“You know, convince him he’s been compensated.”
The driver, who knew enough English to get the drift of what we were saying, began to make a scene about us taking advantage of him, but Asten quickly raised his hand and put the man in a trance. After a few murmured words, the driver happily left us to our own devices.
After a little more hypnosis, we found ourselves in a lovely balcony room. “Okay, let’s heal Amon,” I said, and knelt next to him on the floor where Ahmose had set him down. I was extremely worried because I couldn’t feel a wisp of a connection between us. When I touched him there was no warmth. I couldn’t taste his emotions, and mine had been relatively stable of late.
Ahmose was leaning over his brother, hands pressed against Amon’s chest. “Not yet, Lily. I have healed him enough to ensure his survival, but to transfer your energy will be a delicate process. If I make a mistake, it will likely kill you, so I need you to be as strong as possible before we make the exchange.”
I blew out a breath. “Okay. So what do you want me to do?”
“Eat,” he said frankly. “Rest. Bathe. Whatever you must do to relax your mind, nourish your body, and prepare your soul.”
“You make it sound like this is going to be my last meal.”
“I will do my best to ensure it is not.”
Biting my lip, I reached out to stroke Amon’s hair. “You’re sure he’ll be okay while I reenergize?”
“You may leave him in our hands,” Asten said. “We have watched out for each other all our lives and we will continue to do so.”
“Okay.” As I pressed a kiss on Amon’s forehead, I caught a whiff of myself, and said, “I’ll be in the shower. Dr. Hassan, can you order a room service feast?”
“Of course.”
We had two connecting rooms, so I left the men in one bedroom, crossed the connecting section, and headed into the second. It took the better part of a half hour before the water cascading over my scalp and down my body ran clean. By the time I was done, I was so tired that I felt like a zombie myself. Still, I efficiently wiped the steam from the mirror, applied lotion liberally to every exposed bit of skin, examined my various new scratches and scars, and brushed my hair.
With no clean clothes to change into, I wrapped myself in a robe and sought out the men to tell them the shower was open. When I entered the room, I found only Ahmose and Amon. Ahmose was sitting on the floor next to his brother’s body, elbows resting on his knees, hands covering his head.
“Catching a quick nap?” I asked.
“No, I—”
Ahmose lifted his head and sucked in an almost indiscernible breath. There was the tiniest flash of something in his gray eyes, but he closed them quickly and turned his head. “Asten and the doctor are seeking some clothing for you.”
“Oh. That’s nice. I just wanted to let you know the shower is free.”
“I will bathe after Asten returns.”
Ahmose still wouldn’t look at me. “I’m making you uncomfortable, aren’t I?” I said. “You probably aren’t used to seeing a woman in just a robe.”
“I am respecting the boundary that exists between us.”
“Boundary? What do you mean?”
“It is not right to look upon my brother’s woman when he cannot. Especially if that woman is as beautiful as you are.”
I smiled. “And I thought Asten was the flatterer.” Putting my hands on my hips, I said, “I’m not sure Amon feels as strongly about me as you believe, but regardless, I’ll leave you in peace.”
“Lily,” Ahmose called out just as I was about to close the door. “If Amon does not feel that way, then he is a fool.”
The sincerity in Ahmose’s voice sent a slight shiver down my spine. “Thank you, Ahmose,” I answered over my shoulder as I left.
Unable to sleep while Amon was uncomfortable, I sat in a chair with my robe wrapped around me and allowed the quietness to sedate me. Not running for my life, or being distracted by a dark priest, allowed me time to really focus on how I felt. And it was worse than I’d ever felt in my life. Ahmose had called me beautiful, but when I looked in the mirror all I saw was haggard ugliness.
My usually soft skin was dry and bruised, the purple, green, and yellow spots still sore when I pressed my fingertips to them. Though I’d washed and conditioned my hair several times, clumps of it had fallen out in the shower, and my brush, which I’d meticulously cleaned, had so much hair caught in the bristles I could have used it to stuff a pillow.
