Death in Luxor

by Graham Warren

  They watched in amazement as Ramses and Alexander cut down every attacking soldier. By the law of averages it had to happen sometime and it happened right now. One of the soldiers hit the floor, badly wounded, though far from dead. He rolled, half stood, then lunged at Kate with the small dagger he had pulled from one of the straps across his chest.

  Without a second’s thought, Alex had used his sceptre with lethal effect. “Please, Thoth, don’t remove his name as I do not want to be responsible for removing another ancient from the afterlife.”

  “Well, you are, so you had better deal with it,” shouted Ramses. “Remove his name, Thoth, and remove it now!”

  Thoth reduced the soldier to a shimmer before giving Alex a nod and moving on to another. Alex was greatly relieved that this soldier would now be able to return to full health, once the battle was over and his pharaoh’s Hathor had attended to him. Something hit Alex on the side of his head, causing him to flinch.

  “You are bleeding, Alex.”

  “Did you see what hit me?” He put his hand to his temple and felt his own sticky warm blood. All this death around him, yet he was the only one bleeding.

  “No, but it must have come from over there.” Kate pointed off in front of them, though slightly to her left.

  Alex looked that way. Immediately his hand darted out in front of Kate’s face.

  “What on earth are you doing?”

  Alex opened his hand, revealing, to the surprise of them both, a small golden scarab. No longer paying any attention to Ramses and Alexander, they peered intently into the dimly lit area it had come from.

  “Someone is trying to kill us.”

  “No, Kate … somebody is trying to get our attention.”

  “You are bleeding, Alex, have you forgotten that.”

  “If someone wanted to kill us, and plenty here do, they would not be throwing stones.”

  “They are not throwing stones, they are throwing gold scarabs.”

  “It’s the same thing, Kate. Let’s move over that way and see if we can see who is there.”

  “You can if you want to, but I’m staying here.”

  “Please yourself,” and with that said Alex moved slowly, though purposely, over to where he considered the thrower of the scarab would be. He was soon back beside Kate. She was expecting him to admit that he had been a fool, but he grabbed her hand and dragged her off saying just one word, “Shush!”

  “Stop apologising, Cairo,” said Alex as he pulled Kate down to the floor.

  “I didn’t mean to, it was accident. You do believe me?”

  “Of course, I do,” said Kate with attitude. “Now will somebody please tell me what is going on?”

  “We need to keep low and quiet, but Cairo has got us a way out. Haven’t you.”

  “Yes, Mister Alex, I think.”

  “Well, has he got us a way out of here or not?”

  “Well, they got Nakhtifi out, and now Cairo is back here to get us out, so what do you think?”

  Kate did not really know what to think anymore. Every time she felt that she had her emotions under control, another insurmountable problem seemed to be thrown at her. She also did not like it that Alex appeared to be becoming the leader, when she should be the leader.

  Alex never looked at it that way as he thought that they were working well as a team. Even Kate had said on more than one occasion that they made a great team, though what she meant was that they made a great team with her in charge. With Ramses and Alexander still battling away and them with a chance to escape, all Kate could think about was that it would never work between her and Alex. They needed to be together, all three of them, if they were going to have any chance of defeating the warlock, but after that, she now knew that they all had to go their separate ways.”

  “Are you listening or not, Kate?”

  “Yes, Alex, I am listening!”

  “On three we go.”

  “On three we go where?” she thought in slight panic. Then she thought that it would not be difficult to follow them, so what was there to listen to.

  “Watch Cairo, and we will soon be out of here.”

  Walking on all fours, Cairo very slowly worked his way from the pile of golden artefacts, behind which they were taking cover, over to where Kate and Nakhtifi had been talking earlier. He was obviously now waiting, for some unknown reason to Kate, as he lay low and still. Suddenly moving, he quickly rolled the top of a solid gold coffee table to one side. Darting into the hole that it revealed, feet first, he quickly rolled it back into place. No Cairo … no hole … and nobody noticed!

