“Then this is what you will do. Go there today and raise the Nile, even if it is a bit early. Water unmakes and then makes anew. I will be able to channel this power into my spell. Besides, it will be a good omen.”
When Osiris agreed that this could be accomplished, she continued, “When the sun sinks below the horizon, make your way to Mount Babel. Keep my heart with you at all times. I will use the hours ahead to traverse the skies, sweep our deeds into hidden corners, and prepare my spell. After the sun sets, I will go to Babel and seek you out. When we find one another on the mountain, we will hide in the dark shadows until the space between the night and the dawn, and after that nothing will be able to keep us apart.”
Isis knew she was asking much of him, and yet there was no other way for the two of them to be together. In truth, she wasn’t sure if she could channel the power she’d need to cast such a potent spell. If he wavered in any way it wouldn’t work and she’d lose him in more ways than one. “Are you sure this is what you want, Osiris? Once we are bound, nothing can come between us. Even death. It is a weighty thing I ask of you. If you have doubts . . .”
Osiris slid his hand up her neck and dipped down to kiss her lush lips, stopping her midsentence and hoping he was conveying the depth of his emotion in his embrace. He pulled her against his body and when she softened into him, the tension finally leaving her shoulders, he murmured, “I will take my leave of you now as we have planned, but until I see you again, know that this kiss is my secret vow. Let Seth move against us. Let the stars try to thwart us. Let Amun-Ra forbid us. We will unite by the force of our wills and the force of our desire, and slake our solitary souls in the light of our love for one another.”
“And if I fail?” she asked softly.
“It won’t matter,” Osiris answered as he stroked her hair. “Tonight my heart will be pierced with either terrible joy or terrific sorrow. Either way, it belongs to you.” With that, Osiris kissed her, his lips sealing his fervent promise.
Isis raised her wings, enveloping both of them inside their span. They held on to one another desperately, both of them knowing the risk they were taking. And then, after a last searing kiss, they reluctantly parted. Osiris watched Isis leave first, her blue vase with his heart scarab inside tucked under her arm.
“Be safe, my beloved,” he whispered as his eyes traced her path across the sky. When she was gone, he took up the alabaster vase and placed it in the satchel he always traveled with. Then Osiris raised his arms and sank below the ground, passing through the dark divide between the realm of the gods and the Earth.
The long hours of the day passed slowly for Osiris, and his thoughts often drifted to Isis and the spell she would weave. They were both risking much. Perhaps Amun-Ra would take away their abilities after he discovered what they’d done. Maybe he’d banish them to the Earth and make them eke out a life as mortals. The idea didn’t bother him as much as it perhaps should have.
With his knowledge of agriculture and hers as a healer, they could live a very fine life together, even if it was only in the time span of a mortal. He rubbed his jaw and adjusted his pack as he strode forward through the city, heading toward the farmland and the green growth rising along the borders of the Nile.
Isis might regret the loss of her wings if she became mortal. If he was honest with himself, he would regret the loss of her wings, too. They were glorious to behold, and the feel of them was a sensory experience he couldn’t begin to describe. But the wings, though a part of her, weren’t the whole of her.
He’d still have the woman even if she wasn’t a goddess. And a woman such as Isis was all a man could ask for. Even as mortals they’d be happy. Osiris stopped in his tracks as he suddenly realized that with mortality there was the possibility of more than just being with the woman he loved.
Osiris had never considered having children. But now the idea took root in his mind. A son? A daughter? A whole houseful of children? He thought of all the things he’d learned as a god. All the things he could share with and teach his offspring. His heart raced as he realized how badly he wanted a family.
Just as he hadn’t acknowledged his desire for Isis until she proposed the idea of a relationship, he’d never allowed himself to ponder the idea of fatherhood. Isis had been right. Vulnerability, in this case being stripped of powers and becoming mortal, was freeing.
Every instinct inside him said there was more. That he could do more, be more, than what he was. Was it wrong for him to reach for it? Maybe. But he’d reach anyway. He wasn’t worried about the consequences. If the worst thing that could happen was staying with Isis as a mortal, Osiris thought he could live with that.
Having reached the Nile, Osiris raised his arms and recited the spell that would cause the river to swell and flood out of its bed. He couldn’t help welcoming the smile that lifted his cheeks as he looked up at the sun. When the muddy water reached his feet and lapped at his ankles, he laughed and happily thought of his own overreaching. Whether the path he trod with Isis hurled him up among celestial realms or led him to toiling in the muck of mortality, it didn’t matter as long as they were together.
The water of the Nile kissed the parched soil. When it dried, the rich slurry it left behind would nourish the crops that grew on the riverbanks. Thousands would be fed. It wasn’t a little thing, the swelling of the Nile. The decaying things the river carried would bring new life. It was a completely natural process. He might have to take away a part of himself to be with Isis, but by doing so, he’d nourish the new thing developing between them.
Amun-Ra had always harangued them about sacrifice, Osiris thought as he waded through the water back toward the fields. He’d taught them that sometimes a thing needed to be lost before others could gain. Maybe if he explained his beliefs to Amun-Ra, the great god would understand. Then again, maybe not.
After shaking the mud from his sandaled feet, he walked through the fields at a mortal’s pace. The grain was thick and golden and the air carried the sweet scent of warm hay baked in the morning sun. The day was beautiful, and he spent the hours thinking of his love and of the coming trials that they needed to hurdle so they could become one.
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