Simeon glanced at him in perplexity. “See what?”
Niall leaned over and shook the nearest man by the shoulder. It was one of the coffin bearers.
“Wake up the others. Tell them to go and gather more fuel.”
Simeon guessed what he had in mind.
“Do you think that’s wise?”
“I’m sure of it. Besides, he wouldn’t sleep comfortably in the middle of a city.”
“But what about your mother?”
“She’ll understand.”
Veig, awakened by all the activity, sat up and rubbed his eyes. “What’s happening? Time to leave?”
“Not yet. Get up and give me a hand with this.”
“What are you going to do?”
Niall said: “This is where he belongs, here in the desert. Do you really want to see our father resting in a marble tomb?”
Veig looked at him in perplexity for a while, then finally shook his head.
“No. As a matter of fact, I always disliked the idea.”
He heaved himself to his feet. Together they lifted the coffin into the centre of the fire; its weight crushed the half-burnt creosote bushes, and it subsided into the midst of the flames. As red sparks rose around it, the enamel began to blister, then burst into flames. Niall hurled the coffin lid on top of the blaze. As the men returned with creosote bushes and dry wood, Niall ordered them to throw them into the flames. Ten minutes later, the heat was so great that they had to stand at a distance. By now, the coffin was no longer visible in the midst of the crackling blaze.
As he watched his father’s remains turn into smoke and ashes, Niall experienced a surge of exultation. Sorrow and regret belonged to the past, and men were too fond of clinging to the past. These flames made him dream of the future.
When the fire had subsided into a heap of glowing ashes, Niall turned to Manetho.
“Order the men to gather their belongings. It’s time to go home.”
About the Author
Colin Wilson is the author of more than fifty novels, plays and essays. His first book, The Outsider, was greeted with extraordinary critical acclaim. His work covers a wide spectrum of topics — from philosophy to mysticism, from the criminal to the psychic — and includes The Occult, The Psychic Detectives, and Poltergeists! as well as the science fiction classics The Mind Parasites and Lifeforce.