“You got it, Doc.”
“Thanks, Piper.” Layne headed across the sand. The sun was already getting hot. Today was going to be a scorcher.
Someone fell into step beside her.
“Morning, Rush,” Declan said. “You look like hell.”
“Gee, thanks. Way to make my morning better.”
“Get any sleep?”
“A few hours, thanks to you.”
“I spoke with the authorities this morning.” He shrugged his broad shoulders. “Nothing they can do. Suspect it was a thief who killed Karim.”
“At least they aren’t blaming the curse.”
“Yeah. Sorry to hear about your workers.”
She set her shoulders back. “We’ll find more. For now, I have work to do. I need that set-animal amulet. I want to see if it fits—”
When he pulled it out of his pocket, she smiled at him.
“Figured you’d be keen to test your theory,” he said. “I also had Hale put the scroll in the work tent.”
He followed her into the tent, and the moment she laid eyes on the scroll, she forgot about her crappy morning.
She put the amulet down and snapped on gloves. She gently rolled out the scroll and then picked up the set-animal. Holding it over the scroll, she hesitated, her gaze meeting Declan’s.
He nodded.
She set it down and it clicked into place.
“It fits!” She grinned, then leaned over the scroll, murmuring to herself. “Declan, the glyphs on the set-animal tie in with the ones on the scroll. It makes sense now!”
“The missing piece of the puzzle,” he said.
She pulled her notepad open, grabbed her pen, and sat on her stool. She set to work and Declan leaned over her shoulder, watching.
It scattered her thoughts a little. She could feel the heat coming off him. He was just too masculine.
She took a breath and started decoding the ancient symbols.
One stumped her. Dammit. She scribbled some ideas, scratched them out.
“It’s the symbol for west,” Declan said. “It’s a very old variant, but I’m pretty sure it’s west.”
She stilled, and slowly wrote west in her notes. “In the desert to the west. That works.”
“And this other one you’re having trouble with. I think it means small or tiny.”
“God, you’re right.” She scribbled furiously, then she tilted her head back and looked at his rugged face. “We’re not a bad team.”
She watched his face shutter and it made her chest tighten.
“So, what’s the final translation?” he asked.
Right. Translation. She cleared her throat. “To find your way to the desert in the west, to the House of Seth’s beloved.”
Declan frowned. “Got any more?”
“Yes. It joins up with what I translated yesterday.” She ran her finger along the text. “True believer, do not be taken in by the lies of the falcon. Use the scroll, hidden with Itennu, loyal servant of the true god of gold. Solve the riddles of the true god, to find your way to the desert in the west, to the House of Seth’s beloved, then the place of the small birds, where he is king.” She took a breath. “To the oasis of Zerzura.” Her hands trembled. “It’s a map to Zerzura.”
“This is what Anders is after,” Declan said grimly.
“It can’t be real, Declan. This must be a spiritual journey. Like the path to the afterlife, the dead have to pass through various gates and solve riddles. The desert in the west symbolizes the afterlife, where the dying sun sets each day.”
“This sounds pretty real to me, Rush.”
God, she hoped not. But at the same time… “Keep your voice down. We can’t have anyone overhearing, regardless.” If word got out, they’d be inundated with treasure hunters, looters, thieves, adventurers, rival archeologists. She pressed a palm to her forehead. “Zerzura is a legend. Lost cities can’t stay lost in this day and age of satellite images.”
“It doesn’t matter. Anders thinks that map is real.”
And he wouldn’t hesitate to kill for it. “What should we do?”
“We need to get the scroll out of here and you need to close down the dig.”
“What?” She shot to her feet. “I can’t shut the dig—”
“Layne, you don’t have enough workers anyway,” he said quietly. “Which I’m guessing Anders has something to do with.”
“What?”
“I’m guessing he poisoned the food, with Karim’s help.”
She rubbed her head. “Dammit.” She’d wanted this dig to be a huge success. Now it was just a disaster, and a man was dead.
She couldn’t risk any more lives.