"I know, it's impractical. One tiny pocket just isn't enough."

  "You should try finding regular women's clothing with more than that," I mutter. "It's all like formal wear. One of the many reasons I'm glad to be here and not training to be a priestess somewhere else."

  Nik chuckles. "Is that what you spend your time thinking about?"

  "Not really," I admit.

  "I'm sorry I don't have a blanket this time."

  A soft snort escapes me. "I don't expect you to carry one around just in case we get stuck in a fridge while hiding from organ thieves."

  "Still. I promised and I didn't deliver."

  "Then next time you'll need to bring two blankets to make up for it."

  "Deal."

  The creak of the fridge handle stops our conversation in its tracks. We exchange a worried glance before searching for a better place behind.

  "Under the gurney," Nik says, pointing to the nearest dead body covered in a sheet. It's not the best hiding place, especially when the sheet doesn't touch the floor. But it should do. Especially when no one's expecting to find the living inside a mortuary fridge.

  I hope.

  We crouch down and crawl under, surprisingly close. At least I get to take advantage of his body heat while we're hiding here.

  "We need another heart," a man says.

  I recognise the voice, but I'm not entirely sure who it belongs to. I'm better with faces than with voices.

  "It's risky," a second man responds. This time I can put a name to him.

  Bebi.

  I let out a small gasp, only for Nik to place his hand over my mouth.

  I nod by way of thanks and he removes it.

  "Barely," the first man scoffs. "Everyone is so preoccupied with the funeral that no one will notice if we help ourselves to a heart. We need it if we want to get paid."

  "Fine. But be quick and careful about it. The body at the back should be the best choice. It's a volunteer one, so we can tell one of the apprentices to take care of it. Maybe Menna. He spends so much time trying not to throw up that he won't notice the body's been tampered with."

  "I don't care which of them we give it to," the first man mumbles.

  "You should. Some of them are too clever to be trusted with that. I've already had some of them questioning our incision marks and what they are. I don't think they believed me when I said they were probably operation scars," Bebi says.

  I exchange a glance with Nik. There's no way he isn't talking about us.

  "Pfft. What's it matter? A group of first-year apprentices aren't going to be able to stop us. If it comes to it, we can just convince them to join us."

  "When one of them is the High Priest's son, I don't think that's wise," Bebi counters.

  "Or maybe it is. If we can get him involved, we'll be nearly untouchable. The High Priest wouldn't shut us down if his son is involved."

  "It's too much of a risk," Bebi snaps. "Just focus on getting the heart so we can get out of here before anyone gets suspicious."

  "Fine, fine. But I'm bringing up the High Priest's son with the boss, I think it's a good idea."

  On a whim, I reach out and take Nik's hand in mine, giving it a squeeze. It can't be nice to hear them talk about him like this. Not as if he's a person on his own merit and a capable apprentice, but that he'd be good because of his connections. Despite the way he started out his training here, I don't think he wants to be known for who he is.

  We have that in common.

  Alarm crosses his face. "I'm going to sneeze." His panicked whisper sends a chill through me.

  "Touch your nose," I respond.

  "What?"

  "It's supposed to help, just do it." Even if it doesn't stop his sneeze, at least we tried.

  Nik does as I suggest.

  I cross my fingers, hoping it'll work. Any noise is going to get us noticed in a way that isn't going to end well for us.

  He shakes his head and I know it's going to be too late. The sneeze escapes from him, though he manages to suppress it the best he can.

  "Who's there?" Bebi calls.

  I close my eyes. What are we going to do now? I doubt they're going to be happy about being listened to, especially when they were just talking about Nik.

  I wish I could ask him what he thinks, but now the two priests are on alert, any sound will alert them to where we are.

  "It was probably one of the bodies, Bebi," the other man says.

  "I told you not to use names."

  "Even so, you know what they're like. Sometimes they get filled up with gas and groan. That's what we heard."

