Chapter 7
Yugi looked up at the broken stone gateway guarding the entrance to the Dendera temple complex. Mounds of earth were all that remained of the thick mudbrick walls that once enclosed the compound. Beyond, he glimpsed the façade of the main temple, the Temple of Hathor.
Although there was evidence of earlier constructions, the existing temple was a product of the Ptolemaic era. Many of the surrounding ruins were Roman, including a pair of "birth houses" flanking the remains of a 5th century Coptic basilica. Mana pointed out the reliefs on the wall of the birth house attributed to the Roman emperor Trajan, which depicted the divine birth and childhood of the infant Horus, whose rites legitimized the divine descent of the king.
When they reached the Temple of Hathor, Yugi stared up at the imposing wall towering twelve and a half meters above his head. Six enormous columns, three on each side of the doorway, had capitals in the shape of the goddess Hathor's head. Mana said the faces, which retained only the faint suggestion of human features, had been destroyed centuries ago.
"This temple is unusual," Mana continued, as she handed out small flashlights to each member of the group. "It is one of the few in Egypt that still has its original roof. So it is very dark inside, just as it was in ancient times. Remember, only the priests were allowed into the inner precincts of the temple. People like us would have had to go around back to the Shrine of the Hearing Ear outside the walls if we wanted to petition the goddess."
They entered the first hypostyle hall where more giant, Hathor-headed columns loomed over them. It was indeed dark, so their flashlights came in handy. The columns had long ago lost their bright paint, but the ceiling retained much of its original color. Roman zodiac signs vied for attention with images of the Egyptian sky goddess Nut, who swallowed the sun every evening and gave birth to it again each dawn.
A doorway led them from the hypostyle hall into the Hall of Appearances where the cult statue of the goddess "appeared" from her sanctuary for ceremonies and processions. From there, Mana took them to the inner sanctum. Carved cartouches on the walls held the names of kings such as Ptolemy XII, but many of the ovals were blank.
Rebecca pointed to them excitedly. "Look at all the empty cartouches! Could they belong to the Nameless Pharaoh?"
"I'm afraid not." Yami appeared from out of the gloom, startling Yugi so that he almost dropped his flashlight. Damn the man. He was like a ghost, appearing and disappearing at will. He stopped next to Yugi, but his gaze was on the empty cartouches. "Those were carved sometime in the 1st century, during a period of dynastic struggle. The kings whose names they were meant to enclose probably didn't survive long enough for the stone carvers to finish their jobs."
Yami remained with the group for a while, pointing out highlights and answering questions. Yugi stayed as close to him as he could without being obvious about it, determined that Yami wasn't going to vanish on him again. When the group split up to do some individual exploring, he hugged the shadows and kept his eyes pinned to the Egyptologist. Sure enough, Yami glanced around as if to make sure he was alone before slipping down a narrow hallway. It wasn't easy to tiptoe and run at the same time, but Yugi managed it. He darted from cover and followed Yami, anxious to find out what he was up to.
He stopped at a section of the temple they'd been told was off-limits -- one of the staircases, hidden within the thickness of the wall itself, that the priests had used to access the chapels on the roof. Although the roof was intact, tourists were no longer allowed to view it. Yami ignored the restriction, heading confidently up the stone staircase. Less confident, but just as determined, Yugi started after him.
"Mr. Mutou! What are you doing?" Mana sounded scandalized.
Yugi jumped. His flashlight leaped from his grip to clatter loudly on the steps and he would have followed it if Yami's arms hadn't coiled around him from behind. For a heartbeat, Yugi let himself sink against the warmth of Yami's body. When he tried to pull away, Yami's arms tightened.
"Be careful," Yami cautioned, his lips brushing Yugi's ear. "If you fall, you might break your neck."
Yugi shivered -- though whether from the warning or from the feel of Yami's breath caressing his cheek, he couldn't say.
Mana glared at them and shook her finger as she scolded, "What were you thinking? It's too dangerous for you to go up there. I must insist you come back to the group at once."
That seemed entirely unfair to Yugi. He had to find out what that note had meant. "But, Yami was--"
"Dr. Viridian is a highly-trained Egyptologist. I'm sure he knows what he is doing," Mana said, tapping her foot. "Now, come along. We'll be leaving in a few minutes."
Yami trailed along after them, following them back to the main hall, clearly not trusting Yugi to do as he was told. That was the final straw for Yugi. "What were you doing in there anyway? You're supposed to be looking for my grandpa, not skulking around in hidden passages like a thief in the shadows!"
