Darkest Sin

by Ashton Blackthorne

  His ominous words hung above us like a dark cloud. Blood moon.

  “Where’s Ava?” I demanded as we raced down the stairs with him.

  “Already in the van. We have the shovels. Everything’s ready to go.”

  As we climbed into the van, Ava threw black scarves at us to camouflage our faces. “I explained this earlier. This excavation is fraught with danger. You all knew this coming here.”

  I noticed Reese biting her lip. I squeezed her hand.

  “We know. We all agreed we were aware of the dangers,” Ash spoke for the rest of us.

  “Good. I’ve been waiting for this for this night. I don’t have time for bullshit. This is your last chance if any of you want out.” Ava took a long drag of her cigarette.

  “Miss, please no smoking,” the driver pleaded with her.

  She leaned up and exhaled the smoke in his face. “How about I put this out in your face, hmmm?”

  He turned back to driving. He refused to utter another word the rest of the trip.

  Ava sat back smugly as the rest of us quietly wrapped the scarves around our heads and necks. “The night is clear, thank God.” She peered out the window. The moon was already becoming fuller by the hour. A deep red color was overtaking it little by little.

  The van jerked to a stop throwing us forward. I crashed into the passenger seat banging my knee on the floorboard.

  “What the fuck?” Ava demanded smacking the driver’s seat.

  “Miss, I’m sorry, but look!” He pointed at gang of four guards all equipped with machine guns surrounding the perimeter. The pyramid we were trying to get to was much smaller than the pyramids at Giza.

  “Oh, for God’s sake, I’ll handle this.” Ava threw open the back door of the van. She climbed out adjusting her boots. She pulled the black cloak from her head and shook out her long hair.

  “Those are elite guards,” the driver murmured shrinking down behind the steering wheel.

  The rest of us sat on the edge of our seats waiting to see what Ava was going to do.

  She walked up to the guards who immediately cocked their weapons as she approached. She murmured words to them we couldn’t hear. They were obviously having an extensive verbal exchange as we could tell by their hand gestures. Finally, Ava smiled broadly at them as she pulled something from her boot.

  A thick wad of bills.

  Moments later, they put their guns aside as they motioned for Ava to get back in the van.

  “The welcome wagon has been brought out for us.” She winked laughing.

  The guards motioned for us to pass.

  “That’s it? All it took was a bit of money?” I’d expected a small fight at the least.

  “What were you expecting? Some sort of Indiana Jones shit? Those were government paid guards. They don’t make anything. I gave them what they wanted. They could give a shit less where we dig.”

  One Hundred Three

  Ash

  We looked up to see the sky turning reddish as the blood moon came full into view.

  Ava gasped as she peered up. “Time is running out! Dig faster!”

  Ayden and I continued shoveling sand until we hit something hard. The jolt shook my whole body as I realized we’d finally reached the bottom.

  “Quick! Brush the sand off! Amber, Reese, help us!” Ava commanded.

  The winds picked up and began swirling the sand around us. The night had cooled off significantly, as we shivered in our jackets. The ladies jumped down in the newly excavated hole next to us. We all began to frantically brush the sand from the metal until a door was revealed.

  “My God, it’s real,” Ayden whispered.

  Standing back, I felt my head spinning with the implications of what we had just uncovered. Everything Ava had told us was true. There was no doubt in my mind we would find just what Ava promised us.

  Ava gazed heavenward and smiled at us. “Pull it open,” she ordered.

  The winds howled as we blinked continuously to keep the sand from our eyes.

  “Here maybe this will help.” Amber and Reese handed us each crowbars.

  Several agonizing tugs later and the door popped open. All of us struggled to push the heavy door aside.

  Ava snatched a flashlight and shined it down into the cavernous pit.

  “What’s in there?” Reese cried looking down as she held Ava’s arm.

  I looked down into the pit. As the light illuminated the tomb, we could see walls covered in ancient hieroglyphics and several large gold objects covered in thousands of years of dust. “How the hell are we going to get down there?” I asked her. The drop alone was several hundred feet. If we were to jump, we’d likely break our legs or worse.

