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Anubis was the tallest man she had ever seen. He towered a good head and shoulders above Thoth, and for a god who had lived as a dog for the past five thousand years, he was strongly built.
"I remember going to you for help, and you denied me," Anubis said, voice going so cold, the hair on Kema's neck stood up. "This could've been over centuries ago, but you walked away." "To get more beer! I fucked up. I know I did. But I've had my own curse to deal with for the last twenty years," Hermes said, trying to defend himself. "Twenty years? That is a blink of an eye compared to my suffering. Five thousand years I struggled against myself," Anubis snarled. "I hope the fucking beer was worth it."
"One day I will call on you, and you will give me what I ask for. It is settled." Hermes let out a tight sigh. "It is, Anubis. And I am sorry about that night."
While Tahirah was gone, Rana slipped one of the small statues into her bag. It wasn't the first time she had taken a trinket from the site, and no one would notice this time, like they hadn't all the others. If they did, no one would suspect Tahirah or her kind sister that brought them sweet biscuits whenever she came to visit. It was only one small statue in a mountain of them, Rana told herself. No one would miss it, not even her perfect sister. What harm could it do?
Created in an act of infidelity between Osiris and Nephthys, he was immediately abandoned in a thick copse of reeds to die as soon as he slid free from his mother.
The first lesson was that the dead were often thought less of than the living, so he became the god who cared for them. The second was that the humble dog was better than any human or god alike, so he kept their likeness to honor the creatures who had saved him. The third was to always have a healthy respect and humble heart when dealing with a powerful woman who didn't give a damn what others thought about her. It was this triad that made Anubis the most revered, powerful, and most importantly, loved god in all of Egypt.
The stranger came to stand in front of her, his silver ankh stickpin glimmering in the low lights. His full lips widened into a smile that flashed sharp canines. "There you are," he said in a deep voice. Tahirah stared dumbfounded as he took her hand and ran the tip of his nose along the top of her palm before pressing his lips to it. "I've been looking everywhere for you."
When they had asked him what surname he would like for his cover, and he had said 'Akhom,' Set had actually gotten a strange soft look on his face.
He's scratched out names and replaced them with his own. It was almost like he refitted the tomb in a panic." "I bet he did," Anubis muttered.
She would save her meltdown where no one could see her, like an adult.
"That was Anubis?" Shit. How many times had she sat up talking to him and feeding him? Did he remember that? Or the pats and cuddles she gave him? Tahirah's face flamed hot.
Thoth gave him a withering look. "I hope you know what you are doing." Anubis's smile went from sharp to sexy in a second. "You can fly back home now. If you're so worried about my decision-making, Aunty Kema can stay here and keep an eye on me." Kema bit her lip to stop herself from smiling at his blatant provocation. "Come on, Thoth. Anubis has this under control."
"You were very kind to me in that state, Tahirah. I will never forget it." Tahirah's neck went hot. "You're welcome. I…You were good company." "I am still good company," Anubis corrected with a slight arch of his brow. "I can just talk back now. And in case you are wondering, I still like my head scratched."
"Are you the artist, Ishak? That's an excellent drawing of Anubis," he said. "He's my favorite god, the same as my aunty’s!" "Is that true, Tahirah? Is he your favorite god?" Anubis glanced up at Tahirah, who was now wishing that the revenants had eaten her. "Not right now," she mumbled.
There was also something wrong with him; he looked as if he had been unwell. That troubled Anubis almost as much as Rana did. The woman's smile had been welcoming, but something was calculating in her eyes. They weren't warm like Tahirah's were. She was as pretty as a lie, and he could almost see the tension that the younger woman caused in Tahirah's shoulders. Anubis knew it was too early to judge her without knowing her. Unfortunately, judging was what Anubis did best, and he knew that Rana Eskander was hiding something. If he'd had his Ka, he would've been able to see the entire shape of
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Tahirah turned a smile on him that hit right in what remained of his heart.
Osiris was only permitted to keep his existence because of the love and consideration Anubis had for Isis.
