Tuesday, February 28, 2012

The Crucible of Thoth -- Episode I

The Crucible of Thoth

Bruce Heard & Janet Deaver-Pack



Valley of the Kings, July 27th 1914


       Brimstone and dynamite.
       Something else in the air was wrong beside the vague scents. Percival peered past a gritty boulder at the debris sloping down from the rocky crag. The desert’s starlight cast a stark bluish hue upon a circle of tents surrounding a dying campfire. Workers slept directly on the ground, under the gaze of increasingly jittery dromedaries.  A short distance away, a fancy motorcar was parked near an old battered truck heaped with equipment needed to excavate an ancient tomb. A gust of wind lifted a thin sheet of dust that rustled down over the encampment. A man stepped from a tent, a westerner, judging from his impeccable suit and pale skin. He looked briefly at the camp and then lifted his head, facing Percival’s hiding place.
      Devlin Quint.
      Percival sensed his nemesis more than he could make out the man’s features. There was something about the master of a demonic sect that just made Percival feel queasy. If still around, the camp’s director, Howard Carter, must have already fallen under Quint’s mesmerizing gaze.
      (. . .)


Click HERE for the remainder of this episode. Your feedback is welcome since this is an unpublished story written specifically for this blog.

Thanks!

5 comments:

  1. wow! that was very inpressive!
    love the colt part, but my poor english got me stuck there:
    i dont get what is the "human torso" part.

    cant wait for part 2!!!

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  2. Thanks Rafael. Human torso -- the snake has human-like chest, shoulders, and arms. I'll be posting Part II this morning.

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  3. I really like where this is going, Bruce! Obviously, Percival is much more than an archaeologist, and anyone who would perform an ancient Egyptian ritual to replace one of their own eyes (à la Vecna) would give Indiana Jones a run for his money. Can't wait to see more.

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  4. Thanks Geoff! I'm really happy you like the idea. Episode II is already up. I'll be adding Episode III this morning.

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