The Last Priest Read online

  In the distance, there was a faint rustling sound from the trees.

  “It's going to rain,” Charley said, turning to look over at the archway and seeing gray skies in the distance. “Do you think we should move the tents?”

  “We can do that later,” Chris replied, shining his torch into the hole and then starting to crawl inside. “We've got time for an exploratory trip inside first.”

  “What's it like in there?” Henrik asked, crouching next to the hole and watching as Chris made his way further into the darkness.

  “Cramped,” Chris called back to them, “but -” There was a pause as he could be heard getting to his feet on the other side of the doorway.

  Henrik glanced at Martha.

  Martha glanced at Charley.

  “Chris?” Duncan called out. “You found anything in there?”

  “Come and see for yourselves,” he replied, his voice already echoing a little, as if he was in a large space.

  Taking a deep breath, Duncan began to crawl through, with Henrik right behind.

  “Good job I didn't just get my nails done,” Martha said with a smile, holding up her left hand to reveal that her nails were, in fact, bitten down to the quick. Getting down onto her hands and knees, she shone her torch into the hole before crawling inside.

  Hearing the faintest hint of thunder in the distance, Charley glanced over her shoulder and looked at the clouds for a moment, and she felt certain that in just a couple of minutes the sky had already become darker. Figuring that the weather was the least of their problems, she crouched down and switched her torch on, before crawling forward and into the hole in the wall, only to emerge a few seconds later on the other side of the stone doorway.

  Scrabbling to her feet, she took her first breath of the cold air inside the pyramid. Shining her torch straight up, she saw a high stone ceiling towering twenty or twenty-five feet above, supported by a series of thick columns that rose from the floor. Each column was so tall and so wide, the light from her torch could only pick out a small section at a time. As the group's five torch-beams criss-crossed the vast space, however, the sheer size of the room became more and more apparent. For a moment, Charley felt overwhelmed by the realization that she and the others were the first people to enter the pyramid for up to a thousand years. Taking a few steps forward, she turned and shone the torch over the wall, seeing vast inscriptions running a far as the eye could see.

  “It's completely unspoiled,” Chris said, his voice coming from a patch of darkness a little further off. “I didn't dare to believe it could be true, but this place really hasn't been disturbed at all. No thieves, no vandals, nothing.”

  “It's so quiet,” Martha added, grinning as she shone her torch directly onto her own face for a few seconds. “And more than a little creepy.”

  “Check these guys out,” Duncan said after a moment.

  Turning, Charley saw a torch-beam over by one of the walls, shining down at a few small objects on the floor.

  “I found bodies,” he added, with a hint of awe in his voice.

  “The builders,” Chris explained, as they all headed over to take a look. As they shone their torches past the nearest column, they saw other bodies scattered across the floor, and finally the beams of light picked out a much larger pile of corpses over in the far corner. Some of them were nothing more than skeletal remains, but a few still had thin, withered skin stretched over their bones.

  “Jesus Christ,” Duncan whispered.

  “No-one was allowed to leave the site once it was finished,” Chris continued. “Ah-Shalla would undoubtedly have given orders for the execution of anyone who knew the location of the tomb, so the builders were killed and sealed inside. A few had to be left alive so they could put the final stones in place, so it looks like they piled the bodies over there and then...” He made his way over to the large pile, which contained hundreds of skulls and other bones. “Most of them would have been poisoned, or killed with sacrificial knives. They would have been told they could leave, but as soon as they were of no further use, the priests would have ordered their deaths.”

  “They should've had a better union,” Duncan said with a faint smile.

  “This guy would have been one of the priests, then,” Henrik added.

  Turning, Charley saw that he was shining his torch down at one particular set of bones near the other wall.

  “There's a knife next to his hand,” he continued, crouching next to the bones as the others went to join him. “It was probably his job to stay behind and make sure the laborers were all dead.”

  “He wouldn't have been the main priest,” Chris replied. “There would have been three priests. They would have considered it a great honor to lay down their lives for the great Ah-Shalla. Two of the priests would have killed themselves as soon as the workers were all dead, but the last priest would have stayed alive to make sure that everything went smoothly.”

  “Stayed alive?” Duncan asked. “As in... Sealed inside this place?”

  “For a few days,” Chris continued, “until he died.”

  “How many people died in here?” Charley asked. “In total, I mean.”

  “A few hundred, probably,” Chris told her. “Good job none of us believe in ghosts, right? Then again, a place like this rather disproves the ghost hypothesis, doesn't it? I mean, if anywhere in the world was going to be haunted, I'm pretty sure this'd be the spot.”

  Looking down at Henrik, Charley spotted him making the sign of the cross on his chest and whispering something.

  “I don't want to alarm you guys,” Duncan said, making his way over to the far wall, “but these guys have really ramped up the warnings in here.” He shone his torch over another set of pictograms. “This section warns that anyone who has broken into this part of the tomb has brought about not only their own imminent death, but also a great threat to the world. Apparently we still have a chance to turn back, but if we go any further into the heart of the pyramid, or if we remove anything, we're dead meat.” He turned and smiled at them. “Oh, and the threat from the east is still going to cast darkness and chaos over the world if we go any further.”

