Eve of the Pharaoh: Historical Adventure and Mystery

by R. M. Schultz

  “Stick with the Egyptian to make it easy for yourself,” Harkhuf said.

  “My father called me Horemheb—”

  “Shut your eaters!” a toothless sailor yelled from the rear, “or you’ll all swim to the east bank in chains!”

  Other rough-looking men glared with angry or fearful expressions.

  The slaver continued, “You poor slaves will pay your debt by working beneath thousands of free men and craftsmen to erect temples for the Aten. Pharaoh has decreed that these be built to grant us favor and abolish the plague. You’ll be working under the great wise man, the son of Hapu …”

  My stomach twisted and cramped in rage. The magician gobbled up any crumbs of power Akhenaten would toss his way.

  On the far bank rows of black dots marched in unison like ants on a never-ending trail, pushing stones that looked like houses. We drew closer. Hunched bodies toiled in the predawn light, driven by the crack of the flail. The Aten’s crest peeked over the horizon, yellow light radiating across my face. I felt the warmth of a new day. But the light showed something else. A new statue dominated the eastern skyline, stone chiseled into the image of Akhenaten.

  The cold, biting pain of the Devouring Monster’s teeth sunk into my heart. I had defied the way the world wanted things and followed my heart. If only I’d known how much more suffering my path would bring compared to the content man’s … I swallowed with regret.

  Shade fell across my face. Great wings floated beside a billowing cloud, shifting the young Aten’s yellow to deep orange. Swooping down, the creature appeared distinct for a moment. Upon its long neck sat the head of a man. Father! My heart jolted. Had he been reborn in the underworld? Perhaps his ba raced away from its nightly abode! I clutched my bracelet as the Aten rose, its light streaking across the desert to land upon a tamarisk tree. A pink bud rested on otherwise bare limbs. Father’s voice echoed in my head, “Hope can still shape radiant dreams out of the nightmares of the present …”

  How beautiful this world could be, and yet how savage have we the people made it.

  Present Day

  I WAS DEVASTATED. HAVING NO IDEA where to look for Maddie, the guilt of her abduction scorched my soul like the Egyptian sun on pale skin. I just prayed she was okay.

  We’d spent two entire days searching and talking to the authorities about the abduction, and the local detective assigned to the case assured us his team was doing everything they could. Maddie’s family and the U.S. Embassy were also doing everything in their power to help. So far no one had found any trace of her or those two men, nor received a ransom demand.

  If I could discover the clue inside Karnak, those evil men may show up again and try to stop us from locating the Hall. Then I’d devise a trap, or track them back to Maddie. I didn’t care about the Hall anymore, but following the professor’s trail would probably give us the best chance of finding her. These men only showed themselves when we were seeking the path. Otherwise, I’d just have to wait on the authorities. And resting wasn’t an option as memories and emotions battered me until I started searching again.

  Striding through the crumbled temple of Pharaoh Akhenaten, the afternoon sun pounded down through the open-air court onto my back. My head still ached from the cheap shot delivered by one of the abductors, and depression dragged my feet through the dirt.

  Did they take her because she was the strongest link in our group? Her knowledge and computer skills were our best chance at unlocking clues. Now hope dwindled. But how could those men have known, and who were they? I still hadn’t discovered anything in an entire day studying Luxor Temple and Karnak from sunrise to sunset. Growing weary, I staggered along.

  “The authorities will find Maddie,” Kaylin muttered, sauntering beside me. “There’s nothing more we can do, and you have to fly out tomorrow for school.”

  My eyes closed in remorse. Today was my last day. What else could I do? Keep wandering, vomiting from my flaring Crohn’s disease, unable to eat or drink? I’d either be forced into a hospital or die. Eventually I’d have to give up and go home. And I should be grateful for a prestigious career, even if I didn’t enjoy the work. But Dr. Banks covered up the situation, dragging me further down with his scheming. We’d falsified an old lady’s medical records—

  “What happened to that dude?” Aiden asked, his voice melancholy with loss. He indicated a smashed statue with the grotesque face of Akhenaten.

  “No one knows,” I said, barely able to lift my head from my penitence. “He built temples here, but then up and moved the entire capital of Egypt.”

