The First Ark: Deathless Prequel Read online

  Osiris gave a shuddering gasp and died.

  Chapter 3- Chamber of the Gods

  "Isis?" a voice said, muted and distant. She glanced up through the tears to find Sekhmet staring down at her. Her near sister's face was a mask of grief and pain, twin to her own. Sekhmet gathered Isis to her and Isis didn't fight it. She sobbed her grief into the damp furs covering her friend's chest.

  "It's my fault," she said, finally pushing Sekhmet away. Isis rose to her feet, wiping away the tears as she sought desperately to compose herself. "I knew the spirits couldn't protect us here and I agreed to come anyway. His death is my fault."

  "No," Sobek hissed, limping forward. He leaned heavily on his spear, but his eyes were hard. "This is not your doing. Osiris led us here. I mourn his death, but the blame is his."

  "This was Set's doing," Sekhmet said, glaring a challenge at Sobek. The wounded warrior broke gazes first. Isis was grateful. Had she spoken the words would have been a great deal harsher.

  Sekhmet knelt next to Osiris and gently removed his necklace of cave lion teeth, the mark of the tribe's chieftain. She settled it grimly around her own neck. "But we are too weak to claim vengeance, at least right now. They will return soon and we cannot be here when they do."

  "Perhaps the stranger can help us," Isis suggested, turning to peer up the corridor. The odd-looking stranger still stood there, his golden staff gripped firmly in hand. If he'd moved at all during the fighting she hadn't seen it, and if the sight of so many bodies troubled him he gave no sign.

  The stranger beckoned them forward, then turned and disappeared into the darkness. A moment later something inexplicable happened. The sapphire set into the staff began to glow, it's light both warm and bright. She'd never seen such magic, such incredible power.

  Sekhmet was the first to follow, with Sobek hobbling after. Isis moved to support his larger frame, bearing some of his weight as they hurried after the stranger with his incredible staff. The stranger guided them through many tunnels, up flights of tall stairs and down others.

  By the time the stranger stopped to face them, Sobek had gone ashen. The wound in his thigh was deep and bled freely. She had no catgut thread to bind it and using a fur as a bandage would do little unless Sobek stopped to rest.

  "Unnh," The stranger grunted, pointing urgently down a ramp that led into a dark cavern.

  Sekhmet moved to Sobek's opposite side, and together they helped the wounded warrior into the cavern. At the room's far side light shone through a square cave mouth, much like the one they'd passed through when entering this dark place.

  The stranger threaded through the cavern, passing by odd spires that towered over them. The one in the center stood higher than ten men and hummed with some low malevolent power. Isis eyed it warily as she passed by, not trusting anything about this place.

  She was out of breath by the time they reached the light, and she found it wasn't the cave's exit. Rather it led into a small room that had clearly been constructed by the gods. Seven blocks a little longer than a man radiated outward from a central point, each more clear than the clearest ice and standing at about waist height. Large gemstones dotted their surface, with little pulses of red and blue light passing between them on invisible lines.

  "Unnhhh," the stranger grunted, even more urgently. He rested his staff against one of the blocks, then moved to scoop up Sobek. Sekhmet stiffened as if she might protest, but relaxed and allowed the stranger to carry Sobek to one of the strange blocks.

  He set the wounded warrior atop the block, and after a moment the block glowed and began to flow like melting animal fat. Sobek sank inside and the block closed around him. His eyes closed and his breathing seemed to ease. More importantly the bleeding in his leg stopped, though the awful wound remained.

  The stranger turned to face them, his chest drenched in Sobek's blood. He picked up his staff in one hand and offered the other to Isis. She shot a nervous glance at Sekhmet.

  "Go on," Sekhmet said, nodding as she drew a hand axe from her belt. "If he tries anything I will gut him. See what he wants. I think he recognizes you as a shaman. Maybe he can share the magic of the gods with you."

