Chapter Five

Chapter Five

I 'm both nervous and not as I pass through the wide door leading into the Primary London Temple of Nephthys. Some people find the goddess' statues imposing, but all I can see is the kind eyes she's always painted with.

Maybe that's why she chose me as one of her Blessed.

I touch my scarab, glad it's more easily accessible without an ornate collar over the top. Mum wanted me to wear one but I didn't want to come across as too pretentious to my new colleagues.

I look around, trying to tell where I'm supposed to be going, only for a priestess a few years older than me to step forward.

"Shoshan?" she asks.

I nod. "Yes, that's me."

"Welcome to the Temple of Nephthys," she says, her demeanour surprisingly bright considering the time of day. "I'm Priestess Bastret, I'm one of the assistants to the Blessed, but you can call me Tressie."

I nod. "Most people call me Shan."

"Then we can do that. Most people use their shortened names in the temple," she says.

"That's a relief."

"It was to me too." She gestures for me to follow her.

"Bastret is a pretty name," I say lamely.

"So is Shoshan," she counters. "I have nothing against my name, but I share it with my mum and my grandmother, I like being Tressie."

"Ah." I can understand that.

"So our first stop is the aviary," Tressie says.

"I'm going to get my kite again?"

She nods.

"I didn't expect that to happen so soon," I admit.

"It's best for the bond," Tressie explains.

"I know most Blessed take their sacred animal with them after the Day of Choosing."

"I don't know about most," she admits. "But that's what happened to my friend and her jackal after our Day of Choosing. Everyone was so confused when she turned up to celebration drinks with the jackal in tow."

"A jackal?" I ask. "That means Anubis Blessed." It's not a question. I'm pretty sure I could list most of the gods before I could even do simple maths. My parents made sure of that.

"Yes," Tressie says without skipping a beat. "I'm sure you'll meet Ani once she's back from Paris."

"What's she doing there?" I ask without meaning to.

"I'm not sure," Tressie says, though I'm not sure if she's telling the truth or not. My curiosity on that front would definitely have suited being Ma'at Blessed, though maybe the goddess of truth didn't choose me because she thought I might abuse the power. "Ah, here we are." She gestures to a door adorned with carvings of kites in all kinds of situations.

A funny feeling settles within me as I look at the door, and I'm not sure what to make of it. The sensation is almost similar to the way I feel when I'm nervous, but not quite.

I lift my hand to touch the door, only to think better of it. "Am I really okay to just go inside?"

Tressie nods. "Everyone knows you're here."

Right. It's the first day of my apprenticeship, which means that everyone in the temple knows that I'm here to learn what it means to be Nephthys Blessed. The idea of so much attention on me makes my skin itch, but I know I have to get used to that if I'm going to fulfil the role I'm supposed to play.

I take a deep breath and push on the door. A light breeze wafts through the room from a handful of open windows, but it does nothing to dispel the scent of roosting birds. I hope having my kite with me all the time isn't going to produce this kind of stench.

My gaze lands on one particular bird and I instantly recognise the white pattern under her wings.

This is my kite.

"Kema," I say softly. The name suits her, which is probably why the priestess running the aviary called her that. I never considered that Blessed animals came with names already, but at least it means I won't give her a bad one.

The kite looks up, her eyes trained on me in a way that makes me certain she knows who I am and why I'm here. She spreads her wings, but doesn't take flight.

"Here," Tressie says softly, handing me a brown wad of something.

I take it from her, only realising after I do that it's a leather glove.

"Most of the Blessed have ornate leather bracers made for themselves," she says when I don't respond. "I can get you the name of the leather merchant they use, unless you have your own."

"That would be good," I say. "Unless it's too much..."

"Part of my job is to make sure the Blessed have everything they need," she tells me softly. "And that now includes you."

"Oh." I slip the leather glove on and hold my arm out for Kema. She responds instantly, soaring despite the small space in the room and coming to rest on my outstretched arm.

She's surprisingly heavy for such a small bird, and her beak looks wickedly sharp, but a new sense of calm settles over me as she makes herself comfortable.

Nervously, I reach out and stroke her head. She closes her eyes in what I think is appreciation, though considering the fact I've spent less than an hour in total with her, I don't know for sure.

