by Wend Petzler
Chapter Nine
"Please do tell.” Clear amusement warmed the dark depths of Sabni's eyes. His modern clothes had been replaced by a woven robe of gold with a black sarong wrapped around his lean hips, leather sandals on his feet.
Swallowing hard, Kate decided to trust Jaffe completely. “Mike, a colleague of mine, told me about the Scarab King and SobeKnefru. When Tek, a man who bears the same tattoo as you, told me more, that's when I thought the Black Book had to be buried in the Scarab King's sarcophagus. Then I started thinking SobeKnefru would eventually figure it out, so Imtep hid it in Amenemhet the Fourth's tomb.” Hands trembling, Kate dug out the Black Book from her backpack and held it out to Sabni who wore a look of surprise, then relief.
Taking the dark, heavy book with great respect, Sabni inclined his gleaming head in gratitude. “May Ra guide you and protect you for your selfless act today. I am eternally grateful for your kindness in bringing us the sacred Black Book.” Still smiling, he handed it over to a priest dressed in a black linen loincloth. “It was not Imtep who hid the Black Book, but a young priest by the name of Sabni."
"What does he have to do with the Scarab King?"
"For Queen SobeKnefru, Sabni placed the great warrior into a deep slumber, to awaken only when summoned."
Shocked by what Jaffe told her, she glanced over at the polished golden sarcophagus, gleaming in the flickering flames of the lit braziers. “Are you telling me you believe the Scarab King isn't dead but merely asleep in his coffin?” Skeptic at the idea, she tried hard not to scoff at Jaffe.
"Sabni fell deeply in love with Queen SobeKnefru and would do anything for her. But when she asked for the Scarab King's death, the young priest refused to have royal blood upon his hands. So, Sabni devised an alternate plan, clearing SobeKnefru's way to claim the throne and not jeopardize his eternal soul."
"Why did the first Sabni not go and release the Scarab King if he was buried alive?"
"Because madness claimed him, and he had not the wit to find the Scarab King's whereabouts in the Labyrinth."
Frowning in confusion, Kate tilted her head. “Why did he go mad?"
Heaving a sad sigh, Sabni offered his hand to lead her over to the golden coffin. “In order to complete the curse upon Pharaoh, Sabni needed the powerful aid of Anubis. The Jackal God demanded his sanity for payment, and the lovesick priest willingly paid the price.” Watching her hesitantly place her hand on the sarcophagus, he asked the question pressing most in his mind, “Why did you bring the Black Book to us?"
Visibly shaken when she once again felt the warm touch of a man's hand through the oddly hot metal, she answered softly, “I ... I just felt you were trying to do something good. But I do have to warn you, I think the Shedty have SobeKnefru's body. Mike told me they plan to raise her from the dead, too."
Sabni and the curator exchanged distressed looks. “Please, you are exhausted. I do believe we have a cot where you can obtain some sleep. Do not worry, I will awaken you before midnight."
Perplexed, she looked up at him. “What happens at midnight?"
"We shall all rise to our destiny!"
There was one more pressing question she had to ask. “What is the Scarab King's real name?"
Indecisive, Sabni decided to break the code to never say Pharaoh's real name until after his resurrection. Kate Martin deserved to know after endangering her life to help them. “He is Setti, full brother to Amenemhet and half to SobeKnefru. Named ‘appointed to protect', Setti was made Royal Guardian of Egypt and her next Pharaoh."
"Why was his name never placed on the Cartouche of Kings?"
A sad look crossed Jaffe's stern features. “Setti was never officially crowned Pharaoh.” Sweeping a hand towards the curator, “Please, go with James. He shall take care of you while we settle some last minute preparations for Pharaoh's resurrection."
James led the way to his office. Withdrawing several items from the small refrigerator beside his desk, he placed them on a wooden plate. Taking a dark green bottle from a drawer, he poured the rich, red liquid into a squat, thick glass. “Please sit down in my chair and eat. I'll just go and make up the cot in the other room."
Famished, Kate sat down in the comfortable chair and ate several wedges of sharp, tangy cheese and the dark, brown bread. When he returned, she followed him to a small cot in the back office and laid down, drowsy and full.
