Chapter 22: The God of Corn Dogs

Horus and Anubis both jumped from the loud crash on the dining table. They were eating toast and smoked salmon together (Horus still found it amusing Anubis doesn't hate fish like he used to). Instead of making myself a plate I unceremoniously dropped a giant bag of ice on the table. Their looks of confusion were hilarious.

"What is this for?" Anubis asked.

"For you," I replied enthusiastically.

"Why…?"

Horus leaned over to see Anubis, my 5 kilogram bag blocking his view. "I think she's trying to say you need to chill."

"Horus…" I sighed. Anubis also shot him a glare, but Horus was undeterred.

"It's funny, Anubis. You'd get it if you had a sense of humor."

"I have no idea what you are talking about," Anubis gibed.

"Can I explain myself before you two start bickering with each other?" I interjected. They stopped and gave me their attention. I pointed to the ice. "This bag will be going to the freezer, but in all the other rooms I have a cooler also filled with ice. Whenever you get angry, Anubis, try to not take it out on the furniture. Instead, grab some ice from a cooler, or the freezer in here, and throw it on the ground all you want until you feel better."

"Nakia, you do care about my decorating dilemma…" Horus looked touched.

"I'm more concerned about Anubis' mental health."

Anubis started stabbing at his plate. "I thought you would not want to help me after yesterday."

"I want to help you because of what happened yesterday. You need a healthy outlet."

"You are not mad then?"

"Of course not. After all I've been through, you'll have to do a lot more to scare me away."

"This idea is ingenious," Horus said as he twisted the bag open.

"Those aren't for you!" I protested.

Horus took a cube in his fingers, admiring it. "These will be so much easier to clean," he said as he flung the ice in his mouth and bit down with a crunch.

It turned out there wasn't much we had to clean at all. I had thought I would have to mop up any ice left to melt on the floor, but it wasn't necessary. Paws loved the ice cubes. He would lick them off the floor and eat any he found. The only time I ever had to pull out a mop was when Paws was busy commandeering the boat.

As the weeks went by Anubis' outbursts also started to decrease. I think the guilt of breaking Horus' possessions and dealing with the aftermath was aggravating him more. Without that concern Anubis was able to manage his emotions better. He stopped avoiding me as much, trusting himself to not blow up in my presence. With less tantrums, I had to start sliding ice across the floor of the deck for Paws to play with. He didn't seem to like Anubis' lack of outbursts as much. He had started pawing at the coolers while whining for someone to throw them for him.

One night I went to bed and was shocked when I glanced at the date on my tablet. It was the fourth of July today. If I were at home I would be enjoying the fireworks. No, I would be at a cook-out with my family considering the time zones. I didn't want to think about it. I would have to think about my aunt and uncle missing me. I haven't even seen my grandparents since last Christmas. It must be so hard for them too.

Had I stayed I would have finished my sophomore year at school. I only had two months left when Anubis began haunting my class. I hadn't even looked at a textbook since then. The most studying I did now was teaching myself some programming my uncle didn't get around to showing me. I had to basically teach myself Java to make the app for finding canopic jars. Before, I hadn't been sure if I would go into computer science after high school but now it looked inevitable. Assuming I could get a GED…

Thinking about my human life was stressing me out. I flipped my light switch and threw myself into my sheets.

It wasn't hard to shake me from my sleep. I was already having a restless night. I jerked away from the hand on my shoulder. I rubbed at my eyes trying to make out the dark figure standing by my bed.

"What are you doing here, Horus?" I said with a groggy voice.

"I'm sorry to wake you, Nakia. There's a situation in the duat and Anubis asked me to send your soul there. You don't mind, do you?"

I groaned, pressing my palms to my eyes as I rolled onto my back. "I don't want to turn into a bird again…"

"What do you mean? Being a bird is awesome!" I pulled my hands away and glared at him. "Don't look at me like that. You look like Anubis when you do that."

I rolled my eyes at him.

"Just get it over with…"

"Alright. I'll try to keep your human form for you. Just focus on how your body should feel."

I did as he said. He held finger to my head and I was pushed out of my body.

My bodiless travel to the duat wasn't as turbulent as the first time. True to his word, Horus was able to keep me in a human form. It was still unsettling to be transparent but you can't have everything. Anubis was here when I arrived. We were in the great hall that held Osiris' throne and the giant onyx weighing scale. I did not like being back here.

"Horus should be here in a moment." Anubis said.

"Why are we here?"

