Heir of Ra (Blood of Ra Book One)

by M. Sasinowski

  Alyssa pointed at the earpieces. “What’s with the headphones?”

  “Ah. Turns out that a subset of the frequencies from the crystal contains encoded audio. I was able to write some code to isolate it and pipe it to the headphones in the VR set.”

  “So I’ll be able to hear stuff, too?” Alyssa moved closer to the gear, taking it all in. She shook her head. “You did this all in, what, five hours?”

  “Quite brill, no?” Clay flashed his teeth. “We’ll still have a problem with the crystal heating up, so we won’t be able to hit it for too long at a time. I’ll start with low power, just to be safe.”

  “Mutt’s nuts, mate,” Paul sounded equally impressed. “You’ve really outdone yourself.” He paused, considering. “Could this be dangerous?”

  Clay scratched his chin. “Uh… well, given that this is the first time this has been attempted, that’s… ah… impossible to say.” He cleared his throat. “I suppose there’s always the risk of sensory overload.”

  “I’ll be the guinea pig,” Paul said and took the helmet.

  “No way, Paul.” Alyssa grabbed the helmet from him. “I started this. This is my thing.”

  Paul regarded her for several seconds then nodded. “Fair enough… but at the first sign of trouble, we’re stopping.”

  Alyssa nodded. “Let’s do this.”

  A few minutes later Alyssa sat in the chair, VR helmet on her head. Clay flipped a series of switches and turned to the laptop to finalize the calibration. He leaned into a microphone connected to the headphones inside the helmet. “Comfortable?”

  “Ever tried walking in high heels?” Alyssa replied.

  “Sure you’re ready for this?” Paul asked.

  She gave a thumbs up.

  “All right. Three… two… one… here we go.” Clay fired the laser.

  Alyssa ripped the VR gear from her head and jumped up out of the chair.

  “How? How is this possible?” She staggered.

  Clay flipped the master switch to off and dashed over to her, but Paul grabbed her first, before she could fall.

  “You okay?” Paul’s voice echoed the concern in his face. “What happened?”

  “Is something wrong?” Clay jumped in.

  “What? No…” Alyssa looked at him puzzled, “It was incredible! Like I was right there, looking through someone else’s eyes!”

  Clay stared at her silently then glanced toward Paul who looked equally astonished. After a couple of moments Paul said warily, “You ripped off the helmet only a second after Clay flipped the switch.”

  “What? It seemed much longer—at least thirty seconds.”

  “What did you see?” Clay asked.

  “I didn’t just see, or hear,” she could barely contain the excitement in her voice. “I actually felt things, too.”

  Paul and Clay stared at her wordlessly.

  “You think I’m making this up?” she asked.

  “No, no, that’s not it.” Paul shook his head. “It's just—how is that possible? The different time perception, the emotions?”

  “Subliminal messages, perhaps?” Clay said. “If someone actually managed to develop technology to record memories, displaying and using subliminal messages to evoke emotions and thoughts would be simple—relatively speaking.” He scratched his head.

  “What?” asked Paul.

  “Well, it's just… that's probably why she felt like she was there for half a minute, even though only a couple of seconds went by in real-time. The information must be fed at a staggering rate.”

  Paul turned to Alyssa. “What exactly did you see?”

  “A laboratory—I think.” She hesitated. “Well, at least it felt like I was in a laboratory. But it didn’t look like any lab I’ve ever seen.” She shook her head. “I… I can’t explain it.”

  She stopped and considered. “God, if this crystal is truly as old as we think it is,” she said, “do you realize what this means?”

  Without waiting for an answer, she continued, “People. I saw people. They were working on something. Something important.”

  “Anything else?” Paul asked.

  “I’m not sure. It seemed like the longer I was there, the clearer the thoughts and emotions became. As if I was learning to read them better.”

  She was quiet for a few moments. “Damn! It’s like trying to hold on to a dream. The more time goes by, the more I forget. I know there was more.” She picked up the helmet. “I have to try again.”

