by Jean Murray
Lilly held her breath, afraid he would send her away again. She unconsciously slowed her walk. Much to her surprise, he didn’t release her hand. Maybe her healing powers could be useful in reviving Bakari?
* * *
The warriors parted in a wave and then collapsed around their backs. Asar's chest tightened as he approached his son’s tomb. He needed all of Lilly’s support to face what might be left of his son, but the burn of her skin was too intense to hold on any longer. He let go, hating the barrier between them in the human world. If there was a time he needed his mate’s touch, it was now.
The dark energy of his son emanated from the sarcophagus. The lid had the intricate carvings of the spell that bound his son so tightly in his tomb. To an outsider, it would be a beautiful work of art. To a god it was the sign of a prolonged and cruel torture. He did not sense any additional curses or traps, but that seemed unusual considering in whose possession his son was at the time. Did Menthu and Kepi believe they would succeed? Even then, he found it hard to believe they left the sarcophagus unprotected. A sickening thought penetrated his mind. What if the trap lied from within? Possibly even within his son. The gentle touch of Lilly’s hand on his forearm broke his alarming thoughts.
“Daylight is coming in less than an hour. Would it be best to take him home before it is opened? That’s if it's safe. If not, Kit and I can find a secure location to place him.” Her hand slowly rose to touch the lid of the sarcophagus. Within just mere inches she physically jerked her hand away and stepped back.
He narrowed his eyes on his mate. By the scared look in her eyes, she obviously sensed something he did not. He pulled her gently away. “What is it?”
She wrapped her arms over her abdomen. “I can feel my energy being drawn into it. The compulsion to touch it’s so strong.” She distanced herself further. Her wide eyes turned to him. “The last time I touched something…,” her voice faltered, “I don’t want another curse to be released.”
His gaze swung back to the sarcophagus. Could Bakari be feeding off her energy, as his own body did? It was certainly possible, especially if his son had been deprived from feeding his soul all these years. The beast they all carried would demand it. It would be extremely dangerous to open his son’s tomb under the current conditions. People could get hurt. Lilly and her sisters would be the first ones Bakari attacked, if given the opportunity. Each sister emitted the same energy in varying degrees. His son would hone in on them in less than a heartbeat.
“We will take Bakari back to Aaru immediately. Kamen, place him in the secure side of the palace under guard. No one will be permitted to enter without my express consent.” Asar waved in several warriors to move the sarcophagus.
After he signaled ‘all clear,’ Kit and Kendra made their way back to Lilly. Kendra wrung her hands until they were red as a reven’s eyes. “I didn’t know I wasn’t allowed to touch it. I was just trying to decipher the hieroglyphics carved into the wood. I’m sorry if I did something I shouldn’t have.”
Asar looked down on the petite woman. Her expression was nothing more than a child’s, full of guilt and sincerity. “You did no harm Kendra, but I’m afraid my son may have drawn energy from your soul. Do you feel okay?”
Kendra shrugged. “I don’t feel any different, if that is what you mean. It must not be too detrimental. I was here for over three hours. I look okay, don’t I?” She innocently looked down at her body, possibly to see if she shriveled into an old woman without her realizing it. “I have a tendency to converse with my artifacts when I work with them. Perhaps your son felt pity for the crazy human?”
For the first time this night, the weight on Asar’s chest lifted. He had watched Kendra many hours in the museum conducting long discussions with the antiquities. At first, he thought she was a little unstable, but the longer he watched her work, the easier it became to follow her thought processes. He knew the first time she stood up to him there was more to this impish female than met the eye.
Kendra would be the key to awakening his son.
Yes, each of the Carrigan sisters had been created by the Mother Goddess with a purpose. Lilly’s destiny was to tame his beast, birth his soul, and give him the power he needed to defeat their foes.
Kit... Asar had yet to figure out her gift. She was abrasive and obstinate, a perfect match for Kamen. Gods only knew what her purpose would be, but it would no doubt be revealed at her own convenience.
