Royan jumped forwards to help him, and together in the eddies of dust
and smoke they steadied the square of plaster and prevented it from
crashing to the paving and shattering into a thousand pieces. Gently
they lifted it out from the opening and, with the seals still intact,
laid it against the side wall of the landing.
The open hatchway they had cut through the plaster was a dark square.
Nicholas adjusted the floodlight to shine through it, but the dust was
still too dense for them to be able to see much of the interior.
Nicholas climbed through the hatch into the space beyond. All was
obscured by a dense fog of dust that not even the lamps could penetrate.
He did not attempt to explore further, but immediately turned back to
help Royan through the opening after him.
He recognized her right to share every moment of this discovery. Beyond
the wall they stood quietly together, waiting for the blower fan to
clear the air. Slowly the dust fog began to dissipate, and the first
thing they became aware of was the floor beneath their feet.
No longer made of stone slabs, it was covered with tiles of yellow agate
that had been polished to a gloss and fitted together so cunningly that
no joints were visible. It was like a single sheet of lovely opaque
glass, dulled only by the film of fine talcum dust that had settled upon
it.
Where their feet had disturbed the layer of dust the agate sparkled
through it, catching the light of the floodlamp.
Then the fog of dust that surrounded them thinned, and gradually a
miraculous blaze of colours and shapes began to appear through the murk.
Royan lifted the dust mask from her face and let it drop to the agate
floor.
Nicholas followed her example, and took a breath of the stagnant air. No
draught had disturbed it for thousands of years and it had the odour of
great antiquity, the musty smell of the linen bandages of an embalmed
corpse.
Now the miasma of dust faded away and before them opened a long straight
passageway, the end of which was hidden in shadow and darkness. Nicholas
turned back to the opening in the sealed door behind them, and reached
through it to bring in the fioodlight on its stand. Quickly he arranged
it to illuminate the full length of the passageway ahead of them.
As they started forward, the images of the old gods hovered around them.
They glowered at the intruders from the walls and hung over them,
watching them with huge and hostile eyes from the ceiling high overhead.
Nicholas and Royan passed on slowly. Their footfalls on the agate tiles
were muted by the thin carpet of dust, and the dust that still hung in
the air reflected the light and cast over them a luminous net that had
an ethereal, dreamlike quality.
Inscriptions covered every inch of space upon the walls and the high
roof. There were long quotations from all the mystical writings, from
the Book of Breathings, the Book of the Pylons and the Book of Wisdom.
Other blocks of hieroglyphics recited the history of Pharaoh Mamose's
existence on this earth, and extolled those virtues that made the gods
love him.
