House of Scarabs

by Hazel Longuet

  The guard jumped, falling from his perch into the sand. Scurrying to his feet, he stood to attention and saluted at Dr. Mourad. "Pasha! I'm grievously ashamed. May the Lord strike me as I stand here in front of you..." Before the guard could go into the poetic and endless diatribe of excuses honed to perfection by Egypt's lower classes, Mourad silenced him with the universal gesture of forefinger to lips.

  "I'm not interested in excuses. Open the complex at once, and tidy yourself up, man. You're representing Egypt, and I, for one, don't want her to be represented as a tired, lazy, and work-shy idiot. Now jump to it."

  "Pasha. I have orders, delivered by a courier this morning, that the site remain closed to tourists today. I've already turned away three busloads of foreigners."

  "But that's preposterous! Upon whose command?"

  "Yours, Dr. Mourad."

  "I did no such thing. Open this complex immediately. Walid, get on top of this. Who ordered it, and how did they get my stamp to sanction the order?"

  Walid scrambled to fish out his mobile and tapped at the screen urgently. "Yes, Dr. Mourad, sir."

  The guard saluted as the car eased away, taking the road to the Serapeum. They pulled up just before the entrance, behind a car idling in the road with three doors hanging open.

  "I'll get them to move," Walid said as he pushed open his door. He walked to the driver's side of the car. "It's empty, and the engine’s still running." He turned towards the Serapeum and saw a pair of legs splayed out awkwardly next to Rashid's hut. As he ran towards the hut, he called back, "Come quickly! Something's wrong." As he rounded the hut's corner, his legs gave out as he saw the carnage wrought upon Rashid.

  Mourad ran to join him, stopping abruptly when he saw the body. "Ya khabar esswed. We belong to Allah, and to Him we return. Walid, my friend, pull yourself together. There's nothing to be done for this poor fellow. We need to focus on Ellie and her friends. Quick! Let's go find them."

  They ran down the steep slope to the entrance of the Serapeum, dodging the metal drums strewn in their path as they ran. The open door swayed in the wind.

  "Ellie. Ellie!" Mourad shouted as he ran.

  Walid grabbed him. "What if the people who killed Rashid are in there? We should call the police."

  "You call the police. I have to find Ellie."

  Mourad flew through the large wooden door, stopping to let his eyes adjust to the gloom. He turned to the left, running and calling for Ellie, covering his nose with a finely tailored handkerchief from his suit pocket. He'd circled the entire Serapeum.

  "Walid, come help me search. I can't find Ellie or either of her friends. Come! Now!"

  They both checked, searching every catacomb, alcove, and sarcophagus.

  "Where can they be? They must be here somewhere! Keep searching. Jump to it. Look again."

  Walid cleared his throat. "Sir, we've looked everywhere. They aren't here. I think we must accept that something has happened to them or, by some miracle, they've escaped."

  Mourad peered around desperately as if he expected Ellie to separate from the wall and walk towards him. "They can't have escaped this. They can't." He moved to stand in the door, gazing up the ramp into the far distance. "Ellie, where are you?" he murmured.

  The Meld

  A whirl of dust rose twenty feet into the air, capturing empty plastic bags and other detritus, growing as it swept across the desert floor to the right of the trio. They ran as fast as the pitted sand dunes allowed, heading towards a raised plateau some distance in front.

  Gerhard stumbled as his foot disappeared into a deep crack in the desert. He looked back over his shoulder as he dragged his foot free. "There's another car on the horizon - hurry!"

  They zigzagged across the flat plain, trying to use any of the archaeological dig craters or small, scrubby bushes to provide cover from the road. While the trio huffed, tripped, and gasped across the difficult terrain, the familiars glided effortlessly. The sphere remained a reassuring presence, embracing them as they struggled to reach their target. Saqqara's complex stretched out to their side, glimmering sleepily in the sun's hot sheen.

  Bastet's statue galloped away from them, as if chased by the hounds of hell, towards the rising cliffs of the Bubasteion. Bursting free of the sphere, the cat vanished into a small crevice in the cliffside.

