“His connection to you will make him especially desirable to her. It is not often that she has the opportunity to feast upon a heart like Amon’s, a heart that is filled with love. The blackened souls we send to her are never satisfying enough and any remaining energies they retain are consumed too quickly. Her power is held in check simply because we starve her. A juicy heart such as Amon’s, fueled by your bond, would grant her enough energy to escape the confines of the netherworld.”
“I thought you said his heart was missing.”
“That is my…theory.”
“Then how can she eat it?”
Anubis sighed. “The link between Amon and his brothers and between the two of you makes all four of you susceptible, for she can sense you through him. Whatever piece of Amon’s heart remains, whether it’s his memory or his soul, it will be as enticing to her as fresh blood is to a shark.”
Holy Egyptian heaven. My hands shook. I wasn’t sure if I actually understood everything Anubis was explaining, but I couldn’t deny the seriousness of the situation. “Assuming all of this is true, and I believed it and wanted to do something about it, why couldn’t I just use our vision connection to tell him to get out?”
“Because even if you were able to tell him, the netherworld is designed to trap a person once they enter.”
“Then what’s to prevent me from being trapped along with him?”
“We will tether you to the afterlife. The tether will only work with one still living. Once you locate Amon, the tether will become active and you will follow it to an exit point where we will wait to retrieve you.”
“We?”
“Yes, the five of us—Isis, Osiris, myself, Nephthys, and Ma’at.”
“And Asten and Ahmose?”
“They are busy performing their assigned duties.”
“Okay, then what about Amun-Ra or Horus? Don’t they care about what’s going on?”
“Because Amon is imbued with the power of both Horus and Amun-Ra, they cannot intervene directly. To use their power in Amon’s retrieval would alert the Devourer to his presence. Also, Amun-Ra was not fully convinced that the Sons of Egypt were necessary in the first place. It was only with great reluctance that he agreed to share his power. I imagine he considers Amon’s betrayal of their gifts as confirmation that he was correct regarding his original position and likely blames me for selecting a faulty vessel.”
“Good for you. Well, at least the gods won’t throw any thorns in my path, right?” Anubis looked suddenly uncomfortable. “They wouldn’t, right?” I encouraged him to answer.
“All I can tell you is that to enter the afterlife, which is the place you’ll need to begin, you must convince Amun-Ra to allow you to ride his celestial barque.”
“You mean the same one that Isis rode on when she tricked him?”
“Yes. And he’s not likely to fall for the same trick twice.”
“And he won’t just give me permission outright?”
“No. Like I said, he doesn’t see things in the same way we do.”
“How generous of him. So to sum everything up, I need to convince or trick the most powerful god of Egypt to give me a seat in his boat, head into the netherworld with a rope tied around my waist, and fight various monsters and demons, including one that wants to eat my heart, all in the hope that I can navigate a world of traps, locate Amon, and convince him to come back and resume the work he hates without either of us dying a permanent death. Is that about right?”
“The rope is figurative.” I folded my arms across my chest. He winced. “It is a crude, yet not imprecise, summation.”
“And why exactly aren’t you doing all of this yourself?”
“His heart speaks only to you, Lilliana Young. If I were to enter the netherworld, I could spend an eternity seeking him. Then who would fulfill my duties in the centuries it would take to find him? I’d have to cast light upon every bottomless crevice, every dank hole, and every monster-filled bog in the place. The netherworld is so vast, so…distracting…that the likelihood of me finding him before the Devourer does is slim. You, my dear, with a direct line to Amon’s heart, will save us time. You are our best chance.”
I sighed, rubbing my temples. “What if…” I paused. “What if I find him and he doesn’t want to come back?”
Anubis came around the bed and placed his hands on my shoulders. “You will explain it to him.”
“But—”
“Lilliana, Amon left the afterlife for you. And for you, he will return.”
