by Allie Burton
Except they didn’t plan on me.
My raw and bleeding left hand slipped from around the trunk. I felt like a rope in a game of tug-a-war.
We must hurry.
“Shut up.” I wanted the voice to stop, almost as much as I wanted my feet to stop.
“I didn’t say anything.” Xander continued to stare, a bewildered expression on his face.
“The voice in my head. My feet. They’re moving by themselves— Ahh!” Both of my arms slipped from around the tree and my feet dragged an unhappy Olivia with them. “Help. Me.” The plea ripped out. I had no control, no thoughts, no solution.
Xander ran alongside. “Tell me how you feel.”
My feet were running amuck and he wanted to play psychiatrist? “I can’t control my feet. It’s like they’re moving under their own power.”
“Duck!”
A low-lying branch came at my face in mach speed. I bent down. The limb whizzed by the top of my head. Close call.
“They must be moving under King Tut’s power.” Xander kept pace beside me.
“Eek!” I veered around a tree. “Where does Tut want me to go?” Was that his voice in my head?
“Don’t know.”
I fought each step. My muscles trembled with tiredness. “Thought you trained for this.” I wanted to shout at Xander. Except, he was my only hope and I couldn’t make him mad. “Don’t you know how to control King Tut?”
“He’s a guy. Maybe if it was me—”
“Aha. So, you’re jealous.” Breath huffed in and out of my chest. I wasn’t used to running except on a job. I didn’t do sports. Didn’t want to get sweaty.
Another choice taken away.
“I was brought up to host the soul and you stole it. How do you think I feel?” He didn’t sound mad. He sounded more relieved. Maybe now that he’d seen the side effects he was glad not to go through this ordeal.
Here I thought I was all powerful and could help others, and instead I had no control at all. This is worse than being under Fitch’s threats. At least with him I knew where I stood. With Tut, I didn’t know what he wanted from me or where his loyalties lay.
“Can we…can we argue about this later?” My limp body lagged behind my feet and my mind. I just wanted to stop. Stop the running, stop the voices, stop the madness.
Unfortunately, my feet didn’t. They kept running through the woods and my body went along with them. Wind rushed past my skin. Branches snagged at my hair.
Thank God the trees thinned out.
“Can you help me?” I hated my desperate tone.
“I don’t know what to do.” Xander didn’t even breathe hard as he jogged beside me. “I was expected to finish my training after I received the soul. The Society was going to meet. There was going to be another ceremony. I don’t have all the answers.”
My shoulders slumped so low I’d be dragging them soon. “I just need one answer.” At this second. “How to stop?”
My feet accelerated, jumped over the curb and dashed onto Highway One that cut through the middle of the huge park. Cars swerved around me, honking their horns. Inside, I jumped at the sound and tried to move out of the way, but my body didn’t listen to my brain’s commands.
I ran a straight path, uncaring if a car drove in my way.
Actually, I cared. King Tut didn’t. He probably didn’t even know what cars were, or how dangerous they could be.
My heart zoomed like the cars racing past. Terror streaked though me like multiple bolts of lightning. If I’d been in control of my body, I’m sure I would’ve been paralyzed by fear. Instead, I kept moving forward, my feet pounding on the blacktop.
I looked to the right and my neck stiffened. The front grill of a Muni bus bore down on me. The vehicle was so close I could pick out the dead bugs on the windshield. I saw the registration tags in the window. And I understood the driver’s horrified exclamation as his mouth dropped open and his eyes widened.
My heart squealed as if putting on the brakes. My life had just started and now it was going to end. Hadn’t King Tut died after being hit by a chariot? Was I to suffer the same fate?
As the vehicle came within a few feet, I swallowed the lump in my throat, closed my eyes and awaited impact.
I whispered, “I found the bus.”
Chapter Five
Xander’s bare arms wrapped around me, tackling me from behind in a quarterback sack. And I was the quarterback. My lungs crushed. A spark shot through me. Energy exploded. My skin heated like a flame had burst inside.
