"The beam was set there to support the ceilings," she said. “They used cedar beams when parts of the structure began to collapse."

  "Well, obviously part of that ceiling has already collapsed. I might be able to get my rope across the beam, and then we can swing across to the other side," Riley said.

  Abigail didn't like their chances, but then she heard another sound behind them, the ceiling collapsing into the passageway. "Hurry," she urged him.

  "I won’t be able to get our backpacks across. Give me your flashlight," Riley said. He tucked some chem lights into his jeans.

  Abigail did as he asked. He threw it over to the other side of the pit. Much to Abigail’s relief, it rolled in the opposite direction to the pit.

  Riley tied a piece of collapsed cedar beam through the rope and threw it at the beam, but it fell short. Abigail bit her lip. He threw it again, and this time it went high but bounced off the edge of the beam.

  Abigail took a deep breath as Riley lined up for the third throw. Just then, a chunk of ceiling fell, narrowly missing them. Riley ignored it and threw the rope again. This time, it went over the beam, and the piece of cedar wedged against it. Riley pulled it hard and it stayed stuck.

  "Abigail, I don't know if this is going to work, but it's our only hope," he said. “With any luck, if it holds at first and then gives way, the momentum will keep it going. We will both have to go at once. Piggyback onto me and I will run as fast as I can."

  "Okay," was all Abigail said. It sounded like an impossible feat, but she couldn’t think of an alternative.

  Riley took hold of the end of the rope and ran back toward the tunnel. Abigail clung around his neck and shut her eyes tightly. She gasped as she felt the rope lift them into the air. She shut her eyes tightly and said a silent prayer that they would land safely on the other side.

  It all seemed to happen in slow motion. She felt Riley take off, and the rope seemed to swing ever so slowly. She could feel she and Riley were airborne, slowly passing through the air, inch by inch. They had passed the center point when she heard the crack. She opened her eyes just in time to see they had not reached the other side of the pit when they fell.

  They landed hard, bouncing off the wall and Abigail was surprised they hadn't fallen into the water. Surely, the crocodiles weren't in a dry pit. She didn't want to open her eyes. She waited for the inevitable to happen.

  "Don't move, but open your eyes," Riley said. “I assume your eyes are shut? You haven't said anything."

  Abigail opened one eye and then the other. By the light of the chem light, she could see they had fallen onto a ledge. The crocodiles were below them. She estimated the crocodiles were not too far below them, but they were far enough for safety.

  "I didn't even notice the ledge before," Abigail said. She crouched against the wall and then looked upward. To her relief, it wasn't too far to the top of the pit. "Can we get up there?" she asked hopefully.

  Riley ran his hand over the wall. "It's not a smooth surface. It's not too far. I think we can do it."

  "Okay." Abigail didn't share his confidence. What if the tunnel collapsed on them before they had even made it to the top? Just as she thought that, she heard another section of the ceiling collapse nearby.

  She watched as Riley skilfully climbed the wall. When he reached the top, he said, "The rope’s fallen on this side, thankfully. I'm going to throw it down to you. Do you know how to tie knots?"

  "I think so," Abigail said.

  "I'm going to throw the rope down to you, and I want you to tie it very securely around your waist and then I want you to climb the wall. If you slip, keep very still and try to use your hands to get a handhold. Whatever you do, don't thrash around or kick your feet because that will be hard for me to hold your weight. Do you understand?"

  "Yes," Abigail said. She had gone past fear, and a strange sense of coldness had enveloped her. She was working automatically. Riley threw down the rope, and she tied it around her waist. She only knew how to tie simple knots, so she tied about nine of them. She looked for a handhold but could not find any suitable ones. She wondered how Riley had shimmied up the wall so easily.

  "It's really not far," Riley said. "Do what you can. Can you make a start now?"

  Abigail shimmied along the ledge to where it got a little narrower and found a couple of footholds. "I'm ready," she said.

  "Okay, I'm going to pull you up slowly. If you fall, I’ll pull you up more quickly. Do you understand?"

  "Yes."

