Dante's Heart
Catherine Knutsson
Fourteen Pieces
Isis stood alone at the edge of the Nile and wept.
"Come, gentle one, my father's own. We will find him. Death knows my
face and will smile on our plight. Come." Anubis offered his hand to Isis.
She did not take it. "No. I must search alone. I must bear this grief until all
alive know my pain." She clutched her black hair, tearing strands from her
head, tossing them to the wind in her grief. Each strand become a raven,
and took to wing, circling Isis, keening.
"No, gentle one." Anubis caught her hand. "That is not what he would
want. Here, I shall help you and you shall walk the earth unknown."
He seized the dagger at his waist and with tears in his eyes, he cut the last of
the long dark hair from Isis’s head, shearing her locks until the bank of the
Nile was bathed in her tresses.
Isis turned and walked along the bank, slipping on her own hair, and with
each footstep, her mane took root and grew into thick rushes.
"See, gentle one. Life follows you still. You will find him," Anubis said.
"Then lend me your cloak of darkness and I will steal through the night to
search for him."
Anubis gave his cloak of night to his stepmother and kissed her brow. "You
do not have to go alone, gentle one."
"I must," Isis said as she walked off, wrapping the black cloak about her
shoulders.
Typhon met her at the mouth of the Nile. "You are without a husband,
Queen of All. I am without a wife. I will take you as my own."
Isis sneered at Typhon. "Kin-slayer, I banish you from my land. I walk the
earth to find my husband, and with each piece I recover, he will become
more alive than you ever were. Kin-slayer!" Lightning flashed in the sky and
Typhon cowered, but he did not leave.
"In fourteen pieces your husband, my brother, lies, and each is hidden
across the world." Typhon, his eyes as green as the crocodile's, laughed at
her. "When you find all fourteen, come to me and I will wish you and my
brother well before I take you as my wife." He tossed his head back and
laughed.
Page 2
Fourteen Pieces
Isis stood alone at the edge of the Nile and wept.
"Come, gentle one, my father's own. We will find him. Death knows my
face and will smile on our plight. Come." Anubis offered his hand to Isis.
She did not take it. "No. I must search alone. I must bear this grief until all
alive know my pain." She clutched her black hair, tearing strands from her
head, tossing them to the wind in her grief. Each strand become a raven,
and took to wing, circling Isis, keening.
"No, gentle one." Anubis caught her hand. "That is not what he would
want. Here, I shall help you and you shall walk the earth unknown."
He seized the dagger at his waist and with tears in his eyes, he cut the last of
the long dark hair from Isis’s head, shearing her locks until the bank of the
Nile was bathed in her tresses.
Isis turned and walked along the bank, slipping on her own hair, and with
each footstep, her mane took root and grew into thick rushes.
"See, gentle one. Life follows you still. You will find him," Anubis said.
"Then lend me your cloak of darkness and I will steal through the night to
search for him."
Anubis gave his cloak of night to his stepmother and kissed her brow. "You
do not have to go alone, gentle one."
"I must," Isis said as she walked off, wrapping the black cloak about her
shoulders.
Typhon met her at the mouth of the Nile. "You are without a husband,
Queen of All. I am without a wife. I will take you as my own."
Isis sneered at Typhon. "Kin-slayer, I banish you from my land. I walk the
earth to find my husband, and with each piece I recover, he will become
more alive than you ever were. Kin-slayer!" Lightning flashed in the sky and
Typhon cowered, but he did not leave.
"In fourteen pieces your husband, my brother, lies, and each is hidden
across the world." Typhon, his eyes as green as the crocodile's, laughed at
her. "When you find all fourteen, come to me and I will wish you and my
brother well before I take you as my wife." He tossed his head back and
laughed.
Page 2
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