The feather determines if a person shall be bestowed eternal life. And as the god of death, I was the guardian of the doorway to that glorious afterlife.
At last, the scale settled, until the one holding the man’s heart rose higher than the feather.
“What does that mean?” the man wrung his hands, fear in his voice.
The feather floated to my inner forearm, disappearing into my skin, while a gold light surrounded his heart. The massive set of scales, along with his organ, receded into the wall. Now the painting reflected his heart lifting higher than the other side.
“It means,” I said, turning around. “That I can now escort you to the heavenly afterlife.”
With a resounding boom, the wall disappeared, revealing lush green reeds and bright blue sky. A breeze of fresh air and sweet grasses swept through the antechamber. I leaned down, offering the man my hand.
Tears of relief and gratitude glittered in his eyes as he took it. I pulled him up to his feet, then escorted him across the boundary to where the grizzled ferryman waited with his boat, and his long steering staff at the ready.
“Hraf-haf will chaperon you to the other side,” I explained. “There you’ll find peace, salvation, and eternal life.” The old man nodded at me. He would take it from here.
When I returned to the antechamber, the wall reappeared, the man’s heart now gone, scales reset.
I crossed to Vivien, while unfastening another button at the top of my shirt. She scrambled up, Cupcake leaping off her lap. I pulled her up against me, then dipped down for a deep kiss. My blood simmered as my body instantly craved more of her.
Though she kissed me back, there was a stiffness that usually wasn’t there. I knew I should investigate the cause, but I’d already fallen into the taste of her. The scent of leather and sugar surrounded me, along with her unique feminine signature. As my tongue pushed past her teeth, she melted against me.
I’d seen her this morning, but my skin felt starved for hers. She sparked an insatiable desire in me, which possessed me, body and soul.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“That was one hell of a production,” she said with a weak smile, changing the subject, gesturing behind me.
“Right. I forget you’ve only witnessed the tail end of a judgment, and it left you with the impression I was a ruthless monster.”
A woman I’d judged had ended up in Amit’s chamber instead of the afterlife. The enormous crocodile god devoured the woman’s dark soul. Out of jealousy, she’d poisoned her stepdaughter, to secure her husband’s affections all to herself. Though she threw herself into charities and philanthropic work, it did not make up for the terrible deed she’d committed.
I’d further cowed her down in anger, as I personally possessed a particular loathing for those who harmed children.
Vivien threaded her fingers through the hair at the base of my skull. “Oh, you are definitely a ruthless monster. But in all the best ways.” Then she reached for my left arm, twisting it around. “Also, you have a tattoo? Wait, where’d it go?”
My fist closed and tightened until the black ink swelled up again to the surface.
“Look at you, Mr. Badass. Inked up and what not,” she said, impressed. “Didn’t know uptight old guys like yourself got tatted.”
I shook my head, but the side of my lips curved up. Only she would make light of our five-thousand-year age difference as if we were a normal couple.
“Do you like it? Shall I keep it visible?” I would do anything she asked of me.
“Hell yeah, keep it visible,” she encouraged. “I can’t wait to tell my bestie that you’ve got ink.”
“Perhaps you could not, seeing as Miranda is my employee and head of security here at Sinopolis. I’d like to preserve some amount of respect.”
“Okaaay,” she said in an exaggerated tone with an ingenuous wink. “I definitely agree not to tell my best friend all the intimate details of our wild sex life, or about your tattoo.”
I suppressed the need to sigh. What else should I expect? Even when I’d commanded her through supernatural means not to reveal the knowledge that gods walked amongst humans, Vivien still managed to clue in Miranda. With a game of charades, of all things.
“I can’t win, can I?” I asked, as I held her tighter against me.
Her expression turned sensual as her eyes hooded. “Oh, I think there are plenty of ways you can win.” One hand slid down my chest to play with the edge of my belt. My skin zinged with electric need, as my blood heated with desire and I hardened. For her, I was always ready, always needing more.
The way this woman made me forget myself…
“Ahem.” A sound from behind me.
