BUT I DID MY DUTY.

WE SEALED THE GREAT ARCHWAY WITH A LANDSLIDE.

AS INSTRUCTED, THE PRIESTS' ENTRANCE REMAINS OPEN SO THEY MAY TEND THE SHRINES INSIDE-THE PRIESTS HAVE BEEN INFORMED OF THE ORDER OF THE SNARES.2ND INSCRIPTION FROM THE TOMB OF IMHOTEP III:ONLY THE BRAVEST OF SOULS.

SHALL Pa.s.s THE WELLS OF THE WINGED LIONS.

BUT BEWARE THE PIT OF NINGIZZIDA,.

TO THOSE WHO ENTER THE SERPENT-LORD'SPIT, I OFFER NO ADVICE BUT THIS:.

ABANDON ALL HOPE,.

FOR THERE IS NO ESCAPE FROM THERE.WINGED LIONS. COMMON a.s.sYRIAN STATUE FOUND IN COMMON a.s.sYRIAN STATUE FOUND IN.

PERSIA/MESOPOTAMIA.

NINGIZZIDA: a.s.sYRIAN G.o.d OF SERPENTS & SNAKES. a.s.sYRIAN G.o.d OF SERPENTS & SNAKES.

POSSIBLE REF TO THE HG OF BABYLON???.

A few pages later there was a pair of scribbled pictures, simply t.i.tled 'Safe Routes': After this there was another translation, which caused Wizard to say, 'Ooh, it's a reference to one of the rituals that must be performed on the final day.'

It read: THE RITUAL OF POWER.

AT THE HIGH ALTAR OF RA,.

UNDER THE HEART OF THE SACRIFICIAL ONE.

WHO LIES IN THE ARMS OF VENGEFUL ANUBIS,.

POUR INTO THE DEATH G.o.d'S HEART ONE DEBEN OF YOUR HOMELAND.

UTTER THOSE ANCIENT EVIL WORDS.

AND ALL EARTHLY POWER SHALL BE YOURS.

FOR A THOUSAND YEARS.

'"One deben of your homeland"?' Big Ears frowned. 'What's that supposed to mean?'

Zoe began, 'A deben was an ancient Egyptian unit of measurement: about 100 grams. I imagine it means-'

But suddenly Wizard jumped up and gasped, seeing the next entry. It read: FROM THE SECRET GOSPEL OF ST MARKAT DAWN ON THE DAY OF JUDGEMENT,.

THAT FINAL HORRIBLE DAY,.

AT THE ONLY TEMPLE THAT BEARS BOTH THEIR NAMES,.

THREAD THE POWER OF RA THROUGH THE EYES OF.

GREAT RAMESES'S TOWERING NEEDLES, FROM THE SECOND OWL ON THE FIRST.

TO THE THIRD ON THE SECOND ....

... WHEREBY THE TOMB OF ISKENDER WILL BE REVEALED.

THERE YOU WILL FIND THE FIRST PIECE.

Beneath this entry, Hessler had scrawled: THE TOMB OF ISKENDER-THE BURIAL PLACE OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. ALEXANDER WAS BURIED WITH THE FIRST PIECE!

Wizard leaned back, his eyes wide.

'The Secret Gospel of St Mark.' Zoe exchanged a look with West. 'The Heretical Gospel.'

'Explain,' Big Ears said.

West said, 'It's not widely known, but St Mark actually wrote two two gospels while he was in Egypt. The first gospel is the one we all know, the one in the Bible. The second gospel, however, caused an incredible stir when he produced it, so much so that nearly every copy of it was burned by the early Christian movement. And Mark himself was almost stoned for it.' gospels while he was in Egypt. The first gospel is the one we all know, the one in the Bible. The second gospel, however, caused an incredible stir when he produced it, so much so that nearly every copy of it was burned by the early Christian movement. And Mark himself was almost stoned for it.'

'Why?'

Zoe said, 'Because this secret gospel recounted several other other things Jesus did during his life. Rituals. Incantations. Bizarre episodes. The most infamous of which was the so-called h.o.m.os.e.xual incident.' things Jesus did during his life. Rituals. Incantations. Bizarre episodes. The most infamous of which was the so-called h.o.m.os.e.xual incident.'

'The what! what!' Big Ears said.

