Beyond the Grave - - 39 Clues 04 Page 7

  * * *

  "I can't believe Theo said that it isn't hot yet," Amy said. "How much hotter can it possibly get?"

  She was about to grumble more, but ahead of her, an incredible sight was rising in the wavy desert air. The Temple of Hatshepsut sat at the foot of towering cliffs. It was built in three tiers, with columns marching along the front. A series of ramps and stairs led up to it.

  "Isn't it amazing?" she said.

  "Which part?" Dan asked. "The sand? Or the sand?"

  "Here we are, walking on ground that people walked on thousands of years ago. I was reading in the guidebook -- " Dan held up two crossed fingers. "Lecture alert."

  " -- that this temple was designed by the queen's architect, Senenmut, in the Eighteenth Dynasty. Later it was damaged by Ramses -- " "I guess he wasn't a fan -- "

  " -- and it was even a Coptic monastery for awhile. They're still excavating parts of it. I think we should go right to the reliefs of the queen's journey to the Land of Punt. Look at what Grace wrote."

  [proofreader's note: it says "Don't miss these! Even back in the New Kingdom, a queen had to go Christmas shopping."]

  "Where's Punt?" Dan asked. "Is it next to Pass and Hike?" "No one knows for sure. They think it's present-day Somalia. Hatshepsut led an expedition there."

  They came to the wide ramp, which had shallow stairs in the center. The heat bounced off the pale stone and pounded against their bodies. The pale yellows and beiges of the sand and the cliffs turned everything into a pulsating shimmer. Amy was glad Theo had insisted they wear sunglasses and baseball caps. The glare was blinding. As they ascended, Amy felt more and more transfixed. It made her dizzy, heat and blue sky and cliff and the grandeur of the statues and the columns. "There she is," Amy said, pointing to a statue of Hatshepsut. "Whoa, she has a beard," Dan said. "The queen is a dude!"

  "She called herself king,"

  Amy explained. "So sometimes she's portrayed with a beard." "Whatevs," Dan said. "I still think she needs a shave."

  "Come on, I think the wall reliefs are on the second tier." Consulting the guidebook, Amy stopped for a moment. Dan tried to peer over her shoulder. "I think we go right," Amy said.

  "No, left." "Right.

  Then left, then right again -- "

  "And turn and kick and jump. Are these directions or a cheerleading routine?" Dan tried

  to grab the book. "Let me see."

  "No, I've got it."

  "I haven't even seen it yet!"

  Amy wrenched the book from Dan's grasp. "I don't want you to lose it." "I'm going to lose it, all right," Dan muttered darkly.

  Amy hurried ahead. She didn't want the book out of her sight. Grace's messages were in there, and even if she couldn't figure them out, she didn't want Dan spilling soda on the pages or forgetting the book in some cafe.

  Dan scowled as he trudged behind her. Amy kept looking up at the massive walls and checking the guidebook, anxious to find the exact spot. Suddenly, she stopped and pointed. "There! This is right where that picture of Grace was taken." She stood where Grace had been standing and struck the same pose.

  "I don't get it," Dan said. "A bazillion years ago, a queen goes to Punt. I don't see what

  that has to do with us. Hey, look at that."

  He pointed to a short, squat figure. Amy consulted her guidebook. "That's the Queen of Punt. She gave the gift of myrrh trees to Hatshepsut." "I don't care, she should still lay off the falafel."

  "Why did Grace lead us here?" Amy wondered out loud. "What is she trying to tell us? It's so frustrating!"

  "But at least she's trying,"

  Dan said. "She finally left us something to go on. She left us the Saladin hint so we'd know how to open the statue. Only the two of us would know about that."

  "I guess you're right." Amy looked out over the valley, then along the line of tourists heading up the sweep of the ramp. She picked out two figures straggling behind. "Look!" she cried. "It's Jonah and his father."

  "Oh, no," Dan groaned. "I was hoping they'd stay locked up for at least eternity." Suddenly, the glare made them feel exposed to every eye. Dan and Amy looked down as the tiny figures of Jonah and his father suddenly stopped. Jonah sat down, right on the ramp, as if he was too hot and tired to go another step. His father bent over, obviously trying to urge him to get up.

  "Where's Theo and Nellie?" Dan wondered. "They should have been here by now." Amy felt a shiver of alarm. "Let's go look for them."

