Thoth by Alessa Thorn
Epilogue
Tahirah woke with a start, sweat soaking her clothes, and her sister standing in front of her. She had been dreaming of the desert at night, a man made of shadows walking toward her across the dunes. He had been saying something when she had woken. Now, she couldn’t remember what.
“Look at you, sleeping on the job again,” Rana teased, poking her in the ribs.
“Oh shit, do you think anyone saw?” Tahirah asked, sitting up and draining the warm water in her bottle.
“No. Your tent was closed.”
“I worked late again last night and was back again by 5 a.m.”
“I know. It’s why I thought to bring you something to eat,” Rana said, passing her a bag that smelled of spice and pastry. She was wearing a bright purple dress, her make-up and hair perfect.
Tahirah had always been the smart one, but Rana was the most beautiful. She worked at clubs full of important rich men, and unfortunately, she knew how to catch their eye.
“Where is my favorite boy? Where is my Ishak?” Tahirah asked, searching for her nephew.
“He’s at his hospital appointment. The doctor had to knock him out to run the tests, and he told me to come back in an hour. I wanted to see my big sister while I waited,” Rana said. The smile didn’t reach her eyes.
“He’ll be okay. He’s tough,” Tahirah replied, trying to reassure her.
Rana had been sick with rubella when she had been pregnant, and as a result, Ishak had been born with heart conditions. He was a pale, quiet child that only ever really perked up when he was drawing his art or talking about the past with Tahirah.
“He is, and he would want to know all about what you are working on. What is all this stuff?” Rana asked, her glossy nails opening the lid of a heavy plastic box.
Inside were hundreds of small, black stone statues of the god Anubis. They were all in various sizes, but the largest was still only twelve centimeters tall.
“They are my latest project. We found them two days ago behind the false door inside the tomb of Wahtye. It was a complete surprise. We were getting work done on the walls to stabilize the foundations in case of a heavy wet season. Then part of the wall crumbled, and all these fell out,” Tahirah explained. It was the most unusual find, in a tomb that was full of mysteries. They didn’t know how many more statues there were because they were still being dug out.
“It’s creepy as shit,” Rana complained, staring down at them. She took a photo on her phone. “Ishak would love them.”
“Bring him for a visit if he’s up to it. I haven’t even had a chance to count and catalogue them all yet.” Tahirah’s teeth worried her bottom lip. “Let me pay for the tests today.”
“What? I couldn’t…” Rana began. Tahirah knew she needed the money despite what she said.
“Let me help. I want to,” Tahirah insisted, searching for her bag. “Stay here. I think my purse is in the car.”
While Tahirah was gone, Rana slipped one of the small statues into her bag. It wasn’t the first time she had taken a trinket from the site, and no one would notice this time, like they hadn’t all the others. If they did, no one would suspect Tahirah or her kind sister that brought them sweet biscuits whenever she came to visit.
It was only one small statue in a mountain of them, Rana told herself. No one would miss it, not even her perfect sister. What harm could it do?
