Shifting uncomfortably, Amon said, “There is not, Brother. The Dark One has sent his minions and he grows strong.”
Finishing the apple, Asten tossed the core toward Dr. Hassan, who scrambled to clean up after him. “What do you mean?” he asked as he took in Amon’s clothes and then looked at me again. Shrewdly, he pressed, “When did you rise, Brother?”
Instead of answering him, Amon addressed Dr. Hassan. “Osahar, gather our things so that we may leave as soon as possible.”
“Right away, Great One…I mean, Amon.”
“Thank you.”
Asten stared at his brother intently. “What has happened, Amon? Please tell me.”
“I rose several days ago. I am sorry that the time of your rising is so short, but we have only a few days to locate Ahmose and subdue the Dark One before he gains enough power to stop us.”
“Locate Ahmose? You do not know where he is? Then, where have you been?”
Amon raised his hand and Asten stopped asking questions. “There is much to tell you, but time is short. We will talk on the journey.” Amon glanced at me and rubbed his thumb lightly against my cheekbone. “We must raise Ahmose, and quickly,” he added.
Asten seemed to sober at his brother’s obvious distress and gripped his arm. “I will do what I must, Brother. We will find him. We are in death, as we were in life.”
“In death and in life, Asten.”
I’d just bent over to pick up my bag when the cavern suddenly shook. I stumbled against Amon, who caught me easily. The shaking ceased abruptly, and I was about to ask Dr. Hassan if there were earthquakes in the area when the mountain rumbled again.
A hot wind blew through the cavern, creeping over my skin and then retreating. “Are you doing this?” I hissed at Amon. The sound of heavy breathing brought the fetid breeze again.
He shook his head, and with a searing inhale the air was sucked out of the cavern. My lungs tightened and I gripped Amon’s arm as the torches wavered and then flickered out, casting us into complete darkness. Amon and Asten lit their bodies, and when they did, I felt the cool rush of oxygen enter my lungs. Asten’s white light far outshone Amon’s golden skin, and it became clear just how drained Amon was. His eyes gleamed green in the darkness, while Asten’s were amber.
Dust rained down on us. Something moved just beneath the rock. Slowly, the hidden thing writhed and undulated, like a giant snake slithering beneath desert sand, circling to one side of the cave and then the other as the walls bulged.
“What is it?” I whispered.
“I do not know,” Amon replied.
Just then, thousands of fissures broke open in the wall, releasing thin strands of light and setting the entire cavern aglow.
“It’s beautiful!” I whispered.
“I do not think I would describe it the same way,” Amon said as the glow intensified and began wriggling. Skinny, glowing shoestrings twisted through the holes and dropped by the hundreds onto the cavern floor.
“Those aren’t—”
“They are,” Amon answered me. “Worms.”
“This is very creepy.” I rubbed my hands up and down my arms. “Is this what normally happens when you wake him?” I jerked my thumb toward Asten.
The god of the stars spoke up. “Thousands of beautiful women? Yes. Thousands of insects whose only purpose is to lure fish? No.”
“Guys?” I said, taking a few steps backward. “They’re still coming.” Long, luminous worms of all descriptions were writhing in ever-growing piles, and it wouldn’t be long before we were buried beneath them. “Can we get out of here?” I asked. “You know, before our bones get picked as clean as Asten’s?”
“You are not a very proper devotee to speak of me thus, are you?” Asten commented.
“I never said I was.”
“I don’t think these worms are what we should be worried about,” Dr. Hassan interjected.