Would he? How could I do this? I was no Egyptian heroine. I could barely wield a knife against an apple, let alone a sword, against a monster, assuming I was even given a sword. Considering the folded-arms-wait-and-see approach Horus and Amun-Ra were taking, I wasn’t guaranteed to make it into the afterlife in the first place, let alone the netherworld. Even if I did, how would I figure out where Amon was holed up?
“How am I supposed to find him?”
“Your heart will lead you to him,” Anubis answered quietly.
There were so many questions. Too many. Even if I knew where the netherworld was, wouldn’t I have to die to get there? I guess my decision boiled down to my level of trust in Anubis. Did I believe what he was telling me?
My gut told me yes. I tried to reason it out logically, but logic in this situation failed me. When dealing with a world of gods and goddesses, figurative hearts and spells, supernatural powers and monstrous creatures, you didn’t follow your brain; you followed your heart. And my heart whispered that Amon needed me. If I was honest with myself, I’d admit that I’d known that fact for a while.
If everything Anubis said was true, then the consequences of my failing were more than I could comprehend. I’d lose everything and Chaos would destroy the world. No matter what, I couldn’t stand back and let this tragedy unfold. If, for some reason, Anubis was misleading me and he was using me only to keep Amon in line, then I’d deal with that later.
Moonlight filtered in through the window and slanted across the god of the afterlife’s face. The night was quiet. I couldn’t hear the crickets chirping outside or even my nana’s snoring and I wondered briefly if Anubis had wrapped us in one of his time bubbles where the outside world ceased to exist.
Energy and anticipation thrummed through my limbs, and my mind was soon able to focus on only one thing. I wasn’t thinking about the danger, the uncertainty, the million questions I had, Seth, the gods, or even the Devourer. The only idea that I could reflect on was the possibility that I’d be able to see Amon again. A steely determination filled me.
Anubis seemed to sense this and searched my face hopefully. “Will you go, Lilliana?” he asked.
Hesitating for a single heartbeat, I answered quietly. “Yes.”
Anubis gifted me with a rare, heartfelt smile. “You are truly a brave girl. I can understand why Amon has such affection for you. But, Lilliana, there is one thing you must do first. If you cannot accomplish this task, then you will not be permitted entry to Amun-Ra’s realm at all, let alone ride his celestial barque or enter the afterlife.”
I frowned, uncertainty flooding over me. “What is it?” I asked.
“You must transform yourself.”
Choking back my fear, I posed, “Do you mean I have to die first?”
Anubis shook his head. “Not die. No. For the tether to work, you will need to be alive. But your mortality will be altered somewhat. It’s an inevitable thing with this type of transformation. And you must understand that once this is done, you will never be just Lilliana Young again. You will be something altogether different.”
“What do I have to do?” I asked, terrified of his answer.
“You’ll have to become…a sphinx.”
“A…a what?” I asked, unsure I’d heard him correctly.
“A sphinx.”
“Like the one near the pyramids?”
“No.” He gave a frustrated sigh. “There is so much you do not know.”
“N
o kidding.”
“I will send you to the vizier. He will assist you.”
“The vizier? You mean Dr. Hassan?”
“Yes. Hassan. Come now, Lilliana. We have wasted too much time already.”
“You want me to go right now? Let me at least get dressed and come up with something to say to my nana.”
“There is no need to bother her. If you are successful, you’ll be returned to this exact time as if nothing had happened at all.”
I was almost scared to ask. “And if I fail?”
“If you fail,” he murmured softly, “your nana and the rest of mankind will have much more to worry about than your disappearance.”
“Right,” I replied with a queasy knot in my stomach.
“Now. Regarding your attire…” Anubis tapped his fingertip to his chin as he studied my form. My cheeks burned. With a twitch of his fingers, tiny particles of sand and dust sped toward him and twirled in a path around his hand. They coalesced and brightened, twisting faster until I could no longer distinguish them.
