Prologue
Egypt, 1920.
Growing up in the Cession, in the United States, Raelle Collar thought she knew what summer heat was. Now that she was in the middle of the desert, with not relief in sight, she knew that a Cession summer may as well have been winter. What she wouldn’t give for a Cession summer. And some moonshine. And maybe a swig of water.
But preferably a bottle of moonshine.
Those living in the Cession had few prospects in life, and the U.S. military exploited that. They offered a steady job, halfway decent pay, and housing. What more could a person want?
That was what drove Raelle to enlist, just as her mama had.
And that was how she found herself in the middle of the Egyptian desert, marching along with her entire platoon to a place that didn’t exist. Well, in fairness, her platoon had been on loan from Fort Salem to the British military – a favor extended from the United States to a favored ally. It was the British military that sent them to Libya, and from there, it was the platoon commander that marched them out of Libya and into Egypt. The platoon had abandoned its post, if they didn’t get back before someone noticed, they’d all be labeled dodgers - deserters.
Apparently, the promise of treasure beyond imagining was worth deserting the military.
If they really did find something, they could simply buy their way out of trouble. Raelle could go home. That was enough to keep her putting one foot in front of the other in the shifting sands. Their commander and more than half the platoon thought this place was real. Thought the treasure buried in the sand was real.
Hamunaptra. The City of the Dead.
Against all the odds, the platoon found what they were looking for. In the middle of the desert, a city of ruins rose up from the sand. It was a sprawling necropolis, though time had taken its toll on the city. They didn’t have enough supplies left to camp for more than a day or two, but finding the city breathed life back into the soldiers.
“Can ya believe it, Rae?” a young man asked as they surveyed the perimeter of the ruins. “This place is actually real. All those ghost stories turned out to be true.”
Raelle sniffed once as blue eyes swept over toppled columns and walls half-buried in the sand. “The sooner we get out of here, the better,” she replied. “This place ain’t right, Porter.”
Porter scoffed and nudged her with his shoulder. “Right or not, don't matter if we're rich.”
“A few shiny coins ain't going to change the fact that we don't have enough food and water to get back to our post,” Raelle pointed out, irritated. The unrelenting sun was getting to her. As was the fact that this had been a stupid idea in the first place.
“We don't need to go back if we find the treasure, Captain,” Porter said, still enragingly blissful. “The treasures of Egypt are under our feet! We could buy our own post, our own military, our own damn country!”
Something caught Raelle's attention. A sound on the wind, like sharp cries. Her attention turned back to the open desert plain. On the horizon, dust rose like murky smoke.
“Shit,” she swore, staggering back. “We've got trouble.” She swung around, boots digging into sand to gain traction. “Colonel! Colonel, incoming hostiles!”
Raelle didn't think it was possible to track someone through the desert. Apparently it was, because it sure looked like someone followed them. They were woefully unprepared for an attack. After more than a week of marching through sand and heat, they needed rest, food, and water.
Not to pick a fight.
“Everyone to the front line!” the Colonel yelled, directing the platoon to the first wall guarding Hamunaptra.
Travel weary soldiers trudged through the sand to defend their prize. They knelt behind the wall, which was almost completely buried. Just enough of it was sticking up to provide a small amount of cover. It wasn’t much, but it was better than nothing.
A group of riders came into sight, seeming to fan out endlessly as they got closer. It became all too apparent that the American soldiers were greatly outnumbered.
They waited for orders from the Colonel, but nothing came. As Raelle looked over to where the Colonel was standing, the man stayed in place for only a moment before throwing down his rifle and running.
“Looks like ya just got promoted,” Porter commented from beside her.
“Shit,” Raelle cursed. “Everyone steady!” Her voice rose up over the yells of their incoming attackers. “Steady!”
Two more soldiers broke rank and ran.
“You’re with me this time, right, Porter?” Raelle asked.
“Definitely,” he answered with a firm nod.
