Dragon Soul
Page 72

“The captain told us you two championed both challenges,” the woman said. I figured she had to be Maat, especially since there was a feather tucked into her springy curls. “Well done. Duat needs champions like you. If you choose to remain here, we will be most happy to find you a position in our court.”
I wasn’t sure if she was speaking for her three lackeys, who were even now setting up a table with the stacks of books, or if she was using the royal we.
“Thank you,” Rowan said, making her a bow that made my stomach go tight with pleasure. “We will take your offer under consideration.”
My shiny pink behind we will, I thought to myself, but didn’t contradict Rowan in front of the others.
“Now then, shall we form an orderly line?” Maat said, turning to face the rest of the passengers. She clapped her hands for silence and repeated her request. “You will approach me one at a time, making sure your Ka is in your possession, and then I will weigh it against my feather. If it is lighter than my feather, you may pass on to the divine realm or your choice of destinations. If your Ka fails or you do not have possession of your Ka, then you must remain in Duat. In that case, we will send you to Osiris, who will find employment for you. Is everyone ready?”
Enthusiastic cheers answered her and people jostled and jockeyed to get to the front of a straggly line.
Mrs. P, I noticed, scanned the three men, disappointment sharpening her expression. Her shoulders sagged a little as she took up a place at the railing.
“Hello, hello. I’m sorry I’m late. I was dead, you see, and I had to travel back to the ship, and my, that was a journey, let me tell you.” Gilly materialized out of nothing, her face expressing happiness. The other priestesses greeted her with calls of welcome. “Oh, is it the third challenge already? I’m so glad I didn’t miss it.”
“Where on earth have you been? Wait, you were dead?” I asked, staring at her. She looked perfectly normal.
“Yes! Hullo, Aset. You look pretty in that outfit. Yes, Sophea, I was dead. Someone pushed me over the edge of the railing, and I hit my head underwater, and the next thing I knew, Osiris was greeting me and telling me to get back to the ship. It was all very exciting, although I do wish I’d been asked if I wanted to be a spirit.”
Rowan’s body tensed as she spoke. I glanced around to see if there was a threat that he perceived, but I saw nothing other than Ken and Barbie moving over to the other side of the deck, standing together and speaking quietly.
Gilly drifted off to join her priestly sisters in line.
“Is anything wrong?” I whispered to Rowan.
“I think very much so, yes,” he answered, and he glanced across to where May and Gabriel were greeting Constantine and Bee.
“About…?”
“Everything,” he said, annoyingly mysterious.
“Where can he be?” Mrs. P sighed, gripping the railing and staring out onto the shore. “He knew I would be here. He knew I had the shiny for him.”
“Your boyfriend?” I asked her, and without thinking, said, “Where exactly is the ring? You’re not wearing it that I can see.”
Her brow was lined with worry. “I hope Isis has not tried to stop him… hmm? Oh, it is here.” She gestured toward her stomach.
“You swallowed it?” I asked, startled.
“No, I had my belly button pierced using it. That way I knew it would always be safe.”
“Clever,” I admitted, giving her arm a little pat. “Don’t worry about Osiris. The captain said that Maat was here early, so maybe Osiris didn’t get the word that you’d be ready to release him just yet.”
She sighed again, and I left her to her melancholy thoughts, moving over to stand next to Rowan.
“I am a bad person,” I announced softly to him.
He was watching the other dragons, now in conference, his gaze moving from them to the captain to Ken and Barbie. “No you’re not. Is this the point where I should ask you why you think you are?”
“Of course you should.” I waved my hands around. “You don’t let your mate make statements like ‘I am a bad person’ without both disputing that fact and then asking her to explain, thereby allowing her to bare her soul to you.”
“Fine. Why do you think you’re a bad person?”
“Because I am judging Mrs. P. She’s running away with a married man, Rowan. I know that isn’t a big deal these days, but when I think of some hussy running off with you, I see red. And knives. Gelding knives, and lots of them.”
“Ah, but you are not considering two points,” he said, turning to face me. “First and most important, I would never run away with a hussy. You are my mate, and you are going to stay my mate. I have informed you that I love you, a statement I don’t make lightly. And second, you forget that Osiris and Isis were wed thousands of years ago. They were actually brother and sister, and there were a limited number of gods to go around, so they had to wed.”
“That’s just seriously ew,” I said, trying not to grimace.
“You might ask Osiris what sort of a marriage he had before you make a final judgment on Mrs. P for wishing to be with him.”
“Oh yes, that’s going to be an easy conversation to have. ‘Pardon me, god of the Underworld, did you enjoy your incestuous relationship with your sister, or are you just tired of her and want fresh meat?’ Yeah, I think I’ll pass on that little chat.”
“Why are they excluding us from their conversation?” Rowan asked, looking back at the dragons. “They are planning something. They wish us to be out of their precious weyr.”
“I think you’re being a little paranoid. Why don’t we go ask them what’s going… hey!”
Rowan’s eyebrows rose when I grabbed his arm. “Hey?”
I nodded toward Bee and Constantine. “It just struck me—they were here before, along with the others, and they got to leave. They didn’t have to wait around for Maat.”
“They were visitors, not travelers on the ship,” he said just as if that explained everything. I looked at him until he unbent. “It is the act of traveling through the Duat that signifies the deceased going to his or her destination. People can and do visit the Underworld without being stuck here. But if you are a passenger on the ship through it, you are considered a pilgrim, if you will.”