My heart felt tight and full and warm in my chest. I touched the tip of my finger to his soft lips and stroked the light stubble on his jaw. “I think I’ve heard that sustenance thing somewhere before,” I said with a smile. “But this time you don’t have to coerce me.”
I kissed him again and touched my forehead to his, unwilling to let him go, but it was time. Backing up, I spread my wings, and two unicorns touched down. Their hooves stomped, and bursts of lightning shot out from beneath them, disappearing into the ground and making it quake. Their tails flicked nervously, lashing the air as if they fought an invisible enemy. They twitched and danced as they waited for Ahmose and Amon to mount.
When they were ready, I summoned my wings and we followed Amun-Ra into the sky. He waved his hand and a portal opened. Horus and Anubis closed in next to me on one side while Amon and Ahmose protected the other. Together, we were a storm cloud of power, a maelstrom of fury. And we were headed to war.
I heard the cry of a unicorn below me and looked down. It was Zahra. I gasped.
Come, Lily, she said. I would be honored to carry you into battle. You need not expend your energy so soon.
I…I thought you followed Nebu when the breach was sealed.
My father would not allow me to go with him, though I was willing. He wanted you to have a familiar mount to carry you into battle.
Thank you, I said. I’m glad you’re here.
Flapping my wings once, twice, I dropped down, landing solidly on her back. For a moment I imagined we looked like a giant, double-winged dragonfly. She was right that I needed to preserve my energy, and I was grateful to have her close. Though she kept her thoughts from me, I heard the gnashing of her teeth. She, too, was angry at the loss of Nebu.
We entered the greedy mouth of the vortex and were sucked in one by one. Thick, viscous oil coated us, but then we were through and aloft in a vastness of empty space. I lost all sense of gravity as I gaped at the limitlessness of the cosmos around us. My pulse raced and my breaths came in short, tremulous pants as my pupils dilated to take in as much light as I could.
I wasn’t the only one shocked by our surroundings. A prominent vein popped out in Amon’s neck, and even Anubis looked uncomfortable, his mouth pressed in a thin line and his expression hard and determined. Amun-Ra pushed onward, and we followed—the breaths of my fellow warriors, the thumping of unicorn wings, and the seesaw bellows of hot steam shooting from their nostrils were the only sounds I could hear.
When we cleared a dark void, there was a sense of space pressing down on us, and then light pierced the darkness. It popped and sizzled like a firecracker before fading away. Another one came, this time pink. Then I saw yellow and green, each shape different, each color amazing. Soon more and more bursts of light filled my vision, each one creating its own special place in the immeasurable emptiness.
“What…what are they?” I asked Anubis as a burst of turquoise filled my vision.
“They are galaxies being born.” His face turned crimson and gold, the colors dancing across the rugged planes.
Soon after, metallic threads became visible. They tied one light to another like swaying bridges that crossed back and forth, over and under. “It’s…it’s a web,” I mumbled, marveling.
“Yes,” Horus said. “What you see is the remnant of the Cosmic Web. Its lines fade now.”
“Because there’s no one left to weave,” I said.
Horus shot me a sharp look. “How do you know of this?” he asked.
I swallowed. “Wasret and…I sort of had a run-in with a cosmic spider.”
Anubis raised his eyebrows but said nothing.
Studying the pattern of lines that crisscrossed the darkness of the cosmos, I said, “It’s like a giant map. It reminds me of what Earth looks like from space at night. All the lights linked together. New York was always the brightest.”
“Yes. But since this is actually a web, the brightest spot is at the center. And the center is where we will find the one we seek.”
As we flew closer, we began to turn, and what looked like a thin line sparkling and crackling on the horizon widened and curved until I could see what we were really looking at. It was like something right out of a sci-fi movie. Holy Egyptian heaven, I thought. No. In this case it was just holy heaven. I wasn’t schooled enough in astrology to understand what it was exactly, but to my non–science person eyes, it looked a bit like a black hole.
What is it? I asked Zahra.
It is the edge of the cosmos was the unicorn’s reply.
