Captain Moxley and the Embers of the Empire Page 6

  Sam glanced over her shoulder towards Jess and Will, then downed the whiskey.

  Teddy nodded sympathetically. “I can never tell whether family is a blessing or a curse.”

  “I’ll be honest, Teddy, I’ve known less troublesome curses.”

  His laugh slowly subsided as he realised she wasn’t joking.

  “Oh.”

  “Uh-huh.” She swirled around the dregs of her drink, staring into the bottom of her glass. “Those two aren’t entirely responsible though. Some people I used to work for wanted to bring me back. Approached me a few weeks ago. Government agency. Not official. Only barely on the periphery of official, if I’m honest. They told me they had someone they wanted me to talk to – a psychic.”

  “Was talking to people who communicate with supernatural beings a part of your job description?”

  She gave a wry smile. “Occasionally.”

  “Interesting. And what happened?”

  “I told them no. But they didn’t take the hint, and now they are following us because of something these two dug up that I believe is connected with whoever or whatever is talking to the psychic. And it involves a myth I seem to remember is your particular area of expertise.”

  He raised a bushy eyebrow. “Yes?”

  “The Hall of Records, Teddy.”

  He blinked, looking both excited and troubled at the same time. It was enough for his fingers to shakily retrieve his glass, turn it the right way round, and fill it to the brim.

  “Samantha, you know what the Hall of Records means to me. My mother was Egyptian and the blood of that land runs deep in my veins and in my heart through the stories she used to tell. Stories such as that of the great Hall. Even as a child I would dream of unlocking its secrets.”

  “Well,” she said, raising her glass in a salute, “now you’re not alone. Exactly how close have you come?”

  He drank in reply. Then got unsteadily to his feet, as if trying to remember how to stand upright, walked over to the dresser, pulled out the drawer, and extracted a brown, dog-eared notebook. He lay it open on the table for Sam to see.

  She flicked through, feeling a strange hit of nostalgia she couldn’t quite place. Notes and diagrams spilled across every page. Scribbles in English, German, Ancient Greek and Arabic filled every white space. Teddy sat down beside her and together they poured over it, before pulling up on a particular page with a drawing of a large, human-headed monument she recognised. He tapped his finger gently on it.

  “Here,” he said. “All the clues I have studied – those that hold the weight of truth, anyway – they all suggest that the great Hall was located lying hidden beneath the paws of this fine feline.”

  “The Sphinx?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “The Sphinx in Giza?”

  Teddy smiled. “If you have come across another great cat during your travels, then please tell me so you and I can officially claim it and get rich! Until then, yes, the Sphinx that guards those magnificent pyramids is where I believe the Hall should be located.”

  Sam stared in wonder at the hastily drawn image in the book before her. Beside it sat another cruder drawing of a different head, far more cat-like than the one the Sphinx currently wore. The words Pre-dating by 10,000 years, had been scribbled underneath, along with a large question mark.

  “You say should be located,” she asked him. “It’s not there?”

  His beard twisted into a disappointed grimace. “We have done extensive surveys, both manual and using the latest technology. Magnetic surveys using proton precession magnetometers.” He waved his hand to ward off having to explain it, not that Sam had any inclination to ask. “Suffice it to say, we have scoured the area directly underneath and in the surrounds of the plateau. And still we found nothing. Which is strange, because in some texts the Hall is described as a fortress, with walls of stone as thick as houses. If it is down there, our surveys would have picked it up.”

  She scratched her head, feeling fuzzy. “I’ve seen some strange things in my life, Teddy, but creating the most important centre of human knowledge ever known and then burying it in a fortified desert hideout for all eternity, with no way of getting in, would be one of the craziest schemes I’ve yet heard.”

