by Dan Hunter
Akori wished he could reach through the water and tear those bonds away, but he knew it wasn’t that easy. The day might come when he would have the chance to free Horus, and on that day he would fight like never before. But that time was not now. It was his destiny to release the other two imprisoned Gods, Isis and Sekhmet, first.
“My Lord,” he said respectfully. “I am here.”
“I am glad to see you, Akori,” sighed Horus, his voice sounding anything but glad. In fact, it sounded hollow and anxious. It made Akori sit up and pay close attention.
“I have a task for you that is…different from the others,” Horus announced. “There is more at stake here than ever before.”
Akori frowned. “More at stake? How can that be?”
Horus’s noble head dropped. “Your next quest is to find and release the Goddess Isis, my own mother.”
“Your mother?” Now Akori understood why he sounded so forlorn.
Horus nodded. “Today I heard her crying. And I followed the sound in my mind to Nebyt. It is my belief that she is being held there, underwater.”
Akori felt shaken to the bone. Could the woman he heard crying down at the river earlier have been Isis herself? Despite all of Horus’s power and all of his warrior strength, he was still a loving son. How horrible it must be to be unable to help his own mother. The burning feeling in Akori’s arm started to spread throughout his body, filling him with a fiery determination.
“Don’t worry, My Lord Horus, I will save her. What must I do?”
“Seek my mother’s prison in Nebyt, and set her free,” Horus replied. Then his voice became deadly serious. “Akori, you must go carefully. Trust nothing. In a prison of water, things may not be as they seem!”
The image of the God shimmered and began to fade. “I am placing all my hope and trust in you, Akori,” said Horus, his voice becoming fainter. “As always, I wish you…good luck.”
Akori nodded his thanks, but as Horus’s image began to disappear from the water, a terrible thought struck him. If Isis was being held underwater, how was he supposed to reach her to save her?
“Lord Horus!” he cried. “Wait!”
Akori shook the water pot in frustration, as if that would somehow stop Horus from disappearing. But it was already too late. The shining image of the God had gone.
Akori sat staring into the pot, feeling completely bewildered. But then he remembered what the High Priest always said about moments like this: even if he was confused, he wasn’t alone, and there was no shame in asking others for advice. So he turned to Manu.
“What do we do?” he asked. “There’s got to be something in your scrolls about underwater prisons…right?”
Manu just looked back at him, solemn-faced. Then he pulled out a map from his bag of scrolls and unrolled it on the table. “Do you know what this is?” he asked, pointing to a picture of some houses beside a long, snaky black line. A cluster of crocodiles had been drawn nearby. There was writing, too, but Akori wasn’t able to read.
“Your finger,” he joked, to stop himself from feeling stupid.
“It’s the town of Nebyt,” Manu continued, giving Akori a withering look. Ebe grunted as she studied the parchment.
Akori folded his arms and glared back at Manu. “Well done. You can read maps. So that’s where Isis is being held – but does the map tell us how to find her prison?”
Manu’s finger jabbed impatiently at the crocodile drawings on the map. “Nebyt is the single most crocodile-infested part of the Nile! There are so many of them, the Crocodile God Sobek himself rules over the place!”
“Sobek?” Akori frowned, trying to remember if he knew anything about the God.
Ebe stood up and grabbed Akori by the shoulders, pulling him upright. Then she tugged at his arm.
“All right! All right!” Akori protested. “I’m coming!”
Ebe dragged him down a side corridor away from the main hall, to where a single alcove housed a hideous statue. Manu came hurrying after them.
Akori had seen the statues of many Gods in the temple, but never this one before. It was a huge, bare-chested man with the gigantic head of a crocodile.
“This is Sobek, isn’t it?” he asked Ebe. She nodded, and looked from Akori back to the statue. Sobek’s colossal jaws loomed above them, the torchlight flickering across his carved teeth. He was horrific.
And this was just his statue! Akori gulped. What would the real God be like?
