My mind raced for a solution. For a way out. Thoughts of that old self defense class bubbled to the surface and I used all my might to twist my arms over his gripped hands, wrenching them from his grasp. I turned to run, but Silas grabbed the back of my shirt and hauled me back, tossing me to the ground.
I scrambled to my feet just as he lunged for my neck again. But I dodged his advance and circled around behind him, putting myself farther into the cell. He was never going to let me leave. Not alive, anyway. I hopped on his back and wrapped my legs tight around his waist while my arms secured under his chin like a vice. Silas twirled and flailed his limbs in an attempt to pull me off, but I wasn’t going anywhere. I’d wait until he passed out and then lock him safely back inside the cell.
But he had other plans. With a loud roar, Silas bolted backward and slammed me into the wall, knocking the breath right out of my lungs. I desperately choked for air, my eyesight fading in and out, but held on tight. I would not be the first to relent. He struggled and stumbled around the room until one of his hands reached back and grabbed the knife from my belt.
Panic flooded my veins and I pushed him into the table that held a large basin of water. He lost his footing and fell forward, but still flung my knife blindly in my direction. It sliced my pants and I screamed through the pain. I put all my weight on his back and dug my fingers into his tangled hair, pushing his face down into the bowl of water.
Silas struggled, but I knew I was winning when my knife fell to the floor. Beneath me, his lithe body writhed and struggled as I pushed even harder. Tears streamed down my face and I tipped my head back with a desperate cry.
“I’m sorry!” I babbled. My fingers began to protest from the strain of holding the man I loved underwater. “I’m so sorry! I love you!”
The words didn’t match the action and I fought internally with what I was doing. I was killing Silas. I was drowning him in a shallow bucket of water while he was chained and bound. What kind of monster was I? Then again, what other choice did I have?
Suddenly, I felt his body give up. Slowly deflating of life in my hands. I couldn’t control the stream of sobs and rapid breaths, panic refused to leave, and I was stuck in the fight part of fight or flight mode. The stone around my neck warmed and increased in temperature until it nearly burned through my shirt. A blinding light filled the room as an invisible force of energy ripped me from his back and sent me flying across the cell. Silas’ lifeless body crumpled to the floor.
I couldn’t settle. Fear and adrenaline pumped hard in my body and I fought to catch my breath as tears poured down my face.
Footsteps echoed off the hollowed walls outside and got louder as they approached. Someone dropped to the ground beside me. But I couldn’t take my eyes off the dead body that lay only a few feet away. I trembled uncontrollably.
“Andelyn!” Dad’s voice rang in the air. “Are you alright? What happened?”
“I…killed him. What have I done? I killed Silas.” I couldn’t bring myself to blink, let alone move, and Dad’s comforting arms wrapped around me. “What have I done…”
“Shh, it’s okay,” he said in my ear. “It’s okay, Peach. It’s over now.”
The sounds of my own wailing echoed off the walls and scratched against the inside of my ears, mixed with Dad’s futile words of assurance. I held on to them, tight to my chest–my heart–while I fell apart on the floor of that cell.
“You didn’t kill him. You saved him.”
Chapter Twenty
I was running on fumes. Unable to get any sensible rest. Which was expected from someone who carried the blood on her hands over the death of the man she loved. Just a few hours ago, I felt his life drain from his body, right in my very grasp. I was a monster of the worst kind. How could I have done that? But part of me knew it had to be done. A cursed necessity in our plan to restore Silas’ mind.
After I left Dad and Anubis to deal with Silas’ body, I’d fled back to my room and lain on my bed wide-eyed and full of anxious adrenaline. I couldn’t quiet my mind or my racing heart, so I just waited until I heard the first sounds of the colony waking up.
That meant Isis would be on her way.
I immediately ran to Dad’s quarters, but it was empty. I darted across the heart of the underground city and passed through the Great Hall in search of my father. It was bustling with the early morning rush. The sounds of clanking pots cut my ear drums and my nose filled with the concentrated smell of eggs.
