Soul Reborn (Key to the Cursed Book 1)

by Jean Murray

  She felt the energy in the room shift. Dark shadows moved over Kit’s shoulder. She grabbed her sister’s hand and gave an imperceptible nod. They were no longer alone. The Calvary had just taken up position around them. Passing close by a warrior’s shadow, one of the escorts shivered, but gave it no mind.

  At the top of the stairs, the scout took a left and walked down a long corridor to an office which was located in the center of the building. Lilly glanced up to see another camera pointed their direction. Mother chose a safe house she designed? It didn’t make sense. If she thought Lilly was a threat, she would have changed locations and protocols. If Rebecca was calling the shots on security, it was woefully inadequate, placing a scout team as perimeter security. Her thoughts were cut short when the office door opened. Another team came out and pushed them up against the wall, patting down every inch of their bodies.

  Lilly stared at Kit and her sister shook her head. Body searches should have been done at the front door. Something was off.

  Receiving another hard shove from behind, Lilly stumbled through the door opening. The office was as she remembered it. One side had a wall bank of monitors that contained the camera data from various locations. Another scout manned the communication radio. There were no Nehebkau security elements in the building. Vipers ran everything.

  Mother sat at the desk in the middle of the room. Rebecca stood against the back wall.

  Lilly stepped forward. “Mother, there’s no need for roughing us up. Kit and I are reporting in freely.”

  Much to her surprise, Rebecca spoke first. “Revens didn’t get into the fortress by themselves. We can’t be too careful. Especially, with you.”

  Lilly took another threatening step forward, only to be stopped by blade aimed at her throat. “I would do no such thing.”

  Mother raised her hand and stared at Lilly. “Settle down. Rebecca is right, anyone could be our enemy.”

  The way Mother emphasized her words made her skin tingle. Everything about this was off.

  “The goddess has my father, and possibly Kendra,” she lied. She knew Mother had Kendra, but she wanted confirmation. “I need your help finding—”

  “Your sister is safe under my care,” Rebecca interrupted.

  Lilly glared at her. “Now, I’m even more concerned. I want to see her.”

  Mother signaled to Rebecca. “Bring her in here.”

  Rebecca left the room by the back door. Mother, who wouldn’t maintain eye contact, sat motionless in her chair. Her coffee cup, untouched. Her pencil, stationary.

  Lilly’s senses screamed foul play. “Mother, may I speak with you alone?”

  Mother’s gaze shifted up to meet her own. “I don’t think that would be a good idea, Lilith. Let’s wait until Kendra is here.”

  Both Lilly and Kit flinched. Without saying it directly, Mother was warning her about Rebecca and not to act too quickly. At least not until Kendra was within arm’s reach. Lilly followed Mother’s gaze to the right hand door. Heat flared in her body. Danger, just a few footfalls away.

  Kendra appeared at the back of the room with Rebecca’s arm on her shoulder. Lilly did a quick once over her sister. Despite the fear in her sibling’s eyes, she seemed in good shape. “Are you okay, Kendra?”

  Kendra nodded and glanced at the far door, her hands trembling. Rebecca pushed her forward until she stood next to Mother at the desk. In the opposite hand the Viper leader grasped a small silver blade.

  “Since when would a Nehebkau Viper sell out one of their own?" Lilly sneered. "That’s what you have done, Rebecca, isn’t it?”

  The guards around her and her sister looked at their commander. One of them asked, “What’s she talking about?”

  “Shut up! She’s just trying to confuse you.” Rebecca grabbed Kendra by the back of the neck.

  “If I’m lying, then why are you holding Kendra and Mother hostage?”

  “They are not hostages.”

  Lilly moved toward her weapons belt. “If that’s the case, let Kendra go.”

  “Not on your life,” Rebecca cackled, raising the knife to Kendra’s throat.

  “The goddess wouldn’t want you to damage her prize, would she? Put the knife down.”

  Lilly had made it around the corner of the desk. Her belt lay just a few feet away. The Viper scouts didn’t stop her progress.

  Rebecca sneered. “No, she wouldn’t. She would want to collect her prize and reward me for a job well done.”

  Lilly heard gasps from the Viper scouts behind her. Bomani appeared behind Rebecca. She turned with Kendra in her hands.

