Reawakened (The Reawakened Series) (33 page)

“So when he tried to kill Osiris, he was attempting to unmake him?”

“Very good, Lily. You are correct. But before Seth could complete his work, Isis discovered the body of her husband, and she and Anubis remade him. Unfortunately, parts of him were missing and he could no longer live upon Earth.”

“Which is why he now resides in the afterlife.”

“Yes. Luckily, Seth’s duplicity regarding Amon and his brothers was discovered in time and his plans were thwarted before he could finish what he’d started. Knowing that Seth would continue to attempt to unmake the three princes since he had invested so much energy in them, Anubis took them out of the equation by making them servants of Egypt and instilling in them the celestial powers of the gods. As long as they retain their power, Seth cannot destroy them and achieve what he seeks.”

“In that case, why can’t Seth just unmake other people? Like me or you or Amon’s father, for example? Wouldn’t he gain power from that?”

“In theory, yes, but the gods would be alerted and would intervene. In the case of Amon’s, Asten’s, and Ahmose’s births, since Seth was the one who caused them to be born in the first place, the only god who would hear and respond to the danger would be himself. To destroy one’s own creations results in an infusion of power so ultimate, nothing can be denied the immortal that achieves it. And yet, it comes with a terrible price.”

“How did Anubis know to come and help if he wasn’t alerted?”

“The people expressed such heartfelt prayers and concern for their beloved princes, especially the mothers of the princes, that the gods could not ignore their faithful pleas.”

Our conversation was interrupted when Asten and Amon approached. Asten frowned at Dr. Hassan, giving him a meaningful glance. The doctor winced as if he’d been reprimanded, though no words had been exchanged, and nodded in obeisance. I wondered if they were angry with him for telling me too much.

In my mind, I had a right to know, so I took Dr. Hassan’s hand and patted it reassuringly. “We have decided that we will seek out the temple,” Asten declared. “It is imperative that we locate our brother.” Amon’s head hung low, and he seemed to be having a hard time focusing. I closed my eyes and tried to sense what he was feeling, but it was like I was shut out by a wall made of stone, and no matter how high I climbed or how far along it I walked, there was no way around it.

“Amon?”

“All will be well, Young Lily,” he whispered in a hollow voice. “You must trust in Asten’s guidance.”

“Forget that!” I spat as I stood, no longer holding back. The struggle to remain upright somewhat diminished my righteous indignation, but still I pressed on and jabbed Amon in the chest.

“I can’t help but notice,” I said as I poked, “that you are pretty much ignoring me and making drastic decisions without any regard for my feelings on the subject. As you are aware, I am as invested in the outcome of this adventure as you are, so I have a right to know what’s. Going. On,” I declared, punctuating each word with three final prods.

In all my life, I’d never voiced a demand to be involved, to be able to make a choice for myself. Doing so made me feel a bit proud. I doubted that I had the fortitude to assert myself in the same way with my parents, but doing so with Amon and his brother was a big step forward.

Amon wrapped his hands around mine, squeezing softly. “I am sorry, Lily. I did not mean to leave you by the wayside. I just want to protect you.” He seemed so tired; his skin was cold. The sun radiating off his form wasn’t warming him like it had before we encountered the dying shabti.

“I get that,” I answered more gently. “I really do. But I’m made of stronger stuff than you think. You can tell me the truth. I promise I won’t run away.”

Asten watched us with open fascination, while Dr. Hassan looked embarrassed to be witnessing our exchange. For a moment I wondered if Amon was going to respond, but then he finally lifted his gaze and reached up to push some hair behind my ear.

“Very well,” he said with a sigh. “But know that what must be done, must be done. I will leave it to Asten to explain everything.”

With a final squeeze of my hand, he stepped aside and spoke briefly to Dr. Hassan in Egyptian. Then he chanted a spell to release the golden falcon. The great bird waited silently as Asten gave us some brief instructions.

“Both of you will be flying with me,” Asten said. “Amon is too weak to carry someone right now. As to the matter of educating you regarding our plan, I will instruct you on the way.”

I glanced at the golden bird. He stood, listless, and I wondered if Amon even had the energy to take off. He refused to draw on my energy and was slowly killing himself to save me, and I wouldn’t have it, not if he was about to face down a powerful, necromancing evil priest, if not the god of chaos himself.

