80AD
The Tekhen of Anuket
by Aiki Flinthart
Smashwords Edition
Copyright Aiki Flinthart 2011
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Coverart by Jason Seabaugh of Avatar Art
Discover other titles by Aiki Flinthart at: http://aikiflinthart.weebly.com/
Discover 80AD Book One - The Jewel of Asgard - at Smashwords.
And
80AD Book Two - The Hammer of Thor at Smashwords
Connect with me live on Facebook
80AD
The Tekhen of Anuket
Sparks flew from the iron door handle as it crashed against the stone wall. Feng Zhudai stalked into the cell. He held a flickering candle high, glaring past its dim light, into the shadows. Baiyu looked up, eyeing his old nemesis impassively. It was difficult to keep a calm face when he burned to know why Zhudai had come. Did he want to simply gloat at his captive or was he angry because the outlanders had escaped him again?
Baiyu waited. He was good at that. Zhudai was not. Even during their childhood together, Zhudai had feverishly pushed ahead in their studies and games; ever eager to learn more without taking time to truly absorb what was already before him. Magic, calligraphy, swordplay, martial arts, politics – Zhudai was a master of all, but understood none. They were like clothes; costumes that he put on when needed and left off when he thought they were useless.
It was an interesting thought; one that required careful consideration. Baiyu smiled to himself. Now was as good a moment as any. In this dank prison he certainly had ample time to think and little strength to do much else.
“They have made a mistake,” Zhudai’s contemptuous comment cut through his prisoner’s contemplation.
Baiyu blinked, hoping his face didn’t betray the stab of fear he felt at those words. When he had sent across time and space to find rescuers, he’d expected to bring someone.....older and more experienced than the two teenagers his magic had drawn into this realm. They were so young; so frightened and so very unsure of themselves. Had they truly made a fatal error?
Zhudai paced forward – just two tigerish, smooth steps. His long, black hair was tied in a complicated knot on top of his head; his triumphant face harshly-shadowed by the candle. He held his black and gold silken robes off the hay-strewn stone floor with fastidious fingers. Still Baiyu refused to be drawn into talk. Let Zhudai reveal all in his eagerness to prove himself to his old rival.
“The girl has neglected to hide herself and her companions from me as she did with the Roman boy. In her haste, she has forgotten that I have seen her with my own eyes and can therefore Far-see her as well.” Zhudai barked a mirthless laugh. “And, I know where they have gone – Egypt.”
Baiyu could not stop the few muscle movements of his face that betrayed his concern – clenching of the jaw; flaring of the nostrils and eyes. Zhudai saw and laughed again.
“It will not be long now, my friend,” he said, his dark eyes half-lidded. “Your rescuers will be captured and, with your help, I will become an Immortal.”
“I will not help you,” Baiyu returned, his own voice low and strained.
Zhudai’s smile turned pitying. “No, you mean you will not help me voluntarily.” He turned away and grasped the door. Looking back over his shoulder, he shook his head. “Surely you know that I never expected you to give your help? I will take what I need. You will not live past the ri shi.”
Baiyu raised his chin, schooling his face back to calm. “Pure gold does not fear the smelter.”
Zhudai made a noise of irritation and stalked out.
Behind the closed cell door, the smile slid away from Baiyu’s face.
CHAPTER ONE
Phoenix stepped through the portal into hot, still darkness. As an afterthought, he drew his sword, Blódbál, and held it ready. Peering into the gloom he listened for movement. Nothing. This unknown place was heavy with ancient, silent shadows; its air dusty and dead. As his eyes adjusted to the glimmer of light given off by the portal, Phoenix could dimly tell they were in a large, rectangular room of some sort. Regularly spaced stone columns supported a stone roof.
He edged forward with his sword out, the other hand still holding firmly onto his horse’s reins. The stallion whuffled, pushing at him with its nose. Hooves clattered on a stone floor.
What was it with the darkness thing? Everywhere they went, he, Jade and their companions seemed to end up in some lightless hole – usually a prison. Didn’t anyone build with windows in the year 80AD? Or were the programmers of this benighted computer game just plain nasty?
After consideration, he favoured the latter idea. The guys who wrote the game he and Jade were trapped in, had probably quite enjoyed dreaming up the unpleasant little nuisances he’d experienced so far: giant trolls, armies of Roman soldiers, evil sorcerers and power-mad gods. So what was in store for his troupe now? They were in Egypt, so surely it would be mummies; or Sphinxes or maybe a horde of bad-tempered, stampeding camels.
“Ow!” Jade’s pained outcry told him the others were right on his heels. He tugged his horse forward to make space for them. More hooves echoed. Brynn and Marcus stepped through. Marcus’ bow was ready, an arrow notched. Brynn drew his new sword and glared into the gloom.
Abruptly, the faint light vanished as the gateway between Asgard and Egypt popped out of existence with a slight schlorping sound. Come what may, they’d arrived on Level Three.
“Everyone ok?” Phoenix called over the stompings and nickerings. One by one, the others assured him they were all ok.
“So,” he aimed for cheerful, “on to the second question. Anyone know where we are?”
There was a small silence, then Brynn’s cocky voice piped up. “Ægyptus?”
“Thanks for that. Helpful,” Phoenix said sarcastically. He heard a fleshy thump. Brynn squawked and Phoenix grinned, guessing Marcus had whacked the boy on the arm.
“Hang on,” Jade said. She tucked her quarterstaff under one arm and, seconds later, a greenish light appeared in her cupped hands. She’d cast a light-spell. Next she murmured a few words over the glowing ball and blew on it. To Phoenix’s surprise, it wafted out of her hands and began to drift around the room.
“Nice trick,” he admired.
Jade grinned. “Courtesy of that spell-book Ásúlfr gave me back in Sweden.” She sent another off in a different direction; then a third. Soon the room was eerily lit by what looked like a dozen giant firefly-backsides.
She exclaimed in soft delight and hurried over to the nearest wall. Phoenix handed his reins to Brynn and joined her, wondering what she found so fascinating. As far as he could see, it was just a wall covered in pretty pictures.
“They’re hieroglyphs,” she breathed, brushing the tips of her fingers over the jewel-coloured images.
