The Cult of Osiris

by Andy McDermott

  As usual, Eddie barely seemed to notice the conditions, still wearing his leather jacket; his only concession to the burning sun was a floppy cloth hat to protect his balding scalp. Could be worse, love,' he offered. 'At least it's a dry heat.'

  'Hilarious,' Nina snapped. Her pale skin had forced her to cover up, and unlike her husband she was sweltering. 'God, I hate deserts. Why are the best ruins always in such God-awful places?'

  But despite her foul mood, she was still impressed by what awaited them. The remains of the ancient city of Abydos sprawled over a wide area, the majesty of the temples in stark contrast to the ugly little village nearby. But when they stood before the structure they had come to see the modern

  world was figuratively and literally behind them, nothing in sight beyond the partially buried remains of the Osireion except the bleak wastes and distant cliffs of the Western Desert.

  They had the place almost to themselves, a coach party there when they arrived having left for the next destination on its whistle-stop tour of Upper Egypt. A couple of policemen had been lurking nearby - unescorted visits to the ruins were discouraged - but a bribe persuaded them to wander back into the village for a few hours.

  So, what are we looking for?' Nina asked Macy. You're the expert.'

  'Well, I wouldn't exactly call myself that,' she said, falsely modest.

  You're the nearest we've got,' said Nina dismissively. 'So, what's the deal?

  Macy turned to the much larger, more intact structure behind them. That's the Temple of Seti, or Sethos, there,' she said, which was built by his son Ramesses the Second sometime round 1300 BC. The cool thing about it is that it's totally unique architecturally. All the other Egyptian temples run in a straight line, yeah? You go in through the entrance, and each hall comes one after the other. But this one,' she pointed out a section to their right, is kinked.'

  I like a bit of kinkiness,' said Eddie.

  Nina shushed him. 'Why's it that shape?'

  Macy looked back at the Osireion. 'Supposedly, the Temple of Seti and the Osireion were built at the same time. That's what most of the books say, anyway. So did my professor. But it didn't really make sense to me, and it turns out some archaeologists think so too. I mean, why would you bend your temple in half to avoid another building if they were being built at the same time? It's not like they were short of space to put the second one farther away.' She indicated the empty desert past the ruins.

  So there's another theory?' asked Nina.

  She nodded. Some people think the Osireion was already here way before 1300 BC. lt d been buried by sand, but Ramesses discovered it when the Temple of Seti was being built. Things were too far along for him to stop work on the temple, but he didn't want to knock

  down the Osireion either ... so he changed the plans to moke the new temple go round a corner.'

  Why'd he want to keep it so much?' said Eddie.

  Nina knew. Because it was a copy of the tomb of Osiris himself They 'd lost the location of the original tomb centuries earlier, but they realised they had the next best thing.'

  And if we're right,' said Macy, 'somewhere inside it is the Eye of Osiris.'

  Which points the way to his pyramid. So all we have to do ... is find it.'

  They crossed the stony sands to the Osireion. The site was practically a pit, a series of stepped walls leading down to the excavated structure. Compared to the ornate elegance of the Temple of Seti, the exposed ruins were almost brutalist, made of unornamented blocks of pale granite. The hall's floor, some ninety feet long, was hidden beneath a stagnant green pool.

  Eddie screwed up his face in distaste. T didn't expect to come into the bloody Sahara to go wading. I would ve brought my wellies.'

  It's not that deep,' said Nina, descending the steps into the building proper. T hope.' She cautiously dipped a boot into the turgid, algae-coated water, finding it was about an inch in depth. Ugh. At least we didn't come in the rainy season.' She turned as Macy and Eddie joined her, noticing a dark passage beyond an opening at the northwestern end. 'Where does that go?T

  It's a tunnel that went to the northern entrance,' Macy told her, examining a diagram in her guidebook.

  Eddie squinted inside. Doesn't go anywhere now - the other end's buried. Hope this eye thing's not in there.' He splashed to the other end of the hall. T just thought of something. If this eye's supposed to be looking towards the pyramid, and the pyramid's out to the west somewhere, then it'll be on one of the east walls, right?

