Marcus answered with distracted curiosity. “Where has our host gone?”
“He said something about reporting to the Proconsul of Rome about his mission to Memphis,” Jade shrugged.
“Do you think he’ll mention us?” He frowned, apparently troubled by the thought. She realised the last thing he would want was a Roman governor who might recognise him or remember his father.
She shook her head. “I don’t think so. I asked him not to and he seems trustworthy enough. I hope. We don’t have much choice at the moment, anyway.”
“Go back inside and rest then,” Marcus ordered. “I’ll follow the others and bring them back as soon as Phoenix has cooled down.” He ran two steps then stopped and looked back.
“You did put that illusion spell on Brynn and Phoenix, didn’t you? Zhudai can’t Farsee us, can he?”
“No, he can’t,” she assured him. “It was the first thing I did when we got onto Heron’s barge. Promise.”
He nodded and took off. The sound of his sandals hitting the cobblestones echoed sharply back from the walls. Jade sat for a few moments, soaking in the afternoon sun. Eventually, feeling stronger, she tried to put Phoenix out of her head and went inside to consult with the housekeeper about replenishing her herb bag and their food supplies.
*****
Phoenix ran out of breath and strength almost before he ran out of sight of Heron’s house. This was the worst death ever. He’d never felt so weak after being killed. Slowing to a walk, he put a hand to his stomach, pressing against a stitch here. Beneath his fingers, he felt the hard line of scar tissue. Poison blade! Poison was the weapon of cowards too afraid to fight with only their skill and a clean blade.
He followed the street until it intersected with one going south. Still moving at random, he turned and kept walking, beginning to take an interest in his surroundings. The streets were wide and regularly laid-out in a grid pattern. It was a well-planned city and this area seemed affluent and clean. All the houses appeared similar to Heron’s – a three-sided, two-storied affair with a front wall. He could hear children playing in the courtyards inside.
Children. Sometimes he felt little more than a child, himself. He was, really. He’d started this character as an alter ego – a strongman who could cope with more than his own, thirteen year old real life body could. Since he couldn’t stand up to his stepfather, Jacob, in the real world, he’d just wanted somewhere he could at least pretend he was invincible. Now it was clear that he wasn’t good enough in this form, either. How could he possibly handle two, even harder, levels of this game? He flexed his arm, feeling the muscles move. His warrior body was strong but obviously not strong enough if he’d been killed by poison.
No! Not the poison; by his own friends! The people he was supposed to trust; the people he had come to trust. They were as bad as Jacob – always telling him what to do; never listening. It was pretty obvious they didn’t really care about him. Jade just needed him and his sword arm to get her home. Brynn wanted treasure and Marcus just wanted revenge against Zhudai.
Phoenix kicked savagely at a loose stone in the street. It ricocheted off a wall and skittered up the cobblestones. A passing servant gave him a scared glance and hurried away. Turning west into another cross-street Phoenix kept going, lost in a maze of anger and self-doubt.
This street opened out onto a large square full of tents and people. He stared in confusion before realised he’d come in a big loop and now stood in the market square outside of Heron’s house.
He wasn’t ready to go back yet. With one hand laid on the hilt of his sword, he pushed moodily through the crowds, ignoring outraged protests and whispered comments. Shoving his way past hawkers and customers alike, he strode into the centre of the square.
The peaceful burbling of the fountain appealed. He was hot and already tired. Sitting on the stone edge, he gazed into the murky water and wished for a drink. He didn’t have any money on him to buy one. Reaching down, he cupped a handful and rubbed it over his head. At least it helped cool him a little. Shaking his head like a dog sent sparkling drops of water spraying in all directions.
Sighing, Phoenix scraped his long hair back from his face and gazed around at the busy scene before him. The sun sank lower in the sky behind him, sending long shadows sliding up the walls of the surrounding houses.
Shadows. The significance of what he was seeing finally sank in. He focussed on one, very long shadow that outstripped the others. One very long, pointy shadow. Skewing around, he squinted up at the stone column arising from the centre of the fountain.
