The Scepter Read online

  The Scepter: An Archaeological Thriller: The Relics of the Deathless Souls, Part 3

  Tom Hunter

  Copyright © 2018 by Tom Hunter

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

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  One

  Josh unlocked the door to his room, the rest of the party trooping in after him. He headed straight over to the mini bar, and cursed when he saw that it was alcohol-free.

  “Dammit!” In his frustration, he slammed the fridge door shut so hard it bounced open again. “I could kill for a beer right now. Remind me again why we had to come to a country with such strict ideas about alcohol?”

  Samuel flopped back on one of the twin beds, staring at the ceiling. “So that’s that, then,” he sighed. “We’ve lost Fatima, and now the Bruard have a major asset to exploit. We’re screwed.”

  “An asset?” snapped Akhenaton. “Fatima’s not an asset. She’s the leader of my Order, a woman worthy of our respect. We should have never let the Bruard take her. I should have died first. I swear before almighty God that if they harm one hair on her head, the Bruard will regret it. I will rain down mighty fury upon them.”

  “I hear that,” nodded Samuel, propping himself up on his elbows to speak to Akhenaton directly. “And believe me, the thought of her in the custody of a brute like Pin sends shivers down my spine. But it wouldn’t have done any good for you to die senselessly to make a point. Rushing the Bruard back there would have only earned you a bullet in the forehead. We’ll get her back, but we can’t just go rushing off half-cocked. We need a plan.”

  “We already have a plan,” Shafira pointed out. “Fatima gave us that jump drive for a reason. She gave us explicit instructions to use it to find the next two locations. Wouldn’t it make the most sense to do what she asked? I mean, I hate the idea of leaving her with Pin too, but there’s a bigger picture at stake. Fatima is one woman. I don’t want to be the one to have to say it, but we can’t focus on her safety when the fate of the world is at stake. Shouldn’t we have a look at what’s on that drive first before we decide on the best way forward?”

  “We should,” Samuel agreed. “But there’s only one problem. We haven’t got a computer.”

  “That’s not a problem, my friend,” beamed Waleed. “Leave it with me. If you give me a few moments, I can pick one up for us.”

  “And by ‘pick one up’ you mean ’steal’?” Josh snorted. “I don’t think so. In case you hadn’t noticed, the penalties for thieves ‘round here are pretty harsh. Besides, we’ve already drawn way too much attention to ourselves by trashing Samuel’s hotel room and then getting caught up in a car chase. It’s a miracle the authorities haven’t come pounding on our door already. We’ve certainly done more than enough to attract their attention.”

  “I think Waleed’s right.” Everyone, including Waleed, gasped at Akhenaton’s words.

  “You’re kidding me, right?” Josh rolled his eyes. “Mr ‘I’m so moral’ is now suggesting that we steal a laptop? Isn’t that against one of the commandments or something?”

  “We have to find a way to get Fatima back,” Akhenaton replied. “Nothing else matters. God will understand, and protect us. We are working in His service after all.”

  “Yeah, that’ll go down real well with the judge,” sneered Josh.

  “You’re wrong!” protested Akhenaton. “Forget about the jump drive. We have to figure out where Pin took her and rescue her as a matter of urgency. That has to be our number one priority. I can’t believe that this is even up for discussion.”

  “But, Akhenaton,” Shafira pleaded, “Fatima already said in her note that she sacrificed herself to save us.”

  “I’m sorry, Akhenaton.” Samuel’s tone was firm. “This is exactly what Fatima wanted. You agreed to follow my orders and I’m ordering that we figure out what’s on that jump drive and go to wherever it sends us.”

  “If that’s what you truly believe is best, I’ll follow you, but mark my words. One day you’ll see that you were wrong about this. I won’t hold my breath waiting for your apology.” Akhenaton stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

  “That went well,” remarked Josh, eyebrows raised. “You don’t think he’s going to go after Fatima on his own, do you?”

