Chapter 5

"I'm Yugi Mutou. I'm here in Luxor looking for my grandfather, Sugoroku Mutou."

Lieutenant Bahur's smile brightened. "Of course! I should have recognized you -- There is a certain family resemblance, is there not? He speaks of you constantly, so I feel as if I already know you."

"You know my grandpa?" Relief flooded Yugi. "Do you know how I can reach him? I've been trying for days and--"

The flood of words died when the policeman held up a hand. "I am sorry I do not. I assure you, Dr. Mutou often goes off on these little expeditions. If you are worried about him, you might inquire at Institute House. As I am certain you know, your grandfather works with Dr. Viridian. Happily, as of today, Dr. Viridian has returned to Luxor."

Yugi's heart sank. "How well do you know Dr. Viridian?"

"Very well." Lieutenant Bahur's eyes lit with what seemed to be pleasant memories. "We attended university together in America. We were on the same fencing team for four years."

"Oh." Yugi swallowed his disappointment. He couldn't insult this man by suggesting his good friend was a thief. He sagged a bit, all his exhaustion coming back to him in a rush. Back to square one -- no, negative one. Not only did he have to find Sugoroku, now he had to find Yami, too. Softly, he said, "Thank you. I'll... talk to Dr. Viridian."

Feet dragging, he made his way back to the hotel.

Mana fluttered anxiously on the front steps, waiting for him. Guilt stabbed at him when her face lit up upon seeing him.

"I'm sorry if I worried you, Mana."

Relief made her more buoyant than ever. "It's all right, Mr. Mutou. But, from now on, if you need to go off without the group, please allow me to arrange an escort for you."

Masculine pride reared its head. He could take care of himself, dammit! But the concern in her eyes made him bite back the rebuff. He sagged again. "Yeah, sure."

He hated to lie to her, but he knew he would leave the tour in a heartbeat if he got a lead on his grandpa. And if Yami bolted, Yugi would be right on his tail... provided Yami ever actually showed up again. Yugi kicked the toe of his sneaker against the step. Why did this have to be so hard?

Something tugged at his arm. It took him a second to realize Mana was still talking. "...in the dining room. I'm sure you must be hungry. You'll enjoy the food here, it's very good."

Listlessly, he allowed her to tow him toward the hotel restaurant. "Is Dr. Viridian back yet?"

"I don't think so..." She studied him for a moment, then winked. "Oh, don't worry. I'm sure he will return to you very soon."

Argh. Yugi winced. Great, now she thought he was interested -- romantically interested -- in Yami. Okay, so maybe Yami was the handsomest man Yugi had ever met. And maybe there were moments when he seemed to actually care. In between all those other times when he doing stupid shit like sneaking off alone or going on inexplicable Nile cruises. But mostly he was irritating. And untrustworthy. And had a smile that turned Yugi's insides to warm goo. And... Where was he going with this again?

God only knows. But when you get there with it, could you bury it in a deep pit and never speak of it again?

Oh, no. Why are you back?!

I wish I knew.

Well, whatever the reason -- stop it!

You think this is my idea? I don't even believe in this psychic bullshit.

Wait a minute. Yugi blinked. This wasn't just his imagination? --Seto?! Is that really you?

No. It's the freaking tooth fairy. Who the hell did you think it was? Or do you routinely barge into people's heads at random?

Yugi had never barged into anyone's head before, at random or otherwise. Uh, I dunno. You're the first person this has ever happened with.

Imagine my joy.

"--Mr. Mutou? Is everything all right?"

Mana's worried words pulled him from the conversation in his head. Which immediately informed him it hadn't liked playing intercontinental telephone and started to throb. In a strained voice, he said, "I have a headache. I think I'll just go up to my room and lie down for a while."

"Oh, dear. I'll have a light supper sent to your room, then. You shouldn't go without eating, you know. It will only make your headache worse. Sleep well, Mr. Mutou. We board the River Horse at dawn."

