FYI I'm American and couldn't resist Also, I've decided that The Children of the Obelisk is NOT in the same universe as this story… for reasons at the end of the chapter. Enjoy!

Chapter 8

Home of the Brave

"Nina, we need to get moving." I awoke to Eddie's hasty shake and found myself on the 'road' within minutes. "Raet found another path while we were asleep so we didn't have to do another trial."

"Thank gods," I muttered realizing only after I said it how accurate that really was. Wiping the sleep from my eyes, I studied my godly frie…companions. Anubis was a godly friend, maybe even Nile or Elena, but Raet… Raet wanted something from us-that was for sure. Still, she was being helpful, so maybe she wouldn't be too terrible with her request for payment.

"Your welcome," Elena and Nile replied in unison with mischievous giggles. In a way, they reminded me of Alfie and Jerome… if my old friends were gods that is.

"Shut up you too," Raet scowled. "The throne room is up here. I spoke with Anubis while you were out and they just have one more weighing to do before they can take a break."

"Weighing?" What on earth (or I guess what on Du'at) was a weighing? "Oh," I realized. "Weighing of a dead heart against the feather of truth, got ya."

"Squeamish Nines?" Eddie teased with a laugh when he noticed my grimacing face. "Let's get us some hearts on!"

"Someone's in a good mood," I noted cheerfully. Personally, I just wanted to be out of the Du'at, but Eddie almost looked like he liked it here. (Mad that one.)

"Well soon I'll be the Osirian again and I might hate it, but hey who doesn't want to know exactly what their destiny is?" He was right, most people spent their entire lives just trying to figure out what they were supposed to do with their lives. What most people don't realize is that they aren't 'supposed' to do anything with their lives. Very few people have a destiny, but at least with one Eddie and I weren't ever confused about what we were to do.

"We're here," Raet told us with a 'keep back and wait for this to be over' look.

"By that she means shut up before you're the next one who has to face a weighing," Elena told us with a slightly mad grin. Peering into the room, I saw a magnificent set up. Osiris sat on a magnificent black throne (well it is a throne room. I'd hope there would be a throne to go with it.) You'd expect the entrance to the Afterlife to be dark and creepy, but actually, the room was filled by all the joys of life. The colorful pictures stained on the glass moved like something out of Harry Potter so, in them, I could see the magnificent, but tragic, life of the women who was being weighed.

She'd died young and couldn't have been older than 35, but whatever disease had killed her destroyed her body first. The women's hair was patchy, and her body bore scares from multiple surgeries. Death had probably come as a welcome relief, but she didn't seem to be enjoying it. "Anubis, would you stop ogling at your human crush and weigh the heart," Osiris asked annoyed. Surprised I lifted my head to see Anubis had been staring at me with his cocky grin. Now that our eyes had met and lingered a second too long, Anubis turned away from me heart and feather on each hand. Placing each object on either side of the scale, I noticed a sly movement that resulted with a stone being placed on the side of the feather. I went to cry out that Anubis was rigging the women's test to condemn her to be eaten by the missing Ammut, when Eddie clamped his hand over my mouth.

"You say anything and Anubis will kill you," he reminded me hastily.

Horrified by Eddie's lack of empathy I turned as spat at him, "Who are you," before running out.

"Do you do this often? Pretend someone's guilty by rigging the test?" I yelled at Anubis tossing the stone to Osiris' feet so he could see what his lieutenant was up to.

Lifting a single eyebrow, the death god turned to the quivering women who's scale, without the added weight, had balanced out. "Jeanette Luis, your soul is pure enough to pass into the Afterlife. Enjoy your peace." Once the women vanished Osiris turned to Anubis, "She's your Chosen One. Do with her as you see fit."

As terrified as I was, I held my head high proud that I'd saved that women's soul from being eaten. "Nina, Nina, Nina," Anubis told me pacing around in a circle. "What am I going to do with you? I helped bring back your Osirian, I trained you, and this is how you repay me? Jeanette angered me by rejecting my offer of healing. You don't insult a god and expect not to pay with your life."

"So that's what you're going to do? Kill me?" I stammered halfway between terror and a cool indifference. If I died Eddie wouldn't have to be the Osirian again and dying for that lady, whose name I could barely remember, was worth it."

"No," Anubis admitted with a soft tisk. "I don't want to kill you Nina. You're useful, and amusing… still. I'll give you an option. Take the feather of truth in your hand and know that you can't lie lest it will burn you alive. I want you to apologize and mean it while holding the feather, then I'll let you live. Otherwise…Ammut is hungry."

"There is no need for me to take the feather," I told him firm in my belief. "I'm not going to lie and I'm not sorry. You insist on an innocent soul being fed to Ammut, then fine. She came have mine." With a final apologetic look flashed to a speechless Eddie I shut my eyes and prepared to die.

So, while i know this is a mean cliffhanger good news (or not if you're getting sick of me). I came up with a brilliant idea to quench my own personal happiness so... this will be followed by a sequel... so book-ish 3! Don't worry though, there is plenty of this left to go. Or is there? I mean all i promised was that nina would die and she is about to die so...