The Vessel of Ra

Chapter 19: The Negotiation

Since Lucy had been reassembled, she did not need to sleep. Her new body never tired. When she tried to sleep, she drifted in and out, memories flooding her, her past life seen through the new lens of no emotion. This gave her the chance to remember things in excruciating detail as she examined the scenes her mind revisited. Her father had always criticized her. Up until now, she always thought her deficiencies were with herself, and she never watched the way he looked at her with disgust. She had been certain she was malformed and weak, but Caius Klaereon lied to her. When Drusus suggested Lucy was worthwhile and she didn't have to die in her Trial, she had believed he was wrong. Drusus had seen the truth.

Hugging herself, she paced across the floor. Her chamber held a bed, a reed mattress supported by a decorated frame, which was painted with Lucy capturing Ra. It was Lucy's victory foretold for show, she knew, and perhaps encouragement. Several wooden chairs decorated with gems and gold leaf, and a single lamp flame burning in the constant gloom comprised the rest of the furnishings.

Blood came through the skin of her hands in droplets as Lucy focused on the magic inside of her. She willed the blood into hard crystal. Her red magic was a globe in her hands. She knew she was unusual. When you were visited by a demon familiar at birth, regardless of your parents, you were gifted with Binder magic at the expense of all other magic. Lucy was a powerful magician, Isis said. Had the Julii magic of her mother's family manifested because Caius had not allowed her to learn Klaereon magic?

Lucy liquefied the crystal and absorbed the blood back into her hands. The past was another life. In this life, she had to concern herself with Octavia and Ra. They were Lucy's responsibility. She studied the intricate floor, counting the small tiles.

There were dates and water on the table by the lamp. Lucy never had much appetite, and since she'd died, she had less. She drank the water in two huge gulps, then left the room in her feathered cloak. Her woven sandals shuffled in the hallway. Two servants bowed as she passed. Lucy nodded, but they did not look up. She found what she was looking for—dusty stairs leading to the roof.

Lucy stared into the distance of the Egyptian city, low buildings made of mud and stone, palm trees, and a river winding through green banks into the distance of a starry night, its water silver as it reflected the moon. The city was not dark. It almost seemed as though the horizon was backlit by light. Then Lucy noticed: the city had an illusion of depth, like a painting. She was standing on a stage, a small huddle of buildings in front of a painted Egyptian landscape. What lay beyond the picture was a mystery.

She could see the city for the fake it was. The air smelled hot, like heated stone, like a giant fire. The perfumes in the air disguised it, but in the background, Lucy could smell brimstone. She closed her eyes. There. The city exuded the same magic she felt from Isis and Thoth, but there was a sharp line where the Golden City stopped and what was out there began. A magic barrier, which made the city its own place for Egyptian gods in exile. There must be places with true shadows and demons, the lesser shadows Binders used to make their magic. Fallen angels, the place of lost souls. This deposed pantheon pretended the shadows didn't exist. They were living the best lie they could under the circumstances.

Octavia and Ra. Mad forces. The voices Octavia heard were not true. They were her curse. If Ra could shut them out, Lucy knew it would comfort her sister. But Ra wasn't Octavia's demon, and he would consume her. Octavia could never Bind Ra. She hadn't been strong enough to Bind Khun, but Khun hadn't Bound Octavia either. Why?

Isis said Lucy should contain Ra physically. She could be a prison with the magic in her blood, quite literally a vessel to hold him. Binding Ra would have been preferable to this fate. Now Lucy would be his jailer for life, holding his spirit. She stood on the flat patio by the long ventilation shafts, which let air into the house. Lucy wondered about the nature of gods. Gods had quite a bit to answer for in the way they treated mortals. The gods were dangerous.