The one with the ivory horns stopped them. “Make sure he doesn’t come back.”
“Yes, Hathor,” said Bastet.
The other Netcheroos went back to the trees. The music and laughter started again. Bastet glared at Hermes, then at Onamu’s soul.
“I regret telling you how to find me,” she said, putting her hands on her hips. “Following an Egyptian soul was only for emergencies!”
“Wanting to see you was the emergency, my sand flower,” he said with a blissful smile.
She grabbed his hat and hit him on the arm with it.
“Stop wasting my time. How are Anubis and Aïden?”
“Aïden is under my protection for a year,” he said, getting back up. “But I thought Anubis was here?”
“No, he was exiled, his powers were removed, and he was escorted back into town. He should already be at the palace with his angel friends.”
“Bad news, my shiny gemstone. He’s not back. The angels, along with Lady Naími, left for war with the young king’s troops. There’s only Aïden and me left at the palace.”
“You left her alone?”
“She locked herself in a dark room and won’t leave until nighttime. I even stole some raw meat from the kitchens for her. See how I take good care of your sweetie?”
Bastet slid her arm in his and walked with him, looking upset. Onamu’s soul and the spectral guide followed.
“Anubis was escorted out of the oasis by Set, the cruelest among us,” she said in a low voice. “He probably abandoned him in the middle of the desert.”
“With no powers? It would take him years to reach civilization! Can’t we ask his pack?” He turned to the spectral guide. “You! Dog! Find your master!”
It kept walking near Onamu without paying them attention. Bastet frowned.
“The pack existed long before Anubis took their lead and they haven’t reacted to his departure.”
“How loyal of them. I’ll have a fly over the desert, just in case.”
“I would be grateful. They’re watching me closely. I won’t be able to reach you without them suspecting me of betrayal.”
“Will my presence here put you in trouble?”
“Oh, you’re not the first who crawls at my feet, begging me to take them back.” She winked. “We are here.”
They found themselves next to a rocky cliff, near an elaborate archway carved with funeral signs. The dog entered, followed by the soul.
“I have to leave you, my heart,” said Hermes with a sad smile. “I have a promise to keep.”
She transformed into her human form and kissed him, her eyes laughing.
“Your heart is too soft on these mortals, my dear. Go, and then leave the oasis. I can’t justify your presence much longer.”
She left with a smile. Hermes watched her go, sighed, and went into the tunnel. He had a promise to keep and would stay until Onamu’s soul was allowed in the afterlife.
Chapter 14
Amram and Yocheved
Crowds gathered along the Nile to watch the royal fleet pass by. They chanted the king’s name and sang the soldiers’ praises. On board, the men took turns to row day and night. The head ship, enormous and majestic, held the king, the vizier, and the most important members of his war council.
Naími had been relegated to a smaller ship with the dignitaries of low importance.
The cabin was tiny and suffocating. Most passengers had trouble finding comfort on the papyrus mats. Naími, used to austere conditions, fell easily asleep on the first night.
Her sleep was cut short. She startled awake and sat up to catch her breath.
Dewei, who was sitting nearby in the dark, placed a hand on her shoulder.
“You don’t need to chaperone me,” she muttered with annoyance.
“You’re the only woman on this ship,” he said. “Were you woken by a premonition?”
“...I made a mistake,” she muttered.
She closed her traveling cape tightly around herself and left the cabin. Outside, a team of rowers kept the rhythm while the other half slept. They stepped over the snoring men to reach the stern. Naími leaned on the railing, her eyes in the direction of the capital.
“The waters of my dreams are muddy. I can see names and events. Nothing that we did so far got a clear answer. But tonight, I have no doubt. Leaving the palace was a mistake.”
“I can go fetch Harouk and Silas. They’re on the fourth boat.”
“No, we can’t desert. I need to keep my place at the palace. We are supposed to make a stop tomorrow morning. I’ll ask for an audience with the king then.”
The fleet reached the delta a bit before the midday hour. The metropolis teemed with activity. Several sailing ships waited near the docks, ready to cross the great sea. Naími made her way through the general chaos to the king’s boat and was directed to a richly furnished cabin. The king, the vizier, the chief of the army, and other strategists surrounded a map of the country of Amurru. Naími bowed deeply.
The king didn’t raise his head from the map. “Oracle, do you have an announcement?”
“Nothing about the war, your highness. But, sadly, I had a vision last night about her majesty your sister.”
That caught his attention. He frowned at her.
“What did the gods say about Kamilah?”
“Forgive me, your highness. I meant Princess Soromeh. I saw death and suffering circle above her.”
