Guarded Treasure

by Mae Lovette

“Stop flirting with me, we’re at work,” he said in a low voice that stirred her blood like a cocktail straw. “How dare —”

Edith was taken under by the vision. The last thing he saw was her levitating body go slack and become enveloped within darkness.

A sigh shuddered from Edith as she felt a surprising pang of grief at the knowledge that she stood before the grave of Cepos. The first heir of the Ramesses the Great, prince of the Golden Age of Egypt. The murdered son of Amnara.

“I thought you were a man who fired explosives first and asked questions later?” “Yeah, well…” he grumbled rubbing the stubble on his chin. Her face brightened. “Ben, are you being gentle on site for me?” “Yes, Edith, you’re the head of this dig. As you have told anyone who will listen.”

“What, you saw a grizzly American thief and you thought I must be an orphan with a troubled past? You read too many books, lady.” “Well, yes, distinctly.” He laughed, undeniably charmed by her.

“I don’t follow. What did you study?” “Geology.” “That’s not square — it’s fascinating!” “We’re talking about rocks, but okay. You’re one in a million, kid.”

“Ben, I don’t —” “You always knew. You thought I was a filthy scoundrel from the beginning and had no problem telling me so.” “Ben, I’m —” “I’m sure you’ve come to your senses by now.” “I have,” she said.

“You mean being photographed on top of you with my blouse hanging open?” “I was thinking about passing out from smoke inhalation. But, you’ll be happy to know that you won’t need to worry about the incident with the press.” “Oh?” He tossed the burlap sack within the doorway of her room, and she heard a crunch. She was startled at the discordant sound, but she looked inside and realized that it was filled with cameras. Many of the light bulbs had been shattered, and the sack still made the sound of broken glass settling. She beamed at him. “That’s where you’ve been all day?” “I need to get cleaned up. I’ll be back in an hour to take you to dinner.”

“I thought you didn’t want to keep me?” she said with a smile. “That was a lie,” he said, bending to sweep her up in a kiss and pull her into his room. “I do want to keep you.”

She thought to herself, why does it feel like that? It was as though she’d known Ben for years. His body felt right with hers like no other man ever had.

“My love is like a rising star, with beautiful eyes for looking and sweet lips for kissing. Your hand is in my hand, my body trembles with joy, my heart is exalted because we walk together.”

My love, he said. She knew he was being cheeky, but she felt a tiny crack in her heart that it was still all a joke. It occurred to her, cruelly, that she wished it were real.

He was in love with her. She was going to blow through this tomb with the speed of a cyclone and the force of a butterfly. And then what? She’d get her book, and he’d go back to America, and she’d be a lecturer at the big, bad Oxford, or perhaps head a team at another dig, her choice of any dig on earth, probably.

“So, that’s what all of this is. You’re emptying out the tomb before it’s even been completely excavated.”

“What will happen? You mean after I publish in my papers that she was sleeping with you, the incarcerated thief? She’ll be the laughing stock of Egypt, she’ll never work in academia again, much less archaeology.” “Is that all?” Ben asked. “Yes,” Pimsly said, grinning maliciously. “That’s your whole plan, no further details to share?” “Well… yes,” Pimsley said, still grinning maliciously, but his enthusiasm deflated a bit. “Are we locked in here?” Ben asked. “Yes,” Pimsley said, now truly puzzled. “Oh, good,” Ben said blandly.

“Poaching, grave robbing, libel, blackmail, and much, much worse.”

“Don’t,” he said sharply. “If I see her name in your newspaper — if I even see her initials in your newspaper — I won’t even let you rot in jail for the rest of your natural life… I’ll kill you.”

With this realization came an avalanche of realizations. She was of Amnara’s ancestry. She was of the Didia bloodline. She was from ancient Egyptian royalty; from a tribe of priestesses and healers. The lotus had been passed down for thousands and thousands of years and she was the first to make it here, the first in her family to solve the mystery.

“Look baby, I know you’re passionate preserving history, but I think just this once—” “But this was your treasure. The whole reason you were on this dig,” she interrupted his teasing. “Edie,” he smiled, brushing dust from her cheek. “You’re the treasure I found in the Cursed Tomb of Argo. All I need to get safely out of this place… is you.”

Everything he’d done had been for her. He risked his life, his career, his assignment to bring down Pimsley — all to help her get the book. He got intercepted and beaten up by thugs trying to get her necklace back, and ultimately succeeded. He threw a priceless treasure into a river of metallic lava, a treasure that could have made him a very, very rich man. For her.