The Blue Lotus

by Marisa Chenery

  Deciding to make the most of her evening by herself, Kendra rented a DVD, one of the new releases, and made herself one of her favourite meals. In lieu of a bottle of wine, she had opted for a bottle of sparkling white grape juice.

  She finished eating her meal and settled down in the living room to watch the movie. She couldn't help but be reminded of another evening she had spent almost the same way as this one.

  Kendra quickly became involved in the movie. It was one of those sci-fi action flicks she loved to watch. So it was, she did not hear the knock on the front door. A second knock came much louder than the first, and it was then Kendra finally noticed there was someone at her door. Putting the movie on pause, she went to answer the door. She wondered who could be coming for a visit at this hour of the day.

  A knock came again before she could reach the door. Kendra took hold of the doorknob and pulled open the door. Much to her surprise, she found her old boss Stan Wilson standing on her front porch.

  "Stan, what a surprise. I thought you were in..."

  The older man finished her sentence for her. “In jail? I have a very good lawyer and he managed to get me out on bail. My trial isn't for a few months."

  "I see. Is there something I can do for you?"

  "As a matter of fact there is. May I come in? I promise not to take up too much of your time."

  Kendra couldn't think of a good enough reason to say no, so she stepped back and allowed Stan to walk through the open door.

  Once inside Stan gave the hallway a cursory look. When Kendra made no move to invite him further into the house, he cleared his throat, then said, “How have you been, Kendra? I know your termination was a bit of a shock to you. Have you been able to find another job?"

  "Actually I have found another place to work. I now work with my brother."

  "Ah. Markus is back now from Egypt?"

  Kendra started to feel a little bit uneasy, especially so when Stan began to peer around her as if he were checking to see where Markus was. She decided to play it safe.

  "Yes he is back at home. He just stepped out for a while. I expect him back any minute."

  "I'm sorry I missed him.” Stan brushed past her before Kendra could protest. “You have a lovely home, Kendra."

  Kendra followed Stan into the living room. “Thanks. You said you needed me to do something for you?"

  Stan turned to face her. “Yes. You can tell me what you told the police."

  "I didn't tell them anything.” She did not like the turn this conversation was taking.

  "Really now? I find that hard to believe. The police had a lot of information about me. Things you could have quite easily gotten your hands on. Did they pay you well for the information you provided? Is that why you are now working with your brother?"

  Stan's tone of voice changed from being polite to accusatory. Kendra had enough. “I have no idea what you are talking about. Believe me. It came as a very big surprise to me when you were arrested. Now I think it is time you left."

  "I'm not going anywhere until you answer me."

  "There is nothing else I can tell you. I didn't have anything to do with the police finding out about your illegal activities.” Kendra started to back away from Stan, but he quickly grabbed her by the arm before she could get too far out of reach.

  Making sure she could not break his hold, Stan tightened his grip as he dragged her back into the living room. Roughly, he shoved her onto the couch. Once released she rubbed her abused arm. For someone of his stature, Stan was far stronger than he looked.

  He stood so she could not get off the couch without him easily stopping her. The look in his eyes made Kendra's mouth go dry in fear. His was a look a man wore who had nothing to lose and could not accept the hand fate had dealt him.

  "What do you think you are accomplishing here, Stan? Hurting me won't change what happened to you."

  "Maybe not, but I will get a measure of satisfaction from it. You have destroyed me financially and socially, playing the stool pigeon for the police. I will take great pleasure in making you pay for what you did to me."

  It wasn't hard for Kendra to realize her former boss had lost his sanity. Being arrested must have been the catalyst that pushed him over the edge of reason. Knowing she was dealing with a mad man did nothing to dispel the mounting fear she was feeling. Sending out a silent call for help, Kendra hoped someone out there would hear it. Without some assistance, she could all too easily see this ending badly. For herself.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Moving the coffee table out of his way, Stan began to pace back and forth in front of the couch. Kendra followed his movements with her eyes, unsure of what Stan intended to do next. If only Markus would come home, she thought to herself. He could easily take care of Stan and throw him out of the house.

  Stopping his frenetic pacing, Stan turned to face her. “I am really disappointed in you, Kendra. I thought very highly of you. I never expected you to turn on me as you did."

  "I didn't turn on you, Stan. I wouldn't have even known where to find the evidence against you."

  He waved away her excuses with a wave of his hand. And that was exactly what they were to him—excuses. “You can stop lying to me, Kendra. I know you had your hand in this. All I want to hear from you is why you did it. If it were for the money, I would have willingly paid you more than the police did. And if you had proved your loyalty to me I may have brought you into that side of my business."

  "You are not listening to me.” Kendra spoke in a soft, even tone hoping Stan would actually hear what she was telling him. “I am not lying to you."

  Taking her roughly by the chin, Stan stared down at Kendra giving her a hard look. “I can see it in your eyes that you are lying. So what is the point in continuing with these untruths?"

  The lights in the room flickered once and then a second time. That was all she needed, was for the power to go out. She did not relish having to deal with a crazy man in the dark. “I think you are only seeing what you want to see. Not what is really there."