“All right,” he said, trying to ignore the way his heart was thumping inside his ribs, “so Sobek rules Nebyt, with all his little crocodile friends. That doesn’t make him our enemy, does it? Just because he looks nasty, it doesn’t mean he’s against us! He might even help us release Isis, if we ask him…”
Akori’s voice trailed off. Manu was shaking his head soberly.
“Let me show you something, Akori,” Manu said. “See this hieroglyph?” He pointed out the symbol of a crocodile among all the other hieroglyphs on the wall. “Do you know what it means?”
Akori glanced quickly at the statue of Sobek. “Of course I do!”
“Well?”
“It means Sobek,” Akori said confidently. What else could it mean? he told himself. It’s a crocodile!
“Akori,” Manu sighed, “it doesn’t just mean Sobek. It can also mean Pharaoh.”
“But that’s stupid,” Akori snapped. “How can it mean Pharaoh when it looks like a crocodile?”
“Just listen!” Manu insisted. “Sobek is one of the Gods who serves the Pharaoh, no matter who that Pharaoh may be! Remember Wadjet?”
Akori nodded, thinking of the fearsome Snake Goddess they had had to defeat in order to release the Sun God Ra.
“Sobek is the God who gives the Pharaoh the strength and fortitude to overcome all obstacles,” Manu went on, his voice unsteady. Akori couldn’t tell if Manu was angry with him, or afraid, or both. “He’s going to be on Oba’s side in this, along with all his crocodile servants. Why else do you think Isis is being held captive in Nebyt? Sobek is probably guarding her himself.”
So, it was worse than he had imagined. Akori felt a little weak at the knees as he gazed up at the fearsome statue of the Crocodile God towering above him.
“Thanks, Manu,” he said eventually, meaning it. “I’m sorry I got cross with you. I just hate feeling stupid.”
Manu smiled thinly. “That’s okay. I don’t mind being the clever one, so long as you’re still the brave one.” He looked down at his feet. “I’m scared, Akori. I’m sorry to say it, but it’s true. I’ve got brains, I suppose, but I…I wish I had some of your bravery sometimes.”
Akori blinked, and tried not to show his surprise. He had been so busy envying Manu for his intelligence that he hadn’t stopped to think that Manu might actually envy him.
Akori smiled at his friend. “You wish you had some of my bravery? Who was it who held Wadjet back when she was going to eat me alive, eh? It was you! Manu the Magnificent!” He turned to Ebe. “And who fought off an army of mummies in the Great Pyramid, with no weapons except her hands and feet? Ebe, the Warrior Queen of the Desert!”
Akori threw his arms around their shoulders. “What are a few crocodiles compared to what we’ve been through together? Nothing!”
Manu and Ebe looked at each other and traded awkward smiles.
“Come on,” said Akori, clapping his hands together. “We have no time to lose. We must save Isis – for Horus and for all of Egypt. I’m sure her crying has something to do with the river rising. Manu, can you go and prepare a boat for our journey, and Ebe, can you fetch us some food?”
After Manu and Ebe had bounded off, Akori took a moment to gather his thoughts. Although he hadn’t admitted it to his friends, he knew that whatever horrors awaited them at Nebyt, they would be challenged like never before.
But he was not going empty-handed. The razor-sharp golden khopesh, the gift from Horus, still hung by his side. And there were the gifts the other Gods had given him too.
Akori’s hand strayed to a hidden pouch that was tied around his waist beneath his tunic. Inside the pouch were the Talisman of Ra and the Scarab of Anubis.
He thought of what Anubis had told him as he had handed him the Scarab: It will grant you the gift of healing.
Healing! Akori looked up at Sobek’s huge jaws again, jaws that could easily bite a tree trunk in half, or crush a granite boulder to dust. It was hard to imagine any healing power in the world being able to undo the damage that those teeth could inflict.
By the time Akori had told the High Priest about their new mission, and Manu and Ebe had returned, night was beginning to fall. They all set off to the riverbank. A small reed boat waited for them in the mud.
Manu noticed Akori staring at it. “I know,” he whispered, glancing at the boat. “It’s not very big.”
“Not very big? Manu, until I saw it had a sail, I thought it was a shoe!”
