The 13th Tablet

‘OK. Don’t you love this glass dome? It’s so clever.’

Jack did not respond. He silently cursed Norman Foster, the architect. When Mina had mentioned the British Museum, he had thought it was a perfect idea; he remembered awfully crowded corridors which were used both for museum visitors to circulate and to exhibit ancient artefacts. But walking through the museum today felt quite different, much less crowded, spacious in fact. No, he did not share Mina’s wonder at the cylindrical tower of the Reading Room, and the over-arching glass dome, it would make their task considerably more difficult.

‘Follow me,’ said Mina, ‘the room’s upstairs.’

They climbed the stairs around the Reading room, up to the swish Court Restaurant on the upper floor. They proceeded straight through to Mesopotamian Room 56, and then right into the other Mesopotamian Room 55, where an unassuming glass case held some of the most famous cuneiform tablets in the world.

‘Jack, take a look. Here it is, Tablet XI of the Gilgamesh Epic. Because it was found among the other tablets at the library of Ashurbanipal in Nineveh, we date it to the 7th century B.C.E.’

‘It’s clay, right?’

‘Yes?’

‘How is it that it was so well preserved?’ asked Jack.

‘Well, you see, Ashurbanipal was a king after my own heart. He loved scholars and kept adding copies of important documents to his library. We even have tablets describing how scholars were trained themselves. Anyway, when the palace eventually burned down, the tablets did not dissolve or burn like parchment or papyrus, they baked. And that’s why we still have them today.’

‘Fascinating. So this text is a copy?’

‘Yup. Also, it’s written in Akkadian, whereas a much older version, which is in the room we’ve just walked through, is in old Babylonian and dates back to the 17th century B.C.E.’

‘Sorry to interrupt you Mina, but don’t you smell something odd?’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Something strong, like musk, but not the artificial stuff. I can’t quite put my finger on it.’

‘Yes, I do… and I think I’ve smelled the same thing not long ago.’

‘I know! It was outside the hotel. Let’s get the hell out of here.’

They rushed back to the central tower. A tall man with a black beard and smoked glasses was resting against the railing, pretending to read a leaflet. Jack quickly grabbed Mina’s hand, feigned going right but then rushed down the left hand staircase. Unfortunately the man caught up with them within a few seconds. Jack urged Mina to run away, as he turned around to face his opponent. She took a few steps down the stairs all the time trying to look back to watch the men wrestle above her. Amazingly, nobody seemed to notice the fight. Jack had bent the man’s arm behind his back and when he heard it crack he shoved his head into the wall. As the man crumpled to the floor, unconscious, a small vial fell out of his pocket and shattered on the marble steps. Jack and Mina immediately recognised the pungent fragrance they had smelled earlier. Jack picked up a shard of the vial and hurried down the stairs with Mina. They slowed their pace somewhat as they passed guards in the main lobby hurrying towards the staircase. Jack discreetly snatched a sopping wet umbrella, which a man had put against a column while shaking his trench coat.

They ran down the steps into the outer courtyard, heavy rain still falling from a darkened sky. The driver of the blue Mercedes was waiting near the gates, but did not see Jack and Mina dashing by shielded by an umbrella like any young couple keen to get out of the rain. They ran ahead, down Museum Street, and dodged into an occult bookshop.

Mina, who by this time was beyond physical and mental exhaustion, could hardly stand upright. Jack helped her sit down on a large and ancient-looking leather chair and pretended to browse through the books, all the while keeping a close watch on Museum Street. The shop owner barely glanced at them, as they did not seem like genuine seekers of the dark arts, just passers-by trying to escape the rain.

Mina was so anxious she could feel her hands shaking. To try to put her mind at rest she focused on at the collection of books, placed haphazardly on the shelves around her. Some of the books had the weirdest titles but she was too frazzled to understand what she was reading.

‘Mina?’ Jack hissed from the corner of his mouth. She did not hear him. He spoke again, louder this time and placed a hand on her shoulder. ‘Mina?’ She was startled, and looked at him with scared eyes.

‘What is it?’ asked Mina. Jack sighed and took her hand.

‘Mina, we have to separate. We haven’t shaken them off yet.’

‘No Jack. Please, no,’ she begged him, tears welling in her eyes.

‘We have to lose them. I’ll draw their attention, and while they follow me…’

‘Please Jack. Don’t leave me. I can’t do this alone.’