  “Maybe I should be the one this time,” Paul said.

  She shook her head. “I’m fine. And I’m going. I know I can get tuned into it easier the second time around.”

  Paul pointed to the gear. “You’re the one who built it,” he said to Clay, “what do you think?”

  Clay rubbed his chin. “It’s impossible to predict what repeated exposure might do.” He looked at Alyssa. “I doubt there’ll be permanent damage, but you may feel all kinds of wonkers in the short term.”

  Alyssa nodded. “I understand.”

  Paul’s mouth was tight, but he gave a quiet nod.

  “Give me a couple of minutes to recalibrate it,” Clay said and turned to the equipment.

  “Thank you,” Alyssa said.

  Several minutes later, Paul and Clay stood at the table, watching Alyssa sitting in the chair once again, the VR helmet in her lap.

  “I think I figured out how to access the beginning of the data,” Clay said.

  Paul scowled. “I have a really bad feeling about this.”

  Alyssa put her hand on his arm. “I’ll be okay,” she grinned. “With the Wunderkind here and you looking after me, what can possibly go wrong?”

  She turned to Clay. “Hook me up.”

  Clay put the helmet on her head and adjusted it. He hesitated as his hand approached the on switch for the laser.

  “I’m going to start out with the intensity set at fifty percent,” he said into the microphone. “You ready?”

  “Beam me up, Scotty,” came her reply.

  Clay toggled the switch.

  Part 2

  REFLECTION

  12 Inception

  There is a hint of moist warmth in the air. I lift my head.

  “I am ready, Amah.” My words sound distant.

  My mother meets my gaze, her eyes two green orbs, glinting, feline, ever aware. She is wearing her white dress with the high collar. The one she wears but once a year. The fear is present in her face, yet her smile is real.

  I reach out and touch her hand.

  “Do not worry about me. I am not afraid.” It is a lie.

  She takes my hand and squeezes it. Strong. Much stronger than ever before.

  “You are worthy of your sentinel.” The tremor in her voice betrays her concern. “Your body will accept the gift.”

  I turn and face the triangular stone structure. I look past hundreds of steps to the summit. Two reptilian eyes stare down at me, unblinking. They belong to So’bek, the high priest, he whose sentinel is the crocodile. Few have ever chosen the crocodile as their sentinel. Fewer yet have survived.

  I turn back to my mother and try to blink away the tears.

  “What if I am not ready?”

  She regards me quietly for several heartbeats, her serenity and confidence giving me strength.

  “You are destined for greatness, Horus, my son.”

  I am startled at the sound of my chosen name. The one I shall carry into adulthood from this day forth. She smiles.

  “You are worthy of that name, and of the animal companion you have chosen.”

  Horus. The falcon.

  The high priest lifts his scaled arms above the stone altar and beckons. “It is time,” he says.

  I give my mother a final look. I know I shall never look at her the same way again. I want to cling to her and beg her not to let me go. My legs begin to tremble, and I squeeze her hand hard enough to make her wince.

  She pulls me tightly to her and holds me for a long time. T
he familiar scent of jasmine in her hair and the metopion oil on her skin is soothing. Time seems to freeze. Too soon, she loosens her embrace and holds me at arm’s length, her hands resting on my shoulders. She peers down at me, her feline eyes calm and full of confidence.

  She places her hands on my head, her thumbs and forefingers shaping a triangle in the blessing of our people, representing the rays of the sun that give life to us.

  “You are Horus, son of Isis and Osiris. You shall know no fear.”

  I take a deep breath and face the summit once again. Slowly, I take the first of the three hundred and forty-three stairs. I count silently as I climb.

  One… two… three…

  Seven levels of forty-nine stairs separate me from my new beginning. Each of the seven levels symbolizes a year of my life. A year lived without the animal gift. A life incomplete.

