Encore (Descendants of Ra: Book 4)

by Tmonique Stephens

  No! He couldn’t let the chaos take him. It would mean the end of his brother. Avery would rather die than let that happen. The armor and claws faded.

  “EJ! It’s me. Avery!” Still, no reaction as they circled each other, the altar between them. EJ simply wasn’t in. His brother was gone.

  “Save your breath,” Ridley yelled. “He’s on manual, and I’m controlling the remote. Let’s go, EJ.”

  Avery’s vision landed on Ridley, eviscerating his plan. The Book, Scroll, and the journal were in her hands. “You did this to him. To all of them. Release him.” The telltale sensation of ants marching across his shoulders, down his back and pecs, added another dose of rage to his system. This time, he couldn’t halt it. Didn’t even try.

  The change swept over him. One second, he stood on solid ground, muscles clenched for battle. The next, his legs morphed into Khuket’s whip-like appendages. The Ink, his dark companion, leached out of his pores and writhed around him. Rising, he hovered above EJ and Ridley.

  Horror contorted her features while EJ’s features remained blank, unaffected by Avery’s metamorphosis.

  “My god, you did it. You killed K-Khuket,” Ridley stuttered.

  “She is dead.” Avery’s voice resonated with tones he’d never heard. “I am the God of Chaos. And you, Ridley Cross, are dead.” His tendrils rushed forward.

  Gunshots echoed in the chamber. Bullets passed through Avery and pinged the wall behind him. EJ stood off to the side, unloading his Glock.

  A ragged scream rent the air. From the entrance to the room, Emeline, a belted robe covering her nightgown, gazed at him with a mixture of fear and awe. The staff he passed in the library were with her. Then she saw Ridley. Unadulterated hatred blazed from Emeline’s eyes. Fist raised, Emeline closed the distance between them. EJ stepped in front of Ridley and reloaded with the expertise Avery had taught him.

  Emeline didn’t stop coming.

  EJ raised his gun and squeezed the trigger.

  Avery wrapped a tendril around Emeline and yanked her out of the way. At the same time, he solidified and placed his body in the gun’s path. Before he could get his shields up, two bullets slammed into his side and knocked the air from his lungs.

  Bullets couldn’t stop a pissed off immortal. He grabbed EJ’s wrist. A hard twist and the gun clattered to the tile.

  EJ let his body follow Avery’s twisting motion. He dropped, pulling Avery off balance, and rolled to his feet, free from the hold. His fist smashed into Avery’s chest, center mass, held nothing back.

  If Avery had still been human, the blow could have stopped his heart. He’d transformed the second EJ pulled him off balance and absorbed the blow with barely a ripple. The next punch passed through him, and the momentum spun EJ around. Ridley took off, back into the vault with her stolen property. Another tendril unfurled and captured her.

  Emeline struggled in his embrace. “I’m going to kill you, Ridley!”

  Ridley smirked. “You’ll have to catch me first. EJ, get us out of here!”

  A tendril captured EJ. He thrashed, determined to be free.

  “All of you. Stop fighting me.” The strain of containing all of them eroded Avery’s control. A ripple of chaos spread outward from his core, causing the walls in the room to expand and contract. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

  A fissure split the mural of Khuket on the far wall. Then a chunk of plaster and stone fell from the ceiling, inches away from braining Emeline. Avery extended his tendril and set Emeline free on the other side of the entrance. Her outraged shriek ended with the stone slab door slamming closed.

  EJ smashed into Avery and attacked with the furor of a man who had nothing to lose. Avery couldn’t reciprocate, not against his little brother.

  They rolled across the floor, pounding each other against the floor and the walls with their fists, knees, elbows. The foundation cracked; chunks of the ceiling fell, followed by cement, dirt, and water from ruptured pipes. If they didn’t stop, the entire room, possibly the building above them might collapse.

  Avery wrapped himself around EJ once, twice. He coiled around EJ until neither of them could move. Then he tightened his embrace, intent on squeezing EJ into submission.

  “Let him go!” Ridley approached with the stolen artifacts in one hand and a blade raised in the other.

