Chapter 10

Welcome to Cairo

Cairo was much as Shadow remembered it, perhaps a little shabbier without the concealing cloak of snowfall. After driving straight through from Louisville, he'd been concerned that he might be too tired to remember the correct route, would miss a vital turn and wind up somewhere bad, but little had changed in the intervening three years. Shadow piloted the sedan down the midnight avenues, Corso nodding off in the seat beside him. There were gaps of darkness where the streetlight bulbs had burned out or been broken, and not yet been replaced.

Several of the Victorian houses around the funeral parlor had been torn down. Others showed signs of recent renovation. For two heart-stopping blocks, he wondered if the old men would still be there, or if they had given in to progress and gone on to...something else. It was a thought too dire to contemplate; what would he and Corso do if they were gone?

The familiar sign was still there, and if Shadow wasn't mistaken, it had been repainted recently. Certainly within the last three years. The tidy black lettering read, " IBIS AND JACQUEL. A FAMILY FIRM. FUNERAL PARLOR. SINCE 1863." It wouldn't say "A family firm" if they'd been bought out, would it? he wondered, remembering Mr. Ibis's dissertation on the funeral industry.

No lights burned inside, but a few weak exterior lights--too dull to be called floodlights--marked the doors. Shadow pulled into the driveway near the side door and shook his passenger. "We're here." Corso yawned and rubbed his eyes. Jinx stirred in the back seat and crawled onto the rear window ledge. Both men were startled as she emitted a shrill series of cries.

"What's the matter with her?" Corso asked incredulously as Shadow opened his door. Something small and brown leaped in through the door and pounced on Shadow, purring. "That's all we need, a cat fight!"

Jinx showed no sign of wanting to attack the other cat; she was crouching on the floorboards behind Corso, making anxious noises. Shadow cuddled Bast, relieved. If she was here, Ibis and Jacquel would be here. They hadn't made the long trip in vain. He exited the car, Bast snugly against his chest. She was rubbing her face against his neck and purring with contentment.

As Corso unlatched his door, Jinx flew from the floorboard to the backseat and launched herself at Corso, sinking her claws into cling to him. It was a little like watching a cartoon cat; at any moment, she was going to start sliding downward, leaving rows of parallel slashes running the length of Corso's old coat. He caught her, and stared as Jinx started talking to him in earnest Khat. "Has she gone out of her mind, or what?"

Bast said something brief, and Jinx shut up. "She's shaking like a leaf, Shadow. What the hell is going on?"

"Corso, meet Bast. Bast, this gentleman has business with Ibis and Jacquel."

"Bast? Wait, you mean the Bast? The goddess?"

"You're catching on," Shadow said dryly. "Bast, our friend Jinx here has been very helpful, but I think she's a little intimidated. Be nice to her, will you?"

The goddess thought about it, licked Shadow's nose with her rough little tongue, then said something else to Jinx. Jinx replied meekly. Bast purred. Then Corso's door was pushed closed again, by a large, muscular black dog with its forepaws planted on the door as it leaned in to sniff at Corso. "Mr. Jacquel, I presume?" said Corso, looking askance at the animal.

"Good evening, gentlemen. Shadow, how delightful to see you again."

Shadow was pleased to see Corso cope with the novelty of a talking dog. "It's good to see you too, sir. We've got a problem, and you fellows are the only people I could think of who might be able to help."

"Ah, Shadow! I wondered when we might be seeing you." Mr. Ibis had joined them unobserved while Jacquel investigated Corso. As always, Shadow rediscovered how very tall the old Egyptian was...Ibis actually looked slightly younger than he had the last time Shadow had seen him. "Please, come in."

The kitchen hadn't changed; it was still brown and white and frozen in the 1920's, the ancient Kelvinator still rattling away. Corso and Jinx both looked around, wide-eyed. When Ibis offered them beer, Corso shook his head, but Shadow accepted with alacrity. As he remembered, it was extremely good beer. His travels had given him a much wider range of beers to compare it to, and it was still a contender for the best beer he'd ever tasted.

