The Queen Of Gods

Chapter 6

Chapter Six

I rested my fingers on the pawn, not wanting to move it for risk of handing Khonsu the game. I was seriously out of practice.

"I haven't played senet in years," Khonsu said, echoing my own thoughts.

"Me neither, I'm rusty."

He moved one of his pawns a couple of spaces and I picked up the sticks to throw them once more and get the score for my next move.

I'd forgotten how freeing it was to sink back into the games of our own culture. With the modern world creeping in, some of the gods and goddesses had taken to playing more modern games. It was almost easy to forget the old ways.

"How long did you spend pretending to be an old woman?" I asked as I took my turn.

He chuckled. "Does it unnerve you that I did that?" He triumphantly moved one of his pawns off the board, getting it to safety.

"Unnerve is the wrong word. But I'll admit to not understanding the why."

"Maybe I don't understand some of the whys surrounding your life," he countered.

I frowned. "What would you like to know? I'm happy to tell you."

"Why don't you want to travel the world? We have fewer responsibilities now, you could take the time to really see things."

I scrunched up my nose. "The world is loud and full of people. It's not really my thing."

"I thought you were the goddess of..."

"Don't even finish that thought," I warned. Ignoring his words, I threw the sticks, rolling a four. Good, that would get one of my pawns past the houses and into safety. "Did you get to choose to be a god of the moon?" I asked.

"No."

"Then what makes you think I got to choose any of the things I'm the goddess of?" It made perfect sense to me. None of us were in any control of this. We just became the gods and goddesses of what people chose to believe we were. It was a confusing system. Mostly because it ended up with situations like mine where there was a long list of things one particular god was in charge of.

"I hadn't considered it like that. The moon has been part of me for so long."

I smiled and nodded. "As have my aspects. But sometimes, I want to be the real me, from before. The one that doesn't like spending a lot of time with people I don't know, doing things that I have to."

"Which is why you were on your own when you found me." He moved his next pawn, coming dangerously close to getting another one off the board and to safety.

I shrugged as I threw the sticks. "I'm immortal, it didn't seem overly important to take guards with me."

"Seth could have captured you."

"I doubt he's going to do that." I thought back to the threat in his letter and sighed. "He'll hurt other people in order to get to me. He wouldn't be foolish enough to kidnap me, it doesn't cause enough damage."

"Don't underestimate your value," Khonsu warned, moving yet another of his pawns off the board. One more, and he was going to win.

"If you think I'm in danger from Seth, then we need to act fast. Which means bringing Horus on side." I grimaced, trying not to think about my prior interactions with the god. He knew just how to get under my skin, and I wasn't sure how he knew how to do it. I'd certainly never given him any instructions.

"What about blackmail?" he asked, a thoughtful look on his face.

I stopped in my tracks, the pawn hovering in the air in my surprise. "You want me to blackmail a god?"

"Desperate times call for desperate measures," he attempted to explain.

"Even if it was ethical, I don't have anything to blackmail him with. I've barely spent any time with him ever." Which only made it more confusing that he hated me.

"Why does he hate you?"

I narrowed my eyes at Khonsu. How did he have such an uncanny ability to uncover my thoughts and voice them? Was it some ability connected to the moon that I didn't know about?

"I have no idea," I answered honestly. "I got the impression he wasn't my biggest fan about three hundred years ago, I've stayed out of his way since."

"Do you know anyone we can ask?"

"I doubt it. My best guess is that it has something to do with everyone thinking we're mother and son." I dropped my head into my hands and almost let out a wail of despair. How was I supposed to compete with thousands of years of pent up annoyance? Especially when we shared it.

"Ah, I can see how that might frustrate him."

"And me." I put the pawn down, having completely forgotten my move and realising we'd both lost track of where in the game we were. Other things were far more important.

Khonsu nodded, but then disappeared off into some odd train of thought. "What if you threatened to start telling everyone that you are his mother if he doesn't do what we want?" he suggested.

A light laugh slipped from me. "That seems a little unnecessarily evil."

"Or go the opposite way, and try promising that you'll tell people you're not."

I tapped my chin with a finger as I thought through the pros and cons of that one. "Do you think that will work? He doesn't seem like the kind that will fall for that kind of promise, especially if he thinks I'm just making it because of Ma'at's mission."

"It's worth a try, isn't it?" Khonsu picked up the Senet pieces and placed them back in their starting positions. It seemed like he planned to play again. Or he just wanted to do something with his hands.

I sighed deeply. "I suppose it is, yes." Though I didn't want to admit that he was right. "We need Horus on side." More than I needed a little dignity.

"I can send a letter to him?" he offered.

I nodded. "Please do. With any luck, he'll arrive here tomorrow and then we can focus on the next god." Without me meaning to, an annoyed sigh escaped.

Khonsu c****d his head to the side. "Is it really that bad?"

"I have no idea how I'm going to manage all of this. It feels like I've been set up as a kind of joke."

"Ma'at never struck me as a prankster," he mused as he fit the last game piece back in place.

"Unless getting with Maahes has changed something drastic, she isn't," I muttered.

"Oh, so they're actually together? Interesting."

I chuckled. "No one knows for sure," I admitted. "But there's been rumours about it going around for a while."

"He never struck me as her type."

"I didn't think anyone was her type. Or that she'd end up with Mafdet because it was easy." Though even as I said them, the words sounded catty. Was it because I saw myself as in a similar situation to Ma'at's? I was alone, though I'd never considered settling for anyone to change that.

"So, Atum and Amun. How are you planning on getting to them?" Khonsu asked, changing the subject.

"Can't we focus on one at once? Horus seems like enough work..."

Khonsu reached out and gave my hand an affectionate squeeze. "Let me focus on Horus while you concentrate on the others."

"I thought you suggested we blackmailed him?"

The god chuckled. "I was going to try honey before moving to the vinegar."

"I'm not sleeping with him," I warned. No one would be able to pay me enough to do that.

"I wasn't suggesting you did." There was an undeniable twinkle in Khonsu's eyes.

"Do you think he'll go for that?" I mused. "I mean, he did keep looking at you while we were there..."

"He did?" It was impossible to miss the hope in his voice.

Huh. I'd read that right then. Interesting. They'd make a cute couple.

"Oh, definitely."

"Well, I'll focus on him, while you do the others. At least that way we can both have some fun while we're at it." He winked at me.

I didn't even want to think about the fun he was planning on having with Horus, though I hoped the two of them enjoyed themselves.

"I doubt I'll have any," I said glumly. "Atum is an infamous recluse who thinks he's above us all..."

"Are you sure you're talking about Atum and not the big H," Khonsu teased.

I snorted. "He's not that big."

"That insult loses all meaning when I know you saw it," he countered.

I shook my head in bemusement. "Well, as far as I'm concerned, you're welcome to his big H. So long as he's willing."

"Oh, he will be."

"But I know where Atum is, so that's not too bad. Amun is the big problem. No one's seen him in so long that I have no idea where to even start." Of course, that was probably why Ma'at had delegated in the first place. She hadn't wanted to spend her time looking for him either.

"Okay, how about this. I'll go see Horus. You go to Amun's temple in Luxor and shakedown some of his priests, then we can go see Atum once we know more?" he suggested.

"It's as good a plan as any," I admitted. "But you're not going to come with me to find Amun?"

He scoffed. "You turned up to try and find me without any help, I'm sure you can find him too."