The effect caused his magical charm to surge through his system at levels he had never conceived possible. Soon he had forgotten his fears and became intoxicated by the darkness residing in his soul. The predator inside him bayed and took full control of his body and power. The more of Set’s magic coursed through him, the more he wanted it, needed it, and even desired it. He was willing to do anything. Sacrifice anything. He would bend over backwards for the beast to retain such power.
Yet something inside him was desperately fighting to maintain control. A burning heat, a flickering flame, flared inside his heart. Seth shrieked, and the beast in him yelped while the fire tried to suppress the darkness. A battle burst out inside Seth, the pain tormenting him. Unbearable heartburn inflamed his chest and dug deep into his lungs. His body wrenched and curled, but it would not stop. No matter how much Seth wanted to give in, to fall under the power of the beast and douse the pain, the flaming heat refused to let him do so.
Sean’s voice rang out through the halls, “You have peered into the eyes of our god! You have felt his power! Now come back to us, my loyal Sons of Set! Come back from Duat and re-enter the living world!”
The world reappeared before Seth’s eyes, finding himself crouched on the floor beside the other disciples. Everyone seemed oblivious to what had happened to him. That just a moment ago he was flat out on his back before his god, screaming. His chest being torn in half by fire and shadow. Now awake from his trance, the pain subsided, and his urge for power drained from his body, giving Seth relief that the tormenting struggle was over. But the eyes that he had seen were burned into his memory, still tempting the injured beast inside him.
“Rise up, Sons of Set, our brethren!” Sean commanded, and each young man stood up. “And welcome!”
The crowd charged forward with shouts and cheers. Seth staggered and stepped back on his unsteady feet while the boys around him shook each other’s hands in congratulations. Praise showered over them from friends and family. Fathers took snapshots, capturing their sons’ greatest achievement.
Ky pushed through the crowd toward Seth, a large grin plastered on his face. “Dude! That was awesome!”
“Yeah.” Seth choked with unease, rubbing the was scepter on his neck. “Awesome.”
Wanda rushed up to Natti before she had even reached the entrance of the school. “What happened to you?”
“What are you talking about?” Natti pushed back her hair and hurried through the glass doors into the locker-lined halls.
“You know what I’m talking about. You totally baled on us after the Haunted Pyramid, and you weren’t at ‘Cleopatra’s Delights’ like you said you would be. So what happened?”
“I texted you that I had left.”
“Yeah, but you didn’t mention why or where you went.”
Natti’s mind jumped to Haunted Pyramid and the café, making her choke on her next words. “Wanda, I really don’t want to talk about it.”
Wanda huffed and rolled her eyes. “Come on, girl!”
Ignoring the memories that still haunted her, Natti focused on her locker combination. “Look, nothing happened. I was uncomfortable by myself and decided it was time to leave, okay?”
The lock clicked, and Natti swung the door open. She froze, her breath taken away by three white, short stem roses that sat on the bookshelf. A little folded note card rested besides them. She picked it up, unfolding it to only find the words ‘I’m sorry’ scribbled inside. Raising her eyes from the paper, she scanned the hall, hoping to catch a glimpse of Seth hiding in one of the doorways down the hall.
“Nothing happened, eh?” Wanda said with a sly tongue. “So who is he?”
Natti was jerked back into reality, and she tucked the note into her pocket. “Apparently someone good at breaking into lockers. I’m going have to have my combination changed.”
Wanda rolled her eyes. “What are you crazy? Why would you want to stop him?”
“Because, like I said, nothing happened!” Natti slammed the locker door shut and started walking with Wanda to class. “I ran into a guy from school after the festival, and he invited me to have some coffee.”
“And who was this masked man, who leaves you flowers?” Wanda teased.
Natti gulped. She couldn’t tell Wanda. For one, Natti knew Wanda had a crush on him. And two, she swore that she’d show her classmate she wouldn’t fall for Seth’s charm. “Probably not anyone you would know.”