Earth Guardian (Deities Series Book 2) Read online

  “Hot damn, are you serious? Now I have to go, too. Do you think that stone is cold?” Ash looks at the narrow ledge above the moving water.

  “A lavatory?” That sounds weird, even to me.

  “Yes, think about it. This isn’t a tomb, this is a vast maze. They must have lived and worked down here for long stretches of time creating the labyrinth and storing its secrets. They would’ve needed somewhere to relieve themselves.” Dr. Mara watches the water, flowing steadily down the trench. “The Romans had systems like this. I wonder if they learned it from the Egyptians?”

  “Does that mean this water is going to keep flowing without stopping?” Torrent is studying the water, watching it coming out of the square hole.

  “I would guess it circulates and is filtered or cleaned somehow in the process. Saltwater kills germs, too. But I wouldn’t touch it again with your hands, soldiers.”

  “Eww, you tasted it, Tor,” Ash laughs as Torrent wipes his hands on his jeans.

  “Don’t worry, team, no one has used this for thousands of years.”

  “Well I can’t wait any longer. Turn around, guys.” Tage drops her pack and is lifting her tunic. I turn around quickly, my face flushing hot in the cool air.

  “Good idea. Ladies, our turn first.” The three ladies take care of business while we’re turned around.

  “Will we use TP, doctor?” Tage asks.

  “No, these are water-only systems. When you do number two, give your behind a little dip to wash it off. If I’m right, this water won’t stop running, coming back clean every time.” Clothes rustle as they finish.

  “Remind me not to take a crap next to you guys,” Torrent mutters as we three take our turn, facing the water trench.

  “Well at least I won’t have to burn your shit.” Ash sounds satisfied.

  Chapter Nineteen

  We follow the hallway along its entire length. At the end, it makes another perfect turn to the right. Ash knows where to place her hand to light up the new tunnel of braziers. We all use the lavatory trench one more time, as it ends here, the water flowing into the wall through another square hole. This tunnel goes dark as we leave it, the brazier flames flickering to nothing as the water stops running.

  Must work off the elemental magic.

  “Are you sure this is a maze?” Torrent asks the doctor.

  “It’s part of it, yes. History records there being three thousand rooms, on at least two levels.”

  Nothing seems to faze the doctor. How is she always so calm? I’m glad we have an adult with us, someone who seems to know what they’re doing.

  Tage stops. “Three thousand? Are you kidding me?”

  “Hmmm.” Smoke is thinking, tapping his pencil against his teeth. “How long will it take us to search that many rooms? Let’s see. Three thousand rooms and if we take five minutes in each room … that’s fifteen thousand minutes. Which is about ten days to cover all the rooms.”

  “Too long,” Torrent adds. “We don’t have enough supplies for that. Plus that’s only accounting for five minutes. What if we spend more time in certain ones, we get lost, our group gets split up …”

  “The three thousand is probably just a figurative number—an exaggeration,” Dr. Mara says. “Let’s just focus on our task, team.”

  “Up here.” Ash rushes ahead.

  We’re probably in the center of this long hallway, and on the right and left are huge angled doorways, like the other one.

  I place my hand on the earth symbol to the door on the left. It grinds open, revealing a passageway going forward, then up wide, stone stairs. Rocks, dirt, and rubble block the steps a short way up.

  “Dr. Mara, we’ve just walked around what looks like a giant square.” Smoke is mapping the tunnels with his pencil. “My guess is that the giant square is the maze, on the inside. I think those steps probably once led to the surface.”

  “That’s what I was thinking.” The doctor nods. “I bet we’ve found the front entrance. Ridge, let’s open this other door, going inward.” Dr. Mara studies the glyphs above the door. “It says ‘Hall of Two Truths.’ Face masks on, everyone. The air could be toxic since this room has been sealed for so long. Plus, we need to be ready for anything.”

  “Like booby traps?” Tage asks.

  I find the earth symbol and touch it with my palm. The tall, stone door grinds open, sliding into the wall. Ash steps in and lights the braziers in the new passage with her hand on the wall.