  They headed up to the next terrace. As they reached the top of the ramp, they saw Theo and Nellie standing by a column.

  "We've been looking for you!" Nellie said, even though it seemed to Amy that she and Theo had been standing there, holding hands.

  "I have bad news and good news," Theo said. "Bad news Nefertari's tomb is closed." "Bummer!" Dan said.

  "The good news is that Theo is amazing," Nellie said, giving Theo a starry-eyed gaze. "You should have seen him in action. He gets to the main top guy, some big-whoop archaeologist, and he starts talking about how he's writing this book, and the guy is so impressed with how brilliant Theo is that he gives us a pass and says we can visit the tomb! Pure genius!"

  "You're exaggerating. It was nothing," Theo said. "Don't be so modest," Nellie said.

  "It had nothing to do with me. It was because you were so charming." "Urn, hello? Mutual admiration society?" Dan said. "Tomb?" "Right-o," Theo said. "We'd better go now, before he changes his mind."

  "Is there a back way?" Amy asked. "I'd, um, like to see some stuff the tourists don't see."

  "I always know the back way, remember?" Theo asked. "But don't forget this -- when it

  comes to tombs, there's only one way out."

  * * *

  "Okay, we have a few rules to follow," Theo said. "This tomb is in a very fragile state, so absolutely no cameras, no flashes, no flashlights. Once I open the door, the lights will come on. You'll be able to see, but it's not very bright. The frescoes must be protected at all cost. Watch your step on the stairs, and don't touch any of the walls. And when I say it's time to leave, we

  go.

  We have ten minutes. Agreed?"

  They all nodded. Theo swung open a heavy iron door. He disappeared into the tomb and they followed down the narrow stairs. The air was cooler as they descended, and smelled of dust. Amy heard Dan cough. She hoped the close air wouldn't aggravate his asthma.

  Theo spoke in a hushed tone. "The tomb was found empty. Robbers had stolen everything long ago. But this tomb has a greater treasure."

  They stepped into the first room. Amy sucked in a breath. Colors jumped out at her, alive and beautiful. Reds, golds, greens, blues.

  "There, that's Nefertari. Her name means The Most Beautiful."

  The figure wore a transparent white gown with a wide golden collar and earrings in the shape of flower blossoms.

  "She's beautiful," Nellie said. "I totally want her jewelry." "Look up," Theo whispered.

  Over their heads the ceiling was painted a deep blue. Golden stars were painted in a few swift strokes, row after row. It made Amy feel dizzy. "The tomb is designed so that Nefertari says goodbye to life as we descend," Theo explained. He led the way down a flight of narrow stairs. "Various gods greet her and help her on her journey. The final room is the tomb room."

  They walked past other wall paintings, vivid and beautiful. "That's Osiris," Theo said, pointing. "God of the underworld, husband of Isis. When we enter any tomb, we enter the world of Osiris."

  They passed through into the burial chamber. "Here, Isis leads Nefertari to the underworld," Theo said. "Look how tenderly she holds her hand. And she places the ankh, the symbol of eternal life, against her mouth."

  Amy had forgotten about the Clue. It was hard to focus with so much color and mystery around her. She was in the center of an ancient world, and all she could do was turn around and around to gather in as many images as she could.

  "Our ten minutes are up," Theo said.

  "But they can't b
e! We just got here!" Amy said.

  "Time stops down here, doesn't it? But we have to go. Did you find what you were looking for?"

  "No, but it was amazing," Amy said. How could she pick out a single hieroglyph or a

  drawing? Everything was ancient, existing thousands of years before Katherine Cahill was born. Katherine must have seen this tomb, must have walked through and been stunned by its beauty, just as they had. How could she have left something here that she knew would be found? She wouldn't have left an object; her guides were tomb robbers, so she knew that objects wouldn't be safe.

  Amy gave a last glance behind as they climbed back up to air and sunlight. What did you leave, Katherine? she wondered.

  * * *

  As they returned to the boat, they saw the white paper fluttering from the mast. "What's that?" Amy asked warily.

  "Maybe it's a takeout menu," Dan said. "Do mummies eat pizza?"

  They jumped aboard and walked closer. Nellie gasped. The piece of paper had been

  attached to the mast with a lethal-looking knife. The blade glinted in the sun.

