by Jean Murray
The taste of the Menthu’s blood filled his mouth. Flashes of red crossed his vision, which he assumed was even more blood. His or his enemy’s, he didn’t know. His body had gone numb except for the taste of blood, the screams of those he devoured, and the smell of his sweet Lilly.
A roar erupted from his lungs with the distant sense of pain in his side. He pulled away from Menthu and reeled around striking at the attacker. He wrapped his claws around a thin throat and stifled the screams of a woman with blonde hair and green eyes.
Lilly!
Blinking to clear his vision, Asar loosened his grip on her neck. His eyes gravitated to her hand holding a dagger painted bright crimson. His blood dripped freely from the tip. Despite her closeness, his heart lay still in his chest and no warmth bled into his skin. Stunned by the feeling of emptiness, he stood unmoving even as she raised the blade. He only wanted to protect her.
“Lilly?”
CHAPTER forty-one
A heavy wave of dark energy passed straight through Lilly’s soul. Her head swam and her heart ached for a brief second. The three gods waivered.
A large animal bellowed in the distance breaking the sound of battle, followed by absolute silence. Pain seared through her chest like a knife and sent her to her knees. She looked down. No blood, no knife, but the pain was excruciating. It could only mean one thing. “Asar.” She gasped and struggled to stand.
The three Creation gods moved in on her, but stopped. Their once smug looks replaced by anxiety and fear. They exchanged meaningful glances. A burst of chill shot down Lilly’s back. A strong cold hand grabbed her and lifted her up off her knees.
“Bomani?” Pain pulsed through her body. She gripped at the leather of her vest. His severe eyes looked at her with a mix of pain and sympathy. “Goddess Lilly, we need to get you to safety.”
“What? No! Something is wrong. I need to find him.”
He gripped her arm painfully tight and eyed the three Creation gods. “I do not have time to explain, but understand, you are the Lord’s most valued treasure. It is my place to protect you.”
She yanked against his grasp. “Asar can defeat him. I just need to get to him.” Another hallowed howl pierced the night air shaking the ground beneath them. Bomani’s grip tightened.
“We must leave now.”
“No, I won’t. He needs me. Let go!” She struggled against his restraint. His energy shifted, heralding her eminent transport to Aaru whether she wanted to go or not. Before he completed the shift of molecular matter, the Nehebkau’s chopper raced over head, kicking up a dust cloud.
She seized the opportunity to release the power that was steadily building in her system. With little control on the trajectory of the energy, it raced out her arm through the air. The white energy hit Bomani in the chest and threw him backward. Her arm slipped from his grasp. The electric current pulsed creating a sonic wave that sent the chopper into a tailspin and forced it to make a hasty landing. Lilly seized her opportunity and sprinted in the direction of Asar’s last known location.
Lilly hurdled the last broken wall and landed on moist ground. The sand, now bathed in blood and body parts, squished under her feet. She looked down a path of dead bodies. Bile raced up her throat. Based on the destruction, she would have believed a bomb detonated.
Where was Asar? With her katana in her hand, she followed the trail of residual power hanging in the air. Three signatures in all. Kepi had found Asar before Lilly could get to him.
She covered her mouth to stave off the nausea. Amputated limbs and crushed bones littered the trail. Fire rolled through her body like nuclear reaction. Fine beads of sweat covered her skin, her body’s feeble attempt to cool the raging inferno. Her heart slammed against her chest. Don’t let me be too late.
A dark figure charged from the shadows. She countered sharply, but her movement was too late. The mottled dark mass hit her with such force she flew through the air. Her back slammed into the decaying stone wall. She grunted. Several bones cracked under the impact. The burn of her healing powers overshadowed the pain of the fractures. She scrambled to her feet with her katana in hand, only to have it kicked away. A heavy fist struck her in the face. Stars burst into her field of vision and her world tilted on end. She rolled to the side, barely missing a kick to her abdomen.
The shadows concealed her attacker’s face. She kicked her leg out and connected with a wall of solid muscle. Only then did she truly appreciate her enemy’s build. He outmatched her in weight, size, and speed.
