CITY OF THE GODS: FORGOTTEN

by Verne, M. Scott

  D’Molay knew that the phantom note had to have been very recent, because Kafele had only just finished setting up his shop. Fortunately, the note was written in Panthos, which he could read. Curious, he gathered a quill and another piece of paper. Looking closely at the blank paper he started to count the letters and write down the ones he could clearly see. They appeared to form a list on three lines. By writing down what he could see and taking a guess at how many spaces the unreadable letters took, D’Molay created a transcription.

  He stared at the letters for a few more minutes. Even taking into account that some letters were missing, parts of his copy still seemed wrong. He peered at the impressed blank sheet again seeking even fainter clues. Adding those changes, he puzzled over it again.

  Finally he was able to fill in the gaps and get the message: Get gold from Priest. Bring her home. Bring to Set.

  His speculations now fell into place. Kafele must have received the golden fortune to buy Aavi from a priest of Set. But what did the Egyptian god want with Aavi? From what little he knew about Set, D’Molay was immediately uneasy about his motives. Hoping it wasn’t too late to intercept Kafele before he completed his delivery, he resolved to rush to the destination alluded to in the note - Set’s temple in the Egyptos district.

  D’Molay stood up and pushed the chair in, putting everything on the desk back the way he had found it. He left through the back door, shoving it closed but taking no time to replace the hinge pins. Walking briskly away, he emerged from the alley and headed for the majestic Egyptian temple complex where he knew Kafele kept apartments. It was also the same place he had been only a short time ago, delivering the gem to Sekhmet. He had to get back in somehow. A possibility came to him.

  He paused and started looking through his travel bag. So much had happened in the last few days he wasn’t sure what he had done with the small bag Sekhmet had given him. After a bit of rummaging, he found it, and inside was the parchment entry pass with Sekhmet’s gold seal magically embossed on it. D’Molay almost kissed the paper in relief. Sekhmet and her impish friend had invited him to visit any time.

  His frantic pace had stolen much of his breath by the time he neared the complex, but he forced himself to appear calm as he walked casually up to the main entrance. Despite his overwhelming desire to run into the place at breakneck speed and immediately start looking for Aavi, he took care to give the impression that this was a routine visit. It was a much harder thing to do than to plan, and he had to moderate his pace several times as he approached the first guard at the outer wall.

  D’Molay put what he hoped was a bored look on his face.

  “Just another delivery for Sekhmet. Do you need to see it?” He held his travel bag part way up as he handed the pass to the Egyptian guard.

  The guard ignored the bag, but looked at the pass. “Ok, go on in. You can show that to the inner guard,” the man said to D’Molay as he handed the pass back.

  “Thanks,” D’Molay said as flatly as possible, even though he wanted to cheer at getting past the obstacle. But it was only the first challenge. He had no idea how far Sekhmet’s pass and his craftiness would carry him.

  Chapter 22 - Inquisition

  Aavi awoke instantly as someone grabbed her and pulled her arms behind her back. Kafele’s golden knife appeared right in front of her face as she struggled.

  “Don’t resist, or I’ll be forced to use this. And I know exactly how to extract the most pain with the least damage.” She stilled herself as he wrapped and tied something around her hands and arms.

  “What are you doing?” Aavi cried out. She felt the leather thong tighten around her arms as he finished tying them behind her back. She grimaced with pain as Kafele pulled her arms and stood her upright.

  “I’m taking you to my god, Set. It was he who foresaw that you would be at the slavers, and it was he who paid for you. You are his property, Aavi. Set is the greatest, most powerful of the gods and he’s about to remind the realms of that fact. You will be aiding him in that effort. It is a great honor. When this is over, he shall rule over them all.”

  Almost none of this made any sense to Aavi, although her heart sank at the news that some god had bought her, and like her friend Es-huh, she was now just someone’s property. How could she aid a god to rule over the other gods? “How can I do that, Kafele, I’m just a - a slave girl!” she pleaded.

