the Bag." Fishing around, she drew out two, soggy black robes and quickly dried them.
"What about those red masks they wear?" Phoenix asked.
Heron shook his head. "Only the Inner Circle of Fifty wears the Blood Mask. All the other priests go bare-faced."
"Excellent." Phoenix looked at the old man. "Do you think you could pa.s.s for a priest of Set and say what they say?"
Heron frowned, then nodded. "I suppose; I"ve heard their rantings often enough. What are you planning?"
Phoenix grinned. "I think we need to cause a riot."
Heron gasped, choking on a raisin until Marcus thumped him on the back.
"So," Phoenix summed up moments later as Marcus and Heron struggled into the robes, "the idea is for Marcus and Heron to go drum up some people to mill around outside the temple as a distraction."