Soul Awakened

by Jean Murray

  Kendra stood in awe at the amount of power he exuded before her. The same god who had lain withered in mind and spirit weeks before, now a strong virile male. Her male. The possessive claim surprised her.

  Bakari froze and looked at her with that steel gaze. He marched over and grabbed her. A look of satisfaction crossed his face before he kissed her hard and long.

  “I love you,” he whispered against her lips. “Come, let us find your sister. Kamen cannot be far.”

  Chapter Fifty-Four

  Bomani stalked from one side of his quarters to another. A caged animal. Why would the others not see? He was just trying to talk sense into Kendra.

  He remembered the look in his father’s eyes. A mix of suspicion and disappointment, of all things. Asar should be slapping him on the back in thanks for exposing Bakari’s continued betrayal. But, Asar had been blind to it before.

  Bomani stopped at the mirror. He did not recognize the face staring back at him. His eyes were completely black, no white remained. His teeth jagged. He slammed his fist into his reflection. Diamond shards showered across the floor.

  Asar had refused his demands to join the hunt to find Kendra and Bakari. Stay here until we sort this thing out, his father had said. Bomani knew his brother’s habits. The others were wasting their time looking in the human realm.

  Now for someone to let him out of his confinement. On cue the door glided open. Nebt stood in her black robe. “I came to check on you.”

  Bomani ran his hand over his scalp. His brain throbbed on the inside of his skull, threatening to split it wide open. “Now is not the time for counseling, goddess. I am not in the mood.”

  “If it is any consolation, I believe you.” Nebt’s brown eyes came to meet his and then looked away with worry stricken on her face. Shocked, he stared at her. A fragment of hope sparked in his chest. He had an ally. She stepped clear of the door. The sentries Asar posted had been removed. He had a clear shot out of here, but the Underworld goddess would put him on his ass.

  It took all his force not to charge out the door. Inpu had put a spell on the room preventing him from dematerializing, but that was in the confines of this room. If he could convince Nebt to let him go, he would be in much less trouble. It wouldn’t matter anyways once he had proof of Bakari’s scheme.

  “I did not hurt her,” he said, more to convince himself than Nebt. He could not hurt Kendra. Naive and gullible, she demanded to be protected, even if that meant... He let the solution trail off. “I wanted to show her the truth.”

  “I believe you,” she said with earnest. “And I told Asar, as much. Bakari is unstable.”

  “Thank you, someone who can see reason.”

  Nebt came up to him and laid a hand on his arm. He felt the contact tingle. If she had any doubts of Bomani’s allegiance, she would know when she read his soul.

  She released her touch and moved around him, glass crunching under her feet. “Kendra is naive to think Bakari will not try and undermine your authority. It is what he does best.”

  “I have tried to tell her not to trust him. Is everyone blind but us?”

  She sighed and pulled on the strings of her robe. “I love Asar to death, but…” She left it hang unanswered.

  “But,” he encouraged.

  Nebt turned to face him. “It is not my place to question his judgments. But,” she paused, “I think it was a mistake to place Bakari with the warriors. He needs tighter guidance and scrutiny at least until this war is over.”

  “What are you suggesting?”

  A startled look developed on her face. “Oh, do not misconstrue my statement, Commander. It is only a suggestion for Asar when he returns.”

  “Confinement.” It was the only way to keep Kendra truly safe from his brother’s prying hands.

  “I hate to even suggest it. Maybe this is not such a good idea. He would never go willing.” Nebt turned to leave.

  “Wait. I will do it. If it will keep Kendra safe, I will do it.”

  Nebt glanced over her shoulder. “You would confine your own brother?”

  He would do anything it took to put the traitor behind bars, as far from Kendra as possible. He would find a way to break the blood-bond and she would be his. “He is not my brother.”

  “Follow me, Commander.”

  Bomani crossed the threshold of his quarters and out into the street. The dirt road was empty, absent of its usual daily bustle of training and chores. Not even the sound of clanging swords from the fighting arena pierced the air.

