Page 25 of A Thousand Nights Before Dawn
6
The Duat
Zahra’s hands were crisp and clear in front of her, but the room itself was gray and distorted. She was standing where Namir had been, but she was alone. The scrolls she had been carrying hovered in the air some feet from her as if mid-fall, and the piece of pottery was half shattered.
“My King?” She stepped forward. A strange vibration echoed through her limbs, and she turned around and screamed.
A person made of smoke stood before her. It had no face, but its white eyes burned into her. She backed into the table, pushing it back a few inches.
The figure of smoke did not move or react to her. A thrumming sensation went up her palms, and Zahra glanced down at her hands pressed on the table. Though most of the table was a gray smoke, the part below and immediately by her hands was concrete. She removed her hands, and the smoke consumed the table once more.
Zahra turned to the figure of smoke. It held something within its hands, but the shape was not concrete enough to give Zahra any hint of what it was. A silver band with a moonstone embedded in it was on its finger.
Zahra staggered forward. “Namir?”
There was no response.
Zahra swallowed and looked up. The ceiling was gone. A dark blue and orange sky replaced it, one with vivid stars.
Zahra dashed toward the door. “Let me out! Let me out!” She grabbed the handle, but the entire door dissipated into a smoky puddle at her feet. Zahra glanced back at Namir one last time before venturing into the hallway.
The rest of the library was no different from the hidden library. Its shelves and scrolls had faded into intangible smoke. The scholars and patrons were as Namir was—figures of smoke. The statues of Djehuty were the only things that were still vibrant and solid. Even these were different, with glowing eyes that followed her.
A soft growl came from behind her. Zahra spun around. At first, there was nothing, but then a shape emerged from behind one of the bookcases. It was similar in build to a jackal, but its form was unlike any animal she had ever seen. Its body was gray, and it was so starved that its ribs were showing.
The jackal snarled, lunging toward her with an open jaw. Zahra screamed and leaped back. It missed her legs by an inch, knocking its head hard against the ground.
Zahra took off, stumbling toward the exit as the animal recovered. The stars in the sky faded as she ran further from where she had started, until the ceiling of the library had returned. Zahra ran out of the library. Two hazy figures stood by the door. Themedjay. One of them was bound to have a blade she could use to protect herself.
She reached for thekhopeshof one of themedjay. Its hilt materialized beneath her fingers, the smoke billowing below her grip.
A hand latched onto hers before she could pull the blade free. Zahra’s head shot up. Themedjay’seyes were crisp and colorful, watching her with shock and anger. Color and form began to return to the rest of his face and arm as he yanked the blade back.
Zahra gasped, letting go and stumbling to the ground. The smoke consumed his form once more, his hateful eyes the last thing to be covered. His movements stilled, and he returned to how he had been standing before.
Zahra’s hands trembled, and she studied them in horror. Had she done that?
The jackal paused in the entryway, snarling. Two other jackals joined its side, and they bolted toward her.
Zahra yelped, scrambled to her feet, and ran down the steps. The large statue of Djehunty watched her, and it turned its head toward her as she sprinted into the desert.
Beyond the library’s tall steps, the landscape had changed drastically. Instead of the rest of the city, there was endless desert. The stars were bright and brilliant, even though the world around her was as light as a cloudy day. The sky was a prism of colors, the stars familiar yet much brighter than they should be, with a movement to them that she had never witnessed before.
The stars swayed and danced, drawing her gaze to a hollow sun with a ring of fire sitting high in the sky. The moon was right beside it, a ring of silver around it with a center as dark as a moonless night.
The jackals were fast approaching. Zahra ran around rocks and plants in hopes they would give up chase, but the jackals maneuvered around the objects with ease, growling as theyneared her feet. One opened its mouth, revealing dagger-like teeth.
A shadow flew overhead. Zahra ducked as a giant eagle the size of two horses swooped down and landed in front of her. Its feathers shimmered with silver, and it shrieked with the force of thunder. It raised its wings as she approached.
Zahra ducked to the side. The eagle’s sea blue eyes were familiar. The realization struck her. This was the tawny eagle—the one that had accompanied her these past many days.
The eagle hissed at the jackals while flapping its wings. The jackals growled in return, jumping to the side to try to get to Zahra. The eagle flew forward, blocking them from reaching her.
Zahra stumbled backward, running away from the scene as the eagle and jackals fought.
The land mimicked the natural geography of Aur, but the sand and soil beneath her feet shone as if gold, and the plants were unnatural in color. The streams that flowed from the Iteru river were clear, and fish of strange shapes and colors swam within.
Zahra stumbled to a stop beside a rock, her breath heavy and hot. The eagle and jackals were still fighting some distance behind her.