Anubis directed the swirling mass toward me, where the gleaming substance surrounded my limbs. Nervously, I darted from the bed just as the light burst. It melted down my body, becoming a flowing gown of green the exact same shade as Amon’s heart scarab. Golden scales that looked like the scarab wings were attached to the dress at the top, forming a sort of jeweled collar that softly wound over my shoulders, my back, and underneath my arms like a shoulder harness.
The segments lengthened and continued down the sides of the gown where they crossed my abdomen like a winged corset of glistening armor. A gleaming emerald scarab sat at the center of my waist where the wings met. The bottom of the dress flowed out in delicate gossamer and ended at my ankles. On my feet were golden sandals that sparkled like the hooves of the desert horses who were descendants of Nebu, the famous immortal stallion.
“It’s beautiful,” I admitted.
“Yes. It should serve adequately for the present.” He watched me inspect the armor and added, “I used the scarab you hid beneath your pillow to create it.”
Startled, I raised my eyes to his. “You knew?”
“Of course I knew. I am a god, after all. The fact that his scarab went missing when I mummified Amon was not lost on me.” Stepping forward, he stretched out a finger to the emerald but stopped just short of touching it. “The gemstone is nothing, a trinket. It is the power Amon instilled within it that is important. A piece of him resides there. Only you have the ability to draw it out and return him wholly to himself.”
“Is it normal that I can feel his heartbeat when I touch it?” I asked without making eye contact.
He didn’t respond for a few seconds, and I reluctantly drew my eyes to his. Anubis was looking at me with a sort of puzzled expression. His eyes slowly traced a path from my face down to the jewel at my waist.
“It means your connection is stronger than we all thought. Even Isis couldn’t feel her husband’s heart upon his death. It shouldn’t be possible for a mortal at all and yet…” His words trailed off as he closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. “Yes. I sense it. Though it is faint for me. If I wasn’t aware of it, I doubt I would have discovered it on my own.”
When Anubis opened his eyes, he took a step forward and reached out a hand to trail his fingertips down my bare arm. I stopped breathing, confused about what was happening. Anubis murmured in a honey-rich voice, “The yearning you feel for one another is”—he paused and tilted his head—“it’s heady, addictive. A potent enough elixir to tempt even a god.”
His warm gaze locked on to my lips and he lowered his head as if to kiss me. I shifted minutely since his hand cupped my arm in a powerful enough grip to prevent me from doing much of anything, and he froze, apparently shocked by his own actions. The intensity in his expression, the emotion behind his eyes was quickly reeled in.
Before I could ask him what he was doing, he moved several feet away and said, “It will certainly be an enticement for every dangerous immortal being in the netherworld.”
“So you’re saying the scarab will make immortals want to…” I couldn’t complete the sentence.
Anubis replied frankly, “They will want to devour you. In one way or another.”
I touched my fingertips to the scarab. “That’s fantastic,” I murmured wryly as I pondered the ramifications of my connection to Amon.
“The potency of the spell creates an aura about you. All of those you come into contact with will be affected by it in varying degrees. The pull becomes more powerful the longer a person is exposed. The stronger the immortal is, the more he will be able to resist its lure, but those of a weak mind will scarcely be able to control themselves. They’ll be bewitched. Becoming a sphinx will at least afford you the ability to protect yourself more fully.”
Not knowing how to process all of that, I focused instead on the sphinx thing. “Right. About that—”
He held up a hand. “The vizier will explain everything.” Ignoring my grunt of frustration, Anubis rubbed his jaw and said as he considered me, “It is unfortunate for you that Amon offered his heart. I’m not certain he understood all the ramifications of gifting you with his heart scarab. If I’d known of his plan, I would have prevented it.”
“Isn’t it right that he should have someone to love?” I questioned with an underlying edge to my voice.
“Love is fleeting. It’s a brief spark that flares in the heavens, bursting forth in a cascade of glory only to be snuffed out in the darkness of space. It is not something worth risking the cosmos over.”
