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

Chapter 47: Seisi - Mirrors

He got closer and examined the odd device the priests had used to fortify the barrier between the worlds. It was just an ordinary wooden walking stick, devoid of any decorations, apart from some hieroglyphs close to the bottom, spelling out Imhotep's name.

Seisi narrowed his eyes and knelt down. A tiny black blemish had caught his attention. A taint so small it was almost insubstantial, yet it emanated so much menace that Seisi recoiled involuntarily.

'So you have seen it then,' Seisi heard Imhotep's calm voice the same moment the high priest of Thoth and Suka Overlord materialised behind his back.

Seisi inhaled once more, straightened and bowed. 'I am not sure what it is I perceive, but I fear the worst.'

Imhotep nodded, walked up to the portal and ran his fingers across the broken surface. 'One demon has come through. One only. It is enough, given that it should not have been possible.'

'Who...,' Seisi did not dare to ask what was on his mind.

'Ptahmes summoned the renegade priest who once was Metjen's tutor. We do not mention his name.'

'But...this is even more outrageous! The last time I heard about him, Ptahmes was held in the cells of the House of Maat. It is impossible to reach out from there.'

Imhotep turned around and faced Seisi. He had aged even more and for the first time Seisi since knew him, his posture had slackened, shoulders slumped as if in defeat. 'There are so many things, my young friend, I once thought were impossible,' he said. ' Yet they are happening.'

Imhotep turned back towards the portal standing utterly still before speaking again. 'Ptahmes has escaped.'

'But this is... .' Seisi caught his tongue.

'Impossible, yes. And there is something else. ' Imhotep had turned back towards Seisi, his hands behind his back. 'Needless to say, that you shall refrain from sharing this information. The high priestess of the Maat has disappeared with the prisoner. We believe her to be the traitor.'

Seisi felt abject despair numbing his senses. If the servant of the eternal balance of justice was implicated, what hope did they have? Why should they continue the fight?

For a moment, Seisi could not speak.

Imhotep nodded. 'I did not want Metjen here because there are a few among us who do not believe the servant of the Maat could have gone rogue. They believe it was all a ruse to get Metjen into position. They believe the dead high priest of Ra to be the first traitor, followed by Metjen, both acting hand in hand with Ptahmes. Aided and abetted by Iseret who we should never have called back.'

'But this is preposterous,' Seisi shouted, his voice echoing in the narrow passageway.

Imhotep shrugged. 'Think about it. We know which demon came through, and to summon one specifically, one has to know a great deal about them. Only Metjen is familiar enough with...this particular specimen. Trueth is as well  – she too should not come back here until I have an explanation for all this.'

Seisi started pacing the floor in agitation. He felt like shouting but did not want to risk another outburst. 'Ptahmes went through Metjen's mind before he was ordained. He would know what my friend knows! ' Seisi could not help it; his voice rang through the corridor again.

Imhotep raised his head, stood frozen for a second, then snapped his fingers. 'You are right. Metjen even told me. How could I forget or not consider the obvious? How could I?'

Once more, Seisi felt like shouting. Because you are only human? Because you are exhausted and, you just will not let others share the burden? Not a sound came from his lips nor did a single syllable leave his mind.

Instead, he said, 'I think we better go and inform Metjen.'

Suddenly, the air in the corridor condensed, got sucked into a spot of light, which expanded into the rainbow colours of the spectrum. A silhouette appeared, a shadow against the light; it kept wavering, finally settling on an angry orange. A smell of cardamom, myrrh and metal flooded the passage.

No need to tell us. Iseret and I were with Seisi and heard everything!

PLEASE NOTE - AS OF HERE THE MAJORITY OF CHAPTERS HAVE BEEN UNPUBLISHED UNTIL THE ISSUE WITH THE DOWNLOADER SITE HAS BEEN RESOLVED: SORRY FOR ANY INCONVENIENCE CAUSED. If you have questions, please send me a PM. I will make the third quarter available as soon as the texts are save again. 

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This chapter is dedicated to @GaryGarner thank you for binge reading and voting!!! 

The image is from DeviantArt, copyright