by Anne Marsh
Amun Ra rises swiftly from the divan with serpentine grace.
“You’ve betrayed me, Cat.”
“Not yet.” Reluctantly, I add, “my lord.” No point in angering the Amun Ra. Not when the alpha can and will put a fast period to my life. It’s what I would do.
“Not yet?” The air crackles as Amun Ra draws mazhyk into himself and a glow of power surrounds him. “You stand there and tell me not yet? Unless you’ve got information I don’t—which I doubt—no male in this building would deny me the right to send you straight back to the vortex. Better still, send you elsewhere and let your spirit disintegrate into a thousand bits and pieces. Bad enough being without a body, Jafar, but without consciousness either? Better off dead, but that you won’t be permitted. I can make you suffer for an eternity and we both know it.”
True enough. “Hear me out. You ordered me to apprehend her. I have done so.”
Hard eyes stare at me and the relaxed man with the elegant facade disappears, an illusion. The Amun Ra is a master of illusions. Mazhyk wavers in the air around him. Not a Guardian, but something else entirely, he’s the one who summoned the Guardians’ spirits from the vortex and gave us these forms. We are his on the most primal of levels.
“You will bring her to me for execution,” Amun Ra orders. Razor-sharp silver tips appear on the ends of the male’s hands. He examines them casually.
A second, more powerful throb of mazhyk in the air makes me tense. Stubbornly. “She’s mine,” I say, knowing I sound harsh and unyielding. “Mine. I protect her.”
“Even if she breaks the laws that you swore you would uphold.”
“I will not see her executed. Is there no other way?”
“Can’t bend the rules for a bit of a female.” Amun Ra’s eyes hold mine, hard and unwavering. “Wouldn’t do it even if I could. The law’s the law,” he says, instead of answering my questions. “Rules are there for reasons that maybe you and I don’t know about. You guard the Doorways. I provide the guards.” Knives appear in his hand, materializing out of the air with a fine shimmer of mazhyk. “I’ll send you back if I have to. Two hundred Cats out there, waiting to rip your little lady to bloody bits if you can’t give me a reason to keep her alive. Convince me.”
This is it. My one chance to sway the Amun Ra.
“Which do you really want?” I demand. “One thief, sent to do as she was told? Or the thief master himself?”
The blades still. “She did not come in here alone.”
No question there. “You know she didn’t. Three followed her. One, I killed. The two others were probably crushed in the cave-in.” I shrug like it’s no big deal. “There could be more, but these penetrated my sector. And only one of them human—Miu. If I were you, I’d be asking myself why so many thieves? And why all of them seem to know precisely where to go and how. How the hell did they know where the entrance to the lower levels was and what to steal once they got there?”
The Amun Ra’s eyes flicker. “They had a specific target?”
“Yes.” Interesting that Amun Ra doesn’t know that. Or, perhaps he does and is merely bluffing. Only fools underestimate the male. “A necklace, one of the pieces from Pho’s tomb. The ‘princess’ buried in the pink and white burial chamber. Of course, you and I know the truth of that story.”
“We do, indeed.” The Amun Ra tips his head. “And I doubt either of us has forgotten your lapse of judgment.”
“I took care of her.” My voice sounds cold as ice.
“You did.” Amun Ra nods. “Although not before she’d done a great deal of damage. But, yes, you took care of her. We all did. And we tossed her into the first burial chamber we found and warded her body just in case any of her companions decided to come looking for her. Do you think it’s an accident that so many of our recent guests have made a beeline for her final resting place?”
“You don’t think it’s a coincidence.” I study the face of the Amun Ra. No expression flickers in the male’s eyes, but some instinct warns me that this new opportunity is too important to dismiss. “Nor do I. And Miu may be able to lead us to the man behind these thieves.”
“Interesting.” The Amun Ra’s face changes, relaxes. “I just might be in the market for a bargain then.”
Satisfaction roars through me. “Yes. I thought you might be.”
“Terms.” One long silver nail flickers through the air. “Tell me the terms you propose.”
