Soul Reborn (Key to the Cursed Book 1) (27 page)

Lilly sat on a
nearby stone with her hands in her lap. Asar knelt in front of her, and placed his
fingertips under her chin. “Are you okay?”

She laughed despite
the presence of tears in her eyes. “Yes, just a little shook up.” Who was she
kidding? She was completely overwhelmed by the night’s events. The emotions in
her head bounced back and forth like a ping pong match.

He rubbed her arms,
but it only made her shiver. He pulled his hands away and rubbed his legs.

Her gaze drifted up
to Bomani who was standing over Asar’s shoulder. “I’m sorry. I hope I didn’t
hurt you,” her voice filled with regret.

Small white burns
marred the commander’s chest and arms. Bomani knelt in front of her. “I am
fine, Madame.” He handed Asar the second Mevt dagger that had impaled Menthu’s
chest.

Asar frowned. “Any
sign of him?”

Bomani shook his
head.

“Damn it.”

Lilly realized she
never told Asar about finding his son. She grabbed him by the arms and pulled
him up. “Menthu may have escaped, but we found Bakari’s sarcophagus.”

As they made their
way to the Precinct of Mut, she gave him a sideways glance, trying to gauge his
level of emotion. His face was unreadable. It reminded her of when he was
soulless. Only when she laced her warm fingers with his cold ones did his flat
affect break. He looked down at her with the most troubled black eyes. She read
his fear for only a second before he masked it.

It had been over
five years since he had seen his son. She wasn’t certain how a god would take
being entombed for that period of time, but she could surmise the solitude was
the worst torture one could endure. No relief, only darkness. She finally broke
their silence. “Will he be okay?”

His grip on her
hand tightened, as if even the mention of an alternate outcome caused him pain.
“It is uncertain. I do not know what Kepi may have done to him while he was
entombed.”

He moved through
the same decaying stones she had previously traversed to confront Kepi. She
could see Kendra, Kit, Kamen, and large horde of warriors surrounding the
sarcophagus.

“Whatever happens,
I want your sisters a safe distance away in case there are any spells or traps
laid upon the container.”

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.”

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, they 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.”