Reunited

  Ahmose spoke first. “I could tell there was something about her that was not coming from the three of you. It was the way she viewed the world.”

  “When I looked at her with the Eye of Horus,” Amon began, “I could easily discern the three of you, even though you’d faded. It was how I brought you back. I focused all my energy on seeing only the three of you, and you were strengthened enough to return. But there was another part that retreated, that stayed behind. I thought we’d have time to talk about it further, but so much has happened….”

  His words trailed off. I put my hand on his arm. “We’ve been a little busy since then,” I said.

  “I cannot see her dreams,” Asten murmured, and I turned to face him. “I should be able to. I can access the dreams of every creature in the cosmos—even Apep, should I choose—but not hers.”

  I was pondering this when another thought occurred to me. “Asten?” I asked. “You can see anyone’s dreams? Even the gods?”

  “Yes. As long as they aren’t blocking my access. But since they aren’t technically dead, it doesn’t just happen when we meet, like those who arrive on the docks. Believe it or not, I don’t actually try to invade the dreams of others. Why do you ask?”

  “Can you see Seth’s dreams?”

  He grimaced. “I’ve never made an attempt. Even if I somehow could, we might not like what we see.”

  “Something tells me it’s time. I mean, after we find Mt. Babel.”

  “But we still don’t know where it is,” Asten said.

  “We do now. Wasret offered the info up free of charge. Well, at least free of body swapping. But she did warn us that next time all bets are off.”

  “Then let’s hope there isn’t a next time,” Amon said gravely.

  I gave him a weak smile. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to divulge everything, I just wasn’t sure the Sons of Egypt would truly understand, not to mention accept, the experience we’d had with Wasret. She’d said when we came calling for her again, not if.

  My gut told me she was right. We’d be back for her. And the next time would be the last time. A sorrowful pain twisted my gut, and I reached for Amon’s hand. There was more pain on the way. Wasret said I’d have to come to accept it. That we’d all have to. The best thing for me to do at the moment, however, was to focus on the task at hand.

  After checking the position of the sun, we headed off in the general direction Wasret had given us. It took the rest of the day to find the mountain. We had hiked into the thickest, blackest part of the forest at the very edge of Duat. Even Tia felt nervous and uncomfortable.

  There are ancient things here, she said. Things best left undiscovered.

  I tended to agree. The top of Mt. Babel was covered in gray clouds, though Ahmose said he sensed no moisture in them. The sides were dark with large trees that covered the land from the bottom to as far up as the eye could see. There was no discernible path.

  The sun was now low in the sky. I knew climbing in the dark would be dangerous, even if the mountain didn’t have a frightening, supernatural element about it. After warning them to stay close, we entered side by side and immediately felt the stirring of the trees. They came to life, slapping at us with thin branches and tripping us with roots. They didn’t want us there.

  Then they began to whisper. Quietly at first, and then their murmurings became louder. There was a definite sense that turning back was the smartest move. Once, when I stopped and backed up a step, the voices lessened, they became almost encouraging and soothing. But the moment I set my sights ahead again, they recoiled, hammering at us with increased intensity. Ahmose was the first to react with more than just a disturbed expression.

  About halfway up he froze in place, the corded muscles of his back bunched as if he were preparing for an attack. When we came up alongside him to take a look at what had halted his progress, we saw nothing. Ahmose simply stared at the trunk of a massive tree, jaw working and eyes brimming with tears.

  “Ahmose?” I wrapped my hand around his arm. When he didn’t respond, I pushed up the sleeve of his loose shirt and pressed my fingers gently to his wrist, seeking his pulse. It raced wildly, but my touch seemed to break the trance. “What did you see?” I asked him.

  Blinking rapidly, he grunted, “It’s…it’s not important. Let’s keep going.”

  Asten, too, began showing signs of emotional trauma. He kept trying to wander off, saying he’d lost her and he had to find her. He’d look up in the trees and peer into every large bush he came across. He even crouched down by each stream, tracing the ground, looking for tracks.

