by Allie Burton
A sense of euphoria erupted in my chest, lightening everything inside. Maybe because I no longer carried the weight of Tut’s soul. Strength and determination straightened my spine even without Tut’s royal bearing. Tut might be gone, but parts of him existed in me. So did control of myself. I could sense it.
Soul control and sole control, not Sol Control.
I jumped to my feet ready for anything. Ready to take on X, and Jeb, and the entire shabti army. Ready to take on the world.
No one would ever control me again.
Xander stood taller. The sparkles shimmered on him. His wondrous gaze traveled the length of his bare arms. The golden dust melted into his dark skin. The dust embers took longer than the ones that burnt me.
Could it be because he didn’t possess Tut’s power?
“Does it hurt?” My tone oozed with sympathy.
“No.” Xander flexed his arm and then flashed a bright white smile. “It feels great. What happened?”
I shot a tremulous smile back. So glad that he was okay. “The orb shattered.” Did he not see the explosion and indoor fireworks? “Tut is gone.”
“From inside you?”
I nodded.
“What happened to me?” He touched his arms and legs. “I feel great. Different.”
“You broke the Sol Control.” X peeked from behind the sarcophagus as if afraid to come out. His cheeks sagged and his gaze had lost the light of fanaticism. “The miniscule shards of glass carried the soul and the power. You broke it.”
Did that mean what I thought? My insides started dancing a jig, but then I froze. Even though Tut had told me the same thing, I had to be sure. “The curse is broken? The burn out is doused?”
“Each shard doesn’t have enough of the curse on its own.” X’s voice sounded shattered like the orb. “And the burn out ended with the creation of the orb.”
A new lightness filled my soul. Tut had left my body. “Is the power gone too?”
X braced himself against the sarcophagus, standing with his head bowed. He took a shaky step toward the exit. “You’ve ruined my only chance at Tut’s power.” His defeated words cut across the exhibit space. Real pain scratched through his voice.
“Wait a minute. You’re not just going to leave.” Xander grabbed hold of X.
X jerked like he’d been shocked. “Aaagh!” He fell to the floor, shaking and vibrating.
The scene reminded me of the first time I touched Xander in this same museum. “What just happened?”
Xander’s eyes grew larger. In shock, he stared at X writhing on the floor. “I touched him and I felt this force surge through me. Did I get your power?”
“I don’t know.” But it didn’t really matter. With or without mystical powers, I was stronger than before. More confident. And Xander and I were a team.
My gaze traveled around the exhibit space until I spotted one of the goons crawling toward the exit. I advanced toward him. “Where do you think you’re going?” I grabbed the collar of Goon One’s jacket. My hand brushed across his chest. Power surged through me. I froze.
Power? I still had power?
Goon One’s face went white. His body jerked and fell to the ground. “Aaack!” He’d taken off his gold glove when handing X the oils.
My gaze flew to Xander. “I still have the power.”
“We both have power?” Xander looked between me and X. His gaze swiveled to Jeb sneaking out the door. “Let’s test the theory out.”
Xander rushed toward Jeb and I thought he was going to tackle him. But he didn’t. Instead, Xander lightly touched his back.
Jeb screamed. His body trembled and shook falling to the ground.
Both Xander and I had power.
Xander beamed his melt-my-knees-smile. His expression went from happy to terrorized. “Watch out!”
Instinctively, I shot a glance at the goon. He was still down for the count. So was X. I ducked and looked behind me not knowing what to expect.
The last light of the Sol Control’s sparkles melted onto the shabtis. Their concrete skin glowed. Each of their eyes twinkled with color, not the dull grayish-white of concrete.
Their hair softened—into real hair.
Their sculpted faces took a softer shape. Skin formed as they grew.
And grew.
And grew.
Their arms and legs took on muscular definition. Their lips molded and colored…and moved.
The shabtis were not only moving. They were alive.
Chapter Thirty
I sucked in a breath and took a step back, bracing myself for the fight. My chest pounded in a fast rhythm. Powerful as Xander and I were, we couldn’t take on seven, full-sized, army guys. They were trained fighters.
Jeb still convulsed on the floor. X and Goon One lay motionless.
Xander stood by my side. He wasn’t a coward and hadn’t betrayed me. We might’ve kept secrets from each other like Tut and Ankhesenamen, but we’d each done it for the other. We loved each other.
Like Tut and Ankehesenamen. Their love was eternal. And so was ours.
Soulmates.
Xander grabbed my hand and squeezed. His strong fingers wrapped around mine in a tight bond. No pain transferred between us. In fact, I felt warmth and love. We were stronger. We were united.
United against the new danger in front of us.
I bit my lip, watching the shabtis continue to grow. “What’s happening?” My voice shivered.
They equaled around Xander’s height now. They weren’t all identical either. While all had dark hair and green eyes, their faces were shaped different. Some were round and others more square. A couple of the shabtis bodies were thinner and a bit taller. Others were more stout and muscular.
