Hathor's Return

by T. M. Grinsley

  The statue suddenly toppled over, landing on Cleo. It didn’t crush her like I hoped, but she was trapped in place. I didn’t study her long, just turned and ran to the other side of the room.

  I felt like I was being guided. Sliding my hands on the wall, I found the latch to open up the door. My hands gripped the handle and pulled. The door slid open, cold air rushing into the room. The room was dark, but I didn’t care. Throwing caution to the wind, I rushed out into the darkness, with only the thought of getting away. I had to get out of here or Cleo, Hathor, whatever her name was, was going to keep torturing me for whatever she wanted. I didn’t know how long I’d been trapped, but it was time to be done.

  I zigzagged my way through the dark hallways, trying to find an exit. Finally, there was a light ahead of me. I followed the light, until I came to the exit. I walked out of the temple to see Ari, Malik, and Kris standing there, waiting for me. The sun was bright and hot on my skin. I was still covered in dirt, blood, and all the other muck I had gotten on me while I was in there.

  Behind Kris stood my parents. I didn’t know how they got there, but I was so happy to see them. I ran to Kris and threw my arms around her. Tears were pouring down my face. I never thought that I would see her face again.

  She didn’t react. She just stood there, staring at me. “Kris, are you okay?”

  “I can’t believe you did this, Jo. You are so selfish!” She said, then walked off, Malik directly behind her.

  I frowned. What was she talking about? I survived the torments of Cleo and made it out alive. I walked over to my parents, hoping they would tell me what was going on. My mother’s eyes were sad, my father’s expression unreadable.

  “Mom, I knew you would come to help.”

  She sighed. “I am so disappointed in you, Josephine. You should have known better. You had one job. All you had to do was stay with the group and this would have never happened.”

  My dad just shook his head at me. “You aren’t my daughter.”

  I felt like I had been slapped. How could he say that to me? I stared at him, my mouth opening and closing. He had never been so cold and heartless before. It was almost like he was a different person.

  My heart was breaking with the thought that my family had turned their backs on me. They had never turned on me, after everything I had done. It didn’t make sense that they would treat me that way after being kidnapped. This wasn’t my fault. I hadn’t meant to do anything. This was supposed to be just a fun trip.

  I walked over to Ari. He stood there, dark eyes staring down at me. I smiled gently at him, and he returned the smile. His smile never reached his eyes. He looked sad. He gently slid his arms around my waist and bent down to hug me.

  His breath came out in a warm puff on my neck, causing my body to shiver in response. I wrapped my arms around his neck and held onto him for dear life. We didn’t speak. Just stood there. He straightened back to his full height and carefully released my waist.

  He cupped my cheek and brought his mouth down to mine in a chaste kiss. I bit my lip when he pulled away from me. He stepped back, and turned.

  “Ari,” I stopped him with a whisper of his name.

  He turned to look at me, “Yes, Malikati?”

  “Where are you going?”

  He turned back around and faced me. “I cannot be with you.”

  “Why?” I felt the tears building.

  “Because, you are too weak. You aren’t worthy of my love. So, this is good-bye.”

  He turned away from me and walked away. I felt my heart shattering as I knew that he was right. I wasn’t good enough for him. I would never be good enough. I wasn’t good enough for my family, either. If I had paid more attention, I would have known more about this Hathor person. If I had paid more attention, maybe I would have asked more questions. If I would have paid attention more, we wouldn’t be in this situation.

  It hurt to watch the one man I ever really loved, walk away from me. It hurt more than I had ever imagined. I heard a voice speak from behind me.

  “It’s okay, Jo. You have me. I will never walk away from you, or be disappointed in you. You are good enough for me. I will help you show everyone that you are so much better than they are.”

  I turned my head and looked into Cleo’s eyes. Inside them, I saw what I felt. Heartache, loneliness, misery. Maybe she was right. Together we could show them, I was worthy of their love.

  “You need to say it, pet. As soon as you do, we will make them see that you are so much more than that.”

  “Okay,” I whispered.

  Screaming echoed through my head. I realized it was me, but there was another voice, too. Kris.

