“I heard it that time mate. We’re not alone,” replied Bruce.
Sebastian took his shield from his back and drew his pistol. Chelsea also readied her shield and gun and the rest of the group followed suit.
“I wouldn’t mind having one of those shields,” said Xavier.
“When we get to Camelot we’ll see what we can do,” replied Sebastian.
“Impossible,” replied Merlin. “The metal is rare and likely no deposits remain.”
The footsteps were closer now and a group of men came into view. They screamed in Arabic and dropped back behind the corner. The Wardens engaged in a firefight with the Egyptian men, but no clear shots and the dim light made it a stalemate.
“Hey Bruce, how’s your throwing arm big man?” asked Chelsea.
“What now?” asked Bruce between shots as she tossed him a stun grenade.
“Can you clear that distance?” she asked him.
He smiled. “Give me some cover and I’ll get it there.”
Bruce lobbed the stun grenade the entire length of the hallway and it went off with a loud thud then all the Egyptians stopped firing.
They proceeded cautiously up the hall and found six men lying unconscious around the corner. They tied them up and waited for them to wake.
“What are you doing here?” asked Sebastian. The man screamed at him in Arabic. Sebastian asked him again in Arabic.
“He says the ‘the statues are coming to protect Neith’ whatever that means,” Sebastian told the group.
“Neith? The weaver and the warrior? It’s just some ancient mythology. Neith hasn’t been worshipped in thousands of years,” Bruce told them.
Sebastian spoke further with the man.
“He says they were here looking for treasure but instead found death. They said half their number were killed by statues and is begging us to save them from Neith,” Sebastian relayed.
“They're just trying to keep from going to jail for trespassing and attempted theft of relics. We should be ready though, there might be more of them. It also means there are other entrances open if they got in, so we need to watch our backs. Once we get out of here, we’ll let authorities know how to find these people,” said Chelsea.
“I don’t think they mean the old religion. I think they mean Ra’s cursed rival,” said Merlin.
“Can you elaborate on that please,” said Chelsea.
“It’s a story Ra told me. In the early days, after they first built this place, many of the great wizards who would later be called gods vied for power. Neith, the one who would be called the war goddess was the mother of Ra. Her power grew, and she wanted his position. She was no longer satisfied with being second to her child and wanted to head the priesthood, so she plotted against him and with a group of her supporters, she attacked him. Ra was too strong for her and beat her but decided not to kill her as she was still his mother. Instead, he cursed her. As he told it, because she plotted against him and created threads of deceit, he cursed her to weave threads for eternity. He turned her into a spider creature, a hybrid of her human self and an arachnid and cursed her to spend forever in the shadows below the Necropolis. She subsisted on the dead bodies of the people sacrificed at the Necropolis, but he says she was immortal so could have survived the ages even without an active food supply. I never thought she would survive this long but an active cult, those webs, no, I fear Neith lives,” Merlin told the group.
They continued down the hallway. “Look on the bright side, it could be worse,” said Bruce.
“And how the bloody hell could it be worse? There is some ancient spider-human thing living in the chasm below us and there’s an armed cult group of tomb robbers and we’re in some winding underground maze they likely know better than us. How the fuck could it be worse?” said Xavier.
They heard a loud thud behind them then several more in periodic succession followed by screams. They ran back to where they left the cultists and found a mess. The bodies were mutilated, and blood was everywhere. A large statue of Anubis turned to face them.
“Bruce, the next time a thought like that enters your mind, ignore it,” said Xavier.
The statue stood approximately nine feet tall and carried a large khopesh in each hand. It turned to face them and started walking towards the group, the steps echoing like thunder in the enclosed space.
They opened fire as it approached, and their energy weapons had no effect. “Cycle through the slugs. See if any of our shots can hurt it,” said Sebastian as he deflected slash after slash with his shield, Chelsea doing the same on the other side.
They heard more echoing steps coming down the corridor. The room they were in had two exits and the sounds could be heard from both directions.
They cycled through their slugs and the impact slugs had some effect, so they focused on those rounds and eventually the statue shattered.
As it crumbled, the slow-moving constructs came through the doors. There were three more of them. The room was large but not large enough to surround them. The constructs were blocking the exits.
Merlin cast a spell and a beam of energy flowed from his hands and into one of the statues. It stopped moving as did Merlin. The two of them stood still, facing each other, as Merlin continued to pour energy into it.
Sebastian and Chelsea pulled their blades and readied their shields. The statue carried two swords and seemed fully able to handle both. They were trading blows, parrying and swinging at each other with neither group making any headway. Bruce, Mason, and Xavier surrounded the third. They were faring the same against theirs. For the moment, it was a stalemate.
“Let's see if all this magic training can be put to use. Xavier, Mason, keep it occupied, I need a moment,” said Bruce over the comm. The two men kept swinging as Bruce backed off and the statue ignored him for the moment. He then closed his eyes and calmed himself and started to focus inward.
Merlin seemed to be tiring and the statue was beginning to break free.
“Chelsea, start back up towards the door. Feign weakness. Let it think its winning then run out and head towards the chasm. When you get there, wait for it then at the last minute, jump aside. Trust me,” Sebastian told her over their comm.