  They stepped closer to read the message.

  DEATH SHALL COME ON SWIFT WINGS TO HIM WHO DISTURBS THE PEACE OF

  THOSE WHO SLEEP.

  "This is way too creepy," Nellie said with a shudder.

  Theo extracted the knife and crumpled up the paper. "Must be the locals trying to scare us for their own amusement."

  Amy didn't think so. "But what does it mean?" she asked.

  "It's the pharaoh's curse," Theo explained. "A silly superstition, that's all. Anyone who violates a tomb will suffer a terrible and untimely death. It's all the stuff of horror films, really. Totally juvenile."

  Juvenile? Dan looked at Amy. Jonah, he mouthed.

  Nellie sprang to set out the lunch they'd bought on the way home. "Could we not talk about mummys' curses before we eat? Really bad for digestion." Dan and Amy sat down on chairs out of earshot of Theo and Nellie, who chatted while they ate. "So Jonah knows we're here," Dan said.

  Amy scooped up some baba ghanoush with the flat-bread called aish merahrah.

  "You're right. It's probably him. Seems like his style."

  "He'd rather follow us than figure something out himself," Dan said. "But what is it?"

  Amy squinted at her plate. "Some kind of eggplant thing, I think."

  "No, what we're missing.

  We're the thirty-nine clueless! There has to be a reason why Katherine Cahill led us to that tomb." Dan had memorized Katherine's dumb poem. Now he went over it slowly in his head.

  He sat up. "Hey. Remember --Under ancient stars step by step to mind. We thought she meant the sky. What if she meant -- "

  "The golden stars on the ceiling of the tomb!" Amy cried.

  "Step by step," Dan said. "We looked at everything on the walls, but did we examine

  The steps?

  We have to get back into that tomb!"

  CHAPTER 13

  Irina held on to the railing. She couldn't risk stumbling on these steep stairs. She'd seen the Cahill kids leave the tomb, and she knew something must be here. A small explosive blew the lock, and she was in. Good thing she wasn't seen. Egyptians could get so touchy about their precious sites.

  Irina came to a small antechamber. Those flat Egyptian figures -- all the same, they were -- surrounded her, some with a bird's head, some with crowns, some holding staffs curved like snakes. She poked her head into the side room. More of the same. But the colors ...

  She wrenched her attention back to the task. More stairs. She descended carefully, glad she was wearing her Nikes. Those Americans knew how to make athletic shoes. She'd give them that. Irina kept her brain on sneakers because she was feeling a bit dizzy. It was a trick she used while on a job if she was tired or exasperated, any time her emotions threatened to overtake her. Concentrate on the trivial.

  But why was she feeling overwhelmed?

  To her left, a black jackal was offering something to an Egyptian queen person. It must be Nefertari. Irina didn't know anything about Egyptian art, but somehow she knew this: The beautiful queen was being welcomed to the underworld. She would leave behind her life. Sunshine, river, palace, husband, child. All would be taken from her. She stepped inside the burial chamber. Here the queen had been laid, between the pillars.

  Those flat figures, all the same, like cartoons, with their black hair and their opaque eyes. She'd never realized before ...

  How beautiful they are!

  These paintings ... she imagined artists here, dipping their brushes into pots of gold and green and blue. They weren't just painting the story of one queen's death. They were painting every life. Every death. Every joy, every loss. Dazzled, Irina slowly revolved, drinking it all in.

  She felt something odd on her face, something so foreign she didn't recognize it at first. She felt it like a draft, a coolness in this stale air. A tear. What was happening?

  Grace, what are you doing to me? Because she felt her, she felt Grace suddenly, her presence, right here. Her briskness, her intellect, her impatience ... her kindness.

  You were kind to me, she told Grace.

  When you told me I was a fool, there was no harshness in your tone. There was kindness in your eyes.

  Who can't I forgive? You ... or myself?

  Irina stared ahead at the wall. Rebirth, she realized. This chamber wasn't about death at all. It was about rebirth.

  Could that happen? After a life lived, after choice after choice after choice led you someplace small and dark ... could you ... change?

  CHAPTER 14

  Note to self, Dan thought.

  Do not think of brain-sucking mummies while standing in ancient tomb.

