War and Healing (Gods of Egypt)

Chapter Nine

Sekhmet smiled at the banter between the mortal and god.

Bek stared at Horus. "You're being funny, right?"

The god peeked at Sekhmet and frowned as her smile quickly dropped under his gaze. "You think I'd put any effort into trying to amuse you?"

Looking up to the sky, Bek stated, "It seems flying would be useful right now."

"He cannot transform without his other eye." Sekhmet and Bek watched as Horus walked a distance away on the small mountaintop and kneeled. "He must pray to Ra for help."

"That must be hard for him," Bek snipped, causing Sekhmet to laugh.

Horus' attention snapped to the mortal before returning to his prayer. "Be silent or you'll reach the bottom of this mountain much quicker than you reached the top."

Sekhmet shook her head and looked at Bek. "You are right, but I do believe that in his weakest is where Horus will find his greatest strength."

After a moment of silence, Horus stood to be engulfed in warm light and transformed into his strongest form, the form of his haku. This form was the natural and original form for all gods before they morphed their figure to human likeness. For Horus, he transformed into the body of a man but the head and wings of a falcon. Everything appeared to be made of durable, rare metals.

Bek looked upon Horus' form with admiration and amazement, how he once viewed the gods. "Impressed," he exclaimed genuinely.

☀

Ra's ship glided through the abyss of space. The golden reflections of its surface made visible by the near sun. A swirling earth lay below surrounded by darkness and twinkling stars. It was a sight to behold.

Horus dropped the mortal he was holding causing him to tumble onto the deck of the ship. In his other arm, Sekhmet pushed from his grip once the ship was safely below her. The god returned to his usual form, his falcon self no longer needed.

"Stay in my shadow," Horus demanded lowly. His attention was focused on a slumped figure clad in common clothing. Nothing remarkable.

"Why?" Bek questioned from behind the two gods.

Horus slowly stepped toward the cloaked figure to kneel with similar reverence. "Just do as I say." Bek jerked in pain as his arm sizzled from venturing past the shadow of Horus. The light of the sun was too powerful for any mortal to experience. A great representation of the power of Ra. Sekhmet brushed her hand over his burnt arm before kneeling beside Horus. "Hail, thou Great God Ra."

Ra continued to sharpen his weapons against a spinning wheel of stone. His back remained facing his guests, concealing his aged face marked with lines and blemishes. Similar to the old pages of a book that held such wisdom but were tattered by blotches of ink and use. Experience only brought more wisdom. "Normally, when a bird lands on my boat, I kill it before it can shit." Sekhmet clamped her lips together in attempt to conceal her smile as Horus stood up, stunned. "What is this? You dare bring a mortal to the source of Creation?"

"He's valuable to me. I could not leave him behind."

"Ah. Why have you come?"

Horus took a few more, small, steps. "I would only ask something of you."

The grinding of metal ceased as Ra pulled down the hood of his garments. "Oh, in that case, I shall stop what I'm doing and head your bidding." He smiled mockingly. Ra had enough experience to no longer comply with another's folly.

Hands held out in surrender, Horus spoke, "Grandfather, I'm sorry. I mean no disrespect."

His face grew dim. "You don't know the difference." He placed the spear end against the turning stone and continued his work.

Sekhmet stepped past Horus, ignoring his reach for her arm. "Father, please. Help us." Silence erupted as the spear was pulled away. Slowly, his spotted head, for he only had a strip of white hair in the back, nodded. The goddess smiled in relief until a shriek rippled through the air. Her eyes snapped to Horus in worry.

Ra rose, laying the weapon he was sharpening on the golden ground. His eyes met the two gods for the first time since they arrived. He was proud, but it didn't show. "Stay there. Be quiet. I have work to do." A dull crown was placed on his head, and his worn cloak unraveled to hang loosely from his shoulders. Ra pounded a tight fist against his chest and his body was engulfed by the fire of the sun itself. Another hit and his body grew thrice the size of a god, his rags becoming billows of smoke and silk, his crown transforming into a grand sculpture of pure gold. "And put the mortal below deck if you want him to live." Suddenly the god dispersed into fire and traveled to the front of the ship to face the monster that was approaching.

The sun was dragged towards the edge of the earth, taking the light with it. Horus acted fast, grabbing Bek and throwing him into a galley under the ship. He did not bring the mortal all the way here to die. The ship traveled over the edge of the earth where light rarely reached and nothing living inhabited but one creature. Apophis.

Sekhmet gripped onto Horus' arm and leather-clad chest as the great demon approached. Its black serpent body slithering through the darkness. The multitude of gleaming, serrated teeth, following each other like the waves of the ocean, gave away the location of the dangerous being. Ra shot blasts of powerful fire causing the demon to swerve away from the ship and earth. The vessel shook with each explosive blast. Horus held onto a pillar, his other arm wrapped tightly around Sekhmet who he tucked against his chest.

Sekhmet slowly stepped away from the arms of Horus so as to not draw attention. He noticed. Ra returned to his descendants. The demon of Chaos disappeared in clouds of smoke and crackling lightning. "It is my burden to fight the demon Apophis night after night. Egypt must never be destroyed by Chaos. So, you see, there are things worse than Set." His wide eyes presented a warning as he walked away.

Horus followed him. "You're wrong. That demon isn't the one who murdered my father. Murdered your son."

The fire growing from Ra's body flashed as he turned to Horus. "They are both my sons. They were both equal in my eyes. As is all my creation. And the uncertainty of its destiny is my will." Ra ended with stern finality before returning to his previous form. The appearance of a tired, old man. There was no doubt that the great god was growing exhausted.

Sekhmet stepped forward. Her expressions shown with understanding but also anger. "If all creation is equal, as you state, then why are the poor being subjected to an afterlife of indescribable pain when those of much less purity are blessed?" Her eyes were blazing with golden flames similar to that of her father.

The god remained unaffected by her jabs at his logic and picked up his forgotten weapon for further sharpening. Ra paused as he looked at his daughter. "My dear, I do not condemn those who have committed terrible deeds until their final breath..." his eyes jumped to her own, "as you know." She remained still and licked her lips. "Set is king and his decisions are law and will be judged in the afterlife just as anyone else. I suppose that is why you are both here?"

Horus nodded after watching Sekhmet disappear in her thoughts, jaw clenched, nose flaring. Neither aspect diluted her beauty. "Allow me to fill my flask with these waters."

"The waters are not mine."