The Vesuvius Isotope (The Katrina Stone Novels) by Kristen Elise Ph.D. Read Free Book Online Page B

recent data with me—the stuff I am not yet discussing in public. But first, what are the stakes? What do I get if I’m right?”
    “Dessert?” he offers, and I refrain from asking what delectable treats are on the menu.
     

    Alyssa Iacovani’s intelligent green eyes were unblinking as she waited for my response to her revelation.
    “So you’re telling me,” I finally said, “that Cleopatra was the person who wrote this? That she was the person who discovered this… medical phenomenon? That she was some kind of doctor? That’s ridiculous!”
    “Is it?” Alyssa smiled, and she motioned with her arm to direct me toward an exhibit room. As she pushed the door open and we stepped inside, she gestured broadly around the room.
    “Allow me to introduce you to the queen,” she said.
     

    The room’s display was entitled The Ptolemaic Dynasty . It began with a mosaic. The faded, heavily damaged piece depicted an ancient battle, centered around a lone soldier on a horse.
    Painted below the mosaic was a brightly colored full-scale reproduction of the same image. The accompanying description identified the soldier as Alexander the Great, founder of the city of Alexandria, Egypt.
    A beautifully illustrated timeline gracing all four walls told of the legacy that followed. Key events were annotated in Italian and English alongside painted images of the players involved.
    I walked along the walls and allowed my eyes to absorb the dynasty as it flowed from Alexander the Great through Ptolemy I and eventually to Ptolemy XII.
    After Ptolemy XII, there was Cleopatra.
    A slender figure in a black sheath dress, she wore upon her head a crown of horns with an orb between them. Centered on her forehead above dark, seductive eyes was the small poised head of a snake, its body wrapped horizontally around her head, partially hidden by her lustrous black hair. An additional snake graced each wrist, these of gold.
    The thick eyeliner extending far beyond the corners of her eyes accentuated their warm almond shape. The queen’s lips were full and the deepest red, and one hand brought a single purple grape toward them. The other hand was wrapped loosely around the bunch.
    “This room,” Alyssa said from behind me, “I did not put together.”
    I turned to look at her.
    Alyssa glanced at the image of Cleopatra and rolled her eyes. Then she began to motion with her hands across the images on the walls. “The timeline is accurate, at least.
    “Cleopatra was the last Egyptian ruler from the Ptolemaic dynasty, but she was of Greek descent. The empire was created by Alexander the Great, who bestowed the kingdom upon a fellow Macedonian, and one of his most trusted generals, who became the first Ptolemy king. Cleopatra’s father was Ptolemy the Twelfth.
    “There are two images missing from this wall—those of Cleopatra’s two brothers. They did not live long enough to rule the kingdom for any significant length of time.
    “When her father died, he left the dynasty to Cleopatra and to her brother Ptolemy the Thirteenth, with instructions that they marry and rule jointly. They did this for a brief time.
    “But Cleopatra was not satisfied with the arrangement, so she raised an army against her brother and husband. This effort initially failed; Ptolemy overthrew Cleopatra’s army and exiled her from Egypt.
    “During this exile is when she took up with Julius Caesar. The year was 48 BCE. Caesar arranged a false reconciliation of the estranged couple so that he and Cleopatra could murder her brother. One year later, after Cleopatra married her even younger brother—Ptolemy the Fourteenth—and became the Egyptian queen once again, she gave birth to Caesar’s son. Shortly thereafter, Ptolemy the Fourteenth died of a mysterious illness—probably poisoning by Cleopatra. Thus, she managed to secure the Egyptian monarchy exclusively for herself twice in one year.
    “In short, this was a highly ambitious woman.”
    Alyssa paused to lead me