20 Shades of Shifters: A Paranormal Romance Collection

by Demelza Carlton

  “Osiris, go to the end of the tunnel where the rows of warriors begin. Geb was king, but now he’s dead. You’re the new king, reborn in your own image. A first, like Geb. I need your symmetry but also your juxtaposition to replicate the conditions for the tunnel and the gateway.”

  “You want me to use my djeds on the warriors. Not to control them the way I did the demons but to stimulate their cerebral cortex to awaken them. You’re hoping their loyalty to King Geb will be triggered by my djeds, even though I’m not him.”

  “Yes, but they won’t know that. At least I don’t think, after being in a coma-like state for a decade, they’ll know the difference between your djed magic and Geb’s. The right prodding is all I think it’ll take.”

  “I can do that.”

  “Good, thank you.”

  Osiris made his way to the opposite end of the foggy tunnel, mirroring Geb’s posture when he reached the end and turned to face them.

  “Tyets, I need you to form the Isis Knot. Horizontally, not vertically. Spread out so that you’re covering the breadth of the tunnel. Your magic needs to disperse and take up this entire area. The Isis Knot must be stronger than the magic of fourteen warriors and a time dragon. The warriors fought and defeated the entire Demon Kingdom, and I’m asking you to be stronger than them.”

  Aset’s shadow dragon flew toward Osiris. She was the head of the Isis Knot. “Don’t worry about us. We’ve come this far together, we won’t be stopped now.”

  No, they wouldn’t. Isis may be queen, but the seven of them were a team. She couldn’t have done any of this without them.

  Her family.

  Serqet, as the body of the knot, positioned herself in the middle. Hathor, the left arm, and Merit, the right arm, hovered across from each other at the mouth of the tunnel.

  Everyone was in position except for Isis and Nephthys. With Zaman in tow, they flew to Geb’s dual earth dragon heads. The king cobras and vultures were still there, as she knew they would be.

  “I wish we could save him.” Nephthys’s eyes were on their father. “Not for us so much, but for Mother. It’s been a hundred years, and she hasn’t taken another mate. After this, do you think she’ll have enough closure to move on with that part of her life?”

  “I have no idea. I think being back on Nebty will help her heal. Everything else will come in time.”

  “Queen Isis, I’m ready now.”

  “I know, my friend. The pain will be over soon. Your family awaits, Zaman. They love you and can’t wait to see you again.”

  “That’s a nice thought. A good thought. It’s time for my death. I’m so sorry for what I’ve done. Forgive me.”

  Her lips pressed against his cheek. “Zaman, you fought for what remained of our home by keeping northern Nebty the way the goddesses intended. I think you did that unconsciously. Probably in your dreams, as a way of making amends. Whatever you did kept the demons from claiming and ruining all Nebty. For that, I offer you my forgiveness. Die with a clear conscience, time dragon.” Isis kissed Zaman’s other cheek and wiped away his tears.

  The twins flew Zaman to Geb and placed his drowsy body in the crook of the earth dragon’s neck. One of the cobras slithered to him, looked to Isis for confirmation, which she gave with a short nod, then it bit Zaman’s arm, releasing its venom.

  Although she needed to rush, Isis held Zaman’s hand as the neurotoxin did its ugly and powerful business. Geb and Asim had died alone. She wouldn’t allow the time dragon to face his end the same way.

  Eyes lifted half-mast, as did lips that formed a weak but happy smile. Hand went limp in hers, and Isis knew the potent venom had given Zaman the death he wanted and deserved.

  “Safe journey, time dragon.”

  Nephthys flew to the left of Geb and Isis to his right. They smiled at each other.

  “Ready, sis?”

  “I am.”

  Isis looked out at the tunnel. Her Tyets and mate were also ready. They only awaited her order.

  “Dragons, let’s create a pathway of love to bring our family home and welcome them back to Nebty through a gateway of lore.”

  Shadow, gray mist, yellow energy, and thunder magic erupted in the tunnel. Spreading in all directions, the Isis Knot pushed out against the time fog and warrior magic. The tunnel vibrated with the force of her Tyet’s magic. Serqet’s thunderous roar, concentrated and powerful, slammed into the closest warrior to her, then ricocheted to the next until all fourteen felt the spine-tingling force of her sonic boom magic.