  “Oh, the texts describe a gateway too. Glowing gold, in some cases. But, as with the Hall itself, I have not yet found that either.” He let out a long sigh. “And even if we did know where it was, it is supposedly protected by a lock with two keys.” He flicked through his notebook again until he reached another drawing and Sam immediately sat up straighter. It was a sketch she must not have seen in some ten years or so, since Teddy had showed it to her at an airfield in England while they’d been waiting for the next air raid. He tapped the page. “You see? One an amulet. The other a calendar stone. Isis and Osiris, the mother and father of Ancient Egypt. Only when these two are brought together can you unlock the entrance. But… you would have to find them first. And, as yet, nobody knows where they are.”

  Sam reached into her jacket and pulled out the heavy gold artefact she’d been carrying, carefully wrapped in her old RAF scarf. “I knew I’d seen it before, but until you just showed me that sketch I couldn’t remember exactly where.” She unravelled it in front of him. “Teddy, meet Isis.”

  Her friend’s old brown eyes widened as he saw the amulet. His mouth gaped open and closed as if he was gasping for air. His fingers twitched. His gaze flickered up to Sam’s, pleading like a puppy wanting a treat.

  She handed it to him.

  “Oh,” he gasped, cradling the piece in his hands as gently as he might a newborn baby. “Oh my, Samantha. Praise all the gods of the pantheon. I should have known you would be the one to go where I could not. Where did you find it? Was it in the rivers of Tiutota, near the city of Xcheuchan?” She opened her mouth, but he didn’t wait for her to answer. “Yes, yes, I knew it must be. How I had dreamed of travelling there and finding the amulet myself, but... well, you know me. I was never one for fieldwork and the war was enough action to last any man or woman a lifetime. Once you have made it out of the darkness of such times you owe it to those who did not to live a fruitful life, eh? I had family to consider. A quiet life to live. I was not allowed to go jaunting around the world on a whim.”

  His sudden rambling caused Aya to look up from her knitting with a frown. Teddy saw and spluttered a nervous laugh.

  “Of course, I do not mean that Aya here forbade me from such things!” he added quickly. “Quite the contrary, I forbade myself. For that is how is should be. Putting family first, as you well know, Samantha.”

  Sam looked first to Jess chatting with Will, then to her father by the fireplace. He was snoring gently, his glasses slowly slipping down his nose. The waves of anxiety that usually frothed beneath the surface of her facade subsided at least for a moment, as she smiled with genuine contentment for the first time in a long while. A peaceful family scene. One of the few she could remember.

  But it only lasted a moment.

  Teddy peered with fierce intensity at the amulet, feeling its edges and running his fingers over the tiny inlaid gems. “Of course, out of what we shall refer to as academic curiosity, pure and simple... where exactly did you find this piece?”

  The conversation between Will and Jess stopped behind her. Sam could almost feel the heat from her sister’s glare burning into the back of her head like the midday sun through a shadeless Spitfire cockpit.

  “I didn’t find it,” she admitted. “It’s a story those two will have to tell you one day. But right now we have more pressing matters. Like where do we find the other piece?”

  “The Osiris Stone?” Teddy’s eyes glazed over and he suddenly seemed unsure about where exactly this conversation was leading, now that half the puzzle he had spent most of his life figuring out had been solved. His gaze flickered guiltily to his wife. “It has been said that searching for lost and dangerous antiquities is the business of a fool and always has been. For a long time I may have
been such a fool, but I have since found there is no harm in a more peaceful life – and after everything you have been through, Samantha, I am quite certain you and your family deserve it too. Do not get me wrong. The fact the amulet is here, in my hands, gladdens my heart. Truly it does. But perhaps this is best suited to finding a home in a museum, where we can enjoy it without risk?”

  “A lovely idea, but I have a feeling someone would go after it without me,” Sam replied, not needing to turn to know that her sister was nodding vigorously. She gazed into her now empty glass, not liking what she saw in her mind’s eye. “And, honestly, after everything I’ve seen recently, I don’t think we have a choice. We don’t get to go home now, because there are men after what we have. Men who have killed, and will kill again, and will not stop killing until they get what they want.”

