Thoth by Alessa Thorn

11

Kema woke in a comfortable, unfamiliar bed and to the sound of birdsong. She had never heard birds like it before in Alexandria, where the traffic outside of her window drowned out any wildlife.

It’s like we are on some isolated part of the Nile, not in the middle of a city.

That would’ve been strange if she hadn’t found that her room had grown its own bathroom overnight.

Kema knew the edifice that served as Thoth’s bookstore and house was magical with the way it tended to appear and disappear, but to discover a new bathroom was something else. Not only a new bathroom, but new clothes in her size were also waiting for her.

“I suppose being friends with gods has to have its perks,” she murmured. Kema showered and dressed, the blue sundress fitting her well enough that it could’ve been bespoke.

I guess now I know why Thoth always looks so good, Kema thought and braided her hair into a crown around her head.

She inspected her face carefully, but there were no signs of bruising or swelling. Her fingers brushed against the side of her forehead, the feeling of Thoth’s lips still imprinted there.

Kema touched her lips, where she had been bold enough to kiss him. She hadn’t thought it through, just done it impulsively, and wondered if she should be more embarrassed about it.

He didn’t pull away. In fact, Kema had seen something spark deep in his bronze eyes that had surprised her…desire. He had left soon after, but Kema had already seen it, felt the echo of it pulse inside her chest.

Crushing on a god is not the wisest choice, Kema. Especially the aloof and handsome god of magic.

Kema shook herself. She could ignore lust easily, and besides, she had a bookstore to open and explore. To do that, she needed coffee.

Kema congratulated herself on being able to find the kitchen in the endless book lined staircases and corridors. She wondered how big the place actually was but soon gave up on trying to figure out its size when her head started to ache.

In the kitchen, Kema dug through the cupboards and found coffee and a pot. Her stomach grumbled, and when she turned, there was a plate of fruit and pastries on the counter.

“Okay, that’s not creepy at all,” Kema whispered. She picked up a pistachio cookie and was suddenly reminded of all the stories about not eating magical food. Kema did what she always did when encountering food advice. She ate the damn cookie.

She figured that if her fate was to get locked in a magical bookshop that cooked for her and made her nice clothes, then she would find a way to suffer through it.

“Oh gods, please tell me there is coffee,” Thoth said huskily. He was still half asleep, hair mussed around his shoulders and shirtless. Kema was momentarily frozen, cookie halfway to her mouth. She looked over his lean, dark brown muscles and sleeve of shimmering, colorful tattoos.

“Yes, there’s coffee. I have all the coffee,” she said quickly.

“Good,” Thoth replied, moving her out of the way of the coffee pot. He remained oblivious to the effect he was having on her. He poured them both cups before sitting at the counter.

“Did you stay up late last night?” Kema asked.

Thoth looked like he’d had an all-nighter, either drinking or studying something. Or both.

“Hmm, I went up to the observatory and kind of got distracted. It happens,” he replied, having a mouthful of coffee and then laying his forehead down on the counter.

“You have an observatory?” Kema asked, excited at the thought.

“Don’t go up there without me. There are notes and papers in a certain order that I don’t want disturbed,” Thoth said quickly, dragging his head back upright.

Kema rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah, I won’t. I probably wouldn’t even be able to find it. Do you know your house creates bathrooms, clothes, and cookies just…randomly?”

“Nothing random about it. It likes to provide you with whatever you think you need. If you’re hungry, there's food. Need clean clothes, there they are. I have enough to think about than all of that—” Thoth waved a hand “Basic stuff.” His eyes finally seemed to focus and slid over her like a warm touch. “Nice dress.”

“Thanks. Maybe the store is looking forward to opening and wanted me to look the part,” Kema said.

Thoth appeared confused for ten seconds. “Right. The store.”

“You really aren’t a morning person, are you?” Kema laughed and poured him more coffee.

“Moon god, remember?” Thoth replied with a sleepy grin. “This way, I’ll show you the shop front.”

Kema almost told him to put on a robe or a shirt so she could concentrate, but she decided she deserved nice things after her night of almost being forced back into matrimony.

Thoth drank his coffee as they moved down the halls and seemed to be waking up slowly. He opened a door and switched on the warm lamps.

Kema’s heart pounded like it always did when she saw the store. It was like stepping into her frozen memory. The counter that she had hidden behind looked exactly the same, with an old cash register and covered in bits of paper and books. Four large tables took up the center of the room, and all around the walls were bookshelves and shadowy alcoves.

“Have you really never opened since the day I was here?” Kema asked.

Thoth scratched at his stubble. “Seemed like opening the store was inviting trouble, and after you stole my book, I was too pissed off. Then I got distracted and kind of forgot that this storefront was even here.”

“Is the door going to open at the same place near the universities?”

Thoth shrugged. “Maybe? I don’t know. It does its own thing, and I never interfered with it.”

