“I hope so. Good night, Charlie.”
“Good night, Abigail,” Charlie said, unsure of what else to say. “Sleep tight.”
VOLUME III
— chapter 29 —
The Land of the Mumiya
HE WAS THERE again, looking out across the great desert plain, although he no longer had to shield his eyes as the sun had almost set. Charlie followed Billy’s silhouette and the great crowd of birds that swirled around him, but this time his cousin walked hand in hand with a smaller figure. Charlie ran toward the horizon, toward their shadows, but lost them. He blinked and in an instant, they were gone, leaving him, once again, all alone.
Charlie sat up. It was dark. Sand was blowing around, stinging his face. A warm breeze from the river swept through their encampment. He looked out at the stars. They filled the sky, almost reaching the ends of the earth, and Charlie wondered if he was still dreaming.
“There have already been scouts about—better that we get moving,” Franklin said. He was crouched by the fire, pushing sand over the embers.
“Scouts?” Charlie asked, wiping the sleep from his eyes.
“Up, Charlie.”
Charlie threw back his bedding. He looked at Abigail, who was asleep, and then to Rohmetall, who was busy breaking down the camp.
“Come on, Charlie. No time to waste,” Franklin said with his usual sternness. The excitement from yesterday’s ride had clearly faded. “We have to get moving. I will not ask politely again.”
“Yes, Ch-Ch-Charlie Cooper. No time to waste,” Rohmetall clanged.
Charlie gathered his bedroll, then joined Rohmetall to hitch up the cart while Franklin carefully lifted Abigail up onto the seat. Soon they were back in the saddle again and heading on their way.
Franklin went ahead, leaving Charlie riding beside the cart with Rohmetall, Abigail, and Ringo. Just after dawn, they pushed up from the river and found the road lined with towering rows of corn and wheat fields, just as Franklin had described. They passed aqueducts and intricate, levied canals, and they knew as they rode that they were being followed.
Ringo barked anxiously at the cornstalks, and Franklin constantly scanned the crops around them for signs of movement. When she woke, even little Abigail began looking behind them from time to time.
“What is it?” Charlie asked. “The Mumiya?”
“Their scouts, at least.” Franklin nodded. “More than likely from whichever faction has the run of these fields.”
As they continued, the Mumiya scouts became bolder. Charlie started to catch glimpses of them pushing through the great cornstalks that now lined both sides of the road. They rode on, though, until Franklin pulled back on his horse, halting the group with a gesture of his hand. Once stopped, they could hear from the crunching stalks that the waves of scouts stretched across the field in every direction. Their small party was surrounded.
“Look,” Abigail said, pointing toward the parting crops. “There are so many . . .”
Charlie thought she seemed oddly calm under the circumstances.
“We will be all right. Remember, a lot of this is show,” Franklin assured them.
The scouts followed one after the other out of the corn and crowded around them on the road. The mummies were all shapes and sizes and wore varied headdresses, some of Egyptian gold, others Peruvian jaguar cowls, and still others that were Celtic silver or shaped like Mesoamerican serpents made of polished jade and turquoise. Some of their linen bandages were falling off them, dragging on the ground as they moved forward, while others wore theirs tightly wrapped. But their eyes, their dead milky eyes, were all the same. It felt like hundreds of the fish-belly-white cataracts were locked onto them.
The mummies reached out toward Franklin and Faust, and the big horse reared back, kicking out his hind legs. This knocked several of the mummies to the ground, but it did little good. The ragged creatures immediately pulled themselves up to continue their task.
Franklin leaned forward to calm the big horse before dropping to the ground in the midst of the corpses.
“We have come here on behalf of the Prime Minister with official business from the Council,” Franklin declared, raising his hands over his head. “We request an escort to your city center.”
The mummies swarmed around Franklin, ignoring his words and pushing him away from the cart.
“Charlie, the girl!” Franklin shouted.
Charlie tried to turn Goliath, but the horse could not move and stepped sideways instead, stumbling on the mummies underfoot.
“Help!” Abigail screamed.
Charlie looked over and saw a swarm of ragged hands pick Abigail up and carry her from the cart off into the cornfield.
