[u][i]The Library of Alexandria[/i][/u]

The Library of Alexandria reverberated with the roaring sounds of otherworldly combat; sounds that had not been heard inside of its walls for hundreds of years. Isis, sterilized from her power by the very essence of the library, hovered above the battle upon her wings. She rejoiced with a sharp trill when the first Anubi fell into a cascading heap of onyx shards, only to have her fears renewed as the second withdrew to send a wave of fire and rock across the library. 

White hot chunks of stone shot out from the wave, igniting books, demolishing shelves, and cracking several of the great columns that supported the ceiling. Clouds of dust and ash fell to meet the rising tendrils of smoke and burning pieces of papyrus. Screams and cries of the other patrons of library added to the symphony of destruction, until a much more sobering sound met Isis’ ears. 

She shifted her eyes to the walls where the sound had emanated, banking her wings to bring her within just mere feet of the relief-cut stone. As she flew, she noticed that human-sized depictions of scarab beetles lined the base of the walls, and they extended in all directions into the vastness of the library. These scarabs could be seen shuddering even now, quaking amidst the stone like small volcanoes before eruption. 

[i]The guardians![/i] she thought.

One of the beetles broke away from their stone haven, then another, and still another. Isis had to take her flight path away from the wall’s surface to avoid the bodies of the emerging guardians. They chittered and cried, their ethereal, insect-like sounds rising in a crescendo until it was almost as loud as the sounds of combat that had heralded them. As they emerged their thick carapaces split, revealing gossamer wings and humanoid arms and legs outfitted with razor-sharp protrusions. They moved everywhere now, crawling upon the walls and floors, in the air and upon the ceiling. Their sheer number formed a living wave that undulated and rose; descending with fatal intent upon those that threatened the library.

Isis let out a cry of warning to the B&H agents embroiled with the Anubi. Time was no longer on their side. She banked away, beating her wings to propel her back towards the gargantuan onyx creature. Though she had no powers, nothing to aid in frontal assault to her companions own efforts, she was a goddess of Egypt, and though she may be destroyed in this form, she could never truly die. It was time for her to do [i]something[/i], to save Max, to save the ankh.

With a screech she dove, tucking her wings to her side, and in a flash she was before the blinded Anubi. Her talons came up to claw at the creatures face and deformed eyes. Faced with the disorientation of being attacked on all sides, the Anubi roared in rage and confusion. His arms swung the sword in wild, ineffectual arcs. 

“You must go!” Isis' voice filled the minds of the company. “The guardians have been awoken, and they will smash all of you to dust.” She dived away from a cluster of guardians that appeared before her, picking up speed as she descended before pumping her wings to set her up for another pass at the Anubi’s face. 

“Please,” Isis said again, “the doorway to the vaults is unguarded. Go! Find the ankh, and return your friend. The guardians will finish off this stone demon.”

And with that, she tucked her wings, let out another shrill cry, and thrust herself back into the fray.