by Dan Hunter
“Did you not listen to the Prophecy of the Sphinx, Akori?” demanded Horus. “Your first task is to free the good Gods. Set has imprisoned five of us, each in a different part of Egypt.”
As Horus spoke, he held up his hand, and transparent images danced in the air. Akori saw four figures: an old man, his head surrounded by brilliant light; a jackal-headed figure in a dark, sinister-looking tomb; a beautiful queen, her robes shimmering like the waters of the Nile; and a savage woman with the head of a lioness, roaring in fury.
“These are the four other good Gods,” said Horus. “Ra, Anubis, Isis and Sekmet. Each one carries an object into which they have placed some of their power. Release them, and that power will be granted to you, Akori. Once they are all free, you will have the strength to release me too. Only then will you be ready to face Oba.”
Despite the danger, Akori felt a thrill of excitement. The treasures of the Gods themselves! What could they be? What powers might they give?
“But you must beware, Akori,” said Horus seriously. “Not all the Gods are on your side. Some have chosen to side with Set. They will try to stop you from freeing the others. You must also remember that the soldiers of Set are many in number. They have already tried to kill you once, and will try again.”
The image of Horus wavered for a moment, like a mirage.
“Time is running out,” he said. “Heed me well. While I am under Set’s control, I am almost powerless – but not quite. I will discover where the other Gods are imprisoned and send my ka to you with this information when I can. You must rescue the Sun God Ra first of all. Every day, Ra’s magical barge sails across the sky, pulling the sun from horizon to horizon. But now Ra is a prisoner on his own ship. He cannot steer the barge properly. The sun is travelling too close to the earth, drying up the Sacred River and scorching the fields. Unless Ra is freed, this terrible heatwave will never end.”
The image of Horus vanished for a second and then returned. “My strength is fading,” he gasped. “There is just enough left to give you…this.”
Horus reached out to the wall of the temple and placed his finger against a hieroglyph in the shape of a khopesh sword. At his touch, the symbol filled with light, as if liquid gold were pouring into it. The glow slowly faded, but the gold remained. A real khopesh lay there in the stone!
“This is my gift to you,” said Horus, his voice cracking. “The blade is enchanted, and will cut through iron and stone. But the sword is more than just a weapon – it is also a key…a key to free the Gods, when you find us… Hurry, Akori. Before it’s too late.”
With that, the giant figure sagged, exhausted. Then it slowly faded away. The temple was empty. The falcon-headed God was gone.
“Horus has spoken,” said the High Priest. “Your path is clear, Akori. You must go quickly and free Ra.”
Free a God! Akori could still hardly believe what he had seen and heard. The idea seemed crazy – and yet the khopesh was still there, gleaming in the stone.
He picked it up, expecting it to be heavy, but to his surprise, Akori found he could wield it easily. He made a few practice strokes.
Manu jumped out of the way to give Akori room. “You have used a sword before, I see,” he said.
“Never,” Akori admitted. “But I’ve used a sickle. Every year I’ve helped harvest the crops. This doesn’t feel all that different, really. It’s just a curved blade with a handle.”
He swept it in a low arc, as if he were reaping wheat. The blade was so sharp it seemed to sing. Just let the scorpion-riders come after him now… Then he sighed and shook his head.
“Have courage, young man,” the High Priest said kindly. “Set will use all his tricks to put fear into your heart. You must resist.”
“I’m not afraid,” replied Akori. “I just don’t know where to start, that’s all. How am I supposed to find my way across Egypt? Uncle Shenti never travelled further than the nearest town! And how can I help the good Gods, when I don’t know anything about them? All I know about is spreading mud on the fields, not legends and prophecies.”
“Then let me go with you!” Manu offered suddenly. “I am no warrior, but I have been trained to be a priest. I have travelled in Egypt and I know the legends of the Gods.”
Akori stared at Manu in surprise. “Are you sure?” he asked. “It sounds dangerous.”
“I laugh in the face of danger,” replied Manu, doing his best to look fierce. Then he grinned and they both started to laugh.
