Thoth by Alessa Thorn

2

Thoth sipped on a cup of black coffee and squinted at the sun. He didn't do mornings as a rule. He was a moon god for a reason, but the booksellers were only at the markets on Tuesdays, and everything good was usually gone by lunchtime.

Thoth had spent most of the night in El Sadat City, chasing down a restless ghost that had somehow escaped the Duat.

Like I don't have better things to do with my time!Thoth grumbled to himself, having another mouthful of coffee.

This sort of shit wouldn't be happening at all if Anubis were still in the Duat. A soul wouldn't dare try and escape him, and if they did, Anubis would hunt it down, bind it in fiery chains, and drag it back to where it belonged.

Thoth had been trying to find the god of the dead for centuries, with no luck. Now he had Set and his consort, Ayla, to help him, but he couldn’t decide if that was going to be a good thing or not. Thoth had promised them a month of peace for Ayla to get used to sharing Set's god power. That month was almost up.

Thoth was in equal parts relieved and reluctant to have Set helping him. Relieved that he wouldn't be searching alone anymore and reluctant because Thoth didn't work well with others.

It certainly can't make things worse.Thoth prided himself on conquering any challenge presented to him, and the fact he hadn't been able to find Anubis grated on his nerves. Now, he must have the god of war help him.

The only plus side of the embarrassing business was that Set and Ayla's lives depended on finding Anubis within a year. They were adequately motivated and wouldn't screw about.

Set would search through every grain of sand in Egypt if it meant keeping Ayla safe. His devotion to her was absolute and made Thoth want to gag.

Love was for children, and if Set was dumb enough to believe in it still, that was his problem. If it kept him focused on the task of finding their nephew, then Thoth really didn't care about his reasons for helping.

The Shalalat Gardens were filling up with people already, and Thoth groaned internally. He didn't do crowds or people unless he had to. Unfortunately, his weekly trip to the markets was a necessary evil.

Finding wayward souls wasn't the only irritation Thoth had those days. He was constantly having to go out and clean up magical messes. Everything from rogue ifrits setting houses on fire to El Naddaha's trying to lure people to their watery deaths in the Nile was keeping Thoth obscenely busy. And he knew his lost book was to blame.

That fucking thief. Thoth had cursed the damn bride every day since he realized she had stolen from him. He had done his first good deed in centuries by not turning her in, and how did she repay him? By stealing his damn journal.

Over a decade later, it still grated on Thoth that he had fallen for those big, pleading brown eyes. Deep down, he knew that she had just been a scared girl, but he had stopped thinking of her that way when magic started happening around the city.

Hismagic, to be precise. The girl-bride had obviously sold his book off, and some petty sorcerer was trying to use the incantations inside of it. When he got his hands on the girl and the sorcerer, he was going to wring their damn necks.

Thoth was surprised the sorcerer had managed to get the magic to work at all. It defied belief, but there was no denying his magic was being used to rip holes in reality and let through all kinds of chaos.

Thoth wandered through the rows of booksellers, searching for anything of interest. Occasionally, something would give a faint buzz of magic, and he would dig out treatises written by ancient Sufis, pagan priests, and Christian mystics. Human's search for magic and the miraculous never ceased to surprise him, and it was one of the few things that kept him interested after centuries of wandering the world.

Thoth was buying another coffee when he felt a flick of his own magic whip across the gardens. Thoth stumbled, almost dropping the pile of books he was carrying.

What in all the hells was that?

Thoth whispered a tracking spell under his breath, and traces of bronze magic lingered in the air like smoke.

"Got you," he growled and strode through the gardens, following the trail. Pushing his way through performers and food sellers, Thoth found himself on the edge of a line leading to a dark red tent. Bronze glittered in the air around the tent like fog.

Thoth looked at the gold and red sign and almost spontaneously combusted. Madame Heka, spiritual advisor and fortuneteller.

"My sister saw her a month ago, and she channeled the ghost of Alexander! He told her that her husband was cheating on her and the exact location of the letters proving it," a woman said to her friend in the line in front of him.

"This is the third time I've seen her, and Alexander's advice is always right," a man in a suit agreed with her.

Thoth's vision hazed as a smiling woman came out of the tent. She kissed the cheeks of another woman wearing a gold laurel headpiece. Thoth's ichor turned to fire as the fortuneteller turned, and he saw her face. She was older and had filled out, but there was no doubt that it was the damn girl-bride.

"I won't be long, my dear ones," she told the line and disappeared back into the tent.

Thoth ignored the grumbles of the people that he pushed through and stepped into the tent. The fortuneteller's back was to him as she fixed her hair and sipped from a water bottle.

"Take a seat. I won't be long," she said without turning.

Thoth sat on the soft rug in front of a small board covered with silk, a pile of cards in the center of it. He lifted one, instantly recognizing one of his own diagrams of the fabric of the ether. Rage and confusion raced through him.

The fortuneteller turned, saw who was waiting for her, and let out a surprised gasp. Her brown eyes were still big and full of warmth. Thoth looked at her left eye and tried to hide his surprise at seeing his mark on her.

"Madame Heka, I presume," he said through his teeth.

"It's you!" she replied, rushing forward, heedless of the danger she was in. "I've been looking everywhere for you!"

"Why? So you could steal from me again after I saved you?" he demanded.

All his years of frustration rushed to the surface and collided with his burning embarrassment. He had thought that he would face a sorcerer at least, not some charlatan turning tricks in the park.

Bronze power glittered around Thoth's arms, his tattoo shimmering with life. The fortuneteller’s mouth popped open as she stared at him.

Thoth's god aspect rose to the surface, eyes glowing and magic threatening to break loose.

"Do you know what we do to people like you in the Duat, thief?" he demanded, his voice turning unearthly.

The pretty fortuneteller had the audacity to smile at him…right before she kicked out a wooden pole and ran as the tent collapsed around him.