by Jean Murray
Turning the key in the lock, she waited for the click. The tumbler vibrated the metal as it disengaged. The dungeon’s heavy iron gate swung outward.
The cry of a baby stopped Kit in her tracks. She glanced over her shoulder and found Siya behind her. “I have unlocked the tunnel that leads to the dock. Make sure you use the southern passageway. I will lock up once you are through.”
Kit blew out a breath, grateful Siya did not think her mad for doing this alone.
Siya stepped forward and handed Kit her sacred blade. “You will need this.”
Kit accepted the weapon forged by Khalfani, the late Legion Commander. She fingered the hourglass glyph on the handle. Kit shifted her stare to the matching scarification tattoo on Siya’s wrist. “Are you sure?”
“It served Bomani well in my rescue against the siravants. Perhaps it will work just as well on Apep.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
“Thank me when you return the souls to Aaru. We will wait for you at the gates.” Siya grasped Kit’s forearm in a warrior handshake. “Be mindful of Set. He serves only himself and will betray you.”
“I know, but he is my only chance of pulling this off. Tell Kamen, I’m sorry.”
“When this is all over, you will be able to tell him yourself.”
Kit sighed, praying that was the case.
“You must go now, if you are to escape. The battle is about to begin and Kamen may return, looking for you.”
“What will you tell him?” Kit asked, standing at the precipice of the stairwell. A cold chill brushed against her skin.
“You leave that up to me. Run fast and watch your back.” Siya slammed the gate, locked it and then handed the key to Kit through the bars. “May the gods be with you.”
Kit nodded and charged down into the darkness. Sprinting past the temple door she whispered to her father, “I am coming for you.”
She slowed as she approached Set’s prison cell. Small puddles still remained on the stone floor from the flood. Set sat with his eyes closed and a large grin on his face.
“You will have your freedom for one year,” she said through the bars, her grip tight on the key.
Set rose and approached the gate, his black eyes targeting her. “In exchange for what?”
She ground her teeth, wanting nothing more than to punch the smug smile off his face. “You will help me round up the souls Apep is holding and bring them to the gates as your sentence mandates.”
“Impossible.” Set shook his head.
“You must fulfill your penance and bring those souls home.”
Set’s smile faded. “The souls you speak of are within his castle. They are under his control.”
“You’re wrong. I saw my father, he was on the beach.”
“If he was, he is no more. Those souls are lost.”
Kit couldn’t accept it. “We will go to the castle and free them.”
“Not even I would dare set foot in that dungeon.” Set stepped back from the bars.
Kit’s heart raced, she didn’t have time to negotiate. The brink of war was upon them. She had to act now to stop Apep from breaching the barrier. Anger fueled her resolve. “Maybe I picked the wrong brother for this task.”
A growl resonated from the other side of the black bars. Set rammed his fists into the metal, sending a shower of sparks down around Kit. “Say that again, and I will rip your pretty head from your shoulders.” White fanged teeth gleamed, and his black eyes smoldered with hatred.
Despite her fear, she straightened her spine. “Trust me when I say, Ammut will not let you harm me. If you dare cross me, it will be your head that will roll.” Orange flames flickered in her vision. At least the beast would protect her until the task was finished. “I will grant you five years of freedom to live in the human realm to do as you wish. After that time, I will come for you.”
“Five years is nothing.” Set spat and turned away from the gates.
“If I walk out that door, five years is more than you have right now in this cell.”
Set pumped his fists as he paced the length of the metal.
Her heart ricocheted in her chest, not knowing if she had the power to grant his freedom, yet he seemed to think so—for now. The beast stirred in her chest, impatient and forcing her to walk to the exit.
“Open the fucking door,” Set growled.
Pausing, she looked over her shoulder. “You will help me save the souls?”
“Yes.” He sneered.