  Isis accepted the stranger's hand, old and leathery but warm. He led her across the room to the block furthest from the door. The stranger released her, then mimed placing his hands atop two giant rubies set into the block. He watched her expectantly.

  She took a deep breath, then set her hands atop the gems. There was a flash of light and then she was elsewhere.

  Chapter 4- Ka

  Ka stared at the strange hominid as it entered the mental construct. It had breasts and lacked facial hair, so a Ken. A female. Fascinating, doubly so given that it had been nearly two hundred millennia since she'd last seen a new offshoot of the Ken's species

  The intelligence had watched with eager anticipation as the new hominids entered the Ark. They were taller and thinner than the existing host, with slightly larger brain cavities. That could be important, though it was too soon for her to rejoice. Their stone-tipped weapons were similar to that of the host, but more advanced.

  Where the host's people had short, thrusting spears, these new hominids carried spears that could be thrown. It probably made them more successful hunters, which could account for why their people were surviving the world's latest glaciation where their unfortunate cousins had all but been wiped out.

  She'd been intrigued when the two groups had clashed. These new hominids were clearly more violent than the host's genus, a more aggressive offshoot of the same species. Could they interbreed? An interesting experiment.

  The host had dutifully led the new hominids into the rejuvenation chamber and placed the wounded one in a rejuvenator. It had done so of its own cognizance, but that was the limit of the creature's intelligence. Useful, but still not able to do what she required.

  "Are you a god?" the Ken asked, glancing around curiously. A little fear touched her gaze, but only a little.

  Ka was shocked. The current host could manage simple words and concepts, but higher reasoning and imagination were sadly lacking. For this Ken to understand the concept of a deity, she had to possess both.

  "You might consider me so," Ka replied, willing herself closer. She drifted like a specter, coming to rest next to the Ken.

  "You are like us, but different. Your eyes are too large and you are too tall," the Ken said, grip tightening on her staff as Ka approached.

  "I am patterned after the builders," Ka explained, knowing what its words were likely to mean little. "I was left to steward this Ark when they departed long ago."

  "Where are we?" the Ken asked, turning about in a slow circle as she took in the construct.

  "It is difficult to explain. You might say we are in my mind. Your body remains where it was, next to your companions. Only your consciousness has come to this place," Ka said. She plucked at a thread in the Ken's mind, and the construct changed. "Is this more pleasing to you?"

  They were now surrounded by low, fir huts, supported by thickly cut branches and packed slow. A fire burned in the center of the village, with a haunch of mammoth meat roasting on a spit over it. The place smelled of smoke and cooked flesh, a bizarre mix.

  "My village," the Ken gasped. She moved to one of the huts and tugged open the flap. "What sorcery is this? Set burned this place weeks ago."

  "I conjured this memory to make you more comfortable," Ka explained. "If it makes you uncomfortable I can change it."

  The construct shifted back to a replica of the rejuvenation chamber. The Ken turned slowly to face Ka, eyes wide and mouth open. "You are a god. Can you bring the dead back to life?"

  Ka was taken aback by the question. The existing host had demonstrated attachment to its kin, so the idea of love didn't surprise it. But when the host lost a brother or a mate it simply accepted the fact and moved on. It lacked the ability to conceptualize, to envision its mate being alive again. This new hominid clearly possessed that ability, which might mean t
hat she could become a shaper if her helixes were properly modified.

  "I cannot intervene directly, " Ka said, considering her approach. This must be handled delicately, must be done of the host's own free will. "However, I can give the power to do as you ask. It will require pain, but you will gain the strength to save your Dun."

  "Dun?" the Ken asked, blinking away unshed tears.

  "Your mate. Your word would be male," Ka explained. The Ken had language, but some concepts did not translate even in a mental construct.

  "I can save Osiris?" she asked, straightening.

  "Yes," Ka said.

  "What must I do?" the Ken asked, eyes narrowing suspiciously.