Yugi retreated to his room, grateful for the silence in his head. Had that conversation really happened? He couldn't quite believe it. Yes, he had psychic dreams. But... telepathy? With Seto? If he was going to be in mental contact with anyone, why couldn't it be Sugoroku? Or even Yami...

He downed a couple of aspirin, ran the water until it was almost cold, then stuck his head under the tap. When he came up for air, he looked like a half-drowned echidna, but his head felt clearer. He scrubbed a towel over his hair and, dripping gently, wandered over to the wall that divided his room from Yami's. He pressed his ear against the paneling, but heard only silence from the other room.

Towel around his neck, Yugi flung himself onto the bed. Where could Yami be? What was he doing? Did it have something to do with Sugoroku's disappearance? And why was Yami lying to him every step of the way?

Yugi closed his eyes and cast out with his mind, hoping to find some trace of his grandpa, but all he found was sleep.

--

Yami had spent several frustrating hours driving around the desert hunting a man named Ahmed. Just when he had begun to believe Ahmed was as mythical as the Millennium Items, he had stumbled upon the man in the Valley of the Kings, assisting a survey team from the Theban Mapping Project.

Now, exhausted, he pulled the Jeep up to the Institute's iron gate, only to find it standing open and lights on in the front windows of the building. Who could be working so late? Did he dare hope Sugoroku had made it back on his own?

Adrenaline sent him loping across the courtyard, his fatigue forgotten. He slammed through the door, which hit the wall with a bang, startling the two people standing in the front office. They jerked around to stare at him, the murmur of Yugi's name still hanging in the air between them.

Yami groaned. "What's he done now?"

"You mean Yugi?" Joey Wheeler, Yami's secretary, grinned at him. "He was sniffin' around here lookin' for Dr. Mutou. Asked a lot of questions about the old guy -- and you, you dog." He winked.

"He also came by my office," Mahaad said, with a much calmer smile. "I suggested he speak with you, but it appears you are already aware of the problem."

Joey snickered. "I'll leave you two 'ladies' to your gossip. I promised my little sister I'd stop by her hotel so we can spend some quality time together before her Nile cruise starts." He shook his head. "Ain't seen her since I took this job, so I don't wanna miss the chance. Smell ya later!"

After the secretary dashed out, shutting the door behind him, Yami turned to Mahaad. "Remind me again why I hired him?"

"He makes you laugh. And I believe there was something about helping him earn the money to complete his studies?" Mahaad chuckled. "You said yourself that, appearances to the contrary, he will make a fine archaeologist someday."

"Did I? I must have been suffering from temporary insanity." Which would explain a lot, actually. Like every second of the past two days. Which brought him back to the current crisis. "Yugi came by the police station? What did he want?"

"He wanted to know about Dr. Mutou." When Yami groaned aloud, Mahaad gave him a quizzical look. "Yami?"

"I thought I had it covered!" Yami buried his face in his hands. Voice muffled, he continued, "I should've known he wouldn't really go back to Cairo, but I at least thought he'd stay put at the damn hotel."

"Yami, where is Dr. Mutou? I thought he was simply on one of his excursions, but--"

Yami's insides twisted with a combination of dread, guilt, and regret. He couldn't risk telling his best friend the whole story, but he had to tell him something. He drew a deep breath, then blew it out. "I haven't heard from him in more than a week."

"And... you are concerned about him?"

"Two months ago, Sugoroku came to me with a tale he'd gotten from one of the diggers, a fellahin named Ahmed. About a hundred years ago, one of Ahmed's ancestors 'stumbled across' a tomb in the desert."

They exchanged knowing looks. Tomb robbing was an ancient profession that, unfortunately, still flourished.

