Vagabonds Ch 2

Sophia's heart thundered in her chest. Eye-to-eye with the beast, all she could think was what a fool she’d been. Normal people would look away from her, avoid her. They were afraid. The truth was, she had the most reason to fear them. A hard lesson learned, and she’d been so quick to forget it.

“I must say, it was quite the surprise to find you lying in my bed,” the narrow-eyed woman said in a low, throaty tone. “To find a gift sphinx in my bed; what a treat! I do so love new toys! Don’t you?”

She struggled and squirmed and kicked, not that it did her much good; she may as well have been trying to move the mountains. And the more she railed, the more the malicious smile on the demon’s face spread.

“You’re a fighty one, aren’t you?” She said, lowering her face to mere inches away. The woman’s long tongue flicked out like a serpent, leaving a wet trail across Sophia’s cheek. “That’s good… very good. It’s been such a long time since I’ve had a toy that didn’t break as soon as I got it…”

Again Sophia tried to scream - a pleading, desperate cry for help from someone – anyone. But, again, the massive paw covering her mouth turned her cry into little more than a muffled whimper. Unable to move, unable to call for help, she was left at the mercies and whims of her captor.

“I’ll have you know I just hate noisy toys. They’re so bothersome, you know? Gets me so worked up, I sometimes get a liiiitttle too rough. Such a shame when that happens. So! You can be a nice, quiet toy, can’t you?” The demon spoke like a mother scolding her child that’d been making just a little too much noise as they played.

Sophia did the only thing she could: Nod.

“Good! Isn’t it great when two people reach an understanding?” The demon said, her bushy, forked tail waving about behind her.

And yet, despite castigating herself over her foolishness, she couldn’t make sense of her predicament. Jasmin didn’t seem like she was luring Sophia into some kind of trap. It wasn’t like she was offering handouts or free-meals. Who was this woman, was she the roommate Jasmin spoke of? Maybe she really had been offered up as some kind of sacrifice to the sort of person who got their thrills in the worst way possible.

"Say, I have a proposal for you,” the woman asked, as if she were asking a friend for a favor. “Since we understand each other so well, how about this? I remove my paw, and you don’t scream. How about it?”

What was she to do, say no?

Sophia refused to think of it as accepting or giving in. Instead, it was just a means to bring everything to an end that much faster. Maybe she could even escape. Again, she nodded.

“Excellent!” The woman moved her paw, letting it linger just above the Sphinx’s lips for a few seconds in case she attempted to call for help. When Sophia remained nice and quiet, she pulled it completely away. “I really think we’re going places here,” she said, ignoring the terror and anger writ large across the Sphinx' face.

No longer having to suck in air through a musky, sweaty paw, Sophia relished the first few breaths of cool air. Feeling a little less imprisoned without a paw nearly the size of her head pressing down, she was able to gather a few errant thoughts.

“Why, why are you doing this?” Sophia said in a tiny, scared whisper.

“Ah? Doing what?” The woman said, in a manner that made it seem as if the notion that what she was doing was wrong had never occurred to her.

“Trapping me here,” Sophia whispered, struggling to keep herself from breaking down completely. If she lost it, she had little doubt it'd only make this ordeal all the more entertaining for the woman who held her.

“Trapping?” Came her reply, accompanied with an unnerving smile. “You’re a very silly sphinx, aren’t you?” She added, booping Sophia on the nose with a black-furred finger. The next words she uttered chilled Sophia’s blood in her veins. “Since when can toys be trapped?”

A plaything. She really was little more than a plaything to this, this woman – beast, devil! She’d be used until she broke and then discarded. What meager strength she'd pooled together ran dry and her front crumbled away.

“Please,” Sophia began in a choked whisper, tears welling in her eyes, “Let me go! I promise I won’t tell anyone! ”

The woman frowned, though not out of annoyance. “Now you’ve gone and done it,” she said with a sigh.

“I haven’t done anything! Please, please just let me go! I don’t want to hurt! I don't want to die!” Tears were streaming down her cheeks in thin ribbons.

Sophia knew deep down her begging was futile. But as much as she didn’t want to plead for her life like some pathetic thing, she couldn’t help it. She didn’t want to move on; she very much wanted to stay here, if only because she still had to fulfill an oath sworn to herself. Over and over she begged, crying so much her tears blinded her and soaked the pillow. The last, desperate pleas of a young soul clinging to life with all its might.

A familiar furred-finger touched her lips and she quieted in an instant. Only, something was different. The immovable, unshakable weight was gone.

The woman that’d lorded over her was sitting to the side, cross-legged on the bed. “You sure went from a little fighter to a bawling mess in a hurry,” the woman said, more than a little disappointed with how events had played out. “Maybe I laid it on too heavy…”

Sophia brought her hands up to her face and lightly touched her wet cheeks, as if making sure she was still all there. She couldn’t believe she was free – it had to be some kind of trick, some ruse to get her hopes up only to slam her back down into despair. For a long while she remained still, her eyes locked onto the woman.

“Cat got your tongue?” The woman said, breaking the silence. “It’s obvious you want to say something. So, out with it.”

“W-why are you doing this to me?” Sophia sniffled, rubbing at her cheeks and eyes in a vain attempt to dry her tears. To fall to pieces like that, she had to be stronger. She’d never get anywhere if she was so weak.

“Oh, I was just having a bit of fun,” said the woman, as if Sophia was overreacting to a harmless joke.

Fun. She'd been terrified to death, begging for her life like a prisoner in the gallows, just for fun. “What’s so fun about scaring someone?!” Sophia said in a snarl as she rolled to her feet.

“Quite a few things, but that’s sort of a long explanation,” the woman said, ignoring the sphinx’ surge of anger. “So let’s just say I have my reasons,” she said, adding a little ‘gakakaka’ on the end. “There’s a limit to how much I can tease her guests before she’d get really angry, you know.”

Her guest? At the very least, that answered one question; Jasmin had not lured her with the intent of turning her into some kind of toy. Assuming the woman in front of her was telling the truth, anyways. There were so many things she wanted to say, to scream, but she knew she had to get away. No one sane would threaten someone like she had.

“Does that mean I can leave?” She said, her hushed tone far removed from the force she'd meant to use. The occasional sob and lingering doubts had robbed much of the power from her voice.

The woman shrugged and flopped down onto the bed. “Go ahead. If you want, Sekhmet’s room is down the hall to your right.”

