CHAPTER TWO — UP IN SMOKE

"No one's ever found it." — dr bey 

SEKHMET FOLLOWED THE CARNAHANS TO TERRENCE BEY'S OFFICE WITH DREAD IN HER GUT. She knew where that puzzle box/key had come from and she did not want anyone to go there: especially not her friends. Imhotep's tomb could not be disturbed, no matter what. Perhaps he would unleash the apocalypse she saw in her vision. If so, she could not risk the Carnahans discovering him.

But if she were to just outwardly tell them they couldn't go, not only would they do it anyway, but they would grow suspicious of their friend. And the last thing Sekhmet needed at a time like this was for her true identity to be discovered. 

Fortunately, Dr Bey instantly recognised the map and artifact Evy held in her hands and immediately tried to discredit Jonathon's find. As a member of the Medjai, he knew fully well that Imhotep's tomb could not be discovered. 

"You see the cartouche here?" Evelyn gestured to a corner of the papyrus. "It's the official royal seal of Seti the First, I'm sure of it." She insisted. 

Well, she was right about that.

Terrence shrugged nonchalantly. "Perhaps."

A mischievous smirk spread across Jonathan's lips. "Two questions. Who the hell was Seti the First, and was he rich?" Sekhmet rolled her eyes at the man's motivations

"He was the second Pharaoh of the 19th dynasty, said to be the wealthiest Pharaoh of them all." Evelyn replied.

"Good. I like this fellow." Nodded an excited Jonathan. "I like him very much."

Terrence glanced to Sekhmet for support, but there was nothing the Goddess could do. There was so stopping her friends at this point. 

"I've already dated the map." Evy informed them with a proud smile. "It's almost 3,000 years old. And if you look at the hieratic just here," She pointed down to a small portion of the map and unbeknownst to them all, Sekhmet's eyes widened in alarm. "well, it's Hamunaprta."

Dr Bey scoffed as he attempted to hide the truth. "Dear God, don't be ridiculous." He dismissed her theory. "We're scholars, not treasure hunters. Hamunaptra's a myth told by ancient Arab storytellers to amuse Greek and Roman tourists."

A sigh passed Evelyn's lips. "I know all the blather about the city being protected by the curse of a mummy, but my research had led me to believe that the city itself may have actually existed." 

Oh, this was not good.

"Are we talking about THE Hamunaprta?"

"Yes." Evy nodded in confirmation. "The City of the Dead."

Sekhmet turned to Jonathan with a stern look across her face. "It's where the earliest Pharaohs hide the wealth of Egypt." She said with probably too much certainty. But Evelyn was too excited about the map to take note.

"Yes, yes, in a big, underground treasure chamber." Added the brother. His enthusiasm about treasure was disliked by the scholars and the Goddess who gave him a matching look. But Jonathan jumped to his defence. "Oh, come on. Everybody knows the story. The entire necropolis was rigged to sink into the sand on Pharaoh's command? A flick of a switch, and the whole place would disappear beneath the sand dunes, taking the treasure with it?"

They could only hope. Because it wasn't just treasure in that necropolis. 

Terrence and Sekhmet exchanged a worried expression before the former held up the map as if to see better. "As the Americans would say, it's all fairy tales and hokum." He moved the map into the candle flame on its desk. And the old page immediately caught alight. "Oh, my goodness! Look at that!"

A small victorious smirk crossed their faces as Evy and Johnathan rushed to grab the map and put out the flames before the entire thing could be consumed. 

"You've burnt it!" Exclaimed Jonathan. "You've burned off the part with the lost city!"

"It's for the best, I'm sure." He tried to assure them. "Many men have wasted their lives in the foolish pursuit of Hamunaprta. No one's ever found it. Most have never returned." 

And they better hope, for all their sakes, that no would ever find the lost city. Because Sekhmet feared that after 3,000 years, Imhotep would rise once more. That could not happen for the sake of humanity.

ONE OF SEKHMET'S DUTIES AS A GODDESS WAS TO GUARD HER FATHER'S BOAT AS THEY MADE THE JOURNEY TO THE FOLLOWING DAY. And Sekhmet was not alone in this task as she was joined by the God of Disorder himself — Set. Set was a loose cannon but he was the perfect weapon against Ra's archnemesis: Apophis. His goal was to bring about the destruction of the Earth and to do that, he aimed to kill Ra, the sun. So Sekhmet and Set were tasked to protect their King as he brought about new day.

