He smiled as the agent handed him a set of keys. “We’re driving.”
It was normally at least a ten-hour drive to Giza from Kom Ombo, but Dr. Hassan made it in eight, stopping only after I insisted it was absolutely necessary. When we entered Cairo, instead of continuing on to the pyramids, he asked me to wait in the car while he entered an outdoor market. He returned twenty minutes later, arms loaded with bags, which he threw carelessly into the backseat.
“What’s all that for?” I asked.
“You’ll see.”
He’d been cryptic about this top-secret vizier plan for the entire drive, skillfully evading my many questions. I only knew that I was an important part of his plan and that he’d arranged everything with Asten.
When I reiterated Amon’s desire for me to leave Egypt, Osahar said that if all went according to plan, Amon would never even know I was there, which suited me fine. Maybe my rejected heart would heal just a tiny bit if I knew I’d helped save the world, and if it also meant I could avoid being spurned by Amon once again, then all the better.
It wasn’t long before the pyramids came into view. Dr. Hassan wound through the busy crowded streets until he arrived at the edge of the pyramid complex. Tour buses were lined up on the hard-packed sand. A few white-shirted men wearing hats policed the area on camels. I was surprised to see tourists climbing up the sides of the pyramids.
“Aren’t the sites under protection?” I asked.
Dr. Hassan waved his hand in the air. “Don’t get an archaeologist talking about site preservation. It would take weeks for me to come down from my soapbox, and frankly, I don’t have the time right now.”
“Okay, but with all these tourists, how are we going to accomplish anything?”
“Ah, the tourists and merchants will leave the moment the brothers arrive.”
“How?” When he grinned, I said, “Wait. Don’t tell me. I’ll see, right?”
“Right.”
He parked the car and we grabbed the many bags before heading toward the Great Sphinx. At least the monument we reached was roped off so no one could touch it. Flashing his credentials to the one guard fending off dozens of tourists, Dr. Hassan opened a gate and bade me to follow him.
I stepped in the footprints he made in the sand, looking up when we reached the front of the Sphinx. It was hard to believe I was actually standing there. I was so absorbed in my surroundings that I jumped when Dr. Hassan nudged my arm.
“This way,” he said.
After leading me into an ancient stone structure that looked like a series of empty chambers, he reached behind a brick that jutted out a bit at the end of the room and pushed on something. A mechanical rumbling shook the area we were in, causing a cascade of sand to drop over the entrance. The back wall moved aside, revealing a series of steps that led down into darkness.
“Archaeologist hideaway or grand vizier secret?” I asked as I pointed to the opening.
“Grand vizier,” he mumbled as he gathered his things. “Come.”
I stumbled along, descending steadily until the door closed and we were surrounded by complete darkness.
“Dr. Hassan?” I whispered worriedly.
“Wait a moment.”
My eyes began to adjust and I noticed a series of large stones placed in alcoves. They glowed like the rock Asten had given me in the Oasis of the Sacred Stones.
“Did Asten make those?” I asked.
Osahar shook his head and started down the steps again. “Perhaps he did at one time. All I know is that they are regenerated each time the ceremony is complete. The light has faded over the last thousand years, but when our task is done, it will be so bright down here you would think it was our own personal sun. My theory is that the pyramids generate the power somehow.”
“Interesting.” The heavy bag bumped against my leg. “So are you going to tell me what all this stuff is for now?”
“I am creating an effigy.”
“You mean like a voodoo doll?”
“On a much larger scale.”
“Why?”