“And now she is gone,” Niten added. “Trapped in a Shadowrealm with a savage Archon, and no one to rescue her.”
“I feel sorry for the Archon,” Prometheus said.
“True.” Niten smiled, then froze and sniffed the air. “I am smelling …,” he began, then turned, breathing in deeply. The smell was all around them, a putrid stench that suddenly intensified as the Spartoi flowed out of the fog, spears and swords jabbing, mouths wide, claws outstretched.
“It has been an honor to know you,” Prometheus said, sword blazing red in a semicircle about him, sparks screaming and exploding off shields and swords.
“And it is an honor to die with you,” Niten answered. He dodged a spear, caught the head of another and wrenched it from a Spartoi’s hand, then deftly flipped it and plunged it into the surprised monster.
The Drakon attacked.
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
The twins followed Isis and Osiris across a path of golden stones toward the entrance to the impossibly tall Pyramid of the Sun. Their boots clicked on the gilded walkway, the only sound in a cone of silence that gradually spread around them as everyone turned to look.
Josh leaned close to his sister. “We’re attracting a lot of attention,” he said quietly.
“I get the feeling that was the plan,” Sophie whispered back. She saw her brother’s blank look and continued. “I have a feeling we could have landed a lot closer to the entrance, but we didn’t. Isis and Osiris wanted us to go the long way so everyone would see us. I bet this is one of the reasons they made us wear the armor.” Sophie nodded to the people who had started to crowd around. “Look—who else is wearing armor?”
“Well, the guards—” Josh started.
Sophie cut him off before he could finish. “Besides the guards—who are all wearing black, I might add.”
“Just us, I guess,” he conceded. “I hate it when you’re right.”
“And this gold and silver armor is not exactly discreet, is it?”
“They’re showing us off,” he said softly. Then he frowned. “Actually, I’m not sure I like that. It’s kind of like we’re animals in a zoo.”
Sophie nodded. “Exactly—like prize attractions. They want everyone to know we’re here.”
“I wish I’d brought my sunglasses,” Josh said suddenly. “Though it would probably ruin the look,” he added with a grin.
“Armor and sunglasses.” Sophie smiled. “It would be an interesting image, that’s for sure.”
“Wish I’d brought a camera, too,” Josh said, craning his neck to get a better view of the towering structure directly ahead of them. “The pyramid is pretty awesome. Look at the size of that door!”
Directly ahead of them was a massive entrance into the heart of the Pyramid of the Sun. One hundred anpu stood shoulder to shoulder across the opening, all of them armed with spears that leaked a pale blue light. On either side of the door countless steps stretched to the sky, where the evening sun ran bloodred and golden off the polished stones.
“Is it made out of real gold, do you think?” Josh asked.
“Everything else is,” Sophie said. “Do you really think it’s paint?”
As the twins approached, the crowd moved closer, forming into two long lines at their sides.
“These must be the Elders of Danu Talis,” Sophie murmured.
None of the figures were entirely human, and most were half hidden by hooded leather cloaks or swaths of cloth. There were occasional glimpses of fur or leathery flesh, a ragged claw, an animal’s bloodshot eye or a horn. But there were a few who chose to proudly display the Changes that had overtaken them—the frightening alterations and bizarre additions to their bodies.
“Don’t look now,” Josh said suddenly, “but there’s a woman on my side who’s got wings. And bird’s feet,” he added, in awe.
“That’s Inanna.” Sophie turned to look, and then nodded. “Inanna. One of the most respected of the Elders. Powerful, deadly, but not an enemy of the humani. The Witch’s memories,” she told her brother quickly, before he could ask her how she knew.
“So I guess you’ll know about everyone here. That could come in real handy.”
“I’ll know most, I guess. I’ve been trying to push back the Witch’s thoughts—Joan of Arc showed me how. But sometimes bits and pieces trickle through, like names. Or I’ll remember the trivia that stuck in the Witch’s head.” She tilted her head slightly. “Inanna keeps lions, so she always smells like big cats, damp straw and dung. The Witch hated that smell. And she was allergic to cats—they made her sneeze.”