Asten changed into the starlit ibis, and Dr. Hassan and I mounted him, with me in front. With a jarring run and a mighty flap of his wings, the ibis took off and the golden falcon followed.
Okay, spill,
I thought.

Spill what?

“Talk. Tell me what’s going on,” I voiced out loud.

“Perhaps
I
might venture to explain?” Dr. Hassan politely inquired.

You may,
the ibis replied.
But do remember your boundaries this time.

“Yes, Great One.”

“What boundaries?” I demanded.

“The brothers simply wish me to be mindful of the information I share. Some of the things that I…have discovered…are not my stories to tell,” Dr. Hassan said simply. “What I can convey to you is this: on our way here, Amon shared his thoughts with me, and together we came to the conclusion that there is still time. Not all the signs are in place for the Dark One’s rising.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that we believe the chaos we’ve encountered comes from a different source than Seth himself. If we can raise Ahmose and the three can finish the ceremony, it will be too late for Seth to rise, and he and his power, no matter how great it seems to be at the moment, will remain dormant for another thousand years.”

“So does that mean we are or aren’t going to trade Amon’s special eye for Ahmose?”

Dr. Hassan paused for the briefest of moments. “We are…not.”

“That’s better. So then, what’s the plan?”

Dr. Hassan stuttered, “W-well…you see—”

Amon will distract the priest of Seth while we three locate Ahmose,
Asten interjected.

“But what if he gets hurt?”

There was a long pause.
As long as Amon is in possession of the Eye of Horus, he cannot be overcome,
the starlit ibis stated matter-of-factly.

I waited a bit before replying. “Then you promise me that we will do everything in our power to get him out of there as soon as possible.”

That is an easy promise to keep. I do not relish the idea of allowing my brother to remain in the hands of a demonic priest.

“Fine. As long as we’re on the same page.”

Dr. Hassan piped up. “She means—”

The ibis interrupted him.
I understand the general meaning. Amon is fortunate to have a devotee as loyal as you,
Asten said.

The rest of the flight was spent with Asten and Dr. Hassan talking about ancient Egypt. As I listened, the heat of the day thrummed in my body and I realized just how utterly exhausted I was. The fact that I hadn’t eaten since the night before probably didn’t help, but strangely, I didn’t have an appetite.

My eyes felt sticky and dry, a condition that the wind made worse. Luckily, Dr. Hassan was with me, since I fell into a sleep so deep that I let go of Asten’s neck. Hours must have passed as I slept, because when I opened my eyes, it was to a golden-orange sunset.

I woke with Dr. Hassan securely holding on to me. He must have seen that I was getting sunburned, because he’d placed his beloved hat on my head. Embarrassed, I thanked him for making sure I didn’t fall.

Amon will be separating from us now,
Asten said.
Is there a message you wish me to convey?

I watched as the giant golden falcon shot past us, heading to an outcropping of hilly dunes on the other side of the Nile, while we continued southward.

“Tell him I…” Again I refrained from expressing what I really wanted to say. “Tell Amon I expect to see him again. And soon.”

After a moment, Asten gave me Amon’s reply.
He says it is his utmost desire to look upon you again as well and that he will make every attempt to ensure that happens.

Asten’s feathers, gleaming with starlight, winked out as we passed over a city. “Do you think the city’s radar can see us?” I asked Dr. Hassan. “I suppose if they
were
aware of us, they would have launched a missile by now.”

What is a missile?
Asten asked as Dr. Hassan cleared his throat.

“A missile is a large weapon made of metal that bursts upon impact, destroying everything in its range, which varies depending on the yield. In this case, our modern technologies would not apply.”

“Why not?” I asked.

“Because Amon and Asten cannot be seen by technology,” Dr. Hassan said. “And we are too small to be of any interest to those who would be watching the skies.”

Asten cloaked the three of us in firefly smoke, so the fact that he chose a main street with an apartment building on one side and various businesses on the other as a landing strip wasn’t too much of a concern.

As Asten changed from his ibis form into his human one, Dr. Hassan took measure of our surroundings. “The temple is approximately one mile northward. Do you see the light coming from it?”

