“The humans need me to preside over their wars,” he explained hotly. “I cannot just stay down here forever. There needs to be someone here to take care of things while I am gone—that is your job.”
“Why is it my role to be left behind? Why can you not stay here and take care of things while I am gone?”
“What do you have to do that is so important,” he snorted. “Teach women how to make love to their husbands? Plant flowers?”
Morrigan’s anger flared up around her as she glared at him. Every part of her wanted to tear the condescending expression right off his face.
“I have wasted enough time trying to reason with you,” Set snapped as he threw on his crown, the vicious jackal glaring back at her with glowing eyes. She noticed his spear at his side. “I will be back soon.” He disappeared, leaving her alone to seethe.
Her skin vibrated with anger, rendering her unable to put together thought until she drew in a steadying breath. She marched back to the Records Hall, determined to get her way. How foolish she had been to think he would continue to make the best of things with her, that he wouldn’t eventually abandon their duties. She reached the towering documents where the histories of souls were housed and focused her energy until it began to move by itself, shuffling and organizing as if she stood there directing it. There, she thought victoriously. Now I can leave, too.
She spun around to be greeted by young Cerberus, who cocked his triple heads at her. Although he was Set’s animal companion, she’d grown to appreciate his company as well. “I will return,” she promised, scratching him behind one set of ears.
He let her slip away and she ran down to the long river that surrounded their palace, diving in without hesitation. She felt the old familiar squeeze of realm travel as it popped her out at the surface of the Nile. She swam to shore, rising to her feet triumphantly before transforming into a kite and taking to the skies.
She’d forgotten how much she enjoyed flying, watching the landscapes roll beneath her as she navigated the sky. She found exactly what she was looking for within moments—a settlement of humans preparing for battle. She found a perch on one of the tents they had erected, observing peasant men readying maces and sharpening arrows before filling their leather quivers. Though the men were aware they were going to die, there was palpable excitement in the air. Morrigan wondered what it would be like to fight alongside them, to run barefoot and shirtless towards the enemy, unleashing a spear.
Her imaginings were interrupted when she sensed Set in one of the tents, her suspicions confirmed when she heard his booming voice over the excited chatter of the army. She flew in closer, hoping no one would notice a lone bird of prey perched unnaturally close to camp.
Set had disguised himself as human, his dark hair free of his jackal headdress and hanging loose down his back. He scowled as he spoke to the men gathered around him, towering over most of them in height. “You long for power and territory, but you lean on peasants to fight your wars. You must organize and train your soldiers.”
One of the men scoffed. “We do not have enough men.”
“Then cover them with protection before they fight. You sacrifice their bodies to the enemy, then wonder why your numbers are too low to win.”
The men murmured amongst themselves, taking in his words. Morrigan softened despite herself. The humans did need him for help. While Osiris and Isis guided them with the basic necessities of life, Set helped them to be strong. Her anger at being abandoned still held firm, but its intensity had cooled. Perhaps she could find some way to manage their unpleasant situation.
She returned to the river, dissolving back into human form as she prepared to head back, when suddenly a sparkle of light caught her eye. Upon closer inspection, she learned it was a bracelet, the silver band dotted with shimmering lapis lazuli stones, brilliant in the sun. Beneath it were a few sheets of papyrus stacked neatly into a pile. Confused, she looked around, wondering who could have left it behind. Then she lifted up the pages to see.
A warm blush crept into her cheeks as the realization dawned on her. They were verses written in ink from Osiris...for her.
Heart racing and skin hot, she tucked the pages into the shelf of her tunic. She struggled to keep herself grounded, making sure the pages stayed with her as she descended into the dank Underworld gloom, where she could stow them safely away in her box of jewels. She left the bracelet clasped around her wrist, however, admiring the cool metal against her skin. She kept it on even when she retired, crawling under her blanket with a smile as she drifted peacefully to sleep.
She awoke to the sensation of Set’s fingers trailing up and down her skin, lingering around the dip of her waist and around the curve of her hips. She didn’t turn towards him like she always did when he was near, her way of accepting his invitation.
