The First Ark: Deathless Prequel (5 page)

She gripped the gems the voice had indicated and willed energy into them, just as she had when slaying Set's foul hunters. The entire rejuvenator began to hum, then became viscous as it had when Sobek had sunk into the other chamber. Osiris's mangled body descended until it was encased by the rejuvenator's clear form.
 

Now we wait,
the voice said.

So Isis waited in silence. Sekhmet hovered near the door, timid as a doe on the edge of flight. The stranger rested a hand on the rejuvenator, watching with interest as tendrils of golden light enveloped Osiris's form. They wrapped him in a cocoon, covering every bit of his bloody form.

The humming grew louder and Isis could see something happening. No,
see
wasn't the right word. She sensed Osiris's body being rebuilt in a way she didn't really understand.

His helixes are being shaped,
the voice explained.
You are detecting the signals broadcast by the rejuvenator. When you accepted the conduit, you became sensitive to their use. You can now both project and receive similar signals, something you will learn in time.

Not all the words made sense, but Isis had the general sense of what the voice was telling her. It was a fascinating process, more so because it would save the life of a great man. One she'd loved since she was old enough to understand what love was.

The light flared more brightly than the sun, then the strange energy she'd sensed was gone. Osiris's body lay within the rejuvenator, all trace of injury gone. Yet unlike Sobek his chest did not rise and fall. His body was still and lifeless, the miraculous healing had failed.

Not failed. There are limits and we have reached them. To go further, to recover your Dun, we must expose his body to the mutagen. Grasp the control gems and will his body to rise from the rejuvenator.

Isis did as she was bid, holding her breath as Osiris's body rose from the rejuvenator. The clear material rippled until his form lay atop the structure. She reached into her belt pouch and withdrew the strange green gem she'd helped shape in the huge cavern below. It still glowed with its own inner light, a strong green radiance like nothing she'd ever seen.
 

Place the gem in his mouth,
the voice instructed.

She opened his mouth as gently as she could, then placed the gem on his tongue. Isis closed his mouth just as gently, biting her lip as she did so. This
must
work. She couldn't face life without him, not after everything they'd sacrificed.

"Isis?" Sekhmet called, voice quavering. "What are you doing?"

"Hush, near sister," Isis called absently, focused on her task.

 
It will not be long,
the voice said.

Osiris's head gave a sharp jerk. Then another. His eyes flew open, their deep gray replaced by the same bright green as the gem. His mouth flew open and a beam of pure emerald light shot outwards. Then his back arched and he gave a low scream, the agony a spear in Isis's chest.
 

"Make it stop," she pleaded, but the voice in her head was silent.

The green light grew brighter, veins of the horrible light flowing down Osiris's neck and into his chest. They shot out, rapidly spreading across each of his limbs until the whole of his body bore a spider web of pain. The light flared brighter still, then faded. Osiris's body fell limp, all signs of life gone.

"Osiris?" she asked, stretching out a tentative hand.

Sekhmet was suddenly next to her, pulling her back. "Don't touch him. He is cursed. We should never have come here. We're leaving. Now."

"No," she cried, struggling to reach Osiris. Sekhmet dragged her backwards, the powerful huntress easily hefting her from her feet and carrying her to the door.

Osiris's glowing green eyes opened again. He rose slowly to a sitting position, the aged stranger peering up at him from those rheumy eyes. Osiris stared dispassionately at the stranger, no sense of recognition or compassion in his gaze. He lunged without warning, his greater weight bearing the stranger to the chamber floor and out of sight.
 

Horrible crunching noises came from behind the rejuvenator where they'd fallen. The stranger gave a loud yell, then a soft whimper. A pool of blood spread from the base of the rejuvenator, winding a slow path toward their feet.

"Run," Sekhmet hissed, shoving Isis through the doorway and into the central chamber. Sekhmet followed, tugging urgently at Isis's arm.

Isis refused to budge. She drew on the strength of the staff, willing herself to stand fast. "He will not harm us. If I am wrong, then I no longer wish to live. It will mean this place truly
is
cursed."

