hearts worthy of condemnation don’t just appear every day,” Asten proclaimed.
“And I suppose you have another idea?” Ma’at replied.
Asten folded his arms. “Yes,” he said. “I’ve got an idea.”
“And what, pray tell, is that?” Ma’at asked.
“I think you should find my heart evil enough. She can ride on mine.”
“I want my heart to be weighed on the scales of justice!” Asten declared, his countenance as wild as a whirlwind. The spacious hall suddenly felt tight and small, as if the air were full of secrets.
“Asten! What are you saying?” Ahmose hissed in alarm.
Quietly, Asten replied, “You’ll know soon enough.” He paused, glancing at Ahmose briefly, regret filling his eyes, and then added, “Brother.”
“Son. Don’t do this.” Startled, I watched Anubis pace toward Asten and place his hand on his shoulder. “It isn’t the time,” he said. “We’ll find another way.”
Asten shrugged and smiled, attempting his trademark cocky smirk, but the gesture was empty and weak, devoid of his usual wit and charm. “It was going to happen eventually, wasn’t it? I’ve played the part long enough. The lies have eaten away at me for millennia. At least this way something good might come of it.”
Ma’at had ordered a drink but before touching it, waved her servant over and hastily placed the goblet on the tray. Red liquid sloshed over the side, drops dribbling to the floor. Though the servant hastily made an effort to clean up the spill, my eyes remained transfixed on the stain. It looked like blood against the white tile. The stone was so porous it soaked up the liquid, and despite the best efforts of the girl, she could not remove the pigment. It felt portentous, an ominous sign, and my heart beat heavily in my chest with the sure knowledge that something horrible, something irreversible, was happening.
Clenching his jaw, Anubis straightened and turned toward Ma’at, pointing a threatening finger in her direction. “There will be no judging!” he announced. “Asten doesn’t know what he’s doing.”
“I know exactly what I’m doing,” Asten countered boldly. “And I understand the consequences better than anyone. How many doomed souls have I escorted across the Isle of the Dead? How many have I seen burned in the fire or swallowed by the hippos? How many have I dragged here to their judgment, where they collapsed in a heap of weeping and wailing supplication? I am more prepared than most, and I knew a day of reckoning was coming. I’ve been granted more time than I deserved. That was thanks to you, Anubis. You’ve helped me keep my secret over the years, even from my brothers. I’m not sure why you did it, but I’m grateful, regardless.”
“Asten, please,” Anubis said. “Won’t you reconsider? There are plenty—”
“A judging has been requested and a judging will take place,” Ma’at announced. She waved her arm and all the servants disappeared. “I do not pretend to know what mysterious turpitude the two of you have covered up, but we will soon find out.”
“What is your condition?” the goddess asked softly.
Asten nibbled on his lip before heaving a deep sigh. “My heart is guilty. I am not free of sin.”
Ma’at moved her hand with a flourish and Asten cried out in pain, clutching his chest. White particles of light as soft and yet as piercing as the stars rose from between his fingers and moved purposely forward in an undulating rhythm. They strained toward Ma’at’s outstretched hand, gathering together and coalescing as they did so. Asten staggered and breathed heavily as the last of the light left his body.
The delicate material contracted and re-formed itself into what looked like a mound of gleaming clay. Ma’at blew on it almost reverently and the thing she held quivered, then stilled. When she passed me to place it on the scale, I heard the soft beat of Asten’s heart, a slightly different rhythm than the one coming from the heart scarab. I glanced at him in alarm but Asten appeared to be fine, though there was a slight catch in his breath.
“Let’s start with the easier ones this time, shall we?” Ma’at asked as she returned to stand in front of Asten, her sharp eyes fixed on his face. “Have you broken hearts? Caused others to weep?”
Nodding, Asten said, “There have been a few women who I’ve left brokenhearted at the end of our earthly hiatus. There was one in particular that Ahmose was interested in and I stole her away.”