Soul Reborn (Key to the Cursed Book 1) (15 page)

“You are the only
one I trust with her life.” The only person he trusted more than Kamen was his
own son. The gods sent the Carrigan sisters into their lives for a reason. Only
time would reveal the motive. “I need to see this through to the end, not just
for ourselves but for the humans, as well.”

“I will do as you
ask, but so help me if I don’t kill her first.”

Lilly and Kit wrestled
and dunked each other’s head under the water. Asar laughed. “Try and restrain
yourself. You should not dismiss Kit so easily. We still have yet to discover
her power. It may be very different than Lilly’s.”

“Now all you have
to do is sucker some idiot god into having sex with her.”

Asar grinned. “Yes,
some sucker will do just fine.”

“Absolutely not!"
Kamen growled. "I have my limits.”

Lilly ran back
breathless. Her wet hair framed her beautiful face. Her eyes sparkled. There it
is, Asar thought.

Happiness.

“Well, I think we
got that out of our system,” Lilly said, laughing. Kit dashed up and flung sand
and water on the deities. Kamen scowled and stepped back, but Asar remained in
place.

He focused intently
on his beautiful blonde huntress. The sweet taste flooded his mouth and filled
his chest. He licked his lips. The sudden desire to consume her rocketed
through his system. He willed her to read his mind and know how badly he wanted
her.

Lilly narrowed her
eyes and cocked her head. With a smirk on her face, she turned to her sister.
“Asar has a great spa here, Kit.” She turned back to him. “Could someone show
her the way?”

“Kamen can show
her.” Asar grabbed Lilly’s hand and flashed them back to his room before his
brother could protest. Her wet hand slipped out of his grip before he could
wrap his arms around her.

“So, you're going
to hold me prisoner here?” She tugged on the ties on her vest, loosening the
tight wet leather. The top shifted under the weight of her breasts and revealed
her taut nipples. Tapping her finger on her lips, she asked, “Whatever will I
do with myself?”

Her slow taunt had
its desired effects. The fire burned from his gut to his groin. Through his
linen pants, Asar's enormous erection drew her gaze. After pulling off his
tunic, he lurched forward and crushed her against the wall.

“I must remind you
that you have committed yourself for a lifetime, my sweet Lilly.” He growled
and then devoured her neck with his lips and tongue.

She gasped and
clutched his biceps. “That is a pretty steep prison sentence, but if…” She sighed
as he slipped her wet leather vest off her shoulders. “If this is how you
torture your subjects, I would like to request it frequently.” She groaned when
he swept his warm tongue over her nipples. “God, help me,” she whispered and
clutched his head tighter against her.

Asar ran his hands
down over her sides and slipped the last bit of leather off her wet body. “I am
your God now.”

He pulled her legs
around his waist and carried her to his bed.

Their
bed.

The ache in Asar’s chest
was long forgotten as Lilly’s precious gift pounded slowly against his ribcage.
In his entire existence, he never felt the beating of his heart, but now that
he was bonded with her, it contracted ever so slowly in his chest. He had a new
appreciation for humans whose lives were centered around this magnificent
organ.

He gazed down at
his beautiful, sleeping mate. He marveled how different they really were, even
the stark contrast of their skin. His, a dark olive. Hers, a pale cream. Life
and death cohesively bound together. How could he be worthy of something so
beautiful?

He touched her ever
so gently. She moaned softly and turned into his chest. With his arm wrapped
around her side, he ran his hand down the length of her back. The snake’s
scales rippled under his fingertips. Surprisingly, the asp remained after her
transformation. In fact, the snake seemed more unified in its bond with her.

She moaned again
and snuggled deeper against his chest. He wrapped his arm and leg over her and
pulled her into a protective embrace.

“Have I been
sleeping long?” she asked as her fingertips traced the mark on his chest. Her
mark.

“Not long.”

“I’m not dreaming
right?”

“You are not
dreaming,” he said, brushing the back of his hand across her pink cheek.

“Sorry, it’s just
when good things happen to me, they usually don’t last long.”

