The Blue Lotus

by Marisa Chenery

"I plan on stopping mother. I refuse to set her loose on innocents. And now that you are stuck here dear brother, you are going to help me."

  Not sure what had happened to Mahes, and feeling left in the dark for far too long, Kendra cut into their exchange of words. “Nefertem, what is going on?"

  Dragging his eyes away from his brother, Nefertem went and sat on the bed beside Kendra. “To stop Mahes from returning to tell my mother what I don't want her to know, I made him mortal. He is now trapped in this world and cannot return home."

  Kendra could see that Mahes was still not at all thrilled with what Nefertem had done to him. “I guess that means another trip to the mall is in order for me then."

  Brushing Kendra's forehead with a feather light kiss, Nefertem smiled at her. “Afraid so."

  "Thought so. Just tell me one thing; do you have any other siblings that could pop in unexpectedly?"

  "No. Why do you ask?"

  "If I have to go clothes shopping for everyone in your family you are going to put me in the poor house.” Wrapping the bed sheet around her more firmly, Kendra got out of bed. “If I'm to make Mahes look more like a mortal man, I had better get a move on. And one last thing, try not to kill each other while I'm in the shower. I don't need to be cleaning blood stains out of my bedroom carpet. So the two of you had better play nice."

  Chapter Fourteen

  Kendra had been all prepared to go to the mall by herself. Mahes had the same build as Nefertem so she already knew what size clothes she needed to buy, but that was not to be. Nefertem had wanted Mahes to experience this new world first hand. So after properly attiring his brother in some of his newly purchased clothing, Nefertem had then pushed them both out the door.

  This trip to the mall was decidedly different from the one she had experienced with Nefertem. Mahes also drew the eye of every woman who passed them by, but where as Nefertem ignored them, Mahes seemed to thrive on it. He met their glances with an appreciative look of his own. The man was a walking, talking, sex magnet. If she had left him alone, Kendra was sure he would have found some woman who would take him back to her place. He exuded enough sex appeal to fell a woman within fifty paces.

  Surprisingly, Kendra felt nothing for Mahes. He looked like a sex god, but he wasn't Nefertem. They may look very similar because they shared the same blood, but something about Nefertem called out to her. Which was not the case with Mahes.

  Having to pull on Mahes's arm for the umpteenth time to get him to peel his eyes off yet another woman who had walked by, Kendra felt ready to scream. Plus it didn't help that she had to yank twice on his arm before he actually acknowledged her presence this time. Even though she felt like kicking herself for doing it, she turned to look behind them to see whom Mahes had been ogling so intently. She rolled her eyes. It figured. The woman was a tall, lanky blonde wearing tight fitting shorts and a tank top.

  "Mahes, if you don't stop that, I am going to leave you here and make you find your own way back home."

  "What am I doing that bothers you so?"

  "Don't play stupid with me. You know exactly what I mean."

  Mahes flashed Kendra a sexy smile. “Would you rather I looked at you instead?"

  Kendra elbowed Mahes in the ribs, hard enough to make him grunt in reaction to her jab. “No I do not. I would need to take a shower after you did. I would feel dirty."

  Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, he pulled her up against his side. “Come now, you can't say you don't find me attractive."

  She shoved him away from her. “I will say you are handsome, I would have to be blind not to notice that, but you do nothing for me.” Seeing Mahes's puzzled look, Kendra amended, “I mean I am not attracted to you in that way."

  Mahes looked insulted by her remark. “What if I were to try and change how you feel about me? I can be very persuasive when I want to be."

  "I'm sure you can, but no thanks."

  Not willing to give up so easily, Mahes pulled Kendra down one of the mall's service corridors. As luck would have it, it was deserted. Pushing her up against a wall with his body, he lowered his lips to hers. A second later, he yelped in pain.

  Giving the fistful of Mahes's hair she still held in her grasp another hard tug, Kendra shot daggers at him with her eyes. “That is enough. Your first couple of attempts at trying to seduce me, I let slide, but I won't be so nice any longer. Get it through your thick head. I don't want you; I only want Nefertem. I will not betray him. No matter how little time we have left to be together.” Much to Kendra's shame, she felt tears well up in her eyes.