Swallowing the lump in her throat, she returned to the cell door and slid the key into the lock. She stared at the enormous god on the other side, praying for the best outcome. Turning the key, she tripped the tumbler. The lock clicked, and a flash of energy burst and then dissipated as the containment spell was released from the metal.
Set stepped out and towered over her. Deadly power to match Kamen’s. The only difference was Set had no soul and no loyalty to her or the Underworld. He served his own purpose.
“Let’s go.” Kit turned her back on the god and walked out the passage Siya had directed her. The last door opened up to the devastated beach on the other side of the Underworld gates.
The funerary Mesektet boat sat on its side, stranded on a sandbar. The remnants of the dock lay strewn across the sands.
Set cursed and ran his hands over the black wood. “Kamen will pay for this.”
Kit met Set’s black gaze. “Kamen didn’t do this, Apep did. The war has begun, it is time to cut the legs out from under the dragon.”
Coldness pushed out from Set to match the fury burning in his face. He shouldered the wood and pushed the enormous vessel back into the water. Kit stared through the gates to the Underworld palace, hoping she would see it again. “Apep will be at the barrier in the human realm. We do not have much time.”
“As you wish.” Set snarled and waded into the water until he was chest deep.
Kit grabbed the rope and climbed to the railing. Her boots hit the deck and she leaned over to pick up the oar. Blood still stained the links tethered to the wood.
“Give it to me.” Glowering down at her, he jerked the long staff from her grasp.
Kit stepped back, uncomfortable with the lethal look in his face and the way he gripped the oar.
“Remember our deal, Set.”
He lowered his arms and stalked off to slide the oar through the mooring. “Cut the line.”
Kit hesitated, knowing once it was severed there was no turning back.
“Cut it,” Set barked.
Her katana sang as she pulled it free of her holster. Created to kill revens, the blade’s edge was honed to a flawless bevel. She raised it over her head and swiped down in one clean motion. The ancient rope fell away without even a fray in the weave. The boat lurched into the churning current. Consumed by the torrent waters, the stern sliced forward fast and true. Kit gripped the ledge to steady herself as she rocketed towards the barrier of fog, thinner than she remembered it to be.
Her skin prickled with dark energy. She ran to the aft of the ship, following the dark shapes rocketing overhead in the mist. Siravants descended upon the gates. Alarms blared in the distance from the Underworld palace.
Kit prayed the spell they had cast with their mother’s help would hold the gates and protect Siya and the baby. Only one legion was left behind to protect the Underworld. She regretted taking Siya’s blade for she feared the Goddess of War would need it.
Fog enveloped the boat and blotted out the visibility. The screech of siravants chilled her, knowing there was nothing she could do now to save Kamen’s home. Her destiny was far away from everything she loved.
“This is suicide,” Set grumbled.
“We call it a Hail Mary.” Kit slid her hand along the railing towards the front of the ship.
“Suicide.”
The silhouette of Set’s body formed in the fog as she moved forward along the side of the boat. “How much further?”
He looked over his shoulder.
“In a rush to die?”
“I should have done this sooner, maybe then this whole war would have been avoided.”
Set made a noise in the back of his throat.
She stared at him, trying to figure out how twins could turn out so differently. “What did Asar and Kamen do to make you hate them so much?”
The muscles bulged in his arm as he tightened his grip on the oar. “We are breaking the fog. Get your weapon ready.”
Kit stowed her katana in favor of Siya’s dagger. The cold air burned her lungs. The water rippled and serpents thrashed at the boat. The water level had plummeted and left little room for the thousands of demons who patrolled these waters. The white bottom flashed beneath the boat in the shallower areas. The Mesektet groaned as it scraped the riverbed made up of pulverized bone.
“Where are they all going?” Kit asked, watching the eel like creatures swim off like spawning salmon.
Set pointed off into the distance.
Kit gasped. A fire ball of energy shrouded by a shimmering veil. Only a crescent of the moon could be seen and beyond it darkness. The air was filled with thousands siravants, swooping and diving towards the barrier. Sparks ignited when the creatures contacted the energy. Energy that was dimming as the moon traversed the sun’s surface.
