Since re-opening under its new moniker, the establishment had successfully skirted the law with nothing more than an occasional slap on the wrist. The Pharaoh's Lounge was mostly untouchable because one of its oldest clients was a ranking member of the Egyptian Parliament. But the business’ resounding success wasn’t the only thing that interested its owner. Khaliq Ayad used the financial gains to feed his obsession, the ancient mythology of his homeland.
Like his father and grandfather before him, Khaliq believed in a very specific and unusual subject matter that many had laughed off, including other members of his bloodline. In the generations since, his family had formed a coalition of radical extremists — devotees to their cause.
To Khaliq, and those that followed him, Anubis wasn’t just the fabled death god of Egypt. He was a real historical figure, a man. He was an archaic scientist who had been ahead of his time. Like Noah and Merlin, Anubis was thought to have been a real person whose myth and legend had been built up and expanded over time, eventually becoming the larger-than-life tale that seemed utterly fictitious.
Khaliq believed there were fictional accounts of Anubis, but that all of the stories and myths were based on reality. Long ago, there was a man who called himself Anubis.
Still, there was a looming issue. The place where Anubis was said to practice his trade had been lost to time through multiple wars, and famine, and even disinterest. Some of the Ayads had given up on their calling and buried anything to do with Anubis.
But a devout few even claimed to be Anubis’ direct descendants.
“Which makes us gods!” Khaliq’s grandfather once told him.
The family’s deep-seated patriarchal beliefs spanned millennia. Khaliq took it to another level and introduced outsiders with the same hardcore views, recruiting men from all over the Middle East, Northern Africa, and Eastern Europe. He even enlisted the service of a few women. Khaliq had no time for the traditional, sexist practices of the area. The handful of women he had employed were equals to him based on their beliefs, and because they had proven themselves to be the most dangerous of them all, having the ability to hide in plain sight. There were advantages of having female agents planted in places like Egypt. A veiled woman was hardly ever perceived as a threat.
He grinned. Khaliq had put together quite the army. It was an organization that several law enforcement agencies had tried to shut down over the years, but to no avail.
He filled his thick, barreled chest with air and released it slowly. Let them try. Khaliq repeated the same exercise several more times before being interrupted.
His cellphone vibrated across the nearby nightstand. He growled and snapped open his intense, dark eyes. Meditation was the only thing that kept him under control and focused. If it were up to Khaliq, he’d march downstairs and slaughter every single one of his patrons. If they weren’t directly helping his cause, they were nothing but a speed bump of meat and bone.
Khaliq could be slowed down, but he would never be stopped.
The buzzing nuisance was too much to ignore, and he angrily snapped his attention to it. The caller’s name intrigued him, and he decided to take a break from his exercises to answer it. Seated in a classic lotus position, Khaliq uncrossed his legs and climbed off his bed, slipping back into his expensive, black silk shirt. He picked up the phone and reflexively ran his other hand over his thick beard and clean-shaven head, discouraged to feel a slight prickle of hair. He’d need to shave the latter before long.
“Speak,” Khaliq demanded, his baritone voice booming through the device.
The man on the other end stuttered. “I…I think you will be happy with the find.”
Khaliq’s right eyebrow rose. “Yes?”
He was aware of the construction project, and the discovery that was made there. And it just so happened that Khaliq had a trusted man on the ground to keep an eye on things. Throughout the years, his family had found similar temples all over Egypt, though they had successfully kept the discoveries hidden from the public. Unfortunately, none of the temples they found had provided any additional information other than what they already knew.
“Is it there?” Khaliq asked, forcing himself to stay calm. It had been a lifetime of searching. Could this be it? Had they finally found it?
“I’m not sure. The museum sent an Egyptologist that moved slower than a festering corpse. But,” the caller added, teasing something hopeful, “there are engravings that will… interest you.”
“Engravings?”
“Yes. They speak of a collection of incantations. Written by Anubis himself.”
Khaliq’s whole body tensed. “The scroll? It speaks of the scroll?”
“I believe that it does,” the caller replied. “And it’s a glorious sight. You must see it for yourself.”
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.”
Then, the world will be mine.
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.
Chapter 5
Baahir
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 Vault of Anubis. A discovery such as this deserved Baahir’s unpopular method of patience. He would study it and the space encapsulating it for as long as it took before attempting to open it. God forbid he rushed things and damaged what sat inside.
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?”