The Shadow Prince, page 21
I ran for the dropped box, leaping over the clutter, slipping and falling and getting up.
Ammut towered above Khufu, her claws upraised, her jaws hanging above his head. She grabbed him, almost gently, by the shoulders. She lifted him up, staring down her snout at him. I thought he was done for. But I wasn’t going to let him go without a fight.
Reaching the box, I fumbled with the key. I got it facing the right way and slammed it into the lock. I turned, heard it click and …
Ammut grabbed me. She lifted me by a lion claw and spun me around. For the second time in my life, I got a close-up view of Ammut’s toothy jaws. The demon held both the prince and me in midair. She looked at us from one to the other, considering which of us to eat first. By the twinkle in her bulbous eyes, it was clear she was enjoying the moment. Khufu thrashed and kicked. I just held still. She’d beat me. I could still see the box on the floor, the key in it and the lid just slightly ajar. So near, and yet totally beyond my reach.
Ammut lifted me high. Her snout levered open, toothy and foul. Her rank breath rushed up into my face. Apparently, she’d made her choice. I was going down her throat first.
Or … not exactly first.
I could see beyond the jagged confusion of her teeth, past the slithery wetness of her tongue, down the enormously wide cavern of her throat … the tiny faces of the hippos. They looked up at me all crammed together with the most miserable defeated expression. But they weren’t defeated … yet.
“Hippos!” I shouted. “Bouncy balls!”
They didn’t understand what I meant. They just looked at me with numb incomprehension. Come on!
Ammut almost had me in her mouth. The hippos had to act fast! I turned to Khufu. I didn’t think he could see them the way I could, but he must’ve understood me. He piped right up.
“Servants of the Prince!” he shouted. “I command you. Do bouncy balls!”
I looked back in at the hippos. Something sparked. Their eyes went wide. Their tiny squished faces took on looks of great concentration. Their foreheads twitched and their blue skin turned purplish. Then things got wild.
61 Bouncy Balls
A hippo drew up his legs and kicked off of one side of Ammut’s belly. Another did the same. Soon they were zipping to one side, banging into the belly-wall, then zinging back. The rest followed. In an instant, they were all in motion, ricocheting about in the cauldron of the demon’s big belly.
Ammut grunted. She groaned. She threw us to the ground and cradled her large lion belly. Under her paws, her torso bulged and contorted.
The hippos inside her bounced faster and faster. Ammut’s belly jiggled and jumped. Khufu and I both backed slowly away. It was a good thing we did, too.
Just when it seemed that the commotion inside her couldn’t get any more frantic, Ammut let out a piteous wail. Honestly, despite all she’d tried to do to us, I felt sorry for her. She sounded like a frightened child.
Of course, she was a demon, which was why when she exploded all that was left of her was a noxious green cloud. She was back in the underworld. Little blue hippos erupted through the gas, flying in all directions. They caromed off the walls and ceiling. They crashed through the chairs and tables. One smashed the only remaining unbroken urn. Another came at me with such speed only sheer instinct made me duck to avoid it.
And then, as quickly as it had all begun, the room went silent. I looked at Khufu. He looked at me. One by one, the hippos rose, rubbing their sore heads. They complained of bumps and bruises, which I was pretty sure meant they were just fine.
“She’s gone,” Khufu whispered.
“Yeah, she is,” Gilli said, standing up and getting his bearings. “Right back to whatever cavern she came from.”
Khufu ran to check on Seret. “Are you all right?” he asked her, looking at her wounds.
“I think so,” she answered, weakly.
Looking at where Yazen lay, I knew I couldn’t ask him the same question. With dread in my heart, I pulled away the debris that covered him. His tunic was dark with blood.
“Yazen?”
I knelt down and placed my good hand on his chest, trying to feel if he was breathing. I couldn’t tell. My hand trembled too much. My heartbeat pounded in my ears. This moment was even more frightening than all the things that had come before. I’d never seen Yazen so limp and still, not even in his deepest sleep.
