by Amy Marie
I roll my eyes. Char’s right. I ought to leave this guy tied up on a platter for Lilly. He’d love that woman.
“I know you don’t want to believe this, but we’re here to help,” I tell him. Lifting up the sleeve of his robe, I point to his tattoo. “What does this symbol mean to you?” I ask him.
“I will not discuss the sacred symbols of our brotherhood with infidels,” the leader says. He glances at his dagger in Rafe’s hand. “The Eye of Ra watches over me. Do what you must.” His own eyes drift up to the obelisk, resting about a quarter of the way up.
I follow his stare up to the carving of the eye I noticed before. My gaze switches back and forth, down to the cult leader’s tattoo and back up to the eye.
Rafe’s voice pops into my head, “…they stole the dagger along with some sort of key.” Then, Dansé’s voice, “…the man pointed to the stone and said it was the key.”
“The stone! It’s not a compass. It’s a key!” I exclaim.
The man’s beady eyes pop open, as round as the marbles he obviously lost long ago.
“A key to what?” Besim asks as he moves to lay down the briefcase. He opens the lid and hands me the hand-sized round stone I mistook for a compass.
“The lost key,” the leader says in a whisper of wonder.
“Help me up?” I ask Joe and Tara. They help me climb onto the raised platform at the base of the obelisk. With arms raised, the eye is still just a bit too high. “I need one more boost.”
Joe and Tara climb up and oblige, lifting me so my arms can just reach to place the stone’s carved face into the iris of the eye. Though there’s been some heavy weathering of both stones, the grooves line up perfectly as the stone slides into place. With one final push, there’s a loud mechanical click as the circle sinks into the pillar. A loud rumble shakes below us as the obelisk shutters and begins to sink into the ground. We scramble back to the edge of the platform as the sixty-foot pillar slides into the earth, revealing a hollow shaft with the top step of what appears to be a stone staircase that winds down around the buried monument. In response to the revelation, the wind picks up and the storm announces its arrival.
Darkness is coming.
Chapter 26
“C’mon, let’s get inside! We don’t have much time!” I shout over the gusts, offering my hand to help the others climb up.
“Should we bring him?” Dylan calls, referring to the cult leader who seems to be shaken from the revelation of the hidden passage.
“Let him lead the way,” Inigo yells, nudging the man forward. “He might prove useful against any booby traps.”
We push the leader in first, followed by Inigo and myself as I rub my hands together, igniting a glow of light to show us the way. Rafe and Char step behind me with their lighters in hand, leaving Besim and the elements to bring up the rear with Dansé’s fire grasping hands lit like torches to guide them.
“I feel like Indiana Jones,” Dylan’s voice echoes from behind.
“The last thing we need is to be chased by rolling boulders, or have our hearts ripped out,” answers Rafe.
“Right, good point,” Dylan replies.
“Fools,” I hear the cult leader mutter under his breath.
We wind down the staircase, deep into the ground as trickles of water echo around us. The shaft has been expertly built with a drainage system to shut out the flooding waters in the area and keep the passage safe from erosion.
As we reach the bottom of the stairs, we follow a winding cave of stone and dirt that might as well be a maze in the dark. I concentrate on trying to make the glow of my hands brighter, but it’s still difficult to see what lies ahead on the narrow path.
As we round a turn, the cult leader gasps at his next step as the ground beneath his front foot breaks away. Inigo and I pull him back from the edge of a dark chasm. A fall into the pit ahead would’ve surely killed him.
Along the side of the chasm, a sort of ship appears to be carved into the rock, creating a bridge to the other side of the trap floor. Sun symbols are carved all along the stone vessel.
“It’s a sun boat. Modeled after Ra’s solar barque,” says the cult leader. “This was a booby trap. The priests would know to cross using the boat. The boat will see us safely to the other side.”
“Are you sure?” I whisper.
“He better hope so,” Inigo says. Without warning, he pushes the leader out onto the rock boat to test it. When it holds, we all cross one by one, though I swear I heard the cult leader sigh in relief.
