Filing that information away, I said, “So as long as we give the Eye back quickly enough, we should be fine, right? What part of that plan backfired?”
“Hiding the Eye accomplished our purpose in that Sebak could not steal it and harness its power, but now he knows it is in someone else,” Asten explained.
“So, he’ll come after Dr. Hassan?”
“No. He believes you are in possession of the Eye,” Ahmose said.
Dr. Hassan fiddled with his hands. “Sebak is slightly obsessive.”
I folded my arms. “That is a bit of an understatement.”
“Yes. I fear he made you his target from the beginning,” Dr. Hassan said, “knowing that you were Amon’s greatest weakness, and now that he believes you have the Eye—”
“He’ll come after me with even more resources.”
“And now that he has channeled the incarnation of Apophis,” Ahmose said, “his previous obsession will become an undeniable hunger.”
“He will not rest until you are in his grasp, Lily.” Asten’s normally jovial expression was grave, giving me a good indication of just how serious my situation was.
“Oh.”
Finding out that I was the target of a dark, reincarnated crocodile god in not one but two ways was not exactly how I wanted my Egyptian adventure to turn out.
“At least we know now how the dark priest obtained his power,” Ahmose said.
“We do? Did I miss something?” I asked.
“He has stolen the power stored in Amon’s three other canopic jars,” Asten explained.
“But that power was not meant for a mortal, even one sustained by Seth. It has damaged him, fractured his mind,” Ahmose said.
“You see, we were each granted four gifts of the gods,” Asten said. “The exception was Amon, who received a fifth gift, the Eye of Horus. The other four are stored in the canopic jars, and we take them into ourselves upon rising.”
“So what are the four gifts that Sebak stole?”
Ahmose said, “Amon was given the names Revealer of Secrets, Champion of the Troubled, Bringer of Light, and Seeker of Truth.”
“How exactly are those considered powers?” I asked.
“Being the Bringer of Light enables Amon to call forth the golden falcon.”
“Okay, so he got that one. What can the other three do?”
Amon’s brothers looked at each other and then at me. “Even we do not know the full extent of our power,” Asten said. “It is rare that we need to use our powers other than to complete the ceremony.”
“But to use them is instinctual, and we can sense when one of us is drawing upon this power,” Ahmose said. “Sebak was using Amon’s power, but it was warped, distorted, almost as if the power was being used in the opposite way in which it was intended.”
“So…instead of being the champion of the troubled, Sebak is the champion of the one who causes trouble?”
“Exactly.”
“And you can sense this power?”
“Yes,” Asten continued. “Sebak has used Amon’s power to discover lost spells and distort others, such as the spell used to raise us. He has perverted it to summon the dead, warriors with no minds of their own who suffer endless torment in broken forms. It would be a kindness to return them to the afterlife.”
I cleared my throat. “Then here’s a crazy question. Can we get Amon’s powers back?”
“Perhaps,” Ahmose said. “But we must convince Sebak to relinquish them.”
“It is not likely,” Asten interjected. “To give up the powers he must voluntarily set them aside. Most men cannot or will not make that sacrifice.”
Dr. Hassan, quiet for the last few moments, spoke up. “Perhaps I can reason with him.”
Asten and Ahmose gave each other a doubtful look. “Sebak’s purpose will be to challenge the ceremony,” Asten said. “If he can disrupt the ritual, then he might garner enough power to raise the god of chaos. Seth will be at his strongest right before the full moon.”