My breath caught in my throat as I thought the unthinkable. I began to say his name again, but stopped. What if I said it, but he couldn’t hear me? What if he never heard me again? What if the only person—the only parent—I’d ever truly known was dead? In that moment, I’d never felt more afraid.
Guards rushed in. Burly men with long spears, they fanned out throughout the room. “Prince Khufu, are you all right?” one of them called. His eyes scanned every corner of the room. “Where is the enemy?”
The pharaoh and Lords Horus and Thoth arrived to hear the answer. Set and Prince Rami as well, both of them wearing expressions that were hard to read. Surprised? Disappointed? Annoyed? I couldn’t tell.
When he answered, Khufu sounded strangely grown-up. “Yes, Captain. I’m okay, but this lioness needs a physician. And that man is gravely hurt.” Khufu indicated Yazen, and then looked at his father. For a moment I thought he’d run to him. I think I would have, if he’d been my father. But Khufu stayed composed. I guess that’s something they teach princes to do.
“Of course,” Pharaoh Neferu said. He turned around, spotting the just-arriving physicians. “Healers, see to this man. Give him your full attention. Hear me? Keep him alive.” He made the last sentence a command, one with the power of a pharaoh.
The physicians went to work, Thoth with them.
Other guards arrived. Khufu reassured them, “The enemy has been defeated. It was Ammut.”
Lord Horus gazed about the wrecked room. “The Devouress of the Dead? She was here for questioning, but how could she have gotten free?”
“That’s what I’d like to know,” Khufu said. I couldn’t be sure, but I’d swear that his gaze snapped over to Rami. The pharaoh gathered Khufu into his arms and hugged him. “This is madness. Unforgivable. We can expect no better from Ammut, but whoever freed her from the holding cell must be found and punished. This was an act of treason!”
Lord Horus began to say something, but Set beat him to it. Stepping forward, he said, “Your Majesty, leave this question to me. I’ll investigate the matter thoroughly. Interrogate Ammut. Follow all leads until I get to the bottom of just how this dreadful attack occurred.”
Pharaoh Neferu looked unsure. “Thank you, Lord Set, but—”
“I’ll accept no buts,” Set continued. “It’s a point of honor for me. My duties take me through the Duat more often than most other gods. Who better than me to find the culprit that no doubt lurks down there right now? I insist. Unless …” He hesitated, the horny tufts on his head drooping slightly. “… you have reason to doubt me?”
Ha! I thought. Yeah, there’s reason to doubt you! I almost blurted out as much, but I wasn’t sure what I’d say. I was suspicious of Set? I was, but I couldn’t really have said what I suspected. That he didn’t like me? That was hardly a crime. Was I going to mention the way he scowled at me, those flames that appeared in his eyes, that he wrinkled his snout when he looked at me? I’d sound silly if I said any of that. And what good was claiming that he almost ate me? He hadn’t ended up doing it, and nobody else saw a thing.
No, there was really no way for me to pipe up about Lord Set. So I didn’t.
I still hoped that Pharaoh Neferu would express doubts of his own, but that hope vanished when he said, “Of course not, Lord Set. We all know the many ways you labor for the good of Egypt. If you wish for this assignment, it is yours.”
Turning away from Lord Set’s smug face, I saw something I had thought I might never see again. Yazen, with his eyes open. He was alive! I rushed over to him as the physicians were placing him gently onto a stretcher. He couldn’t talk, but he could smile, and he did. Lord Thoth stood above him. He slipped his stylus into his belt. “Your mentor will heal,” the god said. “Scarred, perhaps, but for the second time in as many days I’ve breathed life into a body close to death.”
I’d never heard better news.
62 Out of the Shadows and into the Light
“Lord Thoth’s magic is strong,” Horus said. “But … you both appear to be unarmed. Just how did you defeat such a powerful demon?”
He asked the question in such a serious tone, with his falcon eyes on me so intensely that I had every intention of answering him. But when the words bouncy balls came into my mind, I couldn’t spit them out. Instead, I giggled.
