The Bone Scroll: An Elemental Legacy Novel

by Hunter, Elizabeth

  “You like computer games.”

  “But I can’t play on their phones.”

  A loud scraping sound came from the back wall, as if a gate had been opened. Tenzin turned her head to the darkness, but Daniel did not appear.

  Ben continued as if they hadn’t heard it. “So the boys in the valley, they don’t ask where you come from?”

  “No. Sometimes I wonder if I’m like a ghost to them or something like that, but none of them seem scared of me. So maybe I’m considered a kind of friendly spirit.”

  “A friendly spirit who weeds their gardens.”

  She shrugged. “If you’re going to become something of a divinity to a village, you should at least be helpful.”

  He shook his head. “I’ll have to remember that.”

  This time the scraping sound was louder and closer somehow. Tenzin turned and saw Daniel emerging from the darkness, and his face was a cross between grim and shocked.

  “You two have to see this. I know what I want to do about it, but you’re the ones who have to decide.”

  Ben looked at Tenzin; he looked as wary as Daniel. “What is it?”

  Daniel waved them toward the dark tunnel he’d formed. “Just come and see.”

  Wonderful. Just what Tenzin always craved, a dark earthen tunnel with a mystery at the end.

  “Lovely.”

  He held her hand through the length of the narrow tunnel, which luckily smelled more like sand than dirt. Though he was in no danger from her anymore, Tenzin hated losing control, and there was nothing more likely to make her snap and lose herself than being buried in the ground.

  Ben had seen it once with nearly deadly consequences.

  “The tunnel slopes up,” Daniel called from the front. “Watch your step.”

  The passage Daniel had formed was narrow and tall enough for his frame, which meant it was more than large enough for Tenzin and allowed her to keep focused on their mysterious errand.

  The tunnel sloped up and then abruptly widened. As she stepped into the wider chamber, the glow from Daniel’s penlight cast enough light with Tenzin’s night vision that she was able to discern a structure that had been buried in the ground.

  “Are those bricks?”

  “Yes, but they’re not structural.” Daniel stepped toward a gaping hole in the wall where crumbled bricks lay in a messy pile at his feet. “The chamber was dug into the ground and reinforced with bricks. I dug around, trying to see what the construction was, but I’m certain it was originally dug into bedrock. The bricks are simply to keep the chamber from collapsing.”

  Ben was nearly salivating. “And inside?”

  Daniel gestured toward the broken wall. “Take a look.” He tossed Ben the penlight. “The ceiling feels stable to me. I don’t think there’s any chance of collapse.”

  Tenzin still decided to wait and let Ben into the chamber first. It was a giant hole in the ground, not exactly Tenzin’s favorite environment.

  “Tenzin.” He nearly breathed out her name. “You have to see this.”

  Tenzin glanced at Daniel, who only nodded. She cautiously left the larger tunnel and stepped through the hole where Ben had disappeared.

  And entered a completely intact ancient treasury.

  The sheer amount of gold stole her thoughts for an extended moment.

  Tenzin had always known the gold mines of ancient Ethiopia had been the source of the country’s wealth, power, and dominance, but what was visible in museums and churches today was a drop in the sea of gold she was staring at.

  The chamber wasn’t huge, probably the size of an average human sitting room, and four pillars held up a ceiling that appeared to be sheer rock. The chamber was oblong, with one end slightly wider than the other, and all along the walls, bricks lined them and created niches where treasures were stacked.

  Gold coins were scattered along the ground, spilling from wooden chests that had rotted with time and cracked open to reveal their treasure. Carved wooden crosses, gold crosses, ivory crosses, and various boxes wrapped in dusty silk appeared to make up the majority of the treasure. The floor was lined with wooden chests similar to the one that had split open, most still intact.

  Which meant probably all of them also held gold coins.

  Her mind immediately went to how they could move such a massive treasure trove to a safe location. Ideally, they could hire a truck, but who would accompany that truck until it could reach a safe exit point? Would this amount of gold pose a problem for Giovanni’s plane?

