46. With Regards from Duat
Aleiraah
Ever since Silas broke down, his panther has been following me around, mostly while I'm out and about in the gardens. He’d purr deeply, rubbing his furry body against my legs then prowl away.
I'd get sudden influxes of emotions from the big cat.
Mostly that of a proud father and a content mate.
My theory is when he bit me on the night of the Veilmoon, it bridged the gap in our psyches.
As a result, I can feel his panther's emotions after Silas set him free.
The human half remains elusive and I don't know if that's a good or a bad thing.
At present I'm staring into the spelled mirror at a smiling jackal-face.
I arch an eyebrow. "Really Anubis, you’re mailing me hieroglyphic tablets now? That too marked as urgent? You do know I can't decipher the hieroglyphics, right?"
Earlier, while I was tending to the cherry tomato saplings on my windowsill, Rozalin knocked with a large, urgent package smelling faintly of desert sand.
While sorting the remaining contents of the package, after my nail paint dried, Anubis appeared in the mirror, with Anput seated nearby on a chaise. Now I’ve a cryptic heliographic tablet in my hand, unsure what to do with it.
Bastet slides into the mirror's frame giving me a big grin. "Hi Aleiraah! How have you been doing? Did you apply the gentian-blue nail paint I sent you?"
I can't help the warm smile spreading across my face as I wiggle my brightly-painted nails. "Yes Bastet, it came with the tablet. Thank you, so much!"
"Oooo...Pretty!" She claps her toe-beans.
Anubis whips his head toward her, eyes wide. "You sent nail paint? You realize that it could have spilled over the tablet and ruined the message contained within?"
"And I sent a few capsules containing concentrated lust." Anput interjects serenely before Bastet can explain.
Anubis snaps his head the other way, his dreadlocks tipped with gold beads flying in the air. "What?"
"Oh please, Nobu!" Bastet purrs in apparent disdain. "I made sure the packaging was airtight."
"Aleiraah needs sustenance." Anput sniffs delicately at the same time.
"I resent that nickname!" Anubis grumbles. "It makes me sound like a weasel instead of a jackal!"
Bastet protests immediately, paws flying to her chest. "But it's cute!"
"Did you torture me the other night for the sole purpose of creating those capsules?" He gripes at Anput who smirks but remains silent.
Seizing the quiet moment, Bastet blinks innocently while dragging me into her drama. "Don't you think the new nickname is cute, Aleiraah?"
"Not when it makes the dead snicker." Anubis grumps sourly, saving me.
“The dead lack taste.” Bastet sniffs while pushing a brocade cushion off the divan.
"I was weighing their sins when you called me by that blasted name. The deceased waiting judgement giggled behind their hands! My reputation was in tatters, Bastet!" He protests indignantly.
"Well, a new-age worshipper offered me a cool toy. And I couldn't wait to show you. In my excitement I slipped and called you Nobu. It’s not like the Nile dried up!" Bastet sulks, arms folded across her chest, nose up in the air.
Anput chimes in from the back, "Have you got to the part yet where you tell Aleiraah how to view the message?"
Anubis huffs, "I was getting to it, woman!" Focusing on me, he sighs. "You don't need to learn hieroglyphics. I coded it so only you can open it. Just pour a drop of your blood on the tablet and it’ll start projecting the message."
"Your limestone tablet can project messages? That's some advanced technology, Anubis!" I turn it over in my hand, impressed.
"Of course, darling! Do you think I live under a rock? Egypt is known to be ahead of its time." He gloats with a flick of his hand.
"But, what message is so urgent?"
He suddenly looks uneasy, "Umm..it's a record of the events from Duat. Stuff I thought you should know by now. I swear you won't be disappointed."
"Okaaay." I acknowledge warily as Anubis looks shifty.
"Alright! I gotta go, darling. Good health to you and kisses to the babies! Call me if you need me."
"Byeee Aleiraah! Don't be a stranger!"—Bastet and Anput holler.
"Thank you for the energy capsules and the nail-paint!" I holler back and the mirror settles into my reflection.
Wait, he said babies! Did he know I was carrying more than one baby? Could it be that Ammit knew and told him? Grrrr...
I sulk, studying the limestone tablet. Dreading what it might reveal. But holding onto the constant bitterness is exhausting. I’m just tired of being sad, hurt, and angry all the damn time.
Pricking my finger, I place a drop of blood on the stone surface. Immediately a shimmer ripples on the etched hieroglyphics. A lifesize live projection of my husbands going through the underbelly of Duat starts playing before me.
