The King of the Dark

By Sekou Gaidi

Since the Beginning of Time he has been, between Life and Death, reigning over the demons and the dead things in the Dark that he rules. Yet Charon the Ferryman is not a force for evil, but of balance: were it not for his constant vigilance, the Dead would tun the Earth into their eternal hunting ground. Now something has changed. The Apocalypse draws nearer. The Earth is flooded with the demons and the dead that should remain forever in the the Dark. The Dark itself bleeds on to the Earth. N?o ordinary man, demon, or even god can stand against what must be: yet must Charon stand whether capable or not. His family depends on him.
From the Roman Empire to the United States, from the Earth to the Dark of the Underworld, Charon will quest to defy the long, dark future of Creation. Against Charon are the ancient Egyptian gods of the Underworld, the teeming hordes of the Dead, and the angels of God himself. With Charon is the god-like power over the Dark, his demon-killing sledgehammer, and his raw determination to do his duty as he sees it.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sekou Gaidi
• Release date: May 3, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301463732

Sekou Gaidi

If I shine, it is because He who lives in me is greater than I. Welcome to Kou's Korner, a place where you ask and may recieve, a place for the sharing of knowledge. I was born a Colt, though: it's in Indianapolis I came to be. I am the son of a Black Panther named Makau. It's been years come October that the world lost a man who cared more about his community and the uplifting and overstanding of his people more than he cared about himself. He loved. I wanna do the same. I want to help people if they want and need it, and would help my brother like myself. Not like I don't know what time it is when it's time to. But what I really want is to use God's talents he gave me to the best of my ability. I'm young, strong, I sing, and most importantly, I WRITE. My goal is to sell my writings, but the reason to do it, I know, is for the love of writing. I need all the help I can get and paper for the meantime until I can do what I wanna do.

Book preview

Charon The Ferryman

By Sekou Gaidi

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

Charon The Ferryman

Copyright ©2012 by Sekou Gaidi

Smashwords Edition

The King of the Dark

I’ve been around for a long time.

I saw the pyramids rise, and watched their limestone facades crumble into rubble. I remained as Roman centurions tried to trample the old gods and the old ways into dust, only to carry their word all across the ancient world. I remained when the Christians tried and failed to make the old gods into demons, and when the Muslims tried to forget we ever were.

I am Charon the Ferryman. My eternal task is to find lost souls and send them to the Underworld, whether of their free will or kicking and screaming. I sail in my bark of Meseket on an endless ocean until I reach my destination, and then I retrieve what has escaped.

Two thousand years ago, I was sent on a hunt that was unlike any other, a hunt, not for an escaped demon or a wrathful monster of the Underworld, but for a god.

That night, I hunted the wiliest warrior, the strongest hunter, the greatest of strategists, the mighty Destroyer.

From The Dark Slumber

Charon, awaken, came a rumbling basso voice. I have need of your services.

Charon blinked his green eyes and arose, wiping his golden brow, running his hand through his white braided hair. Rising naked, Charon braced himself on his elbows.

I’m listening, Master, Charon said, shaking his head. I’m just not all the way here, that’s all.

Well, you need all your wits about you, the man in front of Charon said at the foot of his wide bed. You will need them on this hunt.

There was a grim look on the huge man’s chocolate face. Six foot five if he was an inch, he was clad in a golden breastplate up under a red cloak, his hood up over his square-jawed bearded face and his dreadlocks spilling out from beneath it.

Since when does a hunt depress you, Master? Charon said. Usually, you are the one keeping me energized. I’m the one that starts thinking about quitting.

You’d better not even think of it, the Master said, pointing a scolding finger at Charon. You know the damned must be hunted, for the sake of the living.

Yeah, and all that, Charon said. I’ve done this for as long as I can even remember. Hell, I was doing this before YOU were born. I deserve a break tonight.

You sleep all the time, the Master said, his green eyes glinting in the slightest hint of amusement. What do you want? More money?

I do need a raise, Charon said. As important as that subject is, you are dodging the question, Lord. What is this hunt over?

This hunt is over murder, the Master said. My grandson Seth is dead: I have gathered him unto me, body and soul. He battles with me, wielding the Soul Sword which is the spirit of his ancient weapon, but he shall never be a being of the flesh again.

Charon bowed his head low, silently grieving for the noble god who had been loyal, strong, and brilliant. The King of all Earth’s undead had kept his children, the Followers of Seth who were a race of demigods, in check, and now that he was dead, they would run rampant. No wonder the Master had awakened him. The blood-drinkers were far more than the equal, physically, spiritually, if not mentally, of humans. The Followers had been at the top of the food chain for eight thousand years.

Who slew Seth? Charon said. I will hunt and skin whoever did this deed.

The Master shook his mane of dreadlocks. It’s looking like it was my own brother, Seth’s son Sobek.

