Author Games: The River of Night

Semifinals: Khalid Masud

Sharp teeth dug into cold metal as the ceiling grew ever closer.

Afraid that his lip ring might cause him to bleed, Khalid reached up and pulled it out. The distraction was short lived, his eyes flicking back to the path ahead of them as soon as the jewelry had been slipped into his pocket. The cavern around them had been growing steadily narrower, the rocks above them inches closer to squishing them into the ground. Unsettling was the first word that came to mind; the second word was dangerous. Khalid skirted along the edge of the stream that cut the slim tunnel in half. Water sloshed fiercely, just as fast paced as the river it had led off of.

The only sounds that echoed through the place beside the babbling of the current, were heavy footsteps and shallow breaths. The usual din of conversation had been drowned in the Field of Reeds, each person lost in thought. Just like Abbas had been lost. Khalid was not one to start a conversation, nor to ask, but the curiosity still lingered somewhere inside him. Their numbers had dwindled from the start, each person lost one less chance at rescuing Ra.

It was clear they were getting close. The dimness of the Underworld grew a little less dim. A dark night grew into dusk. For the first time, each member cast a clear shadow. Sweet, cool air drifted through the passage. The sand grew a little warm underfoot and the river that lapped at the grains grew quieter. When the ceiling rose exponentially, they stopped.

A cavern lay ahead, a jagged hole in the wall on the other side. It spilled golden light, weak but pure. Ra had to be in there. However, a large boulder blocked their path. It was spiral in design, the high contrast of light behind it drowning it in its own shadow. Masika was the first to walk up to the black shape, Ife close on her heels. Her hand brushed it lightly, Ramia saying nothing as she stayed back and attempted to assess the situation.

The moment Masika touched the rock, however, everything changed.

The cavern exploded in light, fire appearing atop torches that hung from the walls. The rock was shown to be a bright bronze, the color dripping from it like molten lava. Ife pulled Masika back towards the group as the thing began to shift. Twisting and curling, lengths of scales unfurled to reveal a snake before their eyes. A green stripe wove itself through the bronze, wide flaps like that of a king cobra unfolded on either side of its face. A hiss echoed through the cavern as it stood to its full height, slim golden eyes surveying the puny crowd before it.

"If you are here to fight, you are gravely mistaken to think you will make it out alive," it warned, its voice powerful enough to cause the walls to quake.

Khalid was petrified. Its gleaming eyes were dissuading, its voice numbing. His heart beat within his chest harder than it had yet on this journey. Thankfully, Ramia had not lost her tongue as the others had.

"You are Apophis, are you not?"

The snake dipped its enormous head, "I am."

"And you are the one who has captured Ra?"

"It is not the business of mortals to know what I have done," the snake hissed in response.

"Let him go!" Masika yelled loudly.

Apophis grinned, an expression Khalid had not known a snake could make. "And who is going to make me do that young one?" he dipped his head down to their height, flicking his tongue. "You all smell of fear."

A shudder ran down Khalid's spine, yet he couldn't tear his gaze away. As he stared at the beast in front of him, he noticed a thin line of red. The blood dripped down from beneath a bronze scale on its head. The wound was large, the culprit sure to be Ra himself. Encouraged by the weakened state of their foe, Khalid squared his shoulders. A smile flicked onto Ramia's face and he was sure she had seen it too.