For what seemed like eternity, the group of Egyptian gods and goddesses looked at the spot where Tari disappeared in complete astonishment. Did what they see really happen? Was their one spark of hope, their one savior in ending this war that had been going on for many millennia gone? It couldn't be!
But as they stood, the rain soaking through their clothes, they knew deep down that it was true...Tari was indeed gone, and they were once again outsmarted by their enemy, the one reason behind so much of their hardships and sorrows. The young god prince, Horus, narrowed his eyes and turned toward Set, his hands balling into fists, his body shaking with barely controlled anger.
"What...have you done with her?" he demanded through clenched teeth. Hate shined in his one real eye, while the other, made of a pearl-like stone to replace one that was ripped out by Set long ago, gleamed dangerously.
"I only did what I should have in the first place!" growled out Set, stepping forward. "Foolish whelps, you think that I, the Great Set, Harbinger of Death, Destroyer of Enemies, will allow a mere mortal girl best me?" He chuckled evilly and gave them all wicked grin. "How pathetic you really are. To think I was actually worried..."
Horus's eye widened at the insult, then with a might yell and gripping his sword that appeared in his hand, he rushed forward. Just as he arrived at the still smirking Set, he swung his sword down, but the black-skinned god easily blocked his strike with his own large sword, rusty-colored from the stains of blood of its many unfortunate victims.
The two were locked in a desperate fight, swords clanging, grunts of pain and sounds of blows erupting. Thoth stepped forward to help, his own sword appearing magically in his hand, but Anubis held out his dark-colored arm in front of him to stop him. "Not yet..." the God of Embalming cautioned.
Just then, Horus saw a lucky opening as lightning flashed overhead, and he slashed down across Set's shoulder, leaving a long cut. The God of Chaos looked in surprise at his cut, seeing a few drops of blood coming from it, then looked at the prince. He narrowed his eyes and growled deep in his throat, and without warning, rushed forward. Horus never had a chance to move out of the way as Set stopped right in front of him, then lifted his leg and kicked him hard in the chest.
The young warrior screamed as he flew up in the air, and with arms and legs flailing, landed with a crunch on the roof of a damaged car. The windows that were left on the car blew out with the force of the landing, sending shards of it everywhere. Horus gave one weak cough, a trickle of blood coming out of his mouth, then lay still.
"Horus, NO!" Isis finally snapped out of her stupor, and her heart felt like it was about to burst out with grief. She was about to run to him, but it was then that Anubis shouted out, "NOW!" and all the other gods attacked at once. Thoth immediately went after Nak, while Anubis, jumped, flipped through the air, and landed in front of Sebau and Apep. The five were then locked in a life and death battle.
Hathor rushed up to Isis and took her hand. "Isis, come on, we have to do this together! Horus will be alright!" She looked into Isis's eyes and nodded her head. For just a moment, Isis was speechless, memories of the battles against Set long ago flooding through her mind. For so long, it was quiet...Set was banished in his underground prison, his powers all but stripped. But now...it was happening again. But she also knew that if something wasn't done now, she would lose not only her husband again, but her son. Besides, if what she did to that vortex worked, then all is not lost. The Queen Goddess nodded back to Hathor, and together, they faced Set as he walked toward them.
The two women closed their eyes, and a glow surrounded them. Their eyes snapped opened, and they raised their arms towards the advancing black-skinned god. A powerful burst of energy erupted and struck Set in the mid-section. The god screamed in agony as he was thrown against a building, shaking it to its foundation.
But Set quickly got back up on his feet, shaking his head, and faced them again. He grinned maliciously. "You think that will stop me? You two don't have the power!" He raised his sword and advanced again.
"No, but we FOUR do!" said a voice above the slowly decreasing rain and thunder. Suddenly, right beside Hathor and Isis, M'aat and Nephthys appeared, their eyes narrowed and angry.
Set's eyes widened with surprise and stopped for a moment, then he raised his sword once more.
Nepththys turned to her twin sister, a twinkle in her eye. "My sister, as the mortals say in this century....'let's do this!'"
The four goddesses smiled knowingly to each other, then turned back to face Set. Once more they closed their eyes, and their bodies glowed. They raised their arms, and the familiar blast of pure energy shot out, and this time, empowered by M'aat and Nephthys, struck Set's entire body. Once more the evil god screamed and flew to smack hard against a building..and this time, he was blasted right through. A gaping hole appeared at the front of the building, and people screamed and ran away in terror.
A moment later, Set's from appeared at the hole, but this time bruised and grunting. He got up shakily on his feet, then looked up to give the goddess's a hateful glare. He stepped out, balled his fist, and went down on one knee.
It was M'aat that finally sensed what he was about to do, and she turned to the others in panic. "LOOK OUT!" she screamed.
The others barely had time to prepare themselves before Set roared loudly at the top of his lungs, then smashed both his fists into the concrete ground. A shock wave like non other erupted from the impacts and rushed out in waves across the whole area. Everywhere the shock waves touched, it busted out windows, doors, and toppled over benches, poles, and whatever was in its way.
