Chapter Twelve

Chapter Twelve

I shift from side to side, feeling a bit nervous about being at the funeral, even if I'm only observing. The Mayor of London stands across from me speaking with a man in an ornate headdress that looks like he might be the High Priest of Anubis but seems far too young for the role.

"Shan, right?"

I jump at the sound of a woman's voice, turning to find the Anubis Blessed Priestess standing beside me. I nod. "It's good to see you, Ankhesenamun."

"Ani, please," she corrects me. "No one calls me Ankhesenamun."

The man next to her chuckles. "She's not wrong."

"This is my husband, Nik," she introduces, her face lighting up as she looks at him. "This is Shan, the Nephthys Blessed Apprentice who came with Tressie."

"It's good to meet you," Nik says. "Is Tressie around?"

"She's attending on the Blessed taking part in the funeral," I answer.

Surprisingly, he looks relieved. "I'm going to go make sure everything is ready for the Opening of the Mouth," he says to Ani. "Be good." This seems to be aimed at the jackal, who has her tongue hanging out of her mouth and is looking at him expectantly. He sighs and digs something out of his pocket, handing it to her.

He disappears into the crowd, presumably to head to the burial grounds, though I won't pretend to know what preparing for the Opening of the Mouth would look like.

"Does he not like Tressie?" I ask.

Ani chuckles. "She asked him on a date before she knew we were together and he's still wary even if she's never asked since. I don't know why, she was at our wedding."

"Oh." They must be close for Tressie to have gotten an invitation to such a prestigious event.

"She actually sent me over here to see if you had any questions," Ani says.

My eyes widen. "She sent a Blessed Priestess to talk to me?"

"You're almost a Blessed Priestess yourself," Ani points out. "Is that so weird?"

"I don't know. I haven't spent much time around Blessed I'm not related to." Or dating, but that doesn't seem like the kind of thing I should be talking about here.

"Well, I'm not actually needed until we get to the burial site, whereas Tressie is, so I'm what you've got."

I nod, appreciating the forethought even if it's a little intimidating to be having a casual conversation with someone so powerful. From the articles I've read, the woman beside me has become a formidable force within the Temple of Anubis in such a short space of time.

"I'm not really sure what to ask," I admit.

"I felt the same at my first big funeral," Ani responds. "It was for the vizier not long after I became an apprentice. All it really meant was that we had more cleaning-up work to do in the mortuary. Strange to think how much I've had to do with this funeral."

"But you're here talking to me?"

She nods. "Because most of my part is done. I'll be doing the Opening of the Mouth when we get to the tomb, but that's only because I'm Blessed. I don't lead funeral possessions or take part in the pageants and displays if I can help it. I'm much more comfortable in the mortuary."

I look her over, noticing the exquisite jewels she's wearing. I've seen plenty of expensive pieces worn by Blessed over the years, but nothing quite like these.

Ani seems to notice me watching and touches one of her bracers. "Gifts from the Pharaoh," she answers my unspoken question.

My eyes widen. "The Pharaoh?" I echo. Is that the kind of height my parents expect me to reach? I hope they're not going to be too disappointed in me.

Ani smiles. "She gave me them while I was in Egypt tending to her father."

Somehow, I feel like there's more to the story, but considering this is only the second time I've met the other priestess, I don't want to ask too many intrusive questions. "They're beautiful," I say instead.

"They are," she agrees. "I don't always wear them, but if you're related to other Blessed, you know what it's like. Appearance is everything sometimes."

I nod. "That's what Mum likes to tell me."

"She's Nut Blessed, right?"

"How..."

"Tressie told me. She said you're a Legacy Blessed, which I didn't even know was a thing. Your parents are both Blessed," she explains.

"All three of my siblings too."

"Impressive," she says. "What made you want to be a Kite?"

I look over to where the Kites are getting ready to follow the coffin, their wails already starting to fill the air as they tear at their clothing and mess up their hair. "It feels honest," I say without meaning to. "Raw, and full of emotion. Like it's what I'm supposed to be doing." I gasp as a weird feeling spreads through my stomach. I press my hand there, even as Kema begins to get restless on my shoulder.

"Blessed Sense?" Ani asks.

I frown. "I'm not used to it."

"You'll get there," she promises.

"How did you know?" I reach up to smooth a finger over Kema's head, soothing her in the process.

"Experience." She reaches out to touch her jackal. "You were talking about your duty and desire to serve Nephthys. I get the same feeling when I talk about how I want to serve Anubis. I don't know much about how the other gods do their Blessings, but I know my other Blessed friends all get the same feeling. It's the gods communicating with us."

"They could use words instead of stomach aches," I mutter.

To my surprise, Ani just laughs. "At least it doesn't happen too often."

"Is that something to worry about?"

"Not really. The gods choose us as Blessed because they trust us to do what they need us to."

"Oh." I watch the funeral procession and think about what she's saying. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." She shrugs. "I guess this is why Tressie sent me to find you."

"Why did you?" I blurt out. "You could be doing so many other things."

"A couple of reasons. The main one is that Tressie is my friend, she asked me to do her a favour, and she's done plenty for me in the past. The other is that if you're going to become a Kite of Nephthys based at the temple down the road, then I suspect we're going to find ourselves crossing paths many times in the future. I prefer working with people I know."

A weird feeling takes over me. Maybe because I recognise the truth in what she's saying. She's stationed here, and she'll be needed for important funerals, and so will I. It does make sense for us to at least have a basic working relationship.

The man talking to the Mayor catches her attention and Ani nods her head in return. "That's my signal to go."

"Who is that man?" I ask, my curiosity getting the better of me. Then again, she said she was here to answer questions, maybe I shouldn't worry too much about asking them.

"That's our High Priest," she responds. "It was good talking to you, Shan."

"You too. Thank you, Ani."

She smiles at me as if she knows she's helped, and heads back through the crowd towards where the High Priest is waiting for her, with her jackal trotting after her.

The wailing from the Kites of Nephthys intensifies and the beating of a drum starts as the whole procession begins to move. I still have a lot to learn about funerals and my part in it, but I'm grateful that Satbu has taken my request seriously enough to make sure I got to come here today to observe, especially as it meant I got a chance to talk to Ani. I'm not sure what it is about the other Blessed, but there's something reassuring about talking about this to someone who has been in my position who I'm not related to.

And she said there are parts of the job that she doesn't do, which is reaffirming my decision to specialise. I don't want to be Nephthys in tableaux and other such roles. I want to serve her, and the people who come to her for the help they need, even if that's just in mourning.

Which means that this is going to be the right decision for me, no matter how much I think Mum is going to disapprove.