  Three booms sounded, like Paul Bunyan knocking on the roof of a house. So close to his brother, Avery thought it was EJ’s heart slowing to a stop until the stone slab flew past him, clipped the altar, and careened into the back wall.

  The room rocked. A secondary fracture began where the slab was embedded in the wall. It streaked up and branched out across the ceiling to the opposite wall. Emeline stormed into the room, spared him a withering glance, then focused on Ridley.

  EJ landed on top of Avery. Ridley flung her blade, aimed for him, except EJ shifted into the path of the somersaulting weapon. Avery shoved his brother out of the way, but EJ—the tenacious bastard—latched onto him.

  The blade slammed into Avery’s back, which he counted as a good thing. Better he get the blade than EJ …so why had all of the energy in his muscles suddenly drained?

  Avery slumped against EJ and did a slow slide down. EJ’s hand locked around Avery’s throat, stopping his descent. The other hand cocked back. Hunks of plaster, rocks, and rubble rained from above. Avery stared at his brother. Not the ceiling caving in or the fist aimed at his face. He zeroed in on the sudden anguish in EJ’s eyes and the tears streaming down his face.

  EJ’s fist smashed into Avery’s chin. A crunch reverberated through his skull followed by stabbing pain, but he fixed his gaze on his little brother.

  He’s in there. EJ’s still in there!

