by Jean Murray
Clearing his throat, he turned back to Lilly. “Maybe I can invite the huntresses to Aaru for a celebration when this is over? And your sisters?” His eyes gravitated to Kendra.
Lilly laughed. “Only if you behave yourselves.”
Bomani bowed and waved his hand out in front of him. “Care to join me, Madame.”
“Of course.”
CHAPTER thirty-eight
So far, it had been easy work killing Menthu’s soldiers. Nehebkau had his hands full as the War god’s army tried to breach the flanked position. Conversely, Asar had yet to pull out his blades, which felt unnatural. An intentional ploy to give him the false sense of confidence, perhaps? Far too experienced a warrior to fall for those tactics, he remained on alert. Black energy shifted around him. The dark warriors began to appear in the shadows, moving off to intercept more of Menthu’s soldiers. Asar had expected them sooner, but assumed they had trouble with the revens.
Strangely, he felt a tingle in his chest, and the ache subsided slightly.
A vacuum of space developed dangerously close to him, interrupting his thoughts. The oppressive sensation could only mean a powerful god had materialized in close proximity. He grasped the handles of his swords. The attack would be eminent, but from where?
This section of the city had withstood the test of time, and there were plenty of shadows for Menthu and his soldiers to hide. Widening his stance, he moved slowly in a circle, peering into the shadows. Ever vigilant.
A deep voice from the darkness coursed through the air. Menthu’s enormous shape formed out of the black rock. “Asar, I’m surprised to see you here. Where is that beautiful blonde I keep hearing about?”
Asar had seen Menthu several thousand years prior. He forgot how unusual this god looked. Conjured from both worlds Menthu’s skin was a haphazard mix of white and black. He could not fathom why the Mother Goddess would be drawn to such an abomination of nature. She no doubt felt empathy for this creature.
“It has been too long,” Asar said, ignoring his reference to Lilly. “But none too soon, seeing as you are betraying the only goddess that ever gave a damn about you.”
Menthu scoffed. “She wanted nothing more than to change me from what I really am. I had no need for her sickening attempts to care for or about me. She forbids me to use my powers. What kind of mother would do that to their son?”
“Your powers were given to you to allow weaker nations to defend themselves, and to protect the land of our Mother. You failed your commission.” The evidence of that failure lay in ruin around them. “Instead you were using them to incite war among the humans for nothing more than your amusement.”
“Why else would the gods put humans on earth? They are our servants to do as we see fit. They all should carry the curse." Menthu flashed ragged fangs held by black mottled gums. "If it wasn’t for your bitch releasing Kepi before my plans were properly implemented, I would not have had to change my strategy. But that just makes things a little more exciting.”
Menthu’s temper was renowned to be one of the worst, next to his own, so Asar played the card he knew would ignite his own rage. Pride. “Her name is Lilly, and she kicked your goddess’ ass.”
Flames ignited in his adversary’s eyes, and the first clash of metal sent sparks flying up into the heavens. Asar kicked out his leg, hit Menthu in the chest, and sent him reeling back into the large stone wall. Losing its final battle against time, the wall cracked in half and crumbled to the ground. Asar had no intention of letting himself fall to this cretin. The deep ache in his chest was a stark reminder of what he could lose. Menthu would surrender this night.
The War god jumped up with a growl. “It seems my dear goddess has misinformed me about your strength. Surely you should be weaker without your soul.”
“What makes you think I am without one?” Asar swung his blade around, narrowly missing Menthu’s midsection.
The War god raised one side of his lip in a feral half smile. “You standing here before me is proof enough. You would have been in for a surprise if you returned that black heart to your rotten chest. Tell me, how does a god come by a new soul?”
Menthu expected this to be an unfair fight with him at a disadvantage. The War god had probably cast a spell against his black heart and would be cursed, if it were not for Lilly’s abilities. An ability he would never share with this macabre. Unfortunately, Asar could not kill Menthu without his son, but he could weaken him by taking his soul from his body. “You will soon learn what it feels like to be soulless, traitor.”
