"I have united the Two Lands for you, according to what the souls of Heliopolis have decreed." – Hathor, Thebes Limestone relief of Nebhepetre Mentuhotep II, whose reign ends the political fragmentation and Chaos of the First Intermediate Period.

18.03.2015

Duat

Hathor

The air in the courtyard was cold and heavy. When I was younger it was always hot, even during the night. Until the day Father dimmed.

Horus put his finger to his lips and nodded past the garden, towards the main gate. It was wide open. The silence finally carried to my ears what he must have heard already, the reason he had anxiously tried to sneak out alone – a chanting. I was starting to regret following him.

Beyond the gate were only the Outer Courtyard, some storage rooms and… the Solar House. An empty platform that used to store and prep the Mesektet Barque before nightfall.

"No," I whispered. "No, they would defy us, but no one would dare desecrate the altar."

The last trace I had of my father. The last place I could feel his energy. It was sacred space. No being of Ma'at would dare.

Horus must have read my thoughts, because he shook his head. "Stay here."

It took everything to keep my voice quiet.

"And leave you alone? Have you gone insane?"

"Please, binirat-mariut, I won't be able to go on if something happens to you."

"And you think I would?"

That seemed to settle it. He held out his hand, kept us close, as we walked on through the darkness.

The chanting grew louder.

The eclectic figures stood in a circle, facing the empty platform. If the verb can be applied to something that doesn't have a face, that is. Creatures formed from deteriorating spare parts – human, animal and inanimate.

Very few had mouths, yet a voice echoed from each creature of Chaos. A uniform voice, multiplied over and over and over again. Loud and taunting, repeating a single word.

"Late. Late. Late."

A khopesh glistened in the air, ready to attack. In perfect unison, the demons turned around to face us. It was the one in the front center that caught my attention. You'd assume it was the leader, until you look closer and notice the agony in its eyes. The tears fighting to escape. The mouth, sliced in a permanent grin, still freshly bleeding. The crimson bathing the teeth, just barely a shade lighter than the exposed muscle around them. Said muscles tightened as the creature spoke, every technical movement so perfectly visible. A crazy scientist's biggest dream. A human's worst nightmare.

"It's time to give up. You are too late. He chose the girl over the god. Soon you'll all be just another dry husk like Ra's scarabs. This was your last warning."

We stood frozen in horror as the demons began to fall apart in small, dark, pieces. Soon the ground was littered with scarab shells.

Horus moved forward, pulling me towards the platform. He didn't let go of my hand even as he bent down to pick up one of the shells. Cracked and empty. Dead.

The Pharaoh's voice rung outside the dining room. Even though his voice was leveled and calm, most likely because Ihy was in his lap, his words were laced with annoyance and tension. Was the child away, Horus would have been yelling at his mother right now.

"Do you think it's easy ruling during time of crisis? Chaos is rising, deities all over the pantheon are questioning my authority and I have to alter my plans to compromise with a literal child. I love you, Mother, but your constructive criticism is the last thing I want to deal with."

"All I'm saying is that there is still time to influence the boy. Get in contact with him, tell him the scroll is more important than the girl."

A bit hypocritical, wasn't Isis the one to locate Zia Rashid's tomb in the first place?

"Look at them, discussing matters of the heart without waiting for me." I sat down, kissing my husband. "What if I decide this counts as treason against the Queen?"

Horus laughed and leaned his head against my shoulder. "Then I would personally behead myself!"

"Those aren't simply matters of the hearth," Isis countered. "The world is at stake. And Carter Kane has chosen a girl over it."

I shrugged. "Right up his patron's alley, I suppose."

Horus raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth as if to protest, but our eyes locked and he lost his thought.

"If it was me or the world, dear," I asked, "Who would you pick?"

There was something so magical, so eternal, about the way the light danced in his eyes.

"You. The world can burn."

If he kept looking at me like this, I could have burned. Ihy's little fake cough pulled us out of our little private world.

"Case closed then," Horus smiled. "He takes it from me. And I," he turned to his mother. "Take it from you. So really it's your fault, isn't it?"

Isis shook her head. "You clearly can't be reasoned with."

I groaned internally. All Demon Days seemed to be preprogrammed to push each other's buttons. It didn't help that this argument was also technically my fault. I had a bit of a soft spot for Carter and Zia ever since I heard about the Shabti's destruction. Deities were already teaming up against Horus because of the godling's plan. Now that Love is endangering the world, that could be the perfect reason to turn against me, too.

