by Sarah Noffke
“Where’s the queen cat?” Monet asked at her side.
She cut her eyes at him. “If you piss off the last reigning monarch of New Egypt, and she doesn’t help us, I’m going to demote you to court jester.”
“And that would be different from his present position how?” Ever asked from her other side.
Chibale turned around, looking furious. “Now is not the time for banter and jokes.”
The figure of Cleopatra sprang up from the sand, appearing out of nowhere. “Chibale, now is precisely the time for them to relax a little. A tense soldier will hesitate, risking his very life. The relaxed warrior sees everything in slow motion, acting at exactly the right time.”
Monet nodded approvingly, leaning over and whispering to Azure, “I kind of like this ancient queen. Too bad she doesn’t have a real body.”
“Well, she does, but you’d have to transform into a cat to make the relationship work,” she whispered back.
“If Oak can turn a dragon into a person, surely we can make you into a feline,” Ever mused.
“For true love,” Monet said, “I make no sacrifices. I like my manly body too much.”
Azure pretended to look him over. “Manly? Is that what you’re calling that lanky, pasty form?”
“I’m ready to open the temple,” Cleopatra said before Monet could retort. She pressed her hand against a large stone that was recessed into the base.
Azure tensed. The joking hadn’t put to rest the nerves that were bumbling around inside her chest. She eyed the tattoo on her forearm, hoping it really would change the future. She didn’t want to die. More than that, she couldn’t become a vampire—it would be the worst end for her, for anyone with magic. That was exactly why she had to risk her life to end the epidemic.
The stone beside Cleopatra’s hand rumbled, but, to Azure’s relief, the rest of the pyramid stayed still and quiet.
As advised, they’d waited until the middle of the night, in hopes that the vampires were stalking the city for prey.
Azure double-checked her hip for the Orc knife. It was still the best defense against the vampires. They had their magic, the knife and a few doses of the antidote, but they still didn’t know if the potion worked.
The stone creaked and slid to the side. Blisters, frightened by the loud roar that spilled out of the blackness in front of them, pressed into Azure’s leg.
“It’s okay,” she encouraged, peering down at the unicorn who actually looked cuter without his long mane.
“Well, maybe it’s okay,” Monet said.
Cleopatra turned to the group. “It’s open. Now the rest is up to you.” She dropped into her cat form and disappeared into the blackness.
“Queen Azure, we must set off for the king’s chamber. It might take a while to find,” Chibale ordered.
Azure had purposely waited to tell Chibale that she had other plans in the pyramid besides waking the king, guessing there’d be an argument. “Actually, I have a quick errand to run first. I’ll meet you there.”
“Queen Azure, I can’t allow that,” Chibale protested. “There’s too much riding on this.”
Azure caught Ever’s eyes. She knew he didn’t want her to risk her life and lose her wand for Bob, but he also knew she was stubbornly set on it. “I’ll meet you there,” she repeated.
Chibale just shook his head before ducking inside the Great Pyramid of Giza.
Azure gave Ever a tentative look before casting a glance at Blisters and Manx. “You three stay together. Protect Chibale. We’ll catch up with you as soon as we can.”
The new couple had already said everything of importance at the Sphinx, knowing time would be limited now. Still, the look Ever gave her communicated a whole host of emotions, all brimming with caution and fear.
“Be fast and careful,” Ever said before looking at Monet. “And get her out of there if it gets too dangerous.”
Monet nodded, thrusting one of the antidotes into Ever’s hand. “Just in case… you know.”
Ever nodded, closing his fingers around the bottle.
~~~
Total blackness wrapped around them when they entered the pyramid. It took Ever’s eyes several seconds to adjust, until finally he could see well enough to make out the cobweb-ridden chamber they were standing in. Three hallways branched in front of them. Chibale eyed the options, his back tense.
“Where is Cleo?” Ever asked him.
Chibale shook his head. “I don’t know. She disappeared.”
