The Forgotten Pharaoh
by Laura DeLuca
Genre: YA paranormal thriller
Julie Gerber isn't thrilled
to be pulled out of school her senior year to follow her parents halfway around
the world to unearth a lost pyramid. However, when the cute British guy and the
mysterious financier of their project both fight for her attention, things
start to get interesting.
The pharaoh known as
Djedefre was cursed for the murder of his eldest brother. The work of the
archaeologists brings new secrets to light, ones that prove the fallen god-king
wasn't the villain history had painted him to be. Can they prove his innocence?
As the team digs deeper
into the mystery, members of the party vanish or end up dead. Someone is
determined to keep the truth hidden at all costs, even 4,500 years later.
True fear unlike any
other suddenly gripped Djedefre’s heart. It overshadowed even the horrendous
pain and drove him to his knees. At last he realized where they’d taken him for
this unfair trial. Djedefre recognized the hieroglyphics etched into the walls
and the face on the many sculptures he’d commissioned. Each one of the effigies
bore his likeness. This was his tomb, one of the many chambers within the
confines of his great pyramid—the place where his body was supposed to rest so
his soul could be reborn. Only it was obvious his well-laid plans were about to
be upheaved, as well as the magnificent structure he’d spent the whole of his
reign creating.
One by one, the priests
of Ra seized each of his statues and smashed them against the walls, shattering
them to fragments. Other officials chiseled away at his visage on the paintings
upon the wall. Each strike was an assault far more painful than the gaping
wound on his side, for this was an attack upon his very soul. To destroy his
image was the greatest offense that could be done to any man. Every blow erased
part of his spirit and robbed him of an afterlife in paradise. Only Khafre cast
his eyes away from the destruction of his brother’s sacred burial grounds. The
young prince recoiled each time he heard the granite shatter while their sister
Hetapheres wailed her grief with her arms outstretched to the heavens, as
though begging the gods to intercede. Still no divine aid came for the fallen
pharaoh.
“No,” Djedefre pleaded.
“No, you cannot do this. Leave me here to die, but leave my soul to the mercy
of the gods!”
The priests ignored his
pleas and beside him the newly awakened Manetho appeared to have lost what was
left of his mind. He cackled at each new strike through bruised and swollen
lips while Djedefre and his family wept at the heartless defilement. As if to
prove madness had claimed him completely, the lay priest went so far as to use
his tongue to lap up the blood pooling upon the limestone floor.
“Djedefre, you are
disgraced. Since you are unable to prove your innocence, you are henceforth
stripped of the title of Pharaoh.” Djedefre flinched at the new wave of pain
that washed over him when the priest yanked the golden ankh from around his
neck and discarded it amongst the piles of fragmented effigies. “You have no
right to bear the sacred symbols of Egypt. You are no son of Ra. Stone by
stone, your pyramid shall be torn to the ground, but your body will remain
imprisoned, left here to wallow in the blood you have spilled, trapped between
life and death for all eternity.”
“Bound to this earth
until all wounds are set right. Forbidden to walk in Ra’s holy light,” the
other priests chanted along with their leader. “Soiled blood has sealed your
fate, until your heart relinquishes hate.”
“Your name and your tomb
will be lost to the world,” the ancient leader intoned even as his subordinates
continued to chant. “Henceforth, you will be known only as the Forgotten
Pharaoh.”
Laura “Luna” DeLuca
lives at the beautiful Jersey shore with her husband and four children. In
addition to writing fiction, Laura is also the editor of a popular review blog
called New Age Mama. Her works include romantic thrillers, paranormal fiction,
contemporary romance, and young adult.
Laura DeLuca is giving
away Egyptian pen, papyrus bookmark, scarab, ankh necklace, pharaoh pin and
ankh charms.
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