The Mummy: The Tomb Robbers' Secret

The Sandstorm

Roma woke to the smell of meat cooking and the savory odor made her mouth water. She rose from her cot and ran her fingers through her short blond curls.

Ardeth was sitting under the awning, roasting a small hare. He looked up at her and smiled. "Have some dates," he said, "This hare should be done soon. I've made some tea but we don't have any sugar, do you mind?"

"No, I don't mind. But how...?"

"Have you forgotten what my father taught you? The desert is alive and now is the time when animals come out of their burrows to hunt and find food. I used my sling to kill the hare and found a dead tree and broke off the branches for firewood. The tea I made with the alcohol stove you brought along." If his smile was a little smug, she knew he was showing off and didn't mind-- too much.

"You're hired. I'm going to have some tea; dates are too sweet; I need something to wash them down with."

The hare was crisp on the outside, tender and juicy on the inside. Along with the dates, tea, and flatbread they had a good meal and were ready to travel. Ardeth checked to make sure the lead lines were secure for the pack camels then they mounted their own and began the night's journey.

It was still hot but had cooled down, a small breeze ruffled her curls cooling the back of her neck. Ardeth was wearing his turban—how did he manage to stay cool in his robes? She had grown up in Egypt but at times the heat seemed to overwhelm her. It had been hot in Deir El Medina but it was not like this, not like the miles of sand that stretched before them.

Limestone cliffs lined the river in places and the heat seemed to reflect off them. In some places, they were dotted with caves, and she knew a few might contain tombs that had been carved in ancient times. She would like a chance to explore this place but not now.

Ardeth was trying to keep her mind occupied so she would not think of the burden they were carrying. He was pointing out Orion--the stars that made up the belt aligned exactly with the three pyramids of Giza.

"I knew that," she said irritably but tried to adopt a more conciliatory tone, "I always liked the story of the goddess Nut who gave birth to the sun every morning, how it was symbolic of the daily rebirth of the pharaoh. My favorite tomb decoration was always Nut the sky goddess surrounded by stars. How they painted the ceilings in the tombs has always amazed me."

"Well, look up and you can see that same sky." She did as he said and saw a myriad of stars and the Milky Way overhead; it made her gasp in wonder.

"This is more beautiful than Deir El Medina," she said as she gazed at the sight surrounding her. "I used to go out and just stare at the stars, the sky was more beautiful than Cairo or Luxor."

They continued to ride, not saying anything or needing to, until he broke the silence, saying, "Who is that archaeologist who is opening a tomb in the Valley?"

"Howard Carter? When I was in town, I heard that Lacau had come from Cairo to supervise the opening. Carter is an arrogant bastard, I'm sure he's going to give him the least amount of cooperation that he can. Why do you ask?"

"Maybe what he is doing is not such a good thing, maybe there are things in there that should not see the light of day."

"I understand, but better the archaeologists than the looters. I don't believe in curses, remember? And I would give anything to see the contents of that tomb. There are years of conservation ahead if the tomb contains most of its contents before it can be put in the Egyptian museum. I don't see how there is a curse, this is a gift that will enable us to finally see what a pharaoh's tomb looked like. If it's not empty that is."