MICHAEL BELMONT AND THE TOMB OF ANUBIS

by Ethan Russell Erway Copyright 2011 Ethan Russell Erway

Smashwords Edition

Dedication
This book is dedicated to Kara, Gabriel, and Caleb, my family.

Prologue
Libyan Desert, Egypt 1995 Beneath the hot sands of the desert, west of the city of Edfu, a small team of archeologists descended into the cool passages of the underground. They were grateful to find relief from the sun's scorching heat, as were the men who carried down their supplies and equipment. These strong men guided large bags and crates down the dusty, winding passageways, their backs straining under the heavy loads. This ancient labyrinth had been concealed beneath the protective desert sands for thousands of years. It had come to be known as the Necropolis of Anubis, a remarkable city of the dead which had once served the surrounding primitive people as a resting place for their loved ones. Now it had been re-discovered, and was proving to contain much valuable information for those interested in the ancient history and hidden past of the Egyptian people of the region. As the team moved slowly down to their destination, they passed numerous burial chambers and countless bodies, carefully entombed and sealed off in the walls of the caves and passageways around them. Most of these were common people, greatly loved and carefully laid to rest by their families and friends, yet common and simple people nonetheless. Today, the members of the excavation team spoke excitedly to one another about the tomb's most recent discovery. Only a week before, the crypt of an ancient warrior, apparently a man of great importance, had been found. The crypt was remarkably well preserved, and promised a wealth of information for those examining it. This particular discovery had the potential to be one of the greatest archaeological finds of the past few decades. Caught up in discussion about the work that lay ahead, the workers and scientists did not see the tall, attentive man who lurked in the shadows, following them as they descended deeper and deeper into the caverns. He had been observing their actions for a long time now, waiting to see if they would uncover the thing he was looking for, an artifact which he had been seeking for what seemed to him an eternity. He was quickly beginning to lose patience. For months he had been containing his anger and biding his time, letting these fools perform the work of clearing out these chambers for him, but their work was moving along much too slowly. They were taking meticulous care not to disrupt or damage the things that they examined, but he cared nothing about preserving ancient history. He watched the simpletons as they plodded slowly along, unaware of the power that lay so near their grasp. If these insects did not serve their purpose soon, he would have to take measures into his own hands. With each day that passed he was becoming fonder of the idea of disposing of every one of them. It would be so satisfying to see them pay for making him wait.

Chapter 1 Down the Dark Corridor

Near the village of Tarbet, Scotland, off the west shore of Loch Lomond, stood McGinty Castle. It's alluring landscape and colorful past made the place attractive to both historians and tourists, but as magnificent as the fortress was, Michael Belmont always felt perfectly at home there. In fact, he considered it to be a home away from home. Michael's family resided in the small city of Prescott in central Arizona, but they were also extensive world travelers. His father was a cultural anthropologist, and his mother an archeologist. They were funded by a private party, and worked and travelled together to conduct their research. Sometimes Michael, who had just turned twelve years old, and his younger sister Abigail, who was nine, would go along with them, but more often than not they would stay with family or friends while their parents travelled. There were two places in particular that they considered to be "second homes." Their Uncle Lincoln, or "Link" as they called him, lived in the nearby town of Sedona, and often kept and looked after them, but he did a fair share of traveling himself. He owned an antique store, and would periodically go out on what he referred to as "treasure hunts". He was apparently a very good bargain hunter, and would sometimes acquire historical artifacts to donate to museums. Much like Michael's parents, his uncle was highly knowledgeable about history, and sometimes joined their expeditions. On other occasions, Michael and Abigail were sent to stay at McGinty Castle. Mr. Declan MacDonald, the current owner of the castle, was a great friend of the family. He was a historian as well, and specialized in buying and selling European artifacts. Michael's parents had been introduced to Mr. MacDonald years ago by his Uncle Link, who was a friend and business associate. Liam MacDonald, Declan's son, had grown up knowing the Belmont children, seeing them at least once or twice a year during visits to Scotland, or when he and his father were visiting America. Liam was just a few months older than Michael, and the two considered themselves to be best friends. Mr. MacDonald enjoyed having the Belmonts stay with him whenever they were able, and was glad to keep an eye on the children when their parents were away. And so, here they were once again. Michael's family had just arrived in Scotland, and they were now on their way to stay with the MacDonalds. Both of the children were excited to visit the castle again, but they also had a bitter sweet feeling, because in a few days their mother and father would be leaving for several weeks on business. As his father drove their small rental car through the countryside, Michael watched the rolling hills pass through his sight. The green grass was often dotted with the white, fluffy forms of black-faced sheep, and as they passed a herd of highland cattle, Abigail thought it might be fun to braid their shaggy ginger colored hair. "Dad," said Abby in a suddenly excited voice, "are we going to be able to go on a hunt for the Loch Ness Monster this time?" Mr. Belmont looked at his wife and smiled. He knew that the question would eventually be asked. "Not this time," he told her. "McGinty castle isn't all that close to Loch Ness, and we're going to be pretty busy over the next few days preparing for the expedition." "Well I'd like to have at least some fun while we're over here," she responded. "Abigail," warned her mother, "stop being a drama queen. You're going to have a lot of fun, just like you always do when you stay at the castle." "Humph," responded Abby, crossing her arms and beginning to pout. Michael gave her a broad smile, and she stuck out her tongue at him. He knew that his sister

wasn't really that upset. Lately, she had become very skilled in feigning hurt feelings in order to get attention; at least that's what his mother had told him. Michael's eyes returned to the book his father had given him before boarding their flight from America. It was called Memoirs of My Journeys and was written by Shamus McGinty. Shamus was Declan MacDonald's uncle, who had left him McGinty Castle in his will. Michael was reading a description of the castle from the book. Come with me, as I walk the cobblestone street through the grounds of McGinty Castle. The smell of fresh cut grass lingers in the air, and the bonnie yellow wildflowers and purple heather bells accent the rolling green hills around us. Look at the mighty centuries-old fortress looming above us, a monument to the rich history of our great Scottish homeland. The flags raised upon its mighty towers flap playfully in the wind, heralding a welcome to all friends, and a warning to all enemies. Approach the castle. Touch the rigid stone wall, and hear its whispered tales of ancient battles, boasting how easily it once protected its inhabitants from every bloodthirsty invader. Look now at the heavy wooden doors, take the cold metal rings in your hands, and pull them open. Listen to the hinges creek under their cumbrous burden. Step inside with me, gaze at the antiquities which decorate the walls, ancient artifacts which I have collected and brought to the castle, now placed beside those things which have resided here for centuries. Walk through the chambers and halls, and imagine for a moment what stories this dwelling could tell, if only it could speak, if only we could hear it. Imagine what secrets must be hidden within these walls, for those who are wise enough to unravel them. Michael showed the passage to his mother, who also read it, and smiled. "Shamus McGinty was a very passionate man," she told him. "He was a bit full of himself, but very good-hearted and caring. Keep reading the book, you'll see what I mean." In actuality Michael had already read through most of the book, and he was amazed at some of the places and adventures that Shamus McGinty had spoken of. He had written of safaris, archeological excavations, and political leaders and famous people he had known. Michael wondered if he could lead a life as exciting himself someday. He still hadn't quite decided what he wanted to do when he got older. He loved to read, and he didn't mind traveling too much as long as he was seeing new and interesting places. He also liked to write stories and poems about the things he got to see while traveling. Abigail looked out her window, and saw a familiar, small country tavern that the family had been to a few times before. "Daddy, I'm getting hungry," she whined. "Can we stop up here for lunch?" Her father looked at his watch. "Hey, it is about lunch time isn't it?" He pulled the car off the road, and parked in front of the tavern. It was about two o'clock in the afternoon when the Belmont family arrived at McGinty Castle. Mr. Declan MacDonald had seen them coming up the drive and was out in the front yard waiting for them. He was a tall man with a broad chest and chiseled chin. He was wearing a tartan kilt and Tam Hat with the pattern of his clan, and stood with his fists on his hips, a broad smile painted

across his face. His English bulldog, Sir Nigel, sat beside him on the grass. Michael and his family got out of the car, and as they approached Mr. MacDonald, Abigail ran to him, jumping into his arms as he scooped her up as easily as he would a puppy. She hugged him tightly around the neck. Setting her back down, he shook Michael's hand firmly. "Michael, how are you son. I trust you had a good trip?" Michael nodded his head. "It wasn't too bad," he said with a grin. "Well, feel free to get some rest, or run around and stretch your legs. I know traveling does strange things to the body." He shook the hand of Michael's father and gave his mother a hug. "Where's Liam?" Michael asked excitedly. "He's inside somewhere," said Mr. MacDonald. "Why don't you go on in and look for him." "Thanks," said Michael as he ran off toward the castle. Abigail followed him. They darted through the front door, which was already open, and began searching through the rooms and chambers where they thought they might find him. He wasn't in the living room or the library, so they looked in the kitchen, but he wasn't in there either. Emma and Felecia Calderwood were busy making preparations for dinner. They were two sisters that had worked at the castle for years, although Michael didn't know exactly how long. Emma, a short plump woman with rosy cheeks, let out a little squeak when she saw the two children come in, and dropped the potato and knife she was holding to rush over and give them a welcoming squeeze. Her sister Felecia, the more refined of the two, was noticeably taller and thinner, but had the same warm smile and rosy red cheeks. She smiled at them warmly and ruffled their hair. "So nice to see you both," she said. "You must be looking for young Master Liam. He was in here just a few minutes ago picking up some, er, supplies. Went off toward his room I believe." "Thanks Miss Calderwood," said Michael as he straightened his hair. "Hope you worked up a good appetite while traveling dears," called Emma after them. They made their way off toward Liam's room, and as they came around the corner to the tower steps, they found what appeared to be his broken body lying across the bottom stairs. His neck was oddly contorted, his eyes were wide open in a look of surprise, and his tongue was hanging out of his mouth. His head rested in a small pool of what Michael instantly recognized as tomato sauce. Abigail gasped and let out a pointed scream, just as Liam began to shake with suppressed laughter. He rolled across the floor and jumped to his feet, as Michael began to chuckle softly. "You JERK," yelled Abigail. "What did you do that for?" She rushed toward him with a raised fist. "It isn't funny!" she said, punching at his arm while Michael held her back. "Calm down," he laughed. "It was only a joke." "Well I'm glad the two of you enjoyed it," she barked at them. Then glaring at Liam she said in a measured voice, "You'll pay for that." "So how have you two been?" asked Liam, ignoring her. "Pretty good, how about you," responded Michael. "Never better," he said happily. "I'm sure glad to see you, it's been a little boring around here lately, but now that you've arrived we're going to have loads of fun." "You live in a castle," said Abigail sarcastically, "how could you get bored in a place like this?" "Well, there haven't been many other kids around. I only have a few friends that live

nearby, and they've been off on vacation. I have beaten a lot of video games lately though, which is good." "Sounds like a waste of time to me," said Abigail grumpily. "What's gotten in to her?" Liam whispered to Michael. He just shrugged and rolled his eyes. "Well, what do you two feel like doing? I know you've had a long day, so do you want to rest or do you want to do something fun?" he asked, anticipation on his face. "Whatever," said Michael. "I'm a little groggy, but I'm up for just about anything." "Let's take a walk down to the loch, does that sound good?" asked Liam. "Maybe a little later tonight we can play games or something." Michael nodded. "That sounds fun." "Let me clean up this sauce before the Calderwood sisters string me up," said Liam. After the mess was taken care of, the three of them checked back in with their parents and headed down to the lake. It didn't take long for Abby's mood to improve, and soon all three of them were laughing and enjoying themselves. Michael opened his eyes and gasped for breath. Darkness surrounded him. Rubbing his eyes, he swung his legs off the side of his bed, pulling his feet back a little after touching the frigid stone floor. He sat motionless for a moment, part of his mind still lingering in the world of dreams. He had just been soaring through the clouds, the moist refreshing air filling his nostrils while the warm sun shone brightly above him. A dense green forest spread out across the mountains beneath him, far below. Michael had often dreamed of flying, but now reality was swiftly setting in. He felt cold and was agitated by this sudden change of setting. He lay back down in bed, pulled up the covers and closed his eyes, hoping to return to the comforts of sleep. Then he heard the noise again. It was the same noise he had heard just a few moments ago in his dream; the noise that had pulled him back into the uncomfortable world of reality. He sat up again. What was that noise? Bagpipes? Michael glanced at his alarm clock. 2:47 AM gleamed back at him in bright green numbers. Why am I hearing bagpipes at this hour of the morning, he thought to himself. It must be Liam. He would be the only one crazy enough to practice bagpipes at this hour. Michael had never heard or seen Liam playing the bagpipes, but he could think of no other explanation. "Well, if it is Liam he better knock it off quick, or his dad will kill him," Michael said quietly to himself. Liam's father was a patient man, but not the sort who would put up with obnoxious pranks in the middle of the night. The bagpipes sounded again, a bit louder than before, although they were still distant and faint. They had seemed much louder in his dream, but he knew he wasn't dreaming now. Michael jumped down to the cold floor. The rug, which was normally lying beside his bed, had been removed for cleaning, as a few hours before his little sister Abby had spilled a large bowl of raspberry ice cream on it. Michael put on his floppy eared puppy slippers and headed down the hall in the direction from which he thought the sound was coming.

His parents were staying in the old Lords and Ladies Chamber which was a few dozen feet down the hall. He wondered if they might have heard the music too? It didn't get any louder though, so he headed back down in the other direction toward his sister's room. The sound still wasn't getting any louder, but he passed his Abby's room and noticed a dark corridor from which he thought the music might be coming. In a large stone building such as this, where echoes abound, he thought to himself, the origins of sounds could be hard to pinpoint. Michael had always considered himself fairly brave, but he wasn't about to go traipsing down a dark corridor in a strange castle in the middle of the night without a flashlight. He quickly returned to his room to retrieve one, and then stopped by Abigail's room, poking his head in and shining the light on her bed. She was curled up in a ball under the covers, her long blonde ponytail strung over her pillow. In a way, he hoped that she would be awake, and perhaps had even heard the music herself. He thought about waking her, but decided it would be a little pathetic to wake up his baby sister because of his own fear. As he stood there, he noticed that the music of the pipes was beginning to fade away. He kept telling himself that the sound must be Liam playing a prank, although deep inside he didn't really believe it. Still, it was a more comforting explanation than any alternatives he could think of. Not wanting to lose his chance to discover the source of the music, he returned to the corridor and shined his flashlight down into the darkness. It had brand new batteries and was very bright, but he couldn't see the end of the hall. He stood still and attentive for a while. He was confident that the sound was coming from this direction, because it seemed just a little louder as he stayed there listening to it. Taking a deep breath, Michael decided to set off down the corridor and find the source of the piping. He walked slowly and quietly, often shining his light back behind him and taking a look to ensure that nobody could sneak up on him. He passed many doors, most of which were locked, some leading to empty rooms, but still the music appeared to be coming from down the corridor. A wide variety of artifacts and paintings were dispersed along the walls, and there were a few suits of armor and some antique chairs, and other small pieces of furniture as well. Almost everything was covered with cobwebs and looked as though no one had paid it any attention in years. Old books littered the hallway, placed here and there on shelves or furniture. Normally Michael, who had a great love for books, would have stopped to examine them, but he found himself steadily walking, intent on discovering the source of the music. As he continued, he noticed that many of the paintings on the walls depicted odd and disturbing scenes. Some of them had strange creatures that Michael had never seen before. Although he passed most of these without paying them much attention, he came to a portrait that grabbed his interest and without even realizing what he was doing; he had stopped to examine it. The man in this portrait was a very dark and authoritative looking fellow, with thick eyebrows and deep-set eyes. He had an unmistakable bestial look about him, and an unpleasant demeanor. He reminded Michael of a wolf who had gone without a proper meal for a few too many days. The man was dressed in clothes from several hundred years ago, although Michael didn't know quite enough about history to be any more specific than that. In his hands he held a

wooden staff with a black jackal's head on the end of it, it's lip curled up in a growl. "It looks like that Egyptian jackal-god," Michael quietly muttered. He couldn't remember the god's name, although it was on the tip of his tongue. He was glad his father wasn't there to quiz him. Speaking to the man in the portrait he added, "The funny thing is he has a much kinder looking face than you do." Something else caught his eye. The door next to the painting had a very impressive engraving of the moon carved right into the wood of the door. It was a full moon with clouds covering it slightly from both sides. Michael reached down and tried to turn the door's handle, but it was locked. He then noticed that the handle didn't appear to have a keyhole in it. "That's strange," he said out loud, and bent down to take a closer look. He couldn't find a keyhole anywhere on the handle or any other part of the door. "Maybe it's just stuck." Putting his weight into the door, he grasped the handle tightly and turned with all his might, but it wouldn't budge. He turned around, rested his back against the door, and took a deep breath. His eyes fell upon a curious looking tapestry, which hung on the wall facing the portrait. The scene was a drab and dense looking forest, bathed in the gray light of a full moon. Black clouds swirled menacingly through the sky. In the middle of the forest was a clearing, in which a hideous wolf was violently attacking a young blonde haired woman. The creature was definitely a wolf, or at least nearly a wolf, but it also resembled a human in certain ways. The expression on its face was very human, not what one would expect to see from an animal. It was altogether covered in brown fur, but walked on its hind feet in an upright position. The woman was screaming, as the beast had latched onto her arm with his jaws. Blood ran down the side of her long blue dress. Michael frowned. Gathered in a circle around the girl, a dozen more of the wolf men attentively watched the attack, eagerly waiting to join in. Diabolical, hungry looks were pasted across their twisted faces. Michael found the scene very unsettling. "Werewolves? Why would anyone want something like this hanging in his home, even if it is a damp old castle?" he said to himself angrily. His eyes returned to the portrait of the man who looked so much like a wolf. "I don't like your friends over here any more than I like you, ugly." He had never seen artwork that he found more detestable, and wondered why Mr. MacDonald would be interested in having such a morbid display hanging in his castle. He decided to continue on with his search down the corridor, and after a short time came to the base of a winding staircase. He stopped and listened again, but still couldn't hear the bagpipes. He did however, notice a slight draft that flowed coldly up the stairwell. It gave him the chills. By this time, Michael was wide awake and did not have the desire to return back to bed, but the idea of getting lost in a creepy, unknown section of the castle in the middle of the night didn't appeal to him either. As he was deciding whether or not to continue on and go up the stairs, he suddenly heard a shriek off in the distance. It was faint, like the piping had been, but there was something about it that once again chilled the blood in his veins.

The scream wasn't sharp and pointed like that of a woman being attacked; it was more of a drawn out, agonizing, crazy scream. It came from something that was terrified itself, and hoped to terrify others. Michael stood very still and listened for a few moments, and then the shrieking stopped. He looked again toward the ascending stairs. They now looked even less inviting than they had just a few moments before. He decided that it might be better to explore during daylight, when Liam could keep him company. Shining his light all around him once more, he cautiously proceeded back toward his bedroom. Upon reaching the end of the corridor where he had first begun, he turned once again, looking down into its mysterious depths. He thought for a moment about going and waking Liam so that they could explore together, but Liam would most certainly not appreciate being woken up in the middle of the night so that Michael could take him on a wild goose chase. He was almost certainly already familiar with this section of the castle. Yes, he decided, tomorrow would most certainly be a better time to resume the adventure. After checking on Abigail once again, he went to his own bed and pulled the covers up over his head.

Chapter 2 A Series of Unsettling Matters

When the alarm went off the next morning, Michael wasn't entirely sure he had ever gone back to sleep. His excursion during the earliest hours of the morning had left him exhausted. In a way it had all felt like an odd, surreal dream. He was painfully tired, but dragged himself out of bed, got dressed, and ran a comb through his hair. He checked his sister's room, which was empty, and then headed downstairs to have breakfast. When he got to the dining room everyone else was already there, and the first thing he noticed was Liam's father pouring himself some coffee. "I can get that for you sir," said Mr. Finnegan, the butler. Mr. Finnegan was a short, burly man with a balding head. He had a perpetual expression on his face that could best be described as a hybrid of bemusement and constipation. "Nonsense," responded Mr. MacDonald. "You tend to the eggs and bacon and I'll see to it that this gets distributed properly." He waved the coffee pot back and forth as if trying to conduct an orchestra with it. "Very well Sir," said Mr. Finnegan, and he promptly exited back through the door that led to the kitchen. Looking around, Michael saw his father sitting near the head of the table, and his mother seated beside him; she looked in his direction and gave him a little smile. Abigail, who looked like a miniature duplicate of her mother, sat next to her and bounced happily in her chair, anticipating the arrival of one of her favorite things in life, beloved bacon. Sitting across from his father was a man whom he didn't recognize. He looked older than Michael's father, but younger than his grandfather. He was large and muscular, had a fairly dark complexion, salt and pepper hair, and was dressed in an expensive looking suit. He seemed to be sitting a bit lower than everyone else, and Michael noticed that he was in a wheelchair. Upon looking up and seeing Michael, he nodded. His face looked kind, but also wore

sadness. "Ahh, Michael, I hope you slept well lad," said Mr. MacDonald "Come on in and have some breakfast. I don't believe you've had the pleasure of meeting my latest guest. Say hello to Mr. Aiden Osiris." "A pleasure to meet you sir," said Michael as he reached out to shake Mr. Osiris's hand. "The pleasure is mine," the man responded. His voice was deep and slightly raspy, and he had a firm grip. "You will forgive me if I don't stand up," he added with a wink. Michael let out a nervous chuckle and smiled back at him. "Sit here with me Mikey," said Liam as he waved to Michael, motioning to the large wooden chair next to his. The dining room table was long and elegant, and had ornate carvings on the corners and down the legs. It complimented the warm feeling of the room quite nicely. The castle was full of such ancient items, as Liam's father was a dealer of antiquities. Many of the items in the castle were already there when Mr. MacDonald had inherited it, but over the last few years he had fitted it with countless historical items such as the table, which came from another castle somewhere in France. As Michael walked towards the seat that Liam was still impatiently waving him to, his attention was drawn to the large stone fireplace in which a fire blazed, adding a bit of hominess to the large room. "That was a pretty neat trick you played last night with the bagpipes," Michael whispered to Liam as he sat down beside him. Liam gave him a puzzled look and frowned slightly. "Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about, it had to be you. Who else would try to pull a trick like that in the middle of the night?" "What in the world are you going on about?" Liam retorted. Michael shot him a disapproving stare. It reminded Liam of his school principle, who had accosted him last year for bringing his father's bulldog to class dressed up to look like the queen of England. "We'll talk about it later," Michael whispered curtly. Mr. MacDonald poured some coffee for Mr. Osiris, and patted him gently on the back. He looked at Liam and Michael and said "Mr. Osiris here was just filling us in on some of the details of our trip before you lot came in. Please go on where you left off Aiden." "Well, as I was saying, the necropolis to which we are traveling is located in the desert a few miles west of Edfu, Egypt. It was originally excavated in 1991, and extensive research was conducted as I'm sure you are aware, Declan. Your uncle Shamus was greatly involved in the process. His expertise and skill in archeological cartography was arguably unparalleled." "What's archeological cart-grophany?" asked Liam. "Archeological CARTOGRAPHY," his father retorted, "is the practice of mapmaking for archeological sites and excavations. And please don't interrupt our guest, Liam." "Quite all right Declan," said Mr. Osiris. "I love to see a healthy curiosity for the sciences in a sharp young mind." Liam beamed at his father, who raised an eyebrow and cracked a slight, sarcastic smile back at him. "Liam," said Mr. Osiris, "when an archeological find is first discovered, it is absolutely essential that meticulous care is taken to make maps and drawings of every detail involved, no matter how minor. Painstaking work must be done to record the location and position of all

artifacts, as well as drawings of the rooms. This is especially true for ancient sites such as those found in Egypt. The information gathered can be invaluable in regards to learning about the history, practices, religion, and various other details of a culture. Your great uncle was a world renowned master." "Is that the same uncle you inherited this castle from Mr. MacDonald?" Abigail asked. "Yes dear, it is," he responded. "He disappeared many years ago, and was eventually declared dead. He was a great man, it's a shame you never met him, because he really liked children. I spent a large part of my own childhood exploring the grounds of this castle, and he was always very kind to me. He never had any tikes of his own, and he willed me everything he owned, including McGinty Castle. But we digress. As you were saying Mr. Osiris." "All right, where was I? Oh yes; now I remember. An entrance to the necropolis was discovered and excavation began in 1991, and work continued until the Egyptian government closed the site in 1995 when the senior archeologist and five diggers were mysteriously killed." "Mysteriously killed?" asked Liam. "In what way?" "Well, there was a partially collapsed chamber far underground that the men were clearing out. It was apparently the burial chamber of a greatly respected and decorated warrior. There were many weapons and military artifacts that had been preserved along with the body of the man. It was a tremendous find and the work was being done very slowly in order to preserve every item and ensure the integrity of the structure. The team had nearly finished with the work when a passageway was discovered behind the sarcophagus. It led out of the burial chamber and into a small subterranean tunnel, just large enough for one man at a time to crawl through. The team reported strange sounds and the glow of a dim green light emanating from the opening. Dr. Farley, the senior archeologist, wrote a short description of the events in his journal before he died. From his handwriting, you can tell that he was shaken by the experience. He doesn't mention his own fear, but records that the workers were scared nearly witless and refused to enter the passageway. Dr. Farley sent one of the diggers to the surface to bring back some additional equipment and fetch his two assistants so that they could begin to explore the passageway, but when they returned, the Doctor and five workers were dead. They all had terrified looks frozen on their faces, and rumor has it that their eyes had all turned green. No other marks were found upon the bodies." "Sir, when you say that their eyes had turned green, what exactly do you mean?" asked Michael. "The color of their eyes had changed to green. A brilliant green. All of the men had previously had brown eyes, except for Dr. Farley, whose eyes had been blue." Mr. Osiris stroked his beard for a moment, and then said, "But again, this is only a rumor. The details of the deaths and the state of the site have been kept very quiet, until now." "Aiden, do you think the mysterious deaths could have anything to do with the Tomb of Anubis?" asked Mrs. Belmont. Suddenly Michael remembered that this was the name of the jackal headed Egyptian god. The man in the painting was holding a staff that reminded him of Anubis. "Come on Rachel," said Mr. Belmont. "The Tomb of Anubis is nothing more than a legend." "Don't be so sure," she told him pointedly. "You know that references to the tomb have appeared in several of the ancient manuscripts we've come across lately." Her husband rolled his eyes.

"I tend to agree with your husband Rachel," said Mr. Osiris. "The legend of the Tomb of Anubis is an interesting one, but some of the aspects of the story are very far fetched, and I'm afraid there's no real evidence for any of it." "What aspects are far fetched?" Michael asked him. "I mean, what exactly is the Tomb of Anubis anyway?" His father cut in. "Michael, the tomb of Anubis is supposedly the very place where the god Anubis would escort the dead through the veil to the afterlife. We know that it's only a myth because the ancient Egyptian gods aren't real, are they sweetheart?" This last part he said while giving his wife a patronizing look. She stuck out her tongue at him. "At any rate," said Mr. Osiris, ignoring them, "as you may or may not know Declan, your uncle Shamus was infuriated when the site was closed. He demanded that a more thorough investigation be conducted after the deaths of his companions, and he even volunteered to lead it himself. He also believed that the excavation should continue despite the unfortunate events. His requests fell upon deaf ears however, and the site remained closed." "Yes," said Declan nodding his head, "I did know. In fact I spoke to him after the dig was closed and to say that he was infuriated about it hits the nail right on the head. It wasn't long after that when he seemed to have fallen off the face of the earth." He got a very serious look on his face. "I've never told this to anyone before, but I think he may have re-entered the tomb to investigate on his own, and if he did, it appears he never came out again." Osiris nodded. "You are not the first to suggest such a thing, but I can tell you that the main entrance to the tomb remained under guard and appears not to have been disturbed, so if that was the case he must have found another way into the necropolis that nobody else has yet discovered." Mr. MacDonald stared distantly in silence, a contemplative look on his face. "Is there a chance that Uncle Shamus is still alive?" piped in Liam. "No," his father told him, "he was nearly eighty years old when he disappeared, and that was about seventeen years ago. Also, he wasn't the kind of person who would just disappear quietly without contacting anyone. He was too much of a people person, to put it mildly." There was silence for a few moments. "It's a strange story," said Mr. Belmont. "Aiden, do you have any idea why the government is now willing to reopen the dig?" "Well, said Osiris, "Egypt has recently appointed a new man as the Minister of State for Antiquities. He is called Hasani Khalil. He is a very serious fellow and has never bought into the superstitious aspects of the story. Soon after he took office, an investigation was ordered to look into the prior events at the site. After much deliberation, the location was determined to be perfectly safe. As it turns out, the mysterious passageway discovered by Dr. Farley could not even be located." "That sounds suspicious," said Mr. MacDonald. "How could the passage have just up and disappeared? Do you feel that an adequate investigation was done?" "I should certainly hope so," said Mr. Osiris with a grin. "You see, I was a member of the investigation team." "You know we respect your opinion Aiden," Mrs. Belmont told him, "So if you're confident that the dig is safe we have no reason to believe it's not." "Thank you Rachel."

"If it's a safe place mommy, then why can't we go with you this time?" said Abby with a pursed lip. It sounded more like a statement than a question. "We've already discussed this young lady. Your father and I are going to be extremely busy for the next few weeks, and the necropolis is no place for children." Then her voice softened a bit. "Mr. Finnegan will look after you for the next few days until Elizabeth gets here, and then in a few weeks you'll be able to join us in Egypt. If you're lucky, you may even get to go down and see parts of the necropolis." Abby hugged her tightly, but retained her pouty expression and red face. Liam leaned over to Michael. "Who is this Elizabeth woman again?" he whispered. "Her name is Elizabeth Harrison. She's my mother's best friend, they've known each other since high school." "Is she pretty?" Liam asked with a smile. "Well, I've always kind of thought of her as an aunt, but yes, she's actually very beautiful." Liam nodded at him approvingly. Breakfast was finally ready, and everyone ate and continued to chat about the days ahead. Michael thought about how happy he was to be gathered here with his family and friends, and how lucky they all were to have each other. The air smelled fresh from the rain that had lightly fallen throughout the night, and the sun occasionally peaked out from the overcast skies above. Liam was escorting Michael and Abigail through the garden behind the castle. It was a very beautiful and impressive place, and Abigail always looked forward to spending time here during her visits with the MacDonalds. Colorful flowers and mature trees made the garden a fascinating place to visit, but Michael's favorite part of the garden was the hedge maze. "The gardener does an amazing job," complimented Michael. "I wish I had a place like this in my backyard at home." "There are really cool places near your home too. Remember last year when we visited your uncle and went to Oak Creek Canyon and Slide Rock Park?" said Liam. "Sure I do, but those places are miles away from my house. You get to just walk outside and come out here," retorted Michael. "That's true," said Liam. "I guess I am pretty lucky." "You're very lucky," broke in Abby. "Any kid would kill to live in an ancient castle and have a garden like this." After walking and talking for a while, they came to a part of the maze that Michael couldn't remember ever having gone down before. He had been in the maze many times, and thought he knew it fairly well. "Liam, what's down this way?" Michael asked him. "Uh, oh, um, well, I don't really ever go down there," stuttered Liam. He now looked rather nervous. "Why not?" asked Abigail. He scratched his face. "Well, uh, I'm not sure I want touh, you wouldn't believe me anyway," he told them quickly. "What is it?" Abby said with a giggle, as she began walking down the path backwards, happy to tease Liam. "Uh, don't go DOWN there," he said with a startled, raised voice.

This only made Abby turn around and break out in a run. Michael and Liam both followed her. They ran down the path a short distance until it finally came to an end, opening up into a small green valley. Abigail came to a stop, taking a look around her, and so did both of the boys. A bright blue pond could be seen off to their left, and a dense forest stood in the distance. A few dozen grass covered mounds protruded in the valley below them. "What is this place?" asked Abby. "The Fianna Barrows," said Liam in a cold voice. "It's the site of an ancient battle." Abigail no more than took a step forward before Liam grabbed her arm. "HEY, THAT HURTS," she shouted at him. "You DON'T want to go down there, it's NOT a safe place," Liam yelled back at her, letting go of her arm. His face was now a bright red color. "Liam, what's wrong," asked Michael. "What's got you so freaked out?" "This is an evil place," he said. "We don't belong here." "What's so evil about it," asked Abigail. "I think it's beautiful." "Just because something's beautiful doesn't mean it's good," retorted Liam. "This place is cursed." "Cursed?" asked Michael doubtfully. "What's cursed about it?" Liam just shook his head. He obviously didn't want to talk about it. "If you don't tell us, then I'm going to go down there," said Abby in an irritated voice. She was angry with Liam for grabbing her, and wasn't about to show him any mercy. "Look," he told them, now speaking a little more calmly "that's the last place my mother went before she died. It's the reason why she got sick." "Liam," said Michael sympathetically, "why would this place have anything to do with your mother getting sick? That just doesn't make any sense." "Believe what you WANT," Liam snapped and turned around to walk back into the hedge maze. "You can't say I didn't warn you." Michael looked at Abby. She had a guilty, but unyielding look on her face. "Come on," he told her harshly and set off to follow Liam. "You need to work on your attitude." "Who do you think you are, Dad?" she hissed at him. But she followed along behind him, sheepishly. When their walk through the garden was over, Liam took Michael and Abigail for a bike ride along the shore of Loch Lomond. The sun was now shining brightly overhead, but the air was surprisingly refreshing and cool. They all rode along the stony path as it ascended and descended over the small green hills. Michael enjoyed the sound of the bikes fat tires digging into the small rocks and gravel beneath him. It felt good to get out in the open air and exercise after having traveled all the way from Arizona the previous day. After going a few miles, Liam noticed that Abigail appeared to be falling behind a bit, so he pulled over to a small, quiet picnic area down by the lake. The three sat under an oak tree and gazed out across the water. They rested for a few minutes in silence, taking in the peaceful scenery around them. "Now what's all this piping business you were going on about?" asked Liam as he wiped the sweat from his brow.

"Weren't you playing some sort of joke with that bagpipe music? It woke me up in the middle of the night, and I tried to figure out where it was coming from, but before I could, it stopped. It had to have been you, Abby was sleeping and I don't know of anyone else who would be playing a stunt like that in the middle of the night." "It wasn't me. Sorry to disappoint you but not all Scots play the blooming bagpipes," he said in a sarcastic tone. Abigail picked up a flat, round stone and sent it skipping across the water. "Well, what do you suppose I heard then?" asked Michael "The way I see it," said Liam, "there are two possibilities. Either you have finally cracked for good, and one of those voices in your head has taken up music lessons" Michael narrowed his eyes in a look of disapproval. "oryou've heard the piper ghost of Argyll," he continued with a wry smile. "Who's the ghost piper of Argyll?" asked Abby. "He was a very unlucky bloke who had his hands cut off for playing the bagpipes. I can't remember why, maybe he wasn't very good at it. He is supposed to haunt Duntrune Castle, off to the north of Loch Crinan in Argyll. Don't know why you'd of heard him in McGinty Castle though. That doesn't make much sense." Michael looked Liam straight in the eye. He could usually tell when his friend was joking around or trying to get him to fall for something, because Liam got a great sense of satisfaction from his own pranks, and usually gave it away by the look on his face. Michael didn't see that now. "When we get back home, I'll have Finnegan tell you the story. I haven't heard it in years, haven't really thought about it until now," said Liam. "Well I didn't hear anything last night," Abby stated with a frown. She didn't appear to be too keen on the idea of strange things happening at night while she was sleeping in a large, dark castle. Liam looked at her, and could see the concern in her eyes. "Its just some silly story Mr. Finnegan told me when I was a kid," he told her. Liam had always liked Abby, and although he wasn't particularly pleased with her due to the morning's events, he didn't want to scare her with ghost stories. "Well what about that corridor with all the horrible paintings, like the one with the werewolves?" asked Michael. "Werewolves?" retorted Liam. "Maybe you have flipped your wig after all. We've no paintings of werewolves in the castle." He looked at Michael in a very interrogative way, as if trying to read his thoughts. "Sure you do, I was there last night. It's where the bagpipe music led me. As far as I could tell it was coming from down that corridor." "And just where is this corridor with all the strange paintings?" asked Liam. "It's just down the hall past Abigail's room, before you get to the stairwell which leads down to the Great Hall." Liam continued to stare at him, trying to take this in. "Oh I see, now it's you that's trying to pull a fast one over on me. Getting me back for all those times I've had you going, are you?" He laughed and slapped Michael on the back. Michael let out a dry, nervous giggle and performed a half nod. He wondered if maybe he was going a little crazy after all. It didn't make any sense for Liam not to know about an entire wing of the castle when he had lived there his whole life. Could all the events of the night before

really have been a dream? He had never had a dream that seemed so real before, but maybe he was tired from traveling, and his mind was playing tricks on him. He wanted to change the subject. "Well, lets get going. We can't sit around here all day. Are you ready to go Abby?" She nodded and got back on her bike, and then the three of them continued on down the long rocky path. Abigail felt as though she could hardly continue standing after the long bike ride along Loch Lomond. Michael was proud of her, because he could see how tired she was, but she hadn't complained or asked for mercy even once. He would make sure they went a little easier on her next time. He wondered if he was the only big brother in the world who saw qualities that he envied in his little sister. Michael and Liam helped her get situated for a rest on the couch, put some cartoons on for her to watch, and then went on a search for Mr. Finnegan. They wanted to ask him about the Piper of Argyll, but he was nowhere to be found. Mr. MacDonald was in the kitchen preparing lunch. "Hello boys. The haggis will be ready momentarily." Michael winced. "I'm only joking Michael, not to worry. You like steak don't you?" he said and gave him a wink. "Yes sir, that sounds a little better." "Well it's not quite ready. But don't run off too far." Then he held up his finger as he always did when suddenly getting an itch to proclaim an order. "On second thought why don't the two of you go and fetch Mikey's parents and tell them that lunch is nearly ready." Michael gave him a thumbs up. "Da, have you seen Mr. Finnegan?" asked Liam. "He went to the market to stock up on groceries," Mr. MacDonald responded. "Why do you ask?" "No reason, just had a question for him," said Liam as he pulled Michael out of the room. "What about your dad, does he know the story?" asked Michael. "Maybe, but he won't tell us as much as Finnegan. We can talk to him later when he gets back from the market and he can tell us everything we want to know. Sometimes he pretends like you're bothering him, but it's all an act." They started off down the hall to fetch Michael's parents. "Now you can show me that mysterious corridor with all the gruesome paintings," Liam said, patting his friend on the shoulder. "Right," said Michael, and he gave Liam a timid grin. They reached the stone staircase that led up to the guest bedroom wing, and Liam said, "After lunch, I'll show you the oubliette." "Oubliette, what's that? Sounds girlish to me." "Oh yeah, well you wouldn't think so if you'd ever been put in one tough guy," Liam retorted. "Its kind of like a small dungeon where they used to keep prisoners. Well, sent them to die more often than not. There's a trap door off the old throne room that opens into a shaft down to the cell. Used to be some spikes at the bottom sticking up out of the ground, really ruin the

day of anyone unlucky enough to land on one of them." Michael got a visual image of this and winced in sympathetic pain. Liam noticed. "I agree," he said. They got to the top of the stairs and soon came to the section of wall that had been opened up the night before. A solid stone wall was all that Michael saw. He quickly turned his gaze back in front of him so as not to alert Liam, who seemed to have forgotten about the corridor in his excitement over telling Michael about the oubliette. "Da just had the thing cleared out a few months ago, you wouldn't believe the amount of bones they pulled out of there. Pretty gruesome business." They arrived at the Lords and Ladies chamber, and Michael knocked on the large wooden door. "Come in," called his mother. Michael opened the door and the two boys entered the room. His father was sitting at a wooden table with some maps of the excavation site spread out before him. His mother was standing at the other end of the room looking out of the window with her hands behind her back. Liam moved excitedly to the table to take a look at the maps, but Michael walked over to his mother. "Hey guys, did you enjoy your bike ride?" she asked them. Michael nodded. "Abby did great, we wore her out pretty good though." "She's a pretty tough little gal," said his mother. "It's nice of you and Liam to let her tag along. I know she can be a pest. Just keep in mind that she takes it pretty hard when your father and I travel." "I know," he said. "She was a being a kind of mean to Liam earlier today. He got a little upset actually." "What happened?" He quietly told her about their walk through the hedge maze, and how Liam had reacted to the valley of the Fianna Barrows. "Yes," she said softly, nodding her head up and down slowly. "Liam believes that place is cursed, because he believes the barrows to be located on a faery path." "A faery path?" he questioned her. "What the heck is a faery path?" "Exactly what it sounds like," she responded. "It's a kind of trail, or road used by faeries. Liam's father told us that he believes his mother was cursed by the creatures that live in those woods, because she broke their rules by entering unwelcomed into their territory." "That's one of the most ridiculous things I've ever heard," said Michael with a frown. "And that's why Liam didn't want to tell you about it. His mother was American, and she didn't believe the old stories, so he probably thinks you and Abby wouldn't believe them either." "He'd be right. Do you believe them," he asked her. "No, Michael. Liam's mother died because she got cancer, not because she was cursed," she said with a sad smile. "But, I do believe that there are many strange and beautiful things in this world. And I know for a fact that Liam's mother believed that too." Michael thought about all this for a moment in silence. He knew that many of the people in this country were superstitious, but he had a hard time wrapping his mind around something as strange as a belief in faeries. "So what are you up to," asked Michael, "prepping for the trip to Egypt?" She nodded, and putting her hand on his shoulder, she led him over to the table where her husband was pointing out some things to Liam. "Take a look at these maps of the excavation

site, Michael. It's amazing just how big the necropolis is." Mr. Belmont took out one of the maps from the bottom of the pile and moved it to the top. "Here is the city of Edfu, the home of the Temple of Horus." Then he moved his finger across the map to a location miles outside of the city. It looked like nothing more than a small area of rock and rubble. "The original entrance to the necropolis was found here. From the way the chamber is constructed however, I think there may be another way in from the Temple of Horus itself, someplace that hasn't been discovered yet." "Wouldn't it be obvious?" asked Liam. "No, not really, you'd be surprised how well a few thousand years worth of sandstorms can conceal things. Besides, the entrance from, or underneath the temple would most likely be kept a secret to deter thieves. It would probably be easier to discover it from within the necropolis, if it does indeed exist." He then took out a detailed map of the catacombs. Michael was astonished at how big the place was. Michael's mother put her finger to the map. "This is the first level. The other maps detail the chambers that go deeper underground. In terms of sheer scale, this is one of the biggest discoveries that exists in regard to ancient Egypt." The boys were impressed, but they were also hungry. "Oh, Mr. MacDonald wanted us to tell you that lunch is just about ready." "Great, I'm starving," said Mr. Belmont. "Right, Mark," said his wife. "Sitting on your butt looking at maps all morning must have really taken its toll on you." He looked at the boys and rolled his eyes. "Let's go eat." Declan MacDonald turned out to be a pretty good chef, at least when it came to grilling. Like any man with pride, he took steak very seriously. He had spent some time in Texas during his college years, where he had learned the fine art of grilling. In fact, he considered these skills just as important as any other aspect of his college education. Declan had met his wife Linda in Texas, and the two of them spent hours in the kitchen. Both loved to cook and spend time together. While Linda enjoyed baking and experimenting with new recipes, it was grilling that Declan enjoyed the most, and the sounds and smells of the grill always turned his thoughts to his beautiful wife and the time they had enjoyed together. Before her death, nearly seven years ago, she had moved back with him to Scotland. Living in McGinty Castle had been a dream for both of them, and he was glad that she had gotten to experience it for at least a little while before her passing. Declan had once again become lost in his own thoughts while thinking of her. The memories were always bittersweet; waves of happiness and lament breaking over him like the tide when he remembered her like this. A single tear ran down his cheek as he flipped over the steaks and sprinkled on some lemon pepper. "It smells delicious," called Aiden Osiris, clapping his hands together and snapping Declan out of his daydream. They were all seated outside in a picnic area near the entrance to the garden. Michael's father had brought some of his maps down and was going over them with Mr. Osiris. His mother and sister had just brought some plates and silverware from the kitchen. "You two go and help the Calderwood sisters bring out the side dishes," his mother said to

him and Liam as she set down the plates. Most of lunch consisted of more discussion about the trip to Egypt, and although Michael was interested in the details, his thoughts kept turning to bagpipe music, the corridor, and the story of the piper. These were mysteries that needed to be solved, and he wouldn't be happy until he had some answers, even if it turned out that nobody else believed him. After lunch, Liam took Michael to see the oubliette. They went to what once had been the throne room, and Liam lifted up the end of a large rug to reveal a trap door in the floor. The boys peered down into the cell, and Michael could see that the bottom was about twenty feet below. A rope ladder hung down from the side of the hole. "Want to go down?" asked Liam. "Not really," frowned Michael. "Oh come on, you won't believe how freaky it is down there," said Liam as he got to the floor and started down the ladder. "Come on," he shouted back up once he was at the bottom. Michael followed him down, and once he had reached the floor, it took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the darkness. The only light coming in was from the trap door up above, and he could imagine that if that door was closed and something like the rug were placed over it, pitch blackness would consume the cell. The room was lined with smooth brick. It was barrel shaped to prevent anyone from climbing back up to the door once they had been tossed down the hole. The diameter of the room was about eight to ten feet across. Liam showed Michael where sharp, wooden spikes had once protruded from the floor. "When we discovered this place there were bones piled up all the way across the room three feet high," Liam said. Michael was silent. He was trying to imagine how many hopeless souls had lost their lives in the despair of this chamber. He couldn't imagine casting a fate like that on even his worst enemy. Then a thought came to him. "I wonder if one of the people who died in here was a piper?" "Who knows," Liam responded. "I wouldn't be surprised if there was one, with the amount of bones that were hauled out of here." They stood there in the dark chamber, a chill ran down Michael's body as he thought about the horrors this place had seen. "Lets get out of here," he told Liam, "maybe Mr. Finnegan has come back from the market by now." They climbed back up, shutting the trap door behind them. Liam pulled the rug back over it to conceal it from view. The oubliette was an interesting place to see, but Michael didn't care to ever go back down there again.

