A Serpent's Kiss

Wordlessly, they gathered under the stretching shadow. They could barely see the tip without tilting their heads all the way back. The young girl stepped forward, taking her glasses off and wiping away the accumulation of sand. Placing them back on her nose, she moved towards the stones and with a brief pause, placed her hand on the bricks that had been built centuries ago. Her mind tried to imagine the world this pyramid evolved in, but she couldn’t fathom it. Under the pale morning sky, four silhouettes traipsed across the golden expanse. Step by step, hooves sank into the powdery sand, disrupting the small, perfect waves that ran for miles in every direction. Groaning, the camels bore their loads onwards. Straight ahead stood the proud structures, dominating the skyline, tips seeming to touch the heavens. Thousands of years old, these structures had endured, built by the hands of those long deceased. Graves built by gold, sweat and blood. As they crossed the distance, the structures only grew until the party came to a halt at the base of the central giant. One by one, the camels collapsed onto their front legs, allowing the travellers to slide off. Every hair on her body stood on end as she travelled beyond the great, weather-beaten stones. Behind her palm was darkness, tunnels that stretched for miles, entrances that once shut, could never be reopened and in the very heart of the black….lay an Egyptian King. She turned to see her parents standing a small way away, their hands also pressed to the stone. Her gaze fell to the guide who has knelt down on the sand, his eyes fixated on the golden orb of the sun that was rising just beyond the horizon. Running her hands over the pockmarked stone once more, she made her way over to him, standing a respectful distance away. She could hear the sounds of ancient Egyptian prayer, something she was growing familiar with since the start of the trip. The guide, Yehlma, rose and stamped on the ground then spat three times. Then he started short, sharp jabbing motions towards the ground before finally bowing to the sun. Snapping out of his trance, he saw Alaura staring at him. He shrugged and gave a toothy grin. “Ra here now to save us. Evil Apophis gone and snared in underworld.” The teenager was all too familiar with Ra. Many people still worshipped Ra here, the ancient Egyptian Sun God. Much of Alaura’s childhood had been spent listening to her mother passing down stories. The family traced back to a small village in Southern Egypt - a place they had visited two days ago. Ra had always been a hero to Alaura; a mighty being that brought light and banished all evil. But Apophis was a name she had not heard before. “Who’s Apophis?” she asked, frowning. The guide’s face fell and a shadow seemed to flit across his features, turning his eyes cold and hard. He shook his head. “He is devil from below.” He stamped the ground again. Alaura recounted some of the stories. The underworld?” He nodded. “Yes. Nasty, dark chaos. He sleeps there night…” He pointed a finger at the shimmering horizon. Half-expecting to see a minotaur or harpie, Alaura was slightly disappointed when she saw nothing. He banished back to underworld with Ra’s light. And my stamp stamp.” The guide grinned, proud he had done his deed for the day. Alaura smiled. She would be sure to ‘stamp stamp’ every morning in future. She wandered back to the stones. Her parents had vanished but she could hear their voices from the other side. Her hands ran back over the stones, feeling every curve and bump. A sharp pain seared through her finger. With a hiss, she pulled it away. A small gash had opened, scarlet welling instantly. Hissing at the slight throbbing, she raised her finger. The blood ran in a rivulet down the extended digit. She watched in a strange detachment as the first drop, pulled by gravity, landed on the sand. Instantly, the soft grains absorbed it. Sticking her finger in her mouth, she wandered round to join her mum and dad. Catching sight of her, her mum frowned. "What did you do this time?” she sighed, well-used to her daughter’s flings with gravity and sharp things. “Just a cut.” “You know,” her mum began. Alaura prepared herself for another story. “A drop of blood used to be a way to summon the dark powers. Stand by a pyramid with a dead pharaoh and a single drop from someone living will defy death...if you believe that sort of thing.” Her mum grinned. They spent another half an hour, listening to the history of the pyramids, the ancient pharaohs who cracked the whips and the competitions between one generation and the next. The Ayaz family listened; mum and Alaura politely, her dad with rapt attention. He couldn’t get enough of the ancient world. By the time they had finished the sun had risen and Ra was throwing down heat like he had no intention of stopping. Alaura was starting to sweat and developing a fierce headache. The pyramids were by far one of the most awe-inspiring things she had ever seen, but she couldn’t wait for the luxuries of the 21st century. A swimming pool, a cool drink and plenty of junk food and she would be in her element. They mounted their camels again and began the journey back. They could see the small, squat buildings of the town in the distance ahead - not quite as magnificent as what they had just turned their backs on but welcome in its own way. A warm wind ruffled Alaura’s hair then died down. Moments later, there came a gust that set her swaying on her saddle. Glancing ahead, she tried to see if her parents or the guide had noticed, but they seemed to be continuing as normal. The gust came again, this time punching straight into her side and tipping her from the camel’s back. With