Recreated (9 page)

At first, I cupped my hands in the cascading stream and poured the droplets into my mouth, but I found it vastly unsatisfying. I looked both ways and, still seeing nothing, plunged my whole face into the trickling stream, opening my mouth and taking in water in big gulps.

A part of my mind nagged me about the bugs, worms, and diseases of various kinds, but that Lily, the New York City girl, was no longer in charge. I was thirsty. I needed to drink. The river was full of water. I liked the simplicity of it. There was no doubt. No hesitancy. There was only need and the fulfilling of need. The pesky echo of myself was a girl distracted by too many thoughts, and as I drank, I allowed all of my worries and niggling fears to slip into the river and float away.

Satiated at last, I stepped back and plucked at the bodice of my wet dress. The water felt cool and refreshing on my hot skin, and I tossed my heavy hair behind me, irritated by the weight of it on my shoulders. I heard a noise and crouched down, barely noticing that my golden sandals were now mud-stained and the edges of my dress and bare legs were filthy.

A trio of small rodents had come to the water to drink and my belly rumbled. I wondered how long I would be expected to wander the savanna. Would I have to catch my own food, kill and cook it? How would I even start a fire? Perhaps there was some edible vegetation or maybe some kind of fruit.

I stayed by the river, hidden for several more hours. There was no way to explain it, but it felt like the right place to be. After an hour of vainly attempting to catch a fish for a meal, I finally gave up and resigned myself to spending the night not only alone in the middle of the wilderness, but also hungry.

After digging a small crevice in the rocks near the river, I lay down in my little earthen womb, stared up at the stars, and listened to the creatures of the night until the steady sounds of the insects lulled me to sleep.

“Lily! Lily? Can you hear me?”

The urgency in his voice dragged my dreaming self to consciousness, though my exhaustion kept trying to tow me back down to oblivion. “Amon?” I whispered groggily. “How are we able to do this again?”

“Lily? Good, you can hear me. We can only communicate like this when we are both in the dream world.”

I cracked open my dream-self's eyes by sheer determination alone and saw Amon's form sleeping with his head resting on his arm. A large purple bruise decorated the exposed side of his face and the light from a fire danced over his skin. I longed to run my hand up his arm and press a light kiss to his temple and even attempted to reach out to him, but it was no use. Our dream selves couldn't touch. The mental effort exhausted me, and I was about to slip back into my happy dream world when I heard Amon speak again.

“You must try to stay awake and listen, Young Lily. I know you're tired, but this is important. You cannot do this. Do you understand me? I will not permit you to endanger yourself for me. Not for any reason.”

Amon's intensity dispersed the darkness that offered sweet respite. I sputtered, “But Isis said—”

“Trusting the gods is a foolhardy endeavor. They only want to protect themselves. I will be well enough off, and I promise I will find a way to wait for you and will meet you again when it is time for you to pass on to the next plane of existence. That will only happen after you have lived a long life filled with love and mortal experience. You must not think of me or of this. This path that you are attempting is too dangerous.”

“But it's the only way to save you. The Devourer will come for you, Amon. She will consume your heart and destroy the world. I won't let that happen.”

He was silent for a moment. “Tell me everything they said,” he urged.

I rehearsed to him all the details I could remember, and when I was done, I asked, “Amon? Are you still there?”

“I am here, Nehabet.”

“So do you see? This isn't just about us anymore. This is about protecting the world.”

Quietly, he asserted, “It would have been better had the two of us never met. Perhaps then I would be, if not happy in my calling, then at least compliant.”

I swallowed. “Do you really regret meeting me?” I asked, almost afraid to hear his answer.

“Lily.” His voice broke and there was such longing, such despair attached to my name that the weight of it crushed my heart.

“I love you, Amon, and I have no regrets either,” I declared. “That includes doing what I have to do now. I will find a way to you. I promise.”

“If you are determined to walk this path, then there is nothing I can do to stop you.”

“But you would rather I didn't.”