Chapter 3 The Piper's Tale

When the boys found Mr. Finnegan, he was sitting in a brown leather armchair in the library, his feet up, and his face concealed by a large book. The smoke from his pipe drifted up in a way that made the book look as if it were smoldering.

They sat across from him without saying a word, and stared at him in anticipation. They both knew he had heard them come in. After a moment, he lowered the book so that only his eyes were visible over the top. This reminded Michael of the looky-loo neighbor back home who was always peering over the fence into their yard. "Yes?" he said, as if he had just noticed their presence in the room. "Mr. Finnegan, I was wondering if you could tell us the story of the piper of Argyll," said Liam. "Are you now?" asked Finnegan rhetorically. He snapped his book shut fiercely with one hand, so that both boys jumped in their seats. He looked over their faces with a tilted head and raised eyebrow, pipe dangling loosely from his mouth. This made them feel as though they were being scanned for some sort of clue or piece of evidence that could be used to incriminate them. Michael noticed that Liam just sat still in his seat, smiling back dumbly at the plump, bald man. Finnegan didn't get many chances to be the center of attention, but truly enjoyed and took advantage of the situation whenever it occurred. Liam had come to him for stories quite often as a boy, but since he had gotten older he had been chasing his own interests. Finnegan had missed telling him stories, although he would never have admitted it. "And why, may I ask, the sudden interest?" he said, continuing to peer at them with a raised eyebrow, trying to see through their eyes into hidden intentions. "Uh, I just happened to mention the story to Michael and he thought it sounded interesting, but I couldn't remember all the details," Liam responded. Even Michael thought that Liam was acting suspiciously. Leave it to him to make the simple matter of hearing a ghost story seem as though they were thinking about breaking in to Fort Knox. Finnegan continued to stare at them in silence for a few moments, before easing his expression. He was after all, quite used to suspicious behavior from Liam. "Very well then. I will tell you the tale of the piper. But I must ask you not to interrupt me, for I take my storytelling very seriously, and shan't have my concentration broken by foolish questions." He said this with his eyes closed and his nose turned up. Michael looked at Liam, who gave a slight smirk and a shrug. And then Mr. Finnegan began the story. "Overlooking Loch Crinan in Argyll," began Finnegan, "stands Duntrune Castle, an old and mighty fortress not unlike our own McGinty Castle. It is still occupied today, a testimony to the resilience and skill of the Scottish people," he said with an air of pride. "During the 1600s, it was occupied by the powerful Campbell Clan. This was a time in Scottish history when the clans were all very individualistic, and they fought fiercely with each other to hold control over their regions of influence. This period of time was also one of civil war in Britain. The Campbell clan was supporting the side of Parliament, but many of their enemies, such as the noble MacDonalds, supported King Charles the first." At this Liam nodded his head proudly. Finnegan winked at him and went on. "There came a time when the MacDonald chieftain, Alasdair Mac Colla, heard that most of the Campbell men were away from their castle at Duntrune, and he decided to move quickly and take advantage of the situation by attacking the castle.

He formulated a plan. At dusk, his men crept quietly up to the castle wall, swords drawn at the ready. They scaled the walls and assassinated the lookouts, taking the castle with little effort, and proudly raised their clan flag upon its towers." Liam smiled sweetly, nodding his head as if he were remembering having been there himself. "That sounds a little brutal," said Michael. "It was a brutal time, my lad," Finnegan told him impatiently. "Now where was I? Oh yes. Soon after the MacDonalds had taken Duntrune Castle, Mac Colla set sail to continue his campaign in support of the King. To guard the castle, he left behind a small garrison of men, and his piper, who was also his most loyal of friends." "Why would he leave his piper in charge?" broke in Liam. Finnegan huffed at having been interrupted a second time. "In those days, pipers held a very prominent position in the Scottish clans. They were very well educated and were ranked highly in the households of the chieftains. They also served a very important role in battle, piping the men forward into the fight, giving them a sense of pride and encouragement. The piper was a figurehead of loyalty to his clan." "Oh," said Liam. "That makes sense then." "Well, as you can imagine," continued Finnegan, "the Campbells were not happy about having lost Duntrune Castle, and whilst Alasdair Mac Colla was away, they launched a counter attack to retake their former fortress. Men from both sides fought gallantly, and many died by the edge of the sword that day. It was a bloody affair, but eventually the Campbells recaptured Duntrune, and every surviving MacDonald was executed, all except one, the MacDonald clan Piper." At this Liam made a fist and punched his own hand in mock anger, grinding his teeth and letting out a growl. Finnegan ignored him. "As privileged and respected individuals in the clans, pipers were protected, and Alasdair Mac Colla's piper was spared, but he was imprisoned and confined in the castle. Surrounded by his enemies, away from his family and cut off from any friend, he spent his days in loneliness. Yet, he did not despair. The piper knew that the MacDonalds would return to Duntrune, unaware of the danger that they would be walking into. And so, he kept a close watch for Mac Colla's return, hoping to find a way of warning his master about the Campbells, and a situation that would mean almost certain death." "He sounds like a very brave man," said Michael. "Indeed," responded Finnegan, taking a few quick puffs off his pipe. "As day dawned one morning, the piper skimmed the horizon for a glimpse of his master's boat, and saw a shape slowly appear on the horizon. He squinted his eyes, and saw the MacDonald galley, which he knew would be carrying his master. Frantic to help his friends, he did the only thing he could think of to warn the MacDonalds, and began to play his pipes. Drifting across the cold waters, Alasdair Mac Collas began to hear the faint strains of the bagpipes. He smiled at the thought of his loyal friend welcoming his return with a tune, but soon realized that the piper's song was an urgent warning not to return to shore. The chieftain was heartbroken at the idea of leaving his friend behind, but he knew that they must be vastly outnumbered for his friend to give such a warning. Realizing that the piper was risking his own life to save theirs, he honored his sacrifice, and commanded his men to veer the

boat from shore. The MacDonalds sailed slowly away to safety. "Oh no," said Michael in a very concerned voice. "What happened to the piper?" Finnegan looked at them with a sad smile. "When the Campbells realized what the piper had done, they cut off his hands with an axe so that he would never again play the pipes. They left him with his wounds, leaving it to fate whether he would live or die. And alas, he died before the night was over, and is said to have been haunting the castle ever since." "Mr. Finnegan," interrupted Liam once again, "has the piper ever been known to appear anywhere outside of Argyll?" "No." He responded with a raised nose. "I've never heard any accounts of his appearing anyplace other than Duntrune Castle." "Do you believe the story?" asked Michael. "Do you think his ghost began to haunt the castle?" "There have always been those who have dismissed the story as myth, nothing more than a fanciful children's yarn. However, there is evidence to support the story. Around the year 1880, repairs were being carried out at the castle and some flagstones were being replaced. The men conducting the work lifted up one of the stones only to discover a human skull staring back up at them. They sent for the Lord of the castle, and when additional slabs were lifted, a full human skeleton was revealed, and the three men saw quite clearly that the skeleton had no hands, that they had been chopped off. The castle Lord knew at once that these must be the remains of the spirit that continued to haunt the castle. A spirit that he himself had seen, a spirit which many others have seen since that day." "What did they do with the skeleton," asked Liam. "Did they leave it underneath the flagstones?" "No," responded Finnegan. "The Lord of the castle sent for the bishop, and they gave the remains a proper burial. The bishop was also asked to exorcise the spirit of the piper that haunted Duntrune. He performed a ceremony called the rite of bell, book and candle, but despite the bishop's efforts, the spirit continued to dwell inside the castle. Those living there have reported objects being moved and broken, and pets seeing and hearing things that aren't there. Even today, a single headstone marks the spot where the skeleton is said to have been buried, and it is known as the pipers grave." "Mr. Finnegan," said Michael, "do you believe it's possible that the ghost could wander from Duntrune Castle and be heard someplace else?" "Well I'm certainly no expert on the traveling habits of disembodied spirits," he responded. "Why are you two so concerned about this? Is there something you aren't telling me?" He eyed them both suspiciously. They looked at each other nervously. "Uh, no, no," Liam told him. "Just wondering, that's all." He continued to stare at them with a raised eyebrow as they headed for the door. "Thanks very much Mr. Finnegan," said Liam as they left. "Well that was interesting," said Michael. "Yeah," said Liam. "But it doesn't really explain what you heard. It doesn't sound like the piper of Duntrune can leave, or maybe doesn't want to leave, Duntrune Castle."

"Well, I know what I heard, and it seems as though whoever or whatever it was wanted me to discover that corridor." "You're not going on about that again, are you?" asked Liam. He looked at Michael in a way that seemed to say "You aren't going to fool me with that one." "Look," went on Liam, who could see the serious look on his friend's face, "are you sure the music wasn't coming from your parents room? Maybe they left the television on? Or maybe Abby was playing at some kind of joke on you?" Michael just shook his head. He knew that Liam probably wouldn't believe him until he heard the music for himself, and he couldn't really blame him for it. "Hey," said Michael coming to a stop, "what kind of books have you guys got in that library?" "I dunno," said Liam, "all kinds of books. Most of them are leftover from Uncle Shamus, and my Da likes books, so he adds a few now and then. I may be able to find a romance novel like the kind my Mum used to read for you in there." Michael brushed the comment aside. "Do you think there are any books about ghosts?" "Probably," said Liam, "can't say that I've ever looked for one though." They backtracked to the library where they found Finnegan just where he'd been before. "Oh what is it now?" he groaned in mock exasperation. "Uh, nothing," said Liam evasively. "Just thought we might pick up a few books while we're in here. A little light reading." "Really?" said Finnegan with a fascinated voice. "Excellent." He raised the book back up to his face. "I knew you'd show the desire to learn to read one of these days, if only we were patient." Liam smiled at Michael and pointed at his own head, indicating how smart he was. "By the way," piped in Finnegan, "there are a few books about the paranormal on the top shelf on your right, closest to the window." Liam frowned at Michael. He always found it unsettling when the butler intuitively knew what he was thinking or doing. "Thanks," he said in a perky voice. Liam wheeled the ladder that clung to the shelf over to the section near the window and climbed up. He nosed around for a few moments before handing down a few books to Michael. One of them was called A Haunted History of the British Isles, and the other was called Haunted Scotland, From A to Z. "These look interesting," Michael told him. "Is it okay if I take them to my room and read them a little later?" "Sure," Liam told him. "Hey, do you want to go out and whack a few balls around?" Liam was an avid golfer, and one would be hard pressed to walk very far across the castle grounds without stumbling over a golf ball or two. It drove the groundskeeper nearly insane, especially when he went to mow the grass. "Sounds like fun," said Michael. "Let me drop these off at my room and I'll meet you out front." "I'll go get my clubs," Liam said. Michael headed toward his room, scanning through the books as he walked. They looked promising, and he was eager to search for answers, but he also didn't want Liam to think he was becoming obsessed with the whole thing. Rounding a corner as he approached the guest rooms, he nearly tripped over Aiden Osiris, who was sitting in the middle of the hallway.

"Oh, sorry about that sir," said Michael as he caught himself before falling over Mr. Osiris. "Oh, excuse me. My fault, no need to apologize," he said with a slightly nervous tone. "Well, I'm off to find your father, you haven't seen him around have you?" "Uh, I haven't seen him since lunch. He may be in the study with Mr. MacDonald. Seems like that's where he's been spending most of his time the last few days." "Ahh, good, I'll go have a look then. Take care now Michael." He turned and headed off down the hallway. That was odd, thought Michael to himself as he watched him go. Mr. Osiris had been sitting and staring at the wall just at the spot where the corridor had appeared last night, and then he had acted curiously when seeing Michael come by. Did he suspect something was there? Was it possible that he knew about the corridor, and the treasures being stored there? Maybe he wasn't going crazy after all. It was very strange that Mr. Osiris had come up the stairs just to look for his father. Several wheelchairs were kept around the castle at the bases and tops of the stairways so that the man could come and go as he pleased, as he was very independent. But Michael thought it odd that Mr. Osiris would go to such trouble just to look for his father when he could easily have sent someone to fetch him. He walked to his room and placed the books on the table beside his bed. Then he pulled his own bag of clubs from the corner where he had laid them, and unzipped the side to make sure he had some golf balls. There were only a few, but he knew he could easily pick some more up from the yard. Swinging the bag up over his shoulder, he headed back down to meet Liam.

Chapter 4 Goodbye For Now

The morning soon arrived when it was time for Michael's parents and the other members of the Egyptian expedition to depart. The Calderwood sisters would be leaving as well. They were off to attend the wedding of a niece in London, which meant that Finnegan would be watching the children by himself for the next few days. It felt as if the whole castle were emptying out. After breakfast, the children helped their parents carry the luggage down to the drive. The weather was gray and gloomy, reflecting the feelings of everyone gathered outside. Abigail was speaking to her mother, who was consoling and reminding her that Elizabeth Harrison would be arriving in just a few days. Abby was not happy about being left behind again, but this made it a little easier. Michael gave Aiden Osiris a nod and small wave as Mr. MacDonald helped him into the car, then placed his wheelchair in the trunk. "Michael, I have something for you," said his father, handing him a book. It was leatherbound and looked very old. "What's this?" "Your mother told me about your conversation the other day. I found that at a bookstore in town and thought you might find it interesting." Michael looked at the title of the book. It read The Secret Commonwealth of Elves, Fauns and Fairies. "Oh, thanks," he said. "The whole idea of creatures like this existing is a little ridiculous, don't you think?"

"Probably," his father told him, "but there are a lot of strange things in this world." He winked at him. "Anyway it could be an interesting read." Michael nodded. "Dad, do you think I'll be able to help out a little more this time, when Abby and I get to Egypt?" "I think so. You've been coming along pretty well lately with your studies. I'd really like to see you get your hands dirty, but a lot of it has to do with the person in charge of the work. Sometimes kids make people at ancient dig sites a little nervous, so just make sure you are on your absolute best behavior when you get there. No horseplay. You might want to keep a close eye on Liam." Michael smiled and nodded as his father squeezed him on the shoulder. Mr. MacDonald walked up to them. "Hey Michael, you be sure to make yourself at home while you're here alright?" "Thank you Sir," he said. Abigail held on to her father's leg as he put his bags in the trunk of the car. She had contorted her face into a disapproving pout that reminded Mark of the look his wife gave him whenever he did something to offend her. Abby knew her craft well, and had a way of nearly breaking her father's heart whenever he headed out to travel, but he also knew that this had become a part of the process for her, and that she would be fine soon after they left. Michael hugged his mother tightly, then his father, and walked over to stand at the side of Liam and Finnegan. "You be good now son, and look after your guests properly," Liam's father told him. He stood up tall with a look of determined pride on his face. Liam was a joker, but he could be deathly serious about performing his duty when he felt his honor was in question. Mr. MacDonald gave a final wave to the children, and winked at Finnegan, who responded by bowing his head. Rachel showered Abby's forehead with kisses, waved to Michael, and dragged her husband into the car behind her. "I suddenly have an inkling for some hot cocoa, if anyone cares to join me," said Finnegan as he strode back up the drive. The sun was starting to go down, and as Michael watched the cars pull away, he made up his mind that the next few weeks were going to be fun. A cool breeze of air swept over the face of Elizabeth Harrison as she walked through the glass doors of Sky Harbor International Airport. It felt good to escape the sweltering heat of mid-day Phoenix, even if it meant coming into a noisy, busy airport terminal. She brushed her black, shoulder length hair out of her face, and let out a short sigh. Elizabeth was not a big fan of flying. She had done a lot of business travel in the last few years, and was dreading the ten-hour flight to Edinburgh. But she had never been to the United Kingdom, and was looking forward to seeing the Scottish countryside. She was also excited at the idea of a few weeks of rest and relaxation, spending time with Michael and Abigail while their parents were in Egypt. Mark and Rachel had offered to fly her out to Scotland and put her up in an old castle if she would help watch the kids while they were away. She loved the children and the whole thing sounded like an adventure, too good of an opportunity to pass up. She had put in for some long overdue vacation time and was now on her way. If only she

could step into one of those nifty transporter machines like they have on sci-fi movies, she thought, and bypass the whole flight process. After checking her bags and going through screening, she found a seat and waited for the plane to start boarding. She looked around at all the other people who would be on her flight. Most of them looked like pretty normal people. She didn't see any screaming babies, and thought that at least was something to be thankful for. Elizabeth liked babies, and often dreamed about having her own children someday, but she also had first hand experience with sitting next to a colicky baby on a long flight, and that was not something she was eager to repeat. It wasn't long before the plane began to board, and after getting on and finding her seat, she stowed her carry on bag and sat down. She was in a middle seat, and although the plane was pretty full, those seats on both sides of her remained empty, and she hoped it stayed that way. She reached into her purse, and pulled out a book entitled Touring Scotland; Essential Sites you'll find off the Beaten Path. A bookmark stuck out, which she removed and examined fondly. It said "Merry Christmas from the Belmonts" and had a picture of Mark, Rachel, Michael and Abigail. Abby was wearing a Santa hat, smiling broadly, and Michael had a blank, embarrassed look on his face. His dark brown hair had been uncharacteristically combed to perfection. Elizabeth set the bookmark aside and began to search for places of interest near Loch Lomond. She soon began to lose herself in one of the book's articles about a local bed and breakfast, but was disturbed when a man stopped beside her and said, "Excuse me miss, I think I'm in the seat right next to yours." "Great," she said sarcastically under her breath, but lifted her face in a courteous smile. When she saw the man, the forced smile melted off her face into a look of pleasant surprise and timidity. Standing next to her was a tall, extremely handsome man with dirty blonde hair and bright blue eyes. She didn't say anything, and when she made no attempt to move, he gently said, "Miss, do you mind?" Suddenly realizing how rude she was acting, she giggled out a nervous "Oh, of course not, I'm so sorry," and pulled her legs in tight so he could get by her. She picked her purse up off his seat. He removed his suit jacket, sat down, and got situated in his seat. "Safety first," he said as he put on his seat belt. Elizabeth gave him a pleasant smile and nodded. "My name's Gabriel," he said, holding out his hand. "Elizabeth," she said as she took it. His grip was firm and he felt unusually warm. She went back to pretending to read her book, but continued to sneak looks at him from the corner of her eye. Maybe this flight won't be so bad after all, she thought to herself. The two sat quietly for a while, and Elizabeth put her book down when the plane began to take off. The only part she hated more than the takeoff was the landing. She closed her eyes and gripped the armrests beside her. She could tell that Gabriel pretended not to notice how nervous she was. She thought this was very kind of him. After the plane found its altitude, Elizabeth began to feel more relaxed. She picked up the book again and took out the bookmark. "That's a nice looking family," Gabriel said with a smile. "Oh, thank you. This is my best friend and her family." She told him their names and about how she had known Rachel since high school and had even been there when the kids were born.

"Lovely children," he said. "One of my best friends is named Michael. He's a very impressive person, and I've known him for a long time." "Is he married?" she asked him awkwardly. But what she had really wanted to ask was, Are you married? She noticed he wasn't wearing a wedding ring. "No," he said. "His boss keeps him very busy, he wouldn't have time for marriage." The two continued to talk, and before Elizabeth realized it, a few hours had passed. Gabriel was a very good listener. The kind of person who you feel like you've known for years. Elizabeth told him about things going on at work, about some music therapy she had been doing with children in the hospital, and a bit more about her friend Rachel's family. She realized that she often got caught up in speaking about the Belmont children as if they were her own. She was very attached to the Belmonts and knew they loved her as well, even considered her a part of the family, but she sometimes got the feeling that it was a little pathetic to live her family life vicariously through her best friend. Elizabeth longed to have a husband and children of her own. There was one man in particular who she had fallen in love with long ago, but every time he seemed like he might be interested in her as well, he ended up pulling away and placing distance between them. She knew the healthiest thing she could do was to let him go and move on, but it never seemed to be something she was capable of. Maybe all she needed to do was meet the right person. She knew that someone out there had to be right for her, someone who was willing to commit. She wanted an intelligent, kind, mature man who would appreciate a loving wife and wanted at least a couple of children. Gabriel seemed interested in children, and as they continued to talk they started telling stories from their own childhoods. He had one story in particular that Elizabeth found very interesting, perhaps because he seemed so passionate in telling it. "My friends and I were out hiking in the mountains when we came across an old mine shaft," he told her. "There were a lot of abandoned shafts in that part of the country, and we had all been warned about how dangerous they were, but when you're young you sometimes feel like there's nothing out there that can harm you, and we couldn't help but investigate. We had gone a few hundred feet inside when the passageway behind us collapsed, we were trapped inside, and we were all extremely scared." Elizabeth's eyes grew wide. "We all had flashlights, but knew the batteries would only last for so long. We had no food, no water, and nobody at home really knew for sure where we were. We looked over the area of the cave in, but the rocks were much too big for us to move, and we soon knew that we weren't going to get out that way, so we headed deeper into the mine, hoping to find another way out. The shaft broke off in several directions, and none of us was sure which way we should go. We were all losing hope, but I knew I needed to be strong for my friends so we could all get out together. After a long time searching the tunnels for a way out, we concluded that we must have come through the only entrance. All of the passages seemed to lead to dead ends. We headed back toward the entrance, and when we got there everyone just sat down. We turned off our lights to save the batteries. Nobody said anything; there was nothing to say. We were trapped." "How did you get out?" inquired Elizabeth in a concerned tone. "Well, that's the weird part. We all heard a noise a few dozen feet down one of the shafts. You can imagine what an unpleasant shock that was.

I shined my light toward the source of the noise, and standing on the ground by the wall was a really big jackrabbit. We all got up slowly so we wouldn't spook him, and he began to hop down the chamber on the far right. We followed him. Every time we got within fifteen feet or so he would hop a little farther. We all hoped silently that maybe he had a way out he was unknowingly going to show us. As we approached the end of the shaft he disappeared behind a boulder, and looking behind it we found a small opening in the side of the shaft. It was just big enough for us to crawl through one at a time, which we did. After what seemed like forever, I looked up ahead and saw what appeared to be the twinkling of stars in front of me. We crawled out of the side of that mountain, a little bit bruised and beaten up, but much, much wiser. We were glad to be alive." "That's amazing. I don't know what I'd do in a situation like that, I'm not very fond of closed in spaces." "I noticed," said Gabriel. "But I have a feeling that you might be braver then you think you are." She smiled at him with a grateful but apprehensive look on her face. "It's getting kind of late, why don't you try to get some rest," Gabriel told her. As soon as he said this, she realized just how tired she was. She couldn't help but close her eyes, and was just starting to nod off into a deep sleep when she felt a gentle but firm hand shaking her shoulder. "Excuse me Miss, but you need to wake up, we've landed." Elizabeth opened her eyes and drearily looked up at the stewardess standing beside her. "You're a deep sleeper, not an easy one to wake up," she said kindly. "We're here?" Elizabeth asked a bit dumbly. "That's right, you need to get off the plane now. Looks like you'll be the last one off." Elizabeth turned quickly and noticed that Gabriel had gone. She swiftly thanked the stewardess and gathered up her things. Rushing to the end of the line, she was trapped behind an old man with a cane and his wife, who were slowly creeping into the terminal. She looked everywhere, but Gabriel was nowhere in sight. She could barely contain her tears.

Chapter 5 The Chamber of Antiquities

Michael often had trouble getting to sleep at night. This was especially true when his parents were away traveling. Although he was quite used to them going away for business, he had never liked it. As his parents had left for Egypt that morning, he found his mind wandering nervously about the things he would do to occupy himself for the next few weeks until they returned. They had assured him that the trip would only last for two weeks, possibly three, and then they would return to Scotland for another few weeks before the whole family went back to Egypt for the rest of the summer. He looked forward to spending time with his friend Liam, but wished that his parents were going to be around as well. Michael wanted to sleep, but his mind kept racing, and all he could do was lay there and

think. Then he heard the pipes again. Over the last few nights, Michael had intended to return to the spot where the corridor had appeared to him the first time he'd heard the music, but he had not yet gotten the chance. His parents went to bed after he did, and he knew they would get after him for wandering around the castle alone at night. On top of that, he had been so exhausted over the last few days that he was asleep before his head hit the pillow each night. In actuality, he had come to a point of convincing himself that it had all been his imagination, but now that he heard the music again, going back down to look for the corridor would take away all doubt. He slid to the floor, put on his slippers and robe, and grabbed his flashlight. Walking past his sister's room, he instinctively looked in to check on her. Abigail could be a tremendous pest at times, but Michael was very protective of his little sister, and this was especially the case when his parents were away. She was sleeping soundly. Michael had always envied her ability to fall asleep so quickly. He went past her room and headed toward the spot where the mysterious corridor had previously appeared. The music was certainly growing louder as he walked. The castle seemed especially drafty tonight, and Michael was glad he had remembered to put his robe on. He moved swiftly down the hall, and soon came to his destination. The corridor appeared before him once more. Was all of this a dream? He certainly didn't think so. But why had this corridor disappeared? Perhaps it only revealed itself at night, or maybe someone had the ability to open it up whenever they chose to. Maybe it only appeared when the bagpipe music was played? This was a question that demanded an answer. Now that he was here once again, Michael wasn't at all sure that he liked the idea of going down a disappearing corridor by himself in the middle of the night, especially when he knew what kind of grotesque works of art littered its walls. He had an urge however; to make sure that everything was there just as it had been before. He wanted to confirm that he wasn't going crazy or imagining things. And what about the piper? Was the ghost of the piper of Argyll trying to show him something? "I need to go get Liam," he said to himself softly. But even as he said this the music of the bagpipes began to slowly fade, as if it were moving away from him. Without hesitating, he began to run down the corridor, intent on catching the source of the music, but it seemed that the faster he ran, the faster the music faded. By the time he got to the portrait of the wild looking man and the werewolf mural, the piping was completely gone. "You again," he said nastily, looking at the man's ugly face. "Well, this trash is still hanging on the walls, I was right about that." He took a moment to reexamine the door next to the portrait. He could still find no keyhole, and again the door would not budge. He ran his fingers along the carving of the full moon. "Well, it's a beautiful door. Too bad this other stuff is here next to it." Now that the piping had stopped once again, he was mad and frustrated, and determined to go on. He continued walking to the end of the corridor, and stopped at the winding stairway. He was going to go up those stairs even if he had to do it alone. He took a deep breath, and began to climb. He held his head down and his chest out, it seemed to give him confidence. This only lasted a while, however, as the stairs seemed to go on

and on, and by the time he reached the top, he was dragging himself along. He felt as though he had gone up about ten flights, although he knew that this was impossible. He took a moment to catch his breath before taking a good look around. He noticed a light switch by the edge of the stairs and flipped it up. The lights flickered for a moment before illuminating the room, which was very large and reminded him of a museum. There were display cases that housed all kinds of antiques and strange artifacts. Many of the items had small paper cards in front of them, but Michael couldn't read the writing on some of them, and not all were written in English. Some of the items looked very valuable, like a large golden gauntlet with gems set in the knuckles. Michael focused his eyes on the card, which was partially obscured with a cobweb. He made out part of a word, "Infin", but that was all he could read. Other items looked like common, worthless junk. In one of the glass cases were a mallet and a leather pouch with wooden stakes hanging out of it. "Property of Professor Abraham Van Helsing," the card read. "Who was he?" Michael said to himself. "Must have been a famous land surveyor." There were some intricate models set up as well. Michael recognized one as a flying machine he had seen in a book of Leonardo Da Vinci inventions. It looked very old. He examined it with wide eyes, but for some reason was afraid to touch it. Not far from the flying machine was a six foot tall bronze android, it reminded him of something he'd seen in an old 1950's B Movie. It was gritty, but intricate and in a way, beautiful. Its card said "Talos". Going on down the row of artifacts, Michael suddenly heard a very light, metallic hum. It was almost like a song, but it seemed rather unstructured, perhaps more like wind chimes. He looked around, trying to discover what might be making the noise, and then something magnificent caught his eye. It was a life-sized statue, an Egyptian statue, of the jackal-headed god Anubis. Well that's a coincidence, Michael thought. This fellow seemed to be popping up all over the place. First, he'd seen the staff with the black jackal head in the portrait downstairs, then his parents had discussed a place called the Tomb of Anubis at the excavation site, and now here was a statue of him. "Been getting around pretty good lately, haven't you old man?" The statue looked like it was made completely out of gold, or perhaps plated with gold, and was obviously ancient. As Michael crept closer to it, he realized that it was actually more like half a statue, and hollow inside. In many ways, it reminded him of the lid from an Egyptian sarcophagus. Curiously, this appeared to be the source of the humming sound. He approached the statue cautiously, and noticed that the eyes were hollow. He touched it with two fingers on his right hand; it was vibrating gently, and began to glow with a dim blue light. He felt strangely compelled to step up behind it and try to look through the eyes. Standing up on the tips of his toes, he strained to reach the empty eye slots. Darkness. He could see nothing at all. But then, slowly, a little dim ball of light appeared. It was odd, like a small planet hovering all by itself in the darkness. Michael was reminded of the time he had visited Lowell observatory in Flagstaff, and got to examine Saturn through one of the small telescopes the astronomers had set up for visitors. This little ball however, had no rings around it, and was colored white and blue.

"Is itEarth?" Michael said softly. Suddenly, and without a bit of warning, he felt as if someone had thrown a lasso around his head and was yanking him swiftly toward the ball, which was rapidly growing larger. "No!" he shouted instinctively, but he didn't have time to struggle, and before he knew what was happening to him, he was thrust into an unfamiliar place. Michael was running as fast as he could through the sand. He was racing, and was full of joy and excitement. His eyes were fixed ahead of him, not daring to turn around and look as it might give his brother some sort of advantage. All four legs were working as fiercely as he could push them. Four legs? Michael thought to himself. Of course I have for legs. It was all becoming clear now. He kept running as fast as he could. His brother Horus was somewhere nearby, but he couldn't see his shadow on the ground anywhere ahead. He dodged around an outcropping of rocks and kicked a bunch of sand into the air, nearly losing his footing. My name is Anubis, and I am racing my brother Horus, the falcon, Michael thought to himself. He tried to stop, but couldn't. He had no control over what he was doing. It was like watching a movie, but from the inside of one of the actors, and knowing and feeling everything that the actor would know, but without the ability to control any of it. Suddenly, the shadow of the falcon soaring in the sky above overtook the ground in front of him. "You won't get me this time," he said, but it came out as a muffled growl. Horus shot down in front of him, just in time to pull ahead as they both passed the pile of large boulders to which they agreed would be the finish line. Frustration and anger suddenly came over Michael as he realized that his brother had won. He leapt off a flat rock, changed back into a boy, and tackled his half-brother who had just changed back as well. "I'll get you next time," Michael said, as they rolled over backward onto the sand. They were both laughing, although Michael's eyes were glowering slightly out of the frustration of losing to Horus once again. Horus had a dark complexion, and jet-black hair. He wasEgyptian. And so am I, thought Michael. In fact, he now realized that he was speaking Egyptian, and completely understood what was being said. He wanted to ask Horus what was happening. How did he get here? But he found that he had no control over what he was saying. All he could do was watch the event unfold before him. Anubis's thoughts and emotions were being revealed to Michael, he knew that he loved his brother very much. They were best friends, although Michael was often jealous of his brother's ability to fly. "If you would keep your eyes ahead of you and stop looking around for me, you might actually win from time to time." "Maybe, but I can't help it. Besides, I have the sand to slow me down, and you have nothing to hold you back," Michael told him. "What about the wind?" "Next time there's a storm we'll race, maybe the lightning will slow you down." "Hey, that's a nice thing to say. Maybe we can race along the Nile and see how fast you can swim."

Both boys began to laugh again. "Come on," said Horus, getting up. "It's time to eat, and mother will be expecting us." The two began to walk back toward home. Suddenly, just as Michael had been jerked forward into the scene in front of him, he was now being drawn backwards away from it all. The desert and the two boys flew away from him as he reached out to grab onto them. "No, Horus! I don't want to go back! Not without my brother!" The globe was moving quickly away, getting smaller and smaller until his head was thrown back gently from the statue. He was suddenly back inside the artifact room at McGinty Castle. "What the heck was that? That was the weirdest thing I've ever seen," Michael said to himself. He remembered the entire experience vividly in his head, as if he really had just been there, but the emotions that made him call out to his brother were completely gone. Horus's image was still fresh in his brain, but the jealousy and love he had just experienced had vanished. Michael hesitantly looked through the eye slits again, but nothing was there. He stepped away from the statue, and continued to look at it for a few moments, but still nothing happened. "What are YOU doing?" came a loud voice from behind him. Michael thought for a moment that his heart had stopped. Abigail was standing near the glass showcase by the stairs. "Abby, what are you doing? You almost gave me a heart attack." Abigail rubbed her eyes. "I heard you walk past my room. I got up and tried to follow you, and then I heard you running down the corridor." "Well, I suppose you believe me now, don't you?" he said to her in an "I told you so" sort of voice. "I never said that I didn't believe you," she retorted, and Michael appreciated it. "What's that thing?" "Come here. Take a look inside." He picked up an empty wooden box that was on the ground nearby and stood it on its end for her. Without hesitation, she stepped up and took a look through the eyes. "I don't see anything," she said. "Did you see something in here?" He wasn't sure he should say anything about what he saw, or even how he could tell her without sounding crazy. After a few moments of hesitation however, he told her as best he could about the experience. "That sounds really weird," she told him. "Maybe we should go get Liam and show him all this stuff." Michael agreed that this was a good idea. Together they went back down the stairs and started off towards Liam's room. It was on the other side of the castle in one of the towers. "Abby, did you hear the sound of the pipes this time?" he asked her. "No, the only thing I heard was you," she responded. Michael was relieved that his sister now knew the reality of the hidden corridor, but was also looking for validation that the sound of the pipes wasn't in his head. As they were passing the kitchen Abby said, "I need to stop by the pantry for something." "Are you hungry?" he asked her, thinking that a mid-night snack didn't sound like too bad of

an idea. "No. Wait here for a minute." She disappeared through the kitchen door, and the light came on. Michael leaned his back again the cold stone wall and waited patiently. After a minute, she came back out. "What gives?" he asked. "That's for me to know and you to find out," she said with a mischievous smile. "Let's go." When they got to the door of Mr. Finnegan's quarters, they passed very carefully so as not to disturb him, and soon afterwards came to the stairs that led up to Liam's tower. Michael lifted his foot to the first step, when Abby quickly put her hand across his chest. "No," she whispered, looking at her brother with determination. "Yesterday afternoon Liam jumped out from behind a suit of armor and scared me. It's time to exact my revenge." This did not surprise Michael the slightest bit. He had learned a long time ago that a price must always be paid for playing a joke on his little sister. The girl bore serious grudges against those who dared to wrong her, and payback was always much worse than the original deed. "Don't try and stop me, or you'll share a portion of my wrath," she said with a look that was both maniacal and adorable. Always so dramatic, Michael thought to himself. But he believed her, and raised his hands in a show of surrender. She slowly hopped from step to step, her long blonde ponytail whipping from side to side behind her. She reminded Michael of a cat that was bounding up sneakily on its prey. The large wooden door at the top of the stairs was not quite closed, and Abby gently pushed it open. Its creak sounded like the laugh of an old oak tree. Abby winced, hoping that it wouldn't disturb Liam's sleep. She pushed it open just enough for Michael and her to slip inside. A night-light that was plugged in by the door filled the room with a faint glow, and Michael watched as Abby crept to the side of Liam's bed. She reached into her robe and pulled out something with her right hand, holding it in close. She then reached into her left pocket, and pulled out a feather. Moving down toward the foot of the bed, she took the feather and gently began to tickle the bottom of Liam's feet, which were protruding from beneath the covers. He quickly pulled them back beneath the blanket, and turned over on his side so that he was facing them. Abby then moved back toward the head of the bed, and began to gently tickle Liam's face and nose. "WHAT'S THAT?" he yelled as he shot up into a sitting position. Abby quickly reeled her arm back as if she were going to pitch a baseball, and threw something that landed with a hard smack directly into his face. Michael flipped on the light, fearful and shocked at what his sister had just done. A cloud of white powder still hovered around Liam, and as it cleared, the flour, which completely covered his shocked face, gave him a ghostly and pitiful appearance. Michael broke into uncontrolled laughter, while Abby, with her arms crossed against her chest, examined her victim, trying to determine whether or not the work met her standards. "Abigail, have you lost your ever-loving mind?" Liam said dryly, his eyes beginning to water from the flour. "Humph," she squeaked indignantly. "I tried to warn you about her," said Michael, shaking his head. "THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE," shouted Abby as she raised her hands in triumph.

While Liam washed his face, Michael explained that the corridor had made an appearance once again. Liam was not convinced. Although he had taken the mid-night assault surprisingly well, he was now under the impression that his friends were trying to play yet another trick on him. "Hey, don't blame me for this," said Michael. "I tried to warn you about the consequences of teasing Abigail. She has always been one to hold grudges, but lately she's become down right dangerous to mess around with." "Yes, you did try to warn me about her." He began to laugh about it. They soon convinced Liam to come along with them down to the corridor, and when they arrived, he had such a look of shock on his face that Michael wished he had brought along a camera. "I've been by here a thousand times, and I've never seen this before," Liam said. "Well, it appears only to show up at night. Do you ever come over this way at night?" asked Abby. "No, wouldn't have any reason to. We should probably tell my Da about this," he said with a contemplative look on his face. "Then again, having a secret corridor that nobody else knows about might come in handy." He was wearing a slightly mischievous smile. "I think we should call this place the night corridor." Abby grinned at him excitedly and began to rub her hands together, jumping up and down in place. Michael soon noticed that exploring the hallway with his sister and best friend created an altogether different experience than exploring it alone. This time he felt more relaxed, and there were two more sets of eyes to inspect all the artifacts and paintings. Michael was seeing many things for the first time as the other two pointed them out. Most of the doors they came across in the corridor looked the same, and most were locked. Every unlocked door they came to led to an empty room. A few of the locked doors however, like the one farther down with the carving of the moon on it, were unique. There was one door that was perfectly smooth and black, almost as if it had been carved from one giant piece of obsidian. There was no handle or keyhole on it, and they couldn't get it open. As they kept moving, Liam found another unlocked door. He turned the handle and pushed, and it creaked on its hinges and swung slowly open. Shining their lights inside, the room looked empty, and they were about to close the door when Abby noticed a painting hanging on an inside wall. "What's that?" she said. They entered the room and walked over toward the painting. The air suddenly became extremely cold, and the closer they got to the painting the colder it seemed to get. They stood in front of it and all stared up, shining their lights on it. It was a portrait of an old, hideous woman. Her scraggly white hair shot from her head in all directions. She had yellow, cragged teeth and dark circles under her eyes, which glared back at them with an evil, menacing look. "Banshee," muttered Liam in an audible whisper. The painting was both mesmerizing and revolting, the kind of thing that draws your eyes to it even thought you are telling them to pull away. Michael was stunned at how real it seemed. It was almost as if the woman was staring right back at you, he thought, trying to see inside to your soul. Abigail stared into the eyes of the old woman.