Sophia didn’t know why she referred to Jasmin as Sekhmet, but she wasn’t about to stick around and ask. Slipping from the bed onto the floor, she padded towards the door, keeping an eye on the woman the entire time. Only when she reached the door did she throw it open, dart out, and then slam it shut behind her as she escaped towards Jasmin's room.

~~~

Sekhmet stretched and yawned, then let out a long sigh when she got ahold of the alarm clock. Two in the afternoon was late, even by her standards. With another yawn she heaved her legs into the air and then threw herself out of bed, landing on her feet with a heavy thump. While getting a satisfying scratch in, she happened to notice a bundle in the corner of her room that hadn't been there when she went to bed.

Walking over towards Sophia, she assumed that the sphinx felt lonely, but didn't want to crawl into her bed. The real mystery was how Sophia had managed to slip into her room undetected. Heavy sleeper as Sekhmet may have been, she still had her senses. Perhaps the Sphinx could be stealthier than she'd first appeared.

“Hey, wake up,” she said, prodding at Sophia with her foot.

The sphinx trembled and stirred as she woke and blinked her eyes in an attempt to get her bearings. One by one memories of the prior evening came back to her, jarring her consciousness into action. She stood in a rush, prepared to tell Jasmin about the horror she’d experienced last night. Then she noticed, as her eyes caught up with the rest of her, the woman standing before her was the sort who slept nude.

Not exactly used to people quite so comfortable with themselves, she struggled to find the right place to look without appearing rude.  “I, uh, your roommate… I think…”

“My roommate?” Sekhmet repeated, unsure of what Sophia was getting at.

Sophia settled on looking at her hands as she tapped the tips of her fingers together. “Yeah. I think. She’s the reason I came in here.”

“What? How come?” Sekhmet’s confusion was due to the simple fact that her roommate was still supposed to be at some business meeting overseas. It was also more than a little disturbing that she’d never noticed her roommate come in; she wasn’t the quiet sort. So, in one night, she’d missed two people in her home. In a dry, self-sarcastic sort of way, Sekhmet chalked it up to her getting old.

“She said she was going to break me like a toy!” Sophia said, her thin body all wound up with a mix of fear, anxiety, and anger.

To most people, hearing that sort of news would be cause for concern. Pouncing on strangers and threatening to break them was not typically the best way to greet someone. For Sekhmet, it was just confirmation that yes, Sophia did have a close encounter with her roommate.

Sighing and kneeling down, she placed a paw on Sophia’s head. “She didn’t do anything else, did she?”

“No…”

“Good,” Sekhmet said, studying the young girl for a moment. “Are you okay?”

“I guess. But, why would she do something like that?” Sophia asked, shuffling her feet. “I was really scared…”

“That’s just how she is,” Sekhmet said with a look of resignation. “Anyways, I’ll have a talk with her. For now, let’s get something to eat. You hungry?”

The doubts instilled in her from the events of last night were not so quick to vanish, but for the time being she was willing to trust in Jasmin. She kind of expected a stronger reaction from the powerful Jasmin, but the calm she radiated was nice in its own way. That aside, the lure of a morning meal was enough to make her just a little more willing to believe that Jasmin had no part in what’d happened.

“I could eat,” she said, attempting to maintain some degree of indifference.

“Good. I don’t have much, but I’m sure there’s something,” Sekhmet said, making for the door. Just as she reached for the knob, she became rather aware of her nakedness – if only because Sophia was doing her best to not look while looking. “Right,” she said under her breath, detouring to her closet for a robe before heading to the kitchen.

Sekhmet searched through the cupboards and refrigerator, setting this and that on the counter as Sophia watched. “Do you know how to cook?” Sekhmet said, appraising her collection of ingredients. Everything was there for a basic, yet filling morning meal.

“A little, but it’s been a while,” Sophia said, cringing as her eyes lingered on a box of oatmeal. Food was food, but she had no idea how Jasmin – a lion like herself - could willingly eat something like that. Not when she had the money to buy whatever she wanted.

“Very well, show me what you can do,” Sekhmet said, gesturing to the counter-top.

Sophia hesitated for a second. “What? You want me to make breakfast?”

“Is that so surprising?” Sekhmet said, raising an eyebrow. “The staff usually cooks for the employer, do they not?”

Something occurred to Sophia at that moment. It was a reminder that she hadn’t been taken in simply out of an uncommon kindness. It was a comforting thought, helping to assure her that she wasn’t going to be tied up and used for Jasmin’s amusement.

There was just one little problem.

“I’ll try,” she said with all the trepidation of someone who knew what the finished product should look like, but was a little hazy on the steps involved. Oatmeal in a bowl was easy enough, if not exactly appetizing. She could probably manage an omelet, maybe some sausage…

Sekhmet prepared a cup of coffee for herself, pointing out where various skillets and bowls could be found as Sophia asked. Accompanying the clanging of this and that were worrisome looks on Sophia’s face when it came to the measuring cups, hesitation when looking over the spices, and far too many instances of ‘oops’ being uttered.

Sipping on her usual morning drink at the table, Sekhmet watched and regretted. Her meals for the next few days, if not weeks, were going to be more like the results of a dark ritual gone awry rather than an something one could call a proper meal. But, she felt it best if she kept her distance and only acted if danger presented itself or if she was specifically asked. Even if it meant enduring results that would make war rations from every era ever look positively appetizing in comparison. If she had to eat it, so did Sophia. To her, there was no better motivation for improvement.

At least she could savor her coffee; so far the start of the day wasn’t so bad. That thought was immediately upended upon the arrival of sleeping beauty. Staggering into the kitchen in her pajamas, unruly hair even more unruly than usual, was her roommate.

“What’s all the racket?” She asked in a grumble after a mighty yawn. After all these years, it was still disconcerting to watch her yawn, mostly due to her long tongue that reached far below her chin before curling up. How she managed to speak properly was likely going to remain one of the great unsolved mysteries.

“Our new assistant is working on breakfast,” Sekhmet said, eying the black-furred demon. “I hear you and her had a few words last night. Something about toys and them being broken?”

Sophia stopped cooking to stare daggers at the new arrival.

“Did we now? Oh yes,” the long-tongued woman said, scratching her rear. “Cute thing. Shame our fun ended so soon.”

