Set

Duat twist and ripples. The entire room shakes. Amos raises an eyebrow. How can he still look so calm and in control when tied to a column? I get up and open the door before the sha's started scratching on it. His claws always ruin it. Better have him tearing apart the furniture inside my room. I smile. He loves playing after a good hunt.

But, when I open the door, instead of running in my poor sha limps inside. He goes straight to my bed, and whimpers when he jumps on it. My pet doesn't even bother to stretch like usual, just curls up in a ball on top of my pillows. I close the door behind me and sit next to him. The sha looks at me weekly, then puts his head on my thigh, whimpering. I stroke his reddish fur carefully.

"If by now it was strictly godly business," I tell Amos, not looking up from my sha. "Your nephew just made it personal between us."

I can hear Amos gulp.

Camelback Mountain feels like home already. The entire inside of the mountain had been finally hollowed out. My pyramid stands halfway done in the middle of the cavern. The air rings with the sound of pickaxes. Hordes of demons are cutting blood-red limestones into blocks and hauling them to the middle of the cave, where more demons use ropes and ramps to hoist them into place. The blocks, not the demons. My brother's energy radiates from his sarcophagus, deep within the pyramid.

A reed barge floats above the pyramid. No one should be able to distract us up here. It's just me and the leader of the Demons. And, of course, the little youngling. I can feel the falcon hovering above me.

"How much longer?" I ask the demon.

Next to me, the demon bowls. "We're making excellent progress, master!" he promises. "We conjured a hundred more demons today. With luck, we will be done at sunset on your birthday!"

"That is unacceptable, Face of Horror." Even though my tone is calm, the demon flinches. Ah. Nothing makes my heart happier than fear.

"B-but, master," Face stammers. "I thought—"

"Do not think, demon. Our enemies are more resourceful than I imagined. They have temporarily disabled my favorite pet and are now speeding toward us. We must finish before they arrive. Sunrise on my birthday, Face of Horror. No later. It will be the dawn of my new kingdom. I will scour all life from this continent, and this pyramid shall stand as a monument to my power—the final and eternal tomb of Osiris!"

I smile at the demon. I don't care much if he'll obey me or if I'll have to rip him to pieces. It'll be fun either way.

"You understand my order?"

"Yes, lord!" Face of Horror shifts his bird feet. "But may I ask, lord...why stop there?"

"You are one sentence away from destruction, Face of Horror. Choose your next words carefully."

The demon runs his black tongue across his teeth. What a gross creature. "Well, my lord, is the annihilation of only one god worthy of your glorious self? What if we could create even more chaos energy—to feed your pyramid for all time and make you the eternal lord of all worlds?"

"Lord of all world," the words feel so good on my tongue. that has a nice ring to it. And how would you accomplish this, puny demon?"

"Oh, not I, my lord. I am an insignificant worm. But if we were to capture and the others: Nephthys—"

I kick the demon in the chest. He collapses, wheezing.

"I told you never to speak her name."

"Yes, master," Face pants. "Sorry, master. But think of the power you could consume. With the right plan..."

I start nodding. A new plan is forming in my head. I've been having quite a few of those recently.

"I think it's time we put Amos Kane to use."

I can feel the ba above me tensing in the Duat.

"Brilliant, master. A brilliant plan."

"Yes, I'm glad I thought of it. Soon, Face of Horror, very soon, Horus, Isis, and my treacherous wife will bow at my feet—and Amos will help. We'll have a nice little family reunion."

I look up, straight at the little brat, and smile. "Isn't that right, boy?"

The horror in his eyes when I reach out to grab him is hysterical. But, just like always, Horus has to ruin the fun. They fly away through the ripples of Duat. Bummer.