The Queen Of Gods

Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Watching gods argue with one another was never as fun as I wanted it to be. Especially not when there was something as serious as a life on the line. I had no idea what was going to happen if we couldn't rescue Horus, but I wasn't going to lie to myself and pretend that it was good.

I reached over and placed a hand on Khonsu's arm. He wasn't taking part in the argument, that was mostly Maahes and Ptah, who couldn't seem to decide what the best course of action was. Maahes wanted to attack with all the power we could muster, which was to be expected, he was the god of war. Ptah was advocating tunnels into Seth's compound. I wasn't sure either of the arguments had the edge, but nothing was stopping the two men.

"We're going to get him back," I promised my friend.

He looked at me, his features drawn and serious. It broke my heart to see him like this, particularly because his skin seemed to have lost the lustre that normally came from his moon glow.

"I don't want to live for thousands of years without him," Khonsu whispered.

"You won't have to," I assured him. "And he can't die, so really, it's just a matter of getting him out of there. If we can do that, then we'll be fine."

"He can feel pain, though."

"I know."

"What if Seth tortures him?" His voice is so small that it surprised me I could hear it.

I wanted to assure him that wouldn't be the case, but somehow, I doubted that. Horus and Seth had a much more complicated relationship than he and I had. No doubt it was something to do with the fact Seth cut Osiris up into small pieces and hid them away for Horus' Mother to find. Isis had managed to bring her husband back, but it hadn't stopped the feud inside their family.

Honestly, I was glad I wasn't part of it. I wouldn't want that dysfunction in my life. Except that I was sat in the room with most of the other major gods and goddesses, along with several minor ones, debating something caused by that dysfunction, so perhaps it was too late after all.

It was best if I didn't think about it.

The doors swung open, bringing the argument to a halt, and all attention to them. Ra strode in, his head held high, arrogance radiating off him as if it was a good thing. He let the fact humans remembered him fill him with too much confidence, forgetting he wasn't alone in that. A lot of the gods in this very room had their names spoken regularly, myself included. He needed to remember his place.

Sekhmet glared at him from across the room, which was odd. I had no idea why she'd be so angry at her Father, especially as she seemed to have mellowed out since I last spent any time with her. No doubt due to Fetket's influence on her. Ra's former butler god stood behind her, avoiding the attention of his previous master. I wasn't sure how that relationship had come about, but the two of them seemed happy from what I'd seen.

Behind him trailed a man I didn't recognise. He must have been a lesser god, as priests and priestesses had been barred from the meeting in an attempt to make things more confidential. I wasn't sure there was any point. Plenty of gods and goddesses had turned coats and were now on Seth's side, including Amun and Mafdet, two gods no one had foreseen switching sides.

To my surprise, both Maahes and Ptah sat down, neither of them saying another word about their plans. I wondered what that was about. Maahes was a smaller god than most of us in this room, in name, not in size. He dwarfed most of the men in the room, no doubt thanks to his status as a war god. But he was also a hothead, and that often clashed with people much higher up the chain of command than he was. Perhaps he felt protected by Ma'at's affection for him.

"I have a solution," Ra announced loudly.

The man beside him scowled, as if he disagreed with the statement. Interesting. What was that about? It wasn't likely that Ra was losing control over his people. He was notoriously strict when it came to ruling them. But that didn't mean this man couldn't be unhappy with the way his master was running things.

Despite knowing the situations were different, Amun's situation with Seth sprung to mind. I pushed the thought aside. It was a different situation. Ra might be strict, but he wasn't trying to make the whole world fall apart and into chaos. That was a big step up from what Seth was doing.

"What is it?" Ma'at asked, leaning back in her chair as she studied the sun god. I wished I had half of her confidence when dealing with gods like him, but I really didn't. She was so sure of herself that it bordered on arrogance. It was certainly off-putting for anyone who wasn't used to it.

I doubted Ra would be in the latter category though. He didn't strike me as the kind of man who'd be intimidated by anyone, let alone a goddess whose main power was determining whether someone had lived a good life or not. She didn't even do the punishing. That job went to Ammit, who would eat the hearts of the unworthy, denying them access to Duat in the process.

I scanned the room for the goddess-demon, but didn't find her among the faces. Interesting. Why was she at the feast but not here?

"This is Abu," Ra announced loudly. "He is the liaison with my source inside Seth's compound."

Silence greeted the statement. Probably because no one had any idea that Ra had managed to get someone in there.

My gaze slipped from the sun god, to Abu. He bit his lip, as if he was trying to stop himself from speaking out.

"What can you tell us about the situation, Abu?" Ma'at asked, addressing him directly.

Outrage flitted across Ra's face at being ignored, but he went and took a seat despite that. He might not like the idea of Ma'at speaking directly to the minor god, but he should have thought about that before he'd brought him to the meeting.

Abu stepped into the middle of the circle of gods, his back straight and his head held high. If someone entered the room and had no idea who we all were, then I doubted they'd even consider the idea that he might be a minor god and not on the same level as some of the more powerful people in the room. I liked that about him, even if I had no other information on the subject.

"Our insider is a goddess named Rhodopis." He softened as he said the name.

From across the surface, Nephthys gasped.

"What is it, sister?" Isis asked in the same calm tone she used for everything. Nothing ever seemed to fluster her. No doubt a result of having to sew her husband back together after Seth killed him.

"I know the girl. I didn't realise she was a goddess, though. She's one of Seth's slaves," Nephthys said, her eyes on Abu as she spoke.

"It's my understanding that she thought she was a demi-goddess until recently," he acknowledged. "But I've seen more than enough to be certain she's more than that."

Nephthys nodded. "She always seemed one step away from rebelling against Seth."

Abu chuckled. "That sounds like Rhodopis."

"Are you sure she can help us?" Ma'at asked, cutting through the conversation.

Disappointment welled up within me. I was looking forward to finding out more about what had gone on in Seth's compound. It was a mystery to most of us.

"Yes. She'll do whatever it takes to bring down Seth." There was an edge to his words which spoke of something personal. I wondered what it was, but didn't want to ask. It wasn't my place to. If anyone here was worried about it, then they'd bring it up themselves.

"Good. Then we'll reconvene outside of Seth's compound where we can make plans for entering the compound," Ma'at said. "If you could make contact with Rhodopis and instruct her to find out anything she can about where Horus is being held, and anything else that would be useful, we will speak to her before we do anything else."

"Of course." Abu dipped his head, but didn't offer her any honorifics. It could be that he didn't think about it, and as a god himself, he didn't need to, or it could have been something that Ra told him to do. I wouldn't put it past the sun god.

"I think that's all we need to discuss for today," Ma'at announced to the room. "If you wish to accompany us on the mission, then please be ready to leave before dusk. If you wish to remain behind, that is not a problem and will be fully accepted as a course of action."

I raised an eyebrow. I'd have expected her to want everyone to prove they were serious about the cause by going, though this was the smarter course of action. With only part of the force against Seth there, he couldn't gain any concrete knowledge about our numbers or strength, which could only play to our advantage.

Everyone started moving at once.

"Why don't you come back to my rooms while I get ready?" I suggested to Khonsu. He hadn't been at Karnak long, and even then he was a man of simple tastes and needs. I doubted he had much to prepare.

"Sounds good." A hint of hope hid in the back of his words, bringing a smile to my face. I was grateful for it. I wanted him to think we were going to get Horus back. It would keep him going.

Besides, it was something we were going to manage to do. I wouldn't leave Seth's compound without Horus, no matter how long it took me to get him back.