Brynn and Marcus came over, peering at the wall.
“Did you tie the horses?” Phoenix asked Brynn.
“Nope. Where would they go?” The Breton boy raised an eyebrow at him.
“Good point,” Phoenix glanced around the room. There were definitely no windows and, more concerning, no doors. Even dimension-gate entrance they had come through was now merely a three-stone door-frame set into solid wall. “Maybe we shouldn’t waste time on the walls, Jade,” he laid a hand on her shoulder. “Maybe we should be looking for a way out of here.”
“I suppose,” she didn’t turn away. Phoenix waited a second then gestured to the other two. There didn’t seem to be any immediate danger. It wouldn’t hurt to let her stay while they looked for a way out. He and Jade had had their differences in the past, but Phoenix was determined to be a true leader now and earn her respect and co-operation. Ordering her to come away from the hieroglyphs would be a poor way to start.
“Could you at least lend us some of the lights?” he prodded her gently in the ribs. All of the light-balls danced around her head, illuminating the wall.
Jade nodded, tucked a stray strand of shoulder-length, white-blond hair behind a pointed ear and waved a hand absently at the hovering lights. Three of them drifted down to bob just over the boys’ heads.
“Right,” Phoenix peered into the gloomiest corners, “there has to be an exit. Let’s split up and find it – but don’t get lost. We don’t know how big this place is.” The other two nodded and walked away, green lights dancing around their heads. Phoenix headed in the opposite direction.
As it turned out, they were in no danger of getting lost. The room was fairly small and flanked by two rooms that were even smaller. Brynn found what had to be the original door, but it had been built in with large, firmly-mortared limestone blocks. There was no exit.
Finally, the three gathered around a central stone altar.
“Unless there’s some sort of secret entrance, I can’t see a way out of here,” Phoenix admitted. “Ideas?”
“We could look for a secret entrance,” Brynn offered, grinning.
Phoenix raised his eyes to the ceiling, but nodded. “It was a joke. Any other ideas?”
Marcus glanced over his shoulder. “Let’s ask Jade.”
All three turned to look at her. Their half-elven companion was still staring at the hieroglyphs that covered the walls. Her mouth moved silently and her eyes were almost crossed with intense concentration.
“I’ve got it!” She turned and beckoned them, excitement making her green eyes glitter. Relieved, Phoenix jogged over. Trust Jade to come up with a decent plan to get them out of trouble.
“So?” He prompted.
She pointed at a set of
pictures encircled by an oval. To Phoenix it looked like a hook and
a shovel followed by a flying saucer and a small chicken. Outside
the oval was a hamburger bun, a sailing boat and something that
looked like a complicated showerhead. Perplexed, he raised his
eyebrows at Jade.
She grinned at him. “See? It says we’re in the offering chapel of Snefru’s Shining Pyramid. The game programmers are obviously fans of the Stargate Sci-fi TV series. Any minute now it will be aliens landing on the pyramid.”
Phoenix, Brynn and Marcus all stared at her with looks of blank astonishment for a moment before blinking again at the pictures. Phoenix decided to ignore the Stargate comment, as he’d never watched the show and had no idea what connection it had to their current problems. He examined the hieroglyphs again. He even tilted his head and closed one eye, hoping that would help. It still looked like a chicken and a complicated shower device.
“I’ll take your word for it,” he conceded. “Does it say how to get out of the chapel of Snefru’s Shining pyramid by any chance?”
“What? No, it’s all about what a great Pharaoh Snefru was and how he’s going to get to the afterlife.” She blinked at him. “Can’t you read it?”
All three of the boys shook their heads.
“Huh,” she pulled down her mouth. “I thought that language spell Ásúlfr cast back in Olshammar would work the same on all of us, but I guess I’m the only one who can understand and read other languages. Weird.”
“Very weird,” Phoenix tried to curb his rising impatience. “But will it help us get out of here?” He reached out and grabbed her shoulder as she turned back to the hieroglyphs. “Jade! Focus! We’re bricked up in this place and I’ll bet horses use lots of oxygen. We need to get out of here!”
She looked around the room, frowning.
“Oh,” he added as an afterthought, “and please tell me that crack about aliens was just a joke?”
Her expression cleared to a smile. “I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t write something like that into the plot. There was no mention in the game manual, was there?”
Phoenix thought hard then shook his head, relieved. “Ultimate badguy to kill, Yu Dragon to master; plus five levels of evil henchmen, Gods, Elves, magic and monsters, yes; but no aliens, thank goodness.”
“OK, so we just need to get out of here and get on our way to releasing the goddess Anuket from her prison, then,” Jade summed up. “And remember, we were told we have to release Anuket before the ‘death of the moon’. I still don’t know what that means, though.”
“Then we have to start by getting out,” he shrugged. They all stared around again, seeking inspiration.
“Secret passage?” she raised her brows at them.
“Already thought of it,” Phoenix replied. Brynn snorted a laugh.
“But did anyone actually look for one?”
The three boys exchanged sheepish glances.
“Obviously not,” Jade sighed, shaking her head. “Let’s go, then.”
For a good ten minutes, the companions prowled around the temple, poking, pushing, twisting and prodding any likely-looking carving and stone they could find. The room got hotter and stuffier. Various bits of fur clothing from their time in Sweden and Asgard ended up on the altar, stripped as sweat began to drip. The horses’ heads drooped and their breathing became laboured.
The group gathered again. Jade shoved their furs into the Hyllion Bagia and retrieved cooler clothing from within its endless, black depths. They all changed. It helped a bit, but there was no ignoring the shortness of breath that was now bothering all of them. They were running out of air.
“Why is the back wall so slanty?” Brynn wiped sweat from his face.
Jade tilted her head and eyed the wall. “I guess the temple is right up against the pyramid.”
“What is a pyramid, anyway?” Brynn seemed aggrieved he didn’t know.
Phoenix stared at the boy. It was hard to remember that Brynn came from a small village in early Roman Britain. He was so smart Phoenix often forgot they came from vastly different backgrounds. How could a peasant boy from 80AD know about other cultures? He couldn’t exactly watch a documentary.
“The people of Ægyptus call them mer,” Marcus’ quiet comment intruded on his thoughts.
