Jake Ransom and the Howling Sphinx Page 4

  Suddenly Jake lowered the watch, twisted around, and reached under his bed where he kept a backpack always prepped. He yanked it free and unpinned a square badge fixed to the outside.

  “What are you doing?” Kady asked.

  “Let me think,” he said, teetering on a realization.

  The silver badge was the size of his thumb, with four crystals mounted on it. In the center rested a white crystal as bright as a diamond. Positioned around it in the shape of a triangle were three other stones: a ruby, an emerald, and an icy blue sapphire. They represented the four main crystals of Pangaea, the four cornerstones of that land’s alchemy.

  He turned to Kady. “Do you remember when I placed my flashlight in the Astromicon along with a blue crystal, and they fused together?

  “Yeah, you created some sort of freeze ray.”

  Jake picked up his father’s timepiece. “Watches like Dad’s also have crystals in them. Jewels, actually. Rubies, emeralds, sapphires, diamonds. What if Dad put his watch inside something like the Astromicon? Maybe that’s what gave his watch the power to open the gateway back here. If so, Dad’s watch may be a key to other portals.”

  Kady scrunched up her brow. “But we’ve tried everything with it. Nothing’s worked.”

  “I said it’s a key. Before we can use it, we have to find the lock that it fits.”

  Jake stared down at the open watch. On the inside of the case, someone had inscribed a picture.

  An ankh, the Egyptian symbol for “life.”

  Both of them knew this must be an important clue, another bread crumb on the path to discovering the true fate of their parents. It was why Jake had been researching Egyptian history, mythology, and writings so heavily. Now he realized that the symbol was more than a clue to their parents’ fate. It was a signpost to that lock.

  Jake felt pieces falling into place in his head. He didn’t have all of them yet. It was like a half-completed jigsaw puzzle. A part of him recognized the danger of acting without that complete picture, but he pushed such reservations aside in his excitement.

  “Someone must know that Dad’s watch can act like a key,” Jake said, swinging off the bed and standing. “That’s why they came for it.”

  “But why now?” Kady asked, parroting his earlier question.

  Jake pointed at her. “Exactly!”

  Kady frowned her confusion.

  “Why now?” Jake stalked the room, barely able to hold back his excitement. “Haven’t you sensed this strange feeling building over the last couple of days, like a freight train’s barreling toward you?”

  Kady had been looking at him as if he were crazy, but his last words struck a nerve. He read it in her face.

  “So you feel it, too!” he shouted.

  She sat straighter. “I’ve hardly been able to sleep these past two nights. I thought it was the double mocha lattes from Starbucks.” Kady stood up and joined him. “But what does it mean?”

  “We’ve been bounced back and forth in time like Ping-Pong balls. That must have some effect on us physically. Maybe somewhere at the submolecular level we’ve become tuned to time’s flow. Maybe it’s jacked up our intuition.”

  “Okay, now you’re losing me, Einstein.”

  Jake’s mind spun with possibilities beyond even his comprehension. He shook his head to ground himself again and lifted the watch. He pointed to the ankh symbol.

  “I think this is meant to point us to the lock that fits Dad’s key. Something Egyptian.”

  “Okay, I get that much.”

  “Then it also explains why those thieves came after the watch today.”

  She frowned—then her eyes got huge. “Because tomorrow you and Uncle Edward are taking the train to New York City to go see that show at the museum—an Egyptian exhibit.”

  Jake nodded. “That’s why someone tried to steal the watch from us. The new exhibit must hold that lock we’re looking for. Our bodies have been trying to warn us about it, to get us ready.” Jake faced his sister. “Tomorrow we have to go to the museum. Both of us.”

  “But I have fencing practice with my team in the morning.”

  He gave her an exasperated look.

  Like Jake with Tae Kwon Do, Kady had found her own sport: fencing, also known as sword fighting. It seemed that her short stint with her Viking friends in Calypsos had whet her appetite for the flash of blade and the dance of death. And Jake had to admit that she was good—maybe not Viking warrior good—but her natural grace and athleticism served her well. Of course, in typical Kady fashion, she had also begun training her cheerleading squad with swords as props, turning that deadly art into a rousing show. There was even talk of taking the performance to the regional cheerleading championship at the end of summer.

