This story is will eventually be edited. There will be quite a few changes made to it sometime in the near future.

Chapter One

The sun glittered off the sand so brightly it made Vera shield her eyes. After spending most of her life in rainy England, the intensity of the desert sun was shocking. She was grateful her father had insisted upon her wearing the ugly, wide-brimmed hat he had bought for her at the local market. It looked ridiculous on her, but she had to admit that without it her pale, freckled face would be badly sunburned. She frowned in frustration as she admired the locals' tanned skin. Why couldn't she have such beautiful caramel colored skin?

"Not homesick already, are you?" Vera's father joked when he spotted her unhappy face. His tall stature cast her in shadow for a moment, giving her a brief reprieve from the scorching sun.

Vera grinned up at him and replied, "Not even a bit."

He returned her smile and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Shall we get to work then, my amateur archeologist?"

After nodding in response, Vera raced ahead of him toward the dig site. She had always wanted to travel with her father on his expeditions, but he had refused, insisting she pursue more ladylike hobbies. Once she had turned nineteen, and still refused to give up her love of archeology and ancient history, he had finally given in and decided to let her tag along with him to his most current location, an old temple out in the middle of the desert.

The other men working at the site tipped their hats to her as she walked by, but otherwise continued about their business as usual. It had surprised her father to see how comfortable she had become with the job in only a matter of days, but Vera had always known she would feel at home here. She had been dreaming of this since she was a child.

Vera's father called to her as she walked away, "Remember to stay in sight and take breaks if you begin to feel too hot and-"

"Drink plenty of water." Vera turned and interrupted him with a roll of her eyes. "I know, Papa. We've been here for over a week now."

She hurried away before he could lecture her anymore, clambering over a bunch of rocks that had probably been a large wall many years ago.

It had been several hours since she had begun excavating and digging around the wall and her back was incredibly sore. Despite the fact that she had yet to find anything of historical significance, Vera wasn't deterred. Just being out in the sunshine, around people who shared the same interests as her made the entire trip worthwhile. Out in the sun and sand she wasn't poor, boring Vera, as her cousins called her. Out here she was amateur archeologist Vera, who was capable of finding the treasure of a lifetime.

Standing and stretching, she pushed the hat back from her head and ran her fingers through her sweaty blonde curls. After taking a long drink from her canteen, she set off to see if her father had made any more progress than she had. When she found him he was in a heated discussion with several local men, and Vera decided it best to wait until they finished before approaching them. She had only recently begun to pick up the language and customs and she didn't want to seem rude.

She sat down on a rock and picked through pieces of broken stone and pottery at her feet as she waited. As she flipped one piece over, a drawing on it caught her eye. It appeared to be a drawing of a hideous monster with red eyes, talons, and fangs.

Her curiosity awoken, Vera snatched up the piece of stone and sought out the foreman of the excavation, a man named William Peters. He was a nice old man, incredibly intelligent and polite and Vera always sought him out for advice or questions when her father was too busy.

"Mr. Peters?" Vera called, as she recognized the brim of his stylish hat just over a wall.

"What can I help you with today, Ms. Kirke?" he replied as he spotted her.

"I found this drawing and I was wondering if you could tell me what it is depicting," she said, handing him the piece of slate she had uncovered.

He brought it to his eyes, squinting at it in the bright light. "Ah," he began. "This drawing appears to represent some sort of demon-like creature. I imagine Kareem would be able to explain more than myself."

"Kareem!" he called and motioned toward one of the nearby native workers. The young man who ventured over was tall, much taller than her and Mr. Peters, and looked to be only a year or two older than she was.

The two men spoke together in Arabic before Kareem turned to address her in slightly accented English.

He pointed to the stone in her hand and said, "This is a drawing of a hidden one. It would be best to get rid of it and put it out of your mind. In my culture it is said that to even speak of them brings misfortune."

This, of course, only made Vera more curious and she decided she would talk to her father about it later. Kareem seemed rather nice and she didn't want to push him into speaking about something he was uncomfortable with.

"Thank you for your help and time, Mr. Peters, Kareem," she said. "If you will excuse me, I am going to find my father and see if he wants to eat lunch with me."

They both bid her goodbye and Vera rushed away, excited by her find and eager to tell her father. She could hear them arguing in Arabic behind her, but didn't worry too much about it. She could be mistaken. After all, she didn't know much of the language yet so it was possible they weren't arguing at all. As she walked away, however, she had the distinct feeling that she was being watched. Turning around, she was surprised to see Kareem looking in her direction.

He wasn't looking at her, however, but at the piece of pottery she held tightly in her hand. His face looked very troubled as he continued speaking to Mr. Peters. Vera shrugged it off and continued on her way.

"Vera!" She heard her father call, and looked up to see him walking in her direction. "I've been looking for you."

She smiled at him and held up the piece of pottery. "Look what I've found! I've just been discussing it with Mr. Peters and one of his assistants!"

She handed it to him and laughed when his face lit up with excitement. "This is wonderful, Vera," he exclaimed. "What did Mr. Peters tell you about it?"

"Well, he didn't know much about it so he asked one of the workers, Kareem, to explain the drawing. Supposedly, he claims it is something called a 'hidden one' and says they are bad luck."

"How very intriguing!" her father replied. "You'll be excited to know that I've found something of import myself!"

Vera smiled up at him in anticipation. "What is it? A skeleton? A burial site?"

He ruffled her hair fondly and said, "Come and see for yourself!"

They made their way carefully through the excavations, avoiding areas where major work was taking place. Vera's father led her to one of the original dig sites, where the archeologists first started excavating. There was a tunnel dug out into the sand tall and wide enough for a small person to pit through.

"It's underground?" she asked, bouncing on her heels in excitement.

Her father nodded gleefully. "Just wait until you see it, Vera! It's amazing!"

She moved forward more quickly, anxious to see what he had found. Once they got underground the temperature cooled significantly, and Vera sighed in relief. The walls were stone and appeared to be covered in large cobwebs. To anyone else the cave-like chamber would have seemed disgusting and ordinary, but to them it seemed like a treasure trove of information and discoveries. Some markings covered the walls and Vera traced them with her fingers in awe.

"What do these say?" she asked her father.

"We aren't sure yet. None of the locals want to venture down here and no one else can read it," he replied. "We're hoping to get someone down here this afternoon."

Vera spun around slowly, admiring the cave. "Did you find anything else down here?"

Her father motioned toward the back of the cave and said, "Well there was a rather large snake over there, but it slithered out that crevice in the wall when we started toward it."

She looked into the small crevice in the wall, but there was no sign of the snake. She shrugged and went back to admiring the cave. Near the right side, the sun shone down onto a mound of sand, making it look red in color.

"It really is a fantastic find, Papa," she told him. "You should be proud."

He patted her on the shoulder and responded, "We have both made fantastic discoveries today! Let's celebrate with lunch and an afternoon nap. This sun and heat really wears an old man down."

Vera shook her head. "You're hardly old, Papa. Fifty-three is only middle aged!"

He chuckled and ushered her out of the cave. "We'll see if you say that when your my age!"

As they made their way out, Vera could have sworn she heard a whisper. She turned back toward the sound, but could see nothing out of the ordinary. She decided an afternoon nap might be a good idea. Apparently the heat was playing tricks on her mind.

...

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