The immense, slimy snake squeezed harder as it wrapped around Tari, and she could almost feel the air in her being forced out. Black circles started dancing around her eyes, signifying a blackout coming on. What...the heck is going on? Tari screamed in her mind. She tried to yell out, to scream for help or something, but when she opened her mouth, it was impossible to even breathe. With a sinking heart, she could feel her bones in her arms, legs and chest on the verge of snapping, and she knew if something didn't happen soon, she would never make it out alive.
She suddenly thought of the bracelet on her wrist, and gathered up the strength she had left to concentrate on it. Please! If you can hear me, just this...this THING off me! She concentrated as hard as she could, thinking of herself free and safe from the gigantic snake-creature. Blackness was just about to overcome her when there was a bright flash from the bracelet, and red, electric sparks of electricity raced around the length of the snake.
For what seemed like long moments, the monster snake hissed loudly in pain and the electricity shocked him, making its body convulse and squirm. Then, with a final snap of its body, Tari was whipped free of it on the hot, dusty sand. She landed with a heavy thud, then after taking a deep breath, went on her hands and knees, coughing loudly.
After a moment of gulping in much needed air, Tari stood on her feet shakily, and faced the snake monster. "Who...who the hell are you?" she demanded, her hand on her throat as she panted.
The snake glared at her as it slithered towards her. It raised its large, hooded head and bared long fangs, poison dripping from it. "I am Apep, sssservant of Lord SSSet, and today you will meet your doom!" He flashed forward with lightening speed, ready to strike her with his poisoned fangs.
"Set?" Tari gasped and jumped out of the way just in time before she could say anymore. She rolled on the ground, and watched with horror as the gigantic snake smashed into the spot she just was. When he raised his head again, the area where his poisoned touch turned black steaming, leaving a deep hole.
"Oh yeah? Well, not today snake-breath!" She turned to the crowd of archeologists, students and teachers still watching nearby. "Everyone, get out of here, now!!" With a last look of concern, everyone rushed away, teachers holding as many children as they could carry. Tari raised her hand and concentrated, and her jeweled-hilted sword sprang into life in it, flashing and ready once more.
Apep lunged forward again, and with a yell, Tari jumped up high and flipped over his head as he rushed by under her. The pain she received from him nearly squeezing her to death was all but gone, and it was replaced by anger...anger at him terrorizing innocent children and people, and anger at him for disrupting her plans for getting to know her father more and forgetting a painful moment in her past. She would defeat this creature with all her might, and defend those who could not defend themselves.
She landed on one knee behind Apep, and turned to face him with her sword pointed out and narrowed eyes. But she barely had time to swing her sword before Apep's tail lashed out at her, and knocked her back a good few feet before she landed with a grunt on the ground. A light trickle of blood oozed from the corner of her mouth as she painfully got up on her feet. She wiped off the blood with the back of her hand, and glared daggers at Apep as he slowly slithered towards her. "You're gonna pay for that!" she growled out.
She rushed at him, her sword held in both hands, and jumped up high. She slashed her sword down as she reached him, and with a grunt, managed to jab her sword deep into the side of Apep's neck. The snake god thrashed about with loud hissing, green blood trailing down from the wound. Tari landed him and quickly stepped back, but it was not fast enough as with horror, she watched as his tail whipped out and snapped around her right ankle. She screamed as she was suddenly lifted up into the air upside down, and her sword fell helplessly to the ground. When it hit the ground, it disappeared in a flash.
"Inssssolent little whelp!" Apep hissed out as he brought her closer and closer to his fangs. "Thissss isss your end now!" Apep opened his mouth as he hood flared open, his fangs dripping, and prepared to strike.
"NOOOOO!" Tari screamed out from the depths of her soul. She thrust her hands out, and as if by a miracle, two huge blasts of energy shot out of them. They slammed into Apep's face with a loud whoosh, and with a painful hiss, he dropped her back down.
Tari landed heavily, and panting, she looked at her bracelet and she raised herself to her knees. Where...did THAT come from? she thought in surprise. But she had no more time to ponder the strange, new development when there was another loud hissing, and Apep flashed towards her, determined to end the fight.
Tari stood up in a fighting stance, sweat pouring down her dark face. She was just about to call forth her sword again when there was a flash of dark lightening that struck right in front of Apep. The snake god stopped in his tracks just as he was about to reach Tari, his eyes wide.
A dark, cloudy mist descended from the sky in front of Tari, and slowly began to take shape. The dark mist turned into legs, then a torso, then a bare chest and arms. When it was done, Tari gasped as she looked up to the merciless face of a tall, extremely dark skinned man. He was bald, and looked to be about in his late 40's to his 50's. His chest was bare and muscular, and his arms thick and looking like they could break anything between them. He wore a white, medium-length Egyptian kilt with a brown sash going down the middle, and black, leather sandals.
