Sekhmet awoke choking on red sand. Face down in the muddy reeds was no place for a goddess to be found. The scarab trying to push it's yummy ball of dung in her ear wasn't helping.

Her first movement met resistance. It felt as if her arms were replaced with papyrus, her head stuffed with old, greasy linens and her stomach with last week's sacrifice. She considered for a moment that the muddy reeds felt nice after all.

But no. She must get up, she thought to herself. This was undignified for a Goddess, and she felt vulnerable. She must get up. Now!, she thought. She managed to lift her heavy lioness head and lithe human body off the ground. From there, it was just a flop over to a sitting position.

Her sheer white dress was muddied, torn and covered in blood and wine. Her furry face was matted with blood. Her eyes, though half shut, burned with their usual fiery gold. They were scanning the river bank for her sun disk. She found it poking out from the reeds a few cubits away. She slowly leaned over to grab it and pried it out from the mud. Wiping it off with her arm, she gave herself a good look into it's golden reflection.

By the Feather of Truth, I look horrible! What in the name of the Underworld happened?

Her eyes narrowed a bit, partially at being stunned by her appearance, and partially adjusting to the daylight. She affixed the sun disk to the top of her head, where it belonged. It occurred to her that things were too quiet. She knew she was in the mortal realm, but couldn't remember why she was there. She needed to stand up to get her bearings.

She knew getting up would be difficult. After two attempts and spitting out more red sand, she finally made it up. The scene she saw was horrific.

Destruction. As far as her divine eyes could see. The river ran red. The sands were stained a rusty brown. Humans lay dead in twisted heaps. Men. Women. Children. Torn apart, limb from limb. Mountains of painted stone rubble with human remains protruding from various spots, dotted the dry and desolate landscape. A hot wind blew sand and debris in her face. Tangled hair from decapitated heads blew this way and that. Terrifying enough to any mortal, it was even enough to make the mighty Sekhmet raise a whisker above her brow.

It suddenly occurred to her that there were no scavengers. Where were the vultures and jackals to capitalize on this generous stroke of unnatural luck? In fact, save insects, there were no animals to be found what so ever. Not even dead ones. That's why the hawk circling above seemed completely out of place.

"Finally awake, I see," said the hawk sounding almost jovial. It's voice, though high in the sky, sounded like it was spoken right next to her sensitive feline ear. She winced.

"What happened to me? What happened here?" she demanded.

The hawk landed on a large piece of debris several cubits away. With a flash of light, it turned into a hawk headed man, complete with battle armor, a bronze falchion and a tight and tan stomach. Quite stunning and handsome, really, if you're into that man-beast thing. He sat on the rock, grasping a knee to his chest with one arm and leaning on the stone with the other.

"If you do not tell me what happened right now, I'll go straight to Ra and have you swapped out for one of his horses¹," she said somewhat annoyed at his look of lightheartedness.

"You honestly don't remember? I find that amazing, "Horus said. He was smiling with the fleshy part of his beak, that being at the corners.

Sekhmet felt herself getting really annoyed and anxious, but forced herself to remain calm because she knew it was critical for finding out what happened. She started to pace.

"I feel full and drunk," she exclaimed. "I have a vague residual emotional memory of rage and a sense of indignation. Did I cause all this destruction?"

"Yes," he said "and you enjoyed it, too. So much so, that Ra had to change the humans' blood to wine, so you would fall asleep."

"Why?..." she blurted out, and meant to continue, but hesitated.

Horus thinking she was finished, answered with "Because you were ordered to."

A wave of panic passed through her. "What! For what reason?"

She stopped pacing and walked straight up to Horus' rocky perch.

"Start at the beginning, please," she demanded. "Tell me everything you know."

He looked down at her grubby face with concern. The smirk left his beak. His sharp eyes narrowed slightly. She rarely said please. It was unnerving.

"There was a great feast," he began. "Two travels of Ra's Chariot ago, Ptah² called a meeting. All the gods were to attend. Even Set³ and myself," he said with a passing look of anger. "The only one who did not make it was my Father, Osiris, but Mother⁴ was able to create a link to the Underworld with her great magic which enabled him to hear and be heard."

"I was there?" Sekhmet said, straining to remember.