No amount of lip balm could heal my cracked lips. I’d definitely lost several pounds, enough that my ribs stuck out. Overall, I looked like I needed to be hospitalized. Attempting to rehydrate myself, I gulped down glass after glass of water, even though it tasted like it had come directly from the Nile.
Finally, there was a soft knock on the door. Dr. Hassan stood on the other side, bag in hand, which he thrust into my arms. “We did the best we could. I hope you can find something there you’ll feel comfortable in.”
“Thank you,” I said, clutching the bag to my chest.
“The food will be here momentarily. I believe I will take this opportunity to avail myself of a shower as well.”
“Do you want to use this one?” I asked.
He shook his head. “I’ll share the second room with the others.”
With a brief smile and a nod, he closed the door behind him. He’d done a good job shopping with Asten and I realized it was likely that Asten had way more experience with women’s clothing than Amon did. The idea made me smile, but the smile soon disappeared when I thought of Amon.
I dressed in a drawstring pair of khakis. They were a little too big, but cinching them at the waist did the trick. Then I pulled a loose tunic over my head and found a pair of sandals that fit perfectly. After tying back my newly thin hair with a scarf, I headed out of the room to see what the others were doing.
Asten was picking through the food that had recently arrived. When he saw me, he said, “Now, this”—he held up a plate full of roasted meat—“is what I call a feast.” He took the plate into the room where Ahmose waited with Amon and then returned, frowning. “Why are you still standing there? Fill your belly, Lily. You do not need to wait for permission.”
By habit, I put a few bits of green salad on a plate and spooned on a few roasted vegetables. Asten watched with an incredulous expression as I took a seat at the table. “Is that all you are going to eat? You need more. Meat will fortify you. Here.” He shoved a giant piece of fragrant lamb onto my plate and brought over several more items.
Sighing, I looked at my overflowing plate and wondered if all Egyptian men fed their women like this, or if it was just the former princes. As Asten ate, sitting across from me, he watched every bite I took. Pushing the food around on the plate, I finally looked up at his scowling face. “It doesn’t feel right to eat without Amon,” I said. “He was the one who taught me all about feasting.”
Asten’s severe expression eased. “I understand, but consider the fact that you must sustain your body so that you can sustain Amon.”
“Are you trying to say I’m eating for two?” I teased.
“I do not comprehend your meaning.”
“Never mind. I promise I will try to eat more.”
A freshly showered Dr. Hassan entered the room. He’d managed to find cargo pants and a vest and even a new fedora, but brown instead of white.
“Good,” Asten said. “Now I am going to bathe, and when I return, I expect at least half of this food to be gone.”
I ate until I couldn’t take another bite and then went to relieve Ahmose so he could shower. With a soapy hot towel, I bathed Amon’s face and carefully cleaned the wounds on his chest and arms. The water quickly became red with his blood. I’d been through six bowlfuls of it by the time Ahmose came back.
At first I didn’t recognize Ahmose and Asten. They looked completely different in modern clothing, and, like Amon, they had grown out their hair. Ahmose had a short cap
of dark hair, while Asten’s was a bit longer than Amon’s and was slicked back. Both of them looked like they belonged on a fashion runway.
“Not that you both don’t look good,” I began, “but doesn’t growing your hair use up some of your power?”
“The power necessary was tiny compared with what we need,” Ahmose said.
“Besides,” Asten countered, “we are hoping we can save up the energy and travel as mortals to the site of the ceremony.”
“The pyramids, you mean.” When they looked surprised, I waved my hand and explained, “Amon told me.”
“Ah,” they said. Both men shifted back and forth uneasily until Dr. Hassan entered the room. “Are you ready, Lily?” Amhose asked.
“Yes.”
“I wish you had rested more,” he admonished as he knelt down beside me. When I shrugged unhappily, Asten approached and gave me a small smile. “Do not worry overmuch. Ahmose is a very skilled healer. If anyone can guide Amon on the path to return to us, it is he.” I nodded, placing my hand in Ahmose’s large one.
