"This way." He led me to a back door that opened off his study into a side yard. I followed him around to a small stable and waited in silence as he saddled up his horse. When he was done, he gave me a leg up. As I settled myself into the saddle, I couldn't help but ask, "I wonder why they chose the temple at Karnak rather than Luxor?"
"Probably because the Luxor Temple has too bloody much traffic the past couple of days," he said as he vaulted gracefully into the saddle behind me. He took the reins, slapped them against the horse's neck, and steered us out of the courtyard, then set the horse on the road toward Karnak.
The short journey through the city of Luxor to the village of Karnak passed in a blur. My mind was utterly absorbed with worries for Gadji, if we'd get there in time, and if we'd be able to set up our operation before the Serpents of Chaos arrived. I was one big puddle of nerves.
I hoped that both Isis and Sefu were following. I kept peering over my shoulder, straining to see my cat's sleek form among the shadows or the scampering movements that would indicate the monkey was there. Finally, Major Grindle got exasperated with me. "It's hard enough on this poor horse carting around two riders. It would make it much easier on him if you would at least sit still."
"Sorry," I muttered.
The shadows of night had robbed the countryside of all color. Under the light of the gibbous moon, everything looked to be a shade of gray. But what gray! From deepest graphite to the pale silver of moonlight, and every shade in between. In the distance, huge boulders and blocks taller than a man littered the landscape, looking as if immense giants had once played here as children and left their toys behind. It turned out to be the ruins of Karnak itself, glinting under the light of the moon, casting long shadows.
"Almost there," Major Grindle whispered. He steered the horse down toward the bank of the Nile until he reached a faint road. It wasn't a proper road, really. It was the remains of an ancient canal that had once run from the temple to the quay. A lone obelisk stood on the southern corner, a silent sentinel guarding over a lost era.
The major reined up near the obelisk. "Here is where I will leave you." He slipped off the horse. Suddenly, my back was very, very cold and unguarded. I suppressed a shiver.
"I'll get in position in the temple so that I can guard you and Gadji. Remember, do not tell them where you've hidden the tablet until they show you the boy. I fully expect them to try to take you, so do your best to keep some distance from them to give me some working room."
"Yes, sir."
"Keep heart, Miss Throckmorton," the major said. He stood up straight and gave a stiff salute before disappearing in the shadows to my left.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Showdown at Karnak
AHEAD OF ME LOOMED TWO LONG ROWS of criosphinxes guarding the entrance to the temple. I glanced one last time into the darkness behind me, heartened to at last see Isis. Surely Sefu could not be far behind. Feeling somewhat braver with the animals at my back, I squared my shoulders and directed the horse toward the first pylon.
Many of the sphinxes were missing their ram-shaped heads, but the ones who still had them seemed to watch me as I passed. Faint, shadowy symbols of power and magic drifted lazily across their surface. The glyphs were corroded with age and decay but still faintly discernible. I would have loved to have stopped to record them, to see what sort of magic held them in place or what they had been charged with, but now was not the time. Perhaps once this was all behind me, I could come back with Mother and explore the temple properly. Although probably not in the moonlight.
The pylon loomed in front of me, a huge, massive wall of cut stone nearly a hundred feet high. I shivered. The Pylon of Nectanebo I. How fitting that I should pass through it in order to rescue the last true pharaoh.
The walls of the pylon were thick, and it seemed to take forever to pass through the gate. I could feel no magic emanating from the structure, only the enduring strength of thousands of years. Immediately inside the courtyard, an enormous mound of dirt was piled up high along one of the pylon walls, as if the workers had abandoned the temple while they were still working on it. It was hard to imagine what sort of threat or power would have caused them to abandon their important work for the gods. Perhaps it was the gods themselves.
Now, that was a disturbing thought. Pushing it to the back of my mind, I focused instead on the large courtyard in front of me. Porticoes of columns ran along both sides. In the back, toward the second pylon, a lone column stood. Just behind it, guarding the entrance to the second pylon, were two enormous statues, their sightless eyes staring straight ahead.
The agents of Chaos could be hiding anywhere. I paused, wanting to see if I could sense another human presence. I didn't think I could, but I was too nervous to risk closing my eyes and really focusing.
I considered searching among the columns to see if anyone was hiding there, then thought better of it. I had already played a game or two of cat and mouse among ancient ruins with the Serpents of Chaos. I was not eager to repeat the experience.
I glanced at my watch. Just past eleven o'clock. I was nearly an hour early. Feeling slightly more confident with this realization, I turned to my left, where Major Grindle had said the Seti Chapel would be.
A squat, square building of stone blocks lurked there, with three dark doorways gaping like giant mouths. That's where I was to leave the tablet—in the rightmost doorway, the altar of Khons.
Instead, I returned to the enormous mountain of dirt piled up against the pylon wall and used my foot to push aside some of the rubble. I carefully laid the satchel down, then covered it up.
At a small scritch of movement behind me, I whirled around. But it was only Sefu, climbing atop the Seti Chapel. "So nice of you to join us," I whispered.
He made a rude gesture, then scampered up to squat on the carved lintel above one of the doorways.
Ignoring him, I went over to find a place to sit and wait. Liking the idea of having a forty-foot-thick wall at my back, I chose a spot up against the pylon. Once I was settled, I searched among the shadows pooling on the temple floor, trying to spot Isis, wishing she would come over and wait with me. Alas, she had disappeared on some unknowable cat business of her own and was nowhere in sight.
Sometimes I thought waiting was the hardest part of all this. The constant rush, rush, rush to get these wretched men what they wanted, then the interminable waiting for them to come get it. Just as I was contemplating the unfairness of it all, I heard a faint sound somewhere beyond the second pylon.
"Isis?" I whispered, getting slowly to my feet. But truly, Isis never made any noise by accident. I saw a shadow move against the other shadows, and then it separated itself, drawing closer until I could make out the shape of a man. Another man followed him, and another. Six in all.
Once the lead figure had passed through the second pylon into the courtyard, he spoke. "You're early."
I recognized the voice. Von Braggenschnott. "So are you," I answered.
He jerked his head toward Seti Chapel, and one of his men trotted over and disappeared into the right-hand doorway. He reappeared a moment later and shook his head. Von Braggenschnott turned to me. "You are playing games, fräulein?" he asked, looking around the courtyard. "Perhaps you do not think we are serious?"
"No games. Just being cautious. You don't think I'd hand over the tablet before seeing that Gadji is safe, do you?"
After studying me a long moment, von Braggenschnott finally said, "Reasonable enough. Bring him!" he called out over his shoulder.