Trial of Anubis

٨: CARN

       Carn refused to stay in Luxor after the Sons of Anubis came after Ziara; everywhere he went, people asked where the budding Egyptologist had gotten too, but all he could do was shrug―not even his new found prowess could make the public forget as easily as Harry Massit did.

      It was Carn's fault and he didn't deny it; he should've prepared her, or warned her about the Sons of Anubis. . .their world at least. But he didn't, Carn took the selfish and cowardly way out and ran away from his problems. Just like he always did.

      How many days had passed since he'd seen Ziara's face―five, six? He'd lost count already. 

      Carn pulled the backpack higher to try and stop his shoulders from aching. He'd left home in 'search' for Ziara and the other Sons; he had to make things right with them. Whatever had come over him that night had seemingly vanished and was replaced with an emptiness. 

      What have I gotten myself into?

      Carn couldn't help but think of his dreams and what he encountered in them. The thread of destiny had already begun to unravel as soon as those mutts nabbed Ziara from Luxor. He was running out of time to secure her forgiveness. 

      Carn wondered if he was the only one set on the prophecy. Though, he suspected that Ziara and the Sons of Anubis heard their parts to play, but something in Carn's gut, told him to be the one to stop it.

'Two betrayals seek two ends. Head of Death and Head of Sky a war ascends, the truth is given by the Eye.'

      If there was a pending war, Carn sought no desire to take part in it. Though, he'd catch some sick fulfilment if he got a chance to rip out the Head Son of Anubis' throat.

'Destiny awaits in the Lake of Fire. For one to win; the other must lose. It is where He must retire, Children of the Divine must choose.'

      In Carn's dreams, a chained man knelt beneath an Iron Gate in a black murky river. The image appeared to him every night, and it'd gotten to the point where Carn tried not to sleep, but the figure was there for him whenever he blinked or rested his eyes―Carn could never escape it.

      Luxor was far behind him as he surged from Abydos; he went there to see if he could find the others like him. Carn didn't sense their presence, or even see anyone like him standing in the temple. Only tourists flocked in and out of the attraction, so Carn left and headed towards Edfu, where the temple of Horus was located. Carn tried to keep the thoughts of his dreams at bay, but his mind was weak with fatigue. 

      He'd been crowned Head Son from the abyss, his powers that once lay dormant had bubbled to the surface. Strength, ethereal grace and compulsion came as easily as walking. Carn felt somewhat rejuvenated, as if he'd awakened as his true self. 

     The voice warned him repeatedly of the Head Son of Anubis, but never explained why. 

      Avenge me, it echoed. Horwedja.

      "Hey kid," a voice spoke up from behind. Carn had totally lost track of time and place. He stood in front of the ruins of Edfu―but Carn couldn't remember walking all the way from Abydos down to Edfu, it would've taken him days. "You dropped this."

      Carn turned around and almost smacked his nose against a broader man's chest. His skin was the colour of roasted coffee beans and a thick weave of hair was bound with braids close to his scalp. He wore traditional linen robes with some scaly pelt draped across his shoulders, a crocodile hide?

      In the man's hand, a silver amulet of the Wadjet lay idle. 

        He raised an eyebrow, "You must have the wrong guy, I didn't drop that."

      The man loomed over Carn, almost like a mountain. His strange algae coloured eyes glistened in the Edfu sun, "Are you sure, kid?"

      He pushed Carn back into another group of men roughly around the same age, dressed similarly to their ring leader. There weren't any tourists milling around, so nobody could assist Carn if he got into a fight.

      They certainly weren't part of the group Carn was looking for, "What do you guys want?"

      The man cracked his knuckles in response, "We've taken your shit for too long, Son of Horus. You're in our territory now," he clapped his hands at the temple of Horus' image distorted like heat waves on the horizon.

      Carn stood in the ruins of the temple of Sobek. Somehow, he'd gone past Edfu and across the Nile to end up in Kom Ombo. The large lotus-style columns stood tall, supporting the remaining stone roof which was carved heavily in hieroglyphs and the ureus on snakes.

      The entry complex was a bunch of collapsed stones, but the main section of the temple branched out into three square segments which were mainly intact. His fingers twitched, the safest way out of Kom Ombo was to play dumb.

      "Son of Horus?" Carn questioned.

      The man shoved Carn harder, "We can smell it on you. I can sniff out a bird from miles away. We've been tailing you for a while, but you were too busy to notice. I took my chance and placed you under an Ancient Art. . .you basically flew here."

      Maybe playing it dumb wasn't such a good idea as Carn first thought. He stepped forward and looked up at the man. "I'm guessing you're a Son of Sobek then? Look, kid, if you fuck with me, then you fuck with the Forty-Two." 

      "I'm Head Son, I am one of the Forty-Two," he laughed. "You have caused trouble. Your existence is misfortunate alone, so we have to exterminate you before you can piss Wahret off."

      "You tell 'em Taku!" jeered another Son.

      Horwedja's feelings and thoughts filled Carn. Rage bubbled up inside of him as Horwedja's voice urged him to fight. Carn couldn't hurt Taku, he was innocent, he simply showed his loyalty to the mutts. It was against Carn's nature to strike out and kill people, he just glared at Taku before his thoughts got the best of him.

      "What are you going to do to me?" Carn asked.

      Taku grinned; his teeth were curved and sharper than normal. It almost looked like they'd been filed to sharp points. "I'll send Wahret your head."