Gods and Queens

Chapter Thirty-Two

When they realised their mistake, it was too late. The slight shift was merely a distraction. From the left, a hot pain sliced through the flesh of the serpent's neck. Hissing and twisting its bulky frame in that direction, he was surprised to see Anubis in his normal form watching them. He was floating in the air with his kilt fluttering lazily and the large sword he held dripped with black blood. He was waiting for the serpent to strike.

After allowing the superficial wound at its neck to heal, the power promptly divided its frame as it did before. If Anubis was intimidated by the two extra companies, he did not show it. He shot forward in a blur of black and silver glow. Moving like a grasshopper, he sprung about with impossible speed, slicing and cutting as he went. The serpents found it impossible to aim; sometimes they struck each other with fangs, further weakening themselves with their venom.

Anubis assailed the three serpents like a shadow. Slicing through white scales, he left wounds in places that would make movement difficult. All the while he assaulted the massive snakes, he never spoke a word or morphed into his real form.

A slight pain shot through Quatesh when Anubis' sword severed the head of one of the serpents. It fell to the ground and thrashed about like a worm bathed in salt water. At last, it stilled then slowly began to pulverise. In no time, it would be nothing but a pile of ash, disappearing in the wind.

The power raged, trying harder, summoning all it had to destroy its foe. And Quatesh remained behind, watching his plans and hopes disintegrate before his eyes. Anubis showed no mercy. He tore through the head of the second clone like an arrow, bathing himself in black blood and splashing it about in his exit. The serpent fell with a loud thud, mouth agape and forked tongue hanging out lifelessly.

Anubis finally turned to the last serpent, he twirled his oversized sword slowly as he floated forward. His white kilt was black now, and the blood that covered his frame made it look like he took a dip in a pool of tar. He appeared so small, just one bite from the serpent and he would be waking up in the outer darkness. But Quatesh knew that was only wishful thinking. Anubis was too fast to be caught in such a direct move.

"Relinquish it!" Anubis roared at him. He flung his sword aside and it vanished immediately. "I don't need your permission, Quatesh. I can end you the way I ended those clones. I can crush you and send you to the outer darkness."

Quatesh could feel the power's longing to destroy the embalmment god but he could also feel its misgivings. It stared down at Anubis for a while before doing the unexpected, it allowed Quatesh to take back control. Instantly, the huge serpent slowly shrunk to his human form.

When he felt the power slip away, he panicked.

No, no, no!

He wailed in his mind as he desperately tried to hold on to the fast-retreating slivers of power. It was a useless attempt. The power betrayed him, seeping out of him like thick red fog before fading away. He instantly felt naked despite the covering of his cloak.

"Welcome back."

Quatesh raised his head and stared at Anubis with all the hate and anger he could muster. The god wore a bored expression as he returned his gaze, lifting a brow in insolence. The black blood on his body had dried and was swiftly turning into soot that blew away.

"What now?" Quatesh asked bitterly. Beneath his cloak, he subtly allowed a single serpent to slither out of his arm. "What do you and Ra intend to do with me?" He watched Anubis with sharp eyes as he pumped the hidden serpent with all the venom his body could generate. A single bite would be enough to knock out the cocky god, allowing him to escape.

Anubis lifted a hand as though signalling someone. "I would love to assume you already know where you're headed," he said in a dull monotonous voice. "Be sure to savour this moment of freedom. Trust me, it would be a long time before you see the sun again."

Anubis turned to his left, distracted by the sight of Khnum, the ram god, walking in their direction. Grabbing the moment of vulnerability, Quatesh flung the thin serpent towards Anubis' exposed neck. The snake's jaws were unhinged and its fangs gleamed like lethal needles as it sped towards its target.

"Fool."

Quatesh's eyes widened in surprise as Anubis' hand shot out and gripped the serpent at the neck, catching it just in time. "This was your plan? Pathetic!"

Quatesh did not see it coming until it happened. Moving at the speed of light, Anubis appeared at his side with the serpent in hand. Its jaws were still open and venom leaked down both fangs in thick amber drops.

"Have a dose of your own medicine, brother." Anubis buried the fangs of the animal in Quatesh's neck. Pressing the top of its mouth firmly, he made sure to empty the venom of the creature until it went slack and vanished.

The serpentine god dropped to the ground and his sight slowly began to shut out the outside world. He could see Ra coming from a distance as he welcomed unconsciousness. He dreaded the moment his eyes would open again. Ra would show no mercy.

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So sorry this is coming late.

I wrote, re-wrote, "backspaced" like it was my only talent, deleted, stared at my laptop screen for minutes on end, felt detached from the story, dumped it, wrote it over again. Then I came up with this. Finally! Jeez. *panting* Somebody give me a medal... please. 😢

I hope you liked this chapter. Would love to hear your views on how I portray the fight scenes. It's not so easy for me to write those, and sometimes I worry they're crappy.

Anyhoo, pretty please, do check out a one-page short story I recently uploaded. Title is June. It's a quick one I came up with while banging my head against the wall to get a lil inspiration for Exodus. Turned out nice (If I do say so myself.)

I've talked too much. No more talking. *zips lips*

Aha... Thanks for your support, and love, and votes and comments...and okay, I'm out.