"Here's chapter 6! Sorry for the LONG delay! Thank you all for the reviews! Hope you enjoy and Happy Holidays from us!
Predator: Ancient World
Chapter 6: Return to Thebes
Neferti stood out on the balcony, looking over the Nile and deep into the Western Desert. Anubis had left a day ago, and already she began to miss him. He had told her that he hoped they would meet again, but what if that only meant in the Underworld, when she died.
Neferti sighed and glanced up at the shining full moon. She had just left a ceremony honoring the god of the moon Khonsu, son of the gods Amun and Mut. The moon's rays of light shined on the desert, creating eerie shadow over the sands.
Neferti turned to leave when something caught her eye; a flicker of the light or a subtle movement.
"You are getting paranoid," Neferti reprimanded herself mentally. She turned and walked swiftly into the palace, not looking back.
If she had looked back, she might have seen the nearly invisible figures approaching the city.
The eight Yautja grew anxious at the sight of the ooman city. Du'gret's tales had had many different reactions. His father and Ru'shan remained skeptical over the whole thing, but still interested; Kat'rin and Ani'de, a friend of Du'gret's, were highly fascinated; then the last three, Hun'ett, Brak'en, and Gek'lete just considered this another hunt, with a different twist.
As the group approached the gates of the city, Grentou'se called his son to his side.
"Exactly where are we going?" he asked quietly; he didn't need the students to know that Du'gret was pretty much leading the mission.
Du'gret gestured to the largest building in the settlement, "To their leader's home."
The group silently made their way through the settlement until they reached the large building. They slipped quickly though the doors and into the main entrance hall.
The Yautja were completely silent as they moved through the building. All the oomans appeared to be asleep; all but one.
Amun had just completed young Ramses sword. The gold and gem inlaid hilt sparkled in the moonlight and the blade shined in a silver glow rival to the moon's rays. Amun balanced the sword on his finger; the tang was holding the blade sturdily in the handle and it was perfectly balanced.
"Perfect," Amun whispered. He now glanced at the moon more carefully. He cursed when he realized how late it must be. He hid the sword in a compartment and walked out of the room with a yawn; he hadn't slept well since the god Anubis had come for a visit. Now that he seemed gone to the Underworld once more, Amun could rest easily.
Amun walked down the corridors toward his personal quarters; he failed to notice the form before him until he nearly ran into it. Amun's eyes widened when he saw that the god Anubis had returned; they widened even further when seven other gods appeared out of thin air.
"I am never going to get a good night's sleep ever again," Amun thought to himself.
"The weapon maker," Du'gret thought when he saw the lone figure walking down the hall. The other Yautja watched the approaching form warily, for he could not see them because of their cloaking.
"Do you know this creature?" Grentou'se asked his son quietly as possible.
"Yes," came his son's sure reply. The other Yautja regarded Du'gret in a surprised manner, "He is a weapon maker, and a decent one at that." Du'gret boldly stepped out of the shadows, gesturing for the other Yautja to do the same. He uncloaked right before the ooman.
The ooman stopped but made no sound or threatening gesture. Grentou'se gestured for the other Yautja to follow Du'gret's lead and uncloak. The little being's eyes grew wide at the sight of the other Yautja.
"Please don't let it pass out like the Neferti did," Du'gret begged silently to whatever gods were listening. That reaction would be a mark against them in his and his father's bet.
Du'gret held back a sigh of relief when the ooman merely went down on one knee and spoke, "My gods, you honor me with your presence."
Du'gret glanced at the other Yautja, they seemed very surprised and amused; that was a good thing.
Du'gret gestured for the ooman to rise. He spoke to it, "I have returned with my brethren. We wish to once again meet with the… king." The ooman, Amun he believed was its name, nodded and lead them down the hallway.
Du'gret turned to his group and asked, "Impressed yet?"
"This ooman is indeed brave, yet I have yet to determine if this creatures have honor," Grentou'se said, trying to hide his amusement in being referred to as a god. The unblooded Yautja chattered excitedly about the same; not surprising being that anything that increased their egos they always seemed to like.
Amun paused outside a room. He turned to the gods, "I will awaken the Pharaoh and the Queen, please stay here, I will wake Neferti to guide you to the throne room."
Du'gret smiled at the mention of Neferti's name; he had hoped to see her again.
