Get out your popcorn, tourists beware, here comes a paranormal adventure with a historical twist, set in Egypt--and Britain.
From Chapter 29 'Darkness': 'Did I just try to dive into that goo to get at a dead guy?' Trueth asked.
Define dead,' Me...
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Metjen climbed up the boulders, sending a landslide of rocks tumbling towards the ground. He scrambled towards Trueth on all fours, then stopped right next to her. Together, they observed the mirror-still surface of the glass container. Which gave nothing away.
The greenish fluid below them was the only splash of colour in their dusty grey of their surroundings—apart from the purple of the ring. And the quiet occupant of the aquarium was the only unmoving body in the hall. Unlike those other things persisting with their shimmy, things turning into complete bodies, dragging themselves from the floor. Trueth felt queasy, not only because of the increasing stink which reminded her of Gorgonzola cheese.
'Metjen, these dead... .'
''I see them. But their ba is not with their bodies. They can only frighten you. They can't harm you. Unless you let them. So don't.'
'And that guy?' Trueth looked at the blurry form in the tank, swimming in and out of her vision. She wondered whether the perspective was making her woozy. And why she felt the urge to move, to get closer—
Metjen's voice penetrated her confusion. 'Can't tell you. Leave him be for the moment. Maybe it's that goo.'
Out of nowhere, a whisper breathed into her thoughts. He's alive. Save him—do it now.
The urge to move intensified. Trueth lost the struggle with her limbs and scrambled towards the edge of the rock pile, sending a shower of pebbles over the edge.
'I must get him out of there!' Her scream reverberated around the hall.
'You nuts?' Rani-Ra said, glaring up in disgust.
Save him! The whisper became more persistent, forcing her towards the rock below, closer to the tank.
'I have to go. Have to help,' she babbled.
A vice grabbed her in its iron grip. Metjen's arm squeezed the air from her lungs and bruised her waist. He dragged her backwards and forced her down the other side of the pile of boulders. The insidious whisper would not let go and she fought him all the way to the bottom.
You must... .The urge winked out in her brain and left her spinning. Her ribcage hurt and she was drenched in sweat.
'Drink this.' Metjen put a cup to her mouth, a tarry sweet liquid tasting of cardamom went down her throat, and she nearly spat it out again.
'Oy, that was the last of my coffee,' Metjen said and stored the Thermos in his backpack. He got up from the floor, took a used sani-wipe from his pockets and dabbed at the scratches on his arms.
Trueth blinked at him in confusion. At Rani-Ra, who was tilting her head. At the Servants who stared back. 'Did I dream this bit, or was I ready to jump into that muck to get at a dead guy?'