“Steady!” Raelle called out again. The armed riders were closing in on them fast, but she wanted to make sure they didn’t break off and scatter too soon. It was only when the others around her began shifting nervously that Raelle gave the order to engage. “Fire!”
A smattering of gunfire filled the air, and some of the oncoming riders toppled off their horses. However, when the Americans opened fire, so did their attackers. The fight that they were wholly unprepared for quickly descended into chaos. Soldiers were falling left and right, and they weren’t felling near enough of their enemies.
As the riders began to breach the soldiers’ cover, more of Raelle’s comrades began to run – including Porter. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him stagger up to his feet and drop his weapon. “Hey! Port- you son of a bitch!” she yelled after him.
Raelle stood, but didn’t run. She fired the bolt-action rifle as quickly as she could reload it. There was nowhere to retreat to, nowhere to hide, no one to come to their rescue. This was a fight that was life or death, and if she was going to die in this damned desert, she was taking plenty of people with her.
One rider's horse leapt over the wall just a breath from where Raelle stood her ground, and she felt the sharp sting of a blade. It sliced her face from chin to cheekbone, but at least she was still alive. With a quick turn on her heel, she shot the man in the back.
As they were completely overrun, with no end to the riders in sight, Raelle knew that if she stayed where she was, she would definitely not be walking away. She turned and ran, dropping the rifle now that she was out of ammunition for it. She grabbed the revolvers from her shoulder holsters, noticing a dark, wet stain forming on her grey uniform jacket.
There was no time to stop and take care of her wound, though. As she ran further into the ruins, she shot the riders she could see around her. But with only six shots a piece, her revolvers became useless fast. Soon, it became a mad dash to try and find somewhere that the attackers might not find her.
Raelle spotted Porter, as he ran toward what looked to be an entrance into the ruins. “Porter!” she yelled after him. “Hey, Porter!”
He turned and made eye contact with her when he got inside. And he maintained eye contact as he rolled the massive stone door into place.
“Porter!” Raelle hissed. She got to the stone slab and pushed on it, but it wouldn’t budge. “You’re the worst!” Suddenly, she ducked as bullets peppered the stone around her. “Shit.”
Raelle shoved herself away from the entrance, running further into the ruins. There were five riders pursuing her and gaining ground fast. She’d never be able to outrun them. But if she could find another entrance like that bastard had…
Suddenly, Raelle came to a stop. She’d run herself into a dead end – high walls on each side and only one entryway into the area. She glanced up, seeing the face of a dog-faced god, whose name she didn’t remember. Raelle turned to face her pursuers, backing up until she bumped into the statue.
The riders thundered into the area, raising their rifles. Five bullets and near point-blank range... well, at least she’d finally get to rest.
That was when she heard it.
Strange whispering coming from everywhere and nowhere. It was a language she didn’t know, or maybe it wasn’t words at all. She couldn't be sure. Ahead of her, the horses reared and whinnied, panicking. They gave their riders no choice in leaving, as the animals turned to run away from the area.
Raelle relaxed for only a moment, before nearly jumping out of her skin. Sand was thrown into the air, whatever force that did it unseen. It was thrown about in all different directions, and Raelle decided that that was more than enough reason to follow the horses’ lead. She scrambled away from the statue, having a hard time getting her footing as the sand shifted all around her.
Whatever strange happenings were going on had sent the last of the attackers fleeing back into the desert. Raelle stumbled through the dead city, past bodies of dead soldiers and whoever had just attacked them. Though it was less than honorable, Raelle searched the bodies she could for anything that would help get her back through the desert. If she was going to make it on her own, she needed at least a little bit of water.
Raelle didn’t care what became of Porter. He could rot in this city as far as she was concerned.
It wasn’t until after the sun had set that Raelle left Hamunaptra. Her chances of making it back to civilization increased if she traveled during the cool night, rather than the sweltering day.
As she set out into the dark expanse, Raelle didn’t notice a small group of riders watching her from a cliff.