I wasn’t going to stop any longer than I had to, but Eirik came running over and stood between me and the closest doorway.
“Good morning, Andie,” they said with a chipper expression. “Care to join me for breakfast? I’ve prepared a plate for you.”
“Oh, thanks,” I replied and wrung my fingers together. “But I can’t. Busy day.”
I tried to step around them, but the healer quickly moved with me. “Please, I insist. As your physician, I strongly recommend you eat before starting your day.”
My forehead pinched. “What?”
They grinned giddily. “Your father told me to say it.”
“And what else did my father tell you?” I said with an eye roll.
Eirik’s alabaster features softened with pity. “That you lost the one you love too many times for one heart to bear.”
I laughed but the sound caught in my tightened throat. “That doesn’t sound like something Alistair Godfrey would say.”
They shrugged and pinched their white fingers together in the space between us. “Well, I embellished. I don’t wish to repeat the words he actually said because I know they would hurt you to hear them.”
My gaze fell to the floor and I fought to stomp down the feelings that violently bubbled in my stomach. God, when would it end? The constant roller coaster of emotions. How much could a single person handle?
“Come,” Eirik said and placed a gentle hand on my shoulder. “Ease my mind knowing you’ve been fed. Your father and Anubis will be back soon, and I’ll bring you to them.”
I let them usher me over to a table with two plates of food and steaming cups of tea.
“Where did they go?” I asked and took a seat.
“I’m not certain,” Eirik replied as they sat down across from me. “But they assured me they’d return very soon.”
Exhaustion seeped from my pores, but my stomach practically jumped out of me at the first sight of scrambled eggs and some kind of crispy bread. I swallowed a hardly chewed bite and waited for it to settle.
“Uh, thank you for cleaning me up last night,” I said, my cheeks flushing with heat.
Eirik gave a slight nod. “It gives me great pleasure to help someone heal. A little wash and a fresh set of clothing can do wonders when we’re suffering.”
“I’m not suffering,” I quickly defended but the words tasted like a lie and I stuffed another bite of eggs in my mouth and tried to ignore the knowing grin that Eirik was giving me behind the rim of their cup of tea.
Shadow appeared and cooed up at me from the floor. I shifted in my seat and patted my lap, encouraging him to hop on. He wasted no time and climbed up the chair, then touched his little three fingered hand to my chest as those alien-like eyes widened with concern.
I took a deep breath and smiled, my hand covering his over my heart. “I’m okay, buddy. Just a rough night.”
He turned and chirped at my plate of food and I gave him the crusty bread.
“You understand it?” Eirik asked, bewildered as they lowered the oversized grey hood they wore.
“Not really,” I replied. “It’s more like a feeling he gives me.” I rubbed the soft leathery skin behind one of his ears as he made a mess of crumbs in my lap. “I’m not sure if he has a name or not, but I call him Shadow.”
“The creature has no name that I know of,” Eirik told me. “It’s been mostly a nuisance around the colony. Getting into things, stealing food and the like. It’s nice to see it bonding with someone.”
“Yeah,
he’s a troublemaker.” I brushed some of the crumbs to the floor. “But he’s growing on me. Like a pet, I guess. I never really had one before.” I tossed more egg in my mouth and shoved it to the side as I glanced around the busy hall at all the different beings. “What planet is his species from?”
“As far as we know, Earth,” Eirik said. “The creatures were here when some of the first Star People arrived thousands of years ago.”
“Really?” I stared at my little friend in awe.
We were from the same planet. Thousands, if not more, years apart, but the same in the end. It made me feel more connected to him and he, as if sensing that very thought, turned in my lap and nuzzled the side of his face into my chest like a cat would.
“Many Earth-born species derived from the Tanin races,” Eirik explained, as if I should know what that meant. “Or at least, mixed with the genes in some way. Your little Shadow friend here is one of many.”
I thought for a moment. “Tanin? As in…dragons?”
