Wandering Shadow
Prologue
It was a quiet night in Egypt, as the sands cooled beneath the silver light of a full moon. Atemu sighed as he sat back in his throne. It had been a long, trying day for him; his father had died a few months before, leaving him and his elder brother to fend for themselves amidst the 'crocodiles' that called themselves men. Now he was the Pharaoh.
"How did this happen? Seti is my elder by at least four years! Why didn't he become the Pharaoh? What do I have that he doesn't?" Atemu wondered, as he turned his troubled gaze out onto the molten silver sands, and the pyramids shining in the distance.
"Atemu? What are you still doing up? I thought you had retired long ago." A male voice said, as its owner walked over to the throne and gave Atemu a concerned look.
"Just thinking, Seti, that's all. I'm wondering why you didn't get this position instead." Atemu murmured, getting a rather wry smirk from Seti as a response.
"You have a power that has yet to manifest itself in me. That is why you were made to take the throne. All in all, you have the rather unenviable task of ruling this vast kingdom in my stead. So have at it." Seti teased, getting a rather disgruntled look from Atemu for his efforts.
"Thank you, Seti. That makes me feel so much better…..I think I will go and hide under the Sphinx for a while." Atemu muttered, sarcastically, trying rather unsuccessfully to hide a grin. This was one person he could be himself in front of. Even though they were both from different mothers, Atemu and Seti couldn't have been closer as brothers. This bit if banter was even more evidence of their close bond.
"Oh, don't do that! Our mothers would have my head if they found out that you had gone and allowed a man-headed lion to sit on you!" Seti stated, jokingly. Atemu chuckled and shook his head.
"Now you're not making any sense!" Atemu said, his smile fading when thoughts of something that had happened earlier returned to him.
"What is it, Atemu? Is something troubling you?" Seti asked, sensing somehow Atemu's unease.
"It's the vizier, Seti. I still don't think he's accepted me as Pharaoh, even though I have this power you speak of. And there are others speaking against me as well. What should I do? I can't very well have them put to death!" Atemu stated, disparagingly. Seti shook his head, sighed, and walked up to his brother's throne, placing a hand on the young Pharaoh's shoulder as he did so.
"And yet, not everyone will accept you wholeheartedly, either. This is just a fact you're going to have to live with. Even our father had some trouble being the Pharaoh at first, so you really aren't the first to have this sort of problem. Don't worry. Things will sort themselves out soon." Seti reassured, knowing that his brother really needed to hear that.
"Thanks Seti. Now, are you up for a quick trip to the pyramids?" Atemu asked, with some challenge in his voice.
"Are the stars in the sky? Let's go! I'll have you eating sand and scorpions tonight!" Seti said, eager to race.
"We'll just see about that!" Atemu retorted, pleased that his challenge had been answered. Within moments, both young men were racing along the desert sands in their chariots, while the rest of Egypt slept. As they raced, Seti was glad to see that the smile from before Atemu's ascension to the throne had returned to the Pharaoh's young face, even though it wasn't guaranteed to stay there. He knew better than anyone just how much weight was now on the sixteen-year-old's shoulders, and what it would take to keep him from going mad from it all.
"Hey, Atemu, I don't know what trick you used last time to win, but it won't work this time!" Seti shouted, as he swerved to avoid some boulders that lay in his path.
"I don't know what you speak of!" Atemu replied, in mock innocence, laughing as he pulled ahead.
"Yes you do! That illusionary sphinx just about did me in last time!" Seti retorted, getting only his younger brother's laughter in response.
"Don't tell me you were afraid of a mere kitten, Seti! I thought you were braver than that!" Atemu teased, purple eyes dancing with mirth as he and his brother raced neck and neck.
"We'll see how brave you would be if you were faced with the same thing, little brother! Just don't blame me if you soil yourself in fright!" Seti replied, his eyes also alight with mischief.
"Oh, come now, Seti! Don't be vulgar!" Atemu chortled, before they both laughed at themselves and how silly they sounded. They reached the pyramids before the moon had risen to its highest, and decided to use the boats on the river to get back home before sunrise the next morning. As they sat down to catch their breaths (and give their horses a break as well), Atemu showed how grateful he truly was to be away from his troubles for a while.
"That had to have been the most fun I've had in weeks! I'm glad we had that race tonight." Atemu said, as he settled back against one of the statues near one of the smaller pyramids.
"I am too. And we ended it in a tie. I couldn't have asked for a better ending to that race." Seti agreed, as they watched the moon rise even higher in the night sky. For a few moments, there was silence. Then Atemu spoke quietly, in a tone that belied his youthful looks.
"Thank you for always being there for me, Seti. I don't know what I would have done without your guidance." Atemu said, honestly.
"Think nothing of it, Atemu. As it is, I am able to fulfill my promise to our father this way, and feel that I am doing something worthwhile in the meantime. In my mind, I am not only your advisor, but also your guardian as well." Seti murmured, as he ruffled his younger brother's spiky, tri-colored hair.
"Which is all the more reason why you should both die!" a sinister voice said, as three or four dark-clothed men emerged from the shadows.
"Run, Atemu!" Seti shouted, as he got in front of the startled Pharaoh and pushed him in the direction of the chariots.
"Seti!" Atemu yelped, as he watched the fight break out. With skill, Seti disarmed one of the men with a well-aimed kick, took the spear one of the assassins had brought into the fight, then started fighting back. For a few moments, Atemu watched the fight in stunned silence, unable to move or think. He was jolted back to reality when a pained cry came from Seti, and anger rose within him.
"You came to kill me, did you? Then have at me!" Atemu shouted, as a golden glow surrounded him, then formed a beast behind him.
