Steven was feeding his goldfish then he prepared himself a nice bowl of cereal. He was about to take a bite when he saw his reflection in the small mirror next to his doorway.
"Steven, we need to talk."
"We had a deal, Marc. Harrow is gone. Layla is safe. I get my regular life back. We agreed, you promised!"
Marc nodded "I know. Steven, there's danger. Khonshu senses it."
Steven rose from his seat and began pacing "No, no, no, no, no, no. No more danger. No more threats or being shot at. Please."
"Hey, I'm not fond of it either. He hasn't told you?"
"Told me what?" Steven asked, biting his thumbnail.
"Of course, he didn't tell you. No. He chooses to wake me up after you've been awake for four days straight."
"Four days?"
Marc gave it to him straight "He can't sense some Gods anymore. He thinks they're dead."
"What? Dead? Gods can't die. They can only be exiled, or imprisoned… or…"
Marc raised an eyebrow "Or?"
Steven began to explain. "Well, there was an amulet. It wasn't actually an amulet, it was a sceptre. The was-sceptre. Technically, was-sceptres were commonality. Nothing really important about those ones. But the was-sceptre is different. It was crafted by Anubis and given to Set."
"Who's Set?"
"God of Chaos and violence."
"Good call."
"Yeah." Steven chuckled. "It was evident that this sceptre had been enfused with Anubis's power. You can only imagine what it could do with a smidge of the God of Death's power."
"It could kill Gods?"
Steven swayed his head "It could, theoretically. It was never proven. Set didn't really get a chance to use it. Once he joined the Ennead, he gave it up and they hid it away."
"Why not destroy it?" Marc asked.
"Only it's creator can destroy it."
"Why didn't Anubis to that when Set gave it to the Ennead?"
Steven laughed, "Anubis wasn't part of the Ennead. Everyone knows that…"
He cleared his throat after noticing Marc not being amused. "If this bloke found his sceptre there's no chance of us giving it to Anubis to destroy it. I say we lay low and hope he doesn't come for us."
"Steven."
"Right. We can't do that. Justice and all that." Steven paused "Of course, we don't even know if it's Set who has the sceptre. It could be any of the Gods."
"Yeah."
Khonshu appeared beside Steven "The closest one is Hathor. She seems to be on her way here."
"Hathor's the killer? No way. I met her and her avatar, they're good ones." Marc explained.
"Hathor is the god of fertility, music, and beauty. Plus, she's part of the Ennead. Why would she want to kill fellow Gods?"
Marc's tone turned somber. "She's part of the Ennead, so that means she knows where the sceptre was hidden."
"She is getting closer. You can choose to do with that information what you will." Khonshu said before disappearing "Just make the right choice."
"Marc?" Steven asked the mirror.
"What?"
"I can't go up against a Goddess who may or may not have the only weapon that can kill Khonshu."
Marc nodded, understanding the nervousness of Steven's voice. "You scared, buddy?"
"Just a smidge."
"It's fine." Marc said calmly. "I gotchu, Steven."