Cynthia Skorlinski - Sekhmet: The Curse of the Cat Queen

Sekhmet

The Curse of the Cat Queen

Cynthia Skorlinski

Copyright 2016 Cynthia Skorlinski.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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ISBN: 978-1-4808-3681-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4808-3682-2 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016954873

Archway Publishing rev. date: 9/28/2016

In memory of my father;

To my daughter, Erica, a loving young woman who also shares interest in art, writing, music, and biology;

To my mother;

To my friend Maurice, my family, and all my friends.

To my friend Jackie for taking pictures of the silver box with red sand and jewels.

In memory of my cat, Maria

Contents

The story takes place in Egypt, near the city of Memphis. The time is the Old Kingdom, 2634 BC, Dynasty III. The ruling king is King Sekhemkhet. Before King Sekhemkhet, Queen Sekhmet, a goddess, was the ruler. The new king and his followers killed her. When she died, a curse was put on the Egyptian people and the pyramid she was buried in. The curse confined Sekhmet to the tomb forever. She passed part of her spirit and magic on to an Egyptian cat that guarded her tomb. Sekhmet changed life for everyone with her strong presence and a love of cats. History wrote itself with Sekhmet as the Cat Queen.

During Sekhmets reign, the Cat Goddess represented the destructive quality of the sun. She was the most powerful, significant goddess, a weapon, and protector of life. She could do anything. She could invade any human life and take control or kill it. Sekhmet was capable of destroying the entire world if she wanted to. She brought plagues and starvation to the Egyptian people. Sometimes, she was divine and completed good deeds. She also helped bring greatness to Egypt.

Anneht is a beautiful seventeen-year-old-girl who lives in the small village of Memphis with her father, mother, and her sixteen-year-old brother. Anneht has long, straight black hair, light skin, and dark brown eyes. Her bangs frame her forehead. She has a girlish figure, but she sometimes acts like a tomboy. She is not afraid of anything.

Anneht always wears typical Egyptian dress. Her clothing displays her modern fashion pizazz. Anneht wears a bright blue green, cool, silky top and a skirt. Both items are trimmed with glittery black, white, and red beads. She wears large golden bangles with decorative designs of birds, snakes, and trees. Her gorgeous golden necklace has six flat, gold-ironed pieces with small jewels. Each piece is tied together with a thin ribbing of leather.

Anneht is very proud of her dress and culture. She loves Memphis and growing up in Egypt. She enjoys her family and friends, Egyptian food, and her clothes.

Map of Egypt

A nneht looked at a shiny silver box that was eight inches high, eight inches deep, and eighteen inches long. The cover was decorated in glittering gold and rubies. The bottom section of the boxdecorated with red and golden rockshad beautiful green emeralds in each of the lower corners.

Anneht looked up from the box, gleaming with adventure and excitement. Anneht remembered her brother, her family, and her community. She was so excited to lift the lid and find its secret. Anneht risked everything when she decided to open the box. Nothing could stop her. She pressed her fingers against the box and closed her eyes for a second. She was almost in a trance.

Inside the box, red sand and yellow, red, green, and blue jewels glittered among the sand crystals. They danced like nothing she had ever seen. Anneht touched the rocks, and the room filled with magic. No one had told her about the magic. She suddenly remembered the curse. Sekhmet was confined in the box. The curse was real.

Everyone in the village knew about the secret curse in the box. No one would ever touch it or disturb it. The queen had been killed and was trapped in the box for eternity. There was a deadly curse on the box.

Annehts parents said, Never open the box. Never search for the box. Let it stay in the ruins of the Egyptian king. Adults told the children about the boxs curse. The vault of Queen Sekhmet was never to be discovered or opened.

Sekhmet was confined to the cursed box forever.

A nneht was meditating quietly and thinking about her father.

He said, Anneht, I do not want you to travel to the pyramids. I forbid you to go to that place where your brother died. I need to know that you are safe and closenot taken by any curse or deadly disease. I forbid you and any friends to enter the pyramid of King Sekhemkhet I and other royal sites. If you and your friends enter, you may never come backjust like Nasir. Hes dead now, and we have only you. You are the only girl in our family, and we fear that you will meet the same fate. Your mother and father love you, and we will protect you as much as we can. Promise me that you shall never enter those sites.

Anneht glanced up and said, Yes, Father. I promise.

Nasir and Severht had entered the pyramid with two other friends from the village. The four boys entered the long, wide passageway and climbed down into a dark, skinny pathway. They had supplies and several small candles. Even with the candles, the group could barely see where they were going.

Their curiosity drove them through the first three rooms, and Nasir entered a fourth room by himself. On a huge stone table, he found a glistening silver box. He glanced back at his friends and said, Wait at the entrance. Ill search and check if the room is safe. Ill let you know when to enter.

The other boys waited as Nasir investigated the table and its pedestal legs, which were carved with designs of cats, birds, and snakes. Nasir had heard about the curse on the box, but he didnt believe it was true. He moved toward the silver box and touched the top of the box. It was smooth except where the emeralds extended. He forced open the lid. As he did so, he screamed. He took a deep breath and held it.

His friends raced into the front of the room after hearing Nasirs screams. Frantically, they told him to close it.

It was too late. The box was filled with chemicals and jewels. Red sand spewed out of the box and swirled around Nasir. The blood-colored sand covered Nasir and the entire room. Nasir fell to the floor and stopped moving. His body disintegrated, and the red sand began to flow toward the other boys.