Michael Belmont and the Tomb of Anubis (The Adventures of Michael Belmont) (14 page)

After eating, the boys sat listening to Lincoln, Jesse, and Bill while they discussed their plans, and the equipment they were going to take along to Egypt.
 
It wasn't nearly as exciting as they thought it might be, and the biggest thing they took away from it was that a wide range of weapons were being brought, and that Jesse would need to be careful with his explosives down inside the necropolis.

Michael knew that some of the most preposterous talk was done for his and Liam's benefit, and he somehow doubted that his uncle's friend was going to be allowed to blow up an ancient Egyptian necropolis, no matter how much he might want to.

"Uncle Link," Michael broke in, "do you really think that bringing so many guns is necessary, I mean, what exactly is it that you think you're going to find over there?"

"Well, that's the question, isn't it, Michael.
 
I'd rather be prepared for anything.
 
But I'll tell you this, if I have to send half of Egypt back to the Stone Age to find my baby sister then that's exactly what I'm going to do."

"I love it when he talks like that," Jesse said to Bill.

Bill nodded fervently.
 
"It's so exciting," he agreed.

"Seriously though," Jesse said.
 
"He means it, and we'll be there to back him up.
 
You guys can rest easy, and don't worry about all the details.
 
The first thing we've got to do is investigate what happened, so unfortunately we won't be blowing anything up until we need to."

"The facts of this situation just don't line up right," said Link.
 
"There's got to be some foul play here, because Mark, Rachel, and Declan wouldn't have gotten lost down in that tomb.
 
I don't believe they were killed, because no bodies have been found.
 
The only thing that makes sense to me is that someone is involved in this that hasn't shown their hand yet."

"But why would anyone want to kidnap our parents?" asked Liam.
 
"If they were being held for ransom then wouldn't someone have come forward by now?"

Link rubbed his chin.
 
"Probably, yes.
 
But if your parents are being held, it likely wouldn't be for ransom money, it's got to be for something they know, or perhaps something they have."

"Well," that makes sense," Michael agreed.
 
"Kind of makes me feel a little better too."

"We WILL figure this thing out guys," Link told them.
 
"Bill chartered us a plane and we'll be on our way tomorrow morning."

Elizabeth sat at the dining room table, playing cards with Abigail.
 
Michael and Liam had been trying to avoid her since she'd wigged out on them, and had waited until she was distracted before trying to sneak to the kitchen to grab a few cans of soda.
 
They hoped to stay clear of Elizabeth until her mood changed, but as it turned out, she'd been waiting for them and was ready when they came by.

"Hey, you two," she said softly.
 
"Come over and sit down with us.
 
We're almost done with this game, and then we can all play something together, if you'd like."

They eyed each other nervously before approaching the table, not entirely sure what to expect.

"Oh, and if you're looking for the soda, its over here between Abby and me, in the cooler.
 
I had to take it out of the fridge to make room for, um, the leftovers."

Michael didn't remember there being any leftovers from dinner, but he didn't say anything.

A large pile of board games was stacked on the counter beside Elizabeth, all of which Michael recognized.
 
Link had always kept a stash of games at his house, and he, Michael and Abigail had nearly worn out many of them.

On the counter beside the games was a small assortment of snack food.
 
There was a bowl of chips, some dip, and a tray of freshly baked brownies, all strategically placed by Elizabeth to lure them in.
 
It was obvious that she had planned her trap carefully.
 
She knew that Michael might be able to resist, but after spending a few days with Liam, she was confident that his stomach would be the weak link.

Michael followed his captivated friend to the table.

Elizabeth smiled at them sweetly.
 
"I'm sorry that I spoke so harshly to you earlier, I've just been dealing with a lot lately.
 
Then when your parents disappeared, I just…well, I guess I'm just nervous about taking the three of you to Egypt, not knowing exactly what's going on there.
 
Your uncle has the best intentions, and he wants to keep you all safe, but the whole thing just really worries me.
 
Anyway, I'm sorry about the way I talked to you earlier."

Michael gave her an assuring smile.
 
"It's alright, we know you didn't mean anything by it.
 
We know you just want to keep us safe."

Liam nodded in agreement, stuffing chips and onion dip into his mouth.

"I don't blame the three of you for wanting to be there, either.
 
In a way, I feel the same, but I have the three of you to consider, and I don't want you to be in any danger.
 
I just want you to know that if you change your minds about going and decide you want to stay here in Arizona, or even go back to Scotland…well just don't feel bad about changing your minds."

Michael frowned.
 
"Aunt Liz, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but we
aren't
going to change our minds.
 
We want to be there during the investigation in case there's any news."

She was fixed on him with displeased, yet empathetic eyes.

"Look, I promise you that we'll do our best to keep safe, okay?"
 
Michael was trying his best to sympathize with her, but he couldn't figure out why she was making such a fuss.
 
If his Uncle Link thought they were going to be safe with him, then why wasn't that good enough for her?
 
Michael had always respected Elizabeth, but right now he didn't think she knew what she was talking about, and he resented her for wanting to keep them away from the excavation site.

Elizabeth could tell by the look on Michael's face that he wasn't going to budge.

"Alright," she conceded.
 
"Just know that I love you and Abby very much, and I would die if anything happened to either one of you."
 
Her eyes welled up, and as tears began to roll down her cheeks, Abigail leaned over and squeezed her tightly.

"We love you too, Aunt Liz," the girl said before kissing her.
 
She had started to cry as well.

