The first time Ishizu meets the man, she is on her coffee break. She sits in the book-store of the Luxor Museum with her sketchbook in one hand and a stack of paperwork under her arm. Thousands of tourists visit the museum each day, but this particular foreigner catches her eye. For one, he is not too young but not too old – too old to be vacationing with his parents', but too young to be a retiree. The man sits at one of the corner booths, reading what appears to be an American comic. Ishizu smiles, but when the man spots her, she feels too many eyes on her and she looks away.
Foreigners always seem to look at her. Perhaps it is because the sight of a fourteen year old with a name tag that reads "Ishizu Ishtar: Revival of Ancient Art, SCA" is a shock for a tourist. Often her own feats surprise her. Ishizu hadn't expected to earn a job with the Supreme Council of Antiquities, but because of her upbringing as a Tombkeeper, she knew more about the Ancient Egyptians than most university professors.
Now Ishizu is a supervisor for the sector of Revival of Ancient Art. She specialises in New Kingdom Pharaonic replicas, but her knowledge covers twenty-six dynasties. As well, Ishizu works with the supervisors from the other sectors in annual and bi-annual projects. Currently, she works with the Int'l Cooperation to promote the preservation and replication of Ancient Egyptian artefacts. This foreigner, in fact, appears to be one of the businessmen who has been contacting her for photographs of Ancient Egyptian sculptures depicting gods.
But Ishizu tries not to think of the man. She tries not to think of anything. This job was supposed to help her track her younger brother on his revenge-quest, yet she hasn't heard from Malik or Rishid in months. The last time she saw them, Malik was working for a contraband gang that smuggled goods across East Asia. He told her that someday the Pharaoh would resurface, and that he would be ready for a fight.
It is silly for Ishizu to think her brother would stop looking for the Pharaoh. He is young and motivated – motivated to hurt, to kill, to destroy. Sometimes when Ishizu looks at her brother's face, she no longer sees his sparkling eyes and warm smile. He has become stone-faced and grave – as though the trials of a Tombkeeper have forced him to age. He doesn't like her brother anymore.
They've all had to grow up.
"Dear, could you come and help me?" a man calls. When the words are repeated a second time, Ishizu looks up. Across the room the foreigner is beckoning her closer. Ishizu frowns.
"Yes, sir?"
"Come here, come here," the man says. Ishizu approaches with the apprehension of a timid animal. The man is tall and lean and dressed to the nines. He stands out – not only because of his height but because his hair is white as snow, his suit is red as wine, and his expression is sweet as sugar. He continues to call Ishizu closer until she is standing next to him. "Are you a local here?"
Ishizu nods. She does not make eye contact. Even though this man only has one good eye, Ishizu can feel many more watching her. This man has an Item. The Millennium Eye is hidden behind his hair, yet Ishizu can sense its dark presence. The Evil Intelligence within this Millennium Item also watches her, as though it too can discern that she is both an Item Bearer and a Tombkeeper. Does this man know too? Ishizu wonders if she should leave. What would a foreigner need from a young Tombkeeper?
"That's perfect! I'm looking for this little village, Kul Elna" ‒ he points to a small speck on the map ‒ "and I know where it is and such … but I'm not sure where I need to go in Luxor to get there."
Ishizu stills the beating of her heart. The man may know that she too has an Item, but Ishizu's cream-and-gold hijab hides the Torque. He may be able to see in her mind, but he does not know that she has it with her.
"It's across the Nile," she says. She points to the city of Luxor and then drags her finger to the left. "A taxi could take you there."
"Splendid!" He tries to catch her eyes, but when Ishizu avoids him, his gaze drops to her chest. Ishizu steps back, disgusted, until she realises that he is staring at her name tag. "Ishizu Ishtar, you must know something about Kul Elna – it was said to be a village of tomb builders turned tomb robbers, and it was burned down sometime in the New Kingdom. Right?"
"That is correct, sir." Ishizu takes another step back. "Is there anything I can help you with, sir?"
"There is," the man continues. He holds out a business card for her. "Pegasus J. Crawford of Industrial Illusions. I design the leading trading card game, Magic & Wizards, and market it worldwide. I'm trying to design three new cards and I need some help with the detail. They are to be 'Ancient Egyptian God Cards'. Would you be able to help me?"
Ishizu isn't sure how to respond at first. This man is grinning at her and his eyes follow hers like a game of cat and mouse. Ishizu knows the name of the company – her little brother is infatuated with the game. For a moment, Ishizu wonders if she should tell this man that she knows someone who is making counterfeit trading cards. What would this enigma-of-a-man say? However, Ishizu settles on keeping her mouth quiet and her eyes downcast.
