Recreated (47 page)

Feeling drowsy, my mind sluggish, I stirred. The comforting weight of a quilt drawn up to my chin felt both right and wrong. The thought occurred to me that maybe everything I'd experienced had been a dream. That there was no Tia. No Ashleigh. That I was in my bed back at my nana's house. That the hum I heard in my mind was the sound of crickets chirping outside. And that the slight breeze that wafted over my skin was because I'd left the window open.

It was still dark. The scent of bacon tickled my nose. My stomach growled.

Then I heard the voices. “You are her guardian and remain her tether. As such, you are charged with guiding her on the right path. You know the stakes should you fail.”

“Yes, Anubis,” I heard a familiar voice say. “I understand my duty.”

“Good. Find what's engraved on her heart. Until you do, her powers will be weak.”

“Yes. But may I ask, what about the Sons of Egypt?”

“They are safe enough for now. The three of them again reside in the afterlife and have resumed their positions as guardians.” There was a pause. “He is resigned to his fate. The protector of the Eye of Horus knows what he must do and is content to wait.” The person speaking sighed. “Only she has the power to return them to the Earth now.”

I heard the whine of a dog. “And how long will she be like this?”

“It is hidden from us. Her mind is like an adder stone. Not even Amun-Ra himself could discover her now should she wish to conceal her whereabouts.” There was a pause. “This is a good thing, I promise you.”

“Yes.”

“Prepare her, Vizier. A cloud of darkness overshadows us. The fiery darts of the adversary have already begun to fly, but rest assured, light is always more powerful than darkness. We are mere candles casting our weak light upon the universe, but she can be so much more. If she will stand as our beacon, there is still hope.”

There are a few people I'd like to thank for helping me with
Recreated.
First, I want to recognize all the amazing teachers I've had over the years, especially my English teachers for nurturing my love of literature. There is one teacher in particular who stands out in my mind. It's likely she departed this world some time ago, since no one at my old middle school even remembers her.

She had large posters all around her classroom depicting the Greek gods and goddesses, and I spent my entire seventh-grade year staring at them and wondering what their stories were. That teacher gave me a powerful love of mythology that I still feel today. On the back of her classroom door, where the administrators couldn't see it, she had another poster—Tom Selleck in a Speedo. It is possible that that poster might have influenced me a bit, too.

As always, I am grateful for my husband, who reads every chapter as I write it, and for my mom and sisters, including my sister-in-law, Suki, who all function as my assistants in pretty much every aspect of my life.

I can never show enough appreciation for my early reading group and fact-checkers, Linda, Neal, Fred, Liz, and Cindy.

My agent, Robert Gottleib, is so enthusiastic and supportive that I wish you all had such a person in your corner.
Recreated
wouldn't be what it is without the encouragement, guidance, and insight of my editor, Krista Vitola.

Thanks to everyone at Delacorte Press, including Beverly Horowitz and Angela Carlino, to copy editor Carrie Andrews, and to Chris Saunders for the outstanding cover art.

And to my fans, you have made it possible for me to walk with lions and tigers and unicorns every day, both in my dreams and during my waking hours. It's such a delight to be able to craft these stories for you and to know that they are as near and dear to your hearts as they are to mine.

“Why don't you tell me the story of the Unicorn and the Lion?” I asked.

He won't tell you the truth,
Tia grumbled in my mind.

“I'm sure you'll correct anything he gets wrong,” I said, trying to console her with good thoughts and play the diplomat.

Since I am a gracious sort,
Nebu said,
I'll oblige and tell you the story you wish to hear, as long as you keep stroking my neck. I'm rather fond of that,
he added.

“It's a deal.”

First of all, you need to know it isn't the story of a Unicorn and a Lioness. It's the tale of the Unicorn and the Lion.

The Lion and the Unicorn,
Tia corrected.

“Shh,” I said. “Let's listen.”

The golden stallion began.
There was once a lovely young maiden, a princess, in fact, who was blessed by the gods with transcendent beauty, unmatched charm, heartwarming kindness, and heartbreaking purity.

“Why was her purity heartbreaking?”

I'll get to that. She was as fresh as the dew on the meadow and as happy as the sunshine in springtime. Every man who saw her fell instantly and hopelessly in love with her. She filled their dreams with warmth and gladness as each imagined what life would be like if the lovely girl could be theirs.