  It looks just like the Grand Gallery in the Great Pyramid, only twice as wide. The ceiling is tall and narrows as it soars above us, the stones ridging in every little way. Like the shape of a tall, narrow, step pyramid. Ascension …

  A staircase spanning the width goes up as far as we can see.

  Only there’s a strange contraption blocking our way about twelve steps up. It almost looks like …

  “Is that a set of giant weighing scales?” I point. My voice sounds a bit muffled with the face mask on. Tentatively checking the air, I lift it above my mouth and breathe in. “I think it’s safe for us in here if this is one of the trials.”

  “If you’re correct, then something is protecting this room.” Smoke continues plotting on his pad.

  The stairs end at a pit spanning the width of the gallery. Rising from the center of the pit is a single column, attached to a giant stone crossbeam above. On each end of the crossbeam are attached four large, golden chains, coming down to the pit, widening as they descend to where they each hold a large, golden platform, about two meters square, right in line with the twelfth step. Only on the right side there are no steps leading up to it—just steep, angled stone. Too smooth to climb.

  On the tall stone wall past the platforms, there are painted giant figures of gods and goddesses and other figures. The steps continue from the top of the wall, several meters above. The golden chains and platforms gleam in the firelight.

  Every surface of this lofty gallery is covered in the brightly painted etchings, glinting in the flickering light, as if mocking us.

  Dr. Mara sighs. “It is. This is a test, the judgment after one dies, on their journey to the afterlife. It’s chronicled in the Egyptian Book of the Dead. I was hoping this Hall would be symbolic, not literal. There is the god Osiris standing behind the left scale, attended by Anubis with the black jackal’s head, and there on the right-hand wall is the goddess Ma’at, with her tall ostrich feather.”

  “So this is the real set of scales?” Smoke nods. “I think they’ll actually raise or lower, see how the column is attached to the beam? The scales are suspended over the pit.”

  “What do we do?” Tage asks. “We’ll have to step on this golden platform. What’s that thing on the other platform?”

  Our coach doesn’t answer.

  “What’s the fucking test, Dr. Mara?” Ash is sharp. “What’s that dusty lump on the other scale?”

  “When you are judged in the afterlife, you have to weigh your heart against the white ostrich feather of Ma’at—the feather of truth.” Dr. Mara points to the other wall. The giant painting of a goddess with a feather rising from her headdress adorns it. The small lump in the middle of the platform is so covered with dust, it’s impossible to tell what it is.

  About the size of an ostrich feather. I make the sign of the cross. Lord, help us through this, protect us.

  “The ostrich feather,” I answer. “It’s the right size and shape.” Somehow, I’m sure of it.

  “And how the hell are we supposed to weigh our hearts?” Ash stands with a fist on her hip. “Against a fucking magical feather? It looks real enough but if this place hasn’t had anyone down her for years, how has that feather not disintegrated yet?”

  “I don’t know. Let’s take a break, soldiers, while Tage and I try to read the hieroglyphs around this room.”

  I sit, removing my pack for water and lean against the wall. The stairs ascend as far as I can see above the tall wall. So, if we stand on this scale, and it rises, we can continue up the
stairs. I shake my head. And if the scale lowers with us on it, where will it take us? It’s impossible to see what’s below in the pit. I go and stand on its edge. It plummets straight down into darkness, on either side of the column standing on a stone base many meters down. I’m dizzy for a second. I touch the painted top step, trying to sense where it goes. Nothing …

  “Doctor, what does it mean that the heart is weighed? Is it the physical heart?” My curiosity overtakes me as I interrupt her reading the walls.

  “No, though it’s portrayed as the mummified heart in a special pottery jar. But it means if you’ve lived a good life, free from any guilt, your heart will be lighter than a feather.”

  “I’ll try it.” I have confidence in my faith. “Besides, I’m Earth. I should test it first. I can probably get out of stuff you guys can’t.” My confidence wavers as I step onto the golden platform. What if I’m wrong? Will I die?

  Before anyone can say anything, I move to the center of the scale. The air thickens and shimmers around me, making me disoriented. The shouts of my friends are muffled, as if from behind a thick wall.