Josh laughed out loud at the thought of the Witch of Endor being allergic to anything.
“They make her break out in hives, too,” Sophie added with a grin, and then laughed with him.
“Will all the Elders look like monsters?” Josh asked as they stepped out of the sunshine and into the shadow of the pyramid. The temperature immediately fell, and their clattering footsteps were dulled and absorbed by the enormous gold pyramid.
Sophie nodded. “Mostly. There aren’t many Elders that the Change hasn’t … uh … changed in some way …,” she began, and then stopped, realizing what her brother was suggesting.
Josh nodded at Isis and Osiris, who were up ahead, dwarfed by the enormous doorway, waiting patiently for the twins to catch up. “So what does that make this pair?” he asked. “They don’t look Changed.”
Sophie shook her head. “No. They’re Changed,” she said confidently. “We’re just not seeing how.”
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
Wrapped in a hooded leather cloak, Marethyu moved easily through the Elders crowding around Sophie and Josh Newman before the Pyramid of the Sun. Tucked in his shirt, bundled up in an oiled leather bag, the hook that took the place of his left hand burned and buzzed against his chest.
He should not be here.
Not now.
Especially not now.
He was in a crowd of Elders. If he brushed against any of them, even by accident, the consequences would be catastrophic. But it had been a long time since he had taken risks, and there were some risks worth taking.
When he was younger, first coming into his powers, he had been a daredevil. What had he to fear? He was invulnerable and immortal. He could be wounded and injured, and unless he lost his head or shattered his spine, he would heal.
But once he had begun to conceive the plan to save the world, he had taught himself to be cautious, trained himself to be a little fearful. Without him, the plan would not succeed. He had lived so long and led so many lives that he did not fear death, but he knew that one slip, one tiny mistake, could bring it all crashing down.
Yet here he was, risking everything by coming here today.
When he had returned to Danu Talis to set in motion all that needed to happen, he had known deep down that he wanted to witness the arrival of the twins. It would be one of the defining moments in the extraordinary history of the island empire. He wanted to see the brother and sister, the fabled twins of the ancient prophecy—one to save the world, one to destroy it.
He felt it was worth the risk.
Isis and Osiris had timed their arrival perfectly.
Marethyu was standing in the shadows, watching as their crystal vimana swept down out of the sky. Osiris had waited until most of the council had arrived at the pyramid, a handful riding in decrepit vimana, the rest in carriages ranging from the hideously ornate to the grotesque. Then Osiris had deliberately taken a long curling loop before landing so that the dipping sun would splash across the craft, lighting it up like a shooting star.
They had landed in one of the farther parking bays, usually occupied by the carriages of minor Elders. By rights Isis and Osiris could have landed almost on the steps of the pyramid and none would have objected. But they wanted the twins to make the ten-minute walk across the courtyard to the entrance of the pyramid. Osiris had also cleverly turned the craft so that when the sides opened and Sophie and Josh emerged, their armo
r lit up like beacons in the sinking sun’s light, blazing silver and gold.
The council always waited until the last minute before going into the pyramid, because its slanting gold walls would drain their auras. They were all witness to the arrival of the mysterious couple in the gold and silver armor.
Isis and Osiris strode quickly ahead, leaving the twins to follow. The hook-handed man knew what they were doing—keeping the focus completely on the teenagers.
By the time Sophie and Josh were halfway across the square, Marethyu had heard the first whispers ripple through the crowd….
… gold and silver …
… twins of legend …
… sun and moon …
Marethyu had to give it to Isis and Osiris—it was a masterly move. If the two Elders had simply brought Sophie and Josh to the Council Chamber and announced them as the twins of legend, many of the Elders would have laughed in disbelief. But with an entrance like this, the council were already convincing themselves that these were the twins of prophecy, even before they’d stepped into the pyramid.
It was genius.