  Ava stared at me for a moment then shined her flashlight on the stone stairway in the corner.

  “Oh,” I murmured feeling foolish.

  “Let’s go. The moon is almost at its height. For the ritual to work, I have to do it soon!” Ava cried motioning us to follow her.

  Ritual? Who said anything about a ritual? If the situation could possibly get more frightening, it just did. I shuddered clutching Amber’s hand as we descended into the pit. We each had flashlights so as soon as we reached the bottom we could see everything around us. The smell of ancient air filled our nostrils. We were deep inside a pit that hadn’t seen human visitors for thousands of years. The thought was disconcerting as we moved about cautiously.

  “Be careful,” Ava warned. “Don’t touch a thing unless I say so. This place hasn’t been touched in thousands of years. We don’t know what exactly is down here.”

  I looked above our heads. The moon was slightly to the side. Soon it would move directly overhead.

  Quickly, Ava looked about the room. She walked over to a large gold sarcophagus. It was covered in a thick layer of dust. She motioned for Reese to bring her backpack to her. Unzipping it, she retrieved a rag from it. She rubbed it until the gold shone brilliantly.

  We marveled at the intricate patterns painted on the sarcophagus. The figure depicted on the outside was one of a woman wearing a long headdress. Several spider like creatures decorated the headdress.

  Ava pulled the medallion from beneath her shirt. She held it up to compare the hieroglyphics with the ones on the sarcophagus. “This is it,” she whispered.

  We sat our flashlights down aiming them at sarcophagus.

  “How could this be?” Reese whispered to Ayden.

  He shrugged standing in awe of the room.

  The overwhelming smell of mustiness and ancient relics of the distant past assaulted my senses. My eyes burned from dust and sand.

  Ava was in her element. She clawed her way through the grime to the edges of the sarcophagus tracing the hieroglyphics with her fingers. She read the words aloud, “When the halflings reach the bastion…They shall lift up their wings as eagles…Soaring to the highest point. She will behold her queen. Cherish her, And great powers shall be bestowed upon her. Death will come as a thunderbolt to the unbelievers. Restoring life to those who thirst for it.” Her eyes glassy and unfocused. She seemed as though in a trance.

  “Ava, are you okay?” Reese walked up and touched her arm.

  She jerked away violently. “No, step back. All of you. It’s time.” The moon moved directly over the tomb.

  “Ava, you can’t possibly move that by yourself!” I dropped my flashlight rushing to her side.

  “Stand back!” she yelled holding her hands up.

  I stopped cold.

  She stood poised to lift the lid of the sarcophagus. With a mighty heave, she pushed the golden lid to the side. I held my breath waiting to see what was inside. As if in a dreamlike state, Ava pulled the medallion from her neck placing it atop the mummy’s forehead. Instantly, her head fell back and she uttered the most terrifying shriek I’d ever heard.

  We all clasped our hands over our ears as she continued making that horrifying sound.

  Abruptly, she clamped her mouth shut.

  The moonlight sh
one down through the medallion hitting it directly in the center beaming light throughout the coffin. The light blinded us as we blinked several times.

  Then it happened.

  Thousands of spiders emerged from the sarcophagus flooding the room.

  Reese and Amber screamed jumping around.

  I scooped Amber up into my arms as Ayden did the same for Reese.

  When I looked back at Ava, I nearly passed out. An enormous black spider was sitting in her hands. She smiled at it speaking soft words.

  “Ava! What the fuck?” Ayden yelled as the girls continued shrieking over the spiders.

  Strangely, they never touched us.

  “This is the queen. My queen, Ujaesus.”

  I couldn’t breathe as I watched the huge spider scamper up her arm to her shoulder. Its’ multiple eyes seemed to be looking at us all. The thing seemed ancient, wise, and all knowing. It was covered in tiny hairs similar to a tarantula. It sickened me.

  “This is what I wanted. This was what I needed to see.” Ava reached to brush the spider softly with her finger.

  “These are the spiders?” I asked still balancing Amber in my arms.