  A deep shudder rolled through the chamber and a huge chunk of rock broke free aimed at EJ’s head. With a final burst of power, Avery pushed EJ away as the room gave another rumble and the rest of the roof tumbled down.

  ~~~~~~~

  EJ’s mouth hung open in a silent scream as his body flew clear of the cave in. He landed inside the vault, tangled in the collapsed metal shelving. He climbed to his feet and clawed at the mound of rubble blocking him from his brother. He had to kill him and save Ridley from his fury.

  He flung the rocks away, even as gravel filtered down. He dug deeper and deeper, focused on one thing, making sure Avery was dead.

  His hands blurred as he spurred himself quicker. Ridley dug next to him. When had she joined him? He paused.

  “Don’t stop. We’re not gonna let Avery die.” Her hands moved incredibly fast clearing the way. Together, they didn’t stop until a pair of boots poked out of the rubble.

  “I’ll pull, you keep lifting.” She grabbed Avery’s feet.

  Unable to resist her command, EJ removed the debris around Avery until only a large square of cement sat in the middle of his brother’s chest. EJ lifted the cement while Ridley dragged Avery free.

  From his face down to his thighs—mangled.

  They both dropped down beside him. “He’s not dead. He has the goddess’s power. He’s not dead.” Ridley mumbled, her words held little conviction. She reached out to touch Avery and EJ wanted to beat her as her orders had made him beat his brother.

  On a sob, her hand dropped to her side. “What have I done?”

  YOUKILLEDMYBROTHERYOUFUCKINGBIT—

  A wheezing breath caused Ridley to jump and scoot back.

  Had EJ heard correctly? Avery?

  The sound came again, followed by the crackling of misshapen bones realigning, one at a time. It was agony and a blessing to watch his brother restored to life. Once his features reformed and his wheezing stopped, Ridley touched his face, ran her fingers over his bald head, down his neck, chest, arms, quickly. “He seems whole. His heart is beating,” she whispered.

  A scream sounded on the other side of the rubble. Ridley lurched to her feet. “Let’s get out of here.” She collected the Book and the Scroll of Heka. “W-where’s the other book? There wa
s a small leather journal along with the Scroll and the Book. Damn it!”

  The sound of digging came from the other side along with Emeline yelling Avery’s name.

  “We have to go,” Ridley said.

  EJ didn’t want to. He wanted to stay, but Ridley’s orders superseded his wishes. However, he lingered, staring at his brother. As if responding to a threat, Avery’s body flickered, winked in and out of existence.

  What the hell?

  Ridley stomped to his side. “We leave now.”

  She must not have seen it. But EJ did. He wasn’t losing his damn mind. His brother had just pulled a magic trick. And EJ was fucking glad, especially if Avery’s new talent could protect his brother from whatever Ridley made EJ do.

  EJ gazed at his brother a final time. Against his will, he fell in line behind her and planned his revenge.

  Chapter Nine

  Avery heard the crying from a great distance as if he was on one end of a soup can telephone. From the tone, a woman. It took an extra second to realize it was his woman. Crying like that could only mean one thing—someone died.

  Before he could pry his eyes open, familiar male voices joined hers, Roman and Reign. Weren’t they in Egypt? His eyes opened a crack. Behind the men, Mrs. Kelly waited with a few of the staff members.

  With effort, Avery sat up. Emeline hovered as she pressed a cold rag to his forehead. Red-rimmed and puffy, her gaze accused him of the greatest crime. “I swear I am never going to cry over you again!” Emeline smothered kisses across his face. “You can’t keep terrifying me.”

  “Sorry?” he said, then promptly rolled over and coughed up a lung. That’s how it felt.

  Roman hauled him to his feet and dragged him into a rough embrace. “I knew rocks would bounce off your thick skull.” Roman thumped him on the back once and released him.

  “Glad one of us did.” Avery took in the rubble-strewn around the alcove outside of the gathering room. “Weren’t you two in Egypt searching for Tyrone and Brayden?” He pointed to Roman and Reign and their matching desert attire. Except for the shorter hair on Roman and shadow of a beard on Reign, they were truly identical.

  “I called them,” Emeline said. She whispered to Mrs. Kelly who then shooed the milling staff out of the room.

  “We opened a vortex and came,” Roman said.

  Avery picked his way back into the room where he’d fought EJ and stared at the gaping hole in the ceiling and the blocked vault. “Surprised the entire house didn’t collapse.”

  “So am I.” Mrs. Kelly stared at the same hole.

  Reign walked along the edges of the debris blocking the vault. “What happened?” He cut to the heart of the matter.

  “Indeed. What caused this destruction?” Mrs. Kelly followed carefully behind Reign.

  Avery tensed, ready for a different kind of battle. Would they understand? Or crucify EJ? Avery didn’t want his brother judged and convicted when none of this was his fault. “I don’t know how EJ got in here. One second I was alone, studying the Scroll, Book, and journal, next…”

  He wouldn’t tell them about EJ’s vicious attack. “He wasn’t in control of himself. His eyes were blank, except…” Avery remembered the wet streak on EJ’s face.

  “Except what?” Emeline came to his side and squeezed his hand.

  “He was in there. I-we think the women’s consciousness were removed, but they're not. They’re alive, thinking inside their bodies. Trapped with no voice to let us know they’re in there.” Please let me be right. I can’t think about EJ’s brain wiped clean forever, leaving him no better than a vegetable, obeying Ridley’s every command.

  Emeline pressed her fingers to her lips, and she leaned against Avery.

  “How cruel,” whispered Mrs. Kelly.

  “Fuck!” Roman rubbed the back of his neck.