Sekhmet stared at her as if she'd gone insane, but after a moment's hesitation stood beside her. They waited patiently until Osiris's blood-drenched form appeared in the doorway. The changes were subtle, but alarming. His teeth were razored, like a crocodile only far sharper. The green light still lingered in his gaze, unnatural and frightening. Each finger now ended in a black claw, more cave lion than human.
 

"What have I done?" she whispered, almost hoping he would strike them down. She had only wanted to help, to return her chieftain to life. Yet the god had tricked her, had brought back this monster with Osiris's face.

Not so, Ka-Ken. He is changed, yes, but your Dun is much the same as he was. It will take time for his mind to regain full control, during which time he must ingest genetic material. Even now some of that control returns, in the wake of his feeding.

"Isis, Sekhmet," he hissed, low and alien. His gaze flicked between them. "Set will pay in blood for his treachery. I will feast on his heart. Come, we hunt."

Osiris sprinted past them, hurling up the stone ramp and into the darkness. Isis could do nothing but stare after, torn as to what course to take.

"What has he become?" she asked, certain she didn't want the answer but needing to hear it anyway.

His helixes have been shaped to be far more resilient. He no longer needs to breathe and his heart no longer beats. To sustain himself, he must ingest more genetic matter than your kind normally requires. Like you he now possesses a shard of Ka, a reflection of me
.

"We should not follow him, Isis," Sekhmet said, delivering a sober look. "He will turn on us once Set is dead."

"He would never do that," Isis countered, shaking her head. She refused to believe Osiris would ever harm any of his people. He was a protector, a guardian.

She is wrong, Ka-Ken. We
must
pursue him. There is great danger in allowing him to feed. The mutagen could spread. Those he slays may rise again, just as he has.

Chapter 10- Hope

Isis pulled her cloak tightly about her as she left the passage's shelter for the thick snow falling across the Valley. Sekhmet trotted ahead of her, boots leaving a set of tracks that shadowed those Osiris had left just minutes before. His intermingled with two other sets, one larger and one smaller. Set and his last surviving hunter.

"They cannot be far ahead," Sekhmet called back, low enough that her words were nearly swallowed by the storm. A few threads of scarlet had pulled loose from her ponytail, writhing about her as the wind played with them. "Are you certain you wish to do this? I do not know what Osiris has become, but it is some sort of demon. My weapons may not even harm him."

"This will come down to the magic the god gave me," Isis explained, certain it was true even if she didn't know precisely what she could do to stop Osiris. It killed her both that she had brought him back and that she must be the one to subdue him.

The cold pierced her furs, yet a curious warmth suffused her entire body. Whatever this conduit was apparently conferred many benefits. She kept pace with Sekhmet, something that would not have been possible even a single day before. They ranged through the snow, eventually topping a rise.

Below lay a shallow ravine, its base hidden in the gathering darkness. Anything could lurk within. All three sets of footsteps disappeared down a steep trail, one made even more treacherous by the snow.

"We can still turn back," Sekhmet offered, gaze searching.
 

Isis understood. Osiris had been the strongest hunter, the fiercest warrior. That was before the dark magic Isis had unleashed. Now he was even more powerful. Who knew what strange abilities he might possess? Or even if he could be killed. Entering that ravine might mean both their deaths.

Green light flared from below, briefly illuminating three figures. The largest leapt upon the smallest, Osiris's form bearing Set's final companion to the ground. Set didn't come to the man's aid, instead turning to run. He sprinted through the ravine, but the snow slowed his pace. There was a sharp crack of bone, then Osiris rose to his feet.

"Set," he roared, taking a step forward. "Will you really die with your back to me, fleeing like the coward you've become? The brother I remembered was strong. Loyal. Fierce. Has the wretch who has taken his place fallen so far that you are afraid to meet death on your feet?"

