by D. S. Murphy
“He’ll radio for help at any sign of trouble,” Sitri said. His eyes searched my face, and his arm lingered on my arm. I thought he was going to say something, but finally he tapped on the side of the boat, and jumped back to the rocky shore.
“Be safe,” he shouted as we were turning away.
“You too,” I said.
***
The ship took Jessie and me out into the bay, choppy, dark water.
“Does he even know where we’re going?” Jessie asked.
“Cleopatra’s palace – they found it earlier this year, the Eye of Horus must be around there.”
“Too bad we didn’t have a pool at JDRI,” I said. “I’m not a strong swimmer.”
We stripped to our underwear and put on the rubbery wetsuits, trying to stay on our feet as the boat bounced across the rough water. I sucked in a breath as Jessie help me zip the front of my suit. In the middle of the bay, the captain cut the engine and let the boat drift.
“There,” he pointed over the side of the rusty dingy, past the peeling paint and fishing nets. I could see nothing except dark water. This far from land, I felt totally exposed, and almost wished Sitri had come with us after all. My heart was pounding, and my dark hair whipped in the early morning wind.
“Are you sure?” I asked.
“I’ll drop an anchor down,” he said. “When you get in the water, just hold onto the rope and pull yourself down until you see the ruins.”
I panicked a little, when our guide strapped the oxygen tank to my back and put the glass mask over my eyes and nose. He showed me how to hold the tube between my teeth, and sit on the edge of the boat to put my feet in the plastic fins.
I took a deep breath and plunged over the side of the boat. The water was freezing, but I could already feel the warmth of the suit countering the chill. I forced my mask and face underwater to make sure I could breathe. I could see Jessie’s legs next to mine, kicking in the deep, murky water. I let go of the boat, swimming to the side of the boat so I could grab the rope. It disappeared into the deep blue abyss after about twenty feet, but the line seemed secure. I nodded, then began to pull myself down, kicking with my legs to descend faster. For a while, all I could see was the murky grey of the Mediterranean, and the rope leading down into the darkness. The silence was so complete, I could hear my own heartbeat pounding in my ears. Suddenly, shapes loomed up through the haze, and I could see the bottom.
I gazed out over the rubble, picking out more remains scattered nearby. A stone sphinx holding a giant urn, engraved hieroglyphs in stone markers, broken pieces of mosaic and shattered pottery. Looking further, I could see the crippled remains of an archway. I checked to make sure Jessie was still behind me, then took a deep breath and kicked myself away from the rope, using my fins to propel myself forward. Getting a sense of my bearings, even though everything was flat, I could guess which chunks of stone used to be walls, and the wide, flat area that must have been the floor of Cleopatra’s palace.
I followed a long corridor of huge granite pillars, six feet wide, but I couldn’t see anything that might be the eye of Horus. I didn’t even know if I was going in the right direction, but Isis said Cleopatra’s private chambers would be near the center of the palace.
I reeled back suddenly, as a giant face loomed up from the wreckage. It gazed up towards the surface longingly, half buried in sand. I saw a statue of a bald priest in what must have been an old altar. This deep, the waters were darker, which cast an ominous blue haze to everything. I’d never been much of a swimmer, but I think especially since my run-in with the monster in the caves, I’d been avoiding large bodies of water. Now with the expanse of blue surrounding me, a tiny dot in the center of the massive stone complex on a sunken island, I felt utterly insignificant.
We pushed forward, and I started to see chunks of white marble that stood out from the dark sand and stone. An arm holding grapes. A leg sticking straight up out of the sand. They were fragments of what must have been a large sculpture garden, but now their broken pieces looked like a cemetery, after an earthquake had unearthed the bodies. I kicked harder until they were behind us.
We passed a large, perfectly intact stone lion, with one paw resting on a large round stone. Behind him, a tall column that looked like a giant candlestick. A staircase was framed by large bull heads, with a solar disk between their horns. Shimmering fish swam past a pharaoh’s portrait. In broken walls, square holes that must have been windows were dotted with bright green and blue coral.
