by Ben Zackheim
Rebel broke into the comm.
“If you made it to the bull statue then you should know that Set is standing right next to you.”
“Yeah, I’m aware. I’m more interested in where you are, partner.”
“I’m floating over his head, trying to stay out of his line of vision. He’s scanning the streets so I don’t think he knows you’re there.”
“Don’t draw him away.”
“Are you nuts, Kane?”
“He’s in the perfect place for phase three, Rebel. Now Osiris just needs to get on with the boomboom.”
“That could be hours away.”
Boom.
I swear Osiris had the timing of, well, a god. Maybe he was the god of good timing.
The flash bombs were so bright I could see every brick on every building around me for a split second. I clamped my eyes shut and buried them into the bend of my arm for extra protection.
It would take me a second to get my eyesight back. It would take the vampires much longer. Their shrieks and hisses filled the city with a terrifying song of rage. Suddenly the battle sounds, the ones that had been getting further away, started to get louder. Closer. That could only mean one thing. Osiris was beating Set’s forces back. He was going to bring the full force of his troops down on Set’s head.
Dino yelled in the comm.
“Now, Kane?”
“No! Not yet. I’ll let you know when, Dino.”
“Damn it, Kane.”
“Trust me, troll. Rebel, it’s almost time. Get ready.”
“On it.”
Suddenly a storm of goggles started falling to the pavement around us. Osiris’ army was disposing of them. They didn’t need them anymore. Luckily, there were enough residual fireworks to give the city a dim silver hue. I watched Set’s attention turn to the battle around his head. His face was as inert as a mask, but I could feel the danger emanating from him.
He was pissed. He was worried.
The blood started to fall on us again as the opposing vampire armies clashed. Set’s hemogoblins were getting massacred. Head after head and limb after limb dropped all around us. Not a red boot to be seen. I ducked into a building’s entryway while keeping a close eye on Set.
“Kane!” Dino yelled from somewhere nearby. “It’s fuckin’ time, dude!”
“Not yet! We have to wait for Set to…”
With a deafening roar, a sound packed to the gut with frustration, Set swung his arms and joined the fight. He didn’t just shove thousands of vampires out of the way with his arms. He’d cast a spell, too. It smelled like rotten meat, so I assumed it wasn’t a nice spell. In an instant, Set stood alone. The soldiers from both sides who had buzzed the god just seconds before had simply vanished.
A blanket of blood fell onto the streets of New York. The vampires hadn’t vanished. Set’s spell had vaporized them.
Osiris’ vampires were the first ones to recover from the shock of such a display of power. They released their battle cries and swooped in for another pass at the god.
“NOW, DINO!” I yelled in the comm and with my voice.
Dino emerged from the shadows and ran past me. He headed straight for Set. The troll didn’t even bother trying to dodge the tumbling body parts. I ran onto the sidewalk just in time to enjoy a view of him leaping. He grabbed Set’s shin, about 20 feet off the ground, and held on with his fingertips.
Then he kicked his toes into the god’s flesh.
Then he started to climb.
I’d seen him climb sheer cliffs, ancient trees, and even the Chrysler Building uptown. But this was a sight to behold. Dino was climbing a god.
Once Set showed up to the battle, we knew it was time for our own plan. Osiris didn’t know about it but, if all went well, he would soon. Set had been properly distracted by Osiris’ success with the explosions and fireworks. Now Dino just had to pull off the impossible.
It was no use to stay quiet anymore. The sounds of battle were deafening. “You standing by Rebel?” I yelled.
“I’m above you.”
I glanced up to see the bottom of her boots dangling right over my head. Her hands glowed. It was at that moment, I realized I hadn’t been pelted with a kidney or intestines yet. She’d cast a Shield Spell. The gore was hitting the invisible wall and rolling off harmlessly.
“Thanks partner.”
Rebel looked down at me. “I still think this is a crazy idea.”
“It’s a simple idea, though. Crazy but simple. Good combo.”