  “Yes. I need to collect their venom.”

  “How the hell do we do that?” Ayden inquired holding Reese as she wailed in his arms.

  “I’ll do it. Don’t touch them. Remember what can cure, can also kill. Only I can touch them.”

  No argument from me, I thought. I had no desire to touch them. I wanted out of the fucking tomb as soon as possible.

  Ava took a large jar from the backpack and collected several spiders. With a soft push, I watched fascinated as droplets of a golden liquid flowed from their tiny bodies. After she’d filled the jars, she released the spiders. They scurried back into the sarcophagus beneath the mummy from where they came. Ava slipped the jars into the backpack. The huge spider still sat on her shoulder. I cringed just looking at the thing.

  Both Ayden and I put the girls down as they had calmed since the spiders had returned to the coffin.

  My mouth felt dry. I had no words.

  Ava took the medallion back from the mummy and put it around her neck. “It’s done, my queen as you wished. We shall go now.”

  We all gave a collective sigh of relief. The horror of the tomb was nearly over. Then abruptly, our flashlights went out. We were surrounded in total darkness. Amber and Reese screamed. The dark was filled with sounds all of them echoing off of the walls. We froze not knowing what to do. A clanking sound could be heard as well as the scurrying of tiny legs. Fuck! The spiders! I wrapped my arms tightly around Amber. She was softly crying. “Ava, what’s going on?” I asked trying to wield my flashlight like a weapon in case anything or anyone was down here with us.

  “Ava?” Ayden called.

  There was nothing but the echo of our own voices. Then a soft hissing sound emerged from the depths of the darkness.

  “Ava!” we all screamed her name.

  I had the most sickening sense that something was behind me. I gulped as my hands shook.

  Amber cringed beside me.

  Ayden and Reese were standing next to the wall.

  Then, Ava appeared in front of us. “Remember don’t touch a thing,” she cautioned.

  “The flashlights,” Ayden began.

  Ava touched her finger to his lips. “It’s fine. Just follow me.”

  I wanted to scream at her, “How?” It was completely dark in the tomb. The scurrying sounds could still be heard.

  “Where are the steps?” Amber whispered frantically in my ear.

  I was just as eager as she was to leave. I still had the most frightening feeling as if ancient soldiers were going to pop out from the depths of the tomb at any moment.

  “We’re not leaving yet. There’s something I still have to do.”

  “What?” Ayden demanded his voice becoming frantic. He was as eager to leave the tomb as I was.

  “I have to return the medallion to its’ rightful place.”

  I felt sick. The tomb was stiflingly hot and the lack of air moving through it made it seem as though it were closing in on us. The walls of the tomb grew narrower as we walked.

  “Ava, are we almost there?” Reese asked in a worried voice.

  “Just a few more feet.”

  “How can you tell? It’s dark.” Amber’s voice was filled with fear and frustration.

  Our desire to leave the tomb was palpable.

  “I just know,” she replied in a firm voice.

  I wondered if that hideous spider was still sitting atop her shoulder. The thought of it filled me with revulsion.

  Abruptly, our flashlights beamed light everywhere as we entered a large open room. The walls were decorated with colorful hieroglyphics the same way the other room was. Ancient carvings of men, women, and spiders were etched into the stone.

  In the center of the room appeared to be an altar of some kind. It was about 4 and a half feet high and about 4 feet wide. The altar was made of stone embellished with pictures of a woman and spiders. In the center of the altar was a golden spider. It had jewels for eyes and emeralds decorated each leg of it. I was fascinated. A sculpture such as that would be worth a fortune!

  Ava walked slowly to the altar. She knelt before it placing her hands atop it. She mumbled several words before removing the medallion from around her neck. Holding it up towards the altar, she murmured several more words before placing it back onto the altar. “Thank you,” she said.

  We all stood transfixed at the sight. The gold from the altar gleamed brilliantly as our flashlights shone upon it.

  The golden beauty of the altar captivated me. I couldn’t imagine ancient people having created it. I left Amber’s side to get a closer look.