  The backhanded blow Stan gave her caught Kendra on her cheek. Much to her surprise, she only felt a small twinge of pain. It was nothing near to what she should have felt considering Stan had hit her with enough force so that her head had been snapped to the side.

  Before she could think more about that particular anomaly, the light bulb in the lamp closest to the couch suddenly exploded. Glass shards fell to the floor littering the carpet with sharp points. The room was plunged into semi-darkness. The only remaining lamp still lit threw only the smallest amount of brightness and did not do much to banish the shadows.

  The light bulb's shattering drew Stan's attention away from Kendra. Using it to her advantage, she began to carefully inch her way along the couch to the opposite end. Her luck didn't last very long though; Stan noticed her movements and blocked her escape.

  "Oh, no, you don't. I am not through with you yet. Let's try this again. I will have an answer from you, Kendra, and by any means necessary to hear the correct one."

  Deciding that playing the part of a submissive victim was getting her nowhere, Kendra attempted to clamber over the arm of the couch. It would have worked too if only Stan had possessed slower reflexes. He managed to snag a handful of her hair and roughly yanked her back onto the couch cushions.

  As he raised his hand to strike her once again, a loud cat growl filled the room. Stan slowly lowered his hand and searched the room for the source of the sound. At first he couldn't see what could have made such an animalistic noise. It wasn't until he looked into the far corner of the room where it was heavily shadowed, that he found what he was looking for. In reaction to what he saw, he felt a chill of fear run down his back in an icy shiver.

  Kendra's breath caught in her throat at the sound of the growl. She recognized it and felt her heart begin to beat faster. Frantically she looked for the one being she knew who could make such a sound as that. Finding him standing in the shadows, Kendra fought the u
rge to fly off the couch and into his arms. There was still the small matter of ridding herself of Stan first.

  Moving with the grace and stealth of a sleek hunting cat, Nefertem closed the distance between himself and the man who meant Kendra harm. Dressed as he had been when summoned, along with the helmet depicting the head of a black leopard completely hiding his face from view, he was an impressive sight. Growling with menace, he pulled his sword free from its scabbard and advanced on his intended victim.

  Not really comprehending who or what was stalking him, but knowing the threat to his well-being was indeed real, Stan began to back away from the creature. He forgot all about Kendra. Holding his hands out in submission, Stan tried to increase the distance between himself and the man-creature advancing upon him. The tip of the sword held in his direction never strayed from the mere inches that were between it and his chest.

  Kendra watched as Nefertem silently forced Stan away from her and out of the living room. All the while, a litany of ‘Please let him really be here’ became a desperate plea that kept repeating itself inside her head. Not moving from her spot on the couch, she waited for the sound of the front door shutting that would herald Stan's departure. When it eventually came, she sailed off the couch and ran out of the living room and into the hallway.

  To her dismay, the entrance way was empty. Yanking open the front door, she looked outside to see if Nefertem had chased Stan all the way out of the house, but he wasn't out on the porch either. All Kendra could see was Stan's car speeding off as if the hounds of hell were nipping at his heels.

  Turning back around, Kendra slammed the door and hurried back to the living room. It too was empty. “Nefertem! Where are you?” she called. She got no reply.

  Kendra felt her heart sink. Nefertem was gone, again. She did not know if it was a blessing to have him back only to save her from Stan, or a supreme torture, a torture to see him and not be able to touch or speak to him.

  With spirits low, Kendra set about cleaning up the glass mess from the shattered light bulb. Once finished, she replaced the broken bulb with a new one and the gloom of the room was quickly banished. After the events of the evening, she no longer felt like sitting through the rest of the movie she had been watching before Stan's arrival. Kendra shut down the DVD player, switched off the television and made her way upstairs.

  On the way up to her room, she decided not to report what took place between Stan and herself to the police. She was afraid too many questions that she did not want to answer would be asked. Reaching her bedroom, Kendra went into her bathroom and took a look at her face. It was what she was afraid of; there wasn't a mark on her face to show where Stan had hit her. If she called the police, they would want to see the bruising she most assuredly should have had. This ability she now possessed to somehow heal herself quickly was really starting to freak her out. It wasn't at all natural.

  Sighing, Kendra switched off the light inside the bathroom and returned to her bedroom. What she found sitting on the middle of her bed brought her up short. Her heart skipped a beat at the sight of them.

  Hoping beyond hope that they were indeed real, Kendra closed and opened her eyes quickly. That changed nothing. They still sat there on her bed. Moving over to the bed she tenderly touched the leopard's head helmet and the blue lotus flower placed in front of it.

  Picking up the lotus, she inhaled its heady scent. It reminded her of Nefertem. It was the scent of this flower that always seemed to be with him.

  Having a feeling about who could have put these two items in her room without her knowledge, Kendra took another whiff of the lotus and said to the room at large, “If you did this as a joke, Mahes, I am going to kick your butt the next time you show yourself here. God or no god."

  "It was not Mahes who left those there for you.” The voice that came behind her was deep and rich.