“It is well,” said the High Priest. “Manu, you will accompany Akori and give him what aid you can.”
Just then, Akori heard something – a faint noise from behind one of the huge columns in the hall, as if someone were shifting their weight from one foot to the other.
Someone was hiding in the shadows! They must have heard everything. It had to be one of Set’s soldiers – hadn’t Horus said they would be hunting for him everywhere?
Akori had no training as a warrior, but long hours of reaping wheat had left him lithe and strong. With a bound, he sprang into the shadows, slashing out with the khopesh as he did so.
With a hiss, a dark shape leaped up towards him, like some shadow-demon conjured from the Underworld. Sharp-nailed hands grabbed Akori’s wrists, sending the khopesh clattering to the ground. They toppled over together, their limbs in a tangle. The mysterious monster was wiry, and seemed to be covered with coarse hair. As they struggled, rolling over and over on the ground, Akori tried to break free, but his attacker kept hold of his hands.
“Akori? What’s happening?” cried the High Priest, blindly stumbling towards them.
Akori fought hard, but his opponent was incredibly strong. With a grunt, the attacker flipped Akori onto his back, pinned him to the floor and sat hard on his stomach, knocking all the wind out of him.
Suddenly helpless, Akori looked up into a snarling face framed with wild hair. A face that he knew.
“Ebe!”
The girl looked down at him and wrinkled her nose.
“Manu! What’s going on?” The High Priest looked totally confused.
Manu peered out from behind a pillar and cleared his throat nervously. “It’s only Ebe,” he said.
“Oh, thank the Gods. But what does she want?”
Ebe stood up and pulled Akori to his feet. Then she thumped her chest, pointed to Akori and Manu, and made her fingers go for a walk along her arm.
“I think she wants to come with Akori and me,” said Manu in surprise.
Ebe nodded.
“Ebe? Accompany Akori on his quest?” The High Priest sounded frail and old. “No. His task is far too dangerous. I cannot allow it. You must stay here at the temple, where you are safe.”
For a moment, Ebe stared wild-eyed at the High Priest. Then, with a furious hiss, she turned and ran out of the hall.
“Manu will be quite enough help for you, Akori,” the High Priest said. “He will be able to answer any questions you may have on your journey.”
“There’s one question I need to ask now,” said Akori. “If Ra’s sun-barge sails across the sky, how am I supposed to reach it? I can’t fly!”
The High Priest chuckled. “You will not need wings, young Akori. The sun-barge crosses the sky each day, but in the evening it comes down to the ground and enters the Underworld, leaving Egypt in darkness. All night it travels through the caverns below, before it emerges once again at dawn.”
“So I only need to catch it as it comes to earth?”
“Yes.” The High Priest nodded. “You should make for the high desert north of here and to the west. There lies the entrance to the Underworld. At the end of the day, you will see the sun-barge approaching.”
“Then we need to leave now,” Akori said, picking up his khopesh and fastening it to his belt.
“No, Akori,” replied the High Priest. “It is too late today. You would not reach the cavern in time, and besides, you must recover your strength. You will leave tomorrow at dawn. While you sleep, we will gathe
r supplies for your journey.”
“Sleep?” Akori protested. “I won’t be able to sleep after everything that’s happened today.”
“You must rest, Akori,” Manu warned. “If you are tired when you face the enemy, they will quickly overcome you. Their knives will be at your throat. And then you will sleep…for ever.”
Akori awoke before dawn. But no sooner had he rubbed the sleep from his eyes than he saw a figure in the doorway, half hidden in the gloom. His hand reached for his khopesh immediately. Then he relaxed. It was only Manu.
“Get up, Akori,” said the young priest. “It is time we were on our – oof – way.”
Manu was struggling under the weight of dozens of bags and scroll cases. He had slung them willy-nilly across his back and over his shoulders. There were so many, he looked as if he was having trouble standing upright.
“What are they?” Akori asked.