Neferti rolled over and groggily raised her head, eyes squinting against the velvet darkness of her bed chamber. The knock came again. Surprised at the rapid, almost unsettled tempo of the rapture, she sat up and stepped across the chilly tiles to the door.
"Amun?" She peered up at the weapon-maker questioningly. His expression did nothing to lessen her sudden uneasiness.
"Neferti."
"It is not dawn yet. Why are you walking about at this time?"
The skilled smith smiled a bit crookedly down at the Queen's handmaiden and nodded down the shadowed hallway. "It seems your large, immortal friend has decided to return. And not alone..." He couldn't help the faint wave of relief at the sight of a large smile spreading across Neferti's face. She no longer looked drowsy. Perhaps there was no reason to fear these foreboding beings, if one as small as she could feel at ease in their presence. "I have informed the god Anubis that you will guide him and his brethren to the throne room."
Neferti darted into the shadows of her room to the small, intricately carved table beside her bed and lifted something from its surface. In less than a moment she was padding down the hallway after the large, receding form. Beaming, she raised her turquoise hand-mirror, catching a ghost of her reflection upon the gloss-surface as she ducked beneath the glow of Amun's torch. Frowning, she tucked the small mirror into her sash and began to furiously rake her fingers through her hair.
Amun turned the corner, following the night-passage to the Pharoah's slumber chamber. As if rethinking something, he paused and looked at the young girl once more. She grinned sheepishly and brushed a stray strand of ebony out of her face. "Perhaps you would like to awaken the Queen? She is more partial to your presence when she gets up, I believe?"
Nodding in agreement, Neferti doubled back past her room and to the large doorway beyond.
The yautja turned at the sound of approaching footsteps, instinctively training their weapons on the movement. A small form emerged from the darkness cradling a candle. Amazed at the lack of mass on the being's part, the hunters turned to their leader questioningly, hiding their weapons.
"They send a child to lead us around?" Hun'ett asked, clearly offended.
"She's fully grown," Du'gret growled in annoyance at his rival's unmasked distaste. He met his father's gaze and nodded at the question residing there. "Just barely, though." He added as an afterthought.
"She?" Ani'de inquired. "I thought the other one was male."
"It was." Du'gret grinned at the obvious confusion on his companions' faces. Grentou'se motioned for his son to explain the curious aspect of this particular species of prey while they walked. Ru'shan shook his head and glanced at the human female. She was watching all of them intently, looking at each speaker in turn.
"Nefteri."
The human looked up at the speaker of her name and smiled, bowing slightly.
"Lord Anubis."
Neferti waited for the gods to address her, taking in each towering form. She could no better understand their conversation than pronounce Anubis' real name. In all actuality, she could barely tell them apart. Two of the masks had deliberate markings on them, but the remaining five had none. She strained to remember if her friend had more of a greenish coloring, or a lighter, yellowier one.
Finally, the one who she had first assumed was Anubis took off his mask and said her name. She smiled up at the familiar face, bowed and addressed him.
"I am to lead you to the throne room, where the Pharaoh and the Queen are waiting."
Du'gret nodded and motioned for his clan to follow, stepping to the side so that his father could step in front.
"This is the one you first met?" Grentou'se cast a side-glance at his son. A nod was his answer.
"The females are...smaller?" Kat'rin pondered aloud, herself possessing a stance a full head taller than that of her comrades. It seemed she wasn't the only one curious about the subject. Ani'de, Gek'lete, and Sen'tre looked to Du'gret for a response. Hun'ette snorted in disinterest.
"Yes, it appears so." Du'gret answered, looking from Ru'shan to his father. Had they known that?
Ru'shan chuckled at the grunts of surprise and disbelief from the students.
Gek'lete eyed Neferti speculatively. "How...strange."
Sen'tre snorted. "Yeah. Where's the fun in such a thing?" He grinned at Kat'rin. She too was watching the petite feminine form, ignoring the comments of her male clan members.
Neferti led the gods to the throne room in silence, feeling vaguely uneasy that it was she they were discussing.
They entered the main throne room and Neferti turned to address the gods, "My gods, the Pharaoh should be here any momen…"
Neferti and the gods jumped as the side doors to the throne room burst open, revealing Pharaoh Seti, his wife Queen Tuya, and young Ramses.
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