In front of the barge, Abtu was swimming ahead, guiding them through the many gates and stages required for Ra to rise once more. They would soon be approaching Apophis and they had to prepare. For the ginormous snake would attempt to take down the barge to wreak havoc across the known worlds — including the heavens and the underworld below. And they could not let that happen.

Ra sat on his golden throne that shined so brightly, it was as if it was on fire. Sekhmet kept one feline eye on him and the other on her surroundings. She held her spear in her hands, ready to strike, and a sword on her hip in case her main weapon was taken from her. But, it was also true that a warrior Goddess was never defenceless. She could certainly kick Thoth's ibis butt with just her bare hands. That was if he didn't find a way to outsmart her, which was very possible with him being a God of Knowledge. 

"Are you alright, Father?" Questioned Sekhmet.

The God's face did not change and remained as stoic as ever as he responded. "Yes, my child."

With that reassurance, Sekhmet returned to her duty of guarding her father's boat. She paced the perimeter of the barge, on high alert for the inevitable strike from Apophis. Set made his way to stand by her side with his own sharpened spear in his hand. They stood together, looking over the Duat as the barge sailed through with ease. They had spent years fighting side by side to protect Ra on his journey, so they knew each other rather well. 

"Are you ready, Sekhmet?" Grunted Set who kept his eyes on the path ahead.

A smirk just spread across her lips, revealing her sharp teeth for the God to see. "Always, Set." 

The God the Desert nodded. "Good. Because I think the fight is about to begin."

Sekhmet cast her eyes forwards and realised he was right. They were approaching the gate that Apophis liked to strike from. They had to prepare.

The Goddess looked down at her golden outfit. Although she looked gorgeous in her dress and could fight well in it, Apophis wasn't an adversary she wanted to risk that on. So, she waved her hand down and the dress split into trousers to enhance movement and flexibility. Her hair was already tied up and away from her face, threaded into gorgeous braids with golden beads amongst the strands. So, there was no need to alter that.

She raised her spear as Set raised his and then the two Gods made their way to the front of the barge. Each of them took a side, book-ending Ra who remained sat in his throne. The King had faith in them for he did not even brandish his weapon. So, they could not let him down.

They reached the gate.

Once it opened, the beady snake eyes of Apophis stared right at them. 

The fight for the world was about to begin.

Apophis struck first. He lunged forwards with his sharp fangs, aiming to take a huge bite from bow. But Set got their first and used his enhanced strength to bat the giant snake away from their vessel. With the deity of darkness disoriented, Sekhmet seized the opportunity and launched herself up into the air, directly at the snake. She brought her spear down with a large yell, slashing the snake on the side of its face. She had been aiming for his eye, but it was close enough.

Angered, the snake once again attacked. It threw its head down onto the deck, attempting to crush the lioness beneath its weight. But her cat-like reflexes ensured she jumped away just in time. Set then jabbed his spear into Apophis's neck. The snake recoiled, letting out a screech of pain. 

The Gods had delivered the first blow.

But the fight was no where near over.

"Sekhmet!" Set called out. The lioness turned to the God who lowered his spear. She knew this move all too well so she did what he was implying. The Goddess leapt onto the edge of his spear with an agile grace and once she was on, he launched her up into the air.

With her spear, Sekhmet struck against the hard scales of Apophis. This time, she managed to nick the serpent's eye causing blood to splash across her golden clothes. But Sekhmet was a warrior Goddess, she lived for blood being splattered across her skin. So, she did not feel disgusted by it being all over her. 

"Good shot!" 

A proud smirk formed on her lips. But it was premature. 

Apophis swung his fanged head as Sekhmet was on her way back down to the barge. And as he brought his head across, his sharp fang slashed across the Goddess' arm. She yelled in pain and was distracted enough to lose control of her abilities and started to fall back down, with no sign of stopping.

Set immediately lunged forwards, his arms outstretched to catch the lioness. Which he did. Before she hit the wooden deck, Sekhmet landed in the strong hold of the God of Disorder. 

"Thank you." She said with a grimace as she reached over and held her injured arm.

"You okay?"