“I’d suggest you avoid tormenting Sophia in the future,” Sekhmet said in a flat tone that still managed to drip with threatening intent. “She’ll be with us for some time.”

“Sophia, is it? Well, I’m sure we’ll get along fine,” she replied, complete with a suspicious half-grin. Then, turning to the cooking sphinx, “Good morning, Miss Sophia! I do hope you’ll forgive me for last night?”

The look on Sophia’s face was clear: No way in hell. “Who are you, anyways?”

“Hah! If only you had been that defiant last night,” she said, drawing further ire from the sphinx. Clearing her throat with far too much fanfare, she continued. “You may call me Set.”

Sekhmet nearly choked on her coffee. “It’s too early to let her know!” she hissed. Set dismissed her concern with a wave of a paw.

“Set? Like the goddess?” Sophia asked, narrowing an eye.

“Exactly like her.” Set said, her ears coming up pert.

“No way,” Sophia said with a snort. “Who’d name their kid something that dumb?”

Sekhmet ran a paw through her hair and sighed. She really should’ve known better than for a nice, easy introduction where she could fill in Set on the details before they met. Well, she was going to tell Sophia the truth sooner or later. Just, she’d hoped it would have been later when she could’ve ascertained a few more things.

“I think you misunderstand, little one,” Set said, taking a few meandering steps around the kitchen. “I am not named after her.””

“Huh? What do you mean?” Sophia asked, cracking an egg on the edge of a bowl.

“I am her.” Set puffed up with pride. “You may grovel now.”

“Yeah, right. What’s your real name?” Sophia shot back with an irritated glare, then turned to Jasmin. “Is she always like this?”

“You think to call me a liar? My, but you’re bold with Sekhmet around,” Set said, her wandering path bringing her closer to Sophia step by step.

Sophia’s brow knit together. The woman in front of her, the so-called Set, had called Jasmin that last night. “Sekhmet? That’s Jasmin. And yeah, she’s bigger than you! She’ll protect me!”

“Will I now?” Sekhmet said with some annoyance. When did Sophia ever get the impression she was some kind of protector or guardian?

“You won’t?” Sophia said, her voice shot through with worry.

“Oh ho? Were you that confident in your relationship already?  Or were you just bluffing?” Set asked, flashing a grin at Sekhmet.

It wasn’t until she was all but on top of her that Sophia noticed how close Set had crept in. She’d been watching her, and yet, somehow she drew near. So near, in fact, that Sophia couldn’t help but relive some of the fear of last night. The remainder of her bravado evaporated and she did the best she could to appear small, turning as to avoid facing the demon. “She’s been nice to me…”

“No one fights on someone’s behalf out of kindness,” Set said in a peculiar tone, walking past the sphinx. Her tail brushed lightly against the Sophia’s side, causing a visible flinch. “You’d do well to remember that.”

Sophia was expecting something malicious or terrible from Set as she focused on beating the egg, wishing she could escape into the bowl. Instead, Set plucked a mug from the cupboard and poured herself a cup of coffee. An exploratory taste of the steaming liquid with the tip of her tongue brought a smile to her face.

“And to your other point, Jasmin is just the name she goes by to get along in the world. I use Cleo myself,” Set said, her normal pleasant-yet-somehow-ominous tone having returned

“Is that true?” Sophia asked, looking at the robed lioness.

“It is,” Sekhmet replied, taking a sip from her mug.

Sophia couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Were they really trying to lie to her like this? “If you’re actually goddesses, prove it.”

Set laughed in her usual, unnerving way. “Listen to you, thinking you can command a goddess. Crying one moment, ordering goddesses about the next. You’ll come to believe soon enough. All that matters is you acknowledge it for now.”

Sophia huffed. “Why should I?”

Without saying a word, Set took another step closer to Sophia. Who then slid sideways away from the demon. Another step, another slide.

“Okay! Sorry, you’re goddesses,” Sophia blurt out, finding the available room between her and the edge narrowing to nothing. If that’s how they wanted to be addressed, then fine, whatever.

“See? Didn’t even have to light a candle,” Set said, waltzing triumphantly to the table.

“I believe I told you to stop scaring her,” Sekhmet quipped, raising her brow.

“Just a bit of fun,” Set said, looking over her shoulder in amusement as Sophia bristled from the remark.

“You’re evil!”

“If you think that’s evil, you still have much to learn about the world my dear Sphinx.”

Sophia’s tail went up as she let out a ‘hmph’ and poured the egg mixture onto a skillet.

Sekhmet just tapped a paw on the tabletop. “This is a bit much, even for you.”

“That’s because I am assuming you believe she’ll be of use to us. Am I correct?” Set said, dropping her voice to avoid Sophia’s swiveling ears.

“I do.”

Set hummed and turned her attention towards Sophia, who was having quite the ordeal with trying to get the omelet to flip cleanly in the skillet. “You’ll have to tell me how you came across her. So far I remain unimpressed, but maybe you can convince me.”

Sekhmet leaned forward onto her arms. “True, she’s a bit young and naïve, but I think that will work to our advantage. She’ll be easier to train.”

“A bit? She’s the youngest by far. I didn’t think you could be so impatient,” Set said with a smirk.

“It’s not as if our previous attempts were successes. Perhaps it’s time we tried something different?” Sekhmet asked, more to herself than Set.

Before Set could respond, their conversation was brought to an end as Sophia approached. She bore plates of something that, under the right circumstances, could be called food.

Sekhmet and Set shared a look.

“What’s… this?” Sekhmet asked as the plate was slid in front of her. She’d expected the worst. Her expectations had not just been exceeded; they’d been blown away.

“Ham and cheese omelet and sausage,” Sophia said, her expression acknowledging that things didn’t turn out quite as planned. “I used to make it with my dad before, so I thought it’d be easy, but I forgot a few things and had a hard time figuring out your range…”

Sekhmet stabbed a charred, black cylinder that at one point may have been meat with her fork and held it up to her face. She’d assumed that even children half Sophia’s age could prepare a basic meal. Taking a measured bite of the once-food, she made the agonized face of someone who’d made a terrible mistake.

“It’s awful, isn’t it?” Sophia asked, her whole body slumping.

“Nonsense! See, the …scrambled? Eggs are so runny they’re reconstituting these dried out logs that were once plump sausages before you masterfully desiccated them,” Set said full of mock cheer, swishing one of the said logs back and forth in the yellow ooze. Then, taking a full of chomp that produced a crunch that one wouldn’t typically associate with eating sausage, she added “Tastes exactly like I thought it would.”

