In the aftermath of nine devastating plagues that ravaged ancient Egypt, a high priestess desperately seeks to prevent the impending tenth plague. Still, her efforts fail, leaving her at the mercy of an enraged pharaoh. Meanwhile, the pharaoh's son...
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Ra's claws were hooks—long silver talons curved at the tips. At the moment, they were extended, poised to strike and heading for Quatesh.
Shift!
Quatesh snorted at Anubis's command before morphing into his serpentine form in a puff of white smoke. Curling his bulky form, he shot a good half mile away from the raging kite.
I didn't know you cared so much, Anubis. Quatesh replied through the channel.
The channel was a necessary evil he had to live with. Knowing Ra, he could summon his allies in a second and if he had no one at his side he would be the biggest of fools.
Believe me, you know nothing of what I care for, the embalmment god shot back with a huff. Just do what you must. I'm sick of your theatrics.
Quatesh frowned at Anubis' words. He was beginning to wonder who was in charge. Maybe he would have to challenge the jackal soon. He wouldn't let himself be bullied once more. That time of his existence was soundly over.
Fiery claws sunk into Quatesh's trunk, tearing him from his thoughts. Wiggling, he twisted his enormous frame just in time to spy Ra's beak descend. He tore through his skin and ripped at the exposed sinew.
Quatesh hissed and writhed, attempting to slow Ra's flight. The god's wings beat the air steadily as he pulled him farther from the ground. Anubis was correct, he got caught up in his theatrics, and he was right where Ra wanted him.
Shutting out the pain, Quatesh coiled his tail around one of the sun god's wings and squeezed. Ra flapped both wings powerfully causing his hold to slip, but Quatesh refused to give up, even with the furious god's black flame scorching him.
The more Ra tore at his flesh, the more Quatesh went for his wings, focusing all his might and attention on breaking them. He curled his fat tail around it once more and squeezed hard.
When Ra's wing snapped, Quatesh revelled in his loud call of pain. Using the opportunity to struggle from his loose grip, Quatesh allowed his body to crash to the ground. Curling his trunk in a flash, he took in his wounds with sharp steady eyes. Black blood flowed, and he wasn't healing as fast as he liked.
Quatesh looked back up just in time to see the still furious god land. Black flames burned around him with greater intensity as his broken wing twitched, hinting it was healing.
"I guess it's time," Quatesh mumbled. Shutting his eyes, he drew in a single calming breath before mentally reaching down to his core. The power worship gave still pulsed in him—a poisonous delight ready to go wild with destruction.
When Quatesh gives in to the power, his judgement will be hampered. The power would mindlessly destroy everything in its path. But it was a worthy risk. Ra had little or no power left. No one had been worshipping him recently and he was banking on that single weakness to bring him down.
Ra drew nearer but Quatesh ignored his approach. He felt the power rise swiftly, almost as if it had been waiting to be summoned. As it consumed him, Quatesh's control slipped away.
Ra paused. The sun god was not stupid; he must have noticed the change.
When Quatesh opened his eyes, they widened when his large frame divided. On both sides, the replica of his white-winged frame was perfectly reproduced. His wounds had disappeared and his body was rapidly increasing.
The copies slithered forward, successfully trapping Ra in their midst. Quatesh wished he could say something smug but the thought was plucked and replaced with the fiery desire to end Ra.
They attacked as one. Precise strikes and perfect dodges. Ra didn't stand a chance. One serpent bit down on a clawed foot and shot him through the sky, the second sprung after him. Its wings beat steadily as it attacked Ra mid-air, striking him with fangs and heavy blows from its tail.
Ra clawed, snapped with his fierce beak, and spread black flame about but Quatesh was not the one in control.
The blood-red eyes of the serpents shone with menace, and their cotton-white scales gleamed in the light of the afternoon sun. Their leathery wings beat soundlessly as they moved with honed skills, striking Ra from every angle.
Up in the sky, they looked like a massive ball of tangled yarn, writhing and squeezing, lashing out relentlessly, completely under the control of the power. When they bit Ra, they made sure to pump in enough venom to weaken and further disorientate him. Though his flames burned them, they welcomed it, hissing in twisted pleasure as each side exchanged pain in different degrees.
At last, they backed down and allowed the kite to fall from their constricting grip. When the dark prince hit the ground, he shrunk back to his human form, a bleeding, torn-up mess. Black blood slipped past his lips and seeped from his eyes like tears of tar.
When Ra released a weak laugh, his teeth appeared black and decayed. "You think you've won?" He attempted to laugh again but coughed instead, sputtering black in large splatters that stained his face.
Quatesh itched to turn back to his human form, to gloat and kick him in the face, but the power refused to let him. He took it in good strides, knowing in his present state, not even all of Ra's allies combined could stop him.
"Why don't you go ahead and send me to the pits?" Ra wheezed as more blood poured from his ugly wounds. "Go on... try."
When the power allowed the two cloned serpents to sink back into his original frame, Quatesh wondered what it was up to.
With bat-like wings flapping lazily, it circled Ra, red eyes fixed on the grinning god. Quatesh wanted to speak, to tell this insane power that something was not right. Ra was never the type to push so confidently, especially if he knew he had lost.
The power paid him no mind, instead, it swooped down. Quatesh was merely a spectator—a spectator who could do or say nothing to change its action.
When it happened, none of them saw it coming. Just before the serpent's fangs came in contact with Ra's body, an explosive force hit it between its eyes. It blinked slowly and Quatesh felt his hulky frame fly backwards without bearing. For a while, all he saw was white; the force of the blow temporarily blinded him.
The power went crazy, further pushing Quatesh to the recesses of its consciousness as it raged at whoever attacked it.
Great. Quatesh groaned in frustration. At the very moment when a clear head was needed, the power had to go wild.
Once the white haze cleared from their vision, Quatesh reduced his eyes to slits at the sight a distance away. He could make out the figures of Sekhmet and Sobek carrying Ra's body with ember light encircling his wounded frame. They were helping his healing process! But the sight did not shock him as much as the identity of the god standing before them.
Anubis stood before the serpent in his human form, a small smile tugging his lips. "Yes, Quatesh. I was never with you from the beginning."