“Channel as much energy as you dare, Brother,” Ahmose instructed Asten. Then he closed his eyes and placed his hand on Amon’s forehead. He began chanting in Egyptian, and I gasped as silver pulses of light appeared beneath my skin. The light coalesced, traveling down my arm into my hand, and then jumped from me to Ahmose.
The silver energy lit Ahmose’s hand and then briefly pooled on Amon’s forehead before sinking into his skin. Amon’s chest rose as he breathed deeply. My arms trembled and I suddenly realized I couldn’t swallow. I slumped against Ahmose’s arm, utterly exhausted. Asten stood on the other side of Amon. His eyes were closed and his arms stretched forward, palms up in a meditative manner.
A white fog trickled from Asten’s fingertips and a stream of it shot toward me while another stream hit Ahmose directly in the chest. I breathed in, becoming increasingly attuned to Amon’s brothers. I tasted a sort of icy salt and realized it was a flavor belonging solely to Asten. It was the tang of the stars. When I exhaled, I could see my breath and my lips felt frosty. The white fog I’d exhaled drifted down and became a third stream between me and Ahmose.
The triangle connecting the three of us allowed me to sense the innermost desires of both Asten and Ahmose. Asten longed to explore everything he had missed out on while he lingered for centuries in the afterlife. Ahmose wanted to work with his hands and secretly wished for a family. Then I sensed another presence in our circle—one I immediately recognized—Amon.
I felt him acknowledge his brothers and rejoice at having them near him, but then he noticed I was there. Lily? I heard him speak in my mind. No! Lily! Why is she here? She cannot do this! This will cement the bond!
Ahmose answered his brother. The bond is essential, Brother.
No! I will not allow it.
Amon struggled with Asten and Ahmose, not wanting their help but desperately needing it. His anger and hopelessness made me shrink away. I felt like an intruder. It was very clear that Amon had no desire to be with me, even if it meant his survival.
Distantly, I heard Ahmose’s spoken words, “He is rejecting the transfer.”
“He will not have the strength to complete the ceremony,” Asten warned.
My ethereal self was forcibly pushed back into my body and I blinked my eyes open. The fog connecting me, Asten, and Ahmose dissipated, and both men jerked back before righting themselves.
“What was that? What happened?” I demanded.
“He will not allow me to channel your energy.”
“Why?” Tears filled my eyes. I knew I was drained and overemotional once more, but I was too tired to control myself. I hollered, “Why is he being so stubborn? Does he despise me so much that he will risk allowing darkness to fill the world?”
“He does not…despise you, Lily,” Asten said.
“Look,” I said as I angrily wiped my tears away, “you don’t have to defend him. He’s a big-boy-slash-Egyptian-god who makes his own choices.”
I attempted to get to my feet only to find that my legs wouldn’t move.
“You are weakened from the energy transfer,” Ahmose explained.
“But I thought—”
“I was still able to channel some of your energy, but I do not know if that will be enough. In the meantime”—Ahmose stood up and scooped me easily into his arms—“you need to sleep.”
Hurt by Amon’s rejection, I didn’t protest, saying nothing when Ahmose tucked me into the bed in the next room. When he closed the door, I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to rest, but sleep found me immediately. I didn’t stir for sixteen hours. When I woke, two things instantly made me alert. First, the light of a nearly full moon spilled over the bed, meaning we had less than twenty-four hours to save the world. Second, there was someone watching me. Seated in a chair in the corner of the room, wearing fresh clothes and a pair of sunglasses, his long legs stretched out and crossed at the ankles, was Amon.
“Amon?” I whispered in the moonlit room. “How are you feeling?”
“Not bad, all things considered,” he replied.
“Your brothers—”
“Are resting. As is Dr. Hassan.”
“Oh.” I wasn’t sure what to say. The trauma of what we’d been through and the thought of what we still needed to overcome was too much, the sting of uncertainty too real for me to feel completely comfortable with him.
Lamely, I asked, “How are your eyes?”
