Power Hunt (ArcMed Book 1) (ArcOn 3)

by Erinn Price

  “Oh, well. It does not change anything, we are too different. Something like that, a relationship, will never work between us. We are just too different.” I repeated myself and seemed to be unable to stop myself from rambling. “We have nothing in common, we are incompatible.”

  “Protesting a bit too much there, sis.” Scarlet piped up.

  “Scarlet! This is a private conversation.” I replied, hotly.

  “Oh, please. I just came to say goodbye. ArcCorp’s team is here, and Toby and I are leaving now.” Scarlet said.

  “When Toby is safe, you and I are going to have a serious conversation.” I said.

  “Oh!!!! Our first sister discussion, I can hardly wait.” Scarlet said, and she really sounded excited about it.

  I heard Matthew chuckle as Scarlet disappeared. “What are you laughing about?”

  “I agree with her, and seeing she is an AI and a highly intelligent entity, I think we should be boyfriend and girlfriend. I mean the chance, that she is wrong, is highly unlikely.” Matthew said.

  “She has the emotional maturity of a teenager, highly intelligent or not.” When I saw Matthew just smile at my words, I growled softly and said, “You do realise that by your words, you only felt useful when you had to babysit me? When I needed to count on you, was when you were in your element. Babysitter then seems an apt title for you. More due to your character than the other person actually needing babysitting.” With that, I turned to go have a bath.

  “You are right, I was wrong. I do actually enjoy babysitting you.” Matthew said.

  I responded by slamming the bathroom door, childish I know, but it was that or kill him.

  Chapter 13

  I got up early the next morning and sighed when I saw that Matthew was already gone, and that he had left me another outfit. The top once again hid the necklaces from view, though now I could hide it as well using nanos. I was still not completely healed, my brain still felt a bit tender, but I could do basic things. The bag which had my integrated nanos, was at the foot of my bed and it seemed like a good idea to take it with us. Now that I was better, I could use it if needed.

  I entered the lounge to find the others up and waiting. “I have managed to get you passes as a Swedish research couple on Ancient cultures. Matthew assured me that you could make your appearance to match their IDs.” Kharim told me, as he handed me a print out of the two people, Matthew and I would disguise ourselves as.

  “What if someone checks and finds these two are somewhere else?” I asked.

  “Both are currently on Sabbatical and have not been in contact with anyone for months. They do that often and no one would think it strange them suddenly appearing here.” Sara said.

  I shook my head and looked to Matthew, I saw his contemplative look. He was likely thinking the same as me, another lucky coincidence. The couple was older and had grey hair, dying hair would not be considered weird to hide grey, so Matthew’s hair was fine. I could just use a scarf to hide mine. I would have to use nanos more extensively to make our exposed skin look old, but fortunately due to the clothing we wore, there was not that much. I reached my hand up and touched Matthew’s face, transferring more nanos to him. Using the picture Kharim gave me, I began to change Matthew so that he could pass for the man in the picture. It likely would not fool someone who knew the man well, but it would be sufficient for our needs. I heard gasps from Kharim and Sara as the changes become obvious. With Matthew done, I concentrated on changing myself, it went quicker as less of me was exposed. I had part of the nanos reform into a scarf which I wrapped around my head, hiding my hair.

  Though they did not say anything, I could see Kharim and Sara were dying to ask questions. “Okay. Let’s go.” I said, when I had finished.

  “There are two burial spots for Tutmose I, first was KV20 and the second KV38. Tutmose I’s grandson Tutmose III, for some unknown reason had him reburied.” Kharim said.

  “Morgan thinks it may have been to help hide whatever the item is, better. It could also be the reason why Akhenaten’s tomb was desecrated, along with anything to do with the Amarna religion and culture.” Matthew said, as we all left the house.

  “I will keep the helicopter on standby, in case we need to go somewhere else.” Kharim said.

  “Helicopter?” I asked.