Sekhmet had fought on with worse injuries than this. She would be fine. And they had yet to keep the snake back. "I'll be alright, Set." She shook the pain off and tried to focus on the serpent and not the small amount of gold liquid trickling down her arm. "We have a snake to take down!"

"I'm with you." 

And so, the Gods charged at Apophis once more. 

Their weapons clashed against scales and fangs. The fight went on for what felt like forever with no clear indication of who would win. But then Sekhmet released the blade from her hip and slashed the throat of the serpent. It was dead.

For that night, they had won once more. The cycle of the day would continue until another twenty-four hours had passed and her and Set would have to do it all over again. For, once Ra was renewed with the day, so was Apophis. The two constantly stuck in a cycle of life and destruction with no one winning. But one night was all it would take for Apophis to win and destroy everything. 

That was what Sekhmet was made for. To stop the serpent before it could hurt the people they were guiding.

Fortunately, she wouldn't to do it alone. But, Sekhmet couldn't help but feel she was made for more than this. That there was something out there that was missing out on.

SEKHMET WAS A WARRIOR GODDESS — A WOMAN THAT COULD DEFEAT ANY HUMAN MAN WITH SUCH EASE. Many men of their era believed women to be lesser capable than them. But Sekhmet knew different. And that was why she had set up her own group: The Daughters of Sekhmet. 

The Daughters of Sekhmet were hand-chosen by the Goddess herself and bore the mark to prove it. They were chosen to be warriors, healers and most importantly: strong women. Sekhmet was rather proud of what she had accomplished in such a small space of time. Now, she had two dozen Daughters under her metaphorical wing. And she finally felt like she was changing the world.

Her friends — Nephthys and Hathor — were by her side to help train the women Sekhmet had recruited. They were in awe of what she had accomplished by being amongst the mortals and wanted to help. Besides, they knew what it was like to be underestimated because they were women. Even amongst the Gods, there were divisions between the sexes. 

Hathor was the Goddess of Love whilst Nephthys was the Goddess of Mourning. They were often told to stay back, to let other Gods like Osiris and Set take the lead. But Hathor wasn't just meant to look pretty and Nephthys wasn't just a comfort to the grief-stricken. They were Goddesses: powerful and strong. And no God was going to tell them different. Not anymore. 

The trio of Goddesses stood in the main room where a dozen of the chosen women were stood before them. They had planned for a fighting lesson that morning and a healing lesson after — just in case any one got injured. Not that it was likely as the weapons were dulled until they were well practiced warriors. Still, anything was possible. So, Nephthys would lead the healing class after to give Sekhmet a break as she planned on the expansion of her created sisterhood.

Each of her women were dressed practically. Men would shame them for wearing anything but a dress. But here, they were safe to wear loose linen trousers that were flowy and spacious inside before coming to a tight end near their ankles. Their hair was braided up and out of the way and they also wore binds over their chests to keep things together. And, in their hands, they held wooden staffs.

Sekhmet stood at the front, facing her Daughters with a strong look on her face. "Good morning, my Daughters. Today, we'll be starting with some basic fighting techniques. Then, after, Nephthys will take you through some healing methods." She informed them.

Every girl nodded in acknowledgment. 

"Now, raise your staffs." She commanded as Hathor handed her one just like her students. 

The girls followed her every move as she seamlessly choreographed a beautiful but fatal dance. They were excellent students and managed to keep up with the warrior Goddess as she increased the speed of her motions. Beside her, the two other Goddesses had joined in with staffs of their own. Because they weren't just there to teach: they were there to strengthen their skills and learn new techniques. 

A silence encompassed the room. Not a word spoken. The only sound even audible was the laboured breathing of the mortal women as they started to tire from the exercises. But still, they did not give up.

That was another reason why Sekhmet had chosen them: their determination.

These were strong women that she would shape into warriors. Soon, the Daughters of Sekhmet would be the most elite attack force in the whole of the two Kingdoms. But, it wasn't just down to her.

"Good job, ladies." Smirked the Goddess as she brought the training to a halt. "Excellent work from all of you."

They grinned at her words. A Goddess praising them, it was enough to make anyone swoon. 

"Now, could you all make your way to the other room. Nephthys will join you shortly."

So, that was exactly what they did.