The man looked up at the sky for a moment, then turned to Apep. "Hold," he said, his voice thick and deep sounding.
"Masssster," The snake god bowed his head low to the ground.
He turned back to Tari, and gave an amused smirk. "So, we finally meet. Child, do you know who I am?"
Tari studied him for just a moment, then her eyes widened in recognition. "You're...Set!' She stepped back and went into a fighting stance, her heart racing a thousands miles. Her bracelet shined brightly in the sun, as though letting her know it was there if it needed her.
"How amusing," the evil god said as he stepped towards her. "Do you think because those foolish gods gave you a bit of their powers, you can defeat me?" He raised his hand and flicked it, and with a gasp, Tari was lifted off her feet and began floating towards him. When she was right before him, he reached out and wrapped his hand around her neck with his large hand.
Tari struggled to get away, to do anything from being so close to him, but his hand was like an iron grip around her throat. "Let me...GO!" she choked out.
"Now why would I do that?" Set chuckled out. He squeezed a bit harder and brought his face up close to hers. "I am going to make an example out of you to those fools. I will make you feel pain like none has ever felt before, and when I am done, I will make those who stood against me look in wonder on your corpse. Then your soul will be mine forever..."
He sneered sadistically, and brought a hand up to rub against her thigh. "But that will come in time. Before that, there are many other things I can do to you..."
Tari's eyes flashed wide open in terror, and painful memories streaked through her mind and heart. No, it can't happen again, not like this! If it did, it devestate her beyond repair. "NO!! DON'T TOUCH MEEEEE!" she screamed out, flailing her arms and legs. The bracelet, responding to the pain in her heart, flashed brightly, and the light struck the ancient god right in his eyes.
He grunted in surprise and stepped back, dropping Tari in the process. She fell on her knees, and with her body shaking, she placed her hands on the sides of her face, trying as hard as she could to hide from the pain and memories. It was happening all over again! She was helpless against a man, and there was no one to help her, no one to stop the pain was forced upon her. Suddenly, she didn't want to be a fighter anymore...she just wanted to go home to her, and fall in her arms where she was safe and protected. Tears pooled in her eyes and fell down her dark cheeks in streams.
Set glared at her, his hands balling into fists. "Very well then, if that is your wish. You are of no use to me anymore." He raised his fist and gathered dark energy around it. He was just about to fire, when in a flash of bright lights, he was surrounded by five figures.
"Set!" yelled out Isis when the lights dissipated. She stepped forward and raised her hand. A bright beam of red energy shot out and slammed into him, knocking him back to the ground near Apep. The snake god raised his head and hissed at the group.
"It's over Set! Go back to the bowels of the Earth where you belong!" said Hathor, her hands balling into fists.
"You will not hurt this girl, not if we have anything to say about it." Ma'at's eyes narrowed dangerously at him. Besides her, Toth and Anubis brought out their swords and swung it dangerously before them before pointing them at Set.
The large god of Chaos glared evilly at the group while getting up painfully on his feet. "Oh, it's FAR from over, you fools! I know where to find my powers now, and you will not stop me!" He laughed darkly, and with a dark flash, his large sword, tainted red with the blood of his many victims, appeared in his hand. He grinned wickedly and dashed off towards Tari, intending to strike her down once and for all.
"NO!" yelled out Anubis and Toth. But they knew they would reach Tari too late to defend her. Set was just too fast!
Just then, a bright shimmer flashed above Tari, and a figure flipped out of the air. With a mischievous grin, he slashed his sword down just in time to block Set's sword from striking down on Tari. The two swords banged together with a clang that snapped Tari out of her fear-induced stupor.
"What...?" She looked up in confusion and watched as a young, brown-skinned man...looking to be no more than a year or two younger than her, stood before her defensively against the maddened Set.
"Horus!" Isis's eyes widened in surprise, but even she couldn't hide the relief in her voice.
"You are not going to harm her!" growled out the young Horus, glaring up at Set as he strained against Set's sword. He grunted again and pushed against Set, throwing him back a few inches.
Set sneered at him and raised his sword once more. "You always did meddle in affairs that were not your own...boy!
Horus's face twisted in anger at the taunt, and with a yell, he jumped and flipped expertly over Set's head. Not even a second passed before he turned and swung down his sword on Set, but the older god blocked and parried. For what seemed like eternity, the two fought, swords clanging heavily and sparks flying between them. Horus thrust and slashed and swung as best as he could, but he was no match for the experience and cunning of Set.
