The Cult of Osiris

by Andy McDermott

  So that'll be the stomach. The one opposite'll be a falcon, that's Qebehsenuf. Or is it Qebehsunef? That's what you get for having a language with no vowels, I guess. Anyway, that'll have his intestines inside.'

  Lovely,' said Eddie. Ajar full of guts.

  And the one at the south end, under his feet, that should look like just some guy because Imseti was a human god. That'll be Osiris's liver.

  He smacked his lips. That's more like it. Anyone got any fava beans?

  It's six thousand years old, Eddie,' Nina warned with a grin. And we didn't bring any Pepto-Bismol.'

  I'll give it a miss, then. So if Osir's after these jars, what should we do with them? Smash 'em?'

  I'd really rather you didn't,' said Osir from the entrance.

  Nina jumped in shock, and Macy yelped as they spun to see him leaning almost casually against one of the Osiris figures. Beside him, Shaban's stance was anything but casual as he covered them with a gun.

  Osir stepped forward, revealing that more people, Diamondback and Hamdi among them, had crept down the steps. 'It's more incredible than I imagined,' he said, taking in the chamber's contents. And now, it all belongs to me.'

  No, it absolutely does not,' snapped Nina.

  We were here first,' said Eddie. 'Finders keepers.'

  Shaban gestured for them to move away from the sarcophagus. 'I have something else you can keep. A bullet.'

  Osir went to the silver coffin, picking up the canopic jar from its foot. And the organs of Osiris himself are here. Just as I said, Dr Wilde.

  Nina was about to reply when someone else entered. ' Logan? she gasped. 'Oh, you son of a bitch. You're working for these clowns now?

  Berkeley regarded her coldly. 'This is a habit of yours that's starting to piss me off, Nina. I make a big find, but you've beaten me to it. At least this time you're not making me look like a complete jackass on live TV.

  Oh, boo hoo,' Nina sneered, pretending to wipe away a tear. 'Poor little Logan, someone stole his thunder - so he's going to go against everything I thought he believed in and sell out to a bunch of wack-jobs from some stupid bogus religion.

  Shaban's scarred face twisted angrily and he aimed the gun at Nina, but Osir shook his head. Not in here. I don't want the tomb despoiled.' He put down the jar and slowly circled the sarcophagus. 'Four jars - the liver, intestines, lungs . . . and stomach.' Almost

  reverentially, he raised the jackal-headed jar This holds the key to eternal life, Dr Wilde. In this jar are spores of the yeast used to make the bread of Osiris. All I need is one sample, and the secret will be mine. I will cultivate it, I will own it, and I will control it.'

  That's assuming there are actually any spores in there,' said Nina. 'Maybe Osiris hadn't eaten any bread before he died. Maybe it was overcooked and the yeast cells were killed. You might have gone through all this for nothing/

  Not nothing,' said Osir, shrugging. Til still have the tomb, no matter what. But that's why I brought Dr Kralj.' He waved for a bearded man to join him. It took Nina a moment to identify him: one of the scientists working with the yeast cultures in the Swiss laboratory. There are two canopic jars that can say which of us is right, Dr Wilde - the jar of Duamutef,' he held up the jackal-headed container, and the jar of Qebehsenuf. I'm willing to sacrifice one to learn what is in the other. Dr Kralj, which would be better for your test? The intestines, or the stomach?'

  Anything in the intestines would have been through the digestive process,' said the Serbian scientist. If there are spores present which survived that, there are likely to be more in the stomach. So the intestines, yes.'

  Then do it.'

  Kralj collected the falcon-headed jar. No, wait,' pleaded Nina. 'That jar's an incredibly valuable artefact. If you open it, you might as well be destroying it.' She looked at Berkeley. Logan, you've got to have some feelings about this.' She knew she had struck a nerve - he couldn't keep a conflicted expression off his face - but he said nothing. 'Is however much he's paying you worth this?'

  Dr Berkeley knows a good deal when he is offered one,' said Osir, as Kralj set up a small folding table and placed the jar on it, taking more equipment from a case. 'It's a shame you didn't. If you hadn't betrayed me, we would still have been in this room together - only you would be in charge, not a prisoner/

  Shaban kept Nina, Eddie and Macy at gunpoint, two of his troopers joining him with their MP7s raised. Everyone else watched as Kralj worked on the jar. After laying out a line of small bottles containing colourless liquids, some test tubes and a portable microscope, he examined the carved lid, then used a metal pick to peel away the black resin sealing it. Once it was clear, he looked up at Osir, who nodded.

