Queen of the Mummies

An excerpt from Queen of the Mummies

Thru the doorway, Rogers saw her, bathed in the golden glow of flickering oil lamps. Among the splendid rugs and cushions stolen and brought to the tomb by her ragged, shuffling minions, lay Ankhet, daughter of the pharoh Inyotef, empress of the Nile, queen of the mummies.

The body she possessed, the peasant girl Panya, was clothed now in gold and jewels, bare breasted, and her face painted by ghostly handmaidens. Her skin was olive dark and flawless, her nipples brown, but her eyes—her dark, imperious eyes--were cold and passionless, like an animal's eyes. They were mesmerizing, tho, and they drew him toward her, thru the doorway, laying aside his rifle.

The dust of centuries swirled around them, stirred by the phantom forms of handmaidens and musicians, their faint murmurs echoing eerily in the stone crypt. Ankhet lay back on the cushions, stretching languidly, rousing herself from her ancient slumber, allowing her wrap to slip away, luxuriating in the firm youth of the naked body that had been stolen for her.

Rogers went to her, wordlessly, gaze locked with hers, and kissed her dark, painted lips. "Welcome, stranger. Lay with me, and give me your strength."