War Of Egypt II • The Persians

Chapter 7: Encounter With The Darkness

    Ametis had to stare out into the far far distance with her godly sight to determine if the sun was setting or if night had already fallen. This was because since the Kingdom was in eternal darkness with little to no natural light, Ametis could not see if the rest of Egypt was still night or day. She trailed her fingers on the balcony's elegant stone railing and slipped her flowing hair behind her shoulder. It was quiet, too quiet...but then she heard it.

    "Daughter of Horus," came the deep menacing voice of the dark presence. "I never thought I would sense you...again. Right under my blind eyes."

    Her fingers tightened under the railings and looked down to the ground from where she stood, high above in the palace. The voice was suffocating her to the point of close insanity, where she found it compelling to throw herself off the balcony. But Ametis closed her eyes and calmed herself down. Her long dark wavy hair blew across her face in the evening wind, streaming across her eyes and full rosy lips as she stood firm against the voice.

   "Hello Set," she murmured back to the invading darkness, eyes still closed.

   "How is my nephew? Still clinging to the throne and the crown?"

   "Horus is no longer King," Ametis responded quietly but with intense power in her voice. "His son Ihy has taken over and you are talking to the Queen of Egypt."

   "You?" A cold laughter followed, "then why does the Queen stand here in my land? I can sense you fear something, Ametis. Separation...tell me."

   "Kha is my life. There is nothing I will not do for him. Egypt does not—does not see him the way I do."

    Suddenly Ametis' eyes flew open, feeling a tightness around her throat as if a large hand was wrapped around it. Her hands gripped the railing as she was forced to tilt her eyes up to the sky and look at the emptiness and darkness it held. The power grew stronger around her.

    Set was angry. "You killed him! I felt you run that blade through my son, and I felt him accept it willingly. Ametis you made him sick and weak! What makes you different from they that gaze upon him with hatred?—What?! Your love for him means nothing to me."

   "Set no. It was that love that resurrected him."

   "You are no good for my son, Ametis. You do not deserve Kha, not even in his second breath of living."

    Ametis' eyes burned and she fervently blinked, "so do you! You do not deserve him as your son."

   "I could kill you where you stand and throw you over this palace! No pathetic weakling of Horus should speak against me."

   "Do it Set! You always destroy everything. You destroyed Egypt once, Osiris, Isis, your wife Nephthys. You almost destroyed your younger son, but I saved him. Kill me here and destroy him for good. Go on!"

    The shril ringing in her ears rose and Ametis struggled against the power. It would have been easier for her if Set had an actual form, this was only his everlasting presence as a god. It made him have an advantage over Ametis. Her eyes closed and she tightened her jaws, feeling the cold perspiration run down her beautiful smooth skin. Set was talking to her, but she could not hear a word.

   "I am not scared of you," she whispered back. And in the back of her mind, she caught the sound of someone calling out her name. The voice got louder until her eyes snapped opened, realizing it was not in her mind but just inside the palace behind her. Ahmes. Her hands few up to her throat, trying to remove the forceful hold but instead grabbed around nothing but her skin.