“Do you know which one to take?” Azure asked.
Chibale pointed to the middle hallway. “The pyramid is a maze, full of hundreds of rooms. However, I believe that each of these funnels into one of the three main rooms. That one should lead to the king’s chamber.”
“And the hallway on the left?” Monet asked.
“That will lead to the queen’s chamber,” Chibale said, his voice a hush.
“Then the one on the right leads directly to the Grand Gallery,” Azure deduced, setting off.
“But why would you want to go there?” Chibale challenged at her back. “That’s a waste of time. We can bypass the Grand Gallery by taking the middle hallway.”
Azure paused, looking at Chibale over her shoulder. “There’s something I can’t ‘bypass’.”
For Ever, watching Azure walk off into what they knew from the seer to be mortal danger was the hardest thing he’d ever had to do. However, they were in charge of their future now, already having changed the course of events. In Cap’s vision, Monet hadn’t created the antidote, because Blisters hadn’t had a reason to pester him to show off the fake tattoo.
Each event was changing the future; hopefully that meant they lived in this version.
“Come on,” Ever said to Chibale. “You might still have your work cut out for you once we get to the king’s chamber.”
The hesitant look in Chibale’s eyes told Ever that he didn’t want to face what they’d find there. If vampires were in the pyramid, it was because Ata had awoken Khufu. That meant that the great wizard was still somewhere in this dusty pyramid, and who knew what he would do when confronted by his traitorous brother?
~~~
“And we’re lost,” Monet said, turning and hitting a dead end.
“We’ll just backtrack,” Azure said, her nose itchy from the mold and dust in the dark hallways.
“Where do you think the vampires hang out?” her friend asked, following her as she took the corridor back to where it had split.
“Well, Chibale said there are hundreds of rooms, so I guess they have options.” She took the other hallway, taking them in a new direction.
A revolting smell made them both cover their noses. Azure sucked in a small sip of air through her mouth. “Wow, what the hell?”
“We’re in a billion-year-old pyramid,” Monet said through the cracks between his fingers. “I’m guessing it hasn’t been cleaned in a while.”
“No,” the queen said softly, holding up her wand for light. “That’s not the smell of dust. That’s the smell of rot.”
A loud scratching noise echoed above them. They tore their gazes upward as dust and rock rained down. Covering her head, Azure bolted forward, fearful that the ceiling was about to cave. A stone, much like the door they’d come through, slid down from the ceiling, neatly fitting in between the two walls and blocking the way they’d come from.
“Fuck, I hate when that happens,” Monet said, turning his wand in the direction opposite the long hallway.
Azure pressed in tight to him, as a figure stepped out of the shadows and into the light cast by their wands.
“Well, I think we found what stinks,” she said, staring at the ancient mummy standing only ten yards away.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
The group passed many doors, which Chibale ignored. He’d walked with purpose, not hesitating whenever they’d approached a split.
“How do you know where you’re going?” Ever finally asked him.
; Chibale paused. “I can feel him.”
“Your brother?” Ever asked, needing clarification.
Chibale nodded, staring ahead at four archways that lead in different directions.
“How do you know he’ll be in the king’s chamber?” Manx the fox challenged.
“Ata will be with the king, trying to release him,” Chibale explained.
“He won’t know that you need royal blood of a pure lineage,” Ever guessed.
“No, as that was revealed only by the Book of the Dead pages. But Ata led the vampires in here, probably thinking that their ignorance would be his key to freedom,” the interim king said, a new confidence in his voice.
A ghostly groan echoed from the archway on the end, just as Chibale started in that direction.
“Uhhh…didn’t you hear the murderous grunt coming from that archway?” Manx asked, stuck in place.
“Yes, but that’s the one that leads to Ata,” Chibale said, charging forward.
Ever cast a look over his shoulder at Manx and Blisters. “Look alive. We’re fine as long as we stick together.”
