spirit were weak or if he willed it so...to gain the Djinn’s power.
A Marid Djinn, among his kind this one was a quite powerful Djinni. Bound to Kamenwati’s will by magic and sacrifice, this one was constrained to his current shape – that of a lower Djinn.
“Meld my strength to your knowledge, my Lord,” the creature beguiled. “Your will to my will. Together we would be invincible, my master.”
Kamenwati looked at the thing, at the power in its form, the magic of it and considered it.
If he had a thousand with the strength and speed of the Djinn, he could conquer and rule all of Egypt, with or without Narmer.
He went still as that idea moved through him…
A thousand Djinn…
The Marid smiled, a small crack appearing in its face to reveal its inner fire, the glow seeping between its lips. “You could, my Master, lead a thousand Djinn. More. Join with me and we will make it so.”
Warily, Kamenwati eyed the creature. He was more than confident his will was stronger than the Djinn’s, but it was Djinn, and powerful.
“And I would remain Master. Swear it by the great God Set,” Kamenwati said.
A flash of anger lit the thing’s eyes, Kamenwati saw it, and there was a betraying silence.
So, it had sought to be the master of him. Once possessed, it would have been a battle of wills once again, for possession of the body they both would have inhabited.
“You would remain master,” the Marid Djinn said, bitterly. “As you command.”
“What must be done?” Kamenwati said.
The Djinn smiled thinly, a red glimmer. “Nothing – it takes only your wish.”
Kamenwati weighed it. His will and the Djinn’s joined. The Djinn’s physical strength and magic melded to his. There was merit to the idea.
“Make it so,” he said.
In an instant, the Djinn dissolved into a thick column of black smoke that flowed toward and around him.
Understanding, Kamenwati inhaled.
That was all the Djinn needed.
Smoke poured into Kamenwati’s mouth, down his throat, to fill his lungs. At first there was agony.
It felt as if he were too full, as if he were stretched within his skin so tightly he feared he would split from the pressure, his will under assault as the Djinn set his own against it despite his oath. They wrestled, he and the Djinn. Calling on Set Kamenwati’s will gradually gained dominance over the other, his body struggling to assimilate the essence of the Djinn now within him. Pain burst through him…fiery pain. That which was the Djinn, a spirit of fire and the heat of the desert, burned through his veins. The power of chaos roared through him like a conflagration and Kamenwati felt Set’s hand in his. He smiled as the Djinn fell before his iron will.
It was time and perhaps more than time that darkness ruled the earth and its quarrelsome, fractious people. He’d been thwarted too often. He Called with all the power of Set and the Djinn…and something answered.
Chapter Twelve
The small village stood at the very edge of the Nile floods. In some years the fertile waters barely reached them and their fields. Most who lived there were poor, barely growing enough to feed themselves, much less sell at market, but it was a life of sorts and it was theirs. Some traders came through although that was seldom. Few traversed so close to the edge of the deep desert and the harsh lands beyond to the west and south.
Night fell as it always did, but this one came with a greater darkness. None noticed the towering shadow that blotted out the stars.
The sound of the goats and the fowl chattering in distress awakened the villagers, though.
Thinking lions had come up from the south as had happened in the past, the people of the village came out cautiously, prepared to fight, armed with spears and sticks despite the danger. If they lost their goats, though, they knew they would starve.
It wasn’t lions. It was something much darker, and much more frightening. From the darkness burst horror. The first
A Marid Djinn, among his kind this one was a quite powerful Djinni. Bound to Kamenwati’s will by magic and sacrifice, this one was constrained to his current shape – that of a lower Djinn.
“Meld my strength to your knowledge, my Lord,” the creature beguiled. “Your will to my will. Together we would be invincible, my master.”
Kamenwati looked at the thing, at the power in its form, the magic of it and considered it.
If he had a thousand with the strength and speed of the Djinn, he could conquer and rule all of Egypt, with or without Narmer.
He went still as that idea moved through him…
A thousand Djinn…
The Marid smiled, a small crack appearing in its face to reveal its inner fire, the glow seeping between its lips. “You could, my Master, lead a thousand Djinn. More. Join with me and we will make it so.”
Warily, Kamenwati eyed the creature. He was more than confident his will was stronger than the Djinn’s, but it was Djinn, and powerful.
“And I would remain Master. Swear it by the great God Set,” Kamenwati said.
A flash of anger lit the thing’s eyes, Kamenwati saw it, and there was a betraying silence.
So, it had sought to be the master of him. Once possessed, it would have been a battle of wills once again, for possession of the body they both would have inhabited.
“You would remain master,” the Marid Djinn said, bitterly. “As you command.”
“What must be done?” Kamenwati said.
The Djinn smiled thinly, a red glimmer. “Nothing – it takes only your wish.”
Kamenwati weighed it. His will and the Djinn’s joined. The Djinn’s physical strength and magic melded to his. There was merit to the idea.
“Make it so,” he said.
In an instant, the Djinn dissolved into a thick column of black smoke that flowed toward and around him.
Understanding, Kamenwati inhaled.
That was all the Djinn needed.
Smoke poured into Kamenwati’s mouth, down his throat, to fill his lungs. At first there was agony.
It felt as if he were too full, as if he were stretched within his skin so tightly he feared he would split from the pressure, his will under assault as the Djinn set his own against it despite his oath. They wrestled, he and the Djinn. Calling on Set Kamenwati’s will gradually gained dominance over the other, his body struggling to assimilate the essence of the Djinn now within him. Pain burst through him…fiery pain. That which was the Djinn, a spirit of fire and the heat of the desert, burned through his veins. The power of chaos roared through him like a conflagration and Kamenwati felt Set’s hand in his. He smiled as the Djinn fell before his iron will.
It was time and perhaps more than time that darkness ruled the earth and its quarrelsome, fractious people. He’d been thwarted too often. He Called with all the power of Set and the Djinn…and something answered.
Chapter Twelve
The small village stood at the very edge of the Nile floods. In some years the fertile waters barely reached them and their fields. Most who lived there were poor, barely growing enough to feed themselves, much less sell at market, but it was a life of sorts and it was theirs. Some traders came through although that was seldom. Few traversed so close to the edge of the deep desert and the harsh lands beyond to the west and south.
Night fell as it always did, but this one came with a greater darkness. None noticed the towering shadow that blotted out the stars.
The sound of the goats and the fowl chattering in distress awakened the villagers, though.
Thinking lions had come up from the south as had happened in the past, the people of the village came out cautiously, prepared to fight, armed with spears and sticks despite the danger. If they lost their goats, though, they knew they would starve.
It wasn’t lions. It was something much darker, and much more frightening. From the darkness burst horror. The first
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