by Sumida, Amy
“I think you mistake your son's interest in me,” I once more removed her hand. “There may be desire there but it's not love. I'm not his reason to live.”
“I think you are the one who is mistaken,” she waved her hand in a slashing motion when I began to speak. “I am his mother. I know him better than any other and I can say, without a doubt, that I have never seen him look at a woman like he looks at you. You have put colors in his eyes that I have never seen there. There is no mistaking his feelings for you. Why do you think I welcomed you so warmly? I knew immediately that he wanted that from me.”
I closed my eyes and rubbed at my forehead. I was so tired of trying to figure Anubis out. Now his mother was telling me he loved me. Should I be happy? Excited that I was one step closer to escape? I tried to feel those things but all I could manage was a vague twisting sensation in my stomach. I had a bad feeling about all of it.
“Please help him,” Nephthys whispered in her grave-side voice. “Raise him from the dead and give me back my son.”
“That's not one of my powers.”
“Oh, but it is, Godhunter,” she turned and left me but her voice lingered beside me. “It is.”
Chapter Twenty-One
I was drinking a glass of punch, leaning a little against the mirrored wall, finally alone while Anubis chatted with his father, when Thoth approached me. I eyed him warily as he came up with his glass of champagne. He smiled and inclined his head as he leaned back against the wall, next to me.
“Enjoying yourself, Godhunter?”
“As much as possible, I suppose,” I eased myself down the wall from him a little.
“Little by little you’re changing him,” he poked at the chain wrapped around my arm. “Now he lets you free.”
“Hardly,” I lifted my glass in Anubis’ direction. “He’s only just there.”
“More free than he intended,” Thoth’s eyes were angry, glinting in the light from the hundreds of candles reflected in the mirrors. “More free than I’d like.”
“I’m so sorry to disappoint you, Thoth,” I sighed and rubbed at my head. I mean come on, the guy acted like it was all a vicious plot of mine to get Anubis to kidnap me. “Frankly, I think I’d rather be chained to the wall of Anubis’ bedroom than at this party right now. In case you haven’t noticed, nobody here likes me much. Anubis is showing off his prize, that’s all this is about.”
“I don’t know about that,” I turned to find Ares leaning on the wall to my left. “But I agree with Thoth, you’re much too free for my liking.”
I backed away from Ares, bringing me closer to Thoth again but I preferred the birdbrain to the bully any day. Ares gave me a cocky grin and looked me up and down, like he was imagining new forms of torture to try out on me. I lifted my chin, looked pointedly at his lack of a left hand, and felt my eyes widen as I saw the shiny new golden hand that was in its place. I suddenly felt like I was in a James Bond movie. I grinned mockingly.
“You impudent bitch,” Ares threw his crystal glass to the floor and reached for my neck.
The crash of his glass, not to mention his shouting, drew everyone’s attention and of course I was in the center of it all again. I leaped back to avoid Ares but I’d forgotten my train and I tripped… right into Thoth. Thoth caught me, automatic reflex I think, but we both tumbled to the ground.
The good news was, Ares missed. The bad news was, I was in a tumble of silk with Thoth and all Anubis’ guests were watching. Thoth recovered quickly, got to his feet, and totally shocked me by helping me to mine. It must’ve been all the watching eyes, he wanted to look like a gentleman.
Ares hadn’t cooled off though and by the time I’d made it to my feet, he was right there to knock me down again. Whamo! Bitch slapped again. I was getting tired of that shit. I mean, come on, fight me with a sword, with magic, with your fists, but don’t slap me like a girl. That’s just not right.
I contemplated all of that as I reclined on the floor and tested my lip, which he thankfully missed, no blood to ruin my pretty dress. My cheek stung something fierce though. Before I could decide whether to attempt getting to my feet on my own, it’s more difficult than you may think when you’re tangled in yards of silk, Anubis was there helping me.
I looked up, half expecting to find him angry at me. He looked pretty pissed but when he got me on my feet it was only tenderness he gave me. He stroked my face gently, smoothed my hair, and looked me over carefully, making sure I hadn’t bruised or scraped anything.