  Black shadows and yellow energy intertwined, forming a warm-core cyclone that rotated, producing spiraling winds of magic. Spinning counter-clockwise at two hundred miles per hour, the cyclone grew as it sucked in the fog.

  At the other end of the tunnel, Isis saw Aset open the purple scales on her chest. She inhaled and tried to pull the cyclone to her. It moved, slow and defiant. Geb’s warriors were fighting back, challenging her Tyets for supremacy of this time and space.

  Isis was having none of it.

  “Osiris,” she yelled. “Help them.”

  Wide, long, and strong, the rock dragon’s wings began to flap. The force of the wind currents he created sailed down the tunnel, around the Tyets, and straight into the cyclone of black shadow and yellow energy.

  Not wind alone but Osiris’s Isis Knots. Two Isis Knots, gold instead of translucent, as they’d been before, and half the size of the twenty-foot cyclone, latched onto the spinning wind of battling magic.

  Osiris bellowed his command to his Isis Knots. “Help contain the fog. They belong to the shadow dragon. Make them her tamed meal.”

  The symbol of their union and the rock dragon’s resurrection fought to obey, pushing the cyclone toward Aset. Serqet sent a sonic boom at the cyclone, then another at the warriors. Hathor flew behind Aset and built a wall of mists to support the shadow dragon, who was pushed backward when she inhaled the first gusts from the cyclone.

  As strong as Aset was, Isis feared her body couldn’t safely consume and digest the magic of so many different and powerful dragons. It wasn’t enough to corral the time fog and magic. They needed to stop the warriors from producing more.

  Djeds peeled from Osiris, the same metallic gold as his Isis Knots. Hundreds of them swam through the miasma of Tyet magic, finding the warriors and slipping inside their prone forms.

  Another explosion rocked the tunnel, a seismic reaction to the combined power of her mate and Tyets. They were holding their own. Isis and Nephthys needed to do their part.

  Isis summoned her king cobras and Nephthys her vultures. Hundreds of snakes seeped from Isis, and she sent them all to Geb’s right side. Her sister did the same with her vultures. They’d never called forth so many at once. They did now. Wadjet’s cobras and Nekhbet’s white vultures covered the earth dragon from clawed feet to empty eye sockets.

  She peered at Nephthys’s work. Vultures were everywhere, their white bodies concealing much of Geb’s left side. Her twin breathed heavily through her open mouth. Chest heaved, and her production of vultures began to slow.

  “Keep going.”

  “I will, but this is harder than I thought it would be. Passing a kidney stone would be less painful than creating so many vultures. I don’t know how many more I can produce before my body shuts down.”

  Isis felt the same. She hadn’t given birth to Asim, but she imagined this is what it would’ve felt like. Each cobra she pushed through her skin felt like a labor contraction throughout her body, tightening then relaxing her muscles. The time between contractions, however, was agonizingly short.

  They couldn’t afford to slow down or stop. Not when they were so close to achieving their goal.

  “Take my hand, Nep. We’re the Scepters of Nebty. We can rebuild the Gateway of the Two Ladies from the pride and power of our father.”

  They linked hands. Warmth and comfort suffused her body. Pain receded to dull aches, and a sense of oneness swept over Isis. Not just the Scepters of Nebty but twins. />
  Isis and Nephthys. Sun and moon. Life and death.

  Sisters.

  Taking a deep breath and closing her eyes, Isis lowered her mental walls and inhibitions. She gave herself over to the scepter’s powers. Isis released everything.

  Her fears.

  Her sadness.

  Her grief.

  She purged them, starving her body of the toxic emotions and hydrating on perseverance, hope, and love.

  She saw Asim in a garden of blue, pink, and white forget-me-nots. Her little sun dragon body squealed with happiness, as she rolled in the flowers and basked in the rays of the hot summer day. She tumbled down a hill and into the flank of a large dragon, who lazed in the warm grass. His tail encircled the baby dragon and pulled her to him. Two sets of eyes watched the rambunctious hatchling squirm until she wiggled from his hold and settled in a ball in the curve of his protective earth dragon body.

