Page 159 of Eternal Surrender

Hanson folded her arms and leaned back against the edge of the chrome shelf. “We’ve yet to fully interpret them.”

Lucas glanced up. “He was a hunter.”

Hanson seemed impressed. “Anything else?”

“Just his obsession with immortality,” Lucas answered, avoiding the question.

“You really believe this is Hornub?” Hanson asked, warily.

“According to the scrolls it is,” Lucas said. “He was rumored to have fractured his left ankle as a child but made a full recovery. Anything on his X-rays?”

Hanson raised her eyebrows in surprise. “We found a hairline fracture on his left tibia.” She shook her head. “This changes everything. We’re talking of a groundbreaking finding.” She sighed deeply. “Of course, more tests will need to be done. To think we almost lost him.”

“I imagine those who stole him didn’t know either,” Lucas said. “Otherwise he’d never have been returned.”

Hanson’s face lit up. “Perhaps you’d consider coming on staff, Professor?”

“I’m always available for consultations,” said Lucas.

It did not escape me that scrolls were necessary to transform me and these scrolls at the museum had been taken, there was a design here, something intricate and deliberate. Or maybe just a coincidence. History never moved in a straight line. It circled. It returned to the same ground, though the faces had changed. What was done once was done again, only dressed differently. The past crossed into the present without asking permission.

“I’d love to visit again very soon,” Lucas’s voice trembled when he said it, thick with the emotion of someone who connected deeply with all that was here.

“I’ll hold you to that.” Hanson turned her focus back onto the mummy. “Even after all these centuries, Hornub—” she paused, still seemingly astonished with the possibility of it being him. “Hornub still speaks to us. Our advancement in mass spectrometry allows us to learn so much about past civilizations. The way he lived and the way he died is evidenced within his very bones.” The doctor’s face changed. “His DNA tells us two things. First, he was alive circa 100 BC and second, he suffered from severe anemia.”

“Impressive,” Ingrid remarked.

“His story is far from over,” Hanson said. “It seems we’re not the only ones who are interested in him on a scientific level.”

“How do you mean?” Ingrid said.

“See this puncture mark here.” Hanson pointed to his outer thigh. “Someone with expertise seems to have taken a sample. Perhaps a DNA specimen.”

“Why not just ask to see your findings?” I asked.

“That’s what we don’t understand,” she said. “Our findings are public knowledge.”

“Why not just take a hair sample?” Ingrid asked.

“Now that’s a good question,” Lucas said. “We’ll make a scientist out of you yet.”

Hanson gestured her point. “Firstly, it’s not accurate, and second, he’s bald.” She lifted the veil covering Hornub’s head to show Ingrid.

Ingrid strolled around the table toward her. “Would you happen to know what this symbol represents?” She held the cufflink in her open palm and reached over the table.

Hanson frowned.

“It’s a cufflink.” Ingrid raised it higher.

“I can see that,” Hanson said. “Where did you find it?”

“Cornwall,” Ingrid said.

Hanson peered over her spectacles. “I take it you’re not going to tell me where, exactly?”

Ingrid gave a tilt of her head as a polite way of saying that no, she’d not be sharing that information with the doctor today.

Hanson glanced my way. “High levels of hydrargyrum were found in Hornub’s DNA.”