Standing before the Shining God, two small human figures
stood. The little girl in the double
crown raised her chin and spread her hands, one with the crook and one with the
flail. “You are the Re,” she said. “But You are the Amun as well.”
“You see
clearly child.” Amun-Re bent his head
and placed one finger on her forehead. “With
Me you shall be safe. Safer than your
mother. I am sorry.”
“She
trusted You,” the little girl said. And
the God flinched.
Naida
caught her breath. How on earth could a
God flinch? “I’m sorry,” He/They
said. “My priest here just didn’t care
about earthly things like love. Empathy. Mothers and children. Even species
survival.” His burning eyes turned to the man with the staff. “You were one of My voices on earth. Well?”
The wind
flowing from the God buffeted the man this way and that, plastering his robes
against his body. “I sacrificed humans
to the idea of ultimate power, yes.”
“And yet
you have enough feeling that your blood circle loves you.” The God’s sharp hooked beak turned sideways
as he stared at the priest first with one eye, then the other.
“You KILLED
my mother because she wouldn’t obey you!” The little pharaoh shrilled. “And you KILLED one of Bast’s lives! You nearly killed Re’s boy avatar and you led
to Amun’s avatar being taken up. That’s
NOT being a good priest.”
He turned
to the pharaoh and bowed, exactly correctly.
“Many, many more people would have died if your mother had continued in
her course of war.”
“She was
defending Egypt!”
“She was
expanding an Empire.”
“Enough,”
Amun-Re said, quietly and both humans bowed to Him. “Royal House, you have accused. Please go sit with Bast and Wadjet as your
protectors and advocates, while I speak to this priest.”
She bowed
even deeper and ran to sit in Wadjet’s coils.
Naida was suddenly jealous because she hadn’t been able to cuddle with
Syb like that for a very long time.
Kurama licked in her ear and Asteri rumbled a purr at her. Bodhi bobbed in his lotus, watching.
“Priest…
you have forgotten that most of My worshipers are concerned with one life.”
“I am abjectly
sorry, oh God. That is my fault.”
The Horus
eyes of the God grew even more fiery gold.
“Your humility is a form of pride, oh priest.” Nieth-Amun drew breath as if
he would dare and interrupt but the God raised one talon-tipped finger to
silence him.
“LET ME
PLAY WITH HIM!” Bast snarled and sank to all fours.
“That would
not be just, oh Bast,” Amun-Re said. “Oh
priest. You would have power and truth?”
“That would
be my highest blessing, oh God.”
“Excellent. Then I bless you.” He turned and shrieked a word into the sky
and a surge of mud rose out of the Nile and rolled into the Temple.
“Oh, Gods,”
Asteri said, and sat down, wings clamped tight to his back, tail coiled hard
around his paws and hooves. “He’s called
Amit.”
“Who is Amit?”
Naid asked.
“The
Devourer,” Asteri said. “She can eat
ANYTHING. Crusher of Bones.”
“Even sin
and evil,” Bodhi said quietly. “There is
nothing in creation that cannot be remade in Amat’s gut.”
“Oh.” Naida
put her hand over her mouth.
The Goddess
that heaved up out of the mud was awe inspiring and terrifying. She had the
head of a crocodile, the hind quarters of a hippo, the torso of a cat. Bast howled and Amit roared back, like a
lion.
“You who
would be Highest of High priests, so you shall be!” Amun-Re proclaimed. “You shall be the First Priest Attendant of
Amit, She of the crocodile head and hippo gut.
She who cleanses all. She who
passes all.” Everyone was looking
around, confused, until Amun-Re waved his hand and the High Priest’s staff
became a shovel. An electrum shovel but
still, a shovel.
“I will not
see you again, until you have learned true humility at Amit’s backside,”
Amun-Re said, and Amit seized Nieth-Amun in her long jaws, complete with his
excrement shovel, and they vanished in a blaze of yellow fire.
“I give him
a thousand years before he learns,” Bast said smugly. “Fifteen hundred years, tops.”
Justice well served
ReplyDeleteHow Amat/Amit became a Goddess! Thank you!
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