“Supposedly after receiving the soul of a recently deceased, Anubis weighs the heart against the feather of Ma’at, the Goddess of Truth. If the heart is heavier, it’s not pure and Ammit gets a delicious treat. The soul doesn’t go to Osiris, doesn’t receive immortality, and generally doesn’t get to collect its two hundred dollars. Instead, it is condemned to be forever restless.” Kate squinted at me. “Let me guess, you nuked the Devourer of Souls.”

“Yup. And since he was guarding Anapa—”

“She.” Kate drank.

“Ammit is a girl demon?”

“Mhmm.”

I sighed. “Well, in any case, Anapa definitely isn’t just using the name.”

And if Anapa was Anubis, that meant I had officially pissed off a deity. I had never done that before.

I tapped the picture of the knife. “It could be an Egyptian knife. Ancient Crete and ancient Egypt traded. Even I know that.”

“It could be Greek, too,” Kate said. “The worship of Anubis actually spread through Greece and Rome.”

“So I have an Anubis of some sort, a possibly Egyptian knife, and snakes. Lots of snakes: snake people, vipers, flying snakes…and a Russian staff with a serpentlike head. How does this all fit together?”

We stared at each other.

“No clue,” Kate said. “But it’s not good.”

The gyros arrived. Kate pushed the plate toward me. “Eat.”

“Why?”

“You’ve lost at least ten pounds since I last saw you.”

“I’m getting fashionably slender from all the exercise,” I told her.

“That last time was three days ago. You’re not slender, you’re starving. Eat the damn food.”

For ten minutes we did nothing but eat.

“How did it go with Aunt B?” Kate asked.

“I caved in,” I said. “I went to see her, sat real calm by her feet, and let her put a collar on me. She was surprisingly gracious about it.” My cup was empty. I raised my glass. A waiter appeared and refilled it. “Thanks.” I looked back at Kate. “I’m not actually all that bitter about it. It cost me a big chunk of my pride, but I’m not bitter. I’m now a Bouda beta.”

“Congratulations.”

We clinked our glasses.

“Why the hell not? I decided that’s what I want and if I have to wear Aunt B’s collar for a few years to get it, so be it. I’ll learn everything she knows. I’ll figure out how she thinks, and then I’ll use it against her. That’s the bouda way.”

“And Raphael?”

I shrugged. “I haven’t decided. Anyway, Roman mentioned that the witches were all upset over a vision of the Witch Oracle. They heard howling and saw a spiral of clay. I’m thinking since Anubis is involved, maybe that was a jackal howling. Would Anubis have any sort of influence over werejackals?”

“I don’t know.”