  “Asar took Toben and his legions to the human realm,” she explained.

  He nodded, accepting the fact they needed resources for the hunt.

  “You will need these.” She held out the two daggers with scorpions in the hilt.

  Bomani’s neck prickled seeing Bakari’s death blades. How did Nebt come by those? The question was pushed out of the way for his need for… revenge skipped through his mind.

  No, he was doing this to save Kendra. Revenge had nothing to do with it. He grabbed the handles.

  “Where do we start?” he asked.

  “The guest house.” A small smile flickered on her face before she dematerialized. He shifted his energy to follow the goddess.

  He landed on the balcony in case Kendra and Bakari were still here. He moved silently into the interior room. Kendra’s scent floated in the air like a bouquet of fresh flowers. The heaviest concentration was in the bedroom. Nebt stood by the bed, running her hands over the black silk. Bomani froze seeing something white mixed in with the twisted sheets.

  “I’m sorry. You should not have to endure this.” Nebt turned to face him. “He did not deserve such a gift of innocence.”

  “Come,” she tugged on his arm. “They left only minutes ago. We need to stop them before they escape to the human world.”

  Bomani’s grip on the daggers tightened to the point his arms shook. His vision bled red. Confinement would be too kind. He had something else in mind for Bakari.

  Chapter Fifty-Five

  Kendra stood with mouth gapping. The metal hooks inside the chest were absent of their cargo—the Mevt daggers. “Asar placed them there. Inpu sealed it with a spell. Only the three of us were present when the spell was recited.”

  Bakari shook his head. “Could Inpu be compromised as well?”

  “No way.” It was hard enough to believe Nebt had been turned let alone Inpu, considering the male’s character.

  “Nebt can read souls with the touch of her hand. She could have extracted the spell without him knowing. He had no reason to be suspicious of her.” Bakari slammed the lid shut.

  “This is not good.” She cringed to think how many times Nebt had touched her and her sisters since arriving to Aaru. It seemed so innocent at the time. The Underworld goddess had to of known Kendra was getting closer to finding the mole. The information gleaned from the slight touch of her hand.

  The perfect mole.

  She could monitor everyone. Worse, she was Asar’s counselor and could influence his decisions.

  Bakari looked around the room. “My father’s sword is gone.”

  “We looked through the entire palace. Where is everyone?”

  “Isis, they had to have gone to the human realm, thinking I had taken you there.”

  “How could they possible think that?”

  “They do not trust me.”

  “But that would be like hunting for a needle in a haystack.”

  Both of his dark eyebrows arched at her choice of analogy, but he nodded. “He would take a legion with him.”

  She squeezed his hand. “Bakari, if that’s truly the case, Nebt is in charge of the Underworld. Aaru is vulnerable.”

  “Kepi’s tomb protected only by the spell Inpu placed on the door. She’s going to release Kepi. Here.”

  “The book.” She turned on her heels and ran out of the room. How careless of her to leave it. Bakari reached the door to her room first. He tucked her behind him and pushed through the ope
ning. She broke off to the right and opened her bureau. She ripped the clothes off the shelf and threw them to the floor.

  She grabbed and clutched the spell book to her chest. Her skin tingled reminding her how dangerous it was. Why didn’t Nebt find it? She looked at Bakari. “You can’t kill Kepi without the daggers. She took possession of a goddess’ body right before her capture.”

  “I may not be able to kill Kepi, but I can take care of the rest.”

  Her thoughts immediately went to Ari and the other guardians he had killed upon wakening. Bakari had separated the souls from the bodies. For warriors their souls would return to the Underworld waters. For Kepi and Nebt, their souls would cease to be bonded to their hearts, but they would seek out another. The Mevt dagger would ensure the goddess’ souls would never bond with another heart. Ever.

  “You could do that?” she asked, bile rising up her throat. Nebt was family regardless of her treachery.

  “If it means keeping Aaru safe. Keeping you safe.” He brushed his thumb over her lips. “I want you to go someplace where no one can reach you. Protect it with a spell even Inpu cannot breach.”

