hieroglyph symbolizing the concept of treasure, here”—he pointed to a carving—“also has the sign of the Sons of Egypt over it. Therefore that word in particular is of great importance.”
I listened to him mumble as he traced his finger across the wall. Nothing he said provided me with any reassurance and instead my imagination conjured all types of horrors. I heard The scepter of she before whom evil trembles; the jewels of she who defeated the sphinx; the first wife of Amun; the crown of the Mistress of Dread; the spear of the Lady of Carnage; and the claws of she who mauls. None of those things sounded particularly good. One thing was certain—I definitely didn’t want to cross paths with whatever woman was being described. Then I realized something.
“It sounds like an inventory list,” I said, interrupting his ruminations.
“Yes. There does seem to be some reference to the treasure here.”
“What’s with all the names anyway? Why can’t a person just be called by their normal name instead of a lengthy descriptive title?”
Dr. Hassan blinked. “Two reasons. First, a title of such vivid description is more likely to induce the masses to show respect and to worship. But the second reason is more important. In the name lies veritable power. To know a person’s true name is to control them. This is the main reason why true names are hidden.”
“Then do you know who it is they’re talking about here?”
“On the surface I would assume Sekhmet, since many of those names are used to describe that goddess, but if I was to pull out only the terms bearing Amon’s symbol, I get treasure, sphinx, Amun, and lady. If I group only those and rework them, it says, ‘The treasure of Amun is his lady sphinx.’ ”
“Interesting. So what’s next?”
“Can you take notes?”
“Absolutely.”
Dr. Hassan handed me a small notepad full of his archaeology notes. At least one of us is prepared. Carefully, I turned the pages until I found an empty section, and jotted down phrases as he read. It took an hour to finish the first wall, though he worked very quickly. By the time we neared the end, I had scrambled phrases on dozens of pages. Tiring out, I was about to ask Dr. Hassan if we could return the next day when he exclaimed, “It’s here! I’ve found the key to the rite.”
I was watching him closely as he mumbled incoherently, enough that even though he tried to hide it, I caught a glimpse of the cold dread cross his face.
“What is it?” I demanded. “Tell me.”
Dr. Hassan rubbed his hands over his tired eyes and blew out a breath. “It’s a riddle, and we’ll have to solve a number of them before we gain access to the spell.”
“A riddle? How do you know?” I flipped back and forth through my pages, trying to piece together the circled words. It was all Greek—er, Egyptian—to me. If there was a secret question hidden in them, I couldn’t make it out.
He patiently explained, “It is the most commonly known riddle of the sphinx. Perhaps you’ve heard of it: ‘What goes on four feet in the morning, two feet at noon, and three feet in the evening?’ ”
“Oh, I know this. I read about it in school.”
“Yes. Well, the typical answer is man, or a human. A babe crawls in the dawn of its life, walks upright during the middle of it, and uses a cane near the end. This is not, however, the correct answer here.”
“Then what is?”
“In this case the answer is Amon.”
“Amon? How?”
“In his first death, he fell to his hands and knees; then Anubis raised him into the next life, where he walked on his own two feet. Now he is at the end, where he hobbles through the netherworld, leaning upon his sword.”
“But how did you know the answer?”
“It’s backwards. Anubis gave us the answers first. Remember that Amun was in the very first group of terms?” I nodded. “Amon is an incarnation of Amun. That is the answer to the first riddle.”
“The first riddle?”
“Yes. There will be three more. And the answers will be treasure, sphinx, and lady. This is the symbol of Amun, the sun god. If I am correct, this will lead us to the next question.” Using two fingers, he pushed on the hieroglyph and pieces of stone began to shift like a giant puzzle box. When it settled, some of the stones had turned upside down while others moved lower and some disappeared