Page 14 of Sett and his King
"There's nothing wrong with my attire, is there?"
Before Drew could answer, the human consciousness in my head gave me the answer.
Words like creep, demented, caveman floated in my brain and I fixed the robe tighter around me. The people of Geb had turned very judgmental.
"Here. Follow me." Drew turned into another, even quieter street and stopped in front of a red wooden door and slid a key into the keyhole.
The door opened into a small hallway. There was a staircase at the other end leading to another hallway but as he shut the door behind us I observed the countless family paintings on the walls.
They were so lifelike, even the ones in black and white. I'd never seen anything like it. Such raw talent for painting likenesses.
Photographs.
They were photographs.
"My family over the centuries," Drew said, noticing my amazement. "There. That's us." He pointed to a portrait by the stairs and I leaned in to find a much younger Drew, a shorter boy I assumed was Gene standing in front of a happy, smiling couple.
"You've got a great family," I said as a pang made my heart skip a beat.
We used to be like that. Ra, Ani and I. Before Horus had destroyed our family.
"Had," Drew reminded me and climbed the stairs.
I nodded with a sadness that probably matched his own and followed behind him but when I reached the top, I found myself into a bedroom.
"Huh?" I looked around me.
The staircase behind me had disappeared, replaced by a door that led to a hallway with more pictures on the walls. And a shotgun that should look out of place but didn’t for some strange reason. Maybe it had something to do with how historic the house looked. Although, the bedroom we were in was anything but. The walls were painted a light pink and there was a large bed in the middle. However the space next to it was even larger. A whole wall full of cupboards brimming with clothes.
A wardrobe.
"How did that happen?" I asked.
"I'm sorry. The house has a mind of its own. It probably sensed we needed to get you a change of clothes," Drew said and brushed his hands over the clothes hanging in the large wardrobe.
A mind of its own?
Now that I didn't need my human consciousness to teach me. I knew of them very well.
"You have a stegi!"
Drew turned around, shock written across his face.
"You know about steges?"
I chuckled. "Of course. They used to be commonplace in Greece back in my time. Even some of my people used to have them. But…are you Greek?"
Steges had been an essential part of any Greek witch. Living, breathing houses that always provided shelter and protection for their owners. They were envied across Geb but the only way to inherit one was by lineage alone. Which was how some of my people had come to inherit steges. By marrying Greek witches.
"I am." Drew frowned. "Don't I look it?"
I shrugged. "I don't know how things have changed since my time. But Drew isn't a Greek name. And neither is Gene."
Drew rolled his eyes with a laugh. "Yeah well, my actual name is Andreas. Which is anglicized to Andrew. But I hate it. So Drew it is. And as for Gene, his name is Evgenios. Or Eugene, in English."
I sighed.
"Why would you change your name when you have such a beautiful one to start with? Both of you."
