Cursed Times - Only Yesterday! Sequel to Wattys 2015 winner!

Chapter 25: Trueth From the Dark Side with Love

It was not the appearance of the message that accelerated her heartbeat, causing her left hand to show its tell-tale blue glow. She had seen that accurate penmanship before, knew this handwriting.

Nebmutef.

Her and Metjen's old mentor; gone demon because he a coveted a recognition his superiors had denied him. At least that had been the consensus, the only other possible explanation having been sheer stupidity.

To my doubting pupil, Trueth, Greetings!

I benefitted from Metjen's shortcomings in his new role and slipped you a note. Make sure to thank him for keeping that portal open for so long, it made my efforts so much easier. Of course, our link to the circle helped.

I trust life finds you well these days. I wonder, however, does it find you QUITE in the place where you belong? Assuming you know where such a location could be, and that you do not, do you?

Can I tempt you to join us? You might recoil now but think about it. All that potential of yours going to waste. And soon you will be deprived of your friends; they will return to a doomed Kemet, losers that they are.

So what ARE you going to do? What point IS there in your life? You will again be left behind, coming full circle.

When will you finally take your destiny into your hands?

With a scream of rage, Trueth flung the scroll towards the other end of her room. It never got there. Instead, it spiralled to the floor and landed gently at her feet. According to lore, the papyrus should then have burst into flames. It did not do that either. The document unrolled once more, launched itself at face height and displayed new lines in the same faded ink.

Oh dear, now I have shocked you! Do you care so little about your origins?

And your future?

'Leave me in peace!' Trueth screamed, stretched out her hands and incinerated the paper with the scorching blue flame of a talent that was meant to heal, not destroy. The scroll erupted in a flurry of grey flakes that fluttered towards the wooden floor. There they stayed. No more demonic visitations. Just the aroma of roasting coffee which was no longer beckoning but turning bitter on her tongue.

Trueth raced into the bathroom and started scrubbing her hands. They still felt tainted when she had finished, so she scrubbed some more. She would never forgive Nebmutef. Nothing would ever rid her of the vision of that script manifesting on the scroll, messing with her head-and spoiling her long-awaited reunion with the culinary delights of her home world. Especially the latter.

Walking back into her room she found Blondie sitting on the floor with a dreamy expression on his furry face. Was he...?

'Stop piddling!' She rushed towards the cat, clapping her hands together. Obviously feeling guilty, the beast shot into the bathroom as far as his rotund shape would allow. Trueth swore, then realised what Blondie had been doing: He had scraped together the ashes of the demonic message, then watered them.

'Sorry... ,' Trueth grumbled, she still felt shaky.

A knock sounded on the door. Given the way her morning was going, this could only be Metjen sharing more instructions. Her mood sank further. Next in line after dealing with demons came bickering with a freshly minted prophet afflicted by mindset deficiencies.

'Trueth?'

The fates, for once smiling on her, instead appeared to have sent Seisi to the rescue. She still was annoyed. How dare anybody assume she needed rescuing at all?