Beyond the Grave - - 39 Clues 04 Page 6

  Theo leaned over and kissed her. "Hello, Grandmother." He turned to Amy, Dan, and Nellie. "Ah, here are the culprits. Let me give you lot a tip. Curators can get touchy when you throw objects around a museum. I had a bit of explaining to do."

  Just then Theo caught sight of the Sakhet. He gave a long, low whistle. "What's this? So you

  Did find a real dealer after we got separated."

  "No, Theo," Hilary said. "They came upon this piece in a different way." She spoke to the three. "I must confess something here. Theo came home and told me of his encounter in the Khan. He told me your names." "But our hotel? How did you know where we were staying?" Amy asked. Theo held up a scrap of paper scrawled on a boarding pass. It was a phone number written in Nellie's handwriting. They'd called the hotel reservation number right before they boarded the plane. "Call me Sherlock Holmes. Just don't make me wear that hat." He picked up the statue and ran his fingers over it. His voice was hushed. "Sakhet. The most powerful goddess of them all. Goddess of divine retribution and vengeance. Legend says that Ra once sent her against his enemies and she nearly destroyed the entire human race." "Whoa, that's one Rambo goddess," Dan said.

  Nellie looked impressed. "You sound like you know what you're talking about." "Theo is an Egyptologist," Hilary said proudly. "He was a curator at the British Museum."

  "I thought you said you were a tour guide," Nellie said.

  "During holidays, while I was studying for my degree at Cambridge," Theo answered. "If you want to sell the Sakhet, I can put out some feelers, and -- " "No!" Amy and Dan cried together.

  "I mean, it has sentimental value," Amy said quickly. She glanced at Dan. As usual, they were able to communicate without speaking. They both knew they needed help. They had to trust Grace's best friend. Grace had led them there for a reason. "We think Grace left us a message inside that statue," Amy said. "We're on the trail of ... a family heirloom, and we think maybe this is it."

  "But isn't this the heirloom?" Hilary asked. "If Theo thinks it's real, it could be quite valuable."

  "Priceless, actually," Theo said. "But of course there are always those who are willing to put a price on the priceless. Usually because they have pots of money." Amy and Dan hesitated again.

  "You mean you're after something more valuable?" Theo asked.

  "Well," Nellie said, "value is in the eye of the beholder when it comes to family heirlooms, isn't it? My family has been passing along the most hideous vase shaped like a pineapple for

  ages."

  Dan picked up the Sakhet. Amy watched her brother. Something had kicked in behind his eyes. A great Egyptologist like Howard Carter hadn't been able to discern the Sakhet's secret, but she'd still bet on her eleven-year-old mad-hot genius of a brother. "Remember how Ye Olde Fenwick put up that fence just to keep the cat out?" he said.

  "Only it didn't?"

  "Saladin figured out how to open the latch," Amy said. "He jumped up on the top, and with one paw pulled against the fence post, then ... "

  "At the same time, pushed his nose against the latch. Which, for some crazy reason,

  popped the whole thing open."

  "Mrs. Fenwick never understood how he got in."

  "It was that push-pull thing at the same time. Seemed to be opposite forces, but actually ... " Dan pushed one finger against the nose of the statue and pulled at its neck. "No!" Theo cried, horrified. "Don't .."

  Theo took a step forward, as if he could stop Dan, but they all gasped when the head of the statue suddenly revolved halfway. A small opening was revealed. Dan peered inside. "I think there's something in there."

  "Let me. Please."

  Theo hurried to a desk in the corner of the room. He took out a small bag and withdrew a long pair of tweezers.

  "May I?"

  Reluctantly, Dan handed over the statue. Theo placed it on the table, then carefully slid

  the tweezers inside. His fingers moved delicately. Slowly, painstakingly, he withdrew a rolled piece of paper from inside the statue.

  "Papyrus! How old?" Hilary asked, her voice quavering with excitement. Theo frowned as he placed the papyrus on the desk. "It's not an ancient papyrus. Sixteenth century, perhaps? Not my area of expertise. It's got some kind of drawing on the back, and writing on the front."

  "We've got to see the writing. How do we unroll it?" Amy asked. "Carefully." Theo handled the pages by their edges and unrolled it. "This is mad," he muttered. "This should be going straight to a museum." But he, too, bent over the papyrus with the same eagerness to read it.

