allow me to discharge the obligation Ra has given me. The pup will learn nothing with you looming over him, ready to mete out violence. Leave us.”
Anubis gave a curt nod, whirling and stalking past Trevor. He passed far closer than was strictly necessary, furry muscles gliding past Trevor’s face as if a reminder of how close to death he came.
“How are you called, newling?” the woman asked, toweling the water from her naked body.
“My name is Trevor. Trevor Gregg,” he amended, still trying to avert his gaze. The basic human needs for sex were supposed to be gone, but he experienced a very human lust. He hadn’t felt that way with Ra, despite the fact that the fiery-haired goddess was much more beautiful than Anput.
“I am called Anput, wife of Anubis and daughter of Osiris,” she said, giving him a wide smile. Her teeth were perfectly white, and, as he’d noted earlier, perfectly straight. Illusion, perhaps? If that was the case he should have been able to detect her shaping.
No illusion, my host. She is cousin to the deathless, but a wholly separate creature. She cannot be trusted. Your desire for her is unnatural, one of the abilities her kind possesses.
“So, you’re supposed to teach me how to fit in here?” Trevor asked, mainly to fill the silence that lingered in the wake of her statement.
“Just so,” Anput said, giving a soft nod. She reached for a sheer black shift and pulled it on, then moved to a high-backed wooden chair near a window.
Trevor moved to join her, sinking into a second chair. They sat at the edge of a balcony, which overlooked the Giza plateau. The view was breathtaking, showing Cairo in all its glory. The city was huge, possibly bigger than Los Angeles. Yet it was also empty. He could see no movement there, not a single corpse or even a bird.
“I have been tasked with teaching you to survive here, no easy feat given that you are an outsider,” Anput said, crossing one shapely leg over the other as she studied him. “To do that I must understand more of what you are. How did you come to be here?”
“By accident. I was pursing a Ka-Dun who stole an access key,” Trevor explained. He wasn’t sure how much he should reveal to Anput, but right now he didn’t have many choices. She was the only thing approaching an ally he was likely to find here. “Your husband ambushed my companions and I at the light bridge. After he kicked our collective asses, I woke up in a cell. I was presented to Ra, and then escorted here.”
“Interesting,” Anput said, resting her chin on the palm of her hand. She leaned her elbow on the arm of the chair, still studying him. “Anubis said you are of this age. Obviously you’ve had some training. Who sired you?”
“If by sired you mean trained, then I guess that would be Irakesh. Though I have no loyalty to that bald bastard,” Trevor snapped, instantly regretting the loss of control.
Anput cocked her head back and began a musical laugh. Her eyes twinkled when she stopped, and he noticed for the first time that she wore dark eyeshadow. It was so skillfully applied it could have been part of her skin.
“You are refreshingly honest, Trevor Gregg,” Anput said, her expression suddenly unreadable. “If you wish to survive in the court of the mighty Ra, that must change, and change quickly. Here, honestly is a liability. It reveals your true intentions, and such predictability will allow your enemies to engineer your death.”
“You’re implying some people aren’t my enemies,” Trevor shot back. He knew he was out of his depth. Politics weren’t his strong suit. Hell, social situations in general weren’t his strong suit. Before all this had begun, the happiest nights of his life had been spent observing the night sky at Palomar in San Diego. He was completely alone, save for the data and perhaps one or two grad students interested in that data.
“So you have a glimmer of intelligence then,” Anput replied, giving a coy
Anubis gave a curt nod, whirling and stalking past Trevor. He passed far closer than was strictly necessary, furry muscles gliding past Trevor’s face as if a reminder of how close to death he came.
“How are you called, newling?” the woman asked, toweling the water from her naked body.
“My name is Trevor. Trevor Gregg,” he amended, still trying to avert his gaze. The basic human needs for sex were supposed to be gone, but he experienced a very human lust. He hadn’t felt that way with Ra, despite the fact that the fiery-haired goddess was much more beautiful than Anput.
“I am called Anput, wife of Anubis and daughter of Osiris,” she said, giving him a wide smile. Her teeth were perfectly white, and, as he’d noted earlier, perfectly straight. Illusion, perhaps? If that was the case he should have been able to detect her shaping.
No illusion, my host. She is cousin to the deathless, but a wholly separate creature. She cannot be trusted. Your desire for her is unnatural, one of the abilities her kind possesses.
“So, you’re supposed to teach me how to fit in here?” Trevor asked, mainly to fill the silence that lingered in the wake of her statement.
“Just so,” Anput said, giving a soft nod. She reached for a sheer black shift and pulled it on, then moved to a high-backed wooden chair near a window.
Trevor moved to join her, sinking into a second chair. They sat at the edge of a balcony, which overlooked the Giza plateau. The view was breathtaking, showing Cairo in all its glory. The city was huge, possibly bigger than Los Angeles. Yet it was also empty. He could see no movement there, not a single corpse or even a bird.
“I have been tasked with teaching you to survive here, no easy feat given that you are an outsider,” Anput said, crossing one shapely leg over the other as she studied him. “To do that I must understand more of what you are. How did you come to be here?”
“By accident. I was pursing a Ka-Dun who stole an access key,” Trevor explained. He wasn’t sure how much he should reveal to Anput, but right now he didn’t have many choices. She was the only thing approaching an ally he was likely to find here. “Your husband ambushed my companions and I at the light bridge. After he kicked our collective asses, I woke up in a cell. I was presented to Ra, and then escorted here.”
“Interesting,” Anput said, resting her chin on the palm of her hand. She leaned her elbow on the arm of the chair, still studying him. “Anubis said you are of this age. Obviously you’ve had some training. Who sired you?”
“If by sired you mean trained, then I guess that would be Irakesh. Though I have no loyalty to that bald bastard,” Trevor snapped, instantly regretting the loss of control.
Anput cocked her head back and began a musical laugh. Her eyes twinkled when she stopped, and he noticed for the first time that she wore dark eyeshadow. It was so skillfully applied it could have been part of her skin.
“You are refreshingly honest, Trevor Gregg,” Anput said, her expression suddenly unreadable. “If you wish to survive in the court of the mighty Ra, that must change, and change quickly. Here, honestly is a liability. It reveals your true intentions, and such predictability will allow your enemies to engineer your death.”
“You’re implying some people aren’t my enemies,” Trevor shot back. He knew he was out of his depth. Politics weren’t his strong suit. Hell, social situations in general weren’t his strong suit. Before all this had begun, the happiest nights of his life had been spent observing the night sky at Palomar in San Diego. He was completely alone, save for the data and perhaps one or two grad students interested in that data.
“So you have a glimmer of intelligence then,” Anput replied, giving a coy
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