Their reactions stung at Sophia; she didn’t need them to tell her how badly she’d failed. It wasn’t that she was going to have to eat it – she’d eaten far worse – but that she bungled the first job Sekhmet had given her. And acted so polite about it, too.

With only two chairs at the table Sophia had to stand to eat, but it didn’t matter. She wolfed down her breakfast with so much enthusiasm her dining companions were more than happy to offer up their shares. Didn’t want the poor girl to starve, after all.

“Right, so you being in charge of meals is postponed,” Sekhmet said as Sophia cleaned up the plates, amused with how much food the Sphinx managed to pack away. “Until we get you some proper culinary training.”

“So what am I going to be doing?”

“For now, let’s go with cleaning and… an assistant of sorts,” Sekhmet said, getting up to pour herself another cup of coffee. Set gave her a curious look.

“Assistant?” Sophia asked as she loaded the last dish into the washer.

“Yes, helping me with a variety of duties. Obviously, I don’t expect you to know everything, but I trust you’ll learn quickly enough.”

Cleaning she could do. Anyone could, really, so she wasn’t terribly afraid of messing up there. The assistant thing was a little more unnerving. She got the distinct impression Sekhmet was being vague on purpose. “I think I can do that…”

“Cleaning, hmm? We’ll have to get her a uniform,” Set added, smirking far too much for such a mundane topic.

“A uniform? Not a bad idea,” Sekhmet said as she eyed Sophia up and down, forming a mental image of what the Sphinx might look like in a variety of outfits. “What exactly did you have in mind?”

“If it’s cleaning, it has to be a maid,” Set began, somehow sounding malevolent despite the rather innocuous context. “And if it’s a maid, it has to be French. So, French Maid outfit!”

Sophia didn’t know what that meant, but she didn’t like the sound of it. Not one bit. Anything Set got enthused about had to be bad. Unfortunately, Sekhmet lit up as she considered the idea. Then they both turned to her. She shrank under their combined gazes, laying her ears flat.

“All those frills, she’d be adorable,” Set added.

“I can see it. Prim and proper - just the sort of thing she needs.” Sekhmet said, having made up her mind in an instant. “We’ll go this evening to get her a few outfits. My tailor should be able to put together something for her.”

“But what if I don’t want to wear a maid uniform?” Sophia protested from her rather underwhelming position.

Sekhmet leaned back against the counter and leveled her gaze on the sphinx. “You may object now, but wearing a clean, well-cared for outfit will instill a sense of pride and dignity.”

“…From wearing frilly clothes?”

“Yes. You’ve been in rags for far too long. It’ll do you well.”

To Sekhmet’s side, Set made a teasing sort of face – A dash of pity, amusement, and covered in smug. Sophia knew she had no option, but that didn’t stop her from scowling at the fork-tailed devil. “I guess…”

“Good. That’s one thing settled,” Sekhmet said, finishing off her cup. “Now then, Sophia, if you could get the bath started…”

--

“Oh, before we leave, I have something for you,” Set said, coming to an abrupt halt and then doubling back to her room.

Sekhmet’s tail flicked back and forth. “What is it?”

“That thing you’ve been wanting,” Set’s yelled, accompanied by the crash of something falling.

“Thank you for clarifying that,” Sekhmet said, rolling her eyes, then turned to Sophia. “You’d think I would have learned by now she never gives a straight answer.”

“I know, right?” Sophia said, though she was curious herself as to what Set had to show.

However, as soon as Set came back with a long black case, Sekhmet knew exactly what it was. “…I thought they weren’t going to be finished for another month. And weren’t you in Germany?”

Set tossed the case onto the kitchen table with a thud and began undoing the latches. “Well, you know. Wrapped up my week long trip in a day. Management was surprisingly pliant.”

“How much did you threaten them this time?” Sekhmet asked, more out of courtesy than anything.

“Negotiations, meetings, threats – same thing really. Just a little reminder that unless they started focusing on value instead of profits, unemployment would be rising just a tiny bit. ” Set said with an evil smirk. Then, with the final latch undone she flipped open the case with a flourish and said a “Ta-da!”

In a flash that left Sophia’s clothes fluttering, Sekhmet was at the table and lofting her prize from its container.

“Since I was out and about anyways, I decided to make a little detour,” Set said, wearing a warm smile.

It was light, but still weighty enough she could gauge where the blades were at all times. The length was perfect, as was the grip in her paws. “What did you do them?” Sekhmet asked, as if she was expecting to hear about a mass murder in the news.

“I merely offered them a… bonus should they finish before I left,” Set said with a chortle. "Better the carrot than the stick for this sort of work, you know.”

Sekhmet ran a padded digit across an edge and frowned. “I was hoping it’d be sharper.”

“Supposedly if the edge is too thin it can crack. Here,” Set shuffled around in the case and produced a sheaf of papers, then tossed them onto the table.  “The dos and don’ts of your new blade. They’ll be sending along the water jet sharpener when it’s finished.”

Sekhmet paid the haphazardly printed manual little regard; she was already off in her little corner of reality. With a flick of her wrist she sent the long, double-bladed weapon spinning round her arm before it settled neatly back into her paw. Exceptionally balanced and weighted.

Without warning she made a wide sweep, sending one of the blades in an arc inches from Sophia’s face, who had gotten tired of waiting near the door and decided to check out what all the fuss was about.

The sphinx froze in place as her bangs ruffled from the breeze, only beat a hasty retreat to a safe distance once her heart had managed to start beating again. “Hey! You almost cut my face off with that!” She said, only to be ignored as Sekhmet rolled the weapon across her back from one paw to the next.

“Almost?” Set grinned, “You may as well have been across the room.”

Sophia narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips at Set, who didn’t seem to care in the least about her brush with death. “Even I know better than to go around swinging stuff inside. That’s dangerous!”

“That’s because you’d just knock everything over and make a mess.” Set continued to smile innocently in the face of the Sphinx’ glare.

Stomping a paw against the floor, Sophia dismissed Set, focusing her attention on Sekhmet. Watching the lioness, she couldn’t help but marvel at her fluid, effortless movements. The weapon danced around her body like it was part of her, and indeed, the whole display was more like a dance than some martial showing.

“What is that, anyways?” Sophia asked, keeping her distance from the whirling dervish. “Does she collect swords and stuff?”

Set, who’d taken to sitting cross-legged on the table, regarded Sophia out of the corner of her eye. “That, my little ragamuffin, is the…” A smile of pure evil twisted her face. “…cutting edge of metallurgical science.”