Jessie tugged at my arm and I turned to look at her. She raised her eyebrows, pointing out features in the square-shaped area below us. A sliver of polished glass. The flash of a silver candlestick. The slight bit of colored pigment on the crumbled wall sections, that must have once been a beautiful mural.
This was it, Cleopatra’s palace. I closed my eyes, hoping to at least get a sense of direction. It was hard to know for sure, but it seemed like the right side had more light coming from it. We pushed forward, over the mounds of massive rubble and broken statues. A school of fish twisted its way around us, glinting in the light from above. I froze as I saw a large shape move along the bottom. A manta ray, nearly as big as I was, floated along the sandy floor.
I could see its silver thread, glowing in the water, it looked softer, fuzzy. I followed its path and I realized it curved inward, almost like something was sucking it in or warping it. I unfocused my eyes, blurring out the underwater ruins until I could just see the threads. Some of them, like the smaller fish, I could barely see. The vital threads of the small fish looked like long blond hairs. Schools of fish looked like a spider web. Altogether, it was a moving tapestry of threads, a whole ecosystem of life. And as I studied it, I realized it was also a map of the terrain. I could see the creature’s movements and paths, and there was a spot on the terrain where everything dipped, like someone had smudged it with their finger.
“It’s there,” I mouthed, pointing forward.
On one wall, which was partially still standing, there was a hieroglyph I recognized, a stylized painting of a large eye, rimmed with gold leaf and blue paint. This time I could see exactly where the glow was coming from, and it was pulsing like a beacon. I pointed at a large slab under the symbol and dove downwards. Jessie grabbed the edge and nodded. Together, we were just able to brace ourselves and lift it enough to turn it over. A large crab scuttled to the side, baring its pinchers at us. We waited for the sediment to clear, revealing a black hole, barely large enough for our packs to fit through.
I shivered as the temperate dropped. Our headlights cut through the dark void, illuminating our path as we descended into a large room. It was like a time capsule from thousands of years ago. Colorful figures beckoned from the large wall murals, their faces smiling and their eyes full of secrets. Silver spoons and broken pottery sparkled from the dark fragments of wooden furniture. Jessie picked up a golden earring from the ground, and it sparkled in her headlamp.
Then I saw it. A large, blue orb, just bigger than my head, and nearly translucent. It was buried in nearly a foot of debris and sand, but somehow I could see it anyway. Jessie helped me clear away the dirt until I could get my fingers around the crystal sphere. I struggled at first to lift it, but found a way to tuck it into my sack and tie it around my waist.
I gave a thumbs-up sign and Jessie and I headed back towards the ceiling of the chamber, and squeezed through the small hole. I heard a squeal behind me, and turned to see Jessie thrashing in the water. She pointed, and I could see the strap of her tank was wedged between two large stones. I grabbed her arms and pulled, which just seemed to jam her in tighter. Her eyes were frantic, but I held her shoulders to calm her down. We weren’t that far from the surface, maybe thirty feet. I glanced up, and the light was brighter than it had been earlier, and sparkled on the surface with flecks of yellow. I picked out the dark shape of our boat not far away.
I reached for the knife on my belt and held it up to show Jessie. She nodded, and I began
cutting the strap of her tank with the serrated edge. A few minutes later, she was free. She took a last, long breath from the tank, then pulled out her breathing tube and swam towards the surface. I followed close behind her, in case she ran out of breath and needed to use my tank.
As we got closer to the surface, I blinked, confused by the dark shapes floating on the surface around the boat and the flickering red and yellow lights. Suddenly, adrenaline coursed through my veins, as I realized our boat was on fire, and the water was filled with bodies.
21
We pushed to the surface of the water and emerged surrounded by smoke and fire. I tore off my mask and sucked down air, choking on the fumes. The boat was in pieces, and already starting to sink. I grabbed a large piece of the bow and dragged Jessie on top as well. It was more difficult because of my weak left arm, which now felt limp, and the constraining wet suit. The Eye hung heavily in my bag, threatening to pull me back under. The body of the captain floated past us, his face charred, and his clothes still smoldering.