“Are you alright, Miw-sher?”
“I think so,” I felt my lips go a little slack as I stared at the colors shifting over his eyes… sharp, bright colors. Someone was in tro-o-o-uble… and holy hounds, for once it wasn’t me.
He pushed my hair back and kissed me on the forehead, before turning to face Ares. I hadn't even noticed the flashes until Anubis sent a withering look to Hermes and they abruptly stopped. It must have been one hell of a look, because when he transferred it to Ares, the war god immediately started stammering.
“She insulted me,” he waved to his new hand-o-gold. “I’m a god, I can’t let that pass. You of all should understand that.”
“Were you absent when I said I wanted Vervain afforded the same respect as one would grant me?” Anubis’ voice was cool, like the whisper of a ghost on the back of your neck.
“She insulted me!”
“Were you here?” I saw Anubis’ shoulders tense and his hands rise.
“Yes, I was here but she mocked my hand,” he pointed accusingly at me. “You know her lover cut it from me.”
“I am her lover,” Anubis slid closer and Ares backed up, “and my bite is much worse than the Wolf Prince’s. Do you doubt it?”
“No,” Ares drew his sword in one swift move and the crowd drew a collective breath. “I don’t doubt you take a bigger bite but you’ve sorely misjudged me if you think I’ll just stand here and let you take one out of me.”
“You have five minutes to get out of Duat,” Anubis waved a hand and werejackals came out of the crowd to surround Ares. “They’ll escort you out or tear you apart if you dally. Goodbye, Ares.”
“Goodbye, Anubis,” Ares started to strut by but stopped when he got abreast of us. “Watch your back with this one.”
In answer, Anubis turned to me and unlocked my collar. The metal slid from my neck and I heaved a sigh of delight. The absence of all that weight was an incredible relief. He held the collar out in front of us and let it drop to the floor with a loud clank. I looked at him with wide-eyed disbelief and he pulled me in with one hand, stroking my hair with his other.
“I am the God of the Dead,” his voice carried over the quiet assemblage. “I rule here and no one, be they god or godhunter, will triumph over me in my own palace. I have no fear of that.” He scooped me up and carried me from the room, making me wonder whether he was being gallant or arrogant.
The last thing I saw before the doors closed behind us, was his mother's smile.
Chapter Twenty-Two
“You have let your lust blind you,” Thoth’s voice stopped me short, just outside of the library.
I was going for another book, one of the few sources of entertainment available to me, but the idea of a new story was less interesting than the one that was taking place on the other side of the door. I pressed my ear to the crack and eavesdropped.
“My lusts are none of your concern,” Anubis said haughtily.
“They are when they’re threatening to destroy you.”
“She’s completely in my control here,” Anubis sounded overly confident. “She’d have to trace out to a warded home in the God Realm to be able to resist my call.”
“And what if she did manage to trace out to a warded territory?” Thoth just wouldn’t let up but in this instance I was glad for it. I needed those questions answered as well.
“She can’t,” Anubis answered flippantly. “She’s human. She needs the help of one of us to leave Duat. There’s no possibilit
y for her to escape. Even if she did, all I'd have to do is wait for her soul to seep back to me and then simply call her back. She's mine, she'll never be free. So stop worrying. ”
“I can’t help it. You’re acting more and more like a lovesick pup everyday. There may come a day when you free her yourself, out of love.”
“No,” Anubis’ voice went up a few octives. “I’ll never release her and there’s no love in me. I’m Death, death does not love.”
“You don’t sound so sure anymore,” Thoth’s sigh was loud enough for me to hear easily. “I know I’m not sure because I know there’s love in you. Being Death doesn’t burn away your heart, my friend. Death can be cruel but it can also be merciful. There’s love inside you but please, for your own good, do not gift it to her.”
“If it is true, if I do have the ability to love,” Anubis sounded a little hopeful and it made my own treacherous heart ache. “Then I’ll have no choice in the matter. My love will go where it will.”
