Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fourteen

NATE GARRETT

Alexandria, Egypt, Earth Realm

After Leonardo and his assistants had changed the destination of the realm gate in Shadow Falls, my team and I stepped through and arrived in Giza. Hades had already arranged transportation in the form of comfortable SUVs for us to get to Alexandria. It had been quite entertaining to exit the Sphinx via a secret door at the rear of the statue, much to the surprise of a group of tourists.

We arrived in Alexandria, and Hades's contact arranged for us to get the horses we needed to ride through Duat, a prospect that Isis had been less than enthused about.

"So the realm gate is where?" Remy asked from beside me as he looked at the horses with distrust. He hadn't taken the news of his having to ride that well.

"Apparently," Isis said, "it's close to the harbor. An old well that leads down to a cavern at the bottom. The realm gate is there. I've been to Duat before, but ... not this way."

Her tone suggested that this was a conversation that was over.

"I will be able to activate it when we get there," Zamek said. "There are no guardians, and no one has been down there in centuries, so it should be devoid of life."

Apart from Isis, Remy, and Zamek, my team also consisted of Selene, Lucifer, and Tarron.

"How do we get the horses down the well?" Selene asked. "Or did no one think of that?"

"The well has steps and is large enough to march six or seven abreast," Lucifer said. "It's more of a slope than steps. The horses should be fine."

The city of Alexandria was busy, and people gave us a wide berth, although Remy got his fair share of pointing from those we passed. For the most part, he reacted to this with finger guns and winking and, the two times someone said something less than pleasant, his middle fingers and some expletives about their mother.

The seven of us made good time through the city and reached the entrance to the well before nightfall, although it made little difference to the roasting heat that we'd felt since we'd arrived. It didn't help that we were all wearing rune-scribed dark leather armor. Shorts and T-shirts would have been cooler but offered not a lot of protection when going up against swords and bullets, unfortunately.

Zamek placed a hand against the stone wall, and it glowed a faint green color before opening as if it were a sliding glass door. We all stepped inside, and the wall re-formed behind us.

The interior of the well was surprisingly light. There were hundreds of small crystals in the stone walls of the well and more on the path. Runes had been carved all around, and the entire place was plenty large enough for the seven of us and our horses.

"One at a time," Lucifer said. "We don't know what's down there or how safe these paths are."

"I'll go first," Zamek said. "I don't have a horse, so if there are problems with the path, I can hopefully spot them."

I stayed at the back of the group with Tarron, who led his horse silently as we moved slowly down the spiral slope into the hundreds-of-meters-deep well.

"You've been quiet," I commented.

"I thought I was the last of my people," Tarron said. "It is a lot to take in. And it's made worse because those freed may well be criminals. I can only hope that some were imprisoned, like I was, for trying to do the right thing against corrupt regimes."

"Vigilantes?" I asked.

"Yes, that's the word I'd have used to describe my actions, I guess," Tarron said thoughtfully. "Maybe I shouldn't pass judgement on others after my own crimes, but I can't help but be concerned about who was in that mountain."

"I'm sure we'll find out soon enough," I said. "Hopefully there may be more of your people in Atlantis."

"Maybe," Tarron said. "I've all but given up on finding anyone alive. Or at least anyone alive who isn't psychotic."

Shortly after, Zamek found sections of the slope that had degraded, and we had to wait a few minutes for him to fix it before we continued. Occasionally, I could hear the sounds of something splashing far beneath us, but it was a well, so maybe there was still a measure of water.

"Isis," I said. She was in front of me and turned to look back. "Why don't you like Duat?"

"I haven't been back since Osiris, my husband, was murdered," Isis said. "Horus, my son, fled after Avalon was created, shortly after Osiris's murder. He hunted for Osiris's killer, Set. I have heard nothing from Horus since. Duat is a land of the dead, a land of spirits. I am concerned that I will find my son there among those who roam the lands." Isis touched the gold-and-diamond pendant of a falcon she wore around her neck.

"I'm sorry," I said. "I didn't know that. I never should have gotten you involved."

Isis turned back to me and smiled. "It is all right, Nathan," she said softly. "It is something I must confront at some point, and more importantly, this is something that can help save lives. So that no family has to go through what we went through."

As we continued further down the spiral slope, the splashing below became louder and more concentrated. I looked over the edge but saw nothing other than darkness. Still, the feeling of unease remained with me.

Upon reaching the bottom of the well, we found that it opened out into a huge cavern with a deep pool of water between the strip of land we were on and another bank of land fifty feet away, where I could just make out a realm gate partially obscured by rocks.

"How deep do you think that is?" Lucifer asked as he took his horse away from the water's edge and tethered it to one of several large stalagmites. Isis, Selene, and I did the same, but Tarron moved to the water's edge, allowing his mount to get a drink first.

A monstrous crocodile burst from the water with no warning, grabbing hold of the horse by its head and dragging it into the water as two more crocodiles tore chunks from the screaming animal. Tarron dived back from the water's edge.

"That's the biggest fucking croc I've ever seen," Remy said in horror. "Would make some killer boots, though ..."

