“How did you come to be in the closed-off section of the temple?” Dr. Hassan asked Amon. “And where did you come in contact with the toxin?”
Amon lied smoothly, but his hand gripped mine so hard that even I could feel it; the muscles in his forearm were rigid. “We were inspecting the tombs closest to the temple when Lily ran her hand over a wall and it came away coated with the dust. Neither of us knew there was any danger. When she began to feel the effects, I carried her through several passages in my haste to escape the tombs, and then we emerged in the temple.”
“I see.” Dr. Hassan lifted his hat and ran his hand through his thick white hair before repositioning it on top of his head. “You must have emerged from the Anubis upper chapel, then.”
“Your observation is likely accurate.”
“Then you carried the young miss down to the first court. The one with the columns,” he clarified.
“Yes,” Amon replied easily.
Dr. Hassan’s eyes glinted as he considered Amon, and I knew immediately that he knew Amon was lying.
“You do not believe what I have told you,” Amon said.
“No,” Dr. Hassan replied with an affable grin. “I was working in the upper terrace when I noticed the red dust footprints coming from the royal family chapel. Since that section is currently closed off and there are no outside passageways leading into it, I must admit that I am hoping you will tell me what really happened.”
“I have told you what you need to know.”
I flinched inwardly, waiting for the grin to disappear from Dr. Hassan’s face. I imagined that in his anger at our uncooperativeness, he would summon the authorities and have us thrown in a dank cell reserved especially for those who disrespected important historical relics. Instead, the Egyptologist, his protégé at his side, sat back and changed the subject.
“The temple you wandered into is arguably one of the most famous monuments in Egypt. It was constructed by a female pharaoh named Hatshepsut. Do you know of her?”
Amon shook his head. “Not specifically. I do not know of any pharaohs who were women.”
“There are a few, though it was very rare to have one rule as long as Hatshepsut. She reigned nearly twenty-two years, fostering the arts and erecting beautiful buildings, but after her death other pharaohs tried to erase the signs of her rule. Statues were destroyed and monuments were defaced.
“Many theorize that this was done to discourage people from remembering that Hatshepsut, a female, had led Egypt successfully, but I believe the cult of Seth was responsible for corrupting Hatshepsut’s accomplishments.”
I could tell that Amon was immediately curious. “Do you have evidence of this?” he asked.
“Yes and no. Most Egyptologists dismiss the idea that there is or was a cult that worshipped the god of chaos, Seth, but they do agree that Hatshepsut had a fascination with lionesses. In fact, the story of her birth has her born in the bed of a lioness.”
“What does an affinity for lions have to do with the god of chaos?”
“Ah.” The Egyptologist’s eyes twinkled. “That is the question, isn’t it?” he answered cryptically before continuing, effectively ignoring Amon’s query.
“My research indicates that she might have joined a secret faction after a trip to northeast Africa to visit with the king of Punt. She returned bearing many gifts, including ivory, gold, myrrh and frankincense trees, and ebony. But I think there was another reason she visited, and it wasn’t political. You see, when she prepared to go home, she was gifted with a pair of female lion cubs, which she raised as pets.”
“She was a brave woman, then, but I am afraid I do not understand how this would lead you to conclude anything out of the ordinary,” Amon said.
“Quite right. Normally, I would agree. Hatshepsut was certainly not the first or the last Egyptian royal to develop an affinity for a dangerous creature. But I say that there might be more to the story.”