He knew all too
well what she was experiencing. The uncertainty and fear. He felt it as well,
but time with her would heal his broken spirit. “I guess it is time we leave
our pasts behind us and look forward.”

“I’ll be glad to
put your past back in the dirt, if you let me.”

“I would love to
see you do just that.”

“Do you think I was
the reason the binding spell didn’t work?” Lilly rolled onto her stomach and
rested on her elbows.

“It is certainly
possible. Your powers were in the state of exerting themselves.” Asar absently
traced the s-curves of her snake markings down between her dimples to her round
bottom. He had obviously hit a ticklish area, as she wiggled under his touch.
He made a note to revisit that exact spot.

She reached around
and playfully slapped his hand. “Now that you have a soul, will your powers
return?”

His emotion and
mood darkened. In her presence, he did not display any abilities other than
controlling revens. She knew he was the God of the Underworld, but he never
explained or demonstrated his power. A dark, destructive power.

He hesitated,
fearful she might pull away once she knew. “My powers are in complete
opposition to yours. Where you have the power for giving life, mine takes that
very life away. I absorb it. Consume it. Crave it. Death and destruction are my
forte.” He glanced away, afraid of what he might see in her eyes. Finally, he
looked back only to see her unfazed expression.

“There has to be
more than just that,” she said, skeptically. “This world you live in is hardly
the depths of hell.”

“No.”

“You judge souls,
don’t you? You ensure those worthy pass into the afterlife to be rejoined with
their body. That doesn’t sound all that dark.”

Asar rubbed his hand
across his face. He tried to bare his dark side to Lilly and all she could do
was see the positives about him. She was right. The afterlife was paradise, but
that was a small portion of his duties and his dark tastes. “The night we first
met. I was hunting. Hunting for a soul to consume. Your soul. I hungered for
it. It took all my restraint not to eat that life force you were emanating. It
feeds my power. Gives me balance.”

Her face went flat.
“You eat humans?”

Her question was
not far from the truth. “In a matter of speaking.”

“Why are you
telling me this? Are you trying to scare me away now?”

“No!” Exasperated,
he groaned. This was more difficult than he expected. “Now that we are
together, I want you to understand what I am. This world is only part of the
story.”

Her eyes narrowed
on him, but remained placid. “We have been together over several weeks, and I
have not seen you hunt or kill for that matter.”

Asar swore under
his breath. She had not seen it because he had been feeding lightly on her soul
the entire time they were together. Not only had he been siphoning her
emotions, he had pulled a little of the life force in for himself.
Surprisingly, it sufficiently controlled his hunger.

“Or had you?

“No, not really.”

She rolled her eyes.
“Just spit it out. What are you so afraid to tell me?”

He buried his face
in her sweet smelling hair and pulled her tight. Even at this moment, he could
feel her energy seeping into his bones. He was addicted to it, craved it. She wrapped
her arms around him. “I don’t need to hunt with you at my side. Your body feeds
me.” He expected to see disgust in her green eyes, but instead found a warm
smile.

“Well, if that is
the case, I never noticed.” She laughed lightly. “Just so long as you don’t go
shopping for other bodies, I’m okay with it.”

He grabbed her face
and kissed her. “You are all I will ever need.” The gods truly sent him the
answer to his prayers. The cure for his curse. A woman who could feed his body
and soul. His other dark tastes? Well, he would save those for another time.

She gasped for
breath between his kisses. “Seems like a fair trade for this.”

He growled and rolled
her on top of him to straddle his waist. She sat up and rubbed his chest. She
glanced at the door. “I should go and check on Kit. God knows what trouble she
is getting into. Kamen doesn’t seem very tolerant of her shenanigans.”

He placed his hands
behind his head. “Kamen will live.” But he saw the concern on his mate’s face.
Kendra weighed on her mind as well. The sooner they got the little pixie back,
the better. Asar knew Kendra would be the key to finding his son. The Carrigan
sisters were sent to him for a reason. The gods of the other Pantheon were looking
out for him on some level.

Technically, none
of the Carrigan sisters belonged in the underworld. They were descendants of
the Gods of Life and Creation, and should be rightfully under their protection,
not his. The other Pantheon gods had lost their claims to the sisters when they
failed to raise and protect the women from birth, as far as he was concerned.

