“If we’re going to try, now would be the right time,” he replied.
Wind pushed through the gaps between the homes and shops, whistling eerily and moaning like the ghosts who were planted in the Mires of Despair, as we made our way to the tower.
We pushed on, finally spying a dark entrance to the tower that lay open. I was about to step into the moonlight to head toward it when Asten pulled me back and pointed up. On top of the tower, almost hidden in the turrets of the building, were large creatures with thick wings.
“What are they?” I whispered. “They’re much larger than the Devourer’s bats.”
“I’ve heard of them, but I’ve never seen one before, even in the netherworld. They’re called sky demons. You would think of them as gargoyles, but these are much, much worse than anything the mortal world could have imagined. They are a cross between the Devourer’s flying minions and her wolves.”
“How do we get past them?” I asked.
In answer, Asten created one of his magic firefly clouds. All of us stepped inside, and we slowly began making our way across the moonlit ground toward the door. A screech was heard overhead, followed by another. I would have run, but Amon held me back. “They know we are here. They can smell us, but they can’t see us,” he whispered.
Winged creatures took to the air, filling the sky in a swarm of dark bodies. They moved over the land like disco ball lights cast in negative exposure. When we were finally through the door, Asten let his magic fade, and we continued through the tower.
The hallways were dark, the sconces unlit. Gorgeous golden mirrors had been shattered, and sheer draperies had been torn, the rods broken. Even the once-gleaming tile floor had been smashed, the beautiful patterns ruined.
We went up level after level, finding nothing but destruction. Finally, we reached the uppermost floor, the one where Amun-Ra made his home. When we arrived at the grand atrium where I’d first come upon Horus, I held up a hand. We heard something. The panting of a man or a beast and the all-too-familiar clink of chains.
I edged behind a curtain and peered out at the tableau before me. The golden fountain had been knocked down, and the trees were burned stumps. On the chaise where Horus had first attempted to seduce me, a figure reclined. He appeared to be all alone and, what’s more, his limbs were chained to the floor.
Quietly, I stole around to get a better look, the Sons of Egypt following behind me. We paused often, the lioness in me patient and watchful. Together we waited and listened for any alertness on the part of the man, but he appeared to be asleep. My nostrils flared as I smelled sweat and blood. We moved closer.
Shifting the curtain for a better look, I took in the purple bruise on the side of the man’s face. All at once, he shifted, eyes locking on to mine. “Lily,” the man choked out in a hiss, his swollen mouth barely able to form the words.
I stepped out from my hiding place. “Osiris?” I asked. When I saw what had been done to him, I recoiled. His entire leg was missing below the knee. The stump was loosely bandaged and still bleeding. A double-bit ax rested against the wall, crimson stains bright on the edges. I knelt at his side, putting a hand on his trembling arm. “What happened to you?” I asked, a catch in my voice.
“There’s no time,” he mumbled. “You must regroup with the others. They are hiding in the great adder stone. It’s at the peak of Mt. Babel.” He coughed, and blood trickled from his mouth. “She must not find you here!”
Amon and Asten came up behind me. Osiris looked up at them with beseeching eyes. “Please,” he said with a gurgle, “take her away. Now!”
“But we can help you,” I began.
“You must not. She will know you’re here. Do not worry about me,” he said, when he saw the hesitancy in my face. “All she can do is harm my body. My soul belongs to Isis. As long as she is alive, I will survive.”
There was a clatter in the adjoining passageway. “Go! Hurry!”
Not a moment after we’d ducked behind the curtain, we heard the clicking of heels as someone entered the room.
“Are we talking to ourselves now, Osiris? Any little birdies been by to visit you? No? Ah well. One can still hope. Now then, my handsome pet, where were we?” She laughed seductively. “That’s right. We were discussing where your wife might be hiding.” When there was no response, she continued, “Don’t despair. I’ve a mind to keep you for myself once my master takes her as his bride. After all, I’ll need someone to distract me. At least for a while. It will be such a pleasure to watch the flame of love between you flicker and die as he unmakes your bond.”
