by M K Drake
“Ha!” Kazmagus retorts, before standing and facing the Majjai behind him, “You think me your enemy? I am not. But, I do feel your training methods for these young Majjai are weak. It took most of them to subdue a single dragon.”
“We didn’t want to harm him!” snaps Safaya in reply. She turns to Elric before speaking with an unapologetic tone. “We all take responsibility. Atticus asked us not to join him, but we do things together, as a team. We do not leave each other alone to face the unknown.”
Mage Callan readies a stern reply, but Elric stops him just as he is about to speak.
The old Majjai looks at Atticus. “So, you’ve done it then.”
Atticus looks to his left and right, with only the puzzled looks of the other Majjai Six greeting him. He takes in a deep breath and lets out a long, tired sigh, trying to ascertain what Elric is referring to; looking desperately for a hint from those around him or even from the walls, which are still flickering with taints of orange as the flame torches continue to burn. But nothing, no answers, no hints, just everyone waiting for him to reply, “Done what Sir?”
Elric chuckles. “You’ve become their leader,” he says, pointing to the Majjai standing behind Atticus. “And in so doing, you’ve become ours, too.”
“But…,” Mage Callan tries to interject, but stops and thinks, recalling the steps taken not only to infiltrate the tomb, but also the fact that all six worked together as a team to accomplish it, and fooled even him. “Yes, the old man is right. But it doesn’t mean you can slack in your training. Any of you!”
Kazmagus returns to the centre of his cell and to his seating position, “Fools! This Atticus, he needs more scrutiny before you trust him. He has the gift of insight, I sense this, and he has been tainted by the stench of white magic.”
Elric steps towards the cell and holds out his hand towards Olof. The Norse Majjai already knows why, and returns Elric’s staff to his grasp.
“Thank you Olof.”
Kazmagus turns his head ever so slightly, aware that more questions are coming. “Yes Elric?”
“You yourself used white magic, it is written.”
“You are correct, and in doing so, I know what is required to tap into such power. Do not trust such ability without knowing where it comes from.”
“So stop talking in riddles and tell us!” Elric demands. “You say that you are not our enemy, yet you attack us and you do not help us.”
“Leave me in peace, Majjai. You are about to become rather busy.”
The Majjai all look at each other with bewilderment, trying to figure out what Kazmagus means this time, they are not kept waiting for long as a buzzing sound can be heard from Atticus’s pocket.
“The communications crystal!” shouts Mage Callan. “Quickly Atticus, hand it over!”
Atticus speedily feels inside his inner pocket under his jacket, grabs the crystal and tosses it gently towards Mage Callan who quickly activates it.
A holographic light appears above the crystal with a face appearing within it, “Ian?” It is Serenity, she looks drained and fatigued. “Ian, are you there?” she says wearily.
Mage Callan’s face softens, his eyes fill with worry, “Yes Serenity, what is it? What has happened? Are you ok?”
“It was the Horseman, he is after the Scrolls, we were spared, but Jessica…, Alvarez killed her,” Serenity sobs uncontrollably.
“It’s ok my dear,” Mage Callan tries to console her, but is fully aware trying to do so through a projection of light is nearly impossible, so he tries another tack, one of deflection. “Are the others ok, we can be there in moments with a portal to bring you home.”
Serenity looks through the crystal’s light again, she sniffs and wipes her eyes, knowing she must try to stay strong, “No, one of the local Majjai came to investigate. The block had been damaged and with no word from us they were concerned. He freed us but we had had little food for days beyond the water and fruit we already prepared for that evening’s meal. My communications crystal was damaged so I could not contact you sooner. We already tried a portal, but something is blocking it. The tunnels are also sealed.”
Elric places a hand on Mage Callan’s shoulder. “Do not worry my friend, we can try other things,” he says as he himself attempts to create a portal to where Serenity is. “Stand back everyone.”