  He carefully turned the lid. The two pieces of ancient pottery scraped against each other . . . then, with a faint crackle as the last remnants of the seal broke, they separated.

  Whoa, shit,' said Eddie, as the stench of something awful permeated the chamber. Literally. Smells like his last meal was a kebab!'

  Nina suppressed her revulsion. It means the seal held, though. The contents were preserved for all this time.

  Kralj used a penlight to examine the jar's interior. Something glistened inside. He tipped three of the bottles into it, swilling the mixture round, then used a large pipette to draw out a sample of the resulting dark slurry. He squirted it into a test tube, then added the last bottle's contents.

  This will take several minutes,' he told Osir as he sealed the tube. Tf there are any spores, the test will show them.'

  Then we'll make use of the time,' Osir replied. He signalled to one of the troopers. Open the sarcophagus.

  For God's sake,' said Nina, appalled. 'This just gets worse. What are you going to do, autopsy the mummy?'

  That's what you're most worried about?' Macy said, eyeing the guns.

  Like the canopic jars, the coffin had been sealed with a thick black mixture of resin and bitumen. One of Osir's men carried a small circular saw, which he used to slice into the protective layer as he made his way round the sarcophagus. Another man followed, using a power tool with an abrasive head to grind open the seal along the cut.

  It took them a few minutes to complete their circuit. Open it,' Osir ordered. Another two men came to the sarcophagus, the group assembling jacks on each side and inserting chrome-steel forks into the now exposed gap beneath the lid.

  Ready, sir,' said one man.

  Osir gave Nina a satisfied look, then nodded. 'Do it'

  The four men worked the jacks. Metal creaked, the seal cracking and splintering. One of the forks slipped slightly and gouged the metal, making Nina cringe at the damage.

  Come on!' Shaban barked impatiently. 'Harder!

  The men increased their efforts, straining to lift the heavy lid. A deeper grind came from inside the sarcophagus, then with a jolt it opened. Grunting, they raised the silver figure of Osiris to the full height of the jacks . . . revealing another figure inside.

  But this was not a sculpture. This was Osiris himself.

  Or what was left of him. The body was mummified, tightly wrapped in a discoloured shroud, arms folded over its chest. The head was covered by a death mask, silver and gold shaped to match the face beneath. Unlike the famous burial masks of pharaohs like Tutankhamun and Psusennes, this was surprisingly modest, lacking their elaborate headdresses. If the mask were an accurate representation of the dead ruler, Osiris had possessed a surprisingly youthful appearance for one so powerful and revered.

  Everyone leaned closer to look, even Kralj glancing up from his work. The recess in which the body lay had been matched almost perfectly to its shape, less than a centimetre to spare all round it. The lid had its own precisely shaped indentation set into the solid metal.

  Osir gazed down at the man from whom he had taken his name. 'Osiris,' he whispered. 'The god-king, granter of eternal life . . .'

  You almost sound like you believe it,' Nina scoffed.

  A month ago, would you have believed Osiris was not just a myth?'
he countered. Perhaps there's more truth here than either of us thought.'

  Not your version of the truth. You know, the skip-the-awkward-parts one you push on your followers.'

  Who is to say that my interpretation of the story of Osiris is any less valid than another?' said Osir smugly. In fact, I'd say that this,' he indicated the mummy, makes it more valid. I found the tomb of Osiris because I was destined to find it. It proves I really do possess the spirit of Osiris. Wouldn't you say?

  No, and nor would you if you were actually being honest with the dopes who hand you their money.' Osir merely chuckled, but she noticed Shaban's face tensing once more.

  Before she could remark on it, Kralj looked up from his microscope. 'Mr Osir!'

  Osir went to him. 'What's the result of the test?'

  Kralj carefully removed a slide from the microscope. The test result,' he said excitedly, is . . . positive. There are spores of a yeast strain present.'

  Osir could barely contain his exultation. Oh, yes! Yes!' He clenched his fists in glee. 'I was right! The story of the bread of Osiris was true - and it's going to make me rich, Sebak, rich beyond belief!' He clasped his hands round his brother's shoulders and shook him. 'Rich!'

  Shaban seemed disgusted. 'Money. Is that all that matters to you?