  "Hmm." Bebi isn't convinced. "Leave the heart. We can't risk it if someone is in here."

  "We can't. If we don't turn up with two, we're not going to get paid."

  "And if we get caught, we're not going to get paid at all," Bebi points out.

  "It's worth the risk." The second priest heads deeper into the fridge.

  "Fine. But if you're not done in ten minutes, we'll leave without you and you won't get your cut. And you'd better do a sweep of the fridge after to make sure there's no one here."

  A violent shiver runs through me as another wave of cold washes over us. Or terror. If Minnefer even does a half-decent sweep of the fridge, he's going to find us, and I don't know what will happen then.

  To my surprise, Nik reaches out and puts an arm around me. It helps a little, but with how cold he is too, it's not the best. We need to get out of here.

  Ideally while stopping the priest from desecrating someone's body too.

  "Think we can take him?" I whisper once I'm sure Bebi has left the fridge. I'm trying not to focus too much on the hurt over the person who has been teaching us being the one trading in illegal organs.

  "We can try." Nik doesn't seem so sure.

  "We can just hide if you think that's better?"

  He sighs. "I don't. They need to be stopped. And if we stay here, we're going to get caught anyway. At least this way we stand a chance, especially if they think I'm valuable."

  He has a point.

  "Okay, then let's do this." I crawl out from under the gurney but stay low to the ground so the priest doesn't see me.

  I wish I was wearing my normal clothes instead of a formal dress, it's not the most practical outfit to be doing this in. Though at least I'm more covered than Nik is.

  I spot an abandoned organ tray a few feet away and head towards it. While it may not be much in terms of a weapon, it's much better than not having anything to defend myself with.

  Nik follows behind me and we crawl further into the fridge. It's good to be moving again, but even if it doesn't completely get rid of the chill in my bones.

  A clatter comes from the direction of the priest. He doesn't seem to be having an easy time of it. Which doesn't surprise me. I wouldn't want to be trying to remove an organ at this temperature either.

  "Stop what you're doing," Nik shouts as he gets to his feet.

  I follow suit, keeping a tight hand on my organ pan just in case I need it.

  The priest startles and drops his scalpel, visibly shaking from either cold or fear, it's hard to tell which.

  "Step away from the body and I'll tell my father to be lenient on your punishment," Nik continues.

  I raise an eyebrow, wondering if he's actually going to stick to that promise. Probably not, but I don't want to ask him and ruin the moment.

  The door to the fridge opens and I spin around, only partly prepared for whoever it is on the other side.

  "Are you done yet, Minnefer? We really need to get going," Bebi says. His gaze lands on me and Nik. "Ah."

  "If you turn yourselves in, father will be lenient," Nik says, though from his shaking voice, I don't think he fully believes it.

  "You don't know what you're dealing with here," Bebi warns. "The two of you should join us. There's a nice payout. Well worth your time."

  "No, thank you," I say firmly. "And I suggest you stop what you're doing now."

  To my surprise, Minnefer makes a break for it, sprinting towards the door. Neither of us react in time and he slips past, almost running into Bebi, but he moves out of the way so fast that he slams into the door and knocks himself out.

  I suppose that saves us a job. I'm not convinced my organ pan would be much use if I actually had to try and incapacitate someone.

  We turn our attention to Bebi. So long as he doesn't manage to get the upper hand on us, we should be okay. Minnefer seems like the kind of person who will crack under the slightest bit of pressure.

  Bebi seems to figure this out, as he turns and starts to run through the mortuary. Unfortunately for us, he has the advantage of not having spent the last ten minutes in a fridge going numb from the cold. But this is a good chance for us to get out of there.

  He slams the fridge door closed, but that's not too much of an issue now he knows we're here. Like all walk-in fridges, this one has a button for it to open from the inside.

  Nik gets there first and pushes the door open and we step back into the main room of the mortuary.