  Following the trail of one fallen tear down Kendra's cheek with his finger, Mahes sadly shook his head. The seductive, laid-back mien he wore previously was gone. “You love him, don't you?"

  Kendra nodded, then quietly whispered, “Yes. Very much."

  "I'm sorry for what I did before. I just wanted to see how deep your feelings for Nefertem really were. I can see now that they are indeed true."

  "You could have asked instead of putting me through a test."

  "Once again I'm sorry, but I felt it was necessary. You aren't the first woman to proclaim her love for my brother."

  From the way Mahes said it, she could tell it had not ended happily. “What happened?"

  "Takhat was a priestess in our mother's temple. The first time she saw Nefertem appear at the temple, she decided he would be hers. In the beginning, it started out innocent enough, but the more time Nefertem spent with Takhat the more grasping she became. At that time, Nefertem had not had much congress with mortal women, so he did not realize that her words of love were contrived. He believed her every word."

  "Then what happened?"

  "In the end, Takhat seduced Nefertem. She figured if she got him in her bed she would be able to get whatever she wanted from him."

  Kendra was almost afraid to ask, but she needed to know. “What did Takhat really want, if she really didn't want Nefertem?"

  "Immortality. She thought Nefertem would be so enamored with her that he would want her by his side forever. How wrong she was! Nefertem enjoyed their bed sport, but he didn't want her permanently in his life. He refused. So in a fit of pique, Takhat ran to my mother and told her Nefertem had forced himself upon her and she wanted him punished for it."

  "Did your mother believe Takhat?"

  Mahes shook his head. “No, she didn't. But she did punish Nefertem in the end."

  "Why? If she knew Nefertem was wrongly accused why punish him? She should have punished Takhat for telling lies."

  "Oh, she did and not so much for telling lies but for having slept with Nefertem."

  "Are you not allowed to be with mortal women?” Kendra asked, not really understanding.

  Mahes chuckled. “On the contrary. I can see you do not know much about those who serve in the temples. During their time to serve in the temples, the priestesses must stay celibate for the entire duration. Takhat didn't, so she violated Maat."

  "What did your mother do?"

  "Well for Nefertem, for daring to sleep with one of her priestesses, she made him what he is today. Bound to the pendant you wear around your neck. Summoned to punish mortals and to live as one until her coming. As for Takhat, her punishment was death."

  Kendra swallowed loudly. “How?"

  Mahes took a step away from Kendra. “I killed her."

  Feeling all the blood drain from her face, Kendra sidled further away from Mahes. “Why did it have to be you who killed her?"

  "Just as Nefertem has a duty, so do I. I am the one who punishes those who violate Maat. I punish all transgressors. Maat is universal order and it must be protected from wrong-doers."

  "I don't think I will ever get used to the idea of you and Nefertem being actual gods. Wrathful gods when called to do so."

  "Well, for the moment, we are not all that much different from you. I did not tell you all this to make you fear us. I only wanted you to understand why Nefertem is the way he is."

  Kendra nodded, then
walked back out into the main part of the mall. She could hear that Mahes followed behind her. He had given her a lot to think about, especially about Nefertem's relationship with Takhat. He had of course told her nothing of this before. Right now, she had no idea how to feel about the whole thing.

  Slowing down, Kendra allowed Mahes to draw up next to her. “Let's get you some proper clothes so we can leave here.” She noticed that Mahes was drawing looks again from any woman who passed them.

  "I sense that you are displeased with me."

  "Yes. No. Not really. I just don't know what to think."

  "Maybe I should never have told you. It really wasn't my place to discuss that with you."

  "Maybe not, but it has given me a little better understanding of Nefertem."

  * * * *

  The rest of the shopping excursion went relatively well. Though there were a couple sales ladies Kendra had to almost beat off with a stick. They had followed Mahes like lovesick puppy dogs. One even going so far as to follow him into a changing room. Only Kendra's loud throat clearing and pointed stare had chased her away. Which Mahes, of course, found vastly amusing.

