No Place Like Rome Read online

  I leaned closer to peer at the markings. “In what way? A message of some kind?”

  “Si. Or a warning.”

  A shiver ran up my spine. “But for whom?”

  “Perhaps, cara. But I have a feeling it wouldn’t have been so easy.”

  Sighing, I took a deep breath and began studying the image. I had to clear my mind and try to understand the significance of why someone had drawn Egyptian hieroglyphics in an empty cavern off the maternal crypt of one of Italy’s minor artists. Jeez. For all I could tell, she wasn’t even buried here. Could this situation get any more bizarre?

  Still, it could be worse. We could deal with hieroglyphics. After all, hieroglyphics were a code of sorts, and all three of us in this cave were pretty damn good at cracking code.

  Elvis’s breathing seemed less harsh and I realized having something to focus on had eased his claustrophobia. He leaned his forearm against the wall. “Here’s my initial take. I think this figure is a king. He’s holding a staff of sorts and it looks like he may be wearing a crown.”

  I squinted. “You mean that blob on his head?”

  “Yes.”

  I didn’t look much like a crown to me and I wasn’t even sure the figure was male, but I went with it. “Well, if he’s a king, it looks like he’s being offered something on a platter. See that triangle-looking thing on a plate? I think it’s a plate. What do you think? Is it food or a gift?”

  Elvis traced the shape with his fingertip. “Food. In Egypt, only royalty or the gods were offered the conical loaf.”

  Slash leaned his head against the wall and closed his eyes. Was he thinking or taking a nap? It was hard to tell.

  I turned my attention back to the etchings. “The conical loaf. It rings a vague bell.”

  Elvis nodded. “Probably, and not just in terms of food. The ancient Egyptians were guided by the Shem-an-na, the Book of the Dead. The conical loaf was referred to as a mixture bread and powdered gold and offered to kings or the gods in an elaborate ceremony.”

  “Wow. That would be expensive bread.”

  “I suppose if it’s an offering fit for king or god, that’s the idea.”

  “So, was it presumed that adding the powered gold gave it some sort of mystical powers?”

  “Supposedly.”

  Slash spoke up. “Actually the powered gold did provide a medicinal aspect, which may account for the belief that the conical load held mystical powers.” He’d opened his eyes and was looking at the hieroglyphics again. “The theory is known as chi and prana.”

  Elvis nodded, his voice excited. “Yes. That’s it. Chi and prana. In the spiritual world they are considered substances made of energy that can enter the body via special breathing techniques.”

  “Si. There may be a connection. Chi and prana must be derived from a precious metal element and be able to be ground into a powder, as well as exist in either oil or vapor form. The conical loaf would qualify.”

  It took me a minute, but I began to understand what they were talking about. “Wait, that sounds like a transition element in chemistry.”

  “Si.”

  I pondered a moment. “Okay, then that means a chi or prana substance must be able to transit from metallic to either a diatomic or monatomic state through a chemical reaction.”

  Elvis tapped the loaf with his finger. “Exactly, which is why I presume Slash mentioned the medicinal aspect.”

  A light bulb dinged in my head. “Okay, I’ve got a thought. Chi and prana. Transition chemistry. Arcane chemistry. Essentially we’re talking alchemy here, right?”

  Both Elvis and Slash looked at me, startled. The beams from the flashlights caused the light to dance in eerie shadows across their faces.

  I raised my hands. “I don’t know why or how alchemy would fit in with Egyptian hieroglyphics carved into a wall at the end of an underground tunnel in a crypt in a small Italian town. Just thought I’d throw it out there.”

  Slash turned and began running the light over the edge of the cave. “Good, cara. Very good. We need to examine every inch of this room.”

  Elvis and I exchanged a puzzled glance.

  “Okay, dude. What are we looking for?” Elvis asked.

  “A formula, a numerical sequence, more writings. There has to be something to relate to chi and prana in this cave.”

