“Why do you need him so badly?” I asked. “Isn’t there someone else you could charm into serving Egypt for a few eons?”
Still facing the window, he shook his head. “The three Sons of Egypt are bonded. To break that bond is to render the three of them powerless. Without all of them, the cosmos is vulnerable.”
“So you’re saying Seth could possibly find a way to get back in.”
“Yes.”
“Well, why didn’t you share this information with Amon before? He thinks you can just find someone else to take his place.”
Anubis turned, and a scowl flashed across his handsome face. “He never had an issue with his work, never wavered before. We only tell the Sons of Egypt enough so that they may do their duty. Frankly, I thought if any of them would give over their immortality for a woman it would be Asten.”
“No. Asten would never abandon his brothers. Not even for a woman.”
Frowning and running a hand through his hair, Anubis said, “It’s worse than I feared. You’ve bonded with all three of them.”
“Wh-what?” I sputtered incredulously. “I’ll have you know I’m not that kind of a girl.”
He waved a hand in front of himself, showing his irritation. “I am not speaking of the physical, although there are manifestations of the bond on the physical plane.” He peered at me in the dim room. “Isis was right. You are unique, Lilliana Young. It’s fortunate for you that you are. It gives me hope that you might survive the journey.”
“Journey? What are you talking about?”
“The journey you must make into the netherworld to rescue Amon and bring him back to the afterlife.”
“Aren’t the netherworld and the afterlife the same thing?”
“I really don’t have the time to explain this.”
“I think you’d better make the time if you expect me to help you.”
He peered at me, eyes narrowed, for a moment before giving in. “Very well, but you will get the abbreviated version.”
“Fine.”
“I govern the afterlife. It is a type of staging area where the hearts of the dead are judged.”
“Okay.”
“Part of it is a paradise where those with good hearts live out eternity in a state of bliss and happiness.”
“Right. So it’s heaven.”
“Yes. Of a sort.”
“So then that would make the netherworld…”
“The closest thing you might compare it to is hell or purgatory.”
“I see. And this is where Amon is trapped?”
“Yes.”
“Well, why didn’t he go to the afterlife instead? Didn’t you judge his heart worthy?”
Anubis turned away and fingered a straw hat hanging from one of my hooks. “The Sons of Egypt were not supposed to be judged. Not until their duties were complete.”
“I take it something else happened, then.”
“The goddess Ma’at decided that his bond with a human warranted a”—he seemed to search for the right word—“a checkup.”
“She wanted to weigh his heart.”
“Correct. Amon was asked to place his heart upon the Scale of Truth and Justice. Instead, he leapt to another realm. As you know, he is in possession of the Eye of Horus and he used its power to gain entrance to the netherworld.”
“Was there any risk that his heart would be found…uh…evil?”
“There is a certain amount of darkness in every human heart. What is weighed is the balance of a person’s life. If they have learned from their mistakes and have more frequently given heed to what is right, then they are judged worthy.”
“Then that shouldn’t have been a problem for Amon.”
Tilting his head, Anubis considered me. “Your assumption is not incorrect.”
“Then why did he run?”
“I suspect he ran because he was no longer in possession of his heart.”
My body went cold, and though I tried to channel a poker face, I was sure Anubis could see right through me. Swallowing nervously, I said, “I don’t understand. I mean, how could he live?”
“He doesn’t. Not in the way you are thinking. He has no need for a physical heart. You might believe that a heart is merely an organ, used to circulate the blood and to beat quickly when one feels love for another, but in truth a heart is much more than that. It is the place where memory and intelligence are stored. It holds that which is most sacred—the true name of its owner.”
“Um, I’m pretty sure you’re talking about a brain, not a heart.”
“No. I am talking about the essence of a person, what makes an individual unique. You can call it a soul, a heart, a brain, or any number of things. In Egypt