Safe on the other side, we continue down the path a little more on edge, eyes out for any more traps. With each step, my mind plays tricks on me, expecting the worst.
We’re stopped again as our path opens up at the edge of a large underground lake. The walls of the cave cradle the water leaving no path to the other side.
“Should we swim?” I ask.
“Does everyone know how?” Rafe asks.
“You cannot defile the sacred lake,” the cult leader says.
“I’m guessing he can’t swim,” Char says.
“I must be honest, I can only dog paddle,” says Inigo.
“I’m not sure I can make it either,” admits Besim.
“Leave it to me,” I hear Dylan say from further back. There’s some shuffling of bodies as he makes his way to the front.
Dylan’s hands begin to take on a soft blue glow as he lifts them into the air. The water in the middle of the lake begins to rumble and churn. As he spreads his arms wide, the water parts to each side, leaving a path down the middle for us to safely cross.
He hoots in delight at his ability. “Just call me Mose—”
“Please don’t say it,” I interrupt him. Call me superstitious, but it seems bad luck to be sacrilegious when you’re crossing a sacred lake, no matter what religion.
We continue on to the other side, squeezing back down another narrow path, venturing deeper into the earth. I’m surprised a few minutes later when our path opens up to a large cavernous courtyard entrance of a red granite-carved temple front. The gates are flanked by two obelisks similar to the one at ground level, but in much better shape, preserved perfectly down here for who knows how long. Standing guard next to each obelisk are two small sphinxes. Their bodies lay close to the ground on all fours, facing together towards the entrance. Their heads are surrounded by rays of the sun framing their human faces.
“By the light of Ra, I never thought I’d live to see this,” the leader says, bowing to the ground.
I’m almost tempted to follow suit, in complete awe of the structure before us. This must be the mythical Temple of the Sun. It’s rumored that the dawn of creation was sparked within its walls.
As my eyes feast on the beauty of the ancient wonder, I don’t even notice my feet carrying me forward. The song from the dagger and necklace in my bag hums louder in delight. There’s something here, drawing me in.
“Nora, wait!” Char grabs my hand. “We all go. Together.”
We cross the courtyard that’s been decorated with hieroglyphs similar to those found in the Statera, but on a much larger scale. There are countless symbols in the battle against the chaos of the emptiness, but in every image, the sun god prevails. In the center of the courtyard is a large pit, carved concave into the ground like a large bowl. I regret looking down into the pit when I see piles of human remains laying at the bottom.
Rounding the pit to approach the entrance, we climb the steps and cross the threshold into the expanse of the outer hall. Massive quartz pillars line the walkway carved with the bloom of a flower at the top to support the temple’s ceiling. The floral pillars grow from a dust-covered, black granite floor. Between each column, metal braziers have been placed to light the sacred path.
Dansé steps up to one of the metal containers to examine it. “There are still coals inside. Shall I?” she asks.
At my nod, her power sparks the hall in an ethereal glow. Aside from the thick layers of dirt and dust, the temple ha
ll is pristine, untouched by looters. As the flames dance over the coals, the scenes of sacrifice on the walls are brought to life.
To our left, a creation story depicting the sun god’s sacrifice in order to bring life into this world. To our right, another story that seems all too familiar.
“This is in the Statera!” I point to the wall.
Sure enough, Rafe pulls out the book and the symbols match up. In the middle are the light and dark, surround by the elements, fighting off the evil symbols of the emptiness. But the temple wall has one thing that the book is missing. In between the duo in the middle and the element foursome is a triangle. The effect brings the Eye of Providence to mind.
“What’s that symbol in the middle? Shouldn’t it be a sun?” asks Dansé. I forget she’s never had a chance to look inside the Statera.
“It’s a combination of the sun and moon,” Dylan explains to her. “It represents the light soul and dark soul.”
