Serqet

I'm waiting. It's a quite night. Windy. With chaos rising, the storms will get more and stronger. The weak would tremble in fear. I like that. The chimes of a bell. There is a small antique shop. From down here it looks enormous. The heavy door opens. Eight legs hurry up inside before it closes again. One downside of being a scorpion – can't open a stupid door. That's fine. My dear child won't have to carry me around for much longer. Shoes walk past. A tall man in a black suit walks to the door.

"And let's not break anything this time, shall we?" he says before walking out. The bells rattle.

I drift away from the scorpion. A woman is standing next to one of the shelfs. The pink threads of her dormant magic pull me in. I take my time, tasting her energy. Even though I'm floating right in front of her face, she can't see me. It's pathetic, but inevitable. We are gods, divine beings, more powerful then any of those little mortals! But without a host we are simply… untethered entities, depended on those same little mortals to exist.

A deep breath. I inhale her aura, tasting her essence. An animal charmer. Or at least she would've been one if her parents hadn't died, leaving her unaware of the world beyond the world. My vision blurs. I don't have much time left.

Another inhale, this time drawing her energy closer. The woman's beautiful green eyes look unfocused. Another inhale. She steps forward in a trance. Her soul tugs on the edges of her mind and, as if hit by a lightning, she staggers back away from me. Resistance is always so tasty. Another inhale, this time sharp. The woman is lifted of her feet. Another inhale. Her spine arches back so violently, it almost snaps in two. Almost. I need her body intact. Her limbs are limp. Her body relaxed. Her soul, covered in that pink aura, is struggling to stay in place. After one last inhale the woman, that maybe once had a name, gasps and stops breathing. I near her, yanking the pink soul and tossing it to the floor. Nothing more but an untethered entity. I give her half an hour before the molecules she's made of fall apart.

I lunge at the body. It resists me at first. Its temperature goes up rapidly. I inhale with a gasp. My lungs, desperate for air, fill again. What's left of the pink magic turns dark brown. Steam rises from my skin. The body has gotten so hot that my blood bubbles, threatening to burst through veins. The woman's old clothes burn to ash. Thank gods, her style had been the definition of a fashion disaster. My spine arches back even more. I scream as every vertebra breaks and shifts, turning into a somite. The tailbone expands, breaking through skin, forming a tail. The metallic taste of blood fills my mouth as gums are pierced by a scorpion's sideways mandibles. The least painful is my skin. It merely tingles as its being covered by a layer of chitin.

I drop to the floor, panting. I've forgotten how sensible mortal bodies are. Standing up, I catch my reflections in the glass door. My tail is the only acceptable thing. Magic flows through my body, ready to make adjustments once more. Green runs down my cheeks. Once the color is all out, pure black fills my eyes. Millions of bug antennae glue to the already long hair, turning it unnaturally thick and black. A veil of darkness wraps around me. When it leaves, a brown dress replaces it. A golden belt holds the dress in place. A golden brooch in the shape of a scorpion clasps a brown cape, draped elegantly over my shoulders. Golden are and the bracelets on my hands. A golden scorpion rests on my head.

I open the door of the shop and smile as I take in tonight's cold air. What a lovely time to be back.

After half an hour, a red limousine stops in front of the shop. The door opens by itself. I roll my eyes as I approach. He's always been quite the drama queen. I get in and sit next to the man inside. He is wearing a blood red suit, the cuffs lined with black. It's hard to distinguish his red skin from the clothes. Even his appearance leaves you confused. His red eyes flicker in my direction. When he smiles, his fangs come into view.

"Welcome back, Serqet." His voice is smooth.

I return the smile. "Set. To what do I owe this honor?"

"So I can't congratulate a friend on escaping Duat?"

"Since when are we friends?"

He actually looks hurt. "Did we not fight side by side, protecting Ra?"

I raise an eyebrow. "You do realize half the gods on that boat hate you with burning passion?"

His smile tightens. "My friend circle just shrunk by half, I guess."

"You should get out more."

"Yeah, but, see," he leans in and he whispers, as if sharing a secret. "A lot of gods hate me with burning passion."

Not a lie. Then again, he never outright lies. His poisonous tongue is better than that.

I drop the smile officially, looking straight in those red eyes of his.

