the map was going to tell us where to
finish
.’
Papineau laughed him off. ‘Unfortunately, no. It won’t be that easy. There’s no X that marks the spot. Instead, we must determine where to begin.’
‘I thought we knew that already. We’re going to start in Alexandria.’ He glanced at them for confirmation. ‘Right?’
‘Yes, but where?’
Garcia stared at the map. He saw miles of roads, hundreds of buildings, and countless acres of underground catacombs. Finding one tomb in all of that seemed unlikely at best. ‘Crap. This is going to be tougher than I thought: like trying to find a snowflake in an avalanche.’
‘Hector, snowflakes would be easy by comparison. This is going to be substantially more difficult.’
Jasmine shrugged. ‘Maybe, maybe not.’
Papineau lit up. ‘You found something?’
‘Nothing definitive, but . . .’ Her tone was far from confident, as if she was still trying to convince herself of the possibility. ‘Maybe.’
‘Well, don’t just stand there. Show us!’
Jasmine groaned, but did as she was told. She stripped away all of the more recent layers of the map, leaving only the oldest renditions. Then she enlarged the hologram, focusing on a depression in the center of the map. ‘I know it looks like a hole in the ground, but I’m intrigued by the label. It’s inscribed with the words “Donum Neptunus”.’
Classically educated, Papineau didn’t need a computer to translate the term. ‘It’s Latin. It means “The Gift of Neptune”. What do you make of it?’
She sat in the nearest chair and rubbed her eyes, still trying to work through the theory in her head. ‘There’s an ancient story that I’ve heard many times before in a wide variety of ways that mentions a sacred well in the bowels of Alexandria. According to legend, if you believe these types of things, the well was so magical that it played a major role in determining the fate of Egypt.’
‘A water well?’ Garcia asked. ‘How did it do that?’
She explained. ‘In 47 BC, Julius Caesar fought Ptolemy Theos Philopator for control of the city. There were two main battles. During the first, known as the Siege of Alexandria, Ptolemy’s men flooded Caesar’s freshwater reserves with seawater in an attempt to cause his surrender. To combat the sabotage, Caesar dug into the earth until he reached drinkable water. Caesar was then able to beat back Ptolemy’s forces and eventually defeat him during the Battle of the Nile.’
Papineau nodded in understanding. ‘Neptune was the Roman god of water. You think the Gift of Neptune is Caesar’s Well.’
‘I think it’s possible.’
‘Tell me more,’ he ordered. ‘Convince me.’
She smiled and accepted the challenge. ‘Realizing the importance of a freshwater source, Caesar supposedly had the pit fortified with stone. He then surrounded that well with sturdy walls that were twice as thick as those of any other building – walls that were protected by an elite garrison of Roman guards. Legend has it that for the next seven hundred years, only priests were allowed to enter the temple that housed the well. It was seen as the only way to ensure the sanctity of the water source.’
‘And after the seventh century?’
‘Unfortunately, there’s no mention of Caesar’s Well after the Persian invasion in any of the books I’ve read. Then again, there’s no official mention of the well
before
the Persian invasion, either. Like I said, this is just a legend. But . . .’
‘But what?’
‘But the Lost Throne was just a legend, and someone found that in Greece.’
Garcia stared at the map ‘So, assuming the rumors were true, and assuming that this “Donus Neptunus” does refer to your mythical well, how does that help us?’
Jasmine connected the dots. ‘Sometime around 200 AD, Emperor Septimius Severus had all evidence of Alexander’s tomb taken into custody. And I mean
everything
. If a book contained so much as a mention of the tomb,
finish
.’
Papineau laughed him off. ‘Unfortunately, no. It won’t be that easy. There’s no X that marks the spot. Instead, we must determine where to begin.’
‘I thought we knew that already. We’re going to start in Alexandria.’ He glanced at them for confirmation. ‘Right?’
‘Yes, but where?’
Garcia stared at the map. He saw miles of roads, hundreds of buildings, and countless acres of underground catacombs. Finding one tomb in all of that seemed unlikely at best. ‘Crap. This is going to be tougher than I thought: like trying to find a snowflake in an avalanche.’
‘Hector, snowflakes would be easy by comparison. This is going to be substantially more difficult.’
Jasmine shrugged. ‘Maybe, maybe not.’
Papineau lit up. ‘You found something?’
‘Nothing definitive, but . . .’ Her tone was far from confident, as if she was still trying to convince herself of the possibility. ‘Maybe.’
‘Well, don’t just stand there. Show us!’
Jasmine groaned, but did as she was told. She stripped away all of the more recent layers of the map, leaving only the oldest renditions. Then she enlarged the hologram, focusing on a depression in the center of the map. ‘I know it looks like a hole in the ground, but I’m intrigued by the label. It’s inscribed with the words “Donum Neptunus”.’
Classically educated, Papineau didn’t need a computer to translate the term. ‘It’s Latin. It means “The Gift of Neptune”. What do you make of it?’
She sat in the nearest chair and rubbed her eyes, still trying to work through the theory in her head. ‘There’s an ancient story that I’ve heard many times before in a wide variety of ways that mentions a sacred well in the bowels of Alexandria. According to legend, if you believe these types of things, the well was so magical that it played a major role in determining the fate of Egypt.’
‘A water well?’ Garcia asked. ‘How did it do that?’
She explained. ‘In 47 BC, Julius Caesar fought Ptolemy Theos Philopator for control of the city. There were two main battles. During the first, known as the Siege of Alexandria, Ptolemy’s men flooded Caesar’s freshwater reserves with seawater in an attempt to cause his surrender. To combat the sabotage, Caesar dug into the earth until he reached drinkable water. Caesar was then able to beat back Ptolemy’s forces and eventually defeat him during the Battle of the Nile.’
Papineau nodded in understanding. ‘Neptune was the Roman god of water. You think the Gift of Neptune is Caesar’s Well.’
‘I think it’s possible.’
‘Tell me more,’ he ordered. ‘Convince me.’
She smiled and accepted the challenge. ‘Realizing the importance of a freshwater source, Caesar supposedly had the pit fortified with stone. He then surrounded that well with sturdy walls that were twice as thick as those of any other building – walls that were protected by an elite garrison of Roman guards. Legend has it that for the next seven hundred years, only priests were allowed to enter the temple that housed the well. It was seen as the only way to ensure the sanctity of the water source.’
‘And after the seventh century?’
‘Unfortunately, there’s no mention of Caesar’s Well after the Persian invasion in any of the books I’ve read. Then again, there’s no official mention of the well
before
the Persian invasion, either. Like I said, this is just a legend. But . . .’
‘But what?’
‘But the Lost Throne was just a legend, and someone found that in Greece.’
Garcia stared at the map ‘So, assuming the rumors were true, and assuming that this “Donus Neptunus” does refer to your mythical well, how does that help us?’
Jasmine connected the dots. ‘Sometime around 200 AD, Emperor Septimius Severus had all evidence of Alexander’s tomb taken into custody. And I mean
everything
. If a book contained so much as a mention of the tomb,
Similar Books
