Before he settled next to me, Dr. Hassan used the adder stone and ran his hand over the wall until the wall suddenly disappeared. He then dragged over a wooden crate and lifted a large jar from it.
“Those are his canopic jars, aren’t they?” I marveled as I carefully touched one with a long-beaked bird on the top.
Dr. Hassan nodded. “I brought them here when Amon was taken and hid them using the stone,” he explained.
He set each jar in front of us, and I couldn’t help but be astonished that I was able to touch the ancient artifacts. In addition to the bird-topped jar, there were jars with a dog head, a human head, and the head of a ram. I wanted to ask Dr. Hassan what they symbolized, but Amon interrupted.
“Are you ready, Doctor?” Amon asked.
“Yes, I believe so.”
“Uncap the jars as soon as you feel the breath of life upon your face,” Amon instructed.
“Yes, Master.”
Amon positioned himself a few feet from the coffin and I crouched next to Dr. Hassan, who was watching Amon with a zealous rapture.
The personification of the sun god raised his arms in the air and chanted. As he did so, the heavy top of the sarcophagus twitched on its base and rose several inches.
Amon began weaving his spell.
The stars rise. The stars fall. The stars die.
As do you, my brother.
Asten—the embodiment of the stars.
It is time for rebirth. For renewal. For remaking.
Without you the sky is dark. The heavens quake with emptiness.
The celestial realm needs your glittering glory.
Come, Brother. Take up your quiver and your bow.
Join me in our shared fate once again.
The time is at hand to fulfill our purpose.
My enemies will be your enemies.
My allies will be your allies.
Together we will bring order to chaos
And strengthen the ties that bind the universe.
When I live, you live, for I share my life with you.
When I breathe, you breathe, for I share my breath with you.
I am Amon, the guardian of the sun.
With the Eye of Horus I seek you out.
You wander in darkness, bereft and lost,
But I will light the path before you.
Amon’s eyes glowed bright green, and an eerie verdant light illuminated the area in front of him. He moved his head as if searching for something, and the beams of light from his eyes shifted, too. Finding what he was looking for, though I could see nothing at the end of the light trail except darkness, he continued his spell.
Your body is dust, chaff before the wind,
But the wind obeys me, and the dust listens.
I beckon you forth from the land of the dead.
Come, Asten! Heed my summons.
Return to the form of the man you once were.
I call upon the four winds to lend me power,
And through them I give you the breath of life….
Amon raised a hand and an eerie sound, like a monster inhaling, filled the cavern. Each puff of air traced a path back and forth on my skin. Goose bumps prickled along my arms and neck, and I nervously scanned the darkness, looking for the source of the sound. Dr. Hassan proceeded to open the canopic jars and streams of white light emerged from them, circling right above the sarcophagus. I couldn’t help but compare them to scavenger birds seeking out the dead.
Suddenly, a fierce gust of hot wind blew my hair back. Amon raised his other hand and a second wind countered the first. Two more times he did this, and it felt as if we were encompassed in a whirlwind. It became so strong that Dr. Hassan and I had to cling to the foot of the sarcophagus to maintain our positions, but just as quickly the wind moved away from us and whirled around Amon.
Amon trembled, arms extended at chest level, palms facing up. His limbs shook as if he were attempting to lift a weighted barbell with just the tips of his fingers. Then, when I thought he could bear it no more, the wind shifted, dipping into the coffin, and a tightly wrapped form was lifted before us.