How the hell do you negotiate terms with an immortal with the ability to yank your ass straight out of this realm and send it to another?
Carefully, I decide. Very carefully.
I keep my eyes on the Amun Ra’s face. All cold planes. No expression. I wouldn’t want to play cards with the male and I suspect that most of the Guardians feel the same way. The man is a cipher and none of us like puzzles. He possesses immense power—and yet he refuses to go belowground. He hosts orgies whose very memory makes my skin flame, and yet he holds to an esoteric code of honor that makes a mockery of his licentiousness. Which is the real Amun Ra?
Either way, I can’t imagine my Miu confronting this hard, cold figure. Her irreverent sass will get her killed before she’s finished her first sentence because disrespecting the Amun Ra is a sure way to die. If you are lucky, it is a quick death. Miu is like a living, breathing flame of life, all hot passion and delectable chaos. She’s brought my orderly existence down around my ears as effectively as the banshee brought the tunnel crashing in.
Strangely, I’m not sure I mind all that much.
Terms. Right. “You give Miu to me,” I propose.
Amun Ra smiles slowly. “And how do we explain such leniency to the others? She’s a thief. The rules are explicit. Death.”
Miu’s death is not acceptable, although I hesitate to examine the reasons why. “No,” I say and marshal my arguments.
I made sure there is no concrete evidence of Miu’s crime. Hell, the first thing I did was get rid of the damn necklace. While my brothers stormed about the chamber, posturing and bellowing, I popped the glittering stones back into the stone coffin, reaching behind me to stir the now-disassembled bones with a careful hand. While the destruction my femi wrought was still clear, it looked more like a minor act of desecration. An insult to the not-so-dearly departed, sure, but not a killing offense.
As theft is.
No harm, no foul. I bribed the treasure daemon to keep quiet; the stones are back where they belong; and I will take my little thief in hand.
Where she belongs.
“We’ve got no proof,” I point out. “Hebon and Badru claim Miu came to remove the necklace from Pho’s neck. You know the gaudy thing, set with a large moonstone in the center.” With my hands, I mime an ostentatiously large jewel. “I’d argue that, even if she found it, she didn’t take it. The stone’s still there, though the grave is a wee bit disturbed. It wouldn’t be right to punish her for a crime she didn’t commit.”
“A crime she didn’t commit—or that you covered up?” Amun Ra’s eyes bore into me, but he has no proof of this crime either. “You know the prey’s name, Cat. Have you sided with her over us?”
I do know her name, but it didn’t occur to me that naming her would be perceived as a weakness. I should have realized. Guardians don’t bother with names—only with deeds.
“There has to be a reason for all this sudden interest in Pho’s necklace.” I feel my way cautiously. I’m much better at killing than negotiating or words. “Miu came for it. The dark faerie we trapped mentioned it as well. And the male she calls Master wanted to know if she’d obtained it yet. He threatened her. He mentioned only that piece, so it would seem he has a very particular agenda.”
“She’s not your typical treasure hunter,” Amun Ra agrees.
I shrug. “None of them are. That’s what makes me want to learn more about this necklace. Let me take Miu and I’ll get the answers from her.”
“She may not have them.”
“Then she’ll lead me to that
Master of hers,” I vow. “I’ll get my answers from him. This is more than just a simple ring of tomb robbers, and we both know it. There have been too many attempted break-ins. Too much of a pattern here, and I don’t like it.”
“I don’t like it, either, but I need your word, Jafar.” Amun Ra’s eyes bore into me. “I need to know she’ll not be running around my temple, unchecked. That she’ll be at your side day and night. Tell me she’s yours and I’ll back off.” He leaves the implicit threat unspoken. Refuse the bond and Miu dies. “Swear to me, Jafar. Mate her and pry the information from her. One way or the other. Find this master thief and bring them both back here for us to deal with.”
This is exactly what I’ve been angling for. Mating will let me keep Miu safe—and, my body reminds me, will let me indulge my erotic fantasies about her.
