Caress The Dark God [Scions of the Ankh 2] (Siren Publishing Classic)

by Toni L. Meilleur

  “We? You mean you and Thoth?”

  “And Hathor you know her as Anaise , more than likely Ralabos.”

  “Anaise is a god as well?” Tessa let out a nervous bark. “I don’t even want to know who Ralabos is.”

  “We have to go.” He knew she needed more time, but unfortunately the killer wasn’t granting them any favors of convenience.

  “You said souls.” Tessa squinted. Anubis shook his head, knowing she was about to come to some understanding of exactly what she was right now. “If this is the place that souls are judged — oh no!” Tessa gasped as she shook her head back and forth.

  “Calm down, Tessa, you’re not dead.” Anubis tried to soothe her but Tessa backed away.

  “But he killed me, didn’t he? You said so.” Tessa ignored his words as she began to walk away, clearly letting the hysteria take over. “I don’t know what to believe. Either I’m in a really bad dream and can’t wake up or I’m dead. How is one choice better than the other?” she whispered to herself. Anubis caught up with her and encircled her waist to keep her from running. He put his mouth close to her ear to try and calm her.

  “I didn’t let you die, love. I brought your soul here while your body has been healing in the pyramids. Everything we have shared is real, Tessa, we’re just in a different place. A place humans have a hard time believing exists. But as you can see, it does. There is more to life than what you know. Don’t run away from it. Don’t run away from me.” He couldn’t bear the thought of her rejecting him once they left this place. It was wrong of him to mislead her. Even though he convinced himself it was for her own good, he knew he had been selfish. He had wanted her to himself. He wanted her to get to know him, as he wanted to know her. He hoped his selfishness did not come at a high price.

  “What now?” her voice croaked low.

  “Now I put your soul back into your body. Then we go to Thoth.” He turned her around to face him, but still hugged her close. “I promise you, Tessa, I will answer each and every question you have. Just give me this time.”

  “How?”

  “How?” he echoed.

  “How will you do it? Will it hurt? Putting me back in my body.” Her voice went soft as Anubis guessed that different ideas must have been going through her mind. He didn’t respond as he walked her to the edge of the water. He waved his hand over the calm, reflective water and the image of her sleeping body appeared. “This is where your body is. I will take you there using the water as a conduit. It is an easier, but slower way to travel for a novice and less frightening. You will experience the same sensations as vertigo, but it will pass quickly.”

  “Why don’t I remember coming here?”

  Anubis took a deep breath. This was taking longer than he could afford, but he would do it for Tessa. “A death that happens quickly does not give the soul time to keep track of what is happening to it. Yours was very traumatic.” Tessa’s legs buckled and Anubis slowed her descent into the grass; he waved away the image of her sleeping body. “You’re healed now, Tessa, you can now lead a long life.” How long he had no idea. Long ago the pyramids caused unnatural longevity to the humans. Her beautiful brown eyes were glassy with unshed tears. He could feel her pain. He decided to do the one thing he had avoided since Tessa first came here.

  I can feel your anguish.

  Tessa’s head jerked up as he spoke into her head. “I can hear you, but you aren’t speaking out loud. I’m crazy, aren’t I?”

  Try to talk to me this way. He felt Tessa’s hesitant, light probing.

  C–can you hear me?

  I can, love. He smiled. She smiled tentatively back. Come. He held out both hands for her as she stood. I have to take you back. As she grasped both of his hands, he held on to them tightly. He walked backwards as he led her into the shallow water. Trust me.

  I trust you, Torian.

  * * * *

  Carefully he laid her soul to rest in its natural vessel. As soon as her spirit reconnected, Tessa woke up with a gasp as if she had been drowning. Her eyes adjusted quickly to the dimness of the chamber. The fire had burned low and cast playful shadows on its walls. She sat up slowly, her joints stiff from remaining still for three days. She still had on the lavender dress that now sported small smudges of blood. Hers. Anubis rushed to her side and reached for her — and she flinched. She jerked away from him as if he burned her. Anubis tried to quell the hurt that welled in him at her rejection. He was the Dark One. How could a person like Tessa ever knowingly love a God of Death?