  “No one likes a traitor,” Bomani snarled and snapped Rebecca’s knife arm in half. He launched Kendra across the room into Lilly’s arms, along with a spray of blood. Rebecca’s screams echoed off the walls.

  The door flew open and revens rushed into the room.

  “Mother!” Lilly yelled and threw Kit her blade, but it was too late. A reven latched onto the matron’s shoulder and ripped out a chunk of flesh. The Viper scouts scattered out the door and away from the revens. Lilly handed Kendra to a warrior. “Get her out of here, now!”

  Kendra’s body dissipated in a black cloud of smoke. The warriors collapsed in on the revens storming the warehouse. One of the warriors ripped a reven's head off with his bare hands and crushed the chest against the wall.

  Kit kicked the door shut to prevent any more revens from entering the room. Bomani shredded the reven that had attacked Mother, but the damage had been done. Mother had been infected by the curse.

  Lilly knelt over her matron. “Mother!” She placed her trembling hands to the elderly woman’s face. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

  “I don’t have much time.” Mother coughed up blood trying to speak. Her skin was already turning a sickly grey color. “Help me.” She pulled at her shirt, and beneath it was a pendent. Pulling it off, she tucked it in Lilly’s hand. “This is for you. You are the cure, Lilly. You three are the key.”

  “What? I don’t understand!”

  The blood vessels broke in Mother's eyes and she started to struggle against Lilly's grasp.

  “Shit!” She held their Nehebkau Mother down by the throat. “Kit!”

  Mother’s teeth snapped at her arms trying to get a bite of her. Raging hunger filled her leader’s once brown pupils. Kit stumbled to a halt behind Lilly with her hand over her mouth.

  Tears welled in Lilly’s eyes. “Do it.”

  Kit didn’t hesitate, piercing her heart. With a few quick flicks, Mother’s eyes closed.

  Lilly stood and took the blade from Kit. “N-ka-n-imAh. May your soul find paradise in your rebirth,” she said, then decapitated the only mother she knew.

  The fury of blood rushed into Lilly’s eyes and ears, turning her eyesight red with rage. With her fangs bared, Lilly punched Rebecca in the face. Bomani held the traitor in place until her face was sufficiently bloodied by Lilly’s assault.

  Lilly grabbed her by the neck and slammed her to the floor next to Mother’s headless body. “You will tell me everything I need to know. Where is the goddess?”

  Rebecca spit blood in her face. “I’m not telling you shit.”

  Lilly hissed. “We’ll see about that.” She signaled Bomani to bring forward three of the captured revens. Stepping back to avoid the swarm of gnashing teeth, she looked on without remorse. Rebecca's screams pervaded the small room. Lilly nodded and the revens were exterminated. She knelt down over Rebecca’s disfigured body that had bite marks and chunks of flesh missing.

  “This is the last time I am asking. Where’s the goddess?”

  Rebecca whispered. “Egypt.”

  “And my father?”

  “Egypt.”

  “Why?”

  “Bakari.”

  “Bakari?” Lilly looked toward Bomani for answers. The name was not familiar, but had obvious significance to the commander. He immediately turned and yelled out several orders to his second-in-command, then flashed out without answering
Lilly.

  Lilly turned back to Rebecca. “Where were you going to meet the goddess?”

  “Thebes.”

  The ground trembled and the energy around her shifted dramatically. Asar materialized in the room. His face paled, taking in the damage.

  Rage seethed again through Lilly's system. With a hard kick she rolled Rebecca over onto her stomach. She grabbed the silver knife that Rebecca had held to Kendra’s throat.

  “Enjoy your time in hell.”

  Lilly plunged the blade into Rebecca's back and cut the snake away from her body. The serpent writhed in her bloody hand. She placed the snake on the desk and wacked its head off. Rebecca took her last breath of life.

  Some promises were made to be kept.

  Asar pulled her tight to his chest, despite the burn of her skin. His cold body pressed against her face, still wet with her silent tears.

  “Let me take you home,” Asar coaxed.

  “Home.” Lilly thought she would never have something to call home, but here it was, wrapped around her body in the form of a male who needed her as much as she needed him.

  Home.