That drew Set's attention. He turned to face his brother even as the eerie green glow around Osiris dimmed. "I saw you die, shade. Whatever you've become, you are not my near brother. You are not Osiris, and I'll not stand here and be lectured by you. I outlived my brother. Whatever you are is a demon that spits on his memory. If you've come to kill me, then let us dance."

Set's eyes flashed in the dim. He took a step toward Osiris, brandishing his spear. Isis began to slide down the trail, using the staff to prevent her from falling.

"No," Sekhmet hissed, seizing her shoulder. "Let them fight. Osiris deserves his revenge, whatever he's become. You can use your magic after they've settled the matter, there will be time yet."

She was right. Osiris had become a monster, but that didn't change what Set had done. He would reap the fate his actions had sowed.
 

The green light flared, a corona of power around Osiris. He leapt skyward, coming down atop Set like a cave lion, claws extended. Set was a gifted warrior, and he saw the blow coming. He rolled backwards, bracing his spear against the ground and aiming it at Osiris's chest. It cut a bloody furrow from chest to shoulder, but Osiris twisted to avoid the weapon.
 

He landed atop his near brother, claws scything down once, twice, a third time. Each blow drew a panicked cry of agony from Set, but there was nothing he could do. Osiris's larger form pinned him in place, and the strange green glow seemed to infuse her chieftain with enormous power.

Then Osiris began to feed. He took Set's head in his hands, mouth opening to reveal a sea of jagged teeth. He lunged, fangs sinking into his brother's neck. He ripped loose a hunk of flesh and wolfed it down. It was the single most vile, most terrifying act Isis had ever seen.

Isis fell to her knees, dropping the staff. Her stomach heaved, and then she was emptying this morning's meal noisily into the snow. She was dimly aware of Sekhmet doing the same a few feet away.
 

Recover yourself, Ka-Ken. He will soon finish feeding, and you will be his next prey. You must subdue him and quickly.

The voice was right. Isis gripped the staff and used it to heave herself to her feet. The glow around Osiris intensified as he fed, until the light was nearly blinding. At long last he rose to his feet, blood and bits of flesh coating his face and neck.
 

He turned to face her, a demonic grin spreading across his features. Then Osiris leapt, the motion carrying him far further than any man had a right to jump. He landed in a crouch atop a snow-covered boulder a little distance away.

Sekhmet scrambled to her feet, drawing her stone axe as she positioned herself between Isis and the thing that had once been Osiris. "Stay back, demon. Your vengeance has been slaked. There's nothing further for you here. Be gone, or we will defend ourselves."

"Be gone?" Osiris replied. He looked genuinely confused, his eyes widening as he looked down at himself. "By the spirits..." he trailed off, and when he looked up again his expression was forlorn. "I do not know what magic you used to bring me back, but it was tainted. This place truly is cursed. I am sorry for bringing us here. Better that we'd died than suffer such a fate."

He dropped from the rock, landing in the snow near them. Osiris fell to his knees, pulling the furs back to expose his chest. "Do what you must."

Isis froze. She couldn't kill him, not again. He sounded like himself. Surely there was some chance he could be redeemed, become the man he'd been before. She just had to find it.
 

"We will not harm you, my chieftain," she said, stepping up next to Sekhmet and placing a hand on her friend's shoulder to stay her wrath. "We will escort you back to the Ark, that's what the strange mountain is called. Inside there are magical chambers called rejuvenators. I have been gifted with great magic, and may be able to use these to cleanse the darkness from your heart."

"Isis," he whispered, a single scarlet tear sliding down his cheek. "If it is possible I will try, but I fear it is not. There is a voice in my head, slithering through my mind like a serpent. It whispers dark things. Tells me to feed."

"Are you chieftain or not?" Sekhmet snarled, taking several steps closer. She pulled the fang necklace from her neck and tossed it at Osiris's feet. "This voice is not your master. Listen to my near sister. She
does
possess great magic and if a way exists to save you then she will find it. If it does not then you will learn to master this evil. Return to this Ark. Fight, as any warrior would."