The Secret of the Scarab Beetle

by William Meyer

  As soon as they arrived at the farm, Horace realized he’d made a mistake giving in to Milton’s excitement.

  “This place looks like a mess.” Anna gazed out at the backyard, almost immediately sensing the same danger as Horace. “Are you sure we should be here?”

  “What do you think all this is for?” asked Milton. The grass was covered in spray paint and wood markers.

  “I don’t know, but it doesn’t look good,” answered Horace.

  His uncle had padlocked the front door.

  “So, let’s search around. There’s got to be more stuff out in those fields,” Milton prodded.

  “I don’t know. Maybe we should just stay in the front.” But it was too late. Milton had already run around the house and discovered the swing on the tree.

  “How cool is this? Anna, give me a push.”

  “Milton, get off that!” Anna called.

  Horace bit down on his lip and walked over to the shed. It was locked too. “My uncle’s definitely up to something.”

  “What are we going to do now?” Anna said, noticing the lock.

  Horace shook the handle in frustration.

  “I really think we’d better get out of here,” Anna added.

  Horace was starting to think the same thing, when Milton pointed up toward the sky. “Hey, check it out. It’s that falcon again.”

  Horace was surprised he hadn’t noticed Shadow first. She was flying in a strange figure-eight pattern, something he’d never seen her do before.

  “She looks really nervous,” Anna said.

  “Yeah,” answered Horace, wondering what could be up.

  “Maybe it’s some kind of warning,” said Milton.

  But why would she be giving us a warning? Who would she be warning us about? thought Horace.

  The answer to his question came in the sound of tires pulling up the gravel driveway.

  He recognized the black sports car instantly. “Oh no . . .”

  “Who is it?” asked Anna, sensing Horace’s change in tone.

  “My uncle.”

  “Why’s that bad? We’ll just tell him we were looking around,” said Milton nonchalantly. “Your family owns the house. It’s not like we’re trespassing.”

  Sweat was starting to form on Horace’s brow. “No, you don’t understand. I’m not supposed to be out here.” He quickly scanned the field. “If he catches me again, I’m going to be in big trouble.” There was no place to hide in the open field, and the car was now more than halfway up the long driveway.

  “What should we do, then?” asked Milton.

  Horace desperately searched around for some kind of cover. And then he had an idea.

  It was risky, but it might be their only chance. They’d just hide there for a few minutes and then come right back, he told himself. His uncle would be gone, and no one would be the wiser.

  He could see Shadow now flying in tighter circles.

  “Milton, grab my hand. Anna, grab Milton’s. I’m not exactly sure how this works, but I think we need to hold hands as we go through it.”

  “What do you mean? Go through what? What are you doing, Horace?” asked Milton.

  “Just trust me.”

  Milton finally jumped off the swing and grasped Anna’s hand. The sound of a car door opening could be heard on the other side of the house.

  “Ready?”

  “Are we going to start running around the tree, chanting?” asked Milton halfheartedly. “I’m not sure this will impress your uncle.”

  “No, but close.” Horace took the beetle out with his free hand and placed it in the indent on the tree. The door of light opened, and in the next moment the three of them passed through the portal.

  Anna was in shock, her jaw agape.

  Milton’s eyes were two giant saucers staring at the gold bands on his wrist.

  “Are you guys okay?” Horace asked with growing concern. Neither had made a sound since their arrival.

  Milton was the first to break the silence. “I can’t believe it. Check out this robe. This is so cool! Is this some kind of dream?”

  “Or a nightmare,” added Anna. “Where are we?”

  “Egypt,” answered Horace. “We’re in Ancient Egypt. Well, Amarna, to be more exact. I was trying to tell you guys about this at lunch. The beetle opens a secret door at the farm that links back to the past.”

  “Like time travel?” asked Milton.

  “Exactly,” answered Horace.

  “You guys,” Anna muttered with great hesitation, “we need to get out of here.”

  “No way!” answered Milton. “We just got here. Let’s explore a little.”

