ENG | The Cursed Scepter

The Cursed Scepter

While Ignacio examined the altar and temple walls for an entrance, Jackie and Julian engaged in an unusual and fierce physical struggle. The mercenary defended against all Jacqueline's attempts at precise strikes, while she didn't allow him to trap her in a deadly embrace.

The cramped space didn't help, but they managed to break free from each other. Breathless, the air in the tomb was a bit thin, representing more of a test of vitality and endurance than combat skill.

"You won't get rid of me so easily, Jacqueline."

If Jackie was surprised that Julian knew her real name, she didn't show it. Julian holstered his pistol and scrutinized her. He knew she would have the advantage if he pulled out the gun; it was the time she needed to attack. The 21-feet rule and all that.

"I don't even know why you try."

"Who hired you, Julian?" Jacqueline put herself between Julian and Ignacio. "It's impossible for you, a loyal descendant of the people of Africa, to recover the scepter for neo-Nazis."

"I never said it was for them." Julian smirked, circling the altar. "I just said I'm recovering it for an employer. I didn't specify who. You assumed that."

"Of course! Why would I willingly comply with the orders of heavily armed men when I..." Ignacio cleared his throat, interrupting her, as he knelt in front of a wall adorned with some drawings. "We," Jackie nodded to her partner, "retrieved it from a criminal."

"You don't know what the scepter..."

"Open sesame!"

Ignacio put an end to their argument with a little jump, startling both Jacqueline and Julian, who reached for their holstered guns. However, Jackie heard mechanisms moving as a door opened, and sand was deposited into an outlet on the altar.

"Egyptian ingenuity never ceases to amaze me." Ignacio took a handkerchief from his shorts pocket, wrapped it around his nose, and placed both hands on the edge of the newly opened space. "They used sand for the door mechanism."

He looked into the vast, dark emptiness of the chamber.

"What do you mean?" Nerves were still on edge, but Julian was more interested in what Ignacio was saying than in fighting with Jacqueline.

"Mayans and Aztecs, for their constructions and traps, used the power of water and the flowing course of the rivers," Ignacio returned and leaned on the altar. "Egyptians had the Nile, but in the pyramids, it was complicated. So how to make a mechanism last forever?

He pointed to the sand poured into the designated space.

"Sand?" Julian widened his eyes and crouched down to observe the channel.

"Yes," Ignacio said, pointing to a stone he removed from a balance. "The moment I removed the stone, the sand that kept the door closed shifted, and the rest is physics.

"No corrosion?" Jackie asked, unable to comprehend how the compartment stayed closed for so long without anyone figuring out how to open it.

"If the pyramids are still standing today..." He removed the handkerchief from his face. "Shall we explore, or will you two will keep asking questions?"

With Jackie holding the only flashlight leading the trio, they descended the newly opened corridor. The sandy floor was gently sloped, and the corridor was long. So long, that the light from the gun didn't reach the end of the tunnel.

Jackie had to grip the gun with both hands to avoid slipping. At times, she wished she had gloves to contain the cold sweat and shivers that the echoing winds gave her. Ignacio's mumblings and Julian's complaints in the rear were not unnoticed.