As Long As by Jackie Ivie Page A

rapidly and viciously against a wash of moisture that came unbidden and swift. He’d never dealt with such a thing. For a few moments, he wasn’t sure he could conquer it. He was extremely thankful he hadn’t turned on the lights yet. He finally had the emotion defeated, but had to clear his throat to answer her. And then the words trembled.
    “There is water that has debilitating effects. If it is trickled down a Cippi statue and blessed by a priest of Amun first.”
    “A what statue?”
    “It is a sacred statue of the young god, Horus . He stands atop a crocodile. He holds two scorpions in each hand. This water has healing properties for the living. Ancient Egyptian physicians used it.”
    “It will harm you?”
    “Most assuredly.”
    “Well. I think you’re safe. Anyone wishing to use it would have to find the statue and then track down a priest of Amun. I think the last one disappeared sometime during the Roman occupation. Or thereabout. Yes?”
    He grunted, and pushed the lever down.

CHAPTER TWELVE
    Words failed her.
    Geena stumbled down a step, her eyes wide, one hand pressed to her breast. The other held tightly to Sokar. She laced her fingers through his, alternately squeezing and then releasing. She blinked several times. Tried squinting. The light came from florescent tubes in the ceiling. They took a moment to brighten. That was a distinct blessing since she’d been in pitch blackness. It was also a problem. The view was indistinct. She had to wait. She stood at the top of the steps and watched the world turn into intense color, precious oiled woods, statuary...
    And gold.
    She thought she’d prepared herself. She’d seen filmmaker’s versions of what an Egyptian Pharaoh’s tomb looked like. Not a young one like King Tutankhamen, but an older pharaoh. One with time to accrue a lot of worldly goods.
    The truth was ground-shaking. Stunning. The walls and columns in this room were covered with enormous depictions of the gods. She recognized Anubis , the jackal-headed god. Toth , the ibis-headed one. Tefnut , the lion-headed goddess. The falcon-headed god, Horus . Ma-at , the goddess of truth and justice, complete with a feather atop her head. More.
    The walls were works of art. And yet, everywhere she looked was treasure. Where Sokar had two ka statues, his father had an army of them. They stood in rows, three abreast, facing the portal with spears held at the ready. The statues were all dressed in the kilt and headdress of a pharaoh. And every one of them wore a golden breast collar inset with a fortune in jewels. There were statues of horses, too, at the back. Life-sized. Maybe larger. They looked enormous from her standpoint. Their collars and reins were also fashioned of gold and inset with all kinds of gem stones. The horses were hitched, two to a chariot. She counted twelve in sight, and the heads of more horses through another doorway.
    It was intimidating. And awe-inspiring.
    A wooden boat graced one wall. There was a striped fabric tent in the center. Its oars extended out into the room, as if ready to navigate the Nile. Its lines were elegant. She’d only seen one like it. King Khufu’s boat, found at the Giza plateau. It resided there now, in its own museum. Could this be an indicator that all pharaohs had them?
    Geena descended the steps reverently. Silently. She stood at the base of the stairs, looking up at the front row of statues. Feeling very small. And extremely insignificant. Her voice reflected it.
    “Sokar?”
    He answered from her side. His voice was deep. Full. Resonant.
    “My father was Amenemhet the Fourth. He was the seventh pharaoh in what is known as Dynasty Twelve of the Middle Kingdom. He is called a forgotten pharaoh. His reign considered of no importance. There is little known of it because researchers can’t locate much. They didn’t find a pyramid. Or a tomb. My father had a pyramid. It was almost as large as the one built by my namesake, but my father’s was