Reluctant Gods (The Awakening Book 2)

by Keri Armstrong

  “There’s no time,” Nathan shouted back. “We’ll look for him later.”

  I send a silent prayer for Caleb, hoping he would forgive me for abandoning him like this. But Sara was the only family I had left. She’s my everything. And, I suspected, his as well. Surely he would understand.

  We ran deeper into the cave, and in the back of my mind, I noticed that the further we went, all the traces of fire on the walls disappeared and the drawings became bigger and more vivid.

  I filed the information with the desire to return and inspect everything in detail once Sara was safe. If she were safe.

  God, she had to be saved.

  We started descending and passed through a narrow archway that led us to a completely different section. I gasped at the crystals poking from the rocks all around us, like scattered jewels of white and pink.

  Nathan finally stopped and turned to look at me, sweat dripping down the side of his face.

  “Take the gong from your pack and ring it.” It was a decisive command, even if slightly breathless.

  A command that completely took me by surprise and a feeling of dread washed all over me. I took an involuntary step back.

  Nathan narrowed his eyes. “We don’t have time for games, Phoebe. Do as I say if you want Sara to live!”

  Those were the magic words. Dry-mouthed, I yanked my backpack off, managing to unzip it and take out the ancient gong. I fished out the mallet too, and without thought, gave the metal a nice whack.

  I nearly fell over as all the crystals stated to vibrate, producing a high-pitched sound that began to undulate, almost like a wind chime. The noise grew to a near unbearable pitch that fell back when the rock wall in front of us started to rumble and slide.

  Opening a passage.

  A passage through which a man emerged.

  He looked as if he had just stepped off a movie set about ancient Egypt. Dark skin, hair and eyes, and a white wrap-around skirt with gold embroidery that I knew from my studies was called shendyt. His feet were bare but there was enough gold around his neck and arms to buy food for an entire village of hungry people.

  He glared down at us with glittering eyes that were surrounded by liner that I assumed was kohl.

  Nathan awkwardly bowed, still holding the unconscious Sara in his arms. He surprised me by quickly speaking in a language I’d never heard before, and I was fluent in several, including a couple of dead ancient ones. The other must have understood it, though, because he replied in harsh tones.

  Nathan gestured rapidly toward me, but the human statue didn’t budge.

  “Phoebe, bow down. Bow down, now!” Nathan urgently whispered.

  “What, why? Who is this guy?” Once I started, I couldn’t seem to stop with the questions. “Can he help Sara?”

  I looked at my cousin. Her pallor had worsened. She was dying, here we were doing nothing.

  “She needs help. She’s dying,” I screamed at the newcomer.

  “If you don’t bow your head down now, we are all dead,” Nathan warned.

  I bowed so low I could practically kiss my knees.

  A heartbeat or two passed when I could see his feet turn and I came up. The man gestured for us to follow him, and we did.

  The entrance closed behind us. I was so grateful we were actually doing something I refused to be concerned about that at the moment. However, my brain refused to process the sight in front of me.

  I blinked several times. There was light everywhere. And after spending so much time in darkness one would assume my eye would start hurting, but it didn’t. We’d stepped into a completely different world.

  It looked like a courtyard of some exotic land.

  I frowned as we followed the guide across an open courtyard. Water shimmered in several open pools, which had small falls and tiny fountains. A peacock was drinking water from one of them. His tail spread when he saw us approaching and my mouth dropped open.

  Marble staircases with ornate balusters led to different areas. Petite white orbs hovered above them, illuminating the passageways. I couldn’t understand how they were suspended in mid-air or where got their electricity.

  But the biggest shock for me was the blue sky above the courtyard. Weren’t supposed to be deep underground?

  Even as I continued following behind Nathan and the other man, my attention was caught by sky. Until I realized it was an illusion. A perfectly crafted mirage that somehow played on repeat, like a video, but it was beyond me how something like that could be achieved. To look so real and without any traces of technology showing.

  We came to a sudden stop as were greeted by another male. He looked pretty much like the other, except while first looked bored, this new one had a deep scowl on his face.

  “We need your help,” I pleaded to the new guy, interrupting as he and his companion stood talking in hushed tones.

  He glared at me, and Nathan moved in front of me, so I wouldn’t do anything stupid. Again.

  I had to remind myself that we were there because we needed help from them, not the other way around.

  The second man approached and looked at Sara. He turned her face toward him and completely went rigid. He spat words at Nathan who replied in urgent tones. The first guy joined the fray, but their animated conversation rapidly ended when they started walking in a hurry.

  I rushed after them, yelling. “Nathan, wait for me.”

  They didn’t even turn around. I vowed that as soon as I knew Sara would be taken care of, Nathan was going to pay for all of this. He owed me several explanations.

  At the end of a long corridor the newer guy stopped and placed a hand over a picture in the door. It opened, revealing a room with an elevated dais inside.

  Nathan hurried in and placed Sara on it, the other two helping lay her out. The original guide took her both hands and placed them over her chest, then glanced briefly over her whole body before he and the other walked out of the room.

  “Hey,” I yelled at him. “Aren’t you going to help her?”

  I started to follow but Nathan stopped me.

