against his forehead. “By Apep’s pulsing pustules, girlie! Do ya have a deat’ wish? What am I askin’? Of course ya have a deat’ wish. ’Ur here, ain’t ya?”
He punched the side of his boat, which told me just how upset he was.
The ferryman went on with his lecture. “Bad enough ya gotta make ’ur way here, bein’ a kicker and all. Now I find out you’ve fallen fer one a the wanderin’ three, the soulless. And the wors’ one o’ the bunch, too. The revealer shows the disembodied exactly what they don’ wanna see. And most o’ the time, it ain’t a pretty picture. Nothin’ good will come o’ helpin’ a man such as that.”
“They’re not soulless. They’ve just been given a very difficult job that requires them to serve the gods. I’m sure that whatever it is they’re tasked to do, they take no delight in it. You should know a lot about that yourself, I might add.”
He took hold of my arm and shook me slightly. “Just trust me when I tell ya, it’s ’ur fanny gonna be in a mound o’ trouble if you head out wi’ the likes of those two.”
Ahmose stepped forward. “Be careful with her. She is frail.”
Snorting, Cherty replied, “Shows what you know. This one’s ’bout as frail as a dragon’s backside.”
Narrowing his eyes, Ahmose said, “She will be safe in our hands, Ferryman. I assure you.”
“You should leave now,” Asten added with a menacing look I’d never seen him wear before.
The ferryman stared into Ahmose’s eyes and seemed to find something there because his shoulders fell and he turned away. Gruffly, he said to me, “It’s ’ur choice, then. Do ya still want to go wi’ ’em?”
“Yes,” I answered. “I have to find Amon.”
He kept his back to me, his breathing deep and ragged. “Suit ’urself, then.” Clearing his throat, he spat a final greenish gob of phlegm into the water, grabbed a rucksack and a flagon from his stash, and shoved them into my arms.
“What’s this?” I asked.
“Some stores from ma personal stash. Without food, a kicker like you won’t last too long, ’specially in the netherworld. In there I got a bunch o’ raisins, each one filling yer belly fer hours; some fig cakes that double when ya break ’em apart; and the flagon o’ cider there never runs dry.”
“That’s very kind,” I said as I took the items and placed them in the larger bag.
“And ’ere. Take this, too.”
He tossed me a golden coin stamped with a man hunched over a pole riding a boat. “It’s you,” I said.
“When ya want ta return. Toss it inta the water. I’ll come ta find ya.”
Carefully, I put the coin into the bottom of my quiver, then wrapped my arms around Cherty’s thick waist. “Thank you,” I murmured into his chest. Standing on my tiptoes, I kissed his cheek and he turned a brilliant shade of red that traveled all the way down his neck.
“Welcome.” He stepped away and kicked a pebble into the quiet water lapping against the ship, then stooped to free the rope from the dock. After tossing it haphazardly aboard, he placed a heavy hand on my shoulder. “Just promise ye’ll be careful, girlie. Don’t trust the soulless. They ain’t the mighty men of valor ya think they are.”
“I’ll be cautious,” I pledged.
He grunted, clambering aboard the beautiful vessel and sailing back toward the treacherous waters we’d barely escaped hours earlier.
I turned and gave Ahmose and Asten a small smile as I tightened my grip on my bow. “Hello,” I said.
Their eyes burned into me. Asten was the first to speak. “Lily! What have you done?”
“What do you want to know first?” I said with a sheepish look.
“How did you get here?” Ahmose asked insistently.
“By boat,” I said as I jerked my thumb over my shoulder and smiled cheekily. “But I guess that was pretty obvious.”
“This isn’t funny, Lily,” he replied.
“No,” I sighed. “It’s not. Long story short, Anubis recruited me. He needs me to find Amon.”
“Amon?” Ahmose repeated, his eyes shifting nervously to Asten. “Why would he want you to do that?”
“I guess it’s because I’m the only one who can.” I repositioned the bag over my arm so they could see the gleaming green scarab pinned to my shoulder.
Both brothers’ eyes widened, Ahmose taking a step back while Asten took one closer. He removed his bronze chain mail glove and brushed my hair back before stretching out his fingertips to the scarab. On impulse, I touched