Free Michael Belmont and the Tomb of Anubis (The Adventures of Michael Belmont) by Ethan Russell Erway

the eyes.   Standing up on the tips of his toes, he strained to reach the empty eye slots.
    Darkness.   He could see nothing at all.   But then, slowly, a little dim ball of light appeared.   It was odd, like a small planet hovering all by itself in the darkness.   Michael was reminded of the time he had visited Lowell observatory in Flagstaff, and got to examine Saturn through one of the small telescopes the astronomers had set up for visitors.   This little ball however, had no rings around it, and was colored white and blue.
    "Is it…Earth?" Michael said softly.
    Suddenly, and without a bit of warning, he felt as if someone had thrown a lasso around his head and was yanking him swiftly toward the ball, which was rapidly growing larger.
    "No!" he shouted instinctively, but he didn't have time to struggle, and before he knew what was happening, he was thrust into an unfamiliar place.
    Michael was running as fast as he could through the sand.   He was racing, and was full of joy and excitement.   His eyes were fixed ahead, not daring to turn around and look as it might give his brother some sort of advantage.   All four legs were working as fiercely as he could push them.
    Four legs?   Michael thought to himself.   Of course I have for legs.   It was all becoming clear now.   He kept running as fast as he could.   His brother Horus was somewhere nearby, but he couldn't see his shadow on the ground anywhere.   He dodged around an outcropping of rocks and kicked a bunch of sand into the air, nearly losing his footing.
    My name is Anubis, and I am racing my brother Horus, the falcon , Michael thought to himself.
    He tried to stop, but couldn't.   He had no control over what he was doing.   It was like watching a movie, but from the inside of one of the actors, and knowing and feeling everything that the actor would know, but without the ability to control any of it.
    Suddenly, the shadow of the falcon soaring in the sky above overtook the ground in front of him.
    "You won't get me this time," he said, but it came out as a muffled growl.
    Horus shot down in front of him, just in time to pull ahead as they both passed the pile of large boulders to which they agreed would be the finish line.
    Frustration and anger suddenly came over Michael as he realized that his brother had won.   He leapt off a flat rock, changed back into a boy, and tackled his half-brother who had just changed back as well.
    "I'll get you next time," Michael said, as they rolled over backward onto the sand.   They were both laughing, although Michael's eyes were glowering slightly out of the frustration of losing to Horus once again.
    Horus had a dark complexion, and jet-black hair.   He was…Egyptian.   And so am I , thought Michael.
    In fact, he now realized that he was speaking Egyptian, and completely understood what was being said.   He wanted to ask Horus what was happening.   How did he get here?   But he found that he had no control over what he was saying.   All he could do was watch the event unfold before him.
    Anubis's thoughts and emotions were being revealed to Michael, he knew that he loved his brother very much.   They were best friends, although Michael was often jealous of his brother's ability to fly.
    "If you would keep your eyes ahead of you and stop looking around for me, you might actually win from time to time."
    "Maybe, but I can't help it.   Besides, I have the sand to slow me down, but you have nothing to hold you back," Michael told him.
    "What about the wind?"
    "Next time there's a storm, we'll race, and maybe the lightning will slow you down."
    "Hey, that's a nice thing to say.   Maybe we can race along the Nile and see how fast you can swim."
    Both boys began to laugh again.
    "Come on," said Horus, getting up.   "It's time to eat, and mother will be expecting us."   The two began to walk back toward home.
    Suddenly, just as Michael had been jerked forward into the scene in front of him, he was now