He half smirked, half grimaced. “I wouldn’t know, as they are not with me at present.”
“Sorry,” I murmured. “That was an insensitive question.”
“Do not feel sorry. I am the one who needs to apologize. My brothers have expressed their concern over you.”
“They have?”
“Yes. There seems to be some confusion regarding our bond.”
I wet my lips and felt my heart thudding against my chest. What he said next would either break my heart or heal it. “What did you tell them?”
“The truth. That I have no desire to seal this bond with you and that I will take no more of your life essence. In fact, I would like to express my regret for what has been done to you thus far.”
“I see.”
“My brothers are of the opinion that I will not be able to complete the ceremony without you.”
“Are they right?”
Amon worked the muscles in his jaw before answering. “No. Dr. Hassan has an idea that should keep Sebak at bay long enough for the three of us to complete the ceremony. My brothers have agreed to this plan believing that you will remain at my side until I return to the afterlife.”
“I can do that.”
Amon sat forward, pressing his hands together. “Young Lily.” He sighed. “It is my wish that you go home. Now. Before all of this happens.”
“But your brothers seem to think you’ll need me.”
After a brief dark laugh, Amon said, “Not in the way they think.” He paused and rubbed his hand over his jaw. “I believe I still have sufficient energy to do what I was called to do.”
“And if you don’t?”
“Then so be it.”
Amon sat back in the chair as if utterly exhausted by our conversation. The wounded young man in my room was a shadow of the man I’d come to know. He didn’t speak of love, or say that he would miss me, or even that he appreciated the time, let alone the energy, that I’d given to him. What was even more disturbing was that he seemed to now lack faith in his purpose.
The god of the sun was damaged. Betrayed by his body. An eternal being without hope. The despair and the loss he radiated was evident, even with him blocking our connection. Gone were his sunshine smile, his delight at discovering the world around him, and his belief that he could overcome any odds by fulfilling his duty. He was definitely not the person I’d come to know and had fallen in love with.
“Amon? There’s still a way out of this. There has to be.”
“No, Lily. There is not.”
/> “Tell me. It’s more than just your eyes, I can feel it. You don’t have to hold back. I can help.”
Amon let out a long, slow breath. Then he lifted his head, his expression unreadable. “You are weak, Lilliana. Mortal. I could crush you into powder with just my mind if I wanted to. There is no place for you at my side. It is time you came to terms with that.”
I momentarily lost my breath. What he’d said hurt, though I acknowledged the truth of his words. I was weak and mortal. And, like Asten said, a poor excuse for a devotee. The worst thing wasn’t the mention of my weakness or that he didn’t want me with him—I might be able to get over that. I harbored no illusions about my strengths and weaknesses.
No, the hardest thing to hear was my full name—Lilliana—cross his lips. He’d never called me that before, and the formal way he said it reminded me of just who I really was. Lilliana. The name my father used in his tolerant-yet-stern voice. It was what my mother called me when she wanted to make sure I heard her instructions or when she introduced me at parties.
Until now, it wasn’t a name that Amon had ever called me.
Lily was the name of a girl who headed off on fantastic adventures. But at my core, I was the prim and proper, going-places-whether-I-wanted-to-or-not Lilliana. I felt as if Amon himself had slammed the door on the golden birdcage I had dared to look out of.
With Amon I’d thrown caution to the wind. I should have known better. Lilliana should have known better.
Stiffly, I jerked the blanket back, not caring that Amon was there. I’d stripped down to my underwear sometime in the night, draping my new clothing over the nightstand. It wasn’t like Amon could see me anyway, which was good considering the hot, angry tears that had begun rolling down my face.
I was jerking the tunic over my head when Amon cleared his throat. “You should be aware that I can see you.”
“What?” I said, spinning, the slacks clutched in front of me. “How is that possible?”
“Hassan returned the Eye of Horus.”
“But I thought that was a mind-reading kind of thing—a way to see pathways.”
“The Eye is many things, and it would seem it can do even more than we supposed.”