  Once sufficiently outfitted and a couple hundred dollars more charged to her credit card, Kendra dragged Mahes out of the mall. Much to her surprise, no hoard of women lusting after him followed in their wake. As she pulled out of the parking lot, Kendra made a mental note to never go to the mall with Mahes, ever again.

  Just the same as in the ride to the mall, Mahes sat staring out the car window, watching the scenery as it went by. Unlike his brother, he was more inclined to readily show his emotions. He did not hold himself under such tight restraints.

  When they arrived back at the house, the sight of an agitated Nefertem confronted them. He was pacing back and forth, from the kitchen to the living room, and back again. The television was blaring away in the background. It was set at such a loud volume that the sound drowned out any other, and because of that, Nefertem did not hear Kendra's or Mahes's return.

  Kendra could only stare at Nefertem in shocked silence. She had seen him in bad straits before, but this was nothing, compared to that other time. He was holding himself so tightly the veins that ran down both sides of his neck stood out. His jaw was clenched firmly together as he fought whatever demon struggled inside him.

  Dropping the shopping bags at his feet, Mahes covered his ears with his hands. The noise coming from the big black box was almost deafening. He had no idea how Nefertem could stand it with his acute hearing. He did understand what his brother was trying to do though. Nefertem was fighting what the changes inside him were trying to make him do. Demands to act, to hurt, to cause pain in others. And the more he fought those demands, the more mental anguish he would endure. Mahes knew what was taking place inside Nefertem. When he was called to do his duty, he went through much the same thing. Only his transition happened much quicker and easier. Nefertem's torment was part of his punishment.

  Crossing swiftly to where Nefertem paced, Mahes took hold of his brother's shoulder and pulled him to a halt. “Be at ease, Nefertem. You can't continue to fight it.” The words had barely left his mouth when Nefertem turned on him. He was flipped onto his back in a matter of seconds. Nefertem used his knee to pin Mahes to the floor. A look of pure animal rage was on his face.

  The speed in which Nefertem had brought Mahes down caused Kendra to gasp. But seeing the look of rage he wore caused her to act. Having no thought for her own safety, Kendra rushed over to the two men. Catching Nefertem by the chin, she forced him to look at her.

  "Enough, Nefertem. Let Mahes up.” At first, he didn't seem to recognize her. Speaking more insistently, she said, “Nefertem it's me, Kendra. Now let Mahes up."

  Giving a shake of his head, Nefertem came back to reality. Looking at Kendra, he could see the worried expression she wore. He looked down at Mahes. He had no memory of attacking his brother. It was the look of pity on Mahes's face that had Nefertem scrambling up and off him.

  "I did not mean to do..."

  "Its okay, Nefertem.” Kendra smiled warmly up at him. She could see he was deeply agitated.

  "No it isn't. I shouldn't have reacted that way. The only excuse I have for it is I let my imagination get the better of me."

  Mahes, now on his feet once again, stood brushing non-existent specks of lint from his clothes. “What were you picturing I was doing? And I know it had to do with me or you would not have jumped on me like that."

  "Most of my thoughts were hardly unfounded, Mahes. I know what you are like, especially with women."

  His brother chuckled and said, “You fretted for nothing. My charms as it turns out, don't work on all women."

  Kendra rolled her eyes at Mahes. “Like you have to lay on the charm very much to get whatever woman you want.” Turning to Nefertem, she said, “You could have warned me about the effect your bother has on women before we left. It gave a real boost to my ego to watch Mahes lust after every female that happened to walk by while I had to fight to gain his attention."

  Deciding to leave the two brothers alone for a while, Kendra collected up all the shopping bags Mahes had dropped. “I'll go and put this all away upstairs in the spare bedroom for Mahes. I'm sure the two of you can amuse yourselves while I'm gone.” Before either one of the men could protest, she headed up the stairs.

  Chapter Fifteen

  "She will stay true to you, Nefertem.” Mahes said, as he stood staring at the stairs where Kendra had disappeared up to the upper floor.

  "How can you be so sure?” Nefertem scowled at his brother.

