by Wall, Nathan
“This is repulsive,” Khepri said. Anubis was relieved to see that he, too, was alive. “What kind of demented cult have they become? Khnum was truly ignorant.”
“Quiet, fool,” Sobek mumbled.
“I bring god Vishnu an offering. The last remnants of the Southern Corner, to be executed for his glorification, sold into slavery to replenish his holdings, or broken by our whips and ingrained into his service.” Shiva nodded at his son. Skanda kicked all of the prisoners flat on their faces. Khnum cleared his throat, getting Shiva’s attention. “There is one I wish to exalt, your Excellency. A man without whose assistance our task would’ve been much greater. He honors my Lord with the highest of gifts: his service. He wishes to be placed under my foot.”
“Bring him forward,” Vishnu said with a raspy voice. Khnum knelt beside Shiva. Vishnu waved his hand, bored. “Yes, very well. Permeate his starstone and change the color of his banner. What else have you?”
“Several women and young ladies who would make excellent sacrifices to bestow further gifts upon your body.” Shiva stamped his foot and the ladies were dragged by their hair and placed at his feet. One of them was Khepri’s mother. He struggled to remain still.
“Do not give them the satisfaction of knowing they torment you,” Sobek urged.
“Their scents interest me not. They shall be sold.” Vishnu turned his nose up. “Have you any Angel-born warriors?”
“We have.” Shiva tapped Khnum on the shoulder, nodding at Anubis and the others.
Khnum introduced them one by one. Each was offered a choice: change the color of their banner and fight under Vishnu, or be sold into slavery and live out their days in the fighting pits. Many chose to worship Vishnu, just as their supervising officer Khnum had chosen. Very few, including Sobek and Khepri, refused and were dragged off to be sold.
Anubis shrugged Khnum off. It took six men this time to drag him to Shiva’s feet. Vishnu was curious, sitting forward and pulling his hood back. His eyes ravaged Anubis, almost as if he recognized him.
“Your name?” Vishnu commanded. When Anubis refused to speak, Vishnu clapped his hands. Khnum kicked Anubis in the ribs, causing him to spit more blood. Vishnu grinned, enjoying the sadistic beating Khnum continued to rain down. “This will end when the words are uttered from your lips. Your name.”
“Anubis,” he said, finally relenting. He could barely speak. Khnum threw him to the ground. “My name is Anubis.”
“Yes, I knew you looked familiar.” Vishnu smiled. “You were the first Angel-born, were you not? Your father Set—brother to Osiris—was the first traitor of his people. His dishonorable blood flows through your veins. I assume that accounts for the ghastly color of your skin.”
Anubis shook his head. That wasn’t true. There was no traitor in his blood. “My father… is dead.”
“The innocence in your voice is both arousing and humorous.” Vishnu leaned back and crossed his legs. He snapped his fingers for a drink. A crystal flute filled was presented to him. Lakshmi held the beverage while he guzzled. Streams of white drenched his throat and chest. “You believe me not? There are no lies spouting from my tongue. To suggest otherwise is a sin. I am divine truth. Your father, Set, murdered the great Osiris and delivered the head of your mother on a platter to Heaven’s gates. Concerned more with his own hide, he now serves as a groveling slave to Michael and his cock-sucking brigade.” Vishnu’s cackling hack echoed. Anubis seethed with anger. “He’s an Assassin, performing lapdog duties the Archangels are too pretentious to do themselves. You’re gray because your father is dishonorable.”
“This cannot be,” Anubis sobbed. He snarled at Vishnu. “You’re as divine as my ass.” He wanted to rip the throat off that grotesque and malformed psychopath with his bare hands. “Cast me into the pits with my kind so that I may annihilate all in my path, imagining your head upon their shoulders.”
The crowd gasped. They waited to see how Vishnu would respond. His jaw snapped shut and his eyes narrowed with fire. Just as it seemed he was about to speak, he erupted with laughter.
“Very well.” Vishnu stood, holding his hand up to keep the servants at bay. He marched down the steps, alone. His Gada with a diamond shaped head followed suit, thumping each step as it trailed behind. “You think your situation couldn’t possibly be grimmer, but you’ve yet to learn true misery.”