“Forgive me for leaving you.” His voice was soft and deep in her ear. “It is not fair that I asked you to stay behind while I left. I did miss you.”
Morrigan snatched the blankets back around her body as she flipped over to glare at him. “You are only saying that so I will let you touch me.”
“I am not,” he said, indignant.
“Leave me alone.”
He growled with frustration, jumping out of her bed. “You cannot expect me to stay down here with you and ignore the humans.”
She tried not to linger at the sight of his naked body. “Then take me with you,” she said.
“I can collect the expired souls myself.”
“No, I want to be a part of the battle.”
He laughed. “A death goddess fighting in a war? Do you hear yourself? Besides, who will run things down here while we are gone?” He sat back down on her bed and reached out his arms. “Enough with this nonsense, come to me.”
Morrigan fumed. “No.”
Set let out a sound of exasperation. “You are not coming with me and that is final. Play all the games you want in the meantime.” He withdrew, slamming the door shut behind him.
She rolled over, trying to calm her fury as she fingered the bracelet on her wrist. She pictured Osiris’s letters, mouthing the words she’d memorized as she imagined his arms around her, holding her as she fell back to sleep.
From that moment on, she crept back up to Earth to find more of Osiris’s letters every time Set left her behind. She cradled his words to her heart, dreaming of a life with a true companion who ran freely by her side. Eventually, she replaced them with her own.
Then one night, Set tried yet again to seduce her. He’d filled her room with dozens of white roses spilling out of obsidian vases, leaving bands of silver jewelry set with gleaming white stones to look like the moon near her bedside. Her breath caught in her throat, touched by the gesture, until he slipped his hands around her waist. She shoved him away, furious at herself for falling for his charms.
He threw up his hands in frustration, the fireplace in her room suddenly roaring to life, throwing light against his back. “You are impossible to please!”
“The only one you care about pleasing is yourself,” she shot back. “These gifts mean nothing to me.”
He snorted. “You accuse me of being selfish, but you and I are exactly the same. You cannot wait for me to leave so you can run away yourself. I saw what you did with the Records Hall. You do not wish to be trapped down here anymore than I do.”
“At least I tried,” she growled. “I have made my decision—I am tired of trying. The Underworld will carry on fine without me. I am done with this place—I am done with you.” She tried to march out the door, but he blocked her, crossing her arms as his height filled the doorway. Her anger reached its boiling point, threatening to explode. Instead, a torrent of water came pouring into her room. Startled, Set jumped back, distracted enough that she could fly past him, skidding down the corridor on her bare feet.
He realized she’d gotten away and ran after her, fire appearing in bursts around her as she shoved open the palace doors, tearing down the shoreline. The river had become a swirling whirlpool, opening its watery vortex as she picked up her pace. She braced to launch herself into it, but before she could, a ring of fire sprang up around her, stopping her in her tracks. The flames prevented her from doing anything other than stand, lest she get burned. She whipped around to see Set with a triumphant smile plastered across his face. “How did you do that?” she hissed between gritted teeth that chattered with her rage.
“I wanted you to stop and the fire listened. The realm must know you are supposed to stay here with me.”
Morrigan tried to calm her fury so she could think clearly. She heard the river churning over the sound of the crackling flames of her sweltering cage. She closed her eyes to focus on the sound, imagining the cool river against her skin when she swam. The feeling of gliding through water, weightless and deliciously free. They burst open in surprise when the waves hit her, extinguishing the flames as it swept her up and down into its watery womb. Her heart sang with triumph as it pulled her down until she reached the space that separated the realms.
Her head popped out of the Nile, and she hurried to the river’s edge as her eyes adjusted to the brightness. Her nose immediately filled with the smell of living things, of fresh, sparkling nature, soothing her tumultuous emotions. She almost cried out with relief, but forced herself to keep moving, transforming herself into a kite so that she could find a place to hide amongst the humans.