Several of Menthu’s soldiers approached from behind. Asar quickly countered, but it required him to turn his back on his enemy. He shot dark energy at the two soldiers, disassembling their molecular bonds and absorbing the energy back within his body, then ducked Menthu’s attack, dodging two spears aimed at his chest.
“Now, that is not fighting fair. Battle between two warriors such as us should be according to our code.”
Menthu howled. “Since when do I play by the rules, death god?”
Asar moved offensively, clipping Menthu in the shoulder and spilling a small amount of blood. It was not a deep enough wound to slow the War god down, but it gave Asar the satisfaction of drawing first blood. He countered the next clash of steel with a fist to Menthu’s jaw.
The War god staggered back, but rebalanced himself to fight. Asar dodged several jabs of his heavy blade, the last of which hit him in the side. He hissed. Menthu had dipped his blades in snake venom. He would not be so easily disabled now that he was full strength, but even at his physical best, his wound should not have closed in on itself so quickly. He did not have time to analyze the strange healing power. Two more warriors attacked from behind, knocking him off balance.
Asar moved with the momentum, rolling forward onto his feet. He was fighting three warriors at once, plus Menthu. Trained to handle multiple opponents, he managed to counter all the attacks, but he was approaching his limit.
As if reading his mind, another warrior appeared to his right.
Five against one.
CHAPTER thirty-nine
Lilly and Bomani weaved and darted through the ruins toward the Precinct. The clash of battle rumbled through the ground from the west. Asar. She stumbled, the desperate urge to go to him fought for control of her body, but she couldn’t—wouldn’t—succumb.
She had a score to settle first.
Menthu’s soldiers moved among the columns. Bomani slowed, and she readied her weapons. These soldiers, an odd mix of human and bovine, were the largest of all the warriors on this battlefield. With their bull like heads and human bodies they towered over Bomani, who himself was seven feet tall.
She assessed Bomani’s tactics in dealing with these monsters. Despite their size advantage, the beasts moved slowly under the weight of their curved horns more than half the size of their hulking bodies. If she could avoid the boney spears, she could use their size to her advantage.
Pivoting into a crouch, she dodged a blow from its enormous arm, and severed its Achilles tendon. The bull’s hoofed foot dragged along the ground. Unable to shift its weight, the bull careened to the ground. She rolled to avoid being crushed by the thousand pound soldier, and scurried to gain footing, only to be tripped by its large hand. She swung her blade back and amputated its arm at the elbow. It screamed at a deafening pitch. Lilly thrust her blade through its neck up to the hilt. The night was abruptly silenced in a spray of blood.
The slick, thick black liquid covered her hands, forearms and legs. She quickly scooped up sand and rubbed it against her skin to soak up the soldier’s blood. Bomani nodded. Overwhelmed, her hands trembled uncontrollably. She glanced back toward the parade grounds where her sisters waited. Too far forward to turn back, she said a small prayer to the Mother Goddess to watch over them and advanced forward to the Precinct.
Seeing a familiar face, or what was left of it, she halted. The dark warrior’s body lay in a mass of crushed bone and tissue. The dim energy in h
is soul flickered as his life drained onto the desert floor.
She turned to Bomani with a heavy heart. He shook his head, signaling to leave the fallen warrior to his death. She leaned over and kissed the dark warrior on the only intact place on his face. “Rest in peace.” His fading eyes flicked to her face before they closed.
All these deaths were unnecessary. The goddess Kepi and the War god would pay for this. Her body flared with renewed heat. She hurdled over several fallen statues, keeping pace with Bomani. A few revens crossed her path but were not long for this world with a simple swipe of her blade. Bomani halted to engage another giant soldier. She charged directly to where Kepi would be waiting.
She slowed her approached outside the Precinct of Mut. The only thing left of the temple was a large field of weathered stone. The outline of a once grand temple and the distant rim of the crescent lake, Isheru. Her adversary stood in the inner sanctum of the Mother Goddess’ temple.