“They do?” Phoenix switched his gaze to him, amazed. Normally Jade was the walking encyclopaedia. Marcus hardly said a word.
The Roman boy nodded. “Pyramid is the word the Greeks gave them. Mer are the tombs of dead kings – the paros, they call them.”
“Pharaohs. Hey!” Jade’s green eyes were wide. “How do you know so much?”
Phoenix sent her a narrow look, wondering if she were jealous of Marcus’ knowledge. She was pretty sensitive about being the smartest in the group.
“I came to Ægyptus with my uncle,” Marcus shrugged. “He took me on a trading mission and we stayed in Alexandria for several months. My uncle thought I found the place and the people too fascinating and sent me home again. Rome owns Egypt, but we are not well-liked here and he was worried I would get myself killed wandering around the streets on my own.”
Phoenix stared at Marcus for several seconds, wondering what had prompted that long a speech. Sweat dribbled into his eyes, reminding him of their situation.
“OK.” He slapped his hands flat on the altar. “So we know the back wall is part of the pyramid – mer, I mean,” he corrected himself. “Does that help us? Would there be a secret passage there?”
Jade shook her head. “Even if there was, it would only lead deeper into the pyramid, not to the outside. I have no idea when Snefru’s Shining pyramid was built, but the air in there would probably be bad if the tomb hasn’t been robbed.”
Brynn’s eyes lit up. “Robbed? As in treasure?” He sent a covetous look at the sloping back wall. “Couldn’t we just try? We’ve hardly found any treasure at all so far.”
Phoenix laughed at the little thief and laid his sword on the altar. “C’mon, a magic sword is pretty good treasure, so is a magic bag full of Roman denarii and the Horn of Aurfanon that we used to summon help with the troll in Svealand.”
The boy made a face. “I want some gold to take home with me, thanks. We can only use that horn twice more, anyway, remember?”
“Don’t forget what our true mission is,” Marcus reminded him, frowning.
Brynn waved him away. “I know, I know. We’re out to kill Feng Zhudai, the big badguy. But hey, can’t a guy dream of more than just revenge?” He blinked innocent brown eyes up at the Roman. Marcus sent him a sceptical look.
“C’mon, you lot,” Phoenix urged. “We’ve got to stay on track. We need to find a way out. Look.” He pointed at the horses. One of them had slipped to her knees and lay half on her side on the stone floor, panting.
Jade ran its side and muttered in its ear. One by one, she went to all five horses and spoke to them in low tones. One by one, the animals’ breathing calmed and their eyes closed. She came back to the altar, looking a worried and guilty.
“I should have put them to sleep earlier. It would have saved oxygen and caused them less stress.”
“It’s a good idea, whenever,” he assured her. He was rewarded with a quick, grateful look. “Back to the problem at hand. How do we get out?”
Marcus ran a hand through his short, dark hair. Brynn chewed on his bottom lip, eyes darting around the room. Jade tilted her head to one side and tapped one finger on her teeth. Her eyes widened. Phoenix looked at her, waiting.
“If you were at home, Phoenix,” she mused, “how would you deal with this?”
It took him a second to understand what she meant, then enlightenment hit and he smiled. Of course! If he were back in his bedroom in the real world, he’d be playing this as a computer game. It would be a simple matter to......
“I’d shoot my way out!” He exclaimed. “Blow up the entrance.”
“What with?” Marcus frowned, iron-gloved hands spread. “We have only my bow, and my arrows won’t penetrate rock.”
“Oh,” Phoenix sagged. Another idea bloomed. Iron gloves! He pointed at Marcus’ belt. “Thor’s hammer! That’s it. You can use Mjölnir to smash the blocked up doorway and get us out. Go on! Do it now!” Stepping around the altar, he gripped Marcus’s arm and shook it.
Brynn caught his excitement and grinned. Jade frowned, glancing back and forth between Marcus, the wall and the horses. Marcus looked at each of them, then down at the god’s hammer that hung from his belt, doubt flickering across his handsome face. Thor had lent it to them in order to free the goddess Anuket – their task in this place. It was a thing of such enormous weight and power that the god had also given him the magic belt and gloves needed to wield it.
The Roman eyed the large, heavy limestone blocks surrounding them.“I’m not sure that’s such a good idea.”
Phoenix thumped his friend on the back and gave him a shove in the direction of the ancient doorway. “It’s the only one we’ve got. C’mon. Let’s get the horses awake and ready to go. Get us out of here, Marcus.”
Clearly reluctant, Marcus unhooked the hammer from his belt. Jade awoke the horses and, together with Brynn, urged them closer to the bricked up door. Phoenix fell behind Marcus, not wanting to get in his way. He nodded as the Roman sent him one last questioning look. Rotating his head and shoulders, Marcus swung the hammer once in a small circle. It left a strange after-image etched as a purple-blue arc in the air. A distant rumble of thunder sounded, even through the thick stone walls. Marcus glanced once more at the stone ceiling.
“Go on!” Phoenix urged, impatient to get out and on with it.
With a swift overarm motion, Marcus hurled the iron hammer at the blocked entranceway. It flew through the thick air with the zipping crackle of electricity. Purple-blue lights arced from its iron head to earth in the stone around the door. A deafening crack and blinding flash of brilliant white light filled every corner of the room. Jade yelped but her voice was drowned in the violence of the noise. The horses reared and whinnied in fright. Brynn, clinging to two sets of reins, was tossed about like a ragdoll. The stone door blew outward in an explosion of rock and dust. Sunlight streamed in and the hammer flew back into Marcus’ waiting hand like a boomerang.
There was a brief shocking silence, followed by the ominous snap of breaking stone.
Phoenix and Jade looked at each other, then up at the ceiling.
“Uh oh,” Brynn said quietly.
CHAPTER TWO
“Go! Go! Go!” Jade tugged at her horses’ reins and jerked the beast forward. Ahead, Marcus did the same. The cracking, creaking sounds grew louder. Marcus, with the aid of Mjölnir, began smashing large chunks of stone out of the way like he was playing golf. Blocks of limestone sailed through the air, clearing a path for the skittish horses.