I hold my breath, horrified, as the punishments keep unfolding one after another. I sit still for hours, taking breaks only when it becomes too much. But the weight on my chest just keeps increasing until I feel like my heart would be crushed.
When the projection ends, my heart is shattered. I curl up on the bed, face wet with uncontrollable tears that refuse to stop.
Archer
It's full moon again. I’m out by the lake staring at the glowing orb in the sky balefully. I shifted into my wolf, because it's easier to give into my animal half during such nights. A shifter’s due paid to the Moon goddess.
But something’s different this time.
No longer howling over the true mate lost too soon, my wolf has turned inward. Instead, he quietly mourns the bitter distance separating us from Aleiraah, our heart's mate.
He’s been too ashamed to appear before her.
After our rut took over during the Veilmoon, my wolf became quiet.
Almost non-existent. Alarmed at first, I realized soon enough that he was miserable.
Just like me. His playful nature got buried under the grief of betraying Aleiraah.
So I let him be. But tonight's full moon brought him out and he’s been sulking, eager to retreat.
At least, this time I'm sober. Unlike the past full moons, when I was drunk out of my mind on demon brew, trying to forget.
Soft footsteps on dewy grass make our pointed ears twitch. My wolf stands on all fours, wagging our tail at the arrival of our favorite person in the whole world.
But a sudden sense of alarm strikes me. A few nights ago, Aleiraah’s pet snowfairy frantically led me to her.
Heart in my throat, I found Aleiraah sleepwalking straight toward a weakened spot in our wards.
After I grabbed her, she remembered nothing except a voice beckoning her in a dream. We have all been hyper-vigilant since.
I urge my wolf to follow Aleiraah, only to find her closer than anticipated.
She looks beautiful in white silk shorts and a gauzy camisole that molds to her adorable baby bump.
My wolf lets out a soft “woof” and wags our tail in pure joy—a happiness that instantly vanishes when I notice her red, puffy eyes.
What the fuck happened?
Whining low we drop our chest to the ground, sliding our massive paws forward. We stare at her with sad puppy-eyes and flick our ears back and forth. It coaxes a watery chuckle from Aleiraah, but it quickly dissolves into heavy sobs.
Yowling in panic, we scramble to her side to prop up her weight as she collapses to the ground. Her shoulders shake violently. Desperate to help, we start frantically licking her face to stem the tears.
Her sweet face crumples even further. She clutches our fur with both hands and buries her face into the scruff of my wolf’s neck, sobbing her heart out.
"Oh, Archie! What should I do?" Her cry is muffled. My miserable wolf rubs our snout against her hair, urging me to shift back. But I’m afraid of being rejected.
"You all hurt me so much. So much that I broke and became this!
" She hiccups, her voice filled with untold pain, and my wolf whines, distressed.
"This creature, filled with hatred, bitterness and sorrow.
Lashing out at every chance. The hurt kept festering until I couldn't see past that night. I just wanted you all to hurt like I’m hurting.
But…but today I saw." She leans back, her face ravaged with tears.
"I saw, Archie." She whispers, her pretty aquamarine gaze haunted.
"How you all suffered in Duat. Anubis showed me the trials you went through.
And it hurt me so much. It hurts here, Archie.
" She thumps her fist over her heart, hiccuping as fresh tears spill down her flushed cheeks.
My wolf gently licks her cheek, and I feel like tearing Anubis a new one. What was that half-jackal thinking?!
"You should’ve let me go. Never followed me there. I’m better off on my own." She presses her palms to her eyes and wails like her heart’s shattering.
My wolf howls mournfully, pushing me to shift. Unable to see her suffering any longer, I shift into my human form and gather her trembling body, pulling her onto my lap.
"Shhh...don't cry, sweetheart. Don’t cry. I’m not worth your tears, Moon." Attempting to pull her hands away from her face only makes her cry harder. Frantic with worry, I press her head to my chest and rock her slowly, cooing to her. "My brave little Moon. Stuck with idiots for husbands, hmm?"
She thumps her tiny fists at my shoulders letting out a painful cough. I stroke her back, pressing my stubbled cheek to the top of her head and hum a lullaby my mother used to hum when I was a pup.
Slowly the heart-wrenching sobs die down to occasional sniffles and she finally looks up at me with puffy, watery eyes.
"Do you still miss her that much?" She asks in a tiny, uncertain voice. Her question surprises me but this conversation is long overdue. My heart lurches painfully in fear but I choose honesty over empty platitudes.
"A part of me will always miss her, Aleiraah. She was my past, and the embodiment of my youth." I confess, swallowing thickly.