Once her students had left the vast room, the three Goddesses turned to each other beaming smiles across their faces. They were rather pleased with themselves and what they had accomplished. 

But then, someone had to ruin it. 

From the large open window, in flew Horus himself. His large wings retracted into his back once he landed and he stood before them, strong and authoritative. One of his eyes shone with a blinding light, representing the celestial body that was the moon. But once the God relaxed, the light dimmed and was capable of being looked at.

"Horus, what do we owe the pleasure?" Asked Sekhmet with a fake smile across her sharp lips.

The Hawk just made his way to Hathor's side and grasped her hands in his. "I am here to see my love. Nothing more." He lifted her hands to place a delicate kiss upon them. "You look stunning today, my love, as always."

"Thank you, my dear." Smiled Hathor as she then took back her hands and straightened herself back up.

Horus glanced around their surroundings curiously. Such an open space with discarded wooden staffs upon the floor. He let out a thoughtful hum. "So, the rumours are true." He said as he spun around to face Sekhmet. "You are training a group of women to fight."

"And to heal." Added Nephthys in defence.

The Hawk just nodded in acknowledgement before continuing. "These are mortal women. They are not warrior Goddesses like you are. They have no place on the battlefield."

Now that annoyed Sekhmet. She clenched her jaw as to not fully lose control against the ignorant God. "That is your opinion, not theirs. If men are to learn to fight, then so should women. It is only fair."

Horus just scoffed, not swayed by her argument in the slightest. He then pressed a chaste kiss to Hathor's hair before launching himself out of the window. Wings immediately shot out from his back and he soared up into the air and away from Sekhmet and her chosen Daughters. She wasn't sure what he was going to do. If he told her Father about what she was up to, Sekhmet couldn't anticipate his response. But she hoped he would side with her.

"I'm sorry about him." Hathor apologised.

Sekhmet just gave her friend a soft smile. "It is not you that needs to apologise, Hathor. He is the one blinded by ignorance." The lioness sighed as she looked up at the heavens, where many Gods just like Horus sat on their thrones, just bothering with humanity. "One day he'll see. They'll all see."

And, like always, Sekhmet was right. 

SHE WAITED UNTIL THE CARNAHAN SIBLINGS LEFT WITH HUSHED WHISPERS TO TURN TO HER CURATOR FRIEND. Once she knew they were out of earshot, she dropped her façade and stood up from her seat. Both her and Terrence knew what the siblings had discovered and they both new the dangers it proposed. 

Leaning against the front of his desk, Sekhmet stared her friend right in the eye. "We both know that no matter what we say, they'll still go looking for that treasure."

Terrence let out a deep sigh. "I fear you are right, Sekhmet." 

"And if they find it — which they probably will — then they'll be walking straight into the viper's nest." Sekhmet said solemnly. "We know them. We know they won't give up. And we also know what awaits them at Hamunaprta."

"What do you propose?" 

The Goddess removed herself from the desk and stood up straight. "That I go with them." Dr Bey went to protest, but Sekhmet cut him off. "I know what they'll be up against. I can make sure they don't find him. Perhaps they'll find some gold, some artifacts, but I'll ensure they don't find that cursed sarcophagus."

Terrence raised a brow at the Goddess. "And if they do?"

"Then... then my vision will come true and there'll be Hell on Earth." She hung her head with worry. "And I won't let that happen. I can't."

The curator considered their options. He ran everything through his mind and Sekhmet's idea was the only solution. She had to go with the Carnahans to Hamunaprta.

It was their only hope to stop the curse from being unleashed.

CHAPTER TWO IS HERE!!!

Look at me, publishing another chapter within a month. It took me a while to get the ball rolling but now that I have, I think updates will be coming.

I didn't want to write the scene with Dr Bey and the map in the last chapter but it was also too little for its own chapter. Which is when I came up with the idea for flashbacks. It was so fun writing. I've been such an Egyptian mythology nerd since I was a kid and I loved writing a most accurate version of Amduat. The Daughters of Sekhmet aren't real but will be important to this series so I decided to set them up here.

Also, poor Sekhmet. You may intend to stop Imhotep from rising, but no one could have stopped Evy from opening that book. She's gonna feel so bad though.

Thank you for reading!

Sincerely Rosie aka WInter326