We have instinct, she corrected. We can hunt when we hunger. We will find water when we thirst. We will save your young man. And we will stop the Unmaker.
I wish I were as confident as you are.
A lioness cannot indulge in doubts. She must kill or be killed. Hunt or be hunted. Hesitation makes us weak. It is a human trait.
And if we make a mistake? If we die?
If we die, we leave this world knowing we tried. There is honor in that.
I fell silent. There was something comforting in looking at the world through Tia’s eyes. Everything was so clear to her. It was black-and-white. She was brave in a way I wasn’t sure I could ever be.
It was easy to be brave when Amon was with me. I relied on his abilities. His knowledge of the world he moved in. Now I knew he understood very little about the assignment he’d been given. He was being used by the gods. I was, too, of course, but at least Amun-Ra and Horus had summed things up pretty well. I now knew Seth’s agenda and the reason the brothers had to do the things they did.
I wasn’t sure if that information would change his perspective or not. Whatever that understanding brought, at least he’d know. He and his brothers. They could make an informed decision. Recognize their true place in the Egyptian pantheon. They’d see Seth for what he was. At the very least I needed to make sure they were made aware of everything Amun-Ra and Horus told me. For a moment, I wished I’d had more time with Amon to tell him everything I’d learned, but then I thought perhaps it was better that I hadn’t. Especially now that I knew Seth could spy on our dreams together.
We soon entered a large bathing chamber with a sunken tub. There were three women already in the room. One stirred fragrant oil into water that was so warm, steam billowed out. When she looked up at me and smiled, I saw her blink sideways, like a crocodile. Another, whose short-cropped hair resembled something more like fur than hair, set candles on the tiled corners of the tub and lit them with a wave of her hand. The third, a beautiful blonde who could have graced the cover of any NYC fashion billboard, spread white flower petals on the water, and the girl who entered with me began tugging on the ties of my robe.
I gathered the edges tightly in my fist. “Um, is this ritual something I can do by myself? I’m not entirely comfortable with getting naked in front of a bunch of strangers.”
“You do not wish us to be present?” She frowned.
“Maybe you can just teach me the spell and I can do it on my own?”
She shook her head. “It is too complicated and requires all four of us to speak. Perhaps if we leave while you enter the water and then return to begin the incantation?”
“I guess that would be okay.”
The women left and I hurried to disrobe and slip into the steaming water before they returned. As I sank down onto the seat, the fragrant liquid lapping my chin and shoulders, I realized Tia was shocked.
What is it? I asked.
It is…pleasant. I did not think immersing yourself in water would be. Will we wash our mane now? she asked.
I was about to answer, but just then the girls came back. I was nervous about them being there, but I soon let go of my inhibitions when they began chanting, raising something in the air. Each girl stood at a corner of the bathing pool and lifted a lump of muddy clay shaped like a brick.
The first girl spoke:
“Lands of the south, keep the stinging sand at bay.”
When she finished speaking, I let out a gasp as she tossed the softened brick into the water. Dirt rose and billowed out from it. I drew my feet up closer to my body and wrapped my arms around my knees.
“Fires of the east, repel the raging beasts that mark her path.”
The second servant concluded her statement and also threw in her clump of mud. This was repeated two more times, but the next girls were even closer to me, and the splash from the bricks soaked my face and hair. One said,
“Waters from the west, flow over the darkness and reveal the hidden faces,”
while the last one added,
“Winds of the north, overthrow those who would stand in her way!”
Flotsam and dirt coated the surface of the pool, and I felt the grit flowing between my flexing toes.
My once relaxing and soothing bath was now full of filth and muck. When I lifted my arm from the water, bits of dirt clung to my skin. “This isn’t really going how I expected it to,” I said. As I sat there in the cooling water, my soaked hair dripping onto my neck and shoulders, the girls disappeared.