  Avery scrubbed a hand over his bald head. “That sums it up.”

  “How do you know this?” Reign seemed to be the only one unaffected. New to the family, his emotional bonds extended to Roman and no one else, though he did seem to be trying to include the rest of the Nicolis men into his intimate circle.

  “I saw it in his eyes.” Avery wasn’t about to tell them his brother cried. “Ridley’s pulling his strings.” When he got his hands on the woman, after all, she’d done, he’d enjoy watching the life drain from her eyes.

  “Why? What does she want?” Roman kicked a piece of rock out of his way. “And how do we prevent her from getting it?”

  The image of Ridley holding the artifacts flashed in Avery’s brain. “Shit! I think she already has what she wants. Last time I saw her, she was in the vault with all three items: the Book, Scroll, and journal.”

  Emeline gripped his arm, her strength nearly crushing. “She took Grand’s journal?” Lips thinned, her voice broke at the end.

  He covered her hand with his. “Babe, I’m sor—”

  Her grip softened. “Not your fault.” She brushed her lips along his.

  “We’ll get it back,” he whispered.

  “Damn right.” She whipped around to Mrs. Kelly. “Is that the only way they could’ve gotten in?”

  Roman turned to the elder. “Do you know of a secret passage into this room?”

  Warily, Mrs. Kelly eyed all of them and said, “Yes. There is a passage that leads from the building next to us.”

  Avery stepped forward. “Show us.”

  Mrs. Kelly studied the blocked vault and pointed. “It’s through there.”

  “Well, we’re not getting through that any time soon.” Emeline huffed.

  “Where does the tunnel exit?” Avery said.

  The four of them left the destroyed gathering room. They exited the building and followed Mrs. Kelly next door, even though the men tried to dissuade her and Emeline. Dressed in their nightgowns and robes, neither was attired for traveling outdoors. Both told the men where they could stick it.

  They entered the luxury apartment building next door, and with one glance at Reign’s glowing eyes, the security guard fell silent. The man returned to his desk right after he gave them directions to the sub-basement.

  It didn’t take long for them to find Ridley’s entry point and the extent of the cave-in. The destruction was worse on the Order’s side. Here, they had a relatively clear pathway to the back of the demolished vault. The five of them crowded into a pocket of space and studied the illuminated area with the light glowing from Roman’s sword.

  “Any idea where Ridley might’ve taken EJ?” Roman turned to Emeline.

  “We’ve reviewed her dossier and those that she was assigned to track. So far nothing, but I refuse to give up. That woman will not get away with her crimes,” Emeline replied.

  “With your permission, Mrs. Kelly, I want Quin down here to examine your records. He may have some insight you haven’t found,” Roman said.

  The old woman bristled, and Avery took a step back. He didn’t want to be in the middle of these two arguing—again.

  “You’ve taken the Soul Catchers and the Key from the Order’s protection. I don’t want anyone poking about our files,” Mrs. Kelly forced between her clenched teeth as she crossed her arms.

  A genial smile split Reign’s usually impassive face. “Mrs. Kelly, please understand. We removed the artifact for the safety of the Order. No other reason. Your members have suffered enough. Any more harm and the Order will collapse. None of us desires that outcome.”

  Mrs. Kelly’s pursed lips and rigid shoulders softened. Reign and his girlfriend, Alexis, were the only two people Mrs. Kelly seemed to like. “Alright. Quin will be welcomed, but I will supervise all of his investigations.”

  Gravel trickled from overhead, kicking up a choking cloud of dust.

  “It’s too dangerous to stay here. We need to go back,” Avery said.

  Reign took the lead out of the space and everyone except Emeline lined up to do the same. She dropped to her hands and knees and crawled halfway to a crevice Avery hadn’t noticed. His heart sputte
red, and he grabbed her by the waist and hauled her back.

  “What the hell are you doing?” All he could think of was her crushed under a ton of rocks.

  “The Journal. I see it. It’s right there.” She pointed to a narrow space only a child could squeeze through.

  “Hell no! I am not letting you go in there.” Avery held her. Even with her added strength, Emeline was fragile, too damn breakable for his liking. She was human, yet no matter the danger, nothing would deter her when she set her mind to anything. Another facet he loved/hated wouldn’t change about her.

  “We can’t leave it there. It’s too important. To me, if no one else,” she said.

  “Emeline is correct. The journal is much too valuable to remain buried,” Mrs. Kelly said.

  Avery bit back the angry retort. “I’ll go.” Emeline in danger wasn’t an option.

  “None of you three can fit. Brawn is great. Not in this instance. I can do this.” She ran the back of her hand down the side of his cheek.

  “You are more important than a damn journal.” He leaned into her caress. If anything happened to her … nothing would stop the chaos from taking over him. That wasn’t the only reason he couldn’t allow her to risk her life.

  “And that is why I love you.” She kissed him quickly and dropped back down to her hands and knees.

  Avery blocked her way. “You are not going back in there.” And that was final.

  Mrs. Kelly cleared her throat. “My dear, you have two demi-gods here, and Avery is the newly minted God of Chaos. All are immortal. Let one of them go.”

  Silence. Roman and Reign were smart enough to keep their mouths shut while Emeline narrowed her eyes and absorbed his order and Mrs. Kelly’s wise statement. He waited for her to balk because that was her nature, but this wasn’t negotiable.

  Emeline stood, dusted off her hands and knees, then stepped out of the way with a sarcastic tilt of her head and a small bow. “Well, when you put it that way. Proceed gentlemen.”