“It will not work,” Kazmagus sighs. “You Majjai are far too noisy, and I need silence to work through this meditation. The way is blocked. I sense it. Something has prevented teleportation of all forms to Egyptian lands. Now leave me be,” Kazmagus raises an arm and snaps his fingers; in an instant he teleports the Majjai out of the tomb, closing the door and sending them to the Great Majjai hall.
“Finally,” he sighs, “Silence.”
# # #
“This Kazmagus fellow is really quite rude,” Professor Morgan dusts himself down as he materialised just in front of a chair that he immediately tripped on.
The others materialised in much less precarious positions.
Elric takes a look towards Professor Morgan and chuckles, “Indeed, but I think he has taken a particular dislike to you.”
Professor Morgan snorts and shakes his head. “Well, the feeling is most certainly mutual. Pah!”
Atticus checks himself and the other Majjai Six, then looks towards Mage Callan who is still holding the crystal. “Right, you know what, we can deal with Kazmagus later. Right now, we need to get to the bottom of what the Horseman is up to – why the portals are blocked and what the heck is going on in general.”
Mage Callan nods and looks back to Serenity. “Can you throw any light on this?”
Serenity takes a sip of water from a glass someone has handed to her, the Majjai can see lots of movement behind her from the other Watchers and the Majjai that have come to their aid.
She takes a deep breath before continuing. “We had no choice, Abe gave a location, close enough to not be a lie, but far enough to not be exact. If the Majjai transportation is blocked, then Abe suspects it is due to the Scroll’s guardian, Shezmu.”
“The Egyptian deity? Are you sure?” asks Mage Callan.
Serenity nods. “Yes, the Scrolls are in his pyramid, he guards it with his demons, and his followers in Faiyum guard the gates.”
Khan takes a step forward so that Serenity can see him. “Where is this ‘Abe’?”
Serenity beckons to a fellow Watcher who peers through the light of the communications crystal. He is wearing a fez, chewing tobacco, and sports a very messy beard. “Yes? Who speaks please?”
“My name is Abd Al-Hakim Khan. Are you certain it is Shezmu that is the guardian?”
“Of course I am sure,” says Abe, as he spits some of the tobacco to the floor. “I am the keeper of the knowledge. The Scrolls of the Pharaoh must never be activated. You have to stop them. Shezmu feeds off the hearts of those that seek the Scrolls, and I fear an alliance has been made between him and the Horseman to avail him of this cursed obligation. The demon can communicate outside of his obligated prison, but is prevented by the contract from disclosing his location.”
Olof brandishes his hammer aloft. “Shezmu betrays his neutrality, and we shall help free him of his curse by freeing his head from his body!”
Khan shakes his head, “Unfortunately it will not be so easy. Shezmu is no mere demon, he is an Egyptian god. To be more precise, he is their god of blood, execution, and slaughter He has one weakness, and one alone.”
“Which is?” asks Atticus.
Khan turns to face his leader. “The Scent of Ra, it can weaken him, enough for us to take his head with a Sword of Power.”
“This plan could work,” mumbles Abe through the communications portal. “If you can get beyond his demonic guard, and before even that, his ruthless, three-thousand strong followers that own Faiyum from the streets to the underground chambers. And then ascertain what the
Scent of Ra actually is.”
“Thank you Abe,” says Elric. “You have b
een very helpful.”
“Wait, wait, I am not finished,” Abe scrambles for something in his pockets, then realises that what he is looking for is actually attached to the lining of his Fez. He removes it and pulls out a piece of papyrus which he unrolls carefully. “You need to ask yourself how such a being was obligated in the first place. Only one such entity can command the obedience of a creature such as Shezmu,” Abe holds the unrolled piece of parchment in view of the Majjai.
“Is that Marcellus?” quizzes Professor Sprocking.
Elric sighs, looks towards Atticus with a knowing gaze that more has yet to be revealed. “It certainly looks like Marcellus.”
Atticus takes a close look, scrutinising the illustration. It is crude, but the features are detailed enough. “He has wings?”
“He is the Fallen Angel? Marcellus? It all makes sense now, how he has not aged, how he survived Scourge’s attack. You knew this Elric?” Professor Sprocking waits for his old friend to answer.
