''You slept with Osiris,'' he continues. ''Whether or not Osiris knowingly slept with you, that's between him and his conscience. Either you fooled him or he fooled himself. Let's not get into that now. The fact remains, adultery was committed and a bastard son was the result. You and Set have maintained a careful facade ever since, a unified front. Set knows Anubis isn't his son but has tried to treat him as though he is. Hasn't succeeded, but at least, to his credit, has tried. You, meanwhile, continue to cosy up to Osiris and Isis — Isis particularly, since you and she are as close as any sisters could be. You would rather spend time with the two of them than with your own spouse, and that's perhaps not surprising. But it deepens Set's hatred of them. I am not defending Set here. I am not making a case to justify his behaviour. I am merely pointing out that he has a legitimate grudge against you, and against Osiris, and if he doesn't share you sense of righteous grievance right now, it is perhaps explicable. However…''
Ra beams.
''However, all that being said, I am willing to talk to Set for you. I will do my utmost to persuade him to do something about the Lightbringer, in tandem with you. It would give me great pleasure to see you and him standing shoulder to shoulder against this human interloper, this self-styled enemy of the Pantheon.''
''Together,'' says Nephthys, ''how easy it would be for us to get rid of him.''
''Indeed. And when you do, you will be doing us all a favour. But — there is a condition. A quid pro quo.''
''Yes?''
''In return, you have to confess all.''
Her face falls. ''You mean…?''
''About how you duped Osiris. About how Anubis is Osiris's son. Make a clean breast of it. Get it all out in the open. So that there are no more lies. No more secrets festering away. Announce it to the entire Pantheon. Tell everyone. Tell, above all else, Isis.''
''But Isis already knows. Sort of.''
''Sort of. Strongly suspects, I'd say.''
''She'll kill me.''
''I think not. She has remained your friend all this time, in spite of having a pretty shrewd idea what you did. I think she will still be your friend after you reveal the truth. She may even love you all the more for your bravery and honesty in owning up to what you did.''
Nephthys looks doubtful — and yet hopeful. ''Ra, it will be hard.''
''But worth it,'' says Ra, and he kisses her forehead, and they are aboard the Solar Barque once more, whose gleaming effulgence, dazzling though it may be, is but a candle compared to the brilliance that burns within Ra's heart.
Nephthys departs, brimming with promises and good intentions. Ra pivots on the spot, directing his gaze towards where Set lies, still asleep. Both Maat and Thoth watch him as he strides towards the slumbering figure. They note resolve and satisfaction in his gait. They, these two divine pillars of wisdom, understand that Ra has at last come by a solution to the conundrum that has been vexing him, and they exchange a wink. The best progress is the progress one makes by oneself, unassisted. They knew he would get there in the end.
Bast stirs as Ra passes, opening one eye, then the other. She sniffs the air, catching wind of a change of mood. She is content. She tucks her head onto her forearms and dozes off again.
Ra has hitherto baulked at approaching Set as part of his peace mission. He has deemed the Lord of the Desert too intransigent, too hotheaded, to be worth dealing with. Now, however, he has a bargaining chip in his back pocket, something to offer Set in exchange for his co-operation. It could make all the difference.
''Set?'' he says.
Set awakes. He rises.
''Ra?''
''Walk with me.''
And they walk.
They walk, as gods may, across the universe. Side by side they stride through the gulfs between worlds, through the dark vastnesses that separate the stars. In a matter of moments they have journeyed to the outermost reaches of Creation, the point at which light and life run out and beyond which lies nothing but an abyss, pure, cold, perfect emptiness. From this vantage, looking back, the entire cosmos seems so small that it could be cupped in the palm of one hand, and crushed in the clenching of a fist.
Set gazes around him, shivering. ''Why are we here, Ra? Why have you brought me to this place?'' His voice has no echo. The surrounding void swallows it, deadeningly. ''I don't like it. We're too far from anything that means anything.''
Faced with oblivion, even a god may quail.
''Have you — have you brought me here as punishment? Do you mean to exile me?''
Ra does not calm Set's fears, not immediately. ''We are here to gain perspective,'' he says.
''Perspective?''
''To establish what is important and what is not. Set, I shall speak plainly. You have done bad things in your time. You have tricked; you have deceived. You have fought and harmed. You have made enemies and harboured grudges.''
''O Great Ra, I admit I am not perfect. I'd be the first to say I have not led a blameless life. But in my defence-''
''Let me finish, Set. You'll get your turn. Among your many crimes is the murder — I should say attempted murder — of Osiris.''
''He had it coming.''
Ra holds up a hand. ''Patience. I told you, you'll get your turn. Then there is the matter of your feud with Horus. Who knows what the origins of that are. Everyone seems to have a different opinion. I know that at one stage you raped him. I know also that he tore off your testicles in a fight. There's certainly a strange sort of antagonism going on between the two of you.''
Set's face reddens, almost matching the hue of his eyes and hair. ''I despise Horus,'' he says. ''I wish to see him humiliated.''
''And he you. And yet you and he are so alike in many ways.''
''No one can get under your skin quite like kin,'' says Set.
''Perhaps so. But we shan't dwell on that now. Your final crime is simply one of neglect. You neglect your wife, Set, while she still cleaves submissively to you. You are callous towards your son, not to mention your grandson.''
''I have my reasons.''
''Indeed. Perhaps they are even forgivable ones. But people need their parents whatever age they are. They need the reassurance of knowing their mothers and fathers are always there to be turned to and consulted, or rejected if necessary. They need their unconditional love.''
''I'm a busy man,'' Set says. ''If I neglect my family, it's hardly my fault. I have precious little time to spare even for myself. In case you haven't noticed, I am a permanent 'guest' aboard your barque and have a twice-daily penance to serve.''
''Justice must be done.''
''Injustice, more like.''
''You do not accept responsibility for the wrongs you have done, or the need to atone for them?''
''I claim that there were extenuating circumstances. I have been a victim of slights and offences myself. No one seems to remember that. It's always 'Set insulted me, Set assaulted me', conveniently overlooking the fact that I only did any of those things because someone did something to me first. I have a reputation, I'm the bad apple, so it's open-and-shut as far as the rest of you are concerned. Nobody cares that I've been provoked, that
