by Dan Hunter
“He must have the next Pharaoh Stone!” Akori said. “That means I have to defeat him.”
“You can’t be serious!” Manu said, awestruck.
Akori swung his khopesh in front of him in a figure of eight. “It doesn’t look like I have much choice, does it?”
Babi slammed his club down on the ground, rocking the hall with a thunderous boom. He gave a derisive snort, as if to say, “Very well, puny mortal, I accept your challenge.”
This palace is built to the same plan as mine, Akori thought quickly. That means I have an advantage, even if he is twice my size. I know this place inside out!
“Come on, then,” he said smoothly, biting down on the fear that surged up inside him like bile. “Are you going to stand there picking fleas off yourself all day? Or are you going to fight?”
Babi gave a furious howl in response. All around the throne room, doors burst open. The baboons they had fought in the valley came flooding in, clambering onto wooden benches, swinging from balconies and climbing arm over arm up the pillars.
“Now we know who was giving the orders!” Manu said. “These baboons must be Babi’s personal guard!”
Babi began to chitter and screech, clearly barking out instructions to his bloodthirsty troops. They sprang to obey, some forming themselves into battle lines on the ground while others scrambled up to high perches.
“What’s wrong?” Akori demanded. “Too scared to face me without an army? I challenge you, Babi! Face me one on one!”
Babi waggled his head at Akori and made a noise of sheer contempt. He seemed to be saying “I don’t need to waste my time with anything as weak and pathetic as you.” Then, with a series of long shrieks, he bounded out of the room.
The baboons crouched, ready to spring.
“Here they come!” Manu said fearfully.
Akori narrowed his eyes. “Run.”
“What?”
“I said run!”
With Akori in the lead, the three companions charged back out of the throne room. The baboons shrieked and surged after them, the ones up on the pillars pelting them with lumps of stone and handfuls of filth.
“Now that I did not expect!” Manu said. “We’re finally going to run away from a fight for once?”
“Oh, we’re not running away,” Akori said with a vicious grin. “We’re fighting – but on our own terms!”
Manu looked completely blank. Akori explained: “It’s Babi I want, not his foot soldiers. If he thinks I’m going to stand there fighting off wave after wave of his baboons while he gets to safety, he can forget it!”
Ebe hissed in delight and understanding lit up Manu’s face. “So we’re going to dodge around the troops and go straight for the commander?”
Akori grinned. “You’ve got it. Come on! We’re heading for the tower. From there we’ll be able to see the whole palace!”
They raced through the columned halls, with Ebe running in front. From behind came the furious sound of baboons tearing through the broken door to get to them.
On Akori’s orders, they took a diversion through a set of rooms that were hospitality suites for visiting ambassadors in his palace, but here were prisons with chains dangling from the roof. From far off they heard the sound of thundering feet changing direction.
“They’re following us,” Manu warned.
“Let’s fool them,” said Akori. “Quickly, through here.”
He opened a small door leading to a passageway. Akori urged them along it. “Up through the next gallery, then right at the statue of Isis. The tower should be right in front of us.”
But it wasn’t a statue of Isis in Oba’s palace, it was a statue of the grotesque Frog Goddess Heket; the tower was there though, and the baboons were nowhere in sight. Akori ran up the steps, sure that he’d be able to see a creature the size of Babi from the top of the tower.
However, as he cleared the topmost steps, he realized his search was already over. Babi was there waiting for him, standing on the ledge where the palace archers traditionally gathered to shoot at enemies.
“I think the baboons are coming up the stairs behind us!” Manu said. He hadn’t seen what Akori had seen.
“I think we have bigger problems than that,” Akori said darkly.
Babi chittered a hideous laugh and swung his rattling club in Akori’s face.
Rattling? Akori took a quick second look at the club. Something loose was glinting inside the skull – he could see it through the eyes.
It was the next Pharaoh Stone!
“Akori! The baboons! They’re coming!”