With his one good arm, Vishnu lifted the weapon and swiped it off Anubis’ forehead. Anubis hit the ground. His vision momentarily flickered. Vishnu went for a follow up strike to crush his prisoner’s skull, but Shiva spoke up.
“Would be a shame to extinguish such a physical specimen before exhausting all resources to reprogram his allegiance. Think of the power he would fight with under your banner if he were to be turned,” Shiva said, drawing Vishnu’s attention. His lord nodded, probing for more information. “In all of your great wisdom and reign, I have never seen you make a final decision without first exploring all options. It’s what makes you the powerful and just lord we all would die for. Allow me time to teach this blasphemer the truth of your all-mighty stature, bending him to your will and command. I will make a great warrior of him in your honor. If not, we will cast him to the pits for a good show, and eventually I will face him in combat, push him to his breaking point, and allow you the honor of execution.”
Anubis’ sight flickered again. The sounds of those talking around him grew faint.
“You’ve my blessing,” Vishnu said with a yawn. “Take him from my sight. I grow tired of this court. I retire to my quarters.”
“As you wish,” Shiva replied and took Anubis by the feet before he passed out from the pain.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Madame Patricia II
She meandered through the open market with Jaden close by her side. Jaden held his fingers over his nose while passing a fish stand. She teased him by lifting a carp and offering it, laughing when he faked a gagging sound.
She smiled. “What will you have then?” He pointed over at a chocolate shop on the corner of the crowded Swiss street. Large snow piles were stacked next to the shop windows. “You need something healthy. You’re a growing boy.”
In fact, he was growing. They’d spent less than a day back in the human realm, and already Jaden was half a year older. His body compensated for lost time. It was the same for her, though her physiological makeup was better able to counter the warp.
“Let’s get some fruit and bread. Then we’ll see about chocolate, if we have time.”
Madame Patricia sifted through the fruit. There wasn’t much of a selection, given many trade routes were closed as a precaution since last summer’s event in Moscow and the other in London just yesterday. She jerked when the flames roasting chestnuts to her left inexplicably went out and came back on seconds later.
Her mind immediately leapt to conclusions. It can’t be him. She pulled Jaden closer to her anyway. She gave the clerk a few coins and thanked him for the fruit. Denial wouldn’t do any good. Ra must’ve been close. She had to remain alert.
Again, Jaden pointed at the chocolate shop, tugging her arm.
“Not right now,” she insisted. “We must get back.” He tilted his head to the side and opened his eyes in a sad, puppy dog sort of way. “Alright.”
The top layer of a snow pile melted, forming a trickling stream into a nearby gutter. The snow on the awning evaporated. The shop across the street had all of its snow. She panicked. Where’s Jaden? He stood unharmed, sampling chocolate.
“Honey, try and stay close, OK?” She approached Jaden and all of the candy and chocolate in the display cases melted. The room was a sauna. The man behind the counter stood motionless and hazy eyed. They’d been found. “I thought we agreed to never meet again.”
“Did you think me a fool?” The hissing sound of Ra’s voice slid across her back. Her fingers clung tightly to Jaden. Smoke snaked through the air, forming a rigid outline before turning solid. He placed his ironclad gloves on top of the displa
y case, rattling the glass. “Your surrogate daughter and her friends work against me.”
“She’s left the roost.” Madame Patricia stood between Jaden and Ra. Both of the Architects glowed as their powers fed off one another. “What they do, they do without my consent.”
“Indeed,” Ra chuckled. He turned into smoke and passed through the display case, reassembling next to Jaden. He knelt to the boy’s level. “You like the mask?” Jaden nodded. Ra turned his head and sighed. “You wouldn’t like it if you had to hide behind it. Do you like hiding?”
“That’s enough,” Madame Patricia replied, stern. She moved Jaden behind her once more. “There’s nothing for you here.”
“Don’t be like that.” He stood. “You don’t really know what I want, not just for me but for us. It was a purity I felt when we were last together, intimately. We can have that again.”
