Battle Aternus (The Aternien Wars Book 5) by G J Ogden

Author:G J Ogden [Ogden, G J]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Ogden Media Ltd
Published: 2023-09-30T16:00:00+00:00

FIFTEEN

TOMB OF THE PHARAOH

Carter picked up one of the Aternien crooks and tore the mold of Markus Aternus’ face off the handle. The weapon crackled and hissed, shooting sparks into the air like a firework, until finally it fizzled to nothing and died. Turning to Nathan he then offered the injured scientist the broken weapon to use as a crutch.

“Here, this should help you to walk,” Carter said. The man eyed the crook with suspicion, then turned his distrustful eyes to Carter. “I’ve disabled it, so don’t get any crazy notions about blasting me in the back.”

“No, that’s not what I was thinking,” Nathan replied, as if Carter had further injured him with his hurtful words.

“Then what?” Carter grunted.

“I’m just surprised, that’s all,” the scientist explained, examining the crook as if it were a true ancient Egyptian relic. “I hardly merit such an act of kindness.”

“I’m not being kind, just practical,” Carter replied. “I don’t want to have to carry your sorry ass through this pyramid. And keeping you alive was purely motivated self-interest. I still need your help, remember?”

Nathan nodded. “I remember. Even so, thank you.”

Carter snorted a laugh. “Nathan Clynes saying ‘thank you?’. It seems that miracles do happen.”

The scientist scowled at him, but Carina stepped up to smooth over the rough edges of their still fractious relationship.

“Perhaps he’s not a monster after all?” she said, shooting the scientist a smile, which he was powerless not to return. It seemed that his XO had a hold on Nathan. “After all, he did cure me of the Aternien virus and saved my life.”

“Motivated self-interest again,” Carter said, unkindly. “Don’t be fooled.”

It was true that Nathan’s serum had cured Carina of the Aternien virus, but the scientist had only done so to save his own skin. Ordinarily, pointing this out would have caused Nathan to fire off a string of insults, but the man remained unusually humble.

“Well, since I’m here, and alive, perhaps we should continue on inside?” Nathan said, pressing the crook into the pit of his arm and resting on it. It turned out to be the perfect size. “If Markus modelled this temple on the Great Pyramid of Giza, as I suspect he would have, there will be an ascending passage that leads to a grand gallery and finally the god-king’s chamber.”

Carina nodded and held out her comp-slate for everyone to see. It was busy compiling a map of the pyramid’s interior based on scans that TOBY was actively conducting.

“Unlike this structure, the Pyramid of Khufu in Giza was actually cramped on the inside, but Nathan is right that there are many similarities in terms of the internal layouts.” She highlighted three areas in particular. “I can certainly see what looks like the king’s chamber toward the middle of the pyramid, and the equivalent of a queen’s chamber and a subterranean chamber too, though their purposes are likely different here.”

Carter wasn’t a particularly superstitious man, but the thought of descending into the crypts of the Aternien palace

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