There is a collective exhalation from the audience of deities, both a gasp and a sigh. None of them, however, could look more surprised or moved than Anubis. His sombre features seem to quiver. For a moment it appears that his habitual mask of impassiveness might slip. He might even shed a tear. Soon enough, though, he has reasserted control over himself. He inclines his head towards Osiris and says, ''I shall consider your request, He Who Is Called The Eternally Good Being. What you are suggesting does not strike me as an entirely undesirable proposition.''
It is at this point — with peace having settled among the principal members of the Pantheon like a deep fall of snow, or so it would seem — that Ra at last makes an appearance. Despite not having been physically present on deck, he is nonetheless aware of all that has just occurred, having been eavesdropping through the boards from his berth below.
''My family, my kin, my fellow gods,'' he says, with warmth. ''Here you all are. How good of you to come. And what a remarkable turn of events we have just witnessed. Set and Horus reconciled. Nephthys publicly declaring her transgression. Osiris acknowledging Anubis as his son. Truly it gladdens my heart.''
His face darkens, just a little.
''If only,'' he says, ''there were not a cloud on the horizon to mar my happiness.''
''You speak of the Lightbringer,'' says Osiris.
''Indeed so,'' says Ra. ''You are all by now aware of this upstart mortal and how he wishes to turn the entire world against us. And in case you haven't seen what he has done to us already… Wepwawet?''
Anubis's son drags himself over to Ra's side. He is all skin and bones, this godling. He creaks as he walks. Particles of skin flake from him like dust.
''Sobek?''
The crocodile god limps across the deck to join the parade of unfortunates. His scales are missing in patches, as though he has been afflicted by some kind of reptilian mange. His yellow eyes are dull, like pus.
''Of all those who have suffered at the Lightbringer's hands,'' says Ra, ''these two have suffered the worst. The Lightbringer has picked on the least among us, the weakest, doing them harm even though they have done him none. Shameful coward!''
A ripple of assent passes through the crowd of gods.
''But my lord Ra,'' says Nephthys, ''while I share your outrage, you must know that even now my worshippers are engaging in battle with the Lightbringer and his followers.''
''And my worshippers are rushing to join in the fray,'' adds Set. ''Victory is assured. It won't be long before this man and his revolution have been snuffed out.''
''I know this, and it is good,'' says Ra.
Horus steps forward. ''Though I doubt they need my help, I would be willing to back up my uncle and aunt in eradicating him,'' he volunteers. ''It wouldn't be difficult for me to persuade my bloc to throw its weight behind theirs.''
Set grabs him and gives him a hug, rubbing his hair much as an uncle would, then nuzzling his ear, much as an uncle wouldn't.
''And if Horus takes part, we could as well,'' says Osiris, with a nod at Isis. ''Imagine: the whole world turning on the Lightbringer as one. What a message that would send. Never again would any mortal dare attempt what he has.''
''I am prepared to get involved too,'' says Anubis. ''A handful of turncoats from among my worshippers lent the Lightbringer assistance, and I'd like to make up for that in some way.''
Ra studies them. ''It is most gratifying,'' he says, ''to see you all in agreement. I could not ask for more. You have rallied together in a way that not so long ago I would have thought impossible. This is truly a remarkable thing.''
He hesitates.
''Which makes it all the more distressing for me to say what I have to next.''
He heaves a sigh.
''Yes, O Ra?'' prompts Isis.
A sadness dims Ra's sun eye and deepens the glow of his moon eye.
''One of you here is a traitor,'' he says. ''One of you here is in league with the Lightbringer.''
There is a massed intake of breath, followed by an outbreak of hubbub and consternation. God jabbers to god. Voices rise in protest and dismay. Someone exclaims, ''No!'' Someone else exclaims, ''Why?'' The uproar aboard the Solar Barque rises to such levels that the boat starts to rock in the water, and it's all Maat can do to hold the tiller steady and maintain a straight course.
Ra appeals for calm, and little by little is granted it.
''I do not make this accusation wildly,'' he says. ''I have pondered the matter long and hard, and discussed it with the two sagest individuals I know, namely Thoth and Maat. Regrettably, I have been able to come to no other conclusion. The evidence is clear — or rather, unclear. By which I mean it is the very absence of clarity surrounding the Lightbringer which has led me to deduce that he is acting with divine help.''
''But it's absurd!'' exclaims Set. ''What you're saying contradicts everything we understand about this person. The Lightbringer hates the Pantheon and wishes to overthrow us. Why would he then be in league with one of us? It makes no sense.''
''True,'' says Ra, ''but how else to account for the fact that I cannot see him properly? I cannot look at his face, or into his heart and mind. I, whose light penetrates everywhere, gaze and gaze at the Lightbringer and see only shadows, dark and unfathomable. No mortal has the ability to hide himself from me like that. Only one kind of power could produce such a phenomenon — divine power.''
''With all due respect, Ra, my uncle is right,'' says Horus. ''It makes no sense. There must be some other explanation.''
''I wish there were.''
''What if it is divine power that's shielding him,'' says Isis, ''but none of ours? What if some other god, from another pantheon, is responsible?''
The First Family take immediate umbrage.
''Nonsense!'' howls Shu, like a gale.
''Impossible!'' rumbles Tefnut, like thunder.
''No other gods survive,'' says Nut.
''Killed them all, we did,'' says Geb. ''Anyone who says we didn't is a liar and an idiot.''
Osiris bristles. ''Mind your tongue, Geb. That's my wife you're talking about.''
''I was merely advancing a theory,'' says Isis.
''Well, don't!'' the four members of the First Family snap in unison. ''Our rivals are dead. All of them. Extinct. Gone. We did our job thoroughly, exterminating them one by one, till the very last of them finished squirming in our grasp and lay still.''
''So there,'' adds Geb.
''Please, simmer down,'' says Ra, patting the air. ''First Family, nobody is querying your rigour or denigrating your achievement. The question Isis raised is one that I myself felt obliged to entertain as a possibility. Perhaps, just perhaps, a god did manage to escape your attention and survive. However, I was forced to conclude that such a thing could not be. We would have known if there was even just one other god left. Somewhere, in some far distant outpost of the world, there'd have been worship — a temple, an altar, some earthly means by which that deity's existence was sustained. I, the all-seer, would have seen it, and I have not. Believe me, I wish it were otherwise. I wish some other god from some other pantheon were the culprit here. But the awful, inescapable truth is that it must be one of us. Standing here among us, at this very moment, is someone who has imbued the Lightbringer with his or her essence, in such a way as to occlude him from scrutiny. Someone here has enabled the Lightbringer to get as far as he has with his crusade against the Pantheon. And nobody is leaving this barge until I've found out who it is.''