  “No.” Waleed was quick to speak in support of his companion. “For all his protests, Akhenaton will always follow the strange laws of his Order. He agreed to follow Samuel and that’s what he’ll do, even if it tears him up inside.”

  “I don’t know.” Shafira bit her lip. “He had a dark look in his eye that mirrored how I was feeling when I was questioning the wisdom of our mission. He cares a great deal about Fatima. If anything could make him disobey Samuel, his need to rescue her could be what pushes him over the edge. She is the head of his Order, after all.”

  “All right.” Samuel stood up. “Leave it with me. I’ll go and talk with him, make sure he’s still on our side. I’ll find a way to make him see sense.”

  “No, don’t.”

  Samuel looked down in surprise at Waleed’s hand on his arm.

  “I’ll go and talk to him,” Waleed offered. “I think I’ve got a better chance of getting through to him. Akhenaton and I have an understanding. I get where he’s coming from and I haven’t fled the group yet. I want to give Akhenaton the same kind of support and understanding that he’s shown me.”

  “Yeah, that’s just what we need,” drawled Josh. “Trusting our resident thief to think about someone else for a change. What could possibly go wrong?”

  “I’m offended!” protested Waleed. “Haven’t I done enough to prove myself to all of you? You should give me some credit. I’m just as much a part of this team as the rest of you. Or why am I still here?”

  “All right, all right, don’t get too worked up. I’ve had about as much drama as I can stand for one day,” said Samuel, rubbing at his forehead to stave off a headache. “You can go and speak to Akhenaton. You’re right. Maybe you will be able to get through to him better than me. You do have a way with words after all, and maybe Akhenaton has had enough of being ordered about for the time being.”

  Waleed’s smile lit up his face. “I won’t let you down, my friend. You’ll see.”

  He turned and hurried out of the room to catch up with Akhenaton.

  “You aren’t really going to trust Waleed on his own, are you?” asked Basile.

  “Of course not,” scoffed Samuel. “I’m going to follow him, just to make sure he doesn’t try and ditch us. Let’s be honest. Waleed’s always going to have some kind of side scam running. I wouldn’t put it past him to use this as an excuse to persuade Akhenaton to run away with him. I’m keeping him on a short leash for the foreseeable future.”

  He crossed over and quietly left the room, not wanting to tip off Waleed that he had company.

  “All this fuss for one lowlife. If it were down to me, I’d have just shot him by now,” muttered Josh.

  Two

  Akhenaton sat on the curb of the road outside their motel, the dust thrown up from the passing traffic swirling around him. Sighing heavily, he leaned back to rest on his elbows, gazing up at the stars in the sky. They twinkled in the dark, oblivious to the misery of the man observing them.

  “What am I to do?” he murmured, as if seeking divine inspiration. Sighing again, he sat back up, resting his elbow against his knee and propping up his head with his fist. He watched the cars driving down the street, not really paying attention to them. He envied their occupants, and their freedom to go wherever
they wanted. Duty was all that was keeping him with Samuel, and right now, he was questioning whether his loyalties were misplaced. How could any man prioritize a fool’s errand over the life of a woman like Fatima?

  “Go away, Samuel,” he said at the sound of footsteps approaching from behind. “I’m not going to do anything to betray the group, so you don’t have to worry about me.”

  “I wasn’t worried about you.”

  Akhenaton started at the sound of Waleed’s voice, as the man sat down next to him. “Waleed? What do you want?”

  Waleed shrugged. “All right. Maybe I was a little bit worried, my friend. I figured that it was my turn to look after you, so I came out to check that you’re still thinking straight. It’s been a tough day for all of us, and I wanted to be sure that what happened to Fatima hasn’t upset you too badly. I know it must be tough for you to know she’s in the hands of the Bruard. I can’t imagine what she must be going through.”

  “Ha!” scoffed Akhenaton. “Talk about the understatement of the century. I don’t understand how Samuel can be so cold and abandon her for the sake of whatever’s on that jump drive. Would it really be so hard to at least consider a rescue mission? There are enough of us that he could split the group in two, and send at least a couple of us to save her.”