They were real guys. Not a stone army sculpted to serve in the afterlife. A real band of warriors. In unison, they fell to one knee and bowed. “We are here to serve.”
Shock shook to my core. The shaking began on the inside, first my internal organs and chest, then my limbs. Blinking, I tried to clear my ears. “Are they talking to me?”
Xander stood in a defensive position, ready to protect at a moment’s notice. His wary face highlighted his surprise.
“We sense the power of the Mighty Tut’s presence whom we are sworn to serve.” One of the shabti, who if I remembered right had had the most wear on his concrete form, spoke.
“Ah, well.” How did I explain the power was inside me and Xander? “I’m Olivia.”
“Who are you?” Xander’s hard tone commanded they answer as if he was my second in charge.
The worn one stood. “I am Xander.”
“I am Xander.” Another spoke.
“I am Xander, too.” A third agreed.
“Xander.” A fourth nodded.
“Also, Xander.” The fifth in line.
“Xander, again.” The sixth bowed.
“And Xander,” The seventh said.
I glanced at my Xander, whose ashen face was pulled tight with strain. Then, I studied each of them. “You’re all named Xander?” That could be confusing.
“I’m Xander, too.” My Xander’s voice sounded awe-struck.
“You idiots.” X’s voice echoed his pain.
My Xander and I turned to face X.
He struggled to his knees, clutching his chest. “They are some of the original Xanders that survived the centuries. Like you and I.” X spat. “If conditions weren’t right and the sacred chant was read, the Xander ready to host turned into a stone shabti.”
“You didn’t turn into a shabti.” I observed X’s alive, albeit pain ridden, body.
He leaned against the sarcophagus, too weak to move. “They didn’t read the chant on my night.”
“I didn’t turn into stone.” Xander gripped my hand tighter as if afraid it could still happen.
I took comfort from his warm hand in mine. I was glad he wasn’t stone cold, glad he was alive beside me.
“Because the soul was received on that night. By her.�
� X’s accusing voice trembled. “The shabti are meant to serve in the afterlife.”
A choking sensation clogged my chest. “We’re not dead. And they are quite alive.”
Which scared me even more.
My Xander squeezed my hand again. I enjoyed our new found connection. How we understood each other and communicated without words.
“Breaking the Sol Control scattered the power.” X showed gritted teeth like he didn’t want to tell us but he was compelled to. “Anyone who is present, who’d been read the sacred chant, and was sixteen received powers.”
That explained what happened to X and Jeb when Xander touched them. I wasn’t alone. Xander and I both had powers and we’d learn to deal with them together.
Turning, I pointed at the shabtis, the army of Xanders. “They’re not sixteen.” I knew they were hundreds, if not thousands of years old.
“They were when they became shabtis.” My Xander also faced the army of his namesake. “What are we going to do with them?”
“We serve for goodness and light.” The first shabti Xander pounded on his chest in a salute. To me.
He was saluting me. They’d bowed to me and said they were here to serve.
To serve me.
“Xander,” I pointed at my Xander. “Has the powers, too.”
“As do we all.” Another of the Xander’s pounded his chest in salute.
“Olivia.” My Xander pounded his chest in a similar salute. “You hosted Tut. Our allegiance is to you.”
Xander not only accepted, but resoundingly agreed with me as leader. He’d grown during our adventure, too.
I held back a soft smile and turned to face my new army. “You don’t want to destroy Earth? Rule the world?” I couldn’t let these guys run amuck now that X and the Society were defeated. Now, that I was back in control of myself and my life. Now, that Xander and I were together.
“What is world?” The third shabti Xander asked.
“When were you born?” My Xander stepped toward the one with the strange question.
“Cleopatra was my sovereign queen.”
“These Xander’s know nothing about modern times.” My Xander’s tone hitched higher. “We’re going to have to help them.”
“We’re going to have to teach them how to function in our world.” Laughing, a lightness filled my soul. Yes, my soul. The shabtis weren’t a danger. “And, we’re going to have to change their names.”
* * *
As the shabtis tied up X, the goons, and Jeb, Xander and I stepped away from the crowd. Standing under the skylight, the heat from the morning sun shined a spotlight on us as he pulled me into his arms.
“I’ve been wanting to kiss you again. Without water and without fear.” He leaned toward me. His hand cradled the back of my neck. His lips brushed against mine sending sparkles from my mouth to my curling toes.
I closed my eyes, reveling in his touch, his kiss, his body against mine. My skin tingled. Savoring his taste, my tongue tangled with his. My heart fluttered like a bird with wings.
“How did you know I cared?” The scene on the bridge replayed in my mind.
“I didn’t at first.” His cheeks reddened. “But I got to thinking of all we’d been through. And I realized you were protecting me from Fitch.” He gave me a delicate peck before pulling back and staring at me. “I love you, Olivia. I will help you with your quest. Be at your side forever. No matter the danger.”
“What quest?” I thought we were done with danger.