I waited a few minutes for the conversation to steer back into safer waters before I knocked and opened the door enough to poke my head in.
“Am I disturbing you?”
Anubis smiled brightly and waved me in. “No, I was just about to go looking for you, come in.”
Thoth stared at me but kept his face carefully blank. I looked away from him quickly.
“I was just coming to exchange a book,” I held the book in my hands up.
“What were you reading?” Anubis held his hand out for it and I gave it to him. “Wadsworth. You like poetry?”
“You sound surprised,” I smiled crookedly at him. “Just because I’m the Godhunter, I can’t enjoy poetry? Should I read The Art of War instead?”
“You’re just not the woman I thought you were,” Anubis looked pensively at the book before placing it on the table beside him and standing up.
“Is that good or bad?” I took the hand he offered me and let him lead me out of the room and away from Thoth. I could feel his bitter scowl on my back.
“Good,” Anubis shifted his hand to the small of my back. “It’s very good.”
“Where are you taking me?” I softened my gaze. The effort was less and less difficult lately.
“Far from here,” he kissed my cheek. “I’m tired of chasing Re away from you.”
“Does he stay here often?” Re hadn’t left since the night he’d helped me win Anubis’ jealousy and that had been over two weeks ago.
“He visits a lot,” Anubis led me out into the garden and through the paths. “But not usually for so long.”
“Oh,” I knew this was an opportunity to play on his jealousy again and I figured I might as well make use of Re’s extended stay. “Why do you think he’s stayed so long this time?”
“You know exactly why he’s stayed,” he stopped and chucked me under the chin and I turned toward him but I immediately forgot what I was about to say, as a wave of weakness washed over me and I collapsed.
“Miw-sher!” Anubis picked me up and carried me to a stone bench. “What is it? Look at me!”
I lifted eyelids that felt weighted down with lead and tried to focus on his face but it was Trevor’s I saw, pale and weak. I screamed as his wolf tore through my body, trying to break free and return to him. It pushed and clawed until I thought I must surely be bleeding to death from the inside.
I always knew Trevor would die without me and I knew his death would tear me apart but I had no idea it would be so literal a tearing.
“Miw-sher, please!” I felt Anubis stand and then there was a sense of swift movement as he ran us back to the palace.
I tried to answer him but all that came out was a groan. Then the warmth of the sun was traded for cool shade and I was laid out on a bed. I saw Trevor again, eyes open, arms reaching for me and I screamed his name.
“Her mate is dying,” the reserved tones of Thoth’s voice hovered around me. “She’ll probably be alright in a few minutes but she’ll go through bouts like this until he’s dead.”
“No!” I screamed. “Trevor! VéulfR!”
“Anubis,” Re’s warmth spread over me. “Maybe you should let her return to her mate.”
“No,” I felt a cold hand on my face and was finally able to focus enough to see Anubis. “I won’t let you go, Miw-sher.”
“Please,” I felt the tears pouring down my face. I was gasping brokenly and I grasped his hand desperately. “Please don’t let him die.”
“If you leave me, I will die,” he kissed my forehead.
“Stop being so dramatic,” Thoth sneered.
“Anubis, you said it yourself, she’s only property to you,” Re tried for a more consoling tone. “Let her go, she’s suffered enough.”
“No!” He growled at them over his shoulder.
“What do you care?” Re gave up being calm and yelled back. “It’s not like you love her.” Silence thickened the air. “Do you? Do you love her?”
“Yes!” Anubis’ voice rang through my head. So I’d won but at what cost? Even his love was selfish. He wasn’t going to let me go, no matter how much pain it caused me.
“I will hate you for eternity,” I vowed with a shaking voice, “if you let Trevor die.”
“I don’t care,” his eyes betrayed the lie, “as long as you’re mine.”
“Just let me see him,” I returned to begging. “All I need is to touch him, just once a month. Please, I’ll stay with you, just let me keep him alive.”
“She’s not asking a lot,” Re tried reasoning again.