"I do not know the details. I only know it concerns Osiris. Ah…"

Horus flew in with the body that looked like a large hawk. He descended slowly in tight circles, flashing off his flying skills. He turned into his human shape before landing on the floor. Although I knew that Horus and Anubis came here with their souls, they weren't see through like I was. Must be a godly thing.

"Don't worry, you two. I have arrived!"

"Was that necessary?" Anubis asked giving him a sullen look.

"What? I was merely showing Nakia what the joys of flying looks like. How about it, Nakia? I could give you some tips."

"I'll pass," I said.

"Let's get going," Anubis called to us, not up for playing around. I was thankful for his impatience. I didn't want to stay here.

We twisted and turned through the many halls and corridors. I stuck close to Anubis' back, never sure of where we were going. I had thought my school had a confusing layout with halls that lead to nowhere and classes only accessible by cutting through the gym. This place made my school seem logical.

I could hear arguing in the hall when we reached our destination. The door was wide open inviting anyone to enter. Inside was an office much larger than Thoth's, or maybe it was only cleaner. It was odd going from halls in a distinct Egyptian aesthetic to a room that had prominently Chinese decor. The designs of the tables and chairs had overlapping geometric shapes that matched one another. There was a golden folding screen that divided the room into different sections. On the walls hung long prints of Chinese calligraphy.

There were many gods inside arguing with each other, some human in appearance, others with the odd animal-headed appearances, and one who's… just a very large bird. I'll never get used to this.

They all were grouped around a table similar to one we had in our boat but was lower to the floor. Ours had a map of the world, but it looked like theirs was a map of a specific region. Seeing as one side had a long river across it I guessed it was a map of Egypt.

"It is the interference of mortals, I say!" Squawked the bird god. "They keep building these contraptions. They are meddling with nature!"

"We've already heard from gods in the region that the mortals aren't responsible," a tall woman countered.

"-this time," muttered another in a very husky voice.

"Conspiracies!"

"I say we persecute Khonsu," added a green skinned man with a long braided beard. "To be so daring as to steal the moon from the sky. He must be held accountable."

"The moon returned to the sky several nights ago, yet nothing has changed. What good would punishing him do?"

"It would make me feel better…"

The group of gods kept bickering. They didn't seem to notice we were there. I heard Anubis give a sigh before shouting, "QUIET!"

It did the trick. The room fell silent and everyone turned to us. Horus gave a pat to Anubis' shoulder before addressing the room. "Can you fill us in on what the situation is?"

"Osiris has not revived," the tall woman reported.

Horus and Anubis gave each other a look. It sounded serious, but I wasn't sure what they meant by revive. Did they mean his aging with the moon thing?

"Is he here?" Anubis asked.

"No, he stepped out. He's been restless these past few weeks."

Horus broke away from us and sat with the group around the table. He had a hand to his chin, deep in thought. "Are there any other unusual occurrences that could cause this?"

"What unusual event hasn't occurred this month?" shrugged a frog faced god. "The moon was gone. The crops along the nile won't grow. There have been reports of flooding in other regions."

The bird god waved his wings in the air. "It's the mortals doing it! They built the flabbergasted dam and invented global warming! They want us gods dead!"

"No one cares about your speciest theories, Bennu."

"You lot requested me to bring my expertise. I revive every 500 years. I'm an expert in rebirth!"

Horus took hold of the situation before it could spiral out of control again. "Bennu, your help is most valued and I'm glad you're here. We do need to hear everyone's thoughts before we try to solve this. Your insight is equally important as everyone here." Horus tapped the map. "I want you to tell me everything about this situation with the farmlands."

As the other gods began giving their explanations, Horus waved a hand for Anubis to come over, his eyes never leaving the table. Anubis turned to me. "I need to help him."

"Okay. Is there anyway I can help? I don't really know what this reviving thing is but…"

"It is… a lot to explain. I will tell you about it afterwards. Why don't you wait by the door for us to finish. And," he pointed a finger at me, "don't wander off."

"Yeah, I won't." Anubis left me to join Horus at the table. I stepped out of the office, sitting on the floor next to the doorway. I pulled my knees to my chest as I waited.

I was bored and a bit peeved I was pushed to the side. I could be sleeping right now. Instead I sat observing the oddity of seeing my arms through my legs as the gods in the other room argued. Little snippets I could catch weren't easy to piece together. It sounded more like an argument between farmers and climatologists than one over reviving a god.

After some time I saw Anubis walking to me from the corner of my eye. They must have finished. I was a bit frustrated so I didn't grace him with a look. He said to me, "You look bored, Nakia."