  “I don’t want to do this alone,” Jake pleaded.

  And he meant it.

  As much as he hated to admit it, he needed her. She was the last of his family, and he didn’t want them to be separated, especially by eons of time.

  “Quit being a dork,” Kady said. “Of course I’m going. Just try stopping me.” She crossed to the door. “So get reading, Einstein. We need to know as much as we can.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  Kady glanced back with a raised eyebrow and a mean smile. “I have to sharpen my sword.”

  4

  MUMMY’S CLAW

  Outside the Lincoln Town Car, the great metropolis of Manhattan blared, honked, shouted, and growled as the morning rush hour traffic slowed to a snail’s pace. Jake sat in the back, craning at the stack of skyscrapers. Kady manned the other end of the seat, staring out at Central Park. Between them, Uncle Edward leaned forward to urge the driver yet again.

  “Sir,” he scolded with his usual British etiquette, “we must reach the American Museum of Natural History before eight o’clock. We have a strict appointment.”

  The driver lifted both hands from the wheel in a forlorn gesture. “Mack, what do you want me to do? Whole city’s a parking lot at this hour.”

  Uncle Edward leaned back and folded his hands in his lap.

  A grumble rose from the passenger seat up front. “Take that corner up ahead,” Morgan Drummond commanded. “Cut through the park. Quit trying to run up the bloody meter.”

  The driver looked ready to argue; but after seeing something in Drummond’s face, he hauled hard on the wheel and bumped over the curb to make the turn.

  Kady reached to the pack at her waist. “Uncle Edward, I have my cell phone if you want to call your friend and tell him we’ll be late.”

  “We won’t be late,” Morgan said, and turned to the driver. “Will we?”

  The driver hunkered lower over his wheel.

  Jake studied the back of Morgan’s head, trying to figure out the man. The Brit had insisted on accompanying them to the city to act as their bodyguard after yesterday’s attack.

  This morning, Uncle Edward had attempted to talk them out of going—or at least to postpone the trip—but Jake had balked, supported by Kady, who insisted that she wanted to go shopping. Uncle Edward eventually crumbled, knowing it was best not to come between Kady and a sale at Saks Fifth Avenue.

  Even Aunt Matilda thought it best to get the children out of harm’s way for the day. She had a cleaning crew scheduled to come in, along with insurance adjusters. The police would continue to keep an extra eye on the place.

  So at the crack of dawn, they all headed to the train station for the ride to the city. Now, two hours later, the Town Car finally pulled to the curb in front of the American Museum of Natural History. Stone steps scaled up to the row of giant pillars at the museum’s entrance. The massive building looked like a great temple, one dedicated to science. Over the years, Jake had spent countless days worshipping in its halls and sprawling exhibits.

  As he popped the car door open, his heart pounded harder.

  He shared a look with Kady. Her eyes shone. Jake knew that she must feel it, too. The pressure of the past day had grown almost painful
. He climbed out, anxious to get inside and begin their search.

  “C’mon,” he urged the others, and hiked his backpack over his shoulder. In preparation, he had donned hiking boots and loose pants, and wore a vest with scores of pockets, filling them with everything he might need for a return to Pangaea.

  Kady was similarly attired in clothes suited for the field: a pair of jeans, a T-shirt under a loose blouse, and boots—though the heels looked more suited for a catwalk than a woodland trail. She also had a chic Louis Vuitton pack snapped around her waist.

  She crossed to the trunk of the car and fetched her other bag. It was pink and shaped like the barrel of a bazooka. The long tube held her fencing sword.

  Uncle Edward stared at her with his hands on his hips. “I still don’t know why you had to bring that thing with you, young lady.”

  Kady shouldered her bag. “Because I’m shopping for a new sword. It’s not like I can find one in North Hampshire. And I needed my old one to compare the weight and balance to the new one.”

  “But yours is only three months old.”

  “Exactly. Definitely time for a new one.”