  “I may not be Samuel’s biggest fan, but I’ve seen enough of him to know that this wouldn’t be an easy decision for him,” Waleed observed. “He’s not as hard-hearted as I am. He’ll have thought through all the options before being certain that this is the right thing to do. Now, if it were down to me, I’d sell the jump drive and use the proceeds to get as far away as possible from this whole mess. I’m sure there are more than a few people on the black market who’d pay a pretty penny for whatever information it contains.”

  “Is that so?” Akhenaton fixed Waleed with a look. “Why do I get the feeling you’ve been thinking about doing just that?”

  Waleed laughed. “You caught me, my friend. I won’t deny that I have seriously considered stealing the drive for myself, but there’s something that stopped me doing it.”

  “Don’t tell me that you’re growing a conscience.” Akhenaton shook his head, scoffing in disbelief.

  “Oh, nothing as dramatic as that,” Waleed reassured him. “Although I can’t tell you exactly what it is that made me change my mind.”

  “Maybe being part of a group is growing on you,” Akhenaton suggested.

  “Noo!” Waleed shook his head vociferously. “I’m a lone wolf. Always have been, always will be. Besides, it’s not as though those guys like me. Have you heard the way that Josh speaks to me?” He put on a gruff voice in imitation of the pilot. “’Something’s going wrong. It must be Waleed’s fault. Something’s gone missing. Waleed must have stolen it. It’s raining. Waleed must have hidden the sun.’” He snorted and reverted back to his normal voice. “No, I don’t think that I owe anything to the rest of you. I’m sticking around for as long as it suits me, but one day I’ll have to follow my own path again. I’m just waiting for the right moment. Anyway, we’re not supposed to be talking about me. What’s behind you storming off like that? Shouldn’t you leave that kind of dramatic gesture to Shafira? It’s more her style than yours.”

  Akhenaton sighed once more. “It’s hard to explain to outsiders what it’s like growing up in my Order. The leader holds an almost mythical status among us. When you can’t even know their name or gender, you conjure up images in your mind of someone who’s larger than life, someone closer to God than you could ever be.

  “Although I knew it was unlikely because of our secrecy laws, I dreamed my whole life of meeting our leader. In my imagination, they would instantly see my potential and invite me to join their personal guard. My work with the guard would lead me to becoming chosen to be their successor, and I’d make sure the Order continued to uphold our most sacred principles, honor and integrity.” He laughed bitterly. “What a fool I was. I’m completely unworthy to lead. Where’s the honor in abandoning Fatima to whatever horror the Bruard has in store for her?”

  “What we’re doing is tantamount to fighting a war with the Bruard,” Waleed pointed out. “And with war comes casualties. Much as it stings, Fatima’s sacrifice is an acceptable loss. There’s always going to be some collateral damage.”

  “Collateral damage? Is that really all she is to you?”

  Waleed held up his hands in a gesture of surrender at the anger on Akhenaton’s face. “No, no, of course not,” he reassured him. “Look, I’m not exactly good at comforting people and I don’t have Samuel’s way with words. I mean no offense. It’s just that Fatima knew what she was getting into when she accepted the role of leader within your Order. It’s one of the downsides of being a leader–you have to put others before yourself. If Fatima thought we could or should rescue her, then she’d have put some kind of instruction on the jump drive to that effect. She is an incredible psychic after all. Allegedly. And maybe that is what we’ll find when we unlock it. But if it’s not, if instead we’ve got directions to find those other artifacts, that’s what we should do. If you really want to honor your leader, then you should respect her wishes. And her wishes were very clear: we need to follow the directions she’s given us. Even if it pains us to do so. I think your dreams have come true, just not in the way that you envisaged. I think Fatima saw exactly what kind of man you are and trusted you to follow her commands.”