  “A theme of our time,” he concurred.

  Sam topped up her drink and necked it in one go, pausing only to wince and gasp afterwards as the fire burned its way down her throat. “And yet in this case I have a bad feeling there’s more to it than even that. It’s not just about this priceless artefact for these men. They want what it can give them.”

  “The Hall?”

  She nodded. “Tell me, Teddy. Why would the US Government want to open the Hall of Records, if it even exists? The knowledge, I can understand. But I can’t shake the idea that there is something else down there they know about. Something powerful.”

  He frowned and his voice dropped low. The words carried softly around the room, punctuated only by the crackle of the logs on the fire.

  “There are far greater secrets hidden in the Hall than you could ever imagine, Samantha. Some say the secrets of the Gods themselves are hidden there. Of an Empire long since lost, that gave rise to the glorious cities of Egypt and Mesopotamia. An ancient civilisation advanced beyond anything we know today.” He paused. “Until it disappeared.”

  Sam could feel a strange sensation in the pit of her stomach.

  “You mean the city of Atlantis, don’t you?”

  “I do,” Teddy replied in all seriousness. “But not just the city of Atlantis. We are talking about a veritable Empire of Atlantis. A vast network of cities and outposts around the world. All connected to the one lost continent. A continent that destroyed itself in a cataclysm of unprecedented historical proportions.”

  Sam nodded warily. She had heard this story from him before. She had never really bought into it, figuring that it simply stood as a scholarly bedtime story, a warning from history not to let your society get too cocky. But Teddy had always been keen to talk her into believing and sometimes, only sometimes, she wondered if there might be more to it.

  “You think proof of its existence is in the Hall?”

  Teddy gave her a grim smile. “As you know, Atlantology was always my passion, even while I was teaching the more mundane principles and processes of archaeology and ancient history. I was not alone either. In Berlin, I was fortunate enough to work alongside a fellow scholar of Atlantis – one of the best, although later I discovered he was of dubious ideological leanings – by the name of Schultz. He thought me an amateur. Can you believe that? But he did at least humour my calls at his office to discuss the finer details of the philosopher Plato’s texts, where the continent is first mentioned. We had many a heated argument into the night over the Hall and its connection to the lost civilisation. But, in the end, we at least agreed that the Hall of Records did not just contain proof of the existence of Atlantis…”

  “…but also of the power that destroyed it,” Sam finished with a sigh.

  She now knew what this all meant. It didn’t matter whether she believed in it or not. If Taylor and The Nine thought that there was even a hint of a clue to that kind of weapon lying forgotten in the Egyptian sands, they weren’t going to stop chasing her for the artefact that could lead them to it. And, once they had that, they would use every ounce of their inhumanity to force her to help them.

  Which meant it wasn’t just her trapped on this dangerous path now.

  Her family was too.

  Teddy must have seen the look of fear in her eyes. He leaned across the table and put a comforting hand on hers.

  “The Americans are not the first to be taken with the tale of Atlantis and the enormous power it could offer. The story was also beginning to interest those in power back in Germany at the time of my leaving. It is one of the reasons for my departure, in fact. Are you sure you want to do this?”

  “I don’t–”

  But she didn’t get to finish.

  On the other side of the room Will suddenly got to his feet, his face like thunder.

  “You’re German?” he repeated.

  Not a statement. An accusation.

  “Half Egyptian, half German. Did not the accent give away my secret sooner, Mister Sandford?”

  Will’s face flushed. “Dr Sandford. And I had hoped, being as we are in France, that your European accent might have been local.”

  Teddy nodded in that calm manner of his. “I am sorry to disappoint you.”

  Will’s fist crashed down on the table making the others jump. “My father died during the war, you lousy bum. Don’t you dare take that tone with me.”

  Sam watched her old friend’s reaction carefully. She was unsurprised – albeit relieved – to see his pleasant demeanour unwavering, even as his eyes began to water. Teddy had been expecting this turn of events. As had she. Human nature could be ever so predictable.