  Even the comparative warmth of the air outside the fridge is enough to make my skin tingle, and not in a pleasant way. We're going to have to be careful we don't end up sick after this.

  Bebi has got a head start on us, so much so, that I realise there's a chance we're not going to catch him.

  "Should we let him go and hope Minnefer talks?" I ask Nik.

  Uncertainty flits over his face, probably because he feels the same way I do. It would be good if we can apprehend them both, but there's a chance we won't be able to.

  A loud almost playful growl sounds and Matia jumps into action.

  Relief floods through me at the sight of my jackal safe and well, I was more worried about her than I want to admit.

  She bounds after Bebi, chasing him through the mortuary in a way neither of us are capable of. There's a good chance that she's just trying to play with him, but he probably doesn't know that.

  "We should tie Minnefer up so he doesn't get away," Nik says.

  I nod in agreement. "Then we should get Hori." I pause, considering whether or not it's a good idea to involve our supervisor. Could he be in on it?

  "Good idea. If you want to go get him, I'll deal with Minnefer."

  I brush a hand against his arm and shoot him a grateful smile. I'm worried about how clammy he feels, but I know there's nothing we can do about it right now. We have to deal with one problem at a time.

  I hurry through the mortuary and out into the temple grounds. Horror washes through me as I notice the procession including the coffin heading towards the quay. It's terrible timing that we've managed to clash with them.

  I glance in the opposite direction to find Bebi almost at the temple exit, with Matia hot on his heels.

  She pounces, knocking him to the ground. Hopefully she'll keep him occupied while I go for help.

  The other apprentices spill out of the peristyle court entrance and towards the living quarters. This is my chance.

  "Djou!" I shout.

  He turns, surprise registering on his face as he sees me.

  I hurry over, not wanting to shout about what's happening.

  "What's wrong? You and Nik disappeared..."

  "It's a long story. Do you know where Hori is?"

  "He's inside still talking to one of Osiris' priests," he says. "Why?"

  "I need to talk to him urgently." I glance over at where Matia is still standing on top of Bebi, licking his face. Ah, so she is playing with him. I bet he feels a little silly right now. "Can you do me a favour?"

  "Sure."

  "Can you make sure Bebi doesn't escape? It's really important."

  Confusion flashes over Djou's face. "Sure. We'll do that." He gestures to his friends and the three of them head over to where Matia is waiting without asking any more questions. I'm lucky to have such understanding classmates.

  Without delaying any longer, I head inside the peristyle courts. I doubt Bebi and Minnefer are the extent of the operation, but at least catching them in the act is a start.

  Fifteen

  Even Matia seems hesitant as I make my way up to the front door of the High Priest's house. I've never been here before, and wish I was arriving with Nik instead of on my own save for my jackal.

  I knock firmly on the wooden door. There's no use putting off the inevitable. If I'm lucky, I'll still have a position at the temple once this conversation is over.

  If I'm not...

  I push the thought aside. Hori hadn't been impressed that we'd skipped the funeral, but he seemed relieved about us catching two of the people behind the organ stealing.

  The door swings open revealing Nik on the other side of it. I sigh with relief. I haven't seen him since yesterday, and while I know it's irrational, I've been worrying about him ever since.

  "Are you okay?" he asks.

  "Nervous," I admit. "You?"

  "I'm fine."

  I raise an eyebrow, surprised to realise I can tell he's not telling me the whole truth.

  "You should come in. Father is waiting for us."

  "You don't call him dad?"

  Nik shakes his head. "I used to, but when it became clear I'd be joining his priesthood, he suggested I start using father because it sounds more official."

  "What it sounds like is exhausting," I mutter.

  "Being the son of a High Priest is that," he agrees.

  He leads me through the house. It doesn't look that much different from any other home I've been in, even if it's three times the size. There aren't even many ostentatious signs of wealth.

  We come to a closed door which Nik knocks on.

  "Come in," High Priest Ahmose calls.