So virtuous was she that those who came near her formed a feverish desire to become her equal, for it was widely known that only a companion as beautiful and as unique as she would make a good match. This was the cause of many a man's heartbreak. You see, their hope was ephemeral. Most of those who sought her hand in marriage couldn't even dream of coming close to that level of perfection.

They imagined that if she was a little less than flawless, a little more swayed by a handsome form and face, or, perhaps, a little more willing to compromise her virtue, they might persuade her to select a husband based on a moment of passion. Alas, she was not won so easily. When it was determined that the time had come for her to marry, her father, the king, sought the bravest, most stalwart, and worthiest companion to be her mate.

Tia had said nothing during this time, though I could tell she was listening, too, scrutinizing every word Nebu said. “Please, go on,” I encouraged.

Men came forward from great distances. They were princes and peasants. Knights and knaves. Servants and slaves. Their various stations, riches, and fine figures didn't matter, for the girl concerned herself only with what they carried on the inside. Every suitor was brought before the princess, and she took the hand of each man, staring into his eyes and through his soul. She never encouraged or denied any of them, but still, one by one, they left, unhappily accepting the fact that she would never belong to them.

“How did they know they weren't the one?”

When she looked into their hearts, they flinched, he said. They could not endure her gaze. It was like staring into the face of a goddess and having every sin and secret revealed. They were unworthy and there was no denying it.

“Then what happened?”

When all the would-be suitors had come forward and there was no one left to try, the princess despaired of loneliness. She feared there would never be one like her and she was destined to continue her mortal sojourn alone. One day she was in the forest, dipping her feet in a cool pond, when a lion happened upon her.

He, too, fell hopelessly in love with the girl. The lion came forward and begged her to let him stay by her side. Though she was frightened, she looked into the lion's heart and found no malice there.

You see, a lion is not greedy, envious, drunk on his own power, or selfish. He is an animal, and his actions are based on instinct and survival. As she looked into his heart, she realized that here, finally, was a match who would prove to be her equal.

“So she, what? Took him home to meet Dad?” Both Tia and Nebu bristled at my blasé observation regarding the fairy tale that the two of them obviously took very seriously. “Forgive me,” I apologized. “I didn't mean to interrupt.”

When the king met his daughter at the postern and found her accompanied by a lion, he was surprised, to say the least. He'd never expected a lion to become the heir to the throne.

“Wait a minute. So the lion was actually going to marry the girl?”

Yes. The king had promised his daughter to the one who proved worthy of her.

In my head, I asked Tia,
Is that how the lion became known as the King of Beasts?

She snorted derisively.
Lions do not need the help of human royalty to be branded with that title. We are majestic predators with no equal. However, there may be some evidence that this story is how humans came to recognize lions in such a way.

Nebu continued
. Since the girl was suffering from loneliness, her father, the king, agreed to the idea of a spring wedding. The princess and the lion spent all their time together through the summer, fall, and winter, but there was a downside to being betrothed to a lion.

“Only one?” I smiled.

Tia didn't appreciate my comment.

The young maiden was used to being surrounded by people clamoring for her attention. With a lion nearby, the citizens of her kingdom, even those who professed a deep and abiding love for the princess, wouldn't risk the lion's wrath to approach her. The lion didn't see anything wrong with this. In fact, he preferred to keep her all to himself, though he was troubled at seeing her so unhappy.

“So where does the unicorn come in?” I asked.

He comes into the story now, actually,
Nebu replied.

Here's where it gets interesting,
Tia added.

The lion was the equal of the princess in many ways. All ways but one, in fact: the princess didn't eat meat.

“Oh.” I blinked. “Why should that matter?”

It wouldn't normally, and she knew the lion only ate meat to satisfy his hunger. He didn't kill arbitrarily. Still, it bothered the girl. She who loved all beings couldn't stand knowing that her fiancé caused the death of innocent creatures.

“So what did she do?”

She cried over each kill until the lion stopped eating altogether. A few months passed, and though the lion tried to eat fruits and vegetables as she did, he became weak. Never in his existence had he experienced such lassitude. But so great was his love for the girl that to make her happy, he went on ignoring his instincts.

One afternoon, they headed to the forest and unpacked a picnic of apples, carrots, and strawberries. The still hungry and unsatisfied lion lay down beside the girl he loved, and with her hand on his back, he fell asleep.

