**Standard Disclaimer** Some of the characters in this story are not mine. They belong to Universal. I'm not getting paid to do this, so don't sue me!
September 29, 1999 BCE
Egypt again. He had dreamt of it so often the even in his sleep he was aware of the repeated occurrence. This time he was walking in what appeared to be a palace, magnificent in its splendor. The paintings and hieroglyphics were fresh and bright, statues lined the hallways. The guards ignored him as he wandered, as if he belonged there. Perfume and incense scented the air, drifting on the warm desert breeze. Outside the world was bathed in a cooling twilight, the stars beginning to dot the sky one by one. He walked down a set of stairs and out into the street. Despite the growing dark, there were people crowding the street, some on their way home, others off to parties. In this dream world, the people were speaking English. He could hear snatches of conversations, not unlike any he heard on a modern city street. It gave him an odd sense of comfort as his feet carried him on. At last he found himself at the entrance to a small temple.
Entering the temple, he was greeted by a gold painted priest. "Take me to the sanctuary." He heard himself saying. The priest obliged, leading him through the torch lit temple to the inner sanctum. He was handed a torch before entering the tiny room. It had been dark before his arrival and now the firelight splashed across the walls and statue and glinted off gold. A magnificent statue of Anubis upon a stand dominated the room. An alter lay before the statue, and on it were incense, a pitcher, a bowl and two books: one black and one gold. He knelt before the altar, marveling at the beauty of the books as he lit the incense.
"Lord Anubis, what do you wish of me?" He asked, somewhat distracted by the feeling of power the books were giving off.
Without moving, the statue spoke, "You are learning well, and quickly. The time will come for you to make a choice – between one destiny and another."
Everything faded out until only the books remained: gold and black, beautiful as the night, beautiful as the day. Then they too faded and for the briefest of seconds he floated in darkness. A blink of his eyes and two people were standing in front of him. One was a tall, strong looking man, hairless and robed like a High Priest. The other was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. She had long black hair and delicate features that nevertheless betrayed strength and dignity. Her eyes were dark and sparkled with intelligence. Except for a mere scrap of cloth about her waist, she was naked, and her entire body was painted all in gold with black designs. Here was a woman to rival a Goddess. The image burned into his brain and he reached his hand out as if to touch them.
He woke suddenly, panting and bathed in sweat. After a moment of disorientation, he laid back down, turning the dream over in his mind. Just before he could drift off to sleep again, his alarm went off and he groaned. Zane Andrews rolled wearily out of bed and began to get ready for another day.
His classes passed slowly. Even lunch seemed to drag on. It was all he could do to keep most of his mind on the lessons and not on the dream. Zane had been dreaming of Egypt for over two years, and over the summer they had become more frequent and intense. He had seen lost cities and forgotten shrines, walked on the Giza plateau while the pyramids were in their prime. And now he had seen the two books and the two people.
When the last class of the day was over, Zane couldn't seem to get home fast enough. He hurried up the stairs of his house and into the tiny room that served as an alter to his patron god, Anubis.
Kneeling before the offering table, he spoke. "Great Anubis, Lord of the Dead, come before your servant and hear my plea for answers." Zane didn't really expect him to answer. They had been having yet another argument this week and Zane had refused to perform any rituals to him until he got more information. Since the argument, he had not had any dreams about Egypt. Until last night.
After only a few breaths, he felt the unmistakable presence of the jackal God behind him. In his mind's eye Zane turned and saw Anubis standing before him. "So, Zane, you want answers? As I have told you many times, you need to learn patience."
"I know. I'm trying, but these dreams – and the things you show me in meditations, they just drive me crazy. I want to know what they mean."
"I have
been testing you, seeing if you would ignore these things or pursue them. Your
frustration is a good sign, so I will tell you a few things. First, these
visions may lead you to do work for me on this earth, the way you send lost and
weary souls to my arms."
A seemingly
normal if quiet college student, Zane had the ability to sense and speak
to the dead. Anubis had been training him for over two years, teaching him to
guide lost souls into the afterlife. It had simply become part of Zane's life,
something to add to the strange things he did.
"May? What do you mean 'may'?"
With measured patience, Anubis said, "Your choice will be made later. Listen to me." The black and gold books suddenly appeared, floating in the space between them. "Learn all you can about the Book of the Dead." He said, indicating the black one.
"But I already read that, in three translations."
"That is the Book of Going Forth by Day. You know that. I speak of the Book of the Dead. It is different. This," he pointed to the gold book, "is the book of Amon-Ra. It should be less confusing to find. I will tell you more later. For now, search."
Then Anubis was gone, leaving Zane alone in the room with more questions than answers.
Long into the night, he searched the internet, looking for information on the two books. His searches for the Book of the Dead turned up what he had expected, and after an hour of searching he gave up. He tried the Book of Amon-Ra instead and was surprised to find it on a site about legendary places. The site had information on Atlantis, El-Dorado, Shangri-La, Eden, and an Egyptian city known as Humunaptra, the 'City of the Dead.' Zane vaguely remembered seeing the name somewhere before. Supposedly the pharaohs of the Old Kingdom had stashed their treasure there, including the book of Amon-Ra, which was said to be made of pure gold. In the early 30's there had been an excavation to find the city, but it had been shut down after the mysterious deaths of a number of the workers and the sudden loss of funds only days later. The British Museum, which had supposedly funded the dig, denied having any involvement. The Egyptian government had confiscated all the records and refused to issue a permit to anyone searching for Humunaptra.
It sounded a bit too much like a conspiracy theory to him, but Anubis's words stayed with him. When his eyelids began to droop, Zane went to bed. His dreams were blessedly normal.