Purring, she released her grip on his arm and he sprinted forward, into the lake, running down the center of the path she’d cleared for him. Uncanny, glowing creatures flopped on the black sands, gasping for the world of fire they normally swam in. The stench from the lakebed was overwhelming. He tried to avoid the grotesque fish and other animals as he went, nearly falling when something squished under his sandal. Catching his balance, he ventured too close to the wall of fire and a long, suckered tentacle snaked out to encircle him. He parried the blow with the shield, bringing the sword down on the thick ropy limb a second later, severing it. Accompanied by a deafening scream from below the fire’s surface, the stump withdrew into the lake. The piece curled around his waist fell away. Kicking it aside, breathing hard, Sahure broke into a run again, realizing he had to keep his distance from the boundaries.
Glancing over his shoulder to see how far he’d come, he could barely see the shore any longer. Sekhmet was still watching, a tiny figure in the distance, raising one paw to acknowledge him. I don’t understand any of this, even whether I’m awake or dreaming, but the stakes couldn’t be higher. Thank the gods I was properly respectful to her people when I was at Kharga. Shifting his attention to what lay ahead, he settled into the ground eating trot of a trained warrior, a pace he could maintain for hours. It wouldn’t do Tyema any good if he arrived at the far shore unable to fight. He refused to think about what action he’d take if the demon had already moved on, away from the lake. I’ll track the bastard through all Seven Hells if need be, to save her.
Ahead he saw the shore and soon was making his way up a slight incline onto the dry ground. He half expected the fiery waves to crash together behind him, but the path remained open. I wish I knew how much time Sekhmet gave me. But then he shrugged as he searched the ground for traces of the demon and Tyema. This rescue attempt will take as long as it takes. Glancing around, he noticed an odd statue. Taking a moment, he went closer. It was a larger than life-sized baboon, carved from pink-flecked gray granite, seated on a platform resting on a tripod of carved flame bearing traces of red and yellow pigment. Had I entertained any doubts, this makes it clear I’m in the Afterlife, standing beside the Lake of Fire, just as the Book of the Dead describes. The line of baboon statues stretched off to his left, as far as he could see, but no trace of his quarry.
Searching to the right, he spied a trail of fat droplets, glowing dull orange against the dark sands. Wishing he had a water skin with him to ease his parched throat, Sahure swallowed hard and proceeded in the direction the wounded demon had gone.
Strange trees with trunks of black stone and withered gray leaves grew here and there in this uncanny land, but otherwise nothing relieved the grim landscape. No sounds other than the crunching of his sandals across the gravel broke the silence. The droplets were showing up more and more, which gave Sahure hope he’d caused the demon some real problems by hacking off the stinger at the end of its tail.
As he passed through a thicket of the trees, still following the drops, he heard the demon’s raspy voice, muttering to itself, somewhere close by. Creeping to the edge of the grove, using the spike tree trunks for cover, Sahure found his quarry.
Tyema was bound by yellow fire ropes to two posts set in the ground, each inscribed with deeply carved runes, filled in with red like dried blood. She stood, seemingly unharmed to this point, pale but resolute. Her eyes widened as she saw him but she said nothing, not even a gasp. He put one finger to his lips just in case. She nodded ever so slightly.
The demon crouched on the ground in front of her, back to Sahure, using two tentacles to awkwardly bind a strip torn from Tyema’s dress over the stump of a tail, muttering to itself in a language Sahure had never heard before. Getting a firm grip on the sword’s hilt, Sahure raised the shield and burst from the tree line, slashing at the beast’s thick neck even as the creature belatedly realized the danger. Although his sword left a deep wound in the demon’s neck, its tentacles came whipping around, striking at him from two different directions. He fended one off for the moment with the shield and sliced the other away. Circling the demon, which was struggling to rise, Sahure feinted and then hacked at its left ankle.