Khufu tried to say the words that I couldn’t. “Bo … bo … bouncy …” That was as far as he got. He guffawed so hard he snorted. That made Seret and Gilli lose it. Seret was wincing in pain as the physicians doctored her wounds, but she couldn’t help laughing. We each tried to explain, but failed utterly.
The pharaoh and the gods watched us in astonishment. “Apparently,” Horus said dryly, “they defeated the Devouress of the Dead with a good joke. I just wish one of them could tell us what it was.”
By the time attendants came to say it was time to head to the ceremony, we still didn’t have ahold of ourselves.
“We will discuss what happened later,” Pharaoh Neferu said. “Right now we have a ceremony to attend. The people are gathered. Khufu, Ash. They await you.” He frowned. “Only … look at the state of you. I don’t know that we can present you to the court looking like that.”
Glancing down at myself, I had to admit he had a point. My skin was still golden, but all that carefully placed jewelry was now strewn about the room. Blood stained my tunic. The fabric was tattered and torn. Khufu didn’t look much better. He was sweat-stained and streaked with Seret’s blood. Despite that—or maybe because of it—he seemed confident in a way I hadn’t noticed in him before.
Pharaoh Neferu turned to Thoth, asking if he might work an illusion on us. Khufu interrupted.
“Father,” he said, “I would like us to stay as we are. We look this way because we were attacked. Together, Ash, Seret, Gilli, and I—and Yazen and the Servants of the Prince—fought back a powerful demon together. Why not show that to the people? Already, my shadow has had a hand in my fate. Isn’t that worth declaring tonight?”
The pharaoh studied his son for a long moment. “Khufu, you look different to me, in more ways than just those ragged clothes,” he said, a hint of amusement on his lips. “So be it. Go, let the people see you as you are.”
Lady Isis spoke then. “If I may …” She moved close to me and said, “Ash, I have a gift for you. Will you accept it?”
“Um … yeah,” I said.
She raised a hand and traced her fingertip across the skin around my eye. Her touch was hot and cold at the same time. It left my skin tingling. She lifted a hand mirror from the bedside table and showed me my reflection. There, etched around my eye in twinkling gray lines, was a symbol.
“An Eye of Isis,” the goddess said. “My son’s is similar, but this is the original.” She winked. “This means that when you are protecting the prince and are in grave danger or in need of help I will know it. I will aid you if I can.”
“That’s quite a gift,” Pharaoh Neferu said. Under his breath, he added, “I think thanks are in order.”
Thank her I did! I stumbled over my words until the whole room was laughing, me included.
As we left the room, the physician’s assistants lifted Yazen and carried him away. He smiled as he passed out of sight. Seret, with her shoulder being bandaged, waved weakly. Gilli called, “Don’t trip during the ceremony, or anything embarrassing like that!”
Khufu and I tried to maintain suitable decorum. It was hard. We were both giddy. Happy at being alive, at everyone being safe, at having sent the demon back to the underworld. At being friends, for that was definitely what we were. I couldn’t believe I’d only known Khufu for a week. I remembered the first time I saw him. Back then, I couldn’t imagine what I might have in common with him. Now, I realized I’d give my life to protect him. Thing was, I felt sure he’d do the same for me.
The pharaoh and the gods left us in the care of a court official, who looked shocked at our appearance. There wasn’t time to explain, though. Instead, he herded us up onto the rear of the dais. From it, we would step into view of the crowd gathered below us in the great plaza as the pharaoh announced us. We stayed hidden. I couldn’t see the audience that must have stretched out below the dais, but I could feel their presence, the hum in the air of many expectant people.
“Remember what Gilli said,” Khufu whispered.
“Just watch your own feet,” I said, smiling.
And then came the moment. The pharaoh said our names. An attendant nudged me. I stepped forward. Slowly, the ranks of people in the audience below came into view. It was incredible. I’d never seen so many people before. Rich people draped in jewels. Lords and ladies. Foreign dignitaries. Gods and magical creatures in all their various forms and guises. Humble people far into the distance. I could barely take in the whole scene. But I knew one thing for sure. They were all looking at me. I made sure I didn’t trip.