Before long, all five horses and four companions were clear of the ancient chapel. Breathing hard and coughing dust, the travellers turned to look back. Towering a hundred metres above the chapel was the massive Shining Pyramid of Snefru. With gleaming white limestone covering its sloping sides and a tip that reached up into the clear blue heavens, it was a truly awe-inspiring sight. They had little time to admire its beauty, however. With a thunderous crack, one of the two outlying buildings beside the chapel collapsed in a heap of tumbled stone and flying dust.
Phoenix gasped and clapped a hand to his side. “Blódbál! I left it on the altar!” He spun around and sprinted back into the dark temple.
“No!” Jade yelled. “Phoenix, come back! It’s going to collapse any sec.....”
Before she completed the sentence, the two and a half thousand year old offering chapel of Snefru’s Shining Pyramid folded in on itself with little more than a rumble and a whoosh of dusty air. Tonnes of stone fell, leaving nothing but a pile of masonry where Phoenix had vanished.
For several seconds, Jade, Marcus and Brynn stared in shock at the ruin. Then Jade tossed aside her staff and ran forward.
“Phoenix! Phoenix!” Feverishly, she hauled at the smaller blocks, tossing them aside with her half-elven strength. Brynn and Marcus joined her; Brynn struggling with rocks too big for his wiry, ten-year old frame; Marcus using the hammer to knock aside what chunks he could safely move that way. Minutes dragged by and still they hadn’t found him.
“Can’t you just pick the blocks up?” she demanded. “Don’t the gloves make you strong?”
Marcus shook his head. “They’re linked to the hammer. They don’t give me extra strength for anything else. I’m sorry.”
Jade pursed her lips to stop herself from snapping at him. It wasn’t his fault. There had to be a better way to get Phoenix out. Who knew how many lives he’d lose if he were stuck under a big stone for too long. It had already been at least ten minutes.
There was a noise; a soft cry for help; audible only to her half-elven hearing.
“Stop! Listen.” Holding up a hand, she put a finger to her lips. The others paused, looking at her. “There!” She pointed to a spot about six feet from where Marcus stood. Hurrying over, she lay down on her stomach and peered into a dark gap.
“Phoenix?” Using a hand-sized rock, she tapped out the Morse code for SOS on a limestone block. Dot dot dot dash dash dash dot dot dot. She repeated it then waited. Faintly, the sequence came back at them from below. Dot dot dot dash dash dash dot dot dot.
With a relieved smile, she tossed aside the stone and beckoned to Marcus.
“He’s down here,” she pointed. “If you can knock the top few blocks off sideways, I think we can use the horses to drag the others off without causing an avalanche.”
Marcus stepped up. Brynn picked his way back to the horses, ransacked the supply packs and began rigging a set of ropes around the animals’ muscular chests. By the time Marcus had hit away as many lumps as he dared, Brynn was ready to hand a loop of thick rope to Jade. She wrapped it around a chunk of limestone. On her signal, Brynn pulled on the reins of all five horses, yelling and swearing at them. Straining, the horses hauled until the large block crunched and clattered its way out. Three more times they carried out the same task until, at last, Jade waved Brynn to a halt.
“Phoenix!” She reached down into a niche. Fingers grasped hers. Marcus came to her side, adding his strength. Together they pulled until Phoenix’ whole arm, shoulder and finally his head appeared in the gap. His long, dark hair was streaked white and red with dust and blood. His face was covered in fine white powder. Even his eyelashes and eyebrows were thick with it, making his eyes seem bluer. Blinking, he coughed and spat out a spray of dirt, blood and sand. His round, wooden shield was missing from its usual place on his back and his clothes were torn in several places. Finally they dragged him clear of the rubble and the three sprawled, panting, on the hot sand outside the ruins.
“Thanks,” Phoenix sputtered, sand spraying from his mouth. He lifted his right hand and showed what he held. “I got my sword.”
Jade stared at him for a moment, speechless. Then she reached out and smacked him across the back of the head. Dust flew up in a little cloud. “Idiot! Don’t do that again.”
“Hey!” he rubbed the spot she’d hit. “I’m ok, aren’t I?”
“Yes,” she glared at him, “but how many lives did you lose?” She pointed at the ruby-studded dagger strapped to his hip.
They had started this game with seven lives each. Phoenix had lost one in England, fighting the Romans. Jade lost two in Sweden during run-ins with a troll and the Norse gods. There were now only five whole rubies in the hilt of her dagger. They had no idea what would happen when a final life was lost. Would they awake in the real world again or would they just be dead and stuck forever in this virtual game-world?
Phoenix shrugged and pulled out his dagger. “I took shelter next to the altar. A couple of blocks glanced me, that’s all. My shield got broken to pieces, but I don’t think I lost any.......oh.” He turned the dagger over twice, inspecting the sparkling gems.
The others crowded in.
“Oh no,” Jade groaned. Brynn reached out a finger and touched the knife.
There were now three blank, cracked red stones in the handle. He had lost two lives under the collapsed temple. A cold wave of fear swept up Jade’s spine in spite of the blazing sun overhead. Two! They still had this level and two more, even harder levels, to go in this digital world. How could he possibly get through with only four lives?
Looking dazed, Phoenix patted his head and body, apparently feeling for injuries. His hair was matted with blood, but he looked perfectly fine.
“I remember a couple of blocks hitting me as I dived for cover, but that wasn’t enough to kill me twice,” he protested. The life-rubies stared back at them, undeniable evidence to the contrary.
He jammed the blade back into its sheath. “That’s hardly fair. How can that be fair?” Standing up he slapped at his clothes. Dust showered off him.
Snapping her mouth shut, Jade got up, dusted her backside off, picked up her staff and reached a hand down to Marcus. He grimaced and pulled himself upright.
Phoenix wouldn’t stop. “It’s not fair. Jade only lost one life when she got slammed by that troll,” he glared at her as if this were her fault.
“Maybe it’s because life isn’t fair and each quest is harder than the last!” She pointed out, trying to stay calm. “We have to be more careful. Each decision could be critical now. Nothing is black-and-white in this world, Phoenix. It’s not just shoot-em-up-or-die, here. We have to think or we won’t make it through.”
Her logic only stoked the rising fire in Phoenix’s eyes.
