Marc hadn't flown back to London, but he had left Paris and found a remote little place near the German border where the landlady only handed him the key and disappeared again. He would drive to Frankfurt tomorrow and spend another night in the area before flying home. It wouldn't throw Apophis' avatar off his trail, but he would be sure he had no other kind of tail on him.
"Why would she… or they… lie?" Steven asked reasonably. He had argued like that for a while now. "Apophis is not evil incarnate. In a way he is like… uhm…" He shrugged, looking a bit embarrassed.
"Khonshu," Marc finished sourly, leaning against the wooden beam behind him.
His eyes were drawn to the window that showed a moonlit night sky, even though this was the core and there was no real night or day, let alone a season. He raked his fingers through his hair.
"God, demon, demon-god, whatever. I can't really say there's a distinction for me." Marc had given up on understanding the differences and the nuances. "They're all… not human. Nothing about them is human, Steven! You can't apply human behavior, logic or emotions to them."
"I know! Don't you think I bloody know?"
Because they had their own very bright and shining example in form and shape of Khonshu, whose emotions couldn't be measured on any human scale sometimes; or understood. Then again, he had some very human reactions, too. Marc had an in on who and what Khonshu was by now; the soul bond helped.
"Then why trust him?"
"Why not trust him in that regard?" Steven shot back. "He hasn't lied to us for a single moment!"
Unlike a certain other other-dimensional entity, though that thought remained unsaid.
Khonshu's reaction was rather predictable as the root core trembled as if a minor earthquake had hit. The moon god was still emotionally all over the place when it came to Apophis. It wasn't anger, it wasn't discontent, it wasn't malice. It was something between all those emotional experiences, and then again not.
"We don't know his ulterior motivation for helping us," Marc sighed.
"He has none."
"Sure?"
"Reasonably?"
He groaned and shook his head. "You trust too easily, Steven."
"And you are highly suspicious of everything and everyone!" his alter snapped. "Not everyone is an enemy or out to get you."
"In my experience, they are!
"Well, it's bloody good then that I've had different ones!"
"Really?!" Marc exclaimed. "After Ammit and Harrow? Not everyone is friendly, even if they appear to be!"
"She gave us another bracelet!"
"And I don't take candy from strangers!"
Steven threw his hands up, clearly fed up. "Alright! Have it your way! Push away everyone who might be a valuable ally!"
"I'm not!"
"Well, you are!"
"Steven…"
His alter stared at him, eyes harder than usual, features set in a stubborn expression. "How about we see how it works out? Give it a chance? You worked with people you didn't trust! To achieve a mission agenda!"
Marc pinched the bridge of his nose. "Not the same."
"The very same! We won't have her over for fun movie nights and crisps! We're not talking amusement park roller-coaster rides and cotton candy, Marc! It's just to… see where her list and ours leads us. With a healthy dose of respect, distance and wariness on your part," he added almost snippily. "And she offered to help us, Marc! Not just with the Unholies, but with what we are. Because we know nothing at all about this whole set-up! We are linked to an infinite power source; to Khonshu! We have direct access to the moon's energy and can't do a thing with it! She is… well, she isn't us, but she is soul-bound to Apophis and she might be able to give us help, teach us a thing or two!"
Marc met his alter's eyes, felt the emotional upheaval within the mind-space.
"Steven…"
"She's not evil," he implored.
"But she could hurt us… has hurt us…"
"Because we made a mistake. It could have been so much worse, Marc! So much!"
"I know…" he said softly.
Khonshu's presence seemed to hover over them, watching, waiting. The displeasure was clear to feel, but now it was mixed with indecision.
He finally let his shoulders slump. Steven had a good head on his shoulders when it came to people and while he had been under Harrow's thrall for a little while, he had thrown it off almost immediately. Those had been different and very desperate times.
This was… this wasn't like then.
Apophis wasn't Ammit. His lady knight wasn't Harrow.
He exhaled slowly, trying to relax all of himself, to accept and to compromise, without running head-first and half-blind into danger.
They needed help.
Yes, Marc and Steven were in over their heads; including Khonshu, who had no idea what his Knight might be capable of, let alone how to work with the changes.
"Khonshu?" he asked quietly.
Their god was suddenly right there, looking darker than ever, clearly not happy about his soul-bound's growing resolution and the looming decision. He had a direct line into Marc's head, and of course Steven's, so he was aware of where the whole train of thought was heading at ever-increasing speed.
"Apophis is dangerous," he growled.
"So are you," Marc told him mildly, brows going up. "So are we," he added, gesturing at Steven and himself. "What's the difference?"
"I don't trust him!" the god snapped.
"Same here. Steven wants to, but we can work something out. At least when it comes to the Unholies. If they have a list that leads us to more of those black magic things, I want to know. We might be able to track them down more quickly and neutralize them."
"Like the seal he claims he guards?" Khonshu hissed, rags snapping about.
"It's still on the list and I won't forget about it." Marc held the endless gaze. "And I'd rather put my trust in Apophis and his avatar than any other god, Ennead or not."
"Except Taweret," Steven threw in quickly. "She's not like them!"
Khonshu huffed. "She isn't," he agreed grudgingly. "She's… different…"
"In a good way!"