Roaring defiance, lashing out with the other razor-sharp hoof, the demon rolled away from him, orange blood spurting like a fountain from the neck and tentacle stump. Sahure pressed his advantage, launching an attack of furious blows, making deep cuts in the creature’s hide. Surprised the demon wasn’t putting up a more efficient resistance, Sahure hoped the effectiveness of his attack was due to the magic sword. Certainly his blows were having more effect on the enemy than he would have expected. He slashed the blade across the back of the creature’s neck as it curled and felt the spine sever. The gruesome head rolled away from the body and Sahure danced out of the way as a gush of orange, viscous blood heralded the deflating of the corpse, until it was virtually flat on the ground.
He wasted no time pondering the strangeness of a demon’s death but ran to free Tyema.
“Madness for you to follow me here,” she said. “But I’m so grateful. I’ve never seen anything like the way you fought the demon. You were magnificent.”
He kissed her on the lips hastily, needing a moment of human touch, skin to skin, in this alien, hostile place. “Once Sekhmet told me the true danger you were in, how could I do anything else?” Setting the shield aside, he examined the odd ropes of fire binding her to the cross-tree. Although they appeared to be made of pure flame, there was no heat and her skin was unblemished. “More magic,” he grunted. “Thank the gods Sekhmet gave me a magic sword.” Carefully he inserted the tip of the blade under the edge of the nearest restraint. The symbols along the blade shifted and altered in a dizzying display. Tyema gasped as the metal touched her skin and he stopped. “Are you all right?”
She nodded. “A tiny bit of pain, nothing to stop over. Keep working on it,” she said. “I feel the ropes loosening.”
A tiny increment at a time, he moved the sword, so the edge of the blade sliced through the bonds and left her untouched. In a moment he had one of her arms free and moved to the other side. “You’re going to owe me some explanations,” he said. “We’re caught up in black magic on a scale unheard of outside a scribe’s most terrifying tale. I deserve to know how we came to this.”
“I’ll tell you the whole once we’re safe, I promise.” She fell into his arms as the last strand of fire yielded to the blade’s touch. Winding her arms around his neck, she hugged him tight and he could feel the violent trembling of her entire body. He spared a moment to embrace her before stepping away to retrieve the shield, sliding his arm through the leather straps.
“We have to be going,” he said. “Sekhmet wouldn’t say how long my safe passage through the lake of fire would last.”
“I’m afraid your departure from my realm won’t be possible,” said a deep, gritty voice from behind them.
Pushing Tyema behind him so hard she nearly fell, Sahure wheeled to face this new menace.
If the other demon had been misshapen and ugly to human eyes, this creature was terrifyingly beautiful. From the waist up he had the appearance of a handsome man, save for the two small horns protruding from his forehead and iridescent black wings jutting straight out from his shoulders. Those resembled the wings of a summer dragonfly, and Sahure found their utter blackness disturbing. His eyes were red, bulging as the other demon’s had, but otherwise there was scant similarity. As the newcomer regarded them in apparent good humor, black-stained, pointed teeth were revealed. A sparkling gemstone had been set into one front tooth, and rays of smoky red light flickered from the gem. The demon’s head was covered with flowing locks of red, and a twisted black metal circlet set with a larger red stone kept the curls of hair off his face. From the waist down, the demon was scaled, with muscular legs ending in clawed feet, as if he was some giant lizard. Sahure saw no tail on this utukkai, nor tentacles. The enemy rode a black and white goat large as a horse, and the anima
l lowered its head and snorted, as if threatening to charge. Sparks flew from the metallic gravel as the goat pawed the ground.
Two smaller demons resembling the one Sahure’d just killed flanked the animal.
Not wonderful odds. And this new arrival seems to be higher in the scale of things, judging by jeweled tooth and crown. Probably more powerful. Sahure backed away a step, moving Tyema with him.
The demon glanced beyond Sahure, eyeing the spot where its fellow demon lay deflated and already smelling of noxious gasses. “Interesting,” he said, stroking his chin, running his fingers through the curling beard. “Few mortals have ever managed to slay an utukkai, much less in our own realm.”
“He kidnapped my lady. I was justified in taking his life,” Sahure said.
The demon raised a finger. “Not precisely true, mortal. We kidnapped no one.” He pointed an elegantly clawed finger at Tyema, who stepped out from behind Sahure despite his muttered order to her to remain where he could defend her. “She was sent to us, you see. My poor servant was merely carrying out his assigned duties, collecting a sacrifice offered by one who wishes to become strong in the service of Qemtusheb, our ruler. But you know these facts, don’t you?”