For a moment, Yami looked as if he didn't know whether to be angry or amused. Then his expression cleared, and he leaned down and dropped a kiss on the tip of Yugi's nose. Yugi sputtered.
"You were supposed to wait for me at the Old Winter Palace," Yami reminded him, looking far too pleased with himself over Yugi's reaction. "It seems neither one of us is very good at 'supposed to.'"
"I just want to know where my grandpa is." Yugi felt tired and shaken -- and scared that he'd lost the only family he'd ever really had. "Tell me the truth, Yami. I have to know!"
Yami cupped his hand under Yugi's chin, lifting it so their eyes met. His thumb traced a gentle path across Yugi's cheek. "All right. We can talk on the ship, if you'll come to my cabin before dinner."
Not trusting his voice, Yugi nodded.
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On the way back to the River Horse, Yami tried to derail his frustration by speculating about who his contact might be. He had no doubt Yugi's presence had kept whoever it was from approaching him at the temple. Somehow, he would have to keep Yugi safely out of the way.
From the corner of his eye, he watched the short figure a few seats away on the tour bus. Deep in conversation with Ryou, Yugi didn't appear aware of Yami's attention. He thought about their planned meeting later. Should he tell Yugi the truth? Would he back off -- stay safe -- if he knew?
Somehow, Yami doubted it. Yugi Mutou didn't strike him as the type to back down when a loved one was in danger. And while Yami admired that, he feared it would get Yugi killed. Who knew how far the cult would go to protect itself? If the story Ahmed told was true, murder was nothing new to the cult.
What did they want from Sugoroku? His knowledge of the Millennium Item legends? Yami knew they believed the Items were real. They wanted all seven of them, including the all-important Millennium Puzzle. They'd demanded he steal the necklace from the museum, claiming it was the Millennium Necklace, the fabled Item that allowed its owner to see into other realities -- the past, the future, some said even the afterlife. Sugoroku claimed he could find the Puzzle. Had they kidnapped him to ensure he gave it to them once he'd found it -- or to make sure he never revealed the secret of its location to anyone else?
Yami knew he couldn't get Yugi involved in any of that. It was too risky, especially since Yami still didn't know if Sugoroku was a victim or a willing participant working for the cult. So, what was he going to tell Yugi? Yami suppressed a groan. He'd have to think of something...
By the time they returned to the River Horse, Yami still hadn't thought of a plan other than to kiss Yugi senseless, then lock him in the cabin until all this was over. Of course, the plan had a major flaw -- namely that Yugi would kill him, then run off to save Sugoroku on his own, and get himself killed in the process. Not exactly a win-win situation.
Yami sulked toward his cabin, blessing whatever whim had made Pegasus give him the owner's suite with its slightly more spacious interior. He didn't think he could handle being crammed into one of the ship's closet-sized cabins right now. He had never been claustrophobic -- a good thing, since his line of work frequently called for him to crawl around in tight spaces -- but all this cloak and dagger intrigue was starting to make him feel hemmed in on all sides, and it was beginning to get to him.
He locked the cabin door behind him and went to flop onto the bed, then froze when he saw the new sheet of papyrus waiting for him in the middle of the burgundy duvet. He snatched up the pale sheet of pounded reed fibers and stared at it. No words this time, just a simple ink drawing of a bird. A falcon.
It took him a moment to realize the drawing was one big hieroglyph -- the word hor. Horus, the falcon god. The Ptolemaic temple of Horus at Edfu was on their itinerary. So, that was the message: he'd have to wait until they reached Edfu to meet his contact. He sighed. At least that should give him enough time to fend Yugi off so he didn't interrupt things again.
Running a distracted hand through his hair, Yami looked around. How had the papyrus gotten into his cabin? No one could've climbed in through a convenient balcony this time. An idea sparked, and he dashed downstairs to the front desk, just managing to nab the crewman on duty before he went off-shift. "Has anyone besides the crew and passengers been onboard today?"
"No, sir!" The young man at the desk stiffened with offended dignity. "Mr. Crawford is very strict. No one may board the ship without a pass."
"You're sure?"
"I personally supervised the gangway while we were docked at Dendera, sir. No one came aboard who should not have been here."
So much for that idea. He had a back-up, however. "What about the other tour groups?"
"The Italian group left before the English-speaking group. They have not yet returned to the ship. The French left afterward, and are not due back until later this evening."
Which meant none of them could've known the meeting was a bust, and made it back before him in order to leave the note on his bed. Damn it all to fuck. He pulled himself together enough to thank the crewman, then trudged back to his cabin. This time, nothing stopped him from sprawling on the bed.