  It went smoother than Abigail had predicted. She was able to find handholds and footholds, and with the pressure on the rope, she was able to scale the wall. It was only when one arm was over the edge of the pit that she lost her footing entirely.

  She needn't have worried, because Riley hauled her over the ledge. "We have to hurry," he said as he undid the knots around the rope.

  Just as he undid the last knot and cast the rope aside, a large chunk of ceiling fell into the pit where they had been mere seconds earlier. With one smooth movement, Riley grabbed Abigail's hand, picked up the flashlight he had thrown across with the other hand, and said, "Run!"

  They ran to the shaft on the other side of the chamber. To Abigail’s dismay, the circumference of the shaft was narrow. Riley went ahead of Abigail. “Stick close," he said.

  The shaft was steep. At first, the darkness contrasting with the previous brightness of the chem light hurt Abigail's eyes, and Riley's flashlight was giving her a headache.

  They climbed higher and higher. Abigail's throat was raw, and her lungs ached, but she could hear sections of ceilings collapsing behind her and she forced her legs to move.

  After they had climbed for a little while, she saw a glow. She wanted to ask Riley if it was coming from outside the pyramid, but she was too exhausted to speak. When Riley asked if she was all right, all she could do was grunt. That made him stop. He turned back to her. "Look there, it's the night sky. You go ahead. Move as fast as you can."

  Abigail nodded as he squeezed past her. She had thought she was weary before, but now she was beyond weary. Still, the thought of being entombed in a pyramid encouraged her ever faster. She half ran, half crouched, and all the while, the night sky grew closer and closer.

  It seemed like forever before Abigail burst onto the edge of the pyramid. In fact, she moved so quickly at the end that she nearly fell straight off the edge of the pyramid, and would have fallen had Riley not grabbed her arm to support her. She sank to the ground and cried big, wracking sobs. Riley sat next to her and put his arm around her, holding her close.

  They sat like that for some minutes, Abigail’s head on Riley’s shoulder with Riley comforting her.

  "Abigail, you did really well," Riley said. "We made it out of the Black Pyramid alive, and what’s more, we prevented Goliath’s spear from falling into the wrong hands."

  Abigail finally found her voice. "I wonder why there wasn't much gold in those chambers?”

  "I’d say tomb robbers made off with the gold over the years and they didn't bother with the spear. They didn't know what it was."

  Abigail tried to nod, but her head hurt. "Yes, of course. That makes sense. Obviously, I’m oxygen deprived.” Her voice trailed away.

  She sat there and looked to the west, over what once was the complex of Amenemhat III, which had stored Solomon’s treasure but now was buried under the Egyptian sands, sands which hide many treasures yet to be discovered.

  30

  PENNSYLVANIA

  Abigail and Riley sat at the bar, waiting for their table. Abigail was reading the wine menu, which was stocked with beverages James Bond would drink, like martinis. Riley rattled off information about champagne that was wrong, and information about champagne that was right, and Abigail sat with her chin resting in the palm of her hands, admiring his muscles that rippled beneath his too small Oxford shirt.

  Riley ordered them the most expensive champagne on the menu. Abigail almost didn’t want to drink it. She was finally on a date with Riley, one she was certain wouldn’t be interrupted by Relic Hunters Taskforce, not this time. She wanted to pick up her champagne flute with little white gloves and carry it over to the museum, where they could keep it behind glass, under heavy security, to commemorate the special occasion.

  “Are you okay?” Riley said. He smoothed his hand along her arm, which was already prickled with goose pimples.

  “Of course.” Abigail managed a shaky laugh. “I’m glad Myles got out of there alive.”

  Riley nodded. “He’ll be out of the hospital soon.”

  “I wonder what happened to Charles?”

  Riley’s expression turned grim. “He likely dropped that portcullis stone on us so he could make off with the gold.”

  Abigail did not like to think badly of Charles. Still, his behavior had been questionable.

  When their table became available, Abigail slipped off the bar stool and did her best to walk elegantly to the corner of the restaurant, where Riley was waiting to push in her chair. One ankle was still swollen from her misadventures in the labyrinth, and she was covered with grazes and small cuts.

