The Portal

Chapter 34 – The Secret of Isis

Kagome could not believe her ears! Lord Seth had imprisoned his own mother! How utterly disgraceful. “Oh dear Kami. I do not believe I have ever heard of such a horrible fate than to be locked away for centuries by your own child. He is positively EVIL!”

Isis listened to the young woman’s words carefully. Every syllable from the girl’s mouth rang like sweet music in her ears. It had been a very long time since she heard the voice of another female, and it mattered not that this girl was human. Just knowing someone was there listening stirred her soul to life.

Through the centuries there had been a few unfortunate souls to be cast into the dungeons, and on more than one occasion that person was of a friendly sort, but for the most part they were ruffian trash who did not deserve her time. Even those who she found interesting had not lived long enough to ease her loneliness, and she knew that even the voice of this young woman was a fleeting pleasure in the eternally empty darkness that was her existence.

Isis sighed deeply. Even now she found herself moving to defend her sons actions. Why could she not bring herself to hate him for what he has done to her?

“Ah my dear Kagome, I can not tell you what lies in the heart of my son, but I can tell you his reasoning. Perhaps then you will understand that a man in love will go to great lengths to gain the affections of the one he covets above all else.” Lady Isis paused in her morbid justification, and Kagome settled down on the stone floor, ready to listen to the tale of Seth’s betrayal.

Before Isis began to speak Kagome asked, “Lady Isis, do you hate him?”

“I wish I could say yes, my dear, after all, he has taken much from me, and I do harbor a deep resentment for his actions toward me, but I can not hate my only son. I wish he would see the folly in his ways, but I fear nothing will stop him from his quest to gain the object of his desire.” A rustle of silks could be heard, as the lady took a seat in her favorite chair.

“I assume you know of Seth’s father, the great Falcon God Horus?” Isis asked.

“Yes, and though I am not from this world I have learned the story of Horus, his wives, and children.” Kagome answered.

“Not of this world? How very intriguing. Perhaps once I tell you my tale, you will tell me yours?” Isis replied.

Kagome laughed. It was a despairing bit of humor in a dark and frightening situation. She absentmindedly nodded in the darkness before saying, “Since it looks like we have plenty of time on our hands, I guess I could fill you in on the details.”

Lady Isis was amused with the woman’s easy humor in the face of such a desperate predicament. The girl Kagome, had a strong personality, and she was beginning to find her to be intriguing company indeed. “Very well, Kagome, I will share with you the mistakes of my past that ultimately cost me my freedom. I suppose this whole affair can be blamed on my flair for mixing potions. My mother, and her mother, and so on, are from a long line of potion makers. My mother taught me the art, and she was quite good. Her talents went beyond any in all of Karnak. I was an excellent student, and soon became an invaluable asset to the peoples of Abu Simbel. One day the Falcon God had need of a special potion and soon came to me with his request. When we met it was magical. When he called upon me, I was absolutely giddy inside, like a silly young girl. He was very handsome, my dear, and so regal. I believe he was as taken with me as I was of him. Of course I did not see this at first, but he was persistent in his attentions of me. I finally came to see how much he loved me, and I soon became the first of his chosen five mates. It was a great honor, and even if it were not, I would have loved him still. He had such a clever mind and strong countenance... You must forgive me for my rambling. I tend to long for him so.”

Kagome felt Isis loss in her voice. She had really loved Horus. “I Know you must miss him terribly.”

Isis took a deep inhaling breath and released her melancholy thoughts with its release. “Yes Kagome, I do miss him very much. Where was I? Oh yes... Horus also took an Inu mate, a baboon mate and a human mate.”

“I have met Lady Nebthet and Lady Ma’at,” Kagome interjected.

“Ah, then you see why he chose them. I have not seen them in centuries. Ma’at, the powerful warrior with a dangerous intellect and a sensational humor. She was often the life of the party back in our glory days. Also a beautiful, and very graceful athlete. Horus could go on for days about her skills on the battlefield. Then there was Lady Nebthet. Kami help me, but I still find myself jealous of that female. Her beauty matches her heart, and both are untouchable. We were instant friends. She was my closest confidant. We told each other everything. I miss her more than anyone I suppose. Perhaps we will meet again one day,” Isis stood and retrieved a goblet. After she poured the water in, she returned to her seat.

Kagome smiled and said, “She is very pretty.”

Isis released a light huff with amusement then said, “Yes, beauty of that nature is as much a blessing as it is a curse.”

“What do you mean,” Kagome asked.

“First let me tell you of Selket, Horus’ human wife. Selket was chosen by Horus for many reasons, none of which were apparent to the other wives, including myself. We could not understand his reasons behind choosing a human mate for we were blind to anything but power and love. For a God of Horus stature to choose a mere mortal was unbelievable. She had no power, so in our eyes that made her weak and worthless. What we did not see in her was her mortal beauty and her infinitely kind and forgiving nature. Horus seen these things, though we did not, and he took her as his mate against our wishes. Then through the years she became more vital to him than the air we breathe. I still do not know what special gift she held that we lacked, but it was there regardless, and Horus treasured her deeply. Do not misunderstand me however; Horus was fair and equal in his love. No one of us was ever made to feel left out. But with Selket his heart became free, and he would return from her visits with happiness and light feet. She truly made him happy.” Isis lifted the goblet to her lips and swallowed a cool drink. Speaking of Selket made her feel so much regret.

