Octavia smiled, the wrong kind of smile for security. "It's all wrong," said Octavia. "Do you see how viscous the shadows are? Oily. This is not the Abyss."

  "No," said Carlo. Had Octavia been pushed back over the line? "How are you feeling?"

  "You're worried. Trust me. Lucy is the mad Klaereon today. I'm the angry Klaereon. Why is this portal still open?" Octavia grimaced.

  "Because the shadows are always open portals?"

  "No. The shadows are portals we can open, but they close behind us. I would like to know how Lucy opened a permanent portal between here and wherever this is."

  "This…" Carlo voiced the thought before it was fully formed as he looked at the churning whirlpool of blackness. "This is Duat. I'm almost certain. The Egyptian underworld."

  "Where Isis sent you?"

  "That would make sense. Ra could get there. In mythology, it's his wish to take all the gods there, to leave mankind behind. Of course he would know the way."

  "I have to go after them, Carlo. I have to find my family."

  "Yes. I'll go with you."

  "I want you to stay here."

  "I'm sturdier than you are. I'm the one who heals, Octavia. Lucy is my wife."

  "Carlo, I don't know where my sons are. They may still be here somewhere. If they are, they will need you. Lucy and I have unsettled business, and for better or worse, we are going to put our issues to rest. Promise me. Gregorius and Marc must be your first priority."

  "All right," said Carlo. He shook his head. "I don't have to tell you to be cautious. Lucy and Drusus are not…"

  Octavia's laugh was hollow. "…not themselves? You think I need reminding? At least I know what to do about Drusus when I find him, if I have the chance." She hugged Carlo. "I want to save them, to bring them back to us."

  "I want that too." They pulled apart. "Godspeed."

  Octavia slipped into the black. Carlo stared after her, even after she disappeared, debating whether he should follow or not. The last thing he wanted was to return to Duat, but for his family, he would. No, he decided. Octavia needed him to do what she'd asked.

  Carlo edged the rim of the portal into the passage which led to the scroll chamber, behind the picture of Erasmus' Trial. A short way in, it was blocked by rubble. George would have been protecting Gregorius here. Carlo would be responsible for their deaths if they were still inside. Horus wouldn't have broken out if Gregorius were still in there, surely. But George?

  The rocks quivered. Residual shadow magic? Something from Duat? Carlo braced himself.

  "Hello?" A muffled voice from behind the stones. George was alive.

  "Who's there? George? Can you hear me?" Carlo strained to listen.

  "Carlo? Stand back."

  "Hold on! I'll get help." What Carlo needed was a direct explosion. Then, they could start digging him out.

  "I need you to get out of the way," said George. "I'll count to ten."

  Carlo frowned. "What do you mean?"

  "You'll see. You should take cover."

  There was no cover to be had. Carlo backed away down the passage, almost to the pit, now larger than before. In front of him, rocks cracked and powdered, and then the boulders exploded into shards. Apparently George could make some sort of explosion. Carlo reached up and touched a cut on his forehead, pulling out a rock fragment.

  George, gritty with marble dust and dirt, one hand extended in front of him, pebbles quivering in the air, stood strong for a moment. In his left arm, a bundle cried robustly. Carlo walked the fine line of the pit and moved to George.

  "How did you…how are you doing…how are you?"

  George coughed for a while and handed Carlo the bundle, which kicked and squirmed. "It took a while to move all the rock," said George. "Sorry to worry you."

  Carlo pulled the blanket back, revealing a tiny face, sea blue eyes. "Why didn't you tell me you could explode rock? Are you a magician?"

  George coughed again, then smirked. "You really do forget everything with your truth potion. Here I thought you might have asked me to protect Gregorius because you remembered."

  "You have magic?"

  "I do."

  "Thank the madonna for it. I am glad to see you're alive. Who is this?"

  "Your daughter."

  "Not possible."

  "Possible," said George. "She has a fine set of lungs, and she's been using them. I can't blame her. I felt like crying myself." George coughed again for some time. "Your wife left her with me, took the scroll and Gregorius. We were safe until the beast downstairs broke everything." George coughed again. "I could use some fresh air, and she could as well."