For all her swiftness and agility, she couldn’t shake her attacker. The last hit took her breath away. She rolled on the ground in agony, only to be ripped up by her hair. She stared straight into the eyes of a monster. Half of his face had been ripped away, leaving bone and muscle exposed on one side. A collage of black and pale skin covered the arm that held her in a death grip.
The creature's mutilated mouth lifted into a grotesque smile, exposing his torn gums and long curved fangs. She clawed at the enormous fingers wrapped around her throat. He lifted off the ground by the neck. She delivered several precise kicks to the god’s abdomen and connected with a large wound on his side. He grunted and retaliated by slamming her back into the stone wall.
“Do that again and I will tear you to pieces,” the creature hissed in her face. Despite his strength, he was in bad shape.
“Menthu?” Lilly gasped. It had to be him. The threat Asar wanted to protect her from.
“That is right.” His fangs grazed her cheek and spilled a small trickle of blood. Her skin burned as it healed. His eyes bore into her. “Healer,” he hissed. “Kepi told me you had several of Mother Goddess’ powers, but I didn’t expect them to be so strong.”
“Looks as if you could use a bit of healing, you sick fuck.” She struck at the War god’s thick forearms holding her tightly in place. If Menthu was this strong even injured, she couldn’t imagine the power Asar harnessed. She called upon the white energy smoldering in her chest, but it failed her when she needed it most.
Without warning Menthu plunged his razor sharp fangs into her neck. She screamed out. She was going to die before even getting to Asar. Where in the heavens was he? The War god swallowed her blood with savage glee. Lilly grabbed the Mevt dagger at her waist and plunged it into the War god’s side. He wrenched back with his fangs still attached at her neck. His back slammed into the ground. His hold broke. She rolled off the large god and scrambled to her feet, only to stumble and fall flat on her face.
He had taken too much blood. Unable to stand she crawled on her hands and knees away from him. The god had recovered and was coming for her. Her strike was far from the kill shot, but it spilled his blood, her blood he’d just consumed.
She cried out. “Asar!”
Menthu stalked over and grabbed her by the back of the neck. He threw her across the hard sand. In her weakened state, she wasn’t healing as quickly. His wounds were slowly closing, but not as fast since she cut him with the death dagger.
“Asar is no longer.” He removed the Mevt dagger from his side, not giving it a second glance, and threw it to the ground. “You will be coming with me. I have plans for you, and I’m going to enjoy every minute of it.”
She gauged her chances of actually recovering the weapon and plunging it into his heart. She lunged and grabbed the dagger, but weakness prohibited her ability to wield it. He pinned her to the ground with his body before she could get a good grip on the blade.
“A fighter. I like it.” He pressed his hardened cock into her pelvic bone. “Keep it up, and I just might fuck you right here.” He grabbed her breast and squeezed so hard it brought tears to her eyes. “I’m sure you like it rough if you are Asar’s mate. I’ll be sure not to disappoint you.”
“Get off of me!” She yelled and struggled under his weight.
A deep growl vibrated through the ground. Menthu grew still, and scanned the shadows. He shot to his feet and yanked her up like a rag doll. With his grip on the back of her
neck, he pushed her in front of him like a shield.
“Keep your fucking mouth shut,” he hissed, moving quickly through the columns toward the temple.
She lost her balance and stumbled, only to be righted roughly by her captor. Her vision blurred and equilibrium shifted erratically under the blood loss. “Asar,” she pleaded. He couldn’t be dead. She still felt him deep within her soul and the ache in her chest absent. “Help me.”
Her prayers went unanswered. Menthu continued to push over the decapitated bodies of revens. She sensed more of them moving about, but there was something dark and wild tracking them. She dared raise her eyes to scan the shadows.
Menthu seemed to sense the same foreboding darkness and came to a halt and drew his sword. “Impossible.”