  44… 45… 46…

  With each step, my childhood fades away. Each step brings me closer to my new life. Soon, if my body accepts the gift, I shall join my father and my elder brothers as Horus, a young man bearing the gift of the falcon.

  121… 122… 123…

  My mind fills with memories. My time inside my mother’s womb. The sound of her voice singing to me when she felt how frightened I was of the darkness.

  187… 188… 189…

  My first glance at my mother, her eyes exhausted, filled with tears and unconditional love. Me, a shivering bundle in her arms, unable to express my true love for her and my gratitude for the gift of life she gave me.

  212… 213… 214…

  My naming day, seven days after my birth. My father and my brothers looking down at me, their faces bright and gleaming with pride.

  256… 257… 258…

  My first word. Haru, falcon.

  299… 300… 301…

  The first time I understood our gift, the animal sentinel that our people choose on the seventh anniversary of their naming day.

  341… 342… 343—

  The stairs end. The robed figure regards me silently, his pupils two black vertical slits set deeply inside his yellow eyes. Among the stillness is the pounding of my heart in my ears.

  Two scaled hands emerge from the robed figure and I bow. The high priest’s rough palms are a stark contrast to my mother’s soft hands as he repeats the greeting of our people.

  I lift my head.

  “Are you prepared?” he asks.

  “I am.” My voice sounds thin.

  “Who comes before me?”

  I swallow. “Horus, son of Isis and Osiris.”

  “Horus, son of Isis and Osiris,” he says as he lifts his arms, “this day marks the last day of your life as a child. From this day forth, you shall live your life as a man, blessed with the gift of your sentinel.”

  He pauses, his eyes piercing through me.

  “Have you chosen?”

  “I have.” I try to keep my voice from trembling. I fail.

  “What sentinel shall be yours?”

  “The falcon,” I whisper.

  The figure regards me silently.

  “I choose the falcon,” I say, louder, with more confidence. “My namesake.”

  He nods. From behind the altar, the acolyte steps forth, on his arm a falcon. My falcon. I sink to my knees as the acolyte moves into his place beside So’bek.

  The high priest peers down at me, his face as expressionless as a mask.

  “On this day, you shall know if your sentinel accepts you. If you are worthy of his gift and his sacrifice. On this day, you and he shall die and be reborn as one.”

  Time slows as So’bek lifts a dagger from the stone altar and brings it toward the falcon.

  “From this day forth, the two of you shall live as one. The falcon inside you and you inside him,” he says.

  My body screams for him to stop. I remain silent and stare as he moves the blade toward the magnificent bird.

  The falcon’s head is hooded, yet he stirs anxiously. I know he feels the threat. He spreads his wings and begins to beat them forcefully, pulling anxiously at the leather jesses tied to his talons.

  No, don’t! Please don’t! I scream in my mind. My lips remain sealed.

  I am Horus.

  So’bek brings the blade to the falcon.

  Son of Isis and Osiris.

  I close my eyes.

  I shall know no fear!

  The pain is unbearable. I will not scream. My memories… I soar into the sky then I am falling. My body is consumed by fire. I scream.

  What is on my head? Get it off me! I try to rip it off the hood. Strong hands hold me, lift the hood from my head. Two strangers stare down at me, concern welling in their faces.

  “Alyssa? Alyssa, are you okay?” I hear a strange voice.

  Alyssa gasped as the waves of pain ebbed from her body. The pain gave way to confusion as the familiar surroundings of the magnificent pyramid disappeared. Slowly, she focused on the drab interior of the motel room. She felt hands on her shoulders as Clay lifted the VR set from her head.

  “Alyssa! Can you hear me?” Paul’s voice was strained. “You screamed—”

  “H-how long?” she stammered.

  “Maybe ten seconds. Fifteen max,” Clay said.

  “That’s… impossible—it felt like minutes.” She reached out and squeezed Paul’s arm. “There were memories within memories!”

  “Slow down.” Paul’s glow betrayed his own excitement. “What did you see?”