  “Find who?” I asked. Again, it wasn’t until I pressed my hands against his cheeks and made him look at me that his eyes cleared.

  Amon was able to focus a bit better. When I asked him why, he just shook his head as if he didn’t understand the question. We assumed it was the Eye of Horus that kept him grounded. It was Amon who suggested that I hold Asten’s and Ahmose’s hands as we continued. It made climbing a bit more ponderous for us, but the two men were able to hold themselves together much better when I did. The climb was strenuous enough by itself, but the mental focus it took to keep going quickly exhausted us.

  We stopped once and learned that staying in one place was a bad idea. I leaned back against a tree, closing my eyes. It only took a moment for my mind to be swept away in the visions sent by the trees. Lowering my guard must have given them a way in, and they took advantage.

  I dreamed I was spinning away in a whirlwind and nothing, not even Amon, could pull me back. For a short time, I was with Tia and Ashleigh, but soon not even they could remain with me. Rising higher and higher, I soared through clouds and then into space.

  Planets passed me and then galaxies and stars as I was pulled backward. No matter what I did, I could not halt my ascension. Then, when I’d risen above it all, hovering over the cosmos in the nothingness that surrounded it, I watched a shadow smother it as I let out a silent scream. Life and love and everything I cherished was there one minute and gone the next. I began to fade, and I didn’t care. Nothing mattered anymore. All I knew was I didn’t want to be alone.

  A light slap on my face brought me back and I realized that Amon’s palm still rested against my cheek and both Asten and Ahmose clutched my hands. Apparently, while we’d rested, the trees had actually made a sort of trap or barrier around us, almost as if the land were trying to cage us in. Amon refused to even think about me using my power, so we hacked our way out with weapons and my claws.

  By the time we hit the stony peak, we sank to our knees, panting. To say the journey had been arduous would be an understatement. Thick mist enveloped us to the point where I couldn’t even make out the features of the boy next to me.

  “Hello?” I called out, not really expecting an answer. My voice echoed over the mountaintop and seemed to slide away into space itself. The effect was eerie. A shape appeared in the fog. It grew larger, and when it was close enough that we should have been able to make out the form, it paused. I knew it studied us, watched us. Then, whoever it was must have felt satisfied, because a hand lifted and the mist parted, revealing a goddess I’d seen before.

  Long blond hair hung down her back in a silken wave, and silver still adorned her body. But instead of thin, pounded bracelets and hair ornaments, she wore armor. The softness of her face and form was gone. In its place, a steely determination, and something else—a sorrow so heavy it nearly crushed her.

  “Lily,” she said with a slight nod of her head. “Tia, Ashleigh. We’ve been waiting for you. Come.”

  She offered a hand, and I took it. Instantly, the riotous voices from the trees disappeared. I stepped forward and turned to see Asten, Ahmose, and Amon still kneeling. All three of them were pressed down by the weight of the same voices I had been. I lifted my eyes to the goddess, the unasked question floating between us.

  “You must welcome the Sons of Egypt yourself,” she said. “They cannot cross the threshold without you. Once they
do, the stars will recognize them as your companions, and the madness they cause will dissipate. Then you may traverse the mountain and even fly from its peak without harm.”

  I wasn’t sure if there was some ceremony to the welcoming, but I touched each of their shoulders. This seemed to be enough. The relief was evident on their faces. After they stood, Nephthys turned, indicating I should follow. The mist returned, filling the air behind us and making the trees disappear.

  The top of the mountain was a series of rocky steps punctured by tall granite pillars. They stretched into the sky like great spears thrust into the ground. I imagined that from the air it must look like the fortress of a dragon.

  We wove a path between the spiked pillars until we came upon a stone rotunda. A series of openings disappeared into the mountainside. In the center of the open area was a large fire pit encircled with flat stone benches.