  I’m saved, Jesus has paid the price. I’m innocent … but those men, the American soldiers … I killed them. I killed a lot of them … Zabbaleen, my home, I left them all to die in the fire, why didn’t I go back and help them?

  The platform shifts slightly, then drops beneath me in a rush. The scale suddenly tilts and I slide off into blackness, my cry amplified to the heights.

  Chapter Twenty

  I’m sliding down a steep, stone tunnel again—how did I end up here? I can’t think as I rush, feet-first, dust flying into my nose and mouth, making me cough. I can’t see a thing—terror fills my being. I try touching my hands to the walls but I’m going so fast my skin tears.

  The stone tunnel disappears, and my breath leaves me as I drop through open air. I land with a gasp in soft, deep sand, my legs sinking to my knees. I attempt to stand, but the sand shifts so much, I find myself crawling with my arms, almost like a swimming motion. It’s pitch black. I struggle to a cool, stone wall. Where’s my pack when I need it? Why didn’t I bring it?

  Blind in here, I feel my way along the wall, using it for support, each step a struggle in the loose sand. The wall turns to the right, then after a few meters, to the right again, then a longer way until another sharp right. Where did I start exactly? I think I’ve walked around four walls of a chamber … where’s the door?

  Faraway shouts get louder and louder, punctuated by a string of curse words.

  “Ahh!” Ash drops with a thump into the sand. “Shit.” Rustling sounds, then light flares. I walk back to the group. Ash picks up a backpack and tosses it to me. “Keep your fucking pack with you at all times, civie.” She adjusts her own, pulled up by the long slide down.

  “What happened?” I look around me—yes, it’s a medium-sized chamber, filled with this shifting sand, no doors or windows—just the chute high above. The wall paintings and hieroglyphs extend even below the level of the sand. There’s a large, imposing figure going up the main wall opposite the chute. He looks a little unusual somehow, not like the other gods. Is that a silver cloak he’s wearing?

  “I got on the effing scale, that’s what happened. I couldn’t let you do this alone. How would you see without your lights?” Ash struggles across the chamber to get to me. It’s funny, watching her try to get through the sand, pumping her arms, her light flickering every which way. I laugh. She reaches me and punches me in the arm. “Laugh it up, asshole. The others are coming.”

  Sure enough, each of our team yells or shouts as they rush down the tunnel and drop into the sand. Tage is accompanied by her high-pitched screaming the whole way.

  “So much for our break. What were you thinking, Ridge?” Dr. Mara is like a ruffled hen. She straightens her uniform and adjusts her pack, struggling to hold her balance.

  My mind goes blank. “I, don’t know. I just felt that I was to get on the scale.” I blink at them. Why did I just go like that? That was stupid.

  “Well no more of that, all of you, do you hear me?” We all nod. I’ve never seen the doctor so angry. “We have no idea what we’ll encounter, what traps might be triggered. We could die in here, and no one would find our bodies for thousands of years.” She looks hard at each of us in turn. “We have to take this slowly. I need time to read the glyphs, to understand what we’re doing. No one makes a decision without consulting the team—do you understand, soldiers?” We nod again. “And I make the final call. And keep your packs with you at all times.”

  My face flushes.

  “Now, where are we?” The doctor studies the figure and the writing on the walls. “It says: ‘Chamber of Truth,’ and under that: ‘The Sands of Falsehood.’”

  “Who’s the dude?” Ash shines her light at the tall god-like figure.

  “It says ‘Far-Strider.’” The doctor is silent a minute.

  “He’s one of the forty-two judges of the afterlife,” Smoke says as he helps Tage.

  “Forty-Two Judges?” Tage struggles in the sand. We’re all standing in a circle, about a meter apart from each other, in the middle of the chamber. As if we want to be near each other, for safety, though we’re mostly staring at the wall etchings surrounding us. We’re trapped in here.

  “It’s part of the afterlife journey, described in the Book of the Dead,” Dr. Mara says. “They’re like a council of gods, and each represents a particular sin. You have to deny this sin to the judge to prove your innocence. After you speak to each judge, they give counsel to Osiris on whether you are guilty, or free to go to heaven, basically.”

