It looked more like Asten’s starlit ibis than Amon’s golden falcon. The creature made of silver light began to circle Asten. “Come, Brother. It is time.”
With a trumpeting cry, the bird soared toward the sarcophagus, where the four lights from the jars merged with it. It was quickly encompassed by the whirlwind and exploded in a burst of silvery light that was absorbed into the skull’s eye sockets.
The frame came together like a puzzle. Arms linked to shoulders. Legs to hips. The vertebrae snapped into their proper places. The right hand shook repeatedly and then I heard the sudden crack of wood as two finger bones that had been wedged tightly in the fragmented side of the coffin shot up into the air and clicked into position.
Shiny beams ran down the limbs of the floating skeleton, and the creature that would easily fit in as a Halloween decoration or hanging in a medical office began to writhe. Newly made veins filled with quicksilver blood, and shining muscle formed over gleaming bone as a heart began pumping. Light shone through the eye sockets in two beams that fell upon me and then Dr. Hassan, and I wondered if Asten’s brother could see already, even before his eyes had returned.
Asten finished the spell.
As you pass through this last portal of death,
Cries of joy will greet you,
Feasts will welcome you,
Your heart will beat again,
Your limbs will leap again,
Your voice will be heard again,
All that was lost will be returned.
Come, Ahmose, and fulfill your destiny!
I shielded my eyes until the light faded, pleased that I hadn’t passed out this time. Asten’s brother hovered above us, resplendent and shining. The skirt he wore was as pristine as if it had just been made, and his body, clean and radiant as a newborn’s, put all of us standing in our filth to shame.
Slowly, he lowered his arms and descended to the ground next to his coffin. He spoke quietly to Asten and then approached me and Dr. Hassan. At first, I assumed Dr. Hassan had fallen to the floor again in a sign of deference to the moon god, but upon closer inspection, I realized he was unconscious.
Concerned, Ahmose knelt and rolled Dr. Hassan onto his back. He asked me a question, but it was in Egyptian. I tried to explain that I didn’t understand, but he smiled kindly and moved closer to Dr. Hassan. Like Asten and Amon, Ahmose had risen naked except for his white skirt. Like them, he was very handsome, but he was larger, with thick muscles on his shoulders and arms.
Ahmose began weaving a spell over Dr. Hassan. As I moved to the other side of the doctor and held his hand, I couldn’t help but study this third brother.
It was easy to see why this demigod preferred an ax to a bow and arrow. At the same time, he treated Dr. Hassan with the utmost care; his thick fingers squeezed the Egyptologist’s shoulders with the lightest pressure. Not something I’d expect in a man of such stature.
When he was finished with his spell, Ahmose lifted his gaze to mine once more, and I felt captured in his silvery-gray eyes. Dr. Hassan recovered and stood up to speak with the men for a few moments before accepting the bottled water I offered. I’d planned to offer a welcoming handshake to Ahmose as I rose from the floor, but seeing how grimy I was, I changed my mind.
“Well, welcome to the world,” I said. “I’m Lily.”
Ahmose quirked his head at me and narrowed his gray eyes, then looked at his brother, who spoke to him in Egyptian. Ahmose nodded and said something that sounded like “Ah” before murmuring a short spell.
“I am Ahmose, the personification of the moon,” he said with a warm smile.
“Nice to meet you, Ahmose. The man you helped is your vizier, Dr. Hassan.”
“I am pleased to know you. Both of you.” He indicated politely.
“Yes…so, Asten, is there anything else, or can we get a move on? I’m worried about Amon,” I explained while Ahmose gave me a considering look.
“Yes.” Ahmose looked around. “Where is Amon?”