What happens when a backpacker finds a sacred amulet?

“Bastet is a rarity. The Goddess of the moon and of the sun. She represents the duality in all women, docile yet aggressive, nurturing yet ferocious.”

Frances Conroy – Ophelia

Something a little different for you this week. I was going through old writing files, as you do, and I came across my novel of 120,000 words ‘Cats On The Temple Floor’ still yet to see the light of publishing day, but thought I might post an excerpt of somewhere in the middle of the novel. Here’s a small blurb…

When Rebekah, an Australian backpacker discovers a sacred amulet in Hezekiah’s tunnel, Jerusalem, she awakens the ancient Egyptian goddess, Bast. Rebekah is viciously attacked in the Garden of Gethsemane and Bast saves her life, but claims her soul in return, linking them inextricably through Rebekah’s dreams.

Samira Wyld – Cats On The Temple Floor

The following is a scene taken after an argument with her boyfriend while they are staying in a backpackers hostel in the Sinai, Egypt

I flinched as soon as the cold water hit my body. It felt like ice, my skin breaking out in goose bumps. On close inspection the rash on my leg was still weeping. What the hell was going on with this damn thing? Sometimes, it looked as though it were healing and now this? I dried myself vigorously to get the circulation pumping , warming my skin before dressing.
When I got back to the room, it was empty and a note was on the bed.
‘I will be at the cafe next door if you care to join me. I’m sorry – Shalev’

‘Sorry, pff, how about fuck you’, I muttered crumpling the note in my fist. Suddenly I was no longer hungry. Taking Shalev’s lead, I thought it might be a good idea to do some washing myself.
The task now was going through my bag. Taking one look at the mess of dirty clothes, I decided the simplest way was to tip the entire contents on the bed, then eliminate clean from dirty. The room felt dark and musty so I opened the door and welcomed the sunlight, while folding clean clothes and throwing the dirty ones to one side.

I came across my diary and when I opened it, I realised I hadn’t made an entry since the attack in the Garden of Gethsemane. I really should’ve been keeping track of all of this, but in my fear and laziness, the pages remained empty.
I placed the diary on top of my book, then went through my jewellery bag to check whether I still had my silver Nefertiti earrings. I had never been to Egypt before, nor had I any desire to, but I did remember buying the earrings at the markets in Sydney years ago. For some reason I was drawn to them, and I loved them. Going through the bag revealed just how many single earrings I had. Since travelling, I had lost a few, but to my delight, not Neffy, she was still a pair. I put them in my ears and pulled my braids back into a purple scrunchie. I wrapped my new friendship bracelet around my wrist and took off my now dead watch.

Something twinked in the sunlight. My pulse raced. It twinked again, a shot of turquoise against silver. NO! It couldn’t be? But it was. The amulet was inside the same knickers I had hid them in, the day I found it. How was this possible?
‘I buried you,’ I whispered.
I glanced around nervous, then quickly closed the door. Sitting on the mattress, the room took on a different shade of dark as I held the amulet in my palm. Visions crashed into my brain. Blood everywhere, dripping from sharp teeth. A tongue so red it reminded me of the raw meat I fed my dog. Blood so thick, it spilled in large globules, Sharp incisors flashed at my eyes. I squeezed them shut, tight against the scenes playing out before me. Legs, long, slender and bronze inched their way toward me, with perfect ankles, slim and narrow. The knees chiselled like a sculpture of fine art. My eyes still closed against the vision I scanned the image inside my minds eye, but I couldn’t get past the thighs.

Nothing. Nothing except for the void of black.

Then the heat from the amulet escalated burning my hand. Unable to release it, I opened my eyes and pulled at my fingers but something held them shut. When I looked up, Bast larger than life, with her perfect cat head stood before me. Her nose ring glistened against a light, its source unknown. She was shape-shifting, and now my vision was so impaired it seemed I was seeing double.

Then she was gone. In her place, a black leopard.

‘NO’, I yelled against the vision before closing my eyes again, squeezing so tight they hurt. The shapely bronze legs were moving toward me, closer, and closer, and this time I finally saw who it was…

…to be continued

After reading this small section, do you want to find out what happens next? Another excerpt completely unrelated, or nothing at all?

Let me know ⤵️

Until next time, with love from my 💜 to yours
Samira xo

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