  The man in the funky hat makes a good point,' said Macy, exchanging smiles with him.

  Nina wishing her backpack, taking out a flashlight, then waded to an opening in the wall. A ramp rose from the water; the small chamber inside was dry. She entered, blinking as her eyes adjusted to the darkness. Like the hall outside, the walls were plain, unadorned.

  Eddie and Macy followed. See anything?' Eddie asked.

  Not yet.' Nina carefully scanned the walls for any indications of carvings or markings. Macy, meanwhile, took out a flashlight of her own and conducted a much less methodical examination of the chamber, sweeping the beam around at random. 'Will you cut that out?' Nina demanded. 'You won't find anything just by waving the light about. We need to do a section-bv-section search—'

  Ah-ha! Found it!' Macy interrupted. She fixed her torch beam on one particular spot, high on the back walk See? One Eye of Osiris. I rock!'

  That's more like it,' said Eddie, seeing a symbol carved into the stone. Archaeology without all the boring farting around.

  Nina's patience finally snapped. 'Will you both goddamn take this seriously'' she shouted, voice echoing round the chamber. 'It wouldn't be boring if you had even the slightest interest in what I do,' she said to Eddie, before rounding on Macy. 'And you, if you really want to be an archaeologist, then start acting like one. Or acting like an adult, even!'

  Eddie made a sarcastic face. 'Oh, the schoolmistress voice. I love hearing that.'

  Macy, on the other hand, was shocked by the attack. 'But - but I still found it,' she said, pointing up at the symbol.

  By sheer fluke!' snapped Nina. And because you weren't being methodical, you did exactly what Logan did at the Sphinx, which was rush straight for the obvious prize and completely overlook anything else that might be important.

  Eddie indicated the plain walls surrounding them. 'There isn't anything else.'

  That's not the point!' she protested, before turning back to Macy. You're treating this like a high school field trip - and you're acting like one of the cheerleaders giggling on the back seat of the bus with the jocks!

  Macy's dark eyes narrowed angrily. 'I suppose you always sat up front with the teachers.

  Well - yes,' said Nina, taken aback by the challenge, but this isn't about me, it's about the work. If we want to find the pyramid, we've got to be professional about it.'

  And you think I'm not, is that it? Excuse me, Dr Wilde, but you wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for me. /was the one who found out about the other entrance to the Hall of Records, J was the one who got us into the Sphinx compound—'

  By flashing your boobs!'

  Macy looked offended. You think I'm just some bimbo, don't you? Because I'm hot and I don't get straight As in everything, you don't take me seriously!'

  You're not taking this seriously!

  Eddie stepped forward, moving between them. 1 "This"?'

  All of this!' Nina cried, waving her hands at the ancient structure around them. Everything! It's all important, but sometimes I feel like I'm the only person in the world who actually cares about it!'

  Macy's tone became withering. Oh, I see - the entire world of archaeology revolves around you! Dr Berkeley was right, you really do have to be the centre of attention all the time.' She pulled out the folded magazine pages and flapped them at Nina. 'You know, when I read this I thought you were so cool and so smart - that you were somebody really special. But you're just like everyone else.' She stalked to the entrance and threw the pa
ges outside. Disappointment overcame her anger. Everything's about you.

  That's not true,' insisted Nina, now on the defensive. T don't care about taking the credit.'

  You enjoyed it, though.'

  Of course I did,' she admitted after a moment. 'But that's not why I do what I do. I do it because . . . because I have to!

  There was an almost confessional tone to her voice. Eddie raised an eyebrow. You have to?'

  Yeah. It's . . . it's who I am. My parents spent their lives trying to reveal the truth about the past to the world - not so a few people could profit from it, but for everyone. That's what I do, too.' She paused, almost afraid to confess her feelings. 'And if I can't do it, then what else can I do? What else have I got?

  You've got me,' said Eddie.

  I know. But . . .' For a moment she couldn't face him, before giving him a sad, shameful look. 'But what if that's not enough?'

  An awkward silence filled the chamber. Macy stared uncomfortably down at her feet, while Nina again found herself unable to meet Eddie's gaze.