  Kate could see the small statue she had placed in the pile of gold, so that she and Nakhtifi could both look at it. It was no more than a few paces to the right of where Cairo had been. She was deciding if she should admit to Alex that she had not been listening. That way she would be able to find out why Cairo had delayed going straight into what must be the tunnel, by which they were to escape.

  Without warning Alex, also on all fours, moved over to the concealed exit. Again, there was a delay before he moved quickly and was gone from sight.

  “Oh, sod it,” was the last thought to go through Kate’s mind before she ran over to the golden statue, grabbing it with both hands. The soldiers who were still coming into the chamber, turned away from Ramses and Alexander. They now headed straight for her. Kicking the coffee table out of the way, she dived into the tunnel. Cairo was nowhere to be seen, but Alex had waited. He was greeted by, “We have incoming ancient soldiers, MOVE!” and move he did.

  Not having to carry a heavy gold statue, Alex had his hands free, so he therefore moved quickly on all fours.

  Kate could hear the soldiers getting ever closer. She thought that she felt one try and grab at her foot, which caused her to move with ever increasing panic. There was little light in the tunnel, but she was sure that she saw Alex stop some way ahead. She also thought that she could make out the figure of Cairo lying on his back with his feet up in the air.

  “Hurry, Kate,” called Alex, “as plan two is about to go into operation.”

  “What the hell does he think I’m doing,” she thought as she raced past Cairo at speed. As she did, he kicked both legs forward just as hard as he could. There was a rumble, a creaking, the sound of metal against metal, and then the roof collapsed. The tunnel behind them was no more.

  “Ancient gold stops ancient soldiers, almost poetic justice,” said Alex.

  Chapter 25

  -

  All is Not Revealed

  Quentin grinned like a Cheshire cat as he moved to take centre stage. The hurriedly arranged press conference was being held in the lounge at the Winter Palace. Flashes from the myriad of press cameras bleached the area white, at the same time as a barrage of questions were fired at him. He was in his element as he raised both hands in his demand for silence. Something he was well practiced in, after all the lectures he had given over the years. The small, though very heavy golden statue of Nakhtifi’s, taken by Kate from Alexander the Great’s gold chamber, stood directly in front of him. “Ladies and Gentlemen of the world’s press, I welcome you to this most historic event in the history of Egyptian archaeology.”

  “I bet that he has to mention Howard Carter,” said Alex to Kate, as they stood together at the back of the room.

  “Not since Howard Carter discovered the tomb of Tutankhamun,” Kate and Alex giggled, “has the world seen anything remotely like this. This is a find of immense historical importance, the like of which will never be seen again. I and my team of archaeologists have enough work ahead of us for several lifetimes, though the reason that you are all here tonight is for me to be able to introduce Pharaoh Nakhtifi the First, a previously unknown son of Ramses II.” Quentin lifted the small golden statue up to be level with his face, and once again the flashes of the many cameras went crazy.

  “See, I told you that he had to mention Howard Carter!”

  “Well, Alex, anyone who saw what we saw, would know th
at he had to. Did you notice how your dad just accepted it, when Bast said that Nakhtifi was a son of Ramses?”

  “I think he rather fancies Mademoiselle Bast!”

  “I thought so. Did you see the way she had him wrapped around her little finger; amazing! I was convinced that if she had said the existence of the statue proved that little green men had built the pyramids, that’s what he would be saying up there right now!” They shared a laugh as Alex nodded in agreement. “Come on, shall we go and find Cairo, as our mission is complete? Nakhtifi is safe from the warlock. Far too many people now know he exists for his name to ever be removed.”

  “Don’t be too hasty, as it will be a few hours before these pictures are beamed around the world.”