His momentum propelled both of us forward like linked rag dolls. We started falling to the blacktop in the right lane of the highway, but the motion from his tackle pushed us out of the way, avoiding the bus by mere inches. His arms slackened and dropped. The bus whizzed past, its horn screeching.
I put my hands out to block my fall, but never hit the ground. My body adjusted on its own, straightened and kept moving like a puppet being yanked by strings.
Xander continued to tumble. He flopped to the ground and kind of bounced off the pavement as if he couldn’t put his arms out to protect himself. Like the time he’d fallen at the museum.
Adrenaline spiked now that I realized what Xander had done. He’d saved me and I’d zapped him. The force that had surged through me was more powerful than the first time I’d touched him. I was alive. But what about Xander?
I twisted my head, trying to see. He lay in the lane nearest the curb. The whiteness of his tunic glowed from the now completely unshadowed moon. Another car could hit him.
A scream tore from my throat, “Xander!” I didn’t want him hurt.
I turned at the waist, trying to steer my body back toward the road but my feet kept going, crunching the gravel lining of the roadway and then hitting the wet grass leading me away from him. I wanted to help him like he’d helped me. But I couldn’t.
So much for being in control of my own destiny, for having power. I couldn’t stop my feet. I had voices in my head. I couldn’t turn around. And I couldn’t help Xander.
I wasn’t powerful. I was powerless.
My eyes stung and I struggled to take a breath. Who was I kidding? I’d never held any power. Not now, not through the foster homes, not in Fitch’s house.
There, I wasn’t allowed to go to school. I ate what was put in front of me. I wore what he gave me and never got to decide on the heists we pulled. At least I’d been in charge of my own body. Now, I’d lost even that ability.
My ragged breath heaved in and out. My feet kept moving. I felt lost in my own life. And now I’d taken Xander down with me.
King Tut’s soul didn’t care about Xander. Neither did the Society that raised him. They weren’t a family. At least in Fitch’s dysfunctional ring we cared about each other, helped each other, stuck up for each other. And I needed to get back. Give Fitch the amulet, and hopefully my problem.
The only problem was I couldn’t even control my feet. Heading into a bunch of trees on this side of the road, I bent low. With the distance, I couldn’t see Xander lying on the road anymore. I’d abandoned him, too.
If I could I’d go back and help I would. I scrunched my face, trying with all my will to stop the running. Determination ran, ha ha, through me. I had to go back and try to save Xander. Except, none of my efforts worked.
Feeling stupid, I commanded, “Stop feet, stop.”
My feet didn’t listen. I prayed, whispering words in an urgent tone. “Soul of King Tut, please let me stop. Please let me go to Xander.”
But no one heard. Or I was being ignored. So much for the voices in my head.
“Olivia!”
Did the soul know my name? But this voice was different, familiar.
“Olivia!”
Xander? I twisted my head to look behind.
Xander half-ran, half-limped. His pale face winced. His jet-black hair stood straight up like he’d been electrocuted.
I let out a deep breath. The thought of being responsible for the death
of an innocent and good-looking guy scraped my lungs. Knowing Xander was okay, a heavy weight lifted from my soul.
Not Tut’s. He still had some explaining to do.
Yeah, right. Like I could force King Tut’s soul to do anything. He commanded me, telling my body what to do. Jitters rocked me at my lack of control.
“You didn’t get killed,” I called.
“No. I fell because we touched.”
“I figured that out on my own.” My ribs tightened, holding my heart hostage. Kind of like my legs holding my body hostage because they kept running. I’d caused Xander pain—not the Muni bus. He’d touched me, pushed me out of the way, and I repaid him by dehydrating him. If he was smart he’d run far from me. “I’m sorry.”
Tears stung my eyes again. At this rate, I’d dehydrate myself.
My feet slowed. Perhaps the running, the crying, the emotions, had drained the power within. I stumbled and then crashed onto a patch of grass and fallen leaves. Like an old car in the hot summer sun, I overheated. A tremor ripped through me. I did not want to think about the sun.