  “Comfortable, little one?”

  “Yes, grandfather. Will you watch over me while I sleep?”

  “Always.” Geb curled tighter around Asim and whispered, “You’re safe, my love. Sleep, dream, and be at peace. So will I.”

  Nephthys squeezed her hand. “Open your eyes, sis.” Her voice sounded as weak as Isis felt. “Come on, open them.”

  Isis watched her father and daughter, both safe and neither alone. She knew Zaman had found his family, too. His time magic smelled of white jasmine—love, companionship, and relationship. He shared this image with Isis, Zaman’s gift and gratitude.

  Isis accepted the offer with teary appreciation. Geb and Asim had each other. She could let them go now, knowing she’d see them again where the sun smiled, the garden invited, and the forget-me-nots bloomed, fragrant and untamed.

  “Come back, Isis. It’s over.”

  Her sister’s soothing voice and reassuring hand in hers made leaving Geb and Asim easier.

  Isis opened her eyes, her gaze going immediately to what she and Nephthys had done. King cobras on the right and white vultures on the left formed the curved columns of the new gateway. The goddesses’ symbols covered Geb, including his tail. The earth dragon’s two heads, which had marked the arch of the gateway, were hidden, like the rest of him. Snakes and vultures also formed the archway where they met in the middle. While the columns depicted the red with black band backs of the snakes and the side profile of the white vultures, the archway had them forward-facing. The scavenger birds, a committee of vultures at rest, peered out from their majestic perch. Long, venomous snakes were frozen in a rearing position, as if preparing to strike.

  Looking at the king cobras she’d birthed, Isis could hear the growl of their hiss. It warned that only the worthy would be allowed safe passage through. All others would be turned away. By force, if necessary.

  Hands still clasped, Nephthys pulled a relieved Isis to her. They hugged and cried, Isis aware of the commotion behind them.

  “What’s going on? Where did you dragons come from?”

  The twins turned. The ugly fog was gone. Cool mists and yellow energy formed the walls of the new tunnel that separated the realms.

  Fourteen confused but awake dragons began talking at once. There was a lot of explaining to do. Exhausted, Isis wanted to go home, make love to Osiris, and then sleep for days. Instead, she flew toward the crowd of dragons. She was their queen. Her personal wants had to wait.

  Chapter 22

  Osiris was back in the meadow. This time, Nephthys leaned against his side instead of his mate. They watched the same scene, Osiris growing annoyed the longer it went on and Nephthys more bored.

  “Am I a selfish asshole for wanting to snatch up my mate and get the hell out of here?”

  “Probably, but I’m one too then because I was ready to leave an hour ago.” A breathy sigh preceded Nephthys throwing her body across his face, her stomach on his nose and her hands and head hanging down. “This will be our life now, brother. We might as well get used to it. Every dragon will want her ear and time. It’ll get only worse once we move back here and she begins reaching out to other kingdoms.”

  “You just made a bad thought worse. I hadn’t thought about the other nations.”

  “Well, you need to. She’ll have to rebuild and reconnect, which means Isis will be away from Nebty a lot.”

  “How much is a lot?”

  The moon dragon slid all the way off his nose, doing some weird somersault in the air instead of falling on her head the way he thought she would.

  “I have no idea. Here, she’s CEO Philae to the ump degree. Queen of the Preternatural Realm.”

  “You’re also queen.”

  “Isis says that too, and she means it. The same way she means that you’re Dragon King. But look where we are and what we’re doing, then look at her.”

  Osiris didn’t have to look at Isis to understand Nephthys’s point. He looked anyway because he enjoyed seeing his mate in her element, although not exhausted. From the way she handled the warriors, their dragon color, and free will returned to them, no one who didn’t know Isis well would detect her fatigue.

  She held court. Not in her dragon or even hybrid form, but as a human. She stood, her tiny self in front of war-roughened dragon warriors. They reclined on their stomachs, hanging on her every word. Between the warriors were the Tyets, nestled next to their parents, who were just as in awe of their grown hatchlings as they were enthralled by the tale of their rescue and Sansabonsom’s defeat.

  Hero worship came close to describing the warriors’ reaction to the sun dragon, although Isis would bristle at the term. She acted on behalf of others, their best interest her top priority.