Of course, the
mystery was which goddess had risked giving birth to demi-gods in the first
place? He would need to make some inquires. The gods of the two Pantheons
rarely mixed. The other Pantheon gods did not want to admit he held power over
them, and could deny them entry into the afterlife if the unfortunate happened.
They rarely challenged him, but there was a certain level of animosity. A
love-hate relationship. Especially after his ex trashed their world with
revens.

With those thoughts
heavy on his mind, Asar sat up and brushed the hair back from her face.
“Although I would love to spend eternity with you in bed, we have work to do.”

Lilly kissed him
and hopped off the bed. He thought her in complete agreement until she slipped
into their private bath and gestured for him to follow her. Asar gladly obliged
when she reached for the sponge with a sly smile on her face.

Oh, things would be
interesting having her here.

Asar pardoned a few
debts from several unsavory individuals to obtain the Nehebkau’s location. He
sent the Snake god several written requests, but the correspondence had been
returned to him unopened. Much to Asar’s irritation, he delivered the last
correspondence personally. Only then did the Snake god agree to meet with him. Normally,
he would have told the God of the Snakes to piss off, but he needed Nehebkau’s
help if they were going to battle the goddess and the revens effectively. The
Snake god’s warriors could move in the daylight, unlike his Underworld legion.

Besides, he needed
to make contact with the other Pantheon gods, and Nehebkau seemed a reasonable
place to start, considering Lilly’s connection with him. Though Nehebkau didn’t
know about that connection yet.

Lilly and Kit wore
their huntress uniforms of leather and steel, their pale skin in sharp
disparity to Asar’s and Kamen’s black bodies. The Creation gods insisted the
Underworld gods be easily distinguished from their Pantheon, so dark it had
always been.

While fitting, Asar
surmised it was the Creation’s way of gaining power over the Underworld gods,
forcing weaknesses upon them by limiting their ability to walk in the human
world without significant difficulties.

Nehebkau’s
attendant insisted Asar and his entourage wait in an earthy chamber. Much to
his distaste, the chamber allowed slivers of natural light to filter in from
several angles. The rays burned his skin when he moved about the room,
relegating him to one of the dark corners, far from where Lilly stood. He did not
put it past Nehebkau to have chosen this chamber just to get under his skin.

Lilly fidgeted with
the loops of her weapons belt while they waited to meet the god whose spell was
intimately bound to her body. Kit’s boisterous chatter ceased in favor of nervously
twirling a small bade in her hand.

Finally, the
attendant returned to signal that her god was ready to receive visitors. She
warily sized up Lilly and Kit. It could have been the sister's height or
athletic builds, possibly, but the female moved cautiously around them. Maybe
Asar could use that to his advantage?

The female looked
at him and her expression changed drastically, nothing short of hatred. Seems
his reputation had preceded him. He smirked. He never tried to dissuade their
opinion of him. It kept them scared.

Asar led the way,
followed by Kamen, Lilly, and Kit. The narrow passageway opened into a large
arched chamber with office furniture. Nehebkau stood at its center. Without
hesitation, Asar walked right up to the Snake god.

The two gods stood
head to head with Asar being only slightly taller and broader at the shoulders.

Nehebkau lifted the
sides of his lips revealing long sharp fangs. “I must say, I was very surprised
when you requested a meeting. I thought to myself, what would the God of the Underworld
want from me? You have piqued my curiosity.”

Now that Asar had a
soul and a continual source of energy, he was stronger than ever. He didn’t
shift his gaze. “I’m sure you are no stranger to what is going on in this world
with the revens.”

“Yes, and I
understand that it is your doing?” Nehebkau crossed his arms over his broad
chest and widened his stance.

Asar's anger threatened
to erupt, but Nebt’s words whispered in his head.
You have never taken
responsibility for your part in this.
“I am in the process of correcting my
lapse in judgment,” he all but spat.

Nehebkau narrowed
his eyes. “Well, you must be turning over a new leaf. You have never shown
concern for this world. Why the change?”