A sacrilege.
Lilly walked with her katana at her side in no rush to the inevitable battle. She wanted nothing more than to be open about her confrontation. The hum of a distant melody carried in the cool air, the same melody from their first meeting.
Kepi’s appearance had changed since their last meeting. Instead of the dark haired human, she had a flowing blonde mane and pale skin. She focused on what appeared to be tattoos on her forearms, which would explained the eddy of energy. Kepi possessed a goddess’ body and no doubt the powers of her host.
No matter. The end would be the same.
The goddess would lose tonight.
Lilly fingered the Mevt dagger at her waist, the same dagger Kepi had plunged into Asar’s chest. Kendra said there were two daggers. If she had one, then Kepi had the other. She just hoped the spell was still active on hers. The only way she could find out was to plunge it into that bitch’s soul.
The goddess ran her hands along what looked to be a sarcophagus. Asar’s son, Bakari. Rebecca’s information had been correct for once. The hair rose on the back of Lilly’s neck. She planned many a trap, and this screamed of one. There was no hiding the battle waging in the ruins. The goddess had to know that Rebecca had failed to capture her.
Lilly risked radioing her sister. “Kit,” she whispered into her communication device. She received a crackle of static, but no response. “Kit? If you can hear me, I need a helo at my GPS location. Sending coordinates. I found the sarcophagus. Over.”
The goddess’ back stiffened. Lilly cursed. Not that she hid her position, but she would have liked to get a little closer.
The goddess turned fully around to face her. Blonde hair, green eyes, and pale skin. Almost an exact replica. The goddess’ new face was round in a china doll sort of way, unlike Lilly’s more angular features, but at first glance or from behind, no one would be able to tell the difference.
Lilly closed the distance between them. She didn’t want to show the fear tumbling in her gut. Twirling her katana, she stopped about forty feet away. “Interesting look you have.”
Kepi smiled. “I thought you would like it. Maybe after I’m done with you, I’ll go offer my body to Asar. I am sure you cannot fulfill his true desires. Did he tell you how he liked to fuck me? He was a deviant little bastard.”
Although her words burned Lilly’s hide, she refused to show it. She pushed the visions of Asar with Kepi together out of her mind. Despite her efforts, bitter poison leaked from her fangs. “Try and bait me all you want, Kepi. This ends tonight.”
The goddess threw her head back and laughed. “Does it end with the three of us in bed together? I would not mind a go at that. Neither would Asar.”
Lilly bared her fangs. Kepi’s attempt to distract her from the revens that were approaching wouldn’t work. She could sense them coming. “He may have bedded you, wench, but you never could convince him to share himself with you. You don’t know what you’re missing. I can tell you first hand, it was the most incredible experience of my life to feel him cum inside me—to have his dark energy surge through my body. And that was only the first time he touched me.”
Kepi screeched and launched herself into the air. Lilly stood her ground and waited for the precise moment to kick Kepi dead center in her chest. All the goddess’ momentum came to an abrupt stop, and the recoil sent her flying farther than Lilly expected.
She chuckled. “Oh, now this is going to be fun. You’re not going to run away again are you? I retrieved my hatchet just for you. I think the last time I used this, it was sticking out of your skull.” Lilly spun the wooden handle in her palm.
Kepi jumped to her feet, hissing and baring her teeth. The revens rushed into the temple. A strange surge of energy generated at Lilly’s core, and lashed outward through her extremities. The markings on her forearms glowed bright gold. She yelped. The bolt of energy exited out her hand through her katana and hit all ten revens, exploding them into a million pieces.
Lilly gasped and stumbled backward. “Holy, shit.”
Kepi’s confidence bled from her features. The goddess glanced down at the pectoral necklace hanging around Lilly’s neck. Her eyes widened. She took off running with lightning speed.
Lilly took several leaps and then stopped, looking back at the sarcophagus. If she pursued Kepi, Bakari would be vulnerable—the goddess could easily double back and move it—but not following put Asar at risk.