Eirik sipped their tea. “Indeed. Scaled-skin creatures. There are several across the universe. Their DNA touched this planet and took root, but I’ve yet to know of any Tanins to follow.” They leaned in closer and lowered their tone. “Thank goodness for that.”
I shook my head, trying to let the information settle. “Why? Are they bad, or something?”
Before Eirik could answer, my father appeared at our table. “Morning, Eirik.” He tipped his head politely then turned to me. “Andelyn, did you get any rest?”
“Yeah, I got a solid eight hours after killing the man I love.”
Eirik coughed through the bite of egg they swallowed, and I regretted the sarcastic attitude immediately. But it was a crutch of mine, a coping mechanism, and it was hard to shake old habits.
Believe me.
Dad sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “You didn’t kill him. You must see that, right?”
My healer friend reached a hand across the table and kindly touched their fingers to mine. “Your father has told me very little of what’s going on. But from what I can tell, it was something that had to be done, correct?”
I nodded and pursed my lips.
“Then wouldn’t you rather it done by your hand than someone else’s?” they added.
Eirik’s words rang true in my ears and part of me leaned on that. It made sense in my foggy mind.
“We’re about to do the restoration process,” Dad broke the tension. “I was just coming to fetch you. You’ve got the amulet?”
“Yeah, it’s in my bag,” I replied. The stone had become far too hot to wear around my neck after last night.
Dad motioned toward the exit. “Let’s go then.”
I pushed off the seat and slung one of the straps over my arm as I glanced at Eirik still sitting. “Thanks again. For everything.” A genuine smile spread across my tired face. “You’ve been a great friend in all this.”
They beamed and pressed their palms together. “And shall continue to be. Good luck today, Andie.”
I patted the side of my leg and Shadow licked the last of the eggs from the plate before hopping down from the table. Dad looked like he was about to say something about the creature, but he turned with a laugh and I followed him out of the Great Hall.
We ventured down dozens of twisting tunnels, wide enough to be comfortable. Especially with the torchlight that hung on the wall every few feet. I had to say, they spared no expense at proper lighting. I missed the natural gleam that only sunlight provided, but down here…I was cozy. It somehow made dealing with sobriety a little easier, without the blaring noise of the outside world. Back home, anyway.
Here, I still had no real idea of what it was really like outside the colony, aside from my quick and swift plunge into death. How did they behave in the city? Were there any customs or commonalities that we missed when piecing together the history of Egypt?
I wanted to know. And I had no idea how my father, the great Alistair Godfrey, world explorer, could stay down under ground when there was so much to discover.
“Sleep well?” Dad asked as he slowed and fell into pace with me.
“You mean, during the few hours after I drowned Silas?” I tipped my head back and focused on the ceiling as I walked. “Of course. Why wouldn’t I?”
Dad shoved playfully at my arm and I slung my head back straight as he grinned. “You’re still a smart ass.”
I couldn’t help but mirror the expression as my mouth twitched at the corner. “Expected.”
He patted my back. “I see you picked up a stray.”
Shadow chirped at us, his lizardy feet tapping along, struggling to keep up.
“Yeah, he’s been keeping me company,” I replied. “I kinda like him.” The other side of my mouth followed, and I let out a quick laugh. “Can I keep him, Daddy?”
“He’s your responsibility,” he kept with the bit and we turned another corner.
“How big is this place, anyway?” I asked. We had to be getting close to wherever we were going. My stomach was a cesspool of butterflies.
“You have no idea,” Dad said and shook his head. “It fills the entire mountain and spreads out underground for miles. There are living quarters, temples, water sources, industry. Everywhere. Enough to support thousands of beings. You’ve only seen one of the few hub spots, but there’s miles and miles yet to see. The Star People came to Earth thousands of years ago and Osiris began work on the colony before his brother Set dismembered him. Anubis took over and continued to expand it to house all the Star People seeking refuge in the world.”
