Hell's Pawn by Jay Bell

Author:Jay Bell [Bell, Jay]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2011-12-28T13:32:11+00:00

Chapter Ten

The world outside the mosaic door was Egypt as it had never been seen before.

L uscious green grass carpeted the gentle hills, each rise cresting with a fine crease at the top before sloping downward again in the manner of all sand dunes. P yramids populated these hills, each a different color. J ade, onyx, ruby, sapphire—the great bricks were hewn from impossibly large precious stones. I n the distance were four great sphinxes in cross formation, their backs turned to the powerful geyser fountain in their center. The water rained down and pooled around their massive paws. C hildren laughed as they splashed each other in the fountain, the adults among them distinguishable only in size as they joined in the revelry.

“I had such hopes. Despite the beauty of Nut my heart yearns for something different.” The voice of O siris was sad, his dark eyes fixed on the star-swept sky. “You have either deceived me, or you were mistaken about what you saw.” J ohn needed a moment to understand what he was talking about. “M y neck is still sunburned,” he said, half turning so the god could see. “I saw the sun beneath the ground.”

O siris sighed. “Perhaps the same reason that compelled R a to leave us continues to keep him away, for I don’t believe there is any being who could impede him against his will.”

“How long has it been?” Rimmon asked.

“Weeks, months, an eternity. The passage of time means nothing without night and day to gauge it by.” O siris still searched the horizon, not having given up hope. “Do not tell the others what you have seen. It will only turn them against you.” They were led to the largest of the pyramids, the light of the moon playing along its diamond surface. The pyramids J ohn had seen on television were always silent, the decaying bodies of giants, but here throngs of people crowded the pyramid’s base.

M any were on their knees, bowing and chanting prayers. O thers were delivering food or fulfilling other duties.

Navigating the crowd would have been difficult had O siris not been leading them.

People moved willingly out of his way, their eyes filled with love and admiration for the god who walked among them. J ohn and his companions were as good as invisible, weeds growing next to the most beautiful rose in the garden.

The interior of the pyramid also defied expectation. No passage was dark or dusty, nor was there a mummy or sarcophagus in sight. The outer areas of the pyramid were illuminated by light filtering through the diamond bricks. Further in, golden bowls blazing with pure white fire hung from the ceiling at regular intervals. The crowds thinned as they journeyed deep into the pyramid’s interior; only the occasional priest in decorative robes crossing their path.

Here in the pyramid’s inner sanctum, a number of cats made their home. The felines were everywhere, lounging in fur-lined beds, lurking at the tops of shelves, or peering out of small cat-sized tunnels in the wall.

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