The duo had still decided to follow the High Priestess in their animal form for the sake of discretion. Even though they had accepted her help, that did not mean they trusted her. Diounout led them down an unguarded corridor that took them to the back of the temple, away from prying eyes. She took advantage of the walk to adjust her attire to conceal the fragment beneath her clothing. Indeed, she wore a long, immacute cape over her white robe—an unusual outfit compared to the priestesses of the Abydos temple. Everything suggested that she had carefully chosen her attire before presenting herself to them. She had closed the cape over her chest, giving her enough space to hide the leg in the right position, as the fabric was extremely loose. Yes, she had likely pnned this in advance.

  When they arrived in front of a door guarded by two heavily armed men, the two jackals stopped and hid a few meters away at the corridor’s intersection. Diounout advanced without hesitation as if she owned the pce. She was the High Priestess, after all.

  “Halt!” one of the guards roared upon seeing the woman approach. “High Priestess Diounout, what are you doing here at this te hour?”

  “It is necessary to bless the leg so that it does not rot,” she expined naturally. “We have been unable to do so because of your presence these past few days, but we can no longer dey the blessing. It will only take a few minutes.”

  Ana?s held her breath. The priestess was undoubtedly a skilled liar. She had delivered that story about decay without flinching, without even a hint of doubt, even though she must have known that the flesh would not decompose. She was simply hoping the guards were unaware of this fact.

  The two men exchanged gnces, uncertainty reflected on their faces. Everything hinged on the trust they pced in Diounout. The younger of the two seemed reluctant to believe her, judging by the way he subtly tried to signal his partner that they should refuse, shaking his head slightly from side to side. However, the older man had the final say, as he eventually nodded and allowed the High Priestess to enter the room, unlocking the door.

  “Do not touch it, or you will trigger the security devices,” the younger guard warned her disdainfully.

  The door closed with a heavy thud. Now, Ana?s and Anubis were blind. Diounout was alone against the temple’s protections… and they were powerless. All they could do was wait for her return to ensure she had succeeded in her theft. The young Akh could only hope that Diounout knew how to bypass the protections. If she accidentally triggered the arm, more guards would swarm the area, and they would not be able to evade them forever.

  The wait sted only about ten minutes, but to Ana?s, it felt like an eternity. Her rapid breathing reflected her nervousness. Fighting in the heart of action was one thing, but waiting in enemy territory and relying on a stranger was another. She didn’t know what was more stressful—when events depended on her, or when everything rested on someone they didn’t know, in circumstances beyond their control.

  Two sharp knocks echoed against the door. Diounout was signaling the guards that she was ready to leave—an excellent initiative to appear completely harmless. The older guard hurried to open the door, allowing her to step out, while the younger one eyed her suspiciously.

  “Everything is in order. I thank you for your cooperation,” she announced, inclining her head slightly toward the two soldiers. “May you have a good night.”

  They saluted her as she walked down the corridor, her arms hidden beneath her long cape. Ana?s scrutinized her face, searching for confirmation that her mission had gone smoothly. She found relief there, along with a small smirk. She had succeeded in stealing the fragment. It was carefully concealed beneath her clothing, held upright against her body so that the flesh blended with her form, preventing its shape from being visible through the fabric.

  “Let’s not waste time and head for the catacombs,” Anubis urged, taking the lead.

  They had barely covered a hundred meters when a sharp, high-pitched chime rang out. It was as if the sound resonated inside their heads rather than through their ears. They were doomed.

  “Stop!” the High Priestess suddenly cried, turning to the two jackals. “If the arm has been triggered, reinforcements will be sent through the catacombs. You can’t go that way. Follow me, quickly!”

  Discretion was no longer an option. The suspicious young guard must have gone to check that everything was in order after the priestess had left. Of course, the leg was no longer in pce. She might have helped them retrieve Osiris’s flesh without a fight, but the precious minutes they should have gained thanks to her were now lost and forgotten. Perhaps they should have just killed the guards…

  “How can he send his troops through the portal?” Anubis questioned, despite their ck of time. “Humans are not allowed to cross the Duat.”

  “They are not humans, but his servants,” the priestess answered hurriedly. “Seth has linked the portal to his pace, allowing his hounds to be deployed quickly if needed. Your opponents are not mere guards. You must escape!”

