The Curse in Her Blood

Chapter 11

Robin

It's like sensory overload.

Everyone is glowing at once from all angles.

People have elaborate headdresses in the shape of different animals and they all look miles taller than me, like they're giants or I'm a midget or something. And as I stand there, they all stare at me with a look of absolute disgust on their faces.

I keep glancing up to Set, who looks nothing like these people, who is holding the gaze of the green skinned leader.

"Is this her? Your mortal?"

I glance around looking for where that voice came from and can't find it. No one's mouth has moved so I don't know who's talking.

"She looks exactly like Astarte, Osiris, no point in playing dumb."

See, that was Set, I know his voice, but it helps that I can see that his is mouth moving as he talks. I realize that that must be because he's not a full god right now.

The golden man, Osiris, smiles again. Still a more threatening gesture than anything else. "It's been so long I couldn't remember what she looked like."

Set says nothing but narrows his eyes at him. He turns to me as if expecting something so I turn to Osiris and the members of the court to say: "Hi, I'm Robin..."

Osiris's golden eyebrow raises. "I thought this was Astarte?"

Set continues to scowl. "No Astarte died."

"Then why bring this human here?"

I'm not sure who's talking the words come from all over and different voices and tones. Still none of their mouths are moving.

"This is not Astarte. Astarte is dead. This is her reincarnation. Osiris you said you caught everyone up."

Now that, that is Set. And he doesn't sound happy at all. Which is fair. I'd be pretty frustrated too.

"Are they being stupid on purpose?" I ask him before I can stop myself.

I try to whisper it, I lean in and everything, so he'll be the only one who hears me. But there's a momentary pause in the conversation so they all heard me.

Oh Jesus. Awkward Robin rides again.

Now they're staring at me in a completely different light and I almost slide behind Set to hide myself. Set stares at me a moment before turning back to Osiris and saying: "It's a completely legitimate question considering how dense you all suddenly seem to be."

The heavenly court seems absolutely shocked that I dared to ask that question but Set backing me up only earns an eye roll.

"Fresh out of imprisonment and it's clear you haven't learned your lesson."

Osiris must be the green one, and the only one talking because he's walking away from the line of awaiting Gods and towards us. It takes all my willpower not to side step and hide behind Set.

"And what lesson is that?" Set asks him. "That I'll always be the bad guy and your son can rape whoever he wants?"

Whoa, wait, what?

Osiris didn't like that, clearly, because now he's in Set's face.

"You never proved that accusation."

"Well he got her pregnant against her will... so what do you call that?"

"It was never proven."

"Did anyone ask Astarte?" I ask and then both men are looking at me.

I should have kept my mouth shut.

"What?"

"Well you're asking if it was ever proven? Did anyone ask her? She would have known."

"The accusation of rape came from her very mouth," Set tells me and then turns his hot angry eyes back to Osiris. "He just refused to believe it because his precious son can do no wrong."

"She said what she had to say to secure her crown and you know it!"

Set growls, the sound coming out much more animalistic then anything I had ever heard before and I'm worried they're going to come to blows.

I have a feeling that Set, who is not fully a god at that moment, would not fair well against a fully fledged god. And I had a vague sense of apprehension, like Osiris wouldn't fight fair.

So, I stepped between them.

"Well we can unpack that later," I say, and we could, they probably had no idea of the changes to women's rights, but I was ready to tell them all about them. "As we were saying. I'm Robin, I'm Astarte incarnate and, apparently, I'm here to complete the ritual to get back his crown and prove my worth. So, if we want to point me to the test..."

"Tests," Osiris corrects and then his pointed golden smug smile is on me again. "There are a series of tests, all of them to prove your worth and capability. And they do not work like that."

"Astarte was on the last test..."

"She will be starting from the beginning."

Set's mouth drops in surprise. "What? Why? Why put her through the tests twice?"

"Because this is not Astarte, and she is a completely different person. Her values, beliefs, and capabilities they're all going to be wildly different from Astarte's."

"That can't possibly be true," Set growls and I stay quiet because I had no idea if that was true. I didn't know Astarte, I only know me.

"And Astarte had failed all previous tests," a woman says coming down from the throne area to come and stand beside Osiris.

She has got to be the prettiest woman I have ever seen. She has hair the color of lapis lazuli, her skin is gold much like the other's she's in a sheet of white with golden sleeves and embroidery. She has kind brown eyes and a horned headdress with a giant gem suspended in the middle. Looked to be yellow quartz, polished until it was practically translucent, no doubt to catch the sun and blind all near by with it.

But that isn't what has me staring at her. It's her ears.

She has large flopping cow ears though but even that oddity doesn't detract from her beauty.

Set stares at her surprised. "She... had failed..."

"Every previous test," she finishes for him. "But if you'd like to stake your crown, your powers and your kingdom on this mortal, who most likely knows nothing about our ways and customs or anything about you for that matter, then by all means, I'd be willing to stand in my place for the final test. I'd also be willing to make this the only test that counts, seeing as she's not really Astarte so the previous tests shouldn't count against her."

Set blinks his eyes and then glances to me. Clearly conflicted, but I'm not.

"I'm new to this, so I'm voting I start from the beginning, less of a chance I completely fuck this up."

They all stare at me. All in varying degrees of confusion, but the woman with the cow ears smiles.

"She's smart," the woman says. "I'd listen to her."

"Fine," Set growls. "We'll start from the beginning but I expect an accelerated time line."

When all the gods in attendance nod, he grabs my arm and drags me out of that throne room. I wonder to myself whether or not I should tell him that I also don't test well.