  The darkness pressed around them. They had just pushed on the door of the tomb, and it had swung open. Theo must have forgotten to lock it. Somehow without his cheery presence, the tomb seemed darker. Spookier. "D-do you think we should go down?" Amy whispered. "That's why we're here," Dan said. He didn't move. "This is ridiculous," Amy said, straightening her shoulders. "Come on." She eased the door shut, but left it open a crack. Dan stayed close behind her as she went down the stairs. When they got to the antechamber, they both looked up at the ceiling. The stars looked like a field of golden flowers against the brilliant blue. They looked back at the stairs. "Let's look at the risers," Amy said. "The stone that is behind the step.

  Katherine would have left a clue there rather than on the step itself. She'd know that hundreds of years of footsteps would wear away any message." They examined each riser, but there was nothing except ancient, worn stone. "Next staircase," Amy said. "We'd better hurry." They cautiously made their way down the stairs, deeper into the tomb. "Wait!" Amy whispered. She didn't know why she whispered, but it felt wrong to shout in this place.

  She bent over, squinting in the dim light. She forgot her nervousness as the discovery jolted through her. "Dan, come here! I think it's a hieroglyph. It's carved into the stone."

  [proofreader's note: the hieroglyph is two long horizontal lines, with two short lines between them]

  "And here," Dan said.

  [proofreader's note: the hieroglyph is a long rectangle with a half moon carved out of one of its long sides]

  Down they went, collecting one hieroglyph after another.

  [proofreader's note: the first hieroglyph is a long rectangle, the second is a tall obelisk,

  and the third looks like the side view of a throne]

  Suddenly, they heard a squealing noise, the sound of metal against metal.

  There was a loud clang as the iron tomb door shut completely. The lights immediately

  went out.

  "Amy?" Dan whispered.

  "I'm right here." Amy only knew Dan was inches away by the sound of his voice. It was so dark she couldn't see her own hand. She fought down panic. The darkness pressed against them like a living thing.

  Dan felt his breath catch. Amy grabbed his hand. Normally, Dan would have pulled his ha
nd away and said something like "Ew," but just then his sister's fingers felt good, even if they were kind of sweaty.

  "Somebody shut the door," Amy whispered.

  "Thanks for the tip, Miss Obvious," Dan whispered back.

  Suddenly, he heard a noise. Was it a footstep? Shuffling, as if a foot was being dragged along the dusty ground. As though wrappings were dragging behind... "Did you hear that?" Amy whispered.

  "No," Dan lied.

  DEATH SHALL COME ON SWIFT WINGS TO HIM WHO DISTURBS THE PEACE OF

  THOSE WHO SLEEP.

  Dan knew he was breathing dust. He could feel his lungs struggling. He heard his own wheezing in his ears.

  "Dan." Amy gripped his shoulder. "There's plenty of air. Do you have your inhaler?" His sister's calm voice steadied him. He didn't know how she could be so calm, but it helped him. He knew how she'd panicked when she'd almost been buried alive. The Amester was getting braver all the time. He reached into the pocket of his shorts and brought out his inhaler. Better.

  The noise came again, terrifying in its soft menace. He didn't even bother saying he didn't hear it. He imagined a mummy, black holes for eyes, trailing linen. His brains had already been sucked out, and he was just a dead thing ... reaching ...

  Slow down, he told his heartbeat.

  If this was a video game, you'd think it was way cool.

  Another shuffling noise, closer still.

  But it's not a game!

  Whoever it was - person or thing it was hunting them. "We've got to hide," Amy whispered. "The burial chamber."

  He didn't, didn't, didn't want to go back to the burial chamber. The thought of it froze his blood. But he followed Amy into the place the mummy had lain thousands of years

  ago.

  * * *

  Even in the enveloping dark, Irina was completely oriented. She heard Dan and Amy inching their way toward her. Her vision was like a cat's. She could find her way out of a cave miles underground if she had to. As a matter of fact, she already had, thanks to that nasty little job in Marrakech back in the nineties.

  The acoustics in the tomb magnified every sound. They were coming right toward her. This was her chance. They were hers at last. The question was, what to do, exactly. The children needed to be slowed down, they needed to be stopped. Frightened so badly that they would go back to that Boston Beantown where they belonged. So, her poison nails -- always an option. Or would a little explosive be better? Nothing too nasty, just enough to start a small cave-in. If she could get past them -- and she could -- she could place the device at the entrance, and ka-blooey.