  I glared at him. Nathan, with so many secrets.

  “He’s just going to get her some help. But you need to stay quiet from now on if you value your own life.”

  That was it. I hit his chest with my fist.

  “Nathan, you have to tell me what is going on right now. None of this makes any sense to me.”

  He held my wrist with one hand, pulled me in close with his other arm, murmuring against my hair. “I am so sorry Phoebe.” He let go and stepped back before turning to dash out the door. It closed behind him and I heard an ominous click.

  I ran after him, calling his name as I banged against the door. There was no handle or panel, and when I tried that guard’s trick with my palm against a nearby image, nothing happened.

  We were locked inside.

  I went back to back to the dais. Sara looked even more pale and fragile. I carefully took her hand in mine, and started to cry.

  “Please Sara, don’t leave me. Help is on the way, just hold on.”

  All the while, silently hoping that I hadn’t just made the biggest mistake of our lives.

  Ten

  I paced the floor like a caged lion, ready to pounce on anyone who came through the door. It had been too long since Nathan locked us in this room, and it was time for me to face facts. It was a mistake to trust these people.

  But I’d been desperate to save Sara. Still was.

  I rubbed her too cold hands. Her lips had taken on a bluish tint that frightened me. “Please don’t die on me,” I begged, desperately hoping, praying she could hear and fight for as long as was necessary.

  Praying someone would come to help.

  I started to smooth her hair, which from her ordeal, now covered her face in wild, sticky tangles. My hand paused when a soft whoosh sounded by the door. I turned just in time to see a man entering.

  I noticed two things almost simultaneously. One, he was dressed slightly differ
ently than the others who’d brought us here. He was also in white, but his shendyt was fastened with a wide gold belt, encrusted with jewels. A large gold collar necklace, studded with jewels that created a scarab, wrapped around his throat, glowing against the tan skin of his neck. More gold and jewels wrapped around his impressive biceps and wrists. Ornately embossed sandals covered his feet.

  Despite all the theatrical bling, the second thing I couldn’t help noticing was just how drop-dead gorgeous he was. It was a ‘punch you in the gut’ kind of thing.

  He shared characteristics with the others: tall, well-built, and dark, but there all similarities ended.

  His hair black hair was shinier, and longer. It cascaded past his sculpted shoulders, surrounding an intensely beautiful, square jawed face. His eyes were so dark, they required new name because black simply wasn’t dark enough. At first, I thought he was wearing the same guyliner as the others, but as he moved closer I could that it was just an illusion brought about by the length, fullness, and rich darkness of his eyelashes. His full lips opened slightly. He seemed startled to see me.

  That made two of us.

  He looked me over in one glance then rapidly spoke in the same foreign language as the others.

  If I’d had real hair, I would have been pulling it out. Instead, I just shook my head in frustration. “I don’t understand you.” I gestured toward Sara. “Are you here to help her?”

  Please God, let him be here to help her.

  His eyebrows twitched and he frowned, briefly. “English? I know how to speak the English but it has been many seasons ago.”

  I could have wept with joy. His words were heavily accented, but at least I could finally understand someone.

  “Who are you? Can you help Sara, will she be all right?” An avalanche of questions poured forth.

  He raised his hand, cutting me off.

  Maybe I needed to go slower, since he did say he was a bit rusty. Before I could start from the beginning, he shocked me by striding forward, grabbing my arm, and raising it to look where the hand was missing.

  I instinctively pulled back, but he held on tight “Do you mind?”

  He looked confused. “Mind?”

  “Yes, mind. It’s rude to just grab and inspect someone like that.”

  He tilted his head, still seeming puzzled. Now, he compounded the rudeness by staring at my scars. He lifted a hand to brush away the wig that partially covered my lost eye and I pushed him with my remaining hand.

  It was like pushing against the cave walls. Rock solid.

  “Turn your head,” he said. Commanded, actually.

  “Hey, you can gawk at the freak all you want later, but right now, my cousin needs help. Are you able to do that?”

  “Your words are confusing me. How did you get these injuries?”

  A growl of frustration rose in my throat and he blinked at the sound.

  “Do you not also need help?”

  Finally. “Yes, I do. I need help for my cousin and help to find our two friends who were with us.”

  He frowned slightly, assessing my scars and my missing hand.

  “I will help you,” he said absently, turning my face to inspect my good side, then back again to the other.

  Here we go again...

  I straightened and waited for the judgment. I wanted to jerk away, but if this was what was required to help Sara, I’d pay the price. As he looked me over, I realized that all the usual expressions were absent from his face. He was curious, yes, but in a clinical way. A flashback to the cave drawings of human experiments sent a ripple of unease across my back.

  He bent down to peer closer at my face, and I couldn’t help but be struck all over again how beautiful he was. Which was completely inappropriate in this situation.

  And foolish because it involved me. The damaged one.

  Still, I must have passed whatever silent test he’d been giving me because as he looked into my eye, his own widened with an expression close to wonder. His hand shook lightly as he cupped my face, his thumb gently tracing the edge of my lips.

  I jerked back then, knocking away his hand.

  He straightened with a sharp inhale. “You need to come with me, now.”