  [proofreader's note: The scroll says: Gizeh, Aswan, Thebes and Cairo,

  This land of queens and goddesses will guide you

  Under ancient stars step by step to mind

  As mile by mile the trail shall wind

  Two shall aid you, one of dread

  One makes green with tears long shed

  Where heart of her heart was found

  The rosy pillar riseth above the ground

  At noon the shadow cast shall show

  Upon the long protecting arm, and lo!

  Five stones down, ten to the side

  Where my mark ere long ages shall reside! K. C.]

  "K.C.," Dan said under his breath to Amy. "Katherine Cahill!"

  This was stupendous. Katherine herself had left the message. Which meant that Grace had been the only one to know about it, and now ... they were the only ones. Amy grabbed Dan's arm.

  '"Two shall aid you, one of dread,'" Dan read.

  "Sakhet is sometimes called the Mistress of Dread," Theo said. "Let's look at the drawing." Dan carefully turned over the delicate paper. It was a drawing similar to the ones they had seen in the Ekat stronghold. "Can you tell what it is?" Amy asked Theo.

  He gave it a careful look. "I'd say it was a map of a tomb, but it would take some research to figure it out. There are hundreds of tombs all over Egypt, and more being discovered even now."

  "Wait." Dan reached for two pieces of paper from the pad on the desk. Quickly, he sketched out the other two drawings they'd seen in the Ekat stronghold, remembering them exactly. He placed the two papers next to the third and looked at them all side by side.

  "They're all similar," Theo said. "With small differences, but... "

  "The differences are the point," Dan said.

  He took another piece of blank paper. He bent over the paper, drawing intently, every so often checking the other drawings. "You have to look at all three, then just eliminate everything except what's common to all of them." He pushed his own drawing toward Theo. "Now do you recognize it?"

  Theo looked at the map for a few long moments. Then he crossed to the bookcase and took out a book called Valley of the Queens.

  He flipped it open to a page. "There. I thought so. That's a map of the tomb of Queen

  Nefertari." He looked up at them. "But why?"

  CHAPTER 11

  "I thought it was Nefertiti," Amy said, trying to stall.

  Theo shook his head. "Different queen. Queen Nefertari, favorite wife of Ramses the Second. He ruled Egypt for sixty-six years during the Nineteenth Dynasty, New Kingdom, 1279 to 1213 BC."

  Dan sighed. Everywhere they went, it seemed, he got a lecture. "Nefertari's tomb wasn't discovered until 1904 by the Italian archaeologist Ernesto Schiaparelli. It was closed for a long time -- about thirty years -- because the wall paintings are so vulnerable. It was carved out of limestone and the reliefs were damaged by water, humidity, and salt. Then it underwent a massive conservation effort back in the early nineties. Now it's regarded as the most beautiful tomb in all Egypt." "But I don't understand," Hilary said. "You can't take anything out of the tomb. Why do you have a map of it?"

  "It's hard to explain," Amy said. "There might be a message there for us."

  "I see," Hilary said, even though she clearly didn't. "A kind of game?" "Exactly," Amy said. "A sort of scavenger hunt." "Wacky family, huh?" Dan said.

  "Well, you could have a problem," Theo said. "The paintings are
still so fragile that they limit access to the tomb. Very difficult to get in and have a look. I might be able to blag my way in "

  "Why don't you let Theo be your guide down to Luxor?" Hilary suggested. "My doctor has forbidden me to travel -- he's such a fussbudget, I'm only seventy-nine -- but Theo will be a perfect guide. He's led tours down to Luxor many times. He knows every inch of the valley. Let us help you, my dears. For Grace. I could do nothing for her in her final illness. Let me do this. I'll ring and make the plane reservations right now." Dan nodded. "All right," Amy said.

  Hilary looked at the Sakhet. "I have a suggestion, dears. Now that you found your note, you might want to put her back in the bank. She's too valuable to tote in your luggage. I'd be happy to do that for you."

  Amy reached for the Sakhet. She wrapped the statue back in the soft linen. She zipped open her waist pack. The Sakhet fit perfectly inside. "Thanks, anyway. I'll keep her with me." Hilary was probably right, but somehow Amy couldn't let go of the statue Grace had wanted them to have, not even for a day.

  There was so little she had left. The jade necklace, and now this. Grace had reached out and sent them something. She didn't understand where Grace was leading them or why, but she wasn't about to let it go.

