Curse of the Pharaoh: A Brock Stone Adventure

The hour was growing late. Trinity rubbed her tired eyes, took another book from Stone’s library, and began thumbing through. The collection Samuel Stone had accumulated was expansive, with many volumes on the topic of Egypt. She and Constance had spent the hours since the men had left searching for mention of the Night Queen.

“I found it!” Trinity sprang to her feet, her drowsiness washed away by her moment of triumph. The book was titled The Secrets of the Royal Road. It was an esoteric take on Egyptian history. The author, Klaus Krueger, believed that Egypt was founded by refugees from the sunken city of Atlantis. The Atlanteans, he claimed, had brought with them advanced technology and knowledge of real magic. Someone, probably Samuel Stone, had jotted notes in the margin throughout the book.

“What does Grandfather Stone have to say on the subject?” Constance asked.

“Yineput, better knowns as the Night Queen was a self-proclaimed pharaoh of the Third Dynasty, 2,600 years before the Birth of Christ, who claimed to be the incarnation of the Goddess Sekhmet. She raised an army of monstrous warriors under her thrall, and a black cloud swept across the land.”

“A cloud like a plague? Poison gas?” Constance asked. “I can see why the Nazis would be interested in either one. Then again, it could be a metaphor.”

Trinity nodded, continued reading. “It was feared she would conquer all of Egypt. Finally, her army was defeated and the Night Queen killed. The Pharaoh ordered her organs, including her heart, burned, but her adherents made away with them, along with her body. The organs were placed in canopic jars, separated, and hidden in five secret locations across Egypt. It is said she was entombed beneath a pyramid in the desert, where she waits for resurrection.”

“How did they stop her?” Constance asked.

“It doesn’t say. After her defeat, the Egyptians and Nubians did their best to eradicate all mention of her from history. Many have searched for her final resting place. Most never returned. No one has found it.”

Trinity frowned. “How did Orion get his hands on the canopic jars?”

Constance thought for a minute, then her eyes brightened. “It must have been through the expeditions he funded and the donations he made to museums.”

Footsteps thudded on the stairs and then Stone and Alex entered the library. Alex was beaming.

“We found something!” He held up a small figurine.

“May I see that?” Trinity didn’t wait for an answer but took the figure from him and examined it. The figure was that of a man with the head of a crocodile. “What is the significance of this?”

“No idea,” Stone said. “Did the two of you find anything?”

Trinity and Constance filled them in on what they had found in his grandfather’s notes. Stone took a thick tome from the shelf. Its leather spine was cracked, its pages yellowed. He carefully flipped through until he came to a chapter titled, “Sekhmet- The Lady of Terror.” On the facing page was a faded illustration of the goddess. She had a lion head topped by a sun disk. She held a scepter of papyrus in her left hand and an ankh in her right.

“Sekhmet was one of the oldest known Egyptian deities,” Trinity read aloud. “She was both a creative and destructive force.”

“Well, she was a woman,” Alex said. Constance punched him in the shoulder. “Sorry,” he said, gingerly rubbing his arm.

“It was believed she could send plagues against her enemies. She was the patron of Physicians and Healers, and her priests were renowned as skilled doctors. Consequently, she was called both the ‘Lady of Terror’ and the ‘Lady of Life’. She was sent into the world by Ra to punish mankind for failing to follow his laws. Sekhmet’s bloodlust was so great that she could only be stopped by placing a mixture of beer and pomegranate juice in her path. Thinking it was blood, Sekhmet gorged on it and fell into a slumber. On the third day, she awoke, her bloodlust subsided.”

“And this is the goddess the Night Queen wanted to channel?” Constance said.

On the main floor of the house, the telephone jangled. A few seconds later, Moses came down the stairs.

“Miss Constance, you got a call. Says he’s your boss.”

Constance paled, hurried up the steps. She returned a minute later looking ill. “I am suspended for six weeks. After that, my situation will be reviewed.”

“How did he know to call you here?” Stone asked.

“I gave the number to them when we returned from Oregon because I expected to be spending time here with a gentleman friend.” She turned and glared at Alex who sat flipping through the book he had taken from the temple. He blushed and lowered his head. “I am afraid we have a problem. My superior believes I’m connected to the ‘theft’ of the map from the Orion exhibit. I can return to work after my suspension if, and only if, I deliver him the map tonight.”