Yes, Ibis seemed more vigorous than when Shadow had originally met him. Shadow tried to think of a tactful way to broach the subject. He had a clear memory of Ibis telling him that for someone in the mortuary trade, asking how someone was could be misconstrued as scouting for business. He finally settled for, "So, what's new?"

"Urban renewal," Ibis caressed the words. "It seems that a young man who grew up here in Cairo, and made a great deal of money out in the wide world beyond us, has come home to spend it. He had a successful football career, and invested his salary wisely. Now, he wants to help his family and friends and some of the less fortunate citizens of his home town."

"That's terrific," said Shadow, and meant it, although it wasn't what he'd wanted to know.

Ibis smiled. "The young man has a number of elderly relatives."

"Not that we wish any of them ill," said a deep voice from the doorway, and there in his human semblence stood Mr. Jacquel. He, too, seemed a little taller, and walked more commandingly than he had before.

"Of course you don't," Shadow responded. "But sooner or later, they'll be in need of your services, and it's good to know you'll be paid for them."

Jacquel favored him with a smile, teeth flashing white in his dark face. "In one case, prepaid, for a very lavish send-off indeed."

Corso mumbled something to Jinx. "Excuse me?" asked Mr. Ibis.

"I just--your auras--they're spectacular. Like Cerridwyn's," he blurted, turning to Shadow. He broke off, looking abashed. "I'm sorry--" It was rare to see Corso at a loss for words. Even Bast was looking at him; he was still holding on to Jinx, and achieving a high color on his cheeks.

"Auras?" asked Jacquel. "You read auras?" There was a note of polite interest in his tone.

"Ever since Cerridwyn gave him a dose of something, and recommended he see you gentlemen," Shadow interjected.

"Did she?" Jacquel scrutinized Corso. "How unusual. She has sent business our way before, but I wonder what it is she expects this time. She would hardly have given you that elixir if she believed your days were numbered. It's extremely complicated to prepare and not something doled out lightly."

"Perhaps you might favor us with an introduction?" suggested Mr. Ibis, and Shadow realized that the men hadn't been there when he'd introduced Corso to Bast. He hastily performed the honors, making sure to also introduce Jinx.

"What seems to be the problem?" Jacquel asked Corso directly. The book dealer took a breath, and began telling the story again.

The gods exchanged glances when Corso told of the rapid decline in his health after flinging the engravings through the Gate. They questioned him closely about the Gate and the onset of symptoms. He detailed the medical findings and the lack of progress with any standard treatment. "I finally ran into an old friend in Paris, who recommended Cerridwyn--who referred me to you two."

"What treatments did she attempt?" Ibis asked. "From the sound of it, you were in worse condition when you arrived in the U.S. than you are now."

"Smudging with sage, cleansing with crystals---one of them shattered after she removed it from me---being scrubbed with sea salt, a bath with herbs, and I've been taking some kind of tonic to detox from all the meds I was on."

Shadow cleared his throat, looking significantly at the other man, who looked away. Jinx picked that moment to say something; whatever it was, he felt Bast quivering against him. The goddess asked something and was highly amused by Jinx's brief response. "Women!" Corso said under his breath.

"Was there anything else?" Mr. Ibis wanted to know.

"It was Beltane," said Shadow blandly.

"Ah," said Ibis, with comprehension. "I wouldn't think that was part of the actual treatment."

"There's more." Shadow told them about the events in Louisville, and Corso's worsening condition. Corso just sat there, face blank, holding Jinx against his coat and scratching behind her ears. It was the most subdued that Shadow had ever seen him.

"That certainly gives us a great deal to ponder," pronounced Jacquel. "Meanwhile, you gentlemen have had a long trip, you're undoubtedly tired. Let me show you to your rooms."

Shadow found himself in the same vintage bedroom he'd had on his previous visit, with Corso across the hall. As soon as he closed the door behind him, Bast wriggled free and hopped from his shoulder to the bed, where she began kneading the pillows. Her little comment might have been, "Alone at last!"

By the time he'd pulled his shirt off and turned around, the tawny form on the bed had lengthened, and there lay a lovely young woman displaying all her charms. Golden-amber eyes with catlike slitted pupils regarded him with pleasure.

"Yeah," said Shadow, smiling as he crossed the room. "It's good to see you, too."