The Secret of the Scarab Beetle by William Meyer

Author:William Meyer
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781585369386
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press

Chapter Twelve

The girl stepped forward, and Horace was struck by her long black hair and golden headband. While she looked tired, and her clothes were covered in dirt, her eyes were radiant. Around her neck hung a golden necklace in the shape of a cross, with a circular top. The metal seemed to shimmer from a magical light that lit up the dark room.

She was just a kid. And by the looks of it, the same age as they were.

Horace regained his bearings and tried to put her at ease. “Don’t worry. We’re not here to hurt you.” He gestured toward his friends. “This is Milton, and that’s Anna. And I’m Horace.”

The girl’s eyes opened wide. “Horace?” she said, peering more closely at him.

“Do you know her?” Milton asked.

Horace shook his head subtly. He had never seen this girl before, but he didn’t want to be rude.

“Tut mentioned you,” she explained as she wiped a flake of dirt from her face with her fingertip. “I’m Meri.”

It was difficult to know who was more surprised, Horace or Meri.

“You know Tut? King Tut?” Milton almost shouted.

“Shhhhhh,” encouraged Horace. “There are still guards out there.”

The girl didn’t seem to mind, though. “Yes, I’m his wife.” She paused, noticing the look of even greater surprise on their faces. “His future wife, once he becomes pharaoh. Our parents arranged our marriage. It’s common among royalty.”

“Is Tut okay?” asked Horace. “I thought he might be in trouble.”

“Smenk and his army have come for him and the priests. Many people think Smenk has the blessing of the old priests, since he also claims to have possession of the sacred Benben Stone.”

“What’s the Benben Stone?” asked Anna.

“It’s the magical stone from the Old Kingdom,” Meri answered.

“And now Tut’s uncle has it?” asked Horace.

Meri walked over to the door and peered into the small hole they’d crawled through, checking to make sure no one was in the alley. “I don’t know anymore. Everything has changed since Akhenaten’s death.”

“That’s Tut’s dad,” Horace told his two friends. “He was the one who created this city.”

Meri continued, “When Akhenaten built Amarna, he also closed all the temples along the Nile that were connected to the earlier gods. Many of the priests were angry they’d lost their jobs.”

“But what does any of this have to do with the Benben Stone?” inquired Anna.

“Some, like Smenk, believe if they find the lost Benben Stone, they can reawaken the power of the old gods and destroy this city and Aten, the sun god, with it. The ancient temples along the Nile would be reopened, and everything would go back to the way it used to be.”

“You mean, with the priests in charge again,” Anna added.

“Right.” Meri nodded.

“But I don’t see what’s so bad about the priests being in charge?” pressed Milton.

“Before,” Meri answered, “if you had a problem, you had to ask the priests for help, and only if they felt you were worthy enough did they petition the gods on your behalf. Here in Amarna, Akhenaten made the sun god, Aten, available to everyone.

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