Dragon Soul(52)

"Of course you should." I waved my hands around. "You don't let your  mate make statements like ‘I am a bad person' without both disputing  that fact and then asking her to explain, thereby allowing her to bare  her soul to you."

"Fine. Why do you think you're a bad person?"

"Because I am judging Mrs. P. She's running away with a married man,  Rowan. I know that isn't a big deal these days, but when I think of some  hussy running off with you, I see red. And knives. Gelding knives, and  lots of them."

"Ah, but you are not considering two points," he said, turning to face  me. "First and most important, I would never run away with a hussy. You  are my mate, and you are going to stay my mate. I have informed you that  I love you, a statement I don't make lightly. And second, you forget  that Osiris and Isis were wed thousands of years ago. They were actually  brother and sister, and there were a limited number of gods to go  around, so they had to wed."

"That's just seriously ew," I said, trying not to grimace.

"You might ask Osiris what sort of a marriage he had before you make a final judgment on Mrs. P for wishing to be with him."

"Oh yes, that's going to be an easy conversation to have. ‘Pardon me,  god of the Underworld, did you enjoy your incestuous relationship with  your sister, or are you just tired of her and want fresh meat?' Yeah, I  think I'll pass on that little chat."

"Why are they excluding us from their conversation?" Rowan asked,  looking back at the dragons. "They are planning something. They wish us  to be out of their precious weyr."

"I think you're being a little paranoid. Why don't we go ask them what's going …  hey!"

Rowan's eyebrows rose when I grabbed his arm. "Hey?"
         

     



 
I nodded toward Bee and Constantine. "It just struck me-they were here  before, along with the others, and they got to leave. They didn't have  to wait around for Maat."

"They were visitors, not travelers on the ship," he said just as if that  explained everything. I looked at him until he unbent. "It is the act  of traveling through the Duat that signifies the deceased going to his  or her destination. People can and do visit the Underworld without being  stuck here. But if you are a passenger on the ship through it, you are  considered a pilgrim, if you will."

"Oh. I wish someone had told me that before-I would have rented one of those fancy cars and just driven through it."

"Then we would not have been able to face the challenges, and that is  what was required of us. Come. I grow tired of them deliberately  slighting us. We shall go demand to be included in whatever plans they  are making."

I didn't let him see me giggle at his offended tone, just allowed him to  steer me over to where the four dragons were deep in confab.

"Here you are. We wondered if you were coming to join us," Bee said,  smiling warmly at us. "May says you had all sorts of trouble right as we  arrived, but I see you took care of it."

Rowan inclined his head at Constantine, who returned the gesture.

"Rowan was seriously awesome, although I won't be so modest that I won't  mention the fact that I kicked some booty with a few well-placed  arrows. Would you take offense if I asked you why you're here?" I asked  Bee.

She looked mildly annoyed.

Constantine's jaw tightened, but he managed to get out, "We were  summoned here. Again. Despite the fact that we have important things to  do, the First Dragon insisted that we return here. I informed him that  we are not at his beck and call, but he just said something about me  needing to be here, and thus we had to dash off to Egypt."

"Wow, this place seriously needs an elevator," said the head named Gary  as he rolled up on his RC jeep. "I got stuck on the second flight of  stairs, and had to beg a lift from a passing steward."

Constantine frowned at the head. "I told you to stay below, where you won't get into trouble if there is fighting."

"Connie, Connie, Connie, you know me better than that!" Gary said,  zipping over to us. "Hi, Rowan! Hi, Sophea. That's a super outfit,  Sophea. Is it Tomb Raider?"

"Yes," I said, trying not to stare. I still hadn't really come to grips with the idea of a bodyless head riding around.

"He really is the biggest pain in the butt," Bee said. "The First Dragon  that is, not Constantine. I mean, we were just here, and then he sends  word to Constantine that we have to come back, all the way from London."

"Was he planning on being here?" May asked, looking a little worried. "I had no idea the First Dragon was coming back."

"I gathered that was the point, but I don't see him."

Constantine, who had his back to the group of passengers, now turned to  scan them. About half of them were gone, having passed Maat's test while  we were talking, the successful applicants joyously trotting down the  gangplank to a waiting bus.

"I don't know why he called us …  Oh."

We turned to see what he was looking at. Two of the men were working the  line of remaining passengers. To our left, Ken and Barbie stood with  the captain. To the right, Mrs. P stared out at the shore. Four of the  six priestesses had been cleared to move on, and evidently, that meant  they couldn't linger, for they bade us all farewell before proceeding  off the ship.

"Oh? What oh?" Bee asked, craning her neck. As she did so, one of Maat's  men broke off and came over to us, a faint smile on his lips.

"Just why have you called us here?" Constantine asked the man. "Again.  We only just got back home when you summoned us once more."

I gawked at the man who stopped in front of us. He was about my height,  had light brown hair, and a mild expression that quickly registered  chagrin. And then before our eyes, his figure shimmered and became that  of the enigmatic First Dragon. "You have seen through my glamour. Alas, I  was never very good at them. Certainly not as good as you, Bael."

To my absolute surprise, he didn't speak that last sentence of any of us. He had turned to face Ken and Barbie.

"That's it," I heard Rowan say softly. "That's what's wrong with them. It's a glamour."

"What on earth is a glamour?" I asked, but Rowan had no time to answer before Barbie stepped forward.

"It is rare to hear the First Sire admit a failing in any area-except  that concerning me, of course." Barbie's voice was as sharp as a razor.  "And yes, my abilities with glamours have served me well. No one has  ever seen through them …  until now."         

     



 

"Great Caesar's gallbladder! That's …  that's the demon lord guy? Barbie?"  I gasped when it was Barbie's turn to change form: that from a stocky  woman into a man, his long face and aquiline nose giving him a snooty  appearance that went right along with his sarcastic voice.

"His name is Bael," Constantine said, his voice choked.

Rowan, however, gave a little nod as if it all made sense to him.

I stared at the demon lord who was such a threat, trying to resolve the  image of the middle-aged woman to that of a man who held so much power,  he could destroy the mortal world. The glamour must have allowed him to  fool us all. I made a mental note to ask Rowan for more information  later.

Ken likewise transformed into another man, this one small and  pinched-looking. He glanced quickly between the First Dragon and Barbie …   no, Bael …  his expression unhappy. "My lord, I wish you had not  dismissed the glamour altering my appearance. I told you that I greatly  enjoyed my new body, and wished to retain it."

"Silence," Bael ordered, strolling toward us. His eyes flitted past me  to where Mrs. P still stood mooning over her lost boyfriend. "Your  opinion is not needed nor desired."

"But I went to all the trouble of altering this costume so it would fit  my female form," Ken protested. He pulled off the wig and set it down  with reverence. "And the sheep! It wasn't easy manufacturing that out of  nothing, you know! Plus, everyone liked me as Ken. I don't want to go  back to being just another demon. I want to be Ken again, and wear cute  swimsuits, and sunbathe, and dance the limbo with the captain, and flirt  with that handsome steward, and-"

"SILENCE!" Bael bellowed, and I swore I saw little black tendrils of power reach out and bite at Ken.

The latter yelped and jumped back a few paces.

To a man (and woman), everyone in the line waiting turned to look at us.  Maat looked as well. The captain sidled away from Bael, his officers  following.

Even Mrs. P turned around to see what the commotion was.

Mrs. P! I knew at that moment that Bael realized who she was. "So that's  why you've been offering to help us so much and trying so hard to meet  Mrs. P," I said, moving toward the woman in question.