Smiling, he covered her with a rough blanket. “Sleep, Miss Martin. I will return to awaken you before the ceremony.” He was backing out to leave when she halted him.
Frowning at this information, she had to ask, “Do you really believe a living man, an immortal, resides within the coffin and not a three thousand year old mummy?"
"Soon you shall see the true magic of the Ancients and will believe."
"What happened to Sabni after the destruction of the Ra Temple?"
"Four years after Pharaoh disappeared, SobeKnefru finally captured Sabni. Failing to wring the information from his beaten and broken body the whereabouts of Setti's tomb or the Black Book, she personally beheaded him."
"How can Setti's curse be broken?” Kate asked, thinking the man held back something of great importance concerning the ancient Sabni.
Hesitating, James answered, “Setti wears an amulet placed around his neck by Sabni, sealing the curse. Setti must go back in time and find Sabni. The priest is the only one who can speak the words to end his immortality."
Kate rested her head back on the pillow, trying to figure it all out when she realized she was all alone in the small room. Sighing, she tried to get some sleep. Instinct told her it was going to be a long night.
* * * *
High in the clear night sky, the full, round moon pulsed and shimmered with an unnatural light. Sabni walked around the golden coffin while two men carefully chiseled the heavy lid open. Breathless, he waited. Four men strained to lift up the upper golden body of Pharaoh's sarcophagus, exposing the large, wrapped figure within. Swallowing back the fear, he began to gently remove the linen bandages from around the figure's face. His heart leapt with joy as the perfectly chiseled features of the Scarab King were exposed.
"James, go and wake Miss Martin. I believe she should see this,” he ordered, signaling for several priests to finish removing the bandages from the dead-like man within the coffin.
Dressed in the traditional black loincloth like the others, head freshly shaved, James bowed before hurrying to fetch the young American woman, not noticing the shadows moving along the skylight high above the cathedral-like chamber.
Kate bolted upright, looking wildly about when James burst into the room. “What's wrong?” She frantically rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Searching for her backpack, she grabbed it, holding it close for protection.
"Hurry! The time for the Awakening is at hand.” Gesturing excitedly at Kate, James urged her to move quickly.
Jumping off the bed, she followed him back to the chamber where the sarcophagus rested. A tingling along her spine made Kate slow down. Her eyes adjusted to the dark corridors. Shadows shifted, but she saw no one. It's just my imagination, she tried to reason.
Anticipation thick in the air, they entered the spacious chamber. The skylights high above exposed the luminescent, full moon. Twenty men, heads shaved, wearing black loincloths, were prostrated in a circle around the golden sarcophagus whose cover lid had been removed. They were chanting in a low, deep tone that made the fine hairs on her arms stand on end. At first, she did not recognize the language until she noted the slight differences of vowels.
"-I debeh dbH en Amun Ra, a'nen per-a'a Setti. A'nekh iew Setti!"
Suddenly the words were crystal clear. I ask Amun Ra to bring back Pharaoh Setti. Live again, Setti! Sabni called out to the ancient, mighty Egyptian God for his Divine aid. She felt chilled to the bone despite the roaring fires blazing in copper braziers positioned around the room. Her attention centered on Sabni. He entered the circle of priests, the darkly gleaming plates of the Black Book
open in his arms. Speaking clearly the sacred incantations, Sabni involved Ra into awakening the Scarab King. His deep, powerful voice drew her in as he spoke the strange words with such terrifying intensity.
A strong sensation of her skin tightening unbearably around her body made her aware of the gathering electric force. From inside the darkness of the coffin, a golden glow radiated, exploding into shimmering colors. A roar of elation echoed in the chamber. Kate covered her ears from the deafening sound, unable to escape the unexplainable surging force. A huge golden hand stretched down from the sky and enclosed the occupant inside the coffin in its mighty fist.
"Rise Pharaoh and take your place amongst your servants,” Sabni's voice rang strong and true. His dark eyes widened when a large, lean brown hand rose from inside the coffin and rested on one the side. Another rose into view, grabbing the other edge. Flickering flames from the braziers reflected on the rising bald, smooth head from the sarcophagus as the occupant pulled himself upright. When those eyes, so full of rage and pain, turned to him, Sabni halted his chanting.
