CHAPTER 167

"Your name is Beth." The figure sat down, a golden chair appearing underneath her. "Well, Beth. My name is Neferisfet, and I am the last priestess of Apophis, the Great Serpent."

"Never heard of him."

Neferisfet nodded. "I don't expect you would. As his last follower, I have spent thousands of years entombed, waiting to be discovered and resurrected so that I may return him to glory. My spirit has hovered between life and death, sanity and madness, just to bring me to this moment."

Beth bit her lip and grunted, then managed to take a step toward Neferisfet.

"Your spirit impresses me." Neferisfet steepled her fingers together. "Tell me more about yourself, Beth."

Beth took another step forward but fell to her knees when Neferisfet touched the bag around her neck once more. This time, warmth flooded her chest and it was suddenly hard to breathe.

"Hmm. You have an aura of magic. This will make things easier." Neferisfet stood from her throne and walked around Beth, inspecting her. "I was once a powerful sorceress, dedicated to assisting my master in his fight against the sun god. Together we sought eternal darkness, to return the universe to its original state."

"You must be great at parties." Beth's limbs surged with power and she swung her fist at Neferisfet. The woman vanished and reappeared next to her.

"Oh, we had quite the parties. Feasts that would last for days." Neferisfet licked her lips. "If not for that wretched Caretaker, I would be well on my way to restoring the glory of Apophis. Alas, she not only turned me down but trapped me in that room."

"Do you mean Emily?"

Neferisfet nodded. "That woman double-crossed me before I could double-cross her. Milked me for magical knowledge and then sealed me away before I could make my move. But her loss is your gain. Observe."

She raised her hands in the air and clapped. Tables covered in luxurious meats and cheeses appeared and the air filled with the sounds of music and people chatting.

"Oh, so I give you my body and you get to live it up. No thanks, hard pass."

"It's more than that." Neferisfet circled Beth now. "I don't take over your body. Rather, we merge and become one entity. Since I cannot dominate you, then I must take a different approach. You will require finesse, some kind of bargain."

"I'm not in the mood for bargains. I've had a shit week."

"If you had just given up the reaper, it wouldn't have been a problem." Neferisfet frowned. "Why didn't you give him up when the others came?"

"You seem to know an awful lot about the situation, considering you've been living in a box..." Realization dawned on her. "It was you, wasn't it? That reported Death to the angel?"

Neferisfet nodded. "I fear very few things in this world. The personification of death could easily undo me, I am in no state to fight."

Beth fought the paralysis and managed to take another step. "This whole time, that was you? Do you have any idea what I've been through?" Her voice was loud enough that the invisible party went silent.

"Please. I have spent centuries hovering on the edge of life and death. Each breath was like drowning. I care very little for the discomfort of but a few days." Neferisfet sneered. "Why bother hanging on to the reaper in the first place?"

"Because he's family. It's something you wouldn't understand."

Neferisfet bit back a retort, then tilted her head. Her bright green eyes were flecked with gold, and her face softened.

"This is true," she muttered. "Yet another reason why a merger makes more sense. We need each other. I have lost touch with life itself, and you could be my guide."

"Again, hard pass."

The sorceress sighed and turned away. "I have so much to offer you, how can I make you see this?" She waved her hand and summoned a staff with a serpent's head. "I could instruct you in magic, teach you to become a power unto yourself. You could protect this house for eternity if you wished, for that is in my power."

"After what you did to my friends, I don't think they would just let you hang around."

Neferisfet groaned. "That was...regrettable. The beetles were supposed to find me a human host. How was I to know that so many humanoids lived in this home and none of them were true humans? The bugs can't tell the difference." She spat the words with much venom. "I spent hours inside of that goblin's head, feeling like my world would cave in on me. I can free them from their dreams, it is an easy task if you know how to do it."

"If you couldn't find a host, then how did you get out?"

"Desperation. I knew I wouldn't be able to get you alone. You are always with someone. So I spent the last couple of days absorbing energy from the house that I could open the sarcophagus myself and activate my guardians. The cat would have made a wonderful host, but she is someone's familiar. Her bond with her master was far too great. So I had the scarabs put her down, as well as anyone else who might stand in my way."

Beth took a deep breath. Out in the real world, Death would eventually fight his way free. She needed to stall in the hopes that he would end the sorceress, so she decided to use the oldest trick in the book: keep them talking about their evil plan. "And what about Opal?"

"The slime girl? When I tried to press myself into her, she exploded. I thought maybe she was made of sterner stuff, but alas..." Neferisfet waved dismissively. "I didn't see where the succubus went, but she is no threat to me. The cat and the reaper were all that I feared, but I have plenty of time in here with you now."

"It won't work."

Neferisfet grinned and touched the pouch at her neck. "Please. I know your weakness." She stepped behind a pillar and disappeared in a flowing of robes. Asterion and Suly stepped out in her place, both of them grinning maniacally.