  "Oh, my God! Uncle Bertram's priceless statue has just disappeared into the dirt," Ellie puffed out as she sprinted to reach the crevice.

  "Come on, Ells. You must admit that's kind of poetic. From dust he came, and to dust he returns," Ben said. He stopped to bend, placing both his hands on his knees, as he struggled to recapture his breath.

  "Stop faffing around and come help me dig it out. We can't leave the Gayer-Anderson cat buried in the side of the hill."

  Ben held up a finger as he chugged down great lungfuls of the hot air. "That statue will come back of its own accord, Ellie, since it's possessed with the spirit of Bastet."

  Gerhard joined them, lowering himself to the ground and groaning as he pulled the rucksack from his back. He rummaged inside until he found his water bottle, from which he took a big swig before offering it to the other two.

  "This much excitement is a little rich for an old man's blood. Although, I found that run easier than I expected. I wasn't that far behind you fine young people."

  "You're certainly not as puffed as Ben appears to be," Ellie stated.

  Ben crossed his eyes at her and studied Gerhard. "The change in you is remarkable, Gerhard. You're pumped. I mean, you're still the same build but more defined somehow. Younger."

  Glancing down at himself, Gerhard nodded. "I'm not sure what ‘pumped’ means, but my joints and muscles are looser, as if the slowing of age has been eased a little. Jolly useful for our little sprint back there. Do we need to explore this Bubasteion, do you think?"

  "Um, guys!" They turned as one to Ellie. It seemed the Bubasteion was coming to them.

  From every crevice and hole, from behind every rock and around every corner, came cats. Feral cats. Spirit cats. Black cats. White cats. An endless stream poured towards them. Most appeared to be composed of the same blue light of the familiars, but there was a smattering of live cats. At the bottom of the cliff was the statue, standing alert and proud. It gazed towards Gerhard, who jumped to his feet and walked towards it.

  The procession of cats continued to pour down the cliffs like a feline wave. The cats formed an orderly line when they reached the statue. Silence reigned. So many cats, yet not a noise was heard as they continued to form an ever-lengthening queue. When the last cat arrived, the flat basin at the base of the cliff was full of cats, all sitting and watching Gerhard. He couldn't have put a hand between them, yet silence reigned.

  Bastet stood and turned to face the cats, who, as one, lay their left leg down to the earth and bowed, deep and long. As they returned to their seated position, Bastet tipped the top of her head to the right and nodded before turning back to Gerhard and bowing down to him as all the cats had done to it.

  Gerhard nodded back and then turned to Ellie and Ben with a shrug. No one said anything. The atmosphere was too majestic and spiritual to sully with words.

  They watched the proceedings in awe as, one by one, each cat moved towards Bastet and was absorbed into the statue. Bastet expanded and glowed ever more brightly, incandescent in her glory with each spirit she consumed. Time stood still. Even the wind quieted in the presence of such solemn piety. And so, one after another, the cats melded into the ever-growing Bastet until the energy radiating from her was palpable to all. Bastet was all-powerful, all-knowing, and not from the earthly realm.

  It must have taken an hour for the cats to surrender their energy in sacrifice to their god, yet it seemed far shorter. Within the sphere that surrounded them all, time may have stilled its ever-moving race. Finally, the last cat made its way forward, a tiny kitten with long silver hair and big, earnest eyes. Bastet nudged the kitten towards Gerhard, who bent to pick up the little furbal
l. All that remained were Ben, Ellie, Gerhard, the kitten, and the three familiars.

  Bastet's form grew taller and slimmer. Her rear legs extended as her back straightened, and her paws lengthened into elegant fingers. With a final shake, she stood tall. A beautiful human female form stood before them, with shiny black hair that poured down her back. Her ample curves were covered in a diaphanous, emerald green gown that flowed over her body, forming a slight train behind. Her face had a feline quality, and her eyes the vertical slit pupil shared by all cats. Upon her head, she wore the double crown of upper and lower Egypt in gleaming gold and platinum, dusted with priceless jewels.

  She radiated such power and wisdom as to render Ellie and Ben speechless. They found it almost impossible to look at her. Every glance burned their retinas as if they were staring at the sun.