  “What are you doing, Ash?” Amber whispered as she stood still as a statue next to Ayden and Reese.

  “I have to see.” My eyes were riveted on the spider sitting atop the altar. Its’ bejeweled eyes bored into my own beckoning to me, calling my name as I stepped closer. “I have to know,” the words spilled from my lips. I heard my own voice speaking, but it was as if I had no control over my own tongue.

  The three of them stood watching me as Ava bit her lip stepping aside as I drew closer. “Ash, don’t!” she cried grabbing my arm.

  Before I knew it, my fingers wrapped around the golden statue. Instantly, I felt a jolt of electricity knocking me backwards. A throbbing pain erupted through my body. I clinched my eyes shut as hard as I could. Then when I opened them, I was immediately transported to another time. I couldn’t see Amber, Ayden, Reese, or Ava.

  All I could see was her.

  Captivating in her long aqua blue dress woven with golden threads, I glimpsed her long silky black hair spilling down her back. The peaks of her breasts jutted out against the flimsy cotton.

  As the moonlight illuminated her silhouette, I could see her body clearly through the cloak. She was breathtaking. I couldn’t breathe as I leaned back against the satiny pillows. I looked about me. I was no longer in the tomb, but rather I was in a lavish palace lying on a floor covered in silk pillows.

  Looking down at myself, I saw I was clad in a white Egyptian fine linen skirt and a gold shirt emblazoned with jewels. I touched my hands to my head to find it adorned in a blue and gold headdress. My hair was long and bound beneath the headdress.

  Was I some type of ruler? Where was I? What was happening?

  “Finally, you have come, Amon. It has been too long, my darling,” she purred as she crept closer to me.

  The great room was wide and open. A strong wind poured in from the north. I peered out to see the great Nile River in the distance. “I’m speechless,” I found myself saying.

  “Your princess, Nephiri is here.” She smiled. Her eyes were rimmed in kohl black eyeliner swept outward from the corners. Her lips were painted deep red. Her hair was decorated with golden headband from which dangled several jewels.

  “Nephiri,” I whispered her name. She was most be
autiful. Her hips undulated as she walked towards me. Seizing her in my arms, I threw open her dress. The material was so sheer and fine it seemed to melt away. I pressed my lips to hers feeling her melt into me.

  “My lord, Amon,” she murmured as my hands roamed her body. Her curves were deliciously full and I couldn’t get enough of her. A statue of the god Anubis with his face of a jackal and the body of a man loomed over us.

  I pushed her back onto the pillows as the moonlight enveloped us. My lips found her nipples nudging them with my tongue. They grew harder and firmer under my touch until they reminded me of the nectar from the sweetest fruit east of the Nile.

  “Please, take me, Amon,” she begged as she slipped her golden headband off. She placed aside us as my lips traversed the rest of her body.

  Her scent was sweetness and spice. Her dusky flesh was a delight to my palate. Parting her legs, I dipped my tongue into her. She squealed with pleasure as she wrapped her legs around my head. I removed my headdress before proceeding. My fingers peeled the lips of her core back so I could taste her very essence. Her core pulsed as I licked her soft lips up and down. Her juices glazed my face with her sweetness as I lapped at her core.

  “Take me now,” she mewled as I whipped my shirt off. She ran her hands over my heavily muscled chest feeling each ab muscle inch by inch before lying back and spreading her legs wide.

  “Not this way, Princess.” I growled flipping her over onto her knees. Her curvy ass was in the air and I clutched at her full, feminine hips. My cock was raging as I rubbed the tip against her wetness.

  Immediately, I thrust my cock deep inside her. She was tight, so tight I thought I would break my cock off inside her. As I slid my cock in and out of her, Nephiri cried out clutching the pillows burying her face deep into them.

  “Is this what you wanted, my Princess?” I spat the words as I pummeled her with my cock. “Tell me how much you love it,” I commanded.

  “Amon, oh Amon, I love it. I need it!” she cried out her pussy gripping my cock as she came.

  Immediately, I was drenched in her juices. My rapture was just beginning.