Surely, she’ll see the benefits of partnering with me. And I’ll finally have her right where I want her: in my bed.
“Mates,” I snap, before I can get cold feet. “I’ll do it.” There is no other way to keep her safe. To uncover the answers that I need.
“Your word, Jafar.” Amun Ra regards me over steepled fingers. “Your word that you’ll do it now.” His heavy-lidded gaze dips downward. “You appear to be up to the task. And, just in case you’re thinking to get clever with your words, you vow to mate her by sunrise.”
“Three hours.”
“I’m feeling generous,” the immortal mocks. “I should make you do the business out there in the gallery, so everyone can satisfy himself that the deed is done.”
“Voyeuristic bastard,” I say, but the words hold no heat.
“Quite,” Amun Ra agrees. “After all, I’m only giving you what you want, Jafar, and we both know it.”
MIU
I’m lying on a pallet rather than in my grave. That goes in the plus column.
Unless, of course, the Cats have simply skipped the killing and gone straight to burying the body. Panicked, I try to sit upright, but collapse, wincing at the residual pain in my head.
When my nausea subsides, I lever myself into a sitting position, more slowly this time. The world tilts, whirls, and resolves itself into a small, four-sided room with no obvious door. A prison. Of course. It’s too much to hope that the Cats had settled for banishing my unwelcome person outside their walls.
Looking up, I discover that my prison has no ceiling. The Guardians chucked me into a grilled cage set into the floor of the temple’s antechamber. Dramatic. And it puts me at an immediate disadvantage, forcing me to look up at my captors.
The grating above shudders as something large and heavy strides over it. Not too far away, a Cat roars. A sitting duck, that’s what I am now. If this is what Jafar had in mind when he said, “Trust me,” well, I’ve clearly been right to fight him with everything I have.
Jafar. There’s a name I’m trying to forget. Who guessed that he would turn out to be one of the damn shifters who guard the temple and its treasures? “Enjoying your stay, my femi?” The familiar, raspy voice comes from directly overhead. Looking up, I see Jafar hunkered down over my prison.
Flipping up the grille that seals me into the cell, he reaches down and extends one large hand.
I stare at it, considering my options. Stay here. Die.
Go with Jafar—and what?
For once, my merck-turned-Guardian isn’t issuing orders, but he also hasn’t made me any promises. He doesn’t need to. Right now he has the upper hand in our battle of wills and we both know it.
“Take my hand,” he snaps, falling back into bad habits and giving me another order.
I hesitate a moment longer and then slide my fingers into his. After all, I’m out of options.
Sliding his other hand along the curve of my forearm, he cups my elbow and then lifts. I rise effortlessly from the cell, the robe sliding back from my wrist. When I’m steady on my feet, he strides toward the main gallery, towing me effortlessly along behind him.
Damn him.
“Where are you taking me?” I demand, because if we’re rushing to my execution I at least want to drag out these last few seconds.
“To the Amun Ra. To be sentenced.”
The bald starkness of his words is warning enough. My body feels oddly cold and the roar of the cats stalking the edges of the gallery retreats to a distant, metallic whine. Is that my breath coming in those frightened, shallow pants? I’ve always known that I could die in my line of work—I just hadn’t really believed it would happen. And I’d also thought—apparently without any basis—that I could hold it together and meet that death with a facade of calm fuck-you.
“Breathe,” he instructs in clipped tones. “Don’t fall apart on me now.”
“You’re not the one about to die. I think I’m entitled,” I get out. The words open up my throat and I suck in oxygen gratefully.
He wraps a large hand around my arm, halting me out of earshot of the cats in the gallery. “Listen to me,” he says. “You’re not going to die. I’ve made a bargain with the Amun Ra. But we’ve only got one chance to get this right. Are you listening?” He gives me a small shake. People skills are definitely not his strong point, but I’m all ears.
“I’m going to be right here. Next to you. The Amun Ra has agreed to spare your life, but the Guardians don’t know that. My pride brothers saw what you were up to in that burial chamber. Now we’ve got to convince them you’re not guilty.”
