View source for Blessed Lands Egypt Chapter Twenty Six

{{TplBlessedLandsEgyptChapter|title=Chapter 26|chapter text=<center>Chapter 26</center><br>
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Theoris sat across from Honute and Akila. The rail was smooth and, to Theoris, almost enjoyable. She watched the two with a bit of envy and jealousy, but also with some happiness. They really did look good together. Honute was happy and carefree. He gabbed on about the wonders of Thoth and Akila seemed to be mesmerized. She supposed at one point she was like that when she and Ferruk had been young lovers. It was almost painful, remembering the old memories and reliving a dead past. But looking at Ferruk now just curled her heart tight. She resisted being bullied into putting Honute under hypnosis, but the threat of bodily harm was in part the reason she changed her mind. This time, she put Honute under and gave him a series of suggestions. Separately, they meant nothing, strung in a special way, they’d trigger a cascaded response within Honute’s psych that would pause Osiris himself.<br>
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Honute stared out the window and wondered. There was something he was supposed to do, but for the life of him he could not remember. He saw Akila’s reflection in the window. She was asleep and looked peaceful, perfect, and beautiful. How he enjoyed gazing at her face and lately it made him feel more at peace. He got up and decided to walk the length of the rail. He was stiff from siting in the chair and his back ached. He crossed the threshold to the next car. It was about midnight and everything was still. He crossed into the other car and felt someone behind him. He turned and noticed no one. The rail rumbled on. It vibrated and slightly rolled under his feet. He reached the end of the rail. It was the storage car and held all the baggage, tools and supplies. Honute walked the distance to the end and stopped at the door. It was locked, which made sense. No reason to have a child or sleepy careless passenger open it, step off into turbulent air, and cut his trip short. Honute looked out the window and felt that presence again. He refocused his eyes and saw a reflection in the window. He wheeled around in time to take a blow to the jaw. He stepped back into the door and it opened. His attacker threw a punch. Honute sidestepped and allowed the attacker’s momentum to carry him past the door threshold. Honute pushed him the rest of the way. He watched as the attacker landed on the rail. He tumbled over wood and steel and came to a rest bludgeoned.<br> 
Honute reached over and yanked the emergency stop cord. Any item not fastened down shifted forward. A moment later the rail stopped. Honute jumped out the back and ran toward the broken mass. He moved a limb to the side to reveal the face. It was one of Ferruk’s bodyguards.<br>
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Theoris had drifted off to sleep an hour ago. She had started to dream when she was thrown forward into her chair straps. She surveyed the compartment and noticed Honute missing. “Where’s Honute?” She cried out.<br>
Akila jumped out her seat and hastily walked toward the end of the rail. <br>
Ferruk and another bodyguard searched upfront.<br>
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Honute looked up and saw Akila and Theoris running toward him. Ayruyi wasn’t too far behind.   He stood up and waited for them to run the distance.<br>
Akila stopped and hugged him. “Honute, are you okay?”<br>
He nodded, hugged her back, and looked toward Theoris. “He tried to kill me?”<br>
Theoris said, “Who is he?” Then see looked at the dead man’s dirty face and recognized him. She looked up at Honute. “Tried to kill you?”<br>
Honute nodded. “I think. He attacked me and was about to push me out the back end. Luckily, Thoth, gave me the strength to overcome. <br>Otherwise, he’d be looking down at me.”<br>
Ferruk and a bodyguard ran up to the group. <br>
Theoris and Ayruyi stepped aside and allowed Ferruk to walk up to the body. He looked at the face then at Honute. He said, “What happened?”
