by Dan Hunter
I shall sail rightly in my vessel,
I am Lord of Eternity in the crossing of the sky.
Let my heart speak truth;
Let me not suffer the torments of the wicked!
For the great Devourer awaits,
And the forty-two demons howl around the Hall of Judgement.
Let me hold my head upright in honour,
And be spared the claws and teeth of the Shrieking Ones…
Images of the horrific creatures awaiting them began to dance in Akori’s mind like the shadows cast by firelight on a cave wall. A third voice was reading the text with them, as it had before. But this time the voice was rasping and inhuman, just like the voice from his dream. It sounded eager and excited, as if it couldn’t wait for Akori to come to the Underworld. Akori shuddered as he wondered who the mysterious voice belonged to.
The coffin started rocking wildly. The glowing hieroglyphs danced crazily in front of them. Ebe mewed in panic and scrabbled about, ripping at the coffin wood with her claws. But the sinister voice continued hissing into Akori’s ears.
The Eaters of Bones, let them not touch me.
The Drinkers of Blood, let them not come near me.
The Winged Ones with Jaws of Iron, may they pass me by…
The coffin shuddered and went into free fall. Akori knew what this meant. They were passing from the living world into the Underworld on Aken’s barge.
The mysterious voice roared the last words of the coffin text: …And may I remain safe in the presence of Osiris for ever! Then the script vanished, leaving them alone in complete darkness. For a few seconds there was total silence, then the splosh, splosh, splosh of Aken’s oars began.
Akori sighed with relief. “Seems like we made it.” Gingerly, he lifted the coffin lid and sat up. Aken, the strange backward-headed ferryman, didn’t even turn around. He never paid any attention to his passengers.
They were drifting slowly down the black river. Great arches of rock rose over them like sculptures made by giants. Shores of deep-red sand stretched far into the distance.
“I suppose we stay on board until we see the final Gate,” he said.
Manu nodded. “The Hall of Judgement is in the very depths of the Underworld. After that, Aken begins his journey back to the living world.”
“So, how much do you know about the Hall of Judgement?” Akori asked.
Manu immediately frowned. Ebe hissed and curled herself behind his legs. “Enough to know that I’m not looking forward to going there,” Manu said.
Akori looked at him questioningly. “Why?”
Manu huddled closer and lowered his voice to a whisper. “You know how when the dead are mummified their brains and other internal organs are removed from their bodies and stored in jars?”
Akori grimaced at the thought. “Yes.”
“Well, one organ is kept inside the body.”
Akori nodded. “The heart.”
“That’s right.” Manu moved even closer. “The heart is taken out and weighed when the dead person gets to the Hall of Judgement.”
Akori couldn’t help shivering.
“Osiris would weigh the heart against the feather of Maat, to see if the person had been good or bad. If the heart was as light as the feather it meant that the person had been good and Osiris would allow them to pass on to the afterlife in the Fields of the Blessed.”
Akori looked at Manu. “And if it was heavier?”
“Then the person would be condemned to stay in the Underworld for ever. And their heart…” Manu broke off.
“What?”
“Their heart would be fed to Ammit – the Devourer of Souls.”
Akori gulped. All Egyptians lived in fear of having their soul eaten by Ammit. Once, only the sinful and wicked had reason to fear her. But now that Oba ruled the Underworld, who knew whose side she was on?
“Look, there’s the first Gate,” Manu said, pointing to it in the distance.
Akori thought back to how he’d had to fight the gruesome Guardian of the Gate on his first quest to the Underworld. He’d only managed to defeat the monster by allowing it to swallow him whole and then cutting his way out of its stomach. Back then it had seemed as if nothing could be worse. Yet every time he had journeyed to the Underworld he’d encountered an even deadlier foe. If he had to fight Ammit for the final Stone then Set had been saving the very worst for last.
The three friends sat in silence as Aken steered his barge through the desert region. The firelit towers of Oba’s palace appeared on the horizon, glinting red like demons’ eyes.
“I wish I could get off right now and bring that fiend Oba to justice,” Akori muttered under his breath.