“Will you give me your oath?” Anubis ignored the collective gasp around him, “Blood to Heart, given freely?”
“Are you proposing?” I stared at him with fascinated horror. “Why don’t men ever offer me a ring when they propose?” The pain was making me lightheaded and my focus drifted away. My breaths were coming on short gasps, my body aching even in the reprieve of pain.
“I’ll shower you with rings,” his eyes went bright with sparks of colors, “with jewels fit for Cleopatra, anything you want. Marry me, Miw-sher, and I’ll let your wolf live. You may visit him once a month. I vow it.”
Blood to Heart. It was an ancient Atlantean ritual that resulted in a union more binding than marriage. I swallowed hard, trying to think. Gods had broken the oath before but only after centuries of marriage and even then, they were still connected to each other.
Thor had made a Blood to Lips oath to me when we’d first met, to convince me that I was safe with him and his friends. Even that minor oath of protection had shocked the God Squad and resulted in a mental connection we still shared, at least outside of the Underworld. Neither of the blood oaths were undertaken lightly.
Then Trevor's wolf tore through me again and I screamed, writhing on the bed. Anubis' hands were stroking my arms, his face above mine with a sheen of tears over his swirling eyes. Silver, there was only silver flowing over the black. What did it mean?
“Alright,” I licked my dry lips. “Take me to him. Make a blood oath to me that you’ll let me visit him once a month, and I’ll make oath to you.”
His lips covered mine and his joy made me nauseous. He celebrated as Trevor lay dying. It was all a means to an end with him. My life, my wants, my loves, meant nothing to him. Trevor’s life meant nothing to him. I hated him more than ever and I was going to bind myself to him… to save Trevor. My beautiful wolf would live. In that moment it was all that mattered.
Over Anubis' shoulder, I met Re's eyes. They were grim and disappointed, even the shine of his skin seemed diminished. I think he'd expected more from Anubis. He shook his head and mouthed two words to me.
“I'm sorry.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
The Paul Mitchell estate had a terrible history. Lovingly built by the hair product magnate, with sprawling buildings paneled in koa wood, it boasted a wrought iron gate decorated with a brass heart that split in two when it opened. Prophetic if you ask me, since it had never been lived in by its creator. Paul M
itchell died before he was able to move in and it was left to his son to complete the house. Now the estate was being fought over by his relatives. So they rented it out as the lawyers tried to figure out who owned it.
What an appropriate setting for my engagement party.
I sat in a wooden deck chair facing the calm sea at the back of the property. I breathed in the salty air deeply, trying to let the familiar scent calm me. In front of me, dark waves crashed on the pristine beach, bioluminescent microbes making them glow blue and seem so mystical. Behind me the celebration raged, light and laughter spilling out through the open sliding glass doors. It only made me feel more lost, more desolate.
I stared hard at the huge diamond glittering on my left hand. Anubis had gone all out, a five carat Harry Winston solitaire. I felt like Wilma Flintstone. It sparkled up at me in the half-light, taunting me with every shimmer. I tried to ignore it but it was a little hard to miss.
Then another round of Trevor's pain rocked through me and left me gasping. The episodes were getting closer together but less violent. It scared me. How long did Trevor have left? Would he make it in time? Damn Anubis, if Trevor died, I would find a way to kill him.
“Vervain,” the voice was hesitant, unusual for Blue.
“Come to gloat?” I was still breathing hard from the pain and I kept my gaze fixed on the water. I didn’t want to see his beautiful face, the face of a man who was once my friend.
“You hurt me,” he slid into the chair next to mine. “Why didn’t you trust me?”
“I did trust you,” I sighed when the pain subsided and looked over at him.
He was impressive as always, black hair thick and glossy though not quite as shiny as Anubis’. He had on a three piece suit, the slacks of which he was rubbing with the palms of his hands. His stunning jade eyes were tight around the edges, wrinkled slightly with strain.
“You asked to see in my mind,” he abandoned the rubbing to lean forward on his knees. “You didn’t trust me enough to take me at my word.”
