Area 51: Nosferatu-8 by Robert Doherty
Authors: Robert Doherty
Tags: Fiction, General, Science-Fiction, adventure, Historical, Fantasy, Action & Adventure, Area 51 (Nev.)
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been rigged by the priests on top of the head of the Black Sphinx.
Behind them stood one of the black tubes, its front open. Surrounding the Black Sphinx along the top edge of the depression were thousands of Egyptians, all within hailing distance. The nearest were less than fifty feet in front of their concealed location, all staring in the same direction, into the depression.
Looking at the arrangement, Nosferatu didn't want to make the effort to deduce what the setup on top of the Black Sphinx might mean. He'd experienced three
48
hundred years of imprisonment and abuse by the Gods. He knew that day would bring worse.
Vampyr turned to the Wedjat. "You have told us you are a Wedjat, but little else. What is your name?"
"I am called Kajilil."The Wedjat was a small man, with skin burned brown and leathery by the sun. He wore a gray cloak pulled tight around his body. Lines radiated in the skin around his eyes as if they had been shot like marbles into his head.
"What is a Wedjat?" Vampyr asked.
"A Watcher."
"And what is a Watcher?" Vampyr pressed.
Kajilil stroked his short beard as he considered the question. "We are an ancient order. Formed after the destruction of Atlantis. The first Watchers were ex-high priests of the Airlia who realized they had been betrayed. They vowed to monitor the two sides of the Airlia civil war."
"Why did you save us?" Nosferatu asked.
"Because Donnchadh—the woman—interfered. I am trying to set things right, but I fear regardless of what we do, there will be change."
"Who is she?"
"I do not know for sure. I have heard rumors. She, and her partner, the warrior, Gwalcmai, hate the Gods. Some say the two of them have walked the Earth since the time of Atlantis, subverting the Gods. That is difficult for me to believe, as they are human, or at least appear human, as do you. But some say they helped start the Great Civil War among the Gods that destroyed Atlantis."
Kajilil smiled wryly. "Some say anything. That is why it is best just to watch and record."
"But you saved us," Nosferatu pressed. Vampyr was watching the Black Sphinx, searching for any sign of his sister, but also listening closely.
49
"To try to restore the balance, as I said," Kajilil said. "She interfered and I have tried to set things right. Although"—he shrugged once more—"who knows what right is? I have often thought about that. What if her actions are what was supposed to happen? It has occurred to me at times that doing nothing, as my Watcher creed decrees, affects things as much as doing something. That is why I acted when I saw you enter the Roads."
Nosferatu understood little of what the man was saying and he could tell that Vampyr didn't either. The burning issue remained: What did the Airlia Gods have planned for those they had captured?
Kajilil reached into his robe and pulled out a short metal tube, which he raised to one eye and peered through.
"What is that?" Nosferatu asked.
"It is something that was taken from Atlantis," Kajilil said. "Ship captains who sailed for the Airlia used them to see far over the water." He offered the device to Nosferatu, who brought it up and peered through the layer of cloth covering his eye into the end of the tube. He was stunned suddenly to see everything much closer and pulled it away from his eye, blinking, reassured to find he was still at the same distance and had not been magically transported to the Black Sphinx. He tentatively raised the tube and looked through it once more. He could see the lips of the priests move as they prayed.
"Men used this?" he asked Kajilil.
The Watcher nodded. "A gift from the Gods. In the old days when the Gods ruled openly."
Nosferatu had more questions to ask but the stone door between the paws of the Black Sphinx slid open and a phalanx of priests appeared, the three bound prisoners in their midst. In the front were Chatha and Lilith chained 50
together. And behind them was Nekhbet, wrapped in loops of metal. All
Behind them stood one of the black tubes, its front open. Surrounding the Black Sphinx along the top edge of the depression were thousands of Egyptians, all within hailing distance. The nearest were less than fifty feet in front of their concealed location, all staring in the same direction, into the depression.
Looking at the arrangement, Nosferatu didn't want to make the effort to deduce what the setup on top of the Black Sphinx might mean. He'd experienced three
48
hundred years of imprisonment and abuse by the Gods. He knew that day would bring worse.
Vampyr turned to the Wedjat. "You have told us you are a Wedjat, but little else. What is your name?"
"I am called Kajilil."The Wedjat was a small man, with skin burned brown and leathery by the sun. He wore a gray cloak pulled tight around his body. Lines radiated in the skin around his eyes as if they had been shot like marbles into his head.
"What is a Wedjat?" Vampyr asked.
"A Watcher."
"And what is a Watcher?" Vampyr pressed.
Kajilil stroked his short beard as he considered the question. "We are an ancient order. Formed after the destruction of Atlantis. The first Watchers were ex-high priests of the Airlia who realized they had been betrayed. They vowed to monitor the two sides of the Airlia civil war."
"Why did you save us?" Nosferatu asked.
"Because Donnchadh—the woman—interfered. I am trying to set things right, but I fear regardless of what we do, there will be change."
"Who is she?"
"I do not know for sure. I have heard rumors. She, and her partner, the warrior, Gwalcmai, hate the Gods. Some say the two of them have walked the Earth since the time of Atlantis, subverting the Gods. That is difficult for me to believe, as they are human, or at least appear human, as do you. But some say they helped start the Great Civil War among the Gods that destroyed Atlantis."
Kajilil smiled wryly. "Some say anything. That is why it is best just to watch and record."
"But you saved us," Nosferatu pressed. Vampyr was watching the Black Sphinx, searching for any sign of his sister, but also listening closely.
49
"To try to restore the balance, as I said," Kajilil said. "She interfered and I have tried to set things right. Although"—he shrugged once more—"who knows what right is? I have often thought about that. What if her actions are what was supposed to happen? It has occurred to me at times that doing nothing, as my Watcher creed decrees, affects things as much as doing something. That is why I acted when I saw you enter the Roads."
Nosferatu understood little of what the man was saying and he could tell that Vampyr didn't either. The burning issue remained: What did the Airlia Gods have planned for those they had captured?
Kajilil reached into his robe and pulled out a short metal tube, which he raised to one eye and peered through.
"What is that?" Nosferatu asked.
"It is something that was taken from Atlantis," Kajilil said. "Ship captains who sailed for the Airlia used them to see far over the water." He offered the device to Nosferatu, who brought it up and peered through the layer of cloth covering his eye into the end of the tube. He was stunned suddenly to see everything much closer and pulled it away from his eye, blinking, reassured to find he was still at the same distance and had not been magically transported to the Black Sphinx. He tentatively raised the tube and looked through it once more. He could see the lips of the priests move as they prayed.
"Men used this?" he asked Kajilil.
The Watcher nodded. "A gift from the Gods. In the old days when the Gods ruled openly."
Nosferatu had more questions to ask but the stone door between the paws of the Black Sphinx slid open and a phalanx of priests appeared, the three bound prisoners in their midst. In the front were Chatha and Lilith chained 50
together. And behind them was Nekhbet, wrapped in loops of metal. All
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