“I was thinking,” he growled at her. “I was thinking exactly how far we’d get without Blódbál and the answer is...not very bloody far!”
Irritation flashed through her. She tried to put a lid on the bubbling emotion, but some leaked through in her tart reply.
“Well we’ll get farther with you than without you – sword or no sword. So if you’re done playing at being a hero, can we get on with it?” Without waiting for an answer, she turned on her heel and marched back to the horses.
Honestly. Sometimes he was so impulsive and stupid it was scary. What would happen to her if he’d lost all his lives under those rocks? She could be stuck in this world forever and that didn’t bear thinking about. Or what if he lost the amulet that had drawn them here?
“Your amulet!” She gasped, spinning back, anger forgotten. “Did you lose it?” Her stomach clenched with fear. Had he lost his half of the yin-yang amulet? She checked her own half still hung safely around her neck. It did.
Phoenix reached under his shirt and, with an ‘I’m not an idiot’ look, pulled his necklace out to show her. She nodded back and did the same with hers, the shimmering teardrop shapes glittered in the sun.
As long as they still carried the matching, linked halves that had drawn them into this surreal place, they had a chance to getting home again. Without them....who knew what would happen? They might not ever get home. She knew, too, that they could not be allowed to fall into the hands of the arch-badguy of this world, Feng Zhudai.
Phoenix sent her one last glare and turned away. Jade watched with concern as he marched toward the horses. When would they find a balance between them? When would they start to work better as a team, rather than butting heads and arguing? She sighed. She shouldn’t have snapped back at him. He’d had a scare and she knew he hated feeling powerless.
“Looks like Phoenix took dying again as a personal insult.” Marcus’ deep voice shook her out of her gloomy thoughts.
“Wouldn’t you?” Jade raised an eyebrow at him. “I’d say dying is pretty personal.”
“If I had died a warrior’s death, I would be content in the afterlife, dining in the Temple of Jupiter with the gods,” Marcus returned with a shrug, swinging into the saddle.
She eyed him, curious. She climbed onto her own mare and checked that Brynn was safely on his pony. Her own family was, in theory, Christian, but in practice she’d never set foot inside a church except for weddings and funerals. It was fascinating to know Marcus followed the old Roman gods. In 80AD the Christian faith was only just starting to gain momentum. The Romans were at two extremes – either busy being converted or having Christians put to death in the colosseum Games.
With Phoenix in the lead, they ambled past the low mudbrick wall that surrounded the pyramid. Glancing at Phoenix’s stiff back, Jade decided to let him be for awhile. Instead, she asked Marcus the question that was foremost on her mind, knowing it was really just a distraction from the problem of how to handle Phoenix.
“Doesn’t it cause problems having so many different gods for people to follow in the Roman Empire?”
Marcus nodded. “Especially here in Egypt. The capital, Alexandria, was built by the Greeks three hundred years ago, so it’s full of temples to the Greek gods. Many of the native Egyptians there still worship their own gods. Then there are the Jews, who fled the destruction of Jerusalem ten years ago; and recently, the evangelist, Mark, came from Rome to preach Christianity to the Egyptians.” He frowned. “Many Egyptians hate Roman rule and the new religion only fuels their anger. The worst are the followers of Set. They sew the seeds of violence and chaos wherever they go. We should avoid them if at all possible. Alexandria is a dark place these days. Even though it is a centre for learning and culture, I would hesitate to return.”
“Centre of learning? Oh!” Jade exclaimed, “of course. The Library of Alexandria was famous. It was supposed to be one of the best collections in the world.”
“Was?” Marcus scowled. “The Library is the best in the world. Why do you say ‘was’? Where do you come from that you know of the Library but speak of it in the past tense?”
Shaken, she glanced at Phoenix’s back. He wasn’t likely to feel any sympathy or help her out of a tricky conversation. Jade swallowed hard and thought fast. As far as Marcus and Brynn knew, she and Phoenix were from another world; drawn here by magic and by the matching Yin-yang amulets they both wore. There was no way to explain that this world was a digital construct; that Marcus and Brynn themselves were simply numbers in a computer; that Jade and Phoenix were not the warrior and half-elven Spellweaver they seemed, but were just kids trying to get home to the real world.
“We’re not just from another realm,” she admitted, sighing. “We’re sort of from a future world; a future where our past is almost like this world, but not quite the same.”
Marcus held her gaze a few moments then looked forward, apparently deep in thought. “A future world where gods do not exist, perhaps? Where there are ‘programmers’, instead?”
She gaped at him. They must have mentioned something about the programmers of this game without thinking. Kicking herself mentally, she hedged. “Kind of.”
“Exactly how far in the future?”
“About two thousand years,” she couldn’t think of a convincing lie, so she had to tell the truth and hope it wouldn’t freak him out.
Marcus’s mouth dropped open, then snapped shut again. He shook his head. “It is hard to comprehend that much time. What is your world like? Does the Roman Empire still dominate?”
“I don’t think telling you would do much good, Marcus,” she shook her head. “Our world is so different that most of the words wouldn’t even have meaning for you. I can tell you that the Roman Empire, in our world, lasted about another three hundred years from now before it collapsed.”
“Ah,” the Roman smiled in disbelief, “so what country rules now? Not the Greeks.”
She laughed. “No. Some would claim that a country called The United States of America is the most powerful military force in our world.”
“Where is that?”
Jade waved a hand toward the west. “A long, long way west across the Atlantic ocean – on the other side of the world.” She pointed east. “That way, past the Indian Ocean, are China, India and Australia – also important countries in our time. The world is a big ball, you know; not flat.”
To her surprise, Marcus burst out laughing. She’d rarely seen him smile, let alone laugh. He had a nice laugh. It made his dark eyes sparkle. She grinned back, wondering what she’d said.
“Jade, we have not believed in a flat Earth since Aristotle proposed a round one almost four hundred years ago and Eratosthenes told us the circumference a century later. I learned it as a child.” Marcus chuckled again, shaking his head. “But no Roman Empire? Next you will try to tell me my world is not real, I suppose; just a figment of someone’s imagination.”