Sophia blinked slowly and held her breath an extra heartbeat. She wouldn’t give her the satisfaction. “Sounds expensive.”

“Really, nothing?” Set balked, disappointed. She sighed, tapping her foot in the air. “And yeah, it had a price tag with a decent amount of zeroes at the end. Hopefully this one lasts; Sexmet has a tendency to go through weapons like toothpicks.”

All at once the intricate dance came to a halt, Sekhmet slamming the end of the weapon onto the floor with a bang that nearly made Sophia jump out of her skin. And probably left a nice crack in the tile. “I told you,” she growled, stressing the beginning of every word, “Not to call me that.”

Before she’d heard the third word, Set held her paws up in a show of defeat. “If I hadn’t said anything you’d be there all night. We still have to get Twist here,” she said, nodding in Sophia’s direction, “some clothes.”

Sekhmet’s nostrils flared and her pupils had become thin slits. She closed her eyes for a tense second, and when she opened them again, nearly all the hostility had bled from her stare. In that moment, Sophia found her opinion of which of the two was scarier changing.

Though something Set said had confused her. “Twist?” Sophia asked, cocking her head.

Set sighed so deep it was as if she was sighing for three people at once. “This won’t do at all. I’m getting you a library card.”

Sophia knew she was being made fun of, but she wasn’t quite sure how.

“I suppose I did get a little carried away. Afterwards let’s make a trip to the armory,” Sekhmet said, placing her shiny new toy back in its case.

“Can’t wait to try it out for real, eh?”

“I seem to recall you vanishing into the night for hours when you bought that rifle the other week,” Sekhmet said, clicking the latches into place.

“It’s okay to be excited every now and then,” Set said, almost pityingly.

Not deigning to reply, Sekhmet picked up the case and made for the door. “Let’s get going,” she said to Sophia.

So this was her life now, tending to the needs of two rich women who liked to be referred to using the names of gods. Sekhmet, at least, displayed some kind of courtesy. That other one was just unrelenting. Sophia didn’t know how long she’d be able to stomach her constant teasing.

Yet, despite Set, things were definitely better than they had been yesterday. Best of all, she had real clothes - after Sophia was done modeling half the store. Including the dreaded maid outfit that Set’d insisted on. If there was one bright spot to be found, it was that it’d take a few days before delivery since it had to be tailored specifically for her.

“So where are we going now?” Sophia said as she hopped into the backseat of the truck.

“To our little hideout,” Set replied.

“What’s there?”

Set looked over her shoulder at Sophia. “All the Sphinxes who didn’t make the cut.”

“You’re lying,” Sophia said, looking to Sekhmet for reassurance. “…Right?”

“Yes, she’s just messing with you,” Sekhmet said after a sigh. Then, as an aside to Set, “I don’t know how you can get mad at people for not believing you.”

Set just laughed her creepy laugh.

Rolling through town, Sophia found all the usual sights and streets had become unusual. Sure her vantage was a little higher, but there was something else. She may have been outside, but she was inside. No longer was she on the streets, but on top of them. Soon the rows of nice, neat colorful shops and houses blurred into an empty field of grey. The blocks of dilapidated houses and bombed-out warehouses that had, at times, been her home seemed so foreign through a pane of glass.

The concrete began to thin, giving way to the endless expanse of golden sands. For the first time in a long time, Sophia watched the sun hang low in the sky, no longer obstructed by walls.

At the hideout, which was little more than a stretch of desert in a valley, Sophia couldn’t help but feel disappointed. Hadn’t Sekhmet said something about an armory?

“…Is this it?” Sophia said, drawing in the sand with her paw prints.

“What good is a secret if anyone can see it?” Set said, pausing near a cliff face.

Before Sophia could respond, Set began to brush around the ground. And then a chain appeared in her paw. With a grunt she gave the chain a heave and then the sound of screeching metal filled the air. Set continued to pull, and inch by inch a hole appeared in the ground.

Sophia peered down into the darkness as Set and Sekhmet ventured down the stairs. “Come on in,” Sekhmet said in passing.

The air felt dangerous. Maybe even nefarious. Curiosity got the better of her. How many cats could it kill, really? Skipping down the stairs, Sophia was excited to discover what secrets lay beneath the sands. A long, narrow passage continued straight for a good number of steps, then branched off into several spacious rooms.

The first room she glanced into was enough to leave her speechless. Walls, shelves, desks – all of them loaded to capacity with guns of all kinds. A new, yet old, fear took her heart into its grasp. Who would need all this? Why?

“Here, carry this back up,” Sekhmet said, thrusting a stack of scrap wood at Sophia.

Still bewildered, she nearly dropped the bundle – and then nearly tipped over from the weight. Straining under the load, she took the wood up the stairs and deposited the stack on the sand. Only after did she realize she did as asked without even realizing it. Some habits were ingrained far deeper than she thought.

It had to have been those guns. That was just one room in many. Were they all filled? Were they somehow connected to the others? No, they were too nice – even Set. Sophia considered running away, as she had before, but what then? There were no shackles this time.  Was there a reason to flee?

The sound of voices brought her back to reality. Set and Sekhmet appeared from the hole in the ground, carrying a variety of equipment. Sekhmet dumped more logs onto the pile and then placed a few stakes into the sand while Set checked over a rifle.

Opening the case, Sekhmet took her new blade to the center of the circle made by the stakes.

“Ready to see something neat?” Set asked, holding a log in her paw.

Sophia’s eyes drifted from Set to Sekhmet and back again. Nothing was being pointed at her. “Like what?”

Without further ado, Set lobbed the log in a gentle arc towards Sekhmet. In a flash she struck out with her dual-bladed polearm, neatly bisecting the hunk of wood mid-air.

“Whoa, neat!” Sophia said.

“Here,” Set said as she tossed a log towards Sophia. “Together at the same time.”

“Okay,” and then at the count of three, they sent two bits of wood towards the lioness.

Sekhmet aimed for Sophia’s target first, slashing through the wood and then letting the weight of her blade carrying it out of her paw to extend its length, cut through the second target in the same motion.

“Cool!”

All the elegance was still there, the way she moved just enough to get the job done. Sophia felt the pang of envy, wishing she’d been capable of wielding a weapon like that. Things would’ve been different. They’d still be alive.

“How do you like it?” Set asked, readying logs in each paw.

“It’s very good. Cuts clean considering how dull the edges are.”