He hung lengthwise across the mattress, feet dangling over one side, head and arms off the other. He felt like a wet noodle, with about as much brainpower. Macaroni. That's what he'd been in his past life. Evil macaroni. And this was his punishment for planning noodly world domination.
With a groan, he rolled onto his back and buried his face in his hands. Obviously, he'd lost his mind. Mahaad always said he was going to fry his brain working in the sun without a hat. Should've listened to him.
Okay. This was getting him nowhere but closer to the loony bin. First things first. Shower. Change clothes. Resume grip on sanity. Then figure out who among the passengers was the ringer, because one of them had to be a cult member. It was the only explanation for the note. Their little tour group no longer seemed so innocent. It would be nice if he knew whether the meeting at Edfu was to be an exchange -- Sugoroku for the necklace -- or simply another set of instructions: do not pass 'go', do not collect a Millennium Item.
He stood and stripped off his shirt. Maybe he could just drown himself in the shower...
When someone knocked on the door, he opened it automatically.
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The door swung open and Yugi found himself face to... clavicle... with Yami. He gulped. Yami had very nice clavicles. And shoulders. And a great chest, all firm, lean muscles beneath smooth bronze skin. He licked his lips, which had gone inexplicably dry.
"Yugi?"
With a supreme effort, Yugi forced his eyes to remember where Yami's face was. "Huh?"
"I said, come in," Yami repeated, stepping back from the doorway. He grabbed a shirt out of his bag and shrugged into it as he spoke. "Shut the door. We don't want the whole ship overhearing our discussion."
Oh, is that what you kids are calling it these days?
Oh, god. He could not deal with this right now. Yugi's eyes went wide with panic. Seto, if you have ever remotely tolerated me as something even slightly less than a mortal enemy... pleasepleaseplease, GO AWAY.
When no response came, Yugi breathed a sigh of relief. He focused outward to find Yami buttoning up his shirt and watching him with a strange expression on his handsome features. "Um. So, you said you'd tell me the truth--"
"The truth is, you're not helping your grandfather by running all over Egypt trying to find him," Yami snapped. The sudden flash of temper shocked Yugi into temporary silence. "You need to go back to Luxor and stay there, like you should've stayed in Cairo!"
Yugi's heart thudded in his chest. It suddenly hurt to breathe. Yami was his only link to Sugoroku. "Oh, god. You don't know where he is..."
Yami's ire faded as swiftly as it had flared. "I'm sorry, Yugi."
"I don't want your pity."
In a quiet voice, Yami asked, "What do you want from me?"
"Let me help you." Yugi closed his eyes and scrubbed a hand over his face. "Let me see my grandpa's rooms at Peabody House in Luxor. I've known him all my life. Maybe I can, I don't know, get some idea where he went or something. But I can't just sit around and do nothing while I know that he's missing. I have to do something. I have to at least try."
"All right." Yami sounded as tired as Yugi felt. "When we get back to Luxor tomorrow, I'll take you to Peabody House."
The weight of all his worries crashed down on Yugi. He swayed and stuck out a hand to steady himself. Instead of the wall, he encountered warm, bare skin. Heat flashed from his fingertips to his groin, and his eyes flew wide. His hand was resting against the wedge of Yami's chest revealed by the open neck of his shirt.
Yugi yanked his hand back -- or tried to. Yami caught it and pressed his mouth to Yugi's palm. His lips lingered tenderly over the scar he found there, a souvenir of Yugi's efforts to rescue Mokuba two years ago. Their gazes met and held in a timeless moment. Yugi wasn't aware of either of them moving, but suddenly he was in Yami's arms and Yami's mouth was on his.
The kiss seared him to his toes. He felt himself melting into Yami's embrace, his body molding against the other's as Yami's hands traced paths of fire along his back. He was going to--
--be ill if you don't stop this nonsense right now, and come back to your damn senses!
The mental voice was like an icy wave dousing the flames of passion.
I cannot believe you just seriously used the phrase 'flames of passion,' Mutou. What the hell are you on?
Yugi dropped his head onto Yami's chest and groaned piteously.
As if sensing that Yugi's concentration had shifted elsewhere, Yami released him. "Go back to your cabin and get a good night's sleep," he said, giving Yugi a gentle shove toward the door. "In the morning, we'll go to Peabody House and look for clues."
Right. That was the important thing. Clues. Peabody House. Morning.
But, as he wandered back to his lonely bed, Yugi had a feeling something else would dominate his dreams tonight.