“Marcellus came to me many millennia ago, he is more than just an Angel, he is one of the Eternals. He held great stature, but he did not reveal to me his knowledge of the Scrolls or that he is this mythical Fallen Angel – although I did suspect something when he never revealed his wings.”
Professor Morgan remembers his research into the Amethyst of Al Hammad. “Wait, Marcellus is the one referred to in the writings? Where is he now? Atticus?”
“I do not know, he was supposed to be helping my father with something today.”
Elric turns to face Atticus. “Interesting. Your father, Joseph called me. It is why we came looking for you. When we couldn’t find you in class, or the others, we suspected you were all up to something.”
Atticus, puzzled as to why his father called the Manor, tries to think back to his last conversation with Joseph, but cannot recall anything that could shed any light on current proceedings. “Why did he phone?”
Elric looks again at his young students, then to the picture that Abe is still holding up. “He asked if you could stay at the Manor for a few days, as he had some business to attend to.”
“Business?” quizzes Atticus.
“Yes. In Cairo.”
Mage Callan looks through the crystal portal. “Thank you Abe. Serenity, stay safe. Don’t worry, your son is still at your mother’s – I spoke to her earlier and he is fine. We’ll try to get to Egypt as soon as possible,” he waves to Serenity who waves back before he closes the communications crystal portal. He then turns to the other Majjai. “Cairo? This cannot be a coincidence. We need to get there quickly.”
“But without Spitfire, and no way to teleport there, and the tunnels out of commission, how do we do that?” asks Joyce.
Ju Long holds up his hand, “Dragon air? Still one of the safest ways to travel.”
Atticus shakes his head. “No, too conspicuous, and you haven’t even tried to see if your invisibility will work when you’ve turned into Drakor.”
“I have an idea,” says Elric. “Benjamin, where is that portable phone-device-thingy that you have. The one I asked you to store a number in.”
Professor Morgan reaches into his inside pocket and hands Elric his mobile phone.
Elric spends a couple of seconds trying to decipher how to unlock it before the Professor takes it back, presses some digits and opens the contacts book. He then hands it back over to the elder Majjai. “You really should get used to modern technology my friend.”
“Thank you, Benjamin. These things are really quite wonderful. Now, where is that… ah, there it is.”
The others wait with baited breath, wondering who on Earth Elric would be trying to contact.
“Hello, yes, yes, it is me Elric, how are you?... You are, hey? Well, that is very interesting. Why are you there?... I see, well, we need your help. Things are progressing on this side too, but our normal means of transportation are not possible… Yes, yes, I know you have disabled the sensor tracking, no, something else is preventing us… It could well be, yes… You will? Wonderful, and you’ll meet us where?... Excellent… No, poor Spitfire, unfortunately he is still inactive, though Pali is continuing to work very hard to fix him… Right, how much time?... You can arrange it that quickly? Ok, I will prepare the others.”
Elric hands the phone back to Professor Morgan while everyone else stares inquisitively at him. “Ah, yes. We have to get to RAF Odiham as soon as possible. Our Knights of Valhalla are going to assist us.”
“General Crawford? That was him on the phone?” queries Mage Callan.
“Indeed it was. He is already in Cairo. Their own monitoring equipment started to pick up strange readings, so he flew out there with his team almost as soon as he left here.”
Khan strokes his beard. “Shezmu?”
“Quite possibly. Now, hurry, gather your things, and any weapons you may require. We can deal with Kazmagus when we return.”
Elric ushers everyone out of the Majjai Hall, but holds Mage Callan back. He waits until everyone else is out of earshot before speaking to his most faithful of aides. “Keep an eye on Atticus. If what Kazmagus says is true, there may be much darker times ahead.”
Mage Callan nods as he follows Elric out of the hall and prepares for the journey ahead.
A Majjai History, Vol 2 Chapter 17: Demon classifications:
Demons do not really follow a conventional hierarchy, so it fell upon the Majjai to identify some form of categorisation for our own needs.
