by James Phelan
“Why?” Maria said. “Why would the pyramids need so much water under them? I mean, there was no one living in them. They were tombs for the dead, right?”
“I’m not entirely sure why, but I have my suspicions,” Dr. Dark said. “Xavier, think back to what Ahmed told you about the pyramids.”
“What?” Xavier said. “Oh, right.” He turned to the others. “No mummies were found in the Great Pyramid.”
“Really?” Cody said. “But aren’t pyramids tombs?”
“Good question. Are they?” Dr. Dark said. “Were they? Where’s the evidence?”
“Ahmed’s theory,” Xavier said to his friends as they continued on, “was that they were never built as or intended to be tombs. Think about it. Inside, these pyramids are plain and simple. No decorations, no intricate paintings or murals or carvings like the tombs in the Valley of the Kings. Nothing at all. They weren’t built as glorifying tombs, they were built to be functional.”
Dr. Dark said nothing, pressing onward, taking the next left, each hallway getting shorter and shorter.
We are getting to the middle, Dr. Dark is right.
What will we find there?
“But to serve what purpose?” Cody persisted.
Dr. Dark stopped and held out an arm to halt Xavier and the others.
“What is it?” Phoebe whispered from the back, where she was bringing up the rearguard.
“Listen …” Dr. Dark said.
They all fell silent. Maria strained to hear. There was just the slightest sound of … what?
“Air,” Dr. Dark said. “It’s air, a breeze.”
Xavier nodded enthusiastically, turning to Maria.
It does sound like wind, like it’s whistling through a crack.
“Where’s the air going?” Xavier said.
No one answered.
“I can feel it,” Rapha said, holding up his hand. “It’s blowing past us. From our backs—it’s being pulled ahead.”
“It means there’s an opening, and we’re close to it,” Cody said. “Right?”
They continued around the next bend, going even more slowly, the flashlight now just a dim glow against the deep black of the maze walls.
Around the next corner, they came across a steel ladder. Phoebe came to the front of the group, peering upward.
“Well, I guess we have to see where it takes us,” she said, stepping onto the lowest rung to lead the climb.
The ladder took them up through a large hole in the stone ceiling which led to a stone platform, where another ladder had been set. They climbed up to the next level, into a room, old and worn with age. It was bright, illuminated by lights, with a generator humming in a far corner.
As they quietly gathered behind a stack of boxes, Maria spotted someone in the room. He was bringing crates in from another room nearby and setting them down in the centre of the chamber. She turned to Xavier as he motioned for the others to take a look. Maria could see how pale he had gone, even in the faint light. She craned around to see what he was looking at.
Diablo!
They had found Solaris.
11
SAM
“This astrolabe,” Sam said, eating through his third packet of in-flight snacks out of sheer nervousness, “what does it do?”
“It’s a measurement device,” the Professor explained. “Astronomers used to use them to plot the sun, moon, the planets and the stars. Being able to work out locations by the stars was handy for being at sea, too, so navigators on ships would use them to calculate their position.”
“And this one in particular?” Sam asked. “I mean, is there anything special about it?”
“Well, I know that it was made in Venice around five hundred years ago,” the Professor replied. “And it had been in my wife’s family ever since.”
“Was it made by da Vinci?”
“Possibly, though I never heard that said, and it didn’t have his maker’s mark. But he may have had a hand in creating it,” the Professor said. “Whatever the case, the Gear may have found its way inside, either by accident, or the gear mechanism was recycled—which happened all the time back then—or perhaps it was placed inside deliberately.” The Professor sipped a coffee, the steam swirling into the air. “Who could have foreseen that this piece of our lives was destined to be a part of the prophecy? All this time, wondering who Solaris might be, when all along …”
Sam could see that the Professor was struggling with fierce emotions.
And I can’t think of a single thing to say.
I still can’t quite believe it myself. Sebastian, that proud, arrogant son of the Professor, has been our enemy right from the start.
How long had he been plotting against us?
And why? Why??
Why would he turn on the Professor, his own father?
As Sam looked at the Professor, he could see the same burning questions weighed heavily on his mind. Sam shifted around in his seat, wondering how he could steer the conversation elsewhere.
“So, was your wife a Dreamer too?” he began cautiously.
“Oh yes, and far, far better than me,” the Professor said. “She was still studying for her doctorate when we were living near a small village outside Lucerne and I was teaching at the Academy. I was sure that she was destined to become the principal there, not me.” He paused, as though it all suddenly made sense. “In a way, I took up the role so that her legacy could live on—I have tried hard, every day, to be the teacher and leader that she would have been.”
“Because of the—the fire, at your house?”
“Yes. A freak accident. I was in town when the call came. I raced out there as soon as I could—but I was too late.”
They were silent for a while. “I’m sorry,” Sam said finally.
“Thank you, Sam,” the Professor replied. “It is in the past now. I mourn her, as I mourn my son, but it has happened and we must carry on.” He looked with heavy eyes at Sam.
They sat in silence, with just the hum of the engines to drown out their thoughts.
