Death Bound: An Urban Fantasy Novel (Modern Necromancy Book 2)

by Justin Sloan

  Nora pulled several books off a shelf and piled them on a desk.

  “You haven’t told me what’s on your mind,” Rohan said.

  “Altemus took the tablet from my collection,” Nora said.

  “Everything happened so fast that I didn’t really understand what was going on.”

  “It came from Babylonia, from the time of Gilgamesh.”

  “The Eye of Gilgamesh,” Rohan said, remembering what the Lich King had said. “I remember that name, but from where? Something I heard high school, maybe?”

  “Gilgamesh was an ancient king who searched for eternal life. The history books talk of him as a king, but in his time, he was worshipped and seen as a demigod of sorts. He spent his whole life in search of immortality, but he never found it… while alive.”

  “Yeah, I remember that story now. I slept through English class when we read that one.”

  Nora rolled her eyes. “His story was told on twelve tablets, all which sing his praises and detail his various adventures in search of eternal life. Historians have generally ruled the twelfth tablet to be inconsistent due to a number of details. For instance, Gilgamesh’s friend is alive in the twelfth tablet but dead in the earlier accounts.”

  “So basically, it doesn’t add up.”

  Nora nodded. “But what most people don’t know is that there was a thirteenth tablet. And it explains everything.”

  Nora opened one of the books and turned it for Rohan to see. An old photo of a sculpture man in cuneiform took up the majority of a painted wall. He had a long, curly beard, and a sword and a spear. A caption below read Gilgamesh, King of Babylon, 2500 B.C.

  “The legend is that the thirteenth tablet details how Gilgamesh found the portal to the afterlife, entered it, and emerged as both the King of the Living and the Dead.”

  “So the tablet was his?”

  “No. Death did claim him after all, just like it will for you and I. Prophets inscribed his story on a tablet of stone. They say that in touring the afterlife, Gilgamesh learned what it meant to be eternal, and so strong was his will that he infused his spirit into the stone, for his people to open the door to the afterlife so that one day he could return and rule the world again. But he feared the stone falling into he wrong hands so he wiped it clean. Even so, certain indicators still remain, such as the type of cuneiform used, and the way it crumbles at the corners.”

  “Yeah, not exactly the Gilgamesh they teach in schoo.”

  “It’s not a legend you’ll hear often,” Nora said, scanning one of the books. “It doesn’t exactly jive with the Judeo-Christian philosophy. It was so apocryphal that it was dismissed by all but the most devout followers, most of whom perished over the next hundred years in war. But the stone remained, and the rumor was that, if one could wield it, they could rewrite the rules of the dead just like Gilgamesh did, and they could use it to open the portal.”

  “And now Altemus has it.” Rohan scratched his head. “But it isn’t just a portal, is it. He’s already done that.”

  “Right, in comes this orb of sorts, that you mentioned. What’s known in some circles as The Eye of Gilgamesh. Without it, the stone can’t fully open the portal to the world of the dead.”

  “Or, as we recently learned, somehow swap our worlds,” Rohan said, furrowing his brow as the his head throbbed. “Please tell me you have it.”

  Nora shook her head. “No, but I may know where it is.”

  She tossed him a book titled Latin American Legends. The book was heavy and worn.

  “The Eye would have the power to bring people back from the dead?” Rohan asked, turning a page in the book before him, trying to make sense of the pictures. Now there was a picture of what looked like a dome of light, but if he looked closely, he could tell it was made up of millions of spirits.

  “I thought so at first,” Nora said. “Well, no… at first I thought it could give one eternal life. But eternal life is just a sliver of what it can do.”

  “Keep your eternal life,” Rohan said. “I’ve tasted a bit of the beyond, and I know it can be a thousand times better than anything we have here. But I don’t care to have it until I’m dead.”

  “It wasn’t for me, either,” Nora said, her eyes distant. “I don’t think this grants eternal life or brings loved ones back from the dead, in the sense you might be thinking. I think it brings us the world of the dead.”

  “I’m not following,” he said, scrolling along the ancient text and wishing he could make out at least one word.

  “See here?” she pointed to the sketch, at the bottom, in darkness. It looked like trees and houses, upside down. People clinging to the ground, falling away from it. “Like you said… and like that thing down there, the Lich King, was getting at…. I think this means that if this were ever used, it could somehow switch our world for that of the dead. Make it so not only the dead walk among us, but the world of the dead and ours become one, in a way.”

  “So it’s true,” Rohan said, staring at the picture in horrified wonder. “Well I’ll be—”

  “Damned?” She almost laughed. “In a way, exactly. Because that was the secret that Gilgamesh discovered. You cannot rule both worlds. But if you make them one—”

  “Ruling becomes a whole lot easier,” Rohan said.

  “That’s how I interpreted this, anyway,” she said. “Which is why we have to get it before your friends do.”

  “For the record, they’re not my friends. And for another record, we’re going to stop them.”

  “Good.” She closed the book and sighed, looking at him with heavy eyes. “I have food upstairs and a backpack or two. It’s going to be a long journey.”

  He nodded and followed her up the stairs and into the kitchen.

  Nora produced two large hiking backpacks and began to pack them with food. Rohan watched as she moved in her walk-in pantry, and soon the backpacks were so heavy he could hardly lift them.

  “Don’t worry, I saved room for clothes,” she said.

  “I’m no stranger to backpacks,” Rohan said. He paused, all of this was beginning to make his insides ache. He had to ask. “Nora, how exactly did you find the tablet?”

  “Now that’s a bit of a story,” she said.

  “If we’re headed to Latin America, I imagine we’ve got the time.”

  She threw a couple of bottled waters in her bag and strapped it on. “I wasn’t always a recluse, hiding from dark spirits. Before this, I was on an excavation in Peru, looking for any sign of a certain legendary lost city.”

  “A lost city?”

  “I’ve always been a sucker for myths and legends, and yeah, I believe most of them exist.”

  “And this one did.”

  “Well, probably.”

  “I thought you said you found it?”

  She looked to the side, thinking. “I think I found it. And I found the tablet, so that makes me more sure.”

  “But you didn’t stay to find out.” He scratched his head, assessing her. “That doesn’t add up.”

  “It does when you throw a group of people trying to kill me into the mix.”

  He cocked his head with curiosity. “Yeah, that’d do it.”

  “I was exploring, like I said, and one day when I was trudging through the jungle I tripped and found myself in the entrance to a small chamber. It was dark, and creepy, and it’s where I found the tablet… deep inside and buried beneath what I thought to be a crypt.

  “And then they arrived… some men with guns, and they chased me out of there. It wasn’t until I was back home until I discovered what I had found. Well, I didn’t discover it easily. There was nothing quite like this tablet in any of my books. Just the bits of legend, pieced together.”

  “Is there any chance you can find