“Ebe, help Manu hold them off,” Akori ordered. “I need to get that Stone from Babi.”
Ebe took up position on the stairs, her long tail lashing. Any baboons who tried to get past her would be torn to shreds – so long as her power held out, anyway.
“You’ve got something that doesn’t belong to you,” he told Babi. “If you want to give it up without a fight, now’s your chance.”
Babi gave his snickering laugh and hopped down from the ledge. He raised his club high above his head.
“Fine,” Akori muttered. “We’ll do this the hard w—”
Babi flung his club. It cannoned into Akori’s chest, flinging him off his feet and sending him skidding on his back across the stone floor. The pain was horrendous even through the armour. He felt as if a hippo had stamped on his upper body.
As Akori fought for breath and struggled to get back up, Babi came bounding over. He snatched up his club with one paw and swiped at Akori with the other.
The blow connected, catching Akori on his lower arm where the armoured tunic didn’t cover and flipping him over and over like a rag doll. A sharper, scalding pain tore through him. Babi’s claws had drawn blood.
The monstrous baboon strode back and forth in front of him, making a big show of licking the blood from his paw. The God made hungry gobbling noises, as if he wanted Akori to know how tasty his blood was, and that he was looking forward to much more.
He’s trying to scare me, Akori thought. He doesn’t know he’s just making me angry. He rolled over backwards and stood up, all in one graceful move. His left arm burned with pain where Babi had gored it, but he refused to let this show on his face.
Babi rolled his eyes. By the look on his face, he was bored of playing with him and wanted to get this over with. He thrust his club at Akori’s neck, at the unprotected spot just above the armour’s collar.
But this time Akori was ready. He parried the blow to one side and the club passed harmlessly by. He stood, daring Babi to attack again.
Babi growled and jabbed with his club. Two more quick parries followed – then Akori was on the attack. Suddenly it was Babi who was retreating as Akori slashed at him from one side to the other. Akori whirled his khopesh around in a furious blow that would have taken Babi’s legs off at the knee if the God hadn’t hopped straight up in the air.
Babi was fighting mad now, screeching with rage. He held his club with both hands and instead of stabbing with it, he whacked it down in front of him. Akori brought his sword up to parry with milliseconds to spare, holding it above his head, keeping the club away from him.
Babi forced the club down on top of Akori’s sword, his huge muscles bulging. Akori fell to one knee. He strained to keep the blade between the club and his head. If his strength failed, the club would smash down on his skull with enough force to shatter it.
From the stairs he heard Ebe yowling, Manu shouting and the hoots and screeches of dozens of angry baboons. He prayed to the Gods to send them strength, because if those baboons got through, Akori would be overwhelmed.
The quivering club was now dangerously close to his forehead. Babi bared his teeth, forcing it down. Akori let out a yell that got louder and louder – and forced it back up. Babi’s eyes became huge.
“I…will…not…yield!” Akori grated. He gave a sudden mad shove and flung Babi back, club and all. He stood, panting, unbeaten.
Babi
let out a gasp and a snarl. Clearly, this opponent wasn’t the easy victory he’d expected.
The two of them circled one another, jabbing, slashing, feinting. Akori faked a weak defence, prompting Babi to thrust his club too far forward, at which Akori slashed his arm before he could pull it away.
“Now we’re even,” Akori said. “Give up the Stone!”
“Grrrungh!” Babi spat, shaking his mane.
“Akoriiii!” came Manu’s howl from the stairs. “There are too many!”
Time to finish this, Akori thought. He slammed his sword at Babi again and again. Every time, Babi managed to block the blow with his club. Finally, with a mighty yell, Akori delivered an overhead blow so strong that the club split in two.
Babi roared. Madness seemed to seize him. Still clutching the top half of his club he leaped on Akori, wrestling him to the ground, sending his sword flying. They rolled back and forth around the tower top, locked in a deadly grapple.
Akori fought with all his strength, but it wasn’t enough. They were soon pressed up against the very edge of the tower. The sheer drop below ended in rocks, next to a lake of fire.
