Nezzar

Part Two: A Dream At Last

"Have you ever wondered how this came to be?" Ziba eyed the being sitting across from her. A rippling transparent forcefield stood between them and the ground on which they sat monk-style was deep grey, smooth and felt neither warm nor cool.

When Apophis said nothing, Ziba cocked her head like an owl would. "Can you speak words? It's been over two years. Aren't you boiling with rage? Now that Seth sits on the throne of the Egyptian principality and your beloved Ra is withering within the pits, is your fight not over? Do you lack the ability to relax?"

Apophis merely stared at her with a fierce fire burning in his eyes. Probably cooking in rage at being trapped in a cage of his own making.

"I do not understand your anger." She rested an elbow on her thigh and cradled her jaw in the palm of her hand. "I simply offered you the same hospitality you showed me. Remember how you sliced my arm off and connived with Marduk to trap me in that rusting cage? I didn't even slice your arm off. I should be the one enraged. I am stuck in a child's body because of your ambition and foolishness. How could you have allowed yourself to be swept away by Marduk's schemes?"

More silence. Ziba did not mind. Since she spoke very little through the human child, an avalanche of words was trapped in her and she was always more than willing to pour her word vomit on her prison mate. It did not matter whether he replied or not.

"Come on, you have to be a bit curious about how this came to be. You had devoured how many before your imprisonment?" Ziba began counting with her fingers. "Three? Four gods? You were strong."

There was the barest twitch from one of Apophis' clawed fingers. Oh, the rage. It was crashing like waves against the barrier. Algodon had given her the key to trap Apophis when he tore a rift through the medallion she had been trapped in. A day after Chaos had defeated the large white serpent, the memory of what Algodon told her returned and along with it a few more instructions. Things were not so bright in her future but she was never one to bemoan her fate. Her existence was a mercy. That she could get glimpses of the world through the child's eyes was a gift she knew she would somehow pay for.

"It is this close now." Ziba motioned with her thumb and index fingers nearly touching. "You call yourself the Devourer. I am Chaos. More times than I wish, I find myself imagining how insane our coming battle will be. I can also feel your hunger, you know? It is a pity you cannot devour me. It ends badly for both of us." Ziba sighed and rubbed her temples with two fingers. "I want to say it is your fault but I am past that. I am tired of waiting, Apophis. Everything in me is screaming for a fight. I am guessing it is the same with you but in your case, it is hunger."

Ziba fell to her back and gazed up at the grey sunless sky of the child's mind. The silly desire she had to taste and feel and see like humans do had since faded and all that remained was a weariness. She had been doing her part in sharing information with the Babylonian spy as the angel had instructed and she had done her best not to interfere with the child's mind.

So far, nothing crazy had happened. Even Anubis had maintained a respectful distance. Will he show up at the coming battle? Chaos had been hibernating for the longest time—his small draconic form in deep stasis. There was a weariness in her bones and a restless energy begging to be freed. The impulse to make some trouble attacked her mind more frequently nowadays but she suppressed it, holding on to the instruction of the angel like a drowning man clings to his saviour.

"You think you cannot be devoured."

So sudden and unexpected were Apophis's words that Ziba leapt to her feet. "He speaks. Finally!" Ziba whooped and laughed. Apophis was a strange being, a weird mix of both spirit and demon. She would become what he was if she allowed herself to slide down the slope of her baser instincts. At least she was still used by the heavens now and then. Soon that may end. Her smile dropped along with her shoulders at the sobering thought.