The unicorn’s natural light winked out as the cosmic phenomenon came into view. At the center there was indeed a spiraling funnel, but the rest of it was brimming with vibrating color. It looked like a churning oil-slicked pond, and just on the outer edge, lashed to it like a balloon on a fiery string, was a dark, indiscernible mass.
“Is that it?” I asked. “Is that him?”
“Yes,” Anubis said. “Seth is shackled to the event horizon. What you see is the remnant of his prison.”
“So it is a black hole, then?”
“No. Not in the sense you understand. The Waters of Chaos hold all the lifeblood of the cosmos. The galaxies that are born originate here. The building blocks of life, the energy that courses through all things, comes from this place. What you perceive as a hole is the unmaking. We have shackled Seth to the place where creation is the strongest. It cancels out his power and has contained him within his prison since the Sons of Egypt were born into their second lives.”
Now what I was seeing made more sense. The phenomenon known as the Waters of Chaos was shaped like a ring, but it wasn’t rotating like a hula hoop—instead, the uppermost layer was constantly being swept over the rimmed edge, colors flowing over like water dropping off the edge of the world.
The closer we got to it, the more the matter seemed to move in certain patterns. Bits rose up out of the liquid, coalesced, and then shot off to distant galaxies.
“What was that?” I asked Anubis.
“A tree. A whale. A newborn kitten. A new world. A star. It could be anything.”
“But I thought the Waters of Chaos had been drained,” I said.
I heard a soft exhalation before Anubis said, “The Waters of Chaos used to fill this entire area of the cosmos. The dark place we entered is now a void where there used to be life and color. Seth is not entirely wrong. What you see now is a result of his handiwork. But his motives are flawed and autocratic. We could not allow him to use this mighty power unchecked.”
We flew closer, the silence pressing upon me as I considered everything Anubis had said. Zahra shook her head as we angled sharply. The edge of the colorful matter ahead dropped off the curved edge, falling into space like a giant galactic waterfall. It was an awesome sight. I could easily envision Cherty with his lost boat, Mesektet, riding the waves of color and then screaming aloud his defiance at the universe as he went over the edge and sank into oblivion.
Wiping a tear from my eye, I studied the Waters of Chaos in wonder. “Here, there be dragons,” I whispered.
I didn’t know how right I was.
“They are coming,” Anubis said as dark shapes swarmed before us.
“Sky-demons!” Amon warned, and his unicorn veered down as a demon flew right between me and Ahmose, his leathery wings scraping my leg.
“Try to keep them from Lily!” Anubis warned as he drew a shimmering sword. Amon’s golden scimitars flashed in the darkness. Now that we’d worn out our surprise, the unicorns allowed their natural light to shine, and we saw what we were really facing. The sky was full of shadowy creatures who came at us with claws extended and mouths open, ready to tear into us.
Pulling out my spears, I pressed the button to elongate them and jabbed one deep into the chest of an approaching demon. He crumbled to dust in the open space. On my right, Amon took out two at once, severing the head off one and the wing off another. Without its second wing, the creature spun wildly, unable to direct its course. I
t spiraled off and disappeared among the swirling galaxies.
Out of the depths of space, sizzling asteroids appeared. I glanced over my shoulder and saw Ahmose sinking his cudgel into the neck of a demon passing nearby, then he lifted his arms and directed the path of fiery rocks straight into the mass of demons. Horus fought with his sword, and he also wove spells of some kind that seemed to confuse the demons. They’d veer off and end up attacking each other instead of us.
The space around me echoed with the shrieking of both unicorns and demons, and the refrain of steel striking bone was something I didn’t think I’d ever forget. A nearby unicorn lost its rider, and the horde descended, slashing into the animal’s tender flesh. Glittering blood pumped from the great beast’s neck and, with a mournful cry, it folded its wings and fell away into space.
My pupils flared as I felt red wrath crawl up my neck. I summoned my wings, took to the air, and gathered light. But this was no ordinary light, like that of the Heliopolis sun. This was the light of the cosmos itself. The light of billions of stars. It coalesced, beams hurtling toward me. Wings pumping, I slowly turned in a circle, arms lifted.