Babi grabbed Akori’s arm. He bared his teeth for a killing neck bite.
He’s grabbing my arm, Akori realized. Just like in my dream. I know what to do.
It was then that Akori realized how he could defeat Babi once and for all. Mustering all his strength and concentration, Akori mimicked the exact move he used in his dream.
With a massive effort, he threw Babi across his body and over the other side.
Babi screamed as he fell. Then there was a gruesome whump combined with a sharp crack, and the screams stopped abruptly.
Akori looked down. Babi was sprawled on his back at the foot of the tower. But his arms and legs were twitching. He gave a feeble moan.
“The baboons!” Manu exclaimed. “They’re running away!”
Babi was summoning his troops, Akori knew. “Get after them!” he yelled. “Down the stairs, fast.”
They chased the retreating tide of baboons through the palace and out to the rear gate, to the shores of the lake of fire where Babi lay injured. The baboons surrounded him, uttering warning shrieks and swiping with their paws. They didn’t want Akori getting any closer.
“You lost,” he panted, leaning on his sword. “Give me the Stone.”
Babi pulled the skull from the end of his broken club and fished the Stone out. It glinted turquoise in his palm. He held it up towards Akori, his face almost looking pitiful in defeat.
Akori sighed in relief. Finally. He stepped forwards to claim the Stone.
Then Babi let out a piercing shriek of spiteful laughter as he flung the Stone into the fiery lake.
“No!” Akori yelled.
The swarming baboons hoisted Babi up and carried him off, bearing their fallen king away from the place of his defeat. They scampered off across the firelit plains, retreating into the unseen distance. Babi’s laughter echoed in Akori’s ears all the way.
“You did it, Akori.” Manu smiled. “You beat him.”
“But it hasn’t done us any good,” Akori cried in frustration. “The Pharaoh Stone’s at the bottom of a lake of fire! How am I ever going to get it back now?”
Manu quickly unrolled the scroll Horus had given them. “Don’t despair. Perhaps there’s something in here.”
“May as well look,” Akori said glumly. He sat down on a rock and looked out over the flaming lake. “I can’t see what else there is to do.”
Ebe jumped into his lap to comfort him and he gave her a stroke, glad that she’d remembered to change to normal cat size.
“Hey! This might be a clue! It’s a transformation spell!” Manu excitedly read it through to the end, then frowned in puzzlement. “‘Know this, if you would be empowered. The devourer is not itself devoured.’ What on earth is that supposed to mean?”
Akori thought about it. “I haven’t the faintest idea,” he admitted. “Some sort of riddle, by the sound of it.”
“To avoid being devoured, you have to turn into the devourer,” Manu guessed.
Akori scratched his head. “This place is full of hungry baboons. Do I have to turn into one of them so they won’t eat me?”
“It might not mean that…”
“Well, I can’t see any other devourers around here,” Akori said with a sigh.
Manu looked around, as if he were looking for other devourers. Then he stopped. He frowned, deep in thought, then smiled.
“What?” said Akori.
“Go and stand over by the lake of fire, as close as you can,” said Manu. “Trust me.”
Akori did as he asked. The flames from the lake were so close, Akori’s legs were growing painfully hot. “Well?”
“Now read the spell out loud.” Manu held the scroll up so that Akori could see the hieroglyphs.
What on earth was Manu expecting to happen? Akori thought to himself. He began to read the words of the spell, glancing at Manu for help when he got stuck. As he read, the flames of the lake felt hotter and hotter. His legs were really stinging now. He thought about moving away, but Manu had told him to stand there, so he bravely stood his ground and kept reading.
As he neared the end of the spell, he looked down. To his horror he saw his legs were covered with flickering flames! “I’m on fire!” he shouted.
But Manu looked perfectly calm. “Keep reading the spell!” he insisted. “Just trust me, okay?”