The king shared a look with Damon. Sethy went back to her. “What do you suggest, oracle?”
“Your highness, I think the gods have said everything they had to tell me about this war. Let me go back to the palace. I’ll take care of her.”
Damon raised a hand. “If I may, my king, I want to listen to Lady Naími. I would like to know that my wife is safe.”
The king thought and, after a moment, nodded. “You may go back.”
“I have a last request, your highness,” she said. “Three soldiers of her majesty’s close guard were enrolled in this war due to a scribal error. Allow them to escort me to the palace and take back their post.”
“Yes, yes,” said the king, going back to the map.
The other strategists followed his example. Damon nodded at her, looking worried.
Naími found her three protectors on the dock.
“Dewei said we’re going back to the palace?” said Harouk.
“We’ll need to find a discreet spot to open our wings,” said Silas, looking around. “If we change here, the humans will notice us blinking out of existence.”
Dewei raised a hand, exasperated. “We can’t travel such a long distance in our true forms! We would be spotted by any Netcheroo protector of the Nile frogs or some other idiocy like that. Who knows where they assign their people?”
Naími sighed. “I think Dewei’s paranoia is right, for once. But I am tired of boats.”
They had trouble finding a transport in the general pandemonium. Eventually, they discovered a stone transporter who allowed them on board for a modest fee. They started a trip back up the Nile, slower than they had traveled with the royal fleet.
The following nights, when Naími managed to fall asleep, the movement of the water echoed in her dreams. She could see the Nile, red like blood, raging under a storm. Thousands of children falling to its depths. Soromeh fighting to get back to the surface.
The transporter took four days to come back to the capital. Naími spent most of her time meditating or pacing on the deck. At one point, Dewei stopped her and demanded to know why she was so worried.
“I didn’t lie to the king,” she said. “I see death circling Soromeh. I see it again and again. Lately, everything looks darker. Something sinister is closing in on her, something that I won’t be able to stop.”
“You don’t have to stop it,” said Silas. “I also care for the princess, but your duty is not to save a single child but thousands of them.”
Naími’s expression closed, and she didn’t say a word for the
rest of the trip.
As soon as they reached the palace, she jumped out and strode to the royal wing. She was questioned many times by guards that didn’t recognize her in her travel cloak. When she reached Soromeh’s door, she was surprised to be stopped by the guard Ookami.
“You too, Ookami? Should I go put some jewels in my hair to be allowed to speak to the princess?”
“Her majesty doesn’t want to speak to anyone,” he said, sadly. “Since little Onamu’s death.”
Naími felt as if someone had punched her. She had forgotten their last conversation.
“I wish to give her my condolences,” she said.
Ookami was divided but ended up opening the door.
The quarters were strangely silent. Iram and Barak were sitting at the table, mechanically cleaning statues that were already spotless. At her entrance, they stopped working and rose.
“Lady Naími,” greeted Iram with a bow. “I’m glad to see that you’re back.”
“Where is Soromeh?” she asked, looking around. “They told me what happened to Onamu. I’m sorry.”
Barak sat down and started cleaning again.
Iram took a moment before he could speak again. “Thank you, my lady. As for her majesty, she’s resting.”
“Don’t give me whatever you tell the other nobles. How is she, really?”
“I’m worried,” he admitted, closing a fist. “She spends her nights on the balcony and her days sleeping. She speaks little and eats even less.”
“Didn’t she react the same way after Misha’s death?”
“How dare you?” yelled a voice from the bedroom.
Soromeh appeared at the door, wearing her night clothes, hair undone, deep circles under her eyes. Her face was twisted with rage.
“How dare you say her name in my presence, when you were unable to save her? How dare you walk in these rooms when you refused to heal Onamu?”
“Your majesty, I couldn’t—”
“I know what you can do!” she screamed. “You chose not to save them! You saved me because you needed a place at the palace, but you did nothing for those who brought you nothing!”
“I—I’m sorry—”
“Leave my quarters!”
Naími lowered her head. The doors were slammed behind her.
* * *
The library was almost empty after the sunset. Some overzealous scribes were still working under lamplight, and servants were sweeping the central space.
In a secluded corner, invisible to human eyes, Hermes hovered near the ceiling, looking through a basket of scrolls and complaining against Egyptian classification. Aïden, sitting on top of the bookcase, was eating the remains of a palace cat.
“You got blood on your chin,” said Hermes.
She wiped it with her hand. “What are you looking for?”
“This!” he said happily, brandishing a scroll.
He went to sit at her side and had to move the bones away. He found a shiny copper necklace among them.