“There isn’t time,” Manu warned.
“I know.” Akori sighed. “It’s just that seeing his palace so close…”
“Once you free Osiris, he’ll tear that place down in a heartbeat,” Manu said.
“If I can free Osiris,” Akori replied softly. “None of us knows what the future holds, not even the Gods. We’re heading into unknown territory now.”
They fell back into silence as the barge glided past the sinister palace and into a part of the Underworld they hadn’t seen before. Craggy mountains, as black as the night sky, loomed up on either side of them.
“I’m glad we came in the barge now,” Manu said. “This looks creepier than any of the places in the Underworld we’ve visited before.”
Ebe purred her agreement.
“Me too,” Akori said, looking up at the mountain peaks, where red lightning bolts crackled and sparked.
“Look at the caves,” Manu said.
Akori peered into the darkness. The mountainside they were passing was dotted with gaping cave mouths, great stalactites hanging down from their roofs like predators’ teeth. All of a sudden a flapping sound echoed throughout the ravine. Akori saw a sudden movement from one of the caves. Something huge was flying out at them, approaching the barge at speed.
Before they had time to take shelter in the coffin, the thing was upon them. It was one of the most hideous creatures Akori had ever seen. It had the face of a crazed woman, surrounded by long, straggly hair. But its body was that of a vulture. Huge greasy wings sprouted from her back. The creature roared into Akori’s face, revealing a mouth full of fangs, grey as iron nails. Nearby, another of the beasts emerged from a different cave.
“Demon vultures!” Manu screamed. “They’ll eat us alive!”
The demon vultures circled overhead, the flapping of their huge wings causing the barge to rock wildly. Aken gripped his oars to steady himself and turned his backward-facing head from side to side, trying to see what was causing the commotion.
Akori gripped his khopesh and Manu clung on to the coffin. Ebe snarled as she shifted into her wildcat form, growling at the demon vultures menacingly.
A screech, quickly followed by another, told Akori that the foul creatures were on the attack again. They came in on a power dive, claws outstretched, wings spread. Aken flailed around with one of his oars, swiping at them as they went past.
The two vultures broke formation in mid-air. One of them came hurtling down towards Akori, while the other zoomed over his head. Ebe roared and leaped up, sinking her claws into the vile beast’s side.
The demon vulture gave a half-human, half-birdlike shriek, its legs kicking wildly. It tried to stab Ebe in the throat with its huge claws. Akori slashed at its wing with his sword, and it squealed in pain. It struggled out of Ebe’s grasp and took to the air, feathers fluttering down in its wake. Its movements were faltering and lopsided. It won’t get far on that injured wing, Akori thought grimly.
A yell came from behind him.
Akori spun around, just in time to see the other vulture snatch Aken up in its claws. Akori leaped forward and thrust, but the blow just missed the retreating creature. It beat its wings and rose out of Akori’s reach. Aken struggled in its grip, bellowing.
“Oh no you don’t!” Akori yelled. He s
wung the khopesh upwards, slicing at the back of the demon vulture’s legs. With a blood-curdling screech it released Aken and took to the sky. The ferryman fell and landed heavily on the deck, setting the whole boat rocking.
Akori watched the two injured beasts disappear into their caves. For now, at least, they had gone.
“Akori!” Manu said urgently. “Aken’s hurt.”
Akori hurried over to the stricken ferryman, who was lying on his side next to the coffin. There was a huge gash on the top of his arm where the vulture’s talons had dug into his flesh.
Aken looked up at Akori. His nostrils flared as he took deep, pained breaths. Akori felt strange. It was as if the God had finally noticed him, after all this time.
“I’m sorry,” Akori said. “I thought those things were coming to attack us, but now I think Oba sent them to attack you.”
Manu touched Aken’s wounded arm, and the mysterious ferryman moaned in pain.
“Don’t worry,” Akori said. “We’ll take care of you.”
But, to Akori’s surprise, Aken began shaking his backwards head.
“You must complete your quest,” the ferryman said. His voice was as deep and soft as the wind through the rushes.