  Abigail sat. She watched as Riley rounded the table. He stared at her with a strange expression on his face. “What is it, Riley?”

  “You’re gorgeous.”

  Abigail felt her skin burn. “Thanks.”

  He smiled, and Abigail nearly fell off her chair. She was so bad at dates she could barely say anything intelligible. Where was an international emergency when a girl needed one? Not that she wanted to go on another mission, not just yet.

  Riley’s phone rang.

  Abigail held her breath. Maybe she shouldn’t have wished for another mission.

  Riley nodded at the phone, and then said a single word to whoever was on the phone, “Pompeii?”

  Abigail’s stomach clenched. It did sound like another mission, after all.

  Riley raised one eyebrow at Abigail. “Codex?”

  Codex

  Relic Hunters Taskforce Book 3

  FACT

  The background of the story is historically accurate. All details such as the eruption, the layout of Pompeii, the food, the Roman naming conventions, and so on, are all based on fact.

  The references to the mosaics, frescos, works of art, as well as locations are factual.

  The Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli does have a double-wick oil lamp with a bat upon the handle, although the inscription is fictional. There is no gilded mirror with a framed photograph under it in the Basilica dell’Incoronata Madre del Buon Consiglio.

  The fresco depicting the mythological Echo playing the tibia while spying on Narcissus was, in fact, the subject of an archeological note dated to 1845, but was found in the House of Octavius Quartio in Pompeii rather than in the nearby Villa Poppaea.

  In legend, the Spear of Destiny, also known as the Holy Lance, was the spear the Roman soldier used to pierce the side of Jesus as He hung on the cross.

  The account for the piercing of Jesus’ side during His crucifixion is to be found in John 19:31-34. No name for this soldier is given in the Bible; he is simply referred to as ‘one of the soldiers’ and the spear is simply referred to as ‘a spear’. The name ’Longinus’ first occurs in the early Christian writing, the Gospel of Nicodemus, dated to the mid fourth century.

  The Spear of Destiny figures in the legends of the Holy Grail. In Le Morte d’Arthur, the Lance has healing properties. Sir Galahad uses it to cure the Fisher King. In medieval works, Perceval (1180) and Parzival (1210), the Spear of Destiny is used to do harm or to kill.

  Several spears are claimed to be the Spear of Destiny. One is beneath the dome of Saint Peter’s Basilica. There are fifth and sixth century accounts of it being seen in Jerusalem. Accounts say the point was broken off before 615, when the Persians captured Jerusalem and its relics. It then fell into the hands of the Turks. The Sultan Bayezid II sent it to Pope Innocent VIII.

  At Rome, doubts as to its authenticity were recorded on the basis of other rival Holy Lances in Paris, Nuremberg, and Armenia.

  In the mid-18th century, Pope Benedict XIV stated that he obtained from Paris an exact drawing of the point of the lance from Paris. He states he compared it with the larger relic in St. Peter’s and was satisfied that the two had originally formed one blade. This relic is still at Saint Peter’s.

  There is also a Holy Lance in Armenia. It is first mentioned in a thirteenth century Armenian manuscript.

  Another Holy Lance is displayed at the Hofburg Palace in Vienna, Austria. It was said to be the lance of Saint Maurice or that of Constantine the Great.

  In 1424, religious relics including the Holy Lance were moved to Nuremberg. They were called the Imperial Regalia (also known as the Imperial Insignia). After a strange turn of events, they ended up in Austria.

  In Mein Kampf, Hitler mentioned that they appeared to act as ‘magical relics’. When Austria was annexed to Germany, the Nazis brought the Imperial Regalia to Nuremberg, where they displayed them during the September 1938 Party Congress. The Imperial Regalia were then moved to a bunker built into some of the medieval cellars of old houses underneath Nuremberg Castle for protection.

  At the end of the war, the Allies recovered most of the Imperial Regalia, but the Nazis had hidden the five most important pieces including the Spear of Destiny. The five pieces were finally discovered and taken back to Nuremberg castle and later moved to Austria.