  "Don't look at me that way. I did it for you. I had to know how Kendra really felt about you."

  "What exactly did you do, Mahes?” Each word came out forced and full of menace.

  "I tried to kiss her.” When Nefertem snarled and advanced on him, Mahes held out his hand to stop him. “Let me finish before you grind me into a pulp. When I said my charms don't work on all women, I meant one in particular. Kendra. She would have nothing of me. She almost snatched me bald for my efforts."

  Nefertem fell back. “Kendra rejected you?"

  "Amazing as that may seem, yes she did. You couldn't have really thought Kendra would do that to you?” When his question was met with silence, Mahes shook his head in wonderment. “Nefertem, she loves you. You cannot tell me you did not already know this."

  Nefertem stiffened at Mahes's offhand remark about Kendra's feelings for him. “Kendra told you this? Or are you just assuming this from her reaction to one of your famous tests?"

  "She told me so herself."

  Hearing Kendra's footsteps moving around upstairs, Nefertem stared up at the ceiling above his head. “Why couldn't you have just left things as they were, Mahes?"

  "I thought you would be pleased to know you have the love of your woman."

  "Pleased? What good does it do me to know Kendra loves me? You know there can be no way for the two of us to be together."

  "What if you were to..."

  Nefertem cut his brother off before he could finish that particular sentence. He knew what Mahes was going to say even before he had the chance to speak the words. “No. Don't even say it."

  "It is possible, Nefertem. You still have the power to do it."

  "I said no! Would you have her tied to an animal, a killer of her kind, forever?"

  Mahes sadly shook his head. He couldn't believe Nefertem would give up so easily. “You can't just let her go."

  "That is precisely what I have to do.” Cocking his head, Nefertem could hear Kendra returning. Speaking quietly he added, “If you have any love for me as a brother you will keep your big mouth shut and tell Kendra nothing about this."

  Mahes wisely held his tongue. He couldn't very well tell Nefertem that Kendra already knew about his power to grant immortality. Nor that he had told her all about Takhat. He loved his brother, but in instances such as this, he thought him the biggest fool.

  * * * *

  Stretching her ar
ms over her head, Tory pulled the kinks out of her body. She felt completely satiated. The night she had spent with Scott was one she would not soon forget. Turning her head, she found the bed next to her empty. Placing her hand on the spot where Scott had been lying, she found it cool to the touch. The faint sound of a page turning reached her ears.

  Holding the sheet to her chest, Tory propped herself up on one elbow. Peering over at the desk set up directly across from the bed, she found the source of the noise. A smile crept across her lips. Scott sat at the desk reading one of his history books. What made her smile was the splendid sight that met her eyes. He sat in the desk chair not wearing a stitch of clothing. The way the chair was positioned, his back faced her. She let her eyes roam over his broad muscular back. The man did have a killer bod, and she had explored every inch of it during the night.

  Wanting to gain Scott's attention, Tory yawned loudly. If she could drag him away from his books long enough, maybe she could entice him back to bed. She smiled seductively when he turned in the chair to look at her.

  "Awake are you? I thought you might sleep the whole day away."

  "If I did, I would have had just cause to do so."

  Scott's gaze grew downright steamy in reaction to her remark. “Very true."

  Tory patted the bed next to her. “Well, I didn't sleep the day away, so come back over here."

  "Oh, what a greedy woman you have turned out to be."

  Giving a throaty laugh, Tory let the sheet she was clasping to her chest slip down until Scott got a glimpse of her breasts. “I'm only greedy when it comes to you."

  In response to Tory's very blatant invitation, Scott shot over to the bed, practically knocking over the chair in his haste to reach her. His lips claimed hers in a passionate kiss a second later. Tory groaned deep in her throat.

  Lifting his lips from hers by a mere hair's breadth, Scott said, “Far be it for me to deprive a lady of something she wants. All you have to do is ask."

  "Then I am asking.” Tory said huskily. She pulled his lips back to her own.

  It was much, much later when they became aware of the real world once again, though it was with great reluctance on both their parts that they did.