Chapter 24
The Valley of the Kings
On the west bank of the Nile at Luxor, Upper Egypt
A driver from the expedition met them at the Luxor International Airport terminal and drove Yugi and his grandfather out to the site of the excavation. On the drive, which took them through the narrow streets of Luxor to the Corniche el Nil, then further south to the bridge spanning the broad stretch of the great river that separated the east bank from the west, Solomon explained that the newly discovered tomb was not located within the main valley, what most people thought of as the Valley of the Kings, but in a smaller wadi that branched off from the main one.
The main valley, where the Egyptologist Howard Carter had discovered the tomb of King Tutankhamun in the early part of the twentieth century, was one of the most active archaeological sites in the world. For a period of about five hundred years, it was the burial place of choice for Egypt's kings. Unlike its better known counterpart, the West Valley held few known burials, and only one that was open to the public, the tomb of Ay. In light of the current excavations, public access to even that tomb had been curtailed. Their tomb -- Yugi had to smile a bit at his grandpa's use of the possessive pronoun -- was located in a remote part of the West Valley that had remained largely unexamined by archaeologists until now.
Solomon told Yugi how a local worker, exploring on his own in one of the side valleys, had literally stumbled across the entrance to the tomb. One of the rare flash floods that periodically swept through the area had washed away some of the rubble concealing the tomb entrance in the floor of the wadi. The man had caught his sandal in a crevice between two small boulders, tripped, and fallen into the opening, breaking his leg in the process. Fortunately, one of his brothers had not been far behind him, and had been able to go for help.
It had taken months for the archaeological team to clear the entrance shaft and find the first of several decorated rooms. Not all of the chambers inside the tomb were decorated or even completely carved out of the living bedrock. The tomb itself was obviously unfinished and appeared to have never held an actual burial. There was a granite sarcophagus in one of the chambers, but the sarcophagus was empty and there were no signs of a mummy having ever been laid to rest within it.
Yugi watched his grandpa's excitement growing with every minute they came closer to seeing the actual tomb. Solomon grinned at him, obviously well aware that he was acting like a little kid on Christmas morning and completely unashamed of the anticipation glowing on his face. Yugi smiled, vicariously enjoying the thrill he could sense building in the older man. "Will we get to see inside the tomb today?"
"I think so, yes." Solomon fidgeted with the soft felt fedora in his lap. He craned his neck to peer out the car window at the dull beige landscape. They had long since left the green swathe of the cultivation along the Nile's banks behind and were bouncing along the uneven track leading into the desert. "I think Arthur will want me to examine the tomb paintings right away."
Their driver shot them a quick glance before focusing on the road again. "Dr. Emerson-Kaiba is also anxious to hear your opinion on the paintings, Mr. Mutou."
"Ah." Solomon allowed himself a satisfied nod. "Good, then. I guess that means we'll definitely be seeing the inside of the tomb, Yugi."
"I can't wait." Yugi settled back in the uncomfortable seat, trying to avoid the spring that seemed determined to drill a hole in his lower back, and turned his own attention to the passing landscape. Up ahead and to one side, he could see the towering cliffs of the famed Valley of the Kings coming closer.
He wondered what they would find there.
----------------------
At the excavation site, Yugi barely had time to take in a quick impression of the set-up -- tents and trailers for the on-site examination of artifacts as they were removed from the tomb, workers sifting sand and debris through large sieves on stands, computers and unidentifiable high-tech equipment seemingly randomly located around the area. And people. Lots and lots of people -- conserving, cataloguing, documenting. It all passed in a jumble of shifting colors and dopplering conversations as he trotted after his grandpa and their guide.
The guide led them to one of the larger tents -- a marvel of modern technology, the "tent" was practically a portable building, with a light reflective roof and climate controlled interior, capable of withstanding not only the oppressive heat of the Upper Egyptian summer, but also anything the wind or unexpected storms might throw at it. Inside, Yugi shivered as the sweat that had been trickling down the back of his neck began to evaporate. His attention was quickly taken by the older gentleman who stood up from his workstation at their approach.
"Solomon! It's good to see you, old friend." The man was about the same age as Solomon, or perhaps a little older, but towered over him by a good ten inches. Where Solomon's hair and beard were steel gray, this man had snow white hair in a fashionable coif and a neat little mustache. His smile made the many wrinkles in his face appear to dance as he shook hands with Solomon. Then his gaze settled on Yugi. "And this must be the grandson I've heard so much about."