It was an obelisk. An obelisk covered in Egyptian hieroglyphs. An obelisk, covered in hieroglyphs, right outside Heron’s house. The Obelisk of Anuket.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
“Marcus! Where are you!”
Jade hurried out of the kitchens at the sound of Phoenix’s excited yell. At least he didn’t sound angry any more. When she got to the courtyard he was there, still hollering. He saw her and ran over.
“Where’s Marcus with the hammer. I’ve found the tekhen – the obelisk of Anuket!” His blue eyes sparkled with anticipation.
“I’m here,” Marcus’ steady voice sounded from behind him and Phoenix spun to face Marcus and Brynn as they came into the courtyard through the outer door. Jade held her breath, hoping he wouldn’t take offence at being followed. He didn’t even seem to notice.
“C’mon,” Phoenix urged. “The obelisk is right out front. We can destroy it now, release Anuket and finish this quest.” Dragging Marcus and Brynn by the arms, he jerked his head at Jade. Together they all went out and stared at the towering monument that dominated the square.
“That’s it?” Marcus asked. Phoenix nodded, grinning.
“In the Temple of Set, Heron mentioned it was in front of his house. That’s why we agreed to take him with us.” He slapped Marcus on the shoulder and gave him a shove. “Get that hammer out and start pounding.”
Jade, Marcus and Brynn exchanged glances then looked around at the busy marketplace. None of them wanted to burst Phoenix’s bubble but it had to be done.
“Ummm,” she began. “Maybe I should read the hieroglyphs to make sure and then we could wait until dark when there’s not so many people around. Someone might get hurt by the falling rock.”
The darkness came into Phoenix’s eyes again and he glowered at her. “So you’re worried about killing one of them but not me, huh?”
“That’s not fair,” she said, trying to keep him calm. He really was acting strangely. Maybe she hadn’t got all the poison out of him; maybe it was affecting his mind. Stretching out a hand, she moved to touch his head, thinking to try and sense the presence of a toxin. He jerked back, batting her fingers away with a growl. He laid a hand on Blódbál and half-drew it out. Jade backed up, staring at him in disbelief.
For several tense moments, he glared at his three friends as though they were mortal enemies. Nobody moved. Then Phoenix seemed to fold in on himself. His eyes rolled up and he crumpled to the ground in a dead faint.
Jade hurried forward to check his vital signs.
“What happened?” Brynn stared down at the fallen warrior, worry and regret pinching his face.
She pursed her lips. “Sleep Command.” She touched the pulse at the base of his throat. “He’ll be out for an hour or so, I’d say. He was still tired anyway.”
Marcus raised sceptical brows but said nothing as he stooped to slide his hands beneath Phoenix’s shoulders.
“He’s not going to be happy when he wakes up,” Brynn grabbed Phoenix around the stomach.
“Can’t be much worse than he already is,” she grimaced, gathering up his legs.
Together the three managed to get him back into Heron’s house and into bed. They stood over him, examining his peaceful expression. Jade touched a hand to his forehead, frowning in concentration. There were no toxins in his system at all.
“He’s being really weird, isn’t he?” Brynn broke the silence at last.<
br />
“I don’t know what’s got into him,” she shook her head.
Marcus raised one dark brow. “Being killed by us seems to be playing on his mind. In fact, he doesn’t seem to like being killed at all.”
“Who does?” she shrugged, “but it’s more than that. Something is exaggerating his anger; making it worse.”
As one the three companions looked at the magic sword that lay sheathed by their friends’ side. When the king of the Svear people had given Blódbál to Phoenix, he’d warned them of its power. Its name meant ‘blood-fire’, the berserker rage that sometimes engulfed Norse warriors of legend. Could it be having an effect on Phoenix?
“We could take it off him?” Brynn suggested.
Jade sent him a sceptical look. “You think he’ll be unhappy when he wakes up and realises I Commanded him? Just imagine what he’d be like if he woke up and Blodbal was gone.” She snorted, looking at the sword. “Besides, it makes his fighting awesomely good. We can’t afford him to be less than brilliant as a swordsman. We’ll just have to keep a close eye on him. In the mean time, we should get packed again, in case we have to leave in a hurry after we destroy the tekhen.”