  “Of course. Train, car, bus will take too long, so we have helicopters for use to get between sites if there are problems. Sara is one of the best qualified, in the restoration of ancient artefacts and art, so she often gets called out to check condition of items, including tomb and temple artworks. She specialises in ancient languages, but she has an eye and care for restoration as well.” Kharim said proudly.

  “Hopefully, we will find something and not need to go elsewhere.” Matthew said.

  “I am worried, that this is a waste of time. The items we are looking for are likely hidden in some private collection or museum somewhere.” I said.

  “You think we are looking for specific items? Don’t you think then, that they likely would have been hidden, like the throne was?” Matthew asked.

  “Maybe. But what if they weren’t, we would not have an idea what exactly we are looking for.” I replied.

  “We don’t need to have an exact idea, we just need to get close. Your necklace will likely do the same as before.” Matthew said.

  “Your necklace indicates the way?” Sara asked curious.

  “Yes. It got hotter the closer we got to the Iron Throne.”

  “Then we should be able to check these places quickly. If KV20 and KV38, don’t have an effect on your necklace, then we can move to other tombs, which could possibly be the one we are looking for. We have the lists of possible matches. We can just go through that as a last resort. One of them will be the one we are looking for.” Kharim said.

  “So, cover as much ground as possible, as quickly as possible, using the necklace as a compass. Do you think it is wise to place so much trust in the necklaces? Maybe the necklaces only worked for the first item?” I said.

  “You are just looking for possible problems. It would not make sense for them to have only set the necklace to point to the first item.” Matthew said.

  “I am just worried we might miss something, if we rush through it.” I replied.

  “Here we are.” Kharim said and I saw that we had reached the airfield while we had been talking. Kharim nodded to the pilot, as we all got into the helicopter. The noise made it difficult to talk, so we sat in silence. I was worried we would not find what we were looking for, but Kharim’s suggestion did make sense. Trusting the necklace to indicate the way, would allow us to cover more ground to find the right place.

  It was a quick trip and I was thankful to Kharim for arranging it. I had assumed we would take a train, not even thinking of flying. This way also meant we did not need IDs. Though that would not have been a problem, Kharim had not known that at the time.

  Kharim let us to a golf cart and indicated for us to climb in. “It will be easier and quicker using this to get from tomb to tomb.”

  “Seems being on the Egyptian Board of Antiquities, does have its perks.” Matthew said, smiling.

  “Indeed, it does my friend. Indeed, it does.” Kharim said.

  Kharim first took us to KV38 and we entered the tomb and walked its full length. I paid careful attention to the necklaces, but there was no change. I also made sure to look at everything I could, for later analysis. If we did not find anything, then I would check all my data tonight. I was using my network to automatically record everything I saw.

  “Anything?” Matthew asked.

  Shaking my head, I replied, “No. Nothing, not even the slightest change.”

  “That does not surprise me, as KV20 was Tutmose I’s original tomb. It makes more sense, that if anything was hidden, it would be there and not here.” Kharim said, “We had to check here though, just to cover all our bases.”

  We climbed back into the cart and Kharim drove us towards the next tomb,
KV20. Once there, I again paid special attention to the necklaces. There was no change in the temperature and I once again shook my head, as Matthew looked at me.

  “Nothing and since this tomb is empty, there is no convenient bronze statue, just waiting for us to find it.” I said.

  “Bronze statue?” Kharim queried.

  “Yes. If it works like the Iron Throne, we are looking for a bronze object and then something made of kéte wood. The wood reference seems to be masks from the Kubu-Kete people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo” I replied.

  Kharim smacked his head with the palm of his hand, “You should have mentioned this earlier. I have an idea of what we need. It happens to be in our museum in Cairo. It has been here for about a year now, part of our exchange program with other museums. We rotate artefacts among the museums giving people of that country, a chance to see items that previously they would not have been able to.”

  We climbed back in our golf cart and Kharim turned us around heading back towards the helicopter. “The Bronze Sphinx is assigned to be Tutmose III’s, but if you are correct about them trying to hide the trail, it fits. It would also be a reason why Tutmose III reburied his grandfather. His items and that of his grandfather, got mixed together.”