“I’m not guilty?” That’s a welcome newsflash.
His golden eyes bore into mine. “I’d say it’s a matter of proof, love. Do you have anything stolen on you?”
The bag. I pat my side out of habit, and realize that, at some point, I’ve lost my bag. Which means that, in fact, I no longer have the necklace on me. And since no one actually saw me remove it from the princess’s neck…
“Figured it out?” Jafar slants me a look. “They may not believe you’re innocent, but they can’t prove you’re guilty either. The Amun Ra knows the law must be upheld. It’s the Guardians’ duty.”
“Right,” I say, my powers of sarcasm returning with the possibility of living another day. “Your duty. Why do I get the feeling you Cats enjoy doing your duty a little too much?”
He drops my hand. “We have a deal with the Valley. Made a promise, so we keep it. When the Guardians revealed themselves to the Valley elders generations ago, they met us with fear and loathing. They didn’t want us anywhere near their homes; they wanted us dead. We were different and that difference was a threat. But the Amun Ra showed the Valley men why they needed us. We’ve got a purpose here, and it’s not just to thwart petty thieves like you.”
I’m not a petty thief. Not by a long shot.
“The Amun Ra ordered me to follow you yesterday,” he continues. “We wanted to know what you were after, whether you would go down to the lower levels. There’s a reason why we keep those off-limits. It’s the same reason that the Valley elders are so glad to have us here. There are far more than thieves and dead men down there, femi. Some of those passages lead straight to Qaf. Trust me when I say that the Valley dwellers know very well they don’t want those sorts of creatures coming through. Makes even the most bloody-minded of thieves seem tame. Have you ever faced an Ifrit?” he asks conversationally.
No. If I had, I’d be dead now and the Cats would need to make alternate plans for their execution fun.
“That’s what I do, femi. Day in. Day out. I come up here to report on one of the latest Doorways to open between our world and theirs. Amun Ra wants to know when that happens, so he can dispatch more of us if necessary. See, the temple is more than just a place for sticking dead people and those shiny trinkets to which you’re so partial. It’s a battleground, love, and we’re fighting a war here.
“And somehow,” he continues, “you’ve gotten yourself mixed up in it. I think you know perfectly well that you’re part of something much, much larger than you signed up for. You know what happens to the middleman,” he says darkly.
> “Woman,” I correct, licking suddenly dry lips.
“Woman.” He nods tersely and the hot gaze that moves down my body, lingering on my breasts for just a moment too long, tells me he hasn’t forgotten I’m a female. “I offered you my protection before. Heqet knows why, but I still want to stand between you and danger.”
“This is your idea of protection?” I glance at the Guardians descending from the gallery ahead.
He shoots me an unfathomable look. “You’re not dead yet,” he points out. “And no one’s touched a hair on your head. I’ve kept my end of the bargain.”
“Some bargain,” I grouse, although I really shouldn’t irritate him. He doesn’t seem to mind though and I’ve never been good at resisting temptation.
He swings me around to face him. “I can offer you another bargain.”
I learned my lesson after the first bargain I made with him. “No, thanks,” I say, hearing the bitterness leach into my voice. “That first bargain of yours didn’t work out too well for me, did it?”
“Doesn’t matter now, does it?” He hauls me up against his body, turning me to face the Cats pacing toward them. Oh, gods. “You’ve got much larger problems on your hands now, love. Those Cats want you dead. Your only chance of staying alive is to do what I tell you to do, make some hard choices, and accept the consequences. Then you just might live another day.”
“All right,” I agree, because we both know that I’m going to prioritize living. I happen to like breathing. Plus, I’ve got my sister waiting for me. “Spell out the terms of this deal for me.”
“You’re going to agree to mate with me.”
I heard him wrong.
He didn’t say mate.
Jafar knows damn well how I feel about the Cats and this mating business. His hand tangles in my hair, pulling my head back so he can examine my face.