stood up and led the way back to the door. Just before Alec followed him out of the room, he glanced back at his uncle.
What could make a man change so completely? Whatever had happened to him, it must have been terrifying.
With a sigh, Alec watched Ethan lock the door behind them. âIs that really necessary?â he asked.
âIâm afraid so. Heâs . . . unpredictable. Theyâre afraid he might harm himself.â
They began to retrace their steps along the corridor.
âIs there no hope for him?â asked Alec.
Ethanâs face was expressionless. âIâm sorry, kid. The doctors whoâve seen him say heâs a hopeless case.â
âPerhaps if we got him back to Cairo â or even London?â suggested Alec.
âYouâve seen the condition heâs in. I doubt heâd be strong enough to make such a journey.â
Alec rubbed his bruised wrist. âFor a minute there he
seemed
strong enough,â he observed.
They dropped off the key at reception and made their way out onto the street. An inquisitive crowd of natives had gathered around the Crossley and were poking and prodding at it, as though convinced it had just dropped in from outer space. However, they fell back obediently to allow Ethan and Alec to climb into their seats. Some of them reached into their pockets and started brandishing homemade ârelicsâ.
Ethan got the engine running and then swept off back the way they had come. Soon they were driving sedately out into the desert again.
âUncle Will kept saying,
Heâs out
,â said Alec.
âYeah. Not sure who heâs talking about though. Seems to have something to do with the tomb. He didnât want us to open the door. Butthat doesnât make any sense. Itâs what he and Tom worked for all those years.â
â
Heâs already out. Iâve seen him
,â mused Alec. âYouâre sure itâs Akhenatenâs tomb?â
âWell, the seals on the outer door sure have his name all over âem. But until we get into the burial chamber, we canât be certain.â
âAkhenaten is interesting,â said Alec. âHeâs one of the least known pharaohs. After his death, the people who succeeded him did everything they could to erase his memory. They destroyed his statues, his temples . . . In his official tomb in Amarna, even his sarcophagus was smashed into tiny pieces.â
Ethan frowned. âYeah, why was that exactly?â
âWell, most people think that it was because he banished all the popular gods that people had been worshipping for years and made them worship only one, Aten, the sun disc. It was the start of monotheism.â
Ethan looked at Alec doubtfully. âFor a kid, you sure know some fancy words,â he said.
Alec smiled. He was beginning to like the American. He loved the way he didnât try and pretend he knew more than he did. Most adults would have just nodded, as though Alecwas telling them something they already knew.
âUncle Will always believed that Akhenatenâs followers must have rescued his mummy and had it reburied in the Valley of the Kings, away from harm,â said Alec. âSome archaeologists think that his mummy is the one they found in tomb fifty-five in nineteen-o-seven, because all identifying features had been erased; but Uncle Will never accepted that was him. He thinks itâs the body of Smenkhkare, another missing pharaoh â and I agree with him.â
Ethan grinned. âI ainât about to argue with either of you,â he said. âSounds like you both know your stuff.â
âUncle Will kept saying that he was already out . . . Do you suppose he meant that Akhenatenâs mummy was gone? Maybe tomb robbers got there before Uncle Will did and stole the remains.â
Ethan shook his head. âNo. As far as we can see, nobody ever broke into this tomb. It was
Learning to Kill: Stories