Chapter Forty-One
Avery gasped when Roman was dumped on the roof. Then Reign rolled to a stop near his twin. He leaped to his feet, his black blade a jagged slice of night, the antithesis of Roman’s light sword. Both men had dressed for the occasion. Long leather coats of similar design. Identical scowls with identical five o’clock shadows. Two differences: Roman’s cropped hair versus Reign’s wavy locks and a quarter inch height advantage. First, Reign glanced at Roman and said, “Brother. Have you summoned me to my death?”
Any other time, Avery would’ve paid money for a ringside seat to witness that battle. Now was not the time for them to settle their feud, especially when Reign seemed to be the only one who could still move.
“Not today.” Roman strained to free himself.
“How are we here?” Reign visibly slowed.
“Doesn’t matter,” Roman grunted.
Reign’s shrewd gaze analyzed all the players and paused at the glowing outline pouring out of Ember.
“Save the child.”
Reign focused on Ember. Each of his steps toward her slower than the next.
“The prodigal sons have arrived a moment too late to secure your heritage,” Khuket said from over Avery’s shoulder. “Come join your mother in death.”
Mother? Avery’s brain spun and by the startled glare on Roman’s mug, so did his.
Reign’s face morphed from wary to contorted fury as he saw the luminescent outline. A roar ripped from his throat. The edge of his blade turned crimson and pulsed with deadly intent.
“Release her,” he bellowed. The same luminescence flowing from Ember streamed from the center of his chest, yet he kept moving forward.
Khuket waved a dismissive hand at him and the still coalescing form. “A mere demi-god, bastard child to this bitch, the Supreme Great Goddess Nu, goddess of the sky and everything beneath it, matriarch of the Egyptian Pantheon, thinks to challenge me? The Goddess of Chaos, last deity of the Eidos?” She laughed; the arrogant sound nettled. “You may be the stronger of the two offspring, but your insignificance is insurmountable when facing—” Roman’s sword impaled Khuket chest and pitched her backward. He rose and moved a few feet behind Reign.
The bonds immobilizing Avery loosened as Roman yanked Ember from the air while Reign advanced on Khuket. Between the pillars he strode, gaining speed, his sword fully crimson. He planted one foot on the edge of the altar and leaped over Avery, who rolled off the slab. Avery looked up through the building snowstorm, unwilling to miss Reign taking Khuket’s head.
Power burst from Khuket’s palm and nailed Reign in the heart. His body flung backward across the rooftop. Roman lay Ember down and launched himself in the air. He intercepted Reign before he sailed off the roof. Together they crashed into an air vent, neither moving.
Though weak, Avery pulled himself to his feet. He had to help, but Khuket had stripped him of all his weapons. A bulge in the underarm of EJ’s jacket would solve that problem.
Avery stepped between the obelisks. An escalating whine reverberated inside his cranium and liquefied his muscles. The sound dropped him to his knees in agony. In his peripheral, he caught a glimpse of the hieroglyphics, shimmering from an internal source. The light peeled away from the stone, slithering down the sides—a living, breathing thing. It seized each of his limbs, wrapped around his neck, and strung him up like a deer ready for dressing.
“You may have me, Khuket. But leave my children alone.” Not far from him, the luminescence took a more definite form. Though still translucent, Avery could identify the oval shape of her face, the slope of her nose and slant of her eyes.
“Goddess help me.” Ember cried and reached for the deity.
“By your own words, you have bound my power, child.” A mere whisper, but Nu’s voice vibrated within Avery's bones. “You cannot win, Khuket.”
“Victory is mine, goddess. Though you shall not be alive to witness it.”
“The pantheon will defeat you.” Nu’s luminescence increased with each second.
“The exalted Egyptian pantheon. Are you expecting another rescue? If that is your plan, let me extinguish your hope.” Khuket extended the Orb in front of Nu. “With this I bind your power to me. Call for help, goddess.” She smirked, confidence draping her like a shroud. “Lead them all to their deaths.”
Nu remained silent.