"Yes, this is Yugi. Yugi, I'd like you to meet my good friend, Arthur Hawkins."
"How do you do, sir?" Yugi shook hands with Arthur, who smiled at him with obvious approval.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, young man. Your grandfather is quite proud of you, you know. He's spoken of you so often that I almost feel as if I already know you."
Yugi fought the blush, but the blush won. "Um... Thank you, sir."
"Modest, as well, eh?" Arthur chuckled. My granddaughter is around here somewhere. I would like for you to meet her -- perhaps we can all have dinner together. For now, however... Solomon, what do you say we venture into the tomb so I can show you those paintings?"
"I'd like that very much," Solomon agreed. "Is it all right if Yugi accompanies us? He's anxious to see the paintings, as well."
"I suppose it will be all right." Arthur glanced at Yugi. "You know not to touch anything inside the tomb? The paintings are very delicate and we can't risk damaging them any further than they already are."
"He knows. I've given him the safety lecture, as well." Solomon winked at Yugi. "You'll be on your best behavior, right, Yugi?"
Yugi forced himself not to roll his eyes. He wasn't a little kid, after all. "Yeah, Grandpa. I know what not to do!"
"Very well, then. Come along, both of you. I'm quite anxious to get your opinion on several of the paintings in particular, Solomon..."
Yugi stopped listening as the discussion quickly turned technical. He trailed the two older men as they exited the tent and walked over to another structure -- a climate control airlock, Arthur explained, to help prevent damage to the artifacts inside the tomb, as well as the fragile plaster which held the tomb paintings -- which had been erected over the square hole in the ground that was the entrance to the tomb shaft. Ranks of sand bags around the opening held back the loose scree and shifting earth disturbed by the digging. A pulley system had been set up inside the shelter to aid in removing larger items from the tomb. A sturdy ladder set against one wall of the shaft provided a way down into the dark interior. Arthur explained that heavy equipment like exoskeletal loaders or construction mecha were prohibited in the Valley of the Kings, since the vibrations caused by their operation so close to the tombs could cause irreparable damage.
Once inside the shaft, Yugi realized that it had only appeared dark when compared with the bright sunlight outside. Self-powered lanterns strung near the ceiling provided illumination inside the tomb for the workers and archaeologists. The lights, Arthur told them, were specially selected because they did not give off heat that would damage the plaster and paint on the walls and ceilings.
When they came to the first decorated chamber, Yugi gasped aloud. It was beautiful. On the wall nearest the doorway, a grape arbor hung heavy with ripe clusters of fruit. Servants dressed in short white kilts picked the grapes and piled them into tall woven baskets to be carried away on their shoulders. Among the thick green leaves, birds sang and a cat stalked. Yugi stared, wide-eyed, at the painting, almost able to hear the birdsong and smell the scent of the sweet, ripe grapes.
On another wall, a tall nobleman stood with his legs braced apart on top of a reed skiff floating in a papyrus marsh. Fish darted through the blue water beneath his poised spear. On the banks, the reeds were alive with birds, insects, and small animals. A spotted hunting cat stalked a heron through the dense forest of papyrus. A butterfly alit delicately atop a flowering reed. In the shallows, a crocodile lazed in the warmth of the sun. Yugi moved closer, drawn by the intricate detail. He thought he could almost hear the soft rustling of the reeds as the cooling north wind whispered through them, offering comfort from the heat. He could taste the thick, green scent of the marsh in the back of his throat, hear the water as it lapped against the low sides of the skiff. He found himself swaying with the movement...
"Impressive, isn't it?" Arthur's voice called Yugi back to the present. "These are some of the finest and best-preserved examples of tomb paintings that have ever been found. If we had discovered nothing else, these paintings alone would be worth the effort of preserving this tomb. But..." His eyes twinkled. "We have found so much more."
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Solomon demanded, clapping his hands together briskly. "Show me these wonderful paintings of yours, Arthur."
"This way."
Arthur led them through another doorway cut into the opposite wall, down a sloping hall barely wide enough for two men to walk abreast, and through a series of smaller rooms. Some of the walls held only blank white plaster. Some bore the red marks of the artists' initial drawings, the grid which had been used to lay them out still visible in the background. A few showed where the painters had begun blocking in color over the original drawings.