"Free me," it seemed to whisper to her. "Did you hear that?" Abby asked the boys without turning her gaze away. "Hear what?" responded Liam. He wasn't moving his eyes from the painting either. Michael had turned his face from the painting and was now watching Liam and his sister. They were both shivering. In fact, Liam's teeth began to chatter from the cold. "Let me out of here." heard Abby in a raspy, tired voice. "Which one of you keeps talking?" she grumbled, aggravated that one of the boys was teasing her. Michael didn't like the way they were acting. He grabbed them both by the arm. "I think its time to move on. Come with me." They left the room and slammed the door behind them. "I think that door ought to be locked too," said Liam, and Michael nodded. When they got to the portrait of the wolfish man, Michael pointed it out, and both Abby and Liam agreed that he was not at all a nice looking man. "Hey," said Liam with a tone of surprise. "That's the Staff of Anubis he's holding." Michael smiled. "I thought it looked like Anubis." "The Staff of what?" asked Abby. "Not what, who. The Staff of Anubis. Last year Da and I visited the British Museum. There was an Egyptian display there, and I saw pictures of that artifact in a presentation one of the Egyptologists made on Anubis." Michael raised his eyebrow. "That's him on the head of the staff." Liam pointed it out. "He's the Egyptian god of the dead, responsible for protecting departed souls as they made their transition to the afterlife. Didn't you hear your mum talking about the Tomb of Anubis the other morning?" "Guess I wasn't listening. You seem to know a lot about it though." Abby told him. "I just thought it was really interesting." He said. "That staff is the stuff of legends. Everyone thought it was a myth, but it was recovered by the Catholic Church during a thirteenth century crusade, and supposedly remained in the possession of Rome until it was stolen in the early sixteenth century. It hasn't been seen since." "Well, what's so special about the staff?" asked Michael. "According to the legends, it has some sort of magical powers. Gives its owner unusual strength and the ability to change form. It's also supposed to be able to open a porthole to the afterlife or something like that." Michael contemplated this for a moment. It was certainly an interesting story. But he wondered why the man in the picture would be shown holding the staff. Was he the thief who stole it? And if he was, who was this man and where was the staff now? "I don't know why this bloke has it," Liam said, as if he were reading the look on Michael's face. "It'd be interesting to know where this painting came from." Michael told Liam about the statue of Anubis, and what he had seen through the eyes, but Liam had never seen the statue, or heard anything about it. Michael then pointed out the werewolf mural hanging directly across from the portrait. His companions agreed that this too was a creepy and disturbing thing to have displayed in the castle, although Liam commented that it was "Kind of cool in a demented sort of way." They continued on and made their way up the stairs to the chamber containing all the artifacts. Liam's eyes grew wider than Michael had ever seen them. "We should call this room the chamber of antiquities," Liam said grandly, his hands on his

hips. Abigail clapped her hands furiously, but Michael just looked down and shook his head, trying not to laugh. "Wait a minute," said Liam, "What's this?" A doorway broke off to the right at the top of the stairs. Michael hadn't noticed it on his previous visits, but now saw that a faint glow emitted from within. "I don't remember seeing that before. Let's go check it out." The three of them entered another chamber, a bit smaller than the room of antiquities, but still fairly large in its own right. It was an armory. There were swords, shields, muskets and morning stars, and just about every other kind of weapon they had ever seen. Liam selected a large Scottish Claymore off a display on the north wall, and strained himself to pick it up. He only managed to get the tip a few inches off the ground. "This is awesome," he said. "I think you're going to have to grow into that one," Abby told him. Then she saw something that caught her attention. She ran over to a section that contained some Asian weapons. There were Japanese suits of armor, the kind that had been worn by Samurai, along with swords and some long wooden bows. "Hey, I've seen one of these," she said excitedly and picked up something small. "It's a Chinese chain whip. A girl who came to visit our Kung-Fu class from Hong Kong was really good with one of these." She gave it a few clumsy swings. "Why don't you keep it," Liam told her. "Maybe if you practice you could get as good as her." She nodded and smiled from ear to ear. Liam found a pair of simple looking, but extremely sharp daggers. "These are pretty cool, and they might come in handy if anything jumps out at us." He gave one of them to Michael, who examined it before returning it to it's sheath and sliding into his pocket. "Well, at least we know where to go if the castle is ever sieged," said Michael as he looked around. "Yeah," said Liam. "Lets go take a look at that statue you were telling me about." They left the armory and entered the chamber of antiquities. "I can't believe this stuff has always been here and I've never known about it. It's such a weird feeling," said Liam, as he examined the items in awe, just as Michael had done the first time he'd seen them. "I thought we had a lot of cool stuff out where everybody else could see it, but none of that comes close to the things in here." Abby stopped before a glass display case. "Everything is so dusty." She made a smiley face with her finger. "Ooh look at this, how beautiful." Inside the case was a jewel encrusted, golden crucifix. The sign in front of it said something that they couldn't make out, and then "recovered in Portugal, 1938 by". But the only part of the name they could see was "Jones Jr." "Here's the statue." Michael said as they approached it. "Why don't you take a look?" Liam stepped up on the box. He stood there for a few seconds, looking through the eyes. "I can't see anything unusual," he said with a frown. "Just the room on the other side." Michael was disappointed. He was hoping that Liam would see what he had seen. "Well, let me try again," Michael said, and he stepped back up to the statue. It began to glow and hum softly.

After a moment, the small dim ball of light appeared once again. It drew Michael in swiftly, growing larger and larger as he flew toward it. He was prepared for it this time, although it still felt terribly uncomfortable to lose control and be swept away like this. Suddenly, there was a piercing burst of light. He opened his eyes, allowing them to adjust to the brightness surrounding him. The sun was shining fiercely overhead, and he was standing at the top of some sort of raised stone platform. Steps descended down before him, to where large crowds of people were gathered far below. They were all chanting, and it only took him a moment to realize that he was the object of their praise. They were worshiping him, he and someone beside him. It was Horus. He now looked quite different from the last time Michael had seen him. He had the head of a falcon, but the rest of his body was that of a man, and it wasn't just a mask, his head was actually the head of a falcon. He was wearing only a long, linen skirt, and a few pieces of jewelry. His swarthy skin glistened under the heat of the fiery Egyptian sun. In his hand, he carried a scepter; very similar to the one Michael had in his own hand. It was all becoming clear, and Michael once again knew everything that Anubis did. He knew that as he was standing in front of this crowd, he appeared to them much like his brother, only his own head was that of a jackal. They had both worked and practiced hard to attain the ability to appear this way. Changing fully into a jackal was easy, natural to him, but to control the change in a limited way that allowed him to control the effects had been quite another story. He and Horus had mastered it now, and today as they stood before this crowd, they were being honored in front of the peoples of their nation. Their father Osiris walked up behind them. He placed a hand on each of their shoulders. Osiris was dressed in a long white robe with a red belt. On his head was a large white crown with ostrich feathers attached on each side. His long black pharaoh's beard protruded from his pale, green colored face. Michael knew that Anubis loved this man, his father. But he also knew that he was greatly feared, even by his own sons. Osiris wielded a great dark power and an insatiable thirst for control. He was a necromancer and a sorcerer, who had called upon the dark arts and unthinkable forms of evil to serve his purposes. At that moment, Anubis was wondering if this man truly had any real love for him or for Horus. Perhaps they too were nothing more than stepping stones in his quest for power. "My beloved people," he said in a gravelly voice that echoed down into the valley below him. "Today the Mighty Ra shines his beloved face down upon our wondrous city of Ain Shams, because today is a happy day. Today I present before you my own dear sons, Horus and Anubis." The people cheered loudly at the sound of their names. "Like me, they are both powerful gods who have been sent down to you by Ra to bless, guide, and protect you." The people again cheered loudly. Michael looked over at his brother, and noticed that although he stood there proudly, his head held high, a single tear was flowing down from his large, round eye. "My sweet children," Osiris growled on, "you have all heard of the brave and wonderful deeds which have been performed by my two sons, and the battles they have fought for the

glorification of our people. Now you will worship them just as you worship me." At this the people roared louder than ever. Horus suddenly broke from his fathers grasp. His head reverted back to that of a discontented young man. "I'm sorry Father, but I can not do this any longer." "Horus," warned the old man with a hateful look on his face. "Do not do this. If you betray me now, you will suffer my wrath." "This is a lie, and I will not take part in it," he said. Changing his form into a falcon, he hopped into the air, and flew out over the city, towards the sweltering sands beyond. "And YOU?" his father asked sternly. Anubis hesitated for a moment, and then, taking his jackal form, bounded down the steps and straight through the large crowd toward his brother. The people gave him ovation and called out his name as they parted for him, falling down to their knees to worship him as he passed by. Michael drew his head back from the statue. "What did you see in there?" asked Liam, who had been concerned about his unresponsive friend, his head having been stuck to an ancient Egyptian relic for the last five minutes. Michael tried to explain what he had just seen, although none of it made much sense to Liam or his sister. They had not been able to step into Anubis's body and gain access to his thoughts and experiences like he had. "Why are you seeing this stuff?" asked Liam. "What's it supposed to mean?" "Your guess is as good as mine," Michael told him with a shrug.

Chapter 6 Missing
Michael was surprised to see that the alarm clock read 10:30 AM. His late night excursions into the night corridor had been taking a toll on him. For the past few nights, he and Liam had gone exploring. Michael had hoped that the statue of Anubis would activate and show them more of his story, but it hadn't done so since Liam and Abigail's first visit. He seemed to be sleeping in later and later each morning, and knew he had better change his ways before Mr. Finnegan began to question his behavior. He went over to the window and looked out into the bright blue sky. He rubbed his eyes, allowing them to adjust to the light, and then looking down to the lawn, he saw Abby playing fetch with Sir Nigel the bulldog. Elizabeth Harrison was down there too. His heart made a small leap of excitement. He hadn't realized how much it would mean to see her, now that his parents were away on assignment. He quickly got dressed and ran downstairs. "ELIZABETH," he yelled at her when he got outside. He ran up to her and she reached out to give him a hug. "Hi Michael, it's great to see you," she said with a broad smile. "I'm glad you could come," he told her. "We're going to have so much fun. I have a bunch of touristy stuff planned for you guys. I hope you haven't done most of it already."

"I wouldn't worry about that. Mom and Dad don't usually take us to do the "touristy" stuff," Michael told her. "We've seen a lot of interesting places, but it's usually right down to business when Dad is involved." "We don't care what we do, Aunt Liz, we're just glad you're finally here," said Abby, squeezing her around the waist. Michael knew that his sister would cling to Elizabeth while their mother was away, but he also knew that she wouldn't mind. He was glad that Abby had her, and hoped her attitude would now improve. "How was your flight?" Michael asked her. He knew she wasn't fond of flying. "Oh, it was okay. I met a pretty strange guy on the plane, but he was very nice, and fun to talk to. He actually told me an interesting story about getting stuck in a mine when he was a kid. I'll have to tell you about it later, because I know your parents have gotten after you for going into old mines." She smiled at him knowingly. "Anyway, then I slept for most of the flight. All in all it wasn't bad as far as flying goes." Abigail's eyes suddenly lit up. "Aunt Liz, can you take us to see Loch Ness? I've been wanting to take a look for Nessie and get some pictures of her." Michael knew that his sister was absolutely certain she could get some pictures of the Loch Ness Monster, if only she could get someone to take her to the lake. He thought it was a little funny, but didn't want to burst her bubble about it. "That's a great idea," Liz told her. She suddenly looked just as excited about it as Abigail. Michael laughed beneath his breath and shook his head. Sir Nigel, sick of being ignored, dropped his ball at Abby's feet and barked loudly. They played fetch with him for a few more minutes before Liam came strutting out of the castle. He was dressed in his kilt and Tam Hat, the same way that his father had dressed when the Belmonts had arrived at the castle. Abigail looked at Michael with a huge smile on her face before covering her mouth and giggling excitedly into her hands. They both knew that Liam had dressed up for the sole purpose of meeting Elizabeth, whom Michael had told him was very beautiful. Liam's plan worked. When Elizabeth saw him, she grinned from cheek to cheek. "This must be your friend Liam," she said as he strutted down to meet them, an unconcerned look on his face. "Good morning everyone," he announced. And then, pretending to notice Elizabeth for the first time, said, "Oh, welcome to McGinty Castle, you must be the nanny from America." She chuckled and held out her hand. "I'm Elizabeth Harrison." He took her hand gently in his and lightly kissed the top. Michael was too stunned to do anything but watch, and Abigail, who had now turned bright red, continued rather unsuccessfully to try and contain herself. Liam just ignored her. "Well," he said in a proud voice, "any friend of the Belmonts is a friend of mine. Come, and I will give you a personalized tour of the castle." "Oh," she said, "well that would be delightful. Of course, Mr. Finnegan has already shown me around a bit." "Nonsense," said Liam with a dismissive wave of his hand. "That old dodo bird can barely find his way to the front door and back. I'll show you things you never thought you'd ever imagine." Michael leaned over to Abigail. "Did that make sense to you?" he asked. Her eyes grew

wide in response, and she continued to hold her hands tightly over her mouth. Elizabeth took Liam's arm politely. "That sounds wonderful," she said as they walked back up toward the castle. Michael and Abigail followed, not wanting to miss the rest of the show. "Are you sure you'll be all right then Miss?" inquired Finnegan. "Yes, of course we will. You go and take care of your family. That's the most important thing you can do right now." "Oh, yes of course, but I feel like I'm abandoning all of you. I'm so, so sorry Miss Harrison." "Really, it's okay, I've watched the children many times you know." "Oh, I don't doubt your abilities Miss, I just hate to leave you alone so soon after you've arrived. You must promise to give me a call if you need anything, anything at all. And you know, I'll be back as soon as possible." "Mr. Finnegan, what's wrong?" asked Liam as he and Michael walked into the room. "Oh, Master Liam," Finnegan said in a shaky voice, "I've just received a phone call from my dear sister Josephine in Edinburgh. She's fallen horribly ill and I need to go out there and care for her. Will you be alright here with your friends and Miss Harrison until I return?" "Oh, I'm very sorry to hear that," said Liam, concerned, "your sister is a very nice lady. I'm sure she'll be glad to have you there to help. Don't worry about us Finnegan, we'll be fine until you get back." "Very well then, please don't hesitate to ring if you need me." "We will. You take care now, and travel safe," Liam told him. Finnegan went off to his room to pack. "I know I give him a hard time," said Liam, "but he really is a fine old chap." Elizabeth smiled at him sweetly. "I'll make us some lunch. Mr. Finnegan needs to have a bite to eat before he goes running off." "So how do you like her?" asked Michael after she left the room. "Well, she is a beauty," he responded, "but I think I'm a bit young for her. Besides, I'm not quite ready to tie myself down to a wife just yet." "You are so full of bologna," Michael told him, and they both laughed. "I thought we could show Elizabeth the garden and hedge maze today," said Michael. "I think Abby would get a real kick out of watching her try to find her way out." "Yeah, sounds good to me," said Liam. "Hey, have you been able to get any information from those books we got from the library?" "Not really. There's a lot of interesting stories in them, but nothing that would explain the piping music." Liam scratched his chin. "Well, maybe it is the piper of Argyll after all." Michael shrugged. "I haven't heard anything since the other night. Maybe you or Abby will get to hear it one of these nights. It's pretty freaky." Liam nodded. "Let's go help Elizabeth get lunch together, I know Finnegan's going to be in a hurry to get out of here." Michael followed him into the kitchen.

Eight days had passed since Michael's parents and Mr. MacDonald had left for Egypt. All three of the children missed their parents, but had been enjoying themselves with Elizabeth and the activities they were doing. Elizabeth was an devoted tourist, and they had seen parts of the country that not even Liam had visited, having lived in the area all his life. They had done a lot of hiking and biking, and had even taken a boat cruise on Loch Lomond. It was a beautiful morning, and while Elizabeth finished up some chores at the castle, the three children decided to go out for a bike ride. Seemingly out of nowhere, a storm blew in and began to pour rain down so fiercely that they were all drenched in a matter of seconds. Luckily they were near some shelter. Liam escorted Michael and Abigail to a coffee house, which he and his father had often enjoyed visiting on their own excursions down by the lake. The three of them tromped in and found a table, leaving a trail of water behind them. The girl behind the counter eyed them disapprovingly, as if they were wet dogs that had just scampered in. Michael thought she might be afraid they were going to shake themselves off. They sat down at the table, and after a moment the waitress came over. "Sorry about the mess," Michael told her penitently. "That's okay," she said. "The three of you look too pitiful to stay mad at. What can I get for you?" "How about three cups of hot cocoa?" ordered Liam, cheerfully. She disappeared behind the counter and soon came back with their drinks. Liam smiled and gave her a wink. She promptly rolled her eyes and went back about her business. Michael looked around the room. There were only a few other customers gathered inside. The place was quaint and peaceful. As Michael sipped his cocoa, he wondered if any of the locals knew about the strange things that occurred at McGinty Castle. Did any of these people have any clue about the kind of man that Shamus McGinty was, and the sort of adventures he must have enjoyed to retrieve so many strange and valuable artifacts? Did Declan MacDonald know the extent of his uncle's eclectic stockpile of artifacts, or even of the existence of the hidden chamber that contained them? Mr. MacDonald had spoken of the many years he had enjoyed the castle as a boy, so it was possible that he knew all about it, but if that was the case why hadn't he ever let Liam in on the secret? Abigail was being unusually quiet today. She often got like this when she was missing her parents. Michael patted her on the hand, which was resting on the table cradling her warm cup of cocoa as if it were something delicate. "Don't worry," he said to her and smiled, "you'll dry. Eventually." She grinned back. "Maybe Aunt Elizabeth will play board games with us tonight." "She likes board games, I think she'd be happy to do that." Liam was peering out of the window. "Speaking of Elizabeth, isn't that her coming up the drive?" Michael peered over his shoulder to see outside. Sure enough, Elizabeth was walking up toward the front door, and there was someone with her. Someone that wasn't supposed to be there.

The man outside opened the door for Elizabeth, who stepped through and began to scan the room with her eyes, a worried look painted across her face. He then stepped in behind her, water dripping from his large, brown cowboy hat. The brim hung down and buried his face in shadow, the tip of his nose and his dark, unshaven chin peaking out from below. The long leather duster hanging off of him, and the tall muddy boots he wore helped to create the image of some cryptic gunslinger from an era long forgotten. A flash of lighting cracked outside behind him, and the young waitress let out a pointed squeak, running through the door into the back. She was both shocked and frightened to witness such a thing at her normally peaceful establishment. "Uncle Link?" said Abby with an excited, confused voice. She jumped up and rushed over to throw her arms around him. "What are you doing here?" "Hello there sweetheart. You look like you've been run through a washing machine." Abby laughed. "So do you," she told him. Michael had come up behind her. He noticed the worried look on Elizabeth's face, and knew that if his uncle had come all the way from Arizona, something must be wrong. Link looked up and met his eyes, seeing the concern and fear. "Hey there Mike. How are you buddy?" He reached out his hand and squeezed his nephew's shoulder. Then he looked at Elizabeth, who was standing in silence. "Why don't we all have a seat? Liz here and I have something to tell you." They all went back to the table and sat down. "Long time no see Liam, been keeping out of trouble?" he asked as he removed his hat and hung it on a hook nearby. Liam nodded politely. "Well, let's get to the point," he said grimly. "Turns out that your parents have gone missing. Your Dad too Liam." Elizabeth gave him a hateful look, as if to say that he should have been more tactful. If he noticed this, he just ignored it. All three of the children looked stunned. Link continued. "I'm really sorry, but there's not a lot of information yet." Abby began to cry, and Elizabeth put her arm around her. "Well, how did you hear the news?" asked Michael. "I received a call from Aiden Osiris yesterday afternoon. Everything was going well at the excavation site until two days ago. Your parents reported in and entered the tomb that morning, but they didn't check back out, so a search team was sent in to look for them, but they found nothing. No signs or indications of anything strange, they were justmissing." "Mr. Osiris said that the site was safe," Michael said, an angry shake in his voice. "He said there was nothing to worry about." "I know this is hard news to take, but" "He said there was NOTHING to worry about," Michael yelled as he rose to his feet. "Michael," said his uncle calmly and sternly, "sit down." He sat back down, shaking in fear and anger. "I want you to listen very carefully to me, all three of you." Link folded his hands on the table. "I want you all to hope and pray for the best here. Remember that there were no signs that your parents were injured, no signs of any struggle or fight, and if they had been attacked by anyone or anything, that would most certainly not be the case." He gave them a serious frown. "Both of your fathers are exceptionally resourceful, as is my baby sister. What we have here is a mystery to solve, and as soon as I can, I'm going over there to Egypt to work this all out."

"What about us, we want to go too," broke in Liam. Link glanced at Elizabeth, who was still giving him a very displeased look. Elizabeth had known Lincoln as long as she had his sister, and the two of them had never gotten along very well. She thought he was too arrogant and a bit of a chauvinist. He knew her feelings about him, but never seemed to care all that much. "Well, that's one of the things we need to talk about," he said. Until I figure out exactly what is going on, I think the safest place for the three of you is right next to me. Elizabeth here thinks you should all stay here in Scotland, at least until we get some news about " "No WAY!" shouted Michael. "We don't want to stay here, not knowing what's going on with Mom and Dad." "I want to go to Egypt and help look for them," sobbed Abigail, her face buried in Elizabeth's arms. "But I want Aunt Elizabeth to come too." "Whatever we decide Abby, I'm not going to leave you," Elizabeth told her. "Lincoln," said Elizabeth in a stern voice, "I think the safest and most stable place for these children right now is exactly where they are." The boys began to protest, but Elizabeth raised her hand to cut them off. Link shook his head. "I wish you were right about that. But I'm not convinced it's the case. We don't know who or what is involved in this yet, and you might think you can protect these three kids, but who's going to protect you?" Then he softened his tone a little. "Remember what we talked about Liz." "FINE," She shouted back at him, poking him sharply in the chest. "But I'm GOING with you, and if you take these kids ANYWHERE that puts them in danger, YOU'RE going to answer to ME!" Link let out a growl, deepening the frown spread out across his unshaven face. "Fair enough," he told her calmly. Michael had just finished packing, and was about to turn in to bed when his uncle knocked on the door. "Hey Sport, how ya holding up?" he asked. "I'm alright," Michael responded. He said this not because he actually felt it, but because he thought it was what ought to be said. "I want you to know that I'm going to do everything I can to find your Mom and Dad," said Link. He winked at him. "I've never let you down before have I?" "No," said Michael numbly. He didn't know what to think or to feel. He had always felt uncomfortable when his parents went away on travel, and now his worst nightmares had come true, and he was scared. But Michael knew that hope was fighting within him too. Uncle Link was right, if his parents had been attacked there would have been signs of a struggle, and all three of them were much too smart to wander off and get lost in the necropolis. None of this made any sense. What he needed to do now was protect his sister and have faith in his uncle to find out what happened to his parents and recover them safely. "I'm gonna go check on Abigail. Get some rest okay, we have an early flight tomorrow." "I will. Goodnight Uncle Link." "Goodnight kiddo. I'll see ya bright and early." "Bright eyed and bushy-tailed," responded Michael. It was something his mother always

said to him. "You know it kid," said Link. "Say your prayers," he yelled back after walking out of the room. Michael could hear the heavy clack of his boots as he walked over to Abby's room. Michael was tired, and he had lain in bed for what seemed like hours, reading books and then trying to sleep. But his mind was racing and he couldn't calm himself down. Perhaps he would go down to the night corridor one last time before they left. He would see if he could get the statue to activate again, and experience more of the story of Anubis and Horus. Maybe it would take his mind off his parents for a little while. He didn't want to disturb his sister, but he knew she would be upset if he snuck off without her, so he crept into her room to check on her. She was sleeping soundly. Good, he thought to himself. She needs to rest. This has been a hard day for all of us. He hurried down to the corridor, moving swiftly and not stopping to explore as he had done on previous occasions. He quickly found his way up the winding stairs and into the chamber of antiquities, making a beeline for the statue of Anubis. Michael stepped up to the statue and once again looked through the eyes. For a moment, nothing happened, and he was about to step down when he abruptly felt the familiar tugging sensation, and it pulled him into yet another unfamiliar scene. He found himself standing beside Horus on the bank of the Nile River. The sun was just beginning to set behind the mountains in the distance, and a tall man who seemed to come out of nowhere was walking toward them. He had blonde hair and brilliant blue eyes, and wore a long brown robe. Michael knew that Anubis was not accustomed to seeing such men. He wondered who this was. A traveller from the cold regions of the North perhaps? The man approached them and nodded to Anubis, and Michael found himself nodding back. "Greetings Horus," the man said to his brother. "Greetings, Uriel," responded Horus. "This is my brother Anubis." "Yes, I have heard of your deeds," he said to Anubis. "You and your brother are both well known for your courage and valor." Uriel turned once again to Horus. "Have you considered my offer? It has been a week, just like we agreed." "Yes," said Horus. "I have considered it, but have not yet spoken of it to my brother. I thought it would be a good idea to wait until you could extend the offer yourself." Anubis looked at the two of them with a confused expression. "You know who I am?" Uriel asked him. "I have heard of you as well," Anubis told him. He nodded and smiled. "Well, perhaps you have also heard that I have been given the responsibility of holding the keys to the gateway of Tartarus. Recently, I've considered recruiting some help. You see, there are still a number of prisoners that need to be captured and escorted through the gateway. From everything I've heard about you and Horus, you may be just the two I need." "You want us to track and capture fallen ones?" Anubis asked with disbelief in his voice. "I want your brother to lead a small team of warriors to do that," Urial responded. "For you, I had something a little different in mind. I want you to guard the gateway itself, and escort the prisoners he brings to you through that gateway." "Why do you need us for this? You and your brethren are much more powerful than we are.

Not to mention the fugitives we would be going after." "The two of you have shown a true love for mankind. You have proven to have self-control, and much better judgment than others like you, who have been easily corrupted by their abilities. This would be a chance for you to prove that not all those like you are evil." Horus stared at Uriel with an eager look in his eyes, as if this was indeed something he desired to do. "Besides, my brothers and I have many responsibilities. There are many other urgent matters that need our attention. It has been agreed that this would be an acceptable solution. As to the matter of your being overmatched, you will not be expected to undertake this mission without help." He raised both of his hands, suddenly holding two wooden staves. The staff before Horus had the head of a falcon on it, and the one nearest himself bore the head of a jackal. They were not exceptionally beautiful or intricate, but for some reason Michael felt himself oddly drawn to the jackal staff. It was as if it had been made specifically for him, almost as if it were a very part of him, though he had not yet even touched it. Both Horus and Anubis reached out for the staves, but Uriel pulled them back slightly. "Wait," he said. "Before you accept this responsibility, there is something you each need to be aware of." They looked at him, silently. "One of the criminals you may be tasked with bringing in," he said softly, "is your own father, Osiris. Are you both willing to do that?" They looked at each other, and Anubis could see the determined look on Horus's face. They both knew what the other was thinking. They knew that their father would have to answer one day for his evil deeds. He had performed works of necromancy, consorted with demons, and demanded to be worshiped as a god. But they had never considered that it would be they who would confront him. It was Horus who first turned to Uriel and held out his hand to take the staff. Anubis hesitated for a moment longer, and then he too accepted. Uriel gave them both a long solemn nod, and handed them the staves. As Anubis took his, Michael heard something like a massive crack of thunder, and felt an incredible surge of energy rush through his body. It was like water being poured too quickly into a glass. He expected it to be painful, but it wasn't. "So far," said Uriel, "you have been faithful with what you have been given. These staves will heighten and increase your abilities, so I urge you to continue on now as you have in the past. Remain faithful, and do not let yourselves be tempted. You have been warned." Anubis looked at his staff. It glowed with a brilliant blue light, much like the color of Uriel's eyes. Michael recognized what he was holding. He had seen it before, in the painting of the wolfish man hanging in McGinty Castle. It was definitely what Liam had referred to as the staff of Anubis. Suddenly, he felt himself being pulled away from the scene, and was thrust back into the chamber of antiquities. It took a moment for him to get his bearings, and then he rushed off toward the painting to take another look at the staff. When he got there, he stared intently at the artifact that the wolfish man was holding. He was sure it was the same piece. But how on earth did this man get ahold of it, and who was he? Was it a coincidence that his parents had disappeared while excavating a site that was named after Anubis? Now Michael's mind was racing faster than ever, and he knew that another

sleepless night lay ahead of him.

Chapter 7 Sedona
Michael and Liam sat on the redwood deck in back of his uncle's house, drinking fresh lemonade. A hot breeze was blowing through the air as they looked out over the dusty landscape of Link's ranch. Both boys sat in silence; muted by the news they had received just a few days before. Michael had always worried when his parents had traveled, and now his fears had all been justified. His mother and father had disappeared while visiting a strange, far away land that had always both frightened and fascinated him. Michael had been to Egypt a few times when he was younger. He remembered seeing the pyramids, the sphinx, the green lands fed by the mighty Nile River, and the vast, scalding deserts. Now that he was back home in Arizona, it seemed so very, very far away, almost as if it were on another planet. Had his parents become lost and stranded in the desert, left to die an agonizing and hopeless death? Did they become victims of some ruthless cutthroats, who wanted their money or equipment? Were they part of a kidnapping scheme that went wrong? A hundred terrifying scenarios went through Michael's head. His Uncle Link had told him not to obsess and worry, but he couldn't help it. He was fighting to hope for the best, and he wanted to be strong and brave for Abigail's sake. Liam had been uncharacteristically grouchy for the last few days. He sat staring at the red rock buttes in the distance, a gloomy and distant look on his face. The silence continued for several long minutes, until suddenly a roadrunner jumped up on the railing of the deck. It eyed them quizzically for a moment, as did the lizard hanging helplessly from its mouth, before it jumped down to the ground and sped off as quickly as it had appeared. "I don't understand why your uncle brought us to America," said Liam, having been snapped out of his trance by the bird. "Why didn't we just go straight out to Egypt?" Michael sighed. "I already told you that all he said was he needed time to prepare for the trip. I don't know exactly what planning he needs to do, other than pick up some equipment and assemble his team." "His team? What's his team? Who's that?" Liam demanded grumpily. Michael had noticed a long time ago that whenever Liam got excited he became mildly incoherent. "He has some friends that work with him on some of his more eh, problematic expeditions. Their names are Jesse Clanton and Bill Thompson. You're going to like them. Bill is really smart, knows just about everything as far as history goes, and Jesse can build nearly anything you could think of. He's really good at making weapons too; has a bunch of guns that he designed and made himself. You'll meet them tonight at dinner." Uncle Link's golden retriever scratched at the sliding glass door from inside the house. He had a dumb, expectant smile; his tongue hanging happily from the side of his mouth. Michael got up from his chair and opened the door, and the dog trotted out and ran around

the corner of the house. "Has your uncle ever gone on any expeditions to Egypt?" asked Liam. "He has been there several times I think. He was there with my family when I was around six years old. I don't really know what kind of work they were all doing, it was my first time there and I was just excited to see the pyramids." "Well I hope he has some idea about where to find our parents. And I'm glad he was willing to take us along with him. I was afraid I'd have to stay back in Scotland. I don't think I could take waiting there, not knowing what was going on." "I know what you mean," said Michael. "I'd rather be close by and find out what's happening." The dog came back around the corner to lie down at Michael's feet. He reached over and scratched him behind the ears. "You're a good boy Goldrush," Michael told him. Goldrush had helped keep Michael company many times while he and Abby stayed at the ranch. Elizabeth and Abigail came out of the house and sat down beside them. Elizabeth had a serious look on her face, and Michael and Liam both knew what was coming. "I've been meaning to talk to the three of you alone. You already know that I'm not too happy about taking you all over to Egypt right now. But ultimately, it's your uncle's decision, and he has the final word on this." Michael started to open his mouth to say something. "Uh-uh," she cut him off. "I just want the three of you to know that I promised Rachel that I would watch after you while she was away and you had better not do anything, and I mean ANYTHING to make that a harder job for me than it's already been because right now I seem to be on the verge of going right off the edge and your uncle has REALLY been trying my patience lately so the three of you had better mind your p's and q's and do exactly as I say because if any of you try to get away with anything while we're over there and end up putting yourselves in danger then I think I just might have totowell, go a little nutty on you, do you UNDERSTAND ME?" The three of them nodded slowly, but Liam leaned over to Michael and whispered, "It sounds to me like she's already gone a little nutty." She gave him a piercing look. "That goes for YOU too Liam. You had better behave yourself and watch your step or you'll have to answer to meGOT IT?" She got up with a self-satisfied look and went back into the house. Abigail, mimicking her, followed behind like a loyal sidekick. "She'll be alright, She's just a bit stressed out right now," said Michael. Liam sneered. "How could you tell? She doesn't seem to care for your uncle much does she?" "Oh, I don't know," responded Michael. "Mom told me one time that she had a bit of a crush on him in Junior High School. I guess he didn't seem too interested, and ever since then she hasn't liked him very much. He really infuriates her sometimes." The boys were out shooting archery when Bill Thompson arrived. He saw them in the back yard while pulling his truck up the driveway, and after parking he immediately came around to say hello. "Evening Michael," he said cheerfully, "who's your friend here? Is this Liam?"

"Yes. Liam, this is Bill Thompson." Bill was a tall, scrappy man with long sideburns and a short handlebar mustache. He wore a brown leather vest and had a Colt nickel-plated six-shooter strapped to his belt. "Nice to meet you Liam," said Bill. "I was very sorry to hear about your father. He's a good man, but we're going to do everything we can to help get him back." "Do you know my father, sir?" he asked. "We've met once or twice. Besides, these Belmonts talk about your family so much it feels like I've known you both for years." He looked down-range at the bails of straw they had been shooting into. There was a target hanging from the top bail with an unimpressive scattering of arrows sticking out of it. "Hey Michael, looks like you're getting a little rusty with that bow of yours." Michael shrugged. He couldn't argue. Bill had always encouraged him to practice more often, but this wasn't the easiest thing to do while he was traveling. Still, he normally shot much better than he had done today. He guessed all the stress was affecting him. "I'll be right back," said Bill. He walked off back toward his truck. "Now you're going to see something cool," Michael told his friend. After a moment, Bill returned with his recurve bow and a quiver full of arrows. He pulled one back and let it fly. It sped swiftly to the middle of the center target, burying itself deeply into the straw. "Hey, that's impressive," said Liam in a spirited voice. "Keep watching," Michael warned him. Bill pulled another arrow back and let it go. It struck the arrow in the center of the target, splitting it in half. "WOW," shouted Liam. "You shoot just like Robin Hood." "All it takes is a little practice," said Bill. "Well, I'm not going to lie, quite a bit of practice actually, but either of you could shoot like this if you were willing to work for it." Suddenly, the air was filled with an immense BOOM. Michael and Liam both instinctively fell to the ground, covering their heads. Even the ground beneath them was shaking. When Michael opened his eyes, he saw that the top two bails and the target had been incinerated. Small fiery pieces of straw were still raining from the sky. Liam's entire body was shaking, and his teeth were chattering inside the large frown plastered across his face. "Oh," said Bill casually, "looks like Jesse's arrived. "Is the man OUT of his BLOODY mind?" yelled Liam. "No, no," laughed Bill. "He just doesn't like to be left out of the fun. Besides, Jesse has always been a real one-upper if you ask me." Michael was chuckling lightly to himself. He knew that the two of them must have had this planned out ahead of time. Both of these men had a strange sense of humor, and would want to introduce themselves to Liam in a way that would cheer him up, at least after the shell-shock wore off. Jesse walked up; he was a husky man and plodded along with a heavy trot. He stopped before them, took off his black ten-gallon cowboy hat, and bowed as if he were being applauded. Then he flipped the hat back onto his head. "Howdy gentlemen. I hope I didn't startle anyone. I could have sworn I saw a scorpion sitting there on top of those hay bales, a real nasty looking little thing. I didn't want anybody to get stung." "Well I've already met Robin Hood," said Liam smartly, "you must be General Sherman."

"At your service," said Jesse. He took off the hat and bowed once again. "Nice to meet you Liam," said Jesse. "I was very sorry to hear about your father. He's a good man, but we're going to do everything we can to help get him back." Liam pointed to Bill. "That's exactly the same thing he said." "Is it really now? That's not surprising. Bill is always trying to steal my lines before I even show up to say them. Bill has always been a real one-upper if you ask me." Liam stood staring at him stupidly, as though the gears inside his brain had ground to a halt. It was unusual to see him speechless. Michael walked up closer to the target and picked up a smoldering shard from what had once been his arrow. "I would have liked to get a little more practice in," he told them, "but it looks like I may need to find myself another target. Not to mention a few more arrows." Looking down to his quiver, he noticed he only had six left. The rest had been stuck in the target. "Yeah, sorry about that," said Jesse. "I don't think your uncle would have liked it if I'd have blown up anything else back here though." "He speaks from experience," said Bill. "You're not going to bring up that old truck again are you?" sneered Jesse. "We both know he was long overdue for some new wheels." "It was a fully restored 59 Chevy," Bill shot back at him. "Well," said Jesse, shrugging, "personally I've always been a Ford man." Liam leaned over to Michael. "Nutters," he said. "These men are both bloomin' nutters." Michael laughed nervously. It took several hours, but Liam began to warm up to the idea that Bill and Jesse weren't completely out of their minds. Michael found great humor in watching Liam's mind race as the two performed their antics. It was usually Liam who drove others crazy, and Michael just hoped that they wouldn't give him any new ideas. Part of Liam's coming to feel comfortable with the two men was related to dinner that night, as Liam did a large amount of thinking with his stomach. Bill made some delicious grilled kabobs. They had steak, onions, cherry tomatoes, and red peppers. Jesse prepared fully loaded baked potatoes and sweet potato pie. Liam's mood improved significantly. After eating, Michael and Liam sat listening to Lincoln, Jesse, and Bill while they discussed some strategies and plans, and the specific equipment they were going to take with them to Egypt. It wasn't nearly as exciting as they though it would be, and the thing that they really took away from it was that a wide range of weapons were being brought, and that Jesse would need to be careful with his explosives down inside the necropolis. Michael knew that some of the most preposterous talk was done for his and Liam's benefit, and somehow doubted that his uncle's friend was going to be allowed to blow up an ancient Egyptian necropolis, no matter how much he wanted to. "Uncle Link," Michael eventually broke in, "do you really think that bringing so much weaponry is necessary, I mean, what exactly is it that you think you're going to find over there?" "Well, that's the question, isn't it Michael. I'd rather be prepared for anything. But I'll tell you this, if I have to send half of Egypt back to the Stone Age to find my baby sister then that's exactly what I'm going to do." "I love it when he talks like that," Jesse said to Bill.

Bill nodded fervently. "It's so exciting," he agreed. "Seriously though," said Jesse. "He means it, and we'll be there to back him up. You guys can rest easy, and don't worry about all the details. The first thing we've got to do is investigate what happened, so unfortunately we won't be blowing anything up until we need to." "The facts of this situation just don't line up right," said Link. "There's got to be some foul play here, because Mark, Rachel, and Declan wouldn't have gotten lost down in that tomb. I don't believe they were killed, because no bodies have been found. The only thing that makes sense to me is that someone is involved in this that hasn't shown their hand yet." "But why would anyone want to kidnap our parents?" asked Liam. "If they were being held for ransom then wouldn't someone have come forward by now?" "Probably, yes," said Link. "But if your parents are being held it likely wouldn't be for ransom money, it's got to be for something they know." "Well," that makes sense to me," said Michael. "Kind of makes me feel a little better too." "We WILL figure this thing out guys," Link told them. "Bill chartered us a plane and we'll be on our way tomorrow morning." Elizabeth sat at the dining room table, playing cards with Abby. Michael and Liam, who had been trying to avoid her for most of the day, had waited until she was distracted, and were trying to sneak to the kitchen quietly to grab a few cans of soda. They wanted to stay clear of Elizabeth until her mood changed, but as it turned out she had been waiting for them, and was ready when they came by. "Hey you two," she said softly. "Come over and sit down with us. We're almost done with this game, and then we can all play something together if you'd like." They looked at each other, and then approached the table cautiously, still not entirely sure what to expect from her. "Oh, and if you're looking for the soda, its over here between Abby and I in the cooler. I had to take it out of the fridge to make room for, um, the leftovers." Michael couldn't remember there being any leftovers from dinner, but he didn't say anything about it. A large pile of board games was stacked on the counter beside Elizabeth, all of which Michael recognized. Link had always kept a large stash of games at his house, and he, Michael and Abby had nearly worn out many of them. Placed on the counter beside the games was a small array of snack food. These included a bowl of chips, some dip, and a tray of freshly baked brownies, strategically placed by Elizabeth to lure them in. It was obvious that she had planned her trap carefully. She knew that Michael might be able to resist, but after spending a few days with Liam, she was confident that his stomach would be the weak link. Michael followed Liam over to the table. Elizabeth smiled at them gently. "I'm sorry that I spoke so harshly to the two of you earlier, I've just been dealing with quite a lot lately. Then when your parents disappeared, I justwell, I guess I'm just nervous about taking the three of you over to Egypt, not knowing exactly what's happening there. Your uncle has the best intentions, and he wants to keep all of you safe, but the whole thing just makes me very worried. Anyway, I'm sorry about the way I talked to you earlier." Michael nodded at her and smiled. "It's alright, we knew you didn't mean anything by it.