  “You are part of his plan. That’s all you need to know.” Now that she was facing him, she could see that he was very upset, though she wasn’t sure why. His glow seemed confused, a swirl of competing colors. Then he turned her around and forced her to march out of the room and through a series of stairs and hallways. The sound of their breathing and footsteps on the polished stone floors broke the ominous silence. As they stopped at the top of a flight of stairs, Kafele gave her a final warning.

  “Say nothing unless Set asks you a direct question. He will punish you for speaking without his permission. Go to the left. We are going through that archway ahead.” Kafele gave her a nudge with the hilt of his knife to get her to move. “Remember I will use this if necessary.”

  They passed two guards who stood on either side of the archway and entered an ornate and finely furnished chamber that lit by the glow of flaming braziers. At the far end of the chamber Aavi could see a large balcony that overlooked the city. The setting of the sun colored the sky a brilliant orange, tinged with purple clouds. For just a moment she felt like she was not looking at the sky, but the glowing soul of the entire realm of the gods. Then a regal and sardonic voice echoed through the chamber, breaking Aavi’s train of thought.

  “Kafele, bring her in. Set slowly rose from a smooth stone throne that was set on the center of a round dais against one of the walls of the great chamber. “So this is the girl I paid so much for? I hope she’s worth the price.” Kafele brought her closer to Set as he approached them. “She is quite attractive. Such unblemished skin and smooth lines. Like a gazelle or a swan is she not?”

  “Yes, Lord Set. A very apt analogy.” Kafele bowed slightly as Set came within arm’s reach of them.

  Set got very close to Aavi and began to examine her. He put his hands on her hips and ran them up her torso. “Exquisite, and yet so oblivious to her own charms. I see why so many bid on her, Kafele. There’s an innocence here that just begs to be taught the subtleties of pain and pleasure.”

  Aavi made a gasping sound and squirmed at his touch. Set’s hands were cold and as dark as the night sky. She found his long dog-like snout, ears and red glowing eyes terrifying. Her weight shifted from one bare foot to the other as she stood there with her arms tied behind her back. Set ignored her movements and then looked at her face very closely.

  “And those eyes... Most unusual indeed. I sense some faint energy within her, but I suppose that’s to be expected.”

  “Lord Set, see that she has no navel. It was what caught my eye when I first examined her.” Kafele pointed towards Aavi’s midsection then pulled away the gem that had been glued there.

  “Ah, yes. Someone tried to disguise that fact. Very interesting. I wonder if they had any idea why she is missing that particular feature.” Set poked his fingers around her lower torso as if he might find her navel hiding somewhere under the skin.

  “I do not think the slave master knew anything. I believe it was covered to avoid any questions or complaints about a possible imperfection, Lord Set,” Kafele added.

  Set had a strange menacing grin on his snout as he laughed a bit like a hyena. “Ha, yes . . . Lamasthu had this pretty creature right in the palm of her tentacled hand, and yet Aavi slipped right through her grasp. Now she is mine! Oh, to see the look on her slimy face when she finds out. That alone will be worth the price!”

  Aavi bent and squirmed as Set continued to feel and grope her, but there was nothing she could do but endure it. Once again she had become a captive of some god of evil intent. As she looked at Set, she started to be able to see his inner glow and it was very d
ark indeed. An almost black aura formed around him, though it was flecked with small flashes of deep red. It was the darkest glow she had ever seen. She realized he must be the most potentially dangerous being she had met in the City of the Gods.

  Aavi looked pleadingly at Kafele, wondering how he could have betrayed her. What had she missed about his glow that hid his true intent? She had been so excited to be saved that she had been tricked. Aavi felt a lump in her throat and her eyes stung a little, though she managed not to shed any tears. Kafele noticed her look and gave her an apologetic smile and a slight shrug of his shoulders when Set wasn’t looking. However, it was obvious to even Aavi that she would get no help from him. Bringing her to Set must have been part of his plan from the moment he saw her at the auction.