  * * *

  The sun had barely risen when Hilary knocked softly at their doors. They ate a hasty breakfast and Hilary gave them another hair-raising ride to the airport. She offered to watch Saladin while they were gone.

  "Don't fret a bit, ducks," she said as Saladin hissed at her. "I love felines. We'll get along just fine."

  The airport terminal was hot and crowded. They stood in line, waiting for their boarding passes. The flight to Luxor was a little over an hour. They would be there mid-morning if it left on time.

  Amy felt like the crowds were pressing in on her, making it hard to breathe. So many people pushing their way to ticket counters and gates. She clutched Grace's guidebook. She'd looked through it last night before going to sleep. It was clear that Grace had used the book on many trips to Egypt. Amy could tell from the different inks Grace had used. She'd dated her trips on the inside cover, from the 1960s through the 1990s. Most of the entries were about cafes she'd liked, or the names of drivers she'd used. Many of them had been crossed out. Amy wondered why Grace hadn't just bought another guidebook. Anyway, there was no message in the margin like, Here's where you'll find Katherine's Clue!

  There had been one ink color that looked fresher. She'd looked inside the cover but it wasn't dated like the others were. Amy had thumbed through the book until the type had blurred, looking for notations in that light blue ink. She'd fallen asleep with the book next to her on the pillow.

  Theo led them to their gate. They stood to the side, watching passengers disembark from a flight from Rome. Suddenly, they heard a commotion.

  "Yo, my man. In the usual, I get an escort off the plane. The fans, they have a tendency to adore

  the Wizard. They spread the love, and it can get just a little too real, you know what I'm saying?"

  Dan groaned. "Oh, no."

  Amy pulled him behind a pillar and gestured frantically at Nellie. Theo followed them curiously.

  They peeked around the pillar. Jonah Wizard stood with his father and a tall woman in a uniform, part of airport personnel. "Check out that mob," Jonah Wizard said.

  "Those are the passengers awaiting the next flight," the woman said. They could hear the clank of Jonah's gold chains as he turned back to the attendant. "Solid. We've got some lead time. But as soon as I step foot out there, there's going to be pandemonium a-go-go. Fo' shizzle."

  "A go ... fosh ... Excuse me, sir?"

  "I'll be calling your superior about the lack of crowd control," Mr. Wizard said. "And I can't access my BlackBerry!"

  "Do you know that young gentleman?" Theo asked in a low voice.

  "I wouldn't throw the term gentleman around," Dan said. "It might hit him and some manners might stick."

  "Don't you know him?" Amy asked. "He's a huge star in the US." At Theo's blank look, Nellie said, "You know, 'Get Your Groove Pants On'? 'Turn Back the Feet of Time'? 'You Makes My Funk Go Fresh'?" "Are you speaking English?" Theo asked.

  "We're talking street," Dan said. "Except it's Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills." Theo held up his hands. "Help, I need a translator!" he said. "He's a big, fat phony," Dan said flatly. "That's all you need to know." Amy decided to leave out the fact that Jonah was a Cahill, and a cousin. At first she'd been totally thrilled to find out that the famous hip-hop star was actually related to her. Part of the Janus branch of the Cahills, Jonah had accepted the 39 Clues challenge. Of course, it was easy for him to walk away from a million dollars. He probably spent that much a year on tips.

  Jonah swept out into the waiting room, sunglasses on. He held up his hands in order to ward off requests. There weren't any.

  "Send a porter for the bags. My limo will be at the curb," he told the attendant. "I'm sorry, sir, you'll have to proceed to baggage claim."

  Jonah looked startled. "I don't do baggage claim, mama. The bags come to me."

  "My name is Miss Senadi. I'm sorry, sir, if there's nothing else " "Don't you know who I am?"

  Behind Jonah's back, the attendant rolled her eyes at the other attendants at the desk. "Frankly, no."

  Jonah looked stricken. He took off his sunglasses. "Dad!" he wailed.

  "Don't worry now, Jonah," his father said soothingly. "Obviously, here in Egypt, they aren't aware that you're a global brand."

  "You mean ... nobody knows who I am?"

  "Now, Jonie, just calm down, I'm sure that -- "

  "They don't know that I'm da bomb?"

  An older woman swiveled. "Did someone say bomb?"

  Miss Senadi spoke rapidly into a walkie-talkie. "Security. Security, we've got a five-one-oh."