"What are you really here for?"

Set sighs and backs away. He motions to the driver and we set off.

"Getting straight to the business, huh? Pity, I was enjoying our talk."

The windows are tinted, so I can't see where we're going.

"You may have heard some chatter about my never-ending fight with Horus. If you haven't, let me brief you: it started again."

I nod slowly. "And you want me on your side?"

"Naturally. You're one of the strongest gods."

"And as such I side with the strongest side. Why do you think that's you?"

The limousine goes over a huge bump. I have a feeling we're not on the road anymore.

Set tilts his head. "The first time round you were on my side."

I run my tongue through my teeth. My gums have stopped bleeding, but the scorpion side hasn't settled fully yet.

"Back when it was The Red Lord against a helpless child and his pathetic parents." I agree. "But how many times did Horus win?"

The silence that follows is uncomfortably intense. Just when I expect him to get mad, he chuckles.

"Here, my dear Serqet, is the plot twist." Humor glimmers in his eyes, as if this is all a game to him. Set raises his hand and the image of two kids appear. The boy is probably in his early teens. The girl looks even younger. "Once again, it's the Red Lord against pathetic children. They can't even use their powers yet."

The image disappears. We lock eyes. The message he is sanding is clear: Am I willing to babysit? Or side with the winning?

I nod and that annoying smirk of his appears. "This calls for a toast."

The air around his hand ripples. Two glasses of red wine hover in the air in front of us.

I raise and eyebrow. Set either ignores it or doesn't notice. He takes his glass.

"For the victory."

The glasses cling. "For the victory."

I take a sip. It's a nice change to the dreadful taste of blood, still lingering in my mouth.

I feel a surge of power as we enter the realms of Duat. The limousine gets to a stop. The door on my side opens. We get out. The Palace of Deserts is as magnificent as I remember.

On the outside, the whole place shimmers like a mirage. The more I try to focus my eyes on it, the blurrier it gets. It looks like a temple, though no temple would dare be red. The smooth walls are decorated with protective spells. The fiery lake carries a different scent in this part of Duat. As it enters the palace through special openings in the walls, the fire turns to water. As blue as the Nile.

As we approach, the heavy doors open wide. There are no servants, not even demon minions. As every other building in Duat, it operates on magic. The small golden balls of light hurry to welcome their lord, as we enter. They hover around Set, waiting for a command. He dismisses them with a wave of his hand and turns to face me.
"I believe you know the way."

I nod and look around. Red columns form a circle in front of us. The centre of the Centre Hall. Behind each column is an archway, each leading in a different direction. The palace is a huge half-circle, even though every room in it has 90 degree angles. Like everything else about Set, it's so chaotic that it defies all laws of logic. The water that enters the palace flows between the columns, forming a crystal blue pond.

"You haven't changed a thing, have you?" I ask him.

He shakes his head. "Don't see why I should."

"Even her parts? By Ra, I bet you even keep that pathetic waterfall!"

"If she comes back, she'd appreciate it."

A small laugh escapes my lips. "If she comes back? Don't tell me you still believe that's possible."

His eyes wonder off to the pond. "Very few have chosen a side already."

"How many times does this filthy little traitor has to spit in your face for you to-"

My back hits the wall, his hand around my throat.

"Didn't your seven scorpions protect Isis and Horus in the marshes of the delta?" He hisses." Didn't you side with them, too, once?"

My hand shoots up, trying to pry his away. He tightens the grip and moves closer. His red eyes are in flames. The flames spread down his arm and to his hand, burning into my skin. My eyes water. I gasp, struggling to breath. Suddenly, he lets go. I drop to my knees, holding my neck. He leans over and hisses. "Don't ever mention her again. Understood?"

I nod quickly. Thankfully, regeneration in Duat is quick. The pain is already going away. By the time I can breathe normally again, there is not a sign of an injury. Set takes a deep breath in, closes his eyes and turns his head to the ceiling for the exhale. When he looks back at me again, he's smiling. His fangs poke the edges of his mouth. Set offers me a hand and helps me up.

"Now," he says, fixing his tie. "Where were we? Yes! I believe you know your way around. Before our alliance is official, however, I expect you to fulfill a task for me. Nothing hard, but it is vital."

I nod again, rubbing my neck. "Of course."