Lying there, I let the dampness of the ground cool my body. Bursts of steam rose around me. I breathed in and out to control my thoughts and emotions. My feet had run amok. I’d almost died. Xander had almost died trying to save me.
Listen.
And I had voices in my head. Was I going crazy?
I wanted to jump up and run again. Run away from these insane thoughts, run away from this impossible situation.
“You okay?” Xander plopped down next to me. Perspiration dotted his ashen face. Yet the disheveled-ness only made him look more male.
I nodded, not really meaning it. I wasn’t going to admit to hearing voices and thinking crazy thoughts to a stranger. I wasn’t okay, but he’d be the last to find out.
“What made you stop?” He ran a hand through his hair, messing it up even more.
Even in my tired state, I had an urge to smooth his locks. “Ex-ex-haustion?” I breathed hard, each breath rasping like wind going through a tunnel. I’d never run that hard before. Sure, I was fit for short sprints through dark buildings. Jogging in the park? I think not.
“Pharaohs do not tire.” He sounded like he quoted from a textbook. Or an ancient scroll.
At his arrogance, my earlier sympathy evaporated. “I’m not a pharaoh.”
“You host one.”
I didn’t want to. Not anymore. I tugged on the chain of the amulet bringing the ugly thing out from under my shirt. “You can have this stupid bling. I don’t want it.”
“Taking the amulet off now won’t change anything.” Xander held up his hand. “King Tut’s soul is inside of you. His essence is—”
“Where are we?” I didn’t want to deal with Xander’s mystical teachings.
He pinched his lips together as if he disagreed with changing the conversation. “It looks like a hidden corner of Golden Gate Park.”
The trees clustered together making going forward difficult. No paths led to this spot of the woods. We were isolated.
Guilt at zapping Xander sawed at my conscience. “I could’ve gotten you killed. How do you feel?”
I’d caused him nothing but trouble. First by stealing the soul, although accidentally. Then, because he didn’t host the soul, he’d been abandoned. Now, by staying with me, I’d caused him additional pain.
“Thirsty.” His lopsided smile caused my heart to ba-bump. I liked that he joked at a time like this. Sounded like something I’d do.
“I can’t help you with that.” Panic rose like an overflowing river. Except no water would be overflowing near me. “Will I be able to drink water?”
“Yes. Drink, eat, fart, poop. Just like normal.”
“Disgusting.” Only guys talk about bodily functions like that. “Manners, anyone?”
“You asked.”
“What else do I need to know about these powers?” I wasn’t thrilled with the idea of hosting Tut or his powers like I’d first thought. My how things change. One minute disbelieving, then ecstatic, and now just plain scared.
“I wasn’t told everything.” He tore a dead leaf into tiny pieces. “They trained me physically so my body could handle Tut’s soul. They coached me about the night of the transfer and what I had to be careful of and avoid.”
Hosting Tut’s soul sounded complicated. I wasn’t prepared like Xander. “Are you angry with me? For taking all that away?”
“Not your fault. You didn’t know.” He leaned away and his gaze zoomed in on me. “But who did know? Why steal this amulet? Why tonight? Why you?”
I shrugged and then fidgeted with the necklace under my shirt. “A new client of Fitch’s commissioned the amulet and said the job had to be done tonight. At a specific time.”
“The night of the summer solstice and a full lunar eclipse. A magical night.”
“Doesn’t seem magical to me.” A war waged within. Happy versus sad. Excited versus scared. Normal versus crazy. “The client was in a hurry, but very precise. He planned how to do the job and the exact timing. Fitch even had to deliver the piece right after the heist. Usually, we lay low and let things cool off for a day or two.”
No way did Fitch know of its magical properties. If he had, he would’ve done the job himself.
I needed to get home and hand over the amulet. I wanted to hug Tina and Doug. Their hugs comforted me, too. Fitch would hide me from the Society. He had to. I needed to learn all I could before Xander and I went our separate ways. Separating would be best for both of us. “What else do I need to watch out for?”