Charon's face soured. Sobek had been the Royal Guard to the gods for a long time, not as long as he’d lived, but for the past ten thousand years or so. Sobek was a water god with a great authority over rain, ice, and oceans. If anyone could match the sheer insane power of Seth Harakte, desert god, it would be Sobek. The Followers might rally to Sobek, which would be good because Sobek would keep them under control; it was bad because Sobek had taken Seth’s life to do it.

Sad to say, Charon said, that is a legitimate means of succession, among the Followers of Seth at least. The Followers of Seth only feared Seth among all beings, and they will not serve any other being quietly, even the Destroyer, but at the same time they won’t challenge Sobek; by slaying Seth, he has proven he is the strongest among them.

The other gods won’t act against Sobek, either, because he is protected by our mother the Huntress, and Mama doesn’t obey Ma’at as the rest of Creation does, the Master said. I don’t want you to go after Sobek over vengeance, though that is reason enough.

Why? Charon said. "Why do you want me to kill your little brother?"

The Master grimaced. "I don’t want him dead, but I will do what I must do. However, my mother will do everything in her power to stop me from killing Sobek, though we all know he must die. Sobek was killed shortly after he killed his father, but it was my mother who prevented him from being decapitated, though he was taken down to the Underworld by her pet demons the Ura’ei. Mother wasn’t pleased by the death of her old lover, and Sobek SHOULD still be down there being tortured as punishment for his treachery. I have a feeling that Sobek is indeed tormented, and that he plots revenge against Lord Horus, who killed him. If Sobek manages to kill Horus, then the Earth’s defenders will be leaderless, and the demons of the Underworld will be able to go onto the Earth unchallenged."

Sounds like fun to me, Charon said. I’m ready to give them the sword and the fire like always.

Charon! The Master barked this last. Horus defends the Earth, maintains the balance between Paradise and the Underworld, and as much fun as you would have killing demons until the end of time, our responsibility is to MA’AT, not our own lusts.

I know… Charon said.

Plus, is Horus not the stepfather of your wife Amentet, the grandfather of your son Mahaf?

I know, Master! Charon said. I was joking! Fine, I’ll save the monkeys and that arrogant blowhard Horus. Plus, I’ve been wanting a piece of the Destroyer for about ten thousand years.

You’ll have your piece, the Master said with a frown. He might be young, but he is my brother and a son of the Huntress. You’ll have a piece and then some, but I trust you to do it. Sending you is like sending myself. Plus, none of the other gods of Kemet would defy the Destroyer, who, to be fair, is stronger in body than I or any of the other gods. I know you can engage him in skill of arm and mind, and that you aren't intimidated by either my mother or the Destroyer.

I'm a Child of the Night, Charon said. I can kill anything, dead or alive. I think you send me because you know I would never harm your mother, even though she's as vulnerable to these old hands as any other being in Creation.

I love my mother, even though we're on opposite sides in this war for the souls of mortals and gods, Re-Atum said. I know you wouldn't kill my mother. You love her as well as I do.

I’m awake now, Charon said, shaking his dark hair. And, in theory, I COULD kill her, but the Huntress can definitely hand my ass to me in a sling. I wish I didn't have to piss her off, but I've got a job to do it, and even your mother will not prevent me from doing my duty. I will guard the Veil between Life and Death if it kills me; I hope you didn't like Sobek too much, because this hammer's going on the left side of his head to push his mind right.

The Master crossed his arms. Well, hurry up and dress. It could be a matter of days before Sobek makes his next move, and he knows far too many of my secrets. I TOLD him my secrets in confidence, never foreseeing this day. It will be hard for me to follow him on my own. My brother will always feel me coming, but I can’t even sense him unless he wants to be sensed.

Where was the traitor seen last? Charon said calm and slow, though he was a little thrown off his balance. Why is it so hard for you to sense his movements?

Put some clothes on, the Master said without answering, a sign that his suspicions disturbed him.

Charon rolled his eyes. Men of the ancient world weren’t usually modest, anyway. He pulled his lean muscular body out of bed, and crossed the room to his closet, pulling out a white tunic and pants that he tugged on fast.

So how are we to find him, then? Charon said.

The Master’s face became haunted, aged for a brief moment. In a place called Gaul, in the Roman Empire, there was a massacre. Thousands of men and women died in one night, but they didn’t just die. They were drained of their souls as well as their blood. I felt their spirits scream as they were stolen away. I suspect that a powerful Mutu from the Underworld is building an army of the dead. Such things can be done, and my family is capable of it, especially Seth’s blood-line.

Sobek was strong enough to defy the Law of Death. For the defense of Horus, and in imitation of his own father, Sobek raised Followers of Seth from the dead. Sobek could raise men as well, for his mother had taught him the ways of the dead, but the more blood of the gods they had in them, the more successful the resurrection of both body and soul. Sobek gathered the seed of the Followers, and called them Clan Sochet; intended to be Horus’ silent and deadly right hand upon the Earth, they were trained to move in silence and shadow, and to strike from the gloom. The problem was that, despite Sobek’s own wishes, the Clan of undead