Michael Belmont and the Tomb of Anubis (The Adventures of Michael Belmont) (13 page)

Suddenly, he felt himself being pulled away again, and within seconds found that he was back in the chamber of antiquities.
 
It took a moment for him to clear his head, and then he rushed off toward the painting to take another look at the staff.

When he got there, he stared intently at the artifact, as well as the rough looking fellow that held it.
 
He was sure it was the same staff.
 
But how on earth did this man get ahold of it, and who was he?
 
Was it a coincidence that his parents had disappeared while excavating a site named after Anubis?
 
Now Michael's mind was racing faster than ever, and he knew that another sleepless night lay ahead.

Michael and Liam sat on the redwood deck in back of his uncle's house, drinking fresh lemonade.
 
A hot breeze blew through the air as they looked out over the dusty landscape of Link's ranch.

Both boys sat in silence; muted by the news they'd received just a few days before.
 
Michael had always worried when his parents were traveling, and now his fears had all been justified.

His mother and father had disappeared while visiting a strange, far away land that had always both frightened and fascinated him.
 
Michael had been to Egypt a few times when he was younger.
 
He remembered seeing the pyramids, the sphinx, the green lands fed by the mighty Nile River, and the vast, scalding deserts.

Now that he was back in Arizona, it seemed so far away, almost as if it were on another planet.

Had his parents become lost or stranded in the desert, left to die an agonizing death?
 
Did they become victims of some ruthless cutthroat, who wanted their money or equipment?
 
Were they part of a kidnapping scheme that went wrong?
 
A hundred terrifying scenarios went through Michael's head.

His Uncle Link had told him not to obsess or worry, but he couldn't help it.
 
He was fighting to hope for the best, and he wanted to be strong and brave for Abigail's sake.

Liam had been uncharacteristically grouchy for the last few days.
 
He sat staring at the red rock buttes in the distance with a blank, gloomy look on his face.

The silence continued until a roadrunner jumped up on the railing of the deck.
 
It eyed them quizzically for a moment, as did the lizard hanging helplessly from its mouth, before it jumped down to the ground and sped off as quickly as it had appeared.

"I don't understand why your uncle brought us here," said Liam, snapped out of his trance by the bird.
 
"Why didn't we just go straight to Egypt?"

Michael sighed. "I already told you that he said he needed time to prepare. He's planning on bringing his own arsenal along, and a bunch of equipment to set up some kind of command center.
 
He's also got a few guys that he works with from time to time.
 
They've agreed to come along and help."

"Guys?
 
What guys?
 
What are they any good for?" Liam demanded grumpily.

"They work with him on some of his more eh,
problematic
expeditions.
 
Their names are Jesse Clanton and Bill Thompson.
 
You're going to like them.
 
Bill is really smart, knows just about everything as far as history goes, and Jesse can build nearly anything you could think of.
 
He's really good at making weapons too; has a bunch of guns that he designed himself.
 
You'll meet them tonight at dinner."

Link's golden retriever scratched at the sliding glass door from inside the house.
 
He wore a dumb, hopeful smile, and his tongue licked the glass as he waited to be let out.
 
Michael got up from his chair and opened the door, and the dog trotted out and ran around the corner of the house.

"Has your uncle ever gone on any expeditions to Egypt?" Liam asked.

"He's been there a few times, I think.
 
He went with my family when I was about six years old.
 
I don't know what kind of work they were doing, it was my first time there and I was just excited to see the pyramids."

"Well I hope he has some idea about where to find our parents.
 
And I'm glad he was willing to take us along with him.
 
I was afraid I'd have to stay back in Scotland.
 
I don't think I could have taken sitting there waiting, not knowing what was going on."

"I know what you mean," said Michael.
 
"I'd rather be close by and find out what's happening."

The dog came back around the corner to lie down at Michael's feet.
 
He reached over and scratched him behind the ears.

"You're a good boy, Goldrush," Michael told him.
 
The dog had kept him company many times while he and Abigail stayed at the ranch.

Elizabeth and Abigail came out of the house and sat down beside them. Elizabeth had a perturbed look on her face, and Michael and Liam both knew what was coming.

"I've been meaning to talk to the three of you alone.
 
You already know that I'm not too happy about taking you all over to Egypt right now.
 
But ultimately, it's your uncle's decision, and he has the final word on it."

Michael opened his mouth to say something.

"Uh-uh," she cut him off.
 
"I just want the three of you to know that I promised Rachel that I would watch after you while she was away and you had better not do anything, and I mean ANYTHING to make that a harder job for me than it's already been because right now I seem to be on the verge of going right off the edge and your uncle has REALLY been trying my patience lately so the three of you had better mind your p's and q's and do exactly as I say because if any of you try to get away with anything while we're over there and end up putting yourselves in danger then I think I just might have to…to…well, go a little
nutty
on you, DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?"

They all nodded.
 
Liam leaned over to Michael and whispered, "It sounds to me like she's
already
gone a little nutty."

Elizabeth bore her eyes into him.
 
"That goes for YOU too, Liam.
 
You had better behave yourself and watch your step or you'll have to answer to me…GOT IT?"

She got up with a self-satisfied look and went back into the house.
 
Abigail, mimicking her, followed behind like a loyal sidekick.

Michael sighed.
 
"She'll be alright, she's just a bit stressed out right now."

"How could you tell?" Liam sneered.
 
"She doesn't seem to care for your uncle much, does she?"

"Oh, I don't know.
 
Mom told me one time that she had a bit of a crush on him in Junior High School.
 
