In which I think Percy and Setne are kinda hilarious at this stage- Setne's just there, 'Hm, I like this one she could be interesting' While Percy is like 'Hm, I wonder if I can beat up a ghost.'
Replies:
Rage2091: I mean, I think you'll enjoy a certain part of this chapter if you want her to keep going.
Batmanuchiha: I think you may like a certain part of this chapter if you liked that.
Guest: I mean, they'll happen before any of the PJO stuff technically kicks off but they'll be in the same fic. And this is Setne to be fair, he's an asshole but he's a very smart very dangerous asshole and is one of the most powerful magicians, or he was when he was alive anyway. And Walt already knows his plan at this stage so he knows what he's doing but no one else does.
Jubby1905: Or, or, counter offer, Percy mouthing off at Setne for being an asshole.
Guest: I mean, that wouldn't scare him but something she does will. Later on.
Julius' expression was not pleased at Sadie's words, and he opened his mouth to say something-but Carter cut him off before he could.
"As much as saying it risks Sadie's head growing so big that it won't fit in Brooklyn House anymore... Sadie is right. Please, Dad. You asked how you could help. Give us custody of Setne. He's the key to defeating Apophis."
At the sound of that name, a cold wind blew through the courtroom. The braziers sputtered. Ammit whimpered and put his paws over his snout. Even the guillotine demons shuffled nervously.
"No," Julius said. "Absolutely not. Setne is influencing you with his magic. He is a servant of Chaos."
"My lord," Setne said, his tone suddenly soft and respectful, "I'm a lot of things, but a servant of the snake? I'm no more his servant than your precious youngest-" Julius' expression darkened as Percy flinched-and Setne clearly sensed that he'd made a mistake there because he moved on quickly. "I don't want the world destroyed. There's nothing in that for me. Listen to the girl. Let her tell you her plan."
And Sadie talked, the words spilling out, she told their father everything, their trip to Dallas, Percy's little pieces of knowledge which came from the snake himself, and she talked about the shadow box, their hopes of using the snakes shadow and her hopes that she could save Bes and destroy Apophis.
When she was finished there were several minutes of silence before; "It's impossible. Even if it wasn't, Setne can't be trusted. I would never release him, especially not to my children. He'd kill you at the first opportunity!"
"Dad," Carter said, "we're not children anymore. We can do this."
The agony in their fathers face was hard to bear. Percy wanted to rush forward and hug him but Sadie was already moving.
"Dad, I know you love us." she gripped his hand. "I know you want to protect us, but you risked everything to give us a chance at saving the world. Now it's time we did that. This is the only way."
"She's right." Setne managed to sound regretful, as if he were sorry he might get a reprieve. "Also, my lord, it's the only way to save the spirits of the dead before the shadow of Apophis destroys them all—including your first wife- I've heard rumors that you-" Setne shut up at the look on Julius' face, which had turned from sky blue to deep indigo. He gripped the throne like he wanted to tear off the armrests.
Then Julius took a deep breath, his hands relaxing, though his eyes were still narrowed and fixed on Setne.
"Guards," he said, "give the prisoner the Feather of Truth. He will hold it while he explains himself. If he lies, he will perish in flames."
One of the guillotine demons plucked the feather from the scales of justice. Setne looked unconcerned as the glowing plume was placed in his hands. "Right!" he began. "So your kids are correct. I did create a shadow execration spell. In theory, it could be used to destroy a god—or even Apophis. I never tried. Unfortunately, it can only be cast by a living magician. I died before I could test it. Not that I wanted to kill any gods, my lord. I was just thinking I'd use it to blackmail them into doing my bidding."
"Blackmail…the gods," Julius growled.
Setne smiled guiltily. "This was back in my misguided youth. Anyway, I recorded the formula in several copies of the Book of Overcoming Apophis."
Walt grunted. "Which have all been destroyed."
"Okay," Setne said, "but my original notes would still be in the margins of the Book of Thoth that I…that I stole. See? Being honest. I guarantee you even Apophis hasn't found that book. I hid it too well. I can show you where it is. The book will explain how to find the shadow of Apophis, how to capture it, and how to cast the execration."
"Can't you just tell us how?" Carter asked.
Setne pouted. "Young master, I'd love to."
"Yeah right." Percy scoffed, "You're a stinky liar and you love this."
"How rude, in any case I don't have the whole book memorized. And it's been millennia since I wrote that spell. If I told you one wrong word in the incantation, well…we wouldn't want any mistakes. But I can lead you to the book. Once we get it—"
"We?" Zia asked. "Why can't you just give us directions to the book? Why do you need to come along?"
"So he can back stab us and try to escape." Percy grumbled the words, and the ghost just grinned.
"You wound me. I need to come along because I'm the only one who can retrieve it. Traps, curses…you know. Besides, you'll need my help deciphering the notes. The spell is complicated! But don't worry. All you gotta do is keep these Ribbons of Hathor on me. It's Zia, right? You've got experience using them."
"How did you know—?"
"If I cause you any trouble," Setne continued, "you can tie me up good like a Harvest Day present. But I won't try to escape—at least not until I lead you to the Book of Thoth and then get you safely to the shadow of Apophis. Nobody knows the deepest levels of the Duat like I do. I'm your best hope for a guide."
The Feather of Truth didn't react. Setne didn't go up in flames, which meant he wasn't lying.
"Four of us," Carter said. "One of him."
"Except he killed his guards last time," Walt pointed out.
"So we'll be more careful," Carter said. "All of us together should be able to keep him under control."