  “Should we not check Akhenaten’s tomb first though?” I asked.

  “Akhenaten is not buried here.” Kharim said.

  “Oh, I thought I read that he was.”

  “Yes, there are claims he is, but it does not make sense. I have been thinking about it and I think that, even if he had been, the later pharaohs would have made sure his body was removed. Remember how he was vilified in those times. It makes more sense, that Akhenaten was buried somewhere in Amarna.” Kharim said. “We will go to that site tomorrow, for now let us see if The Bronze Sphinx is what we are looking for.”

  “Any kéte wood items associated with Akhenaten that you can think of? Or Tutankhamun?” I asked, not wanting to make the same mistake as before, in not telling Kharim exactly what we were looking for.

  “Nothing famous, that I can think of, though it is possible.” Kharim said. “The majority of the items from Tutankhamun’s tomb are also in the Cairo Museum. Hopefully, if it is there, you will be directed to it.”

  The trip back to Cairo was done in silence again, nobody wanted to shout to be heard and we did not want to talk in front of the pilot.

  Kharim flashed his badge and got us entrance into the museum. As soon as we entered, I could feel my necklace heat up slightly. I smiled in relief and Matthew saw. At his questioning look, I gave him a nod and saw him smile as well. He tapped Kharim on his shoulder and then cocked his head in my direction. Seeing our smiles, he quickly caught on to what was happening. He took his wife’s hand and pulled her back towards him, indicating for me to lead. I moved, using the heat from my necklace to guide me. To anyone watching, I would have looked strange, walking back and forth, but eventually I did make it to where The Bronze Sphinx was displayed. As I got close to it, I felt a sharp pain on my chest. Thankfully, this time it was not accompanied by any other pains. Being shot once, was more than enough. I did not need or want to repeat the experience.

  I turned to face the others and just tapped my chest and nodded. I saw relieved smiles on all their faces.

  “Let us walk around and admire the other artefacts as well.” Kharim said. It was a suggestion to keep on looking in case the final item was also in the museum. After covering the whole museum, I shook my head at the others. Whatever we needed was not here, now we just had to hope that it was indeed at Amarna and not lost.

  “We have time to go to Amarna. This went a lot quicker than I thought it would.” Kharim said.

  “Yes, having a detector helps.” I said. “I think we should go. If it is not there, then we can research tonight for the next best places and tombs to look.”

  “Agreed.” Matthew said.

  We made our way back to the helicopter and soon we were on our way to Amarna. There were two places we needed to check out, The Great Aten Temple and The Small Aten Temple. Both were possible places to find the Tomb of Akhenaten, or hopefully the kete wood artefact we were looking for. I had not looked at my necklace yet, but I knew that it had changed. If we go according to the myth this would be the last place to look. This would be the final ‘box’ from the myth. How it all fit in I still did not know, especially as we did not find the ‘boxes’ in order. Deep in thought I looked out of the window. I marvelled at the seamless mixture of past with current, as we flew away from Cairo. Ancient ruins survived, alongside a modern population, treasured and protected for future people to marvel at. You would think that by now, everything of the past would have been discovered, but weather, wars and people had blocked further exploration and excavation. It was as if they all conspired to prevent further revelations, which was silly because how does the weather and climate conspire.

  As the helicopter moved away, Kharim turned and began walking. “We are about twenty minutes away from the site.” Kharim informed us. “We will visit the Great Aten Temple first, then walk to the Small Aten Temple, if needed.”

  It was surreal, the sudden change from the green vegetation running along the banks of the Nile to the stark desert landscape. The ruins of the ancient city of Amarna could soon be made out. As we walked, I began to feel a change in the heat of my necklace.

  As there was nobody near us, I told the others, “It is here, the necklace is heating up.”