  Alyssa took a deep breath. “A ritual, some kind of rite of passage. Seen through the eyes of a child… a boy.” She struggled to replay the events in her mind. “It was to somehow create a hybrid between the boy and his—falcon.” She froze.

  Clay and Paul watched her silently with blank expressions.

  “His name was Horus,” she said.

  Paul slowly shook his head, frowning. “Please tell me you’re not thinking what I think you're thinking,” he said.

  Clay blinked a couple of times. “Uh… will someone fill in the techie?”

  Paul turned to Clay. “Egyptian mythology,” he said.

  “Horus was the mythical falcon-headed god,” Alyssa continued. “Son of Isis and Osiris. The protector of pharaohs.”

  Clay gaped at them. “You guys are both off your trolleys! I can almost accept a ten-thousand-year-old thumb drive filled with the memories of some ancient chap. But now he turns out to be an Egyptian god? Whatever you’ve been smoking—do share, please.”

  “I know it sounds crazy,” Alyssa said, “but one of my grandfather’s theories was that the gods in Egyptian mythology were merely a portrayal of an advanced civilization that was perceived to be godlike.”

  “So where did they come from?” Clay asked. “And don’t tell me that they’re some sort of space aliens.”

  “I don’t know,” Alyssa said softly. She stood. A wave of dizziness swept through her and she staggered. Paul rushed to her, but she waved him off. “I’m okay.”

  He stared at her.

  “I’m fine, really.” She took a deep breath. “There’s only one way to find out what we’re dealing with. I need to go back.”

  “You almost passed out!” Paul said.

  “Yeah, you did look bloody wonky,” Clay added. “And the frequency keeps bouncing, so I’d need to crank up the power.”

  “Can you get it going again?” she asked him.

  Clay looked to Paul.

  “Damn it, Clay, don’t look to him for permission!” she said, her voice a measure sharper than she intended.

  Clay’s face tightened.

  “I’m sorry,” Alyssa said softly. She put her hand on his arm. “Please, Clay. I really need to do this.”

  His expression thawed. He nodded. “All right, give me a sec to recalibrate the LIDAR.”

  “Thank you,” she said.

  Paul sat motionless, staring at her, eyebrows drawing together.

  “Don’t worry. I’ll be fine,” she said to him as she lifted the VR set to her head.
/>
  Paul continued gazing at her silently, his expression dark, as the helmet covered her eyes.

  13 Escape

  “Do not slow down, Horus, we must not lose the others!”

  I race at full speed, struggling to keep pace with my mother. As we pass under a lantern, I catch a glimpse of her face, her beautiful features marred by fear, her dress stained a dark crimson.

  Father’s blood…

  I glance behind into the darkness, toward the rough voices of our pursuers. We are the last ones. There is nobody left between us and them. Without a warning, my mother turns into a dark alley and tugs me with her. The sudden jerk almost pulls me off my feet. I blink away my tears and struggle to focus on the narrow path ahead. My lungs are burning. The tears in my throat make the air taste sour.

  “We are almost there, my son. You must be strong.”

  “Amah, I cannot go on!” I plead.

  I trip again and this time she almost loses her grip, but somehow keeps me from falling. The voices behind us grow louder, their shouts more frequent.

  I’m startled when she stops and pushes me into one of the narrow doorways. She looks at me, her chest rising in shallow, rapid breaths. Gradually, calmness replaces the fear in her eyes.

  She cups my face with her hands. “Horus, my son, listen well,” her whisper is soft, but unwavering. The pounding of my heart and my heavy breathing make it difficult to hear her voice. “You will follow the others to the harbor. I will meet you on the ship, later.”

  “No, Amah…” I want to plead with her not to leave me, but fear and exhaustion rob me of my voice.

  She pulls me tightly into her arms and holds me. When she lets go, I see her peer into the darkness behind us, the shimmer in her beautiful feline eyes tainted with pain and fear. She looks at me and her expression shifts.