“Let her go!” Charlie shouted, feeling for his sword on his pommel.
It was too late. The sea of hands grabbed him too, passing him across the corn on an endless wave of mummified arms. He fought to look back toward the road, where a wall of mummies held Franklin and had engulfed Rohmetall, Ringo, and the cart. But he lost track of them as he was carried through the broken stalks that cut and raked across his face.
“Franklin!” he yelled, even though the Monster was already gone.
Moving along atop the scouts, Charlie wrestled his way closer to Abigail, reaching out to grasp her hand. It was still ice-cold, but she did not pull it away. She stared blankly at Charlie with her crystal-blue eyes as the mummies passed them overhead, across the endless fields of corn.
“Charlie! What’s happening?” Abigail cried.
“We’ll be all right. Hang on!” Charlie called back, trying to sound more confident than he was.
As they neared the edge of the cornfields, the Mumiya scouts set them down on the ground, and immediately organized themselves into straight lines with Abigail and Charlie between them. The mummies pushed them forward, and they ran through the long, narrow rows and then out onto a gravel road, where they continued until Charlie thought his legs might collapse. The sun was low when the corn eventually gave way to a collection of small earthen buildings and they could see the tops of the pyramids in the distance. To their other side was a vast desert. They ran down the road, passing farms with overgrown crops and more low earthen buildings. Mummified crowds in open-air markets parted as they passed, but then returned to their business.
The road widened as they ran past the first of the pyramids. Its heavy stone steps were steep and led to an open, flat peak, where there were carvings of round-eyed serpents with flared nostrils. The next pyramid’s walls were smooth, with its sides joined at a sharp point. As they ran, they passed more pyramids in varying stages of construction, until they finally approached the largest of the pyramids. It towered high above them, growing higher the longer they ran.
When they reached the city center, Charlie and Abigail were herded into a large plaza, where a swarm of mummies surrounded them. Hundreds more arrived, each one a different size and shape, yet they all wore similar bandages and had the same dead white eyes. The mob converged before the main pyramid, and Abigail and Charlie were again lifted and passed forward, hand over tightly bound hand. Near the base of the pyramid, Charlie heard Ringo barking and saw Franklin in the midst of the melee. They were leading him away, along with Rohmetall and Ringo, but Franklin could not be moved. The Mumiya held him as he fought back, refusing to give up an inch of ground. Franklin pushed and pulled the pile, but there was nowhere for him to go. There were just too many.
“Where is the boy?” Charlie could hear Franklin growling to his captors. “The girl?”
Charlie wrestled the bony hands that held him and managed to pull his arm free.
“Franklin! Over here!” he shouted, and waved.
“Charlie!”
The Monster turned and pushed the pile toward them, roaring as he ripped at the mummified hands that tried to hold him back. Charlie kicked his legs and tried to s
tand so Franklin could see him but quickly fell, dropping to the ground amid the mob. The mummies were pressed so tightly against one another that Charlie found it difficult to breathe. Gasping for air, he reached his arm up, holding it as high as he could above the crowd. A cold hand took hold of Charlie’s, and through the chaos, he could see Abigail, still in the Mumiya’s grasp. Just as she did back at the river, she was trying to pull him up with all of her strength.
“Hang on, Charlie,” she said. “I’ve got you.”
Then a horn sounded from somewhere deep within the pyramid, and all of a sudden Abigail and Charlie were dropped to the ground. They fell to the cobblestone, and the mummies immediately backed away, leaving them at the base of the stairs in the center of the plaza. They were a few paces away from Franklin, who had just turned to face the circle, not trusting their retreat.
“Charlie, are you well?” Franklin hollered.
“We’re fine,” Charlie shouted back.
Franklin inched toward them slowly, his gaze fixed on the mummified horde. But the Mumiya were now completely preoccupied, staring up at the top of the pyramid, ignoring their captives as if they were no longer there. When Franklin was in reach, he grabbed Charlie and Abigail in a single swoop and held them at his feet.
“How is your shoulder, boy?”