  With the snap of her fingers, Nephthys started a bonfire. When she clapped her hands, other gods emerged from the dark caverns, including Amun-Ra, Horus, Isis, Anubis, and Ma’at. There were a few others I didn’t recognize, but the numbers were very small considering the decimated city we’d just seen.

  I thought it interesting that the shy and demure Nephthys, who’d sat quietly in the background during our judgment, should have the presence to command the others. That they gave her their undivided attention did not go above my notice.

  “She has arrived,” Nephthys said simply. She moved to the other side of the fire, positioning herself between Amun-Ra and Isis. We stood there for a long, pregnant moment, staring at each other across the flames. I was waiting for the gods to say something, anything. I wanted them to explain why they’d sent me on this crazy journey. Why they were holding back information. I wanted to demand what they expected from me. But they said nothing. It appeared I would have to be the first one to talk.

  I looked from one face to another, growing more irritated by their lack of communication with each passing moment. “What happened to everyone else? Are all your citizens dead?” I demanded, letting accusation color my tone. Now that I’d finally broken the silence, I narrowed my gaze on Amun-Ra as I folded my arms. “Are you even aware of what’s going on down there, or did you just come up here to bury your heads in the sand as usual?”

  “Of course we know,” the sun god replied with more patience than I deserved. “We held her off for as long as we could, but we ultimately decided to let her take the city once we got everyone to safety. The citizens of Heliopolis are hidden away for the time being.”

  It was a relief to hear that most of the population hadn’t been devoured.

  “I think you forgot someone,” I said, still feeling testy.

  There was a gasp, and I quickly looked over at Isis. The statuesque goddess had stepped closer to Anubis, who had wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “You’ve seen him, then?” she asked, her lovely voice wavering with emotion.

  “Yes. He told us to come here. He’s been…” I hesitated. “Badly hurt.” Isis trembled but said nothing, her gaze turning stony. I realized then that she already knew. “The Devourer drains him,” I added, pressing the goddess. “She seeks your location in order to present you to Seth.”

  When all she did was nod, I threw my hands up in the air. “I don’t understand you. You know he’s down there, and yet you let him suffer at her hands. I thought you loved him.”

  “I do love him,” she said, a bit of fire lighting her swirling nebula eyes. “More than you know. It kills me to leave him there.”

  “Then why do you?” I charged, raking my eyes over each one of them. “You’re supposed to be gods. Surely you’re an equal match to her.”

  “They leave him there at my request.” Nephthys stepped forward and placed a hand on Isis’s shoulder, smiling softly at her before looking at me once more.

  “Your request,” I echoed, puzzled. “Why would you do such a thing?”

  “There is more going on here than meets the eye, Lilliana Young.”

  “Obviously.” I sighed heavily. “Look, don’t you think it’s time you all clued me in? I have to say, I’m growing tired of being your pawn.”

  Nephthys came around the fire to our side. “You misunderstand. You are not our pawn. You’re our queen. We’ve been playing this game for a long time. Now that all the pieces are assembled, it’s time we make our final moves. And hope the stars planned everything out as carefully as we’d hoped.”

  I took a step back, realization slamming into me. “You’ve been after Wasret this whole time.”

  “Yes. Each journey we sent you on prepared you for what we needed you to become.”

  My body shook at her words. Warm hands cupped my shoulders, and I was soon pressed against a hard chest.

  Nephthys continued, “A long time ago, I had a vision. In it I saw a girl, a very special mortal who would accomplish great things. Things not even the gods could do.”

  The goddess raised her hands in supplication, but I stood ramrod stiff in Amon’s arms. She sighed and dropped her hands, placing them behind her back as she began speaking again.

  “Amon was placed purposely in New York City, and he rose at the precise time you were nearby.” She dipped her head toward Amon, indicating the man standing behind me. “When he escaped the afterlife, heading to the netherworld, we saw that as an opportunity to test you, to determine if you had the strength to pass through the Rite of Wasret. When you did so successfully, we knew you were the one we’d sought.”