  Horace tried to reassure her. “I’ve been here before, Anna. I can show you around. We’ll only stay a few minutes, and then we’ll go back through the portal to the farm. By then my uncle will be gone.”

  “I really think we need to be getting out of here, guys.”

  “Anna, you are always such a worrier. Let’s trust Horace. How dangerous could this place be?” protested Milton.

  “Ummm . . .” Anna pointed over Horace’s head.

  A horde of people was charging toward them. One small older man was running in front yelling, “Smenk’s army! They’re coming to destroy the last remnants of Akhenaten’s priests!” A trumpet sounded, and a thick cloud of smoke appeared in the distance.

  “Don’t stand there! They’re coming!” a balding man with a scruffy beard yelled frantically as he hurried by the three of them. Two more women in long hooded gowns were right behind him, ushering a group of little kids through the gates.

  Horace looked back at the base of the obelisk, only to realize their chances of getting through the portal were gone. The base had turned to stone, and the number of people running through the street made it all but impossible to escape unnoticed. To make matters worse, in the distance, a mass of dust hovered over the dunes. From within its midst, rows of men, horses, and chariots charged toward them.

  “Hurry up!” a woman yelled. “They’re closing the gates!”

  Citizens in beige robes, drenched with sweat and covered in dirt, pulled a giant metal chain from one of the ramparts.

  “What should we do?” Milton asked Horace.

  They had two options: stay and potentially get killed by the attacking army or run into the city and find safety. Horace made up his mind. “We have to get to the temple.”

  “Temple?” asked Milton.

  “Just trust me. If we are going to get out of here alive, we are going to have to get into the temple. There is someone there who might be able to help us.”

  Horace’s friends didn’t need any more prompting. They ran quickly behind him, joining the last group of distraught citizens slipping into the walled city.

  Inside the city gates, carts of food had been turned on end, and homes had been boarded up. Men charged toward the walls, carrying improvised weapons. Some of these sudden warriors looked like they’d just left their trades, and wielded what appeared to be spears. Others carried strung bows. Even the statues, which once stood as strong, stoic guardians, shook from the vibrations of the distant army.

  Horace led them toward what he thought was the heart of Amarna. They weaved through wreckage, scaling makeshift barricades and dodging the groups of men running to meet Smenk’s army at the gate.

  A dark-skinned teenage boy, eyes terrified, came at them. “Run! Run!” he repeated, motioning in the opposite direction. “They’re coming for us!”

  Horace ignored the warning and continued to plow forward.

  They passed through a walled courtyard and another alley, where they found only weeds and broken wicker baskets. Undeterred by the dead end, Horace doubled back, looking for a new route. After two more wrong turns, he finally found the passage of stone sphinxes that led to the temple.

  Two guards stood with shields and swords behind the iron bars of the temple gate, their hair blowing from the forceful gusts of wind.

  “Excuse me,” Horace said.
The men looked down at him and he braced his body, projecting infinitely more courage than he actually felt. “I need to get inside.”

  The man on the right spoke in harsh tones. “No one is allowed to enter the temple. By orders of the priests.”

  “My friend is in there.” Or so Horace hoped.

  “No one,” the guard repeated.

  Horace walked into the open square. He was desperate now. If they didn’t find Tut, they would certainly be killed in the assault on the city. But at the same time, Horace didn’t know where to hide. The sound of a deep drumming was growing louder. The invading army was right at the edge of the city gates.

  There had to be another way inside, Horace told himself. Or at least a place to hide.

  “Are you sure you know where you’re going?” Milton asked Horace.

  He shook his head doubtfully. “No, but we really don’t have a lot of options.” The sounds of explosions were growing louder and louder. The invading army would overrun the city at any moment.

  Horace led Milton and Anna toward an arched alleyway that ran out of the square. If he couldn’t find a way in, he had to at least find them some better cover. But the doors and windows lining this street were already boarded up. From the layers of soot that had gathered along the shutters, they looked like they’d been closed for weeks.