She gaped at him then collected herself and looked away. Nothing would induce her to tell him that - even though it was the absolute truth. It was ironic that Marcus could readily believe she had come by magic from another world, but not that the Roman Empire could collapse – or that his own world wasn’t real.
Then again, it seemed real here. Back on level one, a guide of sorts had even told her and Phoenix it was real. It was certainly hard to disbelieve in the dust clogging up her nose and the heat of the sun on her head. How could she tell Marcus otherwise? How would she feel if someone told her that her own Earth was just the figment of some great Cosmic Game Programmer’s imagination? Come to think of it, there really was no way to prove that wasn’t true.....
CHAPTER THREE
At that moment, they caught up with Phoenix and Brynn who had stopped and were arguing.
“We need to go that way,” Brynn pointed east.
“Well I think we need to go west,” Phoenix gestured.
Nudging her horse in between theirs, Jade interrupted what bid fair to turn into a heated argument. “What’s going on?”
Brynn shook his head. “The horses need water and I say the nearest water is east. The horses know which way it is, we just need to let them find it.”
“I think it’s west,” Phoenix insisted.
“Oh for...,” Jade groaned. “You could just ask me. Finding water’s one of the first things I ever learned.” She closed her eyes and murmured a seeking spell for water...and....there... the muddy taste of river water lingered on her tongue.
“It’s east of here, about eight kilometres. It must be the Nile,” she made a face and took a swallow of warm water from her waterskin to get rid of the taste. Ignoring the cheeky way Brynn poked his tongue at Phoenix and the warrior glowered at both of them, she nudged her horse up alongside Phoenix’s, glad of an excuse to get away from Marcus’ questions.
“Look at that,” she pointed south. A kilometre or so away, shimmering in the heat, was another pyramid. This one had an odd shape. Halfway up it changed angles, like the builder had decided he didn’t like the original slope and reduced it. The pyramid looked bent. The early afternoon sun gave it a squat, lumpy shadow.
“I wonder why they built it like that?”
“Don’t know, don’t care,” Phoenix barely glanced at it.
“What’s up with you?” Jade demanded.
“I’m just not going to let myself get sidetracked by irrelevant stuff anymore,” he scowled at the track ahead. “I have to keep focussed on our goal for this level. We have to work out what the ‘death of the moon’ means, then release Anuket. Like you said, we can’t make any more mistakes or lose any more lives.”
“That doesn’t mean we have to ignore everything around us,” Jade pointed out. “You never know what’s relevant and what’s not in this place.”
“What do you mean?” The angry edge had gone from his voice, but he still sounded bitter.
Jade drew a deep breath, trying to relax and sound non-confrontational. “Well, I’m pretty sure this game isn’t simple like most computer games. In most games you’re choices are limited – kill or be killed, really. Here, it’s more like real life – lots of choices; lots of different results from each decision we make; lots of grey areas. In fact, I’m more and more certain that the old lady back in Albion – you know, the one who told us this place is real – is probably right. This is real in its own way. What we do here affects this world - and our world. We have to think more; choose carefully; take opportunities.”
Phoenix sent her a sceptical glance, so she continued.
“Remember back in Svealand, when you didn’t want to go back to Olshammar and fight the troll-mother?” Jade said. “You thought fighting her was a waste of time – a way to get bonus points in the game, but not really important.”
“Yeah, so?” he shrugged.
“Well, we chose to go back and it turned out for the best, didn’t it?”
He stared at her in disbelief. “You got killed, remember?”
She blinked at him in surprise. “But we got to Asgard a whole lot faster than if we’d stayed in Midgard and trekked all the way to Uppsala.”
“But you got killed again in Asgard!” He seemed fixated on the times she’d been killed and Jade figured that must be what was really bugging him.
“Yeah, I know,” she tried for patience, “and believe me I don’t want to do it again, I still have bruises. I’m just saying that we can’t ignore opportunities that might help us – even if they do put our lives at risk. We have to balance the risk with the benefit.”
Phoenix was silent awhile, hopefully mulling over what she’d said.
“I still say we have to be more focussed on getting through this level and staying alive – nothing else,” his face was set and stubborn.
Jade gave in. “Whatever.” The loss of two more lives had obviously shaken him more than he cared to admit, but she really couldn’t disagree with him. They did have to be focussed.
After waiting a few minutes, she switched topics.“Any idea where we should go to find this tekhen that Anuket’s supposedly trapped in?”
He shot her a narrow look. “I thought you’d know. You said that, when you were ‘dead’, the old-lady voice told you everything we needed to do in Egypt, India and China, remember? Didn’t the instructions include where to do it?”
She shook her head. “Only that we had to release Anuket before the death of the moon and that the tekhen – ‘obelisk’ the Greeks call them – is in one of the major towns along the Nile. The voice didn’t say which one.”
“Great,” his reply sounded distinctly sarcastic. “Another quest where we have to randomly chose a direction and hope it’s the right one. Hopefully someone will conveniently point out our destination again this time – before we end up lost or captured by badguys.”
“Wonder who the badguys will be this time?”
“Probably mummies,” Phoenix grumbled.
Jade shivered. “Ewww. I hope not. I hate those zombie and mummy horror movies. They give me the creeps.” Glancing ahead she saw a collection of low, mud-brick and stone buildings. They didn’t look inhabited. In fact, they looked...dead; half-ruined. She shivered again, her imagination populating them with linen-wrapped zombie-mummies.
She turned in the saddle to catch Marcus’ eye. He trotted up.
“Is that a village?” She pointed to the huddled group of buildings.
Marcus looked around at the two pyramids and various other, mounded structures in the area, then shook his head.
“I think it’s a necropolis – a city of the dead. The past pharaohs used to build them – before they started building pyramids. The people of Egypt bury their dead in the desert to save fertile land for farming.”
“Great,” Jade muttered. “Let’s hope we can get past without being attacked by mummies.”
He smiled down at her. “I’ve never heard of mummies attacking people. By the way, the Egyptians call them ‘sah’.”
“Great,” Jade repeated. “Let’s hope we can get past without being attacked by ‘sah’ then. Happy?”
She kept a close eye on the necropolis as the horses ambled past, but nothing came shambling out. She felt some of the tension drain away when the ancient, crumbling city had; at last, become just a jumble of outlines on the horizon behind.
