Zahra swallowed, tears in her eyes.
“But you’re right. This is our fight now. We owe it to your mother to finish this. It’s what she would do if she were here.”
Cork pretended to gag. “You guys are barmy!”
Zahra looked at her dad and shrugged. George didn’t know what the word meant, either.
“It means crazy!” Cork shouted, frustrated beyond belief. “You two are fuckin’ nuts!”
“That we are.” Zahra joined her father and watched the workers move about. She grinned. “That we are…”
Chapter 66
Baahir
Luckily for Baahir and the others, the tombs of Qarat Qasr Salim weren’t hard to locate. The often-visited archaeological site had been built into a low plateau and owned a somewhat manicured pathway up to the top. Signs pointed the way, ushering Baahir, Khaliq, Ajmal, and one other man, Feroz, higher. No guns were visible, but the three captors each carried imposing pistols beneath their jackets.
The tomb was smack-dab at the center of a neighborhood. The entrance had been cut directly down into the rock. A single man greeted them, wearing the sweat-stained uniform of a park ranger.
“Hello,” he said, waving, “and welcome to the tombs of Qarat Qasr Salim! My name is Daniyal, and I will be your guide!”
Baahir wiped the sweat from his forehead. He’s awfully chipper. The desert heat was something Baahir was used to, but nothing he liked.
Khaliq mumbled something to Ajmal, and he took Daniyal aside and began explaining something very carefully. Daniyal glanced back and forth between the goon and Baahir before nodding and accepting an envelope. Baahir watched as Daniyal opened it to find a stack of cash.
“You’re paying him off?” Baahir asked.
Khaliq nodded. “Occasionally, subtlety works. Lots of eyes here.” He motioned to the homes surrounding the site. “We need this man to forget we were here.”
“And if he doesn’t forget?”
The larger man shrugged. “He dies. Ajmal is also explaining that.”
On cue, Daniyal’s eyes widened. Ajmal placed a thick hand on the park ranger’s shoulder and squeezed. Daniyal fervently nodded, gripping the wad of money tightly. He backed away and then scurried down the entrance, disappearing from sight.
“We can begin,” Khaliq announced, tipping his head toward the entry point. “After you.”
Baahir headed off, unsure of what he was looking for. This site had been ransacked by graverobbers during Roman times, though the tomb contained well-preserved vibrant wall paintings. Baahir had seen pictures of the excavation but had never visited it until now.
The four men descended a hand-cut stairway with an incredibly low ceiling. Baahir was happy to see there was artificial lighting below. The burial was a popular tourist attraction and had been given an update over the years for its visitors to enjoy. No one would need their flashlights.
The steps continued into a circular chamber of an impressive size. The man that had originally been entombed here must have been fabulously wealthy. Usually, places like this were reserved for royalty, and, as it were, the filthy rich. Baahir was curious if any of that wealth had been passed down to the Ayads.
Doesn’t matter.
He inspected the room, floor to ceiling, and found nothing of note.
“There has to be something,” Baahir said to himself.
Khaliq was a madman, yes, but he was also smart and well-studied. He wouldn’t have dragged a team this far without a solid conviction. Plus, Baahir needed to stay relevant.
He turned and rubbed his eyes, uncaring that his hands were dirty. Baahir was already a mess, and he had barely done anything of note.
“Trouble?”
It was Khaliq. Baahir’s hands fell away, and he faced the man. When he did, his eyes found the wall on the other side of the room. He stared at it, looking past his captor. Khaliq noticed that his attention was somewhere else, and he looked where Baahir was focusing his attention.
“Good eye.”
Both men headed over to a painting depicting what Baahir recognized as the Bahariya Oasis. Stone structures dotted the landscape, giving Baahir and Khaliq a bird’s eye view of the ancient world. There were recognizable places, but not where Baahir would have expected them to be. It was as if he was looking through a time machine.
Both men leaned in and tried to make out exactly what they were looking at.
“It’s a map!” Baahir exclaimed, leaning away. “Or… it was a map.”
Sections of it had been lost to time, but much of it was still discernible. They located Qarat Qasr Salim, which was highlighted by a brilliant, yellow sun. Other than that, Baahir saw very little else of note. The map, while impressive considering its age, wasn’t much help to them. Baahir was about to give up but noticed a black smudge to the north of the oasis.
“What is that?” Baahir asked, pointing at the conical formation.
Khaliq scratched his chin. “Gebel Dist. It sits just to the north of the oasis. Some say it was what inspired our people to use pyramidal designs.”
“Yes, I know the formation is Gebel Dist — but what is that?” Baahir hovered a finger over the smudge sitting on top of the oasis landmark. “It kind of looks like…”
He and Khaliq came to the same conclusion in unison. “Anubis!”
Baahir could just make out the jackal’s pointed ears. It wasn’t a smudge, either. It was a clearly delineated pictograph of the god of death that had been partially eroded away. Unfortunately, Khaliq was a smart man as well, and he swiftly put the two and two together.
“We’ve found it,” Khaliq’s voice was low, but it was loud enough for Ajmal and Feroz to hear. They stepped over and joined their leader in a moment of silent reverence. All three men were enveloped by the faded image.
Baahir stepped away and saw that his captors weren’t following him. So, he stepped lightly and kept moving. He made it back to the stairs before he was finally noticed.
“And where do you think you’re going?”
Damn.
Baahir turned and found three pistols pointed at him. He played it cool and thumbed over his shoulder. “Heading for Gebel Dist. We have a lot of work to do.”
He was plainly lying, and Khaliq figured as much, but the trio holstered their weapons and joined Baahir at the exit.
“Ajmal.” The brute stood at attention. “Make sure our distinguished Egyptologist doesn’t find himself lost, will you?”
Ajmal grabbed Baahir by the shirt collar and forced him up the steps.
Great, Baahir thought, now I — ouch — have a babysitter.
He needed to come up with an escape plan soon. Once Khaliq and his team found an entrance into the pyramidal rock formation, he would officially be expendable. Not even Zahra would be able to save him.
The cities that made up the Bahariya Oasis were large enough for one man to disappear into. That was now Baahir’s goal. He was going to do the opposite of what Khaliq had said and attempt to “get lost.”
Chapter 67
Baahir
The climb to the top of the Gebel Dist rock formation was an infuriating one — one full of sandy gusts and near-death falls. Baahir’s rage was aided by two other sources. The first was the oppressive heat combined with the unbearable sun shining down from above. On multiple occasions, Baahir had looked up and raised a hand to block out the fiery ball. Each time, he swore he thought the damn thing had grown brighter and gotten closer.
The second origin of his anger was his present company. There wasn’t an archaeologist in their ranks, which meant they didn’t plan on doing any exploratory research.