  “Whoever lived here sure left in a hurry,” said Anna.

  They walked farther down the street, where the high walls of the alley started to block out almost all the light. The street took a hard right and then a left, and from what Horace could tell, seemed to be winding its way around the temple. After the sixth abrupt turn, he had begun to question bringing them into the city at all.

  The heavy clouds of smoke that passed overhead had blocked all the remaining light. The distant sound of shouting had combined with the roar of large explosions in rapid succession. The soldiers must have already broken through the gates.

  “What should we do?” Milton yelled over the din.

  It was Anna who had the answer this time. “Down there.” She pointed across the street to a doorway.

  The dark had obscured a small gap at the base. It was small, the size of a hole a possum might burrow into the side of a tree, but it was wide enough for them to slide through.

  The sounds of threatening voices grew louder. There was no time to waste. “I’ll go first and make sure it’s safe.” Horace bent down on his knees and pushed his way past the loose boards. He could feel the splintered wood scraping against his skin. He winced in pain. He just hoped this wasn’t another dead end or worse, a death trap.

  To his relief, the boarded-up house was empty.

  Once inside, Anna and Milton gasped as their eyes adjusted to the faint light. “Whoa.” Scrolls stacked high against the far wall, clay tablets were piled next to a fireplace, and a large wooden table laden with more tarnished, old scrolls stood in the center of the room. On the floor, next to a worn rug, was another pile of papyrus.

  Milton sifted through the shelves and tablets. “Look at all this stuff. These look like my posters from last year’s science fair.” Milton opened a roll of Egyptian papyrus with strange geometric shapes etched along its surface.

  Anna held open another scroll, this one covered in hieroglyphics. “It looks like someone was trying to decode an ancient formula.”

  Horace picked up a sheet of papyrus with a small red wax seal on the corner.

  But his exploration was cut short by the sound of heavy footsteps and clanging armor in the street.

  Horace ran over to the door and laid a scrap of wood across the hole they’d just climbed through. Just as he was starting to think about their next move, a second, much quieter sound filled the room, almost like an eggshell cracking.

  “What was that?” asked Milton in a whisper.

  All three of them froze.

  The sound came again, slightly louder.

  “I think it’s coming from over there,” Anna whispered as she pointed to a fireplace in the wall.

  Milton grabbed a scroll, holding it like a weapon, while Horace reached down, readying to remove the wood by the door and escape back out into the street. Then, suddenly, the cracking turned into a loud rumble, and the entire stone wall of the fireplace thrust open.

  There, in the dim light of the fireplace, stood the silhouette of a girl.

  Chapter Twelve

  The girl stepped forward, and Horace was struck by her long black hair and golden headband. While she looked tired, and her clothes were covered in dirt, her eyes were radiant. Around her neck hung a golden necklace in the shape of a cross, with a circular top. The metal seemed to shimmer from a magical light that lit up the dark room.

  She was just a kid. And by the looks of it, the same age as they were.

  Horace regained his bearings and tried to put her at ease. “Don’t worry. We’re not here to hurt you.” He gestured toward his friends. “This is Milton, and that’s Anna. And I’m Horace.”

  The girl’s eyes opened wide. “Horace?” she said, peering more closely at him.

  “Do you know her?” Milton asked.

  Horace shook his head subtly. He had never seen this girl before, but he didn’t want to be rude.

  “Tut mentioned you,” she explained as she wiped a flake of dirt from her face with her fingertip. “I’m Meri.”

  It was difficult to know who was more surprised, Horace or Meri.

  “You know Tut? King Tut?” Milton almost shouted.

  “Shhhhhh,” encouraged Horace. “There are still guards out there.”

  The girl didn’t seem to mind, though. “Yes, I’m his wife.” She paused, noticing the look of even greater surprise on their faces. “His future wife, once he becomes pharaoh. Our parents arranged our marriage. It’s common among royalty.”