Marethyu moved quickly to the back of the line, keeping pace with the twins. He watched them chat quietly with each other, all the while knowing every word they said. He saw Josh spot Inanna and saw the moment his eyes widened with awe when he noticed her bird’s feet. The hook-handed man saw Sophie’s blue eyes flicker toward the winged Elder, and his own lips formed the words as she said them: “That’s Inanna.”
Marethyu had chosen this particular moment from all the moments that were available to him because the twins looked happy. He watched Sophie’s lips, and although he could not hear her, he knew she was telling Josh about the Witch of Endor being allergic to cats and sneezing. The twins laughed together, the sound pure and high, carefree and full of life.
That was what he had come to hear.
Marethyu’s age was now beyond reckoning. He had traveled back and forth across endless streams of time. He had lived for centuries in Shadowrealms where the rules of time were different or nonexistent. He had seen much and experienced even more and had forgotten nothing. That was part of his curse.
And he knew that this was the last time Sophie and Josh would laugh together.
CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
Dressed in full ceremonial armor, Anubis stood outside a beautifully carved metal door and took a deep breath. He found his left hand going toward his mouth and then stopped himself. He’d given up chewing his nails when the Change began to alter his skull, making it beastlike, elongating his teeth, thinning his lips. On a couple of occasions when he’d absentmindedly put his nail in his mouth, he’d almost bitten his finger off.
“Why don’t you come in,” a voice snarled from inside the room. “I know you’re out there.”
Fixing his lips into a semblance of a smile, Anubis pushed open the door to Bastet’s private chambers and stepped inside, quickly pulling the door shut behind him to prevent anything within from escaping into the corridors. The room was in almost total darkness, and he stood with his back to the wall as he allowed his eyes to adjust to the gloom. The smell in the room was appalling, and he tried his best to breathe only through his mouth. “How did you know I was outside?” he asked.
“I could hear you breathing.” Bastet’s voice came from his right and he turned toward the sound. He could just about make out the shape of her huge cat head against a darkened window. It was thrown back, and she was in the process of swallowing something still wriggling. “What news?”
“Isis and Osiris have just arrived,” Anubis announced.
Bastet swallowed her meal, wiped her mouth with her arm, then coughed and hacked like a cat. “Good,” she gasped finally. “I told you they would be here for your inauguration. They hold huge sway with the rest of the council. Once they endorse you, you are guaranteed the leadership.”
“They came in that amazing vimana of theirs,” he said quietly. “I want one. It hardly seems fair that they have a ship like that and I don’t.” Taking a deep breath, he tiptoed across the floor toward his mother. He winced with every step as tiny bones crunched and cracked beneath his feet. Before the Change, his mother had only eaten peeled fruit on crystal plates. Now she ate raw—and often live—meat, and the marble and gold floor was littered with the cast-off bones of her recent meals. The room, older than most civilizations and once beautiful, now stank of waste and rotting food.
“When you are ruler, you can have anything you want,” Bastet answered. “You should ask them for the vimana. They’ll hardly refuse.”
“They didn’t come alone,” he added casually.
“Oh. Who have they brought? Anyone we know?”
Anubis crouched before his mother, and even though she was sitting, their faces were on the same level. He’d often wondered at the quirk of fate that had made her Change into a cat while he became a dog. The Change was more pronounced with her: she had a tail, razor-sharp teeth, retractable claws and a taste for live rodents and birds.
“It’s a couple. A girl and a boy. I don’t know them. I’ve never seen them before,” he said quietly.
“I wonder who they are.” She turned to appraise herself in a mirror only she could see. Anubis smelled powder and the slightly sour perfume his mother preferred as she sprayed it over her fur
“They look like humani, to be honest,” he said, coming slowly to his feet and stepping back.
“How odd,” Bastet said mildly.
“They’re wearing gold and silver semitransparent ceramic armor. And I think they might be twins,” he finished in a rush. He ducked as Bastet screamed and flung a perfume jar at his head. Only his extraordinarily fast reflexes saved him. “I’ll wait outside,” he called as he left the room.