We know you just want to keep us safe." Liam nodded in agreement, stuffing chips and onion dip into his mouth. "I don't blame the three of you for wanting to be there, either. Actually, in a way I feel the same, but I have you children to worry about now, and I don't want you to be in any danger. I just want you to know that if you change your minds about going and decide you want to stay here in Arizona, or even go back to Scotland, well just don't feel bad or embarrassed about changing your minds." Michael nodded again. "Aunt Liz, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but we aren't going to change our minds. We want to be right there during the investigation in case there's any news." She was staring at him with displeased but empathetic eyes. "Look, I promise you that we'll do our best to keep safe, okay?" He was trying his best to sympathize with her, but he couldn't figure out why she was making such a fuss about the whole thing. If his Uncle Link thought they were going to be safe with him, then why wasn't that good enough for Elizabeth? Michael had always respected her, but right now he didn't think she knew what she was talking about, and resented that she wanted to keep them away from the excavation site. Elizabeth could tell by the look on Michael's face that he wasn't going to budge. "Alright," she conceded. "Just know that I love you and Abby very much, and I would die if anything happened to either of you." Her eyes welled up with tears, and as they began to roll down her cheek Abby leaned over and squeezed her tightly. "We love you too Aunt Liz," said Abby, kissing her. Michael felt guilty that she was crying, and got up and hugged her too. He had a feeling that even though she might be dropping the subject now, his Uncle Link was in for an earful before the night was over. They let Abby pick out one of her favorite games, and before long the four of them were having fun, joking and eating snacks while they played. Michael felt good to be distracted, but every time he thought of his parents he realized that fear and anxiety were still there gnawing at him, just below the surface.

Chapter 8 Shifting Shadows

Michael and Liam had their sleeping bags spread out across the floor of Link's living room, while Abigail was staying with Rachel in the guest bedroom. Both of the boys were absolutely exhausted. The stress of their parents' disappearance, combined with the effects of travel, not to mention all of their late night adventures, had taken a heavy toll on them both. Liam's head had no more than hit the pillow when Michael noticed that he was breathing heavily in a deep sleep. He put his head down as well, and said a short prayer for his parents' safety. He was also beginning to drift off, when he heard Goldrush, who had been lying beside him, jump to his feet and trot over to the window. He jumped up with his front paws on the ledge and looked out. "What is it boy?" Michael inquired softly. The dog responded with a short whine. Michael got up and walked over to the window. He scratched Goldrush on the back of the head while looking out; scanning for whatever it was the dog had heard.

The full moon, which was hanging brightly from the black night sky, lit up the landscape surprisingly well. Michael looked around, but could see nothing unusual. In fact everything looked abnormally still. He was just about to go and lay back down when he thought he saw something move, way off in the distance around a small cluster of juniper trees. He ducked down to reduce the chance of being seen by anyone, or anything, that was lurking around. Michael found that he was feeling a bit spooked. Perhaps his exhaustion was a factor. He held his head beside the retriever's, poking his eyes out over the window sill. There it was again, a movement over by the trees. He saw something zip quickly along to an outcrop of boulders. He rubbed his eyes and stared out toward them, trying to get a good look at whatever it was that had gone by. Goldrush let out an impatient wine, and then jumped back down to the floor and sprinted for the door. "Hey, where do you think you're going?" Michael called after him. The dog didn't seem to notice however, and disappeared around the corner. Michael knew he was heading for the doggy door that led into the back yard. "Great," he grumbled. "That's just great." He ran over to Liam, and tried to shake him awake. "Liam get up, I need your help," he said harshly. But Liam only mumbled an incoherent curse and rolled over, turning his back to Michael. It was no use. Michael ran down the hall to his Uncle's bedroom. The door was ajar, so he stepped inside and whispered loudly "Uncle Link?" There was no response. Squinting his eyes, he could tell that his Uncle was not in bed. He rushed to the backdoor and hurried outside. Going over to the edge of the redwood deck, he just managed to see Goldrush disappearing behind the outcrop of boulders. Fear and confusion swept through his mind. Should he go after the dog and risk running into whatever was out there? He suddenly realized that he didn't even have any shoes or socks on. He was about to go back into the house and put some on, when he saw Goldrush dart back out from behind the boulders toward the tree-line, the creature right on his tale. Then he turned sharply to the left and bounded off over a small hill, again disappearing from Michael's sight. The creature followed. Now he was sure of what he was seeing. The creature was the size of a normal man, but hunched over. It ran with the speed of something inhuman, easily keeping up with the dog. The only thing that Michael could think of was a werewolf. That's what it had to be because, well, what else could it be? Michael stood there frozen in amazement. He was afraid, but not terrified; it felt more like excitement. He didn't really know what to do, and hoped that the next sound he heard would not be the pained yelp of a wounded golden retriever. He continued to stand in silence. The light of the full moon seemed to freeze time as he waited to see what would happen. What really did happen next was not at all what he was expecting. At first he thought that Goldrush was bounding back over the hill, but then he saw that the dog was actually chasing what had just come over. It was a wolf. Not a werewolf, not a wolf man, but a regular wolf. It appeared that the animals were playing tag, as he had seen dogs do on many occasions. From what he could tell, they were chasing each other back and forth across the ranch. Now he didn't know what to think. This wolf had to be the same creature he had seen just moments before. He began to doubt

himself, but then thought better of it. He had doubted himself about too many things lately, only to be right about them after all. He wouldn't beat himself up again for believing those things he witnessed with his own eyes. The two romping animals again left his sight, entering the forest at the place where he had first seen the werewolf. But was this thing a werewolf? If it was, it certainly didn't appear to be very aggressive, did it? Then again, maybe it was just reacting this way because Goldrush had run out to meet it. Perhaps if it had been him out there the creature would have torn him limb from limb. He waited outside for quite some time before finally deciding to go back in. He got back into bed, and closed his eyes. Not two minutes passed before Goldrush came trotting back in and lay down beside him. Michael looked at him to see if he was injured, but could find nothing unusual. The dog sighed deeply and closed his eyes, as if his little romp through the night had finally worn him out. "I think we need to have a serious talk about the friends you've been hanging out with lately," he told the dog in a serious tone. It was a busy morning, as everyone was getting ready for the flight to Egypt. Uncle Link had just sent ahead a shipment of equipment so he and his friends could set up a base of operations. All that was left to do now was catch the flight. "You be a good boy now, Rush," Link called to his dog as he pulled the gate closed and punched in a security code. "System armed," came a sweet, soothing female voice. "Who did you get to take care of your dog for you?" asked Elizabeth. "Oh, he can take pretty good care of himself. He's smarter than he looks," said Link. Then turning his gaze to the dog he called out "GUARD." Goldrush answered back with a single, crisp bark. Elizabeth had an irritated look on her face. She didn't appreciate being teased for asking a simple question. "Well, it looks like you two understand each other pretty well. As the saying goes, great minds think alike." The dog seemed to understand this, and barked again, excitedly. As they drove to the airport, Michael watched the familiar red rock mesas and high desert forests pass beside them. It was beautiful country. He had seen many wonderful places over the years while traveling with his parents, and was always amazed that there were so many interesting places to experience, and how unique they all were. Michael was glad to be heading to Egypt where the search for his parents was taking place, but at the same time he was a little sad to be leaving the familiar territory of home. Everyone was quiet as they drove along, and nobody was in much of a mood for small talk. Michael had been pondering the events of the previous night. He thought it was strange that his uncle was nowhere to be found, while at the same time a werewolf played chase with the man's dog. He was itching to ask his uncle some questions, but didn't want to do it in front of everyone else. However, he knew that it might be a long time before the two of them were alone again. "Uncle Link, you've seen a lot of strange things in all your years of treasure hunting, haven't you?" he asked, trying to set himself up for less ridicule about his next few questions. "I've seen things that would turn your hair white," he said. "I've seen things that would

make you crawl into bed, pull the covers up over your head, and cry like a two year old baby girl and never want to come out again." Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "Have you ever seen any monsters?" Michael asked timidly. "I've seen lots of monsters. Killed me lots of monsters too." He said in a dry serious voice. Elizabeth shot him a look of annoyance. "Don't tease the boy Lincoln." "I don't tease, woman," said Link. "Monsters and me, we don't get along so well. You ever need one good and killed, I'll be your huckleberry." Liam smiled at Michael, as if to confirm the idea that killing monsters would not only be a worthwhile activity, but also loads of fun. "Uncle Link, have you ever seen or heard of anyany werewolves?" At this, Link actually looked a bit taken aback. "What kind of television have your parents been letting you watch lately Michael?" he asked. "So, you haven't ever seen or heard of any real werewolves?" "Of course he hasn't Michael," Elizabeth broke in with a sympathetic voice, as if she felt sorry for him. "Because there are no such things as real werewolves." "Now hold on a minute there little lady, how do you know for sure that werewolves don't really exist." She hated it when he called her "little lady." Again, she rolled her eyes in exasperation at him. "You know, you're just as bad as one of these kids when it comes to these stories of yours." Growing up, Uncle Link had always told them tales of fortune and glory. His experiences on the hunt for treasure were always putting him in wildly dangerous and incredible situations. At least that's the way he made it sound when he spoke to the children. "Just because you've never seen something yourself doesn't mean it doesn't exist Liz. Stick with me for a while and you might see a few things that will leave even you speechless." She huffed at him indignantly. "You still haven't answered my question," said Michael, who continued to stare at his uncle the entire time. He was trying to read the man's expressions, to see if his suspicions could be given any support. "No, Michael, I've never seen any werewolves. But I have heard stories. Stories from very credible sources that make me believe they could very well exist. Most of the stories come from Europe, though, so it's nothing you need to worry about." And then he added with a raised eyebrow and a smile, "At least for now." "There are some pretty strange paintings and murals hanging in McGinty Castle, including some with werewolves. Do you know why Mr. McGinty would have put them up?" asked Michael. "Well," said Link, "Shamus McGinty was a pretty eccentric character, known for collecting all kinds of strange things, but he was a man who saw all kinds of action too. He could have picked up stuff like that almost anywhere, who knows why he would want to display it." "See what I mean," Elizabeth said angrily to Link. "The stress of the situation is already getting to them. Once they get enough sunlight and sand into their heads they're going to start seeing mummies wandering around at ni HUH," she gasped and clapped her hands over her mouth as if she had done something terrible, looking at Michael with wide, guilty eyes. He knew she was afraid she'd just put a new thought into his head. One that would terrorize his imagination and keep him awake, shaking in bed at night.

Link just ignored her. "At any rate, Michael, you need to take things like that with a grain of salt. Why are you so concerned with monsters and werewolves right now anyway? Is there something you're not telling me?" Uncle Link's eyes peered back and forth between Michael and the road. Michael couldn't see anything that led him to believe that Link knew why he was asking. Maybe he didn't know all that much after all. "No," he said. "The stuff hanging at the castle made me curious, that's all." Link went back to keeping his eyes on the road, and before long Elizabeth had changed the subject. She had gotten ahold of an Egyptian tourist guide, and began to tell them about some of the things they could see around the city of Edfu. Michael nodded off and went to sleep. The supplies and luggage were being loaded onto the plane as Michael sat looking out onto the tarmac. There actually wasn't as much equipment as he imagined. From the way his uncle, Bill, and Jesse had been talking, he half expected to see them load a full sized cannon onto the plane. He was told that the flight would take nearly a full day, and they would be stopping in New York City before continuing on to Luxor. From there they would drive down to Edfu. Michael was glad to be moving, although he was not looking forward to the long flight. It was Elizabeth however, that seemed the unhappiest. She had given up completely on talking anyone out of going to Egypt, and she now looked as though she were on her way to a funeral, head down and sulking. Abigail, on the other hand was cheerful, sitting right next to her, bouncing in her seat. Each time she bounced, so did Elizabeth's head, making her continuously nod as if answering yes to some question she'd rather not have been asked. "Hey, who's that over there?" asked Liam quietly, leaning toward Michael. He looked back out of his window, but didn't see anything. "Where?" Liam bobbed his head this way and that, trying to catch sight of something he had just lost. "That's odd. I could swear I just saw a man out there standing in the middle of that flight line, watching us." "I can't see anything," Michael told him. Liam continued to look. "Very strange, I could have sworn he was right over there. Well, maybe I imagined it." "What did he look like?" "He was kind of tall, had blonde hair. He was wearing a black shirt and blue jeans I think. Well, the heat must be getting to me." Michael shrugged. "Well, you'd better get used to it, because it won't be getting any cooler where we're going." Link, Jesse and Bill got onto the plane and took their seats. Link had a determined look in his eyes, and Michael understood how he felt. The plane couldn't get there fast enough to make him happy, though there was absolutely nothing he could do to speed it up. He caught Michael's eyes and gave him a reassuring smile, then tipped his hat down over his face and leaned back in his chair. As the plane lifted off, Michael thought of his dreams of flying. How wonderful it would be to have wings like a bird and soar above the clouds. He hadn't dreamed of this since the night at McGinty Castle when he had woken up and discovered the night corridor.

Maybe he could learn how to fly a plane someday. That would be fun. Perhaps look into hang gliding. As if my mother would allow me to do that, he thought to himself.

Chapter 9 Across the Desert Sands

In the desert just outside of Edfu, a small city on the west bank of the Nile River, a camp stood at the excavation site of what had come to be called the Necropolis of Anubis. This ancient city of the dead was the final resting place of countless men and women of the Nile River Valley, their loved ones entrusting the god Anubis to protect their souls as they departed to the afterlife. Just a few weeks ago, Michael had been very much looking forward to coming to Egypt. He and Abby were going to accompany their parents as they wrapped up some work on the excavation, but now he was relieved to arrive for different reasons, and found himself feeling anxious and impatient. Elizabeth had offered to keep the children at a hotel in Edfu, and Link had agreed it might be a good idea, but the boys and Abigail pleaded to stay at the camp with the rest of the party, so they could hear any news as soon as it came. After unloading their supplies, Link and his friends went to get briefed by the investigation team on the latest details of the search. The children had wanted to attend this meeting, but Link told them that he would fill them in on all the important details later. Elizabeth, who now looked more like her usual self, took the children to get settled in. Apparently, Michael and Liam had a tent of their own right next to a tent shared by Elizabeth and Abby. As they walked through the camp, Liam was sure that the hot Egyptian sun was going to cook him like a sausage. It bounced off the sand like heat from an open oven. He looked at Michael and noticed that he didn't seem to be quite as bothered. His friend was a little more used to this kind of heat. After they got to their tents and finished unpacking their things, one of the workers, a rather pudgy man named Sallah, agreed to show them the entrance to the necropolis. When they got there, Michael noticed that the sand had been cleared away from what looked like a sandstone wall with a simple door carved out of it. "It's actually quiteunremarkable." said Liam. "Is that the word I'm looking for?" Michael shrugged his shoulders and nodded in agreement. "Yes," laughed their guide, "but come look at this." He led them back behind the entrance and up a small hill. A stone platform had been uncovered, and a pair of large feet and ankles still clung to it, although it looked like the rest of whoever this was had fallen away long ago. "A mighty statue of Anubis once protected this entrance from unworthy intruders," Sallah told them. The man had a distinct Egyptian accent, but his English was actually quite good. "Look over here," he pointed to some rubble nearby. Michael could make out the gnarled face of a mighty jackal peering up at them; part of his face had been beaten away by time and sand. "And as I'm sure you can imagine, things are much more impressive once you go down inside the catacombs," the guide said with a broad smile. "Can you show us inside?" asked Abigail excitedly. She was very eager to get going on the

search for her parents, although she had been told numerous times that she, Michael and Liam would by no means be accompanying the search party. "I'm afraid not my dear," said Sallah. "Nobody is allowed down into the tomb without having permission from the Minister of State for Antiquities, and I doubt he'll be allowing any children inside any time soon." "No fair," whined Abigail with a frown. "Abigail," warned Elizabeth, "we talked about this. You'd better behave yourself." "Well, who can blame the girl," said Sallah with a wink. "Going down into such a remarkable place is quite an adventure. I would think it would be the dream of any child." He patted her on the head. The sun was just beginning to sink down behind the desert sands when Michael and Liam decided to go and pay a visit to Aiden Osiris. When they arrived at his tent, it was clear that he already had visitors, so they decided to leave and come back a little later. But just as they were turning around to go, Mr. Osiris noticed them and called them over. "Boys, good evening. There is someone here I would like you to meet. This is Hasani Khalil, the Minister of State for Antiquities." The Minister stood and held out his hand. Michael shook it. "A pleasure to meet you sir." "Nice to meet you sir," said Liam "Good to meet you, good to meet you both. How are you both holding up?" he asked. He spoke rather quickly, as if impatient to get his words out. "Fine, sir," said Michael shortly. He wasn't feeling particularly friendly toward either of these two men at the moment. He held them both partially responsible for his parents' disappearance. Aiden Osiris had been in charge of re-opening the excavation site, and Khalil had authorized it despite what had happened to the previous archeological team. Both men seemed to sense the boy's thoughts, and looked at each other uncomfortably. "I want you boys to know that we're doing everything we can to figure this whole affair out. We have closed off the site once again to everyone who is not taking part in this investigation, and are working around the clock looking for answers," said the Minister. Both boys nodded their heads, but neither spoke. The Minister stared at them intently for a moment before raising his hands and clapping them once together. "Well, I'm very sorry that you boys won't be able to go down into the necropolis, but it's just not a good idea until we get some more answers. However," he said, pulling something from a pack that lay on a table nearby, "you may find this interesting." He handed a small leather-bound journal to Liam. "What's this?" "A diary," he responded. "Kept by your uncle as he worked on the excavation of the necropolis. Your father brought it along with him, and it was found after his disappearance." "What?" asked Mr. Osiris in an irritated tone. "Why is this the first I've heard of it?" Mr. Khalil raised an eyebrow at him, slightly surprised by his reaction. "Not to worry Aiden," he said. "I've examined the diary thoroughly. There is no information that we don't already have. It contains pictures and maps, personal thoughts and notes about McGinty's experiences. Quite a lot of superstitious nonsense and fragmented observations too." Then turning to Liam he said kindly, "Your great uncle was a talented cartographer, but he had some

very peculiar beliefs indeed." Liam nodded. "Believe me, I've heard about it." He opened up his great uncle's diary. Michael stood beside, looking over his shoulder. On the first page were the words "Memoirs and Sketches Concerning the Necropolis of Anubis." Beneath this was his signature, Shamus McGinty, in large script. And below that was written a short prayer. From goulies and ghosties and long-leggedy beasties And things that go bump in the night Good Lord, deliver us! The boys looked at each other with bemused faces. "I've seen that somewhere before," Liam told Michael. "It's a very old Scottish prayer." "Did Declan MacDonald add any notes to that diary?" Osiris asked the Minister shortly. "No, Aiden. As I said, I've examined it thoroughly. There's nothing in there that can help us in any way." Mr. Osiris nodded, but he had a rather irritated expression on his face, which he wore until Michael and Liam left a few minutes later. "Well that was a bit odd," said Michael as the two were walking back to their tents. "I wonder why Osiris was so mad about Mr. Khalil giving you that diary." "Maybe it has something to do with this," said Liam, his face buried in the book as they walked through the sand. He handed the open diary to Michael. The page that Liam had found showed a sketch of an Egyptian petroglyph portraying three men. Michael recognized them at once as Anubis, Horus, and their father Osiris. Beneath the drawing were the words "Osiris could not be trusted." "But this is Osiris here in the picture," Michael told Liam. "I know, but what if it's referring to Aiden Osiris?" Liam retorted. "Why would it be?" Michael asked him. "That seems like a bit of a stretch considering it's underneath a picture of the ancient Egyptian god Osiris." "Maybe," said Liam hurriedly. "But then why was Mr. Osiris so irritated about Khalil giving me the diary. Besides, I could tell from the way he's acting that he isn't pleased with our being here. On top of that, what about you running in to him in the castle, staring at the wall where the night corridor appears? You said he was acting rather nervous about it. I really think there's something he's not telling us. I'm not sure we can trust him." "I don't know," said Michael. "You could be right, but what are we supposed to do about it? I guess we could tell my uncle, but he doesn't know anything about the night corridor. Look, we don't really have much to go on right now, but I think we should keep our eyes on Osiris to make sure he doesn't do anything else suspicious." "I guess that's all we can do for now," agreed Liam in a frustrated tone. "But I sure would like to get in that necropolis and have a look around." Michael looked at him as if he had just suggested they swim naked across the Nile. "Do you know how dangerous that would be? Besides, what could we possibly do that hasn't already been done by the search team?" "I don't know," said Liam dejectedly. "I just feel like we aught to be doingsomething, ANYTHING. I feel really useless right now." "I know what you mean," Michael said empathetically.

They had just gotten back to their tent, and it was getting dark. "Let's have a good look at that diary. Maybe there's something in there that can help us after all." Two weeks had passed, and Michael's uncle had been working with the investigation team each day. Every night he briefed Elizabeth and the children on the things they found. As it turned out however, they really weren't finding much of anything. Link had just come in and flung himself down in a chair, a cloud of dust rising up from around him. Elizabeth, who was not enjoying the dirty, sandy living arrangement, looked at him in frustration and disgust. "Did you guys find anything today Uncle Link?" asked Abby in an excited, squeaky voice. He looked at her and let out a deep sigh. "I'm afraid not Sweetheart," he told her. "Are the people here doing much to help out?" asked Liam. "Dr. Khalil and his people are being very cooperative and patient with us," Link told them. "He really is doing his best to figure out what happened. This is one of the most bizarre cases I've ever seen. What happened seems to bewellit just seems to be impossible." "What do you mean?" Michael pressed him. "Well, Mark, Rachel, and Declan just don't seem to be down there. We can't find any sort of evidence that indicates they were hurt, and although the place is enormous, it's actually been mapped out pretty thoroughly. There is no way they could have been taken from this site without just about everyone here being in on it. I really doubt that's the case. These people seem authentic, and there's just no motive that could be shared by the dozens of people working here. I've interviewed every one of them." He ran his hands through his hair and wiped at his face in frustration. Michael had never seen his uncle in such a state of anxiety. He actually looked confused and a little scared, and this was so unlike the Uncle Link that he was used to it made him sick to his stomach. He suddenly had a sinking feeling, as though he could drop through the ground at any moment. Even Elizabeth, who was usually defensive and hostile to his uncle, looked at him in sympathy. She began to cry, though she was doing her best to hide it. She gently placed her hand upon Link's and sat down beside him, which surprised Michael. Link hesitantly placed an arm around her. "I'm sorry I don't have anything else to tell you right now, but just like I promised you guys, we are not going to stop looking until we have this thing figured out. If it's the last thing I do, no matter how long it takes, I'm going to find my baby sister and your fathers. I owe it to her, and I owe it to you." "Why don't the three of you go and wash up for dinner," Elizabeth told them softly, but none of them moved. "Go on now," she said a little more firmly. "Your uncle will be fine, he just needs some time to think things over for a while." The three of them got up and filed out of the tent. As Michael was leaving, he turned back to see his uncle being embraced by Elizabeth, who in turn lowered his head down upon her shoulder. A crescent moon hung in the night sky, surrounded by bright shimmering stars. The night was warm and dry as Michael, Liam and Abby sat listening to some of the workers singing and

playing their instruments. One man was playing an oud, a stringed instrument resembling a lute, and another had some drums. This was the usual late night entertainment enjoyed by the workers after a hard day of labor and a good dinner. "We've got to get in to that tomb," said Michael with his eyes fixed to the sky. He wondered if his mother and father were able to see the moon and stars, or if they were buried away somewhere deep in the earth, unable to escape. "I've been thinking about that," Liam whispered. "Maybe if we were able to get down there, Uncle Shamus's maps would help us find something that nobody else has been able to discover. I mean, I know that Khalil has already examined them, but you never know." Michael nodded his head, and Abby got a determined, mischievous look in her eyes. "You don't think that you're going do you?" Michael asked her. "You try to stop me," she said a little too loudly. "I'll tell Elizabeth about it if you don't let me go." Michael would have tried to talk to Liam about this alone, but they hadn't really been able to shake Abby lately, and he was eager to go explore the tomb. "All right," he hissed at her through his teeth. "Just shut your little yapper before somebody hears you, alright?" She folded her arms and scowled. "Look," he said to Liam, "we need to get this done tonight, now's as good a time as any. We'll wait for Elizabeth to go to sleep, and then we'll sneak over to the entrance." "What about the guard?" asked Liam. "Owlface is on duty tonight," Michael told him. Owlface was one of the workers who took regular turns guarding the entrance to the necropolis. Liam had given him the nickname because he looked remarkably like a barn owl, and seemed to spend half the day sleeping. Unlike most owls however, he didn't appear to be any more energetic at night than he was during the day. "We'll wait for him to go to sleep, that is, if he's not already asleep when we get there, and then sneak past him." "Alright," Liam agreed. "Let's go get our things together so we'll be all ready to leave." A few hours passed before everyone went to bed, and after he thought it was safe to do so, Michael checked to make sure Elizabeth was sleeping. He had hoped that Abby had fallen asleep as well, but as he was walking away from their tent, she crept out and followed him. Just as she was about to say something, he held his finger to his lips to tell her to keep quiet. Light was still shining from inside Link's tent, and he knew his uncle would be constantly on the lookout for trouble. Liam appeared out of nowhere carrying their supplies, and the three were off toward the entrance to the tomb. They snuck around the outskirts of the camp, being careful not to make any noise or be seen. The night was fairly dark, but their eyes soon adjusted and they were able to maneuver just fine by the light of the crescent moon. When they reached the entrance to the tomb, Owlface was there keeping guard, and he looked wide awake. "Maybe he is part owl after all," Liam whispered with a shrug. They got as close as they could without being seen, waiting for an opportunity to move, and hoping that the guard would become weary before too much time was wasted. About an hour passed before they noticed him walk a short distance away. He was standing there looking off toward the desert with his back to the entrance.

"What's he doing?" asked Abby quietly. "I think he's um, watering that sand dune," Michael told her. "Hurry up, now's our chance." They jogged over in a crouch and quickly slipped through the entrance before he could see them. Although the light of the torches outside shone in for a few feet, it wasn't long before long they were in pitch-black darkness. Liam flipped on his flashlight, and they kept moving as fast as they could into the tunnel so Owlface wouldn't notice them. When they got to a point where they felt safe, they slowed down to catch their breath and decide what to do. Michael and Abby took out their flashlights too, and they were pleased to see how well the extra light illuminated the area around them. As they moved down the main passageway, they looked at the intricate carvings and paintings, which surrounded them on the cavern walls. They depicted all sorts of examples of ancient Egyptian life. The ancient gods were shown from time to time, but Horus and Anubis were there far more than any of the others. Horus could be seen performing deeds of valor and protecting mankind, and Anubis was guiding and helping the dead into the afterlife. Looking at the maps in McGinty's journal, they examined the catacombs for an idea of where to begin. "Look here," said Liam, "this must be the burial chamber of the warrior Aiden Osiris had spoken of back at McGinty Castle." "I remember," said Michael, nodding. "Supposedly, that was where the mysterious passageway was found, right before the death of Dr. Farley and five of his men." "Who's Dr. Farley?" asked Abby. "Don't you remember what Mr. Osiris told Mom and Dad? He was the lead archeologist back before the site was closed off. He and his men were killed mysteriously down in the burial chamber. They never figured out who or what did it. Their eyes had been turned bright green somehow." Abby shuddered. "I don't like the sound of THAT." "I'm with you on that one," Liam told her. They plotted a course and continued on down the tunnel. Liam kicked a small stone out of the path in front of him. "We'd be completely out of luck without these maps." They passed through various hallways and chambers, examining things quickly as they moved along, looking for anything that might offer a clue, but eager to get to their destination. "Wouldn't Uncle Link have already thought of this?" asked Abby. "Yes," Michael told her, "but I think it's the best lead we have right now, don't you?" "I suppose so," she said with a shrug. "What time is it anyway?" Michael looked at his watch. "Almost twelve thirty. We need to plan on getting back to the camp by four thirty at the latest, because people start getting up around five." "Luckily, we should be able to reach that chamber fairly soon. Uncle Shamus outlined this path on the map that leads directly to it." Liam studied the map intently for a moment before placing the journal back in his pocket. He led them through the catacombs for about an hour, taking a turn or going down a side passage every now and then, checking the map often to make sure they were still on course. "You seem to know how to read maps pretty well," complimented Michael. "I guess it runs in the family," Liam said with a smile. "We're almost there now, its just up ahead, about another five minutes or so." Liam was right. The doorway to the burial chamber came into view ahead of them. A life-

sized statue of Horus stood beside it, keeping guard. A chill ran through Michael's body as they approached the doorway. He was excited and felt a small bit of hope rise inside of him. He wasn't exactly sure what awaited them inside, but he prayed silently that there would be something that could help them find their parents. The three of them stepped cautiously through the doorway, raising their lights to examine the room. The shock of what they saw stopped them in their tracks. This was not what any of them had expected.

Chapter 10 An Unexpected Friend

Standing there in the center of the room, holding a lantern over a large stone sarcophagus, was a tall man with blonde hair. He was examining it intently. "Oh, uh, hi there," said Michael clumsily, reaching out for the wall to keep himself from stumbling over backward. The man startled at the words, and a small cloud of dust formed around his sweat-stained shirt and ragged blue jeans. "Hello," he said, looking shocked to see them, and casting his eyes around them nervously to see who was with them. Once he saw that the three of them were alone, he appeared to relax. Putting his hand over his chest, he leaned into a half standing, half sitting position against the sarcophagus. "I apologize, you really caught me off guard. Hey, wait a minute, are you guys the kids of those archeologists who just disappeared?" The three of them stood there looking back and forth between him and each other. Michael took his pack off. "Whowho are you exactly?" "You can call me Zuriel," he said slowly. "I'm a paranormal investigator, and I've been interested in this site for quite some time now." He sat down on the ground and folded his legs up Indian-style; setting down the lantern he'd been carrying. "I can tell by the looks on your faces that you're a little confused, so I'll do my best to explain. First of all, I know all about your parents disappearance, and I think I have a pretty good idea about where they are." Michael was shocked. "You DO? How do you know that? Where do you think they are?" "Well, I don't know exactly what you've heard about this tomb, but this place- well, let's just say that this place is very, very special." Liam walked a little closer, and he too sat down. "What exactly do you mean?" "Well, down in these catacombs, not far from here actually, is a rather unique gateway, a nexus one might say, between our world and another." "Another world?" asked Michael, a bit confused. "What other world?" "Well, according to ancient Egyptian legend, the gateway leads to the domain of Osiris, the underworld." Michael could hardly believe what he was hearing. "Is that where you think the gateway leads?" "Perhaps, but maybe not. That's why I'm here to investigate it. From everything I've heard about your parents' disappearance, it's really the only place they could have gone. I'm assuming you already know the strange circumstances regarding this case? No bodies, no sign of a

struggle, and it's extremely unlikely that three experienced scientists would have wandered off down in these catacombs, even if there were someplace to go." Liam interrupted him. "Are you saying that our parents are dead?" "No, I don't think they are." Michael had a sick feeling in his stomach. "But if they've passed through into the underworld, wouldn't that mean" The man looked at them with great sympathy in his eyes. "Look, I wish I had more answers for the three of you, but I don't. I don't believe that your parents are dead though. You've heard of the archeologist and workers who were killed a few years back?" They all nodded. Zuriel went on. "Well, I believe that they were killed from being exposed to the open gateway. It was emitting a substance which some refer to as hellfire. You recall that their eyes had turned green?" "Yes," said Michael, scratching his face. "And you believe that if our parents had been killed then they would have been found in the same condition?" "Yes, I believe that's likely. If your parents did open the gateway, they must have found a way to protect themselves from the hellfire. It's possible that they became trapped on the other side of the nexus, and are incapable of getting out." "Then how do we help them?" asked Michael. Liam, at the same time said, "Is it possible to open the nexus for them?" Zuriel smiled sympathetically. "Believe me, I've been trying to figure out exactly that. I've searched for information and clues down in these caverns since shortly after the disappearance. The only thing I've found, well I think it's just a legend, probably never existed in the first place." His voice trailed off as he said this, as if regretting he'd even mentioned it. "WHAT IS IT?" yelled all three children at about the same time. Without even realizing it, they had all moved closer to Zuriel and sat down on the ground, intently listening with a newfound hope. "Oh, well I don't mean to get your hopes up for nothing, but I guess it won't hurt to tell you." He let out a small sigh and continued. "Through my research, I've come across mention of an artifact that is said to have power to control the gateway, it's called the Staff of Anubis. There are a few appearances of the staff in ancient folklore, detailing the power it supposedly contained, but the artifact was thought to have been lost to history." Michael knew exactly the staff that Zuriel was talking about, in fact he had held it, or rather, he felt like he had held it back in McGinty Castle, while looking through the eyes of the golden statue. He looked at Abby, who was about to say something, and inconspicuously shook his head. "What exactly does this thing look like?" he asked Zuriel. "Well, although Anubis is often pictured holding a was staff in carvings and hieroglyphs, this particular staff supposedly had a jackal's head on it. Other than that, it's just a regular was staff with a forked end." Liam looked a bit confused. "What is a was staff?" "It's a scepter, a long staff held as a symbol of power or authority. I'm sure you've seen them in paintings and carvings held by pharaohs, priests, and other Egyptian gods besides Anubis. In fact, there are plenty of them shown on the walls down here in the necropolis." "And you believe that this staff may still exist somewhere?" Michael asked him. "To be honest, I hadn't given it that much thought until about a week ago, when I got to take

a look at a very interesting diary in Hasani Khalil's office, it was written by a man named Shamus McGinty." "We've heard of him," Liam said with a smirk. "Ahh yes, I know that you have," the man said with a nod. "This diary captured McGinty's personal notes while he worked on this excavation as a cartographer. One thing that really stuck out to me in the book was a fairly detailed sketch of the staff." "Are you talking about this sketch here?" asked Liam, pulling the book from his pocket and opening it up. Zuriel looked surprised. "Oh, you have the diary, did Khalil give it to you?" Liam nodded. "That's not surprising. Hasani Khalil is a good man and scientist, but an extreme skeptic. He would have little regard for a book such as this, which contains numerous references to the paranormal." He held up his lantern and took a look at the page. "Yes, that's it. It's a very detailed sketch, almost as if McGinty may have actually seen the staff in person." Michael looked at the picture as well. Zuriel was right; the drawing was surprisingly close to what he knew the staff actually looked like. This man was making some sense, but Michael wasn't entirely sure he could be trusted, and didn't think it would be a good idea to tell him everything they knew, at least not yet. "Mr. Zuriel," began Michael. "Oh its just Zuriel, no need to be formal." "Zuriel, do you mind my asking why you're down here in the middle of the night? I mean, not to be rude, but are you, uhhnot supposed to be down here?" "I could ask you the same thing," he said with a mischievous smile. "Actually, I don't want to say too much, but I don't altogether trust some of the men working on this investigation. Before the three of you found me, I had successfully hidden myself from everyone working on this dig." "You don't trust them? Why not?" Liam asked. "Well for one thing they don't trust me. I had a lot of questions after the death of Dr. Farley and his people, but the site was closed and the deaths covered up. Now that the site has been reopened, I wanted answers, even if it meant getting them myself." He looked at them with a very serious expression. "Dr. Farley was a very dear friend of mine. I felt like I betrayed him by not getting to the truth after his death, and now that three good people, your parents, have disappeared, I'm not going to make the same mistake again. I need to find a way to get answers, a way to help, and I'm not going to let men like Khalil and Osiris stop me." "You don't trust Aiden Osiris either?" asked Michael. "I don't trust that man any further than I could throw him. He is definitely not what he appears to be." Michael suddenly made a decision. "Zuriel, what if I told you that this isn't the first time we've seen a picture of that staff?" "Really, what exactly do you mean by that?" "Back at McGinty Castle, where Liam and his father live, there's a picture, a portrait on the wall of a man who is holding a staff that looks just like the one in this diary." "Is there really? Well that's very interesting isn't it?" he said as if to himself. "Do you have any idea why something like that would be hanging in a castle in Scotland?"

asked Liam. "Hmm, the man in the portrait, was he Scottish?" "Yes, I think so, but the painting is probably a couple hundred years old," Liam told him. "I actually came across a story once that might help explain it, but I thought it was nonsense when I heard it." He looked at them with whimsical doubt in his eyes. "Go on then," Liam told him. "Well, the staff was rumored to have fallen into the hands of one of the Scottish clans several hundred years ago. The MacFarlanes if I remember correctly, who lived to the northwest of Loch Lomond. It was stolen with a few other Egyptian relics, but the story didn't seem very credible when I heard it, there was just no proof to support it. However, if you're telling me there's a several hundred year old portrait that shows the staff, well, let's just say that's extremely interesting. Are you positive that what you saw in the painting is the same thing drawn in this book?" Michael nodded his head. "There's not a doubt in my mind." Liam and Abby agreed. "Well, if you three really want to help your parents, then you might want to consider returning to Scotland to see if you can discover what happened to that staff. If we had it, we would not only be able to locate the position of the nexus, but we'd also be able to open it back up, and set your parents free." "What about you? Could you come with us and help us try to locate the staff?" Liam asked in a pleading voice. "I don't think that would be the best idea. It's possible that the staff is still lost somewhere down in these catacombs, and I need to finish my research here. Besides, there's one other very important thing I need to tell you. We may not be the only ones looking for that staff. I believe there is someone else who greatly desires to find it, and I need to find out exactly who that is before it's too late." "But why would someone else be looking for it?" Michael asked him. "It doesn't seem to be something that many people know about." "Well, McGinty definitely knew about it, and he may have been killed precisely because he knew. That staff has the power to unleash horrible things, and if it falls into the wrong hands, your parents, as well as the rest of us, could be in for a lot of trouble. Do you understand what I'm telling you?" They all nodded. "If I was you, I would tell absolutely no one about your search for this staff, don't even mention the thing to anybody, because if you do, you are putting your own lives as well as anyone else you tell in very great danger." "We understand," Liam said, looking at Michael with solemn eyes. "But what happens if we actually get ahold of this thing?" asked Abby. "What are we supposed to do with it?" "You should let me know as quickly as possible. I have a contact in London, here, let me right down his information." He took a pen and small notebook out of his left pant pocket and scribbled it down. "He'll know how to get ahold of me. Don't hesitate to call him if you find out anything." "It's getting late, we really need to leave if we are going to get back in time," Michael said, looking at his watch. Zuriel nodded. "If I find out anything, I'll get a message to you somehow. Remember; don't tell ANYONE about the staff, or what you are doing. Everything depends on keeping it a

secret." "Okay, we won't forget. Goodbye, and good luck." He took Abby's hand and they sped off toward the door. Zuriel waved at them as they left. "Good luck to you too, and please be careful." They set off at a jog the way they had come in, and Michael let Liam take the lead. "Can you get us out of here fast without getting us all lost?" "No worries," Liam laughed. "I know exactly where I'm going. This is the easy part. Just be sure to watch your feet, because a twisted ankle would really slow us down." It was about four forty in the morning when they reached the entrance to the outside world. Owlface was sitting just inside the doorway, his back against the wall, sleeping soundly. Abby raised her index finger to her mouth, exactly the way her mother had done to them a thousand times before whenever she wanted them to be quiet. Normally this would have annoyed Michael, but since it reminded him of his mother, he actually didn't mind it so much. The three of them tiptoed past the guard, being careful not to disturb him. But just when they thought they were safe, Michael dropped his flashlight, and it clanked against the hard stone floor. The top flew off and landed several feet away, while the batteries rolled across the ground and gently stopped at Owlface's foot. He startled awake. Dreary eyed, he looked up to see them standing before him. "HEY," he shouted. "NO sneak. Go back tents RIGHT NOW." He began to get to his feet, and the three of them took off into a sprint toward their tents, moving back toward the outskirts of camp so they wouldn't be seen. "The idiot actually thought we were trying to sneak in, not out," whispered Liam as they slowed to a jog. Abby looked at her brother with concern. "Do you think he'll tell on us?" "I seriously doubt it, he wouldn't want us to turn around and tell anyone that he was sleeping on the job, would he?" Michael assured her. "So how are we going to get back home?" asked Liam. "Are you kidding me?" Michael looked at him disapprovingly. "All we need to do is tell Elizabeth that we want to go back home. She'd do anything to get us out of here. We'll say that we're uncomfortable and scared, and feel like we're just getting in the way. I think at this point even Uncle Link will be easy to convince. He's been under so much stress lately; I think we've just become one more distraction from the investigation for him. He wouldn't admit it, but I think he'd be happy to see us go back to McGinty Castle." "I don't want to lie to Aunt Liz." Abby frowned obstinately. "Well, we wouldn't be lying would we? I can't speak for the two of you, but I am scared, I am very uncomfortable, and it certainly feels like we haven't done much around here but get in the way." "I know what you mean," agreed Liam. "It might be different if they let us do something to help, but nobody around here takes us seriously. They've just kept us around because they feel sorry for us." "Well, shouldn't we tell Uncle Link about the staff?" asked Abby. "I bet he could help us find it, he may even know something about it." "I've already thought about that," Michael told her. "I don't think it's a good idea right now.

What if Zuriel's right about someone else being after the staff? We could be putting his life in danger just by telling him, and I seriously doubt that he would be willing to leave Egypt and go back to Scotland because of a sketch in a book and an old painting." "I think I'd rather have him stay here anyway," put in Liam. "In a way, I think it'll make me feel better to know that he's still here searching." Michael nodded. "We don't even know for sure that the staff still exists, but if there's any hope at all, well, at least we'll be doing something to help out." Elizabeth was still asleep when they got back to the tents, so they stowed their supplies and got ready for breakfast. Michael hadn't seen Elizabeth so happy since the day she had arrived at McGinty Castle. Perhaps happy wasn't the right word though, it was more like relief, he decided. They had told her about their desire to return to Scotland over breakfast, and just as they expected, she was very receptive to the idea. "I think you three have made the right choice in telling me your feelings, you don't need to be embarrassed about it. I don't think any of us knew exactly what we were getting ourselves into by coming over here, and I'm sure we'll all feel much safer back at the castle." Michael wasn't exactly sure what to expect from his uncle, and he was a little anxious about telling him, but as it turned out, Elizabeth beat him to it. He had barely sat down at the table with his food before she began to explain things to him. "Are you kids sure this is what you want to do?" he asked them gently. He didn't seem at all annoyed, as Michael thought he might be. "We've all talked about it, and it seems like it would be easier on everyone," Michael said. "I know you've told us that we aren't getting in the way, but we certainly aren't helping either. If we went back to McGinty Castle, you could concentrate your efforts on the search." "That may be true, but I wanted to keep you all here with me, where you'd be safe, where I could keep an eye on you." "We'll be safe at the castle," Liam said. "Finnegan and the Calderwoods will have returned by now, and Sir Nigel is a very dedicated guard dog." This actually got a little chuckle out of him. "I suppose he is." "Link, the children will be fine. It's not been healthy for them to be here, constantly dwelling on their parents' disappearance. And Michael's right, with us waiting in Scotland, you can focus your energy on the search." "All right, just promise me, all of you, that you'll stick together, and be careful. We still don't know who's behind this, and what else they're capable of doing." Michael shook his hand. "We promise Uncle Link. You'll let us know the moment you find anything, won't you?" "Of course I will. Listen, I love you. I love all of you." At this, the three children hugged him, but Elizabeth just stood there, with a curious look in her eyes that Michael didn't recognize. It was like anger, but also a bit like pain. "We love you too, big guy," Abby told him, squeezing him tightly. He looked down at her, and as he did it was like seeing into the past. She looked so much like Rachel. Almost exactly like her when she was that age. He hadn't always been the best brother, he'd sometimes failed to protect her, but he didn't plan on failing her again.