“Damn it!” She needed Kit and she needed her now. She hit the buttons of her phone to ensure the coordinates had gone out. They had.
She touched her ear piece. “Kit or any other available huntresses, please respond.”
The air pressure fluctuated wildly. A heavy and oppressive weight collapsed down upon her chest and sucked the air from her lungs. She experienced something similar once when Asar materialized close by her. Whatever it was, a god or gods, she didn’t have a good feeling about it. She backed toward sarcophagus and drew out another short sword. Whoever or whatever it was would have to go through her to get to Asar’s son.
There were several bright flashes of light, and three gods dressed in flowing white robes—one female flanked by two males—appeared out of the shadows, gold pectoral necklaces hanging from each of their necks. Uncertain of the depths of this treachery, she could only assume they were guilty. Lilly raised her blades into strike position. The message: Over her dead body.
The dark haired female stepped forward with her hands clasped. Hieroglyphics adorned their forearms. Lilly scanned quickly for weapons, but found none.
Shit. They weren’t here to battle. They’d come for her.
The female goddess smiled. A smile Lilly would love to rub off with a swift kick to the jaw.
CHAPTER forty
Asar dove to the left, barely missing the attackers’ swords. Four soldiers, plus the War god. He would have to relinquish as much control to his inner beast as possible without losing himself completely.
As the source of Asar’s strength, the beast fought to control him. For so many centuries, he had consumed souls of those he judged to keep the beast silenced. With Kepi’s betrayal and the loss of his soul, the beast clawed its way to the surface, demanding he consume the lives of innocents. He tried to hunt humans that led less than honorable lives, but that did not relieve the guilt that weighed heavy in the back of his mind.
He was not a murderer, but Kepi had driven him close.
He never wanted to go back to that life. Lilly offered him the freedom to live without guilt. Her energy sated the beast, but now the beast demanded more of him and of her. He had made hard love to her in the dark warrior village. The beast urged him to taste her, lengthening his fangs and demanding him to do so, as if he could not live without it. Despite his fears, Lilly accepted all of him, even his darker nature.
Releasing control to the beast left him on the edge of insanity, craving killing and death. He never quite felt comfortable in this state, terrified he would never recover, but Lilly waited for him in Aaru, and that thought alone gave him the
strength to maintain control.
Transformed under the beast’s control, his muscles tingled with Lilly’s energy coursing throughout his body and boosting his power. The ground shook far and wide. His fangs and claws punched through and lengthened into weapons at his disposal. His dark energy blasted outward and knocked two soldiers to the ground. He swung his blades down and beheaded the fallen. The third soldier hit him square in the back, slicing a large wound from one shoulder to the other. Asar growled and swung his blades around, cutting the soldier across the chest. Despite the mortal wound, the bull soldier grasped him around the shoulders and began crushing him.
Asar pushed his arms up trying to break the vice on his chest. Before he succeeded, a white energy bolt ripped through the air, knocking them all to the ground. The white force penetrated his chest. His heart thumped against the inside of his ribcage and the sweet taste of sugar infused his taste buds. The taste of it was all too familiar. Asar struggled to right himself. “Lilly.”
Menthu pushed himself up off the ground. The War god sneered and licked his lips. “Look who joined our party. Mmm, that, I must say, was delicious. I could use a bit more.”
It would be the last words he would ever say to Asar. The beast devoured his last reserves of control. His vision flooded with red. Blood. Death. The beast hissed in his head. Lilly’s energy blasted his system into an unstable state of savage protectiveness.
The minuscule control Asar had over himself evaporated. The only thing that mattered was Lilly's life. He would kill everything and anything that stood between him and his mate. Asar roared and tore into the soldier lying next to him, ripping open his chest and devouring his soul. With blood dripping from his fanged mouth, the beast wanted more. Asar turned his raging glare onto the War god.
Menthu retreated a few steps and raised his weapons. Despite the razor sharp blades in War god’s hands, the beast knew no fear, hurling Asar’s body directly toward the god and certain injury.