“How noble in defeat. Ever the leader to the very end as you were during the Eternal War when you killed the rightful rulers of this world, my people.” A band whipped from Khuket’s body and snapped at Nu’s shimmery form. Nu didn’t flinch. “I want you dead, goddess.”
Nu seemed to shrug. “This I already know.”
A caustic bark tumbled from Khuket. “But not before you watch me slaughter your children.” A dagger slipped from her bands.
“No!” A tremor cascaded through Nu, briefly displacing her atoms.
“Sacrifice yourself, Nu. Show your descendants how much you love them. Give me your power and I will spare them,” Khuket taunted.
The goddess turned and beheld Roman and Reign. Roman cradled his twin, who took the brunt of the force. Blood seeped between both their hands which were pressed against Reign’s gushing wounds. The men froze, pain lancing their faces. “Gladly,” she said.
With that final word, the rest of her streamed out of Ember and was sucked into the Orb. The crystal twinkled, a thousand suns trapped within. Roman and Reign surged to their feet—and landed on their asses just as fast. Painfully contorted, their essence poured out of their struggling bodies and into the Orb.
“You told Nu you would spare them!” Avery struggled against the bonds holding him.
Her pitted eyes turned on him. “I lied.”
***
Emeline didn’t expect an answer from the five women blocking the door to the roof. Their vacant stare, lax expression and slackened jaws, mirrored Belinda’s the last time Emeline saw her. Damn, Ridley and Khuket spared no one.
There was only one direction Emeline could go. Forward. And that meant going through them.
Her skin flamed as if she’d been drenched in lighter fluid and torched. She liked it, enjoyed the adrenaline rush soaking her nervous system, and the ensuing euphoria. Conscious of each step, Emeline climbed the stairs. “Please, I don’t want to hurt you. But I will.” And she was afraid she would relish every second of it.
Sarah, a middle-aged librarian, grabbed Emeline first. She slammed Sarah into the wall and had to fight not to hurt her even more as she eased the 50-year-old woman to the ground.
Someone grabbed Emeline’s throat. She dropped down, breaking the hold, but didn’t see the knee aimed at her forehead until it was too late. Dazed, Emeline landed on the cold landing, only ten feet from the gunmetal door to the roof. I can do this.
The sound of heels clicking cleared her head and a pair of Charity’s Burberry ankle boots swam into view. Emeline was with Charity when she bought them. One reared back and took aim at Emeline’s head. She grabbed the foot and yanked Charity off balance. She fell forward and tumbled down the stairs. The crunch of bones reverberated in the small space.
Emeline climbed to her feet and faced the last three women blocking the door. Adrienne, her former apprentice, Michelle and Nicole, two women she had trained with. Well acquainted with each of their skill, Emeline didn’t relish the coming battle.
Emeline’s head snapped from a fist to her temple. Her vision grayed. Instincts kicked in and she blocked an onslaught of blows. Adrienne tagged Emeline hard in the side. Ribs snapped. She absorbed the pain and hooked Adrienne’s arm as she kicked Michelle back into Nicole. Emeline swept Adrienne’s feet out from under her and dropped them both to the ground. She wedged her foot in the girl’s armpit and wrenched her arm. A pop sounded in the shoulder and the arm flopped, unless to her side.
That slowed Adrienne down but didn’t end the fight. With her good arm, she pushed to her feet. A kick to the knee solved that problem. She slumped, clutching the limb.
Not a single sound escaped her lips.
Emeline turned in time to catch Michelle in mid-air. She had launched herself at Emeline, pitching them both down the concrete stairs. Grappling, Emeline managed to flip around so Michelle took the brunt of the impact. Bones snapped as they skid to a stop next to Charity. Both women were unconscious.
Emeline rolled off Michelle, banged her hip and had a second to brace before Nicole landed on top of her. Her arms up, Emeline blocked to block the punches, but couldn’t do anything about the knee to her gut.
I don’t have time for this!