  "The gallery isn't going to be here much longer anyway," said Carlo. They passed over the narrow floor to the main part of the house, from which Lady LeClere burned away lingering shadows. He delivered George into the willing hands of Mrs. Larkin, who gave him a dipper of water from a well bucket.

  Carlo took a moment to cuddle his daughter, trace her tiny face, hold her tiny fingers. She was alive, against all odds, so young. How she was alive was something he would think about later. Right now, he wanted to burn her beauty into his mind, so when he followed Octavia into the pit, he would have one good thing to get him through, and to come back to.

  One of the Hathersage men chatted with McAllistair, who sat on a rock and supervised the chaos around him. "Signor," said McAllistair to Carlo, "Madame Vipond has been found."

  Carlo glanced up from Flavia. Olympe limped forward and held her side. Her daughter came after, clutching a small string of beads, her face dirty. "Are you hurt?" he asked. Carlo noticed she was bleeding through her shirt.

  "The tower fell. We're safe, but Drusus took Marc."

  "I see." Carlo surveyed people helping others out of the rubble, clearing away chunks of what used to be the house. "McAllistair, would you please have someone help Madame?" He held Flavia out to Mrs. Larkin. "Can you look after her? I have to go."

  "I'm coming with you," said George.

  "I want you to," said Carlo, "but like you said, you need fresh air."

  "I'll be fine."

  "Not if you go where I'm going. My daughter is going to need you to stay by her, just in case I don't make it back. Mind, I have every intention of coming home, but if I don't, she can't be alone in the world, and believe me, even if Lucy's no longer a threat, my grandfather is. George, your family would be the most capable of taking her in."

  "We'll take care of her," said Mrs. Larkin, coaxing the little girl to sleep. "You go and bring the mistress home, sir."

  George eyed Carlo. "That's a bit much, isn't it? Me? Capable of taking care of your daughter?"

  "Do you think I'd want her to grow up like these magicians? Promise me, George, if I don't make it back, your family will take her."

  "All right. Be careful, Carlo."

  Carlo hugged George. "You are a good friend, George."

  George backed away. "A handshake would have been enough."

  "For you, George, a real Venetian goodbye."

  McAllistair bowed slightly to Carlo and Carlo bowed back. Olympe fingered her rosary and her lips moved in prayer. One more goodbye, a very important one. Children who were busy were less frightened. Carlo knelt down. "Diana?"

  The little girl's expression was blank. She started when Carlo called her name.

  "Would you help Mrs. Larkin look after my Flavia, and your mama?"

  Diana chewed her lower lip, but nodded and let Olympe pick her up. Carlo took a deep breath and mentally inventoried what he carried with him in his cloak. He shaded his eyes as he looked up in the sky at Horus, circling. Carlo walked away from the crowd, climbing to the top of the peak behind the house and shifted into his alternative form. "Come down here!" Carlo shouted.

  Horus landed. His head and Carlo's were level and he studied Carlo with dark eyes, his copper beak clacking as he thudded down on claws and paw pads. His feathers and fur were dusty and he smelled musky, like fear.

  Carlo kept his voice calm. "My father was your stepbrother," said Carlo. "We are related."

  Horus was passive, judging.

  Carlo continued, hoping Horus would help. "We have to go into the house, into the portal, to find your charge. Will you do that?"

  Horus placed his head against Carlo's glowing hand.

  He was still while Carlo climbed on top of his back.

  "Thank you," said Carlo. "It's a great honor."

  Horus launched himself into the sky. Carlo dug his fingers into the creature's back, felt the muscles roll underneath him. Boats were alive and they rolled, but not like this. Horus plunged them back through the hole in the roof he had made, hovered over the sticky whirlpool for a short second, long enough for Carlo to thinks this was a bad idea, and then bolted them into it.

  In front of Octavia stretched a plain of chipped obsidian. The sky shimmered with auroras of light, which flickered in the dark sky. Her stomach flip-flopped. When she was little, her father explained to her how the shadows they manipulated were flawed souls. She never thought about their texture or depth until she encountered this darkness. The feeling here was more complex and alive than what she was used to. It set her teeth on edge.