Realizing the demon was questioning Tyema, Sahure stared at her. Tyema swallowed hard and nodded.
“Who? Who sent you here?” Sahure demanded.
Tyema shook her head, staring at the demon. “I think it’s better not to speak the name.”
“A little late to be wary and wise, but you’re right. Names are power, in this realm and, to a lesser degree, in the world where you dwell.” The demon’s eyes widened and his lips curved in seeming good humor. Hands on his muscled abdomen, he laughed, the sound echoing in the caverns like a roaring wind. “Your Crocodile god was strong at the beginning of time, girl, when brute force was all the universe required. I suppose we owe him a debt for helping to create the world my gods and yours brawl over.” Still chuckling, the demon went back to combing his beard. “But the Crocodile is elemental, not smart enough for the world as it exists today, in this flicker of time. He sent you to find the sorcerer with just a flimsy lotus bracelet offering no protection, and an amulet easily removed.” The demon chuckled again, shaking his head, the strange wings undulating with his mirth, creating a faint buzzing noise.
“I don’t see any cause for humor,” Sahure said. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Tyema rubbing the odd bracelet she’d been wearing since she arrived in Thebes.
The demon laughed harder. “The tale is full of jokes, warrior. You’re her champion, yet she suspected even you of black magic.”
“You lie.” Sahure pushed away the anger building inside him, strongly suspecting there was an element of truth in the demon’s charges. Tyema and I will get to the bottom of this subject later. She owes me an explanation, but I can’t allow him to pit us against each other here.
She turned to him, her face in worried lines. “I swear, I didn’t. There were flickers but—”
“Not now,” he said, putting a hard tone in his voice he’d never ordinarily take with Tyema, but the demon was trying to create discord between them. Can’t she see his ploy? “We don’t belong here, she didn’t ask to be sent here, and now we’re leaving.” He raised the sword, pointing the tip at the demon. “Anyone who tries to stop us will suffer the same fate as your ugly servant there.” He backed up another step, Tyema keeping pace with him. “Get behind me,” he hissed at her.
The demon appeared to be thinking things over. “You could leave, warrior, having earned your passage by killing the utukkai. Having done nothing to earn her freedom from sacrifice, she must stay. The price for your woman’s capture has been paid, and we own her.”
“Price? What price?” Tyema asked.
“A fine spell, deadlier than a cobra, useful for killing instantly, leaving no telltale traces. It was an acknowledgment of your adversary’s accomplishment in delivering you, clumsy though she was. My master was content to consider her petition, subject to sampling your usefulness.” The demon bowed his head to Tyema but when he raised his eyes, they were glowing and he snapped a command at his attendants. “Seize them!”
The two smaller creatures bounded forward, but Sahure met them with slashing blows of the sword, beheading one and severely injuring the other. Too easy, this is too easy. He grabbed Tyema by the wrist but they’d hardly run more than a few steps before coming to a horrified standstill. The two small demons had fallen to the ground, true enough, bleeding more of the orange blood, but this time wherever the blood ran, more demons sprang from the ground, tiny at first, like dolls, but growing rapidly to the size of the original pair. And all intent on overwhelming the two humans in their midst.
“Run!” Sahure yelled.
Tyema took off like a gazelle, sprinting toward the Lake of Fire with him right on her heels. He could hear the demons coming after them and the staccato beat of the giant goat’s hooves on the rocky soil. One pursuer caught up with them and Sahure cut it off at the knees with a sideways slash. But soon five of them piled onto him from behind and he saw an equal number overpowering Tyema. As the enemy bore him to the ground, Sahure continued to fight, Sekhmet’s sword killing demons with a mere touch of the enchanted blade. He could hardly breathe from the weight of his opponents swarming over him. Hearing Tyema scream, Sahure redoubled his efforts but the demons got him spread-eagled, even though he still had the sword in his grasp and the shield on his arm.
“Best stop killing my troops now, soldier,” said the demon in charge, nudging his goat a few steps closer. “I have your woman and your resistance accomplishes nothing. Other than making me more servants, of course. Release him!”