People ran and screamed like they were mad, unable to understand what was going on. When it was finally over, after what seemed like forever, the entire area looked like a bomb had hit it. Barely anything was left standing, the force of the shock wave so great.
Set then lifted up his bald head, panting, and sneered at the gods, who had fallen on the ground. "You will rue this day, I swear it!" He breathed out. "You think you will win this, but you will lost, and I will make sure this will cost you everything, just as you've lost something today. I will find the child with Osiris's soul, and he will suffer greatly before he dies!"
He waved a hand, and in a shimmer of air, Set disappeared, along with Nak, Sebau, and a hissing Apep.
When all was quiet again, Hathor turned to the others sadly. "He's right...we lost Tari, and there's no chance of getting her back. He...he's won."
"No, he hasn't..."
Everyone turned to look at Isis in slight surprise. The Mother Queen raised her head high. "The spell I placed on the vortex, before it disappeared, was a time displacement spell...like the one Anubis used to slow down the decaying of bodies. It..it was supposed to slow down and stop the vortex, but...I felt something went wrong. I think..." Isis closed her eyes for a moment, trying to gather her words. "I think instead of the Nether Regions, Tari is somewhere lost in time. Where, I don't know. It could be anytime, any WHERE."
"So then how do we find her?" Thoth said, perplexed.
"I don't know. All we can do know is be patient, and....wait." Isis said sadly. Just then, Isis remembered her son, and rushed over to him, where he still lay on the car roof. The others followed, and quickly helped him off and into her arms.
The prince's eyelids fluttered open, and he looked up at Isis. "Mother..?"
"Shhh, it's okay," the Queen shushed. She nodded to the others, and together, they disappeared, leaving the devastated area behind. Now more than ever it was vital for them to end this. But that won't be done until they were able to find the one girl who brought hope back to them. But only the Fates knew where she was now, and that scared them more than anything had ever done.
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Giza, Lower Egypt 3,000 B.C.E.
Yawning, a young, brown-skinned Egyptian palace guard stretched his one arm over his head, and leaned against his spear. The sun was finally setting, and it would soon be time for him to retire and go home. It was a particularly long day for him, and he would like nothing more than to take off his heavy armor, and just climb into his bed.
A few moments later, he heard footsteps coming from the hall inside the palace, and the young man straightened up, assuming his position. The doors to the palace opened, and the captain of the palace guards stepped out, his hands clasped behind his back. Behind him, two more guards followed. The middle-aged man stopped, then turned to the young guard, his head held high.
He looked the young man over, then to the other guard standing on the other side of the palace door. The captain nodded, and once more turned to the young man. "Anything to report?" he asked.
"No sir! All is quiet." The other young guard nodded, confirming this. The captain nodded his head once more, then stepped back, indicating that the two guards standing may go, and will be replaced by the two fresh guards that had walked out with him.
The young man sighed with relief and nodded back to the captain. He saluted, then turned and walked down the whitened stone palace steps, the other guard doing the same. Finally the day was over, and he could finally relax.
But no sooner had he left the palace area and was turning the corner, than he heard his name being called.
"Oi!! Nkosi!
The young man stopped, sighed, and turned around to see two more palace guards...also just ending their shifts, grinning and waving to him.
When they reached him, one of them draped an arm around his shoulder and ruffled his hair. "And where are you off to so quickly, eh? Come on, we're going to go get some beer! How about some fun tonight?" He winked at him.
Nkosi chuckled and shook his head. "Not tonight Atsu, I'm not in the mood. I'm too tired. Perhaps tomorrow..."
"Awww, too bad! I hear some pretty Eastern girls are visiting the parlors! He doesn't know what he's missing, eh Salih?" exclaimed the jovial palace guard. The other guard laughed and nodded his head. Atsu was about to convince him, but he saw in Nkosi's eyes that there was no convincing him. He laughed and slapped Nkosi on the back, nearly making him fall over.
"Alright then, another time! I will hold it to you!" With that, he and the other guard left, laughing with each other.
The young man looked at them for a moment, then chuckled to himself. He then walked on, hoping to beat the sun home before it got too dark. After about 15 minutes, he was soon in the large village beyond the palace. All around him, men were just coming home from farming, work, or closing up shop, women were gathering their children for dinner, and small candles being lit for the approaching night. Nkosi smiled slightly to himself, enjoying the peaceful scene.
Just then, there was a flash coming from the sky, just at the end of the village near a mid-sized building. For a moment, it seemed to him like something fell out of the flash of light. But just as quickly as it came, the light was gone. Blinking curiously, Nkosi walked faster towards where he saw the flash of light.
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Moaning in pain, Tari tried to get up, but it was too much. She fell back down with a grunt. Pain like nothing she had ever felt in a long time coursed through her body.