After a couple of kilometres, the land changed underfoot. The harsh, blinding ocean of sand-dunes around the pyramids and dead city gave way to dry, cracked, grey dirt and the occasional, stunted tree. Here and there, remnants of ploughed fields showed this land was farmed; but no crops grew. A few, withered stalks poked miserably up out of the ground. Eddies of wind blew the dusty soil into gritty little whirlwinds.
Jade wrapped her face in a cloth to keep out the worst of the sun and dust. The others followed suit and they all began to look like Tuareg nomads. All they needed were camels.
In the distance, a smudge of green-grey stretched from south to north.
Brynn pointed. “It must be the river.” His voice was muffled by the cloth, but his eyes were bright with anticipation.
Long before they reached the river, however, they stumbled across a cart-track. The horses stood obediently in the middle of the rutted road as the companions glanced in both directions. It ran roughly north-south, but there was nobody to be seen for any distance in either direction.
“Look,” Brynn nodded toward the north-east. About two kilometres away were the low, square silhouettes of houses clustered together. “Another necropolis?”
Marcus shook his head. “A village.”
“Great,” Phoenix pushed back sweaty hair from his dust-streaked face. “We can get water there.”
Marcus held out a cautionary hand. “No. There’s a well that’s closer.” Jade looked and saw nothing but a stand of what she recognised as date palms a few hundred metres to the northwest, near the road.
The sun beat down mercilessly upon their heads. By the time they reached the trees, they were all exhausted and sweating. Even though they’d exchanged their furs for lighter clothes, they were all hot and sweaty in gear more suited to the cold British spring. Marcus was the most comfortable as the sun climbed higher and the heat grew more intense. He had reverted to his Roman garb – a short, skirted tunic and sandals. The horses nickered softly at the scent of water and picked up their pace to a fast walk.
Dismounting, the four companions lead their mounts into the shade of the palms. They found a small circle of mud-brick in the centre of the grove. A leather bucket sat forlornly beside it. The water was a long way down and very muddy. It took several bucketloads to let the horses drink their noisy fill and then replenish their own waterskins.
Jade muttered a cleansing spell over the containers, ignoring Phoenix when he raised an eyebrow at her. Up until now their water had come from fresh mountain streams and lakes. It seemed stupid to trust well water in a hot, tropical pre-antibiotic world.
Finally, they sagged into the shade of the date palms. Digging out supplies given to them by the Svear people, they ate half-heartedly, worn down by the heat.
“Something’s wrong,” Marcus murmured, gnawing on a slab of smoked meat.
“You mean the fact that there’s nobody attacking us right now?” Brynn’s comment was muffled by a mouthful of food. Phoenix brushed a stray fragment of food off his shoulder and scowled at the boy.
“No,” Marcus frowned, “I mean the fact that it’s spring and the farmers aren’t harvesting their crops. The Nile floods in summer and fertilises these plains. The farmers plant in autumn and by spring they are harvesting. Where are the crops?” He swept a piercing look around the dry, cracked riverflat.
The others sat up and looked around. Jade picked up a handful of soil and crumbled it beneath her fingers. It was grey and very dry. To her Elven senses the land felt almost dead. “Maybe the river didn’t flood?”
Marcus nodded, his expression pensive. “That has happened in the past, but it causes great famines and poverty. We will need to be careful. The Roman Emperor, Titus, taxes these people heavily, taking their crops for Rome. We may be a target for thieves.” He glanced up at their well-packed belongings.
Jade patted her personal backpack. “I keep the Hyllion Bagia in here with me. If we lose the rest it doesn’t really matter that much.”
“Hey,” Phoenix sounded indignant, “I like having food and tents, thanks. You woodsy elf-people might like the great outdoors, but I prefer a roof, a bed and a change of clothes, thanks.”
He plucked at the sweaty, heavy wool shirt and iron-studded leather armour he wore. “Speaking of clothes, have we got anything cooler than this stuff? I’m boiling.”
Jade sighed. “All the clothes we have are more suited to cold weather. We need to get whatever the locals wear so we can blend in. Marcus?”
The Roman nodded. “We do look different and I, certainly, would rather not wear Roman garb outside the capital. We’ll need the white linen tunics worn by the peasants. We may need to darken our skin, too.”
Jade looked across the bleak, listless landscape at the distant village. Laying her staff across her knees, she closed her eyes and drew on something she’d read in her new spellbook but hadn’t yet tried. Softly, she murmured ‘harken’ and concentrated on the houses. A weird, displaced feeling stole over her. The voices nearby became oddly muffled. It felt like her ears were soaring across the grey fields. Suddenly she was “hearing” inside the cluster of mudbrick houses: hearing silence. Not a voice; not even a dogbark or the soft scurry of a rodent. Nothing stirred but a slight breeze.
“Oh!” Opening her eyes, she found the others looking at her with puzzled concern. “The village is empty.”
Phoenix turned down the corners of his mouth. “If the farmers have left, it must be bad. They probably didn’t leave any convenient clothing behind, either. So the question is... which way now?”
“And which direction do we go to find the tekhen where Anuket is imprisoned? We have no idea which city it’s in,” she added.
Marcus held up a hand as though to stop her rising worries. “Most of the tekhen were originally in the ancient capital, Mennufer. The Greeks called it Memphis.”
“Originally?” Brynn prompted.
“First the Greeks and then we Romans kindly moved most of them when we took over.”
“Where to?” Phoenix asked.
Marcus looked down and poked a stick into the loose earth. “Alexandria.”
“So why the long face?”
Jade jumped in to spare Marcus having to explain again. “Marcus says Alexandria’s dangerous at the moment. It’s become very...ummm... multicultural and there are some clashes. The Egyptians don’t like the Romans; the Romans don’t like the Jews or the Greeks... you know.”
“Sounds just like home,” Phoenix muttered, grimacing. “You’d think we’d learn, wouldn’t you? What about the Muslims?”
Marcus looked blankly at him? “Who are they?”
Phoenix cast an inquiring look at Jade.
She shrugged. “I don’t think the Islamic faith comes along until about 600AD. Anyway, we should still check out Memphis, just in case,” she brought the conversation back on track. “Then, if the tekhen is there, we won’t have to go to Alexandria at all.”