  CHAPTER thirty-two

  Asar held her so tightly, she thought he would crush her. He pulled her wet face into his hands and kissed her desperately. With the draw of dark energy across her skin, the weight of her pain began to subside. He absorbed her despair as if it was his own. She couldn’t have loved him more than in that moment. “I am sorry about Mother,” he said.

  Lilly drew warmth from his embrace, seeking to dull the ache settling into her chest. “Thank you.” Despite how demanding Mother had been over the years, she had always been there for Lilly and her sisters, and didn’t deserve to die the way she had.

  “I love you,” she whispered against his lips.

  “My sweet Lilly,” he said, as he pulled back to look at her face. “May the gods have mercy on me.”

  She took a deep breath and wiped her face dry. “Thank you for checking on me. I wouldn’t have had the courage to finish it if you hadn’t arrived.”

  “You have plenty of courage without me. Bomani stated he barely lifted a finger to help.”

  Lilly couldn’t help but smile. “Did he tell you about the goddess?”

  “Yes.” One of his black brows arched. “I think my dark side may be rubbing off on you. Utilizing the revens for interrogation, pure genius.”

  She reached out and twisted his tunic ties around her finger, and bit her lower lip. “I kind of like the idea of you rubbing on me.”

  His eyes blackened and his body flushed with the heat he absorbed from her body. He leaned down and nipped her shoulder. “Don’t tempt me.”

  “God, what you do to me.”

  Asar pulled her in tighter to his chest, and pressed his arousal against her. She knew it took all his restraint not to take her right there. He brushed his lips along the side of her neck and growled. “If I do not let go of you now, gods help us.”

  She took several heavy breaths as he backed away from her. Lilly put her hand over her racing heart and closed her eyes.

  He turned away and adjusted himself into a more discreet position. Finally, he cleared his throat. “Shall we go see your sisters?”

  Kendra’s laughter carried all the way down the corridor. Lilly held Asar’s hand as they rounded the corner. Her petite sister bounced away from Kit and hugged her.

  “Lil, you realize where we are?” She let go of Lilly and ran to the balcony that looked down upon the river. “Dad would have loved to see this.”

  Lilly stepped away from Asar and placed her arm around her younger sister’s shoulder. “Yes, he would love this.”

  “Kit told me Mother is dead.”

  Lilly caught the tears in her eyes. “Yes. Are you okay?”

  “I knew you would come for me.”

  “We Carrigan sisters have to stick together.”

  Inpu, Nebt and Kamen joined the reunion, but kept their distance.

  Lilly faced the gods. “Who’s Bakari?”

  Asar took her hand. Sorrow distorted his expression. “He is my son.”

  Lilly swallowed. He had never mentioned a son. Hiding her uneasiness, she squeezed his hand. “The goddess is headed to Egypt to get him. Rebecca said she was to meet Kepi at Thebes.” She looked at Asar and then Kendra. “Why there?”

  “It is the location of the temples of Luxor and Karnak,” her sister answered.

  “You are correct, but more specifically the Precincts of Amun and Mut.” Asar's eyes darted to Inpu and Nebt.

  Lilly picked up on the exchange. “What are you not telling us?”

  Asar rubbed his temple. “There is something larger brewing here than just the goddess and the revens. It will be hard to understand without explaining a few things.” He paused briefly to make eye contact with all three women. “You three are descendants of the Goddess Mut. Direct descendants.”

  Kendra gasped and turned white. “Oh, my god.” She leaned on the closest stone pillar. “Dad’s journal.”

  Kit scowled, and put her hands on her hips. “Okay, can someone explain exactly why this is significant? I don’t have a doctorate in Egyptian studies.”

  “Yes, since my sister is frozen in a state of disbelief, could you explain this?” Lilly asked.

  Nebt grabbed Kendra’s elbow. “Let us sit down. I am afraid Kendra might faint and hit her head.” The Underworld goddess slowly guided Kendra to the closest pillow and laid a hand on her forehead.

  Asar pulled Lilly over to the large lounge and sat down next to her. “The goddess Mut is one of the primordial gods, specifically leader of the Creation Pantheon. Mother of the Gods. Your mother.”

