Kat hesitated as they appeared in a deep, dark cavern. She could hear the sounds of rodents and insects scurrying out of their way. Cringing in dread, she hoped they didn't come any closer to her.
Sin held his hand above his head and a torch appeared to light their way. Kat was instantly relieved as she looked about and didn't see any icky things running toward them or even away from them-she hated bugs and rodents.
But as she looked around, she was struck by the beauty of this place. The walls surrounding them were covered with inlaid art of children playing in fountains and of deer running through a forest. An eternal fountain made of solid gold splashed in one corner. It had a bird and raven perched on one side and a small girl on the other who was looking into the pool to catch her own reflection.
"How beautiful."
Sin swallowed and she could feel the awful wave of grief inside him. "Ishtar used to love to play in fountains and with animals when she was a child." He paused by one scene of a little girl who had a butterfly sitting on her shoulder while she fed a fawn out of one hand and a jackal out of the other. He splayed his hand over the image and she saw the tears in his eyes. "I found her like that one day when she was four. She looked up at me with her deep blue eyes and said, 'Don't worry, Daddy. I won't hurt them.' "
Kat wrapped her arms around him and held him close as his grief reached out and brought tears to her own eyes. "She wasn't really your daughter?"
"It didn't matter to me. She was always my daughter in my heart."
"I know."
He cleared his throat as he laid one arm over hers. "I was never sure who her real father was. Ningal wouldn't say and she had lovers by the handful. It could have been anyone."
But he'd never held that against Ishtar. He'd loved her regardless and that made Kat love him all the more.
"I don't know why Ningal hated me as much as she did. I tried so hard to make it work, but there was never any pleasing her. It was as if she just wanted to hurt me."
Kat tensed as a bad feeling went through her and she had to bite her lip to keep from speaking. Given what he'd just confided, she wondered if Ishtar wasn't his daughter after all. How cruel to lie to him and tell him his own daughter belonged to someone else...
Surely Ningal hadn't been that mean. But as she stood there, she felt the truth in her heart. It would be the deepest blow and it was one Kat was sure Ningal had taken.
Sin stepped away from her and headed down the narrow corridor to a chamber at the end of it. As soon as he entered, the torches lit themselves all around the room. The fire made dancing shadows that formed the images of children playing and deer running.
Kat gaped at the splendor. Every part of the room was covered in gold. Emeralds and diamonds were encrusted along the wall to make the grass where the children danced and there in the center was a sarcophagus in the shape of an ancient temple. It was exquisite.
On the top of it was carved the likeness of Ishtar whose eyes were two perfect sapphires. In her features, Kat saw the likeness to Sin. She'd been right about Ningal and it amazed her that anyone could be so cruel. How could Ningal have lashed out so viciously at the one person who should have meant the most to her? It defied logic.
Sin paused before the image to place his hand on Ishtar's face. The agony of his features tore through her. The thought of opening Ishtar's tomb was ripping him apart.
Kat wanted to spare him any more pain. "You want me to look for it?"
"No," he said, his voice thick. "She never liked strangers to touch her. She was actually very shy." His expression guarded, he closed his eyes and pushed at the lid. It shook slightly before it moved. The sound of scraping stone echoed through the cavern.
Kat moved forward and then gasped as she saw Ishtar. Because she was a goddess, her body hadn't decomposed. She was as perfect as the day she'd died. Her eyes closed, she appeared to be sleeping and a part of Kat kept waiting for her to wake up and look at them. She wondered if Sin was having the same thought.
Ishtar had been laid to rest in a crimson gown, the hem was encrusted with rubies that set off her dark complexion perfectly. Her hands, covered in gloves made of gold, were crossed over her breasts and beneath them she held the Rod of Time. In the shape of a raven, it, too, was gold and encrusted with gems.
Kat looked up at Sin. "She's beautiful."
"I know." He reached in to pull the Rod out from under Ishtar's hands. As soon as he touched her skin, a single tear slid from the corner of his eyes. "I miss her so much," he breathed. He glanced up. "I don't want to see you like this, Katra. Do you understand?"
She nodded as her emotions choked her. She didn't want to bury him either. "Ditto, bud. If anything happened to you, it would definitely ruin my best day."
Sin didn't speak again as he closed the sarcophagus and gripped the Rod tightly in his hand. "We have the key."
"Now we need the lock."
"And a miracle."
Kessar stood before the lock with Neti behind him. Tall and slender and dressed in dark brown, Neti had been one of their better conversions. The former chief gatekeeper to the Sumerian Underworld, he now worked for Kessar who kept him in deep seclusion.
"You are devious, master."
It was true. He was the master and he was devious. Kessar laughed as he stroked his chin. He'd embedded the lock that would hold back the Dimme inside Zakar's chest. The only way for Sin to save the world would be to kill his own twin.