Kagome listened intently. Lady Selket must have been a magnificent lady, and it sounded as if her youkai counterparts carried a strong case of jealousy toward the human mate.

Isis swallowed another sip of water and continued, “Selket did not deserve the fate that we handed her. Only later would I find out the truth behind the lies, but by then it was too late. Too late for Horus. Too late for Selket, and too late for me.”

“The temples were built and Horus blessed us each with one child, who soon matured into powerful leaders. And Horus’ love for Selket grew. His human born daughter was no human at all, but a demi-god that carried a great power inside of her. Midoriko was beautiful and kind like her mother, but trained with her father becoming a skilled warrior. Her gift from the Gods was the power of purification. A power that was preordained to protect her and her human mother from their more powerful youkai relatives. You see, Horus was not blind to our feelings concerning Selket and he feared for her safety. Not necessarily from one of the wives, but other powerful youkai as well. It is believed by us that Horus bequeathed Midoriko specifically with such a power in order to keep Selket safe in his absence. He did have such a love for travel. He often disappeared for months as he roamed foreign worlds beyond our imagination.”

“The full youkai sons of Horus grew strong and powerful, as was there inherit nature, and soon one of them fell in love. Seth grew to love my dear friend, Nebthet, and try as I might, I could not change my fool son’s mind. He would sneak away to the Temple Shikon just to see her. His father did not even see his intention, and I had not the heart to tell him. Oh that I had spoken of it, then things may have been different...”

“One day Seth came to me with a request for a potion. I asked him what his reasons were for needing a potion of such a deadly nature, but he scoffed and told me that his father requested it for the execution of a god. It was not the first time Horus had been forced to govern such an execution, so I mixed the potion without further question. If I had but known of its true purpose, I would have died first.”

“On that same night, the night of Festival, Horus was to return to the Temple Shikon with Nebthet. As Nebthet made her way to her bedchambers, she came upon his dead body soon after the feast. Seth came in then, during our shock, and announced that he had seen Selket sneaking away from the temple. The youkai wives, of course, assumed the worse, and their jealousy fueled their drive for justice.”

“During the chaos, I became aware that my very own potion had been used to kill my mate. Seth had betrayed me and his father. At the time I only suspected his reason, but had no time to analyze my disturbing new discovery, as he took the opportunity to cast me in this hell. I have been here ever since. The proof of his treachery was locked away forever. He used the loss of my husband to excuse away my absence, and no one has questioned his authority. He told me that he placed the remainder of the poison in Selket’s chambers, and she was put to death. Her daughter was banished and the humans lost their freedom because of traitorous acts that Selket did not commit.”

“All of these things Seth did to gain the hand of Lady Nebthet, and the true irony is that she does not return his affections. Nebthet has refused him time and again, and her son Anubis stands by her decision. It is said that Dog demons have a sense about evil doers, and I believe that to be true. Though they do not know of his true crimes, they still sense that he has an evil heart.”

“I suppose Seth can not bring himself to kill me, though I wish he would simply strike me from existence. It would be much easier than being caged for eternity. He provides all of my needs and most of my wants, only occasionally asking for a potion or elixir. I refuse to mix any more poisons, and he finally stopped asking for them. The only thing I do not have is my freedom. I crave the sound of another’s voice, and the warmth of another body. He knows not how I suffer.”

Kagome had never heard such a sad and twisted story. Seth was just as bad as Naraku! He used people and manipulated their lives for his own purposes. “I’m sorry to speak ill of your son, my Lady, but Seth is a dirty rotten JERK!”

“What pray-tell, is a je-rk?” Lady Isis asked.

Kagome’s answer would be the beginning of her own tell, and how she came to be hurled through space, stranded on Karnak, in love with a taiyoukai, and cast into a dungeon. Lady Isis sat, remarkably hypnotized, by the light, soft spoken words of a small human woman, who traveled through a well on a planet called Earth.

~~~***~~~

Naraku sat on the kings throne in the Temple Shiraha. He held the huge portion of the Shikon jewel up before his eyes. The swimming vapor of malicious intent swirled inside the magical stone, and he found it the most beautiful thing in all the world. Even the beauty of his little miko did not compare to the jewels glory. It called to him and he fed it, and in turn it gave him unsurpassed strength. He had never felt so powerful.

He knew Seth had been defeated by Sesshomaru. That fool. He definitely underestimated the bird; however, the fact that he was dead was of no consequence. He had been intending to kill him anyway. It was just too bad he didn’t take care of Sesshomaru. That damnable inuyoukai would prove to be a troublesome task, but he had no doubts in his ability to kill the dog now that he had the girls’ portion of the jewel. It should be easy enough, and soon Kagome would be his queen. She would make a lovely queen, once he taught her to submit.

Awhile spent in the damp dark dungeon with little or no food would soon change her way of thinking, and if that did not work, then he had other methods of persuasion. He wanted to take her willingly though, as it would be a shame to break such a feisty spirit. Just the thought of rutting with her made his cock harden between his legs.

All would be his very soon.