While he slept, the girl walked through the trees, seeking flowers, and came upon a secret grove, opulent and lush, that only one with an innocent and pure heart could find. It was the home of a unicorn—a great, noble beast, who had also been blessed by the gods.

Tia gave me the mental equivalent of rolling her eyes.

Interested in meeting the person who'd found his home, the unicorn stepped into the clearing and saw the beautiful girl picking his flowers. He approached, and when she looked up they both knew that they were meant to be together. His great heart melted.

All at once he loved everything about her, from her demure expression to the warmth of her presence. The unicorn found her effervescent laughter delightful, but most of all, the purity of her heart, the richness of her soul, drew him. Like the girl, the unicorn was beautiful both inside and out. He, too, could read the hearts of others.

He possessed the same kind of magic that drew others to him and made them want to better themselves. His heart was pure. He was worthy. He was her perfect match. She was as drawn to him as he was to her. It was a feeling, a conviction unlike she'd had with any other, and yet the knowledge broke her heart.

The princess stayed with the unicorn all afternoon and told him that being together would be impossible. She was betrothed to a lion, and the goodness inside her would not allow her to break her vow to wed. The unicorn wept with despair, for he knew her heart better than anyone else's and he would never ask her to be less than she was. He laid his head in her lap, determined to make the most of the stolen time they had together.

She left as the sun set, and told him she'd never seek him out again. He accepted this, though his heart broke at the knowledge. He brooded as the days passed, but the princess was true to her word and did not return to the unicorn's hidden grove. He tried to tell himself it was over. That their love was a mere dalliance, hotly burning but quickly extinguishable. In his truest heart, though, he knew that he told himself lies.

He was wild with love for the girl, and the separation from her caused him unbelievable pain, ineffable torment. So he stole into the human world just to catch a glimpse of her once more. When he did, the unicorn could see that she was as despondent as he was. That their being together was essential.

That's your opinion!
Tia hissed, though the unicorn was not privy to her thoughts.

Neby went on to say,
Now, a unicorn possesses a certain amount of magic, and it's centered in the alicorn, the horn that protrudes from the top of its head.

“But you don't have one.”

That is correct. And now you'll understand why. The unicorn was desperate, so he did something no other unicorn had done before.

He tricked the lion!
Tia shouted in my mind.

He sacrificed the power he had to offer a gift to the lion.

It's a lie! It was no gift. The lion was deceived!
Tia exclaimed.

“Tia, shh,” I said.

This is the part where the lion and the unicorn disagree,
Nebu explained
. It's likely she will give you her own version of the story. The gift,
he went on,
which the lion attributed to furtive behavior on the part of the unicorn, was the seat of his power, his alicorn.

“Why would he offer that to the lion?”

He met the lion and confessed the truth: that he was as in love with the girl, as the lion was, and that he hated seeing her unhappy. He told the lion that there was great power in his alicorn, and that if the lion would take it from him, he could use it to change his body so that he could thrive on the grains, fruits, and vegetables that the princess ate and still retain his energy. In short, he would be imbued with strength once again.

“Then why would Tia say it was a trick?”

It is because of what happened next. The unicorn, not having the wherewithal to remove the horn himself, knelt down, and the lion, desperate to remain with the girl he loved, leapt upon the unicorn and used his sharp claws to sever the horn. Once it was severed, the horn lost its power, making the unicorn nearly as weak as a mortal horse.

“So it didn't work? The lion wasn't made strong?”

Oh, the lion was made strong again, but it didn't matter, for he purposely caused harm to another creature for his personal gain. When the lion took the severed horn to the princess and laid it at her feet, she wept bitterly, for her fiancé was now lost to her. His heart was no longer pure. In despair, the lion cried out that he'd been deceived and insisted he had only done it so he could be with her.

The maimed unicorn went to the girl, asking her if they could now be together since they wanted each other so urgently. Though she loved the unicorn and sensed no malice in his heart—

Bah!
Tia said.

—the girl hesitated. The lion insisted the unicorn had tricked him, and he petitioned the gods for help. A tribunal heard the case and determined that both creatures had acted selfishly and would therefore be rebuked. The lovely girl cried out, for her tender heart could not bear to see either beast she loved punished. She picked up the broken alicorn and plunged it into her heart. When she died, neither the lion nor the unicorn cared any longer about what happened to them. Their only wish was to reunite with the girl they loved in the Afterlife.