Dream Boat Read Online Free PDF

whom no secrets are hid.'
    The ibis beak nodded solemnly and held up for all to see the Scroll of Truth where the judgement had been recorded.
    'Once more,' cried Anubis, holding horizontal the sacred ankh and pointing it at the dead man's mouth, 'let the son of Ra walk among his people!'
    With a collective gasp, the crowd goggled as the jackal lowered the holy ankh. It was true! Osiris was immortal! They could see for themselves the mouth below the golden mask opening at the same speed as Anubis moved the ankh.  Donata felt tears roll down her cheek. Praise be to Ra, from whom all life is given.
    Helped to his feet by Horus and Thoth, Osiris moved closer towards the congregation, that they might see the bloody robe for themselves. The arrow was then passed around, the head still wet and sticky.
    'Know me,' he cried, 'for I am Osiris, Lord of the Underworld and I am immortal!'
    Rapturous applause rang out, cheers and catcalls and whistles. Men and women wept openly, rejoicing in the resurrection of their lord, until the High Priest moved in to disperse the proceedings by pointing out that Osiris must rest after his ordeal in the Hall of the Dead. The remainder of his words were lost to Donata, because now was the time. This was her appointed hour. The moment she was to become a Bride of Ra!
    Slipping away from the knots of joyous disciples, she edged round the wall of the House of Life in which the sacred scrolls were stored, past the holy pool and through a wicker gate in the temple compound wall. After the staggering events they had witnessed, no one else had yet left the temple grounds and quickly the high stonework muffled the babble of excited conversation until all Donata could hear was the song of birds celebrating the return of the Dawn Boat in their own mellifluous language.
    The valley, in the early morning light, was never more beautiful, she thought. A perfect pear-shaped valley surrounded by lush wooded hills, protected by the Mount of Osiris at its north-west tip. The Cradle of Ra. The secret dwelling place of the Ten True Gods.
    With no trouble whatsoever Donata located the ancient chestnut tree with its twisted, spiral trunk, for her directions had been clear and she had memorised them until she was word perfect. A gnarled old olive, twin hawthorns, an arbute still in full fruit, she clambered up the hillside past them all, hooking left, turning right, until she arrived, puffing and quite breathless, at the boulder shaped like a heart. For a moment, she considered sitting on the rock, quickly discounting the idea in case it held some holy significance. She had come too far to risk throwing it away!
    Instead she plucked a twig of low-hanging poplar and fanned herself with the broad leaves. The last thing she wanted was to appear before her bridegroom out of breath and sweaty! She adjusted the lie of her shift over her bosom to better display her cleavage, and realised that the climb had twisted one of the straps which went over her shoulder. That's better!
    Despite the solemnity of the occasion, Donata allowed herself a secret smile. Hardly the bridal attire her parents had imagined: a single piece of pleated cloth suspended by two thin cotton ribbons! No veiled headdress, no orange blossom, no carrying over the threshold. Or would she? Be carried over the threshold? For the first time, Donata realised she had absolutely no idea what this marriage involved.
    True, she knew she would not be the only wife and that Ra came in many guises, both human and godlike - unfortunately, that was where her knowledge ended. Oh, well. She fanned a little harder. The uncertainly only added to the feeling of adventure, of a thrilling new beginning.
    Peeping through the branches of a broom bush, from her lofty vantage point Donata looked down across the entire valley, over the high walls of the temple enclosure, over the shimmering rooftiles of the brewery, the bakery, the
    stables,