Shu and Tefnut had been his only companions over the centuries. He knew what remained of them was not truly them. The wind and the waves were simply echoes of what they once were—fingerprints left behind. He siphoned off as much of their energy as he was able before their power waned and returned to the Waters of Chaos. Still, it wasn’t enough. His prison limited his abilities. Drained him dry.
That he’d allowed the gods to trick him into his prison at all galled him hour after gloomy hour. At least he’d been wise enough to keep the feather of Isis on his person at all times. It had gone undiscovered and the healing properties it gifted him, helped sustain him. Kept him sane. Well at least as sane as one could be when trapped in an oubliette for centuries. Luckily it wasn’t a normal feather. Otherwise his continual stroking of its downy edges would have worn it all the way to the shaft within a week.
Seth despaired of ever escaping, of ever seeing the light of day again.
But then, he felt the walls that trapped him weaken. It took eons to wear down the barrier separating him from his traitorous family. He pushed against the confines of his prison, feeling for any spark he could draw from in the outside world.
Then, a spark found him. A human, an ordinary sort of man, discovered a scroll, long forgotten, that held a spell powerful enough to draw a thread from the dark tapestry that fell like a curtain over his mind. The man must have been touched by magic. Perhaps he was the descendant of an immortal.
For a time, he wondered who had left the spell, and why. Could there be an ally living among those that hated him? The thought that it might be Isis skittered through his mind. Had she finally seen through the all-too-winsome smile of her husband? Did she regret banishing Seth? Trapping him in the obelisk? He longed to know and spent countless hours pondering the implications. Eventually, Seth decided that he didn’t care how it happened, just that it did.
The mortal used the spell.
It was a tiny change. A chip in a wall of cement. Miniscule when you considered the power channeled into maintaining his prison. But it was enough. Seth took hold of the thread very carefully and pulled. As he did, his mind’s eye connected to that of the mortal. It wasn’t instantaneous, but in the course of a few years, what surmounted to the blink of an eye to Seth, he’d been able to siphon energy from others and imbue the immortal with power. Enough power that he would have a chance to stop the Sons of Egypt from reinforcing his prison.
Unfortunately, it didn’t work. The mortal proved too weak to accomplish his goal. But just before his minion was killed, Seth stole back the mortal’s energy and unmade his creation. Power filled him and he pressed against the barrier with all of his might. He was close enough that he could see the pyramids and the three young men standing atop them. For the first time in eons, he could see the stars in the heavens and the moon casting its silver light upon the field of the dead, but then he screamed as the pain of a thousand, thousand knives pierced his frame.
Light poured into the darkness, blinding him. Then, as the pain ebbed, the light receded and the tear he’d rent in the fabric of space knit itself back together, trapping him once again. He’d been so close. To have his freedom ripped away again was unbearable and he cursed the stars, his immortal family, and especially, the women he wanted but couldn’t have.
Without his mortal servant, he had no window to look outside of his prison and he resented the darkness even more than he had before. Finally, his mind quieted enough that he could hear a new voice calling to him. He recognized her as a kindred spirit. She was isolated like him. She was misunderstood. She wielded power, too. Of course, it was nowhere close to the power Isis and Nephthys had, but his options were limited. Whoever she was, she was desperate and wanted to break free of the shackles binding her as much as he did.
Seth whispered to her mind. Made promises. Told her the things she longed to hear. And she was his. When she informed him that the Sons of Egypt wavered, that one had entered the Netherworld, he knew his freedom was at hand. If she could capture the wayward young man, then it would be possible for Seth to use his connection to her to drain the boy’s life energy.
He’d have to move carefully, lest he alert the gods to his interference. They were complacent now that his prison had been reinforced. If he used his power to simply unmake the boy, then the gods would discover the loose threads he spied through. One of them would make the foolhardy and unbearably noble sacrifice to shore up the walls. Seth considered his options and decided that a chance like this wouldn’t come again.
Patiently, he murmured his instructions. The boy was caught and the energy she drew from him slowly filled Seth. He used the power to beat against his cage until the barrier was so thin, the walls shifted when he pressed against them. But, still, they wouldn’t break. He needed more.
Then, Seth become aware of her. The young man he stole energy from had bound himself to a mortal, at least, she appeared at times to be a mortal. Her energy roiled and shifted. Always changing. At times the girl was stronger than any creature he’d ever encountered and then her power flickered and she became as fragile as baby bird. She was the key. He knew it.
Unfortunately his ability to watch her was limited to the shadowy dreamland she shared with the boy she was connected to. And, even then, only when Egypt’s favorite son was weak. Before he could figure out a way to capture the prize he’d stumbled upon, to get more than a tempting taste of her, his supplicant had been defeated.
He’d strengthened her enough that she was able to escape the bonds that kept her tied to the Netherworld, but neither of them anticipated that his connection would draw her to him like a magnet. Before he understood what was happening, she was caught in his prison with him. It was a tight fit and Seth was irritated by her lack of foresight and her constant barrage of questions.
Her neediness irked him, but when he yanked her close, squeezed her limbs to the point of breaking, and reminded her of just how vulnerable she was, she quieted and deferred to him in a pleasing sort of way. When she pressed her cold lips against his, he knew then she’d offer him anything he wanted.
Despite his desire to unmake her, he didn’t, thinking her powers might be useful, but took as much of her energy as he could, leaving her just enough to survive. Draining her so thoroughly came with three added benefits. One, it served to weaken her enough that he could tolerate her presence. Two, he was able to access all of her memories. And three, he was able to siphon off all the power she’d drained from Egypt’s sons and hoarded away secretly for herself.
It was enough.