I guess he didn't seem too interested, and ever since then she hasn't liked him very much.
 
He really infuriates her sometimes."

The boys were out shooting archery when Bill Thompson arrived.
 
He saw them in the backyard while pulling his truck up the driveway, and after parking, immediately came around to say hello.

"Evening Michael," he called cheerfully, "who's your friend here?
 
Is this Liam?"

"Yes.
 
Liam, this is Bill Thompson."

Bill was a tall, scrappy man with long sideburns and a handlebar mustache.
 
He wore a brown leather vest and had a nickel-plated Colt six-shooter strapped to his belt.

"Nice to meet you, Liam, I was very sorry to hear about your father.
 
He's a good man, and we're going to do everything we can to help get him back."

"Do you know my father, sir?" he asked.

"We've met once or twice.
 
Besides, these Belmonts talk about your family so much it feels like I've known you guys for years."

He looked down-range at the bails of straw they'd been shooting.
 
A target with an unimpressive cluster of arrows hung from the top bail.
 
"Hey Michael, looks like you're getting a little rusty with that bow of yours."

Michael shrugged.
 
He couldn't argue.
 
Bill had always encouraged him to practice more often, but it wasn't the easiest thing to do while he was traveling.
 
Still, he normally shot much better than he had today.
 
Maybe all the stress was affecting him.

"I'll be right back," said Bill.
 
He walked off toward his truck.

"Now you're going to see something cool," Michael told his friend.

After a moment, Bill returned with his own recurve bow and a quiver full of arrows.
 
He strung one up and let it fly.
 
The arrow sped to the middle of the center target, burying itself deeply into the straw.

"Hey, that's impressive," Liam said spiritedly.

"Keep watching," Michael warned him.

Bill pulled another arrow back and let it go.
 
It struck the arrow in the center of the target, splitting it in half.

"WOW," shouted Liam. "You shoot just like Robin Hood."

"All it takes is a little practice," Bill told him.
 
"Well, I'm not going to lie, quite a bit of practice actually, but either of you could shoot like this if you were willing to work for it."

Out of nowhere, an earth-shattering BOOM filled the air.
 
Both boys instinctively dropped to the ground, covering their heads.
 
The earth beneath them shook.

When Michael opened his eyes, he saw that his target, along with the top two bails, had been incinerated.
 
Fiery pieces of straw rained down from the sky.
 
Liam looked shell-shocked, and his teeth were chattering through the frown plastered across his face.

"Oh," said Bill casually, "looks like Jesse's finally arrived."

"Is the man OUT of his BLOODY mind?" yelled Liam.

"No, no," laughed Bill.
 
"He just doesn't like to be left out of the fun.
 
Besides, Jesse has always been a real one-upper if you ask me."

Michael chuckled beneath his breath.
 
He knew that Bill and Jesse must have had this planned out ahead of time.
 
Both men had a strange sense of humor, and would want to introduce themselves to Liam in a way that would cheer him up, at least after the terror wore off.

Jesse came walking toward them; he was a husky man and plodded along heavily.
 
He stopped before them, took off his black ten-gallon hat, and bowed as if he were receiving applause before flipping the hat back onto his head.

"Howdy, gentlemen.
 
I hope I didn't startle anyone.
 
I could have sworn I saw a scorpion sitting up there on top of that straw, a real nasty looking little thing.
 
I didn't want anybody to get stung."

"Well, I've already met Robin Hood," said Liam smartly, "you must be General Sherman."

"At your service," Jesse smiled.
 
He took off the hat and bowed once again.
 
"Nice to meet you, Liam, I was very sorry to hear about your father.
 
He's a good man, and we're going to do everything we can to help get him back."

Liam pointed to Bill.
 
"That's exactly the same thing he said."

"Is it really now?
 
That's not surprising.
 
Bill is always trying to steal my lines before I even show up to say them.
 
He's always been a real one-upper if you ask me."

Liam stared at him stupidly; the gears in his brain having ground to a halt.
 
It was unusual to see him speechless.

Michael walked up closer to the target and picked up a smoldering shard from what had once been his arrow.
 
"I would have liked to get a little more practice in," he told them, "but it looks like I'm going to have to find a new target, not to mention a few more arrows."

Looking down to his quiver, he counted six.
 
The rest had been stuck in the target.

"Yeah, sorry about that," Jesse told him.
 
"I don't think your uncle would have liked it if I'd blown up anything else back here though."

"He speaks from experience," Bill agreed.

"You're not going to bring up that old truck again are you?" Jesse sneered.
 
"We both know Link was long overdue for some new wheels."

"It was a fully restored 59 Chevy," Bill shot back at him.

Jesse shrugged.
 
"I've always been a Ford man, myself."

Liam shook his head at Michael.
 
"Nutters," he said.
 
"These men are both bloomin' nutters."

Michael laughed nervously.

It took several hours, but Liam began to warm up to the idea that Bill and Jesse weren't completely out of their minds.
 
Michael was greatly entertained by watching Liam's mind race as the two performed their antics.
 
It was usually Liam who drove people crazy, and Michael just hoped that they wouldn't give him any new ideas.

Part of Liam's coming to feel comfortable with the two men was related to dinner that night, as the boy did a large amount of thinking with his stomach.
 
Bill made some delicious grilled kabobs.
 
They had steak, onions, cherry tomatoes, and red peppers.
 
Jesse prepared fully loaded baked potatoes and sweet potato pie.
 
This helped to improve Liam's mood significantly.