Michael Belmont and the Tomb of Anubis (The Adventures of Michael Belmont) (17 page)

Liam appeared out of nowhere carrying their supplies, and the three were off toward the entrance to the tomb.
 
They snuck around the outskirts of camp, being careful not to make any noise or be seen.
 
The night was dark, but their eyes soon adjusted and they were able to maneuver just fine by the light of the crescent moon.

When they reached the entrance, Owlface was there standing guard, and he looked wide awake.

"Maybe he's part owl after all," Liam whispered with a shrug.

They got as close as they dared, waiting for an opportunity to move, and hoping that the guard would become weary before too much time was wasted.

About an hour passed before they noticed him walk a short distance away.
 
He was standing there looking off toward the desert with his back to the entrance.

"What's he doing?" Abigail asked quietly.

"I think he's um, watering that sand dune," Michael told her.
 
"Hurry up, now's our chance."

They jogged over in a crouch and quickly slipped through the entrance before he could see them.
 
Although the light of the torches outside shone in for a few feet, it wasn't long before they were in pitch-black darkness.
 
Liam flipped on his flashlight, and they kept moving as fast as they could into the tunnel before Owlface could take notice.

When they got to a point where they felt safe, they slowed to a walk to catch their breath and decide what to do.
 
Michael and Abigail took out their flashlights and clicked them on, eager to have the additional light.

As they moved through the main passageway, they examined the carvings and paintings that covered the walls around them, which depicted all sorts of examples of ancient Egyptian life.
 
The gods were shown in many of them, and Horus and Anubis were there far more than any of the others.
 
Horus could be seen performing deeds of valor and protecting mankind, and Anubis was guiding and helping the dead find their way into the afterlife.

Looking at the maps in McGinty's journal, they examined the catacombs for some idea of where to begin.

"Look here," Liam pointed, "this must be the burial chamber of the warrior Aiden Osiris spoke of back at McGinty Castle."

"I remember," Michael nodded.
 
"Supposedly, that was where the mysterious passageway was found, right before the death of Dr. Farley and five of his men."

"Who's Dr. Farley?" Abigail asked them.

"Don't you remember what Mr. Osiris told Mom and Dad?
 
He was the head archeologist back before the site was closed off.
 
He and his men were mysteriously killed down in the burial chamber.
 
They never figured out who or what caused it.
 
Their eyes had been turned bright green somehow."

Abigail shuddered.
 
"I don't like the sound of
that
."

"I'm with you," Liam told her.

They plotted a course and continued on down the tunnel.

Liam kicked a small stone out of the path in front of him.
 
"We'd be completely out of luck without these maps."

They passed through the hallways and chambers, scanning things over as they moved along, looking for anything that might offer a clue, but eager to get to their destination.

"Wouldn't Uncle Link have already thought of this?" observed Abigail.

"Yes," Michael told her, "but I think it's the best lead we have right now, don't you?"

"I suppose so," she said with a shrug.
 
"What time is it, anyway?"

Michael looked at his watch.
 
"Almost twelve thirty.
 
We need to plan on getting back to the camp by four thirty at the latest, because people start getting up around five."

"Luckily, we should be able to reach that chamber soon.
 
Uncle Shamus outlined this path on the map that leads directly to it."
 
Liam studied the map intently for a few moments before placing the journal back in his pocket.

He led them through the catacombs for nearly an hour, navigating each turn and passage, checking the map often to make sure they were still on course.

"You seem to know how to read maps pretty well," Michael complimented.

"I guess it runs in the family," Liam said with a smile.
 
"We're almost there now, its just up ahead, about another five minutes or so."

Liam was right.
 
The doorway to the burial chamber soon came into view up ahead.
 
A life-sized statue of Horus stood beside it, keeping guard.
 
A chill ran through Michael's body as they approached the doorway.
 
He was excited and hopeful about what they might find inside.
 
He wasn't exactly sure what awaited them, but he prayed silently that there would be something that could help them find their parents.

They each stepped cautiously through the doorway, raising their lights to examine the room.
 
The shock of what they saw stopped them in their tracks.
 
This was not what Michael had expected.

Standing there in the center of the room, holding a lantern over a large stone sarcophagus, was a tall man with blonde hair.
 
He was examining the thing intently, and hadn't noticed them come in.

"Oh, uh, hi there," said Michael clumsily, reaching out for the wall to prevent himself from stumbling over.

The man was startled by his words.
 
He jumped, and a small cloud of dust formed around his sweat-stained shirt and ragged blue jeans.

"Hello," he answered, looking shocked to see them, and casting his eyes around nervously to see who was with them. Once he saw that the three were alone, he seemed to relax a bit.

He put his hand over his chest, and leaned into a half standing, half sitting position against the sarcophagus.
 
"My apologies, you really caught me off guard.
 
Hey, wait a minute, are you the kids of those archeologists who just disappeared?"

The three of them stood there looking back and forth between him and each other.

Michael took his pack off.
 
"Who…who are
you
exactly?"

"You can call me Zuriel," he said.
 
"I'm a paranormal investigator, and I've been interested in this site for quite some time now."

He sat on the ground and folded his legs up Indian-style, setting down the lantern beside him.
 
"I can tell by the looks on your faces that you're a little confused, so I'll do my best to explain.
 
First of all, I know all about your parents disappearance, and I think I have a pretty good idea about where they are."

Michael was stunned.
 
"You DO?
 
How do you know that?
 