“Oh my god.” Kit’s stomach pitched. The Underworld legions were outnumbered.
Black clouds rolled over head. A hurricane against a levee ready to break.
“It won’t be long,” Set said, eyeing the horizon. He steered into an inlet, so narrow Kit feared they would never get out. Tree branches scraped the hull. The boat accelerated and then lurched up onto the riverbank.
She followed him into the mud. “Where to?”
He directed her to a large rock face and pushed through a small opening. Jagged rocks split open to reveal a narrow path. Despite his size, Set maneuvered quickly through the maze.
“You have been here before.” Kit stopped, not liking one bit that he seemed far too familiar with the route.
His eyes gleamed silver in the darkness. “Yes.”
“For what?” Kit planted her feet, unwilling to move until she knew why.
He stared at her, his expression obscured by the darkness. “My soul,” he said, and then turned his back to her.
Watching the condemned god disappear further down the cave, she paused. The beast sensed no deceit in his answer and perhaps discovered the real reason he had agreed to come here. What would he do if he found it? What would he become?
Lacking the time to analyze his motives, Kit pressed on. Light flickered along the ceiling and heated air flowed through the cave. Set stopped at the opening. Stepping out on the ledge, Kit stared out over a moat of fire. A black mountain of porous stone rose from the middle of the burning vortex. Screams and cries of agony echoed from multiple openings that acted as megaphones from within the structure.
Kit covered her ears.
Set sneered. “Welcome to hell.”
Chapter Forty-Five
“How do we get across?” Kit gasped. The fire stretched for as far as she could see.
“I do not know.”
“You don’t know? I thought you have been here before?”
“I have been here.”
She shook her head. “If this catacomb leads here, maybe another passage leads to a bridge.”
“I have searched for four thousand years and have yet to find one.”
“There has to be a way in and out. My father escaped.” She grabbed the rock and leaned out over the edge, searched for any signs or symbols.
Set crossed his arms over his chest.
Palpating the sharp stone, she hunted for a lever or switch. Finding nothing she pushed back and leaned against the stone. “Damn it.”
Kendra would know what to do. Had the skill to figure this out. Listened to their father’s teachings. “Mother,” Kit whispered, “help me.”
“She, nor the gods, will hear you. Not here.”
“Can we jump?”
Set peered over the edge. “Miss and this journey ends.”
“You would like that, wouldn’t you?”
His black eyes measured her. “And miss out on freedom?”
“Shut up and move aside.” Kit stalked back the length of the tunnel, measuring the distance she would need to leap across the moat.
Shaking her legs out, she blew out a deep breath. Just like the long jump in high school. Not that she actually participated in track and field, but she had watched enough. Shit, what was she saying?
“Just get it done, Kit,” she grumbled to herself. Risk taking was her craft. She stumbled at the start but quickly regained her footing. Sprinting, she pumped her legs. In the last ten feet, a burst of power rocketed through her muscles. She leapt off the ledge with flames licking her boots.
Jagged black rocks scored her hands on the landing as she scrambled to get a good hold. Her boots slipped down the mountainside towards the incinerator. Despite her efforts, she couldn’t catch her weight, and her feet slipped off the ledge.
With a wrenching of her wrist and shoulder, her descent jerked to a stop. Set’s fierce grip grated her bones. He pulled her back up with one arm supporting her weight. Gaining her footing, she hugged the stone. “Holy shit.”
“You are either very brave or very stupid.”
“Probably a little of both.” She dared look down at her almost grizzly death. “Thank you.”
Set’s brows furrowed to match his frown. “Do not thank me.” He climbed the face of rock and found an opening. “The worst is yet to come.”
Kit closed her eyes and slowed her breathing. Blood dripped down her wrists from the gashes against her palm. An orange glow emanated from her flesh as the edges of her wounds knitted themselves back together.