  “No–”

  He silenced her with a finger against her lips. “They will target you. If they hurt you, they hurt me. Do you understand the limits of our blood-bond?” His fingers traced the pulse bounding in her neck.

  She understood completely. If one died, the other went with them. She was the weak link in the bond. “I am not defenseless.” She looked at the spell book. Closing her eyes, she pictured how it first looked when she stole it from the vault.

  She opened her eyes and met Bakari’s astonished gaze. “Gods, Kendra. That is the book. The one Nebt used against me.”

  “I know. It’s from the vault. I needed it to open your tomb.” She turned the cover brown again. “I want to be there with you.” She prayed he didn’t think of her as Bomani did, something to be shielded behind a gilded cage. “Nebt doesn’t know the extent of what I can do.” Even Inpu didn’t see what she had practiced behind closed doors. The priest had taught her how to channel her power, but it had been muted at the time of their lessons. “I think the blood-bond released some of my powers, slowly. After last night, it’s even stronger.”

  Bakari grasped her arm and pushed up her sleeve. Her arms were still bare.

  “I know. I can’t explain it, but I feel it.” She tapped her chest where her scorpion mark lay.

  “We go together then. Stay close to me.”

  “What’s the plan?” God knows they needed one.

  “To get reinforcements.”

  ***

  Bakari searched room after room in the warrior village and came up empty. He had no need to verbalize his worry, it was written all over Kendra’s face. Even Bomani’s quarters were empty. The cots in the main billeting area abandoned. Same for the warrior hall.

  There was only one place he had not checked. With her tucked safely behind him, he swung open the door and entered with his blade leading the way. He moved among the columns of statues toward the front of the temple. A loud scrapping sound brought him to a halt. Shrouded by a large statue, he peered around to the front. A large warrior with tattoos running from wrist and shoulder hefted a large piece of broken marble in his hands and placed it in a growing stack in the far corner. Another warrior appeared with white dust covered his chest and arms.

  Bakari stepped out and lowered his weapon. “Sin.”

  His brethren turned to face him.

  “What the hell happened?” Bakari asked, scrutinizing the remnants of Kendra’s immortalized face in stone.

  “You tell me,” Sin hissed.

  Bakari dropped his arms lower, startled by Sin’s anger. The other fledglings advanced a few steps. They were not happy to see him, but he had no idea why. Did they believe what Bomani had said in the street? “I asked you, what happened here.”

  “Are you going to stand there and act like you do not know? Do you think me a fool?”

  “Sin, what the hell are you talking about?”

  “She made her choice, but you could not leave well enough alone. You had to hurt her and destroy the temple.”

  “Hurt who?”

  Sin growled and launched himself forward. Kendra slipped under Bakari’s arm and put herself between him and the charging warrior. Sin staggered and Bakari slammed his hand into Sin’s chest bringing him to a halt inches from Kendra’s small body. Angered, Bakari shoved his bunkmate and pulled her tight against his body.

  “What the hell is wrong with you?”

  “It wasn’t him, Sin,” she said over Bakari’s growl. The other fledglings looked as startled that Kendra and he were together. She frowned when she looked around. “You don’t think Bomani did this, do you?” Her haunted brown eyes lifted to meet his.

  “I hope not, Parvana.”

  “Sin?”

  Horror painted Sin’s features. “I believed every word. Gods, Ari. Forgive me,” Sin pleaded.

  Bakari looked away feeling like a hole had been blasted through his chest. Even the fledglings he counted as brothers believed he had done something horrible. “Tell us what happened,” Bakari said without meeting any of the warriors’ gazes.

  Kendra leaned into him and squeezed his hand. She was the only one that truly believed he could change, and he loved her more because of it.

  “Kit told me Kendra was there to speak to the Commander. I saw the look on your face, murderous it was. Then Kendra ran out with those marks on her shoulder.” Sin ran his hand over his scalp. “Isis, everyone saw you take her from the beach. So when goddess Nebt said you hurt her, I…”

  Bakari laughed with the bitterness he felt in his soul. “You assumed it to be true? If that was not enough, I surely destroyed the only place I could find peace.” It sickened him to see all three statues desecrated in a multitude of pieces, not only Kendra’s but her sisters’, as well.