We were only about 500 meters off the main coast, but the lighthouse was nearly three times as far in the opposite direction. I squinted, trying to see the others, but my eyes were burning from the smoke and salt water. I heard a motor and glanced to my left to see Sitri, piloting a sleek motorboat. His eyes lit up with relief when he saw me. He swerved hard to bring the boat up next to us, putting the engine in neutral.
“Jessie first,” I choked. He grabbed her arms and hauled her up, dumping her in the seat behind him before coming back to me.
“Take the Eye,” I shouted above the wind. I was too weak to even lift it up, so I just turned my body so he could reach around and grab my bag. He tucked it in a hidden cupboard under the back seat, then grabbed my arms and pulled me on board. I winced as he grabbed my wrist, and I felt the tight tug of the iron glove against my skin.
I was shaking and shivering, so he rubbed my back with his palms, trying to warm up my skin, until I could speak.
“What happened?” I asked through chattering teeth.
“Hera’s back,” he said darkly. “You’re lucky you were both under the water. I’m pretty sure she wants you dead.”
“What’s her deal?” Jessie said. “Does she know about the emerald tablet? Is she trying to stop us from reading it?”
“I’ll ask her on the next pass,” Sitri said, nodding towards the horizon. A large shape flew towards us, low in the sky, and it was closing in fast. Jessie and I stared in astonishment as Hera’s golden chariot bobbed closer, pulled by two enormous, armored peacocks. The birds had to fly at an angle so that their large wings wouldn’t crash into each other, which made the chariot bounce and weave erratically.
Hera’s white sequined dress sparkled in the sun, and with her crown and scepter, she looked more queen than bride. She was so close I could see the cruel smirk on her face and the fury in her eyes.
“Go!” Jessie screamed. Sitri gunned the engine, throwing us backward into the seats. The speedboat cut smoothly through the choppy waves of the bay, but it wasn’t fast enough. One of the peacocks snapped its sharp beak at us, before reaching out with its long talons. The other bird opened its mouth, revealing a furnace of raw heat. I grabbed the wheel and pulled hard to the left, just as the bird unleashed a torrent of liquid lava. It was so hot I heard the water boiling and smelled singed hair, but it missed the boat. Dozens of dead fish floated up to the surface behind us.
The chariot flew by overhead, continuing towards land, and Sitri brought the boat back on course.
“How’s the tower coming?” I shout.
“See for yourself,” Sitri said, nodding up ahead. My jaw dropped as we got closer to shore. Isis’s cloaking spell only covered the bottom half, which made the enormous tower seem like it was floating in mid-air. I could see the top of the square base, then an octagonal section in the middle, with a tall, round tower on top. I could just make out Puriel, lifting a block of stone larger than he was, taking slow steps up the wooden scaffolding that spiraled around the structure. Isis stood on the open top, with her arms raised. I cried out as Hera’s chariot hung just above the tower, while the birds flapped their wings backward and showered the tower with flames. Isis held it off with a blue wave of pure magic, her palms wide, her hair wild, pushing back against the inferno.
“She can do this all day,” Sitri said. “But we can’t stick around. Even if she hasn’t told Zeus where we are yet, he’s not going to ignore an open battle like this. He’ll step in if she’s in any real danger.”
Sitri parked the boat on the rocks and I jumped out, stripping away the wet suit. I had it down to my waist before I realized my extra clothes were in the flaming wreckage of the boat that was sinking into the harbor.
“Shit,” I said. Sitri grabbed a bundle from the dock and tossed them to me. I held up the garments, frowning.
“What is this stuff?” I asked.
“I don’t know, Isis packed it. She said when you have a date with destiny, you should always show up overdressed.”
I pulled on some kind of chain-mail tunic lined with soft fabric and red leather. The breastplate was plated armor, featuring two winged birds framing an oval of black obsidian. I clipped on the large bronze belt, with a round center filled with a winged scarab. Jessie helped me strap on the armored greaves and shoulder plates, and the thick bronze collar, decorated with bright blue turquoise.
“One more thing,” Sitri said, draping a deep scarlet, hooded robe over my shoulders.
“This is the only thing I like,” I frowned, pulling the robe around me like a blanket. “The rest of it is ridiculous.”