  Set took a step back as if to take her all in once again. He crossed his arms and then stroked his long snout as he decided what to do next. “Bring her to a holding cell in the prison and I’ll start the questioning. They just cleaned in here and I don’t want to get blood on the floor.” Set started to walk ahead as the horrible remark rang in Aavi’s ears.

  “Of course, Lord Set.” Kafele bowed, undisturbed by the threat. “Turn around and start walking, Aavi. Our god has given us an order.” He took hold of her collar chain, then grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her towards the exit. She stumbled forward.

  They walked down a dark hallway toward a heavy wooden door reinforced with vertical and horizontal iron slats. As Aavi and Kafele caught up, Set took his large fist and pounded on the door three times. A small portal about eye level opened and a guard’s face appeared.

  “Who - Lord Set,” the guard acknowledged, immediately recognizing his deity.

  “Open the door, fool. I have a prisoner,” Set ordered. Within seconds they heard the sound of locks and latches being undone, and the large door creaked on its massive hinges as two guards pulled it open.

  “I need a room with an interrogation slab in it. Take us there now,” Set ordered the guards. “Bring her Kafele. It’s time to find out what she really knows.”

  The guards led them to a cell in the middle of a long hallway. They unlocked the wooden door and pulled the latch open. Entering first, the guards lit two torches in the cell. They were dismissed as Set moved inside. “Bring her in. You may put the chains on her, if you’re still afraid,” Set scoffed, a wicked grin running across his snout. Kafele nudged Aavi into the cell, his knife prodding the small of her back, a reminder to remain obedient.

  Aavi looked around the cell as she stepped in. It was small compared to most of the rooms she’d seen, perhaps ten by ten feet. It was bare red-brown sandstone although the walls were stained in many places with darker dried splatters. There were two burning torches about seven feet high on opposite walls. In the center of the room was a dark, smooth stone slab. Hanging from each corner was an iron chain with a metal clasp. She could see that like the walls, the slab had dark stains on it. Some of the dark liquid had run down the sides and dried. The torch light danced against the walls and caused Set’s shadow to waver and move menacingly. There was a dank, rotting smell that Aavi didn’t like. It reminded her of the slave stalls where she had seen the other girl whipped.

  “Get up there.” Kafele pointed to the dark slab. Saying nothing, Aavi climbed up and sat on the edge, her legs dangling. The slab was cold and a shiver ran up her spine. She looked at Set and Kafele, unsure what was to happen next.

  Kafele was still surprised by Aavi’s complete lack of common knowledge. She sat like a patient ready for a check-up at his apothecary. She clearly had no idea of the danger she was facing - unless such peril truly did not concern her. Kafele shot Set a worried look. The question of her power might be settled soon.

  “Get her on her back,” Set commanded. Kafele reached to guide Aavi’s limbs, but she shied away from him, lying down on her own. Kafele took her dainty foot in his hand and pulled her leg to the side to attach the chain clamp to her ankle. Then he took her hand in his and bent her arm so that it was lying even with her head on the slab. He took another chain and cuffed her wrist. He was almost gentle with her now, for he took no pleasure in this. He convinced himself this was much like getting a patient ready for surgery. There would be pain, but it would serve a greater purpose.

  “She is ready.” Kafele turned to Set and bowed.

  “Excellent. Get your healing tools then return here in case I have need of you.” Set’s face took on a smug, wicked expression as he stepped to the right of the doorway in order to get a better view of Aavi’s face. “Before you leave though, tell Aavi why you of all others recognized what she is.”

  Kafele turned back to Aavi and gazed down at her. “I knew what you were almost as soon I met you. I encountered your kindred once, long ago. I was a witness to the destruction of the town I grew up in. At the last second, I was spared and I ended up here, in the City of the Gods. I always keep an eye out for anything that might serve my Lord Set, and when D’Molay brought you to me, I knew I had to tell Set about you.”

  Aavi pulled on the chains that held her to the slab. She no longer cared that she was chained and trapped in a cell. All she wanted was to know who and what she was. “What am I, Kafele? Please tell me, Please!”

