❝death is only the beginning.❞
Mara El-Masri's fascination with the long-ago world of ancient Egypt started with the stories her stepfather would tell her when she was a child. Her brother Talib El-Masri is missing, left after their mother's funera...
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IT WAS QUIET IN THE MUSEUM, much quieter than it should have been at this time of day, but it was none of their concern as Evy led their group through Cairo's Museum of Antiquities. After the attack in Burns' quarters, his horrid death at the hands of the mummy, she had immediately brought them here in search of answers. She was sure she knew who could have them—the man who tried to turn them away from seeking out Hamunaptra in the first place.
"He does seem to like you, Evy," Jonathan remarked as they walked.
"Yeah, what's that about?" O'Connell added.
"What's this guy want anyway?" asked Henderson.
"There's only one person I know who can possibly give us any answers," Evy told.
"I'm starting to think his burning the map wasn't an accident," Mara concurred.
Evy glanced back at her and nodded, indicating she agreed with her position on it. None of them had been paying attention to Terence Bey when the map had burned. Mara should have realized it sooner. It was too coincidental for the fire to burn only the part of the map with the city of Hamunaptra and nothing else, even if they had gotten to it quickly.
It had been only days since Mara set foot in the museum, yet it felt like it had been years. Still, she knew nearly every hall and every exhibit by heart, and she knew exactly where Evy was leading them. The group of six reached the entrance to the Seti I gallery and Evy swiftly turned on her heel into the room. This was one of the most likely places to find the curator.
They did find the curator there, but it was what else they saw that had everybody stopping in their tracks. Terence Bey stood to the right of two other men, and he wore long black robes and did not look surprised to see them entering. To the left was the leader of the men who had attacked at Hamunaptra. He did not look surprised either. The curator and the leader had both been facing the third man in the room, who stood between the others. The third man was different. The man who stood between them wore a face of regret when they entered the gallery.
"You!" exclaimed Evy when she saw the man from Hamunaptra.
"Baba?" questioned Mara when she saw her father.
Jamil El-Masri did not wear black robes like the men he stood between. He was still dressed as she had seen him earlier. Mara still stared at him like he was dressed identically to Bey and the leader, identically to the men who had attacked the barge and the ruins. What was he doing here, in the museum where she worked, speaking to the one man they thought could have answers and to the one man who had warned them to leave Hamunaptra?