  “I am sad to say mine did too,” Teddy replied. “Most of my family, in fact.”

  With that Sam stood, poured another whiskey and handed it to Will – while carefully putting herself between the two men. Will was good and handsome, but she would still break his nose if the occasion called for it.

  “He flew with us, Will,” she said firmly. “He flew with me.”

  Jess appeared beside him. Her hand on his shoulder. “It’s true. Sam told me Teddy was one of the few Germans who escaped the country just before war broke out. He fought for the RAF. Saved Sam’s life a couple of times too.”

  Teddy continued swirling the remnants of his whiskey. “Not a popular position I can tell you, being the enemy alien. The odd one out.”

  “About as popular as being a female pilot in a man’s war, in fact,” Sam said, raising an eyebrow at Will.

  Will grew flush again, but this time it wasn’t anger. His gaze flicked down just for a moment.

  “I didn’t mean–”

  “Of course you didn’t. But we’re all friends here, do you understand? Meanwhile, the world has been balanced on the edge of madness lately and the men who want what we have might well push us over the edge. So do you mind taking a seat? We need to crack on with staying alive while we still can.”

  She sat back down and poured herself another drink, leaving Will to stand there, awkwardly, not really knowing what to do with himself. Jess dug him in the ribs and made him retreat to the couch, away from harm.

  “Right,” Sam continued wearily, pushing her fingers across her face and suppressing a yawn, “we’re in a bit of a pickle here, if I’m honest. And unfortunately I can only see one way out. Where did you say this Osiris Stone was again, Teddy?”

  “I have had a theory about where it rests for many years now. But, even if I am right, it will be protected too well. There are puzzles and traps and other things that would kill an old man like me.”

  “Luckily I’m an old woman, so I should be fine.” She waved away his immediate protest of innocence. “It’s OK, I know what you meant. But you can let me worry about the risks now, Teddy. Because I’m going after it.”

  “Now just wait a minute,” Jess started.

  Sam quickly held up both hands in a gesture of surrender.

  “We’re going after it, I meant.”

  Despite the black hole forming inside her, quickly consuming any thought of finally living her life without death lurking around every corner, she faced up to the fact there was no getti
ng out of this now. Once again, adventure had found her when she’d least expected it and was handing her a baton to take up the challenge, and, while she didn’t have to damn well like it, she had to admit there was a tiny part of her that was growing curious about what these particular puzzle pieces might end up showing them all.

  Besides, her sister had waded too far into this mess already, too caught up in her dreams of fortune and glory. And regardless of what Sam might have believed existed – or didn’t exist – at the end of this treasure hunt, she couldn’t let Jess go on alone.

  She knew what Taylor and his goons were capable of. If they caught even a whiff of their scent they would inevitably track her sister down and there would be no telling what they’d do to her to reach the Hall and get their increasingly bloodied hands on whatever civilisation destroying weapon they thought might be there.

  Fuzzy from the whiskey, wanting nothing more than a good sleep, but knowing that it would be impossible now – perhaps until this was all done, or she was good and dead – she asked a final time.

  “Teddy, just tell me… where do we find the damned Stone?”

  This time he didn’t try to evade the question. But he did glance awkwardly at his wife, the colour in his cheeks reddening.

  “I may have been bending the truth a little when I told you why we moved to France,” he said.

  Sam almost laughed. “The piece is in Paris, isn’t it? You came here to try and find it, didn’t you?”

  He nodded, trying to ignore the look of daggers his wife was currently throwing him, the knitting needles twitching dangerously in her fingers as though she might soon be using them for non-knitting purposes.

  “I may have.”

  Jess whooped in delight, leaping on the still embarrassed Will in a bear hug. Aya cursed in Arabic under her breath.

  Only Harry stayed quiet and perfectly still. Sam looked over to her father to see that he was now awake… and apparently had been following the conversation long enough to know what was happening.