Set then hurled both scraps of wood at Sekhmet with such speed they became little more than blurs to Sophia’s eyes. Yet, the lioness moved just as fast, striking down both at once using the ends of her weapon. Sophia could scarcely believe what she was seeing; it was like something out of a movie.

“Ho? Already have the length figured out?” Set said with a whistle, or at least something that sounded like a whistle choked by a foot of tongue.

“Only because it’s so well-made. They must have consulted a weapon smith, but I can’t imagine who,” Sekhmet said, looking over one of the mottled steel blades. “It’s been over a century since the last great smith died.”

“I didn’t ask them, though you could call the lab and find out. Anyways, wanna move onto the shield test?” Set asked.

Sekhmet tapped the end of her polearm into the sand and shifted her weight onto one leg. “…You just want to shoot me.”

“Maybe,” Set said, unable to control toothy grin or her paw from pulling the rifle on her back around into a ready position.

“Wait, what? What the hell are you doing? You’re going to shoot her?!” Sophia stammered, her eyes darting between the two. Sekhmet didn’t seem to mind at all that a gun was pointed at her.

Set looked at Sophia like she was the crazy one here. “Yeah?”

A single crack echoed through the valley. Sophia flinched, screwing her eyes shut against the report. Her ears rang, but they still searched on as if expecting to hear a scream. Yet, all was quiet. She opened one eye, then the other. Sekhmet was still standing. Had Set missed?

“Skittish around gunfire?” Set asked, giving Sekhmet a sideways glance. “You damn near jumped three feet into the air.”

“What the fuck was that?!” Sophia shouted, drawing a look of amusement from Sekhmet. “Are you trying to kill her?! It’s a good thing you’re a shitty shot!”

“Shitty shot?” Set repeated, furrowing her brows in annoyance. “I’ll have you know I’ve got the world record for long distance shooting.”

“Well, she’s still standing, isn’t she?!” Sophia’s finger and arm trembled as she pointed at the perfectly healthy Sekhmet.

“No, she aimed at my heart. Would’ve hit too,” Sekhmet said, looking across the weapon’s surface. “Not even a scratch. I’ll have to send my regards to those gals at the lab.”

Sophia stood dumbstruck as the pieces fell into place. It wasn’t so much that the notion had never occurred to her, but that it was so absurd she immediately dismissed it as impossible. No one had the reaction time to deflect a bullet with a sword or blade. No normal person could move like that.

“No way…” Sophia mumbled, shaking her head. “You two are just trying to trick me or something.”

“What, you still don’t believe me?” Set said with a sigh. “It hurts me that you think I’d lie about who I am; it really does.” She wiped away a few invisible tears from her cheek.

“Just get some earmuffs for her. I’m sure you’ve got some in that mess down there,” Sekhmet said, hanging her arms off the bar as it rested across her shoulders.

“Oh, good idea,” Set agreed, patting one paw into the palm of the other. She then vanished down into the armory, leaving Sophia and Sekhmet alone.

“You didn’t really block it, right? C’mon, you can tell me now that she isn’t here,” Sophia said, dropping her tone on ‘she.’

Although Sekhmet had intended this fieldtrip to be nothing more than a test, it wound up turning into some kind of demonstration. She wasn’t the sort that enjoyed showing off; that was such a vulgar thing done by those who talked a good fight, but little else. Still, an exception could be made here and there. She’d hoped Sophia would come to see the truth on her own, over time. But, this was the most effective option, wasn’t it?

“I did. As much as I hate to admit it, Set is probably correct in believing you should come to know us sooner rather than later.”

“You’re lying,” Sophia scoffed. “I mean, gods aren’t real. That’s all just myth.”

“If gods aren’t real, then who am I?” Sekhmet said, channeling a bit of her inner-Set. “Are you also saying that all the artifacts you saw last night are fake?”

“That’s…” Sophia couldn’t find the words without sounding like a broken record. Calling someone a liar over and over was a good way to get on their bad side in a hurry. But those things were just pieces of history. Some may have been factual records, but most of it was art and myth. Even she knew that. People with special powers that could swat down bullets with a spear were just…

“I understand why you’re skeptical. If gods were real, how come they don’t make themselves known?” Sekhmet said as if she herself were interested in hearing the answer to that question. “Why do they own museums instead of presiding over nations?”

The question hung in the air, unanswered. Sophia chewed on that thought for a short while, until Set made her reappearance. Sound-deadening headphones weren’t the only thing she decided to bring up.

“Couldn’t resist, could you?” Sekhmet said with a sigh that became a groan halfway through.

Set was all smiles with a massive rifle slung over her shoulder.

“Think of it as an actual test,” Set said as she handed the headset to Sophia. “Here, put these on.”

Sophia turned the headset about in her hands, attempting to figure out how they were supposed to cover her ears. A bit of poking and prodding and one of the halves opened up like a clamshell, revealing a comfy-looking, padded interior. She’d never worn something like this before, and having set one of the pieces around her ears and snapping it shut, yelped as her ear was pinched in the hinge.

“Need a hand?” Set asked as she chambered a round into the five-foot-long rifle.

“No, no I’ve got it,” Sophia winced, reseating the headset into a somewhat more comfortable position – though the relief was more like moving from walking on hot coals to caltrops. At least it worked as advertised; with both clamshells snuggly around her ears the only sounds she could hear were her heartbeat and breathing.

Set began mouthing something, then gave up and just pointed behind her. Deciding being as far away from the end of the gaping maw of the gun as possible was the best idea, Sophia took up a position behind Set.

Instead of laying down to fire the weapon as Sophia imagined would be a requirement for such a powerful-looking gun, Set swung the barrel up as she stood. Her bushy tails wagged.

And then Sophia got kicked in the chest. The blow staggered her backwards and she felt the thunder strike more than heard it through her whole body. As Set as said, she didn’t flinch – much. Just barely she managed to keep an eye on Sekhmet. In the same instant as the mule-kick to her chest, Sekhmet swiveled her weapon-turned-shield.

A sharp crack and a wash of sparks, and even the hulking giant was staggered and pushed by the heavy blow. Yet, she stood her ground.

Set lowered the barrel of the weapon and Sophia ripped the bulky headset off. Sekhmet shook one paw and then the other, balling each into a fist and relaxing it several times. A steady stream of blood trickled from her hands and arms onto the sands.

“Fuck! Why the fuck did I agree to that!?”

“Well, we know it can withstand a 20 millimeter round,” Set said, impressed that the blade remained whole. “Non-armor-piercing, anyways.”