  “Is Tut okay?” asked Horace. “I thought he might be in trouble.”

  “Smenk and his army have come for him and the priests. Many people think Smenk has the blessing of the old priests, since he also claims to have possession of the sacred Benben Stone.”

  “What’s the Benben Stone?” asked Anna.

  “It’s the magical stone from the Old Kingdom,” Meri answered.

  “And now Tut’s uncle has it?” asked Horace.

  Meri walked over to the door and peered into the small hole they’d crawled through, checking to make sure no one was in the alley. “I don’t know anymore. Everything has changed since Akhenaten’s death.”

  “That’s Tut’s dad,” Horace told his two friends. “He was the one who created this city.”

  Meri continued, “When Akhenaten built Amarna, he also closed all the temples along the Nile that were connected to the earlier gods. Many of the priests were angry they’d lost their jobs.”

  “But what does any of this have to do with the Benben Stone?” inquired Anna.

  “Some, like Smenk, believe if they find the lost Benben Stone, they can reawaken the power of the old gods and destroy this city and Aten, the sun god, with it. The ancient temples along the Nile would be reopened, and everything would go back to the way it used to be.”

  “You mean, with the priests in charge again,” Anna added.

  “Right.” Meri nodded.

  “But I don’t see what’s so bad about the priests being in charge?” pressed Milton.

  “Before,” Meri answered, “if you had a problem, you had to ask the priests for help, and only if they felt you were worthy enough did they petition the gods on your behalf. Here in Amarna, Akhenaten made the sun god, Aten, available to everyone. The priests no longer controlled our connection to the gods. The power was in the hands of the people.”

  “So let me get this straight,” Milton said. “If Smenk has this Benben Stone, he will destroy this city and try to destroy any signs of Akhenaten and his new god, Aten, so he and the former priests will be in charge again? But if we stop him, we might be able to preserve the idea of Amarna?”

  Meri smiled. “Yes.”
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br />   “How are we going to do that, though?” asked Milton. “It seems like a lot for four kids.”

  “By helping Tut,” said Horace. “If he becomes pharaoh, he can preserve the memory of his father and Aten.”

  “And by stopping Smenk from getting the Benben Stone,” insisted Meri.

  “But I thought you were trying to help us figure out a way home, Horace,” accused Anna.

  Before Horace could answer, the sound of footsteps and shouting in the alley made the kids duck.

  Meri waved her hands and mouthed, We must get you out of here.

  “But where?” Horace whispered. “The whole city is under attack.”

  Meri stood still for a second as she muddled something over in her mind. Then she walked over to and reached into the fireplace, digging through the ashy logs with her hand and then finally pulling down a hidden lever. A second wall opened. “Follow me.”

  As if reading their minds, Meri turned her head. “When I was younger, I’d sometimes sneak out of school with my sisters. We discovered every secret hiding spot in the temple, and every way in and out.”

  Anna smiled. “I wish we had one of these. I’d use it to get out of gym.”

  Meri looked a little confused but continued, “We can use this tunnel to slip into the temple. There we can look for Tut and then escape out through the cisterns.”

  “Huh? The sisters?” asked Milton.

  “The cisterns, underground tunnels that supply water to the city. Once we find those passageways, we can follow them out of the temple. They’ll lead us to the edge of Amarna. We can get to them through the West Wing. Almost all the stairwells to the catacombs and crypt lead there.”

  Horace swallowed at the thought of going down into an Ancient Egyptian basement.

  “This door will close soon,” she warned. “And we don’t want those guards to find us here.”

  Horace, Milton, and Anna didn’t need more encouragement. All three stepped into the dark passage together.

  As soon as Meri entered, the hidden door closed behind them. Once again, they found themselves in near darkness. The slivers of light from several cracks in the ceiling illuminated the long corridor. From what they could see, the tunnel appeared to have been cut through the limestone walls of the temple. Spider webs framed the dark corners, and the only sign of life was a small mouse that scurried past their feet.