Harriet Potter in: The Mummy

Chapter 9

No one said anything for a while. I could tell this spooked O'Connell. I think he's come to realize that Luna is more than she seems. He listens to her.

After another moment, Jonathan looks around and said, "I say, what's our smelly little friend got himself up to?"

I hummed and said, "Probably went to take a piss or something." Eve gasps at my language and I sigh, "He did drink a whole skin of water just going through those tunnels."

Jonathan snickered, O'Connell smiled, Luna giggle, and Eve tried not to laugh. Soon everyone got back to digging and deciphering the script around the room.

Eve finally started talking about the mummification process, and O'Connell looked grossed out. "Lemme get this straight, they stuck a sharp, red hot poker up your nose, cut your brain into small pieces, then ripped it all out through your nostrils?"

Jonathan winced and said, "Ouch, that's got to hurt."

I responded, "It's called mummification. You'll be dead when they do this."

Jonathan said, "Still..." and shivered.

O'Connell sighed and said, "Remind me. If I die, not to become a mummy."

I snickered and said, "Noted."

Eve laughed and said, "You guys are worse than a couple of school children."

Suddenly, a huge chunk of the roof just suddenly gives out. O'Connell grabs Evelyn since she's closer and jerks her clear. Jonathan dives for the far wall. Luna and I were lucky enough to be far away to stay still. A massive stone casement drops out of the ceiling and crashes to the floor. Dust flies and fills the room.

A few minutes later, the dust is starting to clear. O'Connell, Evelyn Luna, Jonathan and I slowly get up and step over to the massive stone casement.

Eve speaks first and says in shock, "Oh my god... it looks like, it looks like a sarcophagus."

O'Connell looked up at the ceiling and said, "Why would they bury somebody in the ceiling?"

Evelyn shook her head and said, "They didn't, they buried him at the foot of Anubis. He was either someone of great importance..."

I then said seriously, "Or he did something very bad."

Eve starts to clear the dirt off of the sarcophagus revealing a single, ominous hieroglyph. We stare at it and Jonathan impatiently strums his fingers across the lid.

He finally breaks and says, "Well...? Who is it?"

Luna, who had been silent up until that point said, "He that shall not be named."

I sighed. Great. Another one.

O'Connell then scrubs off more dirt and says, "There's some sort of lock here. You say these things are made of granite with a steel interior?"

Evelyn answers, "Quarried granite with a cobalt lining."

Jonathan whistles, "Whoever's in here, sure wasn't getting out."

O'Connell says, "No kiddin', without a key, it'll take us a month to crack this thing."

Evelyn gasps and says, "A key! That's what he was talking about."

We all look at her in confusion. What man? O'Connell said, "Who are you talking about?"

Evelyn starts rummaging through Jonathan's pack saying, "The man on the barge. The one with the hook, he was looking for a key." She pulls out the trinket with triumph.

I was still confused and said, "What man?"

Jonathan yells out, "Hey, that's mine!" he tries to grab it but Eve slaps his hand away and unfolds the box. I can see it now; it's shaped exactly like the lock's keyhole. Eve smiles.

Before Eve got to try it out, we hear the warden scream. O'Connell grabs his gun, Luna and I stealthily take out our wands, and we run after the screams. We finally see the warden. He's running around ripping his hair out of his head and screaming like a madman. Jonathan and O'Connell try and grab him, but he shoves them aside and runs full speed down the labyrinth corridor and slams his head into a rock wall. He drops to the ground. Silent.

We all stand there, staring, when O'Connell goes forward slowly. He takes a moment to look at the warden and says, "He's dead."

Eve gasps, and Luna and I look at each other. What happened? She shook her head. She didn't know. We all decided to call it a day, and head back to camp. We buried the warden outside of the city and our whole group was solemn.

We made dinner and ate it by the campfire when Evelyn says, "What do you suppose killed him?"

Jonathan snorted and said with no remorse, "Did you ever see him eat?"

I laughed and spotted O'Connell come over and he said, "Seems the Americans had a little misadventure of their own today, three of their diggers were killed."

Eve looked shocked and said, "How?"

O'Connell shook his head and said, "Salt acid. Pressurized salt acid. Some sort of ancient booby-trap."

I looked at Luna and she looked at me and nodded. So that's why she said it was hot.

Jonathan looks at the fire and said, "Maybe this place is cursed."

We all felt a gust of wind blow through the camp. While normal people wouldn't have felt it, I felt the magic within the wind. Something was going to happen. Something big. I locked eyes with Luna again and she nodded. Shit.

Evelyn just laughs at our faces and says, "Oh for goodness sakes you guys."

O'Connell raises and eyebrow and says, "You don't believe in curses, huh?"

Evelyn snorts and says, "No. I believe if I can see it and I can touch it, then it's real. That's what I believe."

O'Connell cocks his gun and grins, "I believe in being prepared." He looks over at us and says, "What about you two?"

I said seriously, "There are many unexplained things within the world. I believe that there is magic, and that it can either cause great harm... or great good."

Luna looks at the fire and says, "Love has great consequence, does it not?"