  My eyes shot open to see Kris standing there, eyes wide. Beside her was Malik and Ari. Ari was struggling against a force that couldn’t be seen. I was still in the temple, shackled to the slab. Cleo unlocked the shackles. I sat up, with the intent of rushing over to them, but I froze in place. I couldn’t move.

  Cleo’s body dropped to the ground and another woman stood in her place. She was frighteningly beautiful. She walked to me and smiled.

  “It is time, my pet.” She leaned in like she was going to kiss me again, but then turned into a vapor.

  The vapor forced its way into my mouth and my body. The next thing I knew, I was trapped in my own body. I could see what was going on, but I couldn’t do anything. I couldn’t speak or use my own body. It moved on its own accord.

  What had I done?

  CHAPTER 16

  ~ Kristina ~

  “JO!” Ari pounded on the invisible shield blocking us in. He screamed her name, watching as Hathor’s spirit was absorbed into Jo’s body. Where Cleo once stood, spewing hateful lies to Jo, her body exploded into black vapor and then Hathor stood in her true form. Her hair, as black as night, hung down to her waist. Her eyes were vacant, and her skin, covered in paint, showed who she truly is. A monster, hell bent on destroying this world, because of me. We watched as Jo’s body trembled at the foreign entity seeping into her soul. She tried to scream out, but her voice was muffled. Jo clawed at her own skin, trying to break free from Hathor.

  “JO! DON’T LET HER DO THIS! I LOVE YOU, DAMMIT. FIGHT HER!” Blood began to splatter against the shield, as Ari continued to slam his fists against the barrier. His face was dark red, as he tried to control his anger. When we entered the temple, a sense of foreboding washed over me. The night Hathor ripped my heart out flashed in my mind, causing my chest to burn.

  I could remember that night like it was yesterday. Keeping my breaths even, the memory vanished from thought and the pain receded. For over a month, we searched for Hathor’s Temple. You would think we would know where it was at, because we were there before, but somehow she was able to transport it somewhere else. After digging through the Madjai archives, we found where Hathor would take Jo. Deep in the Valley of the Kings, lies tombs from the Old Kingdom.

  While I had my nose stuck in old texts with a few of the Madjai. Malik and several of the men went on a wild hunt to find Hathor. Using modern technology, I called Malik with a universal phone and told him what we found. To my surprise, he was already at the location, but a mirage was hiding it. Malik was the only one who could see past the mirage and see the temple.

  Bringing my mind back to the present, I saw Malik’s arms wrapped around Ari, holding him back. Ari tried to rip his arms from Malik, but Malik didn’t let him go. If we were going to rescue Jo, Ari needed to get ahold of himself, and fast.

  “Ari, get ahold of yourself.” Malik struggled to keep hold of Ari. He whispered a few words into his ear that I was unable to hear, and Ari slumped to the ground. His hands were broken and covered in blood. The warrior who walked with me into this temple, was not the same man in front of me.

  I placed my hand on his shoulder, and offered him comfort. Ari was in love with Jo and seeing her like this was breaking our hearts. Jo’s body was covered in blood, dirt, and who knows what else. Her body was badly beaten, but if I know Hath
or, her mind was worse. Hathor would have shown Jo her deepest darkest fears and destroyed everything she held dear.

  “We will get her back, Ari.” I said, not only trying to convince him, but also myself.

  Ari slapped my hand away and shoved his finger against my chest. “This is all your fault. If we hadn’t been flipping through damn pages upon pages of crap, trying to look for answers, we could have sent men out to go and find her. YOU DID THIS TO HER!” Ari said and he spat in my face.

  What the hell is up with Ari?

  Malik went to grab Ari’s arm, but I signaled for him to stand down. I could tell by the look on his face, that he wanted to fight me on this, but after our talk the other night, I saw him take a step back, but he did not take his eyes off Ari. We may have patched things up, but his berserker, brute side, was not going to help anything. I shook my head at Malik, then turned my attention to Ari.

