Free Priestess of the Nile by Veronica Scott Page B

unsmiling examination traveling slowly from head to toe. “Mortal, Sobek has interceded on your behalf. I have granted you a most unusual boon. You are to have a choice today.”
    “I—I don’t understand.” Merys looked to Bek but no help was forthcoming. His jaw was set and a muscle twitched in his neck.
    “We’ll assume your heart is true, as Sobek assures us, although Lady Ma’at will weigh it, as is her duty. You may then proceed into the Afterlife and dwell there for all time in peace and joy as promised by the Book of the Dead.” Isis gestured and the mists cleared to reveal a doorway on the left. Through the arch, an enticing vista of a gentle river winding amid green fields beckoned. Merys craned her neck a little, to see more of what waited across the threshold.
    “Or—” Isis raised one hand, index finger pointing at Merys, “—you may choose to be reborn into the upper world, this time into a life of high station, great wealth, marriage, children and grandchildren.” Extending her arm, Isis indicated another open door beside the first, filled with misty golden light. “After many years and a fruitful life, you will return again to this chamber for judging.” Isis turned to Merys. “Which of my doors do you choose, mortal?”
    Merys looked from one portal to the other. She frowned and gripped Bek’s hand more tightly. Her throat and chest were constricted with stress and fear. Attempting to swallow, she shook her head. I must s peak somehow, tell her what I want above all things. This is my last chance. She’s so fearsome but I have to risk her anger. “What about Sobek? Can’t I choose to live with him in the realm of the Great Ones? I love him. He is what my heart desires.”
    Isis clasped her hands behind her back, rolling her eyes and glancing at Sobek with a frown. She paced between the two open doors, mist swirling around her ankles. “It takes a very foolish mortal to try bargaining with me.”
    “I do see the love in both their hearts,” Lady Ma’at interjected, her voice soft and musical. “It is true love, rare and pure.”
    Merys shot her a grateful glance. At least someone here supports us.
    Isis shook her head. “What she asks is impossible. Humans don’t dwell where the Great Ones live, not even after death.”
    “Will I at least remember him?” Thought of the pending separation took the strength from her whole body.
    “It is a kindness on our part to take away the memory,” Isis informed her. “You would yearn ceaselessly for what is forbidden.”
    Bek leaned forward, his words whispering in her ear, his breath soft against her cheek. “I’ll remember you, Merys, and love you for all time. But I have sworn not to come near you again, not to spoil your time in whichever reality you choose.”
    “I would rather return to my old life, if I could keep you in it,” Merys said. Any choice that doesn’t include Bek is a sentence to eternal punishment. I’ll remember him no matter what the Great Ones say.
    “The time for choice is now upon you,” Isis declared, her voice steely. She stopped pacing and strode briskly to the table holding the balance, toyed with the chain attached to the cups. “You know the two paths open to you. We’ll judge your heart and you will tell us which door you wish to walk through.”
    Lady Ma’at came and took both of Merys’s hands in her own soft white ones. “Don’t be afraid, no harm will come to you.” She drew Merys closer to the table. Bek came a few steps behind.
    Ma’at drew the great red ostrich feather from her jeweled headband and gestured at the table. “Behold the scales.”
    A great tugging began in Merys’s chest, and a pain bloomed in her abdomen. Before her eyes two alabaster jars stood in the golden cup of the balance, one much taller than the other. The stoppers of both were miniature crocodile heads. Borne down by the weight, the scale’s golden cup clinked on the table.
    “Why are there two jars?” Merys