Zoe said, 'An episode in which Jesus went away with a young man and, according to Mark, initiated initiated the young man into "the ancient ways". Some sensationalist writers have interpreted this to have been a h.o.m.os.e.xual experience. Most scholars, however, believe it was a ritual of the Cult of Amun-Ra, which has subsequently been adopted as the initiation rite of the Freemasons, another Sun-worshipping faith to have emerged from ancient Egypt.' the young man into "the ancient ways". Some sensationalist writers have interpreted this to have been a h.o.m.os.e.xual experience. Most scholars, however, believe it was a ritual of the Cult of Amun-Ra, which has subsequently been adopted as the initiation rite of the Freemasons, another Sun-worshipping faith to have emerged from ancient Egypt.'

West said, 'Now do you understand why it's called the Heretical Gospel?' 'Yuh-huh,' Big Ears said. 'But wait, the Freemasons. I thought they were anti anti-Catholic.'

'They are,' Zoe said. 'But the Freemasons hate the Catholic Church as only siblings can hate each other. They are like rival brothers, religions born from the same source. Just as Jerusalem is holy to both Judaism and Islam, so too do Catholicism and Freemasonry share a common source. They are simply two faiths born out of the one Mother Faith-Egyptian Sun-worship. They just diverged in their interpretations of this Mother Faith somewhere along the way.'

West patted Big Ears on the shoulder. 'It's complicated, buddy. Think of it this way: America is a Masonic State; Europe is a Catholic State. And now they're both fighting for the greatest prize of their two faiths: the Capstone.'

Big Ears said, 'You say America is a Masonic State. I thought it was overwhelmingly Christian. The Bible Belt and all that.'

Zoe said, 'Just because the population population is Christian, doesn't mean the is Christian, doesn't mean the country country is. What is a country anyway? A group of people with a common heritage who band together for reasons of mutual prosperity and security. And that's the key word: is. What is a country anyway? A group of people with a common heritage who band together for reasons of mutual prosperity and security. And that's the key word: security security. You see, countries have armies; religions don't. And who commands the armed forces of the ent.i.ty we call "the United States"?'

'The elected president and his advisers.'

'Exactly. So, America's people people are indeed honest Christians; but America's are indeed honest Christians; but America's leaders leaders since George Washington have almost exclusively been Freemasons. Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt, the Bushes. For over 200 years, the Freemasons have used the armed forces of "the United States of America" as their own personal army for their own personal purposes. Hey presto, a religion got itself an army, and the population never even knew.' since George Washington have almost exclusively been Freemasons. Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt, the Bushes. For over 200 years, the Freemasons have used the armed forces of "the United States of America" as their own personal army for their own personal purposes. Hey presto, a religion got itself an army, and the population never even knew.'

West said, 'You can see Masonic worship of the Capstone everywhere in America. Why, over the years, American Freemasons have built replicas of each of the Seven Ancient Wonders.'

'No way...'

West counted them off on his fingers: 'The Statue of Liberty, built by the leading French Freemason, Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi, replicates the Colossus of Rhodes almost exactly-she even holds a torch aloft just as the original statue did. The Woolworth Building in New York is disturbingly similar to the Pharos. Fort Knox is built according to the floorplan of the Mausoleum at Halicarna.s.sus. The Statue of Zeus, a great figure seated on a throne, is the Lincoln Memorial. The Temple of Artemis: the Supreme Court.

'The Hanging Gardens of Babylon couldn't be exactly replicated, since no-one knows what they looked like, so a special rambling garden was built and tended in their honour at the White House,first by George Washington, then Thomas Jefferson and later, Franklin Roosevelt. The Catholic president, John F. Kennedy, tried to rip the garden up, but he never managed it entirely. And while he didn't survive, the garden did. It's had many names over the years, but we now call it the Rose Garden.'

Big Ears folded his arms. 'What about the Great Pyramid, then? I don't know of any monumental pyramids in the US.'

'That's true,' West said, 'there are no giant pyramids in America. But when the Egyptians stopped building pyramids, do you know what they started building instead?'

'What?'

'Obelisks. The obelisk became the ultimate symbol of Sun-worship. And America does indeed possess one colossal obelisk: the Washington Monument. Interestingly, it is 555 feet tall. The Great Pyramid is 469 feet tall, 86 feet shorter. But when you take into account the height of the Giza Plateau at the point where the Great Pyramid stands-86 feet-you will discover that the peaks of both structures sit at the exact same height the exact same height above sea-level.' above sea-level.'

While this conversation was going on, Wizard was gazing at the text in the notebook.

'The only temple that bears both their names...' he mused. Then his eyes lit up. 'It's Luxor. The Temple at Luxor.'

'Oh, yes. Good thinking thinking, Max. Good thinking!' Zoe clapped him on the shoulder.