Where do you think they are?"

"Well, I don't know exactly what you've heard about this tomb, but this place…well, let's just say that this place is very, very special."

Liam walked a little closer before sitting on the ground before him.
 
"What exactly do you mean?"

"Well, down in these catacombs, not far from here, is a rather unique gateway, a nexus one might say, between our world and another."

"Another world?" Michael repeated, raising his eyebrows.
 
"What other world?"

"Well, according to ancient Egyptian legend, the gateway leads to the domain of Osiris, the underworld."

Michael could hardly believe what he was hearing.
 
"Is that where
you
think the gateway leads?"

"Perhaps, perhaps not.
 
That's why I'm here to investigate it.
 
From everything I've heard about your parents' disappearance, it's really the only place they could have gone.
 
I'm assuming you already know the strange circumstances regarding this case?
 
No bodies, no sign of a struggle, and it's extremely unlikely that three experienced scientists would have wandered off down in these catacombs, even if there was someplace to go."

"Are you saying that our parents are dead?" Liam broke in.

"No, I don't think they are."

Michael suddenly noticed that he felt sick to his stomach.
 
"But if they've passed through into the underworld, wouldn't that mean…"

The man looked them over sympathetically.
 
"Look, I wish I had more information for the three of you, but I don't.
 
I don't believe that your parents are dead, though.
 
You've heard of the archeologist and workers who were killed here a few years back?"

They all nodded.

Zuriel went on.
 
"Well, I believe that they were killed from being exposed to the open gateway.
 
It was emitting a substance which some refer to as hellfire.
 
You recall that their eyes had turned green?"

"Yes," said Michael, scratching his chin.
 
"And you believe that if our parents had been killed then they would have been found in the same condition?"

"Yes, I believe that's likely.
 
If your parents did open the gateway, they must have found a way to protect themselves from the hellfire.
 
It's possible that they became trapped on the other side of the portal, and are incapable of getting back."

"Then how do we help them?" asked Michael.

Liam, at the same time said, "Is it possible to open the gateway for them?"

Zuriel grinned determinedly.
 
"Believe me, I've been trying to figure that out.
 
I've searched for information and clues down in these caverns since shortly after the disappearance.
 
The only thing I've found…well, I think it's just a legend, probably never existed in the first place."
 
His voice trailed off as he said this, as if he regretted even mentioning it.

"WHAT IS IT?" yelled all three children together.
 
Now they were all sitting on the ground in front of him, listening intently with a newfound hope.

"Well, I don't mean to get your hopes up for nothing, but I guess it won't hurt to tell you."
 
He let out a short sigh and continued.
 
"Through my research, I've come across the mention of an artifact that is said to have the power to control the gateway, it's called the Staff of Anubis.
 
There are a few appearances of the staff in ancient folklore, detailing the power it supposedly contained, but the artifact was thought to have been lost to history."

Michael knew exactly the staff that Zuriel was talking about, in fact he had held it, or rather, he felt like he had held it back in McGinty Castle, while looking through the eyes of the golden statue.
 
He noticed that Abigail was about to say something, and inconspicuously shook his head at her.
 
"What exactly does this thing look like?" he asked Zuriel.

"Well, although Anubis is often pictured holding a was staff in carvings and hieroglyphs, this particular staff supposedly had a jackal's head on it.
 
Other than that, it's just a regular was staff with a forked end."

Liam looked a bit confused.
 
"What's a
was staff
?"

"It's a scepter, a long staff held as a symbol of power or authority.
 
I'm sure you've seen them in paintings and carvings, held by pharaohs, priests, and other Egyptian gods besides Anubis.
 
In fact, there are plenty of them shown on the walls down here in the necropolis."

"And you believe that this staff may still exist somewhere?" Michael pressed him.

"To be honest, I hadn't given it that much thought until about a week ago, when I got to take a look at a very interesting diary in Hasani Khalil's office, it was written by a man named Shamus McGinty."

"We've heard of him," Liam said with a smirk.

"Ah yes, of course you have," the man said with a nod.
 
"This diary captured McGinty's personal notes while he worked on this excavation as a cartographer.
 
One thing that really stuck out to me in the book was a detailed sketch of the staff."

"Are you talking about this sketch here?" asked Liam, pulling the book from his pocket and opening it up.

Zuriel looked surprised.
 
"Oh,
you
have the diary, did Khalil give it to you?"

Liam nodded.

"That's not surprising.
 
Hasani Khalil is a good man and scientist, but he is an extreme skeptic.
 
He would have little regard for a book such as this, which contains numerous references to the paranormal."
 
He held up his lantern and took a look at the page.

"Yes, that's it.
 
It's a very detailed sketch, and makes me think that McGinty may have seen the staff in person."

Michael looked at the picture as well.
 
Zuriel was right; the drawing was surprisingly close to what he knew the staff actually looked like.
 
This man was making some sense, but Michael wasn't entirely sure he could be trusted, and didn't think it would be a good idea to tell him everything they knew, at least not yet.

"Mr. Zuriel," began Michael.

"It's just Zuriel, no need to be formal."

"Zuriel, do you mind my asking why you're down here in the middle of the night?
 
I mean, not to be rude, but aren't you, uh…not supposed to be down here?"

"I could ask you the same thing," he said with a mischievous smile.
 
"Actually, I don't want to say too much, but I don't altogether trust some of the men working on this investigation.
 
Before the three of you found me, I had successfully hidden myself from everyone working on this case."