“We have unbelievable powers. We can’t sit back and do nothing. We have to help the world.” The zealousness of his words struck confidence in me.
He was right. We had to use our powers for good. “How?”
“I don’t know. Yet.” He grabbed my hand and squeezed tight. “Together, we’ll figure it out.”
I gazed deeply into the emerald sea of his gaze as if I could see our future. My knees melted from the look of love I saw reflected. A look that was surely in my own eyes. “I love you.”
We’d said it before, but that had been in the heat of battle. There was no rushed sensation here. No anxiety about certain danger. No exploding orb.
The stress lines on his face relaxed. “So, we’re a team? We’re in this together?”
“Soulmates.” I rubbed my fingers in a nervous gesture. “So, what do you think of your new-found powers?”
He fisted his hands together, feeling the new strength flowing inside him. “Cool, but scary.”
“Scary, how?”
“It’s a lot of responsibility.” His hard chin angled with determination. “We have a lot of responsibility.”
“We?” I liked that word when it meant him and I.
“We’re going to have to do something with the shabtis.” Xander nodded at the formerly-stone guys touching X again and again. “And their powers.”
We’d have to show them how to use their abilities in the correct way. It’s not like we were the experts but together we’d learn and train and make it right. Make the world right, or at least try to make it better. Starting by turning X and Jeb over to the cops. And Tina and Doug into foster care.
“What about our powers? What will be our purpose?”
“For goodness and light.” Xander repeated the shabtis’ oath holding up his hand, palm facing me.
I placed my hand in front of his bigger one, about an inch away like we’d done in the past. But this time, I pushed it closer. Palm to palm, skin to skin, heart to heart. “For goodness and light. And love.”
A Note from Allie Burton
Thank you so much for reading. If you enjoyed SOUL SLAM please consider giving it a positive rating or review at your place of purchase. In this brave new book world, the only way for a good story to find its way into the hands of other readers is if the people who loved it let others know. We authors appreciate any little bit of help you can give us.
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I hope you enjoyed SOUL SLAM!
Allie
Excerpt from
Tut’s Trumpet
Soul Warriors Book 2
by Allie Burton
Her grandfather kidnapped.
An ancient instrument of death in her hands.
A warrior from the past determined to stop her.
When sixteen-year-old Aria York loses her parents, she thinks nothing worse can happen. Then her grandfather is kidnapped by a mysterious Egyptian cult and she is being hunted by two competing sects. Both want King Tut’s trumpet of war and will kill to obtain the legendary instrument.
When Aria plays the magical trumpet she forgets her grief. Instead, triumph, greed and anger flow through her veins. When chaos erupts in San Francisco as a direct result, she realizes she must trust a tortured warrior even though he demands she hand over the trumpet or risk enveloping the world in war.
Falcon comes from the past with a goal to save the future. He makes a deal with Aria to help save her grandfather, risking his quest by involving the girl and jeopardizing his heart.
Aria wants to believe him, but knows there’s something even bigger at stake. A secret so powerful neither teen understands the implications. As each precious hour passes, she’s forced to ask: Is she playing the trumpet or is the trumpet playing her?
“Tut’s Trumpet is spellbinding, dark and furious as the chaos is unleashed and felt throughout. Fascinating reading with touches of myth, history, legends and more. Did I mention the magic of romance?” –Dii, Top 500 reviewer
; Excerpt:
Weird I didn’t feel the same pull to play the flute as I had with Tut’s trumpet.
A door snickered closed downstairs. The noise echoed up the stairs and into the music room. The classical guitar CD I’d put on was silenced.
All the warm fuzzy feelings fled. I froze in place. Panic pulsed and thrummed to a wild beat. My ears perked trying to hear more over my internal rock band. My brain swarmed with scenarios. The biggest one—the only one—the kidnapper had snuck in the house.
My gaze darted around the room. No phone. No escape.
I picked up the biggest thing I could carry, a guitar, and raised it above my shoulder. If I could get to Grandfather’s room I could use the phone to call the police. They said they’d be in the neighborhood.
Rushing to the music room doorway, I peeked down the hall. The lights were on. I didn’t hear anything or anyone.
I tiptoed down the hall, holding the guitar above my head. Maybe I’d been imagining the noise. Maybe with the excitement I’d thought I’d heard something.
The steps creaked.
I stopped. Anxiety sizzled causing the hairs on my body to stand on end. The steps always creaked when someone was coming up the stairs.
Maybe the kidnappers had gotten impatient and they’d come to search for the trumpet themselves. Maybe they’d already killed my grandfather. Maybe they were going to kill me.
Each maybe led to a more terrifying scenario. My body trembled and my muscles tightened with the decision of fight or flight.
The stairs creaked again.
Whoever was there was taking the stairs one step at a time. Sneaking in. They knew I was here and didn’t want to be discovered.
Too late.
I sped into my grandfather’s room, reached for the phone, and lifted it to my ear.