The reality of what's happening properly starts sinking in. Not only am I in the Temple of Nephthys as one of the newest apprentices, but I'm Blessed.

Properly Blessed.

"Would you like me to show you to your room?" Tressie asks.

I nod. "If that's where's next?"

"It is. I can arrange to have any belongings moved there if you need to."

"Thank you, most of my stuff is still in boxes at home." I didn't know what to do with any of it, or how much space I'd have, and considering how close our house is to the temple, I'm not sure it's a problem.

"I can do that. Where are you moving from?"

"Down the street," I admit sheepishly. "My parents live in one of the houses owned by the Temples of Nut and Geb."

"I see."

I study the older priestess intensely and try to work out if she's saying that because she knows who I am.

"At least that will make moving easier for you," she says. "I had to come from one of the estates, it wasn't quite as straightforward." She gestures for us to make our way out of the room.

"But you live at the temple now?" I ask as Kema sways back and forth on my arm. I can already feel the ache in my shoulder, which isn't going to be pleasant later.

"I do. I don't think I'd consider doing otherwise unless there was a good reason. It's great for commuting, but let's face it, the main reason is London prices. If I stay here, I can save a lot of my paycheck rather than having to spend it all on rent."

"We don't pay rent?"

"It's part of the priesthood compensation package. Did you read over your contract?"

"Not yet," I admit. I know I need to sign it, and that there'll be a Priest of Thoth who comes to do just that, but I haven't had a chance to with Mum and Dad pulling me here and there to celebrate my Blessing and get me everything they thought I needed.

Which didn't include anything for Kema to perch on. Which shouldn't be a surprise. They've mostly been focusing on the optics of having all four of their children Blessed rather than learning about what each of us actually needs in order to do the job they've encouraged us for.

I push those thoughts aside. I can't change who my family are, nor can I really change the fact Nephthys has chosen me, which means I'm just going to have to make the best of the situation.

"Your food and lodgings are included as part of your salary," Tressie says as we turn down a corridor that seems to be lit differently. Probably because we're moving into the residential part of the temple, I've never been here before and have no idea what to expect. "You can choose to live away from the temple, and that'll normally result in a pay increase, but it's not that much."

"Food and lodgings is a good deal."

"Between you and me, I think it's a lot to do with how the priesthood has managed to retain as much power as they have over the years."

I'm surprised she's admitting as much to me, but it makes sense.

"All right, here we are." She pushes on a door and motions for me to step inside.

I do, surprised to find that the room is fairly spacious, with a perch and enrichment toys for Kema near one of the windows. She must notice it as she finally leaves my arm.

I groan from the release of tension.

Tressie smothers a laugh. "There's some pain relief gel in the bathroom."

"How..."

"I'm an assistant to the Blessed," she reminds me, with a reassuring smile. "I've encountered all of it before."

"Thank you." I slip off the leather glove and hold it out to her.

"It's yours," she responds. "You'll need it for kite training."

"Right." I hadn't even thought about anything like that. I knew I'd need time to bond with my sacred kite, but training her is another matter entirely, especially when I've never done anything like it.

"I'll leave you to it," Tressie says. "There's all of your welcome information on your desk, and you'll join the non-Blessed apprentices tomorrow for a briefing and the start of your training."

"Thank you." The words are automatic, mostly coming out because I'm really not sure what else I can say. I've never done anything like this before. I wish I was more prepared.

Or that Mum and Dad had prepared me more for what to expect when coming to a temple like this. They've both done it before.

Tressie shuts the door behind her, leaving me alone with Kema who has taken it upon herself to preen.

I sigh and pull out my phone. At least there are people I can talk to about this. My finger hovers over Mesu's name, and without warning, memories of our kiss the other night spring to mind. Not that it's been far from my thoughts at all.

I scroll further down and click on my chat with my sister. She may not be newly Blessed this year, but I know she won't tell anyone that I'm having insecurities about the whole thing, and hopefully she'll have some good advice about it.

But even as I type out my message I find myself wishing things weren't weird with Mesu. He always knows what to say at times like this. Maybe we'll be able to get that back when more time has passed since our kiss. At least, that's my hope.