Setne winced. "Oh, except…see, Sadie's got her little side task, doesn't she? She's gotta find the shadow of Bes. And actually, it's a good idea."
"It is?" Sadie looked startled.
"Absolutely, doll," Setne said. "We don't have much time. More specifically, your friend Walt there doesn't have much time."
And Sadie's expression darkened at that-and the ghost was probably lucky that he was already dead. "Go on."
"Walt Stone—sorry, pal, but you won't survive long enough to get the Book of Thoth, travel to the shadow of Apophis, and use the spell. There just isn't time left on your clock. But getting Bes's shadow—that won't take as long. It'll be a good test of the magic. If it works, great! If it doesn't…well, we've only lost one dwarf god-" Sadie growled and Carter's eyes narrowed. Percy just watched silently, her mind racing as she thought about what he'd been saying.
"What I'm thinking," he said, "is we split up. Carter, Percy and Zia, you three go with me to get the Book of Thoth. Meanwhile, Sadie takes Walt to the ruins of Saïs to find the dwarf's shadow. I'll give you some notes on how to capture it, but the spell is just theory. In practice, you'll need Walt's charm-making skill to pull it off. He'll have to improvise if anything goes wrong. If Walt succeeds, then Sadie will know how to capture a shadow. If Walt dies afterward—and I'm sorry, but casting a spell like that will probably do him in—then Sadie can rendezvous with us in the Duat, and we'll hunt down the snake's shadow. Everybody wins!"
And Percy wanted to hug Sadie tightly- her sister looked like she wanted to sob- and Percy also wanted to deck Setne in the face as he turned to Julius.
"What do you say, Lord Osiris? It's a chance to get your wife back, defeat Apophis, restore Bes's soul, save the world! All I ask is that when I come back, the court take my good deeds into consideration when you sentence me. How fair is that, huh?"
The chamber was silent except for the crackling fires in the braziers.
Finally Disturber seemed to shake himself out of a trance. "My lord…what is your ruling?"
"I-" Julius looked pained, and Percy stepped forward before the others could stop her.
"I have a question-"
"Percy!" Julius almost cried the word, because Percy had darted so that she was stood just in front of Setne, though the guards were still between them.
"Well, two questions actually." and Setne smirked as he met her eyes.
"Oh do ask away Percy- I'm sure they'll be interesting."
"Why do you want me to come with you, Carter and Zia?"
"Because, if I'm right you're probably the most likely to survive where we have to go. And you have a connection to the snake, that could be useful in getting his shadow."
"Makes sense-" Percy glanced back at the others, who were all incredibly tense at her closeness to Setne, at his words.
"You said you had two questions." Percy turned her gaze back to Setne, who was smirking, "You noticed something I said didn't you. You're smarter than you let on little Greekling."
"I did." Percy crossed her arms over her chest, tilting her head, "What will you do once you've gotten us to Apophis' shadow?" and Percy could see Carter shifting uneasily at that question, his eyes widening as he thought about Setne's earlier statement, and Setne tossed his head back, letting out a loud burst of laughter.
"Oh I like you Percy Kane. You see more than most people- very perceptive."
"Answer her question." Julius snapped the words, and Setne spread his arms out, as if to say 'what did I do?'
"Isn't it obvious?" He asked, "I'll escape of course. Or who knows, maybe your children will be able to keep me in line. Either way, you can't really afford to not send me with them now can you- and I really really do like you miss Kane. None of the others caught that."
"I don't-" Sadie looked confused, "What-"
"He said that he wouldn't try to escape until he'd lead us to the Book of Thoth and got us to the shadow of Apophis. And he's holding the Feather of Truth so he must be telling the truth there but that doesn't mean he can't try and escape after the fact."
"You dare-" Julius snarled the words, "You dare try and use trickery- you dare try to manipulate my children-"
"Ah!" Setne looked like he was enjoying himself, "I tried and failed at it, as long as your precocious little girl is with us I get the feeling I'll have a lot of trouble getting away with my trickery."
"I just have experience with snakes." Percy shot back, her eyes narrowed on the ghost- who laughed even harder.
"You're fiery for a child of the sea you know. I think I'll enjoy travelling with you."
"Y'know what I'd enjoy?" Percy tilted her head, clasping her hands behind her back and giving the most innocent look she could muster, "The chance to shove your head in a blender and turn it on. It's a shame we can't both do what we'd enjoy-" and Percy could hear Sadie laughing before she could stop herself- and it sounded like Carter was choking on air.
She could practically imagine the look on her dads face- and when she glanced back he was pinching the bridge of his nose, as if he was starting to get a headache. Yeah, yeah she'd got that one right.
"Oh this is going to be fun." Setne rubbed his hands together, a manic grin on his lips, "You know what I don't think we need the other two I think Percy and I could pull this off on our ow-"
"No!" Julius snapped the word, "No. I am not letting my youngest daughter go running off with a murderer like you on her own Setne- I don't know what would happen but I feel sure that there would be far too much chaos for my sanity. And I don't know which of you would cause most of it."
"Awe, you spoil my fun." Setne looked disappointed. "So Lord Osiris. Tell me, what's your verdict?"
"We don't have a choice dad." Carter was gritting his teeth- he looked like he wanted to grab Percy and run away with her, like he wanted to get her far far away from the ghost.
And Julius lowered his head, his expression one of grief.
"You're right son. May Ma'at protect us all."
"Oh, we'll have fun!" Setne said cheerfully. "Shall we get going? Doomsday isn't gonna wait!"