  Gerhard, however, appeared mesmerised. Bastet beckoned him forward and took his hands as he knelt before her with his head lowered. She patted his head gently, and he rose to his feet. She moved closer, placing her hands on his cheeks, and stared into his eyes with such compassion and love. Neither spoke, yet an unconditional love and deep understanding formed a bridge between them. She leaned towards him, smelling of an intoxicating blend of jasmine and rose, and placed a butterfly-light kiss on his cheek.

  With a final soft smile, she blurred, dissolving into a million tiny, glittering particles that rotated into an ever-increasing whirlwind of energy around Gerhard. The tendrils of energy buzzed and fizzed as they rotated faster and faster until Ellie and Ben saw nothing of Gerhard, just a huge tornado of blue, sparkling energy.

  The silence exploded with a cataclysmic boom that shook the entire Saqqara plateau, rocking date palms and pushing all the scrubby grass flat. It threw Ellie and Ben several feet across the sand, covering them with a fine layer of silica. They crawled back up to their feet, sand pouring from their backs, and turned, searching for Gerhard, fearful of what they'd find.

  Standing tall and proud in the epicentre of the explosion was Gerhard, smiling beatifically at them. Immaculate in his tweed suit and waistcoat, with a dapper, red spotted handkerchief tucked in his chest pocket, not a hair out of place, he could have just stepped from Saville Row. In his arms rested the little kitten, transformed from the streetwise, scrappy little scruff into a sleek, silver-haired, emerald-eyed beauty. Both radiated health and power.

  Ellie sprinted towards Gerhard, arms and legs flying in her race to reach him. She flung herself on him, sobbing. "I thought we'd lost you again. Oh, my God, Gerhard, don't do that to me again. Are you okay?" She turned him around, fully checking he was unwounded, and then fell to her knees, shivering. "I can't take much more of this."

  Ben reached them and grabbed Gerhard in a full hug. "Man alive - I was sure you were a goner this time. What the hell happened?"

  "Relax. I'm fine. Really, I am. I'm more than fine. I feel invincible. The energy seemed to melt into me. I felt every particle of myself as individual elements. I saw things that make no sense - just disjointed images. Then my energy grew, swelling to a level I was sure would exceed my body's ability to contain, and it was. I felt something grow, like a new organ, and the energy centred there. I can't explain it, and I certainly don't understand it, but it's as if I now have an internal reservoir. All I really know is that we need to follow our familiars, and only once we have all melded fully with them will we understand this odd situation. I know I am Bastet's form on Earth, but for what reason, I cannot tell you."

  He bent down to Ellie and wiped the tears from her face. "Hush now, mein liebling. I'm fine. Please stop your tears. Come give this old man a hug."

  Ellie turned into his arms and wrapped her arms around his waist. "I.... I love you, Gerhard. Please don't die again."

  He rocked her gently. "Mein Ellie, I'll do my best not to, little one, but it comes to us all one day."

  A car raced across the desert towards them. The doors flew open before the car stopped. Dr. Mourad and Walid stumbled towards them. "Ellie - no, no, it's not possible. Ellie, oh my God, no!" Dr. Mourad fell to his knees, shaking his head.

  Walid ran to the group. "Praise Allah you are okay. We saw Rashid and the other bodies and feared the worst. Then there was that massive explosion. Dr. Mourad has been out of his mind in desperation, searching for you. He couldn't believe you'd escaped. He's lost all sense of reason. Al-hamdulillah we found you alive. The police are coming. Yalla. Let's get into the car."

  Guardians of the Ankh

  Not a rustle or a cough disturbed the silence in the room as its occupants shifted in their seats, eyeing each other, no one keen to maintain eye contact. The door flew open, hitting the wall behind it, leaving a deep indentation. Everyone shrunk down in their chairs, studious in their watching of the dirt floor.

  "Explain to me, if you will be so kind, how the world's best-trained soldiers, armed with the latest wonders of warfare, are incapable of killing an old man, a linguist, and an archaeologist - none of whom have one iota of military training. Not only did they survive, but it seems they were able to lower our number by three. Amenirdis, thoughts?" Tjati spluttered as he circled the room, staring at each person in turn.