Manx morphed into raven form, flying after Chibale’s retreating back. “I’ll take my chances in the air, rather than on the ground.”
“Come on, Blisters,” Ever said, waving the shivering unicorn forward. “Follow me.”
Blisters nodded at Ever’s command and started after him, in the direction of the howling noise.
~~~
“I’ve got this,” Monet said, pushing in front of Azure.
He held his wand high, twirled it through the air and pointed it directly at the mummy. Dark bandages covered the monster, except over its eyes, where two green glowing lights stared back at them.
A red bolt of fire shot from the tip of Monet’s wand and hit the beast squarely in the chest. It rocked backward, catching itself on the neighboring wall. With a snarl, the mummy righted itself, staring at them with a new vengeance.
“Damn, that would have blasted a house off its foundation,” Monet said breathlessly.
Azure stared around at the walls trapping them. They were slick and rose up twenty feet to the ceiling. They were pretty literally entombed.
“Try a paralyzing spell,” she suggested.
“I thought of that, but paralyzing something that is already dead probably won’t work,” Monet pointed out.
The mummy lumbered forward, its hands outstretched and its revolting odor overwhelming them.
“But at this point, we should try just about anything,” Monet said in a mad rush, pointing his wand at the mummy and whispering an incantation.
A green flame shot from the end of his wand and knocked into the mummy. It froze mid-step.
“It worked!” Azure rejoiced.
“We’ll celebrate later.” Monet grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her roughly past the creature, through the narrow hallway.
Over their running footsteps, Azure heard the mummy grunt. She dared to pause and look back. The monster had unfrozen and, with jerky motions, had turned around, and was standing squarely in the corridor.
“Okay, so that helped, but not for long,” Monet said.
“What are we going to do?” Azure asked, discouraged by the ineffectiveness of the usually-strong paralyzing spell.
The mummy’s bandages tore as its mouth opened wide and let out a scream so deafening, Azure thought it would burst her eardrums. She clapped her hands to her head, pressing against the overwhelming sound that sought to make her ears bleed.
Small, black bugs began to spill from the mummy’s mouth, flying in their direction.
“Run!” Monet urged, pulling her away.
~~~
“Pssst.”
Blisters heard an echo behind him, just as he was about to step through the archway after Ever. He froze, every muscle in his body tensing.
“Pssst,” the noise came again.
Not here, Blisters thought, trying to will himself forward, though he felt cemented to the ground.
“I’ve come to finish you,” the voice of Scabs sang through the darkness.
Blisters took off, his legs propelling him through the archway and into the next room, fleeing from Scabs. The sight he found there filled his stomach with dread.
The room was circular, and every square inch of the walls were lined with archways. At least a dozen options winked back at him, and, to his horror, his friends were nowhere to be seen.
“Ever! Manx!” Blisters called out.
He turned back, but didn’t know which door he’d come through. He spun in a full circle and became instantly disoriented. Not only did he not know where he’d come from, but he was clueless about which archway to take.
He rotated again, looking at each option for a clue, but they all looked exactly the same.
Suddenly, one of the archways flickered, and Blisters’ pulse skipped with hope.
Ever is coming back for me.
Something moved through the archway. Something dark.
Scabs stepped forward, into the dim light of the room. “Hello, Blisters. Are you ready for the end?”
~~~
The room the group had entered was brighter than the others, its walls lined with gold.
“It’s pretty spectacular,” Ever said, turning his head to take in the sight. When he didn’t find a unicorn at his back, he spun, panicked. “Blisters? Blisters, where are you?”
Large columns covered in hieroglyphs ran the length of the room. On the far end was a single archway.
Manx swooped down, landing on Ever’s shoulder. “I don’t see him in the room.”
“What?” Ever asked. “How can that be? He was just here.”
A ghoulish howl echoed behind them, from the other side of the nearest column.
Chibale’s dark eyes shot to Ever, and he pulled his flail up, holding it menacingly. “Be on guard. An enemy is near.”