  “I meant, what happened to his face?”

  I studied the distorted features: long countenance, thick lips, and sunken eyes. “Many believe he didn’t actually look like that; this was just his style of art. Some think he was deformed.”

  “Was he bad?” The flat bill of a cap turned up toward me.

  “Yes,” I said, thinking not only about all my life’s reading, but about the journal. “Depending on whose side you would’ve been on. But he married the famous and beautiful Nefertiti.”

  “Nefertiti … I’ve heard that name somewhere,” Aiden said, staring at fragments of broken statues. “Those must’ve been some ‘titi’s’ for her to still be so famous. Why aren’t we looking at her tomb?” He laughed, his volume barely above a whisper, revealing his despair.

  Shaking my head, I ran a hand over an image of Nine Bows, representing the enemies of ancient Egypt. Aiden lingered over a sphinx with the face of King Tut, petting his fox. Examining images of Rameses’ infamous battle of Kadesh, Kaylin’s own guilt crushed her energy. She hadn’t spoken more than a couple sentences in the last three days. Jenkins stood guard while Mr. Scalone rubbed his tattooed forearms.

  “I already know Karnak inside and out,” Mr. Scalone said, “everything but the alignment of the light with the structural features. I need to see all of the clues. Then I can locate the Hall and help Maddie.”

  Distrust tightened my core, but I ignored all my nagging doubts, though everything inside me screamed not to. My dad wouldn’t have wanted this man to claim his prize, but I slowly handed over the professor’s letters in hopes of saving Maddie.

  A devious grin spread across Mr. Scalone’s rugged cheeks as he read through all of them.

  The sun sunk toward the western pylons and my heart collapsed in failure. We’d never find this clue, or her. Climbing the stairs to the sun chapel in the precinct of Khonsu, I barely noticed an upside-down engraving of a chariot. My stomach cramped, and I fell to my knees in literal gut-wrenching pain—my Crohn’s disease protesting by creating a blockage in my intestine.

  I wished for some magic. Could such power really have died out millennia ago, from a mass slaughter of the few who commanded it? I needed to believe the story wholeheartedly now. But where was my mentor or magician? My dad died years ago. All he left was the letter. Dr. Banks, the surgeon? No, I hadn’t learned anything from him other than humiliation and how to cover your mistakes with lies.

  Pulling the black and white photograph from my wallet, the surface wrinkled and cracked, damaged from the flood inside the tomb. Wearing a grand smile, my dad had held my small shoulder. The sphinx towered behind us like our greatest adventure. Too bad it was all fake.

  Maybe I was only meant to pass on the tales and excitement I felt, to share the magnificence of the world for the betterment of society. A small flame flickered in my heart, some consolation. Discovering the tale in the journal should’ve been enough, but I’d flipped to the end days ago. The entire translation wasn’t complete, and there weren’t enough hieroglyphs to finish the story. I’d only found a portion of a grand, ancient tale. Would that be my life, ending half finished like it did for my dad and Horemheb? Kaylin was probably right, she could see me for what I was, not through the veil of hope I held for myself.

  My stomach clenched, as if squeezed inside a vice. I doubled over. Gasping for breath, the pain receded. I reached for pills, but instead grabbed the pee
ling leather of the journal.

  “Looks lost,” Mr. Scalone said into his phone, stepping farther away to hide his conversation. “I’ll head to Cairo after they leave. Okay, see you then, Minister.”

  Was he still talking to the Prime Minister of Antiquities? After the man may’ve been responsible for trapping us inside the tomb? How did Kaylin’s dad find this treasure hunter—

  The wind gusted, flipping through the pages of the journal. The story of suffering, persistence, forbidden knowledge, and power left me with a bitter taste, sending a chaos of emotions coursing through my tired body. Horemheb appeared before my eyes, his tale, dilemma, and obstacles, ancient but so similar to mine eons later. What would he do? Could I follow his example? Or could I only hope to avoid his mistakes? For all of his trying and confrontations, he only fell further behind. Should I, too, allow myself to clash with fate, or allow my own soul to be poisoned? Keep fighting against all odds, or realize my error and go home?