I chewed at the inside of my cheek. “Why Anubis, though? Why wouldn’t Osiris’ sons be in on it?”
Dad shrugged. “I’m not sure. Anubis had always had a strong bond with his uncle. Osiris trusted him, and it’s perhaps why he bestowed the duty of Gatekeeper to the Underworld on him. The After Life was Osiris’ reign, his gift to the planet and the people who reside here.”
I nodded slowly. “And he chose Anubis as the God to manage it.”
“My guess is that his sons were too busy quarreling with one another to be trusted with the precious souls of Earth.” We came to a stop at what seemed to be a dead end. The stone wall before us had a single gold tablet embedded in the center. “Here we are,” he added.
I stepped closer to examine the symbols of the tablet. Made of solid gold and painted with highlights of black and turquoise, it was a stunning piece of work. “Amazing. To see these things as they were meant to be, and not covered in layers of dust.” I reached out and brushed my fingertips over the shapes. “What’s it for?”
“A doorway.”
Dad poked the top left corner and I realized the symbols were divided by individual squares, each moving within the tablet. Like a slide puzzle. When he moved the last one in place, a section of the wall began to rumble and disappear inside itself as it slid to the side, revealing an opening for us to pass through.
My father took my hand. “Ready?”
I nodded and he led me through before the hidden door closed behind us. We were in some kind of temple; giant stone pillars held up a detailed ceiling of carvings and immaculate paintings. Gods and other great figures, all depicting the story of how their family came to be. The air inside the room was different than the musty hallways we’d ventured down. Crisper. Clearer, somehow. I sucked in a deep breath and held it in my lazy lungs for a moment.
“Yeah.” Dad chuckled. “We’re near the surface here. There’s an entrance farther in that takes you to a large oasis on the other side of the mountain. It’s actually where the colony began.”
My eyes widened. “You mean–?”
“These walls were erected by Osiris himself,” Dad confirmed proudly and ran his hand over a collection of hieroglyphs. Then his face shifted with a frown. “The circumstances that brought me here are both a blessing and a curse. I’m never certain if I should be inundated with grief or elated with the opportunity to see my life’s work in its realness
.”
A sigh pressed from my chest. “I know.”
He perked up and motioned ahead. “Well, let’s reserve that decision for after we save your boyfriend. Shall we?”
As I followed my father farther into the temple, I realized that I couldn’t make sense of my emotions, nor my thoughts. They swirled inside me like opposing elements all fighting to the forefront of right and wrong in my mind.
I killed Silas last night. But…saved him at the same time. Now we were about to bring him back to life, whole, restored, and I worried it wouldn’t work. What if he was broken indefinitely? What if whatever Horus attempted to do to him permanently messed him up, and we just made the whole situation worse? What if his mother restored him but he was the same? Cold and murderous. I couldn’t get my hopes up. I buried them deep inside and walked unblinkingly toward the center of the temple with Shadow running around under my feet.
It opened up to a spacious room. Natural sunlight filtered in through cracks in the walls and a skylight above beamed a thick column of rays down on a single rectangular block of stone. Isis appeared from one of the few other hallway mouths that led away from the main room we stood in and, once again, her ethereal beauty took my breath away.
The goddess sauntered over to us with a confident smile. Her white silken robes trailing behind her.
“Good morning,” she said, her voice echoing off the cavernous walls.
Before either of us could respond, movement from another doorway stole my attention and I watched, breathless, as Anubis carried the limp body of Silas draped over his arms. With a grunt, he laid the body down on the stone block and I fixed my gaze on the floor, unable to look at the lifeless form of the man I loved. I felt the thin walls that held back my emotions giving way and I clenched my fists as my eyes squeezed shut.
I would not fall apart.
“Are you alright?” Anubis asked me with concern as he sidled up next to me.
I nodded, but then shook my head, unable to lie to myself. “No. But I will be if this works.”
Ancient Hearts: A Time Travel Fantasy Romance (Kingdom of Sand & Stars Book 1) Page 17
