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

Chapter 60: Seisi - The End of All Times Part 1

She strode towards the free space under the prophets, thrust out her hand as if she expected a high priest to perch on her palm and yelled, 'Be my guest!'

The high priests must have waited for that. So had the dark ones, shrill chanting came from the group and spells shot towards the circle, rocking the prophets as they floated in the air. But they absorbed the evil missives. 

Metjen was closest to the floor; he was the first to grab one of her hands in his before he stretched his free arm towards the nearest of the prophets. Lightening quick, those two joined their limbs, more high priests followed, forming a human chain that reached from the ground into the air resembling one of these big wheels he had observed at the fun fairs of the demon world. The high priestess of Selket was the last to clasp Trueth's other hand and close the circle.

With his love as its anchor, the wheel was standing utterly still. From its centre sprung a breeze  and with a sigh floated droplets like the pale tears of a giant. Where they fell, small tufts of grass sprouted from the polished slabs of the temple's floor. Lightning flickered along the rim of the ring formed by the living circle of high priests. Below them, Trueth stood, her pale freckled face shining with sweat and her eyes devoid of focus.

It's happening again. She's not ready for this! Seisi's fears crashed back down on him, crushing him under their weight.

The portal broke.

One moment it was there, fractured and weakened. The next it was gone and a galaxy of shards detonated into the hall carried on the triumphant roar of the demon horde and the shrill cheers of joy from the gaggle of dark priests.

Neither the ring of high priests nor Trueth gave a single twitch as swollen tendrils of tainted blood wavered into the sacred hall. An indescribable stench followed in their wake. Open tombs, noxious fumes and the perverted perfume of corruption wafted into his nostrils. Seisi wanted to gag, to push his head aside, yet he could not. The slime slid into his nostrils and his mouth, coating the back of his throat with corroding precision.

'Welcome, we welcome you,' Ptahmes rushed towards what was now an open gateway between the demon world and Kemet, Nebmutef and his followers advancing behind him. 'Promise you will serve us, and you can enter this world.'

The quivering mass of evil boiling through the portal hesitated. The stench hovered around the priests in a lethal cloud.

Nebmutef laughed and confronted the former second prophet of Ra with a mocking stance. 'You did not seriously think it would be that easy?' He wagged a bony finger in front of Ptahmes' confused face. 'This did not work so well last time, did it?'

Finally, the circle pounced. A wavering luminous bubble bulged from its middle towards the invaders. Shining in all colours of the rainbow, the translucent blob bobbed and wavered, swelling its delicate hue into a shimmering balloon, stretching, straining from the rim of the wheel formed of high-priests towards the opening in the temple wall.

When it touched the tip of the first demonic coil, it burst with a wet smack.

All hell broke loose.

Pure energy, as old as the universe, whooshed through the broken portal with a whistle so piercing it sounded like it was cutting through stone. The energy pulverised the tendrils, overpowered the stink and washed the ancient hall in the light of a newly born star.

His mind blinded by the light, Seisi's teeth clenched as the backwash of pure white magic pierced his skull with its high-pitched screech. It cut through the grounding spell like a red-hot sword and freed him. Staggering, he nearly collided with a fellow priest, then narrowly avoided another who was lying on the floor, cramped in a foetal position.

Have to get to Trueth. Help her when she gets free... .

'Seisi,' Pharaoh screamed next to him, his voice almost inaudible in the din. 'Give me my scimitar!' Before he could prevent him, the young king had grabbed his weapon and charged towards the front, his silhouette outlined against the white-hot luminescence.

Seisi groaned and staggered after him. 'Your Majesty, wait! Don't get any closer... . '

Khy turned around. 'I lost my father because of these... things.' He slashed the scimitar through the air and raced on.

The light of the prophets raged through the temple hall, freezing Ptahmes and his gang on the spot. Then it cartwheeled through the gasping throng of confused priests who frantically scuttled out of its way. Those it touched, shrieked in holy terror, smoke rising from their robes. Still, they lived.

In ever widening circles, the divine radiance gyrated and searched between the people, the pillars, the hallways.

But Nebmutef had disappeared.

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This chapter is dedicated to awkwardawardee who read both books in one night. Thank you so much for your comment, you made my day!!! 

Image is from DeviantArt Copyright enekiedis