Andre had made no secret of the fact that he was after my body. He was a complete slut himself! To his credit he was a mine of information and a great people person, which did make him an excellent work contact. But working with Andre would mean fending off his advances for whatever length of time my services were needed—not a scenario I cherished.
‘Guess where I am?’ He teased me briefly. ‘Mt Serabit.’
‘The Sinai!’ I repressed a squeal of excitement. I had just been reading about the place.
‘Exactly,’ he gloated, knowing he was dangling the right bait in front of my nose. ‘And guess what else? It’s an American-funded excavation, so they want to bring in one of their own translators to verify what the locals are telling them.’
‘I’m an Australian, Andre.’
‘What did you tell them?’
‘I told them that the scenery out here is too harsh and we need you to add a little beauty to the surroundings.’
Did it matter that I was so qualified it was ridiculous? ‘No, Andre. You surely didn’t?’ I pleaded.
‘Oh…of course I told them that you have a natural aptitude for ancient Semitic that is second to none!’ He sounded a little hurt. ‘What kind of a businessman do you take me for? I’m hardly going to recommend anyone but the best. I have my reputation to consider—’
‘You’re an angel, Andre.’ I knew exactly how to handle his little passionate outbursts. ‘It is an honour to be held so high in your esteem. Now, are you going to tell me what you guys have unearthed over there?’
‘We think it might be another entrance into the mountain.’
‘A mine entrance?’ I wondered. The mount was littered with many old mine shafts, as the region had once been rich in turquoise.
‘I wouldn’t think so. You remember those two wands found here early last century, made of an unidentified hard material…they were outside the Portico Court in the temple complex of Hathor? This entrance is made of the same substance and we can’t even make a scratch on it. We’re hoping the accompanying inscriptions might be able to tell us where to find a key.’
‘Well, what did the locals tell you about the inscriptions?’ I walked back to the trunk, filled with old family journals, from which I’d plucked the memoirs of my great-great-grandmother at random. ‘The language is Egyptian, I gather?’
‘It’s more like the ancient Semitic that was found under the Egyptian inscriptions in the Hathor Complex.’
‘Mmmm…’ I was becoming intrigued.
‘And the local translators are saying there is a curse on any man who opens the doors.’
‘Well, I’m a woman, so there shouldn’t be a problem,’ I commented flippantly.
‘My reasoning exactly,’ Andre laughed. ‘I’ve already booked you a flight, it leaves tomorrow. Check your email for details. A
He was gone. ‘Hmm…so much for my holiday.’ I pressed the off button and tossed the phone onto the lounge. ‘Hey, it’s my dream gig.’ My heart fluttered with excitement, and I took a deep, calming breath. ‘I wonder what the catch is?’
God, I hoped that Andre was not dragging me out into the middle of nowhere to satisfy his lovelorn longings. Still, I would be curious to see the place that my ancestor had wanted to visit. It seemed quite a coincidence that I was now heading to the same mountain that had intrigued my foremother so much nearly two hundred years ago. ‘I wonder if she got there?’ I looked back to the blue book I’d unlocked and begun to read this morning.
These journals had been passed down through the women of my family for six generations and yet I had only learned of them just this week. My aunt had stored the chest in a safe place for her daughter, but she had only borne sons. So, having cleared the chest out of her attic, she had thought it appropriate to give it to me, the daughter of her younger sister. Many of my ancestors had been travellers and budding archaeologists and I was the only member of the present-day family with such interests.
I was now tempted to sit down and continue Ashlee’s tale. ‘You have no time to read,’ I lectured myself. ‘You have to pack.’
Then I noticed that among the other volumes in the chest were the two other books Lord Hereford had given Ashlee Granville. The green volume was no doubt filled with information about Mt Serabit, but what did the red book now contain? Had Ashlee made it to the mountain to return her unusual vial or was it still contained within the book?
My fingers fumbled with the three tiny keys, attached to a metal key ring, that still had a small tattered remnant of the green ribbon attached to it. I sat and pulled the red book into my lap. When the gold key was placed in the corresponding lock, the book opened and inside I found…nothing. It was completely empty and I felt very disappointed.
‘Well, I guess it means that Ashlee got there.’ I smiled, proud of her. ‘So, why pass this case on for so many generations?
There was padding in the back to prevent the contents bouncing around. The jewels and ancient currency were gone and all that remained were a half bottle of ancient insect repellent, smelling like death itself, and one small river stone with a hole in the middle.
‘Oh, my Lord.’ I picked up the pebble and had a giggle, wondering if there was still a handsome mediaeval knight attached. I was not really knowledgeable, or even very interested, in the spirit world, and having read about Ashlee’s fascination with this stone, I felt sure she was semi-delusional. Did I dare to test my theory? ‘Albray, Albray.’ I paused and then laughed at the fact that I was almost expecting a mediaeval knight to appear. ‘Albray.’