  Akhenaton nodded slowly. “You’re right. That is what she would want us to do. Thanks, Waleed. You’ve helped me see things from a different perspective and gave me just the kick up the butt I needed.”

  “That’s me,” beamed Waleed. “Butt kicker extraordinaire!” He patted Akhenaton gently on the back. “Are you going to be all right, my friend?”

  “I’ll be fine,” Akhenaton reassured him. “I just need a bit of time alone.”

  “I will leave you to it, then.” Waleed nodded and moved to get up, but Akhenaton put out a hand to stop him.

  “One quick question.”

  “Of course.” Waleed sat back down again.

  “Why the change of heart? I mean, you’ve made no secret of the fact that you’d be happy to leave the mission at the first opportunity, yet you’re still here and, not only that, you’re trying to convince me to stay as well. Why would you do that?”

  Waleed smiled ruefully. “You all keep telling me what a terrible person I am, that I’m a fraud, a liar. Well, you’re right. I do lie. All the time. I know I say that I like you all about as much as you like me, and I know you can’t stand me, but the truth of the matter is that there’s something about this group that’s worth sticking with, at least for the time being. And if you tell anyone I said that, I’ll have to kill you.” He wagged his finger threateningly at Akhenaton, who laughed.

  “Don’t worry,” he promised. “Your secret’s safe with me. We’ll make a savior of the world out of you yet.”

  “Meh.” Waleed shrugged. “I’m not really all that bothered about that side of things. Between you and me, I doubt that the hat the Bruard stole is anything more than a pretty accessory. There’s no real power to it. Even if we do nothing, sooner or later the world will stomp out the Bruard when they get tired of them, just like they did the Nazis.”

  “You shouldn’t doubt the power of the relics,” Akhenaton warned. “My Order was formed to keep them safe for a reason. We wouldn’t have stood guard for centuries if there wasn’t a good cause.”

  “You keep telling yourself that,” Waleed sneered. “In my experience, religions always find some way to justify their existence, knowing that they’re founded on a bedrock of lies. If only people would wake up to the fact that there’s no mystical father figure watching over us all, the world would be a happier place. However, in the unlikely event that I’m mistaken about your saint’s relics, I’ll hold Samuel back myself so that you can destroy them all. Speaking of which…” Without turning, he made a beckoning gesture. “You can stop hiding and join us, Samu
el.”

  Samuel sheepishly slunk out from behind the corner where he’d been eavesdropping on their conversation.

  “How long did you know I was there?” he asked.

  “You don’t survive long in the circles I move in if you aren’t always constantly aware of your surroundings,” Waleed replied. “Besides, you were like an elephant in your approach. If you’re going to sneak up on people, you need to work a little more on your stealth. I can teach you if you like. Come on. Sit with us. It’s a lot more comfortable than standing around in the shadows.” Waleed patted the ground next to him.

  “Maybe some other time,” Samuel glanced back at the hotel. “To be honest, I think we should all get some rest. We’ve got long hours in the library tomorrow and you won’t be able to study properly if you’re tired from talking all night.”

  “Studying in the library? Yay! I can’t wait,” sighed Waleed.

  Three

  Pin strode through the labyrinth of corridors beneath his private estate clutching St. Augustine’s papal cap in his hands. Following close on his heels, Gord dragged Fatima along, not caring that she frequently stumbled trying to keep up with his fast pace. Whenever she fell, he simply yanked her up again, barely breaking stride.

  The servants entrusted with working downstairs scurried to stay out of Pin and Gord’s way, knowing better than to draw attention to themselves. One cast a pitying glance at Fatima as she passed, but most didn’t even risk doing that little, simply glad that they weren’t the ones in Gord’s grip.

  At last, Pin came to a halt in front of an unmarked door. He waited patiently for Gord to drag Fatima up to the door, before rapping smartly on it.

  A short, bald man wearing round glasses opened the door. He bore more than a passing resemblance to Mahatma Gandhi, which was somewhat ironic, given that his profession couldn’t have been more contrary to the famous pacifist’s philosophy.