Page 36 (1/2)

"I told you! We’re all s, believe me, I’d fly out of here! By the hat year is it? Who’s the ehed, then rushed on: "You know, Claude, I’m sure we can help you"

"We can?" I said "Oh, right! We can!"

Walt nodded encouragingly "The thing is, we have to find so first"

"A scroll," I put in "Part of the Book of Ra"

Claude scratched his considerable jowls "And this will help you send our souls to the next life?"

"Well…" I said

"Yes," Walt said

"Possibly," I said "We don’t really know until we find it It’s supposed to wake Ra, you see, which will help the Egyptian gods I’d think that would i into the afterlife Besides, I’ods They pop over for tea from time to time If you helped us, I could put in a word"

Honestly, I’d just been s to say I’et nervous

[Oh, stop laughing, Carter]

At any rate, Mad Claude’s expression beca our bank accounts I wondered if the Roman Empire had used chariot salesined hia: Iaway chariots at these prices!

"On good terods," he mused "Put in a word, you say"

Then he turned to Walt Claude’s expression was so calculating, so eager, it made my skin crawl "If the scroll you seek is ancient, it would be in the oldest section of the cataco before we Roetting into the Duat for them But their burial sites are still intact, lots of relics and so on"

"You’d be willing to show us?" Walt asked, with ed

"Oh, yes" Mad Claude gave us his best "used chariot salesman" smile "And later, we’ll talk about an appropriate fee, eh? Co, host offers to guide you deeper into a burial site and his name includes the word Mad, it’s best to say no

As we passed through tunnels and cha coula the date merchant: "Horrible name! But once you’re named for an emperor, even a psychotic one, you can’t dosousting ive a slave a sword, well…you can guess how he died!" Octavia the legion commander’s wife: "Went completely native! Had her cat mummified She even believed she had the blood of the pharaohs and tried to channel the spirit of Isis Her death, needless to say, was painful"

He grinned at me like this was extremely funny I tried not to look horrified

What struck me most was the sheer nuold Their portraits were so lifelike, their eyes seemed to follow me as we passed They sat on ornately carved marble slabs surrounded by valuables: jewelry, vases, even some shabti Other mummies looked as if nursery school children had made them in art class They were crudely wrapped, painted with shaky hieroglyphs and little stick-figure gods Their portraits were not much better than I could’ve done--which is to say, dreadful Their bodies were stuffed three-deep in shallow niches, or simply piled in the corners of the room

When I asked about them, Mad Claude was dismissive "Commoners Wannabes Didn’t have money for artists and funeral rites, so they tried the do-it-yourself approach"

I looked down at the portrait of the nearest e I wondered if her grieving children had ift for their mother Despite the bad quality, I found it rather sweet They had no money and no artistic skill, but they’d done their best to lovingly send her to the afterlife Next time I saw Anubis, I would ask him about this A woman like that deserved a chance at happiness in the next world, even if she couldn’t pay We had quite enough snobbery in this world without exporting it to the hereafter

Walt trailed behind us, not speaking He’d shine his light on thiseach one’s fate I wondered if he was thinking of King Tut, his famous ancestor, whose tomb had been in a cavern not too different fro tunnels and crowded mummy rooms, we arrived in a burial chas had faded, but they lookedpeople and hieroglyphs that actually for decoration Instead of realistic facial portraits, thefaces I’d seen on yptian death masks A few had crui

"Natives," Mad Claude confiryptian nobles fro for should be somewhere in this area"

I scanned the room The only other dooras blocked with boulders and debris While Walt began searching, I remeht helpthey would point the way like a dowsing rod, but nothing happened

From the other side of the roo in front of some sort of shrine--a niche set into the wall, with the statue of a ure was carved from wood, decorated with jewels and precious ht of the torch He held a golden staff with a silver djed syolden rodents--rats, perhaps The skin of his face gleauessed "Er…I mean Osiris, isn’t it?"

Mad Claude arched his eyebrows "Your dad?"

Fortunately, Walt saved"No," he said "Look at his beard"

The statue’s beard was rather unusual It was pencil thin froht bit cooatee--as if sorease pen, then stuck the pen on his chin

"And the collar," Walt continued "It’s got a tassel thing hanging down in back You don’t see that with Osiris And those animals at his feet…are those rats? I reht you were priests," Mad Claude gruod is Ptah"