“The stakes have
changed.” Asar glanced back over his shoulder to where Lilly and Kit stood.
Nehebkau’s hazel eyes focused on Lilly.

The Snake god stepped
around Asar. “Come forward!”

Lilly moved first.
She held her head up and maintained eye contact with Nehebkau and even dared to
enter his personal space. Kit positioned herself just behind Lilly’s right
shoulder.

Nehebkau turned
abruptly to Asar. “How is this possible? She is not one of mine.”

“The humans are
using your spell to create Nehebkau huntresses to combat the revens infecting
their world,” Asar said calmly. He stepped next to Lilly and placed his hand on
the small of her back.

“Humans?”
Nehebkau’s glare came to rest on Lilly, who maintained eye contact. “Turn
around.” Her protest could be seen in her eyes, but she obeyed, as did Kit, and
pulled her hair off to the side.

Nehebkau raised his
hand and spoke an incantation.

Both women reached
around and grabbed the snake head at the base of their necks. Kit yelped and
fell to her knees. Lilly let out a small cry as the serpent squirmed and lifted
up off her spine.

“Nehebkau,” Asar
bellowed and grabbed the god by the arm. “What the hell are you doing?”

“I had to make sure
they were real.”

“So help me if you
try that again…” Asar ran his hand down Lilly's back. Kamen pulled Kit off the
floor.

Lilly rubbed the
back of her neck. “You couldn’t just take our word for it?”

“No, words are not
worth a lot these days.” The Snake god’s eyes widened when Lilly’s hieroglyphic
markings came into view. “What is
this
?”

“
This
is
Lilly. She is a demi-god and Nehebkau huntress, along with her sister, Kit.”

“Impossible!” Nehebkau
glared at the two women.

Lilly cocked an
eyebrow at the god. “Oh, it
is
certainly possible. Otherwise, I wouldn’t
be standing in front of you.” Kit flashed a cocky grin to match.

Nehebkau paced in
front of the women. Asar could not tell if he was more upset the women were
demi-gods or that humans had figured out a way to do his job.

“Is this some kind
of trick, Asar?”

Asar shook his
head. “I have seen them in battle. These two have killed several thousand
revens single handedly.”

Nehebkau scoffed
and clapped his hands. Two snake warriors appeared. “If that is the case, then
you will not mind demonstrating your skill.”

“Not at all.” Lilly
turned to face the two male warriors that were twice her size, but did not have
deity blood running through their veins. Kit flanked the right side.

Lilly terminated
both warriors in a flash of acrobatic steel. Her strength and supremacy had
grown exponentially since her powers were released. She and Kit worked in an orchestrated
unison that was both skilled and deadly. Turning back to Nehebkau, Asar could not
suppress his smile.

With a wave of
Nehebkau’s hand, the dead bodies vanished from his office. “Sit!” he said
sharply, then sighed. “Please.” He tapped his fingers together, focusing on
Lilly. “Please accept my apology for doubting you, and any pain I may have caused.”

Lilly nodded. She
remained standing behind Asar, who had taken a seat in front of Nehebkau’s
desk. She kept enough distance so as not to burn his skin.

“So what is it you
want, Asar?”

“We have recovered
the gate key and have closed the entrance to the Underworld. There is a chance
to cure those afflicted by the goddess. If I can recover my son’s sarcophagus,
he has the power to destroy the goddess causing the outbreaks.”

“And which goddess
may this be?”

“Kepi.” Her name
rolled off of Asar’s tongue like acid.

Nehebkau stiffened
and his eyes darkened. “And if you fail to recover your son? What then?”

“All the revens
will be culled,” Lilly said, “but we need an army to ensure one hundred percent
extermination.”

Asar leaned forward.
“I would like to ask your assistance in creating a Nehebkau army. As you know,
my legion is limited to darkness. In order to properly exterminate the revens,
we need to utilize all hours of the day, not just during the night. Once the
revens have been exterminated, the goddess will be placed under confinement
until she can be entombed or destroyed.”

“And what exactly
do I get out of this other than expending my resources?”