“That… you really…” Sophia said, wide-eyed in disbelief. She grabbed the sides of her head and gave herself a good shake. “I must be dreaming…”

A sharp pinch on her rump made her lunge forward and let out a cry. “What was that for?!” She yowled, rubbing at the wound.

Wearing a half-grin, Set tapped the ends of her fingers together. “Now you know you’re not dreaming.”

Sophia continued to glare, but Set did have a point. Or two. It wasn’t a dream, nor some kind of hoax. All kinds of questions circled in her mind, vying to be the first asked. But when her eyes shifted to Sekhmet, still growling and pacing about and dripping everywhere, one took priority. “Shouldn’t we get her to hospital or something?”

“I’m fine,” Sekhmet said with one eye half-closed. “Still hurts like hell, though.”

“But you’re bleeding!”

“I was,” Sekhmet said after a long exhale through her nose. To demonstrate, she held up her arm. “See?”

“You can heal yourself?” Sophia said, reaching out to touch Sekhmet’s arm.

“Something like that.”

Sophia ran her across Sekhmet’s fur. Her forearm was still stained in blood, but it was more like someone else had done the bleeding. The last bits of doubt faded away.

Taking a few, awe-struck steps backwards, Sophia looked over Sekhmet as if she’d never seen her before. “So she really is Sekhmet… but what about you?” Sophia said, looking over in Set’s direction.

“What about me? Don’t tell me you think she’s the only goddess around here,” Set said, placing a paw on her hip.

“But you haven’t done anything?”

“Are you serious? I’d love to meet a mortal who could fire this,” she said, patting the rifle slung around her back, “without anchoring it first.”

“Yeah, but she blocked the bullet, didn’t she? And completely healed!”

How many years had it been since Set had to deal with this kind of cheek? If there was one thing that rubbed her the wrong way, it was being called a liar. “Oh for fuck’s sake. Fine, whatever. Gather some wood and put it in a pile.”

Sophia tilted her head. “Why?”

“Just do it.”

Sophia glanced back at Sekhmet, but the lioness remained silent. “Okay,” she said as she scampered off.

“How unusual of you,” Sekhmet said when the Sphinx ran out of ear-shot. The twitching of her tail and crook of her lip finished her sentence.

“Shut up.”

The pair said nothing further, and after a minute Sophia had collected all the split pieces of wood. “What now?”

“Observe,” Set said. Without making a move, the pile of wood burst into flames.

While certainly not expecting fire from nothing, the act lacked the sort of punch she was expecting – possibly because Set demonstrated the same thing a match could’ve done. “…That’s it?”

Sophia waited for Set’s response, but the Goddess of Campfires just glared at her. Then the pungent aroma of burning hair filled her nostrils, followed by a burning sensation at her tail. Snapping around, she was horrified to find her tail poof was ablaze. Shouting came first, grabbing her tail and clapping it to put out the flames was second.

Sekhmet grabbed the end of her tail in one of her big paws, squeezing tight until little more than a thin wisp of smoke rose from the once full-poof. “Really? Setting young girls on fire?”

“A real demonstration would’ve melted the sand beneath her ashes,” Set said, crossing her arms. “She got off easy.”

Sekhmet gave Set a look that said: Stop with the threats, or else. To which Set shrugged, as if it were Sophia’s decision and not hers.

“Why are you so mean to me?” Sophia asked, clutching her singed tail.

“Builds character.”

“Burns it, is more like,” Sophia pouted, poking at the crispy parts of her fur.

Standing so close to Sophia, Sekhmet caught a flash of something metallic hanging from the Sphinx’s neck. She’d damn near forgotten about it. “Sophia.”

The sphinx turned. “Yes?”

“I’d meant to ask you earlier; that pendant on your neck. You said your parents gave it to you?

Without thinking Sophia’s hand reached up to grasp the medallion through her shirt. Sekhmet did ask her about it the other day, and she did agree to talk about it. Though at the time she just said that in the hope that Sekhmet would forget. Even if she hadn’t, she’d have just made up some lie about it. The revelation had changed things, however. If it was a goddess asking…

“Yeah,” Sophia said in a low voice. “Why do you ask?”

“The symbol on it,” Sekhmet said, squatting down to Sophia’s level. “Could I see it again?”

“Okay,” she said, pulling the amulet free for all to see. Sekhmet took the medallion into a paw, observing how the light from the fire played across its surface.

“That’s a rare insignia. To date, I haven’t had much luck in finding more than a handful of trinkets with that mark. So, if possible, I’d like to know where your parents found it.”

If Set had asked, she would’ve refused. Since it was Sekhmet who wanted to know, even though she still had her reservations, she did owe her. Closing her eyes for a moment, she delved into her past.

“We… We traveled in the desert for a long time. I don’t remember where they said we were going, but it was supposed to have been an oasis or something.”

“Your parents were archeologists, then?” Sekhmet asked, her excitement rising at the prospect of a first-hand source.

“Anthropologists,” Sophia said, making sure to say every syllable correctly.

“That’s a memento from the last time you were with your parents, isn’t it?” Set said. Sophia’s head snapped up.

“Yeah.” Sophia said, pausing to swallow. “It is.”

Already Sekhmet’s excitement was deflating. With a response like that, something bad had happened. The chances of Sophia remembering anything but the worst of it were slim. “Mind telling us what happened?”

Sophia’s gaze locked onto her feet. “They… were killed.”

“Ah, victims of the war, I’ll bet,” Set said.

“No,” Sophia said, shaking her head. “I remember we came Egypt because the war ended. My parents were really eager to get to this one place with a bunch of other people, but due to the war we couldn’t travel.”

“Travel? Where are you from?” Set asked.

“Britain,” Sophia said, fidgeting with her clothes.

“Huh. You don’t have much of an accent,” Set said, more surprised by that tidbit than hearing about the fate of Sophia’s parents.

“What Set means is that just because a few people get together and say a war is over does not mean it is over.” Sekhmet said, narrowing her eyes. “Especially when it’s a civil war.”

“Yeah, they were kinda afraid of that, but they thought they’d be fine,” Sophia said, flashing a wan smile. “And we were, for a while. It’s where I got my necklace, after all. But then… one day everyone was working and then there was screaming and yelling and, and gunfire. Everyone was running all over the place and I remember seeing someone get shot… “Sophia’s breathing picked up and a certain tone registered in her words that made Set’s ears prick.

“Were your parents…?” Sekhmet asked, taking a seat on the sand.

“No,” Sophia shook her head. “We were caught. Because of me.” Sophia took a deep breath, afraid to close her eyes for even a split second.  “My mother told me to get into a tomb where it would be safe, but I was so scared I couldn’t do anything, so she tried to carry me. That’s when they got us. I, if I had listened – If I hadn’t been so scared—“

