Bodie and the others stole into the Great Pyramid. If there were supposed to be guards stationed through the night, he saw no sign of them. Perhaps they had also been paid off. The man’s price had been steep.
Together, following Dakarai, they ignored the grand galley leading up to the King’s Chamber and headed down, looking to plumb the excavated depths as far as they were able.
Lucie walked behind Dakarai, eager and probing the young man for information. Her disappointment was obvious when she learned that he spoke little English. Nevertheless, she tried to phrase her questions simply and asked Yasmine for help. Rather than talk about the pyramid and its history she quizzed Dakarai about its foundations, and where its deepest part might lie. The answer came all too crudely.
“Down here.” He pointed.
Bodie smiled at Lucie’s frustration. To be fair to the kid, what else could he say? The base of the pyramid was built over bedrock. They stepped carefully down the Descending Passage, heading for the underground chamber at its base and the lowest point of the pyramid. Lucie’s voice filled the void as they followed the slope down inside the great structure.
“Since we’re heading toward one, I guess now’s as good a time as any to tell you I delved further into ley line investigation and their influence on real life. They can run between anything including stone barrows, old forts, castles, through olden-day cross-roads and beacon hills. And they do. One of the purposes of the ancient causeways they built was as funeral paths or death-roads. The alignment of funerary structures with the rising sun proves there was nothing scientific about their placement. Ley lines have been called arteries through which the world’s magnetism circulates. They run between many fire stones and fire pillars, and the old Saxony word for ‘fire’ is ‘ley.’ The objects built along these lines hold power and are thus perfect places of worship, or veneration or, indeed, the perfect burial chambers.” She indicated the walls surrounding them. “That is why so many primordial structures appear along ley lines. It is no accident, and calling it so rather points to a person’s arrogance, questioning the intelligence of bygone generations, don’t you think?”
Bodie nodded. “Do any of you also think it significant that Bacchus is searching for these ten shrines, all positioned along ley lines, and then we find out that one of the most important ley lines bisects Saint Michael’s Mount?”
Lucie turned to him almost stumbling in her haste. “I did! I always thought it a coincidence that the Illuminati stumbled upon us at that point... but maybe they were already there. In the vicinity. Investigating the significance of the principal line.”
Bodie nodded. “I think that’s correct.”
“Answers a few questions,” Cassidy grumbled. “How much further down is this friggin’ foundation?”
To be fair to her, Bodie’s calves were aching, his muscles not yet having recovered properly from their intense beating. “Not far.”
Lucie spoke up. “To take your mind off it,” she went on. “It has been conclusively proven that plants, placed within a ley line, grow six times faster than normal. Horticulturalists love them. Water is also extremely sensitive to magnetic fields. There is—”
“We are here,” Dakarai said haltingly, interrupting her. Lucie’s shoulders dipped as she bent forward to get a better look.
Half a minute later, they realized their destination wasn’t half as exciting as the journey. The lowest underground chamber was a minor, gray-walled room, barely large enough for them all to squeeze into.
Dakarai walked to the far end and turned to them. “End.”
“We get it,” Bodie said, and turned to the floor. “Is that bedrock?”
Lucie was already on her knees. “Normally, it may be overlain by broken regolith, for instance soil and subsoil. Obviously, that’s not the case down here. The old Egyptians purposely sought out areas of bedrock under these sands on which to build their pyramids. And this floor is definitely not made up of blocks or marble slabs, as the outer walls used to be. I think we’re good here.”
The formal blond took a small drill from her backpack and held it against the floor. Dakarai’s face fell and he held up a hand.
“What are you doing?” he asked in perfect English.
Bodie narrowed his eyes. “I could ask you the same question. I guess pretending you don’t understand your clients makes them loosen their tongues, eh? They talk more, and you get to pass information on.”
He was ready to say more, but Cassidy was already approaching the young man, assuming her most threatening manner. Bodie left it to her and watched Lucie drill into the pyramid’s foundation, extracting a thick core of stone. It didn’t take long. A few minutes later, the ore was stored with the drill and the team were ready to go. Bodie gazed around the lowest room of the mighty Pyramid of Giza and then looked up at the ceiling, imagining all six million tons of ancient history above him and everything it must have presided over.
“When it’s quiet like this,” Dakarai said. “You can easily believe all the ghost stories, can’t you?”
Cassidy perked up, looking over her shoulders. “What ghost stories?”
“Curses. Phantoms. Mummies,” Bodie replied. “I’ve been alone in many an old residence in my time and, yes, the silence—though necessary—is always the worst of it.”
“And none more so than a five-thousand-year-old pyramid amid the sands of bloody Egypt,” Jemma said, shivering. “Let’s go.”
Caught in the eerie atmosphere, the team urged Dakarai to lead them back up to the entrance. The Descending Passageway took its toll once more on their calves, this time even fiercer. Bodie listened to the midnight sounds of the immense structure all around him,
