‘My brother and I do know a little about baking,’ said Shaban with sarcastic disdain.
‘The temperatures in the mud brick ovens used in ancient Egypt were unpredictable,’ Osir explained. ‘Sometimes the yeast would survive in some form. And if the bakers knew the yeast was the key to long life, they would make sure as much survived as possible.’ A crooked grin. ‘It would not be the best-tasting bread, but that’s a small price to pay for eternal life.’
‘Hardly eternal,’ Nina pointed out. ‘You could still die from disease, or being run over by a camel. Ancient Egypt was a dangerous place.’
‘But a wise king keeps himself away from danger,’ said Osir. ‘And Osiris was the wisest king of all. He would not have been elevated to godhood otherwise.’
‘So you find his tomb, then cultivate a new strain of the yeast?’
‘Yes. Yeast spores can survive indefinitely. Even if the priests left no bread in the tomb to sustain Osiris in the afterlife, there should still be remnants in the canopic jars containing his organs. One way or another, I’m certain we will find samples.’ He looked into the lab. ‘The original strain has been lost in time like so much else, but here we can make it live again. And with a little genetic modification, it will make me as revered as Osiris.’
Nina regarded him suspiciously. ‘Genetic modification?’
Shaban’s mouth was a hard line. ‘I think you have told her enough, brother.’
Osir gave him an irritated glance, but this time acquiesced. ‘Sebak has a point,’ he said to Nina, his smug affability returning. ‘Our little trade secrets aren’t really relevant. It’s enough to say that there will be great rewards for bringing immortality to the world.’
‘Yeah, I’m sure you’ll be very rich, and very powerful. Only . . .’ She gave him a sly smile, hiding her contempt. ‘You can’t do anything until you find the Pyramid of Osiris. Which brings us back to business. Like I said, I want my cut. Considering what you stand to make, I’m thinking an amount in the millions would be fair. Dollars, that is. Not Egyptian pounds.’
Shaban let out an outraged snort, but Osir nodded. ‘If you help me get what I want, you too will be very well rewarded.’
‘Glad to hear it,’ said Nina. She held out her hand. ‘What do you say?’
‘Khalid, you can not be serious!’ protested Shaban. ‘She is trying to trick you! Why won’t you believe me?’
Osir stared hard at his brother. ‘Because I’m willing to take a chance that she is telling the truth. That’s your problem, Sebak - you’ve never been a gambler. You only dare act when you are certain of success. But I take risks - sometimes I lose, but when they pay off . . .’ He gestured at the pyramid around them. ‘This, this is the reward! You never accomplish anything without taking chances.’
‘It is a big chance to take,’ Shaban hissed.
‘But I will take it.’ Osir faced Nina. ‘I’m willing to take you at your word, Nina. Find me the Pyramid of Osiris, and you will get everything you desire.’ He extended his hand; Nina was about to take it when he suddenly brought it up, index finger pointing at her heart. ‘But try to deceive me . . .’ He looked meaningfully towards Shaban.
‘I’ll find it,’ she said, still holding out her hand.
After a moment, he smiled and shook it. ‘Then we have a deal. Excellent.’ Shaban turned away in disgust.
Nina pulled free. ‘Okay, then. If you’ll just show me the zodiac . . .’
Osir chuckled. ‘It’s not here.’
A chill ran through her. ‘What?’
‘I have business in Monaco, so my people are reassembling the zodiac on my yacht - I want to be right there while its secrets are deciphered. You’ll come with me.’ Seeing her uncertain expression, he added, ‘It’s a very nice yacht.’
‘There is nobody else you were planning to meet, is there?’ asked Shaban with predatory suspicion. ‘Like your husband?’
Nina waved a dismissive hand. ‘Oh, God, no. The jerk.’ She turned back to Osir. ‘So. You have a yacht, huh?’
Macy paced back and forth beside the rental car, looking anxiously along the lake at the castle for any signs of activity - or Nina. She saw neither. More pacing - then finally she couldn’t take any more and opened the door. ‘How can you just sit there?’
‘ ’Cause it’s more comfortable than standing?’ Eddie offered.
‘You know what I mean! It’s your wife in there! Why aren’t you worried about her?’
‘I am worried about her.’
‘You don’t look it! What is this, some British stiff upper lip thing?’
‘Just get in and sit down.’ Sulkily, Macy climbed in and slammed the door.
In truth, though, he was worried about Nina. As he’d told her in Paris, meeting Osir in person was like not only walking into the lion’s den, but doing so wearing a jacket made of meat and a T-shirt reading Lions are pussies.
But she had her own arguments: that letting Osir raid the Pyramid of Osiris would be an archaeological tragedy; that a dangerous cult getting its hands on a vast fortune could only be a bad thing; that after everything Osir and Shaban had put them through, didn’t he want the chance for some payback? He couldn’t deny that the last had a certain appeal.
Which still didn’t mean he liked her plan. But now that it was in progress, all they could do was wait.
‘How do you stand it?’ Macy said, breaking the silence.
‘Stand what?’
‘Just . . . waiting!’
‘There isn’t much else I can do, is there? And you backed her up about going in there in the first bloody place. Did you think she was just going to knock on the door, say “Hi, I’ve come to see your zodiac”, then walk right back out?’
‘But she’s been in there over two hours! Oh, my God, what if something’s happened to her? She might be—’
‘She’s not,’ Eddie said firmly, hoping he was being truthful. ‘Okay, you want to know how I stand waiting around like this? Because I’m used to it.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Being a soldier isn’t all running about and shooting at people. Ninety-nine per cent of the time, it’s boring as fuck. You go to a place, then you wait for something to happen. Mostly, you eventually get orders to go to some other place, and wait again.’
‘So what do you do to keep occupied?’
‘Nothing. Know why?’ She shook her head, curious. ‘Because when you do something to take your mind off the boredom, you also take your mind off what you’re supposed to be waiting for.’
‘Which is?’
A thin smile. ‘Trouble. If you’re chatting with your mates, or listening to your iPod or whatever . . . that’s when some arsehole with an AK’ll pop up and blow your head off - and you won’t even see it coming.’
She looked unhappy at the prospect. ‘Oh.’
‘So yeah, waiting around doing nothing in a combat zone’s a pain in the arse. But that’s how I stand it, ’cause it means that when something does happen, I’m ready for it.’
‘I get you. Although I really don’t think I’m cut out to be a soldier.’ She cocked her head. ‘Wait, so why are you chatting to me now?’
He grinned. ‘ ’Cause this isn’t a combat zone.’ A glance towards the castle. ‘Yet.’
She wasn’t sure how to respond to that, but the trilling of Eddie’s phone immediately took both their minds off the subject. He switched it to speaker mode. ‘Nina! Are you okay?’