  Edward shook his head and gave up. Morgan stared at them, his arms folded, his eyes pinched with suspicion.

  “Let’s go,” Uncle Edward said.

  As a group, they climbed the steps.

  A giant banner hung over the entrance, heralding the upcoming exhibit. It depicted King Tut’s golden mask hovering above the Great Pyramid of Khufu. The show wasn’t due to open for another two days.

  At the doors, a small figure pounced out to greet them. He wore a huge welcoming smile and was dressed in a brown waistcoat with midcalf boots. His jowls were fringed by shaggy gray sideburns, spreading like wings to either side of his head. He also wore round glasses. His look and large belly reminded Jake of an older Teddy Roosevelt.

  “Ah, there you are, you limey buzzard!” He gave Edward a huge hug. “How long has it been? Ten years?”

  “Thirty,” Edward corrected, but his usual stern resolve melted into something more boyish. “As I recall, it was at the twenty-fifth reunion of our old unit.”

  Edward turned to the others and made introductions, ending with Kady and Jake. “And these two are Katherine and Jacob Ransom.”

  The man’s eyes grew huge. “By golly, these can’t be Battle-ax Bart’s grandchildren!”

  “They are indeed.”

  Jake lifted an eyebrow. “Battle-ax Bart?”

  Edward explained, “A nickname for your grandfather. Bartholomew got the moniker from the hatchet he carried with him through the desert campaign in Africa.”

  Jake had heard stories of those battles, but he’d never heard this one.

  Edward clapped his friend on the shoulder. “And this is Professor Henry Kleeman. A leading Egyptologist. He still spends most of his time out in the field. Apparently he liked the desert so much during the war, he never left it.”

  Henry waved away his words. “Enough! Come on inside. Let’s get out of this heat. I get enough of that in Egypt.”

  The professor led them into the entry hall, through the main rotunda, and past a massive skeleton of a barosaurus.

  “We’re setting up the Egyptian show on the fourth floor, so we have some climbing to do.” Henry hurried them along. “The main museum opens to the public in another two hours. I wanted to give you as much private time to explore the exhibit as possible. And there’s lots to see! We’ve got artifacts dating back to the earliest Egyptian dynasties. From jeweled scarab beetles to massive sarcophagi. But the true showstopper is a tomb discovered last year. It was painstakingly taken apart to preserve it against a new highway that’s being built, then shipped here in pieces. We reassembled it on site. It’s quite dramatic.”

  Jake had to restrain himself from hurrying the man along. Instead he just cut to the heart of the matter. “Professor, I was wondering if you had any Egyptian ankhs in the exhibit.”

  “Ankhs? My dear boy, we have them in every shape and size. Carved out of stone, sculpted out of gold, encrusted in jewels. You name it, we’ve got it!” The professor must have caught some whiff of Jake’s excitement, because he put an arm around Jake’s shoulder. “But let me tell you, the veritable crown of the exhibit landed in our laps today. An amazing mummified specimen. I’ve never seen anything like it before.”

  Jake nodded politely, but he was more interested in searching for the ankh that matched the one inside his father’s watch. He had the timepiece hanging around his neck. Even now he felt it ticking against his breastbone, urging him onward.

  Reaching the fourth floor, Henry pointed down the hallway. “Here we are. Just up ahead.”

  The professor led them to a pair of tall doors locked and cordoned off by a red velvet rope. They skirted around the barrier, and Henry used a passkey to unlock the doors. He ushered them all inside, then closed the doors behind them.

  It was like entering an Egyptian theme park, with statues, carved obelisks, and display cases forming an elaborate maze, winding through massive sarcophagi. Beyond the standing coffins, Jake spotted a full-sized wooden riverboat made of woven reeds.

  As he watched, workmen raised the scow’s square sail. Jake pictured the boat floating down the ancient Nile. For a moment, he imagined he felt a cool river breeze.

  “Ah,” Henry said, lifting a palm, “the air-conditioning finally kicked in. About time.”

  So maybe not a Nile breeze …

  Jake’s attention finally settled to the center of the room. Massive red sandstone walls formed a room within the greater hall.