“The loss of the whole world holds less meaning for me than the loss of one lovely hair on your head.”

“Amon.” I sighed his name, wishing he were holding me in his arms. “I've got to do this.”

“Then I will watch over you and advise you when opportunity permits.”

“Just stay alive until I get there. Otherwise, this will all have been for nothing.”

“I will make every effort.”

“So do you have any advice for me now?”

“Embrace your instincts.”

“That's not very specific.”

“You will understand when the time comes.” I sensed there was more he wanted to tell me but he couldn't bring himself to. Finally, he said, “I wish I could be with you. Protect you. I am pained to know that danger stalks you.”

“I think danger stalks you more than it does me.”

“There is no beast, no demon, more ferocious than the fear I feel knowing there is nothing I can do to help you.”

“Isis did give me her tears. That is supposed to protect me from at least some of the monsters.”

“Yes.” He sighed. “But only those that fear her wrath. And in the netherworld, those are not many.”

“If it makes you feel better. I wish you were with me, too.”

He said nothing for a moment as he thought, and then murmured, “Perhaps I can be.”

“Really?” I asked, excited by the prospect. “How?”

“To be clear, it won't be me. Not really. But since we are linked, you can use my power to call upon Nebu.”

“Nebu, the desert stallion?”

“Yes. There is the possibility that he might not heed your call, but seeking his protection is worth trying.”

“Okay.”

Amon and I practiced the spell to call Nebu until his words changed from warnings and instruction to soft promises and whispered wishes that warmed my heart.

At some point, our minds drifted, but the memory of our entwined thoughts sustained me in my sleep. I took comfort that at least this time I'd told him I loved him. I didn't know how many hours passed, but when I sensed a change in the environment, I woke instantly and saw that a crescent moon was high in the sky, spilling its waning light over the landscape as dawn approached.

It was time. My skin throbbed, the anticipation jarring my bones.

I rose from my earthen bed, not even bothering to swipe the clumps of dirt from my dress and hair, and brushed the back of my hand against my mouth. The night creatures had settled into their beds and the day creatures had not yet risen. I was alone.

After sating my thirst once again and adjusting my skirts so I wouldn't trip, I briefly contemplated which way to go, but as I searched my instincts, I knew I needed to head toward the rising sun. The sun brought life.

I ran.

The sun was not quite at its zenith in the sky when I stopped. Panting lightly, I scanned the horizon in all directions, but it appeared the plain was deserted.

I knew it wasn't.

The brush of tall golden grass tickled my fingers and the dry stalks snapped under the heels of my golden sandals. On the left I scanned a copse of umbrella-shaped trees with thin leaves. On the right there was a sepia-toned outcropping of rocks that looked as out of place on the grassy plain as if a giant had dropped them there accidentally.

After I started toward the rocks, a strong breeze rose, causing the grass to rustle and echo the voice of a thousand whispers. I was halfway there when I realized something was wrong. The rocks were not the place I needed to go. Stopping, I closed my eyes and inhaled. A sweet sort of musk tickled my nostrils and I turned the other way. Each step I took felt portentous.

The swaying grasses were sparser the closer I got to the trees. The thin leaves shook wildly and then stilled, the breeze seemingly holding its breath. A hum rose like the sound of a million cicadas and the wild noise distracted and confused me.

My heart beat heavily in my chest, as if it were signaling to whatever waited for me that I was there and I was vulnerable. Then, suddenly, the reverberating hum ceased; the only sound was my soft breathing. I was rooted in place, completely unable to move back or to the side, and I dared not take another step forward. I could only shift my feet nervously. All my senses were alive and trained on the thing hidden in the trees that I couldn't see.

A flicker of movement on the left caught my attention.

Mustering all the bravery I could, I clenched my fists and called out, “Why don't you come out, then? I know you're there.”

A rumble so deep it echoed in my chest startled me. A hiss came from behind with the crunch of dried brush. A tawny tail disappeared behind a tree. Another growl came from my left and I realized there was more than just one creature.