  The Yumboe children were also back. They’d taken the three fairies home to only learn their parents were dead. Isis had left the whimpering children in the care of their aunt and uncle. He should’ve known the children would reappear, sooner or later. Osiris thought it would be later but wasn’t surprised to see their lavender wings flittering through the air and straight for his mate. Isis hadn’t scolded or even frowned at their inability to follow her orders. Secretly, he thought his mate was happy to see the little rascals. The two girls perched on Isis’s shoulder, one on each, Olivebloom, whose wings were a darker shade of lavender than his sisters, clung to two of the sun dragon’s braids.

  “My sister will drag us with her from one kingdom to the next until we’re as knowledgeable about the realm and the species as she wants us to be.” She propped her elbows on his nose, her feet dangling. “And we’ll go.”

  “To protect her, you mean?”

  “No, she has the Tyets for that.” Turning onto her back, Nephthys sprawled over Osiris’s face. “And fourteen big ass grateful warriors. Beyond the Tyets’ parents, who are the same dragon type as their daughter, Isis now has a chaos, fear, electricity, lightning, and two poison dragons. As if her venomous king cobras weren’t enough. Isis won’t need our protection. That’s not what she values most about us or what we’ll bring to her reign.”

  “DIG but on Nebty.”

  “Yup. We’ll have to step up because three minds are better than one. The two of you made great co-CEOs, and I enjoyed the details of corporate law. We have transferable skills she’ll utilize for the betterment of every species in this realm. But we’ll leave diplomacy to her. Plus, where her charms fail, her stubborn will won’t.” She wiggled, sighed, and then sat up. “You’re as hard as a rock.”

  “I’m not your bed. Get off me.”

  She didn’t. Just yawned and stretched.

  “Do you want me to take you to your father and brother?”

  Honestly, he had no desire to see their dead bodies. Perhaps it was cowardice, but he didn’t want their corpses to be the last image he had of them.

  “You don’t have to, you know. I just thought we should do something with their bodies before Makara and the other dragons move back here. I can guarantee you, Isis didn’t disclose everything to the warriors, especially about Set.”

  “That means we must de
al with all the border guards, not just Asir’s body.”

  “I know. We can do that while Isis spins the story for greatest effect. Together, we can locate all the bodies and give them a proper send-off by dragon fire.”

  Osiris neither answered Nephthys nor made to move.

  “Or you can stay here brooding like a lump of coal. Trust me, when we return Isis will be more than ready to go. She’s tired and wants to get back to Nut to put Mother’s mind at rest. Nut’s probably ready to send a search party after us. I’m surprised Bek and Lateef haven’t come barreling through the gateway under her orders to find and drag us home.”

  With a shake of his head, Osiris flung Nephthys off his nose and stood.

  “That wasn’t nice.”

  “You used me as a mattress and called me coal. You’re lucky that’s all I did, brat.”

  “Brat, huh?” Nephthys jumped on his shoulder and took hold of one of his horns. “Fair enough. Let’s go. The sooner we do this, the sooner we can return to Philae Manor, and you can sex Isis up. Because really, Osiris, the first part of our conversation was more about you wanting to get my sister home and alone for sex.”

  “Shut up. It was not. I’m concerned about my mate.”

  Laughter rippled out of her, as he took to the sky. “Whatever you say. So, when we get home, you’re just going to let Isis take a shower and fall into bed and go to sleep?”

  “Shut up.”

  More laughter. “Yeah, I didn’t think so.”

  Two hours later, they were flying through the tunnel and back to the human realm. The twins were on his back, asleep, with the Tyets surrounding him, Aset leading the way out the tunnel. Osiris thought they would stay with their parents and return to Philae Manor later. He should’ve known they wouldn’t leave Isis’s side, even though she’d given them permission to stay.

  The warriors were little better. If they weren’t dragons, they would’ve died of starvation during their ten-year sleep. Isis had to remind them they needed to hunt and feed. Once she did, they seemed to recall their stomachs and hunger. Strategy, for the Dragon Queen. It had worked, which allowed Isis to put an end to their conversation without being abrupt or rude, which she hated being.