She grabbed Nicole’s wrists and headbutted her. The move didn’t faze Nicole. She slammed her forehead into Emeline, stunning her. Nicole broke free and wrapped her hands around Emeline’s throat. Gasping for air, vision going dark, the Ink swelled on her skin. It demanded vengeance. Emeline threw a right hook to Nicole’s temple. At the last second, she bypassed vengeance and pulled the punch.
One hundred and fifty pounds of dead weight collapsed on top of Emeline. She shoved Nicole away, grabbed the railing and climbed to her knees. Every part of her throbbed, wanted to lay down and not move for a month of Sundays, but her journey was far from over.
She glanced at the women she had defeated. She didn’t have the time to cry for her actions, but later, she wouldn’t be able to contain them.
Finally, the path to the roof was clear. Emeline crawled up the stairs and made her way across to the access door. She pushed open the door to the roof and collapsed on the snow-covered stairs. Cold seeped into her, ending the burning sensations on her skin. Doubled over, she panted through the wretched pain seizing every part of her body. Slowly, she lifted her face and focused past the gunmetal gray concrete stair covered with pristine snow, to the dark snowy sky. As her pain eased, she grabbed the railing and slipped. Her shoulder hit the wall. Her knee the stairs, kicking off another round of agony. Laying right here and not moving seemed like a great idea.
Avery.
His name gave her the strength to bury the pain and climb the stairs. From the safety of the stairwell, she peaked onto the roof. The two people she wanted to kill, Khuket and Ridley, were present. They would all pay, especially the last one who leaned on an obelisk. Violent thoughts crowded her mind as Avery’s Ink swirled over her skin. More than death, she wanted them bloodied and hurting. Desperate for the end.
Emeline fisted her hands. A few steady breaths and the violence receded. This isn’t what she came for. Avery. I’m here for him. Retribution would have to wait.
Roman and Reign Nicolis flew past her and landed in a heap on the other side of the roof. She spotted EJ just standing off to the side, a child lying at his feet.
Ember? How the hell was she here? Emeline scooted across the roof toward the child, but a crackle of energy repelled her.
Through the strengthening snowfall, Emeline saw him. Bare-chested and bound to the obelisks, his muscles taut, fighting for release. She’d done this to him. To them. If she hadn’t been such a bitch she would’ve told him the truth long ago and spared him this torture. Hindsight deserved a bullet in the brain.
His head jerked up as if he knew she was there. Their gazes crossed the distance separating them, then his widened in disbelief. He mouthed, “No.”
She ignored the order. The itch burned, like flames eating her alive again as light spilled from inside Roman, Reign, and Ember. She couldn’t contain this power and she didn’t want to. Already it tore at the fabric of her mind. Soon she wouldn’t be able to control the violent urges threading through every thought.
A blinding light flared behind Avery. Finally, she glanced at Khuket who hovered behind him. Energy streamed into a chunk of crystal she held in her right hand and poured onto the Key fragments on her left.
I’m not too late.
This story had an ending, and Avery would have the last line. Emeline stood.
Ridley noticed her and rushed over. “Don’t. She won’t kill him, but she will kill you.”
Emeline absorbed Ridley’s words and nodded. “That’s good to know.” Emeline had already accepted her possible death. Ridley’s confirmation mattered little until Ridley grabbed her.
She’s touching me. After everything she’s done, taken from me! She has no right to touch me. Rage restricted her vision. Her hands curled into fists. She ached to bury them in her face until Ridley was nothing more than a smear.
No, I don’t have time for this. Emeline grabbed Ridley by her throat. “Today is your lucky day.” She tossed Ridley into a brick chimney and accidentally snapping the necklace and locket around her neck. Emeline shoved it into her pants pocket and kept moving.
Khuket gave a triumphant shriek. “Finally! I have enough of your power. You are no longer great and no longer a goddess, Nu. I am now your master and soon I will sit on the Solis Throne.”
The Orb sucked the remains out of Roman and Reign. The men collapsed into an unconscious heap. Light spilled from the Orb coating the fragments which fused into an ankh. The Ankh Key. The Anu’Ra needed to open hell. Khuket gripped it.