I folded my arms across my chest and frowned. He was wrong. There were some kinds of love that continued, even after death. Like a ripple on the water, love moved. Long after the plunge, its effect could be felt. All that was required was someone to remember it, to see what it left behind. Then it existed, it lived. If anyone offered to sever the ties between me and Amon, I’d outright reject it.
“Wars have been fought over love, you know,” I murmured.
“That observation just served to prove my point even further.”
“Perhaps you shouldn’t speak of something you haven’t experienced for yourself.”
Anubis stared me down. “You are quite bold for a mortal.”
“And you are quite narrow-minded for a god.”
“I find it interesting that you feel brave enough to speak your mind to me and yet you cower before your so very mortal parents. Perhaps Amon’s rebellious nature has rubbed off on you. Both of you court danger like a pair of monkeys wandering too close to a crocodile-infested river.”
“My relationship with my parents, like my relationship with Amon, is none of your business.”
“On the contrary. Your relationships such as they may be are indeed my business. If there was a way to save Amon myself, giving me leave to destroy the connection between you, I wouldn’t hesitate to do it. And despite what you are so obviously thinking, I do not say this to be cruel or to unfairly punish you. The benefits of such a thing as falling in love with an immortal are not worth more than what you are losing.”
I drew myself up, jutting my chin in the air as haughtily as I could muster. “That’s my choice to make, though, isn’t it?”
Anubis raised an eyebrow. “For now, young one. For now.”
My hands fisted at my sides, anger boiling through my veins. What I felt for the boy imbued with the celestial power of the sun was precious to me. I’d never voluntarily give it up, danger or no. He didn’t understand that before Amon, nothing mattered. I’d been drifting through my life letting other people decide the path I would take. But Amon lit a spark that I’d nurtured these last few months.
Maybe Anubis was right about my parents. Maybe I’d taken the coward’s way. The easy way out. Perhaps I did hide the flame from them, but it was there. I could feel it. My soul had awakened, and I wouldn’t turn away from the one responsible for filling my world with purpose and light. If I had wandered aimlessly since returning home
, it was only because I’d lost sight of the one thing that mattered to me. The only way I’d let Anubis destroy our bond was over my dead body.
“When it becomes necessary for you to fight—notice I said when, not if—the amulet will become your shield, your armor, and even your weapon.”
I touched the green gem. “So it’s magic?”
“In a way. Despite what I think of its so-called benefits, love is a sort of magic. A trick of the light that not even the gods can replicate. The heart scarab is fueled by Amon’s feelings for you. As long as his love for you remains, the protection his heart offers is assured.” Anubis called his dog to his side. “Are you ready?”
I sucked in a breath and glanced around my room, convinced that there was something I was forgetting or some question I hadn’t thought of. “I suppose I am,” I answered after gathering my courage.
Anubis nodded. “Abutiu,” he addressed his canine companion, “return home and await my arrival.” With a small snort, the dog disappeared and we were alone. The god of mummification frowned, took a step closer, then reached out and drew me into his arms. He was warm, and the sensation of being held by him wasn’t at all unpleasant.
I pressed my cheek against the rough fabric of his denim jacket. “Close your eyes,” he encouraged while cradling me as if I were extremely fragile. Maybe to him I was. I closed them, expecting to hear the familiar release of sand just before I felt the brush of grains against my skin, but then I remembered that travel by sand couldn’t happen over large bodies of water.
I wondered for a moment if Dr. Hassan wasn’t in Egypt after all and if Anubis traveled in a different way from Amon. Just as I was about to ask him, I felt the floor disappear beneath us and we sank into a blackness so complete, I was sure that there was nothing left of me.
Though I was conscious, I felt like I had no form. I couldn’t feel my limbs. I wasn’t breathing. I was just…aware. Like a disembodied spirit. If I could’ve screamed, I would have. It felt like an endless sort of suffocation.