Asar smirked,
expecting as much. “You will be fulfilling your creed by protecting the humans.
And, you and your warriors would receive the credit for the revens’ downfall.”

He could see
Nehebkau salivate over the opportunity to rein victory in the world again, and
no doubt rub it in the faces of the fellow gods. It had been a very long time
since the Egyptian gods had an impact on the human world on a large scale. Not
since the Old Kingdom. There were no temples built under the blood and sweat of
workers out of devotion to their gods anymore.

“I will think about
it,” Nehebkau said, despite the earnest look in his eyes, and stood.

Asar rose and
turned to leave, but stopped before the door and looked over his shoulder. “My
request is good for the rising of two suns. If we do not hear from you, I will
assume you have declined. Thank you for your time.”

He left without
looking to see Nehebkau’s expression, but Lilly did not follow him. She hung
back, hesitating at the door. His heart stilled a moment uncertain of her
motivation. There were very strict protocols when it came to dealing with the
Creation gods.

“Nehebkau?” Lilly
bowed. “I don’t mean to be disrespectful, but would you provide your counsel?”

The Snake god
narrowed his eyes on Lilly, but nodded.

“Please excuse my
ignorance. When they converted us, they did not explain much of the breadth of
your great powers.”

“Ignorance is
right. They have no idea what they are messing with.”

“I’m sure they
don’t.” Lilly finally looked into his eyes. “I’m curious why Kepi fled from my
attack when the odds were in her favor. She hissed your name when she saw me,
then retreated. My powers were not developed at the time, and she could have
easily beaten me. Is there a reason she would fear the Nehebkau? Fear you?”

Lilly’s question
sounded so innocent, but it was everything to the contrary.

Nehebkau tightened his
hands into large fists. Despite his body posturing, he spoke in a fatherly
tone. “You probably just took her by surprise. There have not been Nehebkau
warriors released into the human world for quite some time.”

Lilly frowned
slightly. “Yes, of course. Thank you.”

“You look as if you
have another question, child. Now is the time to ask.”

“Well, it’s
probably just a coincidence, then, and I don’t want to bother you with my close
encounter.” She bowed to leave, but he raised a hand to stop her.

“Child, in the
world of gods there are no coincidences. If something happens, a god has deemed
it to be done.”

Lilly opened her
mouth then closed it, faking embarrassment. Nehebkau drew closer to her. “I
just wondered why she would pick me to inhabit. Was there some power she was trying
to obtain?”

The energy shifted
in the room. Nehebkau’s voice echoed off the earthy walls of his office. “She
wanted
you?
”

Asar walked back to
Lilly. “Kepi attacked the human fortress with the specific intent to kidnap
Lilly," Asar answered. "She would have succeeded, had I not taken her
away.”

Lilly jumped when
Nehebkau grabbed her arm. He focused on the symbols branded into her skin.
“Whose descendant are you?”

She shook her head.
“We do not know. It wasn’t until these past few days we discovered my sisters
and I have a deity’s bloodline.”

“Sisters?” His eyes
swung to Kit. “There are more than two of you?”

“Yes, my sister,
Kendra.”

“Where is she?”

“She was taken by
my previous employer.”

Asar followed the Snake
god back to his desk. “What are you not saying? You know something. Tell me,
now
.”
He slammed his fist down on the desk.

Nehebkau stared at
Asar. “Are you responsible for releasing her powers?”

“Lilly is my mate.”

Nehebkau hissed.
“We need to speak.” His eyes connected with Lilly’s briefly. “Alone.”

Lilly stalked
forward. “If this concerns me and my sisters, I insist on being present.”

Asar grasped her by
the arms. “I will brief you on our discussion. Please return to Aaru. I will join
you when we are finished.”

“I need to know why
the goddess would target us.” Lilly looked to Nehebkau, but he avoided her
gaze. “Please, Nehebkau.”

Asar had no
intention of backing down. The Snake god requested a one-on-one meeting for a
reason. “We will honor Nehebkau’s request. You will return to Aaru. Kamen, see
them home.”

Lilly and Kit
dissipated in a cloud of black smoke before she could protest.