Charlie was his non-Mike Sullivan self, dressed in one of his Savile Row houndstooth suits.
“Oakland?” asked Charlie.
“Not Oakland,” came a voice that echoed through the chamber.
A circle of torches appeared; in its center, a tall, dog-headed man in an Egyptian kilt stood by a stone table on which stood a gold balance scale. In front of the table was a stone pit, perhaps five meters across; something down there was growling and snarling.
“You know who I am?” said the dog man.
“I do,” said Minty Fresh. “Anubis. A man I knew came here once, met you, told me about you.”
“He was my brother’s avatar on earth, you are mine.”
Anubis crouched, leaned forward, opened his eyes wide; the irises glowed deep gold.
“The eyes,” said Charlie. “Of course.”
Minty Fresh looked at Charlie. “Of course? This all makes sense to you?”
“Sure,” Charlie said. He inched forward until he could see into the pit. Thirty feet below, a creature the size of a hippo circled the floor, with the body of a lion and the jaws of a crocodile. The floor of the pit was littered with bleached human bones; Charlie could make out skulls here and there in the orange light of the oil lamps. He backed away from the edge until he stood next to Minty again. “Maybe not.”
“You will go back,” said Anubis. “You will be my avatar on earth and you will put things in order again. Do you understand?”
“I’m not good at taking orders,” said Minty Fresh.
The dog-headed god seemed disturbed at the answer. “You’re not afraid, then?”
“Of what? I’m dead already, aren’t I?”
“You are,” said Anubis.
“Then no, I’m not afraid.”
“Good. And you?” Anubis nodded to Charlie.
“I’m fine,” said Charlie. “Dogs love me.”
Minty Fresh’s gaze fell on Charlie like it had fallen off a table. “Really?”
“Sorry.” Charlie looked at his shoes.
“The weapons of men will not help you. Your enemies are of the realm of the dead. You cannot kill them. You shall have my gifts to meet your adversary,” said Anubis. “Defeat him, restore balance, order. You are mine and I am you. Now return.”
“That is totally not helpful,” said Charlie.
“Why are you even here?” said Minty Fresh.
“He must keep them from desecrating your body until you return to it. Away with you,” said the dog-headed god.
The torches faded, the blackness returned, and once again they were standing as if they were in empty space at the end of the universe, nothing but the two of them and the faint barking of hounds.
And then Charlie was in the waiting room, Audrey standing over him.
“Are you okay?”
“Fine,” he said. “I’m fine. Fainted or something. How long was I out?”
Audrey looked at Rivera, then shrugged. “About eight seconds, I’d guess.”