“But you’re wrong about one thing,” Thor said. “Baldur didn’t forgive him. All right, enough about that, let’s drink and tell me your problems.”
“Now you’re talking.” Anubis grinned.
They clicked glasses, and Anubis took his shot, hissing at the burn in the back of his throat. But what caught his attention was the sweet and coppery taste of the basilisk’s blood.
“Good, right?” Thor grinned.
“Yeah. I can’t believe you have this out in the open for anyone to drink.”
“This is your private room. Only Chase and I are allowed in here, and he doesn’t enjoy drinking.”
“Good, I would hate for a mortal to get their hands on it.”
He grabbed the bottle and poured himself another shot as Thor lit up the joint, taking a few puffs before passing it to Anubis, who did the same. They smoked and drank like that in silence, letting the herbs and the alcohol mix, seeping into their blood and bones.
“You know who would love to have a bottle of this?” Anubis asked.
“Who? Sobek?”
“No, Hades,” Anubis responded. Anubis and Hades had run the underworld, taking care of souls, until Anubis turned his duties over to Osiris. On the other hand, Hades stuck around for a few centuries and then one day got up and left. No one, not even the higher gods, knew where he went. Anubis felt a bit blindsided because, along with Thor and Sobek, Hades was one of his closest friends.
Thor smirked. “He would, but no one has seen or heard from him in a long-ass time. “He likes to stay hidden,” Thor said. “I’ll save a bottle for him, and when he shows up, all three of us will finish it off.”
“Sounds good.” Anubis smiled, taking another drink.
“Want to explain your earlier comment regarding the academy?” Thor asked, looking at him.
Anubis felt so good he slouched on the sofa, not holding back his words or thoughts.
“They’re still mad about us threatening them if they tried to blacklist me, so instead, they punish me and my work.”
“Damn, I forgot it was award season,” Thor commented. “Are you worried that you won’t get nominated?”
Thor took the bottle and took a few large gulps, then wiped his mouth with the back of his hand when some of the liquid dribbled at the corner of his lips.
“The list is out, and I’m on it once again. That’s not the problem; it’s that I won’t win,” Anubis grumbled, taking the bottle from his friend and chugging more of the addicting liquid. The joint had long been burnt out, and they didn’t see the need to light up another one. It wasn’t as potent as the tequila.
“Is winning a Valkyrie or any of those other awards important to you? Wait, you’re not trying to compete with Horus, right?”
Anubis scoffed. “My brother and I aren’t like you and yours. We get along and want to see each other succeed.”
“I get along fine with my brothers,” Thor defended. “It’s just a bit competitive, especially on Loki’s end.”
“Competitive!” Anubis shook his head. “My guy, do I need to mention Loki again?”
Thor’s brows creased tightly at Anubis’s words. “Dude, don’t pretend you don’t have trifling family members as well.”
“Touche,” he said.
Anubis honestly couldn’t argue with Thor. His birth mother, Nephthys, had tried to kill him at birth. They were once known as the goddess who protected death, yet they’d abandoned Anubis in the woods after giving birth to him. As it was told to him, Nephthys tricked Osiris into sleeping with them by pretending to be their twin sister, Isis, the goddess of healing, magic, and protection. Many believed Isis and her sister were close and would protect each other through the end of time. But Nephthys had a jealous heart and coveted what their sister had. Nephthys was linked to being the lover of Set, the god of chaos, for centuries. Set had courted Nephthys, willing to give them their desired wish, but wanting to be the one to claim them burned his heart.
Their actions created an unredeemable rift between them and Isis and caused chaos between Set and Osiris that took years to mend. As a result, over the years, Set had tried to kill Anubis for being the child of Osiris and Nephthys, but Neith stopped Set's madness after they mated. Not to mention Bastet, the cat goddess, who was mated with Osiris and Isis. Once Isis adopted Anubis, Neith and Bastet became mother figures to him as well. It took a while for Isis to see him as a member of her family, but she later warmed up to Anubis because Nephthys’s deceit had nothing to do with him.
Nephthys was ostracized by the other deities and terrorized the lives of many gods and even mortals, especially Set and Neith. Because of Nephthys’s anger and jealousy, their power grew, and they were given the nameDark Raven.Anubis knew Nephthys was living somewhere in Valleywood and had been for years.He knew many blamed them for Valleywood’s weakening magic; however, Anubis could safely say Nephthys wasn’t the only problem. The corrupted magic started long before Nephthys moved to Valleywood.
While Anubis knew that Nephthys had given birth to him, he never sought them out, and he never would. He did not care what they did or who they were involved with. He only hoped they wouldn’t hurt the people he loved, or he wouldn’t hesitate to kill them. If it wasn’t for Bastet, who’d found him as a baby, abandoned in the woods, Anubis was certain he would have died.
Anubis sighed. “Both of our families are fucked up.”