Chapter 11 Return to McGinty Castle

Michael lay in his bed with his hands folded behind his head. So many thoughts were swirling through his brain, questions upon questions without any answers in sight. He could remember times when he laid in bed at night just like this, knowing that his parents were off exploring, having some sort of adventure. He used to wish that his life was a bit more exciting, but now that this was actually the case, it wasn't anything like what he expected. Then again, he couldn't remember a time when anything so tragic had happened in his family. He wondered if his mother and father were going through as much agony as he and Abigail were. Who could he trust? Who could he depend on? These were questions he was not used to asking. Life used to be so much simpler and easier to understand. Michael sat up in bed, clicking on his reading lamp, and thumbing through one of the books on ghosts that Liam had gotten for him from the library. He wasn't able to focus on anything he read. He was eager to go and search for the staff in the chamber of antiquities. He and Liam had agreed that if it had been brought to the castle, this was surely where it would have been placed, but neither of them had remembered seeing anything like it there. Before long, Liam showed up so that they could go and explore down the night corridor. Going past Abby's room, they poked their heads in and she appeared to be sleeping. Michael was surprised that they were actually going to be able to sneak away without her. After entering the corridor, they carefully examined everything as they went along, just to be sure that they didn't miss anything. They checked all the doors as they went, but the ones that had been locked before were still locked now. When they got to the portrait of the wolfish man holding the staff, Michael peered at him and frowned. "What in the world did you do with that staff," he demanded from the man, half hoping he would answer. Liam patted him on the back. "Sorry to disappoint you, but the portraits in this castle don't talk back." They continued all the way to the stairway, finding nothing unusual, and continued on up to the armory. They took their time now, trying to explore everyplace the staff could have been hidden. "Here you go." Liam tossed something at Michael, who dodged back a little so he could catch it. "Hey, this is a pretty cool recurve bow," he said while examining it. The bow looked like it had been handmade, was a deep blood reddish color, and had Celtic designs carved into it's surface. "You should keep it," Liam told him. "Well, doesn't it really belong to your father," responded Michael, "whether or not he even knows this place exists?" "Yeah, I guess you're right. Borrow it then, at least until I can tell him I gave it to you. I'm sure he won't care, I mean, its not like there aren't dozens of other bows in here, and he doesn't even know how to shoot them as far as I know." Michael considered this. "All right, I'll borrow it for now."

Liam nodded. They found a leather quiver and some arrows that Michael thought were about the right length for him. "Let's keep looking for that staff," he said. They finished searching the armory, but they didn't find anything that resembled the Staff of Anubis, so they continued on to the chamber of antiquities. Here they found a number of interesting things that they hadn't taken the time to notice before, but still there was no sign of the staff. Michael and Liam both looked through the golden statue, in hope that a clue would be given, but nothing appeared for either one of them. Michael was visibly frustrated. "We've searched this place from top to bottom, and still we've got nothing, not even a clue. Is there anyplace else in this castle that you can think of that might be a good place to look?" "I can't think of anyplace in particular, other than just doing a search of the whole castle. The place is loaded with antiques and artifacts, but I certainly would have seen the thing if it had been placed anywhere else." It was starting to get very late, or very early depending on the way one thinks of it, and the boys decided to give up the search for the night. They were walking back to their rooms, and just before they got to the end of the disappearing corridor, Michael had a thought. "Hey, remember how Zuriel said that the staff was rumored to have been stolen by the MacFarlanes who lived in the country north of here?" "Yes, I think I know just where he was talking about too." "Well, what if we headed out there to take a look? It's not really much to go on, but you never know, we may find something that could help us figure this out. We could search for ruins and talk to people living in the area. Might even meet somebody who knows something about the staff. Even a legend or old-wives tale could give us some kind of clue." "Well, I suppose we could go and give it a shot. I'd still like to finish searching the castle before we go traipsing off into the woods though." "Yeah, of course we should finish here first," agreed Michael. "Hopefully we'll find what we need here in the castle, and soon, but if it comes down to it, heading to what used to be MacFarlane clan territory might be the best lead we've got." After more than a week of turning McGinty Castle inside out, the boys had still found nothing that brought them any closer to obtaining the staff of Anubis. "I sure wish we could get behind those locked doors in the night corridor," Michael told Liam as they began to pack their bags. "No telling what's behind them, maybe there's a clue on how to find the staff, or even the staff itself." Liam stuffed a shirt into his backpack. "That may be, but until we figure out how to unlock them, well, we'll never know, will we?" Liam had told Finnegan that he had been invited to camp out with the family of John Pegg, a friend from school, for the next three nights. He had previously camped with the family on many occasions, and believed that the butler would easily buy into the story, which he did. Since hearing about their plans to head north in search of clues, Abigail had pestered them mercilessly about going.

"If you don't let me go," she told them, "I'll tell Mr. Finnegan and Elizabeth about your plans. That'll end your trip before it begins now won't it." Michael felt like pinching her little head off. "Do you really want to risk our chances of saving Mom and Dad, and Mr. MacDonald?" he yelled at her. She looked dejected. After much argument, they came to the agreement that she could ask Elizabeth for permission to join them. Michael and Liam didn't think there was any way that she would be allowed to go, and if Elizabeth said no, then Abby agreed to keep their secret. Much to the surprise of the boys, and to the joy of Abigail, Elizabeth said she could go. "Finnegan says that the Peggs are very delightful and responsible people, so I don't see a problem with it," Elizabeth told her. "Just promise me you'll be careful and stay near the adults." Of course Abigail agreed to do just that. The little liar, Michael thought to himself. Then it occurred to him that he was the one who had set the example for her, and he got a sick feeling in his stomach. He felt horrible about lying to Finnegan, and especially Elizabeth, but was there any other choice? They had to find that staff as soon as possible if Zuriel had any chance of helping their parents.

Chapter 12 The Lost Clan MacFarlane

Michael and Liam were getting tired, and Abby was exhausted. They had been searching through the forest for three days, and hadn't come across anything that might lead them to a clue in their search for the artifact. Michael had hoped to find the ruins of a village or run into someone who could help direct them in their search, but now he was growing more frustrated by the minute. Maybe after camping for the night, the best thing to do would be to return home in the morning, just as Finnegan and Elizabeth expected them to. Perhaps they could return to the night corridor and search for another clue, anything that might help them find that staff. Michael was very concerned about Abigail, and knew that Elizabeth would be worried sick if she knew what they were doing. They found a good spot to stop and set up camp for the night. The sun had gone down, but the moon shone brightly overhead. Abby started to get some food out to prepare dinner, and Michael and Liam set up the tent. They started a campfire and began to discuss the prospect of returning home in the morning. "I don't care what we do," said Abby. "Whatever you think is best. I want to help rescue Mom and Dad." In a way, this made Michael feel even worse than he had before. He didn't really know what to do. He was completely lost, but he knew that Abby was looking up to him and expecting him to have the answers. "It doesn't look like we're going to find anything out here," said Liam. "If we were, we would have done so by now. I think you may be right about the corridor. I know we all searched as hard as we could for clues, but maybe we missed something." Abby took a bottle of water from her pack. "Why don't we tell Mr. Finnegan about the night corridor. He might have some information that could help us find the staff." "Maybe he could, but remember that Zuriel said we shouldn't tell anyone about what we're

looking for," said Michael. "He said that to tell anyone what we were doing would put them in danger. I don't want to do that to Finnegan." "And just what DO you think you're doing," came a deep voice that none of them recognized. They frantically looked around, trying to see who had spoken and if he were a threat. A moment passed and still they could see nothing. The deep voice laughed maniacally through the darkness. Next they heard whispering, it seemed to be coming from several directions. Michael and Liam grabbed the daggers they had taken from the armory and stood on either side of Abigail. "I think we'd better take you three in to meet the boss." A large wild looking man stepped out of the shadows. He had long unkept hair and a scraggly beard. He reminded Michael of a grizzly bear. "Who are you?" demanded Michael in a shaky voice. "Who am I?" repeated the man condescendingly. "No, the question is, who are the three of you? And just what do you think you're doing in MacFarlane territory?" "MacFarlane territory?" repeated Liam. "What in the world are you talking about?" The man just crossed his arms and smiled. The firelight bouncing off his face made him look evil and dangerous. "Maybe we'll just be on our way then," said Liam. "Oh, the three of you won't be walking out of here lad, you're coming with us." "Us?" asked Liam. The man simply nodded as three of his companions stepped out of the dark forest. None of them was as big as the first man, but they were all just as threatening and wild looking. For a moment, they all stood in silence. A hundred thoughts sped through Michael's mind at the same time. His instinct was to run, but the men had them surrounded, and there was little chance that all three of them could get away. "What are you planning on doing with us?" asked Michael. "That depends on what the boss has to say about it," the man responded. "Nothing to worry about, probably just have you for dinner." Michael didn't like the way he said this, or the way he looked when he said it. "RUN," he shouted before he even knew what he was saying. In an instant, all three of them took off at a sprint. Without much effort, they dodged past the two men who stood in the direction they knew to be home. Michael was relieved, but also shocked to see that none of the men appeared to be chasing after them. Maybe they had just wanted to give them a good scare and drive them away. The four men could be heard laughed out hysterically as the children ran away. Just when they were convinced that they were free, a loud howl rang out from behind them, followed by several more. Michael got a sick feeling in his stomach, as his worst fears about the men were being realized. "Keepkeep going," he huffed to Liam and Abigail, who had both come to a stop beside him. "You don't thinkyoure not saying" Liam managed to sputter out, but he didn't have time to finish before they noticed a dozen dark shapes running through the forest around them. The wolves would dart out and spring at them threateningly, only to turn back and retreat into the woods, disappearing again into the shadows. They howled eerily while playing their evil

game. This went on for several agonizing minutes, before a large, brown wolf crept up slowly before them. He stopped and sat, letting out one final, long howl before beginning to transform back into a man right before their eyes. The process looked extremely painful, as body parts shifted, cracked, and jerked into place. It was the man who had first spoken to them. "Sorry about all the fuss," he growled. "We kind of like to play with our food before we eat it." At this, Abigail buried her face in her hands and began to cry. The man began to walk toward them, a menacing look on his face. He sprang at them with an incredible burst of speed, and before Michael knew what had happened he had seized him and Liam, holding each under one of his long strong arms. Abigail saw this, and let out a blood-curdling scream, to which many of the wolves began to howl, matching her pitch. The big man began to squeeze the boys under his arms. They both kicked and punched at him with all their might, but he just laughed at them. Abigail continued to scream, and the wolves continued to howl. It was the most terrible sound Michael had ever heard, and it pierced the cold night sky like a knife as the men dragged them all away. Michael and Liam were both tied to trees, their hands bound behind their backs. Neither of them had gotten any sleep the night before, and both were more exhausted and scared than they had ever been in their lives. They didn't know where Abigail was, as she had been dragged off to a different location. A small village was spread out before them. It was a very rough and primitive looking place. The huts were made out of stone and wood, and some of them had small streams of smoke billowing from the chimneys. Stables could be seen off in the distance, a few horses trotting about behind the wooden fence. The sun was just coming up when the large man, who had captured them the night before, strode up before them. He had a bucket of water and a ladle, and lifted it up to Liam's face so he could drink. Liam turned his face away. "It's only water," the big man growled. "You drink this, don't make me force it down you. I can have a really bad temper." Liam seemed to consider this for a moment before begrudgingly taking a drink from the ladle. The man made Michael drink as well. "My name is Ulf," the man said. "In a few minutes, our chief is going to come and speak with you, his name is Fenris MacFarlane. He lives in that place right there," he said, pointing to one of the nicer looking huts. "Make sure you show him the proper respect, I don't think he likes kids too much." Ulf smiled at them fiercely, and left them alone once again. "What are we going to do?" whispered Liam in a desperate voice. "I don't know," said Michael dryly, "What CAN we do?" He didn't have any ideas at the moment. "We can't fight our way out of this, and last night proved that trying to run away isn't much use either. Perhaps we'll get the opportunity to sneak away quietly if we wait for the right moment." A few minutes passed in silence. Occasionally one of the villagers would walk by off in the

distance, turning to stare at the boys as if they were some kind of zoo animals. Finally, they watched as Fenris MacFarlane stumbled out of his hut, yawned dramatically, and waved his arms in a broad stretch. "MORNING BOYS," he yelled enthusiastically. And then coming closer he added, "I trust you slept well." "Where's my sister!" Michael demanded, but Fenris acted as though he hadn't heard him. "Now the question that everyone's been askin is, what's three little kids like you doin runnin around in the forest by yourselves?" "We were just out for a hike," said Liam. "Liar," Fenris stated, shaking his finger back and forth in Liam's face. "You've all got enough food for a week. Now what kind of people let three kids off by themselves for a weeks hike through the forest, ehh? It's just not good parenting." Neither of the boys said anything. Michael stared at Fenris with a look of defiance on his face. "Your secrets are your own then, fair enough. It doesn't really matter why you three wandered through our forest, I'm just glad you did. We like visitors." "Why isn't your village on the map?" asked Liam. "I've lived nearby all my life and I had no idea there was a village out here." "Oh, we like our privacy, see." Michael shifted, trying to loosen his restraints. "I thought you just said you like visitors." "Oh, we do, we do indeed. But let's just say that not everyone understands and appreciates our traditions. People seem to fear us. Even the fair folk have placed protections on their groves to keep us out." "Untie us and let us go," pleaded Liam. "We won't tell anyone you're out here." Fenris laughed. "My clan has been living in this forest since the 1590s, when the English government attacked and scattered our people. They accused us of being thieves, robbers, and murderers. What can I say," he chuckled, "they were right. Did you know that because of our reputation throughout the highlands, people began to call the full moon 'MacFarlane's Lantern?'" His eyes, which had been glowing with nostalgia, grew angrier. "We've been biding our time, growing stronger, and now that we're almost ready to make our move, we can't have you two boys run off back home and spoil our surprise. I'm sorry gentleman, but you aren't going anywhere." "What do you mean? There are three of us, what about Abby?" implored Michael. "Oh, the girl. Well, see you've arrived just in time for our Summer Hospitality Festival. It occurs tonight, two days before the full moon. Your lil' sister is going to be our guest of honor. I suppose I should thank you. Saved us the trouble of going out and finding a girl ourselves you did, although this one is a bit puny. However, she'll do," he said with an evil smirk. Michael thought that his face looked eerily familiar when he smirked like that. "Summer Hospitality Festival? That doesn't sound so bad," said Liam with a hopeful but scared look on his face. Michael remembered the mural he had seen hanging in the night corridor at McGinty Castle, and it all became clear. In fact, Fenris looked very much like the scruffy, wolfish looking man in the painting. Perhaps he's the man's descendant, Michael thought to himself. Was Abigail going to be the victim in their murderous ceremony? A torrent of rage and fear suddenly welled up within him. "KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF MY SISTER YOU DISGUSTING ANIMAL!" he screamed

with all his might. He pulled at his restraints so forcefully that the ropes around his wrists started to cut into his flesh. "Good! That's good Michael. I can feel the hatred burning within you. Keep that up and we may even make you one of us. You'd like that wouldn't you?" He sneered and clapped Michael on the shoulder. Michael ground his teeth in anger. "And as for you sweet-cake," he said to Liam, placing his finger under his chin and lifting up his head to expose his throat. "Maybe we'll fatten you up for awhile. You know it's funny, but the longer the food's been traumatized, the better the taste." He lightly slapped him on the cheek and let out a devious giggle. Turning around to the small crowd of villagers who were now beginning to gather in front of the prisoners, Fenris said in a loud voice, "All right, listen up good, all of you. These morsels here aren't to be touched. I've got special plans for the both of them. Now go on about your business, there's plenty of work to be done before tonight's celebration." Without saying another word to the boys, he strutted out of sight back down toward the village. Several hours went by before Ulf returned and untied Michael and Liam. They both fell to the ground, and it took them a moment before they were able to stand up straight and walk. "The boss wanted to talk to you boys," he said. "I assume you're both smart enough to realize that running won't do you any good?" "As long as you have my sister, we're not going anywhere," said Michael firmly. "Fair enough," laughed Ulf in a patronizing voice. They walked down the hill and through the huts. The occasional villager stopped what they were doing to stare impolitely as they passed by. All of these people were shabby and wild looking. They walked passed the stables and some pens where sheep and goats were being held. The animals didn't look very happy. Michael thought that it was probably instinct for them to be terrified of their owners. He noticed some fruit trees and a large vegetable garden. There were chickens running about here and there as well. Ulf noticed the curious looks on their faces and said, "Oh, we eat the same things you do. At least most of the time, anyway. If we allowed ourselves to be controlled by our more animalistic appetites, well, let's just say it would be a little harder to keep our community a secret." He spoke about this as casually as if he were discussing the weather. "Oh, don't get me wrong lads, we have our share of special meals, but we need to make sure that not many questions get asked. Obviously the three of you are prime candidates, as it's fairly obvious nobody seems to know where you are." They approached a large clearing past the outskirts of the village. A large fire pit was in the middle, and some of the villagers were busy decorating the area. Others were bringing wood, and still others were setting up a dining area with table, chairs, and cooking equipment. "Got a big feast planned tonight," said Ulf. "Oh don't worry, you two won't be on the menu, though that baby sister of yours is gonna make a mighty fine appetizer." Michael curled up his hand into a fist. Jumping up he punched the large man surprisingly

hard across his face. "Ha, ha, ha. That's the spirit lad," Ulf said with a smile as he spit out a small amount of blood onto the ground. "Though you may want to be careful. If you'd have cut your hand on one of my teeth you might have had a nasty surprise during the next full moon." "Ah, here's the chief now," said Ulf. He led them over to where Fenris was standing, speaking with a group of a half dozen shabby looking children. A small girl, who looked about six years old, growled at them fiercely as they approached. "Now, now, Mandy, is that the way we treat our guests?" said Fenris as he patted her on the head. She stood behind him, grasping his leg and glaring at Michael and Liam. "Well boys, as you can see we're all quite excited about tonight's festivities. You arrived at just the right time. Of course, you two will be safely locked away before it gets dark tonight, it's for your own protection." Michael had been trying to think of anything that might help them escape. He knew these people weren't fools, but a small part of him wondered if he could get on their good side. He remembered that Fenris had spoken about the history of his people, and thought this might be a way to do it. "Umm, Mr. MacFarlane," he said nervously. "I was wondering, uh, how is it that your people came to be this way?" Fenris raised his eyebrows at him, perhaps he wasn't expecting this sort of questioning. The werewolf children looked up at him as if they were waiting for an answer. "Oh," he said, obviously caught off guard. "Well, ah, there are stories about the founder of our clan. My mother used to tell them to me when I was only a little pup," he said as his eyes seemed to wander off to days gone by. "Conan MacFarlane, who founded our pack, was a master thief. He lived during the sixteenth century. During one of his raids on a rich English nobleman, he obtained an ancient artifact, a magical staff, which he used to give his people the ability to change their shape. This enabled them to take the form of wolves, creatures of the night with superhuman strength." "Excuse me sir," said Michael. "But do your people have the ability to change form whenever they want to? I mean, it appeared that way last night." "Well, it works like this. We can change form whenever we want, but we become stronger as the light of the moon increases. With this blessing, comes a curse, however. The fuller the moon becomes, the less control we have, until finally during the full moon, our people become mindless creatures, unable to control our actions or thoughts. This is a dangerous time for us, as well as anyone who happens to be around us." "Why are you so interested all of a sudden?" asked Ulf, thumping Michael meanly on the shoulder. "Oh," he said, trying to ignore the pain. "I just find it all very, er, fascinating." Liam looked at him as though he suspected Michael might be losing him mind. "And who can blame the boy?" Fenris said loudly to his friend. "Besides, it's good for our pups here to know the history of their people." Michael looked more closely at the children. There were four boys and two girls. One of the boys, who looked to be about six or seven years old, had a very sad face, and kept his eyes cast toward the ground the whole time they were talking. "What about theum, the thirst for human blood? Is that part of the curse as well?" asked Michael. "Let's just say that's more of a family tradition," chuckled Fenris. "Of course when we've

been moonstruck we have no control over who we attack. We'll eat just about anything, except for each other. As for a thirst for human blood, well, it's no stronger than the thirst one occasionally has for say, bangers and mash?" Both Fenris and Ulf began laughing, but Michael and Liam felt like they were going to be sick. "And what of the magical staff?" asked Michael. "Do your people still have it?" At this Fenris got a particularly frightening look on his face. "No," he said angrily. "The staff was stolen from our people when my father was murdered by a despicable thieving dog named Shamus McGinty nearly twenty years ago. Our village was raided and plundered in an attempt to wipe our people out of existence. Since then we've relocated and rebuilt. It hasn't been easy, but we've managed to survive." Michael found it interesting that this man, who was a monster, thief, and murderer, was angry with someone else for supposedly committing the same crimes he himself was so proud of. "Unfortunately, I never got to exact my revenge on the old badger. He's presumably dead. But now that our people are strong once again, someday very soon we're going to raid that castle of his. We'll taste the blood of his every living relative, and recover what is rightfully ours." Michael nodded, as if to say he understood and agreed with what Fenris was saying. He looked at Liam out of the corner of his eye. It was a very good thing that these creatures had no idea where they had really come from. "Well, enough of this talk," said Fenris. "There's still work to be done, I can tell you pups more about all this later." He scratched a few of them behind the ears. "You two," he said to Michael and Liam, "get over there and help bring over some more fire wood." He turned around to walk away, but then turned to Michael once again. "You may be alright lad, you may be alright, but, sorry to say, I'm still going to eat your sister." Later that afternoon, the celebration began. There was feasting, music, and dancing, and if Michael had been able to forget their predicament, even for a moment, he may have been tempted to enjoy himself. As things stood however, his little sister was going to be slaughtered, his best friend was going to be saved for slaughter, and he himself would either be facing the same fate, or even worse be turned into one of these horrible creatures. Michael and Liam were given seats at a table with the other children. As they were sitting there, a particularly hairy woman walked by and scruffed up the hair of a dog faced, pre-teen girl. "Don't get attached to them dear," she said nodding her head toward the two of them. "Remember that they're livestock, not pets." The girl smiled at them, revealing sharp, canine teeth, and Liam gave Michael a very distasteful frown. Food was brought out and placed before them, and although they were starving, both felt too sick to eat anything. Besides, the food looked normal, but neither boy was going to fully trust anything that was served to them by a man-eating werewolf. The festivities went on, and after about an hour Michael saw two women walking out from the huts, dragging a reluctant hostage between them. It was Abigail. She was wearing an elegant white dress, and her long blonde hair was braided behind her. She was kicking and fighting as best as she could, but the two large women who were leading their prisoner easily restrained her.

They carried her out to the middle of the clearing, and tied her to a large pole as all the villagers around them cheered. Liam began to frantically tap Michael on the arm. "I see her," he whispered. "We need to help her somehow." Before he could make a move, Ulf walked up behind them. "Hey twerp," he said. "If you want to say goodbye to your sister, you'd better do it now." Michael got up and ran toward Abigail as fast as he could. When he got to her, he expected to find her crying, but she really just looked angry. "Are you okay?" he asked her in a shaky voice. "Yes", she said weakly. "But I don't think they intend to keep things that way." "Abby, it's going to be okay. I don't know what we are going to do yet, but, well, we're going to think of something." "Well, you'd better do it quick," she said. "Actually, I think I may know of someone who might be able to help." "Really?" said Michael in a surprised voice. "WHO?" "I met a boy this morning. He's actually very nice, he's not like the rest of them." Michael listened intently. "They call him Wolfie. He told me he was six years old." Michael remembered the boy who had looked at the ground earlier that day when they'd been speaking to Fenris. "I think I know who you're talking about. Is it the sad looking kid with black hair?" "Yeah, that's him. He told me he may be able to get us out of this, but he seemed scared. You need to find him, and convince him to help." "I will," he told her with a determined look on his face. "I love you Abby, we're going to be okay." "I love you too," she said and began to cry. "I'm sorry I've been such a pest lately." "It's okay, I wouldn't trade you for anything." "Go, you need to hurry, we don't have much time." He kissed her, and walked sadly back to his table. "Is she alright?" asked Liam. Michael told him about everything she had said. "Yeah, I remember that kid too," said Liam. "He didn't look too happy about the things Fenris was saying." "We need to find him right away and speak with him," said Michael. But just as they began to rise from the table, Ulf again walked up behind them. He placed a large strong hand on each of their shoulders. "Come on," he said gruffly. "Unless you two want to end up as a late night snack, it's time to put you both in the cage." Ulf slammed the door on the large iron cage. Thick iron bars surrounded them on every side and across the top. "You'll be safe in here," said Ulf. "Just stay in the center of the cage, and don't expect to get any sleep tonight." He laughed to himself as he walked away. They could still see the clearing, as well as Abigail. The villagers had lit a bonfire and were now waiting for the sun to go down. Michael was on the verge of becoming frantic, when he noticed the small form of a boy

crouching in the shadows near the tree line close by. He waved at him, but he remained motionless. He tried to draw him over. "Hey," he whispered loudly, "come here for a minute." The boy stared at him for a moment before cautiously creeping over to them. "Hi, my name is Michael, and this is my friend Liam," said Michael. Liam nodded politely. "Are you Wolfie?" Michael asked him. "That's what THEY call me," he responded angrily. "But I hate it." "Oh, sorry," said Michael apologetically. He wanted to be careful not to offend the boy and scare him off. "What do you like to be called?" "My name is Raymond," he told them in a calmer voice. "Nice to meet you," said Michael. "That's my sister Abigail over there, the one tied to the pole." "I know," he said sadly and lowered his face back to the ground. "She seemed to think that you might be able to help us," Michael told him. He immediately raised his head, a look of hope gleaming in his eyes. Then just as quickly it was replaced by a look of despair. "Well, I don't know," he said. "I'd like to try, but they'll kill me if they find out. Besides, I don't even know if it would work." "You keep calling them 'they'," said Liam. "Are you saying that you aren't one of them?" It just occurred to Michael that the boy wasn't speaking with a Scottish accent. He sounded like an American. Liam must have noticed this from the beginning. "No," he said quickly, "I mean, I didn't used to be." "What do you mean?" asked Michael. The boy began to sob quietly. "It's okay," said Michael. "You can trust us. Tell us what happened." "Well," said Raymond, "My parents and I were site-seeing when our car broke down. My father went to look for help, but after a long time he didn't come back. Then THEY showed up and brought my mother and I here. They locked me up in a cage in one of their huts, and I never saw either of my parents again." He began to cry uncontrollably. Michael and Liam looked at each other, both wondering if this boy's mother had fallen to the same fate that now awaited Abigail. "The chief decided they should make me one of them, and I've been living here ever since." "Listen," said Michael. "Maybe we can help each other, if we get out of here we can take you with us, but we need to act now. Is there really something you can do to help us?" Raymond jumped to his feet. "Maybe," he said. "I'll try." And then he shot off into the trees without another word. "What do you think he's up too?" said Liam. "I don't know, but whatever it is I hope he hurries. At most, I think we've only got a few hours left." The party continued as Michael and Liam sat in the cage, waiting for the young boy to return. It seemed like an eternity, as the fear and anxiety gnawed away at them, and still they waited. The sun dipped behind the tree-line, and as minutes passed, the sky grew darker. It became harder to see Abigail off in the distance, but as the villagers added wood to the bonfire, the light bounced off her white dress, and they could see her struggling with the ropes that bound her to the pole. Before they knew it, the crowd became silent, something was happening. They heard the

sound of a heavy drumbeat coming from the clearing, and watched in horror as the villagers began to change shape, howling to the beat and raising a maniacal song into the night sky. A small group of were-wolves began to circle Abigail, who screamed in fear as the creatures closed in on her.

Chapter 13 The Incredible Mr. Finnegan

The bright, nearly full moon was now shining in the sky just above the tree-line, occasionally peaking out from the dark clouds which were passing by. Michael and Liam stood holding the bars of their cage, looking out into the horrific scene that unfolded before them. The werewolves danced and ran around, and no one left in the camp remained in their human form. They could do nothing but stand there and wait. Michael's heart had sunk within him; his eyes fixed on his little sister. He had never loved her more than he did at this moment. He couldn't lose her to these creatures. He refused to accept the idea. Suddenly, something sprang from the shadows of the trees and bounded for their cage. They both stumbled back away from the bars, seeing that it was one of the werewolves. This one was much smaller than the rest, and instead of attacking the cage and trying to get at them like they had expected, it laid down in front of the cage, holding its head up and watching the commotion before them, its ears raised as it listened for signs of danger. "Is thatis that Raymond," stuttered Liam. Michael didn't know what to think. This had to be Raymond. He was glad to see that the boy was all right, but did this mean he had been unable to free them, unable to do anything that would help Abigail? Michael grabbed the bars and gritted his teeth in anger and frustration, his eyes shooting back to the group of monsters dancing around his sister. Abruptly, the drumbeat changed, and all the werewolves came to a stop. Then they began slowly closing in on the circle around Abigail. Michael knew what was about to happen. He could no longer see his sister, but he could still hear her screaming and fighting. He was now more frantic than ever. He shook at the bars of the cage, yelling for his sister, screaming for the creatures to leave her alone, but they just ignored him. Raymond whimpered and howled along with him, but suddenly, he stopped. Cocking his head and holding his ears up sharply, he seemed to be hearing something beyond the tree line of the forest. Michael turned his head, and seeing a bright beam of light speeding toward them, was stunned when a large motorcycle shot out of the forest like a bolt of steel lightning. It screeched to a halt about two dozen feet in front of them, and a man jumped off. He wore a long trench coat, a leather helmet, and what looked like aviator goggles, although they had some kind of lights on them. The man quickly unsecured a strap on the back of the bike, and punched a button on the top of a strange looking contraption; it immediately shot into the air with a loud "PHWUMP". The werewolves, realizing that their village had been infiltrated, began charging at the man as he brushed back the sides of his trench-coat and pulled out two tommy guns. He opened fire on them, and the night was soon filled with flying fur, carnage, and the deafening sound of gunfire. Bullets exploded from the machine guns, creating the illusion of strobe lights, and with

each small burst of flame another monster thudded to the ground. It didn't take long for the wolves to figure out that their strategy wasn't working. They began to veer off to the sides in an attempt to surround their attacker. A strange whirring sound could be heard coming from somewhere in the sky, and Michael lifted his eyes in an attempt to see what it was. It took him a moment, but he noticed that the contraption, which had shot into the air from the motorcycle, was now hovering about fifteen feet above the man with the guns. It looked like a small helicopter, about the size of a football, swooping through the sky from here to there as it sniped werewolves. Every few seconds it shot out a projectile, and Michael saw that a moment after a beast was shot, it exploded as if a stick of dynamite had just been jammed down it's throat. The man's guns continued to blaze until they finally ran out of ammo, and as smoke drifted out of the hot, glowing barrels he dropped them to the ground and pulled a large Scottish claymore out of a sheath on the motorcycle. A werewolf lunged at him and he lobbed it in half with one swift motion, bringing it back up to a position awaiting his next attacker. There were now only a few of the creatures left. Michael looked over toward his sister and noticed that six of the beasts stood angrily watching it all from the safety of the circle. He knew these must be the elders of the village who had been about to sacrifice his sister. The man with the sword and the little flying machine disposed of the few remaining wolves nearby, and then he laid the sword against his bike and drew out a long rifle. He dropped to one knee, quickly took aim and shot one of the elder wolves right through the chest. As it dropped to the ground the remaining five wolves tore off into the woods, howling in fury. Michael saw Abigail hanging from the pole. She wasn't moving, but he saw no blood, and hoped that she had only fainted. The man put back his rifle, and as he was walking over to the cage, noticed Raymond sitting beside it. He reached inside his coat, pulled out a revolver, and took aim. "NO," both Michael and Liam shouted at once. "He's not one of them," said Michael. "He's a friend." The small werewolf was shaking and whimpering, his paws covered his eyes. The man walked cautiously over to his bike, never taking the gun off the creature. He opened up a pouch, pulled out another gun, and shot it at Raymond. "NO," the boys shouted again. But then they saw that a net had come from the gun and trapped the small werewolf in place without harming him. The man then approached the cage; he injected a key into the lock. It beeped several times, then clicked, and he pulled it out and swung open the cage door. "Abigail," shouted Michael as he and Liam both ran past the stranger. They jumped and dodged over the dead werewolves to make a beeline for the girl, and upon reaching her, Michael pulled at the ropes that bound her arms to the pole, desperately trying to free her. The man followed them over, and with a large knife cut the rope above her arms as Michael caught her gently to the ground. "She's okay, she's okay," he said over and over again in a light whisper. Liam brushed the hair out of her face and placed his hand against her cheek. The man bent down over her, taking her arm and feeling for a pulse. "She'll be alright, but we need to get her back to the castle right away," said the man as he pulled the goggles off his face. It was Mr. Finnegan. "WHAT?" yelled Liam in amazement. "Finnegan when did you? I mean, how are

you?" He threw up his hands in astonishment. "Thank you Finnegan," said Michael in an exhausted voice, hugging the man tightly. "Think nothing of it young sirs, it is my job to watch out for you, after all. I seem to have, as you Americans say 'dropped the ball' on that, but as I said, lets get young Abigail here back to the castle. Remember that there are still at least five angry werewolves out here somewhere, though I doubt they'll be giving us any more trouble tonight." Finnegan picked up Abigail, and they made their way back to the motorcycle. He gave Liam and Michael each a revolver, and placed the goggles back down over his eyes. "No need to tell you these are loaded," he warned them. "Wait here." He drove off on the motorcycle and came back a few minutes later with a sidecar attached. "They are not far from here, still watching us. We need to hurry." He had Michael sit in the sidecar and placed Abigail on his lap, and then he tied Raymond, who was still entangled in the net, to a rack on the back of the bike. Liam climbed on right behind him. The little helicopter was still hovering around; it had continued to keep guard for them. "Search, and destroy," Finnegan commanded it in a clear voice. It beeped in compliance and flew off happily, eager for the hunt. Finnegan pointed at Raymond. "Don't let that thing bite you," he warned Liam, who nodded his head fervently in agreement. The motorcycle roared as Finnegan sped them off through the night. The moon flashed like a strobe light as it passed behind the trees of the forest. Finnegan kept his eyes focused on the path ahead of them. He seemed to know the area well, and was making good time, speeding them off toward safety. "Finnegan, that was incredible," shouted Liam as the cold wind whipped through his hair. "I never knew you were capable of that sort of thing." "You will find, young master, that there are a great many things that you do not yet know," responded the butler in his usual tone. "Now hold on tightly, this next stretch is quite bumpy." He had no more said this than Michael began to jar around the car so violently that had his eyes been closed he would have sworn he was in a washing machine. Raymond howled in confusion and fear, clawing and biting at the net that bound him. "Hold on tight to your sister Michael, and mind she doesn't bump her head," the butler yelled over the roar of the engine. He took a sharp turn out of the forest onto a country road. "You're going the wrong way," Liam blurted, loudly. "It wouldn't do to have them follow us home," Finnegan snapped back. " Tell me, do they know who you are, or where you came from?" "No," Liam told him. "We didn't think that would be a smart idea." "There's a good lad." The night seemed surreal as they sped on under the stars, taking detours that led them farther away from the MacFarlane camp. On several occasions Michael thought he saw eyes shining out at him from the trees, but he couldn't be sure that his imagination wasn't fooling with him. Before long, the boys could recognize that they were headed straight for the castle. They shot past familiar ground at breakneck speeds, and it might have been exciting if they weren't already terrified and deprived of sleep. They entered in through the front gate of the yard, and Finnegan pulled around to the back

of the castle toward the garden. Michael saw something rising up out of the grass, and before he knew what was happening, the motorcycle and sidecar were disappearing below the surface of the earth and the hidden door was closing back down behind them. They screeched to a stop and Finnegan hopped off. He carefully untied and lifted the bag that held the tiny werewolf, and carried him off to the corner of the room. He opened up a door and disappeared behind it for a moment before coming back. "Don't worry about him," he said, seeing their expressions. "He'll be fine in there until I can attend to him. Poor little creature." Liam helped Michael get Abigail out of the sidecar, and then he tried to stand up, nearly collapsing beneath his shaking, bruised legs. They laid Abby gently on a jacket as Finnegan looked at her once again, checking her pulse. "No worse for the wear," he said gently. "What is this place," said Liam with astonishment. "I didn't even know this was here." "This is my workshop," responded Finnegan flatly. "It used to be my secret workshop. Up until now the only other person who knew of it's location was your father." They looked around to see a collection of strange inventions and contraptions, a few vehicles were parked in the middle of the room, and some very menacing looking weapons were scattered across a long workbench near the wall. Finnegan walked over to a monitor positioned on the wall and pushed some buttons. The screen flickered on, and a short cell-phone like tune played through a few times before a man's face appeared. He looked surprisingly like Finnegan, except his cheeks were a bit pudgier and he had a full head of hair. "Ahhh, Finnegan, you're looking well," said the man dryly, his eyebrows raised. "Woolmore, I need you to relay to the other members of the order that operation 437 will no longer be necessary. There have been certain events tonight that have taken care of the problem." The man's eyes widened, though he said nothing. "Please relay to the Sentinels in sector 3 that they now have a few very unhappy lycans in their territory, although they probably already know it." At this Woolmore squeezed his eyes disapprovingly. His fat cheeks growing redder as he noticed Michael and Liam in the background. "Now see here Finnegan," the man said excitedly, but the butler interrupted him. "One more thing Woolmore. I've captured one of the creatures, a young child whom they turned. I'll keep him here under my protection until the situation can be assessed." Woolmore looked as though his head were about to explode, and was struggling for words as Finnegan cut him off once more. "A full report of the nights events will be sent in within the next few hours, and Woolmore, do try to get some rest, you look as though you may be coming down with a fever." He shut the monitor off as the bright red man was raising his finger in protest. "Are you in trouble Mr. Finnegan?" asked Michael. "Do I look worried?" he asked indignantly. "Now come, we need to attend to your sister." He picked her up and led them to a stairway. They followed him up, and were surprised to find themselves come out from behind a large bookshelf in the wall in Finnegan's living quarters. "Hey," said Liam with a surprised look, "I never knew that was there." They followed Finnegan to Abigail's room where he placed her gently in bed. "While I abhor the practice of lying, I do not believe that revealing the entire truth would be

our best course of action in this situation. Do the two of you agree?" Michael and Liam both nodded their heads. "Then let me do the talking. Liam," he said, "go fetch the Calderwood sisters. Tell them we need some warm, wet towels, as well as the first aid kit. Michael, you go and wake Ms. Harrison, we may as well get this over with." Elizabeth was nearly beside herself when she was told what happened to Abigail and the boys, but of course she only received part of the story. As far as she knew, the children had become lost in the woods and were attacked by wolves, which had given young Abigail a terrible fright. "I didn't know there were any wolves left in Scotland?" she asked Finnegan in amazement. "Apparently there are at least a few," he told her. "I'm so sorry this happened, Miss Harrison, I told you that the children would be safe." "Don't blame yourself," she said, taking his hand and patting it. "You went out after them as soon as you heard there was trouble. How did you manage to locate them so quickly?" "Oh I know these parts very well, and I had a hunch where I might find them." "It was actually our fault," Michael told her. "We never should have wandered off with Abigail like that." Michael felt genuinely remorseful. He felt horrible for allowing his little sister to be placed in such horrific danger. "Well, the important thing is you're safe now," she said and hugged him tightly. Other than a few basic questions, Elizabeth actually didn't grill them very hard, a fact for which they were all thankful. She seemed more concerned with tending to them than pointing fingers. "What about the Pegg children, did they get lost too?" Elizabeth looked at Finnegan. "No," Finnegan told her. "It seems that these three were the culprits of wandering off. The Pegg children, if I'm not mistaken, are doing just fine." He looked at Liam and Michael with a suspicious, disgusted frown that told them he didn't appreciate being lied to. But his expression quickly softened. He knew that they regretted what they had done, and had nearly paid the ultimate price for it. Just at that moment, Abigail stirred. She moaned softly for a moment before her eyes shot open, a short, piercing scream escaping her lips. Then she saw her brother sitting next to her, and flung her arms tightly around him. She looked scared, but didn't say anything. "Are you okay?" Michael said, wiping away a tear that was running down her cheek. She nodded her head, and Michael was relieved to see that she understood what was going on. "Michael and Liam told me about how you got lost in the woods, and that you were actually attacked by wolves?" Elizabeth said to her softly. She nodded again, scanning everyone in the room as if to make sure she was now safe. "Howhow did weget back here?" she asked in a shaky voice. "It was Finnegan," Michael told her gently. "He came and found us, rescued us from that pack of wolves after we got lost." "I didn't reallycare much for those wolves." "Uh, no," said Michael with a nervous laugh. "Neither did we." He looked at Liam, who had an uncomfortable scowl on his face. About that time the Calderwood sisters showed up and joined Elizabeth in fawning over the

crying, confused girl. "Well it looks like your sister is in good hands," Finnegan said quietly to Michael, and turning his head to Liam, he took them both gently by the shoulder, and led them from the room. He ushered the boys to the library and sat them down. "Now," he said with a stern look. "Would you two care to tell me exactly why it is you lied to me, and how you ended up getting yourselves entangled with those insufferable lycans?" Liam looked at Michael with a guilty expression. "I'm sorry Finnegan. I didn't want to lie to you, but well, we needed to look for clues." "Clues? What sort of clues? Clues for what?" Liam let out a short sigh. "Well, we believe there's an artifact that might be able to lead us to wherever it is our parents are being held." "Is that so? And what sort of artifact might that be?" "Have you ever heard of the Staff of Anubis?" Michael asked him bluntly. "Staff of Anubis?" Finnegan said as if to himself. He thought for a moment. "Can't say that I have. But why would the two of you be out looking for an Egyptian artifact in the Scottish countryside?" He looked at them with his trademark raised eyebrow. "Well, someone at the excavation site seemed to think that the staff may have once been owned by one of the villagers living in those hills," Liam told him. "And Fenris MacFarlane spoke about a staff, a family heir-loom that originally gave his people the source of their power. He was furious, told us that Uncle Shamus took it from his people." "Master Shamus never told me that such an artifact had been recovered, but that doesn't necessary mean much. He could have had his reasons for keeping it a secret, it wouldn't have been that unusual." Michael and Liam got hopeful looks on their faces, as if the butler might be leading to something that could help them. He noticed their expressions. "I'm sorry, but I really can't think of anything, nor have I seen anything, that could possibly help you." This answered the question with certainty that Finnegan didn't know about the night corridor. "But I'll keep my eyes open for you," he told them. "Nothing would make me happier than to find a way to help Master Declan and your parents Michael, but I just don't have any information about this artifact. I will tell you however, to be careful about whom you listen to, and whom you trust. As I'm sure you've learned from the past few days, things are not always as they seem. Not all enemies have long fur and sharp fangs." He examined their faces for a few moments. "I trust that both of you realize the importance of keeping quiet about what you have witnessed? Both the lycan village as well as the things you have seen in regards to my order, and my workshop?" The two looked at each other and nodded their heads solemnly, as if taking an oath. "Mr. Finnegan, what exactly is this order that you belong to?" Liam asked him. "Perhaps one day I will tell you more about it, but now is not the proper time for that." They were disappointed, but it was obvious to both of them that this was all he would say about the subject. "Well, you two need to get cleaned up and get some rest. Come down for breakfast in half an hour, and then it's off to get some sleep. I can't imagine you've had much in the last few days." "Uh, just one more thing," Liam said as they were walking out. "How did you know where

to find us, and that we needed help?" "Let's just say I have some rather swift-footed friends. I'm very glad things turned out for the best, but in the future I advise you to be far more careful." "We will," Liam said, "and ahthanks for rescuing us." "Yes, thanks very much," agreed Michael. "We really owe you one." "I'll remember that," Finnegan smiled. The boys walked off down the hallway from the library. "Do you think we should have told him more?" Michael asked. "I don't know. I mean there's no doubt we can trust him, but that doesn't mean he can help us right now. He didn't really press us for information either did he? I'm not sure he even took us all that seriously about the staff." "I guess we just need to keep searching. If your Uncle Shamus recovered the staff from those werewolves, then it could still be here in the castle somewhere. We may have missed it when searching the armory and the chamber of antiquities. We should probably go and take another look." "Not before I get a good long nap," Liam said grumpily. "Agreed." They went their separate ways to get cleaned up for breakfast, and after eating, Michael enjoyed some of the soundest sleep he'd had in a long time.