I glanced over at Khufu. He made a fist, and—just faintly—punched the air. With my good arm, I did the same. Together, we stepped forward, out of the shadows and into the light.
Glossary of the Gods in The Shadow Prince
Horus is the son of Osiris and Isis, the divine child of the holy family triad. He is one of many gods associated with the falcon. His name means “He Who Is Above” and “He Who Is Distant.” The falcon had been worshipped from earliest times as a cosmic deity whose body represents the heavens and whose eyes represent the sun and the moon. Horus is depicted as a falcon wearing a crown with a cobra or the Double Crown of Egypt. The hooded cobra (uraeus), which the gods and pharaohs wore on their foreheads, symbolizes light and royalty. It is there to protect the person from harm.
Isis represents the power of love to overcome death. She brought her husband and brother, Osiris, back to life and saved her son Horus from certain death. She is portrayed wearing the hieroglyph for “throne” on her head, and she sometimes wears a solar disc between cow horns. She is also often depicted mourning the death of her husband and nursing their son.
Mafdet is an early goddess of justice who pronounced judgment and meted out execution swiftly. Her name means “She Who Runs” for the speed with which she dispensed justice. She is the earliest feline deity in Egypt, predating both Bastet and Sekhmet. She protected people from venomous bites, especially from scorpions. Her sharp claws are likened to the tip of the harpoon of the pharaoh that protects him from his enemies in the underworld. Because of this, Mafdet is the protector of the pharaoh, his chambers, his tomb and other sacred places.
Nekhbet, portrayed as a vulture, was the principal goddess of Upper Egypt, whose king she protected. Her northern counterpart was the cobra goddess Wadjet. The two are referred to as “The Two Ladies.” She was also a protector of royal children and, in later periods, of all young children and expectant mothers.
Ra is the sun god and is considered the central and original power of creation. The daily rising and setting sun offered tangible evidence of the sun’s power to fall into the western sky and be reborn each morning in the eastern sky. Ra brought Maat, the principle of truth and balanced justice, to the Egyptians. This became the cornerstone of the Egyptian civilization.
Set is the god of darkness, drought, and chaos. He is the opponent of everything good and life-giving. In some legends, Set was the adversary of Ra, but other legends said he helped protect Ra. As the god of disorder, Set is placed in opposition to Horus, the god who ruled the land with order and stability. Seth is an animal-headed deity with a curved head, tall square-topped ears and an erect, arrow-like tail. The animal he represents has not been identified.
Sobek was a god of the Nile who brought fertility to the land. As the “Lord of the Waters” he was thought to have risen from the primordial waters of Nun to create the world and made the Nile from his sweat. One creation myth states that Sobek laid eggs on the bank of the waters of Nun thus creating the world.
Thoth was a moon god and the patron of the arts, hieroglyphics, science, speech, and wisdom. He was also the author of the Book of the Dead and delivered the final verdicts at the trials of dead souls. Thoth was the writer of all knowledge and he organized the government and religion, as well as being the protector of scribes. Considered a great magician, he knew “all that is hidden under the heavenly vault.”
Resources:
egyptian-gods.org
historymuseum.ca
ancient.eu
ancientegypt.co.uk
ancientegyptonline.co.uk
Acknowledgments
I am grateful to Stacy Whitman and Tu Books for embracing this novel, and especially to my editor, Elise McMullen-Ciotti, whose hard work and creatively supportive editorial pen made this a much better book.
About the Author
David Anthony Durham was born in New York to a Caribbean family and raised primarily in the Mid-Atlantic area. He holds an MFA in creative writing from the University of Maryland, and teaches at the Stonecoast MFA Program and the University of Nevada, Reno. David is the author of seven books for grown-ups. The Shadow Prince is his first book for middle-grade readers.
David Anthony Durham, The Shadow Prince