Akori felt very strange, but he had to admit his legs didn’t hurt. If anything, they felt better. Now the flames were spreading up to his stomach, his chest, his arms. They tingled and felt scorching hot, but there was no pain at all.
He finished the spell and stood there, a boy wreathed in flames. He held his fingers up in front of his face. Each one had a flame on the end of it, like a candle.
Manu’s smile grew even wider. “You aren’t on fire, Akori. You’ve become fire.”
Akori began to smile too. “‘The devourer is not devoured!’ So if I am fire, I can’t be destroyed by fire…”
He tentatively dipped his foot in the flames of the lake. It didn’t hurt at all. In fact, it felt like poking a toe into a nice hot bath.
“I’ll be right back!” he promised. He plunged into the lake and began to swim through the burning liquid. It was as clear as water, but the colour of lamp oil. The sensation was amazing, as if every part of his skin was alive with tickling flames.
Now he just had to find the Stone. He burst up from the surface like a human volcano and took a breath, then dived down as deep as he could.
There it was, glowing on the lake bottom! One final swim down, and he snatched it up. It throbbed in his hand, sending new energy coursing through him. He pressed it into the socket in his armour and began swimming back to the land. A strength he had never known before stirred in his limbs. All the fatigue from his fight with Babi was gone.
Thoughts of revenge raced through his mind. The Judgement Hall of Osiris and the remaining two Stones might still be far away, but Oba’s palace was right here.
Maybe he should pay his old enemy a return visit after all…
Akori stepped out of the lake onto the blood-red rocks at the shore. The flames poured off his body in torrents. As he shed them, his body became solid flesh once again.
By the time he reached Manu and Ebe, he felt like his usual self, though much stronger than usual. The jewel now pulsing on his chest was the cause of that.
“You got it!” Manu said, leaping up. “Which Stone is it?”
“Strength,” Akori said confidently. “That only leaves the Stones of Honour and Intelligence. But I don’t think we’ll need them for what I have in mind.”
Manu looked troubled. “And what exactly do you have in mind?”
“We take Oba down. Now.”
“Now?” Manu boggled.
“Why not? I have the Stones of Strength, Speed and Courage, and Oba’s palace is right here! I already defeated his baboon bo
dyguard, Babi. He won’t be expecting an attack now. Manu, we have to try!”
Ebe came bounding over and stood at Akori’s feet, twining her tail around his ankle. “See?” he said. “Ebe agrees. Let’s do it!”
“We can’t,” Manu said firmly.
“Don’t say that!” Akori yelled. “Don’t say it’s not time to fight, we have to think, we have to plan! That’s what you ALWAYS say!”
“Akori—”
“No! I’m tired of thinking, Manu. I’m tired of always doing things the long difficult way. This time, I’m going to go and finish Oba once and for all – and if you don’t want to come, then you can just stay right here!”
Manu stood looking at him, trembling with anger. “I thought we left the old impulsive Akori behind when you put on the Pharaoh’s crown.”
“You thought wrong!”
“Decided to go back to being a hothead again, have you?”
“Give me one good reason why we can’t go and fight Oba now!” Akori demanded.
Silently, Manu pointed at something moving in the distance.
Akori looked. It was Aken on his boat, slowly rowing his way along the river. He was nearly at the dark archway that led out of this section of the Underworld.
“That barge is our only way out of here,” said Manu. “It must be nearly sunrise if Aken has come this far. Do you remember what that means?”
Akori let out a yell of frustration. “But I’m so close! We still have time – I could catch up later!”
“Miss that barge and we’re stuck here for ever!” Manu hissed. “Did you manage to forget everything Horus told you?”
He hated it, but Akori knew Manu was right. If they stayed in the Underworld for longer than one night, the life would be sucked right out of them and they would join the army of dead souls. He stared up at Oba’s palace with the last of the spell’s fire still burning in his eyes. “This isn’t over, Oba,” he shouted.
“Ready?” Manu asked.
Akori sighed. “Yes. Come on.”