He turned his attention back to Kendra. “I will need your help, little one. This sarcophagus will take some work to get open, based on the entombment spell. Are you up to the challenge?”
She grinned. He could tell she was pleased right down to her small feet. “I would love it.” Her finger tapped her bottom lip. “Of course I’m going to need an extensive reference library.” She looked up with innocent, but hopeful, eyes. “You wouldn’t happen to have one in your palace?”
Asar winked. “You can get lost in it.”
“Oh, goodie.” Kendra clapped her hands but then seem to realize that her actions seemed a little inappropriate for the gravity of Bakari’s current condition. Wiping her hands on the front of her shirt, she tried to finish her action off with a serious expression, which just made him laugh.
Asar turned back to the sarcophagus and laid his hand on its center.
“Time to come home, son.”
CHAPTER forty-eight
Lilly sat at Asar’s desk, staring at a stack of papers. Slumping back in her chair, she rubbed her tired eyes. Since the battle at Thebes, they had little time to rest or see each other. Asar immediately reinitiated the trials at the gates of the afterlife, catching up with five years of judgments. She marveled at his ability to weigh verdicts and show mercy. She understood now why he couldn’t do this without his soul. His position required equal amounts of empathy, forgiveness, love and understanding— emotions he wasn’t capable of when she first met him. The trials went on day and night, and he didn’t sleep until the last one was heard.
Kepi’s trial was at the top of his list. Gods and goddesses came far and wide from both Pantheons to bear witness against the traitor’s soul. Asar even opened the option for witnesses for the defendant, but no one showed.
Surprise, surprise.
It did not take long for the judgment to be called forth. Kepi’s soul was exiled, awaiting execution. A death that would be at the hand of Asar’s son, assuming Kendra successfully woke him.
Lilly had her doubts, although she didn’t voice them to her mate.
Her eyes drifted down to the markings on her arms. She was only beginning to understand the power behind the glyphs. Most were positive in nature, allowing her to heal and bring life. Evidence of her great gift pounded ever so softly in Asar’s chest. She only hoped that one day, she could use her power to save others from the curse.
Shaking the thought away, she picked up the latest situation report. She had her own challenges in the reconstruction of the Nehebkau Huntress organization. With Kit’s supervision, the huntresses were tasked with the cleanup of the battlefield, which was no easy chore considering the body count. The Snake god easily dismantled his warriors by returning the sand to the earth and scattering his snakes across the desert. The fallen dark warriors were carried home to properly release their souls to the primordial waters of the underworld from which they came.
What remained were reven bodies. Thousands of them. Kit oversaw the pruning, cataloging and destruction of the remains. It took over five days to clean up the site. The local government was none too happy with the damage that had occurred to the ruins. Lilly had to conduct some fancy diplomatic footwork and provide significant monetary contributions to sooth the strained relations.
The most concerning discovery—the War god was nowhere to be found. Asar had even walked the site himself to the very location Menthu had dropped in battle. Gone. Significant discussion ensued on how he could have escaped with the amount of warriors present. With Kit’s amazing tracking abilities, th
ey were able to trail the god’s energy signature until it went cold outside the City of Alexandria, Egypt. One thing was certain, they had not seen the last of the god. Asar had every intention of bringing him to judgment, along with anyone else who might be involved in this treachery against the Mother Goddess.
Sitting at Asar’s desk, the numbers on the report went fuzzy. Her eyelids drooped shut and her head slipped down onto the stone surface. Unlike Asar, she still needed to sleep, and it had finally caught up to her.
* * *
Asar strode into the office and pulled up when he saw his beautiful mate slumped against his desk, her blonde hair fanned out over her shoulders and across the paperwork she had been sorting through. He took several moments just to stare at her gorgeous features. He sat against the desk and watched the slow rise and fall of her chest. Her lips were slightly parted and glistened with a small amount of moisture from her mouth. He chuckled. Lilly would be mortified to know he caught her drooling. He brushed a few strands of her soft mane away from her face.
