Osiris Rising Chapter 13

Osiris Rising

Chapter 13


It took Tari a moment or two to understand what was going on as she regained consciousness. Her life was just moments from ending, then suddenly, she was saved in the nick of time by a lone figure walking up to Set and standing bravely before him. At first, Tari felt relief when she thought it was Isis, but looking closer, she saw that it wasn't the kind-hearted Egyptian goddess, but another who very closely resembled her. The woman’s face was much sadder though, a little more sunken, as though down-trodden by life itself. Her hair was loose and slightly unkempt, and her clothes looked as though it was too big for her.

Tari blinked in surprise before finally standing up on shaky legs, still woozy from the choke hold Set had her in. She was about to open her mouth and ask what was going on, and who the woman was, when Set suddenly growled deep in his throat and narrowed his glowing red eyes at the figure before him. "You! What are you doing here? Leave now! This is not your concern!"

The woman merely shook her head in sadness, determination in her eyes, and stepped a little closer. "No Set. For a long time, I believed all of your schemes and the pain you put so many mortals through wasn't my concern. I believed that somehow, you would see the error of your ways on your own and go back to the man I once loved so long ago." She looked around at the devastation and the still unconscious children on the ground not too far from them, her eyes misting just slightly. She turned back to Set and held her head up defiantly. "But now I see that I was a fool. A fool to believe that you loved or cared about anyone else besides yourself. How I was blind to that after all these years, I cannot explain. But I plan to make it right, and I plan on starting right now."

She was about to say more, but at that moment, Set roared in rage, seething at having been interrupted when he was so close to fulfilling his goal. His body glowed red, and with a grunt, he threw out his hand and shot forth a massive beam of red energy at the woman.

Almost without thought, Tari yelled "Look out!", fearing another innocent person would get hurt in her battle against Set. But she needn't have worried; with a determined look and narrowing her eyes, the woman leaped up high into the sky, back flipped as the beam passed harmlessly under her, and landed on one knee a few inches away. When she landed, she threw forth her arms and shot out a powerful stream of white energy of her own. So surprised was Set at the woman's quick moves, he stood frozen in place and didn't see the power coming to him until it was too late. The powerful god of chaos was slammed in his chest by the double blasts and knocked heavily into the ground as he screamed in pain, sending dust and debris up.

Meanwhile, Apep was staring in shock at the unexpected arrival and didn't notice Horus, still in his grasp, mentally call forth his sword. With his mind, he lifted it up in the air and directed it to plunge deeply into the giant snake's side. Apep hissed loudly in rage and pain, loosening his grip on the tall, deceivingly youthful god as he fell to the ground. Within a moment, the snake god lay still in unconsciousness, a gush of green blood oozing from the wound. Horus landed lightly on his feet and rushed over to Tari. His sword disappeared from Apep's side and then reappeared back in his hand when he reached Tari.

"Damn, I didn't expect to see her here!" Horus said, standing protectively by Tari. "This is definitely getting more serious than I thought." He turned to look at Tari. "Are you okay?"

Tari nodded her head, mesmerized. She turned at Horus, then back at the woman. "I thought she was, I mean...who is she?"

Horus sighed as he watched the woman cautiously back away from the Set when he slowly struggled to stand. "That is Nephthys, goddess of death, the dark side of the underworld, and sister to my mother," When Tari looked at him with confusion, Horus gave her a slight smile. "I believe the people of your time would call her my aunt. Not many know about her because she's always been a bit of a recluse, under the tight control of Set since they got married. Seeing her here like this, it is very rare."

As Horus was talking, Set was already facing Nephthys and ready to fire again. "How dare you!" Set growled out, his dark face filled with rage. "I've given you everything you desired! I made you want for nothing, and this is how you repay me?" His hands glowed once more with destructive power. "You shall pay dearly for this!"

"All those things you have given me meant nothing Set, not when you didn't give me what I needed the most, what any woman needed the most. You didn't give me love." Time seemed to stop as the two faced each other. At those words, Set's face softened just slightly as memories of when they first met and courted entered his mind. Was what she said true? Had he really not considered what love was when he vowed to win her over? Did he not take seriously how disappointed she looked when he brought her expensive gifts and gold without a word, yet when Osiris wooed Isis with nothing but songs and poetry, Isis looked so happy?

At the thought of his brother Osiris, the slight softness to Set's face disappeared, and he yelled with frustration once more. He rushed at her, determined to make her pay for her betrayal as his body once more seemed to burn with fire.

"Oh no!" gasped Tari, "We have to help her!" Tari and Horus made to rush forward and help, but Nephthys quickly held out her arm to the side, stopping them in their tracks.

"No! Stay back, this is MY fight!" she said, her hands balling into fists.