  "Oh, man," Dan said. "Did he just say the wrong thing, or what?"

  "We'd better board our flight," Amy said. "I have a feeling Jonah is going to be stuck in interrogation for quite some time."

  "Security, my mans!" Jonah held out his arms. "It's about time! If you can just surround me on the way to the limo -- "

  "I'm sorry, sir," the security man said. He took his elbow. "You'll have to come with us." "No touching," Jonah said. "I don't accept the touching of the merchandise." Another security guard took his other elbow, and they lifted him off his feet.

  "Daddy!"

  Amy and Dan giggled as the security guards force-marched Jonah and his father away. "I haven't seen anything so funny since that TV weatherman farted in the middle of a forecast," Dan said gleefully. "I hope they keep him in detention for at least a year." "Excuse me?" A polite young Egyptian man stood next to Dan. "For you from a friend." He handed Dan a note.

  "Who was it?"

  "Paid thirty-dollar baksheesh. Bye, now!" The young man ran off before they could ask anything else.

  Dan unwrapped the note. It was a drawing of a long tool.

  "What's this?" Dan asked. "A hoe?"

  "That's not a gardening hoe," Theo said, glancing at it. "That's an ancient Egyptian embalming tool used during the mummification process. They used it to get the brains out of bodies. Up through the nostril, jiggle it about a bit until the brain liquefys and pours out the nose."

  "Cool!" Dan said.

  "My sentiments exactly. They didn't preserve the brain like they did the other organs, though. The lungs, stomach, and intestines were removed and each placed in a different canopic jar."

  "Wow," Dan said. "I'm impressed. Way to go, ancient dudes!"

  "A friend of yours sent the message?" Theo said. "Rather amusing, I suppose."

  "Yeah," Amy said. "It's hysterical."

  CHAPTER 12

  As they wound through the streets of Luxor, Dan started to feel like Egypt was the oven and he was the turkey. He was glad when the cab drove down a small lane to a dock and he could see the green water of the Nile. He didn't feel any cooler, but it was better than looking at sand.


  "Where are we staying?" Amy asked Theo as they all grabbed their bags.

  Theo paid off the driver. He pointed with his chin to a small, trim white sailboat, sitting low in the water. "There."

  "Whoa," Dan said. "A boat? That rocks."

  "Exactly," Amy said. 'And it doesn't stop." She'd never been crazy about boats. And it hadn't helped that she'd almost drowned when she'd been thrown off one into a canal in Venice.

  "These boats are called dahabiyyas,"

  Theo said. "Do you see the smaller sailboats out on the river? They're called feluccas.

  No trip to Egypt is complete without a Nile cruise on a felucca. My friend said we can stay for a couple of nights on his boat while he's in Cairo."

  "Hey, maybe after we go see Queen Neferfarty's tomb, we can go for a swim in the river," Dan said.

  "It's Nefertari, and whatever you do, don't swim in the Nile," Theo said. "There are parasites -- worms -- that could make you very, let's say, uncomfortable. The larvae penetrate the skin. And, of course, there's the occasional crocodile." "Okay, you convinced me," Dan said. "Come on, let's take our gear aboard."

  The cabin was trim and spare and gleaming. There was room for two people to sleep in the bow, and a seating area made up another bed. Bookshelves lined the sides of the cabin. Theo said he'd sleep on the deck. "To watch out for crocodiles," he said with a wink.

  "Now," he said, "I have to go see about those passes to the tomb. Might take a little persuasion. You'll want to take a rest later when it gets really hot, but you still have time to explore the Valley a bit. Where would you like to start?" Amy thumbed through Grace's guidebook. On the plane she'd noted that Grace had outlined a site with light blue ink. "She said not to miss the Temple of Hatshepsut." "Brilliant. Both sites are on the Thebes side of the river." Theo looked at Nellie. "How would you like to see a real archaeologist's office?"

  "Really? I'd love it."

  Dan rolled his eyes at Amy. They had never realized that their smart-mouthed au pair was so capable of being ... a girl.

  He'd practically gotten airsick watching them share their bags of peanuts on the plane. He wished Nellie would go back to worshipping her iPod.

  "Let's stroll down to the Corniche and I'll put you two in a taxi," Theo said to Amy and Dan. "Nellie and I will meet you at Hatshepsut's temple in exactly one hour. Then it's off to the tomb."