  The ground was sticky. The wind blew cold and mineral. She stepped onto a stone she pried out of shadow to keep her footing. In the far distance, she saw a lone building. When she looked the other way, she saw a set of ruins, a shadow version of what looked like Erasmus' temple. She guessed that was where Lucy would go. It seemed appropriate.

  Someone growled behind her, low and deep. A massive woman with the head of a lion held a dark sword.

  "I smelled your blood," the lion said, her maw splitting, showing the teeth of a carnivore. "You have come to seek judgment?"

  Octavia called the sticky shadows to her. They made her head ache. "I have only come seeking what is mine, and then I will leave."

  "I am bid to destroy human beings, and you were foolish enough to venture into these lands."

  Octavia's eyes flashed silver. "I am the heir of Erasmus Klaereon. My kind Binds your kind to do our bidding. Do not challenge me, or you will regret it."

  "You will meet your final destiny here, Klaereon." The lion woman crouched. "I will return to the world of men, and drench the earth with their blood."

  Octavia enclosed herself in a globe of shadow. Nausea hit her hard. These shadows were hard to manipulate. She focused. The ball of darkness spiked outwards and skewered the lion goddess. Sekhmet broke the lances and charged forward. Octavia set the rest of the dark spikes on the ground at an angle, and Sekhmet ran into them. Blood flowed from her fur, but Sekhmet snarled and fought forward. Octavia closed her mind to the charge of the lion, the stink of her rotten breath, and opened the ground beneath Sekhmet, creating a slurry of the black shadows. Sekhmet sank.

  Octavia doubled over, unsure if she would vomit or not. Sekhmet thrashed, which made her sink faster.

  Behind her, clattering steps clacked on the obsidian ground. Octavia turned in time to see Khun jump over the top of her, kicking Sekhmet with hooves as he fell. Sekhmet snarled and sliced at him, a wound slashing across his calf.

  "Khun! Leave her!" Octavia yelled. She used Binder language. She though it wisest to declare her intentions at once.

  Khun windmilled and punched, his fist barreling into the goddess, once, twice. Sekhmet's sword whipped across his skin. He pounded her as she sank, until she disappeared into the dark.

  "Stop," Octavia said. "She can't hurt me now."

  "Octavia," Khun said. "I know what I look like, sound like, but it's me."

  "I know, Drusus."

  "Lucy doesn't want you here. I've been instructed to keep you from interfering."

  Octavia clutched strings of blackness from the air, black and glossy in front of her. "It's time I took care of you. My apologies for making you wait so long."

  Octavia flung her arms wide and the strand of energy pierced Drusus' chest. He threw back his head and bellowed. Octavia plunged the other end of the string into her own chest and screamed. It was harder, finding her way back to Drusus than she thought it would be. Lucy was there first. She would give him back his will. She spoke the words she should have spoken when she was sixteen, the words which would have made her Khun's mistress, which the ram god had talked her out of.

  Shadows crawled over them like maggots. Her skin bleached to snow, blue veins like glacier lines underneath. Of course. She was Binding him, and a Binder she would be again, embracing the Abyss. "You have always loved me," said Octavia, "even when you should not have. You see the best in all of us. You're not human now. You're better." In her mind she imagined Drusus. Octavia wrapped the strand around him, tightened it. She opened her eyes.

  Drusus stood before her in his own form, skin covered in grime, blood, and sweat, breathing hard. He grabbed her wrist. "Look at you. What have you done?"

  Sweat trickled down Octavia's spine. She wiped her face with her other hand. "I've Bound you to me."

  "Octavia…" He stared at her.

  "I won't take your will. It's yours, but she can't control you." She ran her fingers against his chest.

  "Octavia…"

  She placed a finger on his lips. "I won't lose you to Lucy. I know what it's like, being controlled against your will. I know…"

  Drusus crushed her against him. "Octavia."

  She tilted her head toward him. "Yes?"

  His lips covered hers and she fell into him, forgetting for one moment everything else. They parted and she trembled. He ran two fingers down her cheek. "I love you so much."

