Not Just Artifacts

The desert surrounding the Nile is no place for the lighthearted. Let alone the majestic Valley of the Kings. Neither are what they seem on the surface. They are not just raw and ugly mined deserts with no life. No greenery or even variety in the landscape. No. Their beauty lies below. Beneath the rolling sands of time. The treasures of both historical significance and golden sarcophagi could be sold for more than imaginable. Loads of tourists trek through nearly every day - but see only the surface. Worn out Shphynx and temple entrances. And maybe the occasional archeologist gets to go deep inside, but even they are blind to the real Egypt. Arguably there is only one present-day boy who is familiar with every tomb, every chamber, and every undiscovered thing in the Valley of the Kings.

Khol Omari. Barely nineteen, he lives a life few would suspect him of. To see him on the street would lead one to an inch away from him. Avoid eye contact or turn in the other direction. He has a wide and incredibly strong build. Nourished skin and healthy eyes, allowing him to stand out from the pour. He wears simple muted clothes but stands tall. With a mask covering half his face, it's impossible to read him. Even more impossible to guess his chosen profession.

On this hot and abnormally sunny day, Khol is already halfway from Luxor to the Valley of the Kings. A journey he could make with his eyes closed in a sandstorm. Which, unfortunately, months before he had.

Today would be different from all other days though. Today was not the ordinary snatch and grab and get out. No, today he would be raiding a sealed tomb. A tomb that hadn't seen the light of day since its pharaoh had been locked inside. When Khol had gotten the tip about this location he almost left on the spot. Of course, he was smarter than this. He took nearly a week to prepare and scout and map it out. The information he received on its location and depth were sparse, but even worse was they had no idea who was buried within. Meaning he couldn't research the status of the ruler, and therefore had no idea the extent to which it would be booby-trapped, quite a risky combination. Most run-of-the-mill tomb raiders would dismiss the job immediately - but to Khol it was a high-risk high reward kind of a situation. Raid the tomb and auction the contents and just maybe... he could finally buy his way out of Egypt.

After passing a small group of tourists on camelback, Khol fished the hand-sketched map from his pack. Only three more miles, he figured, glancing due east. It was completely barren out there. Nothing to see for miles. And no above-the-surface markers either. As most tombs have at least a door or a monument or something. This led him to believe this was either all bull and the tomb he was looking for meant nothing - or the complete opposite. Or it would be full of the greatest lore and riches the Egyptians of the past put aside vanity and grandeur to protect it.

Almost made Khol feel bad. Almost.

Soon another hour rolled by and it was almost noon. That hardly mattered though, as, after a few checks on his GPS and a glance at the map, his heart fluttered. If all of the calculations were correct… he was standing right on top of the Great Tomb.

Khol squinted through the mirages to make certain no one was around. He had trekked barefoot, allowing his footprints to be shallower and thus blow away faster in the wind. Half an hour from now and no one would be able to trace him.

Sinking to his hands and knees, he nervously removed a sharp metal spike from his pack. It was two feet long, stainless copper-like steel. He thrust it into the sand, hoping it would hit either hard rock or trigger a funnel. When neither happened, his heart pounded just a little faster. He moved a few feet to the right and stabbed a little harder even though he didn't need to. The point of his staff stopped a foot bellow the surface. On a solid bed of what had to be limestone blocks. Khol grinned. Digging until his hands felt the same cold stone. A chill ran down his spine. He was the first human hand - probably - to touch this rock in millennia.

Grueling hours went by as he navigated the architecture of the entrance and finally cleared enough sand to get a look at the whole thing. It was about the size of an average household door, angled and steep. And once he moved enough sand he could walk right in. The way it was angled only the top covering would be covered, making sure no sand could enter past the doorway. Quite brilliant, Khol thought.

Now, most tomb raiders that he knew took great advantage of modern technology. Not Khol. Not in places he could afford not to. Now, did he carry a .22 caliber instead of a knife? Yes. Did he use GPS as well as maps? Yes. But when it came to the little things - he did it his way.

In his hand, he held a torch. A foot-and-a-half tall piece of wood wrapped and garnished in gold. Stolen from one of his first tombs. He replaced the empty top with some kerosene-soaked cloth, wrapping it around gingerly as he entered the dark chasm. Once he was so deep inside the air felt cold on his skin, he lit it. Striking a single match on the limestone wall and bringing his ancient light source to life. It glowed and cast an amber color across the tomb walls. Flickering shadows dance over hieroglyphs and paintings. He’d been able to read Hyroglyphs since childhood - but didn't dare stop to read them. He knew that this tomb would take a long time to wind through, so he would have to work fast.

He swallowed a deep breath, and entered the first hall.

And that moment, when he crossed the threshold into the first of the chambers, was when everything he knew about tomb raiding turned upside down

He entered the room and his heart felt like ice in his chest. The light of his torch filled a small chamber, with blue walls instead of sandstone. Chiseled with beauty and laden with gold embellishing. Piles and stacks of riches and Canopic jars littered the floor, but his eyes were locked on that which stood in the center of the room. Maybe five feet away from him. And staring right back.

To say she was beautiful would be a tragic understatement. She was flawless. Stunning. Eyes that seemed to glow gold and hair silky and black. Framing a resolute face dawning a suspicious smile. She was dressed in a pleated flowing white garment that draped over her shoulders. The most incredible jewels and necklaces Khol had ever seen covered every inch of her. She looked as though she walked straight out of as ancient Egyptian palace. And worse yet - she was very much alive. Breathing the same air as him.

“Welcome, Khol.” She laughed a little bit, the sound piercing Khol deep. Every bone in his body screamed, muscled pulling to run but something held his bewildered body in place. The woman took a step closer, a Cheshire grin spreading across her lips.

“Now what is it that you want?”