Chapter 1

High above the city, the bright full moon lit the streets. Bright nights like this were typically the safest each month, since the guard patrols could see easily into the distance. However, this night a shadow ran down the streets. The dark feeling dragged him at a full sprint. Down one alley, a quick right turn, past some houses, on and on. He must have covered half the city but didn't even notice the ground moving under his feet.

Would he make it this time?

A howl of pain shattered the still air. The running shadow skidded to a halt, listening closely. There was no doubt, it came from the same direction as that mysterious feeling of dread. Not again… He turned one last corner and found the place he was looking for. What little food he'd eaten that day returned with the scene that lay in front of him.

In the shadow of an archway, a motionless form lay, with a long knife sticking from its back. Blood pooled in the sand, glistening in the moonlight. Regaining composure, the shadow slowly inched closer. He nearly wretched again when his sandal slid in the blood slickened sand. Carefully, being sure not to touch anything else, he lowered his hand next to the man's mouth and nose. No breath, he was already dead.

"Over here!" A yell came from the street leading to the scene. Before the shadow could run, a guard appeared with a torch. For a moment the shadow was lit by the fire's glow, but before the guard could do anything, he bolted. Running into the night as fast as his legs could carry him.

XXX

"I ask you again. Why have you seen it fit to bring this before the Pharaoh's court of sorcerers? Surely the Temple of Anubis would have sufficed."

Kaito slowly raised his hand to his mouth to not cause a disturbance with the yawn he knew was coming. Another day, another complaint of a curse. Yet true acts of the gods were so few and far between. Throughout his 10 years of training, he'd seen only a handful, and his teacher admitted to only a handful more.

"What do you think they're doing?" The whisper emanated from behind the curtain and caused Kaito to jump. His teacher gave him the smallest of glares and nodded his head. An apprentice wasn't needed there for something like this. Alone he and his teacher acted as father and son, but in public manners dictated everything they did, especially in the capital city. Home of the gods and their almighty embodiment, the great Pharaoh.

His bow low, and right foot ahead, he slowly backed out of the room. He heard the scurry of little feet just before he reached the curtain separating the peristylium from the inner halls. When he was finally hidden from sight, he rounded on the two little intruders. "What are you doing here?" He said in a harsh whisper. The curtain was thick, but not that thick.

The younger of the girls hid behind her braver cousin, who announced proudly and not very quietly, "I was bored, so we came to see you." Kaito shushed her before anxiously looking back around the curtain. His teacher's attention remained firmly on the peasant, and Kaito sighed with relief. Taking the girls by the hands he lead them down the hall to a courtyard where they would not be a bother.

"So what were they talking about?" Ran asked. As usual, she wanted to know about everything.

"The man said there is a messenger of Anubis stalking him."

Little Aoko gasped, "I know about him!" She said raising her hand as if she were in front of one of her tutors. "He's the... he's... that goat god right?"

Four years old or not, this wasn't a cute mistake to make, and Kaito jumped to correct her before she could upset the god in question. "He's not a goat. His head is of a dog, and he's the god of the underworld and afterlife." As a temple guardian it was his duty to teach the wisdom of the gods... Or would be, once he took over for his teacher.

Still listening, Ran ran over to the tree centered in the yard and started to wriggle her way up onto the lowest branch. "My dad said that Anubis helps to- umm... to help Pharaoh take the stuff in the tomb with to the afterlife." She didn't have to listen. She was two whole years older than Aoko and new all the gods by heart.

Yet again Kaito cringed. "Princess we talked about this, you're supposed to call your father Pharaoh while outside of the palace." Aoko raised her hand, "What, Aoko?"

"But my daddy is just daddy."

"Yeah. Your father is the Pharaoh's brother."

"That's umm- That's why Ran is my sister."

"Cousin."

"My cousin." Aoko twirled in her dress before noticing some ants on the tree where Ran was climbing, and ran over to point at them.

Kaito grumbled under his breath. "Since when did sorcerer training include babysitting?" Children or not, it felt wrong to correct royalty the way he did. Eh... well, they were kinda cute, status or no. "So why aren't you two with your nurses?" Ran paused in her climb. Her long braided hair swung beneath her and she stared at the branch thinking. The royal stubbornness had returned as usual. "What are you hiding?" Kaito sighed.