“No, you read it wrong,” the cult leader surprises us with his interruption. “It’s not the sun and the moon, or the light and dark. It’s a great source of power. We call it the Ma’at. The symbols balance, yes. But that balance is what symbolizes a greater power. Think of your word you said, Statera. That is a balance scale.” He points to the symbol at the center of the circle. “The scale of our existence is held steady by their sacrifice, at the beginning and at the end. Every 12,500 years, the bennu will return to rise from the ashes of this sacrifice. A new era will be born. It has happened before, it will happen again. From the first the sun has risen, it has fallen over nothing new. This is the teaching that has been passed down in our brotherhood from the great solar deity. It is why we pay homage with sacrifice.”
We all stare at the man in shock. Now he wants to help us?
My eyes drift over the ancient drawings, so similar to the Statera. This is how we fight the evils of the emptiness. But I have a hard time believing the man’s interpretation. Human sacrifice doesn’t seem right to me.
I focus on the symbol in the middle that the leader said represented the balance. Balance is exactly what we’re trying to restore. But if that’s the case, does that mean we can’t win without Darcy? I’ll need to find a way to lure him into the circle when the time comes. I’ll need to have the necklace ready.
“Let’s check out the inner sanctuary. We don’t have much time. We’ll have to find a way to set a trap before Darcy and Lilly get here,” I say, remembering the chase begins at nightfall. I turn to climb the next round of steps, and notice for the first time the rows and rows of ancient scrolls and texts that line the back wall of the hall. I groan internally knowing we have no time for these treasures. We have to keep moving.
“But you cannot enter the inner sanctuary of the house of Ra. That room was built for the gods,” the cult leader says as I continue up the steps.
Inigo places his hand on the shoulder of the leader. “In case you haven’t noticed by now, this entire place was built for her.”
Chapter 27
The moment we step into the inner sanctuary, I realize I’ve never been let down more in my life. The room is small, shallow, and dark. Even after Dansé lights the coal pit in the center, there’s still much left be desired. All of us can barely even fit into the room at the same time.
The left wall of the sanctuary has a carving of a scale and a man with the head of a dog balancing a heart against a feather. The right wall has a battle scene between a cat and a snake. The floor’s tiles are laid in a pattern of black granite around a centered white marble sun. The center of the sun is the fire pit, which gives an interesting burning effect when lit. An elaborate throne is carved into the far wall with golden sun symbols dancing all around the shrine. Attached to the throne is the seated form of Ra, formed in solid gold as a man with the head of a bird and a solar disk on top.
“I can see the resemblance,” Dylan jokes, pointing between me and the idol.
“Shhh,” the cult leader reproaches, bowing in veneration to the shrine.
There’s a small white quartz altar in front of the idol of Ra. On the altar lays a thick layer of dust, and a balance scale.
“What do you think it’s for?” whispers Tara.
“Maybe we’re supposed to balance our powers?” suggests Dylan.
“On that tiny scale?” Dansé asks.
“No,” Inigo clarifies. “It’s explained right there on the wall. The Egyptians believed that when you die, you must weigh your heart against the feather of Ma’at, which represents truth, order, and justice, basically everything that creates balance. If your heart was light or equal to the feather, you were found to be virtuous and would be granted access to the afterlife. If your heart weighed heavy with evil intent, you would be devoured.”
“Nora’s supposed to weigh her heart?” asks Joe, trying his best to get the scale to balance with various things from his pocket.
“Not literally, no,” Rafe says. “But the scale must be important.”
“True, but the weighing of the heart doesn’t even have anything to do with Ra. It was performed by Anubis. It’s strange that this story would be here,” Inigo says, stroking his chin in thought.
“Same with the cat fighting the snake.” I point to the opposite wall. “I remember Rashidi showed us a similar image from The Book of Overthrowing Apophis, but I don’t understand why it would be in here.”
“Cats are the guardians of the gods, and the snake represents the evil enemy of Ra. It makes complete sense to me,” smirks the cult leader.
I glance at Rafe to see if he picked up on that, but he’s too busy staring at the wall that portrays the balance scales. “Look at this,” he says, pointing to the scale.