The two stared in wonder as they watched the god and goddess battle it out. Set was nearly upon Nephthys and she quickly and easily dodged him at the last second. He turned around and rushed at Nephthys once again, this time throwing punches. But the goddess was too quick for him, dodging, jumping, and back flipping from his massive fists in a blur. In all her years with him, Nephthys had thought of herself as too weak, too afraid to stand up to Set, but it was only now that she realized all the hurt and anger that was slowly building up inside her against this monster. She should have stood with the other gods to stop him all those years ago! But this was her time now to make amends.

Eternity seemed to slowly pass as the two fought on, kicking, dodging, and throwing powerful energy blasts, but in reality was no more than a few minutes. A small crowd began to gather, and they all stood in awe as they watched what they thought was nothing but mythology come to life.

Just then, Set suddenly made a surprise move, faking left, then turned immediately turning right. He kicked out his leg and knocked out Nephthys's feet from under her. Tari cried out in surprise and made to run out and help, but Horus held out his arm to stop her, shaking his head. When Nephthys fell, Set grinned and made to kick her in the stomach, but the goddess had a surprise move of her own. Just as his foot was about to connect to her, she reached out to grab it and pulled, making him fall once more to the hard ground. She got up quickly, and with a strained grunt, reached out her hands towards him and shot forth a green, shimmering light. It surrounded and engulfed Set as he looked around him in confusion, and she lifted the bubble of light with him in it high into the air as she raised her arms.

With another grunt, Nephthys drew her arms back, then thrust them forward, as though throwing a large beach ball. The ball of light sprinted forward, almost too quick to see, and just before it was to slam into the side of a large office building, it dissipated and instead Set was slammed into it, making a loud booming sound that shook everyone near it to their core.

Set slowly slid down the side of the building to the ground, leaving behind an imprint of his body on the building with cracks running all along it for all to see. When it was done, Tari turned her head to look at Nephthys with complete awe, her mouth opened in shock. The goddess, her hands on her knees and panting slightly, looked up at Tari and nodded her head. But the two had no time to say anything to each other as Set stood up once more, blood running from his mouth and nose and bruises all over his body.

"You think I can't take a hit?" rasped out Set, his chest heaving as he tried to take a breath. "It'll take more than some cheap magic trick to stop me!" The black-skinned god lifted his arms and fired his energy beams at the exhausted goddess.

"Oh no you don't!" yelled out Tari. She rushed forward, jumped high in the air, somersaulted once, and landed in a crouch right in front of Nephthys. She straightened up and raised her hand with her bracelet, and concentrating, created a red shield around herself and the goddess. The powerful beams slammed into the shield, making Tari grunt with the strain, but they held, and when the shield dissipated after the onslaught ended, Tari fell to her knees, the exhaustion from her earlier fight with Apep and Set catching up to her.

Horus looked at the two women, now on their knees, and turned to give Set a rageful glare. "You...you jackal dung!" the prince god screamed out. With a yell, Horus swung his sword around him and then rushed forward, intending to plunge his sword into the mad god's heart. But Set was ready, and right before the god reached him, he drew back his fist and then slammed it into the side of the god's face, punching him back a good few feet away. He landed with a very painful thud on the ground.

"Horus!" Tari tried to get back on her feet, but fell down exhausted once more. Gotta...help! she thought, trying so very hard to fight the tiredness. Beside her, Nephthys also tried with all her might to regain her strength and stand, but with the amount of energy she already used, it was almost useless.

A sadistic grin spread across Set's face as he walked up to the barely stirring Egyptian god prince. He mentally called forth his blood-colored sword and held it tightly before him as he approached Horus.

When he looked up and saw Set coming toward him, Horus gasped in fright and began scrambling backwards away from him, memories of when he first fought him and lost his eye flooding back to him. "Yes, that's right, grovel before me, just like your worthless father will soon!" Set said softly, grinning wider.

Set raised his sword, but just before he could slash it down on Horus, a deep, rage filled voice filled the air.

"ENOUGH!"

Set barely had time to look up in surprise when there was a sudden flash of metallic light near him and his sword was knocked heavily out of his hand.  When he turned to see who had dared interrupt him, his eyes widened in shock as the figure of Anubis appeared in a shimmer next to Tari and Nephthys, his own sword long and broad in his dark hands, followed by Thoth, Ma'at, and finally a darkly glaring Isis.

Ma'at was the first to speak after she looked at the panting Nephthys and Tari, then back at Set. "Have you not shamed yourself enough already, Set?" she asked, the feathers along her arms gently fluttering in the wind. "Will you stop at nothing to satisfy your blood lust?"

"Shut up! You know nothing about me!" cried Set. Filled with rage, he shot forth an energy blast at M'aat, but being one of the more powerful gods, she merely raised a hand, and the energy dissipated right before it reached her. Set growled deep in his throat and was about to throw another blast when he was suddenly struck from the side by a blue-colored energy blast, then another, and another. He finally fell to the ground, and when he stood shakily back up, he saw that he was surrounded by all the gods that appeared just then.

