Khaliq needed to be careful. Just because he had a client involved with the government didn’t mean he would remain untouchable. He involved himself with people like the man on the other line to do his dirty work for that reason — the government traded in secrets, power, and control, and so would Khaliq. All the better that he could maintain plausible deniability as well.
“Keep me informed,” he ordered. “If anything else arises, be sure to let me know.”
“Yes, Khaliq. I am very confident that we will soon have what we seek.”
The thought made the extremist leader beam from ear to ear. If what he believed was, indeed, written within Anubis’ scroll, then obtaining the world would be a conceivable conclusion.
It had been nearly an hour since Baahir had first laid eyes on the chamber dedicated to Anubis. But since then, the exploration had ground to a halt. Baahir refused to open the sealed, cube-shaped vault built into the rear wall. In his report, he would call it the
The others came and went while Baahir worked. Most of his work was jotting down notes and hypotheses. Simple orange glowsticks gave him enough light to see by. Abbas had tossed a dozen of them all around the room before exiting and conversing with his superiors back in town. As far as Baahir knew, Mr. Rahal had been on the phone the entire time with his office back in Cairo.
Shuffled footsteps pulled Baahir from his thoughts.
He glanced over his shoulder and saw a hunched figure standing in the doorway. It was Ghazzi, Abbas’ man.
“Sorry to have disturbed you,” the local apologized, bowing slightly.
Baahir didn’t mind the man’s presence. “Magnificent, isn’t it?”
Ghazzi nodded and took a small step inside. “It truly is a wonder.”
The Egyptologist beamed with pride. He enjoyed meeting people from all walks of life, especially those that shared his love of history.
“Come, sit.”
Ghazzi nodded and settled in beside Baahir and stared longingly up at the death god. The look in the man’s eyes was that of deep understanding. He didn’t just appreciate the temple. Ghazzi adored it — same as Baahir. This meant more to him than just being another relic.
“Tell me, Ghazzi, do you think it’s possible for Anubis to have actually existed?”
Ghazzi looked surprised to have been asked the question.
“I suppose anything is possible.” He shook his head. “But no, I believe that the gods of old are just one part of a grander fantasy.”
“And what of all this?” Baahir asked, motioning to the floor-to-ceiling hieroglyphs and pictographs. The questions were more for himself than Ghazzi. It was easier to work things out when conversing with someone other than yourself.
Ghazzi shrugged. “Forgive me, sir, but you are the expert, not me.”
Baahir liked Ghazzi. He was polite and honest.
So, Baahir provided his own opinion. “It was common for the kings and pharaohs of Ancient Egypt to believe themselves to be living gods, yes? I think that’s what we’re seeing here.”
“And that?” Ghazzi asked, pointing a gnarled finger at the oversized jar.
Baahir had an idea of what it was, but there had been no historical accounts, just a tall tale from his mother.
“It’s Anubis’ personal canopic jar.”
Ghazzi’s eyes lit up. “Really?”
Baahir shrugged, and his mind wandered. “That’s what my mother told me, anyway…”
“Your mother?”
Baahir nodded. “She was the real expert on all of this. No one knew more about Anubis than she did.”
Ghazzi glanced away, looking like he wanted to say something.
“Yes?” Baahir asked, curious.
“What do you think is in the jar?”
He recalled what his mother told him and, in turn, recited it.
“My mother said that there was a sect of ancient priests that believed that the jar contained Anubis’ mortal soul.”
The local grinned. “His soul?”
Baahir knew it sounded asinine, but that’s what he had been taught. “Yes, his soul. My mother once found papers that spoke of the
Baahir felt his chest tighten. The thought of a historical relic such as that being lost forever combined with an image of his mother’s beautiful face was too much. He cleared his throat. “It was said that Anubis — through supernatural means — removed his own soul and placed it inside a one-of-a-kind canopic jar constructed of a substance dubbed ‘hellstone.’ Legend says that the jar was supposed to be the only thing that could contain it.”
