The inevitable ... Dov thought. My mother is going to die. He had known it for days, he had been saddened by it, but for the first time he truly felt it. Tears stung the corners of his eyes.

"The ancient Egyptians loved life just as much as we do," Ray Rah went on. "They loved all the physical joys and comforts of day-to-day living. That may be why they found a way to take it with them. But our way is not just about being buried in your red Thunderbird convertible: It's about knowing that someday you will have to be buried. We who follow the old ways know this, and trust me, knowing that today could be the last day of the rest of your life is not as scary as it seems."

"You get used to the idea," Dov said. "Is that it?"

Ray Rah nodded and smiled, cracking his blue face paint. "Exactly."

"And this ritual is to help you get used to the idea that Edwi—that Mom is going to die soon?"

Ray Rah nodded again. "To help us, but mostly to help you. We figured that it was the least we could do for you, since we've already pledged our support to your sister as the future head of E. Godz, Inc."

Dov was surprised that the news of Peez's victory didn't affect him at all. He was preoccupied by thoughts of a more important loss. "Thank you," he managed to tell Ray Rah. "It's very kind of you. I wish I could stay longer, but— I'm sorry." His usual glibness deserted him.

My mother is going to die. I'll never see her again, never hear her voice, never even be irritated by the way she treats me like I'm still a baby. My mother is going to—

He wheeled around and ran out of the Temple of Seshat-by-the-Shore before any of them could see him cry. On the way out, he collided with a young man carrying two heavy shopping bags. Dov knocked him off his feet without a second thought as he ran on, sending forth a taxi-summoning spell like a flare. By the time he reached the street, a cab was waiting.

The young man he'd overrun sat in a puddle of bright red fruit while he watched Dov speed away. The front steps soon crowded with Ray Rah and the rest of the congregation. The young man looked from the departing cab to the mounds of smashed fruit to the group on the stairs and said, "I got the pomegranates. Did I miss anything?"

"Not much, Billy-hotep," said Meritaten. "C'mon in and have a beer."

"My dear young woman," Mr. Bones said with a winning smile. "Had I but known how beautiful you were, I would not have been so quick to promise my support to your brother." He raised Peez's hand to his lips and bestowed a delicate kiss.

"You flatter me, Mr. Bones," Peez replied. "But please, don't worry about whatever you've promised or to whom you promised it. I'm disappointed, of course, but it was your choice to make."

The two of them were standing in front of one of several New Orleans restaurants calling itself the Court of the Three Sisters. Peez had found him there by chance, in the course of a thorough search of the Vieux Carre, in much the same way that Dov had encountered the venerable voodoo priest. It was at least as effective a way of finding Mr. Bones as saying "Meet me in front of the Court of the Three Sisters" without specifying which one. There were several. Since every tourist who came to visit New Orleans was told by the folks back home that he or she simply must eat at the Court of the Three Sisters, could the local restauranteurs be blamed for trying to accommodate them?

"You are as gracious as you are beautiful," Mr. Bones said. He was wearing his full regalia, though his staff had been redecorated recently. Fresh ribbons had been added, and fresh bones. He glanced up at the restaurant's artfully painted sign. Teddy Tumtum was peering over the lip of Peez's carry-on bag and misinterpreted what was really just a casual action.

"Sheesh! What's it gonna take, someone dropping an anvil on your head?" he hissed at her. "Mark my words, you buy the old guy a decent meal and he'll forget all about any promises he made to your brother!"

Before the bear could add any further tidbits of counsel, Mr. Bones stuck his staff under Teddy Tumtum's fuzzy chin in the manner of Errol Flynn playing sword tricks and lifted the unruly toy out of the bag. Teddy Tumtum described a small midair arc that ended when Mr. Bones caught him in his free hand.

"What is it with you people?" Teddy Tumtum complained. "Is this National Bear- Tossing Week or what? If I'm gonna spend this much time in flight, at least give me a bag of peanuts!"

"Petit ours, I am not sure I like you," Mr. Bones said, smiling. "I am thinking that if this gracious lady feels the same way, I might offer to trade her my support for your fat little body. Perhaps you will become the first of a new style in voodoo dolls, hein?"

Teddy Tumtum let out a squeak of terror so piteous that Peez snatched him out of Mr. Bones' grasp and was already glaring daggers at the man before she realized that he was only joking. Embarrassed, she smiled shyly and said, "As you can see, monsieur, I do not feel the same way about Teddy Tumtum as you do. He's been with me a long, long time. Believe it or not, I love him."

"Ah, well! If it is love then there is certainly no accounting for it. I am willing to believe anything where love is involved."

"Then I hope you'll believe me when I say that even though you've pledged your support to my brother, you and I may still have business."

"Is that so?" Mr. Bones adjusted the angle of his top hat and looked interested. "What manner of business might that be?"

"The business of learning," Peez said.

"Learning? Do I look like a schoolteacher, ma fille?" Mr. Bones was enjoying this.

"No, but you do look like a guide."

"A guide, a guide ..." The old man twiddled his fingers as if his staff were a flute. "And where do you propose I lead you, if I am in truth a guide? Which path do you need to follow? Where do you wish to go?"

Peez tucked Teddy Tumtum into her carryon and said, "Why don't I tell you that after lunch?"

* * *

In the back room of Au Roi Gris-Gris, Aurore served coffee. She was wearing the outfit she used to please the tourists, though instead of her tignon she had a telephone headset. While she filled the cups and passed Peez a tray of pastries, she carried on a spirited exchange with the person on the other end of the call, most likely a broker. A vocabulary that was pure Wall Street Journalese coupled with fluent Fortune magazine rattled from Aurore's lips as she shuffled portfolios without spilling a drop of coffee or a crumb of cake. It was a relief to both Peez and Mr. Bones when she finally left them alone and peace returned.

"Well now," Mr. Bones said. "Now that we are fed and settled, will you tell me what you wish from me?"

Peez sipped her coffee. "I wish to learn about the path you've taken, Mr. Bones," she said. "I know what the company printouts say: You're a voodoo priest. But what does it mean?"

"What do you think it means?" was Mr. Bones' canny reply.

"You play drums, dance around a fire, and stick pins in dolls to hurt your enemies," Peez said coldly. "Oh wait, no, that's what you think I think it means. I came to you looking for answers, not a fencing match."

"Really? I thought you came here to court my backing for the takeover of E. Godz, Inc."

"I did, except you told me you've already given that to my brother. Before, that would have annoyed the hell out of me. I'd've brought every trick in the book to bear on you, trying to get you to change your mind. Now I know better. I'm not the only one in this world with freedom of choice. Even when the choice others make doesn't suit my own wishes, I've still got to respect their right to it."