  His own shame crashed around him. Would he ever escape its clutches? “Let us go.” He turned and pulled Kendra by the hand. She resisted and looked over her shoulder. He knew he was being an idiot, but he wanted to be done with all of this. Finally, he had found happiness with Kendra. His past was the last thing he wanted to be reminded of. He had a goddess to kill, maybe two. He had no room at this point to have anyone question his loyalty. Their doubts would put them at risk.

  “Ari, I am truly sorry.”

  Sin’s apology halted him. Could he walk out of here a hypocrite? He turned to face the group. “Isis, Sin. I am many things, but I would never hurt Kendra.” Blood-bond or not, she had captured his heart. She was his savior, his destiny. He looked at the warriors who were his brothers. “I need your help.” He met each of their stares. “Everyone’s.”

  Bakari held out his palm. Sin placed his hand on top and the other warriors followed suit for as many that could fit. The others formed a circle around the pair with Kendra tucked closely at his side.

  “For blood and honor?” Bakari asked the group.

  “For blood and honor,” the warriors yelled out, even Kendra’s soft voice joined in.

  Sin smiled and bowed to Kendra. “We are honored to serve you, Hope.”

  Bakari chuckled when Kendra’s brows furrowed. He met Sin’s gaze and squeezed his hand. “You were right, hope is worth fighting for.”

  “It is.” Sin paused and looked at the wreckage of the temple. “Who are we fighting exactly?”

  Kendra explained an abridged version of the events that had come to pass. Sin’s color paled. “You said Bomani’s quarters were empty.”

  Bakari nodded. “The legions are in the human realm. You are the only ones we found.”

  “The Lord confined Bomani prior to leaving for the human realm. If he is out…” Sin’s words trailed off, letting everyone come to their own unanimous conclusion.

  “Weapons, we need to arm ourselves. Sin, I need you to get the servants to a safe place within the palace and send the rest of our brothers to guard the gates to Aaru. If th
ere is an invasion, it is the way they need to come.”

  “That’s if they haven’t already,” Kendra added.

  “Can you face Nebt alone?” Sin asked.

  Bakari wrapped his arm around Kendra’s shoulder. “I will not be alone.”

  “What about the Commander? He will be looking for you.”

  “I will deal with him when the time comes.”

  “That time is now,” Bomani’s dark voice vibrated from the dark. His enormous form shifted among the statues.

  Sin advanced on the Commander. Bakari reached out and placed a restraining hand on his bunkmate’s chest. “Do as I ask, Sin. Do it now.”

  Despite the protest written in his eyes, Sin nodded. “Gods be with you.” His brothers in arms flashed out of the temple.

  Bakari grabbed Kendra’s hand, feeling the sense of unity against someone they both loved. “Brother, you must stop this minute and listen to what we have to say.”

  “We?” Bomani’s black glare came to rest on their joined hands. His brother clenched his fist around something white. He threw white lace panties at Kendra’s feet.

  Kendra frowned, but kept her eyes locked on Bomani. “Have you looked at yourself in the mirror lately? This is not the warrior who rescued me all those months ago.”

  Bomani laughed. “Funny, I’d say the same about you.”

  “That’s not fair.”

  “Well, get used to it. I have.”

  “Nebt is the mole,” she blurted. “She is using your hatred to color your vision on what is really happening here.”

  “Your vision is colored, Kendra. You let a traitor between your legs.”

  “That’s enough,” Bakari barked. He pushed Kendra behind him and moved forward.

  “What are you going to do about it?”

  Bakari’s power resonated the minute the daggers came into view. His power to kill and the daggers were locked together in a symbiotic balance. The union of the two prohibited the daggers misuse by another god. Regardless, Bomani could inflict serious injury and incapacitate him. He would survive, but Kendra, would not survive even with her demi-god blood.