The Demon of Egypt: Imhotep's Story by Amber Riel (reading an ebook TXT) 📕

Antinique and the pharaoh.  “Your highness…. Lady Antinique,” I spoke, bowing.  I remembered how Antinique told me I could call her Antinique without adding lady at the beginning but because the pharaoh was there I figured he would have made a comment it about it being disrespectful toward her to call her by her name.

          “We are throwing a ball for our engagement tonight, Imhotep,” the pharaoh spoke, “and I wanted you to keep an eye on Nala tonight.  There will be a lot of other humans around and well you know how she is…. She’ll most likely cause a scene…. Please keep an eye on her?”

          “I will your highness.”

          “And there will be plenty of single women there as well for you and my sons to meet…. Feel free to meet them.”

          “Oh but I have my eye on one, sir,” I replied as I kind of glanced at Antinique.

          “Really?  Who?”

          “I cannot tell you but I will be dancing with her tonight.  Believe me, you will see us then.”  I smiled.  I had placed myself in trouble, not knowing who I would be stuck with until the thought popped into my mind.  Nala…. I can use her.  “You will be surprised, your highness.”

          “Well I cannot wait till then.  Come, my love,” Ramos said, gesturing for Antinique to leave with him.

          I kept my smile as I watched the couple leave.  Damn, I’m going to have to play it off that I’m in love with Nala.  How am I going to do that?  We hate each other.

 

 

          I stood in the crowded ball room with the pharaoh and his lovely mistress.  I glanced around watching and waiting for the princess to arrive so I could play my little game but I knew it would probably be a while.

          “Where is this woman, Imhotep?” Ramos asked.

          “Not here yet,” I replied, quickly smiled then turned my attention back toward the doors.  “She should be arriving any minute.”  How are you late to a ball when it takes place in your own home? I thought, until I finally spotted Nala.  “Excuse me,” I told Ramos and Antinique before I left.

          “Stop.”  Grim appeared in front of me, looking around the room.

          “What do you want?” I asked.

          “Are you sure you want to play a game with the princess?  Knowing you could lose your life?”

          I stared at Grim, confused.  How did he know what I was thinking?

          “I recommend for you to rethink what you want to do…. She needs to be stopped but if you play with fire you will burn…. You will not like the end result.”

          “Get out of my way.”  I wasn’t in the mood to chat with the spirit.

          “Someone’s going to die tonight…. Imhotep, watch as the night changes from wonderful to dramatic…. It will be a warning for you.”

          I rolled my eyes.  Why did that guy show up all of the time?  What was the deal with him?  I knew he was the Grim Reaper but still it was as if he had no one else to pick on.

          “I’m warning you.”

          “I don’t care…. Now move I have a princess to dance with.”  I began walking away as Grim vanished.

          “Be careful what you do,” I heard his voice speak as he disappeared into midair.

          A young girl pulled Niki away from Nala as I took his place.  I smiled evilly, knowing that it was going to be fun.

          “I don’t get this how come none of the men want me but the girls line up for him when he’s no better than I am?” Nala asked.

          I looked at Nala, raising an eyebrow.  “Maybe if you wouldn’t threaten to eat them,” I began, trying to seem interested, “they might be willing to dance or purpose to you.”

          She pretended to laugh.  “Not funny.”

          “It’s true…. Here,” I told her as I held out my hand.  “I’ll dance with you, your royal highness.”

          “Dance with you?  I rather take my chances with a king cobra.”

          I dropped my head, knowing how hard I was going to have to work to get her highness to fall into my trap.  “It’s only a dance, but you can’t eat me.”

          “That’s the fun part…. Everyone’s too busy to notice the cannibal.”

          I had to bit my lip.  “I’m trying to be nice…. You can try to do the same unless you’re too conceited for that?”

          The princess rolled her eyes.  “Fine,” she replied, grabbing my hand.  I placed my free hand around her waist and she placed her free hand on my shoulder.

          “Remember we’re dancing, not feasting.”

          She pretended to laugh.

I led her in the dance.  I glanced over at the pharaoh who smiled.  He watched me and Nala dance.  I knew he believed what he was seeing.  Part one of the plan was working although I knew that Nala was going to be hard to convince.  The pharaoh was easily deceived while Nala wasn’t one for falling into human traps.  It was her inhuman instincts that would help her know when she was being lied to or not.

          I noticed Tommus and Maxumous standing in the crowd, watching with horror.  I had no clue what was playing in their minds but I knew that somehow they had fear for me, worried that Nala would kill me then and there.

          Niki stared at us with confusion as him and the girl danced past us.

