The Shadow of the Moon-Lydia's Tale

Chapter Five

Released from the suffocating grip of the sand Lydia dropped down into the cloying darkness. Her legs juddered with the impact of the ground, throwing her body forward onto the shifting surface. How far she had dropped she could not tell. She could feel the sand streaming down from above pounding down over the surface of her suit. Realising the sand was still shifting under her she rolled sideways and slithered down the bank of moving sand to come to an abrupt halt on a solid stone floor.  

Her helmet light shuddered into life, the pale light picking out the thousands of particles of dust thrown up into the air after having lain undisturbed for millennia. For a few moments she lay still worried that any sudden movement might open up another cavity beneath her. Then, warily placing her hands on the unyielding surface she sat up and looked around. The bank of warning lights on her suits control panel remained blank, an indication no one was within radio range. Only one bar was visible, the oxygen supply bar which flickered on and off, throwing up an eerie redness onto her blood spattered face. Saffi and Ned were above her but out of earshot, they could not possibly know what had happened to her. She needed to move. 

Getting to her feet she edged cautiously forward, hands outspread into the dust cloud in front of her until her fingers touched a hard surface. A wall.  

The sound of the shifting sand behind her slowed and the air began to clear. Bit by bit, like mist driven off by the rising sun the dust drifted away. She surmised she was probably in a chamber, high roofed, long and narrow, one end blocked with sand where she had tumbled through the roof the other still hidden in the cloud of wheeling dust. 

Drawing herself close to the wall she resolved to wait a few moments until she could see more clearly. The end of the chamber offered the possibility of escape back into the safety of main chamber above.  

She looked in surprise at the wall, then stood back in awe. 

The surface was covered in life sized figures carved in relief into the stone. Hurriedly she wiped the lingering dust away from the surface and gasped in amazement. The venerators, heads bowed in an act of proskynesis faced away down what she now assumed must be an inner chamber, a sacred sanctum within the temple. The worshipers wore unexpectedly oddly shaped tall hats, long robes with deep sleeves covering hands and high embroidered collars. Her shaking hands reverently traced the shimmering metals of intricate patterns that gleamed iridescent blues and reds. The hats, inlaid with unrecognisable precious stones glittered in her lamplight. As her light moved across the stone surface the faces moved eerily in the shadows. Entranced she edged along the wall following the trail of worshiping figures. The faces changed. Different races, in strange alien garbs, bearing gifts stretched out before her in a long line.  

Lydia's mind began to spin. What was it that lay at the end of the chamber beyond her erratic flicking light? What was it they had come to worship? The thought both excited her and frightened her.  

'Lydia.' The voice came to her gently, a ghostly sound reflecting off the chambers walls. 

Her heart jumped in her chest, pounding against her ribcage. She looked around for a moment not believing she'd heard her name being called against the soft sound of the tumbling sound of the sand still dropping into the room behind her. It was hard to see very far in the gloom. Ever since she'd entered the chamber she'd felt she'd not been alone, an intangible feeling of being watched in the dark by something that could see her but she could not see. She looked down, the absence of light told her that her radio was still out of action. Could there be anything in here with her?  

She edged backward, away from the voice. 

'Here Lydia. Over here.'  

It was right behind her. She swung around and staggered backward into the darkness away from the sound. 

'Where are you?' she whispered hoarsely, afraid of her own voice in the pounding silence. 

'Come to me Lydia.' The voice was driving her on up the chamber. 

'Keep away from me.' Her voice had picked up, she moved backwards more swiftly, her hands flapping behind her in the vacant space. 

'Over here.'  

Lydia swung round, the voice was behind her, so close it felt like it was inside the confines of her helmet. Her back came into contact with something hard and smooth. She spun around, it was the base of a wide plinth. She scrambled up, away from ground level, away from the voice.  

Looking down she realised she was standing on the edge of a substantially carved block of stone. A throne. It held a seated figurine. She carefully placed one foot on the thrones edge and hauled herself upward and came face to face with the head. Carved into the stone was the long elegant face of a woman. With its gently angular nose, shining hair swept back in an amber beetle clasp and closed eyelids it gave off an air of serene divination. The skin glittered, flecked with intricate patterns of iridescent gold colours. Lydia was entranced by the calm beauty that harboured something almost alive. Its presence was almost tangible. She drew herself up and studied the skin. The artisan that had sculpted this had captured something amazing in his subject, the calmness of the face contained in it a feeling of both power and fury. Lydia pulled herself close, she could actually see the pores of the skin.  

Making sure the seal around her wrist was intact Lydia carefully pulled off one of her gloves. Holding her breath she gently ran her hand across the skin of the enigmatic deity. The stone felt cold and perfectly smooth to the touch. 

Was this the Nergalrhod? It was not what she'd expected. She thought she'd be facing a fearsome creature, something hideous, deformed, with a crazed blood lust. But not this vision of peaceful reflection.  

Suddenly the skin rippled and flexed under the delicate touch of her fingertips. Alarmed Lydia pulled her hand back. The face moved, the lips drew up, and golden cheeks rose as if taking in air. The delicate eyelids fluttered up and the eyes swivelled in a flash of molten silver to meet Lydia's. 

For a second Lydia was transfixed, caught in the gaze of the entity come to life. The pupils of the eyes wavered and shrunk as they drew her into focus, concentric circles of gold and silver fused and spun and then locked on her.  

Shocked Lydia cried out, scrabbled at the stone and fell backward onto the sand. Instantly she rolled on all fours and scrabbled away into the darkness until she hit the wall. Her heart raced. She closed her eyes tight and willed herself away from the stone prison that shrunk around her.  

Slowly summing up the courage she opened her eyes. The blizzard of dust shaken up by her panic ebbed and flowed around her in a flurry of swirling particles.  

Her light flickered and went out. She sat staring into the enveloping darkness. There was something in here with her. She knew it, she could feel it. A sense of dread welled up in her. 

The darkness crawled around her. 

Her sense of hearing, heighted by her fear, picked up a sound from the end of the room. She moved backward, gently shuffling herself along the wall to avoid making any noise. When she reached the corner, she pushed herself in as hard as she could and sat watching, her knees drawn up to her chest, her arms wrapped tightly around her body.  

She watched and waited, conscious only of her short ragged breath tearing up the silence. Alone in the dark she shuddered and waited for whatever the darkness held to come and take her. 

The sound of scraping increased, moving toward her. Why had she touched it, now it seemed so stupid? She'd awoken it. The Nergalrhod come to life, hunting her in the darkness. Her breathing came in short sharp shocks.  

Though the soup of dust a bright light appeared, sweeping to and fro- searching the chamber.  

She pushed back hoping the rock of the wall would open up and swallow her. She could feel her racing heart, the drumming in her throat, the pounding in her ears. 

The light hit her face, she flinched and pulled away, gasping for air. 

A shape came out of the light and grabbed her shoulder. She cried out, desperately struggling away from its grasp. 

'Lydia, it's me Saffi. We've come to get you.'