by Dan Hunter
Akori prayed that Manu wasn’t badly hurt. He wanted to drop down to help his friend, but he knew that he had to get onto the sun-barge if they were to have any hope at all.
Pulling himself up hand after hand, he clambered past the scratched hull and reached the railing. With one move he was up, over, and onto the deck. He had made it! He was on board the Sun God’s barge!
Where was Ra? Akori looked around desperately, shielding his eyes against the light. He could just make out a tall figure standing against the mast – a golden-skinned man with a burning halo around his head. That was where all the light was coming from. The halo was as bright as the sun itself. The man had to be Ra!
But now his eyes had adjusted to the light, Akori could see that something was terribly wrong. From the bow to the stern, the entire surface of the deck was moving. It seemed to be covered by a living carpet – one that slithered and hissed. The whole barge was infested with writhing snakes! They coiled around the oars, lurked under the benches and slid across the planks. Akori could see every kind of snake found in Egypt, from sand boas to horned vipers and, of course, cobras… This had to be Wadjet’s work!
Akori looked ahead. Soon they would enter the mouth of the Underworld. The cave yawned wide, ready to swallow the sun-barge and Akori with it. There was no time to wait – he had to act now!
With a yell, Akori swept the khopesh through the mass of snakes. Again and again he hacked at them, trying to carve a path. But again and again they kept surging forwards. Furious hissing came from all around him. Forked tongues and whip-like tails lashed at him. Akori began to despair that he would ever reach Ra. But if he didn’t reach him all of Egypt would be doomed. If only Horus were there to help him. Akori felt a surge of strength rush up his arm. His khopesh seemed to take on a life of its own, slashing this way and that with lightning speed. Gradually the snakes fell back and finally, Akori reached the mast where Ra stood.
Now Akori could see how Wadjet had helped to imprison the Sun God. Wrapped around Ra’s body and pinning him to the mast was a titanic python, its body as thick as the trunk of a palm tree. The giant snake slowly raised its head and stared at Akori.
“Come on,” Akori shouted. “What are you waiting for?”
The snake hissed, and an evil stench came from its gaping mouth.
Akori summoned up all his courage.
“Come on, you coward! Strike!”
The snake seemed to understand the taunt. It lunged forward with blinding speed – but Akori was quicker! He dodged to one side, and the snake’s head went hurtling past. Before it could pull back to strike again, Akori brought the khopesh down with all his might.
The blow was strong and true. The blade slashed through the snake’s body, severing the head. Immediately, there was a flash like lightning across the desert, and the whole body disintegrated.
Then, to Akori’s surprise, a golden-skinned hand reached out to touch him on the shoulder. He turned to find himself staring into the smiling face of Ra.
The Sun God was free!
Ra lifted his hand from Akori’s shoulder and held it up, palm outward.
In a flash of light, all the snakes left on the barge began to writhe in agony as they sizzled and burned to ropy lengths of ash. Soon, there was not a single one left alive.
But Akori still had one more nightmare to deal with.
“Wadjet’s down there!” he cried, turning to Ra. “We have to help my friends!”
In three long strides, Ra walked to the stern of the sun-barge and seized the tiller. It was the size of a tree trunk, but the Sun God handled it as easily as if it were a twig.
“Hold on tight, my young friend,” he said, his voice deep and wise.
Akori grabbed the railing as Ra pulled the tiller around. The sun-barge groaned as it turned. The ground swept past them and the barge settled into a new course.
Akori rushed to the prow and looked over the edge. The glare was blinding, and he could barely see at all, but he thought he could spot Manu still lying where he had fallen. Nearby, Wadjet was locked in a furious struggle with Ebe. No – it wasn’t Ebe at all, but a huge, sandy-coloured beast. Akori rubbed his eyes, straining to see clearly. What was it? The creature looked a bit like a cat, but it was far bigger than any cat he had ever known. Ebe was nowhere to be seen. Akori felt his heart jump. Had Wadjet swallowed her whole?
“Cover your eyes, little one,” commanded Ra.
Akori closed his eyes. He knew what was coming. Only a fool would stare at the full power of the sun…
Even through his eyelids, Akori saw the flash. The unleashed fury of the Sun God was devastating. A searing shaft of light burst from the barge’s prow straight towards Wadjet.
The Snake Goddess screamed. Then her scream was suddenly cut off. As the light faded, and Akori opened his eyes, he saw that she had vanished. The giant cat seemed to have disappeared too.
Ra stepped forward to Akori. “I owe you my thanks,” he said. “You have done what few would have dared to attempt.”
“I didn’t do it alone,” said Akori.
He thought of Manu and Ebe and wondered if he would ever see them alive again.
“Your friends are waiting for you on the ground,” said Ra, answering Akori’s thoughts. “But before you join them, I have a gift to give you.”
Ra removed a golden amulet that hung on a chain around his neck and solemnly placed it around Akori’s.
“To reward you for your great bravery, I bestow upon you the Talisman of Ra. It will bring you light, no matter how dark your path becomes.”
The talisman was shaped like a winged sun, with beautiful hieroglyphs marked into its gleaming surface. Akori lifted it, feeling its golden weight, as Ra steered the sun-barge down until it hovered close to the ground.
Then the Sun God raised his hand, and a shaft of light extended to the ground like a walkway.