A disturbance in the courtyard interrupted their low conversation. They closed the door on Phoenix’s room and went out to see what was happening. Heron had returned from the Proconsul’s palace and hurried toward them, smiling. He had bathed and changed into a clean tunic and toga. His white beard and hair were neatly trimmed and his looked like a different man after a feed and a decent night’s sleep in his own bed.
“Right!” He exclaimed. “That’s over and done with. How’s our patient doing?”
Jade stepped in his way as he tried to get to Phoenix’s door. “He’s still weak but he’ll be fine. He just needs some more sleep. Say, weren’t you going to show me your workshop? I’d so love to see your inventions.” She took the old man by the elbow and turned him around.
Heron was no more immune to flattery from a beautiful young woman than any man. He beamed and patted her hand. “Of course, my dear. I’m sure you’ll be most impressed with my aeolipile.”
She paused, taken aback then nodded. “Yes, I’m sure I will.”
Following him into the east wing of his house, she pulled up short at the chaotic scene that met her eyes when they entered his workshop.
“Oh! Have you had a break-in? I’m so sorry,” she exclaimed, taking in the mess.
He laughed. “No, no! This is how it always is, I’m afraid. Now where did I put that....” His voice trailed off as he scrabbled through some paperwork.
Jade gazed around in amazement. How could anyone work here? It reminded her of the study of the High Priest of Set but without any evil magic. No magic at all, in fact. Scrolls and papers littered every surface, weighted down by glass prisms and Egyptian, Greek and Roman statuettes. On one bench there was a strange device made of two glass flasks, a large glass bowl and several tubes connecting them. Beside that, on the floor, was a large copper cauldron on legs. Its top was sealed and from it sprouted two copper tubes that fed into a copper sphere. Sticking out from the sphere were two bent pipes. Jade had absolutely no idea what it was for. Possibly torture..or coffee-making?
“Ah!” Heron clapped his hands. “You spotted my aeolipile.” He waved her over to the copper monstrosity and proceeded to explain its function in a great deal more detail than she actually wanted to hear. It was some sort of steam-powered turning device but, other than being used as a door-opener in a couple of buildings around town, Heron didn’t seem to see any applications for it. He just liked inventing things for the sheer joy of it. Jade opened her mouth, intending to tell him about things like steam boats and steam trains but common sense cut in. It was only 80AD. How much different would the world be in her time if she meddled with history and gave the ancient Romans superior technology like this?
She closed her eyes and groaned. This was not her reality; not her world’s history. Get a grip, she admonished herself.
“Maybe I should go check on Phoenix,” she edged toward the door, hoping he wouldn’t mind. Heron was now deeply engrossed in a pile of manuscript and barely even noticed her hasty departure.
Phoenix still slept. To pass the time, she, Marcus and Brynn made good use of Heron’s indoor bathhouse and laundry facilities. Jade was relieved to finally wash the dust and grit from her hair. She had to bribe Brynn to bathe with the offer of free time to roam the markets and streets on his own. The boy sent her a wicked grin as he skipped into the bath. She grimaced, hoping he was as good a thief as he said. These ancient civilisations often had extremely harsh punishments for theft.
While Brynn washed, she and Marcus sat in the dining room and planned the destruction of the tekhen of Anuket. The obelisk was quite tall and neither of them wanted the debris to fall on a house or person in the square. Jade would have to cast another létta spell in the hopes that it would at least slow down the fall of stonework.
They drew a rough sketch of the square and the tekhen with charcoal on a piece of papyrus and were arguing about which direction would be best for it to fall, when Heron wandered past. He stopped and stared vaguely down at their drawing.
“That’s the obelisk your friend was asking about. The one with Anuket’s symbol all over it.” Sitting down, he twitched the paper out of their hands and frowned at the arrows they’d drawn on it. “He never did say why he was so interested in Anuket. Perhaps you should tell me.” Looking anything but vague, the old man sent Jade a piercing, intelligent gaze from beneath shaggy, white eyebrows.
Startled, she looked at Marcus. He shrugged and lay a casual hand on his sword hilt. She chewed on her lip, wishing she could consult with Phoenix. It wasn’t really fair to just destroy the monument then move on, leaving Heron to take the blame for what his eccentric guests had done.
