This time, Seisi shook his head. 'We might want to wait,' he suggested. 'Or better even, return to where we came from.'
Trueth scanned first the room, and then the upper part of the shaft for messages.
'I did that,' Seisi said. 'There is nothing. They both have just vanished.'
***
A swishing sounded behind her and Trueth shot around and stretched out a hand glowing in blue.
'Uh,' Pharaoh said sheepishly, sheathing an oversized knife.
'Stop that!' Trueth dropped her hand and cracked her fingers to get rid of the excess energy. 'You're not dealing with mortal enemies and if you stress me out any more, you are going to get hurt.'
Seisi guarded the doorway to the second shaft, slapping the scimitar against his legs. Like Metjen he had gone for black combat pants, its pockets bulging with amulets. 'I would give a kingdom for a crocodile,' he said.
'Crocodile?' Sometimes her man could be the most confusing person on Earth. What was he rambling on about crocodiles when she was ready to run and get out of here? Fast. It would not do, so she tried to force her feverish head to think things through.
'Would you have noticed anything if the demons got Metjen?' she asked Seisi.
'I should think so. He is incredibly fast. I should hope he would have alerted us.'
Trueth nodded even if Seisi's words were not exactly reassuring. 'My gut feeling tells me he disappeared of his own free will. My gut is not feeling great right now, but that's my best guess. He's not good at sharing his plans either. I wager he just did what he thought he had to do and assumed we would act accordingly. Whatever that means. So what do we do?'
'Fight!' Khy shouted and waved his stiletto on steroids in their general direction.
The Blessing had destroyed most of Seisi's ocular nerves but he still gave a good imitation of eye-rolling. 'Fight what? Your Majesty, you can't stab at shadows. I must ask you to restrain yourself.'
'Let's continue a bit further,' Trueth suggested ignoring her instinct's continued screaming for flight. 'This is the shaft where we encountered Amasis. Maybe we can get her attention. And maybe you and I should walk in front of His Majesty. And we should join our forces.'
Slap, slap went the scimitar. 'What do you mean?'
Pharaoh had affixed his cutlery to his body again and was observing both of them, his head turning from one to the other, his dark eyes glittering in the glow.
'I'm a catalyst, right?' Trueth said. ' I can do things with other people's sun flow. I only have you around but maybe it's not a bad idea if we stay close. I could give you a little boost when needed.'
Seisi tilted his head. 'You don't know how this mist magic of yours really works.'
'Not really, no.' Trueth said. 'But as I said, it's my best guess. And maybe I know what I have to do when I have to do something. We've discussed this already in the autumn world. Many times actually.'
'Yes, and we never agreed what the real reason was for you pulling all these people through the portal. We only guessed.' Seisi straightened and sent a golden scan down the second shaft.
Nothing happened.
'I believe this is safe,' Seisi said. 'We do as you suggested. We seek out Amasis. We go first and Pharaoh follows behind. And whatever we do, we will not enter that hall on our own.' Seisi pointed at the king. 'And please, Your Majesty, leave your weapons where they are. You will only get us stabbed, and then you are alone down here.'
Khy grinned briefly and saluted. This underground world was full of wonders; it even tamed their unruly little king, Trueth thought as she slowly shuffled down a set of stairs so long they might as well have led to the centre of the Earth. Step by cautious step they descended downwards, following the feeble glow that Seisi was sending into the depths.
Unfortunately, it was not getting any warmer. If anything, the temperature plummeted and had she not been sweating with fear Trueth would have started freezing in earnest... Her right hand went warm; it was the hand Seisi was holding. He must have sensed her anxiety and shared his body heat She squeezed his fingers gratefully, and he squeezed right back.
It gave her an idea. Why not try right now whether this catalyst stuff actually works?
She drew on her sun-flow and sent a tentative magical tendril into Seisi's hand. She visualised the veins leading towards that great beating heart of his, from there she went deeper on the rush of his blood, towards the centre of his power. She willed his sun-flow to get stronger, to yield more energy—a flash of light shot down the steps and illuminated another empty landing below them. Then it was gone.
Behind them, Pharaoh yelped briefly, shielded his eyes with one hand and fumbled among his weaponry with the other.
Seisi had stopped. 'Do not fret, it was us.' To Trueth he said. 'What did you do there?'
'Catalyse you just as I told you. And I think it worked. I just need to make this a bit more stable. Did you notice me?'
Seisi pursed his lips in reflection, then nodded. 'But only at the end. Felt like something cool seeping into my belly.'
'Oh hooray, you can help me then. When you feel me, just imagine you want more light--but not an explosion. Let's try.' Again her talent found its way through his body, faster, this time, it mixed with his inner fire—the landing shone in a warm steady glow, every step clearly outlined. Trueth looked up, she gratefully noticed that the cracked ceiling above them was as unpopulated as the chamber had been.
'Good,' she said with satisfaction. 'It's a bit tricky. I mean, I have to keep hold of you for it to work. But we got a bit more to work with.'
'You did not touch any of your witches when you went through the henge,' Seisi observed correctly.
'Well, maybe I can do it with you as well but right now let's use what we have. Go, let's find Amasis.'
Hand in hand, they descended the staircase, Pharaoh following closely behind. In the stronger light created by their combined forces, the next landing slowly shimmered into visibility.
'Oh Lord Ra, what is that?' Seisi exclaimed just as Trueth drew a deep breath. From behind, a knife whizzed past their ears. Trueth could not blame the king. The sight was simply unbelievable.
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This chapter is dedicated to Shadowshooter - Thank you for reading and voting on my novels!