My fists clenched at hearing the voice of the woman I’d grown to hate. Only Amon’s hands on my arms stopped me from attacking her. Green light crept beneath the curtain. I knew it meant the Devourer was feeding from Osiris. While the Devourer busied herself with Osiris, we quietly backed away, staying behind the curtain. Asten cloaked us in his cosmic cloud just in case anyone should notice.
It felt so very wrong to turn our backs to the captured god, but unless I was willing to give myself over to Wasret again, I knew we were no match for the Devourer. Closing my eyes, I let the tears flow silently as we crept from the room. Once clear, we moved quickly down the stairs, knowing we needed to find the other immortals to figure out a plan.
I pressed my hand against my mouth as Osiris began to scream.
We moved through Amun-Ra’s palace quickly. Ahmose led us out through the back of the building hoping to avoid the living gargoyles that protected the evil queen’s newly conquered lair. It swiftly became apparent that the screeching sentinels surrounded the decimated city on every side. Asten summoned his firefly cloud and covered our escape, and though the sky demons circled overhead, searching for us, we were soon able to leave them behind.
When the sun topped the horizon, painting the landscape a ghoulish red, Asten’s power waned while Amon’s grew stronger. Ahmose knelt to try to discover a path to Mt. Babel, only to find there was no such thing.
“I don’t understand,” I said as Asten finally let his cloud dissipate after deciding we were far enough away even though we were still in the scorched lands. He leaned over, panting from the exertion of maintaining it for so long. “How can there be no such place?”
“Perhaps Osiris meant a site outside of Heliopolis,” Amon suggested.
I put my hands on my hips and frowned. “It didn’t sound like it. We need to figure out where it is. The more time we waste, the more suffering the Devourer causes Osiris,” I said. A sick feeling of guilt at having left the god in her clutches tore at my insides.
“What if we trace the path of Isis instead?” Amon suggested.
Ahmose shook his head. “It won’t work. I don’t have the ability to trace the paths of the gods, especially not here. The impressions I get here are vague at best. My ability works most accurately when I focus on the two of you and on Lily. In giving up my power to draw from the moon, all the gifts I’ve kept have diminished. The paths are simply not as clear as they once were.”
“So how do we find the gods, then?” Amon asked.
“Wasret could find them,” I said softly.
“We can figure this out without her,” Amon replied instantly.
“Can we?” I turned to him. “I’m not so sure.”
Amon set his jaw stubbornly and refused to broach the subject.
It was easy to think of running away when I didn’t see what was happening. But then we’d be abandoning everyone else. The Devourer would surely suck the rest dry and torture them just because she could. Then, when she’d had her fill, Seth would come around to clean everything up. He’d unmake Earth. Maybe even the entire cosmos. What would I do then? If even the gods were hiding from Seth and the Devourer, then it was bad. Really bad.
As the three men argued about where we should look next, I had an inner conversation with the girls in my head. Can we do it and remain in control? I asked as I chewed on my bottom lip.
There’s no way to know, not tru
ly, Tia said.
We can’t let the Devourer ’ave ’em, Ashleigh added. Look what she’s done to Osiris! She’s a wicked enchantress, she is. I’d rather give meself up than give our men over ta the likes o’ her.
Are you sure you want to risk it, Lily? Tia asked.
No. I’m not sure of anything at this point. Pacing a few steps away, I shook out my hands trying to draw upon my courage. We need to try, I said. Just don’t…don’t merge fully. At least, try not to. Combine only enough to figure out where we need to go.
Ashleigh and Tia gave their silent consent and our consciousnesses drifted closer. We didn’t realize how powerful the pull of Wasret actually was until we moved toward her again. She was a powerful magnet, and we’d just flipped a switch, turning her on. Desperately, we bucked against the bright light threatening to engulf us. It was like fighting against a riptide. Our energy waned quickly as we circled the chasm at the drop-off. If we slipped in, we knew we’d lose ourselves. That’s when we heard the voice.
