The Seven Swords of Diya: An Indiana Jones Fan Fiction Part 1

Chapter 54: The Treasury, Canyon of the Crescent Moon, 1960

Canyon of the Crescent Moon

1960

Professor Jones strode through the narrow crevasse at the top of the stairs, swinging his umbrella jovially. Indy tackled Emily and Shorty, all tumbling to the floor.

Indy hit the floor and rolled, coming up on his feet, horrified and waiting for swinging blades.

"Dad?" Emily asked confused and still on the floor.

Shorty's baseball cap brim was bent, hiding half his face. "Indy?"

"There..." Indy stared at the thick layer of dust, trying to see any ropes or archaic machinery. "Last time I was here, there was a trap. It... would cut people's heads off. I - I thought it was still here...." He looked around.

Professor Jones was already in the next room. "Coming, Juniors?"

"Dad - did you not put the traps back?"

Professor Jones turned around and shrugged. "Why would I, Junior!? The grail is buried!"

"If I know anything about artifacts they don't stay buried," Indy retorted. Carefully he bent down, offering his hand. "Sorry, Em. Are you all right?"

"Yeah. But can you just warn us next time?" Shorty asked, his one eye shut. "My ball cap nearly stabbed me in the eye!"

Emily adjusted her hat. "That's why you gotta wear a fedora. Coming, Grandpa!" She strode into the next room, pushing cobwebs out of the way.

Indy bolted after her, stopping her before she could take a step onto the tiled floor with Latin letters on it. "Jehovah starts with an 'I' in Latin."

Emily blinked. "I know that, Dad. But I'm not sure why I need to know it here. Someone already broke the j."

Indy looked around, avoiding Emily's gaze. "Uh...yeah. That was me. In 1938. Dad...?" He called. "You didn't leave any of the traps?"

Professor Jones whistled, listening to the sound echo through the chasm along with the wind.

"Dad!" Indy followed him. "You need to put the traps back! You're the guardian of this place! You can't have people wandering in and out all over the -" Indy stopped. "I hear humming. I know that humming."

Emily and Shorty paused in the narrow passage by two lions heads, slightly behind Indy. Before them was a massive chasm.

"Dad... how did Grandpa get across?"

Indy swallowed. "Its a leap of faith, Em. I crossed this bridge a long time ago, looking for the Holy Grail... in order to save Grandpa's life..."

"So we're just supposed to trust that something is there?" Shorty questioned.

Emily gave a shrug. "Sounds like what we do with legends and mythologies all the time. The stories weren't just stories to the ancient peoples." She fearlessly stepped onto the bridge that Indy had hesitated over in 1938 - and his heart nearly leapt out of his chest in the present.

Emily offered Indy a charming smile and then did a flip.

"Em! Emily! Your eye! Watch your balance!"

"I'm fine, Dad," Emily smiled, reaching the other side of the canyon.

Shorty stared into nothingness, peering over the rim. "Is she crazy, Indy?"

"She's my daughter," Indy shuddered, then offered a half grin. "That's the only thing crazy about it. Shorty... don't look down."

Too late. Shorty shut his eyes, trying to shake away the image of the bottomless canyon. "Indy, do you hear humming?"

"Yes. Don't look up."

Shorty reflexively did exactly what Indy had told him not to do. "Wow. Its beautiful - what is it?"

The shimmering shadow in the corner hovered next to a golden box with two cherubim angels facing each other on top.

Indy knocked Shorty's hat brim down. "Don't look at it. That's the angel of death. She hangs out with the Ark of the Covenant....which I thought the US government had. Dad... why is the angel and the Ark of the Covenant here?"

Professor Jones' voice echoed from the other side of the chasm. "She goes with the Ark, Junior!"

"I know that, Dad!" Indy started to cautiously cross the canyon on the narrow, nearly invisible slab of rock.

"Then why are you complaining?!"

"Because it melts people's faces off, Dad!" Indy stepped safely over the edge and crawled into the grail room, with Shorty following. He dusted off his trousers and stood to his full height. "And, Mac said the US government had the Ark."

Professor Jones laughed. "Junior, do you seriously believe that the Israeli government would allow one of their sacred artifacts to sit at an airbase in the middle of the desert among crystal skulls, ancient aliens and atomic bombs?"

Indy swallowed. "They offered you that job too...?"

Professor Jones stood primely holding his umbrella. "Yes, Junior. I had to inform them of their misunderstanding. I'm certain there are skulls of power somewhere, but I don't believe that I, or you, are qualified to do that kind of work."

"Who is?" Shorty asked.

"Most likely a shaman, con artist, nutcase... or a terrible writer." Professor Jones replied with a shrug.

Emily stood gazing around the room. It was lit with torches, each of them reflecting the gold of multiple sacred ornate chalices lined up on tables. "Are these the grails?"

"They are the false grails," Professor Jones explained. "Drinking from them is rather life threatening... as opposed to things that can give eternal life." He looked at them. "You'll have to pardon me... I was in the middle of cataloging them when you dropped by."

"Cataloging the false grails?" Shorty asked. "Why?"

"I spent forty years studying grail lore, my boy," Professor Jones replied. "Now I'm in charge of their custody. I took over for the knight who originally guarded the treasure, one of three Crusader era brothers. Why shouldn't I catalog the artifacts?" He moved to a space between the long table like stone platforms where the grails sat. "There is certainly more to see."