“I have no doubt. Light always overcomes the darkness.” Dr. Hassan raised the glowing stone in his hand to prove his point.
“You’ve changed your tune. What happened to preparing myself for the worst?”
He raised his head, seeming to calculate my words. “You know, my dear, I feel I am of two minds on the subject. The scientist in me seems to be at war with the man of faith. But, for the time being, and in the face of these miraculous events, I have drifted across the line and into the faith camp. I always believed, you know, but when the secular world insists that gods are not real, you begin to doubt yourself. I think my faith has sustained me all these years, though I was unaware of it. And now I feel…” He laughed. “Well, a great sense of vindication is what I’m feeling at the moment.”
“Hmm, I don’t think I have the same degree of faith as you.”
“Faith is merely a willingness to believe, and that belief becomes stronger and sharper over time until it can cut through your doubts as easily as Amon’s scimitars.”
I snorted.
Dr. Hassan pressed on. “My point is that Amon and his brother are not mere mortals aspiring to be gods such as our pharaohs of old. They are truly gods who walk among men. And what’s more, they are warriors, divine protectors who aspire to fulfill their celestial calling. Surely seeing their power, experiencing it firsthand, can inspire you to have at least a little bit of faith.”
“You’re right. It’s incredible what they can do and what they have accomplished, but as much as I’m impressed by Amon’s power, I can see and feel what it’s done to him. Having that much responsibility is not always a blessing. So, yes, I have doubts.
“I doubt that Amon has the strength to fulfill his role. I doubt he’s happy being stuck in the sort of limbo afterlife he described, even should he succeed in his quest. And most of all, I doubt that this life, this sacrifice that has to be made over and over again, is worth it. Amon deserves more.”
Dr. Hassan was quiet for a moment, his eyes seeming to bore into my soul. I stared right back, unshakable in my feelings. “Perhaps you are right,” he finally acquiesced. “Perhaps Amon’s consort is as sharp as his swords.”
I was about to ask him what he meant by consort when the cavern shook so hard it could mean only one thing—the demon worm had broken through.
“That’s our cue!” I shouted, and grabbed Dr. Hassan’s arm to steady myself. Rocks fell all around us as we raced toward the far end of the cave. I lifted my free arm overhead in a lame attempt to protect myself from getting battered.
Making our way to the other side of the cavern was much harder this time. The entire structure seemed on the verge of collapse. We dodged fallen stalactites and broken stalagmites, and reached the other side with only a few minor scrapes and cuts. But the chaos and destruction we saw when we rounded the corner was overwhelming.
The giant worm hung from the ceiling, its soft body oozing bloody pus in several places. Water poured in from a fissure in the stone as Amon and Asten fought knee-deep in a pool of it. If the water had risen that quickly, then it would be above our heads soon. The diverted waterfall didn’t seem to hinder the worm. It lowered its body into the stream and writhed back and forth like a grotesquely swollen water snake.
Amon slashed at its side, while Asten created magic dust that blew up in puffs of light bright enough to blind us. In retaliation, the worm opened its mouth, spewing neon-green slime and fat clumps of glistening saliva over everything within range. The rocks that its venom landed on hissed and popped. Thankfully, Amon and Asten darted out of the way quickly enough to avoid the toxic bile.
With a mighty heave, the worm pulled the rest of its body into the collapsing cave, twisting its tail toward Asten while keeping its gaping mouth of razor-sharp teeth aimed at Amon. I gasped in horror when I saw a snapping mouth housed in the tip of its tail.
“Asten!” I cried. “Watch out!”
Responding to my voice, the creature shook itself violently, knocking Amon aside in the process, and slithered toward me, leaving behind shining trails of gooey slime. Its probing sensor, which I now saw was one of several that darted out from holes in the sides of its head, wriggled like a long purple parasite, while its mouth moved in an anticipatory chomping motion. Amon attacked the beast vigorously, driving both of his scimitars deep into its fleshy body, but the worm ignored him and kept pressing on.
“Amon!” I cried as his body slammed into the ceiling.
“He will be just fine,” a voice murmured in my ear. I whipped around, but could see nothing but darkness, and then a tiny spark burst on the tip of my nose.
“Asten?”
“At your service, my beautiful devotee. If you would be so kind as to follow me.”
Enraged, the creature sped toward me, but a hand stretched out of the darkness and captured mine, dragging me into a whirling, dark fog full of sparkling fireflies. Asten suddenly became visible. The worm paused, its feeler testing the air just a few inches from our faces but failing to locate us.
As Amon hollered at the beast, causing the frustrated creature to turn toward him, Asten kept tight hold of my hand. He didn’t allow me to get in a word of protest before guiding us out from behind the stalagmite and back toward the flooded section of cavern.
Once we reached it, I spied Dr. Hassan perched on a rock surrounded by water that would be waist-deep if he were standing in it. Even though Asten and I were on higher ground, the runoff from the waterfall kept rising and was over our ankles in seconds.
“If you would stand aside,” Asten admonished.
“I don’t understand. We have to go back and help Amon.”
“Amon is perfectly capable of extricating himself.”