“If I refuse?”
“Your boy here is like us, as were those your surrogate kept from me. Debts need to be paid.” Ra moved his hands close to her face. Heat radiated from them. She moved and slapped his hand away. “There are others like him. Able to use their powers, yet not confined to a gem like us.”
“What do you want with them?” she asked. When his head snapped up in a curious fashion, she knew she’d let on too much. “I, too, figured it out. They don’t deserve to be collected like trophies.”
“They deserve to be treated like precious gems because that’s what they are.” Ra’s chest rumbled with a suppressed laugh. He offered his hand. “Care to join me and see?”
“Not really...”
“It was a rhetorical question.” He removed his mask, revealing molten red flesh covered with crispy-black patches. His scraggily hair was thin and singed. He grabbed Jaden who screamed in agony. The crisp flesh on Ra’s face was replenished and made healthy, sealing in the gooey red lines. Long black hair grew thick, down to his shoulder blades. His eyes remained yellow like the midday sun. He released Jaden. The boy fell to the ground. “I don’t wish to keep my guests waiting.”
Pink vapor trails spiraled together, forming a swirling portal between realms in time and space. Madame Patricia, with Jaden, stepped through. At first her bearings were off. The light of his realm was so intense she could barely open her eyes. Ra snapped his fingers. The light fell back to a comfortable intensity.
“You will get used to it.” Ra pushed through a set of doors leading to an underground cavern carved into a mountain. It was his home.
“How long do you plan to keep us?” she asked.
“You can leave whenever you want.” Ra turned, walking backwards. “The boy gets a lifetime sentence.”
They passed a chariot with carvings in a Southern Corner dialect. She recognized the design from long ago, in a memory unlocked by her proximity to the siblings. She wondered if Ra had uncovered similar hidden memories since encountering their kind.
“You have visitors from the Southern Corner?” Madame Patricia asked, following Ra down a long corridor. The hallway opened into a dining hall. Four fireplaces, each on a separate wall, illuminated the room along with candles placed all around. In the center of the room was a U-shaped table, big enough to seat nearly a hundred guests. “Plan on having a ball?”
“I always do.” He clapped his hands and a few butlers approached. Their eyes were melted shut. “Retrieve our guests, both honored and forced alike. I’m famished.”
Ra gestured for Jaden and Madame Patricia to sit near his large seat at the cross section of the table. They obliged. Two butlers pulled their chairs back. On the far side of the room, she recognized Isis approaching the table. A slew of children, none older than teenagers, spilled into the dining hall behind her.
“Danu, please allow me to introduce you to the lovely Isis. Wife of the fallen Osiris, former queen of the now defunct Southern Corner.” Ra took a sip from his chalice and nodded for Isis to sit. “The cute young lady to her left is Rashini Nambitu. The child of the dead bastard who lost Durga’s gem. I had to pull together quite a few resources to resurrect those Ourea cunts and hire those wretched Islamic radicals, only to see her incompetent father lose the damn thing. You may be wondering why she and the other kids are here.”
“It crossed my mind,” Madame Patricia whispered.
“Rashini,” Ra said, clearing his throat. The girl went rigid, closing her eyes in fear. He slammed the table and she looked at him. “It’s polite to look at your elders. Now, welcome our new guest Jaden here with a hug. You two have a lot in common.”
Rashini looked at Jaden, crying. Isis touched her shoulder in a calming manner. The girl approached Jaden and he stood. They hugged one another. Their skin illuminated with a transparent glow and they fused together with blinding force.
“Enough,” Ra commanded. Rashini stepped away from Jaden and returned to her seat. Ra smiled. “Did you think the boy and his sister were only special with each other? No. There’s a whole fleet of these new Architects out there who are powered by souls and not gems. They work together and the more in their collective the more powerful they become.”
“Still talking of Architects, gems, and souls, my darling?” Hathor giggled, approaching the table from behind Madame Patricia. Her flowing lace dress slid along the floor. Her hair was rolled up on top of her head. She kissed Ra while running her hand over his face. “You are a handsome devil, aren’t you? Just know I loved you before you regained your looks.”