Finally, they reached their destination. The new chamber was large and fully decorated. Even the ceiling was painted like a night sky filled with yellow, five-pointed stars. At the center sat the empty granite sarcophagus.
"Over here, Solomon," Arthur said as he led Solomon away. "I want you to have a look at this--"
Gradually, Yugi tuned out their conversation again as he made his way slowly around what was probably the burial chamber, admiring the paintings that adorned the walls, their colors still brilliant even after almost four millennia. He froze before a particular tableau, staring at the figures in the painting with his mouth agape and his eyes even wider than usual. "Uh... Professor Hawkins?"
The older man broke off his conversation with Yugi's grandfather and turned. "Yes?"
"Who..." Yugi had to swallow, hard, before he could continue. He pointed at the wall painting. "Who is that?"
"Ah! Yes, that's one of the finer examples in the tomb," Hawkins said, ambling over to stand beside Yugi. He gestured to the figure bowing low, both outstretched hands holding an offering -- incense in one, a votive statue of Ma'at in the other. "That is Setnakht, called Seti. The man for whom this tomb was constructed. He was one of the Pharaoh's closest advisors and, we believe, his cousin. Here we see him making an offering to the deceased king."
Yugi nodded absently, his gaze firmly fixed on the other main figure in the painting: a regal figure seated on a throne inside a golden pavilion. "That man... That's the Pharaoh?"
Hawkins nodded. "Yes. So far, we've been unable to determine his name. There are cartouches, but they are all empty, as if the names were never carved into place. It's most unusual, and one of the reasons I wanted your grandfather to examine the paintings."
There was more, but Yugi wasn't listening. His gaze roamed over the seated figure, taking in every detail. It was slightly larger than life, a seated man dressed in royal finery, his hands clutching the crook and flail of kingship. To Yugi's eyes, the man's features were clearly recognizable, despite the formal ancient Egyptian style. Even if they hadn't been, the hair was unmistakable.
The pharaoh in the painting looked exactly like Yami.
-----------------------
Location unknownYami was growing very tired of waking up with a raging headache and absolutely no idea where he was. Suppressing a groan, he pressed one hand to his forehead as he sat up and looked around. The room was different -- still carved from rock, still a strange mixture of primitive and modern, but unlike the last chamber he had woken up in, this one felt lived-in. In addition to the bed he found himself on, the room held a small table that seemed to do double-duty as a desk, a pair of wooden chairs, and an assortment of storage chests. A shelf over the table held a few worn books. The table itself was piled high with books, papers, an electronic reader, a lamp, and what looked like some sort of scrolls, as well as various writing instruments. One of the chairs held a discarded white robe and a plate containing a half-eaten chunk of dark brown bread. The faint, spicy scent of incense hung in the still air.
The contents of the room offered plenty of possibilities for use as makeshift weapons: everything from the books to the small statues of animal-headed figures to the robe could be turned on his captors -- if only he possessed the strength to get up from the bed and use them. Yami gave an experimental shift, attempting to rise from the bed. His head exploded in fresh agony. Clutching his face in both hands, he fell back against the pillows.
"You shouldn't try to get up yet."
The voice was soft, as if the speaker knew a harsher sound would hurt him. Yami pried one eye open and peered through the shelter of his fingers at the figure approaching the bed. It was the one who called himself 'Malik.' He held out one hand toward Yami.
"I have brought you some water. And something for the pain, if you will take it."
Warily, Yami lowered his hands so he could examine the offering. Malik held a sealed bottle of water in one hand, the one stretched toward him, and a pair of white pills in the cupped palm of the other. "What are they?"
"Acetaminophen." Malik placed the pills on the bed beside Yami's leg, then turned to pull one of the wooden chairs closer. He sat, raising an eyebrow as he again offered the bottled water. "Our physician's options are somewhat limited, I'm afraid. He could find no cause for your earlier collapse. Do you know what caused it?"
Yami reached for the water. He twisted off the cap and took a long swallow. The cool water felt like a soothing balm as it slid down his parched throat. Even the throbbing ache in his head seemed to ease a bit. He drank again, before meeting Malik's gaze. He studied the other man for a long moment, but could only read curiosity and what appeared to be genuine concern in his eyes. "I don't know what causes it. I just know it hurts."
"It has happened before?"
Rather than answer, Yami lifted the water bottle to his lips again. Malik smiled, the barest curving of his lips. "You do not trust me."
"No."
"I have spoken only the truth. We have no wish to harm you."
