Ka-Ken. She took a step toward the larger woman. “You are. This is your domain, your pack. If you wish these people to survive your absence, you must provide them with champions. It is a difficult task, I know. Yet what chance do they have if you are too weak to do what must be done?”
Liz’s face fell. Tears welled up as she looked at the child. Several moments passed as indecision warred across her features. In the end the battle was won, and Liz’s face hardened with resolve.
Chapter 17- Anput
Trevor eyed Anubis warily as the jackal-headed god escorted him through a myriad of passageways. They probably corresponded to their counterparts in Blair’s Ark, but Trevor had never been in this area so he couldn’t identify the high-ceilinged hallways. They were black stone with golden hieroglyphs, which seemed to cover every available surface. Similar glyphs were present in Blair’s Ark, but fewer and in a different style.
Anubis climbed a steep stairway, pausing at the top for Trevor to join him. He summed up Trevor with that awful canine gaze. “You are unworthy of existence, pup. Yet I am loyal to Ra, she who gave us all life. She commands me to give you into the care of my wife. Know this, however: If you speak ill of or to my wife, if you look upon her with lust, or if you offer her any offense, then I will destroy you. Not even memory of your name will survive.”
Be careful, my host. Show no resistance, his risen counseled. Unnecessarily. Trevor knew better than to pick a fight with something much stronger and much older than he was.
“Listen, Anubis. It’s Anubis, right? I came here for one reason, and one reason only. To kill Steve,” Trevor explained, meeting the jackal’s gaze evenly. “I didn’t plan on any of this, but since I’ve been adopted into your little pantheon I plan to mind my manners. I won’t offer your wife any offense, and if I offer you any please give me a chance to apologize before you ram that axe through my chest. Remember, I’m ignorant of your ways.”
“I promise nothing,” Anubis snarled, though he seemed mollified.
The jackal stalked up the next corridor, eventually pausing outside the entryway to a large chamber. The chamber was roughly twice the size of the one Trevor had occupied back in Blair’s Ark, and, unlike his, had been heavily modified. Ornate rugs covered the floors, and statues of various Egyptian deities dotted the chamber. A massive four poster bed dominated one corner, and the far side of the room even contained a pool-sized bath.
A figure emerged from that bath, naked and dripping as she stepped onto the stone and picked up a towel. She made no move to use it, instead sizing up Trevor like a puzzle she was trying to solve. The woman was beautiful, no doubt about that. She had long, dark-skinned legs, and patient wide eyes. A river of black hair cascaded down her back, twisted into fine braids, each with a golden bead at the end.
Trevor was about to look away, largely due to Anubis’s warning, when he noticed something hanging brightly in the air above her. It was a multicolored sigil of some kind, a stylized likeness of Anubis. He wasn’t sure precisely what it signified. Marriage maybe? Trevor dropped his gaze to the stone, waiting for either Anubis or the woman to speak. He noted that the woman looked completely human, no toxic green gaze, no razored teeth. That was an interesting tidbit to file away.
“My wife,” Anubis rumbled, clicking his away across the floor until he towered over the woman. “Ra commands me to present you with this pup. He is a new god, from this strange age. She commands that you educate him in our ways. Know this, however, I have sworn to—”
“Leave off, husband,” the woman said, placing a hand on Anubis’s forearm. His jaws snapped shut, though his gaze still smoldered. “I can tell already that you have no love for the pup, and you and I will discuss the reasons later. In private. For now, please
Liz’s face fell. Tears welled up as she looked at the child. Several moments passed as indecision warred across her features. In the end the battle was won, and Liz’s face hardened with resolve.
Chapter 17- Anput
Trevor eyed Anubis warily as the jackal-headed god escorted him through a myriad of passageways. They probably corresponded to their counterparts in Blair’s Ark, but Trevor had never been in this area so he couldn’t identify the high-ceilinged hallways. They were black stone with golden hieroglyphs, which seemed to cover every available surface. Similar glyphs were present in Blair’s Ark, but fewer and in a different style.
Anubis climbed a steep stairway, pausing at the top for Trevor to join him. He summed up Trevor with that awful canine gaze. “You are unworthy of existence, pup. Yet I am loyal to Ra, she who gave us all life. She commands me to give you into the care of my wife. Know this, however: If you speak ill of or to my wife, if you look upon her with lust, or if you offer her any offense, then I will destroy you. Not even memory of your name will survive.”
Be careful, my host. Show no resistance, his risen counseled. Unnecessarily. Trevor knew better than to pick a fight with something much stronger and much older than he was.
“Listen, Anubis. It’s Anubis, right? I came here for one reason, and one reason only. To kill Steve,” Trevor explained, meeting the jackal’s gaze evenly. “I didn’t plan on any of this, but since I’ve been adopted into your little pantheon I plan to mind my manners. I won’t offer your wife any offense, and if I offer you any please give me a chance to apologize before you ram that axe through my chest. Remember, I’m ignorant of your ways.”
“I promise nothing,” Anubis snarled, though he seemed mollified.
The jackal stalked up the next corridor, eventually pausing outside the entryway to a large chamber. The chamber was roughly twice the size of the one Trevor had occupied back in Blair’s Ark, and, unlike his, had been heavily modified. Ornate rugs covered the floors, and statues of various Egyptian deities dotted the chamber. A massive four poster bed dominated one corner, and the far side of the room even contained a pool-sized bath.
A figure emerged from that bath, naked and dripping as she stepped onto the stone and picked up a towel. She made no move to use it, instead sizing up Trevor like a puzzle she was trying to solve. The woman was beautiful, no doubt about that. She had long, dark-skinned legs, and patient wide eyes. A river of black hair cascaded down her back, twisted into fine braids, each with a golden bead at the end.
Trevor was about to look away, largely due to Anubis’s warning, when he noticed something hanging brightly in the air above her. It was a multicolored sigil of some kind, a stylized likeness of Anubis. He wasn’t sure precisely what it signified. Marriage maybe? Trevor dropped his gaze to the stone, waiting for either Anubis or the woman to speak. He noted that the woman looked completely human, no toxic green gaze, no razored teeth. That was an interesting tidbit to file away.
“My wife,” Anubis rumbled, clicking his away across the floor until he towered over the woman. “Ra commands me to present you with this pup. He is a new god, from this strange age. She commands that you educate him in our ways. Know this, however, I have sworn to—”
“Leave off, husband,” the woman said, placing a hand on Anubis’s forearm. His jaws snapped shut, though his gaze still smoldered. “I can tell already that you have no love for the pup, and you and I will discuss the reasons later. In private. For now, please
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