The Golden Scarab (Chasing Chaos Book One)

Chapter Seventeen

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Mark visibly paled. "No way," he said. "She can't be Neith."

     "Because she was destroyed?" Greg asked. "That seems to be the theme here. Destroyed may not actually be a permanent thing."

     "No, Greg," Nina replied knowingly. "Because he loves her."

     "Oh, that is complicated!"

     "What's complicated?" Alyxx asked. "Who in the bloody hell is Neith? And who is the fellow with the ram's head?"

     "You're Neith," Mark replied. "The ram is Khnum. And you are my brother's consort."

     "I don't understand," Alyxx said.

     "You will," Mark replied. He forced himself to pull away from her and stared at his feet.

     "Mark, what's wrong? Why won't you look at me?"

     "Because you hate me."

     "No I don't."

     "Neith does. She despises me. She's in love with my brother Monthu. She doesn't trust me. She never has."

     Alyxx studied him for a moment. "Well, I do trust you. And this Neith person may hate Khonsu, but Alyxx loves Mark. That hasn't changed." She pulled him against her and kissed him.

     "How romantic!" Nina gushed.

     "Well, we do love star-crossed lovers," Greg added with a laugh.

     Mark looked as if he might cry, a very unfamiliar expression on his face. He held Alyxx tightly. "I don't deserve you," he said.

     "Well you have me anyway. I guess you should consider yourself lucky." She kissed him again.

     Mark composed himself and turned to Khnum. "Lose the ram's head, Khnum. I know this is New York and all, but I still think you're going to stand out a little bit."

     Khnum relaxed and dropped his form. Jonathan had control again. He stared at the others. "Well, that was unusual," he said. "I had to ask why I'm here... I guess I know now."

     "So, what is Neith like?" Alyxx asked.

     "She's powerful, sexy, and a warrior. She's a Goddess of crafts. She's a lot like you, actually," Mark said.

     "I suggest we get out of this stairwell before someone catches us," Jonathan said. "I suspect we aren't really supposed to linger in here."

     Mark nodded. "Follow me," he replied. He led them down the stairs until they reached the basement of the museum. "There's an exhibit here right now from the British museum. It's got some really old Egyptian artifacts. Older than in the main part of the museum, actually." He led them toward the exhibit.

     Panya's eyes were wide with shock as they passed things she understood. Finally, they were in a world she was used to. She touched the glass display cases and studied each artifact carefully. When she reached one display case, however, she froze. She hid behind Alyxx as fear radiated off of her.

     "What is it?" Alyxx asked. "What's wrong?"

     "That is from Djer's tomb," Panya said. "They desecrated it and brought it here... He is going to be angry."

     "He can't hurt you, luv," Alyxx replied. "We made sure of that."

     Panya tried to relax but she was still shaking as she approached another display. "This is horrible!" She proclaimed. "How could they take this from the tomb of a child?" She began to weep. "It is meant to protect him and now he has no protection. He is lost. Anyone can find him and interfere with his Afterlife. Do they not understand what they have done?"