Emeline rushed to Avery. She skidded to a stop in front of him, her hands everywhere, his face, neck, and chest. He hissed in pain. “What happened to you? Why are you bruised and bloody? Doesn’t matter. You shouldn’t have come. Go! Get off the roof and go.”
“I love you.” She stared deep into his green eyes. “I should have told you, but I thought I could handle this alone. I wanted to protect you. Thought it was just Ridley I had to face. Didn’t know she was working with your phantom. This started with me. I wanted it to end with me.” She rushed through the speech. By his startled expression, he probably hadn’t heard a word.
“I have to stop her,” Avery whispered.
“I know.” She stroked his cheek. With the first touch, his tattoo danced over her arm, down her knuckles and bled onto his skin. A shudder raced through him and his green eyes darkened into drowning pools. His head dropped into the crux of her neck. His breath fanned her skin, too cold to be normal, but still set her ablaze.
She cupped his face and brought him to her, holding onto him as long as it took to finish the transfer. His lips were firm and delicious as his power slid out of her mouth and into him. Faster, she willed it to leave her body and restore his. When she pulled away, his eyes were fully black. Quickly she said, “Whatever happens, I will always—”
“There will be a tomorrow. You are mine! I am yours! I will have you in my arms again.”
Khuket slammed into her.
Emeline flew through the air. And over the edge of the roof. At the last second, she gripped the ledge and stopped herself from plummeting to the sidewalk six stories below.
Avery’s shout was a shockwave that shook the building. Emeline held on even as the masonry crumbled and every muscle in her arms and shoulders protested. The fire escape lay a few feet beneath her. Fingers numb from the cold and unnatural position, she let go and smashed into the iron landing.
Get up! Get up! She couldn’t leave Avery up there alone, assuming the worst. Breath sawing in and out, vision fogging from the bursts of pain radiating from her back, Emeline rolled to her feet. She placed one foot on the ladder leading back to the roof, inhaled a fortifying breath, and climbed.
One step in front of the other, she forced her protesting body to comply, until she crested the edge of the roof and saw the hieroglyphics carved into the obelisks melt from the stone and merged onto Avery’s skin.
Chapter Forty-Two
Khuket floated before Avery. Undiluted rage momentarily blinded him to everything except Emeline vanishing over the edge and the Goddess of Chaos facing him. But then he focused on the Key—welded back together—and clutched in her hand, and the Orb dangling from a string around her neck.
“Now, I have your undivided attention.” Her body brushed his, sending his Ink skittering over his skin.
Her eyes widened, lust battled envy in their depths. “Give me what I want.” Her mouth opened. Her lips covered hi
s.
Avery sealed his mouth and didn’t move. His muscles strained. Veins iced. So cold. Yet he didn’t move. Not even a millimeter from his position. She grabbed his jaw. Her fingers squeezed, grinding into his cheeks.
He didn’t open. Claws pierced his skin. Blood trickled.
He did not open.
A new power joined with the Ink on his skin, in his veins. It thrummed through him and ratcheted the fury ten more notches on his personal Richter scale. Didn’t know what it was, only knew the addition felt fucking good. Still, he did not open his mouth.
Khuket wrapped her entire body around his, her bands constricting, squeezing the life out of him, demanding what he refused to give. From the corner of his eyes, he glimpsed Emeline making her way back onto the roof.
Free what you have caged inside you.
Did she scream the words across the distance? Or did she push the words into his mind? A moment of fear clenched his gut. The last time he’d done this, his parents had died.
The fury swept over of him, out of him, and carried him along. He became driftwood in an F-5 tornado. When it was over, the trailer was in ashes, and he held his brother in his arms.
The fog blocking his memory cleared, revealing memories in crystal detail. There was no propane tank. It was him and the frenzied anger bleeding from his soul which turned their home into an inferno.
Jesus.
He had locked that part of him down, mastered the energy. Caged, his dark half quieted. So he thought until the Ink appeared. Now, It rumbled in his chest, awake, angry and wanting a way out. There were too many innocent people here to risk that happening again, but what choice did he have? Khuket had to be stopped and only he could do it.
Evermore (Descendants of Ra: Book 3) Page 34