“I’ve been to the temple library,” said Manu, as if that explained everything. Hunched over under his heavy load, with his serious, beady-eyed face poking out, he looked surprisingly like a giant tortoise.
Akori eyed the bundles. “Did the whole library want to come with us too?”
“I only packed a few papyrus scrolls,” Manu said, sniffing. “Maps and things. They’re important. We’ll need them.”
Best not to argue, Akori thought, as he quickly washed and dressed himself in a fresh linen tunic.
Dawn had not yet come as Manu led Akori through darkened halls and out into the open. It was usually cold in the morning, but today the air was already heavy with heat, as if the land had a fever.
They followed steps that led down to a small dock. In the near-darkness, the Nile looked black, like a river of the Underworld. A small boat made from reeds was tethered to the bank. Beside it stood a lone figure, waiting for them, almost invisible in the shadows. It made Akori think of the Judges of the Underworld. Then the figure called out a greeting as they approached, and Akori breathed a sigh of relief. It was the High Priest.
“Provisions for your journey,” the old man said, passing across a bag of food and a waterskin. “You take these, Akori. Manu has enough to carry. Now I must ask you both to kneel.”
Akori and Manu did as the High Priest told them, and he placed his hands on their heads.
“Gods of our forefathers! Mighty Horus, Lord of the Sky, Champion of Life! Bless and protect these two brave boys. May they return home in triumph, and peace be swiftly restored to the land of Egypt!”
Manu and Akori both struck their chests, ending the prayer in the traditional way. Then they climbed into the boat without another word, and pushed off from the bank, drifting into the wide river.
Although Akori was glad to have the High Priest’s blessing, he couldn’t help wondering if it would do any good. Asking the Gods for help? Akori heaved at the oars with a grim smile. Wasn’t he coming to help them?
They rowed the boat steadily down the Nile, taking turns at the oars. With the world still in darkness, Akori couldn’t tell how far they had travelled. In the east, however, the sky was brightening.
Akori watched, expecting the familiar sunrise, but to his amazement, instead of the circle of the sun, the prow of a huge boat appeared over the horizon like a wooden mountain. The boat was decorated with shining gold, a white, triangular sail billowed in the breeze, and in the centre of the boat was a blazing circle of orange light, getting brighter by the second. It was Ra’s sun-barge!
“Manu, can you see that?” breathed Akori.
Manu stared, his eyes wide. “Yes, Akori. Yes, I can.”
Akori wondered how that could be. He had only been able to imagine Ra’s sun-barge before. Was this some special new power awakening within him? Perhaps the High Priest’s blessing had been more useful than he had realized…
Akori pulled harder on the oars as the barge sailed higher into the sky. Now that he could see the place where Ra was held prisoner, his task seemed far more urgent. Soon, they had gone as far as they could by river, and they hauled the little boat up out of the water to keep it safe.
Manu checked his maps and led them on to a dusty track. On either side, the fields stood empty. They should have been green with young wheat by now, but not so much as a shoot was showing.
From time to time, the pair passed farmers in the fields. Some waved in weary greeting, but most ignored them. They were all staring at the river with hopeless faces, as if they had finally accepted how bad the drought was.
They aren’t interested in two boys on a journey, Akori thought. They’re praying for the floods to come, just like Uncle Shenti was.
The farmers didn’t know that Oba and Set had imprisoned the good Gods. If Akori told them, they would think he was mad! If he could just free Ra, the drought would end – but what if he failed? All these people would starve to death. Not just here, but all across Egypt. Akori felt as if a great weight was pressing down on him.
“You’re very quiet,” Manu said.
“Sorry,” said Akori. “I was just thinking about…farming things.”
The day brightened, and soon the heat was stronger than ever. Manu huffed and puffed as he lagged along behind Akori.
“I’m roasting alive!” he groaned for the fifth time.
“So leave some of those bags behind,” Akori replied.
“Don’t be ridiculous!” Manu puffed. “Leave behind maps of all the provinces of Egypt? Leave behind important information about the Gods?”