Michael felt guilty to see Elizabeth crying, and he got up and hugged her too.
 
He had a feeling that even though she might be dropping the subject for now, his Uncle Link was in for an earful before the night was over.

They let Abigail pick out one of her favorite games, and before long all four of them were having fun, joking and eating snacks while they played.
 
Michael felt good to be distracted, but every time he thought of his parents, he realized that the fear and anxiety were still there gnawing at him, just below the surface.
 
He couldn't wait to get to Egypt.

Abigail was staying with Elizabeth in Link's guest bedroom, while Michael and Liam had their sleeping bags spread out across the living room floor.
 
Both boys were exhausted.
 
The stress of their parents' disappearance, combined with the effects of travel, not to mention all of their late night adventures, had taken a heavy toll on them.

Liam's head had no more than hit the pillow when Michael noticed that he was breathing heavily in a deep sleep.
 
He laid his own head down as well, and said a short prayer for his parents' safety.
 
He was just beginning to drift off when he heard Goldrush, who had been lying beside him, jump to his feet and trot over to the window.
 
The dog hopped up with his front paws on the ledge and looked out into the night.

"What is it, boy?" Michael asked him.

He responded with a short whine.

Michael got up and walked to the window.
 
He scratched Goldrush on the back of the head while looking out; scanning around for whatever the dog had heard.

The full moon, which was hanging in the night sky over the mountains, lit things up well enough for him to see quiet far.
 
Michael surveyed the barn and stables, and the remnants of the bales of straw he'd been shooting at earlier.
 
He looked around everywhere, but could see nothing unusual.
 
In fact, everything looked peaceful and still.

He was about to turn and go lay back down when he thought he saw movement, way off in the distance around a cluster of juniper trees.
 
He ducked down to reduce the chance of being seen, just in case someone was lurking around.

Michael suddenly found himself a bit spooked.
 
Perhaps his exhaustion was a factor.
 
He held his head beside the retriever, and both poked their eyes out over the windowsill.

There it was again, a movement over by the trees.
 
He saw something large zip along to an outcrop of boulders.
 
He rubbed his eyes and stared, trying to get a look at whatever it was.
 
Goldrush let out an impatient whine, and then jumped back down to the floor and sprinted for the door.

"Hey, where do you think you're going?" Michael called after him.
 
The dog didn't seem to notice, and promptly disappeared around the corner.
 
Michael knew he was heading for the doggy door in the kitchen, which led to the backyard.

"Great," he grumbled. "That's just great."
 
He ran over to Liam, and tried to shake him awake.
 
"Liam, get up, I need your help," he pleaded.
 
But Liam only mumbled some incoherent curse and rolled over, turning his back and snoring loudly.
 
It was no use.

Michael ran down the hall to his Uncle's bedroom.
 
The door was ajar, so he stepped inside.
 
"Uncle Link?" he whispered loudly.

There was no response.
 
Squinting his eyes, he could see that his uncle was not in bed.

He rushed to the backdoor and slipped outside.
 
Going over to the edge of the redwood deck, he managed to catch Goldrush disappearing behind the outcrop of boulders.
 
Fear and confusion swept over him.
 
Should he go after the dog and risk running into whatever was out there?
 
He realized that he didn't even have any shoes or socks on.
 
He was about to go into the house and put some on when he saw Goldrush dart back out from behind the boulders and run toward the tree-line.
 
The creature was right on his tail.
 
The dog turned to the left and bounded off over a hill, again disappearing from Michael's sight.
 
The creature followed him.

Michael couldn't believe what he was seeing.
 
The beast was the size of a man, but all hunched over, and it ran with inhuman speed as it chased the dog.
 
Although it was dark, and the thing was far away, Michael could no longer deny that he was seeing a werewolf.

Is this some kind of bizarre nightmare?
he thought, as he stood frozen in amazement.
 
He was afraid, or was it simply excitement?
 
He couldn't quite tell.
 
But what about Goldrush
?
 
He didn't know what to do, and feared that the next sound he heard might be the horrifying yelp of a dying golden retriever.
 
The light of the full moon seemed to freeze time as he stood there waiting in silence to see what would happen.

What did happen next was not at all what he expected.
 
At first he thought that Goldrush was bounding back over the hill, but then he saw that the dog was the one doing the chasing, and he was chasing a wolf.
 
Not a werewolf, but a regular old wolf.

It appeared that the animals were playing tag, as he had often seen dogs do.
 
From what he could tell, they were chasing each other back and forth across the ranch.
 
Now he didn't know what to think.

This wolf had to be the same creature he had seen just moments before.
 
He began to doubt himself, but then thought better of it.
 
He had doubted himself about too many things lately, only to be right about them after all.
 
He wouldn't beat himself up again for believing those things he witnessed with his own eyes.

The two romping animals disappeared from his sight, entering the forest near the place where he'd first seen the werewolf.
 
But
was
that thing a werewolf?
 
If it was, it certainly didn't appear to be very aggressive.
 
Then again, maybe it was just reacting this way because Goldrush was another canine.
 
Perhaps if it had been a human out there the creature would have torn him limb from limb.

Michael waited outside for quite some time before finally deciding to go back in.
 
He got back into bed and closed his eyes.
 
Not two minutes passed before Goldrush came trotting through the door to lie down beside him.
 
Michael looked at him to see if he was injured, but could find no wounds.
 
The dog let out a deep sigh and closed his eyes, as if his little jaunt through the night had finally worn him out.