I ran.

Fear ate through me like acid and yet every sense was heightened, alert. Beasts, no longer attempting to be stealthy, circled me and kept pace, creeping closer with each footfall. The nearness of them sent tingles all along my back, but I dared not turn and look. That would make them real.

I made it into the circle of the trees before I skidded to a stop. If the creatures behind me were frightening, they were nothing compared to what waited beneath the large tree in the center of the grove. Not thirty feet away was the largest cat I'd ever seen. His sleepy eyes suddenly opened to a state of alertness. He flicked his thick-tufted tail in annoyance as he rose from his shady napping place.

As he shook out a dense, impressive mane several shades darker than his tawny fur, I was momentarily distracted by the dust floating away from him into the afternoon sunbeams.

The huge lion moved forward, gaining speed much more quickly than I expected an animal of his size to be able to do, and slid to a stop just in front of me. When he roared, the power of it nearly burst my eardrums. My whole body shook with panic, the aftershocks of his warning sound rippling over my skin.

He twisted his head back and forth as his mouth opened, flashing his impressively sharp teeth. Another rumbling growl told me we'd been joined by not one, but several cats that together formed a lethal assemblage. At least two dozen females had materialized from the tall grasses around the trees, and two more males, albeit smaller than the one facing me, approached the group also.

Once the entire pride arrived, they paced back and forth, growling and hissing, waiting for the signal to strike. The circle of death was frightening enough to make the devil drop his pitchfork and run, but all I could do was tremble in my golden sandals and wait for something to happen.

Nothing did.

I was expecting an attack, but the lions seemed to be waiting for something else. The male lifted his head and roared before stepping aside, signaling it was time for me to go. I took one hesitant step forward and then another.

When I reached the tree line nearly a quarter mile away and passed the tallest of them, I heard the crack of thunder. Although there wasn't a cloud in the sky, a hum of electricity made the tiny hairs at the nape of my neck stand on end.

I turned to peer at the group, shading my eyes from the sun, and heard the male bellow loudly. He repeated the action three times before all the females sat down. All except one. She strode forward, nuzzling him, but kept her eyes focused ahead. On me. With a final earsplitting roar, the male stepped back and the female answered. Before I could blink, she was headed toward me at full speed.

A gasp of horror escaped my lips, my heart quickening. Spinning, I raced over the crest of a looming hill and across the terrain as fast as my legs could carry me. I leapt over a fallen tree and a few seconds later heard the scrape of her claws on the bark. Ducking through underbrush, I twisted and turned, desperate to escape the lioness chasing me, but I was a clumsy sort of prey.

If I'd had a weapon, I could perhaps have fought her off. She was nearly on top of me. As I stumbled over a rock, her claws raked down the length of my dress and the ripped fabric trailed behind me, catching on branches and bushes. When I darted across a shallow stream, she leapt quickly to the other side, turning to face me. She crouched down, her golden eyes assesssing me, her powerful limbs flexing.

If I was going to be dinner for a hungry pride of lions, then at least I could give them a good run for it.

After kicking water in her face, I spun and ran back in the direction I'd come from. My breath came in heavy gusts and my stomach clenched; I knew that at any second I was going to feel her claws sinking into my back and her teeth kissing my throat. I despaired, knowing that I'd die here. I'd never find Amon and never save those I loved.

I wondered how long Dr. Hassan would wait for me. Would he find my gnawed bones and give me a proper burial? Would he even know what had happened to me? If only I could see Amon again before I died. Stand in his embrace once more. Thinking of Amon made me remember what he'd said the night before. He'd cautioned me to embrace my instincts. So what was my gut telling me?

I was scared. Was it possible that this lioness was the one who would judge my worthiness? I'd been expecting an actual sphinx or a monster of some kind. Not an average, everyday lion. Perhaps I'd been thinking about everything wrong. Isis had said that if I was judged unworthy, then my heart would be consumed. What was I supposed to do?