  She walked around the chamber in a slow circle, touching jeweled crowns, silver and gold goblets and plates, and miscellaneous household objects, some of which seemed utterly ridiculous. On one shelf there lay a golden headrest with rubies and malachite inlaid in intricate patterns. There, a child’s cup in beaten gold. On a top shelf, Tenzin floated up to find a perfectly cast golden fish.

  What was it for? No idea. Her fingers itched to slide it into her pocket just because.

  “Tenzin?”

  She turned toward Ben. “It’s… beautiful.”

  He walked over to her and gently tilted her chin up. “It’s not ours.”

  Her eyes went wide. “We found it.”

  “Technically, Daniel found it.”

  “So we’ll share it with him,” she said. “I’m not greedy.”

  Wait…

  Ben snorted. “Tenzin.”

  “Okay, you’re right, that is not an accurate statement. But I am fair, and he is the one who excavated it, so we are obliged by laws of honor to—”

  “Tenzin, it’s not ours.” He looked around the chamber. “From the coins alone, I’m fairly positive this dates back to the Aksumite period, and this belongs to the people of Ethiopia. This is their history. Their inheritance, Tiny.”

  She hissed. “But we are the ones who found it.”

  “Yes. Do you want the national museum to give you credit for the find? I’m sure that can be arranged.” He slid an arm around her shoulders. “We need to have Daniel cover this back up, seal the chamber, and then we need to inform Liya that this is here.”

  She felt her heart fall to the floor and roll, ever so slightly downward toward the chest of spilled gold coins. “You’re saying we can’t keep any of it?”

  “We promised Hirut in Addis—”

  “But no one knows it’s here!” She felt like whining but knew that would be beneath her. “This isn’t a lost artifact. These are completely unknown artifacts. We could even keep a sizable amount here so that the chamber appears undisturbed.”

  “Or we could just leave the treasure intact, which is what we’re going to do.”

  His voice was so flip that Tenzin rounded on him and bared her teeth. “Do you have any idea how long it has been since I’ve found—”

  “We’re not thieves!” he told her. “This isn’t up for discussion, Tenzin. We made a promise.”

  “We are recovery agents,” she said. “And this is a hell of a recovery.”

  “Agreed. This time our client is the nation of Ethiopia and all her citizens.”

  She rose to face him, nose to nose. “I don’t remember getting a wire transfer.”

  “This is a pro bono case.” Ben spun in a slow circle near the center of the chamber. “Trust me, Tiny, I feel that pull too. But we made a real promise, and I’m not willing to compromise that.”

  She would tear down the sky, crawl on broken knees, and beg for him. But in that moment, she hated him more than a little.

  “Don’t.” His gaze was firm. “We cannot keep it.”

  Infuriating man! “Can we at least search it for the scroll?”

  He walked over and kissed her forehead. “Of course we can.”

  “Don’t try to mollify me like a stubborn child.”

  His pursed lips told her what his mouth didn’t. You’re acting like a child, so I’m treating you like one.

  The sanctimonious, stubborn ass. She had already scanned the shelves but found no scrolls or manuscripts. T
his was a royal treasury, not a scholarly one. That left the wooden chests that lined the floor. She went to one end and Ben decamped to the other.

  She opened the first chest and more gold coins spilled out.

  Not mine, not mine, not mine. She slipped five of them into her pocket anyway.

  Daniel chose that moment to poke his head in. “So what are you going to—”

  “We’re not keeping it!” Tenzin fumed. “Apparently it belongs in a museum.” And not in my safe in Morocco. “Talk to Ben.” Tenzin was too angry to humor the earth vampire.

  “Oh, excellent. This will make your archaeologist friend’s career, won’t it?”

  Slightly mollified that at least someone she liked would be getting something out of this extraordinary find, Tenzin shrugged.

  “Yes, it will.” Ben spoke from across the chamber. “Daniel, this is… I don’t even have the words.”