Stunned, Kate watched the entire scene unfold. Suddenly, the Scarab King looked right at her, his honey-brown eyes darkening in fury. A snarl curled sculptured lips. The savagely handsome man appeared as a vengeful god rising to wreak vengeance on mere mortals.
"SobeKnefru tjen iew?” The Scarab King's lips moved slowly, forcing the words out of his mouth.
Where is SobeKnefru?
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Chapter Ten
Fire! Setti felt his entire body burn with renewed life as sleep washed away. Shifting his fingers, inch by agonizing inch, he felt amazed to move them at last. Elation filled him. He could feel again! Setti slowly opened his eyes, blinking from the unexpected bright mist of shimmering gold surrounding him. Trying to shield his eyes, he found he could only move his hand to the edge of the box where he lay within.
In his mind, he heard a masculine voice, strong and beautiful, speak to him. Awake and take your throne, Pharaoh, the strange, oddly familiar voice commanded
Confusion flooded his mind. Wildly looking about him, Setti realized he lay inside a sarcophagus. Ra! In a blinding flash, Amun Ra showed all. All that had happened crashed over him. The memories seared him with brutalizing intensity. Yoshabel's blood covering him, his dagger protruding from her heart, his forced confinement in a dark void for who knew how long, all slammed his raw senses at once.
Rage rushed through his veins. His blood boiled in fury, giving him the strength to pull his body upward into a sitting position. The emotions combined in a lethal dose, he searched the chamber for the bitch and her lackey who had condemned him to eternal hell!
The unfamiliar High Priest fell to his knees, prostrating like the others. Scanning the chamber, Setti's gaze fell upon a young woman with long hair the color of pale fire and violet eyes wide, her lovely jaw dropped. Strangely dressed, her shapely legs bare, she wore odd, heavy-looking footwear on her feet. A canvas bag clutched tightly in her arms, the strange woman trembled in terror as he beckoned for two priests to help him out of the coffin.
Once out of the sarcophagus, his legs gave out from under him, fortunately the priests held on while he forced his stiffened limbs to work. Setti's fierce gaze wandered the unfamiliar chamber, turning a cold, brutal glare upon the High Priest when the man rose to his feet.
"Where am I?"
"We are in Cairo—I mean Memphis, Your Majesty. I beg your forgiveness, but we could not risk the chance of anything going wrong when we awoke you from your slumber."
The way the woman was dressed and the unfamiliar surroundings caused cold fear to enter Setti's heart. “How long have I been buried?” When the priest refused to meet his gaze, he growled, “How long?"
"Over three thousand years."
Setti paled. After he was drugged by Sabni, the hours led to endless days. Sometime, he really did not know when, his mind finally went blank. A sense of peace came and invaded his torment as he lay within the darkness, waiting for someone to find him, giving him ease. To be told centuries had passed before he was released from his imprisonment, the news disoriented his already chaotic mind.
"Imtep?"
"After they hid you, Imtep and his priests returned to the Temple and were slaughtered by SobeKnefru's men. The Temple was destroyed and all who resided within were murdered and cremated, their ashes spread on the road to be trampled on forever."
Horrified, Setti blinked, unable to comprehend his sister capable of such vindictiveness to deny the priests of Ra the dignity of entering the Afterlife. Forced to wander the earth forever without their bodies to return to was cruel beyond anything he had been forced to endure. At least he could escape, the priests never would. Their deaths will be avenged, Setti swore, furious at SobeKnefru's disrespect. To kill an enemy was one thing, but to deny him his afterlife was malicious beyond imagining.
Kate watched the magnificent-looking man shrug off the helping hands. The matching shawl necklace and belt drew her interest, but it was the other which made her curious. A braided gold chain hung from around his neck bearing a ruby-stoned scarab, lifelike in detail. It glowed briefly as if it possessed a living spirit of its own.
How odd, Kate thought, the Egyptian's ears were pierced and set with plain, solid gold loops, simple unlike his other jewelry.