  Worry fills me over the conversation that's about to come.

  "We're not going to be kicked out of the priesthood, are we?" I ask.

  "I honestly don't know. But I doubt it," he assures me. "I'm sure we can convince father not to do that."

  "I hope you're right." After hoping I'd get to serve Anubis for so long, I don't want to end up kicked out during my first year as an apprentice.

  "Take a seat," the High Priest says, indicating to two chairs.

  I hurry to the one on the left, with Nik taking the other one and Matia sitting between us looking rather pleased with herself. She probably should be. Her playful personality is what stopped Bebi from escaping, whereas all Nik and I did was hide in a fridge and get lucky.

  "I think you know why the two of you are in my office today," the High Priest says.

  We both nod.

  "What you did was reckless. Not only could you have gotten yourselves seriously hurt, but you could also have ruined the vizier's funeral. Do you realise what kind of problems that could have caused? Not just for this temple, but for the Cult of Anubis around the entire world?"

  "I'm sorry. We didn't intend to confront anyone, we just wanted to find proof so we could report the situation," I say.

  High Priest Ahmose sighs. "I'm aware of your motivations, and they've been taken into account when it comes to your punishment. While I realise that you were both trying to act for the good of the temple, this recklessness can't go unpunished. You're both on clean up duty for the next month. There'll be no embalming lessons in that time, and you'll have to stay late to do extra sanitising of the workstations."

  I let out a sigh of relief. That's not as bad as it could have been.

  "What happened with Bebi and Minnefer?" Nik asks.

  The High Priest raises an eyebrow, probably surprised that he's asked. I'm glad he has. I want to know what's happening with them too.

  "Minnefer has confessed to everything. He'll be sent to the Halls of Ma'at for a trial at the end of the week. We don't think he has anything else to tell us. Bebi is proving harder to crack. Even with the evidence we have from the two of you and what Minnefer has admitted, he's refusing to talk."

  "Do you think he will?" I ask.

  "At this point, I don't know," the High Priest responds. "But if he doesn't, he'll also be sent for a trial. If Minnefer is found guilty, then I suspect he will be as well. The two of you will have to be witnesses at the trial, but we'll prepare you the best we can when the time comes."

  Oh no, a trial sounds dramatic. I know I won't be the one at risk of being charged, but there's still something intimidating about knowing I'll have to go and sit in the Hall of Ma'at. The priests and priestesses who serve the goddess of justice as part of the legal system have a reputation for being fierce and unforgiving in their quest for the truth.

  "Unfortunately, neither of them are revealing anything about who they work for," the High Priest says, breaking through my thoughts. "In both of your reports of the incident, you say that you examined several boxes of organs before hiding in the fridge."

  "We did," Nik says quickly.

  "There were some livers, a set of lungs, and a heart," I add.

  The High Priest nods. "Do either of you know what happened to them?"

  Nik shakes his head. "They were gone by the time we left the fridge. I assumed Bebi had taken them to whoever was waiting while we were in there."

  "We don't even know who the heart belonged to," I admit.

  "We've already started searches for the person the heart belongs to, but it's going to take some time. Hopefully, the family will be understanding if we offer them a better mummification treatment for their loved one, but we need to try and keep this as quiet as possible. If it comes out that we've been embalming people without hearts, then we're going to have a small scandal on our hands."

  I grimace. That doesn't sound good. I try to keep the guilt under control. It isn't my fault this has been happening. The only thing I've done is brought it to light. And that would probably have happened anyway.

  "Sorry," Nik murmurs.

  The High Priest sighs. "Don't be. Regardless of how reckless you were, what you did has still helped people."

  "I'm glad we could serve the temple," I respond, unsure about what else I can say.

  "But next time you have suspicions like this, bring them to me. I don't want to hear more reports of you getting into unnecessary dangerous situations," he says sternly, his gaze flitting between the two of us.

 

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