Deir El-Bahri
As Xaria had predicted, the sky was clear and the moon was bright, flooding the valley with light.
They all stood on the edge of the cliffs looking down at the temple.
They were all dressed in sand-colored jumpsuits.
Xaria adjusted her belt of throwing daggers that were around her thigh and across her chest.
Xander re-sheathed his twin kodachi swords after checking the blades.
Raylin stood watching the others, appearing unarmed while her long coat flapped in the breeze.
Senemut looked down into the valley.
The temple was easily visible from where they stood.
It had a wide stairway that led in and the corridors were lined with massive pillars.
“I am surprised that there are no guards on the cliffs,” Hatshepsut said.
“I think they have patrols,” Senemut replied.
“We need to move quickly.
Raylin, you’re up.”
Raylin looked out towards the desert and raised her hand as her eyes glazed black.
The wind stirred, blowing harder and harder until it raged.
Soon whirling sand surrounded the temple.
Senemut grabbed Xander and Xaria as he jumped down the cliff, landing without a sound.
Hatshepsut followed while Raylin floated down behind.
As soon as they made it into the building, Raylin released her spell, leaving the outside guards dusty and confused.
Senemut lead them through the dark corridors until they reached an area that was open and allowed the light to pour in.
It had once been a garden, but now it was nothing more than weeds and sand.
Hatshepsut looked around the area feeling a whirlwind of emotion.
Her mind wandered back to the days she used to walk these halls and how she use to spend hours in all the gardens.
But this garden, this garden was her special place, hers and Senemut’s.
“Do you remember where the entrance is?” Senemut asked.
“You have forgotten?” Hatshepsut hissed back.
“No, I was just wondering if you had,” Senemut said, laughing.
“The look on your face was so worth it.” Senemut walked over to the farthest wall and began feeling on the wall.
Hatshepsut shook her head and walked over to Senemut.
“You know where the door is but you cannot remember how to get in?” Hatshepsut poked.
“You were the architect.
How could you forget your own creation? The source of this chapter is novelping.com.
Step aside.” Hatshepsut kicked aside some brambles and revealed an odd stone on the ground.
Hatshepsut pressed it with her foot and a section of wall began to slowly slide open.
“We need to hurry,” Xaria said.
“The guards are coming this way.”
Everyone rushed into the narrow stairway.
As the door shut, lights flickered on and lit their path.
Just as it was in Hatshepsut’s dream, the hall was clear of spider webs and dust.
There wasn’t even one scorpion to clamber over.
Senemut lead them deeper down into the Earth.
Soon they came to another door.
It was made of metal and had a keypad next to it.
“This is new,” Senemut said.
“So is this keypad.”
Xander began to dig around in his bag.
“If ya’ll give me a sec,” Xander said, “I’ll have this door open.”
“I will take care of it,” Hatshepsut said.
She placed her hand on the pad and froze the circuits.
The door opened revealing an open space.
As in her dream, the room was lavishly furnished with sofas and draperies.
At the back of the room was a desk with a computer on it.
The wall behind it was covered with flat screen TV monitors.
The only thing that was different from her dream was the floor.
No Persian rugs or animal fur covered the floor.
It was bare and dusty.
Senemut looked around cautiously through his reptile eyes, looking for the body heat of any one that may be there.
“Xaria, can you see what the danger is now?” Senemut asked.
“No,” she sighed.
“I still feel as if something is interfering with my visions.
Maybe we will have to come close to triggering it before I can see what it is.
All I can see is a big pile of sand.
As of right now, we are fine.”
“I don’t see any piles of sand,” Xander said.
“There is mystical energy,” Raylin said.
“I can feel it.
“Okay then,” Senemut said, “we’re looking for anything that will lead to the person that lives here.
Look carefully.
We don’t want to trigger any security mechanisms.”
“Don’t trip over booby traps,” Xander said, walking in.
“Gotcha.
I’m gonna hack the computer’s hard drive and see if its owner left me a present.”
“We’ll check out everything else,” Senemut said.
They spread out looking among the shelves and cushions.
As they were looking, they did not notice that the dust on the floor began to move.
“What do you think this is?” Raylin asked gazing at a golden statue on one of the tables.
It was a serpent sitting up on its coils with its mouth open as if to strike an opponent.
It was made of pure gold with emeralds for eyes.
It was beautiful yet terrifying.
“It is probably a totem of some sort,” Hatshepsut said as she glanced at it.
“Snake worship was not uncommon during our time.”
The drifting sand had begun to accumulate in front of the desk where Xander sat.
“I think I may have something,” Xander said.
“I found an encrypted file.
I’m gonna download it.”
“Perhaps this trip wasn’t a waste after all,” Senemut said giving Hatshepsut a smile.
Hatshepsut rolled her eyes.
After all the sand had collected, it began to take shape and grow.
No one noticed the pile of sand until it had finished its metamorphous into a huge creature.
“Senemut!” Xaria cried.
“Who turned out the lights?” Xander asked, looking up.
He came face to face with a sand-colored snake.
Its body was as wide as the desk he sat behind.
It rose on its massive coils, bumping its head into the low sandstone ceiling.
The snake hissed low as it opened its massive jaws, preparing to swallow Xander whole.
“No!” Xaria cried as she began throwing daggers at the snake.
Its thick hide felt nothing as his head came down.
“Son of a—!” Xander said as he grabbed his flash drive from the computer.
“Xander!” Xaria screamed as the snake crashed into the desk with gaped mouth.