Akori stepped carefully onto the light-bridge, which felt as firm as a plank, and walked down to the ground. It was good to feel sand beneath his sandals again!
Glancing around, Akori spotted Ebe crouching over Manu’s limp body. She had bound his head with a torn strip of cloth. When she looked up and saw Akori she jumped to her feet.
But, to Akori’s surprise, rather than bowing to Ra, Ebe stared at the Sun God for a moment, then nodded slowly. Ra looked at the slave-girl curiously, as if he recognized her, and then returned her nod.
Ra smiled. “You have chosen your friends wisely, my young rescuer,” he said. “Protect them well, for they will also protect you.”
“I will,” replied Akori, remembering how Manu and Ebe had saved him from Wadjet.
“Now farewell and good luck,” Ra’s voice boomed. “For you will need it for the quests to come.”
With that, the sun-barge lifted away from the desert sand. It gathered speed as it headed towards the entrance to the Underworld.
Akori watched the giant ship slip into the shadows until its entire length was swallowed up. Then there was only darkness and silence. The first of the evening stars was shining overhead. Ra had entered the Underworld and begun the next stage of his journey.
“Good luck to you too,” Akori called.
Whatever evil was waiting in the Underworld, Akori felt sure Ra would be a match for it, now he was free again. Next morning, the Sun God would rise again in the east, and finally the floods would come. Then the crops would grow and no one would starve.
He hurried over to join his friends. Manu lay very still. Akori couldn’t tell if he was breathing or not. Ebe was stroking Manu’s forehead, and looked at Akori sadly.
Then Manu opened his eyes, and Akori grinned in relief.
“Wadjet!” Manu yelled in a panic, trying to sit up. Ebe soothed him.
“It’s okay,” said Akori. “She’s gone.”
Manu’s shoulders sagged in relief. “Good. I thought I was dead.”
“You might have been, if it weren’t for that thick skull of yours,” Akori laughed. Then h
e asked: “What happened to the cat?”
“Cat?” asked Manu, baffled. “What cat?”
“There was a huge cat that came and helped you to fight Wadjet,” said Akori. He turned to Ebe, but the slave-girl just shrugged.
“But you must have seen it!” said Akori.
Seeing their blank faces, he began to doubt himself. Had there really been a cat? Perhaps it had been a trick of the light. There was no point in worrying about it anyway. There were more important things to talk about.
“Look,” he said, showing them what hung around his neck.
“The Talisman of Ra!” Manu whispered in awe. Although the land was now dark, the Talisman still shone with a faint golden glow.
“Ra said it would give me light, no matter how dark my path became,” Akori explained.
Manu frowned. “Is it just me,” he said, “or does that make it sound like your path is about to get a lot darker?”
Akori nodded grimly. That was exactly what he had thought.
“Well, it’s not just your path,” said Manu. “It’s ours, too. Right, Ebe?”
Ebe grinned and nodded quickly.
“Are you sure?” Akori asked. “Even after everything that’s happened today, you still want to come with me?”
“Someone has to keep your hot head out of trouble, and it might as well be us!” said Manu. He stumbled to his feet and tried to pick up his bags, but the weight of them pulled him straight back down again.
“Here, let me,” Akori offered, shouldering the bags while Ebe helped Manu to his feet.
“All ready?” he said at last. “Come on, then. Let’s get going. It’s a long walk back to the Temple of Horus.”
They set off across the desert. Akori took one last glance back over his shoulder at the mouth of the Underworld, and remembered Ra’s words: It will bring you light, no matter how dark your path becomes.
He wondered what dangers awaited them on their quests to come…
The dead are stalking the living and Akori must send them back to their graves. But dog-headed Am-Heh the Hunter has sworn to destroy Akori – and no one has ever escaped his fearsome jaws...
Am-Heh squatted on his haunches, shook himself like a dog and stood to his full height. He truly was a living nightmare. His body was oozing with sandy slime. His dreadful teeth were bared, as if ready to feast on young, tender meat.
Akori took a deep breath and brandished his khopesh. “Get back!” he yelled.
Am-Heh cocked his head and gave an evil grin. Akori glanced around in panic. On one side was a wall of rocks – on the other, the river Nile. And behind them was more quicksand! There was nowhere left to run…
ISBN 9781409521068
EPUB ISBN 9781409554790
KINDLE ISBN 9781409554806
AND THE QUEST CONTINUES IN...
BATTLE OF THE CROCODILE KING
Akori must brave the crocodile-infested waters of the Nile to battle two evil Gods – the terrifying Crocodile King, and his gruesome wife, the Frog Goddess – both hungry for his blood...
ISBN 9781409521075
EPUB ISBN 9781409554813
KINDLE ISBN 9781409554820
LAIR OF THE WINGED MONSTER
Vicious vultures and deadly beasts lie in wait for Akori as he searches the desert for the Hidden Fortress of Fire – and the Goddess imprisoned there. Will he survive or will this quest be his last...?
ISBN 9781409521082
EPUB ISBN 9781409554837
KINDLE ISBN 9781409554844
SHADOW OF THE STORM LORD
The battle to end all battles has begun. Akori must fight Set, the dark Lord of Storms himself, and beat Oba, the evil Pharaoh, to claim his rightful throne. But can Egypt’s young hero finally win the crown?
ISBN 9781409521099
EPUB ISBN 9781409554851
KINDLE ISBN 9781409554868
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