  Kafele slowly shook his head. “No. I dare not. I don’t know what might happen if you knew. When Set is ready he will tell you the truth. Obey him. He is your master now.” Kafele backed out of the cell and pulled the door shut behind him.

  “No! NO! Kafele, come back, please!” Aavi screamed as his footsteps faded away.

  Her words were silenced as Set slapped her across the face.

  “That could have been much more painful, but I just wanted your attention. I’ll save the real pain for later, if you fail to answer my questions or if I think you are holding anything back,” Set said matter-of-factly. He removed the collar from her neck, “I don’t want this to cut your throat while you might be telling me anything important.”

  Aavi looked up at him, helplessly, the sting on her face still lingering. “I - I’ll tell you anything I know, I have no secrets to keep,” she answered truthfully.

  “Well then, this should take no time at all, should it? Let’s start with an easy one. How did you get into the City?”

  “I - I don’t know. I just woke up on the street one morning and D’Molay took me to Kafele.”

  Looking down, Set slowly shook his head from side to side. “I expect better answers than that.” He held out his large hand and placed the palm of it on her torso. Red lightning erupted from his hand and coursed through Aavi’s mid-section. She contracted with pain like she had never felt before. Fire ran through her entire being, burning her from the inside out. When it stopped, she lay panting as the burning feeling faded away.

  Set stroked her pained face gently. “Now, let’s try again. Surely you must remember something of how you got here. Just tell me, and I won’t have to hurt you.”

  “Please, no! I think I remember falling, maybe,” She wasn’t sure if she actually remembered falling or if that was something that D’Molay had suggested.

  Set held his open hand out over Aavi’s belly. He could see her stomach muscles tighten up and her hips try to turn away as she looked up at him with horror and fear on her face. Then he smiled. “I’ll accept that for now. But you had better start searching the corners of your mind for better answers.” He put his fingers on her stomach and stroked the spot where everyone else had a navel, but she had none.

  Aavi closed her eyes and tensed for the worst, but Set did not shock her this time. “No navel. Isn’t that interesting? Do you know what that means, Aavi?”

  She opened her eyes and looked up at him. He was still gently running his smooth, cold fingers against her belly. “It - it means I’m different from everyone else.”

  He smiled menacingly at her this time. “Do you think so? Yet you seem to suffer pain just like everyone else. I’ll tell you what I think. It means you were never born, Aavi. Never.” S
et looked at her again, knowingly.

  She looked at Set with complete confusion. “H-How could I never be born?”

  Set backhanded Aavi across the face, causing her head to swing wildly on the stone slab. “Did I give you permission to ask questions? I did not.” Set put his large hands on either side of her face and then turned her head, so she was facing him directly. “I know what you are, and I think deep down you know as well. But before we get to that, I want you to tell me what you think you know. Then we’ll move on to what you don’t think you know. One way or another, I’m going to find out everything there is to learn about you. Then you will serve me. I already own your body, but I need to control all of you. Then, who knows.”

  She was shocked by the speed at which his anger rose. The slap had hurt, but Aavi knew Set could do far worse. Her fear was strangely mixed with intense curiosity. Set and Kafele knew what she was. If only they would just tell her! Then she felt his hand on her torso again.

  “Let’s try a question I know you can answer. Who has been helping you since you got here?” She felt him press his palm just a little bit firmer against her stomach as he waited for an answer.

  “I-I don’t think I should tell you. You might -” Her statement ended in an agonized scream as Set sent the red lightning through her again. She cried and writhed trying to get away from the pain, but chained to the slab she had nowhere to go. Then he stopped and her stiffened body went limp. She moaned in pain as tears began to fall from her eyes.

  “Wrong answer. Don’t make the easy ones more difficult my dear. We have much more complicated questions yet to come.” Set wiped a tear from Aavi’s eye as she looked up at him, trying to recover from the burning pain that wracked her body. She was still shaking.

  He placed his cool hand on her belly again and she felt the wetness of her single teardrop on his finger. She had to give Set some kind of an answer or he would hurt her again. “K-Kafele helped m-me at first. And D’Molay.”