Mystery of the Egyptian Mummy

by Scott Peters

  Mystery of the Egyptian Mummy

  Scott Peters

  Author Scott Peters

  This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2018 S.P. Wyshynski. All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Cover design, Danh Art; Cover © S.P. Wyshynski

  Best Day Books For Young Readers

  For my Family

  Contents

  1. The Mummy

  2. Daylight Fright

  3. Market Madness

  4. Trouble on the Nile

  5. A Strange Pair

  6. Mummification Secrets

  7. No More Secrets

  8. A Group Effort

  9. The Mummy Strikes Again

  10. An Unexpected Visit

  11. Surprise on the Nile

  12. Night Fright!

  13. It Comes To Life

  14. Beetle-Dung and Bread-worms!

  15. Avenues of the Dead

  16. Things That Slither In The Night

  17. Who Disturbs My Tomb?

  18. Running For Home

  19. Who's There?

  20. Fun and Games

  21. She Screamed

  22. The Chase Is On!

  23. Through the Door

  24. The Mouths of Crocodiles

  25. A Festive Celebration

  Historical Note

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Chapter 1

  The Mummy

  Aaaaoooooooooh!

  The blood-curdling howl of a jackal woke him. Twelve-year-old Zet bolted upright in bed. His heart slammed in his ears. The scary wild dog sounded like it was just a few feet away. But how could it get up here on the roof? A bead of sweat trickled down his ribs as the deathly howl died away. The rooftop where Zet slept on hot nights fell eerily silent. From overhead, the yellow moon god, Khonsu, peered down at him. Quickly, Zet turned to make sure Kat was all right.

  His younger sister's sleeping pallet lay on the roof's far side. It was empty.

  "Kat?" he whispered.

  No answer.

  By the gods, where was she?

  He scanned for the jackal, the shadows playing tricks with his eyes. Then the eerie howl came again. Although Zet wasn't superstitious, the hairs on his arms stood straight up. He sensed evil in the air. It was as though a dark force was stretching out its wicked hands toward him. If Kat had said such a thing, he would have teased her. She would have scowled and tossed her long braids and called him something annoying. But Kat was gone.

  Could the howl be coming from the street below? Echoing up off the mud brick walls? Zet leaped to his feet, looked both ways, and then darted to the roof's edge. Leaning out, he squinted down at the shadows between the closely spaced houses.

  He saw no sign of his sister.

  Or a monstrous, wild jackal.

  Zet tore down the steep ladder to the front room.

  "Kat?" he shouted.

  She was there, clinging to their mother. They were staring out the open front door. He could tell by the way Kat's shoulders were up around her ears that she was terrified. Still, she took the time to shoot him a reproachful glance.

  "Shush!" his eleven-year-old sister hissed. "Not so loud!"

  "What's out there?" Zet demanded, coming up behind them and trying to get past.

  "Stay back," his mother said. "Both of you."

  "Let me see," he said, standing on tiptoe.

  From outside, another unearthly howl sent a chill racing down Zet's spine. It sounded as if Anubis himself, the jackal-headed god of the Underworld, was preparing to launch up their front steps.

  "What's out there?" He pushed forward. "Mother, let me see!"

  Kat gave way, allowing herself to be pulled back. Zet gained a foothold in the doorway.

  "Stay back. It's not safe!" his mother cried. "Close the door. Quickly!"

  But Zet was already on the front step.

  The moon lit their street in shades of grey and blue. The eerie colors only heightened the terror that shot through him when he saw it. The thing. The living nightmare.

  A bandaged figure.

  And it was making its way along their street.

  The man—or what had once been a man when he'd been alive—was wrapped completely in tattered cloth strips. His head. His arms. His torso. His legs.

  The creepy figure walked with jerky motions. Slow and monotonous.

  Arms outstretched.

  Ready to throttle any human in its way.

  "A mummy," Zet whispered.

  A figure from his worst dreams. A body risen from the dead. A mummy that had left its tomb to wander freely in the land of the living. Why? What curse had been laid upon it to keep it from eternal peace?

  For a moment, the mummy paused. Right in front of Zet's house. An eerie whisper issued from its bandaged face. A horrible chant. Words, too low to catch. Awoahaoh huhshhhhh ooohamamima awoahaoh huhshhhhh.

  Zet gulped in terror.

  Get a hold of yourself! Mummies don't come to life! Was this some kind of joke?

  So his thoughts shouted. Yet if it wasn't a mummy . . . then what was out there?

  The mummy started walking again. Zet had to go after it. He launched himself down the first step. The blood-drained faces of horror-stricken neighbors stared at the bandaged creature from their windows and doorways.

  Zet had almost forgotten the jackal's howls. Now, however, the huge dog emerged from the shadows to block his way. Its muscled body was covered in dark golden fur. Tall, pointed ears jutted up from a sleek head. It bared its fangs at Zet, snarling and gnashing its teeth. Zet jerked back. Drool dripped from the animal's jaws. It began to bark, vicious and fast and loud.

  Zet was scared but held his ground. He had to get a closer look at that mummy!

