Chapter Two- Suspicions

Mahad ambled aimlessly about the palace's corridors. He had already checked on his students who did not require supervision or classes. If one felt he or she needed help, they were free to come to him for a little one on one time. He cherished those private lessons as it filled his nights with something to do.

Mahad had gained his immortality a year ago and it drove home how long his life was now. He would age a little every fifty years and would need to find ways to fill his nights now more than ever. He had a few ideas of time fillers. He could study and practice his own magic, duel his fellow priests, and have talks with his court members, Siamun, and Atem.

He looked forward to speaking with the three vampires alone when they gained their immortality. Isis would be the first as she would be twenty-one in about a year, Seto would be second in three years, and finally Atem in five years. Doubtlessly, there would be a big celebration when the pharaoh's night came.

"Master Mahad."

The magician vampire blinked and focused on a guard who was kneeling before him. "Yes?"

"The pharaoh sent me to tell you that there will be a court talk tomorrow night."

"Excellent. Thank you." The guard left and Mahad smiled. It had been a while since their last court talk and he loved those talks; for one thing, it takes up time.

He pondered other ways to spend his immortal life as his feet guided him to the archives of their own accord. He automatically ran his fingers along the scrolls as he tried to think of what he wanted to read. He shook his head as nothing interesting came to mind.

"Mahad?"

He turned to see Seto at a table with a scroll in his hands. He joined the young priest and took a seat. "Seto," he replied.

"You seem restless, Mahad."

"I've been contemplating my immortality ad how to fill it."

"Really? You've been immortal for a year now."

"I know, but it hadn't really hit me until recently."

"I haven't given it much thought beyond the fact that I look forward to gaining it."

"I felt the same way when I was your age, maybe even the pharaoh's age."

Seto rolled up the scroll. "I've been thinking about the pharaoh."

"How so?"

"I find it odd that his entire family line has an illness every full moon. One would think that illness wouldn't touch us."

Mahad frowned. "Yes, now that I think about that, you're right. Our bodies, for all intents and purposes, are dead and it has been found that illness needs to thrive in a living body. So, how can the pharaoh suffer from illness while the rest of us do not?"

"Indeed, how? There is another mystery as well."

"Another one?"

"Yes." He leaned forward toward Mahad. "The bodies of the people we drain. It is know that we dump them in pits in the rear of the courtyard, however, we are just using the few pits we have instead of digging new ones. No one can explain why and no one has really examined the pits."

"Are you suggesting the corpses are being stolen? That's not possible. We have patrols guarding the palace and the city at night and then there's the protective shield while we sleep."

"And yet we aren't digging new pits. It would indicate that the bodies are being stolen somehow."

Mahad's curiosity was piqued by Seto's words. He rose from his seat. "Let us examine the pits. I can use a spell to levitate the sand off them."

The two men headed off for the courtyard, guards bowing as they passed. Mahad and Seto nodded in acknowledgement, but Mahad turned the conversation Seto and he had just had over in his mind and marveled at how no one had questioned Atem's monthly absences. He did just point out that illnesses have no hold over dead bodies and yet Atem seemed to have a family illness. A gene in his family line could be the trigger of this condition. Any offspring he has could inherit this gene as well.

Mahad then became aware of another odd thing that he never thought of before: There was no silver anywhere in the palace. He didn't travel so the absence of silver didn't strike him as odd, but now he felt that a normal palace would have gold and silver. Why is there no silver? "Seto, I just realized that there is no silver in the palace."

"None?" Seto repeated. "Why would that be?"

"No idea. No explanation was given as no one has asked. Perhaps we should during our court talk tomorrow."

Seto nodded in agreement as he began to puzzle over the lack of silver. He had lived in a village and had seen silver jewelry and coins when visiting the market that stayed open until well past dark. His mother, a born vampire, wore silver herself and said it protected her from werewolves as they couldn't bear to be near it and being impaled by the metal killed them. The lack of silver here hasn't really caught Seto's attention as he had been busy with his studies, his duties, and getting blood. But now, the lack of silver and Atem's family illness filled his mind and he wondered if the burial pits would prompt another mystery or a simple rumor. He hoped it was the latter.

Mahad and Seto entered the courtyard and the former questioned those assigned to guard the area. All gave the same answer. "They see no one near the pits save for when they are placing another body in an open pit."

"Then, perhaps the idea of stolen bodies is just that: an idea," Seto said as they approached the oldest pit.

"It would seem so but let us check to be sure." Mahad focused on the needed spell and he murmured it. The sand rose into the air and landed neatly beside the now open pit. The noxious stench of decomposition assailed their noses and they pulled back to let the gas dissipated before approaching and looking down.

All they saw were decomposed bodies and Mahad covered it before moving on to the next one. This one was just like the first one. "It would seem your assumption is correct," Mahad said as they headed to the third pit. "All bodies are accounted for."

"So far, it seems that way," Seto agreed as Mahad removed the sand from the third pit, which was the last filled one. Both expected a lot of gas like before, but this time not a lot escaped. They approached the edge, looked down, and stared astonished at what they saw.

There were bodies but the ones on top were ripped up and shredded. It was clear that something had dug up the bodies and ate whatever it wanted. The sight of the bodies made Mahad feel sick which was impressive considering he only drank blood. "The bodies weren't stolen," he managed to say. "They are being eaten."

"How?" Seto asked. "The guards said they saw no one."

"Perhaps an animal got in while we slept. It's the only time this could happen."

"Yes, that makes sense and I say it's either jackals or wolves who are doing this. It could even be werewolves, in which case we will need greater protection against our ancient rival."