  Well, you know,' he finally said, managing a faint smile, I never really did see you as the stay-at-home housewife type.'

  I'm sorry,' Nina said quietly.

  He put his arms round her. No need.'

  You're not mad at me?

  Only that you didn't get this out into the open ages ago!' He smiled again, more broadly. That's what was wrong all this time? You thought there was nothing else you could do except archaeology?'

  Nina nodded. Pretty much.'

  Well, that's just fucking daft!' he said, laughing. 'You're the smartest person I know, you could do anything you want. Even dance.' He gave her a pointed look. 'You've just got to want to want.'

  I guess

  'So what do you want, right now?'

  She didn't answer at first, then one corner of her mouth creased upwards, very slightly. 'I can think of something/ she said, 'but we can't do it in front of Macy.'

  He grinned. She can join in if she wants -1 could handle a threesome!'

  Eddie!' Nina cried, batting his arm. Macy's eyes widened.

  He cackled. 'For fuck's sake, you're so easy to wind up. We're married, and you still can't tell when I'm taking the piss.'

  Nina harrumphed. 'Just for that, we're going to do the other thing I really want to do right now. Which is find the Pyramid of Osiris.' She looked first at the symbol carved on the wall, then to Macy at the entrance. But if we're going to do that, we need to be a team again. I'm sorry I blew up at you like that, Macy. I shouldn't have done - that was unprofessional. Besides, you were right, we couldn't have done this without you. Any of it.'

  Macy still looked sulky, but accepted the apology. 'And maybe I got a bit pissy. So . . . sorry, Dr Wilde.

  Thanks. And it's Nina,' she added, after a moment. Call me Nina.

  The young woman's expression brightened a little. Okay. Nina.' She walked back into the chamber.

  'So,' said Eddie, 'what'vewe got?'

  At first glance, what Macy had discovered seemed nothing special, a symbol less than two inches high carved into the stone just below the ceiling. It was a stylised eye - the same one featured in the logo of the Osirian Temple.

  Eddie checked a compass. Okay, so it's looking . . . towards two hundred and ten degrees.' He took out a map and spread it on the stone floor. So we're after a canyon on that heading, right?'

  The silver canyon, yeah,' Nina confirmed.

  He used the compass to align the map with the real world. 'There's a fair few canyons out in the desert that way,' he said. What did the zodiac say, exactly?'

  Just that the second Eye of Osiris sees the way to the silver canyon. To its start, presumably, because the rest of the hieroglyphs said where to go once you reached its end.'

  Okay, so we want a canyon mouth.' He looked more closely at the contour lines, bunched tightly where streams had cut their way down from the desert's relative highlands. 'Here,' Eddie continued, tapping a spot on the map. 'This canyon leads up to a big open plain, and it starts right in line with where the eye's looking. It opens out here,' another tap, so going seven miles west takes you to . . . here.'

  Nina leaned closer. The point Eddie indicated on the map contained nothing. Literally nothing; the contours were so widely spaced as to make the region practically flat. If that's the right canyon.'

  It's about fifteen miles from here, and the terrain's not too bad. We can drive out there, if we're careful.'

  Nina gazed at the expanse of emptiness on the map. It didn't seem likely that an unknown pyramid could possibly be out there, but she had discovered other incredible sites in equally barren environments. 'We'll check out the canyon first - and if it seems to be the right place, we'll follow it and see if it really leads to the Pyramid of Osiris.'

  It must do,' Macy said excitedly, standing up. Everything fits. It's got to be there!

  Let's actually find the bloody thing before we start celebrating,' Eddie cautioned.

  We will, I know it! Oh, my God! We'll be famous! Okay, you're already famous, but I'll be famous too!' She hurried outside, pausing to collect the scattered pages with a slightly embarrassed look back at Nina. 'If the canyon's only fifteen miles away we'll be there in no time!'

  She's never driven in the desert, has she?' said Eddie as Macy splashed back across the hall. He noticed Nina staring after the younger woman with an expression somewhere between wistful and jealous. 'What?'

  I used to be that enthusiastic once,' she said. I kinda miss it.'

