Nezzar

Part One: The Faceless One

Bastet's left ear twitched, the heckles that lined the back of her neck and spine rising.

Something was watching her.

Grip tightening around the hilt of her iron dagger, she continued her stroll down the field of palms. It was late evening. Tall grasses lined the banks of the Nile to her left and as far as her senses could spread, she saw and heard nothing but the nature around her. The something watching her was odd, hard to label or pinpoint.

Rolling a shoulder, Bastet resumed her target practice once more. Amon-Ra loved to entertain himself with spars among gods. She had had more wins than losses but that wasn't enough. It would be good to become the champion, back-to-back win of every fight.

One throw and Bastet sent the blade spinning in a perfectly straight line. A single thought and the weapon took a sharp right. It hit its target, pinning a twisting vine to the palm tree it had been coiling around.

"It will do you good to show yourself now." Two more daggers materialized in her palm even as the first one twisted deeper into the tree trunk, hurting whatever was linked to the vine.

"I was beginning to think you would not notice my presence."

Bastet stiffened.

That voice.

Twisting around, Bastet took in the cloaked figure.

"Yes, it is I. Your long-lost brother." He pushed away his hood and confirmed Bastet's suspicion. Cotton white skin. Large black eyes. She remembered his eyes were once green and serpentine.

"You."

Quatesh smiled. His teeth were completely human-like. Not a fang in sight. His appearance appeared even weaker than the last time she saw him centuries ago. He had been bloodied and bruised after suffering a thorough beat down in the hands of Sekhmet.

"You are no brother of mine. And what are you doing here?" Bastet asked through gritted teeth. She felt disgusted that she had been concerned for her safety over the backstabbing ingrate. "Have you sworn allegiance to Amon-Ra? You should not be here if you haven't done that first."

"For some reason, Ra's presence is hidden from me." Quatesh was no longer smiling. And when did he draw closer? Bastet frowned. Something was amiss.

"If you truly bear goodwill to Amon-Ra," Bastet made sure to emphasise his new name, "his essence will not be hidden from you. Have you learned no lessons in the pits?"

When Quatesh smiled again, there was something in his eyes. Something almost familiar and ancient. "I have learned a lot while in the pits."

Now he was only a few feet away. Bastet blinked, her tail swishing as that same ominous air she felt earlier thickened. "What is your business with me?"

Holding his hands behind him, Quatesh angled his head to the right. "Do you know what it feels like to be in the outer darkness?"

At the mention of that place even worse than the pits, Bastet released a sharp exhale. "Enough with the rhetoric. Answer the question." Claws dug out of her toes and pierced the earth, her legs already transforming to that of a cat.

"I will send you to the outer darkness right after I rid you of your body." Then they were upon Bastet before she could react.

The vines moved like snakes—impossibly fast snakes. One pierced through her palm causing the dagger she held to drop and turn to dust. The dagger in her left hand grew to a long sword and with it she slashed through three more vines speeding at her face.