  “The warlord,” Charley whispered.

  “The what?” Martha asked, turning to her.

  “Nothing,” she replied, “just... I was speaking to David on the satellite phone during the night. He told me about some big security crisis in Europe with this warlord who's got hold of some chemical and nuclear weapons. Apparently he's got a convoy and he's heading...” She paused for a moment, before glancing at Henrik and seeing the worried look in his eyes. “Well, he's heading from the east -”

  “Calm down,” Chris said, interrupting her. “At any given time, there are always threats in the world.”

  “I know,” Charley replied, “but -”

  “So let's not start down that path,” he continued. “If we wait to explore this place until world peace breaks out and no-one's in any danger, we'll never get anywhere. Our work at this site has absolutely zero impact on events happening on the other side of the planet.”

  “Sure,” Charley replied, worried that the others were starting to look down on her. “I know that.”

  “I don't think they were all so happy about dying,” Martha said, aiming her torch at several sets of bones near the stone doorway. “It looks like some of them were trying to find a way out, others have had their skulls broken.” She turned to the others. “I guess they weren't very excited about the idea of being sacrificed for the great Ah-Shalla. Can you imagine being so arrogant that you want hundreds of other people to lay down their lives just to build you a goddamn tomb? The guy must have been a complete -”

  Before she could finish, there was a loud bump in the distance. They all turned, aiming their torches across the vast room, but there was no sign of movement.

  “That was probably just the building settling,” Duncan said, with a hint of fear in his voice. “That's what buildings do, right? They... settle?”


  “We've just disturbed a space that has been sealed for many centuries,” Chris replied, sounding a little weary as if he was tired of calming everyone's fears. “The pressure changes alone are likely to have some kind of structural impact. Everyone try to keep a level head.”

  “Please don't talk about structural impact when we're right underneath several thousand tons of stone,” Duncan replied, aiming his torch up at the ceiling. “I really don't fancy having an entire pyramid come crashing down.” After a moment, he turned to Martha and shone his torch straight at her face. “And just to be safe, maybe you should try not to openly insult the great Ah-Shalla, in case you piss him off.”

  “I want to find the central burial chamber,” Chris said, making his way across the room and heading past the columns. “It's going to be in the middle of the pyramid.”

  “I thought this was just an exploratory trip,” Duncan called after him. Getting no reply, he sighed.

  “You okay there?” Martha asked, joining Charley as they all began to follow Chris.

  “Sure. Why do you ask?”

  “No reason. Except, maybe you've got a look on your face like you're absolutely terrified.”

  “I'm not scared,” Charley replied defensively, “I just...” She paused, trying to think of the right words. “Something about this just feels kind of weird, you know? I mean, this is someone's tomb.”

  “Someone who's been dead for a thousand years,” Martha pointed out. “Please, let's not start the moral debate again. We're just doing what humans do best. We're exploring. Which is a polite way of saying that we're sticking our noses in where they're not welcome.”

  “Two routes,” Chris said, stopping up ahead and shining his torch on the two stone archways that led off from the main hall. “This is a typical feature of tombs from this period. One of the routes leads to the burial chamber, and the other most likely leads down to nowhere, or maybe to a fake chamber designed to make grave-robbers think someone got here ahead of them.”

  “Or maybe to a trap,” Henrik pointed out.

  “Let's not talk about traps,” Chris replied.

  “No,” Henrik continued, “I think we should talk about traps. It's well known that the people who built these pyramids wanted to punish anyone who broke in. They put a lot of faith in curses, they really believed they worked, but they didn't a few practical punishments as well. Whether or not those traps are still in working order, I guarantee you that they're around somewhere, and I sure as hell don't want to be the first person who tests them.”

  “He's right,” Martha added.

  “A thousand years,” Chris replied with a sigh. “That's how long this place has been sitting here undisturbed. Do you really think that these people were capable of building traps that would last for a thousand years?”

  “Yes,” Henrik said bluntly.

  “We're going to be careful,” Chris continued. “We're going to stick together and fully intend to lead the way, so if anyone's going to be taking any risks, it's me.”

  “That's mildly comforting,” Martha replied.

  “Does anyone care what these pictograms say?” Duncan asked, examining the symbols etched above the two archways. “The one on the left is apparently a gateway to hell, and the one on the right is a gateway to the land of the dead.” He turned to the others. “Anyone got a preference?”

  “We'll try hell first,” Chris said with a faint smile. “The land of the dead seems too obvious a clue, so I doubt that's the one that leads to the burial chamber.”

  “Unless that's precisely what Ah-Shalla wants you to think,” Martha pointed out.

  “The decision's made,” Chris replied, heading over to the gateway on the left and shining his torch through. “It looks to be a narrow stone corridor,” he said after a moment, taking a few steps forward, “with a slight decline, as if it's heading down into the base of the pyramid. That seems right, actually. The burial chamber was often located a little below ground level in this particular style of pyramid, so I think we're probably on the right track. If anyone wants to back out, feel free, but I'm going to take a look.”