  I staggered to my feet. A panoramic view swept around me—towering Karnak, the sphinx road, Luxor Temple to the south, and the city sprawling outward. Gazing into the west, the Nile extended into endless desert. Sunrays crashed upon my face. Anxiety made my heart beat faster as the solar disc sunk toward the horizon. This was my last chance before the light faded and I had to return home. My stomach cramped again, causing me to double over. Maddie’s sheer glasses spilled from my chest pocket and clattered onto the stone, viewing the horizon.

  “Maddie, where are you?” I groaned. A thought popped into my head, something Maddie had said: never stare directly into the light, or you won’t see its shadows … Maybe they only appeared in my mind, two massive shadows sitting upon thrones west of the Nile, but fragments of thought fell into place like a puzzle. The answers were all right there, for someone who understood. My body felt light, as if I was floating with awareness. I knew where we had to go. To the Colossi of Amenhotep.

  “Let’s go,” Mr. Scalone said. “There’s nothing here.”

  A fog fled from my conscience in a burst of clarity. Maddie was right: I retreated every time problems arose. No wonder I never accomplished anything. Gritting my teeth, I took a long, deep breath. What would Horemheb do? For Maddie and myself I needed to create my own fate, pick a path, and sprint down it like there was no alternative, no plan B.

  “C’mon, Gavin,” Aiden said. “It’ll be dark soon and you have to catch a flight in the morning.”

  “I’ve been wrong this entire time,” I said, standing straighter and tilting my fedora back, my eyes squinting into the setting sun.

  “What?” Kaylin asked.

  “I’m not going home, not back to that life, not now, not ever,” I said, sacrificing the security of my future—and resolving to find Maddie, even if it cost me everything. “Follow me!” Horemheb hadn’t given up and neither would I.

  Present Day

  LEAPING OUT OF THE SMALL BOAT we’d docked on the western bank of the Nile, I sprinted toward the twin colossi. I imagined Maddie’s torment. Her situation was my fault. I needed to find something, to save her. The latest clue ran through my mind. “Follow the path downriver to the complex of the sun and Pharaoh who speaks to the sun. Where it began or ended.” The word “began” had caught my attention, although Maddie specifically said it could’ve meant “end.”

  “So now you’re sure it’s here, huh?” Mr. Scalone shouted.

  I kept running, unsure about everything. The sun descended lower toward the horizon.

  “Gavin,” Kaylin said, sprinting behind me. “Does this place fit the passage?”

  “Yes,” I said, words coming in streams between gasping breaths. “The so-called Colossi of Memnon are actually Amenhotep III. They guarded his mortuary temple before floods washed it away. Unfortunately, not much remains …”

  “Why’d he build his tomb in a flood plane?” Aiden asked, sweat dripping from his brow onto the tiny fox he carried like a football.

  “So his soul could forever experience the birth, death, and rebirth of his kingdom signified by the changing river,” I said, my pace slowing. Breathing burned my dry throat. “Like the benben stone, his temple became the earth arising from water. It was the most glorious structure ever built in ancient Egypt—”

  “More glorious than the pyramids?” Aiden asked.

  Arising from the barren desert before us, the colossuses’ faces and chests were cracked—only shadows of their former grandeur. “Even compared to the pyramids of the Old Kingdom.” A sinking feeling of insignificance rose in my soul as I stepped up to the behemoths. Hunting for an answer, I said, “In ancient times the northern statue spoke with a ringing tone, an oracle, but it ceased when the Romans repaired damage sustained from an earthquake.”

  “It spoke?” Aiden asked, his eyebrows furrowing. “How?”

  I shrugged. “Stones may’ve ground together when expanding under the sun’s heat.”

  “How did this complex represent shadow and light?” Kaylin asked, wringing her hands as the sun sank over the western desert.

  “Like most ancient structures here, it was aligned with the sun’s path across the sky,” I said. “The pylon walls represented the horizon.” Stepping behind the statues, I examined the absorbing rays at their backs. Nothing.

  “Kind of like how old Catholic churches are cross-shaped?” Aiden asked, brushing his dreadlocks away from his flushed face.

