Chapter 19
1071 Words
Chapter Nineteen
Ma'at strode in only seconds after Amun had left. I wasn't sure if that was purposeful on his part or not. But it was definitely bad timing on hers.
I gestured for the priestess on the door, and asked her to fetch another goblet for the wine. It was clear Ma'at had something important she wanted to talk about, or she wouldn't have come here. She wasn't exactly known for her social calls.
Once I had the clean goblet, and the room was empty apart from ourselves, I turned my attention to the other goddess.
"What can I do for you?" I asked.
"I need to know what you said to Atum," she said bluntly.
"Umm. Not much. He didn't seem impressed that I'd been sent as a messenger." And that was putting it lightly. I'd actually have considered his reaction to be bordering on severely insulted, but I wasn't sure that was what Ma'at wanted to hear.
"Well, whatever you said, it's worked."
"What?" I regretted the bluntness of my response the moment it left my mouth, but it was the honest one. Atum hadn't seemed to be in the slightest bit impressed with anything I'd said to him.
"We've sent him countless letters and missives, and Ra even tried to visit. Every one of them was sent back unopened, and Ra was sent away without an audience," Ma'at said.
"And you didn't think to tell me any of that before you sent me to go deal with him?" Hurt panged through me. Did she think of me as a petty goddess with nothing serious to offer too?
No. She wouldn't. Ma'at was too involved in the politics of temple life for that one. Plus, she'd come to me for help in the first place, and it wasn't because she'd thought I wasn't worth anything. I had to remember that.
"It didn't cross my mind that I should. I didn't want to influence the way you tried to convince any of them to join the cause."
"Right."
"Anyway. Today, I got a letter from Atum." She picked up her goblet and took a sip.
I downed my own, hoping it would steady my nerves, even though wine had very little effect on me in the first place. I refilled my goblet anyway, and drank some more.
"He's agreed to help with our campaign against Seth."
"He's agreed?" I couldn't believe it. This was the last thing I'd expected to happen after my disastrous run in with the creator.
Ma'at nodded, unable to contain the joy on her face. "He's put some caveats in place, though. He refuses to get involved in a physical war, and won't use magic or powers against any one god. But he will offer advice in strategy and in other ways that could be of use."
"Wow." I leaned back in my chair, trying to process everything she was saying.
Atum was on our side. He'd responded to me.
I didn't want to question the why too closely, especially as none of what had happened up on the mountain made any sense. Perhaps I'd ask Khonsu later. He might have noticed something I didn't.
"Which means we have two of your consorts..."
"Still not my consorts," I corrected her, not even bothering to point out that one of them thought I wasn't worth his time, and two of the others were more interested in one another, than in me. The one left over though...he was another matter. Perhaps in time he could become a consort of mine.
"Sorry. I mean the gods you were assigned to..." She waited for me to protest that one.
I still wasn't too keen on the phrasing, but it was better than the alternative, so I let her have that one.
"Two are on our side already, which just leaves Horus and Amun. Any update on them?" she asked.
"Actually..." I took a deep breath. "We have all four of them. Horus came to me about an hour ago to say he'd agreed to be part of whatever plan you have."
"And Amun? I didn't even realise you'd found him."
"I haven't, as such. He found me. I still have no idea where he's been." Or where he was now. But I figured it was better to keep quiet about that particular part of the situation. All she needed to know was that Amun was on our side.
Though I had to admit, that was an assumption. But he'd promised to do anything for me, and that would include going along with Ma'at's plan, wouldn't it?
"All four of them?" Ma'at whispered, but I didn't think I was supposed to actually answer the question. She was just processing it for herself. "I can't believe it. That's amazing."
"You're welcome," I muttered, doubting she was even aware that I was still in the room right now. I had no idea what was going around the other goddess' head, but it had nothing to do with me.
"We should have a banquet," she murmured.
"What do we need a banquet for?" I asked despite myself.
"For the other gods," she told me impatiently. "Now we have the names we need on board, we need to spread the word so others join us too. We need as many people as possible in order to get this working."
"Oh, right. Is there anything you want me to do?" I asked, feeling like I should.
She shook her head. "Unless you happen to have a dozen spare priestesses, there isn't much you can do," she countered.
"Actually, I do. One of my temples was destroyed by Seth and the priestesses are here. I haven't assigned them any work yet..."
"Excellent. If you send them to my rooms and get them to ask for Edrice, I'll set them to work on the banquet. You'll invite Horus, Khonsu, and Amun, naturally?" she checked. I liked that she assumed Atum wouldn't respond again. It seemed accurate. If I was honest, I didn't expect to see the creator god ever again.
"I will. Though I might not be able to get hold of Amun."
She waved my concern away. "With the other three on board, it'll be enough." She rose to her feet. "Thank you for the wine. It was delicious."
I smiled in acknowledgement, glad my stash of the drink was pleasing so many people today.
"I'll send the priestesses over to you," I promised.
"Thank you." She nodded to me once, then slipped through the door and back out into the main temple.
I leaned back in my chair, satisfied that despite the odds, I'd completed the quest Ma'at had set.
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