  Kate spun Alex around so that he faced two wall mounted televisions. “Still think that Nakhtifi is not yet safe?” One television was showing CNN’s live feed of Quentin’s speech, whilst the other showed the BBC’s slightly delayed version of the same. What they did have in common, was a caption which ran along the bottom of the screen, a caption which included the words ‘Pharaoh Nakhtifi the First’. Over the hustle and bustle of reporters, who took up every available space, Kate was still able to hear Alex give a truly genuine sigh of relief.

  Three had taken Cairo into the bar with him, as without his help there was no way they were going to be able to keep up with clean glasses. It was a common myth amongst Egyptians that foreign reporters were hard drinkers. Today, they were living up to that myth.

  Thankfully, none of the reporters knew of Kate or Alex’s involvement in the discovery, so they were left alone. This enabled them to gradually work their way through to the relative peace and quiet of the hotel reception. However, even there every seat was taken by a reporter, with each one tapping away on a laptop and most talking on their mobiles at the same time. It made for a quieter though still noisy area. Mohammed on reception just shrugged his shoulders as Kate looked at him.

  “Let’s get out of here and go for a walk,” said Kate, as she took Alex’s hand and turned for the door.

  Alex steadfastly refused to move. “Aren’t we forgetting something? Nakhtifi is safe from the warlock, but we most definitely are not!”

  Kate’s initial annoyance immediately subsided. “Yes, you are right. I just needed to get out of here as my head is spinning.”

  “Yes, and I know why, as I am also worried about Rose, but everyone who can is out there searching for her. Oh … and don’t forget what Bast said.”

  “And just what did she say, Alex?”

  “Hello, Bast, great to see you. I was just reminding Kate of what you said last night. That the warlock does not want Rose, he wants Gadeem.”

  Kate was nowhere near as pleased to see Bast as Alex was, and she made this fact known. “Why are you wasting your time here when you of all people should be looking for Rose?”

  Noticing that one of the reporters was now paying a little too much attention to their conversation, Alex took Kate by the hand. He led her out to the patio area at the rear of the hotel, where, unlike inside, there was not a reporter in sight.

  Bast walked quickly past them. She made herself comfortable at a dark table in the far corner, which overlooked the garden below. Once they were all seated she went to speak, though before she could, Kate apologised for being so rude.

  “It has been a long few days for us all,” was all Bast managed to say before Kate jumped in with a question.

  “What I don’t understand, is why someone would kidnap Rose when they really want Gadeem?”

  “Well, Kate,” said Bast in a low and calming voice, “Gadeem is, as you now know, an ancient.”

  “Yes, we know, but then how could he sit next to you?” Kate was thinking of him being on the sofa in the lounge, at her birthday party.

  “Did you see him move from the sofa?”

  “No.”

  “That is because it is the only place an ancient can sit in the lounge. For Gadeem to get there his only way was straight up, and to leave straight down.” Bast paused for a second or two to allow this to sink in before continuing.

  Kate and Alex pictured Gadeem climbing an ancient pole before sitting on top of it.

  “Gadeem does not only know old magic, he uses it. He modestly says that he does not know anywhere near as much as the warlock, though I am not so sure. He certainly knows enough to make attackers disappear whenever they get too close to him.”

  “That was a neat trick,” said Alex.

  “It has proved to be very useful, especially as the warlock has thought, for many centuries, that Gadeem is behind the magic blocking both ends of his tomb. I can confirm to you both that he is.”

  “So, Gadeem is also a warlock,” said Alex. He got in first, much to Kate’s annoyance, as she already felt rather side-lined.

  “Not exactly a warlock, more a practitioner of the old ways.” Bast paused. She hesitated somewhat before saying, “At no time before has the warlock ever been bold enough to attempt to touch Rose. She has always been too well guarded. She also comes from a very powerful ancient family.”

  Kate and Alex started speaking. Bast said nothing as they jointly explained what Cairo had told them: that Rose did not have a family in the afterlife, due to an ancient suicide.