  “I could have just as easily been killed.”

  “You could have,” she admitted, “but you met your destiny.” She smiled. “As well as your inner lioness. With Tia, you gained the powers of the sphinx, which allowed you to enter the netherworld. This was a place not even the gods could access. But with the help of the Sons of Egypt, you not only entered, but survived, and brought home Amon to us as well.

  “But there was another piece missing. We knew that for you to truly channel the power of Wasret, you’d need to become the host to a third girl. For only a triple goddess, a binding where each girl was yoked to the other in absolute harmony, would form a true syzygy that would grant Wasret entrance to our realm.”

  Isis stepped forward. “For a number of reasons, neither I nor Nephthys could take on the role of the third goddess, so Ma’at volunteered. She was planning to give up her physical form and merge with you upon your return to the afterlife.” She smiled wanly. “We did not expect Ashleigh. In fact, we were not even aware that she was in the netherworld.”

  I looked over at Ma’at, who stood stiffly and proudly. I shuddered. All things considered, Tia and I preferred our inner fairy.

  Isis said, “When the fairy tree sacrificed herself and gave her charge up, she knew what she was doing. Ashleigh complements the two of you perfectly. Ma’at would have added more power to your trio, but Ashleigh brings her own talents and personality. It worked, and that was the most important thing. We did not expect you to need to use your power so soon. The Devourer was an unexpected complication. Then Seth broke out, and we had to accelerate our plans.”

  “So when Dr. Hassan asked you if the stars knew about me, you lied?” I asked Isis icily.

  “Not precisely,” Isis said. “We knew Wasret was coming, and we hoped it was you. You had great potential. No other girl had formed a connection with a Son of Egypt before. The fact that you have relationships with all three—”

  Nephthys quickly cut her off. “The point, Lily, is that we’ve now come to this. Suffice it to say, we’ve been waiting for you. Yes, we’ve kept back information. Yes, we made you suffer through trials. Yes, we are putting all our hopes in you. Despite everything you’ve endured, comfort yourself in knowing that we are here now. We are ready to help, ready to answer questions, and ready to fight alongside you. What we need to know right now is…will you help us?”

  Every person on the mountaintop looked at me expectantly, hope lighting their faces. That is, all but the three men behind me whose op
inions I cared most about. Buoyed by their commitment to me, I steeled myself to answer.

  With a heavy heart, I answered softly, “Yes. I’ll help you.”

  Almost as one, the Sons of Egypt straightened their shoulders as if preparing themselves for the inevitable fight I’d just pledged myself to. “We’ll help you,” Amon said, voicing the sentiment of all three brothers.

  I put my hand on top of Amon’s where it still pressed into my shoulder. “Tell us what we need to know,” I said.

  Nephthys was about to speak, but Isis came forward first. Her words spilled from her so quickly, I wondered how she’d been able to hold them back for so long. It was such a different version of the icy, quiet goddess I’d met before. Perhaps her worry over her husband was causing the change in her demeanor. “We must protect you from the Devourer first. I will weave a spell, a powerful one,” she said, “so that she cannot find the rest of you if she just so happens to capture one. Keep in mind that we will try to avoid this at all costs, but we must be prepared for anything, regardless.”

  I tilted my head. “You mean to do the same thing to us that you did to Osiris? That’s why she’s torturing him instead of seeking you out, isn’t it?”

  “Yes,” she answered, eyes dropping. “The mountain hides us from her, but once we leave here, she can find us. Then not even our mother, Nut, could shelter us from her view. And no cavern our father, Geb, could fashion would be deep enough. We are prepared for the consequences of this, but the four of you are too important to risk losing in a battle with the Devourer. In the end, she will be of no importance. We must reserve most of your energy for Seth.”

  “Then why don’t we just leave her alone and seek out Seth?” I asked. “You know, cut off the head of the snake and the rest dies.”

  “Unless it causes two heads to spring forth instead,” Asten mumbled, almost under his breath.