Hello, again, the female voice said.
H…hello? I called out mentally. Am I—are we talking to ourselves?
Not precisely, the woman’s voice quickly replied. You are yourselves and I am myself. I have to say, it wasn’t kind of your man Amon to cast me away so abruptly. I wouldn’t have been so cruel to him.
Choosing to ignore her comment about Amon, I focused on the other revelation. Do you mean to say that you are not wholly made up of the three of us?
No. I am not.
My thoughts were a chaotic jumble. Impossible! Tia and Ashleigh were as astonished as I was. Then what are you? I asked her.
What am I? It’s rather rude of you to assume that I am a what instead of a who. Though, technically, you are right. The who I get from the three of you; the what comes from a different place.
Why are you speaking to us now? Tia demanded. You’ve never done so before. You could push us over the edge at any time and take over. We feel your power. Do you play with us as if we are vermin you can bat from one paw to the other?
Not at all, she replied. You are a part of me. As precious as my eyes, my hands, and my mind. I do not consider you three to be vermin.
Then what are we ta ya? Ashleigh said. Why do ya seek our destruction?
I do not wish you harm—at least, not in the way you think. It’s simply a fact that if I am to inhabit your body, make use of your talents and abilities, I must re-create you. It is a perfectly natural process. Every old thing must make way for what’s new. Can a fish survive without consuming his fellows? Can a building be constructed without depleting the mountain of its ore and stone? Can a farmer grow a crop without first clearing the forest? Creation and destruction are yin and yang. When it happens correctly, they are in absolute balance. For me to exist, you three must, unfortunately, cease to exist.
Then why can we be here…in this place together?
Because we are in an in-between space—the infinite darkness that lies between memory and future potential. This is where I was born. It is a place of watching. Where time stretches out in an eternal round before and behind. You’ve been here before, though you have no memory of it. Unfortunately, your limited scopes mean you can only exist here for a finite amount of time.
What do you mean to do now? Tia asked bluntly.
Ah, the ever-practical side of me. I don’t think I’ve told you how much I appreciate you and your raw, honest view of the world, Tia. It’s quite refreshing. It keeps me grounded in reality. The answer to your question is that I plan to do nothing. I will simply wait here until you summon me. I do not worry about it overmuch. It is inevitable.
You won’t try to take us over? I asked suspiciously.
I never did. You invited me each time. The difference between us is that I don’t invite you back.
And why don’ ya? Ashleigh asked.
And there’s my passionate, impulsive side. Let me ask you, fairy, is it wrong to want to experience life and love? Do I not have a right to reap the rewards of my efforts? What gives the three of you a more powerful claim to exist than me?
That’s just it, I said. There are three of us and only one of you. The needs of many overshadow the needs of one.
Wasret turned her attention to me. The ever-philosophical human. Let me ask you, then, Lily: Would you give up your body so Tia could possess it, or Ashleigh? Their mortal forms are long dead. You allow them to share yours, but you remain rigidly in control, don’t you?
How does it feel to sit in the background? To be a silent observer? Could you tolerate that? You ask them to. Then again, humans always play the dominant role, don’t they? Just because the fairy and the lioness are other does not mean they are lesser.
My existence means perfect harmony for the three of you. There’s no winner or loser. If you truly loved them like sisters, as you profess you do, you would choose to make this sacrifice. You would bring about this balance. The needs of the many indeed. What you really mean when you argue in this manner is that the needs of the human should take precedence.
I didn’t have any words to counter her argument. I felt ashamed and angry at the same time. Was I truly that narrow in my thinking? She wasn’t wrong. And that was the problem.
