The Rise of Night

Chapter 5:SAVVY

SAVVY

Chapter 5

The room was filled with light.

I had no idea where I was. I'd never been here before.

It wasn't really a room, more of a narrow hallway. There were images on either wall, but they were fuzzy. They were moving, shifting, transforming, blurring, and looking like holograms in a sandstorm.

Everywhere, blue pictures… no, what were they… hieroglyphics were floating in mid-air, sometimes combining the pictures to make another word. I spotted a bird hieroglyphic drop hieroglyph poop that narrowly missed me. There were also these balls of fire that occasionally changed colours when they bounced off each other.

Okay, this had to be a dream. Definitely a dream. But… was I really creative enough to dream up weird things like those?

I didn't concentrate on those things. I looked straight ahead of me. I couldn't see the end of the end of the hallway, where the hieroglyphs were coming from, but I felt a magnetic pull towards whatever was there.

I took a step forward… and staggered. My left side… I glanced down and shrank away from the half dried bloody mess of my camouflage jacket. I had four long gashes from the talons of Miss Uglyface. It was oozing blood, and it screamed in pain. I looked away, breathing hard.

I felt a bulge in my jacket, and frowning, realized my dagger Thorn had finally came back to me. Of all the times for its magic to work…

Dreams aren't painful, I thought as I tore off a piece of my shirt, covering up the ugly mess of my wound. I couldn't help but glance up longingly towards the end of the hall. Abnormal curiosity was burning through me. Ineeded to see what was at the end.

I took another cautious step forwards, then another, then another. The hall was long, but I didn't notice time past. I was too intent on trying not to cry out in pain as I concentrated on putting one foot forward at a time.

As I neared the end, I slowed, and then stopped. I even forgot my wound in wonder.

In front of me was a wooden throne on a dais. The throne was occupied by a tall man holding a crook and a flail, the symbols of an Egyptian pharaoh. I recognised it from the Egypt project we did at school. The hieroglyphs seemed to be coming off him, peeling off his skin and floating away. His eyes were strange and mesmerizing, one golden and one silver, and were lined with Egyptian eyeliner— kohl. He had a dark, tanned and muscular body with leather armor over it, matched with sandaled feet. There was a shimmering golden aura surrounding him. The energy in the room seemed to vibrate, and I could tell this man was very powerful and was NOT someone you would want to mess with. He looked familiar, like I've seen his picture before or something.

He smiled warmly at me. "Savannah Hughes. Welcome to the Hall of Ages."

"Savvy," I automatically responded. "What are you?"

He frowned, offended. "I should think that I would be well-known enough for you to at least know my name. I'm not a what. I am Horus the Avenger and the Falcon, King of Egypt, godly ruler of the House of Life." He smiled smugly.

I stared at him, unable to comprehend the information. "Godly ruler?" Suddenly, I started to laugh. It was the craziest thing I'd ever heard. "You can't be a god! You can't be Horus!" I shook my head and my smile faded. "I get it now. I'm crazy. That's comforting. Either that or you are too."

The shock crossed the man's features, followed quickly by anger. He half rose. "You dare…?"

Suddenly he stopped and sat back down, sighing, as if I wasn't worth the fight. "Mortals, these days. They don't believe anything, even with proof sitting right before their eyes. Of course this is real, and yes, I am an immortal god, an Egyptian one at that!"