  Of course not.' Osir grinned and lowered his voice to a fake whisper. 'There is the sex, too!' He cackled.

  You are pathetic,' Shaban said coldly. 'A disgrace to our family, and an insult to the gods. And I am no longer going to let that insult stand.' The gun came up . . . and pointed at his brother's chest.

  Osir at first didn't seem to register it, his mind refusing to accept what his eyes were seeing. What are you doing, Sebak?' he finally said with a half-laugh, which faded as he looked into Shaban's face and saw nothing there but anger and hatred. 'Sebak? What is this?'

  This is the end, my brother/ he spat. 'You have had your pleasures, you have had everything that you never worked for and never deserved!' He pushed Osir back against the sarcophagus.

  Fear rose through Osir as he realised his brother was deadly serious. He looked desperately at the troopers. Someone - someone take his gun.' The men stared back, stone-faced. Help me!'

  They are not your followers/ hissed Shaban with a thin, sneering smile. 'They are mine. All your followers will now worship me - or they will die/

  Berkeley backed away nervously. What's - what's going on?'

  What's going on, Dr Berkeley,' said Shaban, is that I am taking my rightful place as the head of the Temple. I am taking my birthright!' He glared at the mummy behind Osir - then spat on it. Osiris - pah! Set was the stronger brother. Set was the greater brother, but he was kept down by Osiris out of fear!' He was shouting now, spittle flying from his mouth. That time is over! My time has come! I am taking what is mine!' His voice rose to a demented scream. ' / am Set! I am reborn.''

  Osir stared at him in horror. What. . . what's wrong with you?' he gasped. 'You're not Set - I'm not Osiris! We - we are the sons of a baker, Sebak! Nobody has been reborn - it's not real! I made it all up! You know that, you were there when I did it!'

  When you invoke a god, you make that god real,' said Shaban, suddenly chillingly calm. You make them all real. Your followers worship you as Osiris, so you are Osiris. I am the brother of Osiris - so I am Set. I am the god of darkness, of chaos, of death - and it is my time to rule!' 'You've - you've gone mad!' Osir spluttered. 'What's happened to you?'

  The rage returned. 'What's happened to me? Only you could not know, Khalid! All our lives, you have been given everything, and I got nothing. You were the favourite son, I was the inferior. You tricked your way to fame and fortune, and I was forced into the army. You had money and women, and I was burned alivel' He ripped at his shirt, exposing his chest. It

  was as hideously scarred as his face, the injuries extending down his body. If Khaleel hadn't pulled me out, I would have died. And did you even come to see me in hospital? No!'

  Someone's got big brother issues,' Nina whispered to Eddie.

  Someone's got fucking lunatic issues,' he whispered back.

  I was ... I was on location,' Osir said in panicked apology. T couldn't get away.'

  For two months?' Shaban snarled. 'No! I know what you were doing. You were travelling the world, having sex with whores!

  Osir still had some defiance in him. 'Oh, now I see. It's not the money or the fame that made you so jealous. It's that the fire left you less of a man!'

  The rage that flared inside Shaban was so fierce he couldn't even speak. Instead, he smashed his brother's face with his gun, sending a spurt of blood across the coffin lid. Macy gasped, and even Eddie flinched.

  Osir slumped, clutching his head. Shaban forced his emotions back under control. Get that out of there,' he said to Diamondback, jabbing a finger at the mummy.

  Diamondback and one of the troopers reached into the sarcophagus. Before Nina even had a chance to protest at the desecration, they hauled the body out of its recess and dumped it unceremoniously on the floor. The burial mask wasjarred loose, the corpse's wizened, eyeless face exposed.

  Shaban aimed the gun at his brother. 'Get in,' he ordered. Osir stared at him in pained bewilderment. 'What?' Into the sarcophagus! Now!'

  Oh, my God,' said Nina, as realisation struck her. 'Khalid, he's playing out the real story of Osiris and Set - how Set tricked Osiris into climbing into a coffin and sealed him in!

  Shaban smiled malevolently at her. 'I'm glad someone knows the true story.'

  You going to chop off his knob and feed it to a fish, too?' Eddie asked.

  I won't need to cut him into fourteen pieces this time. My brother has no Isis to resurrect him.' He looked back at Osir. 'Get in.'

  Osir stood firm. The Osirian Temple won't follow you, Sebak - they worship Osiris, not Set!'