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that,” she stuttered. Anubis stepped back. He had been wrong to pursue her. He had thought that maybe if she knew more of him instead of the legend of him … but that had been a foolish thought. He was meant to be alone, that was clear now.

  “I know you have no wish to touch me, but the only way out of here is through me.” Anubis kept his tone businesslike. “Just give me your hand and I’ll make this as quick as possible. Let me apologize in advance for the way in which I have to travel.” He didn’t wait as he took her hesitant, outstretched hand. He tried to ignore the effect just touching her hand had on him.

  He traveled quickly as a shade, Tessa in tow, to the mansion. He only stopped when he was in Thoth’s living room, upon which he released her hand immediately. He couldn’t remember what he murmured to her, but he phased quickly out of the room and into Thoth’s study. Thoth and Hathor looked up in surprise at his abrupt entrance.

  “What is it, Anubis?” Hathor asked as she took one look at him. Anubis waved her question away.

  “Tessa is here. Could you please see to her?” His voice sounded rougher than he intended. Hathor looked at him a moment before she began walking towards the door. “She knows about us, perhaps she will find you more acceptable.” Hathor paused before she disappeared.

  “She didn’t react as you hoped,” Thoth said softly, empathy in his voice. But Anubis didn’t want or need empathy. He needed action. He needed to be able to do something to get his mind off the human. He was the Dark One, after all. He knew his people counted on him when death needed to be served. Anubis ignored Thoth’s observation.

  “What have you come up with?”

  Thoth hesitated before he began. Anubis half-listened as Thoth told him of his theory. His mind strayed back to Tessa and her rejection of him. He would make things easier for her by avoiding her as much as possible until he could arrange for her to go home. This wasn’t her fight; this wasn’t the type of world she lived in. It was time he reconsidered his decision to end his existence. He was tired of being alone and after falling in love with Tessa … He groaned inwardly.

  He had fallen in love with Tessa. He had fallen for a woman who could not see past his nature. Anubis decided this would be his last battle. He needed his lonely existence to end. For thousands of years he had lived without that special connection to a mate. Now that he had found one, well, it would seem it was only he that connected to her. To live alone was one thing; to live alone knowing Tessa was out there and he could never have her would be torture. He’d had enough of that.

  “Are you listening?” Thoth asked patiently.

  Anubis dragged himself out of his dark musings. “I heard you. How do you think we should go about finding him?”

  “He’s been preying on the homeless. The police haven’t made the connection. They believe these humans simply caught whatever virus is plaguing the city. I think he’s trying to be inconspicuous.”

  “I’ll patrol the underbelly of the city. It’s what I’m good at, right? What I was born to do.”

  Thoth got up from the desk and walked around it until he stood in front of him. “Anubis, talk to me.”

  “What is there to say? I’ll go hunting for our new friend.” Then he phased out of the room before his good friend could say anything else. He phased through the slums of Cairo, hoping to pick up the scent of the rogue hybrid. With immense determination, he kept his mind off Tessa, refusing to replay the image of her fli
nching away from him as if he were some type of disease. He had repaid his debt of putting her in danger by saving her life. There was no other reason to continue contact. He and the others could handle the hybrid without her. It was best.

  After hours of searching and no development, he phased into his home. Already it was haunted with the image of Tessa. Her smell. He mentally disrobed as he stood in the middle of his bedroom. The blankets were tousled and the sheets were crumpled, and her scent emanated from the bed. He growled low in his throat as her face surfaced in his mind.

  She said she trusted him. However, the moment she was back in her reality she rejected him. Anubis took the time to walk out the front door of his home. He took a deep breath and howled at the top of his lungs. His heartache was almost a physical entity beside him. As he let loose his frustration, the water in the lake began to churn in reaction. It began to swirl, forming large whirlpools that reflected his confusion. Why couldn’t she love him? He growled again, the sound deafening as it echoed all around him. Storm clouds quickly moved in, followed by torrential rain.