He sparked my temper. I snapped at him, "Of course I am! I don't know why you two brought me here if I'm just going to sit in the hall doing nothing while you guys do all the work. If I'm that useless you should have just let me sleep."

"Well… I'm glad they brought you. I miss seeing humans. The only ones here are the dead."

I jerked up, my heart pounding in surprise like a child grabbing their mother's hand but realizing the hand belonged to a stranger. The person I took to be Anubis was someone else I knew. I have met Osiris on two occasions - the first time he was a child and the other he was a middle-aged man. The cycle of the moon was always different when I met him. This is the first time I've seen him as a young man.

He was the spitting image of Anubis. The only differences were that his hair was completely black, his eyes were always silver, and he was taller. Otherwise it was understandable how I could mistake him for Anubis. He really did inherit his father's looks.

"I thought you were… but you're not. Sorry, I… Hello Osiris." I felt so flustered I couldn't piece together a coherent sentence.

Osiris smiled, "Hello Nakia."

He walked around and to my surprise sat on the floor next to me. Normally when I see him he's wearing elegant white robes but this time he was dressed in modern clothing. He still had a sharp appearance in his black slacks and crisp, chiffon button shirt. I didn't want him to get his clothes dirty by sitting on the ground with me but he didn't seem to care.

"Listen to them…" Osiris said leaning his body to look over at the door. "I could only stand being in there for two minutes before I bolted. And they're still at it…"

"Shouldn't you be helping them? They are trying to help you."

"That's why I called my sons here," he chimed in cheerfully.

"Oh…" I finally figured out who had told them to bring me here.

"I'll wait for them to talk it out before jumping in."

I crossed my legs and angled myself toward Osiris. "May I ask you something?"

"Certainly."

"They were saying before that you haven't revived but I'm not sure what they mean by that. You don't look unhealthy or anything…"

"Except for being dead," he frankly replied.

"Oh! Oh... I'd forgotten that… Does that mean you can be brought back to life?"

"Yes." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a single kernel of corn. "I am like this seed. Without life and buried underground. When the seasons change, new life is reborn." From the golden kernel roots sprung out. It grew at a rapid speed until a single leaf broke free. "When the first leaf breaks from the soil and touches the sun, I too can break free from the duat and be reborn onto the surface."

The corn continued to grow until it towered over us, magically staying upright. "Eventually the seasons change." The stalk turned flaxen gold. The leaves wrinkled with old age. "The harvest comes and everything returns to the soil where it came from." The stalk of corn bursts. The leaves and everything dissolved in the air. The only survivors were two ears of corn that fell into Osiris' hands. "Want one?"

I took the corn he offered me. "That's a pretty cool trick. Do you always carry around kernels of corn with you?"

"Heh, sort of. As a god of vegetation and corn I can materialize it from my magic whenever I wish. I'm a good person to invite for movie nights. You never have to worry about running out of popcorn."

"So you're a corn dog? Oh, I mean… pff-hahaha!" I started laughing at the ridiculous error I made. I hadn't meant to say 'dog' instead of 'god' but now the image of the king of the underworld being a corn dog had me clutching my sides.

Osiris was confused by my reaction. "I'm not a dog like Anubis is…"

"No no… I misspoke. I meant to say corn god. Ignore me. It just struck me as funny." I covered my mouth trying to cover my leftover giggles as coughs.

"I still don't understand, but to answer your question, yes, I'm a god of corn." He leaned back against the wall sitting on his hands. "The cycle that governs my rebirth has been broken. I worry I won't be reborn this year. I miss the surface. I miss the people and the energy of life. I want to return, but I'm trapped here."

The warmth in my chest my laughter had brought turned cold. It was heartbreaking looking at the tragic smile he held as he said those words. "Do you know who could be behind this?" I asked with a desire to fix what was holding Osiris here.

"I don't know of certain who, but I imagine a water deity is involved."

"A water deity? Like they're keeping the crops from being watered or something?"

"Yes, precisely that. This wouldn't be the first time this has happened. Once my grandmother Tefnut became very distraught. She took all the moisture in Egypt and fled to Sudan. It was many years before she returned. I felt like I was losing my mind…"

"Maybe we'll go find her then," I offered.

Osiris shook his head. "It's not her this time. She is in Aaru. For some time she has been planning a ball of sorts. No, if only it could be that simple. But there are many water gods so the culprit will be hard to determine. It will take some investigating to find who is causing this."

"I don't know how much help we'll be, but Anubis and I can look into it."