Chapter 14 Beyond the Fianna Barrows

Michael sat in a chair next to Abigail's bed. She was sleeping soundly, exhausted from the terrifying experience of the last few days. Luckily, she had not been too badly injured, just terribly shaken up, and all three of them were lucky to still be alive. "How could I have been so stupid," Michael said softly. He blamed himself for having put his little sister in such danger. While it was true that he had no idea what they were walking into when they entered the woods, there was no excuse for allowing his sister to put herself at risk. He should never have agreed to take her along in the first place. Now, Michael was more determined than ever to find the staff of Anubis so that Zuriel could help him free his parents. He still held out hope, but as each day passed the clock was ticking, and the longer he waited, the greater the chance was that his parents and Liam's father would not be found alive. As far as finding information about the staff, the trail was nearly as cold now as it had been when they'd started. Yet there was one thing lingering at the back of Michael's mind, one idea that kept speaking to him. It was a long shot, but if there was any chance at all. He made up his mind. He had to try, whether Liam would come with him or not. With a determined frown on his face, he made off to find his friend. Michael walked half the castle before finally finding Liam, who was by himself in the chapel, praying. He heard Michael come in, and after a moment looked up. "Sorry to interrupt," Michael told him. "No worries," Liam responded. " I was just about finished." Michael thought he detected a tear run down Liam's cheek, but didn't let on that he had noticed.

Liam had not been his usual, happy self lately, and Michael knew what he was going through. "Listen, I have an idea, but I don't think you're going to like it." "Oh yeah," responded Liam, "what's that?" "Well, you know how Fenris MacFarlane had mentioned the protection the faeries had placed on their grove to keep his people out?" Liam nodded. "Well, if your great uncle was trying to keep the werewolves away from the staff, he would have found that sort of thing very useful." Michael stared at him, hoping for affirmation. Liam raised his head. "You want to go down to the forest near the Fianna Barrows to look for clues, don't you," he asked stiffly. Michael nodded slowly. "Unless you can think of a better idea. If the staff is hidden somewhere in this castle, we need to find it as soon as we can. I have racked by brains to come up with ideas, but you know this place better than I do." "I don't have any other ideas," he said glumly. "I think you're right. I've had the same thought myself, though I didn't want to admit it. I think we should go down to the barrows and see if we can contact the fair folk." "Do you really believe that place is cursed," asked Michael. "I don't know. But all I care about now is getting our parents back and keeping our friends safe. I know you blame yourself for what happened at the MacFarlane camp, but I'm just as much to blame for what happened to Abigail as you are. We need to make it up to her, I don't care what happens to me down in the barrows if it means there's a chance of finding answers." "Do you think we should go by the armory and get some weapons," asked Michael. "Not unless you saw some proton packs up there," Liam said with a forced smile. "Weapons won't do us any good where we're going, they'll just make us look threatening, and believe me, that's the last thing we want to do." Michael told Elizabeth that he and Liam wanted to take a walk through the garden before it got dark. She insisted that they have supper, although neither of them were able to eat much because they were nervous about visiting the barrows. Abigail wanted to go too, but both boys insisted that she stay and rest, and Elizabeth, still shaken by the girl's traumatic event, told her that this was the best idea. Abigail was not at all happy about it, because she knew that the boys must be up to something. Her insistence on going worked against her however, and just convinced Elizabeth that she did indeed need to stay and get some rest. They headed through the hedge maze, and arrived at the opening to the valley, which led down into the Fianna Barrows. Michael looked at Liam, who had a nervous, yet determined look on his face. "That's where we want to go," said Liam, pointing to an area of the forest just beyond the pond. "I've seen things there at night, up here from the garden. Lights, wisps and thingsI'm not really sure what they were," he finished in a feeble voice. "Anyway, it's nearly dusk. We need to get going." Liam set off down the hill, and Michael followed. At first, they trudged heavily down the grass covered hill, as if they were marching off proudly to battle, but when they approached the barrows, Liam began to move more delicately, as if he were afraid he was going to wake up something that was sleeping below.

The air, which had been deathly still just a moment before, began to pick up a little, carrying with it a thick, heavy fog. Neither of the boys liked the thought of being in the midst of the barrows in this, and started to pick up their pace. They soon began to ascend the hill on the far end of the valley, reaching the edge of the forest. Michael kept walking, eager to get into the woods, when Liam said to him, "I don't think you should go in there, especially right now. We need to wait here at the forest's edge." "Right," said Michael. He remembered from the book his father had given him that if there were faeries living in these woods, they might consider an uninvited trespasser dangerous, and respond accordingly. Both boys stood there for a while, and then decided to sit down. Neither of them wanted to turn their back to the barrows or the forest, so they sat back to back in the grass where they could each see either place with a slight turn of the head. The air seemed unusually cold, and the fog had now settled in on the valley, making the barrows and the pond completely invisible. An intense fear slowly crept over Michael, just like the fog had crept over the valley. His body began to shake uncontrollably, whether from cold or from fright he could not tell. He noticed that Liam was shaking too. "You okay Liam," he asked. "Oh just dandy. Never been better." They continued to sit for several very long minutes, and still nothing happened. Suddenly, Michael realized that he no longer felt cold, he wasn't sure how or why. He actually felt quite comfortable. A light, sweet smell like flowers and honey was drifting through the air. Michael looked slowly, cautiously from side to side, but didn't notice anything out of place. Everything was very calm and quiet, and the stars shining overhead looked more brilliant than he had ever remembered seeing them. His eyelids were feeling unbearably heavy. He knew that sleep would be a very bad idea, but maybe he could just close his eyes and rest for a bit. Liam would be watching things. His eyes slid shut, as did Liam's, and within a moment, both boys were in a deep, heavy sleep. Michael's eyes slowly opened to the blurry form of Liam sitting before him. There was a campfire crackling several feet away. He too sat up, and rubbed his eyes. "They're incredible," said Liam nervously. Dozens of small, bright lights danced around in the air in front of them. They varied in color and sounded like hummingbirds darting through the air. Michael tried to make his eyes focus on one, but it was too bright and fast to see clearly. "What's going on," asked Michael. "What are they?" "I have no idea. I woke up just a few moments before you did, and they were already here." Liam slowly reached out his hand to touch the small green dot of light in front of him. It didn't move, so he approached it gently with a single index finger. "Ouch," he said, snapping his hand back away from it. "The darned thing bit me, or, or stung me or something." "Women don't like to be touched without permission," came a timid, boyish voice from a nearby tree. Both boys turned their heads to look.

"Liam," said Michael, "did that tree just speak to us?" "Don't be ridiculous," he said, "look, up there in the branch. I, I think its a Ghillie Dhu. "A what?" "A Ghillie Dhu. See him there?" He pointed to one of the lowest branches on the tree. Michael did see the little creature. He was about six inches tall, and dressed in clothing that looked as though it were made out of leaves and moss. He had a very sheepish look on his face, which was a pale green color, and his hair was jet black. "I've never seen anything like him," said Michael in an amazed voice. The little creature turned its head away. It seemed quite shy. "I'm Liam, and this is my friend Michael." They waited for a response, but the creature didn't give one. "He won't give you his name," said another small voice, this one came from the green dot of light in front of Liam. "To do so would give you power over him. My name is Isla." "You can talk," asked Liam. "Why did you bite me?" "I didn't bite you," she said, obviously offended. "I stabbed you, with a dagger." "But why," asked Liam. "Well, like Deverell said, you aren't supposed to touch a lady without her permission." "I thought you couldn't tell us his name," said Michael. "No," she told him. "He can't tell you his name. It doesn't matter if I tell you what it is." The boys looked at each other incredulously. "And you just behave yourselves until the queen gets here," she went on in a lecturing voice, "because Deverell could have done away with the both of you if he wasn't such a softy. He still can if you decide to try and pull something." The little Ghillie Dhu was now peering at them from behind the tree, as it had hidden most of its body on the other side. It was a bit funny to see, but for some reason Michael felt that this creature was just as dangerous as he was shy. "We aren't here to cause any trouble," Michael said quickly. "We were just hoping to find some information about a problem we've been having." "You can speak to the queen about it when she gets here. In the meantime, I've got some questions for the two of you." "Like what?" asked Liam. "How did you know where to find us? Did the old man tell you how to get here?" "What old man?" asked Liam. "OUCH!" he shouted a moment later. "What the heck was THAT?" "You had better answer my questions, unless you want another arrow in your butt." "Isla, please," said Michael, "we'll gladly answer all your questions. We didn't come here to cause trouble or look for a fight." "You talk funny," she said to Michael. "You aren't from around here are you?" "I'm from the United States," he told her, and did his best to smile in a friendly, nonthreatening way. She hovered in front of him for a moment, as if considering either him or what he had just said. "I have some cousins who live in Tennessee," she said sweetly. "Just outside of Nashville. Have you ever been out that way?" "Uh, yeah," responded Michael. "Actually I have. It's very beautiful country." "Wait a minute," said Liam. "Are you telling me that you things have made it all the way

over to America?" He cringed a bit, waiting for pain. He new instantly that he had said something stupid. "Us THINGS?" she snapped at him. "For your information, you scruffy little nerf-herder, OUR people colonized the new world before YOURS did." She hovered in front of him for a moment. "I'm not so sure I like you." Then she drifted back over in front of Michael. "You on the other hand, I think I like. You're handsome and nice. Now tell me if the old man told you how to find us," she said with a sweet, threatening voice. "Isla, which old man are you referring too? Can you tell us what his proper name is?" "The old McGinty," she said. "He was a friend to the fair folk, and even helped us to imprison the Banshee." "Shamus McGinty was my Great Uncle," Liam told her. "He passed away a few years ago." "Yes, I know he did," she said. "Not much goes on that we don't know about. He had better manners than you do, by the way." "Mr. McGinty didn't tell us how to find you," Michael told her. "We have actually been studying your people from books." "Oh," she said happily, as if she thought this was a very commendable thing to do. "Also, Liam here has noticed strange lights and things coming from your grove from time to time." Liam nodded. "My mother used to spend a lot of time down here before she, before she" "Before she moved on?" finished Isla in a sympathetic voice. "She's a very sweet lady." "Did you know her then?" said Liam quickly. "Mmmm, Hmmm," she hummed, but didn't say anything. "Listen," said Deverell suddenly. They all fell silent. A light, hypnotic song could be heard drifting through the trees, it was getting louder every second. It was a strange, regal song, unlike anything Michael had ever heard, but he found it very alluring. "The Queen has arrived," Isla told them. "When her herald comes and summons us, I will take you to meet her." It wasn't long before the Queen's herald showed up to escort them to her thrown. He was a small, impish man about three feet tall. "Hello good sirs," he said and bowed. "My name is Robin Goodfellow, but you may call me Puck. Her majesty Queen Titania summons you to her presence immediately." "Be sure to show the Queen appropriate respect," said Isla. "That is, if you value your lives." Liam gulped, but Puck just rolled his eyes. "Isla, why are you trying to scare these fine young men? You know very well that the Queen wouldn't take their lives." He then got a contemplative look on his face. "Although she may very well change them into hobgoblins." Michael definitely didn't like the sound of that. "Come with me," said Puck, as he turned and beckoned them to follow. He led them down a forest path. The sweet smell they had noticed earlier seemed to be growing stronger, and the tiny faeries shot from here to there like lightning bugs all around them as they passed through the gnarled trees. The farther they went, the more dazzling and beautiful the forest became, like they were walking slowly into a dream. This was interrupted however, when they passed between two wooden poles sticking out of

the ground on either side of the path. Each pole had an old, tattered human skeleton hanging off of it. Puck looked at them with whimsical eyes. "Those two forgot to knock," he said. "It's a good thing you waited at the entrance of the grove. If you had trespassed without waiting, these fairies would most likely have shot you dead before you knew what was happening." "With those tiny arrows?" said Liam, almost in a laugh. "They dip them in poison, and death is almost instantaneous," he told them. Liam shuttered. They passed brilliantly colored flowers, varieties that Michael had never seen before. He didn't know much about plants, but he was sure these must be unique to the faery kingdom. The trees seemed to be getting bigger, and moved in a way that made him feel like they were watching him. "I feel like I'm inside one of Abigail's cartoons," Michael whispered to Liam. "Except for, you know, the impaled bodies and death threats." "I know what you mean," Liam answered him. "We need to be careful in how we deal with these creatures. I wouldn't want to end up as a Halloween decoration ten years from now." "I trust that you brought a gift for the Queen?" asked Puck. "Uh, no," replied Liam, "we never really thought about that." Puck got a pained look on his face. "Well, it might turn out okay." He began to nod his head slowly. "There have been those she hasn't had executed, even though they forgot to bring a gift." Liam let out a small whine; he had a very worried look on his face. They soon came to a meadow that was lit by torches. Curious looking little forest creatures were gathered around. There were more of the Ghillie Dhu, and hundreds of faeries, whose glow and various colors created an unearthly and spectacular light show. Many of the strange little sprites were unlike anything the boys had seen before. Amidst the center of them all, sat the most beautiful women they had ever laid eyes on. She was the size of a normal human. Her golden hair and skin seemed to glow strangely, not from the fire or faery light, but from something that emitted within her. She had a sharp chin and nose, and slightly pointed ears. She was sitting on a large throne that looked as if it were woven from tree roots springing up from the ground. She looked very young, but at the same time Michael could see the wisdom of a great many years in her eyes, which were a deep blue. She smiled at them as they walked up before her and they each bowed down on one knee. She laughed, but it wasn't a patronizing laugh, in fact it made them feel warm from the inside out. "Greetings children." Her voice made Michael feel like he was hearing music for the first time. "I am Titania, Queen of the Faeries and Elves, and all woodland creatures. Tell me, what is it that compelled you to visit my domain?" "Please your majesty," responded Liam, "we didn't mean to intrude. We came because we were wondering if you could help us?" "The problems of the mortal world have never been a concern of ours. Why would you come to us in search of help?" "Uh, please your majesty, before we explain, we would like to present you with a gift," said Liam. "Oh, wonderful," she laughed. "I love gifts. What do you have for me?" Michael's eyes grew wide, he wondered what Liam might have to give her. "A story your Majesty, Michael here has a story he would like to tell you."

Michael looked at him with shock. Had he gone mad? But Liam just stood there, nodding his head encouragingly. "Well," said the Queen, "Proceed." Michael quickly searched his mind for an appropriate story; one for which Titania might spare their lives. Suddenly it came to him, and he began to speak. Once upon a time, there was a young girl who spent her life in fear and isolation. Her mother had died on the day of her birth, and her father was a very cruel man. He spent most of his time in a drunken stupor, often yelling at the girl and beating her because of the anger he held in his heart. He blamed her for the death of her mother, and not a day passed when he let her forget it. The girl had an older brother, who was very good to her, and she loved him very much, but he was always away working, trying to make enough money to feed their family. Because of her loneliness and fear, she found solace in the forest behind her house, and her only friends were the birds and woodland creatures who lived there. She spent so much time in the forest that even the trees began to speak to her, and it was to them alone that she would tell her hopes and dreams, and the innermost secrets of her heart. She longed to someday have a family of her own to love and care for, but she saw no way of escaping her desperate situation, and had on many occasions even thought of ending her own life. One night, with a broken arm and a weeping spirit, she escaped to the forest and cried herself to sleep. In the morning, as the singing of birds woke her, she lifted her eyes to watch them. She prayed to become a bird herself so that she could fly away to safety and search the world for some form of happiness. Lifting her face to the sky, she imagined what it would be like to glide over the tops of the trees, and travel across the sea, and go wherever else her heart desired to take her. She wondered if she would ever be free from the prison to which life had sentenced her, and if there would ever be someone who would love her, and care for her in the way that she desired. Opening her eyes, she was amazed to see that her beloved forest and the terrifying home of her childhood lay far beneath her. How it happened and by whom she did not know, but somehow her prayers had been answered. She had been released from her nightmarish existence, and with a hope she had never known before; she flew away toward the rising sun, never to return. "It is a good story," complimented the Queen. "Is it true?" The question confused him. "I do not know your Majesty. My mother gave the story to me, and now I have humbly given it to you." "I say that it is a true story," she said. "For even if it never happened exactly as you have said, that does not mean that the story is any less true." She smiled at Michael. "Now tell me, did Puck threaten you with execution if you presented yourselves before me without a gift?" Michael and Liam looked at each other nervously. "Yes your Highness," said Liam. The Queen huffed. "Puck is a ridiculous creature, a joker in the court of my husband, but I am glad he fooled you in this way, for your gift was a worthy one. But tell me now of your own

story." Michael and Liam told her everything, about how their parents had gone missing, and about their search for the staff. They also told her of the werewolves and how Finnegan had helped them narrowly escape with their lives. "Yes," she said, "I am aware of your confrontation with those miserable creatures. The small human child befriended one of my pixies, and she carried word to your butler that you required his assistance." "So THAT'S how he found out," said Liam in amazement. "That shoddy old codger." "Please your majesty," said Michael, "while we were held captive in the werewolves' village, their leader mentioned that your people had placed some kind of protection on their groves to keep them out, is that true?" "Yes," she said as she rose from her throne. As she got up, Michael saw that she unfolded wings from her back very much like those of a butterfly. They were purple and blue, and speckled with black dots. "The werewolves are bloodthirsty brutes, eager to cause pain and chaos whenever they can. Before we constructed defenses, they used to enjoy plundering our groves and killing woodland creatures for sport. But we have ways of keeping them out of our territory." "Isla spoke of a friendship with Shamus McGinty," said Michael. "Liam here is his greatnephew." She nodded her head. "I know," she said simply. "Well, umdid your people ever pass on information to Mr. McGinty about how to keep the werewolves out?" "Alright, you seem like nice boys, so I'll tell you. Shamus McGinty was a good friend to the faeries. He always respected our borders, as we respected his, yet we met him from time to time to share news or lend a neighborly hand. One day, many years ago, Shamus came to me and explained that he had an artifact which he wanted to keep safe from the MacFarlane pack. Something they had used for many years to serve dark purposes, so we shared with him the secrets of moonwood." "Moonwood?" asked Liam dumbly. "What's that?" "Moonwood," she continued, "comes from trees which are planted under the light of a full moon. It possesses special properties only when kissed by the light of a full moon. Shamus seemed very interested in the possibilities of what he could build with it; so we showed him how to find and prepare the proper ground, cultivate it, and how to plant the tree. It is a very delicate art you know, not easily mastered, even by the elves. Shamus was a very unusual man, however, and there wasn't much that he set his mind to that he could not do. He ended up becoming quite a skilled woodworker of moonwood." "What kind of special properties does the wood possess?" asked Michael. "I mean, what exactly does it do?" "Well, that all depends on the type of tree planted, the way it is nurtured, and most importantly, what types of songs are sung to it." "Songs?" asked Liam. "Elvish songs lie at the heart of their skills with nature. It is with these songs that they commune with and enchant the forest. I cannot tell you what your uncle would have used the moonwood for, there are many possibilities." "As for our groves, the elves have fashioned the wood to protect us under the light of the full moon, when the werewolves are at their greatest strength. Some of the trees attack any potential

intruder, while others form a hardened barrier around our perimeter." Michael contemplated this, and wondered how the information might help them find the staff. "Your Highness, did my uncle tell you anything about the artifact he was trying to protect?" asked Liam. "No," replied Titania. "He did not mention much about it, and I did not ask him. As I told you, we care little for the goings on of the human world." "Thank you, Queen Titania, This information has given me an idea on where the artifact might be hidden." "Your welcome, young one. I wish you both the best of luck on your quest." "Um, just one more question if you don't mind," said Michael. "Proceed," she said patiently. "The boy, Raymondwell, I was wondering if he might be able to come and live here in your domain? He isn't like the MacFarlanes, and he really needs a home. Do you think he could fit in here?" "No," she responded without hesitating. "My people would not accept him, and he would never feel comfortable among us." She could see the disappointed look on Michael's face, and empathized with his concern for the boy. "Do not worry though, if I am correct, and I usually am, the answer will become clear very soon as to where the boy should go. He has the potential to live a good life. He is a pure soul, but he will need guidance and love." Michael smiled. "Thank you your Majesty. I hope that we can someday repay the kindness you have shown us here tonight." "Perhaps you will. From this day forward, I name you both friends of the fair people. Go in peace." She kissed each of them on the forehead, and although they had seen her beauty before, that kiss worked some kind of enchantment over both of them. From that moment on, until the day that each of them died, they loved her. They would never speak of this love to each other, or any other person. And although they would someday find true love and happiness in others, a small part of their hearts would always belong only to Titania. Puck led the boys back to the side of the campfire where they had first woken up. "I have something for you," he said. "This should help keep you safe as you travel through the barrows on your way home." "So there is something out there?" asked Liam, as he held out his hand to take what Puck was handing him. "Oh yes," he said. "You were wise to seek our people during the twilight hour, but you were very foolish to travel through the barrows at that time. I wouldn't recommend doing it again." Michael shuffled uncomfortably. "Why not?" "The twilight hour," said Puck, "is a time when the barrier, for lack of a better word, between the material world and the spiritual world is at it's weakest. This made it easier for you to gain access to our kingdom, but it also put you at risk from those spirits which reside down in the Fianna Barrows." Michael looked down at the gift Puck had just given them. It was a small lantern, about

three inches tall, dangling on the end of a silver chain. It looked like a beautiful toy, and emanated a dim blue light. "Thanks," said Michael gratefully, "umm, what exactly is it?" "It's a faery lantern," Puck told him. "It doesn't look very bright right now, but when you need it, it has a way of lighting things up for you. Oh, and if you need to find our people, either here or anywhere else, these lights will help you." "Thanks very much Puck," said Liam. "Don't mention it, good luck now," he said, and then turned around and headed back down the path. The boys were now left with just a dozen or so faeries floating about around them. "Well," said Isla, "you two did well. I'm glad we didn't kill you." "Thanks," laughed Michael nervously. "It was nice to meet you too." "Just follow this trail out of the forest. I wouldn't recommend getting sidetracked off the path. And make sure you don't eat any of the berries or nuts you come across on your way out." "Why not?" asked Liam. "If you do," responded Isla, "you'll never be able to leave our realm. The food isn't meant for humans." "Oh," said Liam. "That would've been good to know when we arrived several hours ago," he said sourly, under his breath. They finished their goodbyes and turned back to the path leading out toward the barrows. "OUCH," yelled Liam as he grabbed his behind. They scanned the trees and caught a final glimpse of Isla, and heard her giggling as she disappeared into the trees. The faery lanterns were amazing. They illuminated the path before the two boys in a way they had never seen before. Where the path became unclear or overgrown, the lights seemed to make the true path shine more brilliantly and it made finding their way out quite easy. Soon they were out of the forest, and they found themselves looking down once again into the mist covered barrows. Liam looked back toward the woods and grasped Michael's shoulder in surprise. "What's the matter?" he asked, seeing his friend's startled face. "II'm sorry, I" Liam stuttered. "What's wrong?" "For a moment, II thought I saw my mother standing there just inside the forest." Michael looked, but couldn't see anything. "Do you want to go take a look?" "No," said Liam after a moment. "It's stupid. I just imagined it." It sounded very odd, but with everything else Michael had seen lately, he wouldn't rule anything out. "Well, there's nothing for it," said Liam, as he began down the hill toward the barrows. Michael followed. They moved slowly through the thick fog, holding out the lanterns in front of them. At first it didn't seem like they were doing much good, but then they noticed that they could see the mounds from a great distance away. They felt the same cold chill surround them that had been there while coming across, but the lanterns seemed to give off warmth that made it more bearable. "Look," said Liam in a low, shaky voice. Michael followed his eyes to one of the barrows. He gasped upon seeing a man sitting on top of the grass covered mound, his legs crossed in front of him. He was dressed in old, Celtic

armor, and seemed translucent; the light from the lanterns Puck had given them gave him a dim blue aura. He followed them with his hollow, ghostly face as they walked by. They now noticed more of these warriors standing off in the distance, among or on top of their mounds. Some watched attentively as they walked by, but others seemed to take no notice of them. They all looked lost and sad. "Do you think they mean us harm?" Liam asked in a nervous whisper. "They don't seem to, but Puck seemed to think they were dangerous." "Maybe they are, or Puck could just have been trying to scare us again. Remember what Titania said about him being a joker." "These things are creepy enough on their own without any help from him," whispered Michael. "Just try to look, uhnatural," Liam told him. Michael rolled his eyes. What could be more natural than two boys traipsing through an ancient graveyard holding out faery lanterns in front of them? "Bonehead," he mumbled beneath his breath. None of the spirits bothered them however, as they swiftly made their way back through the other side of the valley. The heavy fog remained as they found their way through the hedge maze. Both breathed a sigh of relief as they finally entered the safety of McGinty Castle.

Chapter 15 The Staff of Anubis

Abigail fidgeted nervously as she waited in her room for Michael and Liam. Tonight, they were going down the night corridor once again. This time, if everything turned out for the best, they would find clues to help lead them to the Staff of Anubis. Earlier that day, Michael had explained to her that he had a plan. She hadn't been able to talk to him or Liam about it as they'd gone off on a chore with Finnegan and had been gone most of the day. Abby was full of hope, but waiting without knowing Michael's plan was agonizing. She missed her parents so much, and had cried herself to sleep almost every night since they had vanished. Was it really possible that she might get to see them again soon? As all of these things were going through her head, she heard the boys coming down the hallway outside of her room. She jumped up and ran out to meet them. Michael saw her and smiled. "Are you ready to go?" "Yes," she said, "and I grabbed your flashlights too." "Keep it down," Liam whispered to her. "If you wake up Elizabeth she'll throw a fit about us being out of bed at this time of night." Michael started off toward the corridor, and motioned with his hand for them to follow him. "So what's the big plan?" asked Abigail. "Well, it has to do with what we learned at our visit to the faery grove yesterday evening," Michael told her. "So you actually saw faeries?" Abigail asked with an excited expression. Michael nodded. "It's not like you'd think though, they are actually kind of, well," "Kind of nasty little blighters?" broke in Liam.

Michael chuckled. "Well, I wouldn't go that far, but they definitely aren't the sweet little things you've seen on TV, Abby." She put her hands on her hips. "Well, maybe it's the two of you who have that effect on people, did you ever think of that?" Liam just shrugged his shoulders at Michael. "She may have a point there!" "Okay, here we are," said Michael when they got to the corridor. "Keep your fingers crossed. If this doesn't work we're back at square one." "If what doesn't work?" said Abigail, getting frustrated. "You still haven't told me what the plan is." "It's right down here, come on and you'll find out soon enough." He broke off into a light jog, still being cautious about the noise they were making. The others followed, and within a few moments they were standing in front of the portrait of the wolfish man with the Staff of Anubis in his hand. Michael looked at Liam excitedly. "This has to be Conan MacFarlane, the founder of the werewolf tribe that Fenris told us about." Abigail looked up at the man and tears began to well up in her eyes. Michael noticed and hugged her tightly. "It's okay," he said. "We're safe from them now." Turning to the tapestry on the opposite wall, he lifted it up at the edge and looked behind it. "I KNEW IT," he yelled. "Liam, help me take this disgusting thing down." Looking at the tapestry, Abby's eyes found the helpless young girl being attacked by the werewolves, and wondered how many people like her had fallen victim to the evil ceremony. She wondered if anyone else had ever been lucky enough to escape. Michael and Liam pulled the tapestry down and cast it off to the side. A large wooden board lay up against the wall. This too, they moved off to the side. Before them was a stained glass window, which bore a similar image to the one on the door. A full moon and white clouds were cut into an intricate image. It was quite beautiful. "Okay, now what?" asked Liam as the three of them stood there before it. "Now we wait," said Michael. He sat down against the wall near the door, looking up at the stained glass window. He wasn't sure exactly how long they would have to wait, but he hoped it wouldn't be too long. He was impatient to see if his suspicions about the window and door were correct. Liam started to walk off down the hall toward the corridors entrance. "Hey," called Michael after him, "where are you going?" "I don't want to sit on the floor like a dog," said Liam. "Don't you recall seeing a bench just down this hallway a bit?" Michael did remember seeing it. The bench was big enough for all three of them and it wasn't too far away. "Hold on and I'll help you bring it over," he said. "Abby you stay here and keep on eye on this window." She gave him a look of disgust and began to rush after him. "You're crazy if you think I'm staying here by myself." She was usually very brave, but Michael couldn't blame her for feeling this way after her recent experience, especially since the door and window bore images of the full moon. When they got to the bench and tried to pick it up, they found it was much heavier than it looked. After struggling and straining themselves, they ended up getting it down the hall by

pushing and pulling it across the floor. Abigail helped as well, and they pushed it back up against the wall about ten feet away from the door. "Care to tell me exactly what it is we're waiting for?" asked Liam between heavy breaths as the three of them climbed onto the bench. "Come on," retorted Michael. "You had it figured out the moment you saw the window." "Moonwood?" "That's what I'm hoping," Michael told him. "What's moonwood?" demanded Abby in a tired voice. Michael opened his mouth, about to speak when he noticed that the window was beginning to shine mysteriously. "Hey, look at that," he told them. He jumped to his feet and walked closer to get a better look at it. The full moon outside could be seen hanging in the sky behind the window, making it shimmer with a soft, tranquil light. Soon, the entire array of glass lit up, and as the moon slowly fell into place, Michael couldn't believe the detail he was seeing on the window. It looked just like a photograph, but more bright and alive, more like looking at the real moon through a telescope, which he and Abby had done on many occasions. They could see all the craters, the Ocean of Storms, and the Sea of Tranquility. Michael noticed that a stream of soft light emanating from the window now appeared on the door, slowly heading for the moon carved into the face of the door. The three children looked on in amazement at what they were seeing, and when the moons finally lined up, they heard a faint click come from behind the door. Quickly, Michael reached over and pushed. It swung open without resistance. Liam came up behind him, shining his light through the doorway. Inside was a small room, empty except for a single glass display case against the far wall. The three of them entered, but Michael looked at Liam who stood back against the door, holding it open. "Just in case it decides to swing shut," he said grimly. Michael nodded, "Good thinking," he said. The idea of being locked inside the room until the next full moon was not something he cared to try. He and Abigail walked slowly toward the dusty display case, shining their lights upon it. He could tell there was something there. When they reached it, he opened the top, brushing off some cobwebs and decorative cloth, and looked down inside. "WELL?" asked his sister loudly, making him jump. He shot her a nasty look, but soon his expression changed to a smile as he reached down into the case and pulled out a long, slender staff. It was the same staff they had seen in the portrait of Conan MacFarlane hanging outside in the hallway. It was the staff of Anubis. Michael held it up so that Liam could have a look. He smiled broadly, and gave his friend a thumbs up. As soon as he did this he got a panicked look on his face and began to push with all his might against the door. "Ahhhh," he grunted heavily, "it's, it's starting to close. Hurry up, we need to get out of here." Michael and Abby sprinted for the door as it teetered back and forth, Liam struggling with all his might to keep it open for them. They shot through the doorway as fast as they could. Michael tripped over the doorframe and nearly slammed into the wall near the stained glass window. As he got to his feet, he noticed

that Liam was laughing and smacking his leg. "I'm only joking," he said with a smile. Before he realized what she was doing, Abigail had grabbed the staff out of Michael's hand and was striking Liam sharply on his shoulders and back. "THATSNOTFUNNY," she yelled at him between strikes with the staff as he howled out in pain. She managed to crack him sharply across the head before Michael was able to wrestle the staff back away from her. Liam looked up at them with a dazed face. They could tell he was seeing stars. "Sorry Liam, but you deserved it. I warned you not to tick her off like that." Liam shrugged his shoulders dumbly and began to stutter something that sounded vaguely like "Sorry" as he rubbed his head. Abigail curled her hand into a fist and raised it at him in warning, taking a step forward. He jumped, and hid behind Michael, who patted his sister lightly on the head. "Down girl," he said. Michael and Abby sat on the rug near his bed looking at the staff, which was lying on the floor between them. It was remarkably well preserved for something thousands of years old. The black and gold jackal head peered up at them with its lip curled up in a snarl. "So what's this moonwood business all about?" Michael told her everything Titania had revealed to them about the art of cultivating moonwood. "Mr. McGinty must have constructed that door from it. It all makes perfect sense." "Why's that?" asked his sister. "Does the door attack werewolves or something?" "No, Fenris told us that during the full moon, the creatures lose their minds and become uncontrollable. That door can only be opened when exposed to the light of the full moon, which just happens to be the only time when the MacFarlanes have absolutely no interest in getting to it." Abby smiled. "It was the perfect security system for the staff." Michael nodded. Liam walked through the door and closed it behind him, holding a plastic bag full of ice to his head. "So what are we going to do with that thing? Should we give it to Zuriel like we planned to?" He sat down on the rug next to them. "This thing certainly doesn't look all that powerful does it?" said Michael. Except for its length and forked end, it looked like a very impressive walking cane, like something his grandfather would have carried. "I can't begin to imagine how it would help us find our parents. If Zuriel knows how to use it, maybe that's our best hope. We don't have any reason to distrust him, but on the other hand, we don't know anything about him. Do we really want to entrust the fate of our parents to someone that we've only met once?" "We could always take it to Minister Khalil," said Liam. "Or your Uncle Link." "But we've already been over that. Khalil won't be of any help. He doesn't believe in stuff like this. I don't think my uncle would know what to do with it either." Although he hadn't told them of his suspicions, Michael wasn't altogether sure about what was going on with his uncle. Considering the history of this staff, if Link really was a werewolf then giving it to him might not be the best idea. Since meeting the MacFarlane clan his

imagination was running wild with possibilities. "Besides", Michael went on, "we still don't know who else may be searching for this staff. We don't want to put anyone else in danger." Liam shrugged. "Well, Finnegan didn't seem to know anything about the thing. I doubt he could help us out, although it appears he can be quite valuable in a fight." "What about Titania?" asked Abby. Michael knew she was longing to meet the faeries. Unlike he and Liam, she didn't know how dangerous they were. "Well, she didn't seem too interested in any of this did she?" Liam pointed out. "Probably wouldn't help us even if she could." Michael shrugged. "I think our best option is to use the contact information Zuriel gave us, and get a hold of his friend in London. After a few more minutes of discussion, they decided that although they had doubts about contacting Zuriel, this was probably the best choice. Liam called the number, and a man with an unusually drab voice answered the phone. "Ahh, hello. This is Liam MacDonald. I need to get a message to a man named Zuriel, he gave us this number." "Go on then," said the man in a bored tone. "Could you tell him that we have come into ahpossession of a particular um, Egyptian artifact, at which he may be interested in having a look." The man remained silent for a moment. "Is that all, then?" "Ahh, yes, I think that's all." "Very well," he said dryly and hung up the phone. Michael looked at Liam with a smirk on his face. "Brilliant work as always, Liam." "Thank you," he said cheerfully, feeling as though Michael had meant the compliment. They didn't know how long they would have to wait until Zuriel returned their call, but much to their surprise and pleasure, it took only about an hour. This time, Michael wrestled the phone away from Liam. "Have you obtained the item?" Zuriel asked excitedly. "Yes, we have it here with us right now." "That's perfect. I'm actually in London, and can get over to your part of the country by tonight. Will you be able to meet me?" "Oh," said Michael a bit surprised. He hadn't expected that they would be turning the staff over so quickly. "Yes, I think we could meet you tonight. When and where are you thinking?" "Well, how about seven o'clock. There's a small restaurant just outside of Arrochar called Loch Long Cuisine, do you know it?" Michael asked Liam, who responded that he knew exactly where the place was. "Yes, we know it." "Good, I'll see you there at seven. Remember to keep that staff safe, and don't let anyone see it. It's the best and only chance we have at getting your parents back." "We will," Michael promised. "See you at seven." He felt uncomfortable about handing the staff over to Zuriel, but was not sure why. "Well, I guess that's that," he said to Liam and Abby. "We're meeting him there at seven." Liam looked down. "I hope this works, because if it doesn't, wellwhat happens then?" Michael didn't answer. He didn't know what to say.

Michael and Liam jumped off their bikes and placed them on the rack outside of Loch Long Cuisine. They had convinced Abby that it would be a good idea for her to stay at the castle and keep Elizabeth distracted while they went out for a bike ride. It was about six thirty in the evening, and since they were a little early for their meeting with Zuriel they went inside the restaurant and ordered a soda. Michael looked out over the loch from the window at their table. Rays from the sun made the blue water shimmer and dance, and he thought of his father and how they had gone fishing in Loch Lomond the day before he had gone to Egypt. He thought of his mother, who's loving blue eyes had always reminded him of the ocean, even when they were no where near it. He hoped that Zuriel's plan would work, that he could do something to help bring them home. At about five minutes to seven, Michael and Liam watched a red sports car pull up and park in the driveway. They knew that the man getting out of the car was Zuriel, although he looked very different than he had the last time they'd seen him. He was dressed in a nice black suit, his blonde hair neatly combed. He walked in and found their table. "Hello boys," he said with a broad smile. "You're both looking well. Mind if I have a seat?" "Be our guest," Liam told him. He sat down beside them and the waitress stepped over to take his order. "Nothing for me, thanks," he told her with a wink. He folded his hands together on the table. "So, were you really able to get ahold of the staff?" "Yes, we were," Michael told him, "but let's just say it wasn't easy." They had agreed not to tell him anything about the werewolves, the corridor, or how they had gotten their hands on the artifact. But as it turned out, he didn't really seem to care. Zuriel was noticeably excited, and the hungry look in his eyes combined with his nice suit reminded Michael of a politician. "Did you bring it with you?" "We've got it here." Liam pulled the staff out from beneath his seat. They had wrapped it up in brown paper and packing tape to keep it safe and hidden. Michael and Liam looked at each other apprehensively as Liam handed it over to him. Zuriel was so excited as he took it that Michael half expected him to break out into song. "I've been searching for this for so long." Like a child on Christmas morning, Zuriel eagerly tore the staff from its brown wrapping paper, and holding it up before him he gazed at the carving of the jackal. "With this I can return to the nexus, and open it up to rescue those who have been trapped inside." He said this as if to himself, gazing into the eyes of the jackal. "Just promise us you'll do whatever you can to help our parents," Michael pleaded. "Your parents?" he asked, "Oh yes, your parents. Yes, I will do what I can to help them, don't worry about that." Abruptly, he stood up from the table and began moving toward the door. "I must go at once. There's no time to waste, and I still have some research to do to unlock the secrets of this staff. My thanks to you both for recovering it, and you'll definitely be hearing more from me in the very near future." By the time Michael raised his hand and began to say something, the man was already out the door. As they watched, he got into his car and sped away. "Well, what do we do now?" Liam asked him with a gloomy expression. "I guess we just wait."