She went on. Did I not pick a man all three of you could love? How could you all be so selfish when the cosmos is at stake? When the lives of your other two men are endangered? The preservation of your individual identities, though understandable, comes at a cost. Ashleigh, you have already given yourself up once. Your mortality, your humanity was sacrificed simply to protect yourself from an unfortunate trial.
Her voice trailed off as Wasret turned her attention to Tia. And you, lioness. You were desperate for a sister to replace the one you’d lost. Tell me, is it better for Lily to live the dual existence that came when you made her a sphinx? I don’t think that it is. In fact, it would have been a kindness if you had simply consumed her on the plains. Because you forced Lily to become your sister, she has given up a piece of herself.
I was about to protest when Wasret cornered me. And last, we come to you, Lilliana Young. You longed for a life of meaning, of purpose, of freedom from your parents. But this is a falsehood you have told yourself time and again. You believe your parents held you back, forced you to attend a certain school, act in a certain manner, or date a certain boy, but this is not your parents’ doing. It is yours.
Only you decide your fate. You were weak because you allowed yourself to be. You chose the path you are on. You embraced it, in fact. Even now, you would like to imagine that I am the one forcing your hand. That I will rip away your existence to save the cosmos. But I will not.
When the time comes for you to make a decision, I would hope you are strong enough to choose the right path. The one uncluttered by self-doubt and self-preservation. But know that whatever you choose, it is and has always been your choice. Just because you don’t like the options before you, does not mean you have none. Make peace with that, Lily.
The three of us had fallen silent. How strange that we all felt schooled by ourselves. It had to be the most bizarre experience of my life. And that was saying a lot.
We floated in the darkness, feeling the pull of Wasret, but it no longer felt like a vortex. Now that we knew we had the ability to resist it, we could. The three of us hovered there, unwilling to look each other in the eye either literally or mentally.
As each of us tried to piece ourselves back together, she said, For now, I will help you, give you what you seek without asserting control over our body. But know that the next time you come for me, I will not be so generous. I cannot afford to be. Not in the face of the battle to come. You know now, and with the knowing comes choice. When you return, I will assume that you three have made one.
To find the gods you seek, head toward the rising sun until you come upon a mountain so tall, its peak brushes the clouds. You will know it is the right one when you hear the buzz of voices in the trees. At the top lies the place you seek.
But be warned. The way to the top is difficult. You must stay close to your men. Do not separate under any circumstances.
I was going to say thank you but then stopped. Why should I thank someone who had just thoroughly dressed me down? Then the three of us were suddenly thrust away from the vortex. We spun and, for a time, lost ourselves, but slowly we returned. Blinking, I saw Amon staring at my face with an intent expression, the bright sky above him, the sun haloing his head. Hours must have passed for the sun to be at its zenith in the sky.
“They’ve returned,” Amon said.
“You’re sure it’s not Wasret?” Ahmose asked.
“No. It’s me—I mean, us,” I said with a slight shake of my head.
“What happened, Lily?” Asten wrapped a hand around my elbow to help me up.
I got to my feet, stamping them to bring the feeling back. “We…we spoke with Wasret.”
All three boys lowered their eyebrows in a nearly identical expression of concern. It would have been funny, if the situation weren’t so serious.
“What did she say?” Amon asked.
“She was…she was upset you sent her away so quickly. She said…” I hesitated.
Go ahead, Lily, Tia encouraged. We have no secrets from one another, and they will not think the less of us for it.
“She said we were selfish and weak and that we should want to do what’s best for the cosmos and best for each other.”
“You aren’t weak,” Asten said with a clenched jaw.
“Or selfish,” Ahmose said, folding his arms.
“She obviously doesn’t know you well at all,” Amon added.
“That’s just the thing,” I said. “She does. Wasret is us, or at least a part of us, whether we like it or not. That is to say, she knows us better than we even know ourselves. But there’s something else. Wasret isn’t just us. She’s something other. There’s an extra piece that makes her different.” I looked into each of their faces and saw a new expression, a closing off. “You knew. All of you knew,” I accused.