I wasn’t sure if the bath was over or if they were getting ready to add some rotting meat and discarded trash to the water as well, and I was almost ready to get out and look for a shower when they returned. The mud-stained tunics they’d been wearing had been discarded. This time they were dressed in pure white. The material was so bright it almost gleamed.
Frowning, I stared at my dirty hands and compared them to the girls’ clean, pale arms. “So what now?” I asked.
My guide pressed her finger to her lips, gesturing that I should be silent. As one, the four girls took their positions at the edges of my now filthy bathing pool and raised their arms in the air, chanting:
“Amun-Ra, lend your power this day.
Cast aside that which is old and unseemly
Renew this woman and prepare her for judgment.”
The tiles around the edges of the sunken tub grew hot. They burned red, then shifted to bright orange, yellow, and brilliant white. The water surrounding me grew hotter as well and was now beginning to bubble and boil. I cried out, not because it was burning me, though it was pretty much as hot as I could stand, but because my entire body was tingling and the water began to glow.
“Like Horus, make this daughter bright.
Take her on your primeval wings
As she departs, a soul of Heliopolis,
To walk with the gods and see them in their true glory.
Transform her on this, the day of her death.”
Wait…what? Tia and I both thought at the same time.
“Accept the offering of her invocation.
Let her see the true and only sun.
Vindicate her. Sustain her.
Allow no evil to have power over her.
Benu Bird, he who leads the blessed to the afterlife,
Protect her heart in the judgment,
Help her find her spirit’s desire,
And take her to her celestial home.”
The room grew so bright I could no longer see my hand in front of my face, but when they ceased chanting, the light dimmed incrementally until I could begin to make out shapes and the outline of myself. When my vision finally cleared, the girls were gone. So was all the water in the tub.
My body was warm. My hair dry and clean. The tiles of the tub were pristine. There was no trace of the muddy residue. No outline of filth around the edges. My skin smelled like flowers and I felt utterly relaxed and refreshed. At the bottom of the tub, I noticed a symbol. It looked like a golden bird, and it gleamed and pulsed as if it had been the source of the heat.
I wasn’t sure if it had been there before and I’d simply not noticed it or if it had appeared as a result of the ritual. Uncertain, I stood up and climbed out of the tub. On a table nearby was a stack of white material and an ornate full-length mirror. I palmed through the clothing first and found a pair of white sandals next to the dress. My short spears and bow as well as my harness were next to that.
Picking up the dress, I held it up to my body and gazed at my reflection. There was something blue around my eyes. I leaned closer and touched my finger to the edge. Blue smudged my fingertip. Paint. My face had been painted to look like an Egyptian goddess’s. I wasn’t sure how or when that happened and was contemplating the idea that I might have passed out in the tub or frozen while the girls did my makeup, when I felt the brush of silk against my neck.
A deep honeyed voice, dripping with desire, said, “You are the most fetching and exquisite creature I’ve e
ver set eyes upon.” A pair of hands, very strong male hands, smoothed fabric over my shoulders.
I gasped, my eyes darting to the reflection in the mirror. “Horus!” I screamed, and grabbed for the robe he’d placed around me. Quickly, I shrugged my arms into the sleeves, wrenching the tie to draw it closed, and spun around. “What right do you have to enter my bathing chamber!” I yelled, jabbing my finger into his muscled chest.
A bubble of rage rose inside me and I raised my hand, tightening my fingers into a fist around his neck. It had been an instinctive move, and Horus grabbed his throat briefly, his eyes widening. But then, just as quickly, the power waned.
You will not hurt him, Tia said.
I wasn’t consciously trying to, I explained. It just happened. It must have been the strangle-your-enemies power that Dr. Hassan told us about.
Out loud, I said, “I’m sorry, Horus. I didn’t intend to injure you.”
“I know that at least a part of you didn’t want to. Not truly. It’s why your power faded.”
“What do you mean?”
“When you and your lioness are not of the same mind about something, your power doesn’t work. The only time you can act as individuals is when the other acquiesces or sleeps.”
“Interesting. But it still doesn’t excuse your behavior. Why are you here?”