After wiping the blood from her hands, she followed Set through a lava tube. The stone on the walls and floor were smooth, except for claw marks that had been scored into the rock. The tube opened into a large cavern. Chains hung from the walls at various points along with other sharp implements.
The pungent smell of blood and death filled the channel.
She covered her nose and mouth to stave off the offending odor. Her shoulders and spine began to ache, and the prickling against her skin worsened with each step forward. She leaned her hand against the wall to catch her breath as the pain intensified. Her vision bled orange. The beast clawed beneath the surface of her skin, the call of evil too strong to resist. Claws sprung from her fingertips as Kit fought to gain control. No, not yet. Not until they are safe.
Set stepped back, eyeing her warily. “You are not going to make it.”
She bared her teeth at him and pushed off the wall. “Move.”
“Provide me a weapon.” Set gestured to the multiple knives she had hanging from her weapons belt.
“You should have brought your oar,” she growled and pushed past him. Shifting through the scents, she searched for her father’s all too familiar cologne. Oddly, the fragrance had stayed with him in death or perhaps that was how she remembered him to be.
Cell after cell she passed with no sign of the souls. Only strange dark beings hid behind the bars. The screams were getting louder as they probed deeper into the castle. Movement down the passageway caught her eye. A siravant gnawed on the remnants of a corpse. Pulling Siya’s saber from her belt, she pressed herself against the wall. The beast in her chest hungered for the demon’s soul. Black and wicked, it called to her.
“We need to go another way.” Set grabbed her bicep and pulled her back.
“No.” A growl emanated from her chest, deep and primal. She gripped Siya’s blade and stalked down the narrow ledge of black stone. Confused at seeing a human, the siravant’s head raised and tilted to the side.
Kit’s vision dimmed, consumed by a bright light. Her legs gained speed. The rush flowed through her body. The taste of blood and flesh. Kit woke, panting on her hands and knees. The saber remained clenched in her fist, unu
sed despite the blood splattered against the stone. Warm blood dripped from her mouth. Dazed, she sat back on her heels. An enormous hole had been torn into the siravant chest.
Set dragged her to her feet. “Remind me not to piss you off.”
Energy the likes she had never felt fueled her body. Heat flowed through her veins as the beast converted the fetid soul into unlimited power. Drunk, she staggered a few steps before gaining her equilibrium. Killing had never brought her pleasure. It had always been out of mercy to release a cursed soul from a reven’s body.
This—was like heroine. Just one and she wanted more, no matter how much it disgusted her. A part of her liked the rush, the craving. The other part of her soul knew she could be lost to it.
Kit forced herself out of the fog. She inhaled, the scents now intense. “This way.”
“Once we find these souls, then what?” Set ducked his head down the next passageway.
“Finding a way out.”
“If one exists.”
“Here,” Kit said, following her father’s trail. The screams echoed louder, hurting her ears. The agony and pain made her shudder. They entered larger rooms now. Prisoners hung from the walls. Disemboweled.
A young girl cowered in the corner with her hands covering her ears. The screams of a baby echoed from the trash can next to her. Another man was being raped by a creature. Punishment for their crimes.
Fear, pain and agony suffocated this space.
A room off to the left had shelves after shelves of organ jars. Black souls writhed within them. Apep’s mementos.
Kit skidded to a stop. A large metal door loomed in front of them. “No guards?”
“No need.”
True, Apep had no fear of anyone invading his territory. Kit gripped the handle and pulled. The iron groaned but didn’t budge. “Help me.”
Set’s gaze drifted from the door down to a room at the end of the hall. He walked towards it.
“Set, damn it, get back here.”
He left her standing at the door. The rustling in the tunnel signaled something had followed them. With her booted foot planted against the wall, she yanked the door. She grunted as the metal slid against the door jam. The squeak of metal against metal vibrated in the air. The shuffling and movement sounded closer.