“But—”
“Trust me.” Asten gave me a look that wasn’t flirtatious or cocky in any way. It was a pleading sort of expression, and one that he didn’t seem too comfortable wearing.
“All right,” I whispered.
Asten wove a spell and his body lit from within. A brilliant, starry-white light encompassed him and grew until it filled so much space, I had to back up and look away. The water was up to my knees now, and it lapped at Dr. Hassan’s feet.
A deafening bird’s cry drew my attention back to Asten. Instead of the handsome Egyptian prince, a sparkling white bird large enough to give the megaworm a run for its money danced back and forth in the water on long legs. It seemed at home as it dipped its head toward me, its tapered beak touching my shoulder gently.
Climb onto my back.
“Asten?”
Yes. Hurry. We must move quickly. Amon is tiring.
The great bird crouched down and I waded closer, taking hold of his neck, which was skinny compared with the rest of his body, but I could feel the powerful muscles beneath the downy feathers. “What if I fall, or get airsick?” I asked as I threw my leg over the bird’s back and settled myself.
I won’t let you fall, but if you get sick all over my beautiful feathers I will likely cast you off. His laughter echoed in my mind. After dipping his beak into a sodden pile of wriggling worms, the bird lifted his head and gobbled two giant mouthfuls before striding through the water.
Not the feast I was hoping for, but they will nourish me during the flight.
Grimacing, I stared at the gleaming worms and wondered if I would ever end up that desperate.
Asten extended his wings and flapped them before leaping dozens of feet in one powerful jump. I clung to his neck desperately as he hopped onto a rock protruding from the water. I glimpsed Dr. Hassan waving at us as Asten leapt into the air and spread his wings.
Surging wind whipped my hair back as the bird rose. The tips of his wings brushed the spilling waterfall and then we were out into the open sky, flying above the Oasis of the Sacred Stones. My stomach seemed to have been left in the cavern, and I wondered for a desperate minute if I was going to throw up. As Asten leveled off, circling over the mountain, I was finally able to get control over my stomach.
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You are not sick, are you? he asked as if reading my thoughts. I wondered if, like Amon, he could.
I replied without speaking. Can you hear me if I talk to you through my mind?
Yes. Though it takes concentration.
“Then I’ll just talk to you as long as you can hear me.”
That is much easier. Thank you.
“You’re welcome. Now let’s go back and get Amon.”
Do you remember that you agreed to trust me?
“Yes, but—”
Just then, Amon, in the form of the golden falcon, burst out of the hole in the mountain, a soaking-wet Dr. Hassan clinging to his neck. The falcon pounded his wings furiously and moved from side to side, which at first I assumed was an attempt to help Dr. Hassan safely onto his back, but then the giant worm burst from the mountain right behind them, mouth open, its body bruised and broken.
It clamped on to the falcon’s tail feathers, and the bird cried out as it pulled away. The only prize for the monstrous worm was a single gleaming golden feather that spun in the air, dropping slowly until it met the wet rocks where the waterfall had once been. Almost mournfully, the worm screeched a final time before retreating back into the mountain.
The golden bird soon caught up to us and lifted his head to peer at me.
“Are you all right, Amon?” I called out, but as much as I concentrated I couldn’t hear his reply.
If you have a message for him, I can relay it for you, Asten said. I am connected to both Amon and Ahmose.
“Really? What’s that like? You can still hear Ahmose even though we haven’t raised him yet?”
Wait a moment. Asten tilted his head as if listening to something far off. Amon wishes for me to inquire as to your health, he said finally.
“Tell him I’m fine.” I glanced at Amon flying next to us and waved to reassure him. “Where exactly are we going, anyway?”
The grand vizier is providing directions to Ahmose. Amon warned me to prepare myself for an onslaught of questions due to your inquisitive nature. He also reminded me that you are not a devotee such as I am accustomed to and that you will not be falling easily into my arms.
“Both of Amon’s statements are correct.”
Then I would suggest that you commence with the questions, since I cannot fathom knowing a woman who does not desperately seek my attention.
A giggle erupted from me and I pressed my hand against my mouth. Girlish giggles were very unlike me, but there was a certain charm to Asten’s firm conviction regarding his masculine appeal. It couldn’t be said that the man lacked confidence.
What is your first question?
“What was Amon like as a boy?”
Ah. And I thought I would be delighting you with tales about myself. I am struck to the core to be brushed aside so, but I will indulge you since Amon and I were boys together and any story I tell you about him is sure to reflect a positive light on me as well.
Asten’s wings settled into a gentle rhythm and I positioned myself in the most comfortable way I could as he began speaking.
Like Ahmose and myself, Amon was confident, brave, and strikingly handsome, though perhaps not as handsome as me. Where we differed is that Amon had great compassion for the downtrodden. He noticed things. Amon would see an old beggar sleeping by a field and hand off the basket of fish we’d just caught. In a crowd, he’d find the little girl who wanted to give him a weed and pass it off as a flower.
One time the three of us ran from our schoolmaster. We were boys and thought nothing of taking a day for some fun. Rather than be stuck indoors with our lessons, we decided to explore the countryside. We raced desert horses, played senet, watched the colorful boats sailing down the Nile, sought buried treasure, and stole delicacies from the market vendors when their backs were turned.