Sekhmet laid a paw on Sophia, but it did nothing to stop her trembling. She’d never been good at finding words in these kind of situations. As she opened her mouth to speak, Set beat her to it.

“Look at me.” Set said in a very stern, yet soft voice. Sophia raised her eyes. “It’s easy to blame yourself. If only I did this, if only I did that. But you know what? You’re not responsible for what happened. Neither are your parents.”

Both lions showed their surprise at Set’s words. It was more surprising for Sophia, who’d figured Set was the sort of person without a compassionate bone in her body. And, she was right. It was easy to blame herself, even if she knew she shouldn’t.

“Thanks,” Sophia said in a whisper she hoped neither of them could hear. But Set did, even if she didn’t show it.

“So what happened after you were caught?” Sekhmet asked.

Deeper in her mind were the memories she hoped to never live again. The ones she wished every day she could forget. Just thinking about them made her whole body tremble and her knuckles went white. The locks on her mind fell off, one by one, as two years’ worth of bottled regret surged.

“They treated us horribly, held us and kept demanding money from our family. But we were poor!” Sophia spit the words like acid. “We didn’t have anything to give them! But that didn’t stop them!”

“And, I suspect, they tried to get the UK to pay a ransom,” Sekhmet said, knowing full-well how the story was to end.

“Sounds like the Egyptian Liberation Army,” Set added. “If I remember right, after the war they tried to fund themselves by ransoming foreign nationals. How many of you were there?”

“A lot of us, they had a lot of other people there… they didn’t feed us, barely gave us water and kept us in cells like animals! Every day they didn’t get their money it got, it got worse!”

Sophia’s slender body shook, her breaths short and harsh. “Why? Why us?! What did we do?”

“Wrong place, wrong time,” Set said. Sekhmet glared at her for being so callous, but realized Set was planning something from the look she got in return.

“That doesn’t make it right! Are you saying we were just unlucky? Those fucking savages! We told them we didn’t have money! None of us did! But they always beat us and acted like we were just being greedy! That we just didn’t want to give them whatever we had! And then--”

That look in her eyes. Sekhmet knew it well. Set knew it better than anyone. There was only one thing on Sophia’s mind.

“-- One day there was a lot more yelling than usual and they lined us up. They told us we were worthless and no one was going to save us. Then, one by one, they, they…shot us. I couldn’t stop crying, I was so scared, and my mom and dad tried to comfort me but they just hit them, told them to shut up and kicked me over and over until I couldn’t move!”

Sophia had dug her nails into her palms so hard they began to bleed. The goddesses were impressed by the rage that boiled in the small girl’s heart. She’d hidden it well.

“Then the woman with the gun got to my parents… and she… they begged her not to, to spare me, but she didn’t care. I got splashed with their blood! I watched my parents fall! And then, and then, instead of shooting me, she…”

Tears of anger, of a hellish treatment began to roll down her cheeks. “Why why why! What did we do?! I hate them! I hate them so much! They were beasts! I want my mommy and daddy back! They loved me! Why didn’t they just kill me?! Why did I have to suffer even more?! Why weren’t they the ones to DIE?!”

The tiny girl shook and sucked in deep, labored breaths.

Set knelt down in front of Sophia. “How did you escape?”

Sophia laughed a dry, bitter laugh to herself. One of indignation and regret. “One night that whore got too drunk and didn’t put my chain on before she passed out. I ran as hard as I could.”

“Didn’t you want to kill her?” Set asked, her voice a malevolent whisper. “Make her suffer as you’d suffered?

Sekhmet placed a paw on Set’s shoulder and shook her head. “This is a great opportunity,” Set whispered. “We shouldn’t let it pass. What better way to find out?”

Sophia didn’t know what those two were on about. She didn’t care. “Yes! I wanted to kill her!” she said, snapping at Set. “I stood over her with a knife. I could’ve done it right there. I hated her so much! But, but I was too scared… all I could do was run away. I was so powerless…”

Set’s tongue lolled from her face-splitting grin. Perfect. “What if you had power?”

“What do you mean? Nothing’s changed, there’s nothing I can do,” Sophia growled, cursing herself for her inability to avenge her parents and herself.

Coincidences that were too coincidental, Sekhmet thought to herself. She understood now what that cunning jackal had planned. Not only had a castaway appeared, but one who was cut from the same cloth. Still, she didn’t agree with making a child endure such agony. Was it the right choice to bring her into their machinations? Was it right, even if she proved the key they needed?

“What if you had the power to extinguish those who wronged you? To exact revenge? Would you use it?” Set continued, leaning in close to Sophia.

If Sekhmet was going to bring this to end, now was the time. She closed her eyes and thought. Her decision was made.

Sophia answered almost before Set had finished speaking. “Yes! I want them all to die! I want to watch them suffer, to beg!”

“An excellent response!” Set bounced up with a maniacal laugh and spread her arms wide. From the darkness a ribbon of fire appeared, spiraling and racing around her before it took the form of a massive jackal and leapt to the Sphinx. Sophia tried to shield herself from the onrushing inferno, but Set grabbed her arm and pulled it out. The fire-creature came to a heel at Sophia’s command.

“What, what is this?” Sophia said, transfixed by the blazing thing.

“Vengeance,” Set said. “You, who are powerless, may borrow mine, so long as your soul thirsts for retribution.”

Her heart thumped. She thought about the woman who shot her parents. She imagined her flesh searing from the bone, her screams, and her pile of ash blowing away on the winds. The fire-creature blazed as if stoked.

There was a voice in her mind that warned her about something that’d been said to her, but it was a whisper in a screaming match.

Sophia took a step forward. “Can you do it? Now?”

“Sadly, I cannot. But we have methods of finding them. Unless you’re having second thoughts, of course.”

“No! I want them to die!”

“Gakakaka! Then they shall burn.”

--

As Sekhmet packed away her blade, she glanced at Sophia, still staring at the fire elemental. “Are you sure about this? She’s still so young; she’s still innocent. She doesn’t need that blood on her hands.”

“Then when does she need it? In two years? Five? She’s already seen more than most ever will. You saw how much it’s rotted her heart.” Set said, as if she pitied the girl more than Sekhmet did.

“So we drown her in a pool of blood?”

Set laughed through her nose. “She was thrown in once and survived. I think she’ll survive a second time.”