Kema shook her head at him. “Hopeless. How do I know which books you don’t want sold?” She picked up one and puzzled over the language written on the spine. “What is this written in?”

“Urdu.” Thoth looked about with a pained expression. “Do you really need to sell any of them?”

“Book stores are for book buyers, Thoth. Come on, there has to be some here that you want to get rid of for space? You tell me which ones,” Kema coaxed.

“That would take far too long. Come here,” he gestured at her.

Curious, Kema joined him. She tried not to notice the heat radiating off his skin or the golden ankh glowing on his chest that she wanted to touch.

“Okay, so I’m going to give you some helpful glyphs. Don’t move,” Thoth said, and with the tip of his finger, he traced a design at her temple.

“This one will help you identify the books you can’t sell. They will glow blue if they have real magic in them.”

Kema’s breath caught as he touched her throat, finger curling in a pattern that left magic tingling on her skin. “And this one is to make it so you can read and speak any language.”

“T-Thanks,” she managed to say, her entire body heating.

“No problem.” Thoth’s eyes dropped to her lips for a fraction of a second and stepped back from her. “Well, I’m sure you’ve got everything under control. I am going back to bed. To sleep.” Kema tried not to grin at his flustered expression.

“I’ll try not to burn the place down in your absence,” she teased as he headed for the door behind the counter.

“You do, and I’ll roast you in the Afterlife,” Thoth called back.

“I’ve heard that before,” she replied.

Thoth threw her a mischievous grin over his shoulder. “In that case, I’ll tell the house to stop feeding you sugar filled treats for breakfast.”

Kema pretended to gasp in outrage. “You’re a cruel and unusual god, Thoth.”

“And don’t you forget it.”

* * *

Kema openedthe store thirty minutes later once she had figured out how to use the ancient cash register. Under a pile of newspapers, she had found a record player and had put on some music in the background.

She unlocked the front door and flipped the sign to open. They were in a side street near the Alexandria National Museum, and she hoped that the store was in a mood to let people find it. Either way, she had plenty to do.

To remove the temptation, Kema walked through the store, collecting all the books that glowed blue. She didn’t want a customer to get attached to something she couldn’t sell them. Also, she wanted to read them while Thoth wasn’t around to stop her.

It took an hour before someone stuck in a curious head and stepped inside. After that, the store seemed to become more visible, and Kema was surprised at how many students, tourists, and bystanders walked through her doors.

“Do you do tarot?” one woman asked when she was buying a book. Kema looked down to find her deck of cards beside the register. She picked them up, shuffled and fanned them out.

“Pick one,” Kema said encouragingly.

After that, she began to do rapid readings, the customers tipping her extra pounds. Kema couldn’t quite articulate why, but the cards felt different. Her hands were tingling, and she could see the futures of the people before her in rapid bursts like a movie in her head.

Was it the magic of the store itself? Or was it because she had managed to use her own power the night before to open a doorway to Thoth? Kema knew she needed to talk to him about it. If anyone could explain what was happening to her, it was him.

At lunchtime, Thoth walked in, a book in one hand and a tray of tea and food in the other.

“The house just put this in front of me. I’m assuming it's for you because it’s never bothered to make me lunch unless I’ve asked,” he said, sliding it onto the small, polished table that sat next to the record player. He looked up and around. “Oh. You’ve cleaned up.”

“I couldn’t have bits of random paper over every surface.” Kema pointed to the stack she had collected as she had tidied. “I didn’t throw any of it out in case it was important.”

“Thank you for that. I can’t remember what I was working on last time I was down here, but I’m sure it’s important.”

“It must be if you forgot about it for thirteen years,” Kema replied.

Thoth’s eyes narrowed. “Are you being…cheeky to me?”

“Me? I wouldn’t dare, oh great scribe of the gods,” she intoned. “I fear your wrath far too much.”

“You don’t fear me half as much as you should.”

Kema poured him some tea and pushed it gently into his hand. “You haven’t given me any reason to. Besides, I think deep down you like my teasing.”

Thoth took the cup, running his index finger slowly over the back of her hand as he did so. “Not so deep down as I would like.”

Like the previous night, the air charged, and Kema’s eyes dropped to his lips, wondering if she would dare…

Kema jumped as the doorbell to the shop rang. She turned to smile at the newcomer, and it slid right off her face.

A tall man with long hair and amber eyes was staring at her with a hawk’s intensity.

Kema had seen that face for only a second in shaky footage, but she would remember the long hair and stubble forever. His handsome face broke into a crooked smile as she rushed forward. Kema smiled up at him, and a flash of golden magic glittered in the god’s eyes.

“Hello, Hermes,” she said, her voice shaking.

Thoth cleared his throat behind her, and Hermes looked away from her and let out a laugh.

“Hey, feathers, how’s tricks?”