Asp of Ascension (A Nefertari Hughes Mystery #1)

Chapter Thirty-Nine

"Why was the legend of Osiris and Isis so important to Cleopatra?" Ms. Bernard's voice was enthusiastic. Her eyes scanned the classroom. Terry sank lower in her chair, staring at her desk, wishing to be invisible. It felt like the first day all over again.

1. Don't attract attention.

2. Don't get involved.

3. Don't make trouble.

But of course, everything was different now.

Ms. Bernard cleared her throat. "The legend tells us Osiris was murdered by his brother Seth, and his body was chopped into pieces and scattered all over Egypt."

Allison sniffed from behind Terry.

"But Isis, wife and sister of Osiris, tricked the sun god Re and was able to resurrect him," Ms. Bernard continued. "They became lovers again for his short second life on Earth. But it was long enough for her to bear him a son. Horus eventually avenged his father's death by slaughtering his Uncle Seth."

There was a murmur from the back of the class. Terry pictured Zach's teammates huddled together, leaning over their desks, red-faced and ready for revenge.

Ms. Bernard pressed her mouth into a hard line. "Before Cleopatra died, she negotiated with Octavian to allow her to bury Mark Antony in Egypt, so that her corpse could be buried with his, allowing them to re-enact the legend of Isis and Osiris."

She waited for a reaction, but it was clear no one cared about Cleopatra this morning. She let her shoulders fall, clearly defeated. "All right," she said, "I understand most if you are upset about the news of your classmate. And since there seems to be several conversations going on already, the best thing would be for all of us to share our thoughts."

At the invitation to speak up, everyone grew quiet. Ms. Bernard motioned to the back of the class where the jocks sat. They squirmed in their chairs, busy studying the floor.

Tanya's boyfriend spoke. The dark circles under his eyes made him look older. "It's just weird, isn't it?" he said. He licked his lips and frowned at the front of the room, but his eyes weren't focused. "First Tanya disappears, and now Zach gets the crap beaten out of him? Why is this happening?"

"Dude, use your head," one of the other jocks said. "It's not a coincidence that our captain got his arm broken a few weeks before the State Championships." He tilted his chin up and scanned the classroom. "Those pricks from West Mount Academy did this. They're our biggest competition."

Ms. Bernard put her hands up again. "I will not condone that language in my classroom."

"It's true, though," another voice added. "I heard they were bragging about it on Facebook. Something like, without Zach that trophy is theirs for the taking."

Terry's fingernails dug into her palms as she tightened her fists under the desk. Those two thugs weren't from some rival school. She knew who was responsible for Zach's broken arm.

"It's so sad," one of the princesses said. There was a bundle of markers in her hands and a large pair of scissors. "The cheerleaders are too devastated to even make posters for the game. No one will want to go see us lose to West Mount."

A disgruntled ripple of morbid agreement moved through the class. Terry could sense Maude watching her out of the corner of her eye. Earlier, in the limo ride to school, Terry had divulged everything to Maude about the night before. "They broke his arm on purpose," Terry had said. "Allison is behind it."

"You beat off Zach's attackers, then carried him unconscious to the hospital?" Maude had replied, her eyes filling up. "You could have been killed by those guys."