“I’ve cleared the way out for you.” Juniper’s voice floated back along the tunnel. “We’re safe out this far away from the city.”

“Good. I think I have a permanent crick in my back from crawling for so long.” Montreal eased himself outside. The artificial light seemed much brighter than usual, but his eyes slowly became accustomed once more.

“This way.” Juniper pointed. “We need to go into the forest. Be careful, though. I don’t want to leave evidence we’ve been there. Its safety has always relied on us being cautious. I was told to make sure the place stayed safe and hidden.”

“Yeah, sure.” Montreal nodded. Not that it matters. Nothing’s gonna happen and I’m stuck with trying to explain to Juniper all about fairy stories.

It took longer than Montreal imagined, and the dense foliage caught and slowed them both down. He shook he head as he watched Juniper forge ahead. Nothing seemed able to deter Juniper now he was so close to the conclusion to a centuries-old quest handed down from generation to generation. I only wish it was going to be a happy conclusion.

“Here it is.” There was a tone of awe in Juniper’s voice, and Montreal had to admit, the building was impressive.

“It’s been well hidden, Juniper. Your family did a magnificent job.”

“Yes, they made sure to feed these plants daily. Encouraging them to grow. There was no way we were going to let the Founder down.”

“Don’t you know their name?” Montreal asked. “I mean, they must all have names.”

“I seek Thoth.” Juniper strode forward and missed the way Montreal groaned out loud.

Fairy tales and Egyptian mythology. Just fucking marvellous. All I need know is a good fairy to float down and give me a pair of ruby slippers so I can get home.

Inside the temple, Juniper consulted the stitched map. “This way. We’ll probably need light.” Juniper handed Montreal a lantern that was hanging on the wall, taking its twin for himself, and lighting them. “We need to go down. Over there.” He pointed across the room, and with a muted sigh, Montreal followed.

The walk seemed endless as they descended and followed a winding path to their destination. Every so often, Juniper pointed to a mark on the wall or floor that corresponded with his map.

“You see, Montreal. It’s all real,” he called over his shoulder and Montreal forced a smile and nodded.

“Yes. Real.”

“This is it. Through here.” Juniper heaved on a mass of dead foliage, and Montreal joined in to reveal an ornate archway. “Look,” his voice dropped to a whisper as he pointed to two urns set either side of the arch. “One has Thomas on it, the other Algernon. Two of the Founders.” He looked up at Montreal. “There’s more writing under the names.”

Montreal crouched down and wiped away the centuries of dust that obscured whatever had been inscribed on the urn in front of him, then read it out loud.

“In this urn lies the ashes of Lord Algernon Riley. A friend of Thoth in life and who chose to be his guardian in death until the day they would meet once again. What about yours?”

“This urn contains the ashes of Thomas Jones. May he rest in peace guarding the rest of Thoth, who he loved.” Juniper coughed as his voice broke. “This is my ancestor. One of the Founders. the Committee had hidden all the names of the founders, claiming only they have direct lineage from them. I knew it wasn’t true.”

Juniper straightened up and peered into the darkness beyond the archway. “Come, on. Let’s go inside.”

With his lantern held high, Juniper inched his way into the chamber beyond the archway. As he followed, Montreal couldn’t suppress a gasp at the sight.

A large, blue-sheened pyramid was set in the centre. Cautiously, Montreal reached out, skimming his fingers lightly across it, then with a bit more pressure.

“It’s so cool and smooth. I have no idea what kind of metal this is,” Montreal murmured as he walked slowly around the edifice.

“It’s where Thoth is housed.” Juniper held up the pocket watch. “This is the key. The question is, what does the lock actually look like?” he began to prowl around the pyramid as Montreal ran his fingers over each surface up and down.

“Here.” Montreal called out. “I can feel something here in the wall.” He pointed to an almost invisible depression in the surface of the edifice and watched as Juniper raised a trembling hand to press the watch into it.

The watch sank in and vanished from sight, but before either man could react, the pyramid lit up a bright, sapphire blue.

“Tesseract welcomes you, chosen of Thoth. Enter and awaken him.”