An enormous, dark shape danced in the dark shadows ahead of them. A loud bellow vibrated through the air, hurting her sensitive eardrums. Menthu’s grip stiffened and he thrust her several yards in front of him. She slid to a stop a foot from the dark energy.
While the War god made his escape, the dark energy trained on her. She looked up into glowing red eyes filled with malice and blood lust. She had very little left to bargain with, not that she could bargain with the beast.
CHAPTER forty-two
Lilly slowly rose on hands and knees with her eyes downcast. The last thing she wanted to do was challenge him. She slowly backed away, trying to buy time before he struck. She could not outrun him, not in her current state.
The beast rushed, clasping her with its sharp talons, penetrating her skin. The sharp points dug into her chest. She gasped for breath. She confronted the man she loved— or at least, the shell of him. Face contorted into vicious expression of death. A mouth full of serrated daggers. His face and body covered in blood.
Lilly put her hands out to defend herself against the impending attack. Her palms contacted Asar’s hulking chest muscle that was riddled with savage blade marks over his heart. The beast hissed when her hot palms touch his cold skin.
“Oh, god. What did they do to you?” The multiple punctures were wielded with unadulterated rage. No doubt inflicted by Kepi with the Mevt dagger. The once radiant glow of his soul was now black and empty. The fact that some part of him still lived was shocking. But what part?
“No.” Placing her palm over his soulless chest, she choked on her sorrow. She was too late. “Come back to me,” she whispered. “I need you. Feel me. Taste me. I am real.” She summoned the last bit of her energy and fed it to him.
* * *
Asar felt the shock of heat and the strong smell of Lilly in his comatose state. It seemed so distant, but near all the same. He wandered aimless in a sea of black. A slow form of torture, he thought. A pain beyond anything he had envisioned. The flash of blonde hair and green eyes racked his system, but he had been fooled once before. Kepi had cleverly disguised herself. His momentary hesitation was a fatal mistake. The lacerations in his chest were the consequence of his inaction.
His skin burned under her touch and her warmth rippled across his body. A small glimmer of white energy formed in his consciousness, similar to the bright light that lead the dead into the afterlife. The hot press of her lips sent a thousand volts of electrical current through his system. He drew closer to its source. The light pulsed brighter and warmer. A warm sweetness bathed his tongue, a taste so delectable it could only come from his bonded mate.
“Lilly,” the beast growled, drawing in more of her taste and energy. Weak arms pressed against his chest. The cloud of darkness dissipated in favor of the slow, distant beat of his heart, something that only happened in her presence.
The white light enveloped him and he stepped clearly out of the darkness. He leaned over his mate’s half hooded eyes. Her chest rose slowly with each shallow breath. She was alive. His dead soul absorbed the energy of life from the shear contact with her, but it had taken a serious toll on her powers. His senses returned with each beat of his healing heart. He gathered her up in his arms and wrapped her protectively within his talons. He rocked on his heels in his crouched position, comforting her.
With the ache in his chest a faint memory, he coveted the most important thing in his life. His plots for revenge paled in comparison to the compulsion he had for this woman. All those years he prayed for some relief from his curse—the Mother Goddess had answered him, sending the most beautiful human into his life.
More of his consciousness filtered to the surface. The rage and blood lust subsided. She was his tonic.
“Lilly,” he said, desperately. He scanned her body, finding bite marks along her neck and bruises on just about every area of exposed skin. In a voice he did not even recognize, he growled, “Menthu.”
She was paler than usual, and her healing abilities had all but ceased. Still part human, she could die or at least part of her. A side he was not willing to give up. “Lilly,” he coaxed. “Feed from me, sweetheart. You need to restore your energy.”
She smiled weakly. “You’re back.” She focused on the pale burnt skin of his arms and chest. “I’m hurting you.”
The pain did not register inside his numb body. He did not care how much it hurt later, he was not letting her go. He guided her mouth to his neck. “Take what you need.”
Warm lips pressed against his skin, followed by the sting of venom from her fangs. His body shuddered with the draw of her mouth against him, and he hardened instantly. Dark energy flooded her system, and her body shook with the sexual high. Stronger with each swallow, she shifted her position to straddle him and pawed at his back.