"Yes," Horus continued. "For the most part, we were all having a good time. No one knew why he gathered us, but most of us didn't care. Suddenly, in the midst of the festivities, Ptah called us to order and gave way to the bright sun god, Ra, and bid us to listen. Ra believed there was a serious problem with the mortals. He claimed that they were corrupt, unfaithful, too cavalier in their worship of us. They were drifting away from the traditions performed at our temples. He said they were extorting one another, taking advantage of the land and leaving it barren. Worst of all, they were committing atrocities against one another in our names."

"And?" Sekhmet said, looking puzzled.

She was confused. She always knew this about humans. She thought all the gods knew this and simply accepted it. Honestly, she didn't think they cared, since a lot of the times they acted pretty reprehensible themselves.

"They were acting no differently from when they first appeared. Why was he just now concerned?" she asked.

"It seemed to me that even the long patient Ra had reached his limits. There may have been other, more personal reasons, but he didn't say, " explained Horus. "Most of us, with our wine soaked judgment, gave him a roaring round of approval. Including me. And including you."

Sekhmet was silent. She looked away and looked at the bloody human wreckage. Then focused on Horus once again. She had a terrible feeling that what he was telling was true. She had never known Horus to lie. She just didn't like where this was going.

"Ra proposed that the humans be punished. He grew more and more angered as he went on with his speech, booming with fevered rhetoric with things like 'Wiping the foulness from the sacred sands' and 'Cutting the disease away from the body'. We cheered. We ranted. We debated. Set finally proposed that you go down and devour the wicked," he said turning away with disgust.

"The only one among us who seemed to disapprove of all this was Anubis⁵," Horus recalled, looking back. "He also seemed to be the only one not drinking. I suppose that's comforting, really, considering his job," he mused. "He didn't really make a loud protest, though. Again, not atypical of him."

Sekhmet smiled briefly and huffed in agreement.

"Well, that wasn't completely true," Horus continued, "Father wasn't drinking, or eating either, since he can't, no thanks to Set, but he didn't make any statements contrary to what Ra had said.

"With more fervor from Ra's powerful speech, coupled with Set's honey-like, poisonous whisperings of punishment, it was agreed that you would to go down and destroy some of the worst places. Places where the mortals were most evil. It seemed reasonable to you at the time. Regrettably, it seemed like a good idea to me as well."

This hit Sekhmet hard. She believed it, too. She was not one to be commanded, but she was one to be swayed by pleasure. In her normal, rational, lazy state of mind, she had genuine affection for the humans. They worshiped her and she was content with their offerings, no matter how mundane. But in her aroused, inebriated state of mind, her thoughts turned primal. She longed for the hunt, the kill and the taste of blood. Any excuse, coupled with moments of clouded judgment, and she was ready let her claws out. Such is the nature of most beast headed gods.

She was beginning to feel used by her celestial peers. She had seen the dramas played out between the other gods, Horus and Set being one of the best examples. Not that she blamed Horus for wanting revenge. Set killed and dismembered Osiris in a fit of sibling rivalry. Osiris, once the god of lush plant life, now forever rules the Underworld, a pale shadow of his once virile self. Sekhmet did her best to stay removed from it all. Now she had been unwittingly sucked in. She was growing suspicious that this was Ra's intention all along and he knew just how to get the job done.

Horus broke into her thoughts. "No one expected you to do as good a job as you did. You did not stop with just the most wicked of cities. You nearly destroyed all of mankind. Ra, in desperation, and possibly guilt, turned all the blood that you were busily devouring into wine. Combined with what you had already drunk at the feast, it was an enormous amount, even for a god."

Sekhmet's heart sickened. She determined at once that it would never happen again.

"Ra has made his greatest folly in judgment, and now I am to blame," she said with bitterness. "I shall never be taken advantage of again."

"What are you going to do?" Horus inquired. He had never seen her in this state. He saw for the first time the awesome power of this goddess, inebriated or no.

"I am going to make Ra's worst fear come true. I will see to it that the humans will forget about us, yet still continue to worship me," she said gazing at the destruction.

"What!?!" Horus' eyes widened. "That's impossible," he stated, trying not to sound concerned about it. He was convinced that she must still be a little drunk.

"Watch and wait," she said with conviction.

"Your plans won't go unnoticed," he informed her.

"They will notice I am away from the heavens, but they will never be able to find me," she retorted. "They will not be able to punish the humans with such violence again, since their instrument of destruction will be unavailable to them. You are a true and loyal friend, Horus, but the final days of our reign will soon be gone. It will be I alone who will be worshiped forever."