Power coursed through me, and my skin turned bright enough that I cast my own glow. In that moment, I was a true sphinx—a creature born of the cosmos—full of as much fire and gold as if I’d been fashioned from the yellow sun under which I was born. My speed increased until everything around me became a blur of color and light.
When my wings clapped together, the whole area around me lit up like an atomic bomb. The unicorns carrying my protectors veered away, uncertain of the power I channeled. With a stiletto smile, I pointed, sending my wave of energy out to the nearest demon. The lightning vortex struck with deadly accuracy. In an instant, every demon in our immediate area vanished in a dusty puff of glitter.
When the immediate danger was over, Zahra returned and I sank down onto her back, noticing only then that she trembled beneath me. I scrunched up my face. “Did I hurt you?” I asked.
No, but you should know the power you drew upon did not just come from the distant stars. You took energy from the unicorns and the gods themselves.
“What?” Her revelation was shocking. Quickly, I glanced over at Anubis, who’d soundlessly glided up next to me again, resuming his place at my side. He wore a poker-faced expression, but I could see, even in the darkness, that the hand holding his weapon shook.
Do not worry overmuch, she said. We unicorns are a hardy breed. We would have expended energy fighting them regardless. At least this way we won’t need to recover from wounds as well.
Despite her reassurances, I snapped my mouth shut, pressing it into a thin line. I determined to use only my own power from then on and not take it from my companions again. I couldn’t afford another error in judgment. The fact was that I really didn’t know as much about my newfound power as I would have liked.
Another wave of demons approached, but they were much more cautious than their brothers. They fought us in tight groups, ten demons charging each unicorn and rider, taking out those on our outermost edges and slowly working their way to the middle. After each victory, they’d slink off, and we could never tell which direction they would be coming from since they melted into the darkness so well.
There were so many sky-demons. I’d thought the ones we fought before were vast in number, but clearly Seth had been holding them back. Keeping them at his side. Even without the Devourer, it seemed Seth still retained great power.
We fought valiantly but lost several of our warriors. Still, it appeared as if we were making progress. We drew nearer to the Waters of Chaos. Up close it was larger than I’d first thought. It was almost the size of a vast city. The size of Manhattan, I thought with a start. Beating back our enemy, we reached the edge, only to be assaulted by a new, invisible enemy. One that seemed very familiar.
I heard a hissing noise, and Anubis cried out as rivulets of red appeared on his forearm. He dropped his sword, but it vanished and rematerialized in his hand. A nearby warrior was yanked from his mount, and his arm completely disappeared, blood streaming from his severed stump as he screamed. Zahra shrieked, and a row of bite marks appeared on her foreleg. As I watched, keeping my eyes peeled for her attacker, I slashed the empty air with my knives. Her unicorn blood swelled on her puncture wounds.
“Biloko!” Amon cried.
The very word caused me to balk. I remembered my all-too-frail, human form being attacked by the invisible crocodile demons that Sebak sent to attack us while we were recovering at Dr. Hassan’s home. Amon held out his bare hands in space, stretched-out fingertips wiggling and palms flat as if he were hand-fishing in a river. Then he grabbed on to something I couldn’t see. It was large, though. Large enough that he could wrap his arms around its body and his fingers still didn’t meet.
His unicorn bucked beneath him, and Amon’s face contorted as if he was in pain. He gyrated in the air as the thing he held wrenched wildly back and forth. Amon’s legs shot from one side to another, and he spun in a circle before accelerating upward at breakneck speed. He then tunneled back down and seemed to stop in midair. I edged closer, waiting for the right moment, and struck out with my spear-knives, sinking them into the space between Amon’s hands.
He stilled, floating in space, and then let go. Zahra moved closer to him, and Amon reached for me. I grasped on to his hand, pulling him closer until his face came up just a bit lower than my own. He levitated easily enough and moved with us as long as I held on to him. I allowed myself the briefest of moments to revel in the strength of his hands, the way they wrapped around my own smaller ones. Amon’s face was blanched whiter than moonlight, but I couldn’t see any obvious wounds. His eyes gleamed green, as green as a northern sea.