"I'm not sure how I can be of assistance." Ishizu checks her watch – she has ten minutes left on break.
"I need someone who can help me out." Pegasus slips the map closer to her. Kul Elna is less than an hour's drive from the museum. The sights would be beautiful. Ishizu doesn't have to stay for her shift; she can work from home or stay for extra hours tomorrow. Even more, perhaps Pegasus has a lead on those who illegally reproduce his trading cards. He would know where Malik is. And above all, as Ishizu watches this man toy with her, she feels the Torque around her neck pulse. Ishizu is not stupid. She can see the gold behind the man's long hair and she knows that he, too, bears a Millennium Item.
"And what would I need to do?" Ishizu whispers.
"Follow me," Pegasus says. He smiles and takes her hand. A shiver runs down Ishizu's spine, but she trusts in herself and in her Item and lets him lead her out the door. The streets are clean but crowded, and Ishizu in her hijab and long shift dress blends into the throng of locals. Pegasus, however, is a red beacon of light that stands above everyone else. He basks in the attention and smiles at the locals. Ishizu keeps her head bowed.
Despite this man being a foreigner, he seems to know his away around Luxor. He hails a taxi and speaks to the man in fluent Egyptian dialect. He points to the village of Kul Elna on his map even though there is no marker and he was shown the location only moments ago. Ishizu says nothing. She complies and sits in the back of the taxi, ankles crossed and hands in her lap. A part of her is scared. She does not know this man. He is taking her somewhere far away from civilization – Kul Elna may have some tourism, but only in one small area. The rest is dusty ruins and charred bones.
Another part of Ishizu is invigorated. The wind that blows on her face speaks of adventure and action. For most of Ishizu's life, she has had to grow up. She rose to the role of mother for Malik when he was younger. When she left the tomb and moved to Luxor, she became a working woman with a career, a salary, and rent. Now Ishizu feels free. Pegasus' energy is contagious; Ishizu feels younger by just being with him.
"Have you been to Kul Elna before?" Pegasus asks.
"Never," Ishizu says. Before she surfaced, she had never seen the outside world. When she began working, her company never sent her to the ruins across the Nile. She has, however, seen the lights on the mountain many times on her expeditions to the Valley of the Kings.
"It's a spectacle," Pegasus says.
"You've been?" Ishizu says. She had been under the impression that Pegasus had never been to Egypt, much less Kul Elna, before. However, this man seems to have many mysteries about him. Even when he is not looking at her, Ishizu can feel his eyes on her. The Millennium Eye is rumoured to have the power to see inside the soul room – the container for someone's soul. Ishizu believes it. She can feel Pegasus and the Evil Intelligence within his Item watching her.
Pegasus shrugs. "I'm an international businessman. I've been around."
She says nothing more. The taxi crosses the bridge over the Nile. Ishizu marvels at the sight of the golden sun glowing over the waters. The blue sky and the white clouds calm her, and for a moment Ishizu can believe that she is taking a day trip to the ruins. She doesn't have to think that she may be part of a plan. She can trust this man.
When they arrive at Kul Elna, the sight changes. The blue sky remains, but the landscape is desolate. There are broken walls of houses and dirt roads that lead between ramshackle buildings. Everything lacks colour. Even the villagers are grey scale and pitiful as they squat outside their houses with bottles of cheap beer and a basket of yarn. Ishizu does not see any women. She tucks closer to Pegasus, as he may be the safest person around.
"Not much has changed, but I love the rustic aesthetic," Pegasus tells her. They exit the cab and pay the correct fare. It appears that this cabby knows better than to rip off this foreigner. After all, there is more to Pegasus than it appears. As he marches Ishizu through the streets, she can't help but think that she was picked for this. Was it coincidence that she met Pegasus on her break?
"Can I help you look for anything, sir?" Ishizu asks.
"We need to find ruins," he begins. "There are rumours about a secret entrance into the underground temples of Kul Elna. It is said that there are people who still live in these temples. Tombkeepers, I believe they're called." Ishizu stiffens at the mention of her community, and Pegasus does not miss her nervous expression. He smiles at her before continuing: "Would a smart girl like you know where to begin looking?"