The creatures pinning him to the ground stood up and moved away. Sahure rose to his feet, adjusting his grip on the sword and shield. Tears streaming down her face, Tyema struggled against the tentacles of two demons restraining her. “I’m so sorry you were brought into this battle, my love.”
“You may go, warrior,” the demon said. “Although you’ll have to thank me all your days for my generosity.” He patted his mount’s neck. “Sacrifice a few goats in my honor, eh? Call me— Idimuuzul for the purpose of your thanks, which isn’t of course my name, but it’ll do. I need no quarrel today with the goddess who gave you entry to this level.”
“Please, you must go,” Tyema pleaded. “One of us has to be there for our son as he grows up. I’m clearly too deep in this coil of black magic to get away. It’s me they want.”
Affecting a calm he didn’t feel, Sahure leaned down and cleaned his sword on the hair of a slowly regenerating demon. He slung the odd shield across his back, adjusting it comfortably as if he hadn’t a care in the world and had accepted defeat. He looked at Idimuuzul. “I know when I’m beaten. What will you do with her?”
“Well you see, the person who sent her here hoped the act would win Qemtusheb’s favor, draw more power unto herself and achieve some goals, one of which concerned you, I believe.” Idimuuzul’s voice was amused. “Although the fledgling sorceress started well enough, sadly for her, things have gone awry. But Qemtusheb will be pleased to take the sacrifice, or what’s left of her, after I eat the sweetmeats—the liver and such.” The demon lifted a hand to caress Tyema’s cheek as his servants dragged her closer. “Her ka will be destroyed of course—no Afterlife for you, my lovely. Then we’ll pour the essence of one of our female demons into your shell, send you back to see what mischief she can do in your form. Seduce Pharaoh? Kill him? Maybe even wreak a little havoc on old Sobek before the Egyptian gods catch on to our ruse.”
Acid in the back of his throat as his gorge rose at the things the demon was describing, blood running cold, Sahure met Tyema’s eyes. “I’ll kill her myself rather than let her suffer such a fate.” Showing no fear, she nodded.
“Oh it’s too late for that,” Idimuuzul assured him. “If she dies here in our realm, whether by my hand or yours, her ka is destroyed. Not to worry, soldier, you won’t re
member any of this when you wake tomorrow in your bed. No terrible memories to trouble your sleep in the future. I might even let the sorceress have her desires where you’re concerned. An amusing concept, with you all unknowing of the role she played in your lover’s destruction here.”
“Even if I won’t remember, I ask for one last embrace,” Sahure said, rolling his shoulders. “I’ve earned the right.”
Idimuuzul considered. “Bound to be amusing. You humans are so sentimental.”
Sheathing the sword, Sahure stepped to Tyema. The demons clutching her checked with their master and then retracted their tentacles, retreating a few feet. Taking her firmly in his arms, he lowered his lips to hers and behind her back at the same time tapped the fingers of his left hand on the blue enameled amulet of Sekhmet, breathing a silent prayer to the goddess for the promised last surge of energy. Blue flame sprang out around them, bolts of fire crisping the nearest demons where they stood, no chance for regeneration. Screaming in an unknown tongue, Idimuuzul yanked his mount into furious retreat. Realizing they were bathed in sizzling blue light, buzzing with Sekhmet’s power, Sahure grabbed Tyema’s wrist and dragged her stumbling into a sprint toward the Lake.
“What did you do?” she said, in between panting breaths.
“Sekhmet, not me. Run, don’t talk!” He knew they were pursued and he’d no idea how long the borrowed magic of the goddess would last. He only hoped the fiery “waters” of the lake were still parted. A moment later they approached the shoreline and he saw thunderous waves of fire crashing against the beach in sets of three. Not slackening the pace, he pulled Tyema to the right, running along the line of baboon statues. “This way. I think we’ll be in our own area of the Afterlife, maybe the demons can’t follow us there.”
The azure light of the amulet was fading, growing less by the moment. He heard yelling behind him and risked a glance over his shoulder. Shaking his fist, Idimuuzul was gaining on them, urging his mount to renewed effort.
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