  A young woman, dressed in black, looked up, her eyes huge. She shook her head, lost for words.

  "Kawab, how about you? Did God smile upon the damned? Did our just and righteous cause lose God's support? Or was it the incompetence of an inept team?" Tjati turned to stare at the senior officer in the room, a man built to fight, aged to granite, and known for his fiery temper and zealot-like beliefs. "Nothing to say? I'm ashamed in front of my God and in front of all those brave men and women who have fought to prevent this day happening. On my watch, a meld has occurred, and now the old one is immune to all attacks. But may God smite me down if I will allow the other two to complete theirs."

  He spun around, bending into the face of the person nearest him. "Eurydice, you will infiltrate the targets and feed information back to us." He raised his hand, stopping any response. "That, Eurydice, is a direct order! Your task is to infiltrate and disrupt. I will not tolerate further failure. Amenti team, you will be the backbone of our rapid response force. You will assassinate, on sight, both targets and anyone known to associate with them. This will end. Our job is to protect God's purity and preserve all that is good on earth. These people will not succeed. Now jump to it."

  As a collective, every person jumped to their feet, young and old, keen to evacuate the room. They left to the percussion of chairs bouncing off walls as Tjati vented his frustrations.

  Part Three

  BEN’S QUEST

  Reflection

  "Well, thank all that is beautiful - you've finally answered your ruddy mobile. I've been trying to get you for ages. Our Dave is already having a snippety fit about me calling Egypt from our home phone. Do you know how much it costs? Do you? A bloody lot, that's how much. I'll be charging you."

  Ellie tried to answer.

  "Anyhow, I'm being pestered by that copper - the chief investigator one. He's being trying to get you. He has a lead he wants to discuss with you. I don't trust the police – never have – but I reckon you ought to call him back. I'll text you the number. Now onto important stuff - Shannon has finished one bedroom, and he needs a decision on colour. Now I've said to him that a nice, rich terracotta would be right classy, but he reckons you have something in mind. You know, the more I think about it, Ellie, the more I'm swinging to turquoise. It's such a jolly colour. You couldn't ever get depressed in a room painted in sea shades, now could you?"

  Ellie stared out of the window of the police car as it navigated the crowded back streets of Maadi, letting Charlie's inane chatter wash over her taut nerves. The everyday subject such a juxtaposition to her current situation. She wondered how her life had changed so much that a UK murder investigation seemed almost mundane.

  "Jeez, Ellie - lost your tongue?"

  Ellie chatted for a few minutes until the car pulled up at her parents’ house. "I have to
go now, Charlie. The police are dropping me home."

  "Wait, the police are dropping you home! What the hell is going on, Ellie? Ellie, don't you hang up on me, so help me, God."

  Ellie murmured her goodbyes and hung up swiftly.

  It had been a long and difficult afternoon. Walid had called the police, who'd arrived and tried to make sense of the scene they found. They had taken the trio, Walid, and Professor Mourad to the Saqqara station for questioning. With Ellie providing translation, they questioned each person, trying to clarify what had happened.

  All three told the same story. Someone had locked them in the Serapeum, and they'd succumbed to the gas as it seeped into the chamber only to awake sometime later by the open door. When they stumbled out of the tomb complex, they'd run to Rashid's hut to get help but instead found him slaughtered. They'd tried calling for help, but there wasn't mobile phone coverage, so they ran to the highest point to pick up coverage. Halfway to the clifftop known as Abwab el-qotat, they'd heard the trill of machine gun fire rattling across the desert behind them. They'd sprinted for cover, reaching the slopes of the hill as a huge explosion ripped across the plain. Shortly afterwards, the esteemed Professor Mourad Soliman and his assistant, Walid, had found them.

  The police tried different questioning angles to find inconsistencies in the story but gave up, realising all five witnesses' stories corroborated one another. So, they'd agreed, reluctantly, to take the exhausted foreigners back to their home.

  Ellie thanked the young policemen for their help and turned to make her way to the door. She was looking forward to a light supper, a shower, and a good night's sleep.