"You have your own mission. I don't wish to keep you from your goal," Osiris replied apologetically.

"This is something I want to help with. The canopic jars aren't going anywhere." I wanted to explain more, but it was caught in the back of my throat not wanting to come out. He had mentioned Aaru, the place I had once visited. The place I had reunited with my parents, but only briefly. They said Osiris was the reason they were there. He had helped my family when I couldn't be there for them. I had to return my gratitude.

He smiled. "You are very kind." As he said this the real Anubis and Horus came out of the office. I could hear the other gods talking inside still. Anubis looked irritated. Horus with his hand on his shoulders pushing him along probably wasn't helping.

"She's not going to like it," Anubis said carrying on some conversation from within the office.

"You'll still have to tell her. Oh! Hi, dad!" Horus noticed us sitting on the ground together. I was going to get up but Horus trotted over and sat on the ground with us. "Are we having a group bonding session on the floor?"

"We are now," Osiris said with a chuckle.

"Okay, let me start." Horus cleared his throat. "Once when I was 127 years old, I-"

"Horus, we do not have time for this," Anubis interrupted. "We need to send Nakia back and start working out our plan."

"What's the plan?" I asked Horus.

His shoulders slumped. "You're not going to like it."

Standing above us, Anubis said, "We have to go to the Nile and figure out what is causing the drought."

"Which is easier said than done," Horus continued. "We aren't farmers. This would be better for know-it-alls like Thoth or Ptah, but they want us to go. If the reason for the drought is any more complicated than it's not raining then we'll be over our heads."

"But it doesn't rain in Egypt," I argued.

"Not often," Osiris added.

"You understand how impossible this will be for us then. Honestly, I would much rather send someone else to do it."

"There's no way Thoth will do another favor for you," I said.

"And Ptah is busy with a research grant," Anubis joined in. "There's no one else to send, and everyone else is doing their part. We have to do ours."

"I know, I just want to complain…" Horus leaned on Osiris and wrapped his arms around his shoulders. "Dad, don't stay dead. I love you," Horus whined.

"I believe in you, my son."

Anubis squatted close to the ground so we were eye level. "We have to go straight to Egypt which means we will be going off course. We'll have to rework the route you made with Paws."

"It's fine," I said.

Anubis looked taken aback. He asked me skeptically, "Are you sure? You were angry the last time I wanted to change our travel plans."

"I'm fine," I firmly stated.

I didn't want to tell him how I was screaming a stream of curse words in my head. The frustration of having to rework plans I had already invested weeks of work into was insurmountable. But I had promised Horus I would keep my temper in check so I didn't say anything. I just wanted Anubis to stop questioning me about it.

"You aren't-"

"Anubis, are you going to sit with us in the circle of bonding or are we going to leave like you wanted?" Horus asked cutting him off.

"What's bonding?"

"When you become closer to other people," Osiris said patiently.

"I am already close to you without sitting."

"He doesn't mean it like that, Anubis," Horus said.

"We can sit in a circle on the boat." Anubis stood up.

"He doesn't get it," I said to Horus.

Horus shot me a mischievous grin. "Not at all. Which means he won't be joining our group hug either." With that Horus grabbed both Osiris and me into a tight hug. It was uncomfortable and slightly awkward, but Osiris gave a laugh that chimed like bells and made the world seem more hopeful. I wrapped my transparent arms around the two gods my heart feeling lighter than it had been in a long time.

We broke away and Horus helped us stand on our feet. I could tell Anubis was itching to leave. Horus and Osiris were saying their goodbyes as Anubis stood at a distance with his arms crossed. I went to him and asked, "Aren't you going to say goodbye too?"

Anubis shrugged, "We will see him on the surface soon."

I smiled. As Horus rejoined us I called to Osiris, "Don't worry! We will help revive you Osiris!"

"Good luck!" His voice rang as he waved us off.

It took us a week to reach Egypt from India. It was the second week of July and the heat was really climbing up the charts. I thought it would be unbearable in Egypt, but it was actually more tolerable than India. The heat there clung to the skin so you were always dripping in sweat. In Egypt, while hotter, the air was dry. Standing out in the sun outside of our boat wasn't so bad, even if I had to wear longer sleeves and pants.

"Home sweet home!" Horus exclaimed, arms outstretched.

"If you say so," Anubis muttered beside him.