  Beyond the guardians, remnants of a massive enclosure were overgrown with sparse brush. “Symbols are potent in religion,” I said, scrutinizing the area. Anxiety squeezed my stomach. We needed to save Maddie from her predicament. “We’re now in the temple beyond the horizon, where the sun rises and falls, between the earth and the underworld.”

  Aiden’s eyes sprung open, entranced.

  “But back then only the elite could access the temples and pray.” Wandering deeper into the ancient courtyard, I rambled in hopes of unlocking some memory or piece of knowledge. “The aristocracy maintained power by only allowing for communion with the gods through themselves.” I scooped sand from the base of a decimated statue guarding the solar court. “Hopefully whatever sign we’re supposed to follow is still here. Not just from ancient times, but from the professor’s day. Someone might’ve tried to destroy it, too.”

  “Is anything else here associated with light?” Kaylin asked, her voice thin with stress.

  “The southern statue was aligned with the star Sirius,” I said. “When Sirius, the god Horus himself, appeared in the night sky, the inundation would begin. We’re at the end of the inundation—”

  “What’s that?” Aiden asked, pointing west beyond acres of rubble to another ruin.

  I squinted. “The mortuary complex of the wisest man of Egypt. A magician, architect, scholar, philosopher, court official, and teacher. The son of Hapu. Legend said he was the reincarnation of the architect of the Giza pyramids, Imhotep.” Shielding my eyes, I surveyed the area. “The largest Theban mortuary complex of anyone besides the eminent pharaohs. But it also dwarfs Pharaoh Thutmose II’s beside it. Followers of the wise man’s teachings visited his temple for centuries. There was a basin of water ringed by ancient trees of knowledge, which granted wisdom to those who sought it.”

  “Maybe we should pay a visit,” Aiden said, darting off.

  “Damn kid,” Mr. Scalone said.

  I shook my head in disbelief. What would the son of Hapu have thought of Aiden? Of me? Indeed, we needed some lost wisdom … or magic! I ran.

  Stopping beside Aiden in a small depression where water may’ve resided, my eyes closed. I held my dad’s bracelet, my avenue to the past. Whether it was my imagination or a real connection, it didn’t matter. The sensation was real, like the hand of the son of Hapu, or Horemheb, or another who had wandered this land eons ago. A tingling rose in my heart and spread out across my limbs, filling me with the magic I’d lost. Hope. The prickling on the back of my neck returned, as if someone’s hot breath descended around me. My hairs stood on end,
and I shivered.

  My eyes sprung open. Everyone stared, waiting for guidance. Except for Mr. Scalone. Irritation ran deep in those narrowed eyes.

  My hands shook under the expectation. The middle of the solar disc sunk beyond the horizon. Diving into my messenger bag, I popped open a laptop and sorted through stacked images. Maddie had managed to capture the last desecrated message just well enough that its blurry underwater script was legible. “The guardians will guide you with light and shadow.” Then there was a bizarre reference to the floating eye of Horus and the benben stone. The later part of the clue about the benben stone could’ve referred to its chamber at Luxor Temple, but we’d investigated there. The “floating eye of Horus” could’ve been translated as a “protector,” like the colossi. But with the eye and the benben stone next to each other … This might suggest bringing the actual benben stone to the guardians. Or what if the eye was not only a guardian protecting the secret’s location, but also a reference to actually seeing! Was a stone supposed to have been waiting inside the secret shaft with the riddle at Abu Simbel’s original location? Did someone take it, along with the arms of the statues?

  “What do you see?” Kaylin asked, pressing her chin to my shoulder.

  My mind whirred with images and memories. “We need a translucent or transparent rock to catch the sunlight,” I said. “In the shape of the benben stone.”

  “What the hell does that look like?” Mr. Scalone asked, propping a hand on my other shoulder. He gazed at the screen and then to the large gold ring on his finger.

  “A pyramidion,” I said.

  “Is that like a pyramid?” Aiden asked.

  “Yes,” I said. “The capstone of a pyramid.”

  He held his tiny fox out to me in both hands.

  “What are you—”

  Dangling from its spiked collar like an identification tag was a small glass pyramid—a tourist souvenir. I reached but Mr. Scalone snatched it, ripping the collar off the animal.