It was only then that Set noticed how exhausted he was now. He turned to see Apep only now  beginning to gain back consciousness, and knew he would be near useless in a fight now, not with all the blood he's lost so far. And it would only be a matter of seconds for the other more powerful gods to arrive if he dared continued fighting now. Set bared his teeth in seething rage as he understood he was outnumbered for now.

"Go, Set," said Isis, stepping up to him and trying her hardest to keep her anger under control. "Go now, and take your pet snake with you."

"I will not be denied! Do you hear me? You will ALL pay for this!" the evil god screamed out. Set gave Tari one last look of hate and rage before he stepped back, and in a shimmer, he disappeared. Apep shimmered away right after.

Isis didn't let a second pass after Set was gone before she rushed over to Nephthys and Tari, helping them to their feet while Ma'at, Anubis and Thoth rushed over and checked on the now stirring boys. With a soft shimmer of light in his hand, Thoth carefully healed the injuries the children received from the near fatal blast.

"Are you both alright?" Isis said, looking Tari and Nephthys over. She looked at her twin sister deep in her eyes. "My sister, what were you thinking? We were all just coming to find you, and when we couldn't, we searched everywhere else, but we didn't think you'd come here on Earth -"

Before Isis could finish, Nephthys shook her head.

"I know, and I'm sorry I worried you, but I just couldn't stand by anymore and let Set hurt more children. I had to do something to try and help stop him. Isis, please forgive me, I was too blind to see what he really was, I was -"

Isis placed a finger on her sister's lips to stop her and shook her head as she smiled, letting her know that she needn't say anymore and that all was forgiven.

She looked at Tari. "And you, Tari. Once again you placed yourself in danger to protect the innocent. You have proven once more that we have made the right choice in choosing you to help with our quest. Thank you Tari, I don't know how we could do this without you." She reached over and hugged Tari gently.

"Hey, just another day on the job, right?" Tari said, blushing slightly as she hugged back.

"The children are okay," said Thoth, as he, Anubis, and M'aat walked up to them. "And, errr, I think we made some new fans. Think we should give them our autographs?" The light-hearted god of healing jerked his thumb towards the gathering crowd looking at them with shock and surprise.

"No, I think that's our cue to leave." said Anubis, giving him an annoyed look as Thoth chuckled with a shrug.

"Just saying, just saying," Thoth said, giving his trademark grin.

"Yeah, and that's my cue to find Sajid, before he tells my dad I was missing again and he blows a gasket!" said Tari. "We'll meet when I have some time, I've got some BIG news to tell you guys!"

With that, she gave them a nod to thank them for rescuing her again, and after they disappeared, much to the gasps and disappointment of the crowd, she rushed off before the cops or any more people could come on the scene. She ran until she was about a block away and dashed into the alleyway of an apartment building. She took a deep breath, concentrated, and felt herself go back into her regular clothing.

She had just stepped out of the alleyway when she nearly walked into a tall figure. When she looked up, she was met by the concerned eyes of Sajid. "Mistress Tari? Where were you? I was looking everywhere for you, there's been some sort of attack!" He looked her up and down, then looked towards the alleyway she came from. "Are you okay? You didn't see what happened, did you? People are saying that they saw the gods come to life, and that a girl was helping them fight a demon."

"Yes, I'm fine Sajid!" Tari said, worried that he might have seen her change. "I, errr, was looking for you too, but I wasn't anywhere near the attacks. Sorry, didn't see anything!"

The big Sudanese man narrowed his eyes in thought as she chuckled nervously. Finally he nodded. "I see. Well, let's get going. I'm sure your father is very worried by now." He turned and walked away, making Tari breathe out a sigh of relief.

Phew! That was close! Tari willed her heartbeat to slow and dutifully followed Sajid back to his jeep, hoping beyond hope that she would be able to tell the other gods of the possibility that she was one step closer in finding Osiris's soul.

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Hours after the attack, the little boy known to everyone as Alim crawled into his bed, pain racking his body. He had suddenly become very sick again, and it was such a disappointment to him because he was sure the pain and sickness was gone. He had not had another attack since before his friends had died, and now, it came back full force. What was funny to him was that every time he did get sick, something strange always happened outside, like the attack that happened today and when his friends were suddenly called by Allah.

He sighed as he pulled the covers over him and then thought about the girl he met earlier. Today was one of the somewhat rare occasions was he let outside to play in the field next to the orphanage, as the teachers were afraid he would have an attack and no one would be there to help him. But he was glad he was outside today, or he wouldn't have met that pretty girl. Even as young as he was, the child was able to know a pretty woman when he saw one. She seemed really nice when she handed him back that ball. But who was she? Alim didn't know, and he knew he couldn't ask around because he would get teased, as boys here often did if they showed some interest in a girl. Alim at least figured out that she was not from this country much less the city. He knew that she was speaking English, as he had heard the language many times from American doctors and teachers coming by to visit.

His eyes began to close, and before he went to sleep, Alim's last thought was that he hoped he would be able to see that pretty girl again.

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To Be Continued...