Finally, the older god smirked, and raising a hand just as Horus was about to strike, he let loose a dark cloud of smoke in the youth's eyes. While Horus coughed, Set kicked out and swept the young god's legs from under him.
He fell with a surprised grunt, and with a manic laugh, Set held the sword hilt in both hands and prepared to slam the pointed end down into Horus's chest.
"NOO!" Tari screamed out. Once more she thrust her hands out, and shot out blasts that slammed into Set's body. The god screamed as he was thrown back and fell heavily into the sandy earth. "STOP! Please, no more!" Tari hugged herself hard, fear, exhaustion, and doubt racing through her body.
Set stood after a moment and bared his yellowed teeth. He was about to attack again when the gods surrounded him once more, each with the hands raised and ready to strike. "This is FAR from over!" he repeated. He flicked his dark hand, and with a shimmer, he and Apep disappeared, leaving the wind to blow on the spot they just were.
"Tari!" Isis hurried over to where the young girl struggled to stand. Tears fell from Tari's eyes as she looked up to the young looking goddess. Then with a sob, she fell into Isis's arms, her body shaking uncontrollably.
"It's alright now dear, it's okay...." Isis soothed, stroking her hair. "I'm so sorry, we should have been here to protect you."
"We won't make that mistake again," vowed Anubis, coming up behind them. "That Set...he has no honor!"
Tari leaned away from Isis after a few moments, wiping the tears from her eyes and cheeks. "It's okay, I'm...fine." she whispered.
She then turned to Horus, who was walking up to them, wiping a way the last strands of black smoke from his face. "Tha...Thank you for saving my life. I...I just couldn't...I was..."
"No, thank you for saving my life," he said, bowing to her. "I can see now that my mother made a wise choice in choosing you to help with our fight."
"Flattery does not mean you'll get out of being in trouble," Isis said, turning to her son and crossing her arms over her chest.
The young god blushed and hung his head. "Mother!" He sneaked an embarrassed glance at Tari.
"Never mind all that now," Hathor indicated her head towards a few people coming onto the scene. "I believe it's time for us to go..."
"Will you be alright?" Toth said with concern as he turned to Tari.
"Yeah, I'll be fine. It's just...all of this is just to hard to deal with right now...and.."
"I know," said Isis, putting a hand on her shoulder. "We will talk more on this, I promise. But for right now, Set's powers are still hidden from him, so we are lucky in that.
"Get some rest, Tari. We will see you soon and reveal more to you." Ma'at nodded her head, then raised her feathered arms. She disappeared in a feathery swirl air, followed by the rest.
Her body still a bit sore, Tari rushed to behind one of the few remaining tents and reverted back to her clothes, her mind still full of questions and confusion. Set scared her, and it seemed like she was going to need ALL her strength to stand up against him. But she wondered...did she have to strength to do it? She prayed deep in her heart she did.
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"I ALMOST HAD IT!" screamed out Set in his torture chamber, kicking over a lost soul as it stood quivering before him. "I was so close, SO CLOSE!" With an enraged yell, Set flashed out his dagger. He bent down, grabbed the lost soul by the hair, and roughly pulled him back up. The soul, who was once a cruel slave master and often dismembered his slaves, whimpered helplessly. Set growled, and with quick movements, stabbed the hapless soul through the stomach.
The soul's body convulsed as he gurgled then was still. Set pulled his dagger out and threw the lifeless body...which he would reanimate again later...away from him in disgust.
"Ssssire, at least there is another chance to look for your powerssss," Apep said soothingly from behind him. "The otherssss have not found it either,"
Set calmed slightly at that. Yes, it was true that the power that was rightfully his escaped. But now he knew the area it was in now, and he could search for it anytime. He just needed those snooping gods to stop interfering! His eyes brightened...yes, that was it! He just needed to distract them while he continued his search! But how? He sat down on his immense chair as he worked a plan in his mind.
He could always recruit one of many minions to keep those gods and that disgusting mortal girl out of the way while he search. That way, not only could he search for his powers, but he could also search for any sign of the missing soul of his weak brother, Osiris. He believed that surely by now, he must have been reborn. He would search every child in the stinking mortal realm if he had to, and when he did, he'd take such pleasure in killing him again, and making sure he would never be reborn again! With that thought, Set grinned, and beckoned Apep to bring in another soul for him to torture. Soon, everyone will know his true power, his true might, and he will bring the world to its knees as he nearly did thousands of years ago.
Another soul was brought in, this time of a man that was once a greedy assassin, and Set sneered as he caressed a whip that appeared in a whisp in his hand. The man trembled as he walked forward to Set. The whipped cracked, and moments later, the sounds of screams and crying echoed throughout the whole, dreary castle.
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To Be Continued...
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