  As he headed through the gateway, Martha turned to Charley. “You up for this?”

  “You don't have to keep asking me,” she replied, stepping past her and following Chris into the corridor. “I'm fine and I'm not scared. Are you scared?”

  “Obviously,” Martha said, following her. “What kind of idiot wouldn't be scared breaking into a booby-trapped, cursed tomb?”

  “There's a turn up ahead,” Chris called back to them, as he reached the point at which the corridor took a ninety degree turn to the left. “I want everyone to stick together, okay? No stragglers.”

  “Bringing up the rear!” Duncan called out from behind them as they continued to make their way along the corridor, eventually reaching a right turn and heading deeper into the pyramid.

  “The air's cold,” Charley said after a while.

  “I guess the great Ah-Shalla didn't think he had to worry so much about heating,” Martha replied. “According to the traditions of his civilization, dead kings were laid to rest in pyramids so they could be spotted by the gods and taken up. The idea was that the gods would look down, see the pyramids and take note of the fabulous riches that had been left with the dead king, and then they'd decide whether or not to take the king up to paradise. The bigger the pyramid, the more likely it was to be seen by the gods. The bigger the collection of riches, the more likely the gods were to be impressed once they took a closer look.”

  “I'm not seeing so many riches so far,” Duncan said from the back of the group.

  “Oh, they're here alright,” Martha said, lowering her voice a little as if she didn't want Chris to hear her. “Why do you think he's so keen to explore the place?”

  “Curiosity?” Charley replied.

  “Get real,” Martha continued. “He's usually very cautious. I've been on other expeditions with him, remember? Usually he'd inch forward at a snail's pace, but this time he's charging ahead. Something's different.”

  “What do you think he's expecting to find?” Charley asked.

  “I don't know,” she replied, “but whatever it is, he's playing his cards close to his chest and -” Seeing that Chris had stopped up ahead, she forced a smile. “I'm sure we'll all be amply rewarded for our work,” she continued. “On a spiritual level, if -”

  She stopped suddenly as they reached the end of the corridor, which opened out onto a small platform. As they all began to shine their torches around, they saw that they'd reached a vast circular chamber containing a massive round pit, with steps leading down to the bottom and a kind of stone table in the middle. Chris had already made his way down a few of the steps and was shining his light around the chamber, and as the others joined him they shone beams of light through the darkness, lighting not only the pit but also the vast domed ceiling.

  “I've never seen anything like this,” Chris said after a moment. “There are no pillars in here, how the hell is the ceiling supported?”

  “What is this place?” Charley asked, taking a couple of steps forward.

  “It's the king's bathing room,” Chris replied, making his way down the steps toward the bottom of the pit. “It would have served two purposes. The first would have been to wash his body after his death and prepare him for burial.” Reaching the stone table at the center of the pit, he ran his hand across the surface. “His dead body would have been placed on here, and then the three priests would have got to work. You can see narrow grooves in the stone, for the blood to run away. They'd have mummified him in this exact spot after bathing him in milk, and then they'd have finished preparing his body by wrapping him in his burial clothes.”

  “The second purpose,” Martha added, “would be for after the tomb was sealed. There would have been water or milk left in this pit so that he could...” She paused for a moment, turning to Henrik.

  “So that he could bathe while he waited for the gods to take him,” He
nrik said, with fear in his eyes.

  “Sounds like real luxury,” Duncan suggested.

  “Ah-Shalla would have believed that he'd be resurrected while he was still in the tomb,” Henrik continued. “He undoubtedly felt that he needed to be clean when the gods were ready for him, so I imagine something would have been left in here so he could bathe himself one more time before his ascension, but...” He paused for a moment. “Milk was for washing him when he'd just died, but it would have been blood after that.”

  “Don't be melodramatic,” Chris replied, turning to him. “There's no evidence to suggest -”

  “There's plenty of evidence,” Henrik said, interrupting him. “Blood baths were actually quite common in this part of the world, and the blood in the bodies of the builders wouldn't have been wasted after they died. The three priests who were sealed in with the king would have drained those bodies and used their blood to fill this pit, so that Ah-Shalla could bathe and drink once he'd been resurrected.”

  “Where's the blood now?” Charley asked.

  “Evaporated. Drained away. It wouldn't have lasted a thousand years.” He made his way over to the stone table and examined its surface for a moment. “I studied immediate post-death rituals extensively. Ah-Shalla would have been laid naked on here within just a few minutes of his death, and then he would have been bathed in milk before they began the mummification process. Three priests would have carried out the procedure itself. Ah-Shalla's brain would have been removed through his nose, and his internal organs -”

  “Thanks,” Duncan said, interrupting him, “but I think we all know how mummification used to work.”

  “The three priests working on Ah-Shalla's body would have known that they were going to die soon. It was considered a great honor to attend to the king after his death, and they believed they would be taken with him when the gods admitted him to the next world. They believed it absolutely, the same way we believe the sun rises in the morning and sets at night. There would have been no doubt in their minds at all, just absolute certainty.”