So furious was the shaking of the little girl's head, that the branch supporting her began to bob up and down. Several leaves fell from the already barren tree. Despite her refusal, the silence spoke volumes, and Kaito could do nothing groan.

"You snuck out didn't you?"

"Nooo..."

Kaito sighed and let out a whistle. From a corner of the courtyard hidden in the shadows a boy near his own age, appeared and hurried over. "Ya called, sir?" He bowed deeply awaiting his instructions, though he already knew. He'd been listening the whole time.

"Go alert the palace as to the princess' location. And try and do it with proper words this time."

"Ya know I d' try, sir." He bowed again and left at a jog. Kaito sighed as he watched the boy go. A little hand tugged on his tunic.

"Why does he talk funny?"

"He's from a far away land. He didn't know how to talk at all when he was first presented to the temple. My master had to teach him before they gave him to me. He just never completely got it right." Kaito smiled at the girls, Ran had come over to listen as well. "I don't mind though. He works hard, which is what matters."

"Speaking to the princess about slaves are we? Not much of a topic."

Kaito nearly jumped out of his skin. "Master Agasa! I'm sorry, I, uh... m-my tongue got away from me." The stuttering display was not one preferable to a high priest, but the old man had always been much kinder than most other adults Kaito had known. The old priest laughed and knelt beside the princess.

"Do you enjoy coming to the temple, Princess?" Ran nodded smiling, as Aoko came up behind her. The priest pat them on the heads. "I'm glad, and I'm sure it makes the gods happy to see your smile as well." His old bones creaked as he stood, thumping a hand on his lower back. "So I assume you sent the Hattori boy off to the palace?" Kaito nodded. "Good. Well, it would have been better had you simply sent them back with him. But I understand why you wouldn't want that."

That twinge of guilt was always there, slave or not, it had been Kaito's fault. Beside him, the eager little faces only added to the pressure to change the subject. "Did you sort out the situation with that citizen, sir?"

The priest sighed, "Unfortunately he insists we travel into the city to find this supposed messenger of Anubis. My guards are preparing the palenquine for us as we speak."

"Us sir?"

"Indeed," he smiled with a mischievous twinkle in his eye. "Even though you are still a student, and would normally be kept away from the ungodly influences of the city until you've come of age, the other elders and I think you may be able to help in this situation. Besides, you've only 2 more months to your sixteenth year, that's close enough if you ask me."

Kaito would have jumped for joy, were it not inapropriate of the adult his master was treating him as. He'd been an apprentice since his fifth year, and not once had he been out to the city since. "I am honored, sir." He bowed with his fist on his heart. "May I inquire more of the situation? Why do you think I can help?" Play it cool. Don't let Master Agasa know how excited you are, he reminded himself.

"Well, when we asked the citizen to describe the phantom of anubis that plagued him, the description, how to put this? He said the apparition was a boy your age, and not only that, but he said it was you."

Kaito's breath caught. Leaving the temple, even only the belief that one had done so, before their sixteenth birthday, was grounds for expulsion from the priesthood. "Sir, I promise you I have never gone into the city. That man is mistaken."

Master Agasa nodded, "Yes I believe so as well, and that is precisely why you and I will search the city for this boy and bring him back to the temple."

"Yes, sir. I will do my best to assist." More like prove his innocence. What if they never found this boy? Worse yet, what if he really was an apparition and simply vanished? No, best not to think of the worst.

Two little hands tugged on his tunic. "Can we go to?" Ran's eyes sparkled

"Of course not! It's bad enough you sneaking from the palace to the temple and they're right next door. You two will go home with your nurses as soon as Hattori returns with them." True to his word, the moment the two nurses frantically rushed into the courtyard, pushing Hattori out of the way, the princesses were sent home, and Kaito was sent to prepare himself for tomorrow's trip into the city.

xxx

The next morning Kaito followed his morning routine as usual, purification and cleansing, morning prayers, and going over Hattori's letters. "I thought ya weren' allowed out in'ta the city?" Hattori asked, again distracting from his learning. Kaito scrunched up his nose, it had taken a long time to convince the priests that it would serve him better to have a slave who could read, and slow progress on Hattori's part would only prove their point of, "slaves not being intelligent enough."