He examined the full moon as if analyzing its dips and craters. “The Society said I’d learn everything once I received the power at a special anointing ceremony. Besides telling me, after tonight, I couldn’t touch anyone.” He shrugged, but the shrug looked stiff not casual. “That’s why the Society kept me away from people because they didn’t want me to get used to a person’s touch.”
“That’s cruel.” Would I no longer be able to hold Tina and Doug? I was their substitute mother. Reading to them, listening to them, and just talking to them. My sadness dipped to a new low, clogging my chest and choking my heart. I couldn’t imagine growing up without any comforting touches. I had lived for years like that and didn’t want to experience it again.
Fitch wasn’t the most affectionate man so I took care of that need for the little ones. Sounded like the Society wasn’t affectionate either. “Have you never been hugged before?”
Xander shook his head.
“Never?”
He shook his head again.
“I’d offer but…” I glanced away. Heat flamed my cheeks like the fire living under my skin. I can’t believe I even hinted at hugging.
What would it feel like to be the first person to hug Xander? What would it be like to kiss him? I turned back and stared at his mouth. Full, manly-lips. Strong nose. Melt-me smile. Who would he choose for the honor of his first kiss?
Certainly, not me. Not with my plain looks that I tried to play-up with make-up. Not with my boyish build. Not with my unnoticeable clothes. And especially not if I zapped him with one simple touch.
Plus, I didn’t want his kiss or his touch. Did I?
Another kind of warmth swamped me and I pushed it away.
What I wanted didn’t matter. I couldn’t touch anyone. At least not until I figured this power stuff out. Pulling back my shoulders, I straightened my spine.
He stiffened. “Do you hear that?”
I shook my head. I wasn’t even sure I’d heard voices in my mind.
“Chanting. Egyptian chanting.”
A sing-songy sound sighed through the trees.
My throat went dry. “Is it the Society?”
“I don’t know many other people who speak ancient Egyptian.” Xander stood and peered around, listening.
His head angled over wide shoulders. The sheet he wore didn’t have sleeves and his muscles bulged on his forearms. He stood in a wide stance.
<
br /> I tilted my head and listened for the chanting. Had their singing called me to them? “What’re they doing?”
If Tut wanted me to join this mad Society, why did I stop running? Why didn’t I rush headlong into the Society crowd?
Why didn’t the voice-in-my-head-that-I’m-not-sure-I-heard answer any of my unspoken questions?
Hello? Are you in there?
Confusion swirled in my brain. My breath held in my chest. Every nerve stood at attention waiting for marching orders. I should run in the opposite direction. Get away from Xander and the Society. Get back to my home and hide. I stood and turned to run.
My body wouldn’t move, wouldn’t turn away, wouldn’t take a single step in the opposite direction. Now, that I wanted to run, my body wouldn’t go. I stomped the dirt ground.
Fine. I’ll stay.
I inched closer, which I was allowed to do, and held onto a tree. Didn’t want my body to make any sudden moves without my knowledge. Tut had control of my body, not my mind. Not my willpower. Or did he? I tried to stop the shiver sprinting up my spine.
“I was supposed to meet with the Elders after receiving the soul for the anointing ceremony.” Xander took a few steps forward. “The Elders frequently met in Golden Gate Park. Maybe we were going to meet here to get my final instructions before assuming control.” Xander had been brought up by the Society to host King Tut’s soul, but they hadn’t trusted him with the details.
“This Society is really secretive, isn’t it?” Sarcasm leaked out of my voice. He should’ve asked more questions.
At least Fitch filled me in on the details of a job, most of the time. Sometimes the job was on a need-to-know basis. Like the theft of the amulet had been super secretive. I’d only known my role and how tight the timing had to be. Guess I blew that.
Maybe Xander had never questioned the Society’s teachings. I rarely questioned Fitch. He was in charge and we did things how he wanted. Everyone ended up happy that way. Well, mostly anyhow.
“Stay here.” Xander’s arrogant tone returned.
He had no right to boss me around. Yes, he was familiar with the Society but I hosted a pharaoh. And, I still didn’t completely trust him. Trusting strangers wasn’t in my nature.