“If you think that’s bad...” Jessie said, turning to model a tight-fitting, shiny silver dress. Deep folds of fabric covered her chest, held together by a small golden clip in the shape of an ankh. Swathes of bright blue fabric hung from golden bangles on her arms and wrists, giving her the illusion of wings. Her stiff collar plate was studded with sapphires and a bright red garnet.
“After this is over, we’re going to have a serious talk about that woman’s wardrobe,” Jessie muttered, as we hurried towards the tower. On the bottom level, a doorway opened up into a large square room. Isis had built some kind of podium in the middle that rotated slowly on an invisible axis. The emerald tablet sparkled from an onyx stand, casting glowing hieroglyphs against the stone walls. The vaulted ceiling was open in the center, revealing a complex series of staircases and arches that looked like an Escher drawing; a repeating spiral of stone that made me dizzy just looking at it. I couldn’t believe it had all been built in a day.
I followed Sitri up a narrow staircase on the side of the room, and we climbed higher and higher until my legs were burning. Finally, at the top, we emerged onto a wide, round courtyard, flanked by pillars, holding a metal dome like a shield. Some of the stones had already been blackened by Hera’s fire-breathing pheasants. In the center of the platform, Isis stood next to a large stone altar with a round depression in the middle, and a small hole drilled straight through the rock.
“Did you get it?” Isis asked. She was breathing heavily, and I wondered how much energy she’d already exhausted defending the tower from Hera. She was dressed in all black and gold, with a low-cut bodice and armored cuffs around her wrists that sparkled when she moved. On her head was golden crown, with a hooded cobra next to a vulture with a curved beak, studded chunks of turquoise and coral.
Sitri raised the bag and I pulled out the large, round stone. Isis’s eyes reflected the glow of the enormous gemstone. In the natural light, the stone looked yellowish, but as soon as Isis placed it on the altar, it started to glow with greenish blue energy. Isis’s dark fingers hovered near the ball, and I noticed her fingernails had been carefully painted with gold polish, and decorated with small hieroglyphs. There was something scary in her expression, a calculating eagerness as she leaned forward over the glowing orb.
Around the edge of the platform were large vases, with copper wires extending to the
altar. I marveled at the technology. Isis flipped a switch, and the ball began to glow with blinding white light. Arcs of raw electricity slashed between us, and I ducked as they lit up the tower from the inside.
“It can’t hurt you,” Isis smiled, “It’s just static electricity. Unless it’s focused.” She said this with a dangerous grin, before gazing into the crystal ball. She started chanting quietly to herself, completely absorbed, her eyes glowing with raptured concentration as she peered deep into the heart of the lighthouse, unlocking the secrets of the emerald tablet. All the world’s knowledge, a complete history of magic. I wondered how one person could even handle that much information.
I heard the rustle of wings and shouted a warning just before Hera’s chariot came back into view. Isis turned away from the stone with a fierce expression, sending out a powerful pulse of blue energy just in time to block the fiery blast from the armored birds. There was a swirl of black smoke and blue feathers, and a shriek of fury. I didn’t know if it was coming from Hera or her companions. The tower trembled from the attack, but stood strong as Hera’s shadow passed above us.
“I can’t operate the device and deal with that pest at the same time,” Isis said, frowning.
“What do you want me to do?” I asked.
Isis blinked, the gears in her head turning.
“When she comes around again, try to hold her still. Just for a second.”
I stepped towards the edge of the platform as Hera came around for another pass. Isis put her palms against the eye, and her hair lifted, waving in the air. I felt weightless, like I was still underwater, and held onto the nearest pillar for support.
“Now!” Isis yelled. I took a deep breath, focusing on the chariot. Last time I’d tried to grab Hera’s thread directly, it nearly took my arm off. I was hoping her two companions weren’t quite so strong. I gripped both their threads and they froze with their wings spread wide. For a few seconds, the momentum carried them forward, then they started to sink. But it was enough. Isis muttered an incantation, her eyes glowing, then stepped behind the podium facing Hera’s plummeting craft. It felt like all the air was sucked out of the sky, like gravity didn’t exist, like time had frozen. Then the eye released a pure, bright beam of liquid energy. It was like a firehose, but burning and bright and magical. The whole tower trembled at the force.