Desert Storm
Chapter 1: The Rain
The rain fell fast and hard in the dark, deserted streets of Syene (sigh-een), sliding down the stone walls of the houses and forming puddles in the sand. It was a strange phenomenon, one which only transpired a couple of times every decade. Yet, as the precipitation had commenced many hours after the setting of Ra, there was no one awake to witness the event. All along the alleyways, shutters were drawn tight and doors stood closed. The only light to pervade the dim and stormy night came from the city's great temple. And despite the faint hiss of the raindrops slicing through the air, all was silent and still, as if the world had decided to hold its breath and was waiting…
Gradually, the splashing of hurried footsteps sounded, approaching from the distance, and a sudden flash of lightning revealed the slim figure of a woman running towards the temple with a bundle in her arms. Dashing up the steps of the sacred building, the woman took refuge behind a giant pillar as the thunder rolled low and menacingly.
Leaning her back against the stone, she slid down onto the ground. Her damp hair was plastered to her forehead, and several raindrops clustered upon her thick lashes ready to fall from her eyes like tears. The woman gasped for air for a few moments until she finally caught her breath. Then, opening her cerulean eyes, she grasped for something at her collar, and brought out a necklace from her cloak. The gold of the charm caught the light of a nearby torch as she unclasped the chain from her neck, and for an instant the amulet was wholly revealed. It was a small golden key – in particular, the charm bore the Egyptian symbol of life, a cross with an oval head – and at the center, where the two sections met, an Egyptian eye with an iris of a strange blue-green crystal glowed eerily.
Opening the tiny bundle, she re-clasped the chain around the neck of her sleeping child and fingered the Key one last time. The crystal shone brilliantly at her touch and dimmed as she let the charm slip from her hand – an ancient magic bid her farewell.
With a sigh, she softly kissed the forehead of her baby girl and laid her in the sheltered entrance of the temple. Tears glistened on her already damp cheeks as she turned away and ran back into the street. Holding her breath, she glanced back at the temple. A light flashed within her azure eyes, and she let go of the air. One last clap of thunder sounded overhead, her footsteps faded into the distance, and the silence of the rain was joined with darkness.
Two sapphire eyes gazed into the depths of the crystal orb, unaware of the brilliant summer sunshine streaming through the open windows and between the pillars of the small desert shrine. Breathlessly, the girl stared at the spot in the oracle where her mother had stood, looking back at her. That face. Those eyes. It was like looking into a mirror, but one thing was the difference. Although the eyes were definitely the same as her own, the expression behind them was one she had never seen. She could not read that look and hoped never to reflect it. However, from the moment that her mother had glanced back and the lightning had illuminated her face, the girl knew that the image would forever be imprinted in her mind.
Entranced by the vision and by her own memories, the girl failed to notice the approaching gallop of horses and the rising chatter of the guards standing beyond the temple gates. She continued to stare into the foggy glass of the orb, where the rain fell in torrents emitting a faint blue afterglow. Footsteps echoed in the entrance hall, and outside the door, four new voices arose, two familiar and two not so. Still, the girl's mind wandered in another world, and her body remained motionless. A key clicked in the lock and the handle turned.
The newcomers entered the room, immersed in conversation. Three were men, and one was a woman. The girl recognized the woman to be the head priestess of her temple, Henesia (heh-neh-sah), and one of the men to be the head priest, Tjukert (teh-ju-kurt). The other two strangers looked to be priests also but were clothed in rich robes with gold lining. "High Priests," she whispered as she noticed the Millennium Items that they bore; one was the Millennium Ring and the other was the Millennium Ankh (Key).
"It is my pleasure," Henesia said with a bow, "to welcome my Lords Mahado (mah-hahd) and Shadi (shah-dee) to the temple of Isis."
"Ah, Priestess Henesia, this place is much as I remember it," High Priest Shadi said, scanning the empty room. His eyes came to rest on the crystal orb that lay upon its golden stand in the center of the chamber. It was still resonating cerulean light. "I do not recall the Oracle of Isis being blue, however."
"Lord Shadi is right." Priest Tjukert gazed at the orb with narrowing emerald eyes. "The Oracle has no color lest it's been used recently to see into the unknown."
"How recently?" asked Mahado.
"A vision lingers in the oracle for only minutes," answered Shadi as he cautiously approached the orb and gazed inside.
"What do you see?" asked Henesia.
"A storm."
"The Millennium Ring senses another presence in this room!" Mahado's azure eyes were wide with shock.
"A storm?" Tjukert looked at Shadi. "This is definitely the work of Set. He is here!" (Set was the god of storms before he was viewed as evil.)
"No," said Henesia rolling her eyes at the frightened looks on the priests' faces, "this is no god."
The girl stood behind a column, cursing herself for her weakness, as she attempted to regain a steady pace to her breathing. Invisibility spells only worked if you held your breath, and at that task, she had failed miserably. The Millennium Ring had detected her presence within the second she had lost her breath, and now, if she was fortunate, she would have about thirty seconds to prepare an explanation.
The priests watched with interest as the hazel eyes of Henesia scanned the room. "There," she breathed, her gaze resting on the column furthest from where they stood.
"Well, I'm sure whoever the trespasser is," Mahado stated coldly as he started towards the column, "they would thoroughly enjoy a trip to the Shadow Realm."
"Shadow Realm." The words echoed in the girl's head like a recurring nightmare. Mahado had a gift for sarcasm, or at least a threat like this surely made it seem that way. Desert heat radiated through the walls and sweat ran down her face as Mahado's footsteps echoed doom.
It happened all at once. Without another means of escape the girl darted out from behind the pillar, aiming to circle around the four and dash through the door. "Aha!" yelled Mahado aiming a spell at her as she flashed into view. A strange wind seemed to whistle towards the girl as he did so, and she did all she could to dodge it. Jumping into the air, she cut towards the shelter of the next pillar in a front flip. The spell missed her by centimeters, and she landed the flip in a forward roll, escaping from view behind the stone.
"Stop!" yelled Henesia pulling Mahado back by his robes as he pursued the girl behind her new shelter.
"Why do you stand between me and this petty thief?!" Mahado yelled in Henesia's face as she blocked his attempt to get past her.
"What thief?!" she cried. "This is another priestess at my temple, my adopted daughter!"
Mahado's eyes flashed in suppressed anger. "What is she doing in here?"
"Well," said Henesia, still a bit flustered by the attack on her daughter, "why don't we let her explain?" "Mesika (meh-see-kah)!" she called for the girl to come out from her hiding place.
Mesika hesitated, taking a deep breath and hoping it would not be her last. Then, slowly and somewhat shakily, she left her refuge and approached the angry priest with her eyes downcast. Once she was within talking distance, she dropped to the floor in a bow.
"I am sorry, my Lord Mahado, if I surprised you, but I must ask: Is curiosity truly a sin justly punished by the Shadow Realm?" Mesika raised her head slightly and looked at him with innocent indigo orbs. As the two pairs of azure eyes met, the anger in his face vanished, and he sighed in defeat.