Horus merely shook his head slowly. The smirk returned to the corners of his beak.

Dusting herself off, she turned and passed Horus' rock and walked towards the carnage. After a moment of walking, she stopped and turned to watch him fly from his perch, up to Ra's passing Chariot, now riding low in the sky.

Do not worry, my warrior friend, while most mortals shall forget you, I never will, she thought, I will set matters right.

Horus was curious to see what she would do, but not overly concerned. She is still thinking with clouded judgment from the wine, he thought. His task was to find her and assess damage. With sharp eyes, he watched Sekhmet disappear into the ruins. Mission accomplished, he circled twice and was gone.

* * *

It took many years and several generations to rebuild and restore the land to it's former glory. The wars and famine had finally passed. It had lasted long and took a terrible toll, wiping out nearly every living thing. Now new life flourished along the river Nile. Fish, fowl and game were once again abundant.

Temples were re-erected and houses were replaced. The usual traditions returned, such as religious extortion. A comfortable afterlife could be assured through crossing the priests' palms with anything of value. Great pyramids were built on the backs of the common man. But, it didn't matter. They all had jobs and food on the table. They drank beer and sang songs. Life was good.

The old talked much of the Black Times, passed down from previous generations. They told of a time of disease, hunger and countless bloody wars between countries, factions, even neighbors. The children just nodded at them with interest and a smile. However, none of this meant much to them. Nearly all traces of the lands' wounds were gone. Their parents were even too young to remember.

The most the children needed to worry about were their daily chores. One such chore was fishing in the reeds on the banks of the Nile. Along it's twisting path, nets could be seen erupting into the air from their vegetative bunkers.

Further inland, small furry creatures with twitching whiskers and licking lips, watched and waited in expectation. Most knew they were going to get an easy meal. They were amused by all excitement that went on around them. Humans with their silly canine companions that had to be restrained from flinging their bodies in after the nets.

Ridiculous things, they pondered with deceivingly sleepy eyes. Why do they worship the humans so? They've got it the wrong way 'round.

To these small creatures, a day of worship consisted of the following: After a sixteen hour nap in the sun, they would set about with their demands head rubs and back scratches. This was followed by the "down to the river for free fish without getting wet" ritual which was performed late every afternoon. If the meal was particularly good, they rewarded the faithful that night with a rats' head or snakes' entrails by the side of the bed.

They required no temples. They made no verbal demands. They just knew their place in the world was to be worshiped and it was the humans' place to worship them. It was pure, simple and uncorrupt. No extortion required. Humans could be as sinful as they liked, so long as these creatures were kept happy. They were cats and they knew a happy human meant a happy feline. It didn't require religion. It only required common sense.

The only being more contented in this arrangement was Sekhmet. Her plan went off flawlessly. She entered the realm of humans, changed her form, lived among them and learned. She became every cat. Divine enough to gain the worship of the humans but subtle enough to become of no concern to the gods. They could never use her again. She had restored paradise.

Slowly, the gods fell from favor. Mortals turned to a strange and new God. But it didn't matter. She was still worshiped through the savage heart of every feline. Never to be controlled, only to be adored and admired by mortals for ever more.

* * *

Footnotes:
1. Ra was god of the sun and he carried the solar disk through the sky in a chariot pulled by gleaming white horses.

2. Ptah - Egyptian god of all creation, but not the chief god. That belonged to Ra.

3. Set - Egyptian god of chaos and destruction. Portrayed as evil, but this was not always the case. It is still disputed till this day.

4. Horus' Mother is Isis. His father is Osiris, god of the Underworld. Set betrayed and killed Osiris. Isis revived him as an undead god, condemned to rule the Underworld. Horus wishes to avenge his Father and destroy Set.

5. Anubis - Egyptian god of the dead. Judges a dead person's heart against the Feather of Truth on the Scales of Justice. If the heart is heavy with sin, it outweighs the Feather. The person is then devoured by a terrible demon, lost forever. But a light heart pure of deed need not worry of such a fate. They may pass into the Underworld to face challenges that will hopefully gain them entrance into Re-Stau, or paradise.

* * *

Author's Note: I am first and foremost an artist. This was painted independently of this story and has a different title. The painting is titled The Second Coming. What can I say? I kinda dig Sekhmet. : )

Click here to view all of Becky's Artwork.

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