Chelsea backed away, going purely on the defense and looking like she was being beaten. The statue began to more aggressively attack her and focused less on Sebastian.
Xavier and Mason were doing what they could against the statue but without Bruce in the fight, it was quickly turning against them. Xavier had a huge cut along his hand and was bleeding badly and Mason had a slash across his left jaw. He barely managed to move, or he might have lost his head.
Bruce yelled and grabbed the statue from behind, lifting it up and over his head. He then slammed the statue down and into the floor, breaking it into pieces. He then collapsed as Mason and Xavier ran over to him.
Merlin stopped the energy flow and statue remained motionless. The old man sat on the floor and leaned his back against the wall, panting for breath.
Chelsea ran down the hallway with the statue behind her. She stopped at the edge of the chasm. The statue drew nearer.
Sebastian waited until it was some distance away, timing it as best he could, then he charged it. He drew upon everything he had learned and moved incredibly fast, drawing on the celerity training Merlin had taught them. He couldn't hold it up for more than a few seconds, but it might be enough. He sheathed his sword and braced his shield on his right arm in front of him after he saw which side Chelsea was on.
“Catch me,” he said to Chelsea over the comm as he slammed into the statue from behind and it lurched forward and over the edge of the chasm. He put his left hand out as his momentum carried him along the same trajectory as the statue. She grabbed his hand with one of hers and gripped the edge of the entryway with all her strength. She swung him around and he slammed hard into the wall. It knocked the breath from him, but he was otherwise okay.
The two ran back to the room and saw the aftermath.
“Report,” Sebastian said.
Xavier just finished putting some dermal glue on himself and Mason and spoke. “Mason and I had some minor cuts and scrapes. Bruce is awake but needs to rest a few minutes. He went Hercules on us and bench pressed one of the statues. Merlin is likewise fatigued after whatever he did to the one that isn't moving. Otherwise, we seem to be fine.”
“Merlin what did you do to that thing? Merlin? Where the hell is Merlin?” Sebastian asked.
“He was with us a moment ago,” said Xavier.
“Damnit. We need to find him, he’s our guide here,” said Chelsea.
“Let's find him. Bruce are you ready or do you need more time?” Sebastian asked.
“I'm fine. Let's find that daft old bastard,” Bruce said.
They started backtracking and heard a large crash back towards the room with the bridge. They ran towards it and found the bridge missing.
“What the hell did this? The bridge was anchored in the stone and those anchors have been sheared off,” Sebastian told them.
“Whatever happened, there is only one way we can go now,” said Bruce as they went back down the hall.
They came to the first door, the one covered with the silken sheet of web and it was open. It looked as if the web had been burned away.
“If he’s in there, he better have been kidnapped by tomb robbers or Neith because if he went in there intentionally and without us, I’m going to beat him more senseless than he already is,” said Chelsea.
They continued down the hall and found more storage rooms but no other exits, so they went back to the webbed door.
“Merlin and I are going to have a long talk once we get back to base,” said Sebastian. “The concept of teamwork still eludes him and that’s unacceptable.”
They walked out carefully, weapons at the ready. The room was vast, extending far beyond their light and the chamber was almost completely covered in webs.
“If Neith is alive, she knows we’re here,” said Bruce.
“We can’t be sure of that,” said Mason.
“Sure, we can. Don’t you remember your studies? Spiders that make webs can feel the vibration on them. Look down, you’re walking on that web. If she’s alive, she knows we’re here,” Bruce told him.
“Then we need to proceed under that assumption. Something tore down the bridge and cut off our retreat and that something would have to be strong. That means that something is also intelligent enough to cut off our exit. That statues were mindless and could do little more than swing a sword and I'm certain it wasn't them. Something else is down here and that something got to this room without using the hallways and there is only one other way into it,” said Sebastian looking down.
“We’ll proceed around the edge in a clockwise direction. Fortunately, this place is dusty, and the webs have lost their adhesion. If that changes, we have to be careful. Spider silk of this size could easily hold one of us, so we advance slow testing as we go,” Sebastian ordered.
They heard a sound in the distance but couldn’t pinpoint it. It sounded like a large insect walking on stone.
“Weapons on maximum settings. If we find Neith, shoot to kill. Start with lasers but switch to slugs if they show no effect and don’t wait for my orders to do so. We’re all professionals, use your judgment,” Sebastian ordered.
They heard the sound again, but it was still impossible to triangulate in the dark, echoing room. They continued to move around the wall and heard the noise again, this time closer and above them. Chelsea looked up and said, “That sounded like it was somewhere above us.”
“She could be moving on the ceiling. We need to watch from every direction. Assume she can move like a spider and that means every surface and dangle from webs. We’re restricted to two dimensions, but she isn’t. Keep your guard up,” Sebastian ordered.
They saw movement ahead in the darkness and Merlin walked towards them into their light. “This way. I found Ra,” he said motioning towards the center.
“Wait. We’re being stalked,” said Sebastian.
“I know but we have to reach Ra. He’s the reason we’re here,” said Merlin.