“Sending Dino climbing up an Egyptian god is the definition of crazy, Kane, not simple.”
“You have a better idea? I’m listening.”
We watched our friend dangle from Set’s ass before he kicked his boots upward and secured a foothold. I didn’t want to think about where that foothold might have been. Dino reached the small of Set’s back. That’s when Set glanced down.
“I think he’s noticed he has company, Rebel.” Set lifted his arm and tried to get a view of his back. “Yeah, he noticed. Okay, Rebel. Go.”
My partner zipped straight up, taking her Shield Spell with her. I ran back into the entryway for cover. I waited for my turn.
Osiris had devised his own three-phased plan of attack. We had our own, too.
I was phase three.
Chapter 44
Rebel shoved a wall of water into Set’s face.
Her Water Spell was joined by her Soundtrack Spell. It was a sea shanty tune to celebrate the wave of water. Rebel was definitely getting her mojo back.
Set stumbled backward from the force of the spell. He leaned on a building, which kept him on his feet. He slapped his face and shook his head to get his bearings. Rebel didn’t let him. She followed her Water Spell with two swirling globes of crackling electricity. They swirled around each other, gaining speed before they launched at the god. I hoped Dino was holding on tight. He’d assured us that he could handle anything Rebel threw at Set. I kept my eye on him, just in case he’d been wrong.
Not only did the troll hold on tight, he kept climbing. Rebel’s spell surrounded Set and made him scream in pain, but Dino’s ascent didn’t falter. Rebel buzzed the enormous head with tight circles at eye level. He moved his hand to slap her away but she just flew around the swings. She wasn’t going to be able to badly hurt Set. But she had to distract him until Dino was in place. I lost sight of the troll somewhere around Set’s shoulders.
“Dino! Where are you?”
“Hey, bud!”
I squinted and made out the shape of Dino standing on Set’s shoulder, waving at me. The giant didn’t feel him there. Dino was just another weight on his massive frame, along with the corpses of a hundred vampires. The remains kept landing on his massive form and slowly sliding off.
It was time to step up.
“It’s time for our phase three, Rebel.”
“Landing.”
She settled down on a high building directly in Set’s line of sight. He held a hand out, palm up, and seemed to be preparing a spell of his own. He’d spotted her.
I opened my Swap Portal and stepped in.
I took Rebel’s place. Set’s hand lowered to his side.
“Hi, Dad!” I yelled.
The voice in my head was low, inhumanly low, and calm. “I believe it is you who are my father. I would not be the power I am without you.”
“Yeah, it does sound like one of those twisted things the gods like to do. I’m your seed. I’m your daddy. So when I kill you tonight, will that be patricide or filicide?”
Set laughed in my head. It felt like I was wearing a pair of headphones that were 100% subwoofer. But I held my ground. “I don’t die,” he said. “You may win the battle, but I am almost as immortal as your spirit. You are the last remnant of the one who made The Four. You can believe that, or not. When I consume your essence, I will live and rule as the god of gods forever.”
“You think eating me will make you whole?”
“Phrasing!” Rebel yelled
from above me. I wondered if she could hear Set speaking, too.
“So let’s do this, Set. You think I have what you want? Come and take it!” I spread my arms wide.
Set looked at me with those black eyes. He didn’t move. He didn’t speak. He was assessing the moment. I’d been too confident in my taunt. He knew we were up to something. I turned my back on him and walked toward the roof’s covered stairwell. “That’s what I thought. Call off your loser army, Set. Come back when you’re ready to face me!”
I felt the back of my jacket pull up and my body lifted straight up off the gravel roof. Set dangled me in front of his face between two of his fingers. All I could think to say was, “Watch the threads, asshole.” Set’s lips seemed to move. Even up close there was no detail to his face that I could figure out. It was like looking into a pool of shadows.