“Okay, it’s tiny. But that’s the point! If we want to get into Nebyt unseen, we need to be stealthy. Sobek’s army of crocodiles will be everywhere. A small boat will be easier to hide.”
“I suppose you’re right,” Akori said doubtfully. He looked down at the river. It was now so swollen he could barely see across to the other side. The wind was causing the water to froth and bubble like a soup and it was getting rougher by the minute. He prayed the boat would be strong enough for the journey.
The High Priest made a sign of blessing in the air. “May the good Gods watch over you on your quest!” he shouted above the roar of the water. “Be careful, my brave friends. All of Egypt depends upon your safe return!”
As soon as he finished speaking there was a loud crack of thunder and rain started to lash down on them.
Together, Akori, Manu and Ebe pulled the boat into the river, and climbed in. It was cramped, and they clambered over each other, trying to get comfortable.
“It’s like trying to fit three people into a baby’s basket,” Akori muttered.
Eventually Ebe settled for huddling up at the prow, peering out over the waves like a figurehead, while Akori and Manu raised the sail.
Akori pushed them away from the bank. Instantly the boat went coasting off up the river, the strong wind blowing it along like a leaf. It lurched from one side to the other, making Ebe squeal and hold on for dear life.
“Nebyt’s on the east bank, on the other side of the Nile,” Manu explained. “So we’ll head upstream, then cross the river to reach it. So long as we stay close to the shore, we should be fine.”
Akori wasn’t convinced, and Ebe didn’t look very happy either. But they both nodded silently.
They passed villages that were almost invisible behind curtains of rain, and farmed fields where the rising waves threatened to wash everything away. There was another crash of thunder and the sky was split open by a bolt of lightning. Then a thought dawned upon Akori. If the evil god Set, Lord of Storms, was responsible for the terrible weather, then what were they doing sailing right out into it? Surely they were heading straight into a trap?
As if in answer, more thunder erupted in the sky. It sounded like one of the gods striking an anvil with a hammer. When the lightning came again it seemed to set the clouds on fire. The rain was coming down in spears now, and a puddle was steadily growing in the bottom of the boat.
“How much further to Nebyt?” Akori shouted to Manu, as they fought yet again to steady the boat.
“I’m not sure!” Manu yelled back.
“Check your scrolls!”
Manu shook his head. “I’m not getting them out in this weather! They’d be ruined!”
Akori gritted his teeth and hauled on the sail. The next second, a huge swell of water almost sent the boat tipping over.
Akori heard Ebe scream and Manu gasp. Water sloshed over his legs and into the boat. He fought desperately to steady the boat again, and managed it – but only just. There was a huge pool of water in the base of the boat now, coming up to his ankles. And then he saw something move. In the water, between his feet. At first Akori thought it was just a shadow. But then a bolt of lightning lit up the sky and he realized the terrible truth. The water in the bottom of the boat was alive with a glowing, slithering shape – and it was growing in size.
“Wh-what is it?” asked Manu, staring, horrified, at the bottom of the boat.
“Some kind of magical snake!” Akori cried, grabbing his khopesh. “Set must have sent it. Keep your legs moving. If it wraps itself around you it might crush you to death.”
Manu and Ebe started kicking their legs, causing the boat to rock even more wildly.
Akori stood up and began slicing at the snake with his sword. But the snake was too quick and began slithering up Manu’s legs.
“Help!” Manu cried.
There was no time to lose. Akori had to get the snake off Manu, but if he used his sword he also risked hurting his friend.
Akori dropped his khopesh and grabbed at the snake. Its skin was cold and slimy to the touch. Somehow Akori managed to slip his arm in between the snake and Manu’s legs. Then he started to pull. The boat rocked dangerously. More water sloshed in. Ebe started throwing it back out with her cupped hands.
Another crack of thunder rumbled across the sky. To Akori, it sounded like mocking laughter. Anger coursed through his body. He would not be beaten. He had to make it to Nebyt to rescue Isis and save Egypt. He would not be defeated by a wretched water snake. With a loud roar, Akori tugged at the snake. The wriggling creature loosened its grip on Manu and sent Akori toppling backwards into the boat. Quick as a flash, the snake slithered around him like a thick, slimy rope. Akori felt it start to tighten its grip.
