“I’ve never heard of such a place. Like you said, it’s mythical.”
“So was Atlantis until you found it,” Krueger retorted.
“I love how people keep throwing that in my face.” Sofia brushed a stray lock of hair out of her face. “All right. Suppose this place is real. How do we go about looking for it?”
“I can help you with that.” Krueger smiled. “I know where the doorway is.”
Chapter 31
“What do we know about this crystal cave?” Dane scanned a map of the area where the cave was located. He, Greg and Kasey were winging their way across the Gulf of Mexico in an S-6, a modified version of the Saker S-1, a jet capable of cruising at more than 1,100 kilometers per hour. While unable to reach such speeds, the S-6 could exceed 800 kilometers an hour, and carried six passengers. It was also equipped with an ejection mechanism so passengers could parachute from the plane. He had to hand it to Tam — she had some useful connections.
“The main access is through a mining operation,” Kasey said. “It was discovered by accident, and it’s only the turbines that pump underground water from the mine that prevent it from flooding. If the mine ever shuts down, the Mexican government will either have to foot the bill for keeping the pumps going, or let the caverns flood.” She consulted her notes. “The place is dangerously hot and humid. You have to wear a special suit or you won’t last long. We’ll have suits waiting for us.”
“How do we find Matt once we’re there?” Dane took out a second map, this of the caverns. “There are so many channels to choose from. He could be down any of them.”
“Matt and Joel,” Kasey frowned at Dane’s omission of their team member, “will probably be down one of the passages that hasn’t yet been completely mapped. If there’s a source of Atlantean crystal, it stands to reason that’s where it will be found.”
“I just got something from Tam.” Greg tapped his iPad and read the message aloud. “Kevin Bray, geologist, was found dead in his apartment in Los Angeles.”
“I hope there’s more.” Kasey didn’t look up from her notes.
“There is. His laptop, journal, and all his research were gone. Cash and other valuables were still there. And the kicker? He had recently returned from an excursion to the Cave of the Crystals. According to his colleagues, he got lost, and when he finally made it out, barely alive, he had with him a crystal that he claimed was unlike anything known to science.”
“That’s promising.” Dane leaned over and read Tam’s message for himself. “Friends thought the heat exhaustion had messed with his head.”
“I can see how a scientist who, all of a sudden, begins talking about crystal power could seem hippy-dippy to his colleagues,” Kasey said. “So, the Dominion got to him first.”
“If not, it’s one heck of a coincidence.” Greg closed the message and consulted his watch. “We’re almost there. Get ready to jump.”
Chapter 32
“What do you mean, you found the door?” Avery searched Krueger’s eyes for signs of deceit, or even humor, but his gaze held firm.
“You’ve heard of Herodotus?” he asked.
“The Greek historian,” Sofia supplied.
“Also known as the Father of History.” Avery felt pleased by the others’ surprised faces. “I was a history professor. Give me a little credit.”
“Herodotus traveled in Egypt sometime after 464 BC,” Krueger continued, “and wrote extensively about the nation and its history. In the course of my research, I came across a single piece of his writing that I’ve never seen anywhere else. It was part of someone’s private collection. I don’t think the man even knew what he had. To him, it was just another piece in his collection.”
“I assume we’re talking about a black market collector?” Sofia asked.
“Is that really important right now?” Krueger replied. “Anyway, in this scroll, Herodotus wrote an account of a massive temple complex he called the labyrinth. He said it contained 1,500 rooms and many underground chambers he wasn’t permitted to enter.”
“I’ve heard of a labyrinth being uncovered at the Hawara pyramid near the Fayyum oasis,” Sofia said.
“One and the same.” Krueger drained his coffee and headed to the kitchen for a refill. “Anyone need a warm-up?” he asked, sticking his head through the doorway and holding up the coffee pot.
Avery suspected he was stalling for some reason. Willis apparently had the same feeling, because he stood and began pacing back and forth in front of the windows overlooking the dusty street.
Krueger noticed their discomfort immediately.
“I know I’m dragging this out. The truth is, I’m not a people person, but I do enjoy company every once in a while, and this is the first chance I’ve had to talk shop with anyone since I went into hiding. I’m having fun.”
“We understand,” Sofia said. “Can you tell us how Hawara connects to Giza?”
“Funny you should ask. It connects in a literal sense.” Kruger pulled a battered notebook down from a shelf and turned a few pages. “Here’s what Herodotus writes
“There I saw twelve palaces regularly disposed, which had communication with each other, interspersed with terraces and arranged around twelve halls. It is hard to believe they are the work of man. The walls are covered with carved figures, and each court is exquisitely built of white marble and surrounded by a colonnade. Near the corner where the labyrinth ends, there is a pyramid, two hundred and forty feet in height, with great carved figures of animals on it and an underground passage by which it can be entered. I was told very credibly that underground chambers and passages connected this pyramid with the pyramids at Memphis.”
“Memphis?” Willis asked.
“The ancient capital of Lower Egypt,” Sofia said. “As Alexandria rose, it declined. The Giza Plateau, where the Sphinx and Great Pyramids are situated, was a part of Memphis.” A tone of skepticism colored her words. “That sounds pretty far-fetched. After all, Herodotus was also called the Father of Lies.”
“That name wasn’t entirely deserved,” Krueger said. “Yes, he had a habit of occasionally presenting his findings through the accounts of fictional eyewitnesses, but he collected folk tales and legends as much as historical fact. Also, many of his claims, even the ones that seemed most doubtful, have proved true. Take Gelonus, for example. No one believed Herodotus when he spoke of a city a thousand times larger than Troy, until it was rediscovered in 1975.”
“We can debate Herodotus later,” Avery interrupted. “Tell us how this relates to the Hall of Records.”
“At first, I was as skeptical as Doctor Perez, so I continued my research and found even more accounts. The historian Crantor spoke of underground pillars that contained a written record of pre-history, and said they ‘lined access ways connecting the pyramids.’” Krueger turned a page in his notebook and went on. “I found account after account: Pliny, Marcellinus, Altelemsani, and more. But these are the most powerful.” He turned another page. “It’s by a Syrian scholar named Iamblichus.
“This entrance, obstructed in our day by sands and rubbish, may still be found beneath the forelegs of the crouched colossus. It was formerly closed by a bronze gate whose secret spring could be operated only by the Magi. It was guarded by public respect, and a sort of religious fear maintained its inviolability better than armed protection would have done. Beneath the belly of the Sphinx were cut out galleries leading to the subterranean part of the Great Pyramid. These galleries were so art-fully crisscrossed along their course to the Pyramid that, in setting forth into the passage without a guide throughout this network, one ceaselessly and inevitably returned to the starting point.”