“That cat belonged to someone,” he noted. “Look, its name is written here. Little Cloud. In a royal cartouche, no less.”
Aïden only answered by taking a fine bone from her mouth and placing it with the rest. Hermes shrugged and unrolled the papyrus.
“This is very old. A couple of symbols have already faded off… There. ‘Then the ka is led to meet Thoth, so that its actions can be weighed against the sacred feather of Maat, representative of divine justice.’ I already knew that. ‘If the ka is pure, it can access the eternal afterlife and share the gods’ feast. If it fails the test, it will be given to the damned creature to be devoured.’”
Aïden removed a copper link that was stuck between her fangs.
“I know all this,” said Hermes. “Every Egyptian knows their funeral rites. These are carved on every wall from the Nile’s source to the great sea. You’re probably wondering why I’m researching it if it’s so obvious.”
“No,” she said, chewing with her mouth open.
“You see, I don’t trust the hieroglyphs carved in stone. I came to look for this document that dates to the first pharaonic dynasty. It was written in an older language, hard to translate. If we compare with more recent versions, we can find some variations.”
He pointed at a series of symbols that meant nothing to Aïden.
“Like this word. You can translate it to ‘damned creature.’ You can also translate it to ‘demon.’”
She raised her head, suddenly interested.
“I saw the famous sacred scales, when I walked little Onamu’s soul to the Netcheroo oasis. I chatted with Thoth, an old acquaintance, still obsessed with the protocol. I saw the Feather of Maat. I even caught a glimpse of the golden doors to their afterlife. But I never saw that damned creature. The question needs to be asked. Aïden, do the demons have an alliance with the Netcheroos?”
“Of course,” she chewed. “Everyone knows that.”
“The Netcheroos have always denied it.”
“We are allowed to hunt in Egypt. The mortals fear us, so they pray to the Netcheroos.” She shrugged, finding it obvious.
“And in exchange, they send you the ones who fail the test of the scales,” concluded Hermes. “I guess that human fear feeds you as much as faith?”
She nodded and grabbed a bone that still had some meat on it. “You ask a lot of questions.”
“I’m doing research.”
“On demons and Netcheroos?”
“And Olympians, angels, and all the others. I want to discover the origin of Celestials.”
“There’s no origin. Demons have always existed.”
“You think? I’m not so sure. I think there was a time that we can’t remember, when we weren’t so powerful. A time where our clans were one and the same.”
Aïden grimaced in disgust. “Demons are not the same as angels!”
“Have you always hated each other? Where does this fighting come from?”
“Demons have always hated angels,” she said slowly, to make him understand.
“Always is a big word, even for a Celestial, honey.”
A new voice interrupted them. “What are you doing up there?”
They leaned over. Between the rows of shelves was Harouk, still wearing his soldier uniform.
“My friend!” said the Olympian. “If you keep talking to invisible beings, the scribes will think you’re crazy! Put on your wings and fly up here!”
Harouk went to fetch a ladder instead. The wood creaked under his weight.
“What are you doing here?” repeated the angel.
“We’re eating the evening meal,” said Hermes, showing the small pile of bones. “What about you? I thought the angelic delegation had left for war.”
“Our trip was cut short. Have you seen Anubis? And Bastet too, I guess. I’ve looked everywhere in the palace, and I can’t find them.”
“They not here,” admitted Hermes. “The delicious Bastet stayed in her oasis, but Anubis was exiled. He hasn’t returned to the palace and isn’t in the desert either. I checked.”
“He’s got no powers,” added Aïden. “He’s almost like a mortal. Weak.”
Harouk gripped the ladder so hard the wood splintered. He climbed down and walked to the exit. Aïden jumped down to follow him.
“Where are you going?” called Hermes.
“The jackal belongs to Mistress Bastet,” she said with impatience.
Hermes watched her catch up to Harouk and exchange a heated discussion, before both walked off together.
“Demons have always hated angels?” he repeated, incredulous.
* * *
Harouk searched the city streets tirelessly. During the day, he was joined by Naími, Silas, and Dewei. At night, Hermes and Aïden, invisible to human eyes, flew above him.
He scoured the neighborhoods surrounding the palace, then the ones near the markets. He questioned the city police, the inhabitants, and the merchants. Naími gave him part of her possessions t
o pay for information or promise a reward. The news spread quickly, and soon, they were inundated with false leads.
“You should accept the idea that he may not be in Egypt anymore,” said Hermes, hovering next to him. “Maybe they exiled him from the whole country. Are you going to search the entire world?”
The Celestial Conspiracies Page 21