  You're wrong, brother.' Shaban proudly indicated the troopers. While you were drinking and gambling and whoring, I was finding the true believers in the Temple, and you never even noticed. I did not need to be a movie star - strength and power brought them to my side. They have pledged themselves to me, and the rest will do the same ... or pay the price.'

  What price?' Osir demanded.

  Kralj and the other scientists have been working for me, not you. The yeast used to make the bread of Osiris can do more than give eternal life to those I decide are worthy. It can bring death to those who oppose me!'

  Nina gave Eddie a worried look. The lab, in Switzerland - they were talking about genetically modifying the yeast.

  That's right, Dr Wilde,' said Shaban. 'The spores will be spread across the world by my followers. They will put them in crops, animal feed, even the water. Anyone who does not eat the bread of Set,' a momentary smile of triumph at the new name, 'anyone who will not worship their new god, will die as their own cells poison them.'

  You're insane,' said Osir quietly. And you wonder why Father preferred me?'

  The mention of their father spurred Shaban back to anger. Get in the coffin! Get in! Get in!' He struck Osir again and again with the gun, then screamed an order. Put him in there! Now/'

  Four men grabbed the struggling Osir, forcing him into the recess. It was a good six inches too short to fit him, and narrower. He tried to pull free, but Shaban hammered the gun brutally down on to his chest. Osir writhed in pain, winded.

  I am Set!' Shaban shrieked. 'And I am taking what is mine! He released the jacks.

  Osir only managed a gasp of terror before the heavy metal lid fell with a thunderous whump . . . and a horrible crack of bones from his protruding feet and arms. Macy screamed and looked away. Blood gushed from the silver coffin.

  Shaban continued to beat at the lid, denting the precious metal with his gun. T am Set!' he roared. 'I am the god!'

  No,' said Nina, shocked and disgusted. He was right. You are insane.

  He whipped round, finger quivering on the trigger as every tendon in his body tensed with fury—

  But he didn't fire.


  Nina,' Eddie said urgently, 'if a guy with a gun says he's a god . . . humour him!'

  Shaban drew in a shuddering breath, then backed away. 'No,' he said, forcing himself to calm down. 'No, my brother was right. This tomb should not be despoiled. Osiris is back in his coffin where he belongs. But you?' He regarded Nina, Chase and Macy with contempt. You don't deserve to die in the tomb of a god.' He moved round the sarcophagus. 'Take them to the surface and shoot them,' he told his men as he picked up the jackal-headed jar. Where is the case?'

  As Diamondback and the other troopers hustled Macy, Nina and Eddie to the entrance, one man turned to reveal that he was carrying a sturdy case made of impact-resistant composites on his back. He unfastened the harness clip on his chest and shrugged it off, then opened it to reveal a lining of thick yellow polyurethane memory foam'. Shaban carefully pressed the jar into the bottom protective layer, then slowly lowered the lid until the catches clicked shut. Guard it with your life, Hashem,' he told the trooper. 'Kralj, stay with him. Don't let it out of your sight.' The scientist nodded, waiting as Hashem donned the case and harness like a backpack.

  Shaban turned to see Berkeley and Hamdi both still staring at the bloodied sarcophagus. Gentlemen,' he said. I hope there is nothing wrong.'

  Not at all,' Hamdi bleated. 'You have my full support, as always. I'll make sure the SCA never learns about this place - it will be our secret. Your secret,' he hurriedly corrected himself.

  Good. And you, Dr Berkeley?

  Ah, I, er,' Berkeley mumbled. I'm . . . yeah. I'm on board.'

  I'm glad to hear it.' Shaban gave him a menacing smile. 'Now, go back to the hovercraft. Leave this place for the dead.' As Berkeley and Hamdi quickly made their exit, he stood before the sarcophagus. Goodbye, my brother,' he whispered, before turning to leave, returning the tomb to its state of eternal silence.

  26

  272

  'He's completely insane,' said Nina to Khaleel as the Egyptian officer strode up the passage ahead of her. 'You can't seriously believe he's the reincarnation of Set.'

  'It doesn't matter what J believe,' Khaleel replied. 'It matters what he believes - and he believes a great deal of money will repay the debt he owes me for saving his life. He's also promised me a position of power if his plan succeeds - and if it doesn't, then I am still rich. So I thought: why not?'