  Here, in this place, is where he could unleash. Here he was a god of sorts, without a goddess with which to share his life. For all his power, he couldn’t make Tessa love him. Anubis fell to his knees in despair. His actions had been foolish. What made him think she could love him? He was the Dark God. She was nothing but light and goodness.

  Anubis lay on the bank and let the rain pour over his naked body. He closed his eyes, willing the fates to grant him surcease from his inner turmoil. When it did not seem that would happen, he forced his thoughts elsewhere. His demise. There were very few ways in which he could die. Every traveler had to die in their own unique way. For Ralabos, it was the cold, for him—

  Anubis, something is wrong with Tessa. Anubis sat up at the sound of Hathor’s voice.

  What is wrong? This was the second time in his long life he felt fear.

  She collapsed. I can find nothing wrong with her physically.

  In seconds he was dressed and standing next to Hathor looking down at Tessa on her bed. She was pale and fear kept him in its massive grip. What was wrong with her? Anubis could hear her heartbeat was strong. Just as Hathor had said, nothing was wrong with her physically. She was completely healed. What was the problem? Tessa? he probed gently, but her mind was shut down.

  “What happened?”

  “She said she was hungry. I went to get her something to eat. When I returned she was like this.” Hathor’s hand fluttered to her neck in worry. “Did she heal long enough in the pyramids?”

  Understanding flowed through him. “She healed long enough. She is just hungry,” Anubis answered. He lifted Tessa and cradled her to his chest and concentrated, willing some of his energy to flow into her unconscious body. He tried to ignore the reprimands in his mind. She had said she was hungry and he had been too distracted to tend to her. What kind of mate was he? Anger at himself began to build.

  Her eyelids fluttered, but Anubis pushed her back into a deep sleep as he fed her more energy. He needed to make sure she was well fed. If she rejected him again before he was done transferring energy she could cause harm to herself. It would be like humans starving themselves to death. But Tessa was no longer completely human. Hathor looked on, her eyes understanding. “Does she know?”

  “I haven’t been able to tell her everything.”

  “She needs to know, Anubis.”

  Tessa stirred again, fighting his mind push. She had been mentally strong as a human, but as a hybrid her will to resist suggestion was even stronger. “I will tell her when the time is right,” Anubis answered as he set Tessa back onto the bed. The last thing he needed was experiencing her disapproval of him again. Now was not the time to tell her she was dependent on him for sustenance the rest of her life.

  “Tell me what?” she asked.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Tessa looked up at the two occupants that she knew for a fact weren’t human. Both looked down at her then at each other. Now Tessa was aware that they did speak to each other mentally. There was no telling what they were saying. Especially Torian, er, Anubis. That was going to take some getting used to. Was she just supposed to start calling him Anubis? Tessa sat up, feeling much better. Hathor and Anubis both looked down on her with concern. However, as soon as she made eye contact with him, he averted his eyes, and his face went expressionless, cold. She deserved that; she’d known she hurt his feelings when they returned.

  It wasn’t even him. As soon as she awoke she could feel the stiffness in her legs. The first thought that rushed to her brain was that she’d been dead. She was a corpse; something dead that had been brought back to life. When Anubis had reached for her, she drew back in shame. Not wanting him to touch her, she’d felt somehow … unclean. No, that wasn’t the word. She’d felt unnatural. How could she make him understand? Just when she thought to try talking to him mentally like he’d shown her, he phased out of the room, with his cold expression. Tessa lost her bravado, so instead she turned her attention to Hathor.

  “What is it that I’m supposed to know?” Tessa asked as she sat up slowly in bed. Her eyes lingered for just a moment on the place Anubis had been. She needed to talk to him and explain. Hathor walked to the other side of the bed and perched on the chair next to it. She seemed to concentrate on Tessa for a moment before she decided to speak.

  “You’ve hurt him.” The disapproval in her tone was hard.