  "My current host will guide you to the central chamber, far below where your body now stands. He will give you the staff he carries," Ka explained, shifting the construct to show the path even as she spoke. "You will enter the very heart of the Ark. If you are worthy, your body will be transformed. You will be gifted with the ability to shape, which you can use to mend the damage to your Dun's body."

  "And if I am not worthy?" the Ken asked. A shrewd question, one that Ka had no choice but to answer truthfully.

  "Then you will die painfully, the forces you seek to harness tearing apart the molecular bonds holding you together," Ka answered.

  The Ken was silent for a long moment, and Ka did not prod. This would be a difficult decision, one that she could not influence.

  "Why would you give me this gift?" the Ken asked, again taking Ka by surprise. She would never have expected the hominid to question her motivations. It had been so long since she had conversed with a creature that could reason.

  "Doing so will gift you with great power, but the nature of the power benefits me," Ka explained. "A shard of my existence will be bonded to you and in so doing I will finally be able to leave the Ark. I will be able to influence the world in a way I have been denied since the builders departed."

  The Ken was silent for a long time. She studied Ka, her expression unreadable. Finally, she spoke. "Very well, I accept this bargain. Give me this gift, that I might save my Dun."

  Chapter 5- The Conduit

  The world lurched as Isis returned to her body from whatever strange place the god had whisked her. She staggered, catching herself against one of the strange clear blocks. It was warm to the touch and she focused on that as she struggled to make sense of what had just happened.

  "Isis?" Sekhmet asked, laying a hand on her shoulder. "You've gone pale. Are you all right?"

  "I...yes I think so," she said, straightening and turning to face her near sister. Sekhmet's red hair had been tied in a tight braid, a nervous habit. How long had she been gone? "The god of this place summoned me. It explained much. It has offered power and it claims I can save Osiris."

  "Osiris is beyond saving. We watched him die, near sister," Sekhmet said, face twisted with pain.

  "Unnnh," the stranger said, urgently. He offered his golden staff to Isis.

  She took it without hesitation, the metal hot to the touch though not unpleasantly so. "This god clearly has great power. Who knows what it can and cannot do?"

  The stranger started for the doorway, back into the chamber with the spires. Isis followed. She was aware of Sekhmet behind her, the taller woman hesitated then followed as well.

  "Isis, wait. What price does this god demand?" her near sister asked.

  "Does it matter?" Isis asked, rounding on her. "I will pay any price to save him and count myself fortunate in the paying of it. Stay here with Sobek. Set could return at any time. Be ready."

  She recognized the concern playing across Sekhmet's features, but had no time to indulge it. Osiris might yet be saved, if she acted quickly. Isis turned and followed the stranger into the central chamber. He waited near the largest obelisk, gesturing urgently at its base.

  Isis approached, unsure what he was asking her to do. She studied the ground near the base of the obelisk, a flat black rock that drank in light. It took her several long moments to notice the small gold ring set into the stone, just large enough for the base of the staff she now carried. Was it that simple?

  She gripped the staff in both hands, planting the base in the ring. Brilliant light surged from the staff, pure and warm as the rarest summer day. The ground rumbled and then began to change, shifting into steps that descended into the darkness. The stranger started down them without hesitation, beckoning for her to follow.

  Isis withdrew the staff from the ring, worried for a moment that it might cause the stairway to disappear. It did not, and she carried the staff with her as she followed the stranger. The golden artifact now glowed continuously with a soft inner light, enough to banish the darkness as she continued down.

  Time lost all meaning as they continued ever downward, the stairs spiraling deeper and deeper into the heart of the earth. A sliver of fear worked its way into her gut as she remembered her grandmother's stories of the underworld. Surely they must have entered it, or soon would.

  "Unnh," the stranger called. He turned to face a wall, banging on it with his fist. Then he turned back to her, pointing at the wall.