“This will sound insane, I know,” she began. Heron leaned back on his chair with his hands clasped over his stomach.
“We have to destroy the obelisk in order to release Anuket. She’s imprisoned in it. That’s why we’ve come here and we can’t let anyone stop us,” she finished in a rush.
Surprisingly, Heron didn’t leap up and summon guards to take them away. Instead, he leaned forward so his chair legs hit the floor with a loud clunk, startling his guests.
“Anuket’s imprisoned, you say? Interesting,” he frowned and nodded. “That could very well explain why the Nile hasn’t flooded for so long. She is the goddess of the Flood and fertility, after all.”
He inspected their drawing of the square again, stroking his beard. “And exactly how were you going to destroy the obelisk? It’s very, very big.”
“Umm,” Jade faltered. They had promised Thor they would keep Mjölnir safe and secret.
“Just accept that we can hit it hard enough to bring it down, sir,” Marcus put in. He took his hand off his sword hilt and Jade saw his shoulders relax. He must have decided Heron was not a threat.
“Very well,” the old man shrugged. He tapped the drawing. “You were trying to work out how to do it without causing damage to the surrounding houses, I assume?”
They nodded.
“Hmmmm.” The inventor gazed off into the distance, still stroking his beard. “Leave it with me for a little while and I’ll do the mathematics so it will come to ground safely.” He sighed. “It does seem a pity to destroy such a lovely thing but there are many more about the city and Egypt is in desperate need of a good flood.”
Rising from the table, he began to leave, muttering as he went. At the door he turned back. “I’m assuming your friend, Phoenix, will be the one to destroy the obelisk?”
Jade and Marcus stared at him in surprise before Jade found her voice. “Err, no. It’s Marcus’ job, actually.”
“Really?” Heron’s white brows flew almost up to his hairline. “Most unexpected. The legends all clearly speak of the Phoenix as the one who restores balance to Egypt and returns fertility to the land. Very odd. I wonder...”
They never did discover what he wondered, since he wandered off to his workshop without another word.
Jade and Marcus were left in the dining room, staring at each other in disbelief.
“Well, that was... interesting,” Jade broke the silence at last.
“That’s the second time he’s said something about Phoenix saving the country,” Marcus mused, staring after the old man.
“Well, he was wrong,” she laid a hand on his arm. “It will be your turn this time. Only fair, really. Phoenix can’t have all the glory.”
“You mistake me,” he said with a faint smile. “I have no desire for glory. I’m content to go down in history as an unknown. I simply wondered if there is more to this quest than we know. Maybe Phoenix is supposed to wield the hammer. Maybe only he can release Anuket.”
“No,” she shook her head. “I’m sure I would know if that were the case.” The others all knew she had been visited by the mysterious grey lady during a between-lives limbo back in Alfheim on Level Two of the game. Her guide had given her some instructions as to what to do in the next three levels. There had been no mention of anyone specific needing to destroy the tekhen. Only that Anuket had to be released from her prison before the death of the moon, in order to complete the quest.
Brynn came in, towelling his unruly hair dry and grumbling complaints.
Jade chuckled. “It can’t have been that bad. We’re so lucky to be staying in a villa that has private baths. Most people share the public ones. Heron’s bathhouse is wonderful.”
“If you’re a fish,” he retorted. “I can’t remember having so many baths in such a short space of time in my whole life. My skin will come off.”
“Oh stop complaining,” she couldn’t help laughing at his indignation. “Tell us what Heron said when you were in the Temple of Set prison. Did he say anything about Phoenix having to do some specific task?”
Brynn screwed up his nose in an effort to remember. “He went on about the legend of the Phoenix bird – something about burning up and a baby bird coming out of the ashes. Oh, and something about it being linked to the Nile flood and restoring harmony to the land.” The boy shrugged. “I know Phoenix found it fascinating. After he heard the story, he kept muttering something about restoring balance and harmony. He was playing with that amulet you both wear and he seemed pretty excited. He never did tell me what he meant.”
The Tekhen of Anuket Page 12