Anubis stood in the corridor, arms folded across his massive chest. Through the thick gold-plated walls, he could hear his mother rage around her room. Glass shattered. Furniture crashed. The last time she’d been in one of her rages, she’d punched a hole through a six-inch-thick solid-gold door and pulled the antique chandelier out of the ceiling. He heard the tinkle of expensive crystal, and then the door vibrated as something heavy—he guessed it was the chandelier again—shattered against the other side.
Occasionally, animal-headed servants would appear at the end of the hallway, spot him outside Bastet’s door and slowly back away. The Elder’s rages were legendary, and deadly to anyone who got in her way.
Anubis closed his eyes and sighed. When he ruled Danu Talis, he wondered if it would be possible—or wise, even—to think about removing his mother to one of the outer Shadowrealms and then sealing off the leygates, trapping her there. She had many allies on the council, but very few friends. He might be able to find a small group willing to assist him—maybe even the mysterious Isis and Osiris.
Isis and Osiris were unlike any of the Elders he knew. In a council chamber where most of the Elders were showing some aspect of the Change, Isis and Osiris seemed untouched. He’d heard a rumor that they were Great Elders or maybe even Ancients, but he didn’t believe that, and he knew they couldn’t be Archons. They didn’t spend a lot of time on Danu Talis, and he could probably count on the claws of one hand the number of times he’d seen them at the council meetings over the last fifteen years.
And now they had turned up with twins in gold and silver armor.
Anubis was not particularly bright—his brother Aten was the brains of the family—but even he knew this was not a good sign. Everyone knew the legend of the Gold and Silver twins who had first ruled the island. Danu Talis was built around the twin symbols of sun and moon, opposite and equal. The city was even laid out like a sun and crescent moon. So for Isis and Osiris to turn up on this day with a couple in gold and silver armor could not be a coincidence.
The big Elder’s face fixed into a grim mask. He would rule Danu Talis today—one way or another. He had an army of ten thousand anpu, and the new bull-headed Asterion hybrids encamped in the squares and streets nearby. Hi
s latest experiments in boar, bear, cat and bull hybrids were waiting in the sub-basements deep below the pyramid. He had put them in place so that when he was declared the Lord of Danu Talis, he could parade them as symbols of his power. But they were all armed and in full armor—and had been bred to be loyal only to him.
Bastet’s rages were like a summer storm: furious and dramatic but quick to pass. When the door opened a little while later, the Elder was calm and composed, her fur neatly combed, dressed from head to foot in a black and red leather robe and a black cloak lined with crimson.
“That looks rather like my armor …,” Anubis began, and then stopped.
“Why do you think I chose it?” She linked her arm with his, and together they walked down the long corridor lined with enormous slabs of polished crystal. Their reflections, broken and distorted, kept pace with them, and each mirror showed the Elder couple against a different moving background.
“Now, tell me everything you can about this couple in gold and silver.”
“I’ve told you all I know,” Anubis answered. “My spies informed me that Isis and Osiris had arrived and I went out on the balcony to take a look at the craft. I really want it, it is fabulous,” he added.
“Anubis …,” Bastet warned.
“And that’s when I spotted the twins.”
“You don’t know they’re twins,” she snapped. “Stop saying that.”
“I know you think I’m stupid …,” Anubis began. He saw the look on his mother’s face and hurried on. “I saw a young man and woman who looked humani to me, in expensive- and ancient-looking gold and silver armor.”
“Who was wearing what?” she asked.
“The boy was in gold and the girl in silver, of course.”
“Describe them.”
“I just have—a boy and a girl.”
“Hair color, eyes,” Bastet said, and her grip tightened painfully on his arm.
“Their hair was blond. I didn’t see their eyes; I was too far away. I did note that the boy was taller than the girl. It’s hard to tell humani ages, but they were fifteen or sixteen summers, perhaps.”
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