  Further down the street, the mummy kept on its slow pace. Zet desperately wanted to go after it. The wild beast, however, barred his way. Was the jackal protecting the creature? Was this indeed Anubis, god of the Underworld, come to watch the dead walk the streets of Thebes?

  After a final warning snarl, the jackal turned and loped after the mummy.

  Zet wouldn't let them leave so easily. He had to see where they were going! He launched down the second step. Before his feet could hit the third one, a hand caught him by the neck. His mother's.

  "Oh no you don't," she commanded.

  "Mother, let go!"

  "Not even if the gods command it."

  "But he's getting away!" Zet cried, watching the mummy near the corner. "Look!"

  At that moment, the creature's spooky profile became visible. There was no face. No eyes. No mouth. Instead, it was a smooth surface of fabric lit by the yellow moon. His stomach roiled at the sight.

  Kat let out a small gasp.

  Zet's mother's hand wrapped tighter around him, pulling him against her as if to ward off the creature's curse. Across the street, the old sandal-maker peeked out of his doorway. He met Zet's eyes. Then the man seemed to find his courage, for he hobbled outside.

  Others were stirring to life.

  At that moment, from the opposite direction, a woman screamed. It was a horrific scream, so loud and awful that Kat clapped her hands over her ears. One thing was certain, that scream was human. A woman was in danger. Had she been attacked? Was she hurt? What was happening?

  The sound launched people into action. The old man and the other neighbors in
the street banded together. They turned their backs on the disturbing creatures and headed away in the opposite direction to help the woman.

  Zet was the only person still staring at the retreating mummy. The awful creature had finally reached the corner. It turned to face him. The mummy seemed to stare straight at Zet from that bandaged mask.

  And then it walked on, moving in its jerky fashion.

  The jackal let out a gruesome howl.

  A moment later, the two spooky figures disappeared from view.

  Chapter 2

  Daylight Fright

  The sun god, Ra, sent his fingers inching across the rooftop in rosy hues. Zet lay on his sleeping pallet, eyes wide. He'd barely slept a wink. Over and over he replayed the memory of the strange creature lurching its way down his street.

  A mummy?

  Come back from the dead?

  How? Priests had clearly wrapped that man in the bandages of eternity. They'd entombed the body. So what was it doing here? And what were those evil words it whispered?

  He shook his head, baffled. It couldn't be real. It just couldn't! Zet was as god-fearing as any Egyptian in Thebes, yet such things didn't happen. Walking mummies belonged to the realm of scary stories, whispered over lamplight to frighten your friends and little sister.

  Stories were different.

  They were fun.

  There was nothing fun about what he saw last night.

  This wasn't Zet's first mystery. He rubbed his face. He'd get to the bottom of this. Starting now. He might be a kid, but he'd promised his father he'd keep their family safe. He had to keep that monster away. Even if it meant fighting the creature of death barehanded.

  Kat liked solving mysteries, too. But this time, he doubted she'd want to investigate. Her face had practically turned green last night.

  He stood and glanced past the reed screen that separated Kat's sleeping pallet from his. Like last night, her bed lay empty. Now, even the sheets were gone.

  For a horrible moment, he imagined that the snarling jackal and mummy had spirited her away.

  Then he remembered. She'd been too frightened to sleep outside. She'd taken her sheets and had disappeared down the ladder to curl up in bed with their mother.

  He found Kat in the kitchen. She stood hunched over an orange, slowly tearing the peel to shreds.

  "Don't even think about teasing me," she warned.

  "Whoa! I haven't said a word."

  She crossed her arms. "You were going to." Her eyes glared from under dark bangs. "Just because I slept in mother's room doesn't make me a scaredy-cat. Someone had to keep her and Apu company."

  Walking past, he snared an orange from the bowl. "Right. No need to get all wrapped up."

  Kat's eyes narrowed. "All wrapped up? See? That's exactly what I'm talking about!"

  He rolled his eyes toward the plaster ceiling.

  Kat said, "If you tell Hui I slept downstairs last night because I was spooked, I swear—"

  Now they were getting somewhere. "I get it. You're still smarting because Hui called you a coward."

  "I am not!"

  Zet grinned. As usual, her crush on Hui made her act like a crazy person.

  "Anyway," she said, "Don't tell me you weren't scared."

  Zet flashed back to the faceless mummy. He shuddered. "It creeped me out. That's for sure."

  In another room, their baby brother, Apu, was crying. Their mother could be heard trying to settle him.

  In a whisper, Kat said, "Do you remember Aziza?"

  "Aziza?" Zet murmured. He had a feeling he knew where this was going. "Pharaoh's distant cousin? No one could forget him." And he didn't mean that in a good way. Aziza's house was the largest in the neighborhood. When Aziza had been alive, the man had bullied everyone he met. He'd talked behind people's backs. Complained about the smallest noise. And he'd hated kids.

  "Aziza was mummified," Kat whispered, keeping an eye on the kitchen door.

  "I know."

  "Only because he could afford it," she said in a low voice. "And because he was Pharaoh's distant cousin."