"You're going with, you know," he responded, his usual morning grumpiness surfacing.

Hattori's eyes shot up from the page to look at Kaito, but Kaito flicked him on the forehead and pushed his head back down to the scroll. "And before you get any ideas, this isn't just a shopping trip. We're going out to look for a boy who is supposedly cursed by Anubis.

"An'ubis… tha's the …. War god right?" While incorrect, Hattori was hiding a smirk behind the scroll. He regularly made false guesses about the gods just to mess with Kaito.

"Stop joking around, if the high priest were to hear you, he'd have you flogged. Perhaps I should be more strict with you, like a real master."

"Nah ya like me too much fer tha't." He ducked as Kaito swung a rolled up scroll at his head, chuckling. "So ya nervous?"

Kaito delicately returned the scroll to the table. He sat tall, folding his hands on the table in front of him. "Nervous? About what?"

"Bout seen the city ya were born in? Ya know, is probably not as special as ya think."

A rock had settled in his stomach since he'd awoke in anticipation, but he didn't let it show on his face. What was there to be nervous about. "I am a training priest of the royal temple. I've got bigger things to think of than how nice the city is."

Hattori watched him stacking scrolls, then seemingly satisfied, he shrugged. "S'all right long as ya don get yer hopes up."

The sounds of soft but hurried footsteps stifled their laughter. A young girl entered the room with a bow and announced the time to depart had arrived. Kaito nodded, as Hattori quickly rolled up the papyrus scrolls. They worked together to properly wrap Kaito's apprentice priest robes. He'd never actually worn them before since they were formal attire for city trips or being in the presence of the pharaoh, but it wasn't too difficult.

The palinquine was ready and loaded by the time they arrived. Master Agasa nodded towards it as Kaito approached to have him board first. The two of them would be carried on it down the streets, with Hattori, their guards, and a few other servants walking in procession.

The royal court was surrounded by great walls, and only a few gates. The area encompassed the Temple of the Gods, the homes of Pharaoh's court council, and of course, the Palace itself. It was the safest place in the city, with guards patrolling at all times.

Kaito shook his head remembering, yet somehow the 6 year old princess can sneak from the palace to the temple with ease. Some mysteries were better left alone.

The man they were meeting was a merchant from the jewelers guild. His shop wasn't too far into the markets, because it mostly catered to nobility and the wealthy. When they arrived. Kaito and his master got down from their seats and organized the guards. Servants were sent to ask questions from the locals and to uncover whatever information they might come upon.

"Well my apprentice, tell me. What can you sense from the area?"

Kaito closed his eyes and reached for the power of the gods that flowed throughout all of the great lands of Egypt. It was weaker in the city than he was used to in the royal grounds but still strong enough to follow the ebbs and flows.

"Truthfully master, I was not expecting this but I do sense Anubis' powers to be stronger here."

Master Agasa nodded. "Now the question is, what has caused this? Is it merely the result of crimes committed in the past, or an active working of the present?"

The day dragged out. Servants came and went, bringing new information, and rumors of the area. At last, Master Agasa sighed. "It will be dusk soon. I think it is time we return." By this time, Kaito had a cold sweat running down his spine. They'd not come across one shred of evidence that it was not Kaito who'd been spotted in the city. On the contrary, every individual who knew of the mysterious "messenger of anubis" swore that it was in fact the boy standing before them, wearing the priest garb.

I never went to the city! Stupid peasants! They'll get me thrown from the temple at this rate! His nerves were shook and there was nothing he could do. His master seemed to notice his anxiety and patted his shoulder. "Fretting will do nothing. We will continue our investigation tomorrow."

"Yes, Master." Kaito sighed and boarded the palanquine.

A shadow in the alley watched as the two priests and their escort departed, but by the time the old jewel merchant who had called upon the temple ended his bow and turned away, the shadow had once again slipped away, following an unexplained feeling of dread deeper into the city.

A/N: Hey all. I've had this story in the works for awhile, but if you keep up on my status updates on my profile you can imagine why it's taken so long to post just 2000 words. As always, reviews let me know that you like/dislike the story, and tell me which of my writings to focus on. So leave reviews if you want more!