Even worse, it wasn't just the civil war we had to worry about anymore. Demons had reached as far as the outer courtyard. Either the guard was weak, or no longer loyal to us. I couldn't decide which possibility worried me more. The walls of our own home were no longer safe.

My eyes drifted to little Ihy, drawing peacefully on the table.

No, the Palace was going to stay secure. By Sekhmet's power, if not by mine.

I made sure everybody was asleep before sneaking out of the palace. Isis had already started working one new wards, but how much help they would actually be, is up to time to tell.

I needed to talk to someone who wouldn't twist the situation through the lenses of their own agenda. A source as unbiased, as possible. I was halfway through the door of Thoth's study when I realized he wasn't alone.

The god of chaos waved me in with a smile. "You here for a beer or for work?"

19.03.2015

Thoth's Study, Duat Entrance

Set

I swirled the glass around until it refilled itself. "Ombos is really pretty this time of year."

Thoth raised an eyebrow. "You want to take Amos to Ombos?"

"What? No, these were two separate… separate state…, sti…, stale… thoughts."

"Statements?"

"Yeah, that! Separate stalemates! Why are you so hung up on the Amos bit anyways?"

"Because it seems to be bugging you."

"I'm not bugged! I'm never bugged! Just-"

"Confused?"

"No! I can't be confused, I invented confusion, I am practically the god of confusion, I am. Confusion. Can't be confused by a mortal."

"And yet, that one's got you bugged."

"Why is he trying to reach out, Thoth?"

Thoth shrugged. "Don't know. Have you responded?"

"Hell nah, I haven't responded! Are you insane? I just got Isis off my back, the last thing I need is her breathing down it once again because of the Kane. That family is a ticking time bomb, mark my words."

Yet another empty bottle popped out of existence on the table, just to be replaced with a new one.

Thoth adjusted his glasses and looked at the label. "Isn't this a bit much?"

"Who cares?"

"You've had enough strong alcohol for tonight, I believe."

"No, no, no, no!"

Thoth snapped his fingers and the bottles on the table disappeared. In their place was a stack of beer. "My study, my rules. You can keep on getting drunker, just at a smaller pace."

"I hate you."

"I'm sure you do, why else would you keep on coming here to complain?"

"That's basically kid's juice!"

"And you're acting like a child right now, so it fits."

"You don't get it! Amos Kane has lost his mind! And I'm not even sure if it's my fault anymore!"

"He's just reaching out."

"This makes no sense, you see. I killed his brother, destroyed his home, kick started the apocalypse, put him through emotional and mental anguish till he reached his breaking point, burnt him out AND put him into a suicidal spiral of grief and guilt. How does reaching out make sense?"

"When you put it like that…"

"Yeah."

"And yet, I feel like there's something more bugging you then just your ex-host's insanity."

Insanity? I'm standing up for what I believe in! For the things the House won't even admit to itself exist! If that's insanity, then no human can stay sane.

Voices from the past had never been so loud. It had been a while since anyone had managed do come close to him. 135 years, to be exact. The Iunu Massacres. Those were fun.

"Do you remember my last successful host?"

Thoth raise an eyebrow. "Depends on how you define successful."

I rolled my eyes. "Lasted five years before I took over, almost started a revolution, got betrayed by our new Chief Lector and hanged in the Pleasure Gardens."

"Oh, T… T-Something, wasn't it?"

"Tamer Yilldirim."

"Hm. So, what?"

"That's where the problem comes. He reminds me of Tamer, Thoth."

"Isn't that a good thing?"

"Not for Amos, no."

The door creaked open.

The Queen of the Gods walked in, eyes on Thoth, and almost said something, when she saw me.

"Hi," I waved. "You here for a beer or for work?"

The momentary surprise was replaced by her usual smile. "Hey, Set! Work, I'm afraid."

"Hm."

"Thoth, may I?" She gestured to one of the chairs.

Thoth smiled. "You know, you're the only one who asks."

"So, " I began. "What brings my favourite Ra daughter here?"

"There was an attack on the palace. Demons chanting around the altar."

Breaking glass. The hiss of beer spilling.

"It's started."

binirat-mariut (bnrt-mrwt) = Sweet of Love