Michael Belmont and the Tomb of Anubis (The Adventures of Michael Belmont) (18 page)

"You don't trust them?
 
Why not?" Liam asked.

"Well for one thing they don't trust me.
 
I had a lot of questions after the death of Dr. Farley and his people, but the site was closed and the deaths covered up.
 
Now that the catacombs have been reopened, I wanted answers, even if it meant finding them myself."
 
He frowned at them seriously.
 
"Dr. Farley was a very dear friend of mine.
 
I felt like I betrayed him by not getting to the truth after his death, and now that three more good people, your parents, have disappeared, I'm not going to make the same mistake again.
 
I need to find a way to get answers, a way to help, and I'm not going to let men like Khalil and Osiris stop me."

"You don't trust Aiden Osiris either?" Michael asked.

"I don't trust that man any further than I could throw him.
 
He is definitely not what he appears to be."

Michael suddenly made a decision.
 
"Zuriel, what if I told you that this isn't the first time we've seen a picture of that staff?"

"Really?
 
Where else have you seen it?"

"Back at McGinty Castle, where Liam and his father live, there's a picture, a portrait on the wall of a man who is holding a staff that looks just like the one in this diary."

"Is there really?
 
Well that's very interesting, isn't it?" he said, as if to himself.

"Do you have any idea why something like that would be hanging in a castle in Scotland?" Liam asked.

"Hmm, the man in the portrait, was he Scottish?"

"Yes, I think so, but the painting is probably a couple hundred years old," Liam told him.

"I came across a story once that might help explain it, but I thought it was nonsense when I heard it."
 
He looked at them whimsically, his eyes full of doubt.

"Go on then," Liam urged him.

"Well, the staff was rumored to have fallen into the hands of one of the Scottish clans several hundred years ago.
 
It was the MacFarlane clan, if I remember correctly, who lived to the northwest of Loch Lomond.
 
The staff was stolen along with a few other Egyptian relics, but the story didn't seem very credible when I heard it, there was just no proof to support it.
 
However, if you're telling me there's a several hundred year old portrait that shows the staff, well, let's just say that's very interesting.
 
Are you positive that what you saw in the painting is the same thing drawn in this book?"

Michael nodded his head.
 
"There's not a doubt in my mind."

Liam and Abigail agreed with him.

"Well, if you three really want to help your parents, then you might want to consider returning to Scotland to see if you can discover what happened to that staff.
 
If we had it, we would not only be able to locate the position of the gateway, we'd also be able to open it back up as well, and set your parents free."

"What about you? Could you come with us and help try to find the staff?" Liam pleaded.

"I don't think that would be the best idea.
 
It's possible that the staff is still lost somewhere down in these catacombs, and I need to finish my research here.
 
Besides, there's one other very important thing I need to tell you.
 
We may not be the only ones looking for that staff.
 
I believe there's someone else who
greatly
desires to possess it, and I need to find out exactly who that is before it's too late."

"But why would someone else be looking for it?" Michael asked him.
 
"It doesn't seem to be a thing that many people know about."

 
"Well, McGinty definitely knew about it, and he may have been killed precisely because he knew.
 
That staff has the power to unleash horrible things, and if it falls into the wrong hands, your parents, as well as the rest of us, could be in for a lot of trouble.
 
Do you understand what I'm telling you?"

They all nodded.

"If I was you, I would tell no one about your search for this staff, don't even mention that you know of its existence to anyone, because if you do, you are putting your own lives as well as anyone else you tell in great danger."

"We understand," Liam said, looking at Michael solemnly.

"But what happens if we actually get ahold of this thing?" Abigail asked.
 
"What are we supposed to do with it?"

"You should let me know as quickly as possible.
 
I have a contact in London.
 
Here, let me right down his information for you."
 
He took a pen and a small notebook out of his left pant pocket and scribbled something down.
 
"He'll know how to get ahold of me.
 
Don't hesitate to call him if you find anything."

Michael glanced at his watch.
 
"It's getting late, we really need to get going if we're going to get back in time."

Zuriel nodded.
 
"If I find out anything, I'll get a message to you somehow.
 
Remember, don't tell ANYONE about the staff, or what you're doing.
 
Everything depends on keeping it a secret."

"Okay, we won't forget.
 
Goodbye for now, and good luck."
 
Michael took his sister's hand and they sped off toward the door.

Zuriel waved at them as they left.
 
"Good luck to you too, and
please
be careful."

They set off at a jog going out the way they'd come in, and Michael let Liam take the lead.

"Can you get us out of here fast without getting us all lost?"

"No worries," Liam laughed.
 
"I know exactly where I'm going.
 
This is the easy part.
 
Just be sure to watch your feet, because a twisted ankle could
really
slow us down."

It was about four forty in the morning when the children reached the entrance to the outside world.
 
Owlface was sitting just inside the doorway with his back leaned up against the wall, sleeping soundly.

Abigail raised her index finger to her mouth, exactly the way her mother had done to them a thousand times before, whenever she wanted them to be quiet.
 
Normally this would have annoyed Michael, but since it reminded him of his mother, he actually didn't mind it so much.

The three of them tiptoed past the guard, being careful not to disturb him.
 
But just when they thought they were safe, Michael dropped his flashlight, and it clanked against the hard stone floor.
 
The top flew off and landed several feet away, while the batteries rolled across the ground and gently stopped at Owlface's left foot.