a thud, she landed face down in the sound. Thousands of choking bits entered her mouth and nose and she coughed violently, trying to get air back in her lungs. Calling for the rest of her party to stop, she looked ahead. They suddenly seemed a very long way away - far too distant to hear her. Had they not even realised she wasn’t with them yet? Grunting, she went to grab her camel’s rein but suddenly, he bolted, snorting and eyes round. What was going on? Wheeling to see what was behind her, her heart stopped beating. A huge rolling cloud of dust, sand and wind was heading straight for her, covering the ground at alarming speed. Scrambling onto her feet, she broke into a run...she had heard that running on beaches was hard but she had never imagined it to be near impossible. Her throat was dry and raw and her head was now pounding. Her feet skidded and couldn’t find a stable ground. She could hear the wind now - a howling and wind that sounded like it was escaping from a pipe, a hissing. Her hair was flicking up into her face and eyes, and her t-shirt flapping like a bat. Slowing down, she realised she could not outrun nature. Closing her eyes, she sank down into a squat, wrapping her tshirt around her mouth and breathing through her nose. The storm hit and she was inside a swirling vortex of debris that choked her, wind that tore through and over her. Then something changed. She sensed she was not alone in this chaos. Someone had joined her. Someone...though not a person. The air seemed to still but she didn’t dare open her eyes. Her breathing was ragged and her chest heaving. Alaura wanted to run, to catch up with her parents and tell them everything. A small part of her relaxed, knowing they would be coming back, realising she wasn’t behind. Open your eyes. Alaura whimpered. This was a voice inside her head. Dehydration. That was it. Open your eyes. The voice came faster and sharper now. Wishing she had paid more attention in Judo, Alaura slowly peeled her eyes open. And screamed. Before her was a man, but it was his eyes that had made her recoil. Glinting yellow, the pupils were horizontal slits. He chuckled, and with a wave of dizziness, she could have sworn she saw a forked tongue. "I’m dreaming, I’m dreaming, I’m dreaming," she muttered. "No you’re not. I’m real. I believe your friend has informed you about me." Alaura’s blood ran cold. This was a prank. Oh, she saw what had happened. The guide had done this elaborate prank to trick the English tourists. "I see you’ll take a little more convincing," he snarled. Slowly, his body began to ripple and bulge. First his head seemed to bloat then elongate, the skin turning from weathered and tanned to green with scales. His legs and arms clamped to the sides of his body and then his whole bulk grew outwards. His legs seemed to melt into the ground before a long, emerald tail shot out. The snake didn’t stop growing, his body blocking out the daylight. Finally, the ground stopped shaking and it curled around so it was looking down on the girl below him. "The name’s Apophis. Nice to meet you Alaura." The paralyzed girl could not speak, move or respond. Only her eyes, which blinked over and over,indicated she was not a stature. "What...why?" she choked. "How much do you know about your family history?" "More than you...more than you should. If I close my eyes, I’ll wake and this will be a dream." Squishing her eyes ass tight as they could go, Alaura waited a few seconds then opened them. He was still there. Waves of blackness were rolling over her but she dreaded to think what would happen if she passed out. "Once upon a time, a ,member of your family had a little fling with a God. The child born was half pure light and half human. It grew up to be the bane of the demons. It sensed where darkness dwelled. He slew many of our kind. Since then, we have sought to end the race he sired but always, always you slip our grasp. Until now." His eyes flashed. Alaura’s heart spiked as the head shot forward. The mouth opened, revealing a red cave and two wicked fangs. Feeling vomit rising, Alaura tried to stumble away put the snake simply twisted its head, clamped his jaws around her middle and bit down. Flashes of fire surged over her body as he let go. Her nerves screamed, and her body jerked up and down. All her breath had gone and her heart slowed right down. As she lay in a semi-conscious state, Alaura could feel the warm trickle of blood underneath her nose and from the corner of her mouth. When she closed her eyes, all she could sense was her body ripping in half. Every muscle was paralyzed, her voice completely gone. In her haze, she could feel Apophis lingering over her, but his glee was changing. She could feel him circling her, scrutinizing her, waiting for her to die. She wanted to, she really wanted to just let go, but her body seemed to want to fight. Slowly, the raging heat began to subside and her body was throbbing. Sweat slicked every part of her skin, blood seeped out of her sides where she could feel the bruises. Her hands were shaking, but she was no longer convulsing. "You were supposed to not be able to take it," Apophis hissed, his motions becoming faster. ‘The blood of the gods fade with every generation. You’re supposed to have nothing left!’ He went to strike but Alaura tried as best she could in her weakened state to fend him off. Apophis stopped. Just froze. His head tilted and then he let out a hiss that spewed thick black sludge over her. He rocked his head side to side. "I will get you child. You have been marked and they don't like a halfling running around." In a plume of sand, the snake twisted and vanished back into the underworld. Alaura’s body finally gave up.