explain it. I just know…” He dropped to the cushioned bench, the blade clattering to the floor beside him. “Something is changing.”
Darius collapsed beside him and leaned back against the wall, mopping the sweat from his brow. “I don’t pretend to understand your premonitions, even though they’ve never led us astray. But the last time you were this vague, it related specifically to you, not everyone.”
“No. Not this time.” Ramose shook his head. “I feel it. While whatever it is may start with me, it’s not going to end with me. I just can’t…” He tried to pinpoint the sensations running through is brain. “I can’t seem to decide if it’s a good or a bad thing.”
Darius laughed. He let his hands drop into his lap, resting his head against the wall. The sound of his laughter echoed in the gym. “You mean,” he said through smirks, “you demanded this entire training session without warning and you don’t even know if there’s a threat?”
Ramose glared at the other man. “If there’s one thing I know,” he said, “you are in danger. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but, one day, your life will depend on this training.”
Even as his words spoke of the future, a premonition vibrated, like a stringed instrument along his spine. He bolted to his feet.
“Where do you think you’re going?” asked Darius. “You can’t just beat me to a pulp then leave.”
Ramose stopped and met Darius’ brown eyes, and then he knew. “To Cairo. Tonight, it begins.”
Chapter Two
Frustration gnawed at the edge of Ramose’s mind, eroding the layer of control he cherished after thousands of years of practice. He leaned against the back wall of the worn ticket booth, ignored by milling tourists. With hands in his pockets, he crossed his ankles in repose, and he stared out at the pyramids.
Three shining beacons of ancient Earth’s technology. Powerful structures reaching for the stars pointing to distant worlds. To his own world. The detailed and exact structures were proof of an ancient world’s science and math, measured to the smallest fraction of a millimeter.
The massive tombs were guarded by the enigmatic eyes of the sphinx--a structure like no other on this world. Yet Ramose always believed the face it bore, even before its destruction, reminded him of someone. No matter how hard he searched for the answer, it eluded him.
When he’d first laid eyes on Giza, he’d had hope for the future. Hope that technology would continue to grow, developing to match the Petiri, giving them all they needed to return home swiftly. He’d been wrong.
Progress had halted in what people now considered ancient times. Instead of moving forward, they’d slipped backward, slamming the earth back into prehistory, the discoveries of Ancient Egypt lost to all but the Petiri. The mysteries of this once vibrant, ancient culture now lay in ruins, visited by tourists and scientists alike.
The longer he stared, the more his nerves drew taut. The hairs on the back of Ramose’s neck crawled with a familiar sensation, and his muscles tightened.
Heat burned its way up his spine like a hot desert wind.
Amunkha.
He’d sensed Amunkha since the day the younger man was born. Now, thousands of years later, Amunkha had changed. The innocence was gone, leaving the rancid tinge of evil.
Ramose let his gaze wander, hiding a grimace of distaste. He needed to end this cat and mouse game he played with the other Petiri, but he couldn’t seem to take that final action. Memories of the sparkling youth Amunkha had been got in the way. Memories which could mean Ramose’s death. The two were forever intertwined, forever aware of one another’s presence. A bond which dug deep into their hearts and minds. A bond Ramose detested, with death the only severance.
He hadn’t expected to sense the man here. Amunkha, like Ramose, didn’t bother with tourist attractions. Perhaps the premonition Ramose had felt was about Amunkha
Darius collapsed beside him and leaned back against the wall, mopping the sweat from his brow. “I don’t pretend to understand your premonitions, even though they’ve never led us astray. But the last time you were this vague, it related specifically to you, not everyone.”
“No. Not this time.” Ramose shook his head. “I feel it. While whatever it is may start with me, it’s not going to end with me. I just can’t…” He tried to pinpoint the sensations running through is brain. “I can’t seem to decide if it’s a good or a bad thing.”
Darius laughed. He let his hands drop into his lap, resting his head against the wall. The sound of his laughter echoed in the gym. “You mean,” he said through smirks, “you demanded this entire training session without warning and you don’t even know if there’s a threat?”
Ramose glared at the other man. “If there’s one thing I know,” he said, “you are in danger. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but, one day, your life will depend on this training.”
Even as his words spoke of the future, a premonition vibrated, like a stringed instrument along his spine. He bolted to his feet.
“Where do you think you’re going?” asked Darius. “You can’t just beat me to a pulp then leave.”
Ramose stopped and met Darius’ brown eyes, and then he knew. “To Cairo. Tonight, it begins.”
Chapter Two
Frustration gnawed at the edge of Ramose’s mind, eroding the layer of control he cherished after thousands of years of practice. He leaned against the back wall of the worn ticket booth, ignored by milling tourists. With hands in his pockets, he crossed his ankles in repose, and he stared out at the pyramids.
Three shining beacons of ancient Earth’s technology. Powerful structures reaching for the stars pointing to distant worlds. To his own world. The detailed and exact structures were proof of an ancient world’s science and math, measured to the smallest fraction of a millimeter.
The massive tombs were guarded by the enigmatic eyes of the sphinx--a structure like no other on this world. Yet Ramose always believed the face it bore, even before its destruction, reminded him of someone. No matter how hard he searched for the answer, it eluded him.
When he’d first laid eyes on Giza, he’d had hope for the future. Hope that technology would continue to grow, developing to match the Petiri, giving them all they needed to return home swiftly. He’d been wrong.
Progress had halted in what people now considered ancient times. Instead of moving forward, they’d slipped backward, slamming the earth back into prehistory, the discoveries of Ancient Egypt lost to all but the Petiri. The mysteries of this once vibrant, ancient culture now lay in ruins, visited by tourists and scientists alike.
The longer he stared, the more his nerves drew taut. The hairs on the back of Ramose’s neck crawled with a familiar sensation, and his muscles tightened.
Heat burned its way up his spine like a hot desert wind.
Amunkha.
He’d sensed Amunkha since the day the younger man was born. Now, thousands of years later, Amunkha had changed. The innocence was gone, leaving the rancid tinge of evil.
Ramose let his gaze wander, hiding a grimace of distaste. He needed to end this cat and mouse game he played with the other Petiri, but he couldn’t seem to take that final action. Memories of the sparkling youth Amunkha had been got in the way. Memories which could mean Ramose’s death. The two were forever intertwined, forever aware of one another’s presence. A bond which dug deep into their hearts and minds. A bond Ramose detested, with death the only severance.
He hadn’t expected to sense the man here. Amunkha, like Ramose, didn’t bother with tourist attractions. Perhaps the premonition Ramose had felt was about Amunkha
Similar Books
The Devil's Angel (Devil Series Book 2)
Rachel McClellan
The Girl With Hearts (Midtown Brotherhood #1)
Savannah Blevins
A Florentine Death
Michele Giuttari
Weathered Too Young
Marcia Lynn McClure
'Til Death
Dante Tori
Sunflower
Jill Marie Landis
The Dream Lover
Elizabeth Berg
Playing Around
Gilda O'Neill
The Tower of Bashan
Joshua P. Simon