Recreated by Colleen Houck Page B

was nearly wild, feral; any humanity remaining was eclipsed by the beast. Her only option was to lash out. And when she smelled blood, her other half took over. She was horrified by what she was and eventually sought her own end, though death, except under very rare circumstances, was no longer an option. Finally, unable to care for her on my own, I approached the council, confessed what I had done, and awaited their decision. They granted what she sought. Her own death.”
    “Then why keep the rite at all? Why not eradicate all evidence that it had ever been done?”
    “Because,” she answered simply, “the stars said we’d need it.”
    “What are you saying?” Dr. Hassan asked. “The stars knew about Lily?”
    “Not about Lily, no, but we dare not question what the stars have seen. That might mean Lily is the reason. It might mean something else or someone else. It might mean nothing. The things the stars whisper are not always clear. But whatever the case, the gods opted not to erase all evidence of the spell, just in case the stars were right.”
    “Yeah. Well.” I kicked a pebble with my golden sandal. “All that matters to me is saving Amon. I don’t appreciate that all these little rituals of yours take so long.”
    “Ah, Lily. How little your mortal eyes see. If we were to forsake the rituals, we would be sending you unprepared toward a certain doom. Each step you take is necessary. Every hurdle makes you stronger. Tempered steel is not easily broken. You must believe we are giving you your best chance. Remember that even in the netherworld, there are certain rules and limitations.”
    “Like the one that says you aren’t allowed to go and intervene.”
    “Correct. Try not to worry much; if the Devourer had him in her clutches, we would know. And even so, the process of draining him is not a quick thing. She would take her time. Because of this, I want you to understand the importance of what you are undertaking. This spell is not an easy one. You will be tested, and even if you are successful, you will need some time to acclimate to your new self. You must be firm of mind. Fix your gaze on your goal. And above all else, you must open your heart. Otherwise you may lose yourself, much like my handmaid, Baniti.”
    “And you’re sure this is the only way to save him?”
    “It is the only way I know.”
    Swallowing, I nodded. “Then let’s see if we can do something to help him.”
    The wings of the goddess fluttered and she smiled. “Vizier, are you ready to receive the spell?”
    “Yes,” he answered. “I have one question before we get started, though.”
    “And what is that?”
    “Why Wasret? Shouldn’t the rite be named for your handmaid, Baniti, instead?”
    “What do you know of Wasret?” Isis asked.
    “I know she was a goddess of Egypt with most of her worshippers centered at Thebes. I know she was charged to protect your young son, Horus, and that she’s rumored to be Amun-Ra’s first wife.”
    “Hmm. It’s interesting how the truths get mixed together until they become almost unrecognizable. The reference to my son was indeed Baniti. She was his nursemaid as a boy. He considered her a second mother and was nearly inconsolable at her death. The reason Thebes is a part of the story is because that is the city where she was born and it is the city where I honored her death, creating a temple guarded by sphinx statues. But these references are for Baniti, not Wasret.
    “You see, Wasret, the person rumored to be Amun-Ra’s first wife, the person for whom this rite remained on earth, is a person who hadn’t even been born at the time her name was inscribed on the wall. It is the name the stars have whispered to us over the eons.”
    “Then the inscriptions we’ve discovered that speak of Wasret are about two different people,” Dr. Hassan murmured.
    Isis admired a sparkling ring around her finger as she inquired of Dr. Hassan, “You found two versions of the sphinx carved