Chapter 9
Chapter nine
ANUBIS
Anubis tried to keep his mind on the Duat and the duties that demanded his attention, but it kept sliding back to the human. Worry for her safety and whether she’d woken yet made it hard to focus.
He tried to refocus on the meeting he’d just finished with his spellcasters concerning the increasing tomb desecrations across Egypt when footsteps approached behind him.
Anubis turned to find Osiris standing in his home, dressed in traditional white robes that stood out against his deep green skin. The lack of a headdress and a collar necklace signaled he was there as a friend rather than as a ruler.
“How have you been, my friend?” Osiris asked. He clasped Anubis’ arm in greeting, his gold bracelets pressing into his skin.
“I am doing well. And you?”
Osiris sighed. “I have seen lighter days.”
Anubis narrowed his eyes. “Set again?”
“When isn’t Set plotting?” He smiled briefly, but still looked tired. “He will never be satisfied until he claims all that is mine.” The brief show of humor vanished in the next moment. “I hear you are leaving for a time. Will you be in the mortal world at any point?”
“That is correct. I am leaving shortly, and I may travel there, depending on what is required.”
“The Bennu will return to Egypt soon,” Osiris reminded him.
Anubis frowned as he tried to recall the bird’s last appearance. It had been almost five hundred years since the last celebration. The Bennu had existed for as long as he had, a constant whose return was as inevitable as the sunrise.
“It is about that time. What is the problem?”
“The oracles told me there will be only darkness in the world, a world without hope unless the Bennu comes home.”
Anubis had never placed much stock in oracle prophecies, but this one bothered him. A world without hope? That warning sounded far too ominous. “Did they give you any specifics?”
“Cryptic as ever,” Osiris said dismissively, waving his hand. “Ra asked me to keep in touch with them. He is worried about his ba.”
Ra had always claimed the Bennu as his ba—his soul. But Anubis knew better. The bird was separate from the sun god.
“The oracles’ warning troubles me,” Osiris admitted. “Keep an eye out in the mortal world for any signs. And keep an ear out for any rumors from the other pantheons. You have more connections than most.”
“I will not spy on my allies,” Anubis responded. When it looked as though Osiris might argue, he continued, “But I will watch for signs of the Bennu.”
“That is all I ask. I will see you when you return, my friend.”
Anubis nodded, but the oracles’ words still ate away at him. He pushed the worry aside. If he ran into the Bennu, he’d deal with the bird and the warnings then. He had more pressing matters to attend to: keeping his promise to his friend and making sure the human girl remained alive.