Ishizu does not say anything at first. She scans the backdrop of decrepit houses in search of a marker. The Ishtar family lived far away from civilization, but in order to avoid in-breeding, many Tombkeepers moved to larger cities. They always lived underground and in secret, but Ishizu would not be surprised to find a small community living in the ruins of Kul Elna. However, Ishizu knows that the entrance will be hidden. Only she – a Tombkeeper – can find it.
"Can I help you look?" Pegasus asks. His eyes watch her, with the one eye seeming to peer right into her soul. Ishizu can feel the dark energy surrounding it. As the birthplace of the Millennium Items, Kul Elna is known to possess unhealthy amounts of dark magic. Even after three thousand years there is still residual energy crackling in the air. As well, Ishizu knows of the Evil Intelligence that is bound by the Millennium Items. It is the same dark presence that she can feel watching her through Pegasus' Millennium Eye.
After searching the ruins for a minute, Ishizu notices a small Eye of Wadjet inscribed above the entrance to a house. Were it not for the symbol, the house would have appeared identical to the other houses in the village. However, Ishizu can feel the tug of magic from underneath the house, and she knows that she has found the hideout. She makes eye contact with Pegasus before bowing her head and slipping into the house. The foreigner follows.
Inside, Ishizu spots broken glass and pottery on the floor. The house appears to be uninhibited, but the dusty footsteps on the floor belie that this house is vacant. Someone is still living here. Worry begins to bubble inside of Ishizu as she slips through the house, feet silent on the dusty floor, and eyes alert as a bat. Behind her, Pegasus follows with similar stealthiness, as though he is accustom to sneaking and spying. Again, Ishizu wonders what life this man leads.
The two of them scout the house twice without finding another clue. When they loop back to the entrance for the second time, Ishizu stops and begins examining the walls and doors.
"What are you looking for?" the man asks.
"Clues," Ishizu says. "There's a hidden passageway to the cellar, which should lead to the Tombkeepers."
"Would the Tombkeepers want to be discovered?" Pegasus asks, and Ishizu feels the hairs on her neck rise. This question is far heavier than Pegasus' airy tone makes it appear.
Swallowing, Ishizu responds: "The Tombkeepers have surfaced over the past two years. From working with colleagues involved in the preservation of ancient and modern civilizations, I have learned about the story of the Tombkeepers. Thus, I know that I am not intruding if I enter their abandoned home."
Pegasus seems content with the answer. Ishizu breaths a sigh of relief. She worries that Pegasus has already infiltrated her mind despite the barriers she's placed with her own Item. As well, she assumes that Pegasus must recognize another Millennium Item. He must know that she has one.
But he is too childish to act on it. Ishizu watches him pat the doors and walls in desperation of hitting a secret switch that will flip the house upside down. Ishizu wants to laugh at his antics. There are no secret entrances – just one entrance hiding a thousand secrets. And as a former Tombkeeper, Ishizu expects herself to find that entrance.
Her toe hits something and she holds back a curse. At first, Ishizu suspects it to be a piece of broken pottery that she kicked, but as she bends down, she feels the slight bumps and grooves in the wood. A decorative scarab peeks out from under the blanket of dust and debris; its shell is scuffed, but otherwise the decoration is intact. Ishizu reaches again for it, this time catching her fingers under the scarab's body and pulling up. With a creak, a door lifts up from the floor.
"Good work!" Pegasus congratulates, coming up to grasp her shoulder. Ishizu stiffens as his hands wrap along her neck, fingers brushing the Torque. "You found it!"
"Yes," Ishizu mumbles. She makes to turn back, but Pegasus holds her forward. "We can't stop now – can we, dear? Isn't this where the treasure is?"
Ishizu feels her head beginning to spin. The crackle of dark energy is stronger underneath the house – it is pungent and Ishizu wants to gag. She holds her breath as she takes a step into the tomb. Pegasus follows behind her, hand pressed into the small of her back. His red suit glows in the darkness, but Ishizu feels that she wants to stay away from his light.
"I don't think we'll find anything down here. The Tombkeepers gave all their possessions to the SCA."
"I'm sure there is still something," Pegasus says.
The descent into the tomb floods Ishizu with memories of her childhood home. The stone walls and cold floors are a welcoming sight to the airy environment she has become used to. Though there is no light and Ishizu and Pegasus must use their lamps to see, the dim glow reminds Ishizu of the torches that hung on the walls of the Ishtar home. As they pass rooms, Ishizu peeks inside to see if one might resemble hers. She had books in her rooms – books with notes and stories and happy endings, and books with blank pages so that she could someday write her own stories. Her books would always be about escape.