  I thought about the others waiting for us at the graveside. “I think someone should report to Tito and the others.”

  “Better yet, bring them.” Slash pointed at me. “Except for Tito. We need him as our anchor.”

  “Will we all fit in here?”

  “It will be a tight squeeze, but we could use the extra set of eyes. Additional brainpower never hurt, either.”

  Remembering how claustrophobic Elvis was, I turned to him. “You want to go get them?” It was basically just exchanging one tight space for another, but he might want, or need, a change of scenery.

  He shot me a grateful look. “Sure. Thanks.”

  He disappeared back into the tunnel as I walked three steps to the other side of the cave and started a painstaking search of the walls. It was hard work in such poor light. My fingers brushed against the stone just in case I would feel something my eyes might miss in the dim light of my flashlight.

  Several minutes later I could hear Basia and Xavier making their way through the tunnel. Basia was complaining about her fingernails and Xavier was commenting on how ace crawling around a crypt could be.

  Moments later they popped out of the tunnel.

  Basia held her nose. “Oh, my God. It smells awful in here.”

  Sighing, I took the perfume bottle out of my pocket and sprayed it around a bit. “There. Better?”

  Basia took a sniff and then gagged. “Worse. Where the hell did you get that awful perfume?”

  I pocketed it. “Careful. It was a present.”

  Elvis showed them the hieroglyphics and quickly brought them up to speed on our thoughts. “So, Slash thinks there has to be another clue here somewhere.”

  Xavier whistled. “Related to chi and prana? It’s like another needle in a haystack.”

  Basia sighed. “Does everything connected to you people have to be so cryptic? For once, can’t the answer just be right in front of us?”

  We all just looked at her, so with a harrumph, she turned her back and started examining the walls.

  Slowly and carefully, we made our way around the cave. The space was quiet except for our breathing, the shuffling of our feet, and the occasional scrape of our fingernails across the stone. After what had surely been an hour or more, my eyes were aching, my neck had a crick, and my fingers were sore from gripping the flashlight. I stepped back to take a break while Basia kept complaining.

  “This is nuts. Certifiable, in fact. Doesn’t anyone else see the weirdness of all of this? I’m feeling up the walls of a freaking crypt, for pity’s sake. This is not normal.”

  I let out a breath, brushed my hand against my forehead, and leaned back against the wall. I understood her frustration and she did have a point.

  Basia turned around, slid down the wall to the ground. “Ouch! Ouch!” She leaped up almost immediately, clutching her butt. “Crap. That hurt.”

  My irritation rose. “Oh, don’t be such a baby, Basia. It’s just a few rocks.”

  Basia snarled. “Don’t you dare call me a baby. Not after I followed you into this hellhole.” She beamed her light on the floor. “And this is not just a few rocks. It’s a damned pyramid rock. You’d say ouch, too, if you had this poke your ass.”

  Everyone in the cave stilled. After a moment, Basia looked at us alarmed, her flashlight going from face to face. “What? What’s wrong with you people?”

  We all pounced on her at the same time, pretty much knocking her out of the way.<
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  Slash knelt at the rock first, studying its formation in the beam of his flashlight. “Definitely conical-shaped.”

  I knelt beside him. “I don’t see any markings on it.”

  Slash began making a dirt trench around the base of the rock with his fingertips. “It’s not natural. It’s manmade.”

  Elvis looked over my shoulder. “Agreed. It’s too symmetrical to be natural. There has to be something here.”

  I ran my fingers down along the base of the rock where Slash methodically pulled the dirt away. On the side farthest from me, I felt an irregular bump.

  “I’ve got something.” I tapped on the spot and Slash aimed the lantern at the spot.

  Slash finger landed on top of mine and I slid mine away so he could feel it. “Si, you’ve found something, cara.”

  Slash turned himself on his side, and half-slid, half-wedged himself between the cone-shaped rock and the wall of the cave to get a better look. “It looks like it has a hinge of some kind.”

