Threads of the Past

Maya sat frozen in her chair, her fingers digging into the armrests as she struggled to steady her breathing. The echoes of Cassius's final moments still pulsed through her his fear, his pain, his determination. She could still feel the weight of the scroll in his hands, the urgency of his apprentice's escape.

A message had been left for her across time.

The artifact wasn't just showing her glimpses of history it was connecting her to those who had carried its secrets before her. But why? And what did the scroll contain that had been worth Cassius's life?

She forced herself to focus. Cassius had sent his apprentice to the Great Library of Alexandria. If the scroll had survived… Could she find it?

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sharp buzz of her phone. Maya blinked, disoriented by the sudden return to reality. She fumbled for the device and saw Elias's name on the screen.

She hesitated before answering. "Yeah?"

"Maya, where are you?" Elias's voice was tense. "I just got word that some guys from Novus Corp were sniffing around the Cairo excavation sites. Asking questions about you."

Maya's grip on the phone tightened. "Did you tell them anything?"

"Of course not," Elias scoffed. "But listen, I don't know what you've found, but Novus doesn't play games. If they're looking for you, it means you have something they want."

Maya's gaze flickered back to the artifact. "I know."

There was a pause on the line. "You're not going to tell me what's going on, are you?"

She swallowed hard. "Not yet."

Elias sighed. "Just be careful. And for God's sake, don't let them find you."

The call ended, leaving Maya alone with her thoughts.

She had to move fast. If Novus was looking for her, it was only a matter of time before they tracked her down.

Her eyes drifted to her laptop. If Cassius's scroll had been taken to Alexandria, there might be records of it. Even if the Great Library had burned centuries ago, some of its texts had been salvaged and scattered across the world.

She pulled up a research database and began typing.

Search: Surviving Documents, Great Library of Alexandria.

A list of sources appeared, but one immediately caught her attention an old manuscript housed in the British Museum's restricted archives, rumored to be one of the last recovered texts from the library. The description was vague, but it referenced ancient knowledge passed down by a Roman scholar…

Maya's pulse quickened. Could it be the same scroll?

She didn't have time to waste.

Grabbing her bag, she tucked the artifact safely inside and headed for the door.

She was going to London.