  You are still that enthusiastic' he told her, folding the map. 'Christ, once you start on about something I can't shut you up.'

  No, I mean . . .' She sighed again. Tm only twelve years older than her, but it feels like a lot more. Where the hell did the time go?'

  You're not going to get all depressed again, are you?' said Eddie, mock-chiding. I've had enough of that recently.

  Yeah, thanks for the sympathy.

  No, really, if anybody should be getting depressed, it's me. I'll be forty in a couple of years. Forty! That's all old and grown up and stuff.'

  I don't think you'll be growing up any time soon.

  Tchah!' They followed Macy out of the chamber.

  Their battered Land Rover Defender picked its way across the sun-seared desolation. Even with the windows open and the blower on at full blast, the cabin was sickeningly hot, the elderly 4x4 lacking air-con. Eddie, at the wheel of the right-hand-drive vehicle, dealt with the heat with frequent sips from his water bottle, while Nina tried to move as little as possible.

  Macy, between them on the centre seat, seemed unaffected by the temperature, almost bouncing with anticipation. 'Are we there yet?' she asked, peering at the GPS unit on the dash.

  Another mile,' said Eddie. 'And if you say that one more time, you're walking the rest of the bloody way.'

  Through the shimmering air oheod, something took on form - a cliff stretching from one horizon to the other, cut by Nile floods over millions of years. But as they drew closer, Nina picked out a dark slash gouged into it, something shadowed from the pitiless sun. 'Eddie, you see that? Could be our canyon/

  Could be,' he agreed, heading for it.

  They stopped at the canyon mouth. Nina exited and donned a baseball cap, glad to be out of the draining heat of the Land Rover even if it meant exposing herself to the sun's full fury. Something in the canyon wall caught her eye. 'Take a look at this.' The rockface was a pale yellow-grey, sunlight glaring off the sandstone - but in places the reflected light was brighter still, glinting.

  Is that silver?' Eddie asked, making out very fine threads running through the stone.

  Macy lowered her sunglasses for a better view. 'Guess that explains the name. You think there's more of it?'

  There must be,' said Nina. Tt'd justify the effort of coming all the way out here. Egypt's got almost no silver deposits, which is why it was considered so valuable back then. Anyone who found a seam would be veiyrich.

  Edd
ie looked up the canyon, which rose at a shallow angle. The sandy floor was easily wide enough for the Land Rover, only occasional fallen rocks presenting any likely obstacles. Think there might be any left? Maybe we could scrape up enough for a silver egg cup or something.'

  Nina grinned at the odd image. 'We can see.

  They returned to the 4x4. Eddie carefully guided the Defender up the canyon, dropping them into shadow. Before long the ascent steepened, the turns becoming tighter.

  Nina spotted something to one side and told Eddie to stop. T think that's our silver mine.' Several roughly rectangular recesses had been dug into the cliff. 'You'll have to live without your egg cup, though. All the best stuff's been taken.'

  Well, arse. Must be the right place, though.'

  I told you,' said Macy. 'We just have to follow the direction of Mercury from the zodiac and we'll find it.

  I dunno,' Eddie said, sceptical. A temple being buried by sand I can go for, maybe even something the size of the Sphinx . . . but a pyramid? They're not exactly hard to miss.'

  He started the Land Rover again. The ground became even steeper, the walls closing in. The Defender rounded another turn, and entered a tight channel, beyond which was visible nothing but open sky. They had reached the far end of the ravine.

  Eddie stopped as they came out of the canyon, checking his compass and the GPS before pointing. That's the way the zodiac said to go. Macy, there're some binocs in my rucksack -can you get them for me?'

  Macy handed him the binoculars. 'Can you see the pyramid?

  T spy, with my little eye, something beginning with . . . S.'

  Syramid?

  Sand,' was Nina's more realistic guess.

  Eddie nodded. Shitloads of sand, I was going to say, but near enough. How far away is it meant to be?

  One atur,' said Nina. 'Six point eight-five miles.

  He checked to each side, still finding nothing. There's definitely nothing pointy.' He entered new co-ordinates into the GPS. If it's there, this should take us right to it'