  Since there was no way none of us could squeeze back there to confirm it, we took Slash’s word for it.

  I put my hand on top the rock. “Which way is the hinge set?”

  “It looks like it should open to the left.” Slash pulled on it. “But the hinge isn’t budging and I don’t want to pull too hard in case I break it.”

  I glanced up at Elvis. “We need a natural lubricant.”

  Elvis nodded and without a word, he and Xavier began crawling about the floor.

  Basia, apparently forgetting all about her sore bottom, stood by watching us work. “What did I find?”

  I shook my head. “I don’t know, but there seems to be a conical theme going on here. There might be something hidden beneath or inside this rock. We’re just following the clues and see where they take us.”

  Elvis came back holding a slug. A thin trail of slime hung from its body. “Best I can do on short notice.”

  Basia took a step back. “Gross.”

  Slash took the slug. “It may not be enough. But let’s give it a shot.”

  He pinched the slime between his fingers rubbing it on the hinge. He repeated the action a few more times and then carefully set the slug down. Call me sappy, but I was glad he didn’t hurt the little guy.

  After a moment, Slash tried pulling the rock again, but nothing happened. He swore softly. “I’m going to need more lubricant.”

  Xavier brought over what looked like a dripping fungus. “Try this.”

  Slash took it without comment and rubbed it onto the hinge. After a moment, he pulled at the rock again. This time we all heard something give. The cave filled with the sound of a grinding, screeching noise, and it wasn’t coming from the pyramid rock. In the small confines of the cave, it sounded abnormally loud.

  Xavier swung his beam around the cave trying to pinpoint the source. “Whatever you just did, dude, it’s working.”

  I tried to determine the source of the sound, but the echo factor inside the cave killed any possibility of determining where it was located.

  “What’s going on?” Basia stood close to Xavier, linking her arms with him.

  “I’m not sure.”

  “Over here.” Elvis shouted over the grinding noise. By the light of his beam, we saw a rock rolling aside, revealing a partial opening to another tunnel.

  “Sweet.” Xavier pumped his fist in the air.

  “Oh, God, no.” Basia moaned. “Not another tunnel. Can’t we just find diamonds and go home?”

  Slash knelt at the opening, illuminating the entrance with his lantern beam. “I don’t think it’s a long tunnel. I smell fresh air. We’ve got to push this rock the rest of the way open.”

  Only one more person could fit in the space next to Slash. Although I was pretty sure I was physically stronger than either of the twins, I didn’t want to put a mark on their man cards. So I stayed back as Xavier stepped forward and the two of them began to push, grunting and straining to get it open. After a few minutes Elvis replaced Xavier and the pushing continued. I was about to volunteer to help when the rock suddenly rolled the rest of the way.

  “Ace,” breathed Xavier.

  Slash crawled in without hesitation and Elvis right behind him. I followed Elvis and heard the others clamber in behind me. Slash had been right. The tunnel was short. I crawled out and into a large labyrinth of underground catacombs.

  “Holy necropolis, Batman.” I looked around in wonder. “I don’t think we’re in Gotham City anymore.”

  The labyrinth contained four separate tunnels. In the first two tunnels to the right, I could see two skeletons, one in a top stone bunk and the other in the lower bunk, both carved into the wall.

  Basia stood beside me and gasped. “I didn’t read anything about catacombs in Vaprio d’Adda.”

  “I knew nothing, as well.” Slash strode to the point at which the tunnels forked.

  I had no idea how far the catacombs stretched. “Could this be connected to Melzi’s tomb?”

  “Unlikely.” Slash shined his light on the skeletons. “I don’t see any markings here, but one of these skeletons is a woman. The other is a child. Six, maybe seven years old.”

  “Melzi’s mother?”

  Slash shrugged. “Hard to say.”

  Elvis called out from one of the other tunnels. “I checked these two far tunnels. These are empty berths and I don’t see any more bones.”

  “None in this one either,” Xavier added.