“Did you see anything from the air?” Ever asked Manx.
“No, nothing,” the raven said. “I was looking for Blisters, but only saw the columns and a small, bright orb.”
Ever sighed. “That classifies as ‘anything’.”
“Oh, I guess it does,” Manx said with a squawk, launching into the air to circle overhead.
Another sound. This one a tearing noise, echoing from behind a different column. Ever and Chibale spun in unison.
“Show yourself,” Chibale commanded.
Ever made quick hand movements, pulling from the energy around him. The ancient stones were a massive resource, and he felt a surge of power pool up in him. He threw a force forward, like casting a fishing line. Then he yanked his hand back, and a white orb shot through the pillar, a strange face attached to it.
“Stooooop!” a voice cried.
Ever held his hand up high, pinning the enemy in the air.
It was a transparent figure of a large man. A ghost.
The apparition covered his face with his hands and wailed loudly. “Don’t hurt me! I’m sorry!”
“It can’t hurt us,” Chibale said with relief.
“No, it can’t.” Ever dropped his hand, releasing the ghost. “What were you doing? Who are you?”
The ghost bounced on the stone, rolling over once before straightening to a standing position in front of them. “I’m Morris, a treasure hunter. Well, I used to be.” He peered down at his milky-white form. “I’m no longer alive, as you can see. I suffocated in one of the chambers at the top, trying to break into the pyramid. The magic here made me into a ghost.”
“I can see that,” Ever stated, just as Manx landed on his shoulder.
“I searched the room,” the pooka informed him. “You should know there’s a ghost in here.”
“Thanks,” Ever said dryly. “Anything else?”
“Nope, but honestly, I didn’t search very well,” Manx admitted.
Ever shook his head, focusing his attention back on the ghost. “You were trying to scare us, weren’t you?”
Morris lifted his
arm, appearing to be afraid of retaliation. “Well, I don’t get many visitors. None, really. Not until recently.”
“You’ve seen the vampires?” Chibale asked. “Are they close by?”
“Yes, I’ve seen them, but I don’t mess with the monsters,” Morris said with a shiver. “They are scary, and I’m afraid of what they’d do to me.”
“You’re already dead,” Manx reminded him.
“So?” Morris asked, fisting his meaty hands on his hips.
Manx rolled his eyes. “So your reasoning obviously died along with you.”
“Anyway, the vampires mostly reside on the bottom, three levels down,” Morris said, pointing at the ground.
“Are there any here right now?” Ever asked.
“Ummm…I don’t know,” Morris stated nervously. “I guess I could look.”
“That would be great,” Ever said. “Can you also keep an eye out for our friend, Blisters? We’ve lost him.”
“How will I know I’ve found him?” the ghost asked.
Manx laughed. “You can’t miss him, he’s a unicorn.”
~~~
Scabs stepped forward, a wicked smile on his face. “Blisters,” he said with a hiss. “Do you know how long I’ve followed you, watching your every blunder?”
“Not long?” Blisters guessed, backing up and knocking into the stone of two archways.
“I’ve been following you for years, waiting for the perfect time to make my move,” Scabs growled, stepping in closer.
“You must have a lot of time on your hands.”
Blisters’ insides were vibrating, but something else in him was spreading. A strange sensation he’d never felt before.
“Do you know what a shadow-self gets if they successfully take out their other half?” Scabs asked, a dark glint in eyes.
“Persistent guilt…?” Blisters guessed.
A cold laugh fell from Scabs’ mouth. “Not hardly. I’ll be rewarded with incredible strength, power and influence.”
“Sounds like a lot of responsibility.” Blisters edged to the side, but Scabs pivoted, not letting him out of his sight.
“When I first found you, I was too curious to take you out,” Scabs began. “I couldn’t understand how my counterpart was such a complete loser. After some time, I even started to feel sorry for you and doubt my mission. But then I got tired of watching you screw up and decided to finally put you out of your misery.”