  Henry noted his attention. “That’s the tomb I was telling you about. Truly amazing artwork inside, depicting an entire funeral procession. Why don’t we head over there first?”

  As Jake followed the others, he scanned to either side, watching for anything that matched the symbol inside his father’s watch. He saw Kady doing the same thing. Good. If they both stayed focused, they could cut their search time in half.

  “Oh, look!” she blurted out, stopping ahead of him.

  Jake’s heart leaped to his throat. Had she already found the ankh?

  She leaned closer to one of the glass cases. “Those butterfly earrings would look perfect with my blue dress!”

  Jake groaned and pushed her forward. So much for staying focused.

  Ahead, Henry led the group to the rectangular tomb entrance and stopped. “Inside, we’re prepping that new mummy. I thought it was the perfect location to display such a specimen. You should really see it, then I’ll leave you to explore on your own.” He winked back at Jake. “I can tell someone is getting anxious to look around.”

  Morgan grumbled behind Jake. “Guy’s a crackpot.”

  Jake grinned and began to follow the others into the tomb, but something caught his eye near the entrance. A sign. He stopped dead. Shock and disbelief make it hard to focus. He had to read it three times.

  Oh, no …

  Jake’s gaze fixed on the griffin symbol at the bottom, picturing the monstrous grakyl of Pangaea. Furious, he twisted toward Morgan. “Did you know about this?”

  The Brit’s face had gone oddly dark, his brows knitted low over his eyes as he read the sign himself.

  “No,” he finally mumbled—then, like a cloud passing, his features returned to their usual disinterested granite. “The corporation funds thousands of projects around the world. Half the museums in the world have signs like this.”

  Henry interrupted their discussion, his eyes huge behind his round glasses. “What luck! Hurry! The mummy’s just arrived. You’re in time for its unveiling.”

  Morgan herded Jake over the threshold.

  Stepping inside, a chill of dread traveled up from Jake’s toes. He pictured the rearing griffin. Something was definitely wrong about all of this.

  With the roof closed over, the tomb was unusually dark inside. A few glowing display cases held an assortment of funerary objects. Small floor lights illuminated great panoramas of wall
art, including a life-sized Anubis. The Egyptian god of death had the body of man and the head of a jackal. His crimson eyes made Jake shiver, and Jake tore his gaze away.

  In the heart of the tomb rose a slab of stone, an altar. A shape wrapped in sheets rested atop it like an offering. Two white-smocked workers with griffin logos on their lapels stood to either side.

  “Come closer,” Henry said, and waved to Jake. “It’s a spectacular specimen. Researchers would yank out their own eyeteeth to be here. Even the museum has the specimen only for the opening week of the show. A gift from our sponsor before it’s returned to Egypt.”

  A gift from our sponsor …

  Jake glanced to Morgan. The Brit kept his face impassive.

  Henry motioned for the two workers to unwrap the protective shroud from the mummy.

  Jake moved closer. Kady stood on the far side next to Uncle Edward.

  Henry’s eyeglasses reflected the dim light. “There is no other mummy like this in the world. We’re guessing the Egyptians had been attempting to create a sculpture of one of their gods. We know they loved to depict their deities as half animals. Like our jackal-headed Anubis over there. Or the goddess Bast, who is often sculpted with the head of a cat. In this case, I think the Egyptians were trying to honor their god Horus, to create his likeness. But rather than using stone or paint, they used body parts.”

  Body parts?

  Jake frowned as the sheets billowed up and away. He recalled that Horus was the Egyptian god of the sky.

  The professor continued. “Horus was usually depicted with the head of a falcon or sometimes just as a bird. So of course such a re-creation of Horus would need wings!”

  The sheets fell away to reveal a gnarled figure curled on the slab as if in agony. Leathery skin had dried long ago to the bones of its arms and legs. Ribs stuck out like fish bones. But it was not a man on the slab—at least not any longer. Grisly wings were folded over most of its body, forming some monstrous cocoon. Its bald head appeared more porcine than human. Jagged yellow teeth, like broken glass, shone from lips peeled into a death’s-head grin.