“How fortunate you are for this arrangement by your father,” Amun said. Madame Patricia recognized him from her meeting with Ra at Beelzebub’s club. His long fingers snaked over Hathor’s shoulders as he moved past her with his wife in tow. His son Hapy sat to his left. “Another Architect graces us with her presence. With whom do I have the honor?”
“I am Madame Patricia...”
“No,” Ra yelled. Everyone jumped in their seat. He laughed. “My apologies. I just get so worked up and flustered when excited with future promise. Please, Danu, shed that horrible moniker and embrace who you are. You’re among friends.”
“Forgive me.” Madame Patricia nodded. Jaden’s hand clung tightly to hers. “I am Danu, the Architect of Earth. I parted the seas from the sky, and the sky from the land. I am responsible for ensuring the sanctuary of all of God’s chosen creations.”
“How marvelous.” Amun applauded pompously. His wife reluctantly followed suit. His son remained unmoved. “Please forgive the attitudes of my family. They’re having a hard time coping. I didn’t want to leave our home, but certain individuals lacked proper motivation to see things my way. Ra understood the whole ordeal.”
“I don’t follow.” Madame Patricia shook her head.
“He means he’s a traitor, rapist, and adulterer. And now he’s whoring his daughter out to this mad man,” Isis snarled. She pushed her food away. “I’m not hungry.”
“I’ll provide you with all the nourishment you’ll need later this evening.” Amun glared at Isis. His wife looked at the ground, somber.
“Your woman seems none too pleased with such talk,” Madame Patricia said, poking the meat on her plate with a knife.
“Yes, my poor, unfortunate wife, Sekhmet.” Amun twirled her hair around his fingers and then yanked her close. “She pleased me once, gracing me with my beautiful daughter Hathor. I endured a second time, resulting in this retarded bastard you see at my side...”
“He wasn’t always so,” Hathor interjected. “If it weren’t for the beating Anubis—”
“Quiet, daughter.” Amun glared at her.
“I’ll remind you she’s no longer your daughter, but my consort to be had at my discretion,” Ra said, calmly eating his food. “A bargain you readily made for safe harbor when you were unsuccessful at securing claim to the Southern Corner’s throne. You’ll acknowledge her with respect.”
“Of course.” Amun nodded. “Yes, that dumb nephew of yours, Isis. He gave Hapy such an uncalled for beating that it left him with permanent damage to the mind.”
/> “Uncalled for?” Isis laughed, slapping her knee. “Now you play the jester, Amun. The stories told say Hapy rightfully got what he deserved. Beside, you had Khnum repay the deed to Anubis tenfold with that lashing. You later forced him to wear the mark of a jackal as a reminder for his deeds. I’d say both Hapy and Anubis were more than punished for their actions.”
“What do you have to say of this, Sekhmet?” Madame Patricia asked. “To see your husband hold affections for another woman who despises him?”
“She knows when to keep her mouth shut, and when to open it,” Amun chuckled. “For me to insert my cock.”
“Count yourself lucky she doesn’t bite it off.” Madame Patricia smiled, drinking from her cup.
“There wouldn’t be much to bite,” Isis quipped, exchange winks with Madame Patricia. “I think I’ll have some wine now.”
“Yes, do drink up. A woman of such radiant beauty should enjoy the spoils of her company.” Ra lifted his drink to Isis. “You’re still such a rare specimen to behold, despite your years and child bearing, no less. For you to keep things in such tight quarters is either a testament to hard work or good genes. It’s no wonder Amun carried such lust for you, given his own wife’s... let’s just say ‘weathered’ appearance. If the space between her thighs is as loose as the skin on her hips and belly, then I can’t blame Amun for looking elsewhere.”
“I too shall be fit after bearing a son, much like our recently deposed queen,” Hathor laughed, rubbing Ra’s arm.
“That remains to be seen.” Ra sliced through a chunk of meat and chewed it in an exaggerated fashion. “The blood of your mother courses through your veins. A popular human saying suggests that looking at one’s mother-in-law shows one’s wife’s future.”