Page 23 of Death and Desire

“Do you think he’s following you?” Dina’s eyes flew wide. “Perhaps he wants to kidnap you for ransom. I wouldn’t mind being his captive.”

“Dina!” Violet shook her head, although she couldn’t deny the thought of being Khalid’s captive was not as repulsive as it should have been.

“I can’t believe you danced with him.” Dina sighed dreamily. “What is he like?”

“Distant. Mysterious. Calculating.” She pondered for a moment but came up with nothing more. That alone made her curiosity grow. “He’s very observant...which probably makes him the best candidate for the position of nursemaid.”

“Stop.” Her friend nudged her playfully even though she laughed. “I cannot believe I haven’t seen him before. He definitely has a dominant presence about him.”

“Yes, he does.” Violet stole a glance at him as they rounded a corner. Khalid’s dark gaze rested on her, and a flutter of awareness stirred deep within her soul. Had fate truly brought them together? Or was something sinister at play? She pushed aside the thoughts and instead turned the conversation to their destination. “Tell me about the museum’s exhibits.”

By the time they arrived, Violet’s excitement was tangible, a delightful hum just beneath the surface of her skin, a smile on her lips. Not even her father’s hired man could dim the thrill rushing through her, and she endeavored to ignore him completely. Her thoughts turned to her trips to London, where she’d been to the museum and read all the reference books she could find, but nothing had prepared her for the history awaiting her here.

Hours passed in a blur of exhibits and inscribed text. They wandered the corridors for hours, much to the growing distress of her companions. Violet basked in the experience, in the rich, vast history of Egypt.

By late afternoon, David and Isaac managed to extricate themselves from the excitement in search of a nearby café by claiming starvation was a criminal offense. At their departure, Dina wavered, and with Violet’s encouragement, her friend joined them, leaving Violet alone to admire the exhibits to her heart’s content.

Well, almost alone.

Khalid remained three paces behind her, silent as the grave. She attempted to ignore the draw of his presence, the desire to invite him to join her in conversation. To ask his opinion about the intricate carvings on a sarcophagus. The need to uncover his secrets became almost as pressing as the need to understand the ancient items displayed before her.

All the reading in the world could not have prepared her for the details, and yet, she found no concrete answers. If only there were someone who understood these things, had experienced them. That was madness. No one could possibly understand things that had transpired thousands of years ago.

As she stepped into the next room, she drew in a sharp breath and suppressed a squeal of delight.

“Are you well?” Khalid asked, coming beside her.

“Yes. Well...see, this is my favorite part of Egyptian history.” Violet pointed to the statues standing taller than her. “Ever since I was a little girl, my mother told me stories of the gods and goddesses of Egypt.

“This one is Amun Ra.” Violet gestured to one with a disc behind his head. She took a step, pointing to each statue in turn. “Horus. Seth. Isis. Osiris. Bast.” Down the line she went, matching images to the deities burned firmly in her memory.

“And this one?” Khalid gestured to a statue of weathered stone bearing the head of a jackal and holding an ankh in one hand.

Violet inclined her head, admiring the statue’s details and the hieroglyphs carved in its base. The faded colors showed the tarnish of hundreds of years in the elements but did not detract from the strength of the sculpture’s presence.

“Anubis. God of the dead, according to most scholars.”

A muscle in Khalid’s jaw twitched.

“There are some who claim he is merely the god of funerary rites, embalming, and a protector of the dead, but I believe he’s more than that.” Violet studied the flaking black paint on the muzzle of the Anubis statue. She longed to touch it.

“What do you believe?” Khalid’s soft question reverberated through her.

“I...” No one had ever asked her opinion about this before. She was far from a scholar, just an ardent admirer of all things Egyptian. He wished to hear her thoughts, yet she hesitated, afraid she would make a fool of herself with a passionate explanation. Violet pinched her eyes closed for a moment and inhaled deeply. “I believe he is the ruler of the Netherworld.”

Khalid turned to face her, his eyes glowing in the flickering light. “Is that so?”

“When someone passes from this world to the next, they need a guide, someone to show them the way to the afterlife. But Anubis does more than ferry them from one place to the next. He cares for them, eases their fear and apprehension before showing them the path to judgment. Anubis is an immortal protector. He takes his tasks seriously and fully dedicates himself to his mission. He watches. Listens. Shelters those who pass through his realm.”

Violet turned to Khalid, suddenly self-conscious of her rambling. “You think I’m crazy.”

“Not at all,” he said, taking one last glance at the statue.

“Then why are you looking at me like that?”

“How is that?”

“Like you couldn’t be less interested in what I have to say.”

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