  Diounout took off at a steady pace, leading them down a perpendicur corridor, then another. Soon, they arrived in front of a heavy door, which she pushed open with her shoulder before quickly shutting it behind them. The room was a rge kitchen, with a central hearth filled with smoldering embers—the fire had long since died down. Various utensils cluttered the rge table beside the dying coals, while dried herbs hung from the ceiling and rge jars occupied the corners of the space.

  At the back of the room, an open doorway without a door led them into a storage area simir to the one in Anubis’s vil. Shelves overflowed with fresh produce, meat, vegetables, fruits, and various pnts. Unlike the kitchen, which was faintly illuminated by the moon’s rays, this room was completely dark. Yet, the High Priestess guided them inside, using the shelves to navigate her way.

  “The door at the back will allow you to leave the temple,” she expined, tucking the leg under one arm while using the other to remove her cape. “Run west, and you will reach Rahotep’s necropolis. It is the farthest but also the least guarded. In your animal form, you will cover the distance quickly. I will secure the leg to your back so you can run freely.”

  Anubis took a step forward, indicating that he would take responsibility for carrying it, but Ana?s cut him off, leaping in front of the priestess. She was smaller and less powerful than the jackal god, and for that very reason, it made more sense for her to carry the burden.

  “You’re the best suited to fight if needed,” she argued simply, certain that he would understand without further expnation.

  With a nod, he confirmed that he agreed.

  Diounout stepped back into the kitchen to take advantage of the faint moonlight, carefully securing Osiris’s flesh to Ana?s’s back. She wrapped the fragment as best as she could in fabric, fastening it across Ana?s’s chest to stabilize it for the run. The young Akh shifted, testing the setup, but it wasn’t particurly reliable. Seeing this, Diounout hurriedly grabbed twine from the kitchen to reinforce the binding, ensuring it would hold for at least the duration of their escape.

  “They’re coming, we need to go,” Anubis urged, his voice tense.

  It had taken less than five minutes to prepare for their flight, but it was enough time for the guards to close in. Their hurried footsteps echoed on the temple’s stone floor, drawing closer. Ana?s clenched her jaw. Just a few more seconds, and they would be upon them. The sound was strange, punctuated by familiar panting—as if dogs were following. Animals that could easily catch up to them. It was time to flee.

  “I will hold them off as long as I can,” the High Priestess murmured with resignation, opening the storage room’s door for them. “Run!”

  A second ter, she locked the door behind them, leaving them alone outside the temple. Ana?s didn’t even have time to appreciate the cool breeze on her fur or the warm sand beneath her paws. They bolted immediately, wasting no time. Reaching Rahotep’s necropolis first was imperative.

  She had never sprinted like this in her animal form. She was far faster than in her human body, and her lean muscles granted her an endurance she didn’t usually have. But the weight of the leg bore heavily on her back after four minutes of their frantic dash. When their eyes caught sight of two armored men standing near the necropolis entrance, they skidded to a halt.

  Anubis sshed through the air without even expining his pn to Ana?s, his bck fur blending into the darkness of the night. There was not a second to lose. The guards only saw him at the st moment, when his fangs closed around the throat of the one on the right. He clenched his jaws with all his strength, tearing through the flesh, and before the man could even try to push him away, he released him and leaped onto the next, who had no more time to react than his companion. Their armor was of no consequence—Anubis knew exactly where to strike, and his powerful canines pierced their skin, which offered no resistance against his savage prowess. He suddenly stepped back, giving space to the two men who clutched their throats, half in shock from the attack, half resigned to the death that awaited them. They knew full well that nothing could save them now, and they could not even scream, for the god had severed their vocal cords in the process. Only wet, gurgling sounds escaped their mouths, accompanied by the frantic pounding of their hands against their armor as they desperately tried to alert other guards. A real sughter. Had they not been in a life-or-death situation, Ana?s might have been disgusted by the sheer brutality of the scene, but she also knew there was no room for such feelings now that their survival was at stake.

  It’s us or them, she repeated to herself as she hurried after Anubis toward the entrance of the necropolis, his fur dripping with the blood of the two men.