“No!” he yelled and wrestled the snake onto the floor. The snake tried to wriggle out of his grasp, thrashing about in the cold water at the bottom of the boat.
“Manu, pass me my khopesh,” Akori shouted, pinning the snake down beneath his knees.
Manu quickly passed him the sword.
Akori raised it high over his head. And then, as lightning ignited the sky an eerie shade of yellow, Akori plunged the khopesh down and into the snake.
There was a terrible hissing sound. Akori felt the snake give a final tremor beneath his legs. Then it fell still. Akori heaved its body over the side of the boat and it dropped into the river like a heavy stone. He sat back on his heels and wiped the rainwater from his face.
“That was close,” Manu said with a sigh.
Akori nodded. “We need to get off the river as soon as possible. Let’s make the crossing to the other side now, before the storm gets any worse.”
All three of them looked out across the churning water. It was impossible to see the other side of the Nile now. Everything was steeped in grey.
Akori glanced at Manu and Ebe. From the grave looks on their faces he could tell they felt exactly the same as him – a deep, lingering sense that something sinister was lying in wait for them. The water snake was nothing compared to what the fearsome Crocodile God Sobek might have planned.
“Let’s do it,” Akori said quickly, before fear and doubt had a chance to take hold.
The wind was so blustery now that it would make sailing across the river impossible, so Akori dropped the sail. Ebe settled herself back at the prow and Akori and Manu took their places at the oars, pulling hard to draw the little boat away from the shore and out over the stormy grey waters. The further they went, the rougher the water got, and the boat nearly capsized again.
Akori wiped the water out of his eyes with the back of his hand. “Manu, learn to row, can’t you?”
“YOU learn to row!” Manu shouted. “You’re supposed to dip your oar when I do!”
“When you do? You’re supposed to be following me!”
The sound of clapping interrupted them.
Ebe was glaring at them both from the prow of the boat and clapping her hands in a steady beat.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
Akori and Manu looked at one another blankly before realizing what
she meant. She wanted them to row in time. Every time Ebe clapped, they both pulled on the oars. Their strokes became firm and steady, and soon the boat was sculling rapidly across the middle of the river. The storm raged on around them, but Akori shut out everything else apart from the rhythm of Ebe’s hands.
Clap. Clap. Clap…
Then Manu’s voice was saying something.
“What?” Akori said, looking up at his friend.
“Land!” Manu repeated, smiling broadly. “We’ve made it!”
The east bank of the Nile stretched out in a brown bar ahead of them. The rain still pounded down, but Akori felt warm inside. They had done it! Akori wanted to leap up and shout to the stormy skies, “You can’t stop us, Set! We will not be beaten!” But then he thought better of it, not wanting to capsize the boat in his excitement.
They pulled the boat ashore and hid it among some rushes. Manu quickly consulted his scrolls. “Nebyt is in this direction,” he said, pointing up the bank.
Akori looked back down at the river. He wondered where Sobek’s lair was. Would it even be visible above the water? Or would they have to get back into the boat once the storm had passed to find it? Maybe if they ventured into Nebyt they could ask someone where it was. But before he could decide what to do, a terrible wail from the river made him jump. It was the crying woman again. This time her crying was so loud it seemed as if she was walking alongside them.
“It’s Isis, weeping in her prison,” Manu whispered solemnly. “We must be really close to her now.”
Thunder rumbled again. Akori glanced out across the river. Something was gliding along beside them, a dark mass in the water. Was it a floating log? Another water snake? In the stormy half-light, he couldn’t tell.
“Come on!” he urged. “We have to find her. Let’s go to the top of the riverbank – we’ll be able to see more of the river from there and we can look for any signs of Sobek’s lair. When we’ve spotted it, we can come back for the boat.”
Akori started scrambling up the bank ahead of the others. But the rain had made the ground as slippery as a greased piglet. Even Ebe struggled, floundering in the mud and holding out her arm for Akori to grab.
