Creative Writing: The Haunted House

The throne room smelled like jasmine, and the scent burned through Sutekh's nose. The whole room was intrusive: cold marble floors against his bare feet, columns reaching to nowhere, everything huge and expansive but also small and constricting at the same time, like the room couldn't decide whether it wanted Sutekh to float away into the expansiveness or be flattened to nothingness. He'd take the floating; away from those overwhelming senses, and up to the beautiful night sky that hovered above. Indeed, there was no ceiling: just expansive darkness and its pinholes. The pinholes were the stars, his shining subjects, looking down at their god of the night. They sensed his discomfort, and whispered among each other, wondering. He tilted his …show more content…

unfortunate circumstances." Heru tensed up, and Sutekh laid his head on his shoulder, desperate to give some reassurance. "This is something I should have told you all in the beginning, and I take full blame for the consequences of my actions. I've acted rashly, and as a result I have to confer in all of you today on such short notice." She heaved a sigh that resonates through the whole room. "Recently, offerings have been getting scarcer and scarcer, arriving less often as each day goes by. And as I'm sure some of you have noticed, there has been a shortage of prayers over these past few weeks." She closed her eyes. "This has been happening for a long time, but I failed to alert everyone, thinking it was just a coincidence." A murmur: anger, confusion, hurt. "I... fear something has happened to the humans. But mass panic is the last thing I want, and I don't want to stop everything, just in case this is simply a hiccup. Everyday this seems less and less like a mistake, however, and I'd like someone to go and check on them, anyone who can work from their realm, please. All I ask is a quick trip, and I will truly be indebted to …show more content…

"You two will leave tomorrow, then. Be at my office by then. You're all dismissed--let's hope this is just a misunderstanding between realms." She was gone in a shower of magic, leaving everyone to talk, or go on their separate ways. Sutekh turned, and Heru was not happy with him. "Why did you do that?" "I thought... no one else would. That they would think it was like doing the Goddess's dirty work." "That's exactly what it is—you know, your pride will be the de—" "Sutekh." Brenna smiled sharply at him, a step away from coming between him and Heru. Up close she looked more intimidating; about Heru's height, with dark lashes that stuck out to sharp ends and made her pale eyes stand out. Her skin was as pale as the cold marble floor, and she carried herself like the columns, tall and straight and unmoving. Her lips had no color to them. "I hope you know that I'm no child," she said coolly. Sutekh straightened his back on instinct, trying to match her height and posture. He could practically see Heru's glare burning holes into Brenna. "I never thought that you were. After all, I'm sure you're a very capable goddess." She eyed him up and down, before meeting his gaze, her look sending a shiver down his spine. "If you doubt me, or get in my way, I will not hesitate to leave you behind." Heru growled, "Leave him behind?