Isis was like no other being Raleigh had ever encountered. Who would have thought at such a large gathering of supernatural entities would be eclipsed by a singular presence; a deity. Raleigh thought gods and goddesses were the work of folklore and religion, hell, he had been made one of sorts by the Celts in his prior life. But [i]she[/i] was the [i]real[/i] deal. The rainbow nimbus that radiated from her skin was just like the depictions of angels from medieval illuminations. It cascaded holy light over the stones that seemed to glow with magical energy. Raleigh had an overwhelming desire to see him with his [i]true[/i] eyes, see her naked heavenly spirit. It felt heretical to deceive her with magic; she was the patroness of magic and nature. She looked in his eyes, eyes of nectar, liquid silver. He was beckoned, he morphed.

He always forgot how great it was to feel the fresh air on his coat, feel the thick russet hairs dance in the breeze. He stood just over nine feet tall, though was level height with the goddess, his impressive antlers making up the remaining two feet. His clothes lay in tatters by his hooves, victims of his abrupt transformation. His senses were awakened, as if his consciousness pulsed radially outwards to impossible reaches and detected the slightest flap of a fly’s wing. Smell was practically a sixth sense, operating in a dimension humanity could not possibly comprehend. The true sixth sense however, the ability to “see” and commune with spirits, offered a lens through which the hidden world of the spirits could be seen. Raleigh saw into the heart of Isis and was blinded by the brilliance. 

Never had he seen a soul shine so brightly. He had to look away; it burnt his rectangular retinas like magnesium to fire. Never had he felt such an allure to a soul, not since Lena.

Raleigh regained his senses, ashamed that he had acted without thinking first. Isis answered his questions to an extent and his heart waned for her. No, this was not rational. He was a being of science, logical and rational thought. The pros and cons of the mission must be weighed. If they did recover the ankh, how was he to know this goddess would not abuse its power, however unlikely this seemed. Could he trust this stranger, goddess or not? Raleigh had had his fill of treachery.

He looked to Atticus before he changed his mind. [i]Mr. Hoyle[/i]. “I will go on Mr. Hoyle's mission with you.” The next two words were a great release, the two syllables carrying all the weight of his world. “Old friend.”