Theodosia and the Last Pharaoh

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO On the March

WE LEFT QERERT IHY as the moon reached its zenith, its silvery glow spilling across the landscape and giving us some light to travel by. I tried to coax Isis up into my lap to ride on my horse with me, but she was having none of it. She insisted on traveling behind us on her own four paws. The wedjadeen's blood was running high and they were filled with rising hopes that they could retrieve their pharaoh. And if hope failed them, they had plenty of grim determination to see them through.

We had timed it so we would arrive in Luxor under the cover of nightfall. Our horses slowed as the city drew near, and Khalfani had us detour around the city proper and any possible scouts Chaos might have posted. We came in through the East Gate of the Karnak Temple and silently filed past the sacred lake to the small Temple of Osiris that abutted the south girdle wall.

Hashim dismounted, then came over to speak to me. "We leave our horses here," he explained, helping me dismount. "A handful of servants shall lead them just out of sight. They will set up a Bedouin camp, which will explain our presence should anyone notice."

"Are we going to camp here in the temple grounds?" I asked, looking around for signs of habitable space.

He flashed me a quick grin. "Not exactly."

The wedjadeen unloaded their horses and gave last-minute instructions to those charged with setting up the decoy camp. As that group disappeared out the East Gate, the rest of the wedjadeen drew apart to let Khalfani and Baruti come forward. They entered the small Osiris temple, and the rest of the men followed them. As they disappeared inside, I turned to Hashim in surprise. "We're going to sleep inside the temple?" I asked, faintly shocked at the idea.

"Not exactly," he said again, then motioned for me to precede him.

After checking to be certain Isis was still behind me, I followed the others to a hatch of some sort near the back of the temple. Khalfani and Major Grindle pried it open to reveal a sunken staircase. I glanced at Hashim, who only smiled and took a lit torch from the fellow handing them out.

Ever curious, Isis slipped in front of me to sniff at the passageway. After a slight pause, she disappeared down the hatch. Comforted by this, I followed the others down the deep, narrow stairs and tried to ignore the light flickering eerily on the walls. As I stepped into the small antechamber at the foot of the steps, the men used their torches to light the oil lamps positioned around the room.

We were in a vast underground chamber that stretched out as far as my eye could see. Dark, shadowy shapes danced along the walls, and I shuddered. Those were not mere shadows, but whether they were mut or akhu or simply remnants of the gods or earlier wedjadeen who had passed this way, I could not tell.

Major Grindle nearly broke his neck trying to see everything at once. His face was alight with wonder. Rumpf's face shone, too. Jadwiga merely looked as if he expected the entire thing to come down on our heads any moment.

"Does this run the entire length of the Great Temple?" I asked Hashim.

"Nearly."

Small rooms opened up off the larger chamber. Some of them held supplies, such as jars of oil, honey, and grain. Others contained a jumble of artifacts and furniture, while still others held roll after roll of scrolls and papyruses.

"Is this where you plan to hide the Emerald Tablet?" I asked Khalfani.

"No." He laughed. "This is much too close to others and much too easy to find. There is a mountain, hidden deep in the desert, that contains many artifacts of the gods."

"It wouldn't do much good to hide a map with the treasure it leads to, would it?" I asked, puzzled by this strategy.

Khalfani gave me a sly glance. "Did I say we would hide the tablet there?"

Come to think of it, he hadn't.

"This place that you see is one of our sanctuaries," Khalfani explained. "A place for us to gather away from prying eyes or to wait out unpleasantness."

"Marvelous," Major Grindle breathed. "You can go to ground here until trouble blows over or pursuers give up the chase."

"It is also an excellent place from which to launch an attack. Come." Khalfani led us to a large table in the back. He retrieved a map from his saddle pouch and unrolled it on the table, anchoring it in place with small stones on each corner.

"Gamal, Rashid, I want you to scout out the black-market area. See if you can find any signs of where they might hide a valuable prisoner. Also try to determine how many men are loyal to the followers of Set." They bowed, then left the room.

Khalfani turned back to the map. "The question is, how do we let them know we have an exchange we'd like to offer? Even if I were to march down their street myself, they would not know me or my face and I would most likely not gain an audience with the man in charge. At least, not alive," he amended. "Do they know your men by sight?" he asked Major Grindle.

The major glanced at Jadwiga and Rumpf. "They do not, and I am loath to have them break their cover. Years have gone into building these identities for them."

"They'd talk to me, wouldn't they?" I asked, my voice sounding very high and thin in the cavernous room.

"I'll go," Major Grindle said, as if he hadn't heard me.

"You?" Fenuku asked, clearly suspicious.

"Me. I'm the only one they've seen, other than Miss Throckmorton, and I'm sure we're all in agreement that she is not marching into their midst."

"Agreed," Khalfani, Jadwiga, and Rumpf all said at the same time. Fenuku was the only one who kept silent.

"But sir," I said. "You've already thwarted them once. Won't they kill you on sight?"

Khalfani studied Major Grindle a long moment. "Not if he carries the Orb of Ra with him."

Major Grindle's face lit up like my brother Henry's on Christmas morning. Honestly, if I didn't know better, I'd think he was just here for the toys.

"You cannot be serious!" Fenuku sputtered. "Hand over one of our most precious artifacts to the Inglaize?"

Baruti laid a hand on Fenuku's arm to calm him. "He must have some means of ensuring their cooperation. Besides, we are brothers now, remember?"

But it was clear from the look on Fenuku's face that he would never call the Inglaize "brother."

"When could you be ready to deliver the message?" Khalfani asked.

"Immediately, of course," Major Grindle said.