"According to the family legend, it was the tomb of the Nameless Pharaoh. The, er, intrepid ancestor found a golden box in the tomb that supposedly held one of the mythical Millennium Items -- the one belonging to the Pharaoh himself, the Millennium Puzzle. But the man was being chased by... someone, the story gets a little vague on the details at this point, so he stashed the box, planning to retrieve it later. Too bad for him he got caught. His assistant, who was also his son, got away -- but his father hadn't told him exactly where he stashed the box." Yami frowned. "Supposedly, the box is still there, but no one knows where 'there' is."

"For the story to be true, one must believe the Nameless Pharaoh really existed," Mahaad said softly, tilting his head as if he could peer into the ancient past and see the truth for himself. "It is an interesting legend."

Yami snorted. "You can't walk into a tomb or temple without tripping over an 'interesting' legend. People love them. They love to make them up, and they love to embellish the ones that already exist. You can't believe all of them."

"Dr. Mutou believed this one?"

"Oh, yeah!" Yami kicked his boot heel against the leg of Joey's desk. "He tried to convince me he was right. I told him he wasn't. We had a major dust-up over it, and he took off for parts unknown, vowing to prove me wrong." He sagged onto the corner of the desk, and dragged his fingers through his dusty hair. His mouth settled into a frown. "I haven't seen him since."

"Oh, my friend..." Mahaad leaned against the desk in companionable solidarity. "This is not your fault. You did not send him away--"

"I spoke to Ahmed today. He saw Sugoroku nine days ago, said the old man made him tell the legend over and over again. After that, it's like he fell off the face of the earth."

Silence stretched between them for a minute. Finally, Mahaad said carefully, "I have heard rumors..."

"About Sugoroku?" Yami straightened. "What have you heard?"

"No, no. Not about him. About a cult... You will laugh, but I have heard this cult is very old, perhaps from the time of the pharaohs. They live underground, in secret, and worship in the old ways."

"Ha, ha. What does that have to do with--?"

"They are said to possess at least some of the Millennium Items."

That wasn't a laughing matter. If Sugoroku had heard that same rumor... It didn't matter if the Items were real or not, only that he -- and the cult -- thought they were. Oh, god. He thought of the necklace he had taken from the museum. The ransom message claimed it was the Millennium Necklace. The stolen papyri held the only known texts to mention the Nameless Pharaoh.

He didn't like where this was going. And if he told Mahaad any of his fears, his friend would be right there beside him when he confronted the cult's messenger. Back-up would be great, but he wouldn't involve Mahaad in this if he could avoid it.

Mahaad's sharp gaze settled on him. "Where does young Mr. Mutou fit into all this?"

Yami knew where he'd like Yugi to fit, but it probably fell into the 'too much information for casual conversation' category. And he seriously needed to de-stress soon, because he wasn't usually this flippant when contemplating crazy cults and the very real possibility of his own imminent demise.

"He just wants to find his grandfather," Yami said, tipping his head back to stare at the ornate plaster medallion in the center of the ceiling. Unfortunately, it held no answers for him. He rolled his head to look at Mahaad. "Keep an eye on Yugi for me? I've got to be on the River Horse when it sails in the morning, and I don't think he ought to be running around Luxor on his own. He's too trusting for his own good."

"An admirable trait, in its way." Mahaad looked puzzled. "Why are you taking a cruise?"

Because I woke up one morning and found myself starring in a bad Indiana Jones rip-off, Yami thought wearily. He shoved his hands in his pockets and tried to sound casual. "Business."

"What kind of business requires you to take a cruise?" Mahaad persisted. "I might be tempted to change professions."

"Look, I'll be back day after tomorrow. Just... don't let anything happen to Yugi while I'm gone, all right?"

"As you wish. Good night, my friend." Moving with the grace that had made him a champion fencer, Mahaad glided into the night.

With a heavy heart, Yami returned to the Old Winter Palace. As per the cult's instructions, he had to be on the River Horse when it sailed at dawn. He could only hope there would be an Interpol agent or two tagging along. Someone from the cult was supposed to contact him, but he didn't know where or when.

At least, he thought, sighing as he collapsed into bed, Yugi will be in good hands.