Charlie pulled his coat over the splotches of blood that dotted his shirt. “It’s good,” he lied.
“And you, Abigail, they didn’t hurt you, did they?”
“No, Mr. Franklin, I’m all right, thank you,” she said, looking around at the plaza. Again she was oddly calm. Whatever fears she had, they were now replaced by apparent fascination.
Franklin’s clothes were torn, and the stitch he had repaired at his neck had been pulled loose.
“How’s this for a welcoming committee? What did I say?”
“All for show,” Charlie gasped, trying to catch his breath.
The horn sounded again, prompting them to look up at the top of the pyramid, which shined gold in the setting sun.
“About time,” Franklin growled. “There will be a few words about the start to this summit, I assure you . . .”
The horn sounded a third time, and the mummies dropped to one knee, bowing their heads almost to the ground.
“Come, Charlie, Miss Abigail,” Franklin said, walking toward the base of the looming steps.
The stairs were so steep it was like climbing a ladder. At times, Charlie and Abigail had to use their hands to pull themselves up. When Charlie peered down behind them, he instantly felt dizzy. Down below, the hundreds, if not thousands, of mummies that had taken them from the cornfield were still on bended knee in a half circle at the bottom of the pyramid.
Franklin reached the top of the steps and turned to pull Abigail and Charlie to stand with him.
“Some show, eh?” the Monster said.
Charlie shuddered. It had all happened so fast, he had not had time to think about how he had just been carried on a wave of the dead. He could still smell the stench of their decay on his clothes.
“Straighten up, will ya?” Franklin said, hitting Charlie on his good shoulder. “Get your chin up. Show them who you are.”
They stood at the open end of two long lines of mummified warriors, each one wearing a more elaborate headdress than the last. The warriors held long spears and flags that snapped and popped in the hot breeze that blew in from the desert. The guards ushered them forward onto a rug of thick oddly-spotted fur—then toward seven wide stairs that led to an even higher upper level. At the top of the stairs sat a large jeweled throne flanked by two smaller ones. Charlie could see the great desert behind the throne, which made him shudder again. The sight was intimidating and reminded him of Billy.
“We’ll be all right, boy,” the Monster said. “Quit your shivering.”
When the horn sounded again, Charlie could feel it rumble in his chest. The warriors all dropped to their knees as a line of mummified royalty in capes of rich purple and burgundy appeared from a stone door. One of them held a sword out toward the setting sun.
“Her Majesty and Supreme Ruler, Nuit Khensa Tuya VII,” the noble announced, dropping to one knee. The rest of the Mumiya followed, all kneeling on the ground. But Franklin remained standing, so Charlie and Abigail did the same.
The horns sounded and the stone door opened again. Then a tall, slender mummy with the most elaborate headdress yet stepped out, dragging the long train of her bloodred cape behind her. She looked out over her subjects and gracefully descended a few of the steps until she stood with her head a few feet higher than Franklin’s.
“Do you not bow down before the Queen Nuit Khensa Tuya VII?” the ruler of the Mumiya asked.
Franklin clenched his fists at his side and breathed deeply before speaking. “What is the meaning of this? I demand an explanation for this disgraceful treatment.”
Khensa Tuya extended her mummified hand, holding her large ruby ring out to Franklin. “You may kiss the ring,” she offered.
“I should think not,” Franklin replied. “I feel I may be coming down with something. Would hate to pass it along . . .”
The queen drew back her arm. “Ah, the great Monster of all Monsters. Still with your vanity.”
“Vanity? Come now,” Franklin said, eyeing the extravagance of her court. “I am here on official Council business at the request of the Prime Minister. Please see that our property and livestock are returned so that we may address the matters at hand.”
Khensa Tuya stood a bit straighter. “The Prime Minister? Is he here?”
“No,” Franklin replied coolly. “But we should expect him shortly if you refuse to cooperate.”
“I see,” Khensa Tuya said.
She turned and climbed the few stairs to sit in her throne.
“I have papers,” Charlie heard himself say. “Letters of transit from the Prime Minister himself.”
“And what of this one?” Khensa Tuya said, pointing her tattered finger toward Abigail. “She bothers me.”