  Neither do I! Tenzin opened the next chest and felt like crying. Gemstones winked from velvet pillows. Sapphires and rubies. Carved ivory scarabs from Egypt and finely polished lapis lazuli and garnets. She couldn’t justify taking a single one, because they were all unique. Coins were one thing; one was basically like another. But these…

  “Ben.” Her voice was mournful. “There’s an Egyptian scarab that—”

  “Fine.” His voice was clipped. “I will let you take an Egyptian scarab since it’s not Ethiopian.”

  She perked up. “Really?”

  “One, Tenzin. You get to pick one.”

  She spun, sensing an opening. “Can it be anything that’s traded from another place?”

  Ben turned and met her eyes. “You said a scarab, not—”

  “I’m just saying if it’s not native to Ethiopia, that probably means they looted it themselves, so it’s already stolen.” It was thin, but it might work. Might.

  “Or they traded it, and evidence of trade is important to understanding history and will be significant to Liya.” He held up a single finger. “The scarab, Tenzin. That’s it.”

  Fine, if he was going to be like that, she’d pick the nicest scarab in the chest. She spotted one perfectly preserved carving in blue-green turquoise with an elaborate winged gold setting.

  She smiled. Yes, that one would do nicely. “Okay, I’m only taking one.” She pocketed it and moved to the next chest.

  More coins. So tempting.

  Another chest contained nothing but silver drinking vessels. Another one held only silver plates. Another one yielded rolled silk robes, and another one contained a folded silk tapestry that appeared to be Persian.

  “Hey, Ben?”

  “No,” he grumbled. “I’m tempted too, but just no. You already got one piece, and don’t pretend you haven’t pocketed some coins too.”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  Two hours later, having scoured the entire treasury, they were both convinced that though this treasury was intact, it did not hold the bone scroll or any other ancient manuscripts or clues.

  Tenzin stood in the tumbled doorway of the treasury, looking mournfully at the finest treasure cache she’d seen in over a thousand years.

  Goodbye, my lovelies.

  Ben pulled her away from the doorway. “You’ll see it again. I’m sure there will be a special exhibit of international acclaim when Liya finds this.”

  I’ll see you again behind glass. In a museum.

  “Fine.”

  “You’re pouting.”

  “I’m not pouting.”

  She turned and started back down the tunnel toward the cave as Daniel began carefully rebuilding the wall of the treasury so it would remain structurally sound until human archaeologists could “discover” it.

  Ben took her shoulders in his big hands and guided her down the narrow tunnel toward a faint light that told her dawn was approaching.

  “You’re cute when you pout, Tiny.”

  “Shut up.”

  27

  They took another day to regroup in Lalibela after their find in Amba Guba. Daniel wasn’t as worn out from tunneling through a mountain, but he still needed time to recharge and feed his amnis, and Tenzin was openly mourning the loss of so much gold.

  “There were gold plates and royal crowns—”

  “Princess crowns?” Sadia was riveted to the story Tenzin was sharing about the fantastic find.

  “Yes, I’m sure a princess could have worn many of the beautiful things in the treasury.” Tenzin shot an evil eye toward Ben, who ignored her.

  What did she think he was going to do? That treasury represented not only a massive amount of wealth but also a massive trove of historical information, along with treasure that would draw the attention of the entire world when Liya and her team were able to go in.

  He’d already called the human archaeologist; it had taken some convincing to sway her, but after Ben dropped the phrase “career-defining find,” she got into gear.

  Ben had no doubt that with the fame and reputation this treasury brought, Liya would be able to find as much funding for her Nile Basin excavations as she wanted, even without Tenzin’s help.

  Sadia ran over to Ben. “Tenzin says you hate her.”

  “Tenzin!” Okay, that was enough. This was getting ridiculous. “Where did she go, Sadia?”

  “She said that she wanted to be by herself for a while.”

  Ben set down the book he’d been reading about the lost kingdom of Punt in East Africa. “Sadia, do you think I hate Tenzin?”