  She made her way down to the platform where he stood, a small area as long as two men laying head to foot where the stairs paused before continuing into the darkness. Isis looked for another ring, but could find none. She knelt next to the wall, resting the staff against it as she searched. The moment metal touched stone the wall began to ripple like water disturbed by a thrown pebble.

  It flowed away from the metal, revealing a passage that ended in a cavern a small distance away. Faint blue light came from the cavern, a shade she'd never seen before. Isis picked up the staff and started down the passage. She paused when she realized the stranger wasn't following.

  "Aren't you coming?" she asked, turning to face him. The stranger shook his head, then waved her forward with both hands. Clearly he intended for her to enter, but why didn't he follow?

  Isis turned back to the cavern and made her way up the passage. The blue light grew stronger as she crept forward, eventually reaching a room of indescribable beauty. A walkway circled a valley as wide as the one that held the Black Mountain. It was massive. The ceiling vaulted high above, the distant parts difficult to make out even though they were lit by the blue light.

  Every wall was covered in tiny crystals, the source of the glow. In the center of the valley below lay an enormous crystal the size of a small mountain. It began to pulse as she entered the room, and Isis realized in shock that it mimicked her own heartbeat. She rested a hand on the railing circling the walkway, which was all that stood between her and a fall to her death at the base of the giant crystal.

  She lacked words to describe what she was seeing, had no understanding of what this place was or what she was expected to do. Surely the stranger would not have led her here if there wasn't something obvious to be puzzled out. Isis took a deep breath and studied the walkway, since that was the only part of the chamber she could readily reach.

  A few hundred paces away a platform jutted from the walkway, extending over the valley. It was empty save for a single blue crystal roughly the size of a man. That must be it. Isis hurried in that direction, darting nervous glances at the railing as she did. Heights did not give her the crippling fear it did some, but only a fool would walk that close to death without at least being aware of it.

  Eventually, she reached the platform, which lacked the railing the walkway provided. Isis took a cautious step onto it, prepared to leap backwards should it fail to support her weight. It neither moved nor creaked as she stepped atop it, so she took another step toward the strange crystal. A gold ring was set into the base at an angle.

  "I hope you aren't some trickster god," she muttered, slotting the base of the staff into the ring as she had above. There was another flash of light, this one not from the staff but rather from the crystal. Clear blue brilliance bathed her, both from the crystal before her and from every other in the room. The giant crystal below wa
s the brightest of all, so powerful she could no longer look directly at it.

  It began to thrum with a low vibration like the purring of some great cat. Then a figure flickered into existence, the strange god she had seen in the other place. It towered over the giant crystal, though it appeared the same as before in all ways save size.

  Large black eyes peered down at her, so different from those of a man. There was no white to those eyes, just pools of unreadable black. The creature lacked hair, and its neck was too long and thin to be a man. Its skin was a soft green, not so dark as pine needles. More like grass near the end of summer.

  "You have done well, Ken," the voice rumbled through the room. The god's mouth did not move, and she couldn't say for sure where the voice had issued. "Full access to the repository is granted."

  "Your words are strange," she replied, brow furrowing. "What must I do to save Osiris?"

  "This chamber was created to enable the greatest feats of shaping," the god explained, though its face remained eerily still. "Many of the species that now roam your world were first created here. You must tap into that power to shape your own helixes. First, you must open a conduit so that I might aid you."

  "How do I do that?" she asked. The words made no sense, but if the god was telling the truth, she didn't need to understand. Only trust.

  "Grip the staff tightly in both hands and close your eyes," the god instructed. She did so. "Now envision a great river of blue light flowing from the crystal, up the staff, and into your body. Discard your fear, your pain. There is only the river of light and you must allow it to fill you up if you wish to save your Dun."

  Isis struggled to do as the god asked, picturing a wide flowing river like that she'd grown up next to. She imagined it full of the strange blue light, all flowing directly into her. The staff grew hotter, painful to the touch. Her body demanded she release it, but she refused. Doing so would deny her the power to save Osiris.