  “What? I can’t leave Sara alone, she needs me. She needs help.” I grabbed his wrist and tried to pull him toward her but it was like trying to move two-ton truck with one hand.

  He laid his hand over mine. “She will be helped.”

  “That’s what the last guys said, and I’m still waiting.”

  He scowled. “I am Ammon. I do not lie.”

  “Well, I am Phoebe, and I’m sick of this place. Now that we’ve been introduced, maybe you can tell me what the heck is going on.”

  “Fee-bee…” he pronounced my slowly, closing his eyes. “Phoebe!” His eyes popped open and a huge smile crossed his face that was nearly blinding in its beauty. “Of course” he said. Phoebe, the shining one.”

  I was confused. Was he making fun of me? I opened my mouth to speak but he interrupted.

  “You must come with me now, or the healers will not come for your companion,” he said, nodding shortly.

  “She’s my cousin. And why?” I wasn’t going to fall for emotional blackmail, or some worse trick, so easily.

  He crossed his arms. “That’s how it will be.”

  “No.”

  He looked so astounded I figured he must not hear the word ‘no’ very often. Between his good looks and the thousands in gold decorating him like a prince, he was probably spoiled rotten.

  “Because I, Ammon, have said so,” he insisted.

  Yep. Just what I thought.

  I shook my head again and his beautiful eyes widened more just before narrowing.

  “You come with me. Or you stay here and she dies.”

  He suddenly wasn’t so handsome anymore.

  Fear and indecision rooted me until I looked back at Sara. Anything, anything for her. It was a risk I’d have to take. I walked over and kissed the wild tangle of hair covering her head. “Please hold on just a little longer,” I whispered. “Help is on the way.”

  Or so I hoped. I didn’t want to leave her, nor did I want to be alone with him. Something about him unnerved me, and two of our friends had already disappeared.

  We were out of the door when he asked me, “Why are you here?”‘

  “Because my cousin needs your help.”

  His eyes narrowed and his whole face became ice-cold. “You need to answer me truthfully if you want my help. Why are you really here?”

  I was sick at being threatened. Would he use Sara as a bargaining chip for everything from now on? And even if he did, what could I do other than comply. I needed his help, plain and simple, but hated feeling helpless.

  “I told you the truth. Sara got sick and Nathan brought us here.”

  “Who is Nathan, and why did he bring you to me?” he asked, then warned, “And I would know if you try to lie to me.”

  That sounded like a bluff to me but, still…. “I honestly don’t know why he came here. He said he knew someone who could help her when she suddenly got sick. I think it might have been some kind of food poisoning.”

  His brows rose when he heard poison, but seemed satisfied with that answer. “Why were you with him?”

  Okay. That was trickier. “We are here, in Arizona,” I started explaining slowly, watching his reactions as he did mine, “To have a memorial for our parents.”

  He looked slightly surprised again, but said nothing. So far so good….

  “And today,” I continued, “we were exploring the caves where they died when Sara got really sick after eating something. Nathan was with us, he brought us here. Our friend Caleb was looking for us, too, but then he disappeared. That’s it.”

  “What is this Nathan to you? And this other male, Caleb?”

  Wow. He sounded angry, almost jealous. But that was crazy. Then again, everything about this trip had been crazy.

  “Umm, they’re j
ust friends,” I said slowly.

  He looked deeply at me, his eyes darting about, gazing at my face, my eye, even my throat. The whole time he continued to frown. “You seem to believe that, but not all of it. Which one is more?”

  Come again?

  “Not sure what you mean…” I said.

  His lips tightened. He gave me that intense once-over again and then relaxed ever so slightly. “Is one of them more than a friend to you? Or more than a friend to your cousin?”

  “I really don’t see how that’s any of your business—”

  “Answer me!”

  I jumped as his voice echoed off the walls. This guy had some serious anger management issues. Before he could yell again, I blurted, “I think Caleb is in love with Sara.”

  For a moment he looked lost in thought, then he smiled. It was like seeing a burst of sunshine through a storm cloud.

  A beautiful, deadly UV ray of sunshine.

  “Come then,” he gestured for me to move forward.

  We began down another hallway, and even as terrified as I was, I couldn’t help but be impressed. The whole place was not only unbelievable, but spectacular as well.

  He noticed my sightseeing and perked up. “You like? Come, I will show you around then. Have a...” he paused, hands moving as if he were trying to come up with the right phrase. “Grand Tour.”

  He grinned, urging me to keep moving.

  And after a while, despite all the stress, fear and worrying, I became drawn in, captivated by this strange place.

  And this strange man.

  Along our tour of what could only be described as a palace, he shared some fascinating, yet completely crazy, information. Like this underground palace was built a couple of centuries before he was born. Some seventy-thousand years ago, give or take a millennia.

  I dryly pointed out that he didn’t look a day over twenty-five and he smiled. It was a genuine smile, slightly embarrassed, and as before, I was nearly struck dumb by the beauty of it. I started to wonder if there might be fumes coming from the caves that were messing with all of us.

  It was more than a little unnerving, though, when he started to speak of things that correlated with what Sara and I discovered on the tablet we’d inherited.