  “You think I don’t know all this. Jo is my best friend and is like a sister to me. Hell, she is my sister! Because of me, she is in this predicament. I am the reason Hathor escaped and became who she is. So don’t you dare accuse me of something I already know. Every night since Ra showed himself, I have tortured myself with the memory of that night.” Tears flowed from my eyes, as my heart broke. I betrayed my family.

  “You are not worthy to be the Protector.” Ari spat.

  “Ari, back the fuck away from her.” Malik took a step closer, but slammed into an invisible wall. This was my battle and not his. Malik paced back and forth in front of the barrier, and looked furious.

  “Malik, let me handle this.” I snapped, not taking my eyes off Ari. His normal brown colored eyes, were morphing into solid black orbs. His six foot stack of muscle towered over me, and he was pissed. His hot breath fanned my cheeks, as his breathing became ragged. I took a step back to gain some distance, but he followed suit. Power licked my fingertips and swirls of silver flew out of my body, aiming for Ari, but were unable to touch his skin.

  Ari was never the type to turn on his friends, or act like, well, Malik. I tried to find a semblance of the friend I met over a month ago but any trace of him was gone. Just as I thought.

  You can’t have them, Hathor!

  “YOU-“

  Blocking Ari and Malik from my mind, I focused on one thing. Saving Jo and Ari. Power surged inside me, causing my vision to darken, and the air around me to crackle. My power began to fight for control, making it hard to breathe. I felt Ra in the back of my head, fighting to penetrate my mind.

  Don’t lose focus, Kris. The darkness will not take you this time.

  Feeling control slip back into my fingers, my vision cleared up. One minute, Ari was in front of me and the next, he was thrown against the wall. Anger, hurt, sadness; all the emotions I have felt since being here, boiled out of control and Ari ended up being my target. Time to put my theory to the test, small silver threads flew from my body and penetrated Ari’s skin.

  He screamed as the silver threads penetrated his skin. His eyes turned black and the eyes that were once his, were now gone.

  “You have lost, dear Keket. They are mine now.” Hathor’s voice poured from Ari’s mouth. I fought against the cold chills racking my body, refusing to show fear.

  “That is where you are wrong, Hathor. You may have fooled me once, but now it’s your turn to find out who I really am.” Tilting my head back, I imagined a black blade piercing her heart, evicting her from Ari’s body. My hair floated on air, as I chanted the ancient words of my people. Since Ari and Jo had not cemented their bond, I could free him from her grasps. Jo, on the other hand, is another story, entirely.

  Silver threads that once attacked Ari’s body, swirled in front of me, creating a massive silver blade. Power rolled off my skin, hell bent on one person.

  “You will never defeat me. You heart is black as night. They were wrong to have chosen you.” Ignoring Hathor’s jab, I looked up at Ari and sent him a silent prayer. He looked at me, with pure hatred seeping through his pores. He struggled to break free of my spell, and roared when he saw the blade aimed for his chest.

  “NO!” Ari and Hathor’s voice intermixed as they realized what I was about to do.

  “You will wish you had killed me the first time. Qutil!” The command left my lips and the next second, the silver sword penetrated Ari’s heart. Hathor screamed as black vapor was expelled from Ari’s mouth and vanished from sight. The blade exploded into thin air and Ari slumped to the ground. Malik rushed to his side, skimming his hand over Ari’s chest, checking for a wound.

  “Care to explain what the fuck is going on?” Malik asked, glaring daggers my way.

  “What, no thank you?” I asked, trying not to sound snippy. I walked over to Ari and lifted his head, so I could look into his eyes. I had to make sure Hathor was gone.

  Ari’s eyes fluttered open and he jolted away. He pushed us out of the way to get up, but we pushed him back down. He looked at me and then at Malik, then back at me. “You stabbed me!”

  Fighting the smile that threatened my lips, I tried to keep my face neutral, but failed miserably. “I did. It was payback for all of the nerd jokes from the past month.”

  “Remind me not to piss you off.”

  Malik and I both took one of his hands, and helped him onto his feet. He brushed off his pants and looked across the room to where Jo was.

  I followed suit and saw Jo standing in the middle of the room, with black tendrils flowing around her body, and her eyes solid black. Her hair was longer and her torn clothes were gone; she now wore black leather straps, leaving nothing to the imagination.