  Clutching the lotus tightly in her hand, Kendra slowly turned in the direction from where the voice had come. Tears welled up in her eyes and spilled over the top, uncontrolled. It was Nefertem who stood behind her.

  "How can this be?” Kendra asked. “You said you would never be able to come back to me."

  No longer able to keep his distance from Kendra, Nefertem took the two steps needed to reach her and swept her up in his arms. Holding her so her feet no longer touched the floor, he claimed her lips in a searing kiss. Before he lost control of himself, Nefertem released Kendra's lips but kept his arms firmly around her.

  "All that has now changed.” Nefertem softly answered her.

  "I don't understand."

  Moving to sit on the bed, Nefertem lowered himself onto the mattress and arranged Kendra so she sat sideways across his lap. She kept her arms wrapped around his neck.

  "The edict placed on my ability to move in the mortal realm has been removed."

  "For how long?” Kendra looked into Nefertem's golden eyes, still unable to believe he was truly with her.

  Nefertem gave her a wide smile. “It is forever. Once Re heard about what my mother had done to you, he acted against her. She broke one of his dictates when she struck you down. As her punishment, he released me from the spell of the pendant. I am no longer bound to it."

  With shaking hands, Kendra lifted the pendant from where it hung from around her neck. She flipped it over so she could read the hieroglyphs engraved on the other side. She gasped in surprise. The original spell was no longer there; in its place was something more meaningful.

  "What does the hieroglyphs say now, my love?” Nefertem urged.

  Kendra swallowed audibly. “It says, a love born out of strife. Where there was only one there are now two. Their love, the lotus shall ever keep.” Kendra swallowed once more. “It's beautiful."

  Nefertem brushed a lock of hair behind Kendra's ear. “As you are. I love you, Kendra, and always will. I know our mating was not what you expected when you decided to take a husband, so I want to make it right for you. Kendra, will you marry me?"

  Kendra shook her head. “No.” When Nefertem opened his mouth to protest, she placed a finger across his firm lips. “No, I won't. Our mating will always mean more to me than a marriage ceremony ever could. You already are my husband, Nefertem.” Lifting her left hand, she showed him the gold band that circled her finger.

  As he held up his left hand, Kendra saw the matching gold band on his finger. “But you know the inscription on the pendant is wrong, Nefertem."

  "In what way?"

  "Well, it is the part about there now being two, that is incorrect.” Placing Nefertem's hand on the small swell of her tummy, Kendra smiled at him. “Soon there will be three of us."

  Nefertem looked down to where Kendra pressed his hand and then back up at her face. He could see a radiance to her face that had not been there before. “A child? We are going to have a baby?"

  At Kendra's nod, Nefertem claimed her lips once more. As he kissed her, he slowly lay back on the bed and moved her so she lay sprawled on top of him. He loved this woman more than anything. He had even been willing to give up his immortality for her so they could both live out their lives together. But Re had not allowed it when he had released him from the pendant. Nefertem still did not understand why Re had been so adamant that he keep his godhood.

  Wanting nothing more than to complete what she and Nefertem were starting, with great reluctance, Kendra pulled away from him. A hundred questions were whirling inside her head. Most could wait for another day, but some she needed answers to now.

  "I want to know a few things before you make me incapable of coherent thought, Nefertem."

  Shifting on the bed so Kendra lay on her side facing him, Nefertem acquiesced. “I knew you would have questions. It is part of your nature. Ask away."

  "Okay then. Firstly, where are you going to live? Will you stay here with me and only spend a little time in the immortal realm? I know by my being mortal I will not be able to follow you there."

  "I will stay here with you. There may be times I must go to t
he immortal realm, but I will never leave you for long."

  "That does put my mind to rest about that particular subject. Now, what about your mother?"

  Nefertem chuckled. “My mother will no longer be a problem, my love. When Re broke the spell on the pendant, my mother returned to her normal self. Like me, she only became what she was when the spell was invoked. She is normally a loving and caring person."

  Kendra found that hard to believe, but if what Nefertem said was true, she would have to rethink how she felt about Sekhmet.

  "I guess I will have to take your word on that, Nefertem."

  "I can see you find it hard to believe, but you will see for yourself the next time you see my mother."

  "Whoa there, one step at a time. I'm not quite that ready to forgive and forget what your mother did to me. She did try to kill me after all, and would have succeeded too, if it had not been for your father."

  Kissing Kendra's forehead, Nefertem said, “I won't push you into doing something you aren't ready for."

  "And speaking of your father, when does the side effect from his healing me wear off? It's really doing a number on my head."

  Nefertem's brows furrowed. “What do you mean by a side effect? I have never heard of such happening after a person has been healed."

  "I mean this ability I seem to have to heal myself in a matter of seconds. Not to mention the fact I don't feel any pain worth speaking of. Even when Stan hit me, it didn't hurt as it should have."

  Nefertem quickly sat up on the bed and looked closely at Kendra. She too sat up as he stared intently at her.

  "What is it, Nefertem?"

  He shook his head and was about to send out a silent call when his father's voice filled his head. From Kendra's reaction, he knew she heard Ptah as well.

  "I am here, my son."