Akori sighed and took one of the largest bags from Manu’s back. “All right, well at least let me help you then.” As he hoisted the bag onto his shoulder he peered into the heat haze. He couldn’t even see the cliffs yet, much less the high desert beyond, where the entrance to the Underworld was. If they kept to the path, they would never reach it in time.
“We’ll take a short cut through the fields,” he said.
“But that’s not what the map says,” objected Manu, unrolling a papyrus scroll.
“Never mind the map,” Akori insisted. “Come on.”
They headed out across the fields, leaving the dusty road behind them. But the sun rose high in the sky, and Manu was soon lagging behind again. Akori kept having to stop, turn around and wait for him to catch up.
Suddenly, Manu stopped altogether.
“Oh, come on!” muttered Akori in frustration.
But Manu didn’t reply. His face was white with fear. He pointed a shaking finger towards Akori.
“Wa-watch out!” he gasped.
“What is it now?” Akori demanded crossly.
“Look behind you!”
Akori turned around and felt his blood run cold. Rearing up from the dust in front of him was a slender, hooded shape.
Cobra!
“Don’t move,” Akori hissed. “Don’t even breathe.”
The cobra was no more than an arm’s length away. It swayed, watching him, ready to strike. Its forked tongue flickered.
Akori’s heart thumped in his throat. Slowly he slid the bag he had been carrying from his shoulder.
“Use your sword!” Manu said, through clenched teeth. “Kill it!”
Slowly, Akori started to reach for his khopesh, but as soon as he moved his hand, the snake slithered a little closer. Akori froze. He kept his gaze locked on its tiny, cold black eyes, not daring to look away.
“It’s too close!” Akori whispered. “It’ll bite me before I can reach it!”
“We should never have left the path,” Manu groaned. “What are we going to do?”
The next second, a figure charged past Manu, moving impossibly fast. Skidding to a stop in front of Akori, the figure snatched up a fistful of dry earth and flung it at the snake, all in one motion.
The explosion of dust confused the serpent. The snake struck out, but the figure leaped to one side. The cobra coiled its long body and struck again, but the figure was too quick and the snake’s fangs closed on thin air. The cobra hissed angrily, and the figure hissed back.
&
nbsp; “Quickly!” yelled Manu. “While it’s distracted, Akori! Kill it!”
Seizing the golden khopesh, Akori swung the blade. He didn’t have time to aim properly, but he still felt it connect. When he looked down, the cobra lay in two twitching halves in the settling dust.
Akori took a moment to steady himself. He was breathing hard.
When he felt he could speak again, he turned to the stranger who had come out of nowhere to save them.
“I don’t know how to thank you—” Akori began, but his voice trailed off as he saw the face of their rescuer. He couldn’t believe his eyes. It was Ebe!
“Ebe? You followed us all the way out here?”
The slave-girl dusted herself off and gave Akori a cheeky grin, as if to say, I got my own way in the end, didn’t I?
Akori laughed. “I didn’t even see you following us! You’re full of stealthy tricks, aren’t you?”
“But the High Priest said that you had to stay at the temple!” spluttered Manu. “You’re going to be in so much trouble when he finds out you disobeyed him. You’re not supposed to be here at all!”
“Come on, Manu,” said Akori, pointing at the two halves of the dead cobra. “If she hadn’t been here, we’d probably have been killed.”
“Yes,” agreed Manu, unwillingly. “Well, I suppose…under the circumstances, it’s probably just as well you did come.”
Ebe didn’t take any notice of Manu. She kicked some dust over the snake’s corpse, then gestured that they should get moving.
Although Ebe never spoke, Akori felt better than he had all day. Ebe had broken the temple’s strict rules to come and help them, and he was grateful for that. Manu was a good friend and he tried hard, but looking at him struggling under the weight of all his precious scrolls, Akori wondered if he had ever broken a rule in his life.
They trudged on through the fields under the scorching sun. The ground was becoming drier and drier underfoot, and Akori felt sure they were near the edge of the Nile valley. They had lost sight of the river long ago, and the last of the farms had vanished too.
