Imhotep sat up on his sofa and pulled his robe straight. 'He is still alive. It is not his death which causes me fear, but the continuation of his ba.'
Trueth's hopes soared once more, followed by another crash-landing. 'Can you stop this please, and tell us in plain words what is going on, so we can work out what to do about it?'
'There is nothing you can do apart from sitting down, I beg you. I will explain.' Imhotep waited until everybody had found an item of furniture and began.
'Our foes have forced the old prophet of Ra to end his life. Ptahmes, his second, has the talents to take over, but...let me say there are questions being asked about him. He would not get chosen, at least not as long as we do not know which role he plays in the overall scheme. He might have seized an opportunity, he might be acting for the dark ones. I fear the latter, yet without proof—'
'—proof of what?' The professor had jumped up from his cushion. 'Too much information! I know what you want to tell us, they have arrested Metjen, and they will pin the killing on my son!'
'This is not what I am telling you. We know our dead brother was coerced to cut his own throat. It is worse.' Imhotep had recovered some of his composure and focussed the laser-beam of his stare on their little group. 'They have nominated Metjen to be the next high-priest. In three days he—'
'—They cannot do this! He is too unstable!' Seisi had jumped up as well, nearly bowling over the professor in his rage. 'What will this achieve?'
Metjen's mother looked confused. 'But Metjen always wanted to be high-priest. The poor dear is so annoyed that he has all this power, and it doesn't do him any good. So what's wrong with—.'
'—Everything!' Seisi, Imhotep and the Suka nobles chorused.
Seisi was pacing the room left between the assorted seats. 'Who is going to be Metjen's shadow? A strong companion is his only chance.'
Trueth could see that the rest of her adoptive family was as bewildered as she was. 'I haven't got a fucking clue what you're talking about.'
Imhotep ignored her. 'The choice of shadow offers us no relief. They have proposed the third prophet.'
Seisi slumped on his cushion and put his head in his hands. 'The third prophet is ailing, and even more advanced in years than our old high priest. There is no way this brother can help Metjen return from the universe.'
He continued in a tone oddly devoid of emotion. 'So Metjen's ba will be destroyed, and he will be no more. Given that he is a scion of your noble house, this will reflect on you. Once Metjen is gone, the temple of Ra will need a new prophet—will need him quickly. So they will have to accept Ptahmes, there are not many other candidates left... .' Seisi raised his head again. 'Can you not ask the other Golden Ones, one of them might covet the honour of being shadow and be willing to stand in for the third prophet—'
'—I did,' Imhotep said. 'They do not wish to die for a tempestuous young man they much dislike.'
'Why did they choose my son in the first place? What on Earth are you up to in those holy piles of yours?' The professor had gone red in the face, but holding his crying wife to his shoulder limited his capacity to go on the offensive.
'The brothers do recognise Metjen's talents, and if Ptahmes recommended him, they would have followed his lead.' Seisi shrugged. 'They probably thought if your son made it to first prophet, he would be easy to manipulate due to his age. If he failed, it would not come as a total surprise either. Ptahmes has been spreading many rumours and my friend kept rising to the bait.'
Imhotep did not comment. Instead, he had tensed in his seat, a questioning expression on his face, as if he was listening to something. Or somebody. Rani-Ra and Ranofer had got up as well, they too were crying, but anger was rolling off them in waves. It was high time for Trueth to intervene.
Before she could do so, Imhotep returned from whatever trip he had been on. 'Hm. This development could be good news for the house of Suka.' He nodded to himself.
'Pray, what do you mean?' Seisi was rose from his cushion. 'Is Metjen saved? How so?'
'No, he is not. But now his end can no longer be attributed solely to his weakness and can therefore not reflect back on us. This will help us in our struggles.'
Trueth did not like the part about Metjen's end. Not one bit. 'Would you be so kind as to share your intel? I'm getting rather nervous here. Nervous is not good. I tend to lose control. Maybe I'm not as spectacular as Metjen, but... .'
'Forgive me,' Imhotep said. 'The third prophet has refused the assignment to be the shadow. This is—unusual. If nobody else comes forth, Metjen will have to go to the universe on his own. These are the rules. Without a shadow, even the strongest candidate stands little chance and everybody knows this. So his failure cannot reflect on us, and the house of Suka will not be ridiculed.'
Trueth could see some tension leaving his body. Had he ever been concerned for Metjen at all?
'But somebody has to come forward, they always have.' Seisi balled his fists.
'This time they will not, I tell you. Not after Ptahmes' insinuations.' Imhotep got up and tried to put his hand on the arm on Metjen's mother. She jerked away.
He nodded. 'You will think me inhuman. I am not, but our loyalty is owed to the Maat, our duty is to guard the light. If I could help Metjen, I would.'
'Brother, there must be something we can do for him. Metjen did not join us in our world to lose his ba,' Uramen said.
'The holy circle has examined all the possibilities we could see. There is nothing we can do.'
'What do you mean by that?' With her red face and balled fists Rani-Ra resembled her older brother more than her twin.'I thought you can work out what is going to happen without any of these restrictions Metjen always complains about.'
Imhotep stiffened. 'The dark ones have affected our skills. We only see the immediate future.'
'Visionary dementia?' Trueth almost felt sorry for the circle. Almost. 'In any case, you give up so easily. How do you know there isn't something in those precious rules of yours that could help us? It doesn't make much sense to embark on strange rituals one can't survive when there are so few people with sun-flow in the first place? That's a total waste of resources.' She wondered how she could act so cool when she felt jittery all over. But what choice did they have?
Imhotep sliced his hand through the air. 'Enough of this. The members of the holy circle have shared their knowledge. The rules are as we know them. Do not harbour foolish hopes.'
'You mean as you learned or remembered them?' The professor narrowed his eyes. 'Do you never check your sources?'
'Shame we don't have the internet, but there are libraries in the temples,' Ranofer said hopefully.
A tic started in Imhotep's eye. 'Do you question our authority?'
'I question your wisdom, Your Wisdom,' the professor said. 'I think Trueth has a point, and I wish to explore it.'
'We all do,' Rani-Ra said. Her mother sniffed and flicked a spark into the nearest cushion. It ignited with a whooshing noise.
Imhotep snapped his fingers and the fire dissolved. 'I wanted to spare you the pain. Maybe I had better send you into the arms of Nepthys...but if you seek comfort this way, so be it. I warn you, you will not find anything. '
'Don't you dare to put a spell on me!' Metjen's mother pointed her finger at Imhotep. He twisted aside just in time to avoid the incoming flash.
'Calm down, all of you. We have copies of the scripts with the holy rituals here. You do not need to go to the temples.' Uramen got up, walked to a curtain striped in silver and black and pulled it open. 'They are meant to be read by the priests among us, but they are not forbidden to others.'
Behind the curtain lay another hall. It was plastered with scrolls: scrolls in the whitewashed alcoves of the walls, scrolls in baskets, in leather buckets and scrolls curling all over the many tables in the room.
'I don't suppose they have search engines here?' Ranofer asked in a small voice.
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This chapter is dedicated to @VeraLoy for her wonderful Smackdown Sci-Fi, Regency and Victorian Romance - and appreciation of plush anacondas!