T. A. Chase

Anubis

Anubis copyright c. 2015 T.A. Chase

Part Seventeen-

Anubis’s head pounded as he climbed into Jamil’s truck. All day long, he’d had the feeling there was something he was supposed to be doing or somewhere else he was supposed to look, but he couldn’t get a clear enough image—or thought—of what it was.

::There are times when the gods chose to be ambiguous with what we need to know.:: Thoth’s voice entered his mind, but it soothed the ache in some small way.

::True. Then they become frustrated when we don’t move as fast as they think we should. What are we missing? Isis sent me here. He must have gotten some kind of urging from our creators. Yet all I have found is memories that I never wanted to relive.::

He could feel Thoth’s shrug before his brother spoke. ::I don’t know. Isis was tight lipped when he sent me, even when I tried to badger him into telling me.::

::Isis has developed a thick skin after dealing with us for centuries. Only Sekhmet can shake him now.:: Anubis rubbed his face then pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Are you okay?”

Jamil’s voice in the tight confines of the truck cab made him jump slightly. He’d been concentrating on Thoth, he’d forgotten about the man sitting next to him. He cleared his throat.

“I have a headache. Probably from all the dirt and dust I breathed in today. It’s been a long time since I’ve been out in the field. My lungs aren’t used to it yet.”

::It’s been over a century since you’ve been digging in the dirt. Remember when Tutankhamen was discovered. Thank God you were there.::

That had been a long expedition and dig. He and the others had exhausted themselves steering Howard Carter away from certain items buried with the boy Pharaoh. The warriors hadn’t been able to get to Tutankhamen before his tomb had been sealed to gather the religious artifacts the priests had given to the boy during his reign.

While Amun and Bastet had guided Carter to the main tomb, Anubis and the rest were busy secreting the icons and relics away to be taken to Scotland. Once there, they’d preformed the rituals needed to lock their powers, so no one would be able to use them again—or at least not without permission from the gods.

Unfortunately, there was nothing they could do about the curse a rogue priest had put on the tomb. It settled on the first group of people to have breathed in the stale air. Death followed in the wake of the discovery. It had been the most drained Anubis had felt in thousands of years.

::I hate to think this dig will be as bad as that one.:: He glanced over at Jamil. ::I hope there isn’t a curse on this place.::

::If there had been, it would’ve stuck those who discovered Petra, not Jamil and his crew. What bothers me is that this place wasn’t on our radar until they discovered those jars. Have they done x-rays on them to see if there is anything in there except mummified organs?::

::I don’t know. I forgot to ask. I was too upset yesterday when I figured out who the jars belonged to. Asking wasn’t the first thing on my mind.::

Thoth’s wave of sympathy eased Anubis’s headache even more. As annoying as he could be at times, Thoth did care for his brothers and it helped Anubis to know Thoth understood what he was feeling about this whole mission.

“Jamil?”

“Yes?” Jamil didn’t take his gaze off the road.

“Have you x-rayed the jars yet? To see if there is anything else in there beside the organs?” He clenched his hands as a sharp pain tore through his head. They had to be on the right track if he was getting shocks like that. Anubis—the god—wasn’t known for being subtle.

Frowning, Jamil shook his head. “Do you think we should? It didn’t sound like there was anything in them. Not that we shook them or anything, but we should’ve been able to hear some kind of movement.”

“Not if they were packed with something,” he muttered.

::They could be hiding something. Maybe the princess and prince’s organs aren’t in them. It could’ve been a way to keep people from stealing it—whatever it is.:: Thoth sighed. ::I’ll talk to Isis then get back to you about what we need to do.::

Anubis grunted and Jamil shot him a quick glance.

“Are you sure you’re all right?”

“Yes, but we need to schedule a time to take the jars to be x-rayed. There’s something about them that’s making me uneasy. Over the years, I’ve learned to listen to my instincts.” He tapped his fingers on his thigh while he thought. “I know a professor at the university who would probably be able to get us in to use his machine. I could grease the wheels a little with a donation.”

Jamil chuckled. “What’s the hurry? Those jars have been buried for centuries. A day or two longer won’t hurt anything.”

He wanted to say that every delay was dangerous because they didn’t know what was hidden and who might want what was there. Now that the containers had been discovered, it was only a matter of time before the people who hid them would come for them.

Anubis was worried about that. Until he knew for sure what the objects were, he had no way of preparing to keep Jamil safe and the enemy from getting their hands on what they wanted. There was so much he still didn’t know about what was going on. All he wanted to do at the moment was scream in anger for being put in this position.

::Try to harness your anger, Anubis. It’s something you should’ve dealt with when you were first killed then turned into a warrior for the gods.:: Isis’s voice came through the fog of rage.

::No one ever gave me a chance to do so.::

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