He winced as if my words caused him pain. “Forgive my audacity, but I remain in your thrall. Please know that I couldn’t even conceive of causing you harm. My only desire is to be close to you.”
I found my gut response to slap his face, stomp on his instep, and knee him where it would hurt him the most being nullified by my alter ego. What are you doing? I mentally hissed at Tia.
Horus would make a powerful mate, she explained. You have Amon. What does that leave for me?
I realized then that Tia’s feelings for Amon might not be the same as mine. Were we destined to have an emotional tug-of-war over control of our heart?
“I beg you not to go,” he said, interrupting my thoughts. “The netherworld is dangerous. It’s unlikely you’ll survive, let alone rescue your”—he frowned—“boy. Stay here with me. You’ll grow to cherish me over time, just as I do you. There are so many things I can show you. Teach you. I can take you to a world where we can swim in a purple ocean and float on pink clouds. I can keep you warm on a planet of sparkling ice that casts prisms of light so high into the sky that the world is encased in rainbow hues. With me you’ll never experience pain, sorrow, or death.” Horus took a step closer and touched his forehead to mine. “Stay with me and be my love. Or, if that is not something you can do, then…just stay.”
This time Tia wasn’t the only one moved by his words, and I knew that was inherently dangerous. His promises stirred the air, wrapping around us, brushing against our defenses. The wispy tendrils seemed to touch the tender spots of my consciousness. It was tempting. How easy it would be to just let everything go and remain in the golden city of Heliopolis. Not worrying about the complications of being a sphinx. Not feeling the weight of the world on my shoulders. Just heading off to the far reaches of the universe and seeing the amazing wonders these gods have created.
Tia was the one to pull back this time. She’d wanted to experience the passion he offered, to perhaps find a mate of her own, but she wasn’t willing to give up our quest. Flashes of our prior dream filled my mind. We must stop the Unmaker. He is not what we…what I…need at this time.
Closing my eyes, I nodded. Grateful for her acquiescence, and giving Horus a tight smile, I determinedly pushed against his chest and stepped away. Turning to the mirror, I looked up at him in the reflection. “We must fulfill our purpose,” I said. “We are flattered…no…we are privileged,” I amended, “to have one such as you find us interesting. Honestly, we don’t know what awaits us and we are frightened, but we must try. Do you understand?”
Horus didn’t reply immediately but ran his hand around to the back of his neck. His eyes were wild with fear, and he was desperately seeking something, anything to dissuade us. I gazed at him steadily, confidently, and he finally straightened and nodded. “I do.” He lifted a hand toward me and then stopped as if he thought better of it. With his head lowered, he said, “Will you allow me to help you prepare?”
I turned, surprised. “I thought everything was done.”
“Not quite.”
He picked up a small jar and poured some of its contents into his hand. The scent of perfume wafted around me. “What is it?” I asked.
Indicating I should turn around, he rubbed his palms together and stroked his fingertips down my neck. “It’s a mixture of oil and myrrh, the purest oil in the cosmos. It’s taken from a flower that grows in the snow at the upper altitudes of a mountainous planet a great distance away.” Horus moved to my side and took my hand, then pushed the sleeve of the robe all the way up my arm. Slowly he massaged from my shoulder down my arm, over my elbow to my wrist and then down my hand all the way to my fingertips, making sure to get oil between each finger.
As he moved to my other arm, he asked, “Do you know how Anubis prepares bodies at the time of their death?” I nodded. “You must be adorned in a similar way.”
“Do I have to wear mummy wrappings?” I asked.
He smiled. “No. But you will need to wear white. You must be dressed in fresh clothing of the purest shade. If you cannot remain barefoot, you will wear sandals of the same color that wrap around your legs.”
Speaking of legs, Horus had now crouched down and taken hold of my foot. As he ran his oiled palm under the sensitive arch and then up the back of my calf, I danced away nervously.
Horus let me go and looked up at me. “I won’t hurt you.”
