After finding the Beeson Crypt and accessing the memories from the Benben Stone, Horace struggled to hide his discovery from his friends. It had been hard enough to lie about why he’d been so late to Milton’s house on Halloween night.
Over the next several days Horace came up with a number of excuses to his friends about why he couldn’t hang out with them. First he claimed he was busy helping his dad with work around the house. Then he told them he was having trouble receiving their messages on his phone. By the end of the week, Milton and Anna were clearly suspicious of his odd behavior, but they both left him alone.
During that week Horace used the time away from his friends to ride his bike back to the cemetery. Shadow was always nearby. The first time, Horace only circled the outside perimeter, wanting to see if anyone was inside. The second time, he entered and briefly rode past the Beeson Crypt. But by the weekend, the pull was too strong. He desperately wanted to open the Benben Stone again and access its memories. He wanted to know more about the strange images. Who were the two figures, and what was inside the bag they had pulled from the sand?
As Horace rode through the gate of Silverbrook Cemetery, past the tombstones at the front, and down the hill toward the creek in the back, his desire for answers was overwhelming. This time he parked his bike behind one of the bushes near the crypt, camouflaging it with fallen leaves. Except for Shadow circling overhead, the cemetery appeared empty.
Horace doubled-checked to make sure no one was near. Then he opened the lock on the crypt door using his beetle. Shadow descended from the sky and perched herself above the doorframe, watching for any unwanted visitors.
Horace wasted no time and walked directly to the stone. It glowed brighter as he approached, as if it were sensing the presence of the beetle. He was fairly confident at this point of what to do. He reached out and placed the beetle into the indentation on the top of the stone. As soon as the scarab made contact, images began pouring out of the stone.
The burlap bag appeared immediately. This time a figure was carrying it onto a felucca, an Ancient Egyptian boat. Horace recognized the boat from his history books, especially its lateen sail that was silhouetted by the moon. It was night, but behind the vessel the horizon was illuminated by a blazing fire. A city was burning along the shore. The men on the boat seemed anxious, scurrying from side to side as this ship set sail and made its way across the sea.
The scene faded into a mist of blue light.
When the next image appeared, Horace could make out a towering mountain in the distance. As the image came into clarity, a castle stood on the top. The castle was mounted firmly on the jagged cliffs. A path wound down from the high precipice to a field at the base, where a large army had gathered. From the dark brown color and size of the dirt patch on the otherwise green field, it appeared that the army had been camped there a long time. Soldiers were gathering wood and dragging huge limbs toward the center of the field.
The scene now faded into night, and the images were from inside the castle. There were three men arguing. Next to the men was a young boy. It was unclear what they were saying, but from the animated gestures and looks on two of the men’s faces, they appeared to be trying to convince the third man of something. Another moment passed, and then the boy stepped forward. He pointed at a dark shape behind one of the men.
The man paused and then nodded. He reached behind him and handed the young boy the object hidden in the darkness. It was the burlap bag. The two other men bowed, and the entire scene disappeared.
In the next scene Horace saw two of the men and the boy again. It was twilight, and they were on horseback, and the burlap bag was being carried on one of the men’s saddles. They were riding through a town. After several twists and turns through the dark cobblestone streets, they stopped their horses and dismounted in front of a towering building, a stone cathedral. This giant church was five times taller than any other structure around it. The young boy tied the horses to a post and waited in a square a short distance from the church.
The two men walked inside carrying the bag. The young boy stood there for several minutes. The light began to fade. He sat down against a small wooden trough, tucked his head against his chest, and closed his eyes.
Suddenly a light could be seen under the cracks of the cathedral door where the two men had entered. And just as quickly the light disappeared.
Then an even brighter light flashed from inside the cathedral, and soon it, too, was gone. Finally, after a lengthy pause, a third light blazed forth; this one was so bright that it illuminated a giant rose window high on the front facade. The glass became a dancing mosaic of blues, greens, yellows, and reds. The intensity of the light became so overwhelming that Horace was thrown back and knocked to the ground.