“She is our guest,” Franklin said. “And as such is also awarded the safeguards of the Prime Minister.”
“Well then.” The queen looked down at the ruby on her hand. “I suppose it would be an honor if you would consider yourselves my guests as well.”
“The honor is ours,” Franklin said, sneaking a wink to Charlie.
“You will be taken to your quarters, and then we will speak over the evening meal. But first . . .” Khensa Tuya stood to take in her vast lands and the mummified crowds who were still gathered below. “Will you look at this glorious sunset? Ah, to bask in the adoration of my loyal subjects.”
She waved her hand at the throngs below and sat back in her throne. The last rays of the setting sun bathed her in a radiant golden glow as Charlie, Franklin, and Abigail were led inside the pyramid.
— chapter 30 —
An Audience with the Queen
SURROUNDED BY MUMMIFIED warriors, Charlie, Franklin, and Abigail were roughly guided down the long stone passageways of the pyramid in what seemed like endless circles. Franklin had to stoop down most of the way to make it through the low, narrow tunnels. At the end of the maze, there was a short wooden door with lit torches mounted on either side. The mummies stopped at the door and parted, creating an even smaller path.
“What? You expect us to go in there?” Franklin asked, crouching down.
The door opened and Franklin leaned his head through the frame.
“This will be the end of me. All right, then. Come, Charlie.”
Franklin reached out, gathered Abigail and Charlie in his big arms, and helped them through. He kept his eyes on the mummies the entire time, then followed, and they shut the door behind him.
“Welcome, Ch-Ch-Charlie Cooper,” a friendly metallic voice said.
Charlie turned to find Rohmetall s
tanding with his head just at the limit of the low ceiling. The room was large, but the height was oddly short. Ringo welcomed them as well, jumping up on Charlie first, licking at his hands and face.
“Hey, fella, how you doin’? You all right, boy?” Charlie was relieved to see his old friend, even in the captivity of the strangely squat room.
“Is this ol’ Khensa Tuya’s idea of a joke?” Franklin said. He stood bent nearly in half for a moment before dropping down to a knee. “You see this? You see her sense of humor? A general lack of respect is what it is . . .”
“Respect. Pride. ‘Those who bow to Necessity are wise,’” Rohmetall said. “Prometheus Bound . . . Aeschylus, although authorship debated-debated . . .”
Franklin glowered at the steam man.
“That’s enough! Who asked you, anyway? When we return to the Charnel House, there will be some adjustments made to you, my fine encyclopedic friend. This I guarantee.” Franklin leaned back against the wall. “And what’s become of our horses?”
“The horses are well taken care of. The stable hands here are more-more than capable. Your supplies and papers for Queen Nuit Khensa Tuya VII are on the table,” Rohmetall replied.
“Why, thank you,” Franklin said, looking around the room. There were two windows in one of the walls, but they were too small for any of them to fit through. “The Mumiya trust no one and therefore all are considered suspect. They take their prisoners first and then sort friend from foe.”
Franklin set Abigail on the foot of a bed in the far corner, and pulled his sewing kit from his gear.
“Regardless, if we are going to meet with the queen, might as well look presentable,” he said sarcastically. A sour mood had overtaken the Monster.
AN HOUR PASSED BEFORE THE QUEEN’S GUARD SUMMONED them to her official chambers. The room was large with open windows and wall-to-wall murals depicting all that was accomplished under Queen Nuit Khensa Tuya VII’s reign. Older, bent, and stooped, the queen’s statesmen welcomed them in and urged Franklin to begin the talks, as Khensa Tuya would join them shortly. Franklin looked stately as he laid out his materials and papers, having quickly repaired the stitches at his neck, as well as the rips and tears in his clothes. Abigail sat quietly in the corner while Charlie helped himself to the long table of food that was laid out for them. Fresh vegetables and fruits were mashed and whipped in bowls, and Charlie could barely identify the different kinds of strange fish and breads. The table was set up by the windows facing the desert and Charlie thought of Billy, wondering if he too had come this way, possibly even looking out across the same stretch of moonlit sand.
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