“You know!” Akori exclaimed.
Aken nodded. “Yes, Pharaoh. My master, Ra, has ordered me to ferry you anywhere you need to go in the Underworld. I know all about you and your brave adventures. But you mustn’t let me keep you. You have to go.”
“But you’re injured, I can’t—” Akori began.
“If you don’t release Osiris a worse fate will befall all of Egypt,” Aken interrupted. “You have no time to lose.” Ebe mewed her agreement.
“Well, at least let me bind your wound before we go.” Akori ripped the bottom off his cloak and tied it tightly around Aken’s arm.
“I suppose we can follow the riverbank to the Hall of Judgement,” Manu said.
“No,” said Aken, who was frowning and shaking his head. “It will take too long,” the ferryman explained. “You will have to take the shortcut through the City of the Dead.”
“The City of the Dead?” Manu looked puzzled. “What is that?”
“It is a terrible place,” Aken said, with a grimace. Akori couldn’t tell if it was from pain or fear. “Ever since Osiris has been imprisoned, the dead have been amassing in the Underworld. There are so many now, they have created their own terrible city. You must take great care. Without Osiris in charge, there is no order any more. The bad souls have all gone back to their evil ways – the ways which got them condemned to punishment in the Underworld in the first place. And the others, even the good ones, are filled with rage and frustration, their souls unable to find peace, awaiting a judgement that never comes.”
“How do we get to this city?” Akori asked.
“Take the pass, over there,” Aken said, pointing to a narrow passageway cutting through the mountainside. “Follow it to the end and you shall come out in the city.” He slumped back down onto the deck.
“Hide inside my coffin until we return,” Akori said. “It will protect you from any further attack.” Slowly he and Manu raised the heavy lid, then they helped Aken clamber in.
The ferryman looked up at Akori and gave him a grateful smile. “Good luck, brave Pharaoh,” he murmured, “may the good Gods be with you.”
Akori nodded his thanks, before lowering the lid of the coffin.
“We need to hurry,” he said, turning to Manu and Ebe. “If those demon vultures return while we’re out in the open, we’re dead meat. And we need to get to the Hall of Judgement before Oba launches his attack on Egypt.”
Ebe had returned to her small form, and Akori scooped her up. Then he and Manu jumped down into the murky water and waded over to the riverbank. The mountain pass gaped in front of them, a seemingly endless black void. It didn’t exactly look welcoming but anything was better than having to face another vulture attack. Akori set Ebe down onto the ground. She shook herself vigorously, even though she had only got slightly wet.
“Let’s go,” Akori said, and the three friends began running into the darkness.
After what felt like for ever, Akori saw a dim red glow at the end of the pass. “I think we’re almost there,” he panted over his shoulder at the others.
Ebe went racing ahead. A couple of minutes later she returned and gave a low hiss of warning.
“Uh-oh,” Manu muttered.
Akori gripped the hilt of his khopesh.
They came to a halt at the end of the pass. Down below, in the red-tinged gloom, Akori could see the roofs of many buildings. Fires were burning in open squares and dark silhouettes could be seen coming and going in the streets. The City of the Dead, Akori thought with a shudder, just as Aken had said. At the far side it seemed as if the ground itself was moving. Fresh despair closed in as Akori realized that it was actually hundreds of people, all marching in strict formation.
“Oba’s army!” Manu gasped.
“Quick,” Akori said, already starting to clamber down the mountainside. “They’re still at the other side of the city. Hopefully if we hurry we can evade them.”
“But there are so many of them,” Manu said, his eyes wide with shock.
Akori nodded. “Exactly. If I don’t find the final Stone soon, Oba will unleash them upon Egypt and my people will perish.”
Without another word, the trio scrambled their way down the mountainside and made their way to the nearest street. It was swarming with dead souls, some of them transparent and ghostly, some skeletal, and many mummified. Tension hung in the air like a river mist.
“Why do they all look so angry?” Akori whispered, as they edged past a crowd of moaning, decrepit figures.