12
CODY
Cody could feel his heartbeat pounding in his ears. It felt so loud, he thought Solaris would hear it and discover them.
They crouched behind the boxes stacked near the top of the ladder, watching as Solaris marshalled the crates lying scattered on the floor, examining and checking all kinds of equipment. It looked like there was enough for a small army.
Awesome. As if Solaris wasn’t enough on his own.
“We must be directly under the Great Pyramid,” Phoebe whispered. “There are chambers underneath it.”
“What do we do?” Xavier said. He turned to his father, who was blankly watching on, either puzzled by the sight or slipping back into some kind of sleepy trance.
“We move,” Cody said. “We take him while we can.”
“Huh?” Poh said. “Take him where?”
“No, we need to—” Phoebe said.
Gotta walk the talk!
Before anyone could say another word, Cody sprinted across the gap between them and another pile of boxes. And then stopped dead, as though frozen. He stayed like that, like a statue.
“What is he doing?!” he heard Phoebe gasp behind him.
“I have no idea …” Xavier said. Then the others realized what had stopped Cody in his tracks. Another figure was now standing across the room. He too was working. He was tall, dressed head to toe in black body armour, with a mask.
Another Solaris?
“What the …?” Cody saw another, and then another.
There’s four, five—six of them. Six Solarises. Solari?
Whatever.
They moved purposefully around the room, prepping for what seemed like an impending battle of epic proportions, organizing power lines from generators to set up work lights and more motion-sensing traps.
“Cody!” Maria whispered. He turned around. She gave an urgent wave. “Come back!”
Cody slowly made his way b
ack to the others. They shrank into the shadows.
“You guys are seeing what I’m seeing, right?” Cody said.
“Think this is like a magic trick?” Maria said. “I mean, maybe they are holograms or something, no?”
“No,” Xavier said. “They’re as real as you and me—it’s Solaris’ men, just dressed up to look like him now. Who knows why—to trick us? To trick the others? We’ve just caught them out early. And we have to deal with them, surprise them, use that to our advantage before they’re ready.”
“Before they’re ready for what?” Poh said.
“Maybe for when the others get here,” Xavier said. “I mean, I bet this is to trick them, right? To fool Sam and the Professor, everyone.”
They watched the Solaris army, transfixed.
“Who are they?” Maria said. “What terrible people would work for him and agree to dress up like this?”
“The world’s full of people who’ll do bad things for money,” Phoebe said coldly. “Sometimes not even for that.”
“In the meantime, the burning question is …” Cody said, “which one’s the real Solaris?”
13
SAM
The water taxi was fast—the Professor made sure of it, with a generous tip to the driver, who pushed the boat to its limit and sped by all the other traffic on the waterway. Sam clung to the side rail. Water sprayed as they went airborne, smacking down on the waves created by the wake of other craft. They steered clear of the main canal system and skirted the old city, winding around to the other side of the Venetian Lagoon.
“Have you been out here before?” Sam yelled over the engines, the small polished wood boat sweeping into a wide turn to get around a large barge ahead.
“A few times,” the Professor replied. “We used to come on holiday here. But I’ve not been here since we buried Lucia.”
“Where is the crypt?” Sam asked.
“Over there,” the Professor said, pointing straight ahead to a low-lying island, “on Murano.”
The crypt was near the centre of the cemetery, part of a row of small stone buildings, each like a tiny castle that looked as old as the small island itself. As they approached, the Professor reached deep inside his jacket and pulled out two dart guns, handing one to Sam.
“We must be prepared,” the Professor said. He tried opening the heavy, ornate door—it was locked and nothing short of a cannon blast would knock it down.
Built when people really knew how to build things.
“I’ll go find someone who works here. Wait, I’ll be back soon.”
“OK,” Sam said.
Sam waited nervously. The cemetery was immaculate, the grass neatly cut, all the headstones clean and shiny, made of marble and granite. Colourful flowers were in vases and terracotta pots. A few rows away, a handful of people knelt at the graves of loved ones.
Sam looked down. His shoes were scuffed and dusty. He noticed the small lump in the middle of his chest where the key hung under his Stealth Suit.
Then Sam looked behind him, at the crypt’s door handle, and beneath it, the keyhole. There were two keyholes—one very different from the other.
No way.
He stepped away from the door, crouched down and looked closer. The first looked like a normal keyhole, but the second was very different.
“No!” Sam couldn’t believe it. The shape was very distinctive. “I don’t believe it.”
He felt around his neck and took off the key that he’d found within the Star of Egypt sapphire.
It fit snugly into the second keyhole. He twisted it. The mechanism turned. There was a loud clunk and the door swung open.
Sam glanced around at the cemetery. There was no sign of the Professor. He stepped inside the crypt.
It was cold and dark inside. There was a small window way up high near the ceiling. It felt as though he was walking into a space that had been sealed up for years. There was a quiet hush and sombreness to it.
“Probably has been locked up for years,” he said to himself.
There was a small altar in the middle of the room, sculpted angels watching over the tombs. He went over to the wall to his left. Twelve plaques took up the wall, with space between them for what he imagined were coffins behind the panels. He looked at the dates. There were none more recent than the late 1700s. He went to the opposite wall.
