Michael Belmont and the Tomb of Anubis (The Adventures of Michael Belmont) (15 page)

"I think we need to have a serious talk about the friends you've been hanging out with," he told the dog before dropping his head to the pillow.

It was a busy morning, as everyone was getting ready for the flight to Egypt.
 
Uncle Link had sent ahead a shipment of equipment, so that he and his friends could set up a base of operations as soon as they arrived.
 
All that was left to do now was catch the flight.

"You be a good boy, Rush," Link called to his dog as he pulled the gate closed and punched in the security code.

"System armed," came a soothing female voice.

"Who did you get to take care of your dog?" asked Elizabeth.

"Oh, he can take pretty good care of himself.
 
He's a lot 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 rolled her eyes in irritation.
 
She didn't appreciate getting 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, and barked again, excitedly.

As they drove to the airport, Michael watched the familiar red rock mesas and high desert forests pass away beside them.
 
It was beautiful country.
 
He'd seen many wonderful places over the years while traveling with his parents, and was always amazed that there were so many interesting parts of the world to explore, and how unique each of them was.
 
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 comfort of familiar territory so soon.

Everyone was quiet as the car sped along, as no one was in much of a mood for small talk.
 
Michael had been pondering the events of the previous night, and he thought it was strange that his uncle had been nowhere to be found while 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 soften the blow for his next few questions.

"I've seen things that would turn your hair white," Link responded.
 
"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 sighed.

"Have you ever seen any monsters?" Michael asked timidly.

"I've seen lots of monsters.
 
Killed me lots of monsters too," his uncle said seriously.

Elizabeth glared at him in annoyance. "Don't tease the boy, Lincoln."

"I don't tease, woman," Link told her.
 
"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 any…any werewolves?"

The man actually looked taken aback.
 
"What kind of television have your parents been letting you watch lately, Michael?"

"So, you haven't ever seen any real werewolves?"

"Of course he hasn't," Elizabeth broke in.
 
She sounded sympathetic, as if she thought he might be losing his mind, and felt sorry for him. "Because there are no such things as
real
werewolves."

"Now just hold on a minute, 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.
 
"You know, Michael and Abigail are getting a little old to believe any of 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'd recounted his adventures for them.

"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 indignantly.

"You still haven't answered my question," Michael persisted.
 
He'd continued to stare at his uncle the entire time, trying to read the man's expressions and see if his suspicions might be correct.

"No, I've never seen any werewolves.
 
But I
have
heard stories.
 
Stories from very credible sources that make me believe the things could very well exist.
 
Most of the accounts 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."

Michael wondered what that was supposed to mean.
 
"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?"

"Well," said Link, "Shamus McGinty was a pretty eccentric character, known for collecting all kinds of bizarre things, and he was a man who saw all kinds of action.
 
He could have picked up stuff like that almost anywhere, who knows why he'd want to display it."

"See what I mean?" Elizabeth insisted.
 
"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'd said something terribly wrong, and gaped at Michael with wide, guilty eyes.

He knew what she was thinking.
 
She was afraid she'd just put a new nightmare 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, Mike, you need to take things like that with a grain of salt.
 
Why are you so concerned with monsters and werewolves all of a sudden anyway?
 
Is there something you're not telling me?"

Uncle Link's eyes peered back and forth between him and the road.
 
Michael couldn't see anything in those eyes that led him to believe the man was lying.
 
Maybe he didn't know all that much after all.

"No," he responded.
 
"The pictures hanging in 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'd gotten ahold of an Egyptian tourist guide, and began to tell the children about some of the things they could see around the city of Edfu.

Michael nodded at her a few times before drifting off to sleep.

The supplies and luggage were being loaded onto the plane as Michael sat looking out across the tarmac.
 
There wasn't as much stuff as he thought there would be.
 
From the way his uncle, Bill, and Jesse had been talking, he half expected to see a full sized cannon loaded 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 rent a car and drive down to Edfu.
 
Michael was eager to get going, but he was not looking forward to the long flight.

It was Elizabeth however, who seemed 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?" Liam asked, leaning over toward Michael to peer out the window.

He followed Liam's gaze, but didn't see anything.
 
"Where?"

Liam bobbed his head this way and that, trying to get a good luck.
 
"That's odd.
 
I could swear I just saw a man out there standing in the middle of that flight line, watching us."

"I don't see anyone," Michael told him.

Liam continued to stare.
 
"Very strange, I could have sworn he was right over there.
 
Well, maybe I just 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.
 
I don't know, 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 on his face, 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.
 
Michael caught his uncle's eyes, who gave him a reassuring smile before tipping his hat down over his face and leaning 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.
 
He missed her.

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 having entrusted 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 Abigail 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, but found himself feeling anxious and impatient.

Elizabeth had offered to keep the children at a hotel in Edfu, and even Link had agreed it might be a good idea, but they all 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 afterwards.

 
Elizabeth, who now looked more relaxed and like her old self, took the children to get settled in.
 
Michael and Liam had a tent of their own right next to a tent shared by Elizabeth and Abigail.

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 saw that he didn't seem quite as bothered, and envied him for it.
 
His friend was a bit more used to this kind of heat.

After they got situated in their tents and finished unpacking, one of the workers, a pudgy, kind man named Sallah, agreed to show them the entrance to the necropolis.
 
It was only a stone's throw away, and when they got there, Michael was a bit underwhelmed.
 
The sand had been cleared away from a simple sandstone wall, with a rectangular door carved out of the rock.

"It's actually quite…unremarkable," Liam observed.
 
"Is that the word I'm looking for?"
 

Michael shrugged before nodding 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, to which a pair of large feet and ankles still clung.
 
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 quite good.

"Look over here," he walked over to point out some nearby rubble.
 
Michael could make out the gnarled face of a jackal peering up at them; part of which 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.