She slowly opened her eyes, trying to get a bearing on her surroundings. She raised herself up on her elbows and looked around. As far as she could see, it was nearing night...the stars were just starting to come out. But....where WAS she? This didn't seem like Cairo. All she was seeing now was the stone house she landed near of, surrounded by smaller houses and alleys, and a dirt floor that had a few grasses and flowers growing out of it. Where were the streets, the buildings? Where were the cars that Apep smashed up?
Tari's eyes widened. APEP! She remembered now! Set, Apep, and his other two followers had attacked after she had found a boy that she thought was Alim. Then....then Set did something...something to make her remember the most awful night of her life! She shook her head to clear out that memory. But the boy...as he okay? She had to make sure!
But the pain...it was almost too much. Grunting loudly, Tari tried once more to get to her feet. She had barely manage to stand on shaky legs before two shadows loomed before her. Tari looked up with a gasp, and stepped back cautiously.
Standing before her were two very rough-looking, older men. For some reason, they were dressed only in long, cotton skirts and had copper-colored sandals on their feet. They were dark-skinned, and wore braided wigs on their heads to cover their thinning hair. But what spooked Tari the most was the sadistic grins on their faces.
"Well, well, what have we here?" one asked, stepping closer to Tari. "Looks like we have another pretty one to sell!"
"Yes, despite the strange clothing, she will certainly make us quite a few gold pieces!" chuckled the other.
Tari looked at the two in complete bafflement. "W..what? What are you talkin...."
But before she could finish, the two men lunged at her. Tari couldn't even begin to try and run away, so surprised and in pain was she. One of them tackled her roughly to the ground and held her while the other began tying her hands.
"Stop! Let me go! HELP!" screamed out Tari helplessly. She would have started screaming some more, but one of them suddenly tied a dirty cloth around her mouth, silencing her.
The two slave-trader laughing triumphantly, then got up and turned to leave. Suddenly, the first one...Tari slung over his shoulder like a sack, stopped in mid-walk and gasped...there was a sharp point of a spear right at his chest, ready to plunge in.
Holding the spear was a young man...and from his armor, he was obviously one of the palace guards. The guard narrowed his eyes dangerously and indicated the girl with a tilt of his head. "Let her go...now," he said commanded, inching the spear point closer.
The taller man growled deep in his throat. "You fool!" he sneered. "You just made a very big mistake!" He dropped Tari to the ground, who landed with a "oomph!", then faced the young guard.
With a yell, he rushed forward to pummel the idiot who dared interfere with his business. But he didn't figure the youth to be well-trained. The guard just easily side-stepped out the way, and as trader passed, he jumped up and kicked him squarely on the head, knocking him to the ground.
The other slave trader, seeing this, yelled and also rushed forward. Nkosi twirled just as he reached him and slapped the flat end of his spear against his back, also knocking him down.
Panting, the two men got to their feet. Nkosi faced them with his spear, and with his one hand, beckoned them forward, as though challenging them to keep fighting.
Both men screamed again and rushed forward. With quick reflexes, Nkosi ducked, twirled, and side-stepped each of their attacks, frustrating them more. He lifted his spear and slammed the dull end of it into the first one's stomach, then turned and swatted the flat side of it to the side of the head of the second.
Once more Nkosi faced the men in a fighting stance, and once more he beckoned with his hand forward, enjoying this little fight.
But the two knew when they were beat. "You'll regret this!" yelled the obviously leader, and with that, they both ran off into the night, angered at having lost a profit. There was no telling how much gold someone would have paid for that girl! Now they would never know...but first htey had to think about theirs lives, and that was most important.
Nkosi stood in his fighting stance for a moment more, then turned to look at the strange girl on the ground. She looked at him with wild, frightened eyes for a moment more as he approached, then to his surprise, she fainted dead away.
He squatted down before her, looking at her curiously. With a frown, he cautiously took off the cloth around her mouth, then freed her hands and feet.
When that was done, he gently took her up in his arms. For a few more seconds, he looked down at her beautiful, dark face, unsure of what was happening. "Who are you?" he whispered gently. But the girl remained silent.
With a sigh, he turned and walked, holding her in his arms. Hopefully, the answer to that question will be revealed soon.
Over head, the full moon shined brilliantly, and the beams gently fell to Earth in front of Nkosi, as though guiding him home and letting him know that in his arms was a precious possession.
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Sajid walked into Dr. Baltimore's apartment, his frustration growing at not knowing where is daughter was. Just as he closed the door, Dr. Baltimore walked into the living room, his eyes worried. "Any word on her?"
"No sir, nothing. Tari was no where to be found. It's like she's disappeared. The area where she was supposed to be was devastated. I have the police searching everywhere..." The large Sudanese man could only hang his head, not knowing what else to do.
The archeologist blew out an exasperated breath and fell sitting in his chair. "Oh God, Tari...where are you?" he whispered out, feeling tears fill his eyes.
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To Be Continued.....
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