“Yeah, that’s what Inigo was just talking about. The heart is being weighed against the feather,” I say.
“No, look closer. Check out the feather. I can almost make out the shape of an eye,” Rafe says, squinting inches away from the wall.
I move in to get a better look. Just between two lines of the feather’s barbs is a small carved shape of an eye.
A heart weighed against an eye.
“That’s it!” I say, rushing over to the altar.
“What?” asks Dansé. I interrupted her weighing two balls of fire on the scales. She steps to the side as I hoist my bag onto the altar.
I’d gotten so used to the enchanting hum of the dagger and necklace that I completely forgot about them. Their song is stronger than ever as I open my bag to retrieve them.
“When I read my chapter of Broderick’s book, it talked about the story of creation,” I tell the others. “It said the light was separated from the dark, commencing the balance. In the new existence, the two balanced souls reached down and created two sacred objects from the primordial mound. It said the light reached down and formed a heart for the darkness to ensure the darkness could not be tempted by evil, for evil could have no heart. Then Joe’s passage said the heart of the rose blooms eternal life. Remember, Flamel changed the handle to a rose. It was talking about this!” I hold up the dagger.
“The dagger of Ra!” the cult leader cries in surprise.
“The heart of Ra,” I correct him, placing the dagger on one side of the scale.
“Next, the book talked about how the darkness formed an eye from the primordial mound so the light could see how it could shine—”
“And my passage said the eye pierces immortality!” Joe interrupts with excitement, which is rare form for him.
“Right,” I smile, holding up the necklace. “Which we know is this.”
The leader gets down on his knees. “You hold the Eye of Ra!” he shrieks. “The source of Ra’s vengeance and protection!”
“Exactly. The heart and the eye of Ra,” I say, placing the necklace on the other side of the scale. The two golden objects of the Materia Prima give off an ethereal glow as the scale rights itself into a perfect balance. When the scale reaches a stable equilibrium, there’s a loud click, and immediately the s
tatue of Ra falls away into the throne, revealing a hidden passage.
“Okay, now it’s like Indiana Jones,” Rafe admits, eyes bright in excited wonder.
I test the scale to see if it will hold if I remove the necklace and dagger. Now that the passage has been revealed, the scale stays locked in place. I grab the sacred objects, hoping to put use to one of them very soon.
“Lady of light!” the leader bows at my feet in repentance. “I’m so sorry I doubted you!”
Resisting the urge to kick him over, I signal Inigo to help the man up.
“What’s your name anyway?” Joe asks the cult leader. “I’ve been calling you idiot leader in my head.”
I giggle to myself, guilty of similar thoughts.
“My name is Akar Marduk, leader of the solar cult in the City of the Sun,” the leader introduces himself.
“After you, Akar.” Inigo pushes the leader into the tunnel entrance as Dansé and I ignite our powers before entering the dark passage.
We descend the dark path guided by golden sun idols that glimmer along the walls. There’s a change in the air as we move farther underground, like passing through an invisible veil.
The hum around us grows stronger as we move through an archway into the mouth of a massive underground cavern. With a cavity this size so deep underground, I would expect to be staring into pitch black. But this cavern is so well-lit with radiant spectacle, I no longer need my power to provide light. Along with the glow, there’s an essence in the air. It’s like an ancient force, not quite magic, but something more powerful that connects to something inside me.
The cavern’s ceiling is dazzling with crystal stalactites that are nearly shimmering with glowworms and some sort of bioluminescence bacteria, reminding me of a lit up starry night. Green gleaming fungi cover the walls, lighting the space with an enchanted glow.
Water cascades from the far back right side of the cavern, flowing in from the walls of rock and earth forming a stream that branches into a delta in the left closest corner of the space. The delta slows the stream down to a trickle, feeding a small pool of bubbling magma. The water’s flow keeps the glowing pool of lava churning in disruption. The tang of sulphur fills the air, reminding me of the pools of warm springs I once visited when I was younger.