“This is important, Lily!” he went on. “If he knows it is you, he will not complete the ceremony. The god of chaos must not be allowed to return. I know it is a hard thing to ask, but when you feel the pull on your energy, you need to open yourself to it. Allow Amon to take what he needs. Do you understand? Tell me you understand!”
Numbly, I nodded. A million questions flew through my mind, but I couldn’t seem to focus on a single one. Standing on the edge of the building, Dr. Hassan cried out in Egyptian, and far below, a tremor shook a group of zombies, throwing them away from the thing they focused on as if a bomb had gone off. The starlit ibis rose in the air with a powerful flap of his wings and zoomed toward us.
He landed and changed to human form.
“Asten?” I took a step closer. He was bleeding heavily and bruised. Cuts and deep slashes leaked red rivulets over his chest and arms; his shirt hung in tatters. The dark hair he’d seemed so proud of was drenched with sweat, and locks of it hung over his eyes.
Asten took a deep shuddering breath, glanced at me, and then turned toward Dr. Hassan. “Does she know what to do?” he asked, exhaustion emanating from his entire body.
“She does. She is ready.”
“Then climb upon my back.” He added, “The battle is a sore one, Hassan.”
Dr. Hassan patted his shoulder. “The ritual is nearly complete. There is just a minor complication.”
I was about to make a comment about the complication not actually being minor, but then I looked at Asten and couldn’t bring myself to say it. Instead, I said, “Take care of yourself, Asten.”
He gave me a weak smile. “My initial assessment of you was entirely inaccurate,” he said.
“Oh?”
“Yes.” Reaching out his fingertips, he grazed my cheek and my skin tingled. “I have never met a more dedicated devotee,” he said quietly, “Goodbye, Lily.” Dropping his hand, Asten burst into his starlit ibis form.
After Dr. Hassan and I climbed on, Asten rose into the air. I felt a rush of wind as he headed directly toward the largest pyramid, where the great crocodile god who was Sebak hovered, watching in monstrous delight as his zombie army held back the sons of Egypt from completing their work.
The moon was so large and close that I felt as if we were flying directly into it. I couldn’t be sure, but it seemed to me as if it hung directly over the pyramid. It was possible that I’d miscalculated a bit, but I knew that if the three brothers didn’t complete the ceremony before the moon passed over the pyramid, it would be too late.
The ibis cried out and Sebak turned his head toward us. With a scream he surged upward, tearing Asten’s white wing with a scaly claw. The wing broke with a snap and we plummeted. Asten broke our fall with his body. We landed on the far side of the pyramid and Asten changed back to human form, panting as he cradled his arm.
“Go! Go!” Asten said. He gave me a small smile as Dr. Hassan grabbed my arm and led me around the side of the pyramid. Before we turned the corner, I saw Asten take a running leap off the pyramid, somersaulting in the air before landing in the horde, an arrow in each hand despite the break. He thrust the arrows into the eyes of two zombies, who both exploded in a cloud of dust.
Dr. Hassan led me down the length of the pyramid. My feet constantly slipped as I tripped on loose rocks. Before we got to the end, a horrible claw sank into the side of the pyramid directly in front of us. Sebak’s transformed body rounded the corner. The sight of his ghastly grin was enough to stop me in my tracks and make me run in the other direction, but Dr. Hassan paused for only a moment and then kept running, leaving me behind.
“Dr. Hassan, wait!” I called as I scrambled after him.
“Ah, Lilliana,” the creature said, working a giant tongue over sharp teeth the size of stalactites. “I thought I’d have to seek you out. How appropriate it is that you should come to me of your own volition.”