Misplaced (149 page)

She
loosened
Menefra’s
grip
on
her
shoulders.
“
Y
ou
’
re
not
going
to
die.
Y
ou
will
do as father
said and marry
the
Assyrian
King.”

“N
o!
”
Me
n
e
f
r
a
s
h
r
i
e
k
e
d
a
nd
s
t
e
pped
a
w
ay,
h
e
r
l
ips
p
resse
d
together in a grim purple line. “
Y
ou’
v
e changed, sister.”

“Y
ou cannot imagine how much.”

It
hurt
to
w
atch
Menefra
lose
her
struggle
with
reality;
she
scarcel
y
resiste
d
a
s
the
y
le
d
he
r
a
w
ay
.
A
t
las
t
Khar
a
understood
wh
y
fathe
r
ha
d
ne
v
e
r
burdene
d
Menefra’
s
fragil
e
min
d
wit
h
astronomy
or
mathematics.
But
there
w
as
no
time
to
consider
th
e
man
y
w
ay
s
he
r
hear
t
ha
d
bee
n
broken
,
o
r
th
e
friendshi
p
she
misse
d
s
o
much
.
Sh
e
too
k
hol
d
o
f
th
e
smal
l
cros
s
aroun
d
her
nec
k
jus
t
t
o
tak
e
a
breath
.
A
shor
t
tim
e
later
,
Commande
r
Zener
returned.
Across
his
arms,
the
coronation
cape
lay
in
gleaming
folds.

“I
t
i
s
time
,
Princess,
”
h
e
said
,
hi
s
voic
e a
mixtur
e
o
f
encouragement and adoration. “The people of Egypt
w
ait.”

Chapte
r
Fifty-five
Vic
t
oria

Mos
t
days
,
V
ictori
a
contente
d
hersel
f
wit
h
th
e
notion tha
t
thing
s
ha
d
turne
d
ou
t
th
e
w
a
y
the
y
w
er
e
suppose
d
to,
bu
t
sh
e
w
a
s
ne
v
e
r
sure
.
Th
e
injustice
s
sh
e
encountere
d
daily
s
ee
m
ed
no
wor
s
e
or
bet
t
er
than
before,
and
s
o
s
he
co
n
c
entrated
o
n
tryin
g
t
o
fin
d
som
e
historica
l
evidenc
e
o
f
he
r
friend
.
She
pored through e
v
ery issue of
Archaeology,
looking for the latest
tom
b
disco
v
eries
;
sh
e
joine
d
th
e
Internationa
l
Foundatio
n
fo
r
Ar
t
Researc
h
s
o
sh
e
coul
d
b
e
invol
v
e
d
i
n
helpin
g
restor
e
artifact
s
t
o
thei
r
countr
y
o
f
origin
.
Unscrupulou
s
collectors,
eager to sell pieces without proper documentation, feared her.
T
o
mak
e
u
p
fo
r
hi
s
pas
t
transgressions
,
Elia
s
becam
e
a
po
w
erful
w
arrior
against
artifact
smuggling
in
Mexico.
But
none
of
these things
ans
w
ered the
question
that
kept
her
a
w
ake
through
the
night
.
Ha
d
Khara’
s
retur
n
prompte
d
Egypt’
s
rise
?
Migh
t
i
t
ha
v
e happened any
w
ay? Sometime she felt the ans
w
er
w
as so close
sh
e
coul
d
almos
t
touc
h
it
.
Elia
s
tol
d
he
r
tha
t
perhap
s
th
e
ans
w
er
w
as simpler than she
w
as making it.

On
a
W
ednesday
in
March,
just
as
the
first
blossoms
began
t
o
sho
w
themsel
v
e
s
afte
r
a
blea
k
E
l
P
as
o
winter
,
V
ictori
a
looked
up from her desk to see Gracie standing in the door
w
ay.

“
Y
ou
’
re going to
w
ant to see this,” she said, laying a tabloid
on her desk.

“I’
v
e been following that story; it’s nothing.”

“I
t
isn’
t
‘nothing,
’
V
ictoria
.
It’
s
th
e
par
t
thos
e
dirt-diggers
aren’
t
sayin
g
anythin
g
about.
”
Gracie’
s
pou
t
w
a
s
a
little
fulle
r
thes
e
days
,
bu
t
othe
r
tha
n
that
,
sh
e
w
a
s
a
s
boss
y
an
d
demanding as e
v
er.
“In a gossip rag? I find
that hard to belie
v
e.”

“Read it, and then tell me it’s just another story.”

Gracie’
s
paine
d
expressio
n
mad
e
V
ictori
a
g
o
fo
r
a
cu
p
o
f
co
f
fee
.
Whe
n
sh
e
returned
,
sh
e
close
d
he
r
door
.
He
r
shaking
hands
unfolded
the
magazine
to
re
v
eal
the
headline,
“Mummy
of Egyptian Queen a Hoax!”