“Yes,” Asten replied. “We will approach covertly and Amon will communicate with me the instant he learns of our brother’s whereabouts. Come, Lily. Dr. Hassan will lead us and you will stay close to me.” When I gave him a dubious look, he hurried to add, “Amon insisted.”

The three of us began walking, with me quickly falling behind. Finally, Asten stopped and placed his hands on my shoulders. “There is not much I can do to ease your pain. I cannot heal injuries like Ahmose. Perhaps you will allow me to carry you?”

“It’s all right. I can make it,” I said stubbornly as I hobbled, each step shooting biting pains through my leg up to my hip joint. I wondered if Dr. Hassan was wrong about the biloko not having venom, because my limbs felt like they’d been hollowed out. My blood coursed heavy and thick, pounding against my temples, as if it was no longer circulating but coagulating in my veins. On top of that, I was dizzy, but I attributed it more to the flight than to the itching bites on my leg and arm.

Asten frowned as he watched me take a few more steps and then admonished, “Time is of the essence, Lily. I must insist upon carrying you.”

“Fine, but I’d rather have a piggyback ride.”

Asten frowned. “I believe you misunderstand. I can become the ibis, which is a bird. I do not shift into an animal of a porcine nature.”

With a mutual chuckle and a little help from Dr. Hassan, I was soon settled on Asten’s very warm and very bare back, my legs wrapped around his waist and my arms draped over his shoulders. “This will be much faster. Come, Hassan,” Asten urged as he trotted forward.

Even barefoot, Asten crossed rock and sand, pavement and gravel without so much as a flinch. He moved quickly, pausing only to reassess our direction, and then pressing forward. Dr. Hassan followed silently. When we stopped behind some trees, Dr. Hassan, panting from his exertions, helped me climb off Asten’s back.

“What do we do now?” I whispered.

“We wait,” Asten said, staring intently into the darkness as he listened for Amon’s voice.

Feeling anxious about Amon, I took my notebook from my bag and sketched the temple to try to kill time.

The Kom Ombo temple was not as well preserved as other archaeological sites in Egypt. It rested on a high dune, and the Nile stretched to the east. Kom Ombo looked more like a Greek temple than the Egyptian ones I’d seen so far.

Several wide columns supported a crumbling upper segment that appeared to be a roof terrace with only a piece of the pylon gateway surviving. Each column was lit with a soft yellow gleam that gave the whole building a haunted air, especially when the wind picked up and whistled between its cracks and crevices. It was almost as if the ghosts of priests and pharaohs from the past were whispering in the dark shadows of the columns.

Dr. Hassan pointed to my drawing. “The right side is called the House of the Crocodile, and this half is the Castle of the Falcon.”

“I thought this was the temple of Apophis, the crocodile god.”

“It is. But do you see the dividing line, right there?” He pointed to the building. “If you cut the temple in two, there would be equal parts on both sides. There are mirror entrances, two courts with a central altar in each, double hypostyle halls, an identical pair of colonnades, and one chapel for each side. Each section of the temple was managed by a different head priest.

“In ancient times the Nile ran much closer to the temple. Crocodiles, revered as sacred creatures, lounged in the hot sun on the riverbank next to the entrance. Later, when the Nile shifted, the crocodiles left. Regardless, there were and perhaps still are hundreds of mummified crocodiles in and around the temple grounds.”

“Interesting. But who was the second half of the temple dedicated to?” I asked. “Did it have something to do with Amon? I’m assuming it did because of the falcon.”

“Not Amon per se, but Horus—one of the gods who lent him his power.”

“But what are—?”

I was distracted when I heard Asten gasp, and whipped around. “What is it?” I hissed. “What’s happening?”

Asten took a deep breath and then schooled his expression. “It is no less than we expected. Gather your things. We must seek Ahmose.” Under his breath, he murmured, “Let us hope that the sacrifices were not in vain and that we will find him.”

Quietly, we made our way into the temple, searching in the dark shadows of the columns and looking behind any slab of stone big enough to conceal Amon’s brother.

“Amon and the dark minion of Seth are engaged on the other side of the temple. Ahmose is hidden here. At least, that is what he told Amon.”