His nostrils flared as if he caught her scent, then he frowned, looking askance at her. His piercing, amber eyes locked onto her. Each step stiff, the tall man refused any assistance from the priests, dismissing them with an impatient hand.
"I know you,” he whispered roughly. “In the dark, I felt your hand touch mine, and I smelt the warm sunshine in your hair."
Setti had the oddest connection with this foreign woman as never before in his life.
Frightened by the way the mighty warrior towered over her, Kate felt small and vulnerable. Heat radiated from his smooth, bronze skin, searing her as he stepped closer. Trembling from the closeness, she looked up at him. Confused beyond anything she'd ever know, she stuttered lamely, “I ... I found your tomb."
Closing his eyes, remembering the sweet, intoxicating pain when he felt her touch, Setti opened them to fix upon the High Priest. “Did Sabni die that day?"
"No, Your Majesty. Four years after your burial, the Shedty captured Sabni. Queen SobeKnefru executed him by her own hand."
Setti lifted the amulet, frowning when the scarab appeared to wink at him. “What shall I do with an immortal life?"
"Go back and set things right!” Sabni answered excitedly, showing Setti the Black Book. “I will go with you and guide you in taking back your throne."
Taking a deep breath, Setti squared his shoulders, a determined gleam in the darkening depths of his eyes. A predatory expression crossed his magnificent features. “Yes, send me back. I'll kill the bitch with my own two hands when I find her!"
Angry shouts echoed in the hallway, swords clashing made Sabni look about in alarm. A crash above sent broken glass showering down upon them from the skylights. Men dressed in blue robes skimmed down along the falling ropes and were met by the priests of Amun Ra, determined to protect Setti with their lives.
Sabni shouted, “Kate, come here. Pharaoh, please stand beside me.” He began chanting a new incantation. Reaching in the pocket of his flowing robes, he withdrew a powdered mixture which he spread, making a protective circle around the three of them. An unnatural breeze rose, growing in speed and power, turning into a whirl wind sweeping around and around them. The unearthly roar deafening.
A gaunt man wearing a robe of royal blue and gold strode from the dark hallway. His face skeletal, possessing a high forehead, reminded Kate of a skull with skin. Oddly calm, the newcomer withdrew a gun from his robes and took aim, firing it at Sabni.
Recognizing Inarus, Sabni hurried to open the Portal of Time. Hot metal ripped through his flesh. Crying out, he tried to focus on the hieroglyphs, desperate to finish what was his destiny—to send Pharaoh home!
Bringing her hard against him, Setti protected the woman, using his own body as a shield. Ignoring his own pain, he held the woman tight. Lifting his head, he saw the sarcophagus wheeled into the chamber. His eyes narrowed as he recognized the beautiful golden image. Cursing, he held onto the screaming woman. Brutal pain exploded into bright shards of glittering light.
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Chapter Eleven
Pitch black.
Her entire body shook out of control. Kate warily lifted her head, gasping when the silent man holding her collapsed on his back, releasing her. Scrambling next to the Egyptian, praying he was all right. Hesitant, Kate laid her hand on his broad, smooth chest, relieved when she felt it rise and fall.
"Please, rest. We're safe from those men who attacked us."
Setti placed an unsteady hand on his forehead, reeling from the events about to unfold on the world. “Safe?” He snapped, glaring at her ignorance. “The Shedty have the Black Book. Worse things are to come."
"Worse?” Kate squeaked out. Dazed, she plopped down on her behind, hiccupping, terrified beyond all rational thought. Surprised to feel sand underneath her, she looked around her, unable to recognize her surroundings. Hills upon hills of sand, illuminated by the full moon high above, stretched out endlessly all around them.
"It appears the Shedty intend to reincarnate SobeKnefru, infusing her spirit with her mummified body, making her an immortal. Trust me, SobeKnefru is quite capable of rising from her own death as I have done.” Sitting up, he finally managed to cross his legs, bracing his hands in the sand for balance.
Her smooth brow furrowed, Kate grabbed the backpack and rummaged inside it. Withdrawing the small scepter, she held it up triumphantly. “The Shedty might have the Black Book in their possession, but we can find it here, too.” She rose, standing unsteadily, growing impatient when he just stared at her. “Come on, we don't have much time."