“You are truly lovely, Lilly.” He shifted her into his arms and her head rolled back, exposing her long neck and chest. She had chosen to wear a goddess’ traditional garb instead of her huntress leather. As an alternative to the black garb of the Underworld gods, he insisted she wear white or cream, which looked perfect against her skin. Upon closer inspection, it was the same dress he had given her the first time he brought her to his home. His heart fluttered in his chest at the realization. If she had chosen it on purpose to see if he would notice, he noticed.
He spread her long body out onto their bed. She moaned in her sleep. It had been too long since they last made love. He hoped she did not think he was avoiding her. Since their return, they had not one moment of peace to be alone, but he was about to change that. In all the hours of the afterlife, he had found time to prepare a little surprise. Her sisters helped set up some of the details. It was difficult for him not to tell her, but he hoped the surprise would make up for all his time away.
With her eyes still closed she reached out for his hand. “You’re back?”
Asar slid onto the bed, stretching out his bulky frame next to her perfectly curved body. She instantly snuggled into his chest. “I’ve missed you,” she murmured next to his skin.
He wrapped his arms around her and rubbed her back, an action that always relaxed her, when at the moment, he wanted her anything but relaxed. He wanted to ravage her beautiful body, feel the tightness of her core, pull her energy into his body and return it to her in explosion of hot sex. But, he had waited this long to make love to her, he was willing to wait a little more to make her surprise complete.
Asar kissed the top of her head. “I’ve missed you, too, but I want you to sleep. We have a function to attend tonight and we need to be well rested.” She nodded against his chest, easily complying with his request.
“Is everyone okay?” she asked softly, still with her eyes closed. Asar knew she was referring to her sisters and Bakari.
“They are fine. Kit is still in the human realm with Kamen watching over her. Kendra is in the palace archive, of course, pouring over parchments. She insists on the utmost precision in reversing this spell and I am certainly grateful for her tenacity. Bakari is resting comfortable, or so I assume, in the palace dungeon.”
He followed his statement with a heavy sigh, weighted with pain. He did not like the idea of having to keep his son under lock and key. Not for his protection, but for theirs. Uncertain of his son’s state, he needed to ensure the safety of the palace staff and Carrigan sisters at the expense of Bakari’s freedom at the moment. He hoped small doses of Kendra’s gentle energy would slowly revive the sleeping god and decrease his potentially ravenous state when it came time to resurrect his body. It was a dangerous game.
He could only imagine the torture Menthu and Kepi had inflicted on him both mentally and physically. If his beast had gained control, there was little hope of recovering the son that he knew and loved. Another reason he chose Kendra to tend his son. He prayed she would have the same calming power, as Lilly had on his own beast.
Possibly sensing his troubled thoughts, she wrapped her arms around his torso. Her lips grazed against his skin in a seductive tease that contracted the muscles under her touch. Heat rushed to his groin.
Not until tonight.
His words did little to calm the throbbing erection. Just a little taste that is all you need, the beast whispered. She wants you. He mistakenly thought if he turned her away from him, it would lessen the temptation, but it only made it worse. Her round bottom settled against his hardened cock. The soft curve of her neck open to him.
Gripping her biceps, he leaned his forehead against her back and let out a low growl. “We are supposed to be getting rest, but all I can think about is sliding myself into you.”
She giggled. “It wouldn’t be unwelcomed, I assure you.” She pushed her butt up tighter against him and giggled some more.
He exhaled a cool breath behind her ear. Her body shuddered against him. “How is it you can calm me with just one look and then completely unravel my control with a single touch? I told myself I was going to let you rest, and gods be damned if I cannot follow my own orders.” Asar brushed his lips against the soft curve of her neck to her earlobe, which he sucked into his mouth and caressed with his tongue.