“We have six people here alive and well with some ancient spider thing stalking us from the dark. We’re not going to go blindly into the open for someone who might be alive or might not. My first duty is to my people and their safety,” said Sebastian.
“You’re making a mistake,” said Merlin. “Ra could help us. He created it and he can help us against it,” the old man added.
“You’re making a lot of assumptions. You’re assuming Ra is alive, he’ll have the strength and sense of mind when he awakes to help us, and he’ll be on our side. I’ll not take unnecessary risks with my people for assumptions. Ra has been there for 1700 years and Neith hasn’t bothered him yet so it’s unlikely she will in the immediate future. I suspect she’s the one who cut off our exit, so she’s already shown hostile action towards us. Ra can wait,” said Sebastian.
And what if you’re wrong and we lose him,” said Merlin.
“Then it’s my responsibility and my choice to make. I’ll put the six lives here first and that’s the end of the discussion,” said Sebastian.
“As you wish,” said Merlin though he appeared unhappy with the decision.
They continued around the room, eventually getting back to their starting point. They heard Neith several more times, but she never showed herself if the noise was indeed Neith.
“Well that was a nice stroll, can we see about getting to Ra sometime soon?” said Merlin.
“It wasn’t a stroll,” said Mason.
“It was mapping. Our light source can’t cover the entire room, so we now know the dimensions and location of other exits,” said Bruce. “We can also be reasonably sure there are no other surprises.”
“I see,” said Merlin. “I’m sorry. I assumed your actions were just the result of fear or paranoia. I didn’t realize they had a purpose,” he continued.
“When we finish this trip, I want you to consider going through the Warden’s training program Merlin, at least the parts you can physically handle at your age,” said Sebastian. “Some training in teamwork and tactics would do you good.”
Sebastian turned back to the rest of the group. “Looks like the room is about four hundred by two hundred, with doors here,” he said while drawing a map in the dust. “Merlin, on this map, we’re here. Can you point out Ra for us,” he ordered.
Merlin made a dot more or less in the center.
“Any walls, open pits, anything we need to know about?” asked Sebastian.
“The center of the room has an open floor about fifty-five feet in diameter. In the center is a platform about thirty feet in diameter with a stone walkway from each cardinal point connecting to it. Ra’s chamber is in the center,” said the wizard.
“How do we open it? Is it just a smash and grab or something special?” asked Chelsea.
“It’s a crystalline sarcophagus. It should open rather easily once the four gems on the corners are deactivated which should only require breaking them,” Merlin told them. “We thought the Masters would awake on their own once magic returned but it seems we anticipated incorrectly in that.”
“Next problem exit strategy. We can go the way we came and rope across but if Ra isn’t in a state to carry himself, we might have an issue. As Merlin describes him he’s bigger than Bruce so carrying him won’t be easy,” Sebastian said.
“Merlin, do these doors lead to any other exits?” Chelsea asked.
“Yes, several. The best one would be north which will take us to the pyramid of Khufu. It’s this exit and then take every left connecting hallway,” Merlin said indicating points on the map.
“Okay, we’ll go with that. You know this layout better than we do,” said Sebastian.
“We approach from here, direct path to the sarcophagus. Open it and take this bridge to the exit point. If Ra can’t walk, we’ll have to carry him,” said Se
bastian.
As they were planning their path, Mason shouted, “Above us,” and started firing.
Sebastian looked up in time to see something very big go through the air and out of site.
“She was dropping down from above, all nice and quiet but she didn’t count on us watching out for her,” said Mason. “Did you see it? It’s monstrous, like a human and a spider put together in some bizarre experiment,” he said.
“Did you hit it?” asked Sebastian. “I did but I don’t know if it hurt it. It fled the second I fired, and I see no evidence of blood but the laser could simply cauterize any wounds depending on its physiology,” Mason replied.
“Good job Mason. You probably just saved everyone,” said Sebastian.
“Let’s move,” Sebastian ordered, and they started heading in the direction of Ra.
Neith got close a couple more times but fled every time they opened fire. She stayed at the edge of their light and didn’t get close enough for them to fully inspect her. They eventually got to the edge of the platform and saw the crystal chamber in the center.
“Careful. Neith could be in the cavern below so watch up and down. She could come from any direction,” said Sebastian.
They approached the sarcophagus and wiped the dust from it. Through the crystal lid, they could see a large African man dressed in golden robes wearing a pharaoh’s headdress.
They quickly shattered the four crystals and pulled the lid off. Ra opened his eyes and sat up.
“Merlin my friend, where is Nefertiti?” he asked as if waking from a nap.
“Ra, we don’t have time to explain. We have to move. Can you walk?” asked Sebastian.
“Not until someone tells me where Nefertiti is and why I am at the Necropolis and not Babylon,” he said.
“Master Ra, you have been asleep a very long time and a lot has happened. Nefertiti was moved to Karnak when you were moved here. We’re going after her next and you’re welcome to join the expedition but right now, we’re all in mortal danger and we must move. Now. Can you walk?” Sebastian asked.
“I believe I can, Captain Arthur,” said Master Ra looking around.
The Seal of Solomon Page 23