"Why did you bring me here?"
Both of Malik's eyebrows rose until they almost vanished beneath his turban. "You do not remember how you came to be here?"
Yami shook his head.
"No one brought you. You simply... appeared." Malik made a gesture with his hands that was meant to convey Yami appearing out of thin air. "A portal opened in the mortuary temple as the priests were performing the rites of morning. You fell from the portal, almost on top of the naos. The priests were understandably surprised."
"Portal? I don't understand..."
Malik tilted his head as he studied Yami's face. "And I do not understand how it is possible for you to have accessed the Shadows without being aware of their existence. In fact, I do not believe it to be possible. Therefore, you must be lying to me."
"I don't know what you're talking about." Yami tried to ignore the faint tremor in his voice. Shadows? Why did everything seem to come back to the damn shadows? He remembered the silken feel of the shadows gliding along his skin in an icy, unwanted caress, and had to suppress a shiver of revulsion. "Are you going to tell me where I am now?"
"I am not certain I should."
"How do you expect me to trust you if you won't answer any of my questions?" Yami's patience had worn thin somewhere atop the Kaiba Corporation Mars tower and Malik's attitude wasn't helping it recover. Something Malik had said nagged at the back of his thoughts, but he was too muzzy-headed to process it clearly. He shook his head. "At least tell me where I am. There are people who will be worried about my disappearance."
"Undoubtedly, this is so." Malik bowed his head in thought as he considered the request. "But there are many here who depend upon my discretion, as well. I cannot forego my obligation to them simply to make you comfortable with me."
Yami could respect that stance, even as it frustrated him. He knew all about obligation and duty. His gaze flickered down to the two white tablets still resting on the sheet. He picked up the tablets, contemplating them as he considered what he should do. Malik had told him they were nothing more than acetaminophen. But how could he trust that, or anything else Malik might claim, when he knew nothing about the other man? He was in a terrible position. People were trying to kill him. For all he knew, Malik could be one of them. Malik held all the cards, right now, and Yami desperately needed to see what the other man had in his hand. Only then would Yami know what his next move should be.
"Lord Malik?"
Both Yami and Malik turned to find the owner of that gravelly voice hesitating in the open doorway.
"Yes, Rashid? What is it?"
"Rumors have begun to spread... about our 'visitor'." Rashid stepped a bit further into the room, an aura of uncertainty clinging to him. "I believe it would be prudent for you to address the people before things get completely out of hand."
Malik sighed. He closed his eyes for a brief moment, pinching the bridge of his nose as if feeling a headache coming on. Yami could sympathize. His own head still throbbed from his earlier 'incident.'
"I will see what I can do to calm things down." Malik rose from his seat beside the bed. At the doorway, he paused, turning his head to look back at Yami, though his words were directed to Rashid. "Find someone trustworthy to come sit with him. If he has another of those... spells... I want someone here to help him. Instruct them to send for the physician at once, should our guest appear to be in any distress."
Rashid nodded. "I will see to it."
Malik cast a final look at Yami. "I'm sorry, but I must lock the door while I'm gone. I cannot allow you to wander around on your own. Not only is it dangerous, since you are unfamiliar with this place, but if you should collapse again--"
"Rationalize it however you want." Yami folded his arms over his chest and leaned wearily against the wall behind him. "Or simply admit that I'm your prisoner and be done with it."
"We'll talk more when I return," Malik said. He touched Rashid's arm, and the two of them left together, closing the door.
Yami heard the door lock behind them. Alone once more, he tilted his head back to stare at the ceiling. What the hell was going on here? And how the hell was he going to get out of it?
--------------------------
Millennium Group Epigraphical Survey Expedition Field Headquarters
"Geb House"
Luxor, Upper EgyptA different driver brought Yugi and his grandfather back from the Valley of the Kings to the expedition's field house in Luxor. The driver helped unload their luggage from the car, but it was up to Yugi to haul the heavy suitcases upstairs. He dropped them on the floor between the twin beds, then collapsed face down onto the nearest mattress in the kind of boneless sprawl that said he didn't want to move until morning.
"No time for that." Solomon chuckled and prodded Yugi's foot where it dangled over the side of the narrow mattress. "Get up, favorite grandson. We're supposed to meet Arthur and his granddaughter back downstairs in --" Solomon consulted his watch. "-- less than fifteen minutes for dinner. You don't want to make us late, do you?"