  While the discovery was exciting, even monumental, I was about ready to get the hell out from underground. Dead bodies gave me the heebie jeebies. “Is there another exit?”

  Elvis pointed up. “There’s a draft in here. There must be some kind of opening to the ground above.”

  The ceiling of the labyrinth was high and dark. I could see no visible way to climb up.

  “Might this be significant?” Basia pointed to something on one side of the wall.

  I walked over to her. “It’s writing. Italian, right?”

  Basia nodded. “It says ‘A mother’s love for her child is the key.’”

  “So, maybe it is Melzi’s mother. I wonder who the child is?”

  Slash came to stand beside me. “A mother’s love.” He started to pace and then abruptly turned toward the two skeletons.

  I gasped when he started lifting the bones of the one on the top. He set them carefully on the floor one by one.

  I stared open-mouthed at him. “Slash, doesn’t the word desecration mean anything to you?”

  “Dude.” Even Elvis seemed appalled.

  Slash ignored us. When all the bones were on the floor, he felt beneath the slab. After a moment, he held up a key. “Anyone see a treasure chest?”

  My mouth dropped open. “No freaking way.”

  “Way.”

  I rubbed my forehead. “Somehow, in spite of the fact I’m impressed, I’m also a bit grossed out. You were just handling human remains.”

  Slash rolled his eyes. “Spread out and see if you can find anything a key will open.”

  “There might be a door this way.” Elvis pointed at the third tunnel. “I thought it an alcove, but upon seeing that key, it may merit a closer look.”

  Slash picked up the lantern and walked down the third tunnel with the rest of us following behind. Elvis pointed to the alcove, which was set back into the wall to the right of the tunnel. Slash raised the lantern to examine it closer.

  “Here.” Slash pointed to a keyhole and began brushing dirt and debris from the opening.

  There was a faint beeping noise and Xavier tapped on his watch. “I’d better go back to update Tito soon.”

  Before anyone could answer we heard a shuffling noise in the labyrinth behind us. Alarmed, we hurried back into the large cave
rn just in time to see Tito crawling out of the tunnel, wearing Slash’s jacket. It was half-unzipped and I could see the cross around his neck and his chest hair peeking out. I cringed, thinking of the ripped remains of his shirt I’d left on the crypt floor.

  I got there first. “Hey, Tito. Why aren’t you waiting for us?”

  He stood and lifted his arms as someone else crawled out of the tunnel directly behind him, pressing a gun into his back.

  Tito’s expression was grim. “Sorry, guys. We’ve got company.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  “Bianca.”

  Slash’s angry voice echoed through the labyrinth. He had his gun in his hand and pointed it at her. She was dressed in a black spandex jumpsuit, a dark jacket and combat boots, her long dark hair pulled back into a braid. Her eyes were cold and mean as she surveyed the room. She kept her gun pressed into Tito’s back other until another guy crawled out of the tunnel behind her. He was dressed in black fatigues, boots and wore a large rifle strapped on a belt around his shoulder and torso. He wore a special headband with a light and had a gun in his hand, too.

  “James Rutgon!” It slipped out of my mouth before I could stop it.

  He’d cut his hair military-style, but I recognized his face. Unfortunately, as soon as I said his name, he pointed his gun at me.

  “Lexi Carmichael?”

  I clamped my mouth shut. Without looking at Slash, Rutgon said, “Drop the gun, dude, or I waste her this second.”

  “Angelico.” Bianca lifted the gun from the small of Tito’s back and pushed him forward. She pointed her gun at Slash. “Do as he says. He’ll kill her and then I’ll kill you.”

  Slash narrowed his eyes. “I’ll kill him first.”

  Bianca shrugged. “Maybe. But she’ll die, too, so this discussion is pointless. We both know you aren’t going to let him kill her.”

  Rutgon released the safety and the click echoed in the cave. His eyes were hard and purposeful. I was serious toast.

  Basia started to cry. “Oh, God, Slash. He’ll shoot her. Put it down.”