A God's Bargain (EgyptianGod!Brothers and Reader)

Chapter 13

I prayed their little spat would end quickly in my favor.

"You wretched...bird-headed twit!" Set's maw opened from deep within the sand, forming an elongated muzzle much like that of a coyote or sha. His off-white fangs clamped down tightly on my right leg before nearly ripping the limb completely free from the ball-and-socket joint in my hip, my throat unleashing a hellish screech I never thought possible to hear from a human. My fingers dug into Thoth's hardened skin as I was turned into a living tug-of-war between the two, my mind blacking out from the excruciating pain.

A blink. The terrifying maw open as Set lunged up towards my limb.

Thoth pushed backwards with his wings as I raised my leg as high as it could go within his hold, the jagged fangs snapping down on empty air mere inches from my skin. A scream was still pulled from my throat in fear, though not as animalistic as the one I thought I made.

"So, you did forget," Thoth sounded disappointed, "I will hold onto my guided one for as long as she wishes. You cannot take her from me."

Set's roar was cacophonous, his visage fading back into the sandstorm as Thoth enclosed his wings over my body, a cool wind rushing around us while the desert heat quickly dissipated to a comfortable temperature. His wings spread wide to reveal his library, ever-shifting and ever-organizing as scrolls and books shelved themselves into appropriate locations.

The shuffling of papers was a comfort I didn't know I wanted to hear, my bare feet slowly touching the blank sheets of writing paper that acted as a floor while Thoth gently released me from his grip, each taloned foot settling on either side of me before he took some steps forward. The winds from his wings were a nostalgic comfort, too, as my eyes watched him shake each feather of his wings into place, casting aside more sand that was quickly absorbed into the paper-like ground.

It was only then that I realized that he hadn't been in his god-sized form when he held me, his figure growing as he flapped up to the stone ankh serving as his main perch in the middle of the library. The cloths settled around his wings once more after a final ruffle, his pale green eyes meeting mine.

"I know that look."

"Why didn't you come sooner?" I understood the clearance Thoth was giving me, taking the opportunity immediately, "Why the spat between you two? What did Set do to distract you?"

The feeling of the smooth papers under my toes drew my attention downward, finally realizing that I wasn't in my modern clothes but rather in the comfortable linens that I had been dressed in before I was taken by the slavers, "...why am I still dressed like this?"

"First, an apology from me," Thoth's voice brought my attention back to him, our eyes meeting before he offered a deep bow with both wings outstretched next to him. He held the posture for a small moment before bringing himself back into his usual 'standing' position on the ankh, "It is my own fault that you were placed in that predicament, (y/n). Set had sent a group of his followers to raid one of my sacred tombs, breaking open the long-dormant seal around my Book."

My mind's eye created the image of Thoth growing angered at the human hands defiling the Book of Thoth that had only been described in writings, a simple book that only held two spells: one to allow the reader to understand the speech of all animals, and the other to allow the reader to perceive the Egyptian deities. Yet, reading the 'simple' book would cause men to grow mad. It was concluded by the older cultures that Thoth drove those reading it to insanity by pouring so much knowledge and information into their minds.

"When I came to my senses, I realized too late my mistake," His lead feathers brushed against my left cheek in a light touch, my eyes catching the fresh blood that now stained his feathers, "I hid the Book elsewhere before the bandits ever had the thought to find it and raced to find you. To think that Set would do such a thing to ensure that his plan succeeded only means that he's that desperate to see Nebthwt, I would guess."