"No, Grandpa." Yugi groaned. Trying to ignore the protest of travel weary muscles, he flipped himself over onto his back and then levered himself up off the bed. He spent a few minutes locating the bathroom (just down the hall, as it turned out), and then a few more splashing cool water on his face to wash away the accumulation of sweat and dust he had garnered on the drive back from the Valley.
The ancient SUV the expedition had allocated to ferry them around did not have a working air conditioner, a defect that became more troublesome the more he was exposed to the blistering heat. The driver informed them, with an apologetic little grin, that the temperatures usually reached triple digits during Luxor's summer season. Yugi could believe it. He felt as if he were going to melt every time he ventured outside a climate controlled zone.
Yugi dragged a comb through his hair in a vain effort to tame it, then gave up and dashed back to their room to shrug into a clean, non-sweat stained t-shirt and fresh jeans. Deeming himself as presentable as he was going to get on short notice, he went in search of his grandpa and found him waiting at the top of the stairs.
-----------------------------
Dinner went smoothly. Despite their obvious desire to continue the discussion they had begun in the tomb, Solomon and Arthur declared a moratorium on "shop talk" for the duration of the meal. Yugi listened to his grandpa and Arthur swap tall tales about past adventures, piping up with the occasional correction when Solomon's stories gained a little too much height, and just enjoyed watching his grandpa have a good time. Arthur introduced Yugi to his granddaughter, Rebecca Hawkins, at the beginning of the meal.
Rebecca turned out to be a fifteen year old with a pair of dishwater blonde pigtails, freckles, half-moon glasses, and an attitude that tested even Yugi's patience after an hour of listening to her firm declarations on subjects ranging from archaeology to the food in front of them to the war against the alien invaders. In the world according to Rebecca not enough people realized the genius of the Hawkins family (she obviously included herself in that assessment); she could produce a gourmet meal far superior to the meager offering on their table; and the war could be settled in only a few hours if "someone" would "just sit down with" the aliens, find out the "root causes" of their determination to conquer the solar system, and "talk it all out."
Yugi rolled his eyes, ate another bite of his salad, and tried to turn the conversation to a safer topic.
By the time he returned to the room he would share with Solomon for the next two weeks, Yugi was almost asleep on his feet. But when he flopped onto the bed, he quickly discovered that he was too tired to fall asleep. After counting the imperfections in the ceiling plaster for the tenth time, he gave up. His grandpa was still downstairs, holed up in one of the offices with Arthur Hawkins so the two of them could continue the conversation they had begun earlier in the evening. No doubt they were deep in discussions about the enigmatic tomb paintings that had so excited Solomon's intellectual curiosity.
Since he had the room all to himself, Yugi didn't hesitate to flip on the bedside lamp on the nightstand between the twin beds. He padded over to the closet on his side of the room and retrieved his satchel, from which he pulled the small box that contained the pieces of his treasured puzzle. Settling back on the bed, he tugged the covers over his lap, then dumped the puzzle pieces onto the mattress in front of him and began assembling the golden pyramid shape once more.
As he worked, Yugi's mind drifted to thoughts of Mars... and Yami. He wondered what Yami was doing right now. Was he working late in the Kaiba Corp offices at the Mars mecha facility? Was he, maybe, thinking about Yugi?
Thoughts of Yami inevitably led him back to that image in the tomb. If it had been only a single painting, he might have been able to dismiss it as a coincidence. A weird coincidence, but nothing more. However, as he had wandered around the various rooms inside the surprisingly spacious tomb, he encountered several more paintings representing the same man, the Nameless Pharaoh. Every one of them looked like Yami. It made Yugi even more eager to call Mars so he could tell Yami all about it, but he had promised his grandpa that he would wait until the next day, when the rates would be cheaper.
Images of Yami garbed in linen and gold spun through Yugi's head, dazzling him. His mind so occupied, he reached absently for another puzzle piece and slotted it into place.
---------------------
When Solomon returned to the room a few hours later, he found Yugi, sound asleep, curled up around the partially completed pyramid puzzle, the hand tucked beneath his chin still gripping the center piece with its raised udjat.
Smiling softly to himself, Solomon tucked the covers more securely around his grandson and then climbed into his own bed, where he fell asleep almost as soon as his head touched the pillow. The pillowcase smelled faintly of sunshine and a hint of jasmine, and Solomon dreamed of younger days -- and the scent of his wife's perfume.