I could get what he meant. When I think of Egypt I picture deserts, pyramids, and camels. We had landed our boat by the Nile in the middle of Cairo. As expected of a city, it was filled with skyscrapers, cars rushing by filling the area with sounds of engines running and cars honking. It felt like any other city I had been to. If it weren't for the signs having Arabic along with English and seeing most of the women walk by wearing hijab it would feel no different than being in a city anywhere else. If it felt this way to me, it must be even stranger for Anubis and Horus who've lived here since ancient times.

"It's still home. The Nile's still the same, though looking a bit depleted. We'll fix that. Somehow… Ra is still sailing above as always. And the city is thriving thanks to my leadership."

"You're not the president of Egypt, Horus," I reminded him.

"No, but I built the foundation." He seemed so proud of himself I didn't feel like challenging him.

"Paws, over here," Anubis called out. Paws ran to him and sat still as Anubis put a leash on him.

I walked over to the shore to check out the Nile. The river was lined with stone and cement. You could tell on a normal day the water was brimming to the top. There was a dark line in the cement from years of being soaked in river water. The discoloration sagged down several feet before meeting the water's level. There had been a clear effort to make due with the situation. There were temporary stairs connected to the docks so fishermen could get into their boats. Still, many had moved their boats out of the water. Numerous docks were bare without any ships. Something was clearly very wrong here.

"Gather round!" Horus waved me over. I joined Horus and Anubis with Paws at his side. "First, we need to get some information about the situation. The local gods may know something we don't. I think we should split up. Cover more ground, y'know? So I will go east of the Nile and ask around. Maybe I'll find Hapi if I'm lucky. Anubis, you can hit up the west side and see what you find."

"Alright."

"And what about me? Am I sticking with Anubis?" I asked.

Anubis held up the leash to me. "You take Paws on a walk."

"What? No way! Let me come with!"

"It'll be easier this way," Anubis said. "You don't know these gods and we can move faster on our own."

"Not to mention the west of the Nile is the land of the dead," Horus added, wiggling his fingers like he's telling a spooky story. "There are places gods hide that humans don't have any business being."

"You say that like I haven't been to the duat multiple times, but fine. If it's faster then I'll just stay with Paws. Should we meet back here at a certain time?"

Horus and Anubis looked each other. "How long do you think it'll take you?" Horus asked.

"There are some places in the desert I want to check."

"Hmm," Horus glanced to the sky before coming to a decision. "We'll meet back here when the sun is in the 8th position."

"And when exactly is that?" I asked.

"Around 3 o'clock your time."

"Don't worry," Anubis said. "Paws will know when it's time."

As though on cue, Paws barked and started tugging on the leash. He whined as he nearly pulled me off my feet. "Okay, I guess I'm going now? Paws, wait a second," I scolded. I looked back and called, "Good lu-." They were already gone. I had no idea how they disappeared when I only had my eyes off of them for a second. I guess they really could get things done faster without me.

We walked around with no clear direction for a while. At first we passed a lot of embassies. There was a row of softly waving flags of the world along the street. I made Paws cross the street when I saw the American flag in front of one of them. I really shouldn't be worried about being caught as a runaway here of all places, but our trip to Las Vegas a few weeks ago made me a bit nervous.

Paws was able to get his energy out when we found a park filled with palm trees and a small lake. That was when I started to notice that Paws was a bit different today. While I sat and watched him bark at birds and run around, curious locals would occasional come up to me. They would ask me questions about where I was from and such. Each time Paws would bolt to me and start furiously barking at them till he scared them away.

"Stop that, Paws! Seriously, what's your problem?" It didn't stop at the park. We kept walking around the city. If someone got too close, Paws would growl until they left. It was bizarre for him. I was glad he did it when a group of teenagers came to me trying to sell me something, but it got to the point that I was afraid to approach anyone or Paws would harass them.

We crossed a street that had a roundabout. It proved to be more difficult than I anticipated. It was a busy road and the cars didn't want to stop for anyone. I had to follow along with some other people and take cues from them on when to stop and go. Once we reached the middle there was small circular island to rest at. Cement structures stretched low to the ground for people to rest their feet. A row of small trees stretched across the center of the area. The trees had long since wilted in the sun. I sat on the ground far away from any other people where a bed of flowers had been planted. I rubbed Paws head as he sat next to me, as though on guard.

"Why are you being so uptight today? Is there something wrong?" In response Paws licked my face. "Yes, I know, you love me." I sighed, "What am I going to do with you?"

I got up from my spot looking around at the traffic. I don't know if I was brave enough to attempt crossing on my own. And where was there to go? I was just killing time until I could meet Anubis and Horus again. I hope things were going well with them…

"Heeey!" I heard the shout from over the traffic. At first I dismissed it as background noise of the city, but then I saw a boy across the street waving his arm. "Heeeey!" He yelled again, seeming to be looking at me. I glanced behind me but there was no one else he could be yelling to.