'It would certainly fit...' West said.

'What would fit?' Big Ears asked, again not understanding this code they were using.

'The Temple of Amun at Luxor in southern Egypt, more commonly known as the Temple at Luxor,' Zoe said. 'It's one of the biggest tourist attractions in Egypt. The famous one with the giant pylon gateway, the two colossal seated statues of Rameses II, and the lone obelisk out the front. It stands on the east bank of the Nile in Luxor, or-as it used to be called-Thebes.

'The Luxor Temple was built by several older pharaohs, but Rameses II comprehensively rebuilt it and so claimed it as his own. It was also augmented, however, by none other than Alexander the Great. Which is why-'

'-it's the only temple in all of Egypt in which Alexander the Great is recorded as a pharaoh as a pharaoh,' Wizard said. 'At Luxor alone, Alexander's name is carved in hieroglyphics and enclosed in a ringlike cartouche. The only temple that bears both their names The only temple that bears both their names: the Luxor Temple is indeed the only temple that bears both the names of Rameses II and Alexander.'

Big Ears said, 'So what about threading the power of Ra through the eyes of Great Rameses's towering needles the power of Ra through the eyes of Great Rameses's towering needles?'

West said, 'Towering needles are usually obelisks. The power of Ra, I'm guessing, is sunlight. Dawn sunlight on Judgement Day: the day of the Tartarus Rotation. This verse is telling us that on the day of the Rotation, the morning Sun will shine through two matching holes in the obelisks to reveal the location of the tomb.'

Big Ears turned to Zoe. 'But I thought you said there's only one obelisk still standing at Luxor.'

Zoe nodded. 'That's right.'

'So we're screwed. Without the two obelisks, we can't see how the Sun shines through them, so we'll never be able to find Alexander's Tomb.'

'Not exactly,' Wizard said, his eyes gleaming at West and Zoe.

They both smiled back at him.

Only Big Ears didn't get it.

'What? What? What?'

Wizard said, 'The second obelisk from the Temple at Luxor still exists, Big Ears, just not in its original location.'

'So where is it?'

Wizard answered him. 'Like many of the obelisks of ancient Egypt, it was given to a Western nation. Thirteen obelisks went to Rome, taken by the Sun-worshipping Catholic Church. Two went to London and New York-the pair of obelisks known as Cleopatra's Needles. The second obelisk from the Temple of Luxor,however, was given to the French in 1836. It now stands in pride of place in the Place de la Concorde, in the very heart of Paris, about 800 metres from the Louvre.'

'The Zeus Piece and and the obelisk,' Zoe said. 'Looks like it's going to be double-trouble in Paris.' the obelisk,' Zoe said. 'Looks like it's going to be double-trouble in Paris.'

West leaned back in his seat.

'Paris,' he said, 'isn't going to know what's. .h.i.t her.'

PARISROME 18 MARCH, 2006.

2 DAYS BEFORE TARTARUS.

THE CHAMPS-eLYSeES.

PARIS, FRANCE.

18 MARCH, 2006, 11:00 A.M.

2 DAYS BEFORE THE ARRIVAL OF TARTARUS.

Jack West Jr sped around the huge multi-laned roundabout that encircled the Arc de Triomphe, whipping through traffic in a rented four-wheel drive SUV.

Lily sat in the pa.s.senger seat, while in the back were Pooh Bear, Stretch and Big Ears.

They all sat in tense silence, as one does before an outrageously daring mission deep inside enemy territory.

The heart of Paris is shaped like a Christian cross.

The longer beam of this giant cross is the Champs-elysees, which travels all the way from the Arc de Triomphe to the Palais du Louvre. The short horizontal transept of the cross ends with the National a.s.sembly at one end and the stunning Church of St Mary Magdalene at the other.

Most important of all is what lies at the junction of these two axes.

There one will find the Place de la Concorde.

Made famous in the French Revolution as the venue for the executions of hundreds of n.o.blemen and women, the Place de la Concorde was the b.l.o.o.d.y home of the guillotine.

Now, however, in the exact centre of this plaza, in the exact centre of Paris-the very focal point focal point of Paris-stands a towering Egyptian obelisk. of Paris-stands a towering Egyptian obelisk.

The second obelisk from the Temple of Luxor.

Of all the obelisks in the world-whether still in Egypt or not-the Paris Obelisk is unique in one important respect: The pyramidion at its peak is coated in gold.

Historians love this, because this was how obelisks appeared in ancient Egyptian times: the tiny pyramids on their peaks were coated with electrum, a rare alloy of silver and gold.