“Oh
,
no,
”
sh
e
muttered
.
Jus
t
then
,
he
r
cel
l
phon
e
rang.
Sh
e
ignore
d
i
t
a
s
sh
e
studie
d
th
e
photo
,
obviousl
y
take
n
i
n
a
tomb
,
o
f
a
relati
v
el
y
simpl
e
sarcophagu
s
an
d
th
e
diminuti
v
e,
bandage
d
for
m
tha
t
la
y
o
n
top
.
Sh
e
bega
n
t
o
s
w
eat
.
“No
,
no
,
no,” she muttered.

He
r
cel
l
phon
e
ran
g
again
,
an
d
thi
s
tim
e
sh
e
looke
d
a
t
it.
He
r
uncl
e
w
a
s
calling
.
Sh
e
looke
d
fro
m
th
e
ringin
g
phon
e
t
o
the
printed page and s
w
allo
w
ed.

Know
n
i
n
ancien
t
time
s
a
s
t
h
e
“Sea
t
o
f
Beaut
y
,
”
t
he
V
alle
y
o
f
th
e
Queen
s
ha
s
offere
d
u
p
it
s
lates
t
mystery.
Dr. Shenouda, famed Egyptologist who has spent thirty
y
ear
s
exca
v
atin
g
anonymou
s
tomb
s
o
f
Egyptia
n
nobility,
has hit paydirt in his latest find. The tomb’s exact location is secret for now. Though the
inscriptio
n
ha
s
y
e
t
t
o
re
v
ea
l
th
e
nam
e
o
f
thi
s
queen,
Shenoud
a
fel
t
confiden
t
tha
t
whe
n
th
e
mumm
y
is
unwrapped the mystery of her lineage will be sol
v
ed.
V
ictori
a
gasped
,
hardl
y
breathin
g
a
s
sh
e
force
d
hersel
f
to
read on.
Las
t
w
eek
,
th
e
who’
s
wh
o
o
f
th
e
archaeologica
l
world
crowde
d
togethe
r
fo
r
th
e
un
v
eiling
,
heralde
d
a
s
the
bigges
t
fin
d
sinc
e
Kin
g
T
ut
.
Bu
t
th
e
jok
e
w
a
s
o
n
them
. In
the
most
amazing
archaeological
hoax
since
Piltdown Man
in
1912,
Dr.
Shenouda
says,
“E
v
erything
w
as
in
our
favor
.
Th
e
locatio
n
o
f
th
e
tomb
,
th
e
les
s
distinguished m
u
mm
ie
s
wh
o
w
er
e
un
do
ubte
d
l
y
he
r
a
t
te
n
d
ant
s
—al
l
o
f
the
m
checke
d
out
.
Bu
t
ou
r
queen’
s
bod
y
w
a
s
most
likel
y
stole
n
an
d
replace
d
wit
h a
moder
n
mummy.
How do
w
e know?
W
ell
it’s simple,” Dr. Shenouda said
disappointedly
.
“Sh
e
w
ear
s a
golde
n
cros
s
aroun
d
her
neck
.
W
e
ha
v
e
date
d
th
e
othe
r
artifact
s
i
n
th
e
tom
b
at
aroun
d
211
4
BC
, a
tim
e
tha
t
precede
s
Christianit
y
and
th
e
cros
s
a
s a
religiou
s
symbo
l
b
y
approximatel
y
two
thousand
y
ears.”
Dr
.
Shenoud
a
w
en
t
o
n
t
o
detai
l
th
e
elaborat
e
ruse.
“
P
erhap
s
th
e
entir
e
tom
b
i
s
a
joke
,
mean
t
t
o
distract
u
s
fro
m
a
mor
e
signi
f
ican
t
treasur
e
i
n
th
e
area
,
bu
t
I’
ve
ne
v
e
r
see
n
anythin
g
lik
e
it,
”
Shenoud
a
reports.
“There
w
as another item that completely discounts the possibility that she
w
as Egyptian. Her outer shroud
w
as not the traditional resin-soaked linen; she
w
as wrapped
i
n
cloth
,
an
d
th
e
marking
s
o
n
he
r
shrou
d
rathe
r
resemble
the
more
intricate
patterns of
Nati
v
e Americans.
A
t
the moment,
w
e
’
re looking at the individual symbols to see
i
f
w
e
ca
n
matc
h
the
m
t
o
a
speci
f
i
c
nation
.
A
s
muc
h
a
s
w
e
’
d
hope
d
t
o
brin
g
thi
s
disco
v
er
y
t
o
th
e
world
,
w
e
ha
v
e
returne
d
th
e
mumm
y
t
o
he
r
tom
b
an
d
seale
d
it
.
I
t
has
been a terrible
w
aste of time and resources.