With a snort and a fierce grin, Phoenix slapped at the handle of his sword. “Fat chance. You can bet that Anuket’s prison is going to be in the most dangerous place it can be. We should head straight for Alexandria.”
“Probably, but we’d be stupid to bypass Memphis just on a hunch,” Jade argued. “Remember – each decision could be critical.”
“I suppose,” Phoenix’s expression said he disagreed, “but we’re on a time-limit here, remember? The death of the moon and all that?
“I know,” she gnawed on her bottom lip. “I’ve been thinking about that. It has to have something to do with the phases of the moon - waxing and waning.” When the others stared at her with varying degrees of blankness, she continued. “I think it must mean the waning phase - when the moon is getting smaller. I just don’t know if it means at the beginning of the waning or the end.”
Phoenix stared up at the bright sky in thought. “Wasn’t it a full moon just the other night?”
Jade nodded, remembering. “The first night we were in Svealand. So you’re right, it can’t mean the beginning of the waning phase, or we’d have missed the deadline already. It can only mean either the last quarter or the dark-moon.”
“That sounds appropriate,” he grimaced. “So how long do we have?”
“I’ve sort of lost track,” she had to admit, “with all the skipping from country to country, but the first night of the last quarter-moon can only be maybe one or two nights away.”
“Cutting it fine, then - as usual.” He turned to Brynn and swatted the Breton boy on the shoulder, making him choke as he swallowed a mouthful of water. “So, if we come across an inhabited village, are you up for some sneaking and thieving?”
Brynn wiped his mouth and nodded eagerly. “What do we need; just clothes?”
“Phoenix!” Jade was outraged. “We don’t need to steal. We have a bag full of Roman coins, remember?” She shook her backpack.
Marcus laid a soothing hand on hers. “As much as I hate to descend to common theft, Phoenix might be right in this instance. Hatred of the Romans is deep. Trying to buy clothes with denarii might cause more problems than stealing them.”
“Can’t we leave a horse or something in exchange?” Jade begged.
Marcus shook his head. “Peasants don’t own horses – it would cause comment.”
Jade pressed her lips together and turned to repack their gear. It just didn’t feel right to steal from farmers who were already suffering from the drought.
Behind her, Phoenix questioned Marcus about which way to go.
“So where’s Memphis?” He swung himself back into the saddle and patted his horse’s neck as the stallion tossed its head.
Marcus mounted and gathered up the reins. “North,” he nodded downstream. “I believe most of these pyramids and burial sites lie west and south of Memphis, so it ought to be that way.”
CHAPTER FOUR
They followed the road north, keeping the horses to a walk as the afternoon wore on. Only half an hour later, another small village came into view not far from the road. This one had people in it.
Jade used the harken listening spell again and spent several minutes staring into space while the other three waited. At last, she opened her eyes
“Man, that’s a handy spell you’ve picked up,” Phoenix gave her his grudging admiration. He was still irritated at her know-it-all motherly attitude, but there was no doubt she had skills.
Waving a hand as though brushing aside his compliment, she spoke in earnest tones. “We can’t steal from these people, Phoenix”
He sought for patience and leaned to one side, easing his butt in the saddle. It really was too hot to argue, but they did need the clothes. “Why not?”
She pursed her lips at him. “They have nothing. I heard them say that the Roman tax collectors came through this village, Saqqara, yesterday and took even the last of their livestock. They’ve had to sell members of their own families as slaves to the Romans, just to eat!” There was a mulish expression around her mouth.
Phoenix blinked at her, astonished. “They’ve sold their families?”
She nodded. “Or some of them have gone off into other parts of Africa to hunt big game animals for the Roman Games. Some have even volunteered to become gladiators! Others went to try and find work in Memphis and Alexandria. The ones who are left are starving and desperate. I won’t steal their clothes.”
Marcus grimaced. “I was afraid of this. We’ll have to try a bigger town. Memphis should only be an hour or so north.”
“Let’s get going, then,” Phoenix nudged his horse with a heel to get it moving. The others followed suit with an air of resignation. Jade glanced back at the village several times, obviously wishing they could be helped. Phoenix was glad she didn’t suggest it. Last time they’d helped villagers in trouble, she had lost a life and they really had to avoid that sort of thing if they wanted to win this game.
After only a more few minutes of riding, Phoenix cast a shrewd glance at her and another at the sun. Her pale skin was flushed with heat and sunburn. As a half-elf, her close connection with all things growing and living must be tenuous in this parched, lifeless land. Without the cool, green woods of Albion and Svealand, she had to be suffering more than the others. He felt the first twinges of real worry. She might annoy the heck out of him, but he still felt responsible for her. He called out to Marcus, who lead.
“Wait up. We still have several hours until dusk. If Memphis is so close then maybe we should find a shady place and wait until evening to find it and get clothes?”
“Good idea,” Jade’s voice was faint.
At that moment, a breeze sprang up in their faces. Rather than being blessedly cooling, it was a hot, dry wind that snatched at their loosened clothing and tossed gritty dirt into their eyes. Hastily, they wrapped cloth over their noses and mouths again.
“Which way do we go to find shelter?” Jade’s weary question was muffled.
Marcus pointed to the west. Not far away, the fertile ground ended abruptly against the desert. A short distance beyond that were low, rocky valleys and hills.
“There’s nothing there,” Phoenix protested.
“There are more necropoli and tombs. Look,” Marcus pointed at one of the hills. Phoenix squinted then blinked in surprise. What he had taken for a small hill was actually a crumbling pyramid. Instead of being smooth-sided, like Snefru’s, this one looked like a giant staircase – its sides were enormous steps.
“There will be accessible tombs near that mer. We shouldn’t be disturbed.” Marcus added.
“Except by mummies,” Jade’s muttered comment was almost inaudible, so Phoenix ignored it.
They turned the horses west and headed into the desert again. The horses whinnied in protest when their unshod hooves touched the hot sand. Phoenix patted his stallion reassuringly and urged him to go a little faster. All the animals picked up their pace and the dry valleys came closer.
Download this book for your ebook reader.
(Pages 1-30 show above.)