The Memory Painter

“Forget the past? We are the past.”

“You can change who you are. Start over. Just help me save him. Please.”

“The Brotherhood of Horus,” Finn sneered, “hoarding the ancient knowledge. Do you think you are the only ones who have a destiny?”

“So your answer is killing? Your father? Your friend?”

“And I will do it again. The Apophis only wants to give power back to the people. You’re the one who stands in our way.” Finn spoke in ancient Egyptian. “Father never understood that.… It was why he had to die. I made sure the poison was slow.”

With a fierce growl, Linz sprang to her feet. She lunged at Finn and attacked him barehanded, delivering a brutal jab to his chest. Finn lurched backward in surprise and retreated to the gallery as Linz came at him like a Fury. There was no time to waste—her father was fighting for his life.

She grabbed a medieval spear hanging on the wall and tested the weight of the weapon. Finn charged at her, sword in hand. Linz avoided every strike, her mind in sharp focus, channeling an Egyptian stick fighter at his best. With a powerful roar, she launched her body and swung the spear, forcing Finn to jump to one side. She spun in the air, leg extended, and crashed into his chest with all her weight. The force knocked Finn backward into the case holding Bjarni’s vegvísir. It fell with him to the ground, shattering glass everywhere.

Finn lay on the floor stunned amid the shards of glass. Linz bent over, picked up the vegvísir, and looked down at Finn. She spoke in ancient Egyptian. “Poor Seth, never able to find your way.”

Using the stone as a weapon, she brought it down hard on his temple, knocking him unconscious.

Linz stared at him and wondered when it would end. Thoth had not killed him in Egypt, and she would not kill him now. She could gain nothing from his death.

She rushed back to the study. Conrad was on the floor, alive but gasping, clearly fighting for every breath.

Linz grabbed the house phone and called 911. “Help me, my father’s having a heart attack—he was tasered. He has a pacemaker.”

The dispatcher assured her an ambulance would be there in five minutes. She hung up and returned to her father, cradling his head in her lap.

Conrad was cognizant but in great pain. “Finn?” he asked her.

“He’s unconscious. Just hold tight, Dad, please.” She took his hand. “Why didn’t you tell me who you were? I’m so sorry.”

He squeezed her hand. “Wanted to protect you from it all … my fault.… Renovo is too powerful, so easy to get lost.…” He struggled to get the words out. “No time. Listen to me. I built Medicor … for the Guardian to return … people will try to stop you. So many.”

Conrad was fading now, his body shutting down. Linz heard the sirens and knew the ambulance would be there soon, but not soon enough. Her father’s spirit was already leaving this world. She had to lean in close to hear his last words. “Find the others. They are waiting.”

She saw his soul depart and cried out in anguish. She was not ready to lose him. It was just like it had been ten thousand years ago: they still had too much left to say.