Return To Primordial Island, Rick Poldark [top non fiction books of all time .TXT] 📗

He had half a mind to jump. It was the only thing he could do. He wouldn’t stop Nazimaa, but he’d keep her imprisoned. He quickly summoned the conviction required, fueled by outrage and defiance. He leaned forward, jumping off the narrow ledge into the yawning chasm below.

However, he was too late. After a couple of seconds of freefall, he was snatched up by the swinging mummies and hauled back to the ledge. He cursed himself for pausing for even the briefest of moments. He hung over the chasm, dangling by his wrist, as one of the mummies gripped it tight with one massive hand, the other massive hand gripping the statue.

‘Now, now. That wasn’t very smart,’ hissed the demon.

She hopped onto the back of one of the mummies, and it leapt, swinging from branch to branch until it reached the other side of the cavern. The mummies clutching Tracey and Mary also swung across, carrying their master’s insurance policy, in case Peter had any other ideas.

They all waited at the foot of the statue of the Simian king as Peter’s mummy carried him across, tossing him up in the air like a toy, only to be caught by another, and then another, as the mummies deftly swung from branch to branch.

At last, he was thrown to the ground at Nazimaa’s feet on the other side. The demon loomed over him, and behind her the sculpture of her old nemesis loomed over her. Only this time, he posed no threat to her.

Nazimaa stroked the sarcophagus with a spectral finger and stood in front of the enormous statue of the Simian King, crushing her in effigy. ‘Centuries ago, the Simian King faced me in battle. Despite my powers and cunning, he used his strength to subdue me before his god of power and light.

‘His queen and daughter possessed the life and death orbs, the latter obtained by defeating the Zehhaki. They used the orbs to imprison me here to spend eternity under foot of the Simian King, my spirit cursed to roam the jungle.’

It all finally made sense to Peter. The Simian Queen, represented by the fertility statue, wielded the power of life. The daughter, who he had assumed was a son, bore fire, which could’ve symbolized destruction. The hour glass with the black sand represented the slipping away of time, impending mortality. She wielded the power of death.

Peter nodded, comprehending. “They buried the orbs in the Zehhaki caverns, far away from where you were imprisoned, to make sure you were never freed.”

Nazimaa’s thin lips curled into a ghastly smile. ‘The orbs waited, protected by powerful magic, for those worthy to wield them again. In my current state, I was unable to reobtain them. The Umazoa, as you call them, emerged as the Zehhaki and Simians fell. They built a shrine over the Zehhaki ruins, completely unaware of what lay beneath and the history behind it. They made futile gestures of human sacrifice to appease their own pathetic deities.’ The demon laughed derisively.

Peter frowned. “So, you had to wait for us to land on this island to unlock the orbs.”

“She brought us here,” said Tracey, her face twisted in anger and disgust. “She manipulated us from the start. Everything was to bring us to this moment, here and now.”

‘I have no need or desire to harm you or your friends. Use the life orb, set me free, and I will leave you in peace.’

“She’s lying,” hissed Tracey. “She wants to leave the island.”

“Don’t listen to her,” spat Mary.

Peter remembered Mike Deluca’s attempt to summon the support ships out in the surrounding ocean so he could bring Nazimaa off the island. He knew Tracey was right.

“Where is your body?” He was stalling for time.

Nazimaa gazed down upon her lifelike likeness. Her expression was that of self-pity and sorrow. ‘Beneath the statue. For too long I have been imprisoned here, wandering the jungle a mere shadow.’

Peter marveled at her power as a ‘mere shadow.’ If she could breach his dimension and crash a plane as a ghost, he shuddered at what she could do if reawakened in corporeal form.

‘No more talk. The time has come. You will awaken my body and release the orb or watch your friends die.’

Peter nodded. Tracey and Mary protested valiantly, but there was nothing he could do. His mind raced, searching for options, but none presented themselves.

Nazimaa gestured to the sarcophagus, and two of the Simian mummies toppled it over onto its side, revealing a stone staircase underneath that led into the ground. The lid of the sarcophagus dislodged, and the mummified body of the Simian King spilled out onto the ground. As large as the warrior mummies were, their king was even larger. Peter imagined the power and might such a specimen must’ve possessed in life, but now it was only an empty husk.

Nazimaa gestured to Peter. ‘After you.’

Peter shot Tracey and Mary a dubious look, and he descended the staircase. At first it was dark, and he reached out to steady himself, but there was nothing to grab onto. Then, remembering his powers, he focused, causing his chest to glow. It was enough light to navigate the steep staircase successfully.

When he reached the bottom, Nazimaa slinked past him. Her army of Simian mummies, however, shoved him aside as they filled the burial chamber. Two of them dragged Tracey and Mary along. Fire bowls ignited around them, triggered by their presence, illuminating the room. It was a large room, about one hundred feet across and fifty feet wide. The floor was composed of stone tiles, and the walls were smooth with vast openings on either side midway. The walls bore crude cave paintings depicting the defeat of Nazimaa at the Simian King’s hands. It was simultaneously a tribute to him and a rebuke to her.