Michael woke up with a gasp, his body shaking in fear. He must have been having some kind of nightmare, but he couldn't remember about what. He hadn't woken up like this in a long time. "It's okay sweetheart, you're just having night terrors." He heard his mother's voice in his head and remembered how she used to comfort him when he was little. He would wander into her room at night seeking the safety of her arms. He still longed for her touch, though he found it embarrassing whenever she embraced him in public or in front of his friends. He got a sick feeling in his stomach as he wondered where she was, what she must be feeling, and if she was safe. Now he was wide-awake. He put on his slippers, got his flashlight, and trudged down to the night corridor. He made his way up to the chamber of antiquities, and to his delight saw that the statue of Anubis was glowing, and humming invitingly. Stepping up onto the wooden box, he looked once again through the eye slits, and soon found himself in some sort of chamber; much different from the one he had just left. It took a few moments for his head to clear before he knew where he was. The gateway of Tartarus stood in the chamber behind him, and he was the gatekeeper. His brother Horus was just arriving with another prisoner, who would be cast through the gate and imprisoned forever on the other side. "Greetings brother," Horus told him. He was covered in bruises and had a deep gash cut into his left arm and another near his ribcage. "Greetings, looks like this one put up a bit of a fight. Who do we have here?" "This is Zuriel, one of their generals," said Horus. Zuriel was bound with ropes that emitted a dim, blue glow. Michael knew that these were special bindings, which Horus used against his enemies once they were subdued. "Yes, I remember you speaking of him. You and your men have been pursuing him for some time now haven't you?" Anubis stated rhetorically. Zuriel was a handsome, proud looking man. Unlike Horus, he showed no signs of having been through a struggle. "Prepare the gateway," Horus told his brother. "This one is dangerous. We must not delay in sending him through." "Dangerous?" said Zuriel suddenly. "I have done nothing to deserve this treatment. All I have sought is to live a simple life of peace. Yet you have mercilessly pursued and attacked me. It is I who have the right to call you dangerous." There was something about his voice and manner that made Anubis want to listen to him. He hesitated. "Don't listen to him Anubis, he hasn't got anything to say that we need to hear," snapped Horus. "Now please, prepare the gateway." "Anubis, yes, I've heard of you. You are a great warrior, much like your brother Horus here. If only I could pursued you both that what you're doing is wrong. I don't deserve this treatment and neither do my brothers whom you have already cast into this pit. But it's not too late to join us. You can free my people and together we can rule over mankind, creating a new era of peace and harmony." "That's quite enough from you," said Horus harshly as he pulled the ropes around his prisoner tighter. "ANUBIS, PREPARE THE GATEWAY!"

Zuriel whimpered miserably. It was obvious that his restraints were causing him pain. "There's no need for that," Anubis told his brother as he watched Zuriel squirm. "Besides, he does make a good point. The humans are a violent race. There is much we could teach and guide them in if we ruled over them." Anubis had entertained these thoughts before, but he had never found the courage to share them with his brother like this. "Are you mad?" Horus asked him angrily. "Have you learned nothing from the vain ambitions and horrid acts of our father? He too desired to rule over humanity, and look where it got him." "That's different," answered his brother. "Father was an evil man, and strove only to fulfill his own dark desires. Apart from him, we could be different, we can rule men in a way that brings them success and happiness." "No, that's not possible," said Horus. "Not only is it forbidden, it would never work the way you think it would. You have not thought this all the way through brother. Besides," he said, looking at Zuriel and frowning, "you have not seen the horrific acts of this man like I have. He and others like him are no different from our father." "I'm not saying we should free him," argued Anubis. "Perhaps we should simply hear him out, listen to what he has to say before sending him through. We won't get the opportunity again once he has been imprisoned." Exasperated, Horus raised his hand and was about to say something to his brother when Zuriel noticed that his captor had loosened his grip. He jerked free, and somehow succeeded in knocking Horus away from him. Horus fell from the platform he was standing on and thudded to the hard stone floor beneath them. Anubis sprang at Zuriel, who was quickly managing to free himself from his bonds, but Zuriel was ready for him, reaching out and grabbing his staff as he came, jerking it out of his hand. Anubis got his arm around the man's neck, and they too began to fall from the platform. As they both fell, Anubis changed his form into that of the jackal, and landed on his feet. Zuriel's landing was not so graceful. He crashed to his knees, but immediately sprang back up, swinging Anubis's staff like a baseball bat and catching him across the head with it. He was stunned, a loud buzzing sound rung through his ears. Zuriel raced to the spot where Horus lay still upon the ground, and snatching up his staff, snapped it in two. A large burst of blue energy exploded across the chamber, shaking all the walls and echoing around them. Large stones began to drop from the ceiling, and one of them landed on the lower back of the black jackal. Michael felt his back snap, and howled in pain. He began to paw his way over to Horus, fearing that his brother would also be struck by a stone. Zuriel was covering his ears and sitting on his knees, hunched forward. He had apparently been injured by the explosion, and must not have been expecting the result of snapping Horus's staff. Anubis pulled his way along toward his brother, reaching him just in time to see a huge boulder fall from the ceiling and land on his head and chest. Again, he howled, the excruciating pain in his back was surpassed by the anguish in his heart. He knew that Horus was gone. He pulled himself toward the exit as stones and dust continued to rain down, and then as he felt another large rock crash down upon him, everything faded to black. Michael was thrust back into the chamber of antiquities. He lifted his eyes from the statue. Tears were rushing down his cheeks, and then the anguish he was feeling faded into sadness and despair as everything became clear.

Why had they entrusted Zuriel with the staff? What had they done? Elizabeth looked like a deer caught in the headlights. "What do mean you want to go back to Egypt?" She looked at them as if they had lost their minds. Suddenly, her tone softened. "Does this have anything to do with the trouble you had in the woods? Are you guys scared about staying here now?" "No Aunt Liz. Look, Liam and I have some information that we need to get to Uncle Link. It's a little hard to explain, but we have some things we really need to tell him that could help find Mom and Dad and Mr. MacDonald. We think they're in really bad danger." Abby looked up at her with pleading, tearful eyes. "Please Aunt Liz, PLEASE?" She put her hands on her hips, looking at them with sympathy and skepticism. "Listen," she said softly, "if you really want me to put the three of you on a plane to Egypt and take you back, then you're going to have to give me an extremely good reason, so you had better figure out how to explain." They all sat down at the dining room table and Michael told her all about the staff of Anubis and about Zuriel. He told her how they had snuck into the tomb during the middle of the night (she did not look at all happy about that), how they had found the staff among some other relics displayed at McGinty Castle, and about how the staff was supposedly the key to finding their parents and rescuing them. The three of them had agreed to be honest, but not to tell her everything. They thought that talking about werewolves, faeries, and vanishing wings of the castle would only convince Elizabeth that they had cracked, and that she would probably have them committed to a mental institution for their trouble. As it turned out, she seemed partially receptive to what they were saying, or at least with hearing them out. When they had finished telling their story and answering her questions, she looked as though she didn't really know what she should do. "Well, why don't we try to get ahold of your uncle over the phone, and you can tell him all of this. Personally, I still believe that for your own safety, we should stay right here, but if he wants me to fly the three of you back down to Egypt, then that's what we'll do." She said this in a defeated sort of voice. They followed Elizabeth out of the dining room and down the hallway, until they came to the library, where they sat down as she picked up the phone and dialed a number. After talking briefly with Hasani Khalil, Link came to the phone, and she spoke with him as the three listened intently to her part of the conversation. After a few moments, they got the feeling that something wasn't quite right. Elizabeth turned around to face them; tears had begun to run down her cheeks. "That was Link. Liam, they found your father a few hours ago, he's still alive, but apparently he's in a coma. Link wants us to fly back right away."

Chapter 16 Welcome to the Team

Michael and Abby sat with Elizabeth in the waiting room near Declan MacDonald's hospital room. He had been brought to be seen by specialists in Cairo due to the unique symptoms of his

case. Liam had been taken in to see his father, and the only thing the rest of them could do for now was wait. Michael went through the magazines, but most of them were written in Arabic. He eventually found a soccer magazine and just looked at the pictures. Just as Abby and Elizabeth were finishing up their second game of Go Fish, Uncle Link walked into the room. Abby dropped her cards and ran to throw her arms around him. After the rest of them exchanged greetings they sat back down. Michael sat next to his uncle. "Uncle Link, what happened? Where was Mr. MacDonald found?" "Actually, it's kind of a strange story. Last night, after everyone had come back out of the catacombs, just before dinner, Declan came stumbling out and dropped right in front of the entrance to the tomb. The guard started making a wild commotion and we all ran over, and well, there he was lying in the sand. Scared the heck out of us. We all thought he was dead at first, but as it turned out he wasn't. The doctors here say it's something like they've never seen before, they don't know when he'll snap out of it, or if he ever will." "And what about Mommy and Daddy?" pleaded Abby, "have you found anything out about them?" Link shook his head slowly. "No, we went back down into the tomb and searched after Declan came out, but we still couldn't find anything, no signs at all." "Michael, I think it's time to come clean with your uncle," said Elizabeth. "Tell him everything you told me." Link looked at his nephew with a raised eyebrow. "What's she talkin' about Mike?" Michael hadn't been looking forward to confessing everything that he had done. He had put his little sister in great danger. Giving Zuriel the staff had turned out to be exactly the wrong thing to do, and now he may have risked the safety of his own parents. He looked guilty and nervous, and his uncle saw right through him. "I think we need to take a walk," Link said to him. They took the elevator down to the ground level and went outside, where a small garden was maintained for the hospital's visitors. Michael decided to throw caution to the wind and tell his uncle everything. The gravity of his parents' situation meant that he needed to share every bit of information, even if it meant making his uncle lose respect for him. He told him his story as they walked along the path, starting from the beginning when he had discovered the night corridor and the chamber of antiquities. He even told him all about the werewolves, carefully watching his face while he did so, but seeing no suspicious reaction. He told him about the Fianna Barrows and his exploration of the necropolis, and he told him everything he had been shown from the statue of Anubis. Finally, he told him all about Zuriel and how they had given him the staff of Anubis. Link could tell how his nephew was feeling. "Look Michael, you shouldn't be too hard on yourself about this. Some of the decisions you made were the right ones, and some of them were definitely not. I really wish you would have trusted me with this sooner. At any rate, I understand that everything you did, you did because you wanted to help the people you love." Michael felt a little bit better, but he also knew that his uncle was disappointed in him for some of the things he'd done. Link put his hand on his shoulder. "Mike, what we need to do now is get back to the tomb and continue the search for your parents. I'm assuming you can identify this Zuriel character if you see him again?"

Michael nodded. Was his uncle really going to let him help out on the search? "The way I see it is, you, Abby and Liam have gotten pretty darn good at getting into all kinds of trouble. Not even Elizabeth, one of the biggest pains in the butt I've ever met in my life, seems to be able to keep you out of it, so from now on you're sticking with me." Michael nodded again and smiled. Link shook his hand. "Welcome to the team." Elizabeth was very unhappy when she found out that Link wanted to keep the children with him while continuing the expedition. "Do you honestly think Mr. Khalil is going to allow children down in those catacombs? Especially now with what's happened to Declan?" "I'm not concerned about Khalil. I've got no doubt I can bring him around." "Don't you think it'd be better if we stayed here in Cairo, or even if we stayed in Edfu?" she kept on in an angry voice. "Look, I know your only concern is the children's safety, but there are a lot of things that are going on here that you don't know about." "Then why don't you explain them to me? Why are you always trying to keep me on the outside? You need to stop being so arrogant and think about what's best for these children." "Elizabeth, the kids aren't getting out of my sight until we get all of this worked out. You're welcome to join us, as long as you're willing to keep your mouth shut and your powder dry." Elizabeth had been angry before, but now she was livid. Her face turned red and she looked at Link as though she wanted to rip his head off. With curled fists, she stormed off down the hall. Abby, who was always prepared to embrace the dramatic, curled her own hands into fists and followed. Michael knew that his sister was actually happy about going back to the necropolis. Liam returned, looking sad, but hopeful. "How's your dad doing?" Michael asked him. "Well, the doctors don't really know what's going on with him. He's in a coma, but they can't figure out what caused it. They say they can't find any signs of trauma." "I'm sorry about your father Liam, but don't give up hope." Link squeezed his shoulder. "I personally have a feeling that he's going to pull through. Actually, I think he's a pretty lucky man to be alive right now." "Why do you say that?" Liam asked him. "I checked Declan's eyes before they had him brought up to the hospital. If I'm not mistaken, they used to be blue, correct?" "You're saying his eyes turned green like Dr. Farley's and the other men who were killed years ago?" Link nodded. "It's starting to wear off though. They aren't nearly as bright today as they were yesterday. I'd say all things considered he looks better too. I'm glad you didn't see him right after he came wandering out of that tomb, probably would have scared your accent off." Liam frowned. "Well, I'm glad you think he's getting better. Actually for some reason I'm not all that scared about it though. I just have a feeling that he's going to be okay." Link nodded and smiled. "Liam, the rest of us are heading back down to the tomb. You need to decide if you want to come with us, or stay here with your father. He could wake up

soon; on the other hand he might not. If you want to hang around, Sallah will be around to keep you company. Turns out he really admired your dad, and has agreed to stay up here and keep an eye on him." "Not a chance. If there's something I can do to help then I'd like to go. That's what Da would want, besides, sitting around here in this hospital won't do either of us any good." "Alright then," said Link, twirling his hat on his finger and tossing it up on his head. "Gentlemen, we have work to do. Let's kick this pig." Hasani Khalil had a browbeaten look as Elizabeth wagged her finger in his face. Michael couldn't tell what she was saying, but he had a pretty good idea. She could have let the man finish his waffle before reading him the riot act like that. "Don't worry about Khalil," Link told him, taking a swig of his hot black coffee. "I convinced him that you kids would be safe with me." "You make it sound like it was easy," Michael said to him. "Me and Khalil go way back." Just at that moment his cell phone rang. As his Uncle spoke, Michael's eyes turned back to Elizabeth and Khalil. Their discussion was getting a little more heated, and he saw her throw her hands up into the air and storm away back toward her tent. "That was Bill. He and Jesse just got pulled over by some cops a few miles out of camp. Apparently he forgot to take his international concealed weapons permit and they're hassling him about his guns. I better get down there and help 'em take care of it before we have a bloodbath on our hands. Make sure you stay put until I get back." He jumped up from the table, threw on his duster, and climbed into one of the nearby Jeeps. Michael watched a trail of dust fly up behind him as he sped down the road. Liam and Abby walked up and sat down at the table with breakfast in hand. "Where's your uncle? Wasn't he here just a minute ago?" Liam asked him. Michael told them about the problem with Jesse and Bill. "Nutters," said Liam seriously with a shake of his head. "Total Nutters." Michael picked up his backpack to double check his supplies. They would be heading down into the tomb as soon as Link, Bill, and Jesse got back, along with a few other people who had been helping them conduct the search. "I knew I'd forgotten something. I didn't bring any extra batteries for my flashlight." "I've got plenty," Liam told him. "But I don't think we'll be needing them anyway, now that we've got these faery lanterns. They should come in handy down in those ruddy tunnels." "Probably true, but you really never know. Better safe than sorry." "Dats bery true," agreed Liam, shoving a biscuit in his mouth. Abby brushed her long blonde hair out of her face, and put it behind her head in a hair tie. "Hey, look over there toward the entrance to the tomb." Michael and Liam turned to take a look over their shoulders. "I don't see anything," Michael told her. "There was a man covered up with a robe that just came up over the back of that hill and went down toward the entrance to the tomb." "Abby, so what?" Liam said dismissively. "Just about everyone here runs around covered up in robes."

"I Knoooowww that DUM-DUM, but this one looked like he was holding a staff." Michael and Liam's eyes locked in a stare. For a moment they just sat there, but then at the same time they jumped up and sprinted off toward the necropolis. "Hey, get BACK here," Abby called after them, struggling to grab all the gear. "Sorry about that Abby," Michael said, running back and grabbing his backpack and bow. "Here, give that to me." He flung her pack over his shoulder as well, and with Liam alongside them, they ran as fast as they could to the tomb's opening. The guard lay there spread out across the ground as if he was about to make a snow angel, but had fallen asleep first. Michael ran right past him toward the entrance, Liam and Abigail right at his heels. "Mikey, shouldn't we tell somebody where we're going?" "Yes," said Michael, "we should, but there ISN'T any time." They skidded to a halt just before entering the tunnel. None of them were stupid enough to run into the pitch black underground after an enemy they couldn't see. Michael and Liam both dug out their faery lanterns. Abby eyed them with a jealous pout while pulling out her flashlight. They entered the tomb, moving slowly and allowing their eyes to adjust to the light. Liam took out Shamus's diary, placed it in his pocket, and zipped his pack back up. He put his arms through the straps and pulled it up onto his back. "Well, our best bet is probably where we met him before, at the warrior's burial chamber, don't you think?" Michael nodded. "Can't think of a better place to look, unless we find something along the way. He shouldn't have too much of a head start on us." It took them awhile to get where they were going. Traveling down the rocky, long abandoned passageways of the underground takes much longer when you're expecting to be ambushed at any moment. Michael knew that an attack could come from any direction, and from any dark corner or tunnel. They tried to go along slowly, speaking in whispers only when it was necessary, and looking for signs of Zuriel's passing. They were nearly to the warrior's burial chamber, the place they had originally met Zuriel. Michael held out his hand in front of them. "Okay, the doorway to the chamber is just around the corner. How do we want to approach this? I mean, shouldn't we have some sort of plan or, or something?" "Can't think of one," said Liam dumbly, "other than to go look through the doorway and see if he's in there." Michael and Abby looked at each other. Abby shrugged. "Don't ask me, I'm just a trophy sister." Michael rolled his eyes. "Come on then." They crept up to the edge of the doorway, and slowly looked inside. From the way they were standing there, it would have looked like a short, frightened faced totem pole to anyone who was inside to see them, but the chamber was empty. Liam breathed a deep sigh of relief, and they walked inside, allowing their lanterns to fully illuminate the chamber. "Well, it's a bit of a relief that he isn't in here," Michael said, "but the bad thing ishe isn't

in here. So where do we go now?" Liam took out the diary and opened it up to the map, and the three of them looked at it. "I wouldn't even know where to begin," Liam told them. There are so many caverns and passageways down here, and I don't know what a lot of these symbols are." Abby suddenly raised her hand and pointed to the far corner of the chamber. "Hey, wait a minute, what's that over there?" Michael stared for a moment. "Oh, I see it too, it's like a faint green mist." "This kid has a pretty good eye," Liam said, "Abby, you can be a pretty handy girl to have around." Abby beamed at him. Raising his lantern, Liam began to walk over toward the green mist in the corner. Michael and Abby followed. They noticed that a small tunnel had been opened up in the wall, and the green mist was drifting out of it. "I wouldn't go through that if I were you, not unless you want to end up like your father." Looking back over to the entrance of the chamber, they saw Zuriel leaning with one arm against the wall. "YOU!" shouted Michael. "You LIED to us." "Did I now?" he said innocently. "You only wanted the staff for yourself. You never intended to help our parents did you?" "Help your parents? No, not really. Actually I'm the one that took them in the first place." "You took them? What did you do to them? Where are they? You didn't, you didn't put them through that nexus did you?" "The nexus? Heavens no. They're actually in a, well, a holding chamber, an ancient prison; I guess you could call it. It's located right underneath us actually. You're welcome to try and rescue them if you'd like, but I have to warn you, to do so would mean almost certain death. It's a very difficult place to get to you know, some very clever booby-traps along the way." "Why've you done this?" Liam asked him. "Why did you kidnap my father and the Belmonts?" "My, my. Kids are getting dense these days aren't they? Don't you see? All of this was just part of the plan to recover Anubis's staff. I needed it, and I had a hunch that the two of you could help get it for me. You humans are so predictable. I even knew you'd most likely come back here to the tomb of Horus to look for me." Michael glared at him. So this was the tomb where Horus had been laid to rest. He felt as though Zuriel defiled it with his presence. "You used us? Used our parents because you knew we could find the staff? But how?" "Well, I'd had a hunch about where the staff was being held. I was able to track it you see. It took me a while to figure out that those filthy lycans were in possession of it, but by the time I got there, Shamus McGinty had beaten me to it. I was unable to enter the castle to search for it though, that place is very well protected from people like me." Michael and Liam looked at each other in disbelief. Michael pulled his sister tightly in beside him. "There is a song that I've heard some of you humans listen to, something about 'getting by with a little help from my friends?', well, that's exactly what I did. I had an old friend of mine, one who was able to discover some of the secrets of the castle, lure you down the corridor to see the painting."

"You mean the piper of Argyll? That was all a set up?" "Yes, but it wasn't the piper of Argyll, just a low ranking daemon who owed me a favor. Unlike me, he was able to infiltrate the castle's defenses and discover the painting of Conan MacFarlane. Ingenious wasn't it?" "But if you knew where the staff was, why didn't you just tell us how to find it?" "Well I didn't know exactly where it was, in fact I still don't know all the details of how you three managed to get your hands on it. I just thought if I could draw you to the painting, it might point you in the direction of finding the staff for me. But to be honest I thought it would probably just lead you off to some painful death. I actually thought I had a better chance of getting information about the staffs location by interrogating your parents, but they didn't seem to know anything about it." He turned to Liam. "Your father wouldn't talk, even when I exposed him to hellfire from the nexus. You see, I've been successful in re-opening the crack in that gateway, but I still haven't been able to fully activate it. You'll be happy to know that I'm very close however. I have a good feeling about it." "And WHY are you telling us all of this now?" Michael screamed at him. "Why not just kill us and get it over with?" "I have no desire to kill you, any more than a car has the desire to kill the bugs that hit its windshield as it speeds down the road. Besides, I figure I owe you one for getting ahold of the staff for me. At any rate, I have work to do, so if you don't mind, I'm going to have to ask you to leave now. Run along and look for your parents before they starve to death." They hesitated. "Better get going, before I change my mind." The three of them backed away, watching him carefully as they went. They slipped out of the chamber, and ran.

Chapter 17 Trapped and Tested

Michael, Liam, and Abby continued to run from the tomb of Horus until they'd put a long distance between themselves and the threat they'd just left behind. Stopping to catch their breath, they used the map inside of Shamus McGinty's diary to find a safe place to hide while they studied it further. They hoped that Zuriel would consider them too little a threat to bother with, but decided to be careful just the same. "What was it he said?" asked Liam. "He mentioned your parents being held in a chamber beneath us, and said we would never be able to get ourselves past the traps to help them." Abigail nodded. "It was something like that. Look, this map shows a series of chambers directly below the ones we're in." They examined the map together for a few moments. "I don't see anything that looks like a holding cell on here," said Michael. "I mean, I know these maps are just rough sketches, but it looks like all these chambers and hallways are opened up. Here's a passageway to the level we're on, and over here it looks like one to the caverns two levels below ours. We could head down there and start looking around." "Wait," said Abigail. "What's this symbol here?" Michael squinted his eyes to better make out the smudged symbol near the edge of the map,

which was placed over a hallway that appeared to open into a large cavern. "It, it kind of looks like a triangle with an exclamation point in it." "That's a symbol for danger," said Liam. "Sometimes you see it on signs." Michael scratched his chin. "Hmmm, well, that's probably a good place to start. Good eye Abby." She beamed at him. The three of them headed cautiously for the tunnel that descended to the level beneath them. They did their best to remain quiet and out of sight, as they were sure that Zuriel would just as soon incinerate them as say hello. However, they made it all the way to what they agreed was the correct spot on the map without running into him or anyone else. They stopped at the end of the hall where a large brick wall stood. The wall looked fairly new. "I wonder if this was built when your uncle was working down here," Michael said to Liam. "It might have been," he said while nodding his head. "It makes sense, especially since that symbol on the map points out danger here. They may have bricked it up to prevent anyone from getting hurt while they were working nearby." Abigail ran her fingers along the bricks. "So what do we do now?" "We passed some tools a few minutes ago," Liam responded. "I noticed a pick and hammer there, maybe we should get them and knock this thing down." "But, they put it up here for a reason," said Abigail cautiously. "That's true," Michael agreed. "But this is our best lead at the moment, we need to find out what's behind here." After retrieving the tools, they began working on making a hole through the wall. They tried to remain as quiet as possible at first, but soon gave up and focused on damaging the wall as quickly as possible while Abigail kept watch down the other end of the passageway. They worked for several minutes before breaking through the wall, and they were hot and sweaty by the time they'd finished. Michael climbed through the hole first, followed by Abigail and finally Liam. For a while, the tunnel continued just as it had on the other side of the wall, but Michael suddenly stopped, throwing his hands up to Liam and his sister as he noticed that the passage ended abruptly into the large cavern they had seen on the map. The danger however, came from the fact that the passageway suddenly dropped off at the edge of steep cliff, to which Michael could not see the bottom. In fact, he couldn't see much of anything, except for part of the cavern wall which stuck out on his right side about fifteen feet away. Apart from that, the darkness around him seemed to soak up and swallow the light of his lantern. There didn't appear to be anything for the light to bounce off of. "Abby, hand me some rocks," he said. She gathered up a handful of small stones and handed them to her brother. He dropped one of them, and they stood still and listened, but never heard it strike the bottom. Michael took another stone and threw it straight out in front of him, but once again, they never heard it strike anything. Abigail shuffled back and forth nervously. "I have a very bad feeling about this." "So, what do we do now?" asked Liam. "Can you see anything at all Mikey?" "Actually, I think I might," he said slowly. He was now looking straight up above them. There's some kind of platform or something up there." It was about twenty-five feet above them, barely visible under the light of Michael's lantern. Liam held out his lantern as well.

"Yeah, I think I see what you're talking about. And LOOK, there's a cable or something going off into the distance ahead of us," said Abigail as she pointed. Michael peered around the corner to his right. There was a ledge about eight inches wide, hidden in the shadows against the wall. He could see a very old, thick rope hanging down from the ledge above. It had knots tied in it about every two feet. He pointed it out to Liam, who trembled. "You can't be serious." "It's the only way, from what I can see," responded Michael nervously. Abigail, who was terrified of heights, looked as though she might burst out crying at any second. "Abigail," Michael said to her while putting his hand on her shoulder, "you need to go back and tell Uncle Link about everything that's happened, and let him know where we are." "I'm not going to leave you two now," she said, tears beginning to run down her cheeks. "Abby, I know you want to come with, but the most important thing you can do right now is go and bring back help. We've really made a mess of things by giving Zuriel the staff, and we need to alert everyone about what he's doing." He reached into Liam's backpack. "Here, take the journal and maps, I don't think they are going to help us now. You can tell Uncle Link where we are, and if you can't find him then look for Aiden Osiris or Mr. Khalil." "But, butjust promise me you're going to be okay," she said to them. "We'll be fine, just be careful not to be seen on your way out. Go back the same way we came in. I'm sorry you have to go alone, but it's the only way right now." She nodded. "Alright, I'll do it. Just please, please be careful." She gave them each a tight hug. Michael watched apprehensively as she sadly walked off into the darkness. Michael strained to pull himself up the last bit of rope and onto the wooden platform above the tunnel. His hands were sweating, and he was tired, but relief spread over him as he realized he had made it all the way up without the rope coming loose or snapping. "Okay, I'm up," he called down to Liam, who then started up the rope himself. Michael sat by the ledge and looked down as he climbed. Liam was a little heavier than he was, so he felt nervous as his friend worked his way slowly up the rope, listening to it creak and moan the entire time. Eventually, he made it to the top where Michael grabbed him and helped pull him up to the platform. They were on something that looked like a boat dock, which protruded from a passage in the side of the cavern wall. It took only a moment to see that the passageway had collapsed many years ago. The cable, which now hung about eight feet above them, came out of a hole in the wall above the passageway and extended off into the darkness until they lost sight of it. There was a lever nearby, sticking up out of the platform, but apart from that, they could see nothing else around. They looked at the lever, and looked at each other, both wondering what would happen if they pulled it. "Well," said Liam, "we didn't climb all the way up here for nothing. Besides, we can't go back that way." He pointed behind him with his thumb at the collapsed tunnel. "I wonder where that went," said Michael. "I can't believe how big this place is. It's a bit mind boggling really."

Liam shrugged. "Well," he said as he got up and dusted himself off, walking over to the lever, "do you want to do the honors or shall I?" "Oh, by all means, be my guest," said Michael, still sitting near the rope. Liam reached down and pulled the lever, but it didn't budge. "Put your back into it," Michael told him. He grasped it with both hands, and pulled again, but it still wouldn't budge. "Maybe I should have brought my baby sister along after all," Michael told him with a smirk. Liam frowned. This time he leaned into it with all his might. It slowly began to move, until it finally clicked into position on the opposite side. Liam heard a light humming noise coming from the lever, and then the cable above them began to move, being pulled into the wall. Michael and Liam looked at each other in amazement. They waited for almost half an hour, according to Michael's watch, before they noticed an object coming toward them in the distance. As it came closer, they saw that it was some kind of ancient cable car. It was plated in gold, with intricate Egyptian designs and hieroglyphs along the sides. It reminded Michael of a royal chariot. It slowly came to a halt on the platform beside them. "Looks safe enough," said Liam with a shrug. Michael didn't look entirely convinced. "Well like you said, we didn't come up here for nothing." He walked to the lever and motioned for Liam to get in. Once he did, he pushed the lever back and jumped in as the cart slowly began to move. As they watched the pier fade into the darkness behind them, Michael had a sudden rush of fear for his sister. Moving across the expanse of the cavern made him feel as if he were abandoning her. "What's wrong?" asked Liam, reading his face. "My sister." "I'm sure she's fine," Liam said. "She's a clever little thing, that one. I know she'll make it back okay, I just hope she brings back help while there's still time." The two didn't say much more as the cart travelled smoothly through the expanse of the cavern. It would have been relaxing, Michael thought, if not for the fact that they were dangling helplessly above what was presumably a bottomless pit, entrusting their lives to a contraption which had been beaten by time for the last several thousand years. After a while, they saw from the light of Michael's lantern that they were going through a much smaller passageway, and they could actually see the cavern walls on both sides. Michael remembered that he still had a few of the stones that Abigail had given him in his pocket. He took one out and dropped it from the side of the car. They listened, but never heard it hit the ground. A few more minutes brought them to another platform much like the one they'd departed from, but this one was bigger. They got out of the cable car, and in the cavern wall before them stood a large wooden door. It's twin lay on its face on the ground before them. It had fallen victim to its own weight sometime long ago. They could here the sound of trickling water somewhere nearby on the rocks. "Let's go," said Liam, and the two proceeded carefully into the passageway over the fallen door. Michael hoped they were on a path that would lead them to his parents.

They moved through the cavern before them and soon came to another set of small doors. These were inlaid with gold, and bore some of the same images they had seen on the cable car. Michael and Liam pushed the doors open with ease. They entered a small chamber and let the doors swing shut behind them. The entire room lit up from the light of their faery lanterns, as the floor was paved with golden brick, and the walls were covered with golden carvings. In the center of the chamber was a fountain with running water. It was constructed from the same golden bricks that covered the floor; a golden falcon with its wings spread out perched from the top, as if protecting the water. The room was breathtaking. Liam's mouth hung open. "What kind of a place is this?" "I'm not sure," responded Michael, "but it has to be some sort of royal sanctuary. Maybe some kind of an ancient hideaway for the Pharaoh." "Very strange," remarked Liam, looking around, "but very, very cool." He walked over to the stream that flowed from the fountain. The water travelled through a small channel, which was level with the brick floor, and out beneath the cavern wall not far from where they had come in. He held his lantern down close to the water, which shimmered and sparkled as the light bounced through it in every direction. "Even the water channels are made out of gold," he said in wonder. Michael scanned the chamber, and noticed another set of doors opposite from where they had come in. "We need to keep moving," he reminded Liam. "We may not have much time left." Together they walked to the doors, which were heavy and smooth, and tried to push them open. They wouldn't move. They could see no way of opening them. "Here," said Liam, pointing to the wall near the door. Many of the tiles in the room had hieroglyphs, but the tiles here had three distinct images on them, and they appeared to protrude a little higher than the others. One tile had an image of a cloud with rain falling down from it. The tile next to it pictured a running stream. The third tile showed the sea, with steam rising off of it. "What do you think?" asked Liam, "could this be the way out?" "Dunno," said Michael. "It kind of looks like a riddle. If Uncle link were here, he would know." "Well, we might as well give it a shot, shall you pick or shall I?" "Let's see," said Michael. He scratched his chin while looking at the images. "Hey, I know. It's got to be the stream. There's a stream running through this room, so that must be the answer." "Yeah, that makes sense to me," said Liam. He reached up and pressed the image. For a moment nothing happened, and then the tile slowly depressed, making a deep, gravely sound as it went. "Okay," said Liam. "That was easy enough." He walked over to the door and pushed, expecting it to swing open, but it didn't budge. He put his weight into it, leaning with all his might, but still nothing happened. "Uhhh, Liam," said Michael tapping him on the shoulder. "I think we might be in trouble." The fountain, which had been flowing calmly just a few moments ago, now began to churn and bubble, and the water was flowing out much faster. The outlet where the water had been flowing under the wall appeared to be stopped up, and water quickly began to overflow from the sides of the channel.

Michael raced to the doors where they had come in, but those too were sealed tightly shut. It wasn't long before several inches of water covered the floor of the room. "What are we going to do now?" Liam shouted as he frantically pushed at the two remaining tiles. "Can you open it?" Michael called back as he splashed through the water that was now up past his ankles. He examined the water outlet, and sure enough, a panel had come down to block it off. "Nothing's working," said Liam as he hammered down on the tiles with his fists. Michael was now at the fountain, looking for a lever or button, anything that would turn the water off or open the doors back up, but he could find nothing. "There has to be a switch or something. In my Uncle's stories there's always a switch." "We're not in one of your uncle's stories Mikey, this is for real," Liam snapped at him. "Just keep looking." Water was now shooting up so fiercely that it was splashing off of the ceiling. Its level had risen well past their knees. Michael tripped on the side of the channel, falling on his face into the cold, wet pool. His lantern, which he had been trying to keep dry, dropped into the water a few feet away from him. It bobbed for a moment before harmlessly floating on the surface. He rose back up, and was relieved to see that it had not gone out. They continued to splash through the room looking for anything that could help them, but still they found nothing. Now the water was up to their stomachs. Now to their chests. In a few moments they were swimming, and their feet were no longer touching the ground. There was nothing to do but wait, and hope that the water would stop before the entire room was filled. Before long, their heads were just a few feet away from the ceiling, and still the flood rushed in. Suddenly, Michael noticed something odd. Something was sparkling underneath the waves, toward the center of the room. In actuality, nearly the entire gold covered room was sparkling, but this looked different. This had a bright bluish tint. Michael grabbed his faery lantern, which was floating on the water beside him, and pulled it underwater. Thankfully, it continued to shine. He took several long deep breaths, and then dove down to the center of the room. He approached the source of the strange light, and saw that it was coming from the falcon statue. He drew closer, and the current from the rushing water started to pull him back up. Fighting against it he reached out, and grabbing the falcon's wing he pulled himself down and around to the front of the bird. Holding his light up to its face, he saw that it's beak was open. It was inside this that something was glowing under the light of his lantern. He reached into its mouth, and pressed the tongue. It clicked. After a moment, he could tell that the water had stopped flowing into the room. As he swam toward the top, he heard a stony, grinding sound, and hoped it was the seal opening back up on the outlet. Approaching the top, he held out his hands above him so that he wouldn't smash his head against the ceiling. The water was now almost completely to the roof, and Liam was holding his head sideways to keep breathing in the little space that was left. "What happened?" he pleaded as Michael's face emerged.

Michael began to frantically gasp for air. It took him a moment to get his breath. "I think I got it." In a moment they knew he was right, as the water level was lowering steadily. They were soon lying on the floor, soaking wet and exhausted, as the remainder of the excess water drained from the room. "I've got to hand it to you on that one Mikey, you saved our skins, good work." Liam breathed a sigh of relief as he lay on his back, looking up at the ceiling. "How did you know what to do?" Michael explained what he had seen with the lantern. "Well," said Liam. "These things have turned out to be pretty useful. I didn't know how special they were until now." Michael agreed with him. "We're still stuck in this room though," he said. "Unless we want to go back the same way we came." "No thanks," Liam told him. "Anyway, I think I've got this figured out." He got up and walked toward the tiles. "I hope you're right," Michael warned him. "I'd assume if we messed it up twice the birds tongue would get us out of trouble again, but I really, really don't want to find out." Liam stopped in front of the three images once again. He carefully pressed them all at the same time. After a moment, all three tiles ground slowly down, just as the river tile had done before. They heard a faint click. Liam pushed on the door, and it swung open. "I get it," said Michael. It's a cycle. Water is constantly moving through the cycle shown on all three tiles simultaneously." Liam gave him a thumbs up, and they sped off through the doors. Not knowing what to expect as they headed down the tunnel, the two wet boys proceeded cautiously, faery lights held out in front of them, looking for signs of booby traps or any other form of trouble. Before long they came to a large, limestone cavern. Great stalactites hung down from above like heavy, colored icicles, and the bottom of the cave could be seen far beneath them. The path they were following narrowed down to a width of eight feet, and hugged the cavern wall. On the ground were a scattering of wood shards, and a half dozen human skeletons. "Look", said Liam as he stooped down and picked up a few of the shards. "Arrows." He was right. There were whole arrows and broken pieces all over the place. "But where did they come from?" said Michael as he looked out across the expanse of the cavern. His eyes caught something out in the distance. Holding up his lantern, he was shocked to see several rows of archers standing with bows at the ready, looking in their direction. He stumbled over his own feet taking a step backward and fell against the hard cavern wall. Michael, expecting them to shoot at any moment, shouted a warning to Liam, and scrambled around quickly looking for cover. He grabbed an old wooden shield from one of the skeletons. It wasn't in very good shape, but it was better than nothing. Liam found a metal shield that looked much more solid. Both boys lowered themselves into a crouch; doing the best they could to hide their bodies from the line of fire. Michael looked back to the archers, but they just stood there, motionless. "Why aren't they firing?" whispered Liam.

"I was just thinking the same thing," said Michael. He looked at them more closely. Were they statues? If they were, then where had all the arrows on the ground come from? "They've got to be statues," said Liam, reading his thoughts. "Yeah, I think you're right. But they must be the ones who fired all of these," he said, pointing to the ground. "It's got to be another trap. Watch your step, and don't touch anything. Better keep that shield handy too." They both stood to their feet. Michael now took a good look at the statues, which were about a hundred and fifty yards away. They were dark, dressed in ancient Egyptian clothing, and whether they were made of stone or metal he could not tell. There were two rows of twelve, and over on the right was a man holding a sword into the air, as if giving the order to fire. "Maybe they were alive once, but got turned into statues somehow," guessed Liam. Michael shrugged; he wasn't convinced that these things were no longer a threat. "Let's keep going," he told Liam. "Just be careful." They began to follow the path around a corner of the cavern, when it suddenly ended at another door in the wall. This one was made out of rock and was sealed shut. "Great," said Liam. "How are we going to open this up?" He tried to pry the door open with his shield, but it was no use. It was shut solid. They looked around for quite some time, trying to find a lever or switch that would open the door, but they found nothing, and both were beginning to get very frustrated. "Wait a minute," said Michael. He was once again examining the statues off in the distance. "Doesn't it look likelike arrows are poking out of a few of them?" "Well," said Liam slowly, "I think so, but it's kind of hard to tell. I couldn't say for sure." Michael took an arrow from its sheath and strung it on his recurve bow. He aimed for the archer in the middle of the front row, and let it fly. THWOOT, it zipped through the air and found its mark, making a screeching, metallic crunch. A split second later, about half the statues clunked into action, drawing back arrows and returning fire. As the volley of wooden missiles sailed toward them, Michael and Liam dodged for cover. Liam hid himself with his shield, but Michael, who had put his own down in order to fire, dodged out of the way and threw himself to the ground, arrows chinking off the stone around him. "Well, that didn't turn out so well," said Liam in an irritated voice. "No," agreed Michael. "There must be something over there I need to hit though, it's the only thing that makes any sense. Can you see anything?" He asked as he scanned the archers. "Nothing out of the ordinary, well, besides the attacking statues anyway," said Liam straining his eyes. "Hey, wait a minute," Michael said excitedly. "Maybe I'm supposed to hit their leader." He looked again at the soldier with the raised sword. "Makes sense," responded Liam. "But I don't know how long our luck will hold out with all those arrows flying at us, so I hope you're right." "I hope I am too." Michael kicked away a skeletal arm that had gotten caught on his foot. "It looks like only about half of those things are still functional, lucky for us. Get ready, this may not work." Michael strung another arrow. THWOOT, it flew toward the archers' commander, but veered to the left, striking the statue beside him. Once again, the ranks shot back at them, but

Michael was a bit more prepared this time. He hid himself behind his shield as best he could while the second wave of missiles dropped in around him. "AHHRRR," screeched Liam. Michael spun around to see an arrow sticking out of Liam's left leg. "Oh no, I'm sorry," he pleaded as he rushed to his friends aid. "Not your fault," Liam said through clenched teeth. "I stumbled on the way down and dropped my shield." They looked at his leg in horror. "What do we do?" asked Michael. "How would I know?" Liam shot back in a scared, angry voice. He grabbed his pant leg, and taking out his pocketknife, cut it open so they could get a better look at the wound. It was bleeding, but not heavily, and there was about an inch of flesh between the entry and exit marks. "It doesn't look all that bad," Michael told him. Liam shot back a very unfriendly look. "Break off the tip," Liam told him. Michael wasn't too sure about that, he hesitated and gave his friend a raised eyebrow. "Just do it," he said sternly. Michael cringed as he snapped the arrow in half. Liam howled as he did it, and then howled again as he yanked the remaining shaft out the way it had come. "There we are," said Michael cheerfully. "Good as new." Liam looked like he might hit him. "Get on with it then," Liam grunted while pointing to the archer statues. "And if you wouldn't mind, don't miss this time." Michael laughed nervously, but strung up a third arrow. "Well, third time's a charm." "Or three strikes and your out," Liam retorted. Michael flinched, then carefully took aim and let loose his third arrow. THWOOT, they heard before it soared across the chasm to seek its mark. They both ducked for cover, but it hadn't been necessary as the arrow landed directly in the commander's chest. For a few seconds, nothing happened, but then the stone door slowly began to grind aside. Michael grabbed their things and made a dash for it, Liam hobbling just behind him, and they disappeared through the entrance. Michael helped Liam down the pathway, which continued to cling to the cavern wall. They were going a bit slower now, due to his injured leg. The trail continued on for some time along the wall before heading into a small opening in the side of the cave. The faery lights were proving themselves invaluable. "If it wasn't for these, there's no way we could have made it this far," Liam said. Michael knew he was right. They couldn't have asked for a better gift from Titania, and he wondered if she had known they would need them on this journey. Perhaps she cared more about what happened to them than she had let on. It was only a few moments before the small passageway opened up into another chamber, which had a floor covered in golden brick like the room with the fountain they'd come through a few hours before. This place looked like some kind of royal bedchamber. A small wooden door lay crumbled near the opening where they had entered, and a dozen large clay jars were lined up against the wall. There was an ornate but dilapidated bed across the room, and various pieces of furniture and rich decorations. All had been beaten by the passing years, some laid in ruin. There were a few other entryways into the room, and the doors had rotted away from all of them.