“Mmm… I don’t know.” She craned her neck a little further offering him more of her vulnerable and sensitive skin. “Perhaps because your rules don’t apply to me, seeing as I have a bad habit of breaking them.”
Asar grunted. “I will not argue that point. I am still going to abide by my order whether you follow it or not. We need some rest. We both have been going non-stop since the battle. My plate is finally clear and I want to make sure you are well rested for the celebration tonight.” He rubbed the length of her upper arm.
She turned in his grasp. “Celebration?”
He touched the tip of her nose. “Yes, it has been a week since the battle was won. We have cared for our dead and recovered from our wounds. It would be sacrilegious not to celebrate such a great victory.”
It was hard enough to keep the secret all week, especially right under her nose, but her sisters had been extremely helpful in distracting her. He told her a partial truth. It was a celebration of victory, but he had something in addition planned to kick off the event. She would certainly suspect something when he dressed in his finest battle uniform, modified slightly for the occasion. It would seem reasonable that he would wear such a garment to such a high level function. Plus, if Lilly saw the number of people at the palace, the excuse of a celebration would squelch any questions or suspicions she may have.
“This is important to you, isn’t it? I can see it in your eyes.”
“Yes. It is very important to me. To us.”
Her green eyes lit up with her smile. “Okay, I won’t tempt you, as long as you promise to lay with me. I’ll keep my hands to myself, I promise.”
He grinned. There was no way she could not tempt him. He would always want and need her. His mischievous smile grew when he recalled her first words on that fateful day they met in the sewer tunnel. “I can’t say that I would make the same promise.”
Her eyes narrowed and then widened. “You have a memory of an elephant.”
“You had a blade pressed to my chest at the time. How could I forget such a beautiful huntress that had no fear of me? No one has dared stand up to me the way you did that night. It left me completely and utterly infatuated.”
She cocked an eyebrow. “Yeah, right. I think I remember you saying you wanted to eat me.”
He laughed down to his belly. “I was tempted. Since we first met, I could not get you out of my mind or my skin. The heat of you, the energy that poured out of your soul.” He shifted one hand to the pendant that hung around his neck and opened a hidden locket. He pulled something out that looked like a fine gold thread between his fingers.
She frowned. “What
is it?”
“Your hair.” Asar held it out in front of her eyes. “It was floating in the sunlight when you fled from me.”
“You’ve had it with you all this time?” She wrapped her arms tightly around him. “That has to be the most romantic thing anyone has done for me.”
He was not expecting her bubbly reaction. He did not see the action as romantic, but fortuitous. Lilly had placed her mark on him in those first moments. He wanted to express to her how important she was to him.
He pulled away so she could see his sincerity. “I have lived a long time, and in those years, there were only few occasions that I thought I loved a woman.” He brushed the fine gold strands of hair away from her face. “Now that I am with you, I realize it was not love that I was feeling.”
* * *
Lilly leaned back further to take in Asar’s expression. He seemed to be baring his soul to her. Something he rarely did. “What of Bakari’s mother? You never speak of her.”
Asar propping his head up with his hand. “It might be hard from a human perspective, but my relationship with her was an arrangement of sorts. I wanted a son. She wanted to raise her status among the gods. Once she gave birth, her obligation to me was complete. I have not seen her since.”
“I can understand that. Humans that can’t conceive use surrogate mothers to carry and birth their children.” She lazily wrapped his soft, black hair around her finger. “Please don’t take this the wrong way, but is there any chance that Bakari’s mother would want to hurt you or him?”
He shook his head and answered in a solemn voice. “I have thought of that, but it is unlikely.”
“Sorry, I completely ruined the moment. Let’s get back to what you were saying before I opened my big mouth.”
His black eyes sparkled and darkened. He shifted his large body over hers and covered her mouth for a deep kiss. He pulled back and smiled. “It is that big mouth of yours that has me all twisted inside.”