Before Anubis could tell him to fuck off, Ayla piped up. "Hi, Anubis!" "How is my beautiful aunty this evening?" Anubis asked. "I'm good. What's this I hear about you rescuing a pretty archaeologist the other night?" "I see you've been gossiping with Aunty Kema again. Naughty girls," Anubis chided, pulling a beer out and opening it. "I wouldn't know how to be naughty! Kema really liked Tahirah, so of course, she told me. Are you taking care of yourself? I worry about you." "Don't baby him, Ayla. He's thousands of years old," Set said irritably. "He's been under a curse, Set!" "I'm fine, Aunty,
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"How many men are there?" Set asked. "I saw four, and I've killed two." "Only four? Why did you bother calling?" Set huffed. "I'll go left. You go right."
"Pushy, bloody god," she muttered. "I heard that," Anubis called through the door. "Don't make me come in there and show you how pushy I can be."
So that's what they mean by the ecstasy of a religious experience. She had seen the face of God, and it had been between her thighs.
Ishak glanced around him again and asked, "Are you Aunty Tahirah's boyfriend now?" Anubis frowned over the word. "I want to make her my consort. Is that what you mean?"
Anubis knew all about mothers that acted like their child was a burden and aunts that stepped up.
"Don't hold back either. I know how long that tongue is." Ayla smacked her. "Kema! God, will you stop?" "Absolutely not, Ayla! Do you know, I once took him to an ice cream parlor because he had never tried it before? I nearly had to go sit in the freezer just watching him eat an ice cream cone. He couldn't understand why women kept trying to give him pieces of paper with numbers on them." "Did you explain it to him?" Ayla asked. "Of course I didn't. It was funnier not to."
Set's head snapped up, his nose tilting up to whiff the air, and his eyes narrowed. "Fuck, Anubis, you can smell that mark a mile away." "Good," he grunted, his hand going to Tahirah's lower back. "Let's get you a drink," Kema said, shooting her a wink. "It sounded like you earned one." "You heard…" Tahirah's face flamed, but Anubis's smile only widened. "We had to move outside just to give you both some privacy." Kema pushed a beer into Anubis's hand. "You old dog."
"He was blown up and drowned. Thoth, would you have a look at him?" Tahirah asked. The magician squinted at Anubis and grunted. "He's fine." "I told you," Anubis said, lifting his beer back to his lips.
You have officially announced her as your consort with that brand. Doing it to Kema doesn't have larger ramifications; Tahirah's does because of who you are and the power you have put in her body. I never put some of my essence into Kema! You have fucking tied a living mortal to the Duat, Anubis!" Anubis ran a hand through his hair. "She loves the dead, Thoth. She won't care." "She might when she starts seeing shades everywhere she goes!" "You don't know that will happen." Thoth pinched the bridge of his nose. "Of course she will. The restless dead will go to her to seek supplication and
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Besides, if Hades can figure out how to keep his duties to Elysium functioning and have a life on the mortal plane, then you can too. There will be a way to do both, Anubis." Thoth huffed. "And let's face it; if the fucking Greeks can figure it out, I'm sure we can too."
"Keep it safe for me. You already have my heart. You might as well keep my soul safe too."
"How about we go back to Alexandria and get some ice cream? You can't ever feel bad eating ice cream. Especially if we watch Anubis eat some too."
Anubis sat on a comfortable curving chaise that he had favored when he was a jackal. It was a good, quiet spot for him to figure out how he was going to tell Tahirah that she was technically, in supernatural terms, the queen of the Duat.
It was almost as strange as having the God of war turn up sporadically to feed everyone like a giant, murderous mother hen.
"I've been reading a treatise today about a sorcerer using animal spirits to animate golems. The process they used to separate a soul and hold it within the clay is fascinating," Thoth began, tapping his lip with his fork thoughtfully.
"Well, the kids are all here," he greeted happily before ruffling Thoth's dark hair. "How are you, feathers?" "Fuck off, Hermes," he grumbled.
"Heard you finally killed Zeus. Killing a tyrant man-child is a good feeling, isn't it?" Set said with a grin that Hades shared. "Positively life-affirming," he replied.