He groaned and ground his hardened cock against the heat that developed between her legs. If he was not careful, they could be overcome by lust the blood inflicted on their bodies, leaving them vulnerable to an enemy attack. Although the beast gave him resistance, Asar pulled her mouth away. Her green glowing eyes swirled black.
With much reluctance, he slid Lilly off his lap and onto her knees. His blood still coated her lips. Before he could stop himself, he clasped her behind the neck and kissed her hard, even with a mouth full of fangs. She purred beneath his lips, a sound he just could not seem to get enough of.
Breaking away he pressed his forehead to hers. “I guess I should be very grateful for your stubbornness.”
Lilly snorted. “You should know by now not to leave me behind.”
“I only wanted to keep you safe. I am sorry if I caused you pain. The thought of someone hurting you or taking you away, it was just too much for me to risk.”
She covered her palm over his heart, and his punctured flesh healed to its former smooth state. “If it is one thing I know, we’re meant to be together and if that means facing death with you, then I’ll be here. I don’t want to be anywhere else. ”
He clasped her face and kissed her again. “At least I know the owner of the Underworld, I am sure I can get us in.” He smiled. “I am sorry.”
“You pick a strange time to make an apology.”
He pulled her in tight to his chest. “I meant what I said before, you are my world. I would give up my soul for you.”
“You’ve already done that twice.”
“True. I guess you could say I am a man of my word.” Asar raised his head and sniff the air. “We better get moving. Menthu is close.”
Still a little unstable, he yanked her off the ground a little too roughly and dragged her by the hand. He followed Menthu’s scent which was getting stronger with each step. He heard her protests, but continued to push forward.
“Asar, stop,” she said. Her voice was filled with pain. He followed her gaze to her hand, which was crushed between his talons and bleeding. The beast faltered, and slowly released her from his grasp. She immediately retracted her hand and pulled it against her, shaking it several times.
If he could read anything in her face, it was wariness. He was sure it was because of his beastly appearance, the side of him he wanted to keep secret and hidden away. He shook his head to clear the cloudiness.
&nb
sp; “I need my katana. The revens are coming.”
If he was thinking straight, he would have known better than to drag her into a battle without even a single blade in her hand.
“Come,” she said, and grabbed one of his curled talons.
The beast followed her obediently. They came to an opening where the smell of her blood was strongest. This had to be where Menthu fed from her.
His skin prickled with the dark power smoldering within him, waiting for a release. Small images replayed in his mind, possibly residual memories floating in the aroma of her blood. The threat— the pain. She walked over and picked up her katana and returned to his side. “I need to find Kepi. Be careful. Menthu has my ability to heal.” She started to walk off in the opposite direction.
Asar partially heard what Lilly said, but his thoughts were driven by the beast—a mix of lust and the desire to taste Menthu’s blood.
In a flash, he had a shear moment of clarity. His curse, his beast, was very similar to the curse that afflicted humans, changing them into revens. Could it be any coincidence that he thirsted for the same things, blood and flesh? The thought evaporated when he realized she was no longer at his side.
“Wait! If we do this, we do it together.”
She stopped to look back at him. “If we split up, we can stop both of them.”
He shook his head. Although he would like nothing more than to rip Menthu’s head off, he would not leave Lilly. Kepi needed to be captured. She controlled the curse over the revens and his son. He stepped up beside Lilly and brushed his thumb over her cheek. “Together. As mates.”
She smiled warmly under his touch. “Together, then.”
He headed straight for the source with Lilly just a few steps behind him, covering his back. He stopped. She pulled up next to him. “Are you okay?” she asked cautiously. She glanced at his chest, no doubt assessing his soul.
Asar turned to her, his vision clear and inner beast tamed. “Kepi looked just like you. I was not in control when I grabbed you.” His hand brushed against the healing cuts to her chest. Pain constricted his throat and his voice faltered.