  At my words everyone stopped walking immediately and turned to face me directly, before looking around in confusion. Rolling my eyes, I said, “I do not mean here exactly, I mean this is the right place.”

  Kharim shook his head but was smiling as he held his arm out and swept it sideways, indicating for me to lead the way. Grinning, I moved ahead and used the necklace to guide me. I did not see any wooden items, or any items for that matter. I got confused as the necklace directed me to a point where there was nothing.

  “This is in the centre of the Great Aten Temple.” Kharim informed us, “Looks like we will need shovels.”

  I laughed, as we all knew there was no way we would be allowed to dig here. We would all end up being shot or in prison, if we tried.

  “Now what?” I asked, as I walked around. There was no response, I think the others were as stumped as me. I walked further away from the others, who seemed deep in conversation, trying to decide what we could do. I shrieked, as the sand beneath my feet began to cave in and quickly moved away from the shifting sands. The others hearing my scream came running towards me, I had not realised how far I was from them, till that moment. With the flat plain and nothing else in sight, distance was deceptive.

  “What the....?” Matthew said, as we all stood and watched the sands part to reveal steep stairs leading underground. I could not see how far underground the stairs went, but it looked to be at least a couple of hundred meters. It ran under the location of the Great Temple of Aten.

  “Well it seems like we won’t need those shovels after all. I can say with confidence, that we are at the right spot.” Kharim said after a while.

  “I do not think we should go down there today. We do not know what we will find and if it goes according to myth, then we definitely do not want to go down there unprepared.” Matthew said.

  I remembered the mention of scorpions and snakes and the Guardian that could not be killed by a man. “I think that is a very good idea, but what if someone else comes along and finds this?”

  “Remember in the Pyramid? As soon as you moved away, the tunnel closed up.” Matthew said.

  “Ah! Good, then I will not have to worry about posting guards here. I think the fewer people who know of this, the safer it will be for all of us.” Kharim said.

  We moved away and as I looked back, I saw that the stairway was covered. Anybody walking there now, would not be able to tell that there was anything there. I also think that without the necklace the underground entrance and temple could not be accessed.


  “I suggest that just you and Morgan go down into the temple.” Kharim said. “Sara and I disappearing, would be noticed and we do not know what you will find. If we do not hear from you, then we will contact Richard and let him know.”

  “I agree, it will be safer if you and your wife do not join us.” Matthew said. “I will need your help in getting equipment, for entering the underground temple.

  “Anything you need, is yours.” Kharim replied.

  When we arrived back at the house, the two men went off to discuss what would be needed. I followed Sara and asked her if she had items I could have and that she did not mind losing. Matthew could make his plans and I would make mine. I planned to have enough nanos with me to fight an army. If we were facing a horde of snakes, scorpions and an unkillable guardian, I was going to make sure I could hold my own. I would have an integrated suit, and three INSL weasels with me along with reformed nanos I could change into whatever I needed. I was making the three INSLs as weasels, because I knew now how weasels moved. If needed it would also be very easy for me to make them invisible. I also liked the weasels, they were quick and blended in, as people did not pay them any attention. They could also squeeze into any small areas and openings.

  Sara gave me an armful of bedding and clothing. “Since you did not specify what type of items, I assumed any would do. These are old, but of good quality. If you need more or other types of items, let me know.”

  “No, these are fine. Thank you, Sara.” I said. “Thank you for everything.”

  “No thanks are necessary. You do not know how much your family has done for Toby, and how much it means to Kharim and I. If not for your pods, or ArcOn, Toby would have been lost to us completely. Scarlet, has also gotten him to interact more with us. To us that is priceless.”

  I smiled and then made my way to our room. The first thing I did, was to look at my necklace. The bronze had joined with the other necklace. My necklace was now only made of wood, but the way the two were joined, I would never be able to separate them. The roses had also disappeared, my mother’s necklace was now a single solid design. The metals of my necklace and my mother’s, flowed together in a twirl of metal and colour. One flat, large pearl could be seen in the centre of the necklace.