          I noticed Grim had reappeared but this time Eva was next to him.  Her eyes were filled with sadness and horror as the two of them watched us dancing.

          The hood of Grim’s cloak shook as he shook his head.  It had seemed as if for some reason all eyes were on us dead or alive.  I knew Nala wouldn’t attack me while her father was watching but no one else seemed to know that.

          I shrugged off the others as my gaze turned to Nala who had gone off into some kind of strange gaze.  It wasn’t one I was familiar with and I had decided that when she came to that I could use that to my advantage.

          I wondered what was going on through that devious mind of hers as I stared at her.

          She had been staring off into space, kind of like someone else was talking to her or had her attention.  She finally looked at me.  “What?”

          “Are you feeling okay, princess?  You seem to be lost in some sort of daze…. Realizing that I’m attractive,” I laughed.

          “And you call me conceited.”

          “I was joking.”

          “Still…. The thought is sickening…. Besides, I look at you like food and I would still eat you if I could.”

          I shook my head.  I had to keep going along with my plan no matter how hard her highness was going to make it for me.

Nala Makes a Scene

          While I was still dancing with the princess, she released my hand and dropped to the floor, covering her ears from some kind of noise that none of us mortals could hear.  I watched her along with others, trying to figure out what she was doing.  Her eyes moved up toward me.  I had narrowed my eyes and folded my arms.  It had to have been some kind of trick.  She didn’t want to dance with me any longer which was obvious and I could really care less about.

          Like always she had begun growling, causing a scene while transforming into her inhuman wolf like creature she truly was.  Eventually her arms dropped down to her side.

          The other humans watched her with fear where I knew this had to be some kind of trap.  Nala’s eyes moved around until she locked onto another figure.  I turned my attention toward the figure she was staring at and to my surprised I noticed the God Anubis heading toward our direction.  He examined Nala with his eyes while he worked his way through the crowd.

          The other guest fell to the ground, bowing to the god but I just stood.  The immortal stopped in front of the princess, still examining her with his eyes.  “Death,” he spoke locking eyes with Nala.  He held out a hand and touched her face.  “Princess.”  He bowed.  “Inhuman like us…. But you mock our ways.”  He moved his hand away from her.  “Unloved…. Alone…. Time will come for you…. Join us…. My bride.”  His gaze moved toward us humans then back toward Nala.  “You’re time is near.”  He moved closer toward her with his snout touch her nose, revealing his teeth.  “Evil.”  We all watched as he vanished.

          It hadn’t taken long for Nala to show her thoughts.  She had grown angry and began growling.

          What’s new?  She has to show she’s not weak.  “Be careful, princess,” I warned.

          Of course because she enjoyed defying anything I would tell her, she attacked another man who was kind off in the distance in the ballroom.  We all watched while she torn the man into pieces, killing him slowly.  She snatched his left arm from his body and ripped into his chest with her nonhuman hands, pulling his heart out of his chest.

          “Nala!” the pharaoh’s voice called through the room.

          To my surprise, she ignored her father while she continued searching with her hands for more of the man’s insides.  Everyone in the ball room was seeing how evil the princess truly was.  Even though the man was already dead from having his heart ripped out, the princess continued to tear him into pieces.

          “Princess Nala,” I spoke, trying to get her to snap out of the dark demented mindset she was in.

          It wasn’t any surprise to me that she ignored my words.  She just continued to keep doing what she was doing to the man.  Tommus rushed over and pulled her away from the body.  She tried to fight his arms away but failed.

          “I’m ashamed of you, Nala,” Tommus spoke finally.

          Her gaze moved up to her cousin.  He transformed into a half man along with a half tiger creature.  “Let go of me….”

          “No.  You need to calm down.”

          She opened her mouth and went to bit into his skin but he moved too quickly for her.  He kept her up against the wall, keeping her from attacking any more of us humans.  He held her neck in his right hand.

          “You’re highness…. My cousin…. You can’t do this.  The humans have a fear of you.  Why did you turn out so demonic?” he asked, clearly he wasn’t letting his emotions show.

          “Let me go,” she hissed out a growl.

          He shook his head.  “I can’t do that.  These people need to feel safe and protected but you make them feel fearful…. Terrified…. They’re your people, not animals that you can just butcher.”  He kept his grip around her neck but he turned toward us.  “I am sorry for my cousin’s behavior.  She shouldn’t do this to any of you.  You deserve to be treated like people, not animals.  I am sorry.”

          “Let my daughter go, Tommus.”  The pharaoh made his way through the crowd and over to