He weaved through traffic like a seasoned pro. He made his way around the flower bed and came straight to me, holding out a hand. "Hello! My name's Jordan," he said in an English accent.

"I'm Nakia. It's nice to meet you," I shook his hand.

"Nice to meet you. Is that your dog?"

Paws was already at my side, reared up and lowly growled. "Yes, I'm sorry. He's been like this all day. He's normally very friendly."

"It could be the heat. I've got something for that." Jordan searched through a shoulder bag that looked to be filled with water bottles and some snacks. He pulled out a plastic lid from a canteen and filled it with water. He set it on the ground but Paws didn't take to it. His growling softened but he still glared at Jordan.

"Paws, come one, be nice," I begged.

"Want some jerky, boy?" The moment he snapped open the bag of jerky the air filled with the salty aroma of meat. Jordan offered a piece to Paws. Paws stopped growling and seemed indecisive about what to do. Eventually the smell of the jerky was too much for him and he took a bite, although he did it with a snap that made Jordan jump.

Jordan laughed, "Ha ha, you have good taste. Good boy." I was surprised to run into a stranger that would act so kind to Paws when he had been scaring everyone else away. The boy looked about my age. His skin was a smokey topaz color with midnight black hair. He had a messy, short afro that had curls sticking out in every which way. His eyes were kind but he seemed to act with no caution, both with crossing the street and feeding Paws. He didn't seem to care if the dog took a bite of his hand as he gave him another piece of jerky.

Jordan stood up when Paws started drinking from the water he gave him. "Do you live around here?"

"No, I'm just visiting."

Jordan's face fell a bit, "You're a tourist then? Man, I thought I'd finally found a foreigner my age who was living here."

"Are you live here?"

"I've been here for a few months. My uncle's an archaeologist. He brought me with him for an excavation, like a bring your nephew to work sort of thing."

"That sounds cool."

"Yeah, I can put grave digging on my CV now. So are you on vacation here?"

"Not really. I'm doing a world tour and this is one of my stops." This was an excuse I had grown used to giving through my travels, and it was closest to the truth I could get. It wasn't a lie even if people assume I'm on some sort of scholarship.

"You're traveling the world… with your dog?" Jordan asked skeptically.

"I'm a big dog person," I firmly stated.

"I can tell. So what does someone on a world tour do in Egypt?"

"Actually," I thought for a second but couldn't see much harm in being somewhat truthful. "I'm doing research on why the Nile's water level is receding."

"Yeah, that's been in the news a lot. There's been some saying it's a conspiracy and such but I don't think anyone really knows what's causing it."

"Well, that's what I'm here to do."

"For real," Jordan said with a half smile not seeming to believe me. "You think you can outdo the experts and solve the mystery yourself."

"It's worth a shot," I said, and felt more confident than I expected. I may not be an expert in geology but knowing that there was something mythological going on gave me an upper hand.

Jordan laughed and his eyes smiled as he regarded me, "Okay… um, not to be rude, but what was your name again?"

"Nakia."

"Nakia, right. That's an interesting name. Okay, Nakia. I don't have anything to do today so maybe I can lend you a hand."

"Umm, thanks but I don't know if you can help us that much." I didn't want to reveal to him that we were waiting around for Anubis and Horus. And there was no way I was going to take an outsider along with me.

"Sure I can! I know this place inside and out. In fact…" He pulled out a phone and started swiping away at the screen. "There's this museum not too far from here. A few days ago they put out a sign that had something about a Nile exhibit. I don't know much Arabic, but I'm pretty sure they're taking advantage of the stuff in the news to draw more people in. Here, look."

Jordan handed me his phone. He had an app open that showed information about the Agricultural Museum. According to the map it was only a twenty minute walk from here. It was a pretty good idea. At least we would have something to do. Anubis and Horus could investigate the godly world while I could gather intel in the human world.

"Alright, let's go. But first, do you know a good place to eat? We're a bit famished."

"Sure. There's a place just down the street. The shawarma there is delicious."

"Will that be okay with you, Paws?" I crouched to Paws' height. He responded by nuzzling his nose into Jordan's bag.

"Looks like he's gonna eat all my jerky."

"Sorry, I'll pay you back for it."

"Don't worry about it. I nabbed the bag from my uncle anyway. Come on. I'll help you cross the street without getting killed."