He wasn't wrong. It looked like one of those crocs in the cheap films that Mordred liked to watch. It must have been thirty feet long, and the other two were at least twenty feet in length.

"How did they survive down here for so long?" Tarron asked, clearly shaken from being so close to the attack.

"I was sure there were no crocodiles in Alexandria," Lucifer said.

"You want to tell them that?" Remy asked.

"That wasn't natural," Isis said suspiciously.

The gigantic crocodile crawled out of the water onto the bank opposite us, swallowed down what appeared to be a leg of the horse, and began to change shape until it was no longer a crocodile but a man. Crystals lit up all around the cavern, bathing everyone in low levels of warm light. The man was nearly seven feet tall, with dark skin and long dark hair that was braided with jewels. He was muscular and completely naked. He crossed his huge arms over a barrel-like chest and laughed, the sound bouncing around the cavern.

"Isis," the man shouted.

The water between us was clearer in the light, and I could see a half dozen crocodiles swimming around close to the surface.

"You brought me a feast," the man shouted again.

"Sobek," Isis said, not bothering to raise her voice and letting her air magic carry the words across the cavern. "I always wondered what happened to you."

"I have made my home in Alexandria," he said. "It's a beautiful city, and my family and I can live in peace."

"Are all of these crocodiles like you?" I asked.

"No," Sobek said with a shake of his head. "These are normal crocodiles. There is a vast system of caves under here, and we can swim among them freely. Occasionally people use the tunnels to smuggle drugs and weapons, and occasionally they do not make it back out. These caves are dangerous things."

"Because you eat them," Lucifer snapped.

"Yes," Sobek said with a laugh. "I prefer horse, though. It's meatier."

"There's a realm gate behind you," Isis said. "It goes to Duat."

Sobek nodded. "There is. It needs no guardian or dwarf to operate it, but you will not get the chance to use it."

"And why is that?" I asked.

"Because I do not want to let you through," Sobek said matter-of-factly. "I do not work for Avalon; I do not work for Merlin or Arthur; I work for me. Gawain came through here and offered me a snack for allowing him to pass unharmed."

"What do you want, Sobek?" Isis asked.

"Can I assume that you are off the table?" he asked with a chuckle.

"I can come over there and tell you face-to-face, if you'd like," Isis said sweetly.

Sobek's smile faded. "No, I think not," he said eventually.

"Who sent you here?" I asked him. "Also, any chance we can do this talk not shouting over a cavern of crocodiles as they eat a horse?"

"As you wish," he said, turning back into the gigantic crocodile and swimming over to us. Then he slowly walked out, his mouth wide, showing huge teeth.

"Grow up, Sobek," Isis snapped.

Sobek turned back into his human form. "You sure do know how to spoil my fun," he said.

"How long have you been here, and who sent you?" I asked.

"I have been here for a few centuries," he said. "Hera told me about this place. She was untrustworthy, but in the long run, I think it worked out better for me than for her."

"Hera's dead," I told him.

"Hence my thinking it worked out better for me," Sobek said with a belly laugh. "I do not care about the realm gate, but I do care about not having to move homes when more of you come here to use it."

"Is there a big number of people clamoring to go to Duat?" Remy asked.

"Maybe," Sobek said thoughtfully. "There have been a lot more deaths recently."

"How many of them were down to you?" Tarron snapped.

"Apart from the smugglers, I only kill those who threaten our way of life," Sobek said, seemingly taking no offense to Tarron's tone. "Also criminals, animals, anything that looks like a good meal. There are half a dozen of us, and we have to remain out of human reach. If we were discovered, the humans would kill us."

"You murder innocent people," I said.

"No," Sobek said with a smile. "I murder those who would murder me. Who would rape and steal from their own kind, who would do harm to children. I bring them down here to be given the punishment they deserve. I hunt them at night through the city."

"You're a vigilante?" Remy asked. "Do you wear a cape? Have a big light pointing into the sky at night?"

"No," Sobek said with a straight face. "Do I need one?"

"So you bring people here to kill; you kill the occasional smuggler; you kill animals," I said. "You want to stay here without anything happening to you and your family. You want peace. You want to be left alone. But we need that realm gate."

"Do you think you can force me?" Sobek asked, a hard edge to his voice for the first time.

"Yes," I said. "If I remember correctly, you're near on immortal. You just resurrect yourself when you die. Your family, I assume, do not."

Sobek's eyes narrowed.

"I do not wish you or them harm," I continued before Sobek could take too much offense. "But we both know that a fight between our groups will get some of them killed. You do not want that."

"What do you propose?" he asked grudgingly.

"We use the gate," I said. "We do so on the understanding that we make it known that this gate has then been destroyed. And we also arrange a regular delivery of food. Not people. There are few who deserve to be torn apart by crocodiles."

"Pigs, horses, sheep," Sobek said. "Not cows, though—they are not as pleasant as you humans seem to believe they are."

"Done," Isis said.

"Then we can do business," Sobek said.

"Also," Lucifer said, "you're not going to tell anyone we were here."

Sobek smiled. "Yes, I can keep a secret."