Honute eyed Ferruk and spoke, “He tried to kill me, most high priest Ferruk.”<br>
Ferruk’s face twisted up in rage. “How dare he.” He turned to the other guard. “Check his possessions and see if you can find a reason for this.”<br>
The conductor of the rail ran up to Ferruk. He was out of breath. “Vizier Ferruk, are you harmed?”<br>
“No, no, I’m not harmed.”<br>
The conductor looked around and said, “Then who stopped the –“ He looked down and saw the busted up body. “Oh. I see.” He turned to one of his men, several had appeared. “Get something to cover the body up and put it in something. Take some pictures before you pick up the body.” Several of his staff jumped into action. He turned to his assistant. “Forward a radio message to base. Tell them all is well, but we had an accident. One of the passengers had an accident.” The man nodded and ran back toward the rail. “Vizier Ferruk, if you don’t mind. I’d like to get you to your destination on time.” He waited.<br>
Ferruk looked at Honute. “We’ll get to the bottom of this, Honute. In the meantime I’ll assign my best guard to watch over you.”<br>
Theoris stepped up from behind. “I thought he was one of your best guards.”<br>
Ferruk’s jaw muscles worked themselves for a few seconds. “He was a new guard. From a very noble family. All my other guards have long ties with me and their loyalty has been tested many times. I don’t know what he was trying to do –“<br>
“Kill Honute.” Theoris said.<br>
“Possibly.” Ferruk answered.<br>
Several men ran up with cloth and a makeshift coffin. One had a camera and started snapping pictures.<br>
Ferruk continued, “We really don’t know what his motive was, but we will find out. I’ll personally have the Police Chief investigate this.”
Honute watched the men place the body in the coffin and walked it toward the rail. “I would like to pray over him remains.”<br>
Ferruk said, “What? Pray for this . . . this man. He tried to kill you?”<br>
Theoris interjected, “Possibly.”<br>
Ferruk ignored her. “You really want to pray over this man?”<br>
Honute nodded, “It is what I do. And maybe when he reaches the afterlife Anubis will truly see through the veil and grant him some peace. Whatever his motive was he must have felt it to be important. I can’t fault a man for following his heart.”<br>
Ferruk frowned for a second. He searched Honute’s face for signs of deception and treachery. He told himself that Honute was very sincere. He smiled to himself and bowed his head. “Even a priest of the lower orders has something to remind the Vizier of the Middle Regions.” Ferruk turned and walked toward the rail. He was lost in thought and felt a ping of guilt. He squelched it once he got on the rail and out of sight of curious eyes. He cursed the bodyguard for being careless. But for Ferruk it was a win-win situation. If the guard had succeeded in killing Honute than it would open up the way for him to place his own hand picked person to undergo the treatment and it would void the Oracles prediction. If Honute had done as he had done then he could watch the surveillance cams for signs of his magick or if his violent past had caught up with him. Then he could possibly have him arrested. Either way, Ferruk felt in charge. He laughed out loud as he entered his personal compartment. He was feeling good and alive. He called to one of the guards and instructed them to bring Ayruyi to him. He was going to spend the rest of the trip occupied. Ayruyi told him that Honute had not touched her. He nodded at that but realized that Honute had Akila. It was his bad timing, that’s all. Not her fault, really, though he told her she could have tried harder and that he was disappointed. Ayruyi had nodded but didn’t seem to bother by it. Ferruk forgot his train of thought when she entered the compartment. He drank in her beauty and body and pulled himself out. “Take it.” He commanded. “Honute would not use you, but I will enjoy you.”<br>
Ayruyi bent down dreading the entire idea of being with Ferruk. Her heart and loyalty had changed. It was with Honute now and it was Honute she had wished to be her master. But she figured that in due time Honute will realize his potential and crush Ferruk and that would be the end of that.<br>
Ferruk moaned as Ayruyi handled him. He told himself that this was the best that she had ever done. She seemed to have had an aggressive edge, like she was mad. That excited him even more. Yes, indeed, he decided that this was going to be a very pleasant rail ride.<br>
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Honute knelt in front of the makeshift coffin. He was back in the end car. The irony hadn’t escaped him. He rocked back and forth humming out a tome from the book of the dead. The incense at either end of the coffin burned an aroma of cedar and cherry wood. Wisps of smoke traveled the length of the coffin. Honute began.<br>
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<I>
:Art thou come to taken away my heart-case which lives? My heart-case which lives shall not be given unto thee. As I advance, the gods hearken unto my propitiation prayer and they fall down on their faces whilst they are on their own land. The Osiris Nu, whose word is truth, says, “O thou land of the Sceptre! O thou White Crown of the divine form! O thou rest of the ferry-boat! I am the Child. Yay!”</i>
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