Apart from the obvious leader class, such as Razakel and Asmodei, there are many other levels. We’ll briefly detail a few here.
Let’s start with the most common type, the demon class of foot soldier. We see this class of foot soldier mostly as Screamers; their main ability lies in their facility to constrict and concentrate a massive blast of sonic energy from their mouths – hence their name. It’s far from a discreet method of assault, and requires them to prepare the attack so they can build the power they need. However, it is a formidable weapon and requires the target to either shield themselves adequately or dodge a direct hit to prevent serious injury, if not death.
There is an aerial type of foot soldier, as well, we encounter them mostly as Draygoyles, a hybrid gargoyle and dragon creation which replaces the sonic blast ability of Screamers with a fire breathing ability.
The next level is behemoth. These creatures rely on their great size and strength to inflict their assaults. We encounter them in two distinct forms, Graigons and Slugs. The latter of those two carry out their offensive from beneath the ground, their speed is phenomenal and their assaults often come without warning.
The next class of demon is colossus, these are hugely powerful entities, but not always large in physical size. We would regard entities such as Alvarez and Scourge as this level of demon, as well as those like Draconus, who are both powerful and immense in size.
The next and final level of class, below that of leader is titan.
These entities are rare, as some are seen as real threats to the demon hierarchy. Examples include Nithhoggr, the Norse dragon nicknamed ‘The Eater of the Dead’, Leviathan, and Shezmu, an Egyptian deity who borders on the dark and light.
Chapter 24
The Dark Soul Taker
“I forget how hot it gets here,” Joseph unloads his backpack and swings it over his arms so it hooks over his shoulders, freeing his hands. He then proceeds to help Dr. Wei Sparks out of the Land Rover that has just dropped them off at a very barren-looking dig site. The driver refused to take them any further; to the frustration of both the passengers, he kept muttering “Cursed lands! There is death here!” Which didn’t really help to comfort either of them. Even offering double the fare could not persuade the driver to go any further.
Joseph watches as Wei tackles her own backpack, and smirks ever so slightly at their near matching attire of sand-coloured clothing, thin enough to not bake them in the heat, but also durable enough to withstand the odd snag. Wei had also recommended heavy-duty footwear with a solid
grip, which gave Joseph the chance to finally try out his workman boots. He remembers when he bought them – Sophia harped on about making sure they were functional and not fashionable. He sighs as he wallows in the memory. It had been a great day, even if it was only shopping. Every day with Sophia was great; how he misses them, even the quiet ones, where all they did was sit on the sofa in front of the fire, eating chips…, those were the best days.
“Joseph?” Dr. Wei startles her companion from his daydream. “Are you ok?”
Joseph shakes his head, bringing his focus back to their task. “Yes, just daydreaming. Right, which way from here?”
Before she can answer, the driver shouts from the window. “I come back 3 hours; you no here, I no stay. Ok?”
Joseph waves to the driver after giving him a thumbs up.
“Should be enough time. The dig site is not too far, just over those dunes,” Dr. Wei points in a south-easterly direction before using her binoculars to scan the horizon for any dangers. “We need to be careful, though. The locals here do not like intrusions onto their lands, some areas are sacred to them. This particular dig site was abandoned about five years ago.” She puts her binoculars away and leads Joseph toward their destination. “It was officially deemed unsafe, but some of the stories I heard from other archaeologists who knew some of the people working on the site spoke of strange voices and people waking up with deep scars all over their bodies. One person was rumoured to have gone completely mad and attempted to kill the dig manager with a sharpened rock.”
“Interesting,” Joseph watches as Dr. Wei deftly tackles the sand, her feet almost floating over the surface, while he struggles with his big and heavy shoes making temporary craters in the ground beneath him. “I read from some of your translation that the Amethyst can make those unaware of its presence a little crazy? Perhaps they got closer to the unknown than they could ever have realised?”
Dr. Wei takes a large gulp of water from her canteen, pointing to Joseph’s as she does so, prompting him to also quench some thirst in the heat. “We need to stay hydrated, it’s not too far now.”