Blood Lines

than one of gradual loss of self. And if it came to a choice, he would take the fire.
    'Ouch! Son of a bitch!"
    Henry hid a smile as Vicki careened off a corner of Dr. Rax's desk, thoughts of death temporarily banished by the current condition of his life. As Vicki flicked on the desk lamp, he moved away from the window. "Are you sure that's safe."
    'Of course I'm sure," Vicki told him, rubbing the front of her thigh and blinking owlishly. "If anyone sees the light they'll assume someone's working late, but if they see the flashlight beam," she snapped it off and dropped it into the cavernous depths of her purse as she spoke, "they'll assume a break-in."
    'They teach you that at the police academy?"
    'Not likely. Back when I was in uniform, a habitual criminal named Weasel took it on himself to further my education."
    'Isn't that a little counterproductive on his pan?" Henry asked, walking over to the desk. "Letting the cops know his secrets?"
    'Oh, Weasel wasn't a bad fellow. His definition of personal property was just a bit loose." She sat down and scanned the desktop. "Now then, what have we here…"
    'What are you looking for?"
    'I'll tell you when I… hello." The large book sitting half on and half off the blotter had a number of pages crumpled and folded under as though the book had been dropped and then hastily shut without any regard for its condition.
    " Ancient Egyptian Gods and Goddesses, Third Edition. " She opened it to the folds and pulled it directly under the pool of light, scowling at the unpronounceable names. "I wonder if Dr. Rax was looking something up the night he died."
    'Is there an illustration in there that looks like this?" Henry handed her the desk calendar. The top page still read Monday, October 19th. Dr. Rax hadn't seen October 20th.

    Vicki squinted at the sketch under the date. It looked like some weird combination of a deer's body and a bird's head.
    Then she turned back to the book.
    'Here it is. Pretty good likeness, too, if he was doing it from memory. Akhekh? This guy needs another vowel…" She rubbed a hand over the back of her neck and found herself looking up at Henry for reassurance. She felt like a fool when she realized he stood beyond her severely limited range of vision and bent her head to continue reading.
    "Akhekh, a predynastic god of upper Egypt absorbed into the conqueror's religion to become a form of the evil god Se… Fuck!" Slamming the book closed she sat panting, eyes wide, staring at something Henry couldn't see.
    'Vicki?" He grabbed her shoulders and shook her, hard enough to break through the blank expression. "What happened?"
    She blinked, frowned, and checked to make sure she could still move her head. "Whiplash, I think."
    'Vicki!" He shook her again, not as hard but a little more emphatically.
    Wetting her lips, she shot a glance at the book. "The eyes on the diagram, they were red. Glowing. They looked right at me."
    He moved his shoulders under the silk shirt and smiled at his reflection. The feeling pleased him. This century had much to offer those with the ability to appreciate it. When he finished his restructuring, it would truly be a paradise.
    Missing the institution of slavery, and its simplicity of service, he had effectively enslaved the hotel manager and two of his assistants. Their ka had submitted so completely to his, they had very little independence left. It was only a small beginning, but he had plenty of time.
    The Solicitor General, with whom he had spent another productive afternoon, was under a similar depth of control. As it was necessary-at least for a time-that the man be able to function independently without arousing suspicion, the application of that control worked on a number of very subtle levels and responded to a myriad of external clues. He was to provide the men and women who would be sworn to Akhekh, their ka going to build power in the heavens even as they gathered power on Earth.
    He saw the red glow in the mirror a heartbeat before his reflection faded and he stared instead at the image of his god.
    High priest of my new order , it said.
    Arms crossed over his breast, he bowed, centuries of practice keeping his distaste from showing. "My lord?"
    Open your ka to me. I have marked the first of those who will provide me with sustenance.
    Vicki ducked out from behind the blackout curtain and pulled the bedroom door closed, suppressing a shudder as she thought of Henry, stretched out immobile on the bed. Although she