  “What the hell happened back there, Kris?” Malik said from behind me. I felt his arm wrap around my waist, causing my body to lean against him.

  “The note that Ra gave me, told me of an ancient spell that could penetrate the heart of someone with evil intent. The problem was, we cannot hit them directly, because the host would be destroyed and it takes a lot out of the one who wields the spell. Since Hathor is inside Jo, I was able to strike her through Ari.” I turned to look at Ari and Malik, who wore the same expression. They motioned for me to continue, before they said anything.

  “Hathor was able to slip into Ari because his love for Jo was blinding and all he thought about, was killing Hathor. She saw his weakness and took advantage. Not to mention, the bond that they share.”

  “What are you saying, Ruwhi?” Malik asked, trying to figure out everything that I just told him.

  “Jo is my half-sister and since she is my half-sister, she shares the same curse as Ra. I was born a prophet and she was born to take over his rule. She is in a sense, a god. Not to mention, we share the same darkness in our hearts, and need light to balance it. Since I am the Prophet, I took most of the burden because of my mother, and I need to bond with my Protector. Jo shares a portion of the darkness; she needs to find her other half to help guide her to her right path. They will share the same markings Malik and I have, but it won’t have the same effect.”

  “But that doesn’t make any sense. The markings on your arm show that you are the Prophet and Malik is the Protector. What does that have to do with me and Jo?” Ari asked while he stared at Jo. He looked defeated.

  I rubbed my hand over my eyes, debating on what I was going to tell them. Ra would kill me for telling our secrets, but after everything he put us through, I didn’t give two shits. I was tired, pissed off that Hathor got to Jo, and royally annoyed at the gods because they couldn’t keep it in their pants. If he would have listened to me all those years ago, we would not be in this mess, and Iabet wouldn’t be trapped in Duat.

  “Careful daughter.” Ra warned in my head.

  “Go suck a fat one, Ra. I am busy at the moment.” I spoke out loud. Malik and Ari looked at me like I had lost my mind. I pointed to my head and they nodded in understanding.

  “As I was saying, before my father rudely interrupted. The markings on you and Jo will be different. Mine and Malik’s bear the mark of my ancestor
s, Iabet, and Ra. They link our souls, so he can bear the burden with me. Without him, I would die. In a sense. The marks between you and Jo, just show your commitment to one another. My father lost his way and was only able to fight it when he had Iabet by his side. So he asked me to cast a spell on them to bind their souls as one, so whenever he needs to be reminded, he just looks at the markings and feels Iabet’s love. It’s the same with Jo. Look, I know it sounds corny, but unless you have felt it inside you, you won’t get it.”

  Ari cleared his throat, drawing my attention to him. “So what you are saying is, because of the mistakes your father made, he asked you to put a spell on Jo so she would have a way to find her way back home.”

  “Exactly.” I responded.

  “Kris, so what you are saying is, we need to find a way to activate her powers and the markings.” Malik said, thinking out loud. His hand was on his chin as he processed the information.

  “Hathor can’t hear us, right?” Ari asked, pointing to Jo/Hathor behind us.

  “No, while you were busy pounding on the wall, I put a spell up, that blocked anyone from hearing us. Hathor didn’t need to know what we were planning.” I replied, seeing anger flash through Ari’s eyes.

  “You mean to tell me, while I was beating my fists against the wall, Jo couldn’t hear me?” Ari asked, trying to keep his voice down.

  I rubbed the back of my neck, trying to avoid his gaze. “Yeah.”

  Ari sighed and out of the corner of my eye, I saw him pinch the bridge of his nose. “While I am trying to process all of this information, what are you planning in that head of yours? We can’t get inside and Hathor is not just going to give up Jo that easily.”

  Ari had a good point. Jo was trapped and Hathor was now in control. We can’t kill her because that would, kill Jo. If we attacked, Hathor would destroy the men and we were nowhere near ready to take on Hathor while she’s drunk off Jo’s power. I turned my attention to Jo and thought of our next move.