  Bast had obviously wanted to get this point over as her wording had been quite deliberate. She smiled in a knowing way. “I somewhat suspect that the warlock’s desire to get out, so that he can vent his wrath on us, is far stronger than it was just a few days ago. You have not only thwarted his plans to become a pharaoh but also secured Nakhtifi’s position in the afterlife.”

  “Yes, but why take Rose?” asked Kate.

  “Rose is leverage. Do trust me when I tell you that this is a most worrying turn of events. To throw caution to the wind like this, the warlock must be beyond angry, beyond reason. What is most concerning for the family is that he has succeeded. Taking Rose will have emboldened him. He knows that Gadeem will do anything to save her.”

  “Even free him?”

  “Possibly, Alex, or more likely … probably!” Bast spoke on. She took some while explaining how Henuttawy, a wayward daughter of Ramses, had turned against her father because of her love for the warlock. “Ramses should have had her put to death for what she did. Out of love and compassion, he sent her into exile. He banned her, on pain of death, from ever setting her foot back in Egypt. As we now know she is back, has somehow evaded the security that Ramses put in place, and is holding Rose against her will in the Theban Hills.”

  “So, you know where Rose is?”

  “Yes, Kate.”

  “That is why you are here, because you cannot go into the Theban Hills.”

  “Yes, Alex, Meretseger has located them both. The message is that Rose is fine. She is completely unharmed. The problem we have is that we do not know what magic is in play, so we cannot rush in to rescue her. Needless to say, Gadeem is much relieved. We do, however, have a rescue plan. It will put into action as soon as Quentin has finished talking and the press leave. That way we will have many more members of the family available. We are confident that Rose will be free very soon.”

  Alex thought that the last sentence sounded rather like so many police statements, where even though they had no clue of who the perpetrator was, they were confident of an early arrest.

  “Do you think that the warlock could be free right now?”

  “Oh no, not at all, no way, Kate. We have kept Gadeem guarded, so that he does not do something now that we will all regret later. If the warlock was free, I can tell you for certain that he would come out with a bang rather than a whimper. We would all be very aware of his freedom.”

  Bast, rather unexpectedly, morphed back into a cat and was gone. Her sudden departure took Kate and Alex by surprise. They agreed that having told them everything she had wanted to, she had left to avoid answering any more questions.

  “See, we need not have worried. The family will be going to rescue Rose once dad s
tops talking,” said Alex, as they walked back into reception.

  “How much did you tell him?”

  “Nothing much really. He was off in a world of his own once he had his hands on the gold statue. I would not have expected otherwise, after his discovery of the tomb of Roy had been denied to him.” Alex paused for a second. He gave a short huff before continuing. “This is dad’s dream come true. There was no way he was going to let it be taken away from him this time. His only thought was to get the press to Luxor urgently, so that his face would forever be associated with Nakhtifi.”

  “Well, he has certainly done that!” said Kate as they both looked at a bank of monitors stacked beneath the front of the reception desk. On every screen there was Quentin’s face, along with the little golden statue which he was holding up by his cheek.

  “Yes, today has been a real success.”

  “If you call losing Rose a success,” said Kate rather sadly, as she felt a real closeness to her, though she could not exactly work out why. Perhaps, she thought, having been so deprived of affection since the loss of her mother, she built unnaturally strong bonds with anyone who showed her even the slightest affection. She decided that this was something she was going to have to give more thought to, as her modern young adult memories and her ancient adult memories appeared to be colliding. “Do you think that they will be successful in rescuing her?” she asked, meaning the combined efforts of Ramses, Nakhtifi, Bast and the family. “And if they are, will they be able to do so whilst also keeping the warlock contained?”

  “I’m sure that they will be able to free Rose as well as deal with the warlock. After all, as Bast said, they have kept him securely locked up for centuries,” replied Alex.

  At that very second both he and Kate flew backwards across reception. They landed upside-down upon reporters, who had until then been excitedly typing away on their laptops. Hitting the sofa and its occupants with so much force, it toppled backwards, saving them from the high velocity shards of glass which flew through reception, as the hotel windows imploded.