"Who else knows you're here?" Isis asked.

"Some of Avalon's minions who tried to get through and were seen off."

"Who?" Lucifer asked.

"I don't know," Sobek said. "I only recognized one: Megaera."

"The Furies?" Remy asked.

I immediately looked up the tunnel. "You think anyone might have been keeping eyes on this place? We should hurry this up."

"These realm gates are meant to be hidden," Sobek said, ignoring my concern. "Hera knew about this particular one centuries ago, but no one could get it to work, so it was deemed useless. There's writing on the gate that says Duat. The writing isn't Egyptian."

"What is it?" Zamek asked.

"Elvish," Sobek said. "Shadow Elvish, to be exact."

Everyone looked at Tarron. "Show me, please."

"If you swim over there with all that blood in the water, my family will attack you," Sobek said. "Without the blood, I could make sure they leave you alone, but with it, they are too caught up in their bloodlust to obey me in such matters."

"We can create a bridge of air," Isis said to me. "I think that would ensure we got over in one piece."

There was a small splash in the pool, and I looked over as something else landed in the water. I glanced up at the ceiling of the cavern, expecting to see pieces of it falling down, just as the pool exploded. The water drenched us all, and there were two more splashes, followed by another explosion. I created a shield of air, wrapping it around us, as more water rained down, this time mixed with large amounts of crocodile blood. The head and partial torso of one crocodile dropped onto the sand beside us.

"No," Sobek shouted.

I was about to drop the shield when it was hit by gunfire, forcing all of us back around the corner toward the entrance. Bullets poured down into the water as Sobek screamed in rage and pain.

"You still down there, Sobek?" a voice asked.

"Megaera," Sobek said, his voice barely recognizable as human. "I told you not to come back."

"We need to get across that water," Lucifer said.

"I will give you time," Sobek said. "These interlopers will pay for what they've done."

Before anyone could stop him, Sobek ran toward the entrance to the cavern, changing into his gigantic crocodile form before he reached it. The growl that left his jaws as he ran up the slope toward the attackers was drowned out by the sound of gunfire.

Isis and I created a bridge of air, turning it solid enough that everyone could run across it.

Selene turned into her dragon-kin form and created a wall of ice that separated us from Megaera and her allies. Lucifer and Tarron led two horses each across the bridge as the rest of us followed at a sprint. We all ran around the corner just as the sheet of ice exploded, raining huge shards into the cavern.

"They are really keen," Remy said.

We'd all taken cover behind a huge rock formation, close to the realm gate so that Zamek and Tarron could figure out how to get it to work.

"It's not activating," Zamek said. "There's no destination runes that can be changed. I don't understand how this works."

"No Elvish either," Tarron shouted as bullets smashed into the rock close to where we stood.

"Nathaniel Garrett," Megaera shouted.

I risked a look and saw her standing behind a kneeling Sobek, who had multiple wounds all over his very human-looking body.

"You sure he can't die?" Remy said.

"He resurrects," Isis said. "I've seen it happen."

"Keep them talking," Lucifer said as he went over to help Tarron and Zamek figure out how to get the large realm gate to work.

"Good idea," I said.

I stood up, took a deep breath, and stepped out from behind the rock. "Hi, Megaera," I said. "I don't think we've met before."

"I've heard of you," she said. "My sisters have too."

"I've met them before," I told her. "A long time ago."

"My sister died because after you attacked her, she was too injured to protect herself from the next attack," Megaera said. "I will kill you for her death. You can't possibly think you can stop us."

I shrugged. "Thought had crossed my mind," I told her.

"Any last words, Sobek?" Megaera asked, the tip of her knife pressed directly against his throat.

"The blood of my people," he said, looking directly at me. "The blood of my pantheon." He practically screamed the last phrase.

Megaera stared at him. "That's a terrible last line."

"Fu—" Sobek started, before Megaera slit his throat and pushed his body onto the sand.

"I know he'll come back," Megaera shouted. "But I don't think he's going to enjoy where he wakes up."

Two soldiers dragged Sobek's body away.

Isis, her fists clenched, stood beside me, radiating anger. "I'm going to tear her fucking head off," she seethed.

"Isis, we need you," Lucifer said.

Isis walked away, although she clearly didn't want to.

"I'll be seeing you soon, Nathaniel," Megaera said.

"The name is Nate," I told her. "If you're going to try and kill me, you could at least get it right."

She raised her hand, and the six soldiers with her removed grenades from their belts. "This might not kill you, but it'll hurt."

"Right back at you." I opened my hands, and lightning flew from them, smashing into the ground beside Megaera's feet, forcing her to leap back out of its path. A gust of air smashed into two of the soldiers, and one of them dropped their grenade. It exploded before anyone could kick it away.

"Nate, we don't have time," Tarron said.

I darted back around the rock to see that the realm gate was activated.

"Explain later," Zamek said. "We really don't have all day."

I watched everyone else go through first. Zamek waited with me, using his alchemy powers to bring down huge amounts of rock, blocking anyone from getting from the cavern to the realm gate without having to clear things out first.

We stepped through the realm gate together into the realm of the dead.