Then I heard the words from his mouth. Faint. Less than a whisper. Powerful. I didn’t understand the language he was speaking, but I knew a spell when I heard one. It was likely one used before a sacrifice. At least, that’s what it felt like.
Set opened his mouth and dangled me over it. This was it. I was about to be a god meal. If my plan didn’t work then it would be a story for the ages. Assuming there were any ages left to tell the story.
He dropped me into his mouth.
I fell into darkness.
Chapter 45
Dino joined me.
Just as we’d planned.
It was almost time to show our hand.
The troll bounced off the roof of Set’s mouth and tumbled into the abyss with me.
“Fancy meeting you here!” he yelled, as we fell in the darkness.
I waited for impact. I assumed I’d have to land sooner or later, but I never did. I came to a full stop in mid-air instead.
Dino’s voice broke the intense silence. “You there?”
“Yeah.”
“Dude, you floating, too?”
I pulled out the penlight I’d grabbed from home. I flashed the light around until I found my troll buddy hovering right above me, so close I could smell the bottom of his boots. The pitch black around us began to pulse a dark purple. Small strings of white light appeared and snaked around us. The white changed to red, then yellow, then every one of the hundreds of strands took on a different color.
Dino managed to mumble, “Whoah. I feel like I’m back in the 70s.”
I tried to talk through my thoughts. “When Merlin said Set would consume me, I didn’t know what to expect. Would he skin me and lay me out on a slab and make a buffet of it?”
“I think he’s the kind of god who would swallow you whole, digest you, and crap you out. Or maybe you’d get the suppository treatment.”
“That’s great, Dino. Thanks for the imagery. I definitely didn’t expect us to be floating in his gullet.”
“Listen, Kane. That’s all very interesting, but I gotta ask the burning question here. Is it time?”
“Hold off,” I said. “Set sent me down here to drain my soul. I want to see how he plans on doing that before we make our move.”
“You want to wait? Are you nuts? We’re here! Right where you hoped we’d be!”
“You can get ready, Dino. But don’t do it yet. Just relax.”
In the glow of a thousand colors we waited for Set to make his move. About two minutes passed (with excessive grumbling from the troll) when we finally heard a sound in the distance.
“Was that from the battle?” Dino asked.
“Maybe. It sounded like a big piece of metal hitting something hard. Pavement maybe.”
“Something’s happening in the light show, buddy. Over there. Look.”
I followed Dino’s gaze. The web of light was fading in one spot. The sound of footsteps surrounded us. “Who’s there?” I called out. It was impossible to pinpoint the direction of the noise in that echoey place.
I heard her breath before she spoke. I didn’t need to hear anything else. My head dropped and I sighed. “Hi, Tabitha,” I said just as her silhouette appeared in the web of color.
“Kane. Dino.”
“You have got to be kidding me,” Dino said.
“Does this mean you’ve been working for Set this whole time, Tabitha?”
“Of course not, Kane. I am sworn to defeat Set and help humanity find its way again. I’m here because the gods have roles to play. It’s our lot in life. Even against my own interests, and yours, I’ve been summoned here to carry out the ritual I’m responsible for. I’m here to secure your essence for Set.”
“I’m sorry to hear that, Tabitha. I need you to listen to me carefully. I know you like to be a few steps ahead of me, but if I were you, I’d run.”
Her silhouetted head cocked to the side. “Why is that, Kane?”
I looked up at the troll. “Dino?”
“Time?” he asked.
I nodded. “It’s time.”
Dino’s Battle Portal opened in a flash of yellow light. It was so blinding I missed the beginning of one of the most awesome sights I’d ever seen. The portal opened big and got wider as more demons emerged. They screamed and hissed their battle cries.
I opened the Vault Portal and grabbed the sceptre from Yit’s hand.
“Tear him up, boys and girls!” I yelled.
Tabitha floated up to me. I thought she was going to start her ritual. Instead, she smiled and whispered into my ear. “The crown is here.” She pulled her head away and her eyes locked on mine. She flew into the distant darkness.