  Scientists claim this particular Spear of Destiny dates to around the 8th century.

  The Roman city of Pompeii was destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D., twenty-two years after the Apostle Paul wrote the Epistle to the Romans. Pompeii was a popular tourist destination for wealthy Romans, and many Romans had their holiday villas at Pompeii or beach houses at its neighboring city, Herculaneum.

  The Romans did not have a word for volcano, even though our English word volcano comes from their language, Latin. Vulcan was the name of one of their gods, the one they believed to be responsible for fire.

  Romans were used to earthquakes, and for those in Pompeii, tremors were regular occurrences. However, the Romans had never experienced a volcano so did not know what was happening when Mount Vesuvius, which was only five miles from them, started to erupt. Worse still, this was no ordinary eruption, but the worst possible type, the type later named Plinian.

  A Plinian eruption does not have lava but features a giant towering column filled with magma, ash, and super-heated gas, which in Vesuvius’ case at its worst point reached over twenty miles into the air, at speeds greater than over 400 miles an hour. 100,000 tons of magma, super-heated gas, and ash were released from the volcano every second.

  The magma cooled and fell back to earth, along with ash and lithics, which were rocks from inside the volcano. The rocks fell on people at speeds of up to 100 miles per hour.

  The term Plinian eruption is named after the famous Roman natural historian and statesman, Pliny the Elder, who died while trying to save people fleeing from the volcano. He was the commander of the Roman fleet stationed across the bay from Pompeii at Misenum, and he sent the Roman warships on a rescue mission.

  His nephew, Pliny the Younger, provides us with the only eyewitness account of the tragedy.

  It is estimated that 2,000 people died out of a population of around 16,000 to 30,000.

  It is well known that Mount Vesuvius erupted in the year 79 A.D., but it is not so well known that the eruption was in late October or November (possibly November 23), not August 24, as was commonly believed.

  The date of August 24 was based solely on one surviving manuscript of Pliny the Younger’s eyewitness account of events. However, other surviving manuscripts of his account do not state the month, and it is now thought that the date of August 24 is a scribal error: a scribe felt obliged to supply the missing date and guessed wrongly.

  In fact, the archeological evidence suggests that Pompeii was buried much later than August and supports a November date. People discovered buried in the ruins were wearing clothing warmer than would be expected in August. The fruit and vegetables found in the stores also were fresh in October or November, and the fruit that would be ripe in August was only discovered as dried preserves, rather than fresh fruit. In 2018, an inscription was uncovered showing a date corresponding to our October 17.

  The wind that day was blowing in a southeasterly direction, which blew the deadly column directly over Pompeii. In the Vesuvius region, winds blew in a southeasterly direction between October and June. The July-August winds were toward the west. Had the wind been blowing west on the day of the eruption, the column would have blown out over the Bay of Naples and not over Pompeii, Herculaneum, Oplontis, and Stabiae. Archeological findings on the distribution of ash by the high altitude winds from October through June are not consistent with an August date for the eruption.

  All the wine-fermenting jars that were discovered had already been sealed over, and this typically happened at the end of October. Also, the coins in the purse of a woman covered by the ash include a coin minted after the second week of September.

  So then, the date of Pompeii’s destruction had to be after October 17 and was possibly on November 23.

  The wealthy in those times lay on couches to eat, propping themselves up on their elbows. I have mentioned garum, fish sauce. It was a spicy sauce made from fermented fish entrails and herbs, and was popular throughout Pompeii and the Roman world. Garum was big business at the time, with huge garum factories along the coasts. The finest garum sold for high prices.

  Pompeii and the Roman world had fast food restaurants and most of the poor people bought their food there.

  I have based the Christians in this book on the records of the early Christians Justin Martyr and Tertullian, as well as the later Clement, and Hippolytus of Rome. These men recorded what happened in the Christian churches of the time. Justin Martyr was born twenty-one years after the Vesuvian eruption of 79 A.D, but his account is one of the earliest accounts (that is, after the writers of the New Testament) of the early Christians.