"What is this place anyway," said Michael. "Some kind of an ancient living quarters? It looks awfully fancy for a prison guard. I hope we're on the right trail." "Who knows?" said Liam in an irritated voice. "I just hope there aren't any more stupid traps to deal with." "I think we'll probably be safe here. We've got to be close to the holding cell now," Michael told him assuringly. "That's if that idiot Zuriel didn't send us off on some wild goose chase," said Liam, walking toward the other side of the room. He wanted to sit down near the wall and take a better look at his leg. "I don't think he did." Michael took a long drink of water from his bottle. "There's no way he expected us to make it this far, probably thought we'd have been scared off or killed by now, but the jokes on him isn't it?" "HEY," yelled Liam in excitement, "come over and look at this." Michael was startled, and nearly knocked over the large clay jar he was about to open. He sped over to Liam. Lying peacefully on top of the broken bed was the skeletal body of a man, obviously out of place as revealed by the khaki pants, hiking boots, and bomber jacket. A single arrow stuck through his shirt near the stomach, and Michael cringed to think of the pain this poor fellow must have gone through, as he knew his life was draining from him. Liam looked at the arrow in the skeleton's stomach, and then down at his own leg. He gulped, obviously understanding how lucky he was to still be alive. "Michael," whimpered Liam, "I think this might be. I think this could be" "Your Great-Uncle Shamus?" Michael finished for him. Liam nodded his head solemnly. Beside the body was a worn leather book, and something else that Michael thought he recognized. He picked up the book and handed it to Liam, and then he picked up the splintered and broken piece of an ancient wooden staff. "This belonged to Horus," he said with sadness in his eyes. "I saw Zuriel destroy it while looking through the statue." He ran his fingers along the proud head of the falcon. He noticed that its eyes were transparent and blue, just like the jackal eyes on Anubis's staff. He had seen them glow when Horus had held the staff, but he knew somehow that they would never glow again. The power of the staff had been lost not when it had been broken, but with the death of it's master. "How many journals did this guy keep? Anyway, there are more maps in here," Liam told him. "We should be able to find our way around easily now. Hey, you were right." He smiled hopefully while pointing his finger in the book. "I'm pretty sure we're right here, and from what Zuriel said, I'll bet he's holding your parents in this chamber. It could be some sort of holding cell." He continued to thumb through the pages, most of which were blank. "Listen to this," he said. "My journey has unfortunately come to its end, here near the place where Horus died. I'm sorry I have failed you my friend, my curiosity has always been my greatest strength, but it has finally led to my demise. I should not have wandered beyond the safety of these quarters into the defensive perimeter, but my desire to explore got the best of me. Who would have thought that such ancient machinery would still be functional? Absolutely remarkable!

In regard to the task at hand, I was able to mend the breach in the gateway following the instructions you provided. As I'm sure you have heard, I also managed to seal the passageway from the burial chamber of Horus before the excavation site was closed. This should keep any future explorers safe until you are able to fix the problem once and for all. I was able to retrieve that piece of equipment you requested from our moonstruck friends. They didn't seem too happy to part with it, but it has been safely set aside for your retrieval. You will find directions within this journal. If you ever read these words then know that I have tried my best to aid you in your quest. My best hopes are with you as you continue on without me. I am tired, and failing quickly. May the good Lord bless and keep you until we meet again in the next world. Your friend, S.M. "Look here," said Liam, handing Michael the book. A roughly drawn map was etched upon its pages. After a moment, Michael knew exactly what he was looking at. These were directions to the staff of Anubis in McGinty Castle. There were no words on the map, just some ambiguous signs and pictures. Someone would definitely have to be familiar with Shamus McGinty, his castle, and the staff to make heads or tails of this map; it would have been useless to anyone else. "Who do you think he wrote this to?" he asked Liam. "Don't know? I guess its possible that Zuriel had him fooled too." "Well, Zuriel didn't say anything about having his help, but he is a liar isn't he? Anyway, Shamus seemed like a pretty smart man, do you really think Zuriel could have fooled him into helping?" "Well, he did a pretty good job fooling us." "That's true," Michael said, looking down at the skeleton. He had a feeling that Shamus McGinty was much too intelligent to be tricked into aiding an evil man like Zuriel. Maybe it was possible that someone unknown ally would turn up who could help them defeat him. He hoped so. "This is a good place for him to be," said Liam, looking down at him solemnly. "I mean, I'm sorry that he died like this, but I can't imagine he could ask for a more fitting place to be laid to rest." Michael nodded. From what he knew about Shamus McGinty, he would be content to have his remains entombed here. He gently placed the remainder of Horus's staff down into McGinty's hand. "We need to keep moving." Liam nodded. He carefully picked his backpack up from the ground. Michael took a look through each of the room's doors. "Well, those two lead to other rooms that are part of these living quarters." He walked back over to the doorway he determined was the exit and stood there waiting. "Hmm. I don't think you're going to like this." He frowned at Liam. Nursing his leg, Liam scuffled over and took a look. A long stone stairway rose up before them.

Chapter 18 Fight

By the time they got to the top of the stairs, Liam's leg was throbbing in pain. It looked like it was starting to bleed more heavily than it had been before. "How are you doing?" "I've been better, but I'll be okay." Looking around, they saw that they had just come up into a large rectangular hall. Large pillars were carved from the stone around them, and it looked like some kind of a temple, except that there were no statues or decorations. The place was empty except for some old torch stands and a large stone table in the center of the room. On the side farthest from them, they could see a large pair of rusty, iron doors. As they walked through the hall, they counted six small, rounded doorways on each side of the room. Shining his light into one of them, Michael saw that it was a simple cave, only about ten feet wide and across. "Strange," he said to Liam. "Are these some kind of jail cells?" They got to the large iron doors, which appeared to have rusted shut long ago. They were about twelve feet high, and looked very heavy. "Do we really want to mess with these things?" Liam asked. "I'd really hate to have 'He exited this world as a Scottish pancake' written on my tombstone." Michael shuddered at the thought. "Well, look at this." He held his lantern up to the door, and scratched some of the rust away with a small, sharp rock. "I think it's completely rusted through here." Liam sat against the wall, and Michael set his bow and backpack down beside him. He proceeded back to the door, and began to pull small rusty chunks away from the hole. After a few minutes he had a space cleared that was just large enough to fit through. Michael carefully stuck his head in to see what awaited them on the other side; it opened up into a large cavern. "Alright," he said, coming over to Liam. "I'll help you through first, then I'll pass our packs to you, and then I'll come thr " A deep, creaking moan began to rumble from the door behind Michael. He turned around just in time to see the door crash down with a thunderous boom, a cloud of dust flying up into the air around them. Michael's heart nearly stopped. He held his hand over his chest, eyes closed. "Never mind, then," he said to Liam, who looked back with wide eyes and a broad frown. "Alright, are you ready to keep going, or do you want to rest for a moment?" "Might as well keep going," he said, climbing once again to his feet. "Wait, did you hear something?" Michael raised his head in a way that reminded Liam of Sir Nigel, right before he would run off to see who was knocking at the front door. "Listen," he said, raising his finger to his lips. They both stood there silently. Liam smiled and nodded his head. "I heard something, it sounded like a woman yelling." Michael had to restrain himself from taking off at a sprint. "Come on," he said excitedly to Liam, picking up their packs. He let Liam set the pace, who despite his injured leg was moving pretty quickly. Michael felt as though he wanted to jump out of his skin. They ran through the cavern, following the path that wound through rock formations and stalagmites; the voice growing louder as they went. "Hello, is anybody there?" the faint voice came drifting through the air, gently echoing off

the rock around them. "MOM," yelled Michael as they ran. "MOM, IS THAT YOU?" Michael couldn't help himself; he overtook Liam and ran up ahead of him. After running for several minutes, he came to the end of the cavern, navigated another small flight of stairs, and passed through the cavern wall into a large cave, it was lined with a dozen cells covered with iron bars. "MOM," Michael shouted, "DAD, ARE YOU IN HERE?" "MICHAEL, Michael is that you?" Her voice sounded a bit weak, but it was definitely his mother. "MOM, WHERE ARE YOU?" He had no more yelled it than he saw her fingers poke out from behind a set of the bars. He ran over and touched her, trying to get his hands through the narrow spaces between the thick bars, but they wouldn't fit. Holding up his light, Michael saw that his father was there too. He pointed to the middle of the room "Son, over there, you need to pull that switch to open up these bars." Michael ran over to a row of large levers. He noticed that one was pointed in a different direction than the rest, and grabbed it and pulled. They instantly heard a click, and his father pushed the barred door open. Michael sped back to them, where they both caught him up in a tight short-lived embrace. "Liam?" said his mother in a surprised voice. Liam had just entered the cave; he took a few steps toward them before collapsing onto the floor. They frantically rushed over to him. "Bebehind," said Liam, weakly. "We need to get him to a doctor, Michael," said his father. "Our equipment, it's in that open cell next to the one we were held in, grab it for me." He ran over to the cell and after a moment returned with their things. "Do you know how to get back out of here?" his father asked him as he fastened on his gun belt. "Not even planning to say goodbye?" came a voice from the shadows where the boys had come in. It was Zuriel. Zuriel stood before them with an arrogant, vicious look on his face. It was a look Michael hadn't seen him make before, and it frightened him. "So you actually made it here after all," he said to Michael. "Your friend doesn't look so well though, does he?" "What do YOU want? What did you do to Liam?" He had curled his hands into fists. "I didn't do anything to him. Well, that's not entirely true, I did wrestle this away from him." He held up the leather diary they had taken from Shamus McGinty's body. "I've spent weeks interrogating your parents and MacDonald about some of the information contained in this book. I had a hunch that McGinty may have written down the details and carried it with him, but due to certain, let's call them restraints, I've never been able to enter that section of the catacombs and search him myself." "And what information would that be?" Michael barked at him. "He wanted to know how Shamus McGinty was able to seal the crack in the gateway," his father told him weakly. "He thinks that knowing how it was sealed might help him get it opened

back up." "That's right. And I've just found what I'm looking for right here in this journal. I want to thank you all for helping me on my mission. I couldn't have done it without you." He turned his gaze to Michael, strode toward him, and placed his hand on the boy's shoulder. "Especially you Michael. I would never have obtained the staff or this diary without you." Michael's mother rushed forward. "GET YOUR HANDS OFF MY SO" Zuriel backhanded her across the face so hard that she slammed to the chamber floor. His eyes burning with fury, her husband immediately sprung forward with a roundhouse kick that cracked across Zuriel's chin. Before his foot touched the floor he had drawn his sixshooter, pushed it into Zuriel's chest and pulled the trigger. A resounding BOOM filled the chamber and Michael was pushed away, falling backward onto the floor as a loud piercing tone filled his ears. Zuriel crashed back into the cavern wall and crumbled like a sack of potatoes. Michael had never seen his father do anything like that before. He couldn't believe his eyes. And then he saw something else that he couldn't believe. With a heavy guttural laugh, Zuriel rose back up to his feet as if nothing had happened; smoke still billowing off his chest where the gunpowder had burned his shirt. "Do you idiots know who I am?" he sneered. You can't kill me. If that were possible I'd have met my demise a long time ago. You aren't the first critics I've ever had." He brushed the dust from his clothes. "I'm impressed though, I've got to hand it too you. That kick would have broken the neck of any mortal man, and you're a very quick draw. I used to do a little gunslinging myself, although I must admit, I do have a bit of an unfair advantage." He looked at Michael's mother, who glared up at him from the ground. Blood was streaming down from her lip. "Oh I see," he said. "I've offended you by putting your woman in her place. My apologies about that. I'll let you smack her big mouth yourself next time." He laughed at them mockingly. While Zuriel was talking, Michael's father had holstered his gun and reached down to his wife and son, pulling them both to their feet and shoving them behind him. He backed away slowly from, pulling both of his guns and pointing them at Zuriel's head. "Maybe I can't kill you, but you're not taking me down without a fight." "You mortals," he retorted, taking a step toward them, "I have grown so very, very weary of having to put up with you. Sure, every now and then I meet one who I can get on board with, but none of you are around for very long." He twirled Anubis's staff, threw it in the air, and caught it. "I could kill you all right now, but to tell you the truth, I don't really have the time to mess with you. You can all stay here and rot in the depths of the necropolis." As he began to head for the door, he paused briefly to give Liam, who was now unconscious, a sharp kick on his wounded leg. "Enjoy starvation, I hear it's to die for." Mr. Belmont gritted his teeth, a drop of sweat ran down his neck, and he was barely able to keep himself from pulling both triggers. Suddenly, Zuriel stopped in his tracks just before reaching the door. Michael gasped as his Uncle Link entered the chamber. Jesse Clanton and Bill Thompson were with him, and so was Aiden Osiris. Finally, Abby came in. Michael smiled at her proudly. She must have led them in through the opening in Horus's burial chamber. "I believe you have something that belongs to me," Aiden said to Zuriel. He sneered. "Hello Anubis, long time no see."

Michael looked at Aiden in shock and confusion. Could he really be Anubis? The same Anubis from all those visions the statue had shown him? So it had been he that Shamus McGinty was trying to help, trying to get the staff to before he died. Before he could take it all in, several things happened at once. Zuriel began to grow larger, and his form began to change. In only a matter of seconds, a large red dragon towered before them where the man had been standing. It looked very much like the one on the flag of Wales, but it was the most terrifying creature that Michael had ever seen in his life. At the same time, Link sprang forward with a mighty leap into the air, and as he was running toward the dragon, Michael noticed that his uncle too had changed. He had become the same wolf-man that Michael had seen that night at his uncle's ranch. He wasn't crazy after all. His uncle had been a werewolf all along. He looked at Abigail, who was frozen in terror. Jesse and Bill had both pulled out some very nasty looking custom machine guns, and were taking aim at the dragon. They opened fire on him, and an excruciating noise filled the cavern around them. The creature turned its head away from the rain of ammunition that was showering in upon it. Link reached the monster and leapt up to its neck, grabbing ahold and pulling himself up on top of it. He began to punch and slash at the creature in a brutal display of violence. He then pulled out a long sword that was hanging from a sheath at his side and drove it through the back of the dragon where its neck met its head. The creature screeched out in fury and pain, but it appeared that every attack they unleashed upon him only made him angrier. He began to buck like a wild bronco, throwing Link off of his back and into the hard rock wall fifty feet away. The werewolf collapsed in a silent heap. Jesse's gun suddenly ran out of ammo. The searing barrel smoked like a lit cigar as he reached into the pouch on his side for another cartridge. Bill cast his machine gun to the floor, pulled out two revolvers, and took several carefully aimed shots at the creature's chest. "How do you kill this thing?" he yelled in an excited voice. The next thing that Michael did was either very brave or very foolish. He noticed that Anubis's staff was lying on the ground near the dragon's feet. Without hesitation, he sprinted for it. Jumping up over a small boulder, he landed near its tail and glided between its back legs as if he were sliding in to home plate. He grabbed the staff and made a break for it, but just as he thought he was safe, Zuriel reached out and grabbed him. His legs swung out in front of him from the momentum of running as the creature picked him up into the air. "ABIGAIL," he shouted as he flung the staff toward her with all his might. It twirled and spun through the air as she reached out to catch it. "OUCH," She screeched as it struck her sharply on the leg. Without hesitation, she picked it up and sprinted to Aiden, handing him the staff before turning back to run toward her mother and father. The dragon screeched out in a horrific display of rage. Aiden tapped a ring on his left hand with the staff, and both items ignited with a bright blue light. He held up his left hand, making a fist, and a stream of blue light erupted from the ring, shooting straight at Zuriel. Once again, he screeched in anger, but this time it was mingled with a large dose of pain. The dragon dropped Michael to the ground, and he ran out of its reach as fast as his legs could carry him.

Without warning, the beast leapt up into the air and clumsily flew to the top of the chamber. It grabbed onto the bricks and stones with its feet, ripping them apart in an attempt to claw it's way out. It repeatedly bashed itself into the ceiling as rocks, boulders, and dust rained down into the ancient prison below, showering everyone in sight. Michael saw his father dragging Liam and his mother toward the entrance. Jesse and Bill were leading his uncle, who staggered feebly along as if drunk. They clung to the shelter of the small cells along the walls of the chamber, trying to make their way back toward the entrance. Michael, who was now standing beside Aiden, grabbed the handles of his wheelchair and pulled him toward a nearby passageway. One of bricks falling from the roof landed squarely on a backpack beside Jesse's gun. It exploded, bringing down what remained of the chamber as Zuriel escaped into the cavern above.

Chapter 19 The Gateway

Aiden Osiris sat on the cavern floor with his back leaning up against the wall. A small trickle of blood ran down from the top of his head and disappeared into his beard. He slowly opened his eyes and took in the scene around him. The staff was still tightly gripped in his right hand. His wheelchair lay beside him, now broken into several pieces, and a dozen feet in front of him, sprawled out and partially buried in rubble, was Michael. Aiden couldn't see any visible injuries, and he was definitely breathing. "Michael," he said gruffly. The word didn't come easy. "Michael," he forced out with a little more volume. Michael did not move. Aiden looked at the passage behind them. It was sealed off. The force of the explosion had caused what remained of the chamber to cave in. All things considered, the damage to the small tunnel to which they had fled was minimal. They were lucky to have escaped before the entire chamber had crumbled in on them. Aiden thought about trying to clear the passage with his staff, but then decided that doing so may only make things worse. There was no way out of this now but to go on ahead. Aiden sighed deeply. His own plan didn't involve getting back out of the necropolis, but he had never intended the boy to get caught up in any of this. "Michael." He said again. Still he did not move. Aiden pulled his body over to the boy, and gently brushed back his dirty brown hair. Michael groggily opened his eyes. "Mr. Osiris?" he said in a low voice, "what just happened? Did I seedid I see what I think I did?" "Oh yes," he responded. "But that's not important now. Are you all right? Are you hurt at all?" "I don't think so." He looked down at the rubble covering his body and began to kick it off. He sat up, coughed, and looked around the chamber, noticing the caved in passageway. "What are we going to do now?" he asked. "We need to get you back to your family, and I need to accomplish what I came here to do. I need to finish what should have been finished a very long time ago." He looked Michael in the eyes. "I'm sorry my boy, that I got you wrapped up in this. I'm sorry that your family was endangered because of me. Strange isn't it," he said, as if to himself, "how a simple mistake committed so long ago can have effects that ripple through ages of time."

He pulled himself into a sitting position. "Well, it's time to make amends once and for all." He gripped his staff tightly in both hands. The eyes of the jackal began to glow brightly once again, its blue light rebounding off the chamber walls all around them. Aiden began to rise slowly into the air, and came to a hovering position about eight inches off the ground. A thin blue aura wrapped around his entire body, and a sound of rushing wind filled the chamber, followed by a sharp crackling noise. The light faded, and Aiden gently came to a standing position, the full use of his legs having been restored. He reached down to help Michael, who was looking at him in astonishment. "Come on," he said. "There is another way out of here, but in order to get you there, you will now have to come with me to the gateway." "The gateway?" asked Michael nervously. Aiden nodded. "The gateway of Tartarus." Aiden Osiris moved slowly down the passage, ready for an attack at any moment. Given what Michael had just witnessed, he appreciated the man's caution. The tunnel they traveled down was crudely cut out of stone, and had narrowed to such a point that Michael had to drop behind Aiden and follow him. This made him quite nervous, and as he kept looking back behind them, the shifting shadows danced around before merging with the blackness from which they had come. They hadn't passed anything that looked like a genuine passageway, although there were small cracks and openings in the wall that could have led off to other subterranean caverns. These spooked Michael, and he was relieved to get past them quickly. After continuing down the passage for what must have been an hour, hieroglyphs began to appear on the walls around them. Most of the images bore the figures of Anubis or Horus, sometimes alone, and sometimes together. Michael even recognized a few of the scenes from what he had seen in the statue at McGinty Castle. He looked at Aiden curiously. "So it was you all along who Shamus McGinty was trying to help? He was trying to get the staff back to you before he died?" "Yes. Unfortunately, he disappeared down in these catacombs before he could tell me where he'd placed the staff. I was certain it was safely tucked away, thought it was probably down that protected wing of the castle he had told me about, but I had no idea how to obtain it." The man listened intently as Michael explained the details of how he, Liam, and Abigail were able to obtain the staff, and told him apologetically about how they'd given it to Zuriel. "Well, no need to worry," he said with a grin. "It's all worked out in the end." "Mr. Osiris," Michael asked, "is what Zuriel said true? Are you really Anubis? The Anubis?" Aiden let out a heavy sigh. "Yes," he said. "It's true. Though I haven't been called by that name in a very, very long time." "But how can that be?" responded Michael. "How is it that youyou've" "How is it that I've lived this long?" interrupted Aiden. It was more of a statement than a question. "Well, I am an immortal, Michael." "But what about Horus? Wasn't he just like you?" At this Aiden stopped and turned to face him. He wore a hurt, stunned look. "You've seen inside my memory sarcophagus haven't you?" he asked. "Yes, I thought you boys might have

found it. I'd given it to McGinty for safe keeping." Then he smiled. "I'm glad you've seen them, my memories." "Why?" asked Michael, who had thought that Aiden might be displeased with him. "Well, as they say my boy, confession is good for the soul," he said with a sad smile. "At any rate, it will help you understand a little better what is about to happen. A friend helped me build that memory sarcophagus long ago to allow me to preserve my memories, but also to tell my story. As for my brother Horus, yes, he too was an immortal. But although we do not age normally, and some of us possess other powers, we can be killed just like anyone else. As you know, my brother Horus lost his life down in this very necropolis, and I narrowly escaped myself, although I have wished on occasions without number that I would have joined him in death then." "Do you still wish that?" asked Michael. "No. No, I have been given a second chance, and for that I am grateful. This has been a long time coming, as you know." "I know that the people tried to worship you as a god, but you wouldn't let them. Were all of the Egyptian gods immortals like you?" "Many of them were, and the same is true for the Greek gods, and the Norse gods, and many other mighty men of renown that the world has known. Like me, some still walk the earth today. But there has only ever been one God. Many gifted men throughout time have accepted and encouraged mankind to worship them, but others, like my brother Horus, were disgusted at even the thought. My brother was an extremely good and pious man, you see. Without his influence, I would almost certainly have followed the evil path of my father." "Sir, if your father was an evil man, why is it that you have taken his name?" He let out a little laugh. "Who knows? Perhaps to punish myself, perhaps to remind myself of the man I have always been capable of becoming, a man like my father." "I don't think you have ever been like him," said Michael sternly. "Thank you," Aiden said. "And I think you are right. Although I have always been flawed, one thing that I have been is a man who has always desired to be good, a better man than I am. I think that counts for something, don't you?" Michael thought for a moment. "Yes," he said. "I think it does." They came to a place where the passageway broadened enough for them to walk side by side, and it wasn't much farther before they reached the end of the passage and came to a solid stone wall. Aiden raised up his staff, so that the wall lit up and glowed faintly for a few seconds. It then shimmered, and waves appeared to spread out from the middle, as if a pebble had been dropped in a pool of water. The surface of the wall then solidified into what looked like a foggy, bluish mirror. "It wants identification," said Aiden with a smile. Michael stared up at him, and then at the wall in confusion. Suddenly, Aiden's face shifted into the black face of a jackal, and he snarled viciously at the wall. Michael was startled and took a quick step back. Aiden's face altered back. "Sorry about that," he said cheerfully as the wall shimmered once again, and changed back into stone as it had been before.

Suddenly, they heard the clanking sound of a heavy chain being drawn by a pulley, and the passageway around them rumbled as the door slowly raised, opening up to a large chamber in front of them. The dust was still settling as they stepped inside. They had apparently come in through the side of the chamber. Looking off to his right, Michael saw what must have been the main entrance to the chamber. Off to his left was a stairway leading up to a platform where two large statues stood protecting a pair of humungous doors. Michael recognized the two sentinels immediately as Horus and Anubis. A very uninviting dim green mist wafted from the spaces around and underneath the doors. "Beyond those doors is the gateway to Tartarus," said Aiden grimly. "Keep your eyes open Michael, if Zuriel isn't here already, he won't be far behind us." Together, they walked cautiously toward the doors. "Mr. Osiris, what exactly is that green mist that's coming out?" asked Michael. He had no desire to end up in a coma like Declan MacDonald, or even worse, dead, like Dr. Farley. Aiden smiled. "Nothing you need to worry about, just light coming in from the gateway, and a little bit of smoke." Michael nodded, but still wasn't sure that he liked the look of it. They proceeded up the stairs, and upon reaching the top Michael looked up again to the two statues that loomed above him. Aiden was looking up at his brother, tears beginning to well up in his eyes. "Are you sure you know what you're doing Anubis?" came a voice from behind them. Zuriel stood at the passageway they had come from just moments before. "You might as well go right back out the way you came in Zuriel. You have no power to open up this gateway." "Anubis, please. It doesn't have to be this way. Join me, like we talked about so many years ago, and together with my brothers we can rule over these pitiful humans. If we want to, we can even wipe them off the planet and have it to ourselves. Anything will be possible for us." Aiden sneered contemptuously. "Do you actually think I will entertain anything you have to say? I have spent the last five thousand years seeking to fix my mistake. I should never have listened to you in the first place. My temptation and greed for power led to my failure as the guardian of this gateway. It should have been closed long ago, once all of you had been placed inside. I don't know why the Messengers have allowed you to remain free all these years, and I know that I can't force you inside, but you might want to think about it. Why don't you accept your punishment, and go through of your own free will? Maybe that's why you have been given this opportunity. Maybe it would count for something if you submitted to the punishment you deserve." "Are you out of your mind? I'm not going in there. I don't deserve to be punished. Why was I sentenced to be thrown through that nexus?" he said angrily. "Because I wanted to enjoy my life? Use the gifts I had been given in the way I decided for myself? These things shouldn't be considered crimes." He fell silent for a moment, and then his voice softened. "No, I don't deserve to be punished, and neither do you, my friend. Your brother's death was his own fault, not yours. He failed to make his own choices. He let himself be used as a pawn, and where did it get him? Stop blaming yourself, Anubis. You can make better choices than Horus did. You can step up

and embrace the things we have to offer you. Are you wise and brave enough to do that?" Michael was trying to read the look on Aiden's face. He couldn't actually be considering joining with Zuriel could he? Not after everything that had happened. "Zuriel," he said, "I am a very old man. The prospect of power holds no temptation for me anymore. The ONLY thing I am interested in now is redemption. The time for your choice has come. Either submit to your sentence, and go through the gateway, or leave us in peace." "You STUPID OLD FOOL," shouted Zuriel, becoming enraged. "The seal that Uriel placed on that gateway has kept me out for thousands of years. I've been wracking my brain trying to figure out how to open it up, and I've come too far to let you stop me. Why don't you hand over that staff of yours before I remove some crucial body parts from your little friend here." He rushed toward Michael, but Aiden held up his left fist. His ring shone with the same blue light as it had before, and Zuriel collapsed in pain. "Aagghh." He yelled out. "Where did you get that ring you DIRTYahhhhhhh." As the light shone brighter, his pain became greater. "I may not be able to put you back in that hole, but I can make you very sorry that you decided to show your face here today," said Aiden. "Now go!" Fleeing from the light, Zuriel dashed for the exit, but just before going through, he changed back into his red dragon form. He threw all of his weight into a slide, striking the side of the entrance with his tail before slipping out into the passageway, which crumbled in behind him. For the second time that day, he had trapped Michael and left him to die. "Well," said Aiden, "let's get on with it then." Without another word, Aiden walked between the two large statues and into the chamber they guarded. Michael followed him, silently. Once inside, Michael saw two stone obelisks standing about twelve feet apart, the green colored smoke drifting slowly and sporadically from between them. They were each covered in some sort of writing, which at first he thought was Egyptian, but taking a closer look he couldn't recognize any of the characters or figures. This was something else. He could see through the space between the two pillars, but noticed that the stone blocks of the wall on the other side looked a bit fuzzy. Every now and then, some sparks would sizzle out from various places between the stones, seemingly out of nowhere. It was as if something invisible were being welded in thin air. "Zuriel has been tampering with the gateway again," Aiden told him. "It's very unstable." "What are you going to do," Michael asked him. "Fix it?" "No my boy. This nexus needs to be closed once and for all. Zuriel knows how to open it now, and I'm afraid it would be much too dangerous to allow it to exist." "But what about capturing him? He was supposed to be escorted inside before the nexus was closed, wasn't he?" "Yes," Aiden responded seriously. "But without my brother here to apprehend him, well; I'm afraid that the task of detaining Zuriel must now fall into the realm of someone else's responsibility. Now if you want to be able to find your way out of this place, then listen very closely to me." Aiden gave him detailed instructions on how to find his way out. He made Michael repeat the directions back to him several times, ensuring that he knew them well. When this was done, he once again touched the staff to the ring he was wearing. Both items glowed brightly, and he held them together for several minutes before moving them apart. He took the ring off and held it up before Michael.

"Put this on. It will protect you from what's about to happen." "But what about you?" asked Michael as he put the ring on. It was much too big and he had to clench his hand to keep it from sliding off. "Don't worry about me. If I had done the right thing in the first place none of this would have happened. My brother wouldn't have died all those years ago, and who knows what might have been." He sounded sad, but there was also a tinge of relief in his voice. "Remember me Michael. It took me a very long time to atone for and correct my mistakes, but remember that in the end, I did the right thing." Michael nodded his head. "I will." "You are a courageous and loyal young man, Michael. Farewell." He held his staff up before him in the air and closed his eyes. Tightening his grip on the handle, the staff began to glow more brightly than Michael had ever seen it. The nexus opened up before them. Swirling green light and smoke moved around inside like a whirlpool. The ground around them began to vibrate, as dust came loose and spilled down from the ceiling overhead. A loud ringing sound could be heard, and Michael put his hands over his ears. Light from the staff shone out around them with an intensity that made him feel as if he were staring at the sun, even though his eyes were now closed. Suddenly, he heard a large crack, like a clap of thunder, and felt an incredible surge of energy blast through his body. It was very much like what happened to Anubis when Uriel had given him the staff. Everything had gone silent, and Michael cautiously opened his eyes to look around. The obelisks began to crumble before him, littering the floor with debris and charred stone. The gateway had clearly been destroyed. He stood there, alone, surrounded in a cloud of dust and gray smoke, looking at the remaining pieces of Anubis's staff as they crackled and smoldered on the cold stone floor. Michael had never been particularly good with directions, not as good as Liam anyway, but he had made sure to pay close attention to Aiden Osiris as he'd instructed him to get out of the necropolis. The problem that he faced now however, after he had covered half the ground from Aiden's directions, was that the passageway before him was blocked off with large boulders and chunks of rock. The way of escape had been damaged during either the battle with Zuriel, or the collapse of the nexus. Michael did not know which, but it was evident that this was a recent collapse, as small bits of dust and stone were still occasionally coming down. Michael sat down against the wall to rest and gather his thoughts. He looked at the ring that Anubis had given him before closing the gateway. It had saved his life, but cost Anubis his own. He knew that having plenty of time to ponder recent events later would depend on focusing on getting out of the tomb right now. "Well, I can't get out through the prison where my parents were being held," Michael said to himself, "which eliminates returning the way that Liam and I came, as well as the route that Abby brought Uncle Link." Michael had no maps, and couldn't remember anything from the ones he had seen from McGinty's diaries or from his father's work. Now he wished that he had studied them more closely when he'd had the chance. He held the faery lantern up and looked at the rock walls around him. Should he go

exploring, searching blindly for some way out of these catacombs? He wasn't comfortable with wandering away from familiar territory, but if every known way of escape had been cut off, it didn't really matter. After resting for a few minutes, he got up, gathered his things, and set off down the passageway to explore. He walked back the way he had come, returning to a cave not far from where the gateway had been, and headed down a tunnel he had noticed on his way through. It had looked like a good place to start, but after following it for a while, it came to a dead end. He backtracked many times, returning from dead ends and impassable sections back to tunnels or passageways he thought looked promising. This went on for hours, until he became exhausted from walking and climbing over rocks. Realizing he had gotten himself hopelessly lost, he found the most comfortable looking place he could, and laid down to rest. Fear and confusion were on the verge of taking him over, but he knew he must fight the temptation to give in, and keep a calm, level head. He now regretted wandering off to explore. Should he have stayed where his family would know to search for him? It wouldn't have done any good. It would take weeks, perhaps months to clear the cave in, if it was even possible to do so. He wondered if Liam was all right. Had they been able to get him out; take him to a hospital? What about his Uncle Link? What of the rest of them? Had they all made it out safely, or had Zuriel gone for them after his confrontation with Anubis? Questions flew through his mind like shooting stars and he laid his head down upon his backpack. He set the small blue faery lantern upon his chest. It had revealed nothing to him as he searched for a way out, but he was still thankful he had it with him. It's light made him feel warm and calm when he looked at it. Perhaps some sleep might do him good. He would think more clearly after some rest. He was just about to close his eyes, when he noticed a small movement off in the distance a few dozen feet away. His heart leapt within him, as he sprung up to a sitting position and scanned the shadows. A small, brown hare jumped out onto the ground in front of him, and eyed him inquisitively.

Chapter 20 Answers and Questions

It was about eight thirty in the morning when Liam rushed into Michael's room and woke him up. "Come on sleepy-head, it's time for breakfast." Liam stood leaning on his crutches outside the bathroom door, chatting up a storm as his friend combed his hair and got dressed. He couldn't seem to stop talking about the things that had gone on in Egypt, and wanted to hear Michael's story about Anubis and the gateway over and over again. "I can't believe you followed that rabbit out of the catacombs," Liam said excitedly. "It was just like that story Elizabeth told us. How weird is that?" "Yeah," Michael told him with a smile. "You should have seen the looks on the faces of those Japanese tourists when I pushed out those bricks and crawled out of the wall." "So your father was right all along. There was an entrance to the necropolis from the

Temple of Horus in Edfu. He's pretty good with maps, I wonder why it didn't rub off on you?" he said jokingly. There were still a lot of pieces of the story that didn't seem to click. What exactly were Aiden Osiris and his brother? Where did the immortals come from? How did Zuriel factor in to it all, and whom was he trying to free from the domain of Tartarus? These were the questions that Liam kept asking, but his friend had no answers. When Michael was dressed, he and Liam headed downstairs to the kitchen. Their fathers were sitting at the table along with Uncle Link and Mr. Finnegan. It looked like they were having a serious discussion, so they stood quietly at the door and listened. "I justI really don't know about this," said Link. "I've never thought of myself as much of a role-model." "Nonsense," Mr. Belmont told him. "Michael and Abby both look up to you, and I've seen you around children. You love kids, whether or not you're willing to admit it." "What about the boy's family? I know his parents are dead but he has to have somebody else who can care for him," Link retorted. "Do you mean to suggest that we send a six year old werewolf back to say, his grandmother?" asked Finnegan. "Perhaps an aunt or uncle? How would we explain it to them? Can you imagine a happy ending to such a story?" "Whatever family the boy may have left has thought him dead for over a year now," said Mr. MacDonald. "It may be wise to maintain that illusion, at least until we find out what kind of people they are." "I agree with all that," said Link. "I justdon't know if I'm ready for this." "Well, you're the best choice for obvious reasons," Mr. MacDonald told him, "but if you refuse, then we'll have to keep the boy here. I honestly think that all things considered, he would be happier, and safer, with you." "You wouldn't be alone Link," said Mr. Belmont. "Your sister and I would be there to help. Elizabeth too." "Elizabeth? What do you mean?" asked Link. "Well, Rachel and I have talked it over. Our lifestyle has been pretty hard on the kids lately, and with the events of the last few months, we'd really like to keep the family a bit closer. Elizabeth has accepted a job as the children's private teacher. That way we can bring them all along on assignments. We're hoping it'll keep things a little more stable for Michael and Abby." Link got a contemplative look on his face, as if he didn't know what to think of this last bit of news. "Honestly Link, when are you going to break down and admit what everyone seems to know but you," said Mr. Belmont. "What do you mean?" The tone sounded unusually meek coming from his uncle. "You know exactly what I mean. She really loves you Link, but she's not going to wait forever." "She deserves better," he said. "And if she knew what I really was, wellhow could she really love someone like me?" "Maybe," said Mr. MacDonald, "you should respect her enough to let her decide that for herself." They sat for a moment in silence. "Besides," Mr. MacDonald went on, "she seems to enjoy playing with Sir Nigel. She probably wouldn't mind throwing a stick for you from time to time."

Every once in a while Mr. MacDonald said something that reminded Michael where Liam got his sense of humor. Link got a small smirk on his face. "Watch it," he warned. "Oh come on," retorted Mr. MacDonald. "It's time for you to, as they say in Texas, 'Cowboy up'." Link sat for a moment, his arms folded in front of him. "All right, I'll give it a try. But only if the boy is willing to go." "Good man," said Mr. MacDonald, slapping him on the back. "Why don't you stick around for a few days and get to know the tike? Besides, after coming to save us, you deserve a little vacation." Michael and Liam walked into the room as if they had just arrived. "Who deserves a vacation?" asked Liam, pretending he hadn't heard. "Boys," said his father, "if you two want to be proficient eavesdroppers, you may want to consider skipping a few more meals." They looked at each other, and Liam shrugged. "Well," he said, "speaking of meals, what's for breakfast?" Mr. Belmont shook his head, and Link stared at them with a raised eyebrow. "Whatever you two feel like making for us," said Finnegan. Rachel Belmont sat on the grass, leaning back on her hands with her face pointed up to the sky. The sun warmed her bruised but smiling face, and she breathed the fresh air deeply into her lungs. Although the last few weeks had been agonizing, her family was now safe once again. Michael walked up and lay on the ground beside her. With all of the things he had seen lately, he was glad to enjoy a few quiet moments alone with his mother, but there were some questions that kept gnawing at him, questions that he knew his mother would be expecting. "Mom, why didn't anyone tell me that uncle Link was a werewolf?" he asked her. She laughed quietly. He knew that she wasn't laughing at him, but it was still irritating. "Your uncle is not a werewolf," she said pointedly. "Then what is he?" he quickly came back at her. "Your uncle is a shape shifter," she said, as a matter of fact. He looked at her with confusion on his face. "Werewolves," she began slowly, "well, werewolves are a kind of shape-shifter, that is to say, a mutated or deranged form of shape-shifter." "What's the difference?" Michael asked, with coldness in his voice. "Well, shape-shifters can change form whenever they want to, and each shape-shifter takes a unique form. Your uncle just happens to take the form of a wolf. A Mexican Gray Wolf to be more precise." "What happened to turn him into one of those, ershape shifters?" She laughed again. Michael's mother often got a bit giggly when she was in a particularly good mood. "Well I'm glad you think it's funny," he said shortly. "Abby almost got eaten by a group of those things, and me and Liam too, if Mr. Finnegan hadn't shown up to rescue us." "I'm sorry," she said with a more sympathetic and concerned look on her face. "I know what you've both gone through, and I'm so thankful you're safe now. But like I told you; your uncle isn't a werewolf. Nothing happened to him to turn him into what he is. He was born with his

abilities. It's something thatwell, its something that runs in the family." Michael looked down for a moment, trying to take in what his mother had just said. He looked at her apprehensively. "Can you turn into a wolf too?" he asked her. Again she laughed. "No. I can't turn into a wolf." She cocked her head sideways and added with a mischievous wink, "But I can do this." She looked around to make sure no unwelcome eyes were watching, and to Michael's astonishment, shifted into a red-tailed hawk before his very eyes. She playfully hopped on the ground and flapped her wings. Then she let out a screech and lifted off into the air, shooting up toward the west tower of the castle. She circled it, and then flew up so high Michael almost lost sight of her. Suddenly, she shot back down like a rocket, alighted gently to the ground beside him, and turned back into the long blonde-haired women he knew as his mother. The vision of Anubis and Horus, racing as young boys, came back to him as he watched her. "Are you and Uncle Linkare you immortals?" he asked her slowly. "No," she said. "To be honest with you Michael, I'm not entirely sure what we are. I think Mr. Osiris could have answered some important questions for all of us. It's a shame we didn't have more time with him." He sat silently for a moment before speaking. "And what about Abigail and me? Will we I mean are we going to be?" The question didn't seem to surprise her. "I don't know, Michael. Like I said, it does run in the family, but it doesn't seem to be something that's passed on to everyone." "Do you know of any others? Other shape-shifters I mean?" She nodded her head. "Yes, we know a few. You might even know some yourself." "And they are?" he said to her in excitement. "Well, Mr. MacDonald for one," she told him with a mischievous smile. "It's not a coincidence you know, the work we all do. We've been searching for answers Michael, trying to find out where we came from, why we are the way we are." She looked at him, and the expression on his face told her he was trying to process it all. "You know though, the most important thing we could ever have has nothing to do with our abilities. Or with knowing where or how we got them. The greatest gift we could ever have is the one we've already been given." He looked at her, expecting her to go on. "But you already know what that is, don't you?" He nodded. Michael looked toward the front doors of the castle, where Abigail was dragging her father out by the arm, Sir Nigel dancing around their heels. She threw a tennis ball across the lawn, and he bounded after it. Mr. MacDonald and Liam had followed them out, and laughed to see Abigail tackle her father to the grass. Michael smiled, knowing he had allowed her to do it. He had always thought of McGinty castle as a home away from home. But now he realized that as much as he'd always enjoyed this place, it wasn't the castle or the beautiful countryside that brought him joy while staying here. Michael didn't know what kind of things his family and friends would be facing in the days to come, but for now, they were together, and they were safe. The End

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Ethan Russell Erway, author of the fantasy novel MICHAEL BELMONT AND THE TOMB OF ANUBIS, has been a life long fan of the fantasy and science fiction genres. His second book, MICHAEL BELMONT AND THE HEIR OF VAN HELSING, is due for release in the fall of 2012. Ethan has a Bachelor of Sacred Literature degree from Summit Theological Seminary, and is the Minister at Agua Fria Christian Church in Humboldt, AZ where he lives with his wife Kara and sons Gabriel and Caleb. Connect with Me Online: http://www.EthanRussellErway.com http://twitter.com/@ethanerway http://www.Facebook.com/EthanRussellErway Smashwords

Acknowledgments: Special thanks go to my wife Kara for providing feedback and helping me edit, Amanda Clavet for her work on the cover illustration, Kyle Wachs, and everyone who takes the time to read this book.