The moon god snorted, but they both felt his agreement. Taweret wasn't like those gods they had met through their avatars.
Steven beamed, happy. Marc smirked a little. He felt Khonshu's presence wrap around him, brush over his body and soul. Still indecisive, and… worried. Marc sensed it, as if it was his own emotion, and it was strong; very strong. Khonshu was worried.
"He is more powerful than you," he said softly.
"Yes."
"He could… hurt you again."
The dark sockets seemed to flare in their depth, a silver pinprick, like a tiny full moon. "Yes. And he could do the same to you, Marc."
The worry morphed into protectiveness, shadowed by the knowledge that should Apophis attack, Khonshu couldn't protect his soul-bound.
"We can take care of ourselves," Steven stated, conviction clear in every word.
"You can," the moon god replied, gazing at the alter. " There was a sound, almost like a sigh. "Be careful."
"Always am," Marc replied. "And if they can give us a few pointers concerning the bond…"
Khonshu's anger and agitation spiked, which had Marc stop. He drew in a deep breath.
"If they can," he repeated, louder, staring directly at his god, "if they can, I want to know. We can't hope to fumble our way through this newness and cross our fingers that it won't blow up spectacularly. With us in the middle, that's always the most likely result."
Khonshu's growl was almost subsonic. His displeasure made itself known by a tower of books and magazines falling over.
Steven rolled his eyes.
"You know nothing about this, Khonshu!" Marc drove his point home. It was an argument that was growing old by now. "Apophis does to a degree. He's had a head start in this, at least concerning his own avatar. Maybe we can derive something off of them. Maybe it works the same way."
"Doubtful," the moon god spat.
"Anyway," he said forcefully, "if there is even a remote possibility, I want to work with that. She's got a lot more experience under her belt, probably thousands of years of it, and no matter what you think of the demon-god, he isn't our enemy!"
It's how he had worked in the past, too. Marc Spector had become a pro at managing his chaotic life in the least perfect way, taking hits, stumbling, nearly falling, but he had somehow achieved the balance anyway. He had learned from failure, from pain, and he had accepted helping hands, advice and sometimes a kick in the butt.
This wasn't any different.
They were failing in their own attempts and needed new input, maybe real help. Anything the other soul-bound pair might have could be helpful, maybe be adapted to them. He was very good at adapting by now. Courtesy of having a moon god and an alter. It had been a rough and rocky road until they had found their balance, but by now Marc felt it was almost smoothing out.
He rose out of the core and met Steven's eyes in the mirror.
"We're doing this," Marc said slowly. "My way. I don't trust her any more than I ever trusted Harrow. Which is not at all."
Steven made a noise of protest, but he held up a hand.
"I know she's not Harrow, but that's about it. We have no clue as to who that woman is, how Apophis' mind works, what he gets out of this… We'll be careful and that means you, too, Steven."
I am careful! came the loud protest. I'm not some trusting git with no sense of self-preservation!
"Could've fooled me," Marc teased, shooting the other a playful smile.
I know she's dangerous. She hurt Khonshu, which is something I surely won't forget. Or forgive, he added with a determined, slightly angry expression. But I don't believe they are enemies either. Harrow was a deranged lunatic who wanted to sacrifice millions upon millions to a clearly unhinged goddess. Apophis could have… I think he could have killed… obliterated… Khonshu…
Marc felt the increased presence of the god in question. A shudder ran through the soul bond. He didn't just think that Apophis could kill their god, he knew it was possible. Because Khonshu knew it was possible.
"Yeah," he murmured. "So that means we'll be careful, always on guard. She already knows about Layla, which is alarming enough."
Layla will be safe.
Marc wished he had his alter's optimism.
Neither thought to immediately seek any form of contact with Apophis or his avatar. For one, there was no phone number, no address, no mystical way of calling. Marc was fine with that. He spent his time doing what he did best, which was deal out vengeance and punishment. Khonshu didn't argue either. The moon god reveled in the vengeance, the justice that was served, and he was a brightly glowing presence within the bond.
"You're so easy," Marc teased as he vaulted over a roof and slid down the side of a house to land in an alley far away from the latest scene of an accomplished job.
"Watch your mouth," Khonshu replied gruffly, but he was positively brimming with energy, which was feeding a hunger that could never be sated for real.
The ceremonial armor disappeared and Marc Spector walked into the street. He smirked a little, catching his alter's brief presence in the reflection of a display window. Then he hurried over a crossroads and wove his way through the dark streets back to their hotel.
Their lives continued as before, until the day Steven heard that the museum would be closing down a substantial part of the exhibits due to necessary building renovations. It coincided with the planning for a new, very extensive exhibit. Students would be helping with the exhibit and workers would be tearing apart the walls and floors for renovations in other wings.
That meant the volunteers would either help with any of that work or, in Steven's case, had decided to wait until the reopening. As much as Steven wanted to be hip-deep in helping store or move all those precious artifacts, the renovations gave him the time off his volunteer work to pursue something else.
Like flying to Egypt; more specifically, to the vast necropolis of the Ancient Egyptian capital of Memphis and the largest archeological site of Egypt: Saqqara.