Another twelve plaques. These dates went up to the early 1900s. The newer ones were different—the plaques had small brass trays, where people had left offerings. Some had stacks of faded old letters, others had coins and one held dried flowers that looked as though they’d disintegrate at the slightest touch.
Sam walked to the wall behind the altar, under the tiny window. More spaces, most with plaques, a couple yet to be filled. He found the most recent date, and next to it, a name.
Lucia.
On her offering tray was a little red velvet pouch with gold string tying it closed, covered in layers of dust.
Sam reached out to gently take the pouch in his hand. It was heavy. He could feel the object inside was circular and about the size of his palm. He looked behind him, to the open doorway, the sunlight spilling in. There was still no one there, no Professor. He undid the string on the pouch and tipped the contents into his hand. It was the silver astrolabe from his dream, exactly as he had seen it in Sebastian’s twelve-year-old hand.
Sam looked up at the plaque. “Thank you, Lucia.”
“That’s it …”
Sam turned around. The Professor had come in and was looking over his shoulder. He was silent, his eyes going from the astrolabe to the plaque in front of Sam. He walked over to it and touched Lucia’s name. He stood like that, still and silent, for two full minutes.
“Professor, I’m sorry, but we can’t stay,” Sam said.
“But, how did you get inside?” the Professor asked, facing Sam.
“I had one of the keys all along,” Sam replied, patting his chest.
“Aha … it really is the key to it all,” the Professor sighed.
“I don’t want to rush you, but we should probably get out of here as soon as possible,” Sam said, putting the astrolabe in his backpack and securing the straps.
“Yes—yes, of course,” the Professor said, reluctant to leave, taking one last glance back at the plaque before turning away. As they walked past the altar, heading for the sunlight outside, a tall figure cast a shadow in the doorway.
Sam turned to the Professor just in time to see the shock and horror on his face before he fell, a dart sticking out from his neck.
14
Sam scrambled backwards, hitting the far wall of the crypt with a thump as he fumbled for his dart gun. His fingers grasped the handle and he swung around to aim. But he was too slow. Solaris was on him, knocking the gun from his hand, slamming an arm into Sam’s chest.
“Argh!” Sam doubled over in pain, but swept his left leg out to catch Solaris, pushing him over and leaping away to the other side of the room. He ran to the Professor, grabbing him around the collar, trying to drag him out.
No time.
Sam turned back to face Solaris, but remained standing protectively in front the Professor as he squared up to his enemy.
“Oh, how noble of you,” Solaris mocked, “how caring. But it’s too late for that. Far, far too late.”
“How can you hurt him?” Sam yelled, his face hot with anger. “What did he ever do to you, Sebastian?”
Even though the mask hid his face, Sam could swear he saw Solaris flinch, just for a moment. “So now you think you know me, boy?”
“I know the Professor is your father,” Sam said.
Solaris laughed, a long, heartless laugh that rang around the small stone chamber. “So?”
Sam’s eyes flicked to the open door behind him.
Option one, run for it. Hope he won’t hurt the Professor.
Sam looked down at the Professor sprawled unconscious on the floor.
Option two it is.
/> “I know you let him believe you were dead,” Sam said, “let him grieve for you, his only son. I know you’ve turned your back on everything he ever taught you.”
“You know nothing!”
Solaris charged toward him, his arms outstretched. But Sam was ready this time and moved out of the way with lightning speed.
Solaris crashed into the altar with a shuddering thump. “Seems you’re getting faster,” he muttered.
“Yeah, I am.” Sam tumbled forward, rolling fast with a fist aimed at Solaris’ chest.
Solaris dodged and came back with a strike of his own, a blow to the back.
“Argh!” Sam yelled out, struggling to his feet, turning to face Solaris, bringing up his fists.
“So, we could do this all day,” Solaris said, “but this ends now. You’re coming with me.”
“You’re crazy!” Sam spat out. “Why would I go anywhere with you?”
“Because of them,” Solaris said, laughing as he pointed behind Sam.
Sam edged to the side wall to glance back without taking his focus from Solaris.
I’m not falling for the “look behind you” trick.
But it was no trick. Two men stood in the doorway, their guns pointed at Sam.
No!
“Think very carefully,” Solaris said as Sam flattened himself against the wall, his eyes searching for a weapon, any weapon, to even up the fight. “I need you, but I don’t need him.” Solaris reached out a foot to nudge the Professor, still lying sprawled on the floor.
“You’d kill your own father?” Sam said, realizing the truth of the words as he spoke them. Solaris simply shrugged.
There’s no hope for him now. Not if he can do that.
I can’t risk it. I’ll have to find another way.
“OK, fine,” Sam muttered through clenched teeth. “But leave the Professor out of it.”
“Oh, I don’t think so,” Solaris replied. “I’d hate for the old man to miss all the fun at the end.”
One of the men came forward, wrenching Sam’s backpack from him, poking him with the gun. “You walk now,” he grunted.