  "A fact he never got tired of reminding people."

  Bending closer to her brother, she said, "Do you think Aziza could have come back to haunt us?" Worry pinched Kat's dark brows. "You know . . . for what happened?"

  "Don't be silly," Zet scoffed. He grabbed a date bun and took a huge bite.

  "Silly?" Kat glared at him.

  The tall, graceful shadow of their mother fell across the doorway. Baby Apu sat on her hip, sucking his thumb and looking from Zet to Kat with watery, earnest eyes. His face was red with bawling. He sniffled and their mother shifted him to her other hip.

  "What's all this whispering?" their mother said.

  "Whispering?" Zet said. "We weren't whispering."

  Kat quickly said, "Just packing up to leave for the pottery stall."

  "Speaking of which, we better get going," Zet said, reaching for the linen-wrapped bowl his mother always prepared with his lunch. "Don't want to be late!"

  "Oh, yes, well." Their mother eyed the rising sun through the window. "You have time still. Wait a moment." She set Apu on his favorite woven mat. His chin trembled and he let out a howl.

  "Poor baby," she said. "What's got into you, my little son? Crying all night? You're usually so quiet and happy. I suppose it's growing pains."

  Zet and Kat exchanged a glance. Had Apu sensed the mummy out there? Was he worried, too?

  Their mother plucked a fig from a linen covered dish and placed it in Apu's chubby fist. The baby hiccupped. With a whimper, he got busy trying to eat it. He'd be at it for a while, given he had no teeth.

  She went to Zet and Kat and put a cool, soothing hand on each child's shoulder. "I wanted to be sure you were all right after last evening."

  It would be so easy for Zet to act like a little kid again. Back when mother made everything better. When he could hide behind her linen skirts from the scary world outside. Yet that boy had disappeared when his father went to war and left him in charge.

  He cracked a smile. "Someone's just playing a trick."

  "I don't know. I certainly hope so."

  "A trick?" Kat said. "Did you see it? That thing had no face! It came back from the dead, it's a cursed thing, an unholy thing, and it was in our street. In front of our house. Right out there!"

  "Shush, let's not scare Apu," his mother said.

  Apu had managed to pull the fig in half. Brown bits studded with tiny seeds decorated his plump cheeks. He blinked up at them and whimpered.

  Zet picked his baby brother up and spun him around. "Apu has no idea what we're talking about." It was strange, though, how Apu had always cried when he saw Aziza.

  "Careful, you'll knock something over," Kat said, darting out of Zet's way.

  Zet said, "I wish you'd let me go after that mummy."

  "Well, I didn't," their mother said.

  "Zet!" Kat said, "Watch out!"

  He slowed. Apu kicked his legs and gurgled. "At least we'd know what it was. And where it went."

  "That's for the medjay police to find out."

  "Or the priests," Kat said, looking pale. "Some poor, cursed soul has left his tomb. And he's found his way here. They need to put him back in his sarcophagus. Fast."

  Their mother went to her. "Yes, and they will. They'll sort it all out." She shot Zet a stern look. "Without your help."

  "Who said anything about me helping?"

  "You think I don't know my own son?"

  "I only want to protect us."

  "You'll protect us by doing what you and Kat have already been doing so well. Watching over the pottery stall in the market. Making sales. Keeping the business going while your father's away fighting the Hyksos in the north." Still holding Kat in one arm, she reached out the other and pulled Zet close. "I don't thank you two enough. You've been so good, you've kept this family alive. Your father will be so proud when he comes home. I'm proud. Promise me you won't get involved in this mummy
business."

  Zet shuffled his feet. How could he make such a promise? He would be going back on his word to Father.

  "Zet?" she asked.

  "I'll take care of the stall, don't worry." At least that was true. As to the rest . . .

  "Thank you," she said.

  Guilt slid over him. Clearly, she thought he meant he'd leave the matter to the police. He glanced over at Kat, who pursed her lips in disgust. Nothing got past her.

  Well, guilt or not, he needed to keep them safe. He'd made Father a vow and he had to stand by it.

  "We better get to the pottery stall," he said and wiggled out of his mother's embrace. Quickly, he patted his sticky, sniffling baby brother on the head, waved his mother goodbye and headed for the door.

  Chapter 3

  Market Madness

  The narrow, dusty streets of Thebes grew more crowded the closer they came to the town's center.

  People seemed scared. Zet and Kat passed three women in expensive gold-trimmed linen sheaths; the women whispered in frantic voices, heads close together. A man sweeping the pavement near a fountain scanned this way and that with wide, frightened eyes.

  Near a small temple, one of the local medjay police stood questioning a priest.

  Zet wanted to stop and listen in, but Kat pulled on his arm.

  "Come on! We have to get to the stall."

  "Shh, let me hear what they're saying," he whispered. "They're obviously talking about the mummy."

  The medjay had sharp ears, for he turned and glared. Zet knew a number of local medjay. He even had a friend in the police force after helping solve several crimes. This man, dressed in an animal skin kilt with a club fastened at his waist, was unfamiliar, however.