"Have you visited a tomb like this before?" Pegasus asks. Ishizu thinks his tone is far too casual.
"No, but my colleagues have shown me pictures of their expeditions." Ishizu pauses to slip into a room. The room is dark and long and there is only one stone bed in the middle. She sees stains and blood and dark shadows, but Ishizu isn't sure if she's hallucinating or not. She swallows and steps out. Some of her memories she likes to forget. "Have you been to a tomb, sir?"
"Once," Pegasus says, and he says no more.
Halfway through the walk down the corridor, Pegasus stops. Ishizu feels the pressure in the room rise. She comes to stand next to him and peers into the room. At first, she sees nothing. The room is dark and dank, bereft of furniture, and altogether deserted. However, Ishizu notices the beginning of stairs in this room, and before she can think, she is hurrying forward. At the top of the stairwell, Ishizu looks down. The path leads to darkness, and the magic feels stronger. Ishizu steps back in shock.
Pegasus catches her with a strong hand and a sly smile. "Looks like you found the way," he whispers.
Ishizu nods and begins to head down. The stairs are cold and chipped; she slips twice. There are no handrails, but when she holds onto the wall for support, the stone is wet against her shaky fingers.
She is scared. The hand on the small of her back no longer feels safe. Pegasus is not a warrior in white in this tomb; he is a spectre, urging her deeper into the darkness. The man mumbles words and names that Ishizu has never heard. The deeper they go, the more delusional Pegasus becomes, until the man is entwining his fingers in her hair and calling her "my love". In the darkness, Ishizu can see the glow coming from behind the man's hair.
"I don't think there will be anything down here," Ishizu says.
Pegasus' hand caresses her cheek. He glides his fingers along her jaw before dropping down to clasp the Torque. "Kul Elna has many secrets. Surely you must know of some of them." Ishizu doesn't answer. She watches the man's eye – wild, young, spirited. When Ishizu saw Malik lose control, he looked the same way.
Ishizu leans in close to the touch. Her heart beats fast in her chest and her stomach swirls. She is terrified. Pegasus continues to touch her; his hands ghost her arms, her neck, her hair. He mumbles sweet words, but Ishizu thinks the words were not meant for her. And even though Ishizu has just met this man – this young, powerful man – she feels responsible for what is happening to him. Because Ishizu has seen what a Millennium Item can do to a person. She has watched someone go crazy from its power. The Torque has never spoken to her in such a way, yet Ishizu knows of the Evil Intelligence that has connections with the Millennium Items. She isn't sure how, or why it only seems to affect Items such as the Eye or Rod, but Ishizu knows that neither of the Item Bearers are evil.
When they reach the bottom of the stairs, Ishizu steps forward. She holds her head high and lets the tears fall. There is old blood on the walls and skeletons littering the floor. Before her is a dais upon which sits the Stone Tablet. Ishizu has only read stories about the destined home of the Millennium Items. However, two sentences on a piece of papyrus cannot prepare her for the sight of the great tablet. Ishizu kneels before it and dips her fingers into the pockets for the Items. Her other hand reaches up to touch her Torque.
"I was here last year," Pegasus says. It is the first coherent thing he has said since they began descending into the tomb. The man steps onto the Stone Tablet and looks ahead at the large door. The Eye of Wadjet glows as brightly as the golden Eye in Pegasus' eye socket. "They told me I could see her again, but all I see is darkness."
Ishizu stands. She holds her hand out to Pegasus, who leans forward. This man is an enigma: his mind is old and wise, but his face is still young. This man has seen the true horrors of the world, but he has hidden his feels behind a guise of joy. This man has faith in a world that is too real. Ishizu can see it. She can see him.
Without thinking – without anticipating or reflecting – Ishizu reaches for Pegasus' eye. Her fingers catch on the gold and she pulls. The blood sticks to her fingers, wet and cold, and Ishizu remembers the blood on her fingers when she tried to save another Item Bearer. Pegasus gasps and wheels back. He slips down the Stone Tablet; blood drips into the crevices and stains the stone. Ishizu hurries to rip her hijab and still the bleeding on Pegasus' face. The man has gone silent, but his good eye watches her in fear.
"You will see her again," Ishizu says. "But don't look in the darkness to find the light. She's not waiting for you there."
Ishizu isn't even sure what she means, but as she holds this man – this child, this person, this being – in her bloody hands, she thinks that she may have saved a life. It is only one life, but it's enough for her. Because perhaps she can save another life – one that she has tried to save for many years.