When Dr. Hassan finished the last line, his voice echoed with power. I could actually feel the spell settling upon me like a tangible thing. As it found its place in my heart, it sank. Like a heavy stone in a lake, the weight of it caused ripples of aftershocks that ran across my skin and shot outward as if I were the epicenter of an invisible earthquake.
The feather I held in my hand jumped free as if it had a will of its own and floated in front of me. Then the wind found it and, alarmed, I reached out to grab it, but it eluded me. It only took a moment for me to realize it was moving purposefully. It gathered speed and whipped around my body faster and faster until I felt a sharp pain in my back. Tears stung my eyes, my vision tinged with red. I spun around.
“Where is it?” I asked Oscar. “Where did the feather go?”
“It…um…disappeared,” he answered.
“Disappeared? What do you mean it disappeared?”
“The feather of Isis was absorbed into your back.”
“Into my…” I stood frozen for a moment waiting for the fallout. My back throbbed along with my pulse. Suddenly desperate, I whipped in a circle, reaching around to my back and trying to peer over my shoulder, but my fingertips didn’t find anything. Again I wondered why I had to go and do something as dumb as falling for a mummy.
In a normal relationship, I’d only have to loan the guy some cash, give him a ride, or help him do his homework when he got into trouble. With Amon I had to fly around with goddesses, fend off amorous deities, and be hunted by über-beasties. Still, in my heart I knew I would risk anything for him. The chance to be with Amon again was worth every sacrifice I was being asked to make.
As I lifted my hand from my shoulder blade, my gaze narrowed on my fingertips. The swirls and lines on the pads snapped into sharp focus and I could see the pumping of my blood in the tiny veins just beneath the surface. “What is this?” I whispered, suddenly ultra-aware that my senses had been heightened by the spell. The call of birds startled me. I felt the weight of a termite colony more than a mile away and smelled a river full of wild creatures. I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply.
Something was out there.
Something powerful.
Something dangerous.
I could taste the metallic bite of it as I ran my tongue across my teeth. Turning to Dr. Hassan, I flexed the muscles of my back and shoulders, warming them, for what purpose I did not yet know. “What am I supposed to do now?”
Even though I’d asked the question, a newly awakened desire was already tugging on me with invisible strings. There was something, someone, I needed to find, and it wasn’t Amon.
Oscar gave me a hesitant smile. “You must go, Lily. I will wait for you here as long as I am able.”
“Yes,” I responded, though my voice seemed entirely unlike my own and my thoughts felt muddled.
“Follow your instincts,” he said finally. When I reached down to take a bag, he shook his head. “You are not meant to take anything with you. Even water. You are to be tested.”
I swallowed, already thirsty at the idea that I’d be wandering the African savanna without any supplies. Despite my determination, tears filled my eyes. It was by sheer will alone that I didn’t allow the tears to fall. Amon needed me. I could do this.
Lifting my face to the sun, I inhaled deeply both to steady myself and to try to get a sense of the direction I needed to go. The light was rosy behind my closed eyelids and as I opened myself to the sounds and scents around me, something caught my attention, a distinct thud like the beat of a distant drum.