  “She is one of the strongest gods, next to Asar,” Nebt said proudly. “She and my cousin create a balance between life and death.”

  “You kind of left that out.”

  He smiled in return and brushed his thumb over her lips.

  “Well, it explains a lot, earthquakes and all,” Kit muttered.

  Kendra perked up. “Earthquakes?”

  Lilly growled at Kit, and shook her head. “Never mind, Kendra.

  “Dad had pages and pages of his journal dedicated to Mut," Kendra said. "Unfortunately, Rebecca took his journal, and I can only surmise she gave it to Kepi.”

  With her fingertip, Lilly traced the black hieroglyphics burned on her forearm. “Your ex must know. But what's the connection between us and your son? It’s obvious Kepi wants to use me, but for what?”

  Asar stroked Lilly’s back. “She wants to combine your powers with Bakari’s. If that happens, there will be no stopping her. She will be stronger than me. I guess you could see it as Armageddon. I think she wants to overthrow the Mother Goddess, disrupt the balance of power.”

  Lilly clutched her head in her hands. It wasn’t as simple as curing an infestation of revens—it was a bloody war. The Snake god’s words echoed in her head. There are no coincidences. Nehebkau Mother? Mother Goddess? The references for Mut in her father’s journal? She reached into her pocket and pulled out the pendant the Nehebkau Mother had given her with her last dying breaths. “Mother told me before she died that me, Kit, and Kendra were the key. I was the cure. She gave me this.”

  Asar backed away suddenly and prostrated himself in front of her, followed by Nebt, Inpu and even Kamen. "Ah, guys?"

  Kendra peered at the pendant. “May I see it?”

  Her little sister held her hand out cautiously and Lilly obliged.

  “Mother of the Gods,” she gasped, turning the necklace in her hand. “This is Mut’s pectoral necklace. I’ve retrieved all the artifacts Mother had in her possession, and this is the first time I’ve seen this. She gave this to you?”

  “She said it belonged to me.”

  Lilly held her breath. There were too many connections to be rationalized as mere coincidences. It seemed like some well-orchestrated scheme. The Mother Goddess chose their father, an Egyptian archeologist, to sire her offspring, who would one
day release a goddess who would dispel a curse upon the world. These same children would fall under the care of Nehebkau Mother, and hunt for an artifact that would lead them right into the hands of the God of the Underworld, who would help battle the goddess and save the world. The ramifications made her head spin.

  “If the Mother Goddess gave this to you, then you must wear it,” Asar said. He took the necklace from Kendra. He recited a prayer, which the rest joined in. He slipped the necklace down over her head and laid the pendent on her chest.

  She looked from one Underworld god to the next, searching for answers. Instead Asar grasped her two hands and kiss them. Nebt, Inpu and Kamen followed suit.

  “Ah…what are you doing?”

  Asar smiled. “Paying our respects to you. You now represent the Mother Goddess and her Pantheon.”

  With the sound of her heart pounding in her ears, Lilly gasped to catch her breath. Her vision narrowed and darkness enveloped her.

  “Uh, oh. We're going to lose her," Kit said. "C'mon, Lil. Breathe.”

  Lilly blinked her eyes to clear her blurred vision. Closing them again, she took slow deep breaths. Her head throbbed. Kit and Kendra spoke quietly in the background.

  “Is she going to be okay?” Kendra asked.

  Kit chuckled. “She'll be fine. Hearing she’s the goddess of gods I think was too much for the old girl.”

  “I probably would have done the same thing. Heck, I still can’t believe we're descendants of Mut. That just blows me away. I wonder how long dad knew her. Did she love him?”

  Kit snorted. “What makes you think love was involved? She probably just needed a sperm donor to fulfill her plan. How fucked up is this?”

  “You should be honored, Kit, that Mother created you, regardless of what her plans are," Asar said. "Life is a very precious thing.”

  * * *

  Lilly finally opened her hazy eyes to see Kit looming over her. She lay in Asar’s bed. “Ah, sleeping beauty is awake. Welcome back to the land of the living, or as luck would have it, the land of the dead.”

  “Shut up, Kit.” Lilly sat up and put her head in her hands.

  Her sister sat down next to her and put an arm around her shoulders. “It looks good on you.”