"Run! The Sphinx has come to life! RUN!" the assassins screamed, before leaving the scene and disappearing into the night. The glowing beast glanced at Atemu, waiting for orders; growling in anticipation when he nodded to it, then motioned towards the fleeing killers with a wave of his hand.
"Go. Take them." Atemu ordered, in a tone of voice he did not recognize. With a roar, the Sphinx took off, sweeping the unfortunate men off their feet……and into the next world.
"Atemu…………." Seti groaned, snapping Atemu out of his fury.
"Seti! Are you……all……right…..!" Atemu asked, trailing off when he saw his brother's face. Even in the moonlight, Atemu could see that his brother had been disfigured. A long, deep cut started over his right eyebrow, gouged out the eye, and ended on the other side of his nose. Blood flowed freely down his face, despite his best efforts to try and staunch it with his hand.
"Oh gods……….." Atemu muttered, almost feeling sick to his stomach at the sight of his brother's injury, and the implications of its' seriousness.
"Are you all right, little brother?" Seti asked, proving that, despite the intense pain he was in, his only thought was for Atemu's well-being. Atemu nodded.
"I am fine. But you aren't." Atemu said, trying to squelch the feelings of panic when he saw Seti step unsteadily towards him; the pain and blood loss starting to take their toll.
"Don't worry about me…….I will be all right. But now we must focus on getting back……Everyone will have noticed that you are not where you should be by now……" Seti murmured, as he sank to his knees. With a desperate lunge, Atemu caught his badly injured brother before his face could meet the desert sand. Gazing with great concern at his brother's injury, Atemu wondered how he was ever going to get back to the palace in time to save him. Then he shook his head, dragged Seti back to one of the chariots, and got the horses moving. Despite their exhaustion, they could somehow sense that time was of the essence, and picked up the pace.
"Please……let me get there in time! Please!" Atemu thought, desperately, as he held the reins in one hand, and his unconscious brother with his free arm. He got back to the palace just as the sun was rising. To his surprise, the first person up and about at that time of the morning was the vizier!
"Ankh!" Atemu shouted, relieved to see that there was someone close at hand to help.
"Your highness! What in the world……!" the startled man yelped, as he rushed over to the chariot when it had stopped, eyes wide with horror when he saw the blood on Atemu's robe and loincloth, and the limp form of Seti in his arms.
"Go and get the healers! Hurry! I don't know how long my brother will last!" Atemu ordered. With only a nod, Ankh rushed off to do the young Pharaoh's bidding, alerting some guards as he rushed past and sending them to their ruler's side.
Hours later, Atemu found himself in his palace, waiting for news on his brother's condition. Nearby, his mother and Seti's mother also waited; weeping in fear and worry for Seti. He clenched his fists in frustration as he paced the long hall; he was unable to comfort either of the women, since he was as anxious as they were.
"Your Highness." One of the healers said, gravely, startling Atemu out of his nervous pacing, and immediately getting his attention.
"How is he? Does he yet live?" Atemu asked, afraid what the answer would be. The healer nodded, but his somber look remained.
"He is going to live, but he will be scarred for the rest of his days. There was nothing we could do for his eye." The healer replied.
"I want to see him. Take me to him." Atemu ordered, grateful now for his position, since he could go in and see just how bad Seti's injury was.
"Follow me." The healer murmured, then turned and quietly walked back the way he had come. Atemu moved to follow, but was stopped by Seti's mother.
"Your Highness, let me know when he awakens, please?" the woman asked, tearfully. Atemu smiled gently and nodded.
"I will send for you when he does." Atemu promised. With that said, he continued on his way, following the healer to the inner sanctum of the temple the healers used to treat injuries. There, in the center of the sanctum, lay Seti. The right side of his face was heavily bandaged, hiding the awful injury from view, but there was still a faint crimson patch staining through. His left arm was also bandaged, since there had been a fairly deep cut there as well. Atemu's eyes narrowed when he saw how pale his brother was, and secretly hoped that the illusionary Sphinx had torn the assassins limb from limb when it had reached the underworld.
"Atemu……..? Atemu……….?" Seti whispered, almost too softly to be heard, even in the almost total silence of the inner sanctum.
"I am here, Seti." Atemu replied, as he took one of his brother's hands in his and firmly held it. As the young Pharaoh watched, Seti slowly opened his only remaining eye, and smiled painfully at him.
"I guess…….the next race will have to wait…….so we can break that tie. Right,…little brother?" Seti murmured, getting a numb nod from Atemu in response.
"I guess so……..I'm so sorry, Seti. If I hadn't insisted on that race in the first place, you wouldn't have been injured. I have wronged you, and there is no way to amend it." Atemu said, as some tears gathered in his eyes. Seti only smiled, and squeezed his brother's hand.
"Atemu……..don't worry about it. I got to live up to my promise to Father last night…….I'd do it again, no matter how much it hurt. Besides, if I had let you get killed, then that would have caused an even deeper wound to be inflicted……deeper than the one on my face. An eye is something I am willing to sacrifice, if it means you get to live." Seti said, tiredly, as he reluctantly drifted into sleep again. Atemu remained at his side, reluctant to leave.
"Your Highness, you must go. Your subjects are waiting for their orders and you have other duties to carry out." Ankh said, as he placed a hand on the worried ruler's shoulder.
"Have someone alert me immediately the moment Seti's condition changes. And post guards around this temple. Make sure no one enters or leaves without my permission." Atemu said, as he hesitantly left Seti in the capable hands of the healers, but making doubly sure that nothing happened to him while he was away. Before he left the place entirely, Atemu looked back and cast a small smile to his slumbering elder brother.
"Thank you, Seti, for saving my life. I just hope I can be a Pharaoh worthy of your self-sacrifice and respect………And that I can someday, somehow, repay you for that debt." Atemu thought, as he got into the waiting chariot and rode away.