“Stay close to me,” he said. “Remember they have a taste for females.” I only had time to nod before he let go and fell down, landing perfectly on his unicorn, who surged up from below. The fight became bloody as demons both visible and invisible tore into our ranks. Amun-Ra and Nephthys came closer. The sun god told us to ride around the far rim of the Waters of Chaos while he and Nephthys would take the rest of the warriors and unicorns in the other direction. He instructed us to dim our light and head off when he gave the signal.
We fought mightily for the space of several minutes when I heard the sharp cry of a bird. It was the benu bird. I knew that was the signal we’d waited for. I gave the command to Zahra and she turned off her light and banked sharply. Amon, Ahmose, Anubis, and Horus followed. The space surrounding us became quiet as the battle moved off.
When the unicorn’s hooves met the Waters of Chaos, I was shocked to learn that the nebulous colored matter had a solid enough base that we could walk on it. The mist still roiled and moved like water, but it spilled past the unicorn’s legs as if we were wading through a shallow river. With the light reflecting up, I could clearly make out the faces of my companions. It cast shimmering patterns on our limbs and faces, giving us enough light to see as we made our way forward.
“Where do we go from here?” I asked.
Horus answered, “We go to confront Seth once and for all.”
I turned to Amon, searching for the reassuring upward twist of his lips that he so often gave me when he glanced my way, but his expression was closed up. Zahra moved alongside his mount, keeping pace with the large male unicorn that looked so much like Nebu. “What is it?” I asked him.
“I am not sure. It feels like something is wrong. My chest burns. I do not understand it.”
“So does mine,” Ahmose said.
“That’s strange,” I said rubbing my own chest. All at once, my own heart began to burn. Zahra stopped, and I kicked a leg over her back, landing hard on top of the slick surface beneath the shimmering Waters of Chaos. I suddenly felt suffocated by my own clothing. I tugged at the neckline, feeling like my armor was acting more like a burial shroud.
Amon and Ahmose seemed to be experiencing the same thing. I reached my palm up to cup Ahmose’s
face, only to pull it back with a hiss. “What’s happening to us?” I asked Anubis, who got off his own unicorn.
He closed his eyes, chanting a spell. His face scrunched up as if he were in pain. Terror overtook his expression, and he quickly dropped to my side. “No! It can’t be!” he cried as he took hold of my arm. He quickly withdrew his hand. His palm had turned bright red.
I tugged on my hair and rocked from my heels to my knees, desperate to end the pain. Clenching and unclenching my fists, I pulled and pushed on my temples, groaning. I wanted to ask Anubis what was happening, but I couldn’t form the words. Instead, I gestured wildly with my hands, trying to show him that something was very wrong. All of a sudden, my back shot ramrod straight, and I screamed. Tilting my face to the swirling stars above me, I felt power lift from my body. It hovered over me in a cloud.
In my mind’s eye, I saw a man, one whose ebony hair framed a face so handsome, it rivaled the very stars. I beamed as he made elusive promises that appealed to me more than lounging in sweet-smelling grasses on a savannah night. “Tene, my love,” I whispered as I kissed the edge of his mouth, just where his lips curled in a familiar smirk. I smoothed the silky hair away from his forehead so I could gaze into the depths of his eyes.
He slid his hands from my waist down over my hips and splayed his fingers, then pulled, tugging me close. Grinning at me, he said, “Are you in the mood to play tonight? Come and find me, then, my lovely minx.”
Then he winked and stepped back. I was about to chase him when the smile ebbed slowly from his face until it disappeared altogether. Darkness shrouded him. I observed a change in his eyes. Before, they were open to me. I could see my reflection in them, love pooling in the centers and spilling out. But now the depths of his eyes were closed, cold. They held nothing now but secrets.
Secrets.
Secrets.
My body collapsed, and when I opened my eyes, I felt hollow and dead inside. Light from the Waters of Chaos spilled over me in a colorful fog. The heat was ebbing as the foamy clouds bathed my fevered skin. I winced as strong arms lifted me. “What happened?” I asked as I got to my feet.