  They kissed again. Drusus held her close. "Thank you."

  They leaned into each other, foreheads touching.

  "We need to get the children. Where are they? Where is Lucy?"

  Drusus looked over her shoulder. "The temple. Lucy will be unhappy with us."

  "I know. She wants to protect me from all of you?"

  "Ra especially."

  "Ra." Octavia gave Drusus back his hands. "The question isn't how to protect me from Ra. The question is how to protect Ra from me."

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  Horus and Carlo hovered above the dark landscape. Duat. Definitely Duat. Carlo's mouth was dry. Carlo pulled Horus's fur, and the griffin shrieked. "Sorry," said Carlo. "Bad memories." Below them, Octavia and Drusus patiently picked their way across the landscape. "Can we go down?"

  Horus made a sound half way between a growl and a screech.

  "If you said we have to leave here as soon as possible, I agree." Carlo slid off of Horus when they landed, and Horus flew back into the sky toward the shadowy temple. Now Carlo knew where Gregorius was, and probably Lucy, Marcellus, and Thoth as well. He reached into his cloak and found a small vial of acid. "Octavia?" said Carlo. "Do you need any help?"

  "No," said Octavia. "He's all right."

  "Pardon me if I am skeptical. Drusus, is Lucy—?"

  "Look at Octavia," said Drusus. "She has Bound me. How can you not notice?"

  Carlo fingered the vial. "That was the solution?"

  "To Lucy controlling him. Drusus has mastered the other part by himself."

  "What does it mean for you, Octavia? Will everyone fear you again?"

  "Do you mind, Carlo?" Drusus took his wife's hand. "You'll forgive us if we don't wish to take time to consider the philosophical underpinnings of Octavia's action at this moment, given that we need to rescue Lucy and the children. Should you care to discuss them after, I am most willing to let you be pedantic at a later time."

  Carlo placed the tiny vial back in its pocket. "You're fine." He blew out a breath. "Frankly, I'm glad you're back with us. All this espionage is exhausting."

  "You aren't going to hug me again?" said Drusus.

  "Not until you've had a bath," said Carlo. "Here we are in Duat, then. I am less composed than I sound."

  "I am not surprised," said Octavia. "Rely on us, Carlo. We will make sure nothing happens to you."

  "Ha!" Carlo laughed nervously. "We are all mortals in Duat, ripe for judgment. We should get out of here as soon as possible. Why would Lucy bring you here?"

  "She chooses this place as our exile, since Ra cannot return to the Golden City," said Drusus. "Ra knew the way. This is her solution to Erasmus’ agreement. End it by ending all the Binders."

  In the distance, Horus roared, circling over the shadow temple.

  "Why is Horus waiting?" asked Drusus. "If Octavia had been in danger, Khun would never have waited."

  "Lucy controls Horus and Thoth, just as she controlled you," said Octavia.

  The bottom of the giant barq of the sun appeared over them. Carlo felt punched in the chest. "Not again," he said softly.

  "What is that?" asked Octavia.

  "The sun," said Carlo. "We are witnessing the daily drama of the attack of Apep to keep the sun from rising. We must go before we are pulled into it. Sekhmet is deadly. If it hadn't been for Anubis, I wouldn't be here."

  Drusus slid easily into Khun's form.

  Carlo's heart skipped again. "Drusus?"

  Drusus scooped Octavia into his arms and smiled, which was disconcerting. "It is me, Carlo. I am fine. Octavia and I have eliminated Sekhmet from the equation this time. Now follow us." He ran in the direction of the temple. Carlo shifted into his own altered form and ran after him. The air hissed with Apep's undulation as he materialized out of the auroras, spears clanked, and war cries echoed as the gods on the boat engaged him in battle.

  Carlo stopped by an ebony pillar, panting, peering inside. He willed his body to return to its normal form. He might only get one shot at talking to Lucy, and he had to be at his sharpest.

  Marcellus and Gregorius were behind Lucy, tucked into a small alcove at the end of the chamber. Thoth had shifted into a baboon and stood near Lucy, eying the scroll case Lucy held in her hands. Lucy's attention was focused on Octavia and Drusus.

 

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