  The sound of paws striking the sand echoed through the night, accompanied by increasingly aggressive growls. They were being pursued by animals—undoubtedly Seth’s servants—and they were getting dangerously close. Just before she plunged into the necropolis, Ana?s caught sight of their silhouettes in the distance. With horror, she made out three creatures: beasts that seemed like a cross between dogs and hyenas, with elongated legs and imposing frames. Given their physique, the trio of canines chasing them could easily catch up, as evidenced by their lightning-fast speed. Their appearance sent a shiver down her spine. They had the build of wild predators, born to tear the flesh of their enemies. A terrifying weapon, far more fearsome than anything she had encountered so far.

  “Run! We’ll be safe in the Duat!” Anubis commanded, leading the way.

  Ana?s pushed her muscles as hard as she could, but Seth’s powerful servants covered the st few meters between them at an incredible speed. When she spotted the portal, she sprinted one st time to catch up to Anubis, who slowed slightly to let her pass first. She needed to get the piece to safety.

  She leaped into the veil in a desperate bound. A second ter, her paws skidded across the gray sand of the Necropolis. She barely had time to turn before she saw Anubis rushing through the portal, just as one of Seth’s hounds lunged at him. When he crashed into the Duat’s desert, his body hit the gray grains with force, entangled with the beast whose fangs had sunk into his shoulder. Frozen in pce, Ana?s watched as the other two creatures crossed the magical veil, while the jackal god struggled to break free from his attacker. The remaining two beasts snarled, ready to pounce on her, her body paralyzed with fear. What could she do now that they had followed them into the Duat? They were supposed to be safe here!

  Before they could attack her, the ground beneath their paws trembled for a brief moment. The seismic wave destabilized them just enough to prevent them from immediately pouncing on the young woman. However, they had no time to react when two enormous crocodile jaws burst from the sand and cmped down on their chests. The pressure of their bite crushed their bodies, and their agonized whimpers soon echoed through the Duat. Just as quickly as they had appeared, the crocodiles sank back into the sand, dragging their prey with them.

  “Anubis!” Ana?s shouted, realizing that she was no longer in danger but that her companion was still locked in combat with the monstrous hound. It had released his shoulder but was desperately trying to sink its fangs into his throat.

  An arrow whistled through the air and embedded itself in the beast’s shoulder. It howled in pain, immediately releasing its grip and staggering slightly away from Anubis. A grave mistake. A second arrow zipped past Ana?s and struck the creature directly in the heart. It whimpered, its body weakened by the mortal wounds, before finally colpsing onto the ground a few seconds ter.

  “You’re welcome,” a familiar voice called out proudly.

  “Sobek?” Ana?s excimed in surprise as she turned to see the silhouette of the crocodile god.

  She didn’t linger on his unexpected presence for long, instead leaping to Anubis’s side. The flesh of his shoulder was raw, and the wound bled profusely. It might not have been fatal, but it looked excruciatingly painful.

  “What are you doing here?” Anubis asked, his gaze shifting toward his friend.

  “I had a feeling that Seth’s servants would cross into the Duat to chase you,” he expined, stepping closer to them.

  “Then why haven’t they ever attacked before, if they could pass through the portal?” Ana?s questioned, thinking—apparently incorrectly—that Seth had no power in the afterlife. “He still has followers in Imentet, doesn’t he? Is that why Nephthys didn’t want to stay in her vil?”

  “Because it would be suicide,” Sobek replied, slinging his bow over his shoulder. “Even if he rules over Egypt, he is not the sovereign of the Duat and cannot break its ws. Any form of violence is forbidden in the Field of Offerings, and that applies to gods as well. Had he attacked you in Imentet, he would have been severely punished.”

  “He just did, though,” Ana?s pointed out, gesturing with her snout toward Anubis’s wound.

  “Good thing I figured he would, right?” Sobek grinned smugly.

  “Enough wasting time talking,” Anubis cut in sharply. “Mother is waiting for us to begin the ritual.”

  Despite the pain from his wound, Anubis turned toward the portal to modify its connection. The nearest necropolis to their destination was five kilometers away, meaning they would have to cover that distance on foot before delivering the leg to the two goddesses. This was the final stretch before the ritual could begin and their quest could come to an end.

  The next hour would be crucial to the success of their mission.