That afternoon we hunted—me with my bow, Amon with his swords, and Ahmose with his battle-ax and cudgel. We tracked our prey, an ibex, through some low hills only to find it surrounded by a pack of jackals. There were more than two dozen of the beasts, and, brimming with boyish overconfidence, we attacked. The jackals retreated, but by the time they did, the ibex had been ripped asunder. To celebrate the success of driving off the jackals, we camped in a fertile grove and roasted desert hares over the fire to sate the hunger in our bellies.
Returning to our home the next morning, we declared the previous day a resounding triumph. Though we knew our father would devise some sort of punishment for our desertion, we determined our freedom was worth whatever small price we had to pay.
But our teacher, who loved each of us, and Amon especially, did not want us to get into trouble with the king. We soon found out that after realizing we were spending the day elsewhere, our teacher attempted to track us down himself rather than disturb our father or mother.
In the course of following our trail, he came across the ibex’s remains and stopped to investigate. Worried that we’d been injured, he pressed forward and was not too far from the grove when he was set upon by the remaining jackals. He did not survive. Our beloved instructor’s gnawed-upon bones were laid before the three of us, and our father honored his sacrifice as a hero.
Amon changed after that day. He made a public vow that he would never again shirk responsibility. From that day onward, he trained dutifully and his behavior was above reproach.
“I see. That explains a lot, actually. So, what about you?”
What about me?
“Was your behavior also above reproach?”
Asten laughed. Conformity and meeting the expectations of others does not suit me. I was saddened at the death of our teacher, but I did not blame myself like Amon did.
“Then why do you still serve Egypt? You seem to love life and living too much to settle for thousands of years wandering the afterlife. Why don’t you give it up?”
There was no response for a moment, and I was about to repeat the question when Asten answered.
I have considered it. In fact, it is the one thing that occupies my mind the most during my thousand-year sojourns. Well, that and imagining all the women prepared to give me a hero’s welcome when I rise. But even though I can list hundreds of reasons to abandon my call, there is one very pressing reason why I keep doing it millennium after millennium.
“And what reason is that?”
The great bird tilted his head to gaze at the golden falcon trailing just behind us. His wings lifted and he soared slowly until the falcon caught up.
I love my brothers.
Asten’s declaration was quiet but held undertones of a passionate dedication that gave me insight into the man he was.
It’s as simple as that. I would not abandon them for all the nubile women in the world. Present company excluded, of course. If you agreed to fly off with me into the sunset, I’d abandon them in a heartbeat.
Patting his downy neck, I wondered, and not for the first time, what kind of a bird he was; I’d never seen one like him before. With a smile, I said, “No. You wouldn’t.”
For your information, I am a starlit ibis—a very rare and beautiful creature. As to your comment, give me the option, princess.
“You don’t need one. Speaking of which, were there any? Princesses, I mean?”
Are you inquiring if I am available to woo?
I rolled my eyes. “I’m just curious to know what would have happened if you hadn’t become demigods. I assume Amon is the eldest, so he would have married first, right?”
What makes you think he is the eldest?
“I don’t know. I guess because he rose first.”
He is not the eldest. Ahmose beat him by a few minutes, and I trailed behind by an hour or two.
“Wait. Are you saying you’re triplets?”
What is a triplet?
“It’s when three babies are born at the same time to the same mother.”
Ah. I understand your confusion. We do not have the same mother.
“So…your father had mistresses? Concubines?” I add
ed for clarity.
No. My father loved my mother and her alone.
“Then I really don’t understand. How can you be brothers when you have different mothers?”
Our parents conceived us when they began worshipping Seth. We were born on the same day, each in our own kingdom. Because we were considered a gift of the gods, we were reared as brothers with the hope that we would unite all of Egypt under one ruler.
We took turns living in each kingdom. If blood had brought us together as true brothers, we could not have been any closer than we were. Since we were each, in essence, heir to our own kingdom, there was no jealousy or animosity among us.
“It sounds like a nice way to grow up.”
There could not have been a childhood more delightful and happy than the one I had. Now then, I have told you somewhat of my upbringing, so perhaps you can distract me with some tales of your own.
“Oh, I don’t think you’ll find my childhood very interesting.”
On the contrary, I find you very interesting.
“As a person or as a female?”
Can I not be interested in both?
“I suppose. What do you want to know?”
Why not start by telling me your greatest wish?
I laughed. “Why? Are you a genie who will grant me three wishes?”
You mock me, princess. I do have the ability to access the magic that flows between the stars, which is no trifling thing. Come. Tell me what your heart wishes for and I will fly to the farthest star to bring it back to you.
Even if I believed he could do what he said he could, what would I wish for? Love. The idea burst into my mind like a sunrise. Before Asten could grasp the thought, I tried to distract him by saying something else. “I’d like Amon to be well again. Can you do something like that?”
Asten was quiet for a few seconds, and then replied. Ahmose is the healer among us. He will do what he can after he is awakened.
“But will Amon even have the power to awaken him?”
If he does not, I will bolster him.
“Thank you.”