  Tessa let out a frustrated breath. She already knew that. “I didn’t mean to,” Tessa began as she swung her legs over the side of the bed and faced Hathor. “I just reacted badly.” She wiggled her toes, more for something to do than anything else.

  “He has risked much to save you.”

  “I don’t know why,” Tessa whispered, the realization that she’d been dead freshly overwhelming her.

  “I think you know why.” Hathor sat back on the chair and elegantly crossed her legs. “I know this is all new to you. I even understand that as a human all of this,” a graceful flick of her hand encompassed the room, “that has been revealed to you is frightening and confusing.” She leaned forward, her beautiful face an impressive piece of disfavor. “But even humans should appreciate and understand when a sacrifice has been made for them.”

  Now Tessa felt lower than dirt. Hathor was right. It would appear that she was ungrateful. She wasn’t, but right now she didn’t feel like having this conversation with Hathor. “I know you care for him, but I don’t wish to discuss this. Now, can you answer my question?”

  Hathor looked at her. A small smile flirted at the corners of her mouth. “Very well. It is not my place to impart such information. I believe you will need to ask Anubis. Meanwhile, I would suggest you get some more rest.”

  “What’s going on?”

  “My husband and others are gathering as we speak. The traveler that killed you,” Tessa winced as the mention of her killer reminded her she had died, “has caused much havoc. He must be stopped at all costs. There is a meeting and I am late.”

  “Wait.” Tessa stood up, noting she was feeling much better. “I would like to help. What can I do?”

  “I am not sure you are up to it.” Hathor smiled, her face settling into a more pleasant expression.

  “I feel much better. Please, I need to do something or I’ll go crazy.”

  “Very well. You may attend the meeting.” Hathor smiled and Tessa briefly wondered what she was up to.

  * * * *

  “Oh, my god!” Tessa squealed as soon as she saw Rene. Tessa ran to her, hugging the other woman for dear life. Tessa broke the hug and looked Rene over. Something was definitely different about her. Her face was the same and yet it seemed so much more beautiful. Rene laughed and Tessa was surprised at the sound. In truth, she didn’t think she’d ever heard the woman laugh before.

  “Hello, Tessa,” Rene responded warmly, giving her another quick hug before both women stepped back to peruse the other. “I thought you had left d
ays ago. Imagine my surprise when Hathor told me you were still here.”

  “So you know about …?” Tessa looked Rene over more closely. There was a difference about her. She carried herself much more regally, more gracefully. When Rene nodded in affirmation, Tessa’s eyebrow went up in surprise. Apparently she was the only one who didn’t know what was going on. “You seem to be handling it well,” Tessa remarked. It was then a tall, gorgeous man stepped up behind Rene. His white hair was neatly pulled back in a braid that rested on his shoulder. Armbands complimented the sculpted perfection of his body and Tessa guessed this man had a lot to do with how well Rene was handling this “alternate lifestyle.”

  “Meet my mate, Ralabos.” Tessa thought Rene’s terminology a bit odd, but so was everything else.

  “It is a pleasure to meet you, Tessa.” His lilting, exotic tone matched the others’ accents, but there was something different about Ralabos. No doubt Anubis breathed power, but this man pulsed with it. Tessa could hardly keep from staring at him. Not that she was attracted to Ralabos, but his sheer presence was almost overwhelming.

  Tessa nodded, unable to speak as the reality of the situation hit her yet again. She was not dealing with humans. She had no idea what they were exactly, but they were powerful. Even though Rene seemed at home with them, she was changed. Tessa wondered if Rene had died as well and if Ralabos had saved her, changing her into something … indefinable, unnatural.

  “Well, if you are done ogling another’s mate, shall we begin?” Anubis’s voice cut through her musings and Tessa’s eyes immediately searched the room until she saw him standing in the shadows, blending in. “Thoth, you will update everyone?” He crossed the room fluidly, seeming to glide among the shadows. Rene shot him a look and Anubis looked at her for a moment before he looked away. Could it be that Rene could speak through her mind as well?