“And find the crown!” I ordered my demonic hordes.
Our plan was working. We’d devised it once we realized the real potential of the Battle Portal. When Dino and I first peeked through the portal, all we saw was a closet. But when Dino stepped in, it grew larger to hold him. We realized it was a space that grew or shrunk, as needed. One assassin could hide in it, or it could expand to hold thousands of demons.
The Battle Portal gave us a portable army.
It was not what Set was expecting to swallow.
The demons spread out to the edges of the darkness — where Set’s shadowed flesh waited to get shredded. The moment they reached it, the sounds of agony surrounded us. The demons were giving Set one hell of a case of indigestion.
I ordered a few flying demons to grab Dino and me. We flew past the fading rainbow of light and into the darkness.
“We’re having us a good dangle, my friend!” Dino hollered. The joy in his voice infected me with hope. I laughed. I knew what was at stake. I knew that the plan could still fail. But I laughed anyway. Hanging from the wrists of demons en route to the edges of a god was, indeed, one hell of a good dangle.
My optimism was justified when we spotted a sliver of the moonlit sky in the distance. The demons had torn a hole into Set. Set’s scream of agony was more proof that our plan was working out just fine. The demons carried us through his new wound and out into the world where the raining body parts were waning. The clouds had cleared enough for me to see that there were more red boots flying above us than not.
The demons set us down on the street. We got a good look at what was once Set.
The creature was half the size he’d been when he’d swallowed us. He was almost split in two at the middle, with his top half grasping at the corner of a building, and the bottom half scrambling, squirming. It was a pitiful sight. It was also a delightful sight. Set’s black eyes looked at me but they didn’t see me.
“You’ve lost, Set. We’re taking our world back.”
His eyes stopped wandering and focused on my face. He let out a wet gasp that turned into a chuckle.
“What good is your world without its people?” he asked. His voice sounded weak, but the question hit me in the gut. I didn’t want to take the bait. I didn’t want to give him the upper hand. Not when we were about to win the war. But I needed to know what he meant. I couldn’t let my pride, my exhaustion, my desire for the fighting to be over, cloud my judgment.
“We’re going to releas
e your prisoners,” I said. “We’re going to rebuild. Your war will be a lesson we’ll never forget. If you somehow live to fight another day, we’ll be ready for you.” The moment I spoke, I could feel his confidence grow.
The wet staccato sound coming from his mouth was a chuckle.
In that moment, something in me knew there would be a lot more fighting to do.
“Billions of your people are kept alive to please me,” he whispered. “It no longer pleases me.”
Chapter 46
“Rebel,” I yelled. “We need to get to Set’s Wound. Now!”
Rebel landed at my side. “We can swap to the pyramids. I’ll track down Dino.” Set laughed. “Something funny, asshole?”
Set’s voice faded more as he spoke. “You’re too late. When I’m gone there will be nothing to feed them, nurture them. They will die like leaves on a tree in autumn. Unlike leaves, they will not return again. Magic…” His voice broke. He spoke again, but so softly I had to get on my knees. Rebel held my shoulder in case she needed to yank me out of a trap. “Magic will die with me, too, you fool.”
Set lost all definition. He was just a shadow now. He shrunk in front of my eyes. He was my size within seconds. When he was big enough to hold in my hand, I tried to grab him. It was like grabbing air. There was nothing there but a sliver of shadow. It faded to nothing.
I opened the comm.
“Dino! We’re leaving now.”
“Where we headed? The closest pub, I hope!”
“Egypt. We need to get into Set’s Wound.”
“Saving all of humanity, eh? Be right there!”
I studied the pavement where Set had faded to nothing. Rebel stood beside me. “What’s wrong, Kane? We won. Set’s a liar. Look.” She cast a small Fire Spell. “See? Magic is still kicking.”
“Something Thor told me in Paris is bugging me. He said the relics we’ve been chasing down are losing their powers. I wonder if it’s connected to what Set just said.”