“It’s like Aken said. If they can’t pass through judgement to the afterlife, they can never find rest,” Manu whispered back.
Akori shuddered as the crumbling bones of a dead soul rattled against his arm in the throng of the crowd. “Let’s try and get through here quickly. This place gives me the creeps,” Akori muttered.
“This passage looks a bit quieter,” Manu said, nodding towards a narrow walkway. “Let’s try down here.”
But when they got to the end of the passage they saw a sight that almost made Akori’s heart stop. A division of Oba’s army stood in formation in the square in front of them, going through battle drills. Akori’s muscles tensed as he watched the rows of skeletal figures marching back and forth.
“Come on,” he whispered and they turned and raced back down another side street. At the end they turned a corner and found themselves in a market. Dead fishermen wearily went through the motions of selling fish, but the fish they held up were rotting on the bone. Dead merchants held up sheets of tattered cloth, boasting about the quality. They all seemed completely unaware that their goods were falling to pieces.
A skull-faced beggar held up his hand to a passing mummy and whined for help. The mummy smacked it in irritation and the hand flew off, landing in a gutter.
“What do we do now?” Akori whispered in frustration. “Ask someone for directions?”
The air was thick with brimming tension. The dead swarmed about the market stalls, eyeing the decaying food. The stench was overwhelming. Almost suffocated by the heat and the crowds, Akori kept walking, anxious not to look out of place, or meet the gaze of any of the dead.
Traders waved maggoty meat at him. “Fresh today!” they yelled. “Look at the quality!” A sunken-eyed ghoul held out a bowl of dates that were grey with mould.
“This is hopeless,” Akori protested. “How are we ever going to find the Hall of Judgement?”
Suddenly Manu’s face lit up. “Akori! Look! The mummy over there, the one with the stall full of scrolls – his sign says he’s a map seller!”
Akori, Manu and Ebe walked hesitantly towards the dead map seller’s stall. Seeing them approach, the mummy rubbed his bony hands together, sending a shower of dust over the scrolls in front of him.
“Blessi
ngs of the endless night be upon you, travellers,” he said in a creaky, rattling voice. “Oh, it’s good to see some young ones here. One grows so tired of the same old decaying faces.”
“We’re looking for a map of the Underworld,” Akori said, resting his hand on the hilt of his khopesh. Something about the greedy way the mummy was looking at him made him nervous.
The mummy scratched his chin, sending flakes of fetid skin tumbling to the ground. “But of course you are,” he grumbled. “Ever since the mighty Set and great Pharaoh Oba seized control of the Underworld, every soul has been doomed to wander lost about this land. Fortunately I can be of some assistance to you.” He spread out a sheaf of scrolls in front of them. “Which part of the Underworld do you need a map of?”
“We need to get to the Hall of Judgement,” Akori explained.
The mummy took a step back. “The Hall of Judgement?” He shook his withered head. “I would advise you not to venture there. They say the mighty Set does not welcome visitors.”
Akori’s heart quickened. Was that where Set was lurking in wait for him? He realized with sudden urgency that if Set was in the Hall of Judgement, perhaps that would be where he would find Osiris too.
Thinking quickly, Akori said, “We wish to honour Lord Set and we need a map directing us to the hall. Do you have one?”
“Oh, I do,” the mummy said. “But first there is the small matter of payment.”
“We can pay,” Akori assured him. “Just give us the map. Please.” He looked at Manu anxiously. Time was running out.
The mummy reached down below the stall and fetched up a papyrus scroll. “Here,” he said, showing the map to Akori. “But such treasures do not come cheap.”
Akori gave the mummy a pouch full of bronze nuggets. “It’s all we have,” he said. “It’s good quality bronze. You could buy stacks of papyrus for that!”
The merchant tipped the nuggets into his hand and let them rattle through his bony fingers onto the dusty ground. “Useless.”
“But it’s very valuable!” protested Akori.
“Maybe in the living world,” leered the mummy, “but down here such trinkets are worthless. Didn’t you learn anything when your embalmers prepared your body for burial?”