He startled awake.

Dreary eyed, he looked up to see them standing before him.

"HEY," he shouted.
 
"NO sneak.
 
Go back tents RIGHT NOW."
 
He began to get to his feet, and the three of them broke into a sprint toward their tents, heading toward the outskirts of camp so they wouldn't be seen.

"The idiot actually thought we were trying to sneak in, not out," Liam whispered as they slowed to a walk.

Abigail looked at them with eyes full of worry.
 
"Do you think he'll tell on us?"

"I seriously doubt it," Michael assured her.
 
"He wouldn't want us to turn around and tell anyone that he was sleeping on the job, would he?"

Liam spat the dust out of his mouth.
 
"So how are we going to get back to Scotland?"

"Are you kidding me?" Michael looked at him disapprovingly.
 
"All we need to do is tell Elizabeth that we want to go back home.
 
She'd do anything to get us out of here.
 
We'll say that we're uncomfortable and scared, and feel like we're just getting in the way.
 
I think at this point even Uncle Link will be easy to convince.
 
He's been under so much stress lately; I think we've just become one more distraction for him.
 
He wants to focus on the investigation, and although he wouldn't admit it, I think he'd be happy to see us go back to McGinty Castle."

"I don't want to lie to Aunt Liz."
 
Abigail frowned obstinately.

"Well, we wouldn't be lying, would we?
 
I can't speak for the two of you, but I
am
scared, I
am
very uncomfortable, and it certainly feels like we
haven't
done much around here but get in the way."

"I know what you mean," agreed Liam.
 
"It might be different if they let us do something to help, but nobody around here takes us seriously.
 
They've just kept us around because they feel sorry for us."

"Well, shouldn't we tell Uncle Link about the staff?" Abigail pleaded.
 
"I bet he could help us find it, he may even know something about it."

"I've already thought about that," Michael told her.
 
"I don't think it's a good idea right now.
 
What if Zuriel's right about someone else being after it?
 
We could be putting his life in danger just by telling him, and I seriously doubt that he would be willing to leave Egypt and go back to Scotland because of a sketch in a book and an old painting."

"I think I'd rather have him stay here anyway," put in Liam.
 
"I think it'll make me feel better to know that he's still here searching."

Michael nodded.
 
"We don't even know for sure that the staff still exists, but if there's any hope at all, well, at least we'll be doing something to help."

"Alright," Abigail conceded.
 
"I'm game if you two are."

Elizabeth was still asleep when they got back to the tents, so they stowed their supplies and got ready for breakfast.

Michael hadn't seen Elizabeth so happy since the day she'd arrived at McGinty Castle.
 
Perhaps happy wasn't the right word though, it was more like relief, he decided.
 
Over breakfast, they had told her about their desire to return to Scotland, and just as they expected, she was very receptive to the idea.

"I think you've all made the right choice in telling me your feelings, you don't need to be embarrassed about it.
 
None of us knew exactly what we were getting ourselves into by coming over here, and I'm sure we'll all feel much safer back at the castle."

Michael wasn't exactly sure what to expect from his uncle, and he was a little anxious about telling him, but as it turned out, Elizabeth beat him to it.
 
Link had barely sat down at the table with his food before she began to spill the beans.

"Are you kids sure this is what you want to do?" he asked them gently.
 
He didn't seem at all annoyed, as Michael thought he might be.

"We've all talked about it, and it seems like it would be easier on everyone," Michael assured him.
 
"I know you've told us that we aren't getting in the way, but we certainly aren't helping either.
 
If we went back to McGinty Castle, you could concentrate your efforts on the search."

"That may be true, but I wanted to keep you all here with me, where you'd be safe, where I could keep an eye on you."

"We'll be safe at the castle," Liam said.
 
"Finnegan and the Calderwoods will have returned by now, and Sir Nigel is a very dedicated guard dog."

This actually got a little chuckle out of him.
 
"Is he?
 
That's good to know."

"Link, the children will be fine.
 
It hasn't been healthy for them to be here, constantly dwelling on their parents' disappearance.
 
And Michael's right, with us waiting in Scotland, you can focus your energy on the search."

"All right, just promise me, all of you, that you'll stick together, and be careful.
 
We still don't know who's behind all this, and what exactly they're capable of."

Michael shook his hand.
 
"We promise, Uncle Link.
 
You'll let us know the moment you find anything, won't you?"

"Of course I will.
 
Listen, I love you.
 
I love all of you."

At this, the three children hugged him, but Elizabeth just stood there, with a curious look in her eyes that Michael couldn't quite read.
 
It was like anger, but also a bit like pain.

"We love you too, big guy," Abigail told him, squeezing him tightly.

He looked down at her, and as he did it was like seeing into the past.
 
She looked so much like Rachel.
 
Almost exactly like her when she was that age.
 
He hadn't always been the best brother, and had sometimes failed to protect his little sister, but he didn't plan on failing her again.

Michael lay in his bed with his hands folded behind his head.
 
So many thoughts were swirling through his brain, questions upon questions without any answers in sight.
 
He could remember times when he'd laid in bed at night just like this, knowing that his parents were off exploring, having some sort of adventure.
 
He used to wish that his life was more exciting, but the things happening now were never what he had expected.
 
Then again, he couldn't remember a time when anything so tragic had happened in his family.
 
He wondered if his mother and father were going through as much agony as he and Abigail were.