“I…I know. I’m just not used to getting a massage standing up,” I stammered, trying to come up with something less embarrassing than nobody has ever touched me like that before. Tia wasn’t helping either. She was enjoying his ministrations too much to protest.
Frowning slightly, he asked, “Would you prefer to lie down?”
“No. Let’s just…” I wrung my hands and shook them out. “Let’s just get this over with quickly. Okay?”
“As you wish,” he said softly, and held out a steadying hand.
I leaned against the table, fingering the soft fabric as his palm found my leg again. He swiped the oil up and behind my knee, to halfway up my thigh, only lingering there for a fraction of a second before he did the same thing to the other one. Relief spilled out of me in a shaky breath as he stood up and turned me to face him once again.
Ignoring my obvious discomfort, he dipped his fingertips back into the jar and stroked his thumbs across my eyebrows. Asking me to close my eyes, he touched each eyelid, leaving a whisper of moist, tingling oil behind. The lobes of my ears were next, and then he traced the edge of my jaw on both sides. The last thing he did was touch the pad of his thumb to my bottom lip.
His gaze fixed on my lips and his expression became hungry and hot. Lifting his eyes to mine, he whispered, “You are ready.”
I swallowed, the sensation thick and searing my throat. “Thank you,” I murmured languidly.
“You’re welcome,” he answered with a warmth that spoke volumes. We stood, unmoving for a few more heartbeats, until I noticed he was smiling. “Lily,” he said.
“Yes?” I answered, my eyes now drawn to his mouth.
“If you keep looking at me like that, I’m not going to let you go anywhere.”
I inhaled and realized I had stopped breathing for a few seconds. Turning away from him felt torturous, but somehow I did it and stepped toward the little table containing my weapons and my dress. That was when I noticed the heart scarab peeking out from under the folds of white. I brushed my hand against it and the passionate fog that I’d been enveloped in dissipated, my mind completely clear.
Narrowing my eyes, I turned, and my suspicions were confirmed when I saw the self-assured grin on Horus’s face. “You tricked me, didn’t you?” I accused.
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He shrugged like the popular boy at school who knew he could get away with naughty behavior if he flirted with the teacher. “There’s no way you would have paid any attention to me at all if you had that on your person. Catching you unawares while bathing was the only way I could try to steal you away from him.”
“You’re despicable,” I said, though my skin was still too warm from his touch to lend any weight to my words. “I knew we should’ve strangled him, Tia.”
Horus raised his hands in surrender. “I’ve lost. I’ll admit it. And rightfully so.” He sighed. “It’s been centuries since I’ve had to work so hard to gain a woman’s interest.” When he saw my irritated expression, he added, “Take heart. You rejected me all on your own.” Leaning closer, Horus stretched out a hand to find something on the table behind me and brought his very tempting mouth to within inches of mine. He smiled when he found what he was looking for and added, “Mostly.”
Straightening, he dangled a necklace with a dark blue stone between his outstretched fingertips. “Maybe when I present you with my gift, you’ll deign to give me that kiss we both so very much desire.”
I folded my arms across my chest. “I don’t think so. What is that?” I asked.
“It’s an amulet. The stone is lapis lazuli, not precious as far as the value mortals assign such things. Its worth, instead, lies in what it can do.”
“So what does it do?” I asked, unable to resist stepping closer to touch the stone.
“This side”—he indicated the carved emblem—“holds a lotus plant, the symbol of Upper Egypt, and the other is a papyrus plant, which is the mark of Lower Egypt. These markings”—he indicated the silver ring around the stone—“hold the three signs of the gods—power, endurance, and life. A portion of my power is contained in this. It is the Healing Stela of Horus.”
“And you’re giving it to me?”
“I’m lending it to you,” he corrected. “It will heal you on your journey but you must still be careful,” he warned. “If you lose a limb, the Stela cannot regrow it. If your head is removed from your body, you will die. I do not wish to recover my Stela from your bloated corpse,” he said ferociously.