  “And if you’re guilty?” Ash is grim.

  “Then Ammut, the Devourer, eats you.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  “What?” Ash sounds angry now.

  “Ammut is a weird monster with a crocodile’s head, a lion’s body and the hind of a hippo. See—there’s a painting of her over there.” The doctor points.

  “Okay, so each of us was found wanting on the scale.” The wheels in Smoke’s head are turning. “How are we supposed to prove our innocence? What is the sin for this, what is it … god? Judge?”

  “They are both. A council of gods. This one is Far-Strider. They have strange names like that.” Dr. Mara studies the writings. “As to its sin, maybe it has something to do with the ‘Sands of Falsehood.’ Yes, I’d guess that ‘falsehood’ is the sin.”

  “So, what, we have to prove we don’t lie?” I ask.

  Dr. Mara looks at me. “We each have to prove that we’ve never lied in our lives – have never proven false.”

  “So, we’re fucked, then.” Ash tries to sit down, but it’s more like a crouch as her butt sinks into the sand a little bit.

  “Let’s take a moment, team. Breathe. We can figure this out.” The doctor is back to her calm self.

  “What happened when you each got on the scale?” Smoke is also calm. “For me, I thought of the good in my life, but then all I could think about was how stupid I was to get shot.” His voice drops low. “I’ve been nothing but a burden ever since. I have all this useless knowledge but I’m not contributing anything. I don’t have abilities like my sister.”

  “No, babe, you’re part of the team. We don’t leave each other behind.” Tage puts her hand on his shoulder. “How are your stitches doing?”

  Smoke twists around to check his bandages. “They’re fine, leave it.”

  “Same with me.” I break the awkward silence. “I couldn’t get all the soldiers I killed out of my mind, and my family and friends I abandoned. I should have gone back.”

  Ash goes next. “I couldn’t stop thinking about my whole fucked-up life. How I’ve ruined everything, since I was little.” She looks down. “How I killed your family, Pamin. How many I’ve killed …”

  “Same with me,” Torrent adds. “I never meant to hurt anyone with my powers, but the army, the way they made us fight.” He turns away.

  “I feel bad because I
have no powers, no way to protect this team.” Tage is quiet. “I don’t know many hieroglyphics, but I’m trying. I’m afraid that I’ll let everyone down by not knowing something.” Smoke reaches over to hold her hand.

  “We’ll be normal together.” They smile at each other. “Sometimes I think Ash only keeps me around since I ground her. I’m her calming balm to her flames. But now she kinda has Tor to do that for her.”

  “We’re all needed here.” The doctor looks at each of us again. “Tage, Smoke, we’re safer when we’re together. We need each other to help figure out this labyrinth. Smoke, we especially need your map-making skills and all that knowledge you do have trapped in your brain. I do find it valuable. And Tage can assist more with mapping, reading and deciphering the symbols, as well as the pictures. It’s going to take everything we’ve got to get through this, all together, understand?” Smoke and Tage nod. “It sounds like we we’re filled with guilt of some kind, then were rejected by the scales.” Dr. Mara doesn’t elaborate on what her own thoughts were. “So what do we have to do in here? Ridge, is there a way out?”

  “Not that I can see.” I feel stupid stating the obvious. “I can’t sense anything, and I don’t see any way out.”

  “Okay then, it’s a test of some kind, like the scales. We can figure this out, soldiers. There must be a way to declare to Far-Strider here that we have not played false.”

  “Tage, do you really feel like you’re not part of the team?” Ash asks as Dr. Mara goes back to reading the walls. “You’ve been with us from the beginning, bestie. We couldn’t do it without you.” Ash smiles; it’s disarmingly different from her usual cussing. “I can’t do this without you, or my brother. You both are my rocks and I can’t image you guys not being here with me. I need you.”

  “Things used to be normal with us, you know.” Tage looks down, as if embarrassed. “We were best friends in high school. Then you found out you controlled fire. Then after basic training, we’re all back together, except that only Smoke and I are normal now, you know? I haven’t actually done anything to help, except get kidnapped and then they found you. It’s my fault.”