Along narrow passages they crept and down many a secret-stair, till atlength they came to a door at the foot of a long slope of rock.This door Asti unlocked and thrust open, then when they had entered,re-locked it behind them.
"What is this place?" whispered Tua.
"The burial crypt of the high priestesses of Amen, where it is said thatthe god watches. None have entered it for hard on thirty years. See herein the dust run the footsteps of those who bore the last priestess toher rest."
She held up her lamp, and by the light of it Tua saw that they were in agreat cave painted with figures of the gods which had on either side ofit recesses. In each of these was set a coffin with a gilded face, andbehind it an alabaster statue of her who lay therein, and in front ofit a table of offerings. At the head of the crypt stood a small altar ofblack stone, for the rest the place was empty.
Asti led Tua to a step in front of the altar and bidding her kneel,departed with the lamp which she hid away in some side chapel, so thatnow the darkness was intense. Presently, through the utter silence, Tuaheard her creep back towards her, for although she walked so softly thedust seemed to cry beneath her feet, and her every footstep echoed roundthe vaulted walls. Moreover, a glow came from her, the glow of her lifein that place of death. She passed Tua and knelt by the altar and theecho of her movements died away. Only it seemed to Tua that from each ofthe tombs to the right and to the left rose the Ka of her who was buriedthere, and drew near to watch and listen. She could not see them, shecould not hear them, yet she knew that they were there and was able tocount their number--thirty and two in all--while within herself rosea picture of them, each differing from the other, but all white,expectant, solemn.
Now Tua heard Asti murmuring secret invocations that she did notunderstand. In that place and silence they sounded weird and dreadful,and as she hearkened to them, for the first time fear crept over her.Kneeling there upon her knees she bent her head almost to the dustand put up prayers to Amen that he might be pleased to hear her and tosatisfy the longings of her heart. She prayed and prayed till she grewfaint and weary, while always Asti uttered her invocations. But noanswer came, no deity appeared, no voice spoke. At length Asti rose, andcoming to her, whispered in her ear:
"Let us depart ere the watching spirits, whose rest we have broken, growwrath with us. The god has shut his ears."
So Tua rose, clinging to Asti, for now, she knew not why, her fear grewand deepened. For a moment she stood upon her feet, then sank to herknees again, for there at the far end of the great tomb, near to thedoor by which they had entered, appeared a glow upon the darkness.Slowly it took form, the form of a woman clad in the royal robes ofEgypt, and bearing in its hand a sceptre. The figure of light advancedtowards them, so that presently they saw its face. Tua did not know theface, though it seemed to her to be like her own, but Asti knew it, andat the sight sank to the ground.
Now the figure stood in front of them, a thing of light framed in thethick darkness, and now in a sweet, low voice it spoke.
"Hail! Queen of Egypt," it said. "Hail! Neter-Tua, Daughter of Amen. Artthou afraid to look on the spirit of her who bore thee, thou that didstdare to summon the Father of the gods to do thy bidding?"
"I am afraid," answered Tua, shaking in all her limbs.
"And thou, Asti the Magician, art thou afraid also, who but now wastbold enough to cry to Amen-Ra--'Come from thy high heaven and makeanswer'?"
"It is even so, O Queen Ahura," murmured Asti.
"Woman," went on the voice, "thy sin is great, and great is the sin ofthis royal one at thy side. Had Amen hearkened, how would the two of youhave stood before his glory, who at the sight of this shape of mine thatonce was mortal like yourselves, crouch choking to the earth? I tellyou both that had the god arisen, as in your wickedness ye willed,there where ye knelt, there ye would have died. But he who knows all ismerciful, and in his place has sent me his messenger that ye may live tolook upon to-morrow's sun."
"Let Amen pardon us!" gasped Tua, "it was my sin, O Mother, for Icommanded Asti and she obeyed me. On me be the blame, not on her, for Iam torn with doubts and fears, for myself and for another. I would knowthe future."
"Why, O Queen Neter-Tua, why wouldst thou know the future? If hell yawnsbeneath thy feet, why wouldst thou peep through its golden doors beforethe time? The future is hid from mortals because, could they pierce itsveil, it would crush them with its terrors. If all the woes of life anddeath lay open the gaze, who would dare to live and who--oh! who coulddare to die?"
"Then woes await me, O thou who wast my mother?"
"How can it be otherwise? Light and darkness make the day, joy andsorrow make the life. Thou art human, be content."
"Divine also, O Ahura, if all tales be true."
"Then pay for thy divinity in tears and be satisfied. Content is theguerdon of the beast, but gods are wafted upwards on the wings of pain.How can that gold be pure which has not known the fire?"
"Thou tellest me nothing," wailed Tua, "and it is not for myself I ask.I am fair, I am Amen's daughter, and splendid is my heritage. Yet, ODweller in Osiris, thou who once didst fill the place I hold to-day, Itell thee that I would pay away this pomp, could I but be sure that Ishall not live loveless, that I shall not be given as a chattel to onewhom I hate, that one--whom I do not hate--will live to call me--wife.Great dangers threaten him--and me, Amen is mighty; he is the potterthat moulds the clay of men; if I be his child, if his spirit isbreathed into me, oh! let him help me now."
"Let thine own faith help thee. Are not the words of Amen, which hespake concerning thee, written down? Study them and ask no more. Loveis an arrow that does not miss its mark; it is the immortal fire from onhigh which winds and waters cannot quench. Therefore love on. Thou shaltnot love in vain. Queen and Daughter, fare thee well awhile."
"Nay, nay, one word, Immortal. I thank thee, thou Messenger of thegods, but when these troubles come upon me--and another, when the seaof dangers closes o'er our heads, when shame is near and I am lonely, aswell may chance, then to whom shall I turn for succour?"
"Then thou hast one within thee who is strong to aid. It was given tothee at thy birth, O Star of Amen, and Asti can call it forth. Comehither, thou Asti, and swiftly, for I must be gone, and first I wouldspeak with thee."
Asti crept forward, and the glowing shape in the royal robe bent overher so that the light of it shone upon her face. It bent over her andseemed to whisper in her ear. Then it held out its hands towards Tua asthough in blessing, and instantly was not.
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