The Queen Of Gods

Chapter 2

Chapter Two

People were everywhere. Too many of them for my liking, but I could already tell there was nothing I could do about it. According to my sources, Horus was around here somewhere. I hadn't wanted to start with him, but he'd been closest to the temple and a little part of me hoped he'd be easy to convince.

Or that if I managed to deal with him, the others would just fall into line. I knew it was a long shot, but I had to do something.

A woman barged into me.

"Sorry," I muttered, even though she'd been the one who crashed into me.

"Watch where you're going," she returned angrily.

My mouth fell open. Had she not recognised the sacred emblem I was wearing? I didn't even realise that was possible. It wasn't a surprise that people didn't worship us, we'd all come to terms with that years ago, but not to recognise and respect things at all? It didn't bode well for anything we were trying to achieve.

Now I remembered why I didn't come out of the temple much. I'd tried it a couple of hundred years ago and found it too crowded then. But now...

I shuddered. This is why I'd wanted to say no to Ma'at. She just lived in her own little world hoping that everyone would do her bidding. I would say that the joke was on her, yet here I was doing exactly what she wanted me to.

"Why would he want to be here?" I muttered to myself as I squeezed through yet more people and made my way to the bathhouse which thinly veiled one of Horus' temples. He hadn't even bothered to change the name.

I stepped inside, the bustle of people disappearing from around me and finally letting me sigh in relief.

"I'm sorry, madam, we're closed," a man said from behind a reception desk.

After a deep reassuring breath, I brought myself up to my full height. "Not to me, it isn't. Tell Horus I'm here to see him."

The man looked me up and down, probably trying to decide whether or not he was going to throw me out.

"All right. If you'll just wait here," he said eventually. At least he'd recognised me. That was half the battle.

I wanted to argue with him, but decided against it. I didn't want to be here any more than Horus would want me here, which meant that ignoring his people would only make things more difficult for both of us.

The entrance was beautiful. If I had no idea what I was standing in, I'd have thought it was a replica of the temples of old. But it was more than that. This was an actual temple from years gone by. Horus had just had the outside of it changed to match the modern world. I had one much like this in another part of the city, I just hadn't been to it in years. There was no point. Some of my priestesses still saw to the upkeep of it, but as no one came to worship any more, there wasn't any admin to be done. Life certainly had become dull since the ceremonies and prayers stopped. It was so much better when people wanted my help.

The man scuttled back into the room, a cowed look on his face. No doubt Horus had filled him in on the details of who I was.

"He says to go away." The man didn't look up from the floor. He definitely knew me now.

I sighed dramatically. "I was afraid he'd say that. Tell him I need to talk to him about Ma'at."

The man seemed unsure, like he didn't want to get involved in a battle of the will between two gods.

Smart man. In his position, I'd be avoiding that too.

After a moment of tense silence, he disappeared back where he'd come, no doubt to go and tell Horus my latest message. I just hoped this time he'd listen. When I'd agreed with Ma'at's plan, I hadn't intended for it to take up more than a few days of my time, even if the gods in question wanted to be difficult to find.

He returned at a run. "He'll see you now. In the receiving hall. It's..."

"I know where it is." I swept past him, trying not to betray the pounding beat of my heart. I didn't want for them to know how uneasy I was about this all. I'd never been the confrontational type, and this went against my nature. But if Ma'at's right, then I had to do this.

Cool air filled the temple as I strode through it, and I could see why Horus had never moved out of here. There was something timeless about it, and I longed to explore more and uncover the secrets hidden behind the stone walls. Plus, they were bound to have amazing baths here. Their front had to have some truth behind it or they'd risk being discovered.

"Beautiful set up you have here," I said aloud, not calling any attention to the way he was lounging over the seat and looking mighty smug with himself.

"What do you want, Hathor?" He studied his fingernails as if something of great importance lurked beneath them. He probably thought it did.

"Ma'at sent me." Not a complete lie, though it wasn't quite the truth either. She'd wanted me to collect up the gods she thought I had connections with, but she hadn't technically told me I had to go and get them myself. I could have just sent a letter. I would have done, if I'd thought Horus would reply.

"Yes, I've heard she's sticking her nose in places it doesn't belong." He swung his legs around and leaned forward, still not seeming that interested in what I had to tell him. I couldn't blame him. I didn't want to be in this position either.

"I'd hardly call Seth's plotting none of her business," I countered. "He's bad news for all of us."

"So you say, but he hasn't done anything to me yet."

"Yet being the operative word there," I pointed out. "He'll have it in for all of us. You especially."

He spun around in his throne, his feet touching the floor for the first time. "And what makes you think he won't have it just as in for you?" He raised an eyebrow.

I lifted my hand and prepared to count off the reasons. "I'm beautiful, I'm smart, I'm non-violent, and I'm believed in."

"I'm two of those things," he countered.

"If you think Seth isn't a threat, then I don't think you have the right to call yourself smart any longer." I met his gaze and stared him down.

"Who said anything about smart? I was going to go with beautiful."

I scoffed. "I don't think Seth will be swayed by your beauty."

Horus rose from his throne and made his way down the steps towards me. "We're thousands of years old, Hathor. Don't tell me even you haven't tried it."

I shook my head. Not in denial, there was no point in that. He was right, and he knew it. For most gods and goddesses, sexuality was nothing more than a word.

"You don't believe me?" he said.

"I don't believe in you in general." I wasn't in the mood for his games. I never was.

He clutched his hands to his chest, a fake look of pain flitting across his face. "You wound me, Hathor."

I barked out a laugh. "Please. I've heard worse said to your face."

"By people who I like," he stressed. "Last time I checked, that didn't include you." The venom in his voice would have knocked me off my feet. Or it would have done if I'd cared about what Horus thought. As it turned out, I didn't.

"I'm not asking you to do this because you like me," I pointed out. "I'm asking you to do it because it's the right thing to do." That was a slight lie. The only reason I was here was because Ma'at wanted me to be. It had nothing to do with whether or not I thought Horus would actually help.

"Then you've come to the wrong place. Go home, Hathor."

I sighed dramatically. "Don't expect me to come help when Seth is banging at your temple doors."

There was no point waiting for his answer, so I swivelled around and stormed from the room. Not that it would have any effect, I knew as well as anyone else did that all Horus would do was laugh at my retreating back. It didn't matter, though. I'd gotten the answer I wanted, whether he knew it or not. Now I could go back and tell Ma'at that her plan wouldn't work, and I'd go back to doing things exactly the way I wanted to. And no one would be able to tell me I hadn't tried.