  “No, you love her. And I’ve seen you kissing.” She wrinkled her nose. “Just like Baba and Mama.”

  “Exactly. So just forget Tenzin being dramatic. We all know I do not hate her.”

  Sadia smiled. “Yeah, that’s silly.”

  Silly? Yes, his partner was being very “silly.”

  “Okay, I’m going to go find her. Stay here with Dema, okay?”

  “Can I get out a puzzle?”

  “Ask Dema.” And with that last dodge, he slipped out of the family room and into the cool courtyard where he could see Tenzin perched on a corner of the compound roof, watching the moonrise.

  He floated up to her and sat beside her. The metal roof wasn’t the most comfortable, but then, neither were the many conversations they were avoiding.

  “You need to stop telling my baby sister that I hate you.” He looked at her, but she was glaring at the moon. “I told you that we couldn’t keep a priceless Aksumite royal treasury; I didn’t say I hated you.”

  “It’s the same thing, Benjamin.” She sighed deeply. “It’s the same thing.”

  “You’re so emotional when it comes to gold.”

  “Because it’s my favorite thing.”

  Dramatic much? Ben tried not to roll his eyes. “Do you like gold more than swords?”

  She turned to him, and her expression could only be read as offended. “What kind of choice is that? I love them both.”

  “Okay, so if I find you a really kick-ass sword before we leave Ethiopia, will you feel a little bit better?”

  She shrugged one shoulder. “Maybe.”

  “Okay, I’m going to find you a really great sword, and then we’re both going to enjoy when Liya—who is the person who gave us the lead to Amba Guba in the first place—receives all the praise and accolades she deserves for her amazing work.”

  “Fine.”

  He nudged her shoulder. “Really fine? Or are you going to keep bringing this up for the next five years?”

  Tenzin snorted. “Five? Ben, you’re a vampire now. I’m going to be reminding you of this for the next five hundred years.”

  He nodded. “Great. Always good to have something to look forward to.”

  The following night they headed north, farther north than they had before, deep into the heart of the old Aksumite kingdom in Tigray state. They crossed mountains and more river valleys, the human villages below sparse and spread apart. The flat-topped mountain they were looking for was a short distance from a human settle
ment, dominating the end of a fertile river valley where fields of green teff were already starting to sprout.

  The rain had fallen during the day, but the moon had risen in a clear sky with only a few drifting cirrus clouds feathering the deep blue-black night. Countless stars shone on them as they approached the mountain that would mark the end of their “likely” sites; Ben was hopeful but not overly confident. Liya had given them a trail map, but after this site, they’d be heading into much deeper wilderness.

  Tenzin pointed to the mountain in the distance, but they were miles away when they felt it: they were not alone.

  “What is that?” Daniel asked.

  “Amnis,” Tenzin said. “Powerful amnis.”

  That kind of amnis was the kind that Ben felt when he approached a group of elders on Penglai. There were ancient beings of power on that mountain and definitely more than one of them.

  Daniel said, “If we can feel them—”

  “They can definitely feel us.” Ben answered the question before Daniel could finish it. “Tenzin?”

  “We can’t keep hovering in the air with the digger.”

  “Hey!” Daniel didn’t sound flattered by the label.

  Ben ignored his offense. “You’re right. Land as far away as possible on the mountain and introduce ourselves?”

  “If they’ve already found it—”

  “We have something to bargain with,” Ben said. “Remember Desta’s crown. We knew this was a possibility from the beginning.”

  “Who the hell is on that mountain?” Daniel asked. “Are you telling me—?”

  “Saba,” Tenzin said. “And Arosh. Possibly Ziri. And their entourage.”

  “Oh, fuck me,” Daniel murmured.

  As they approached, a spear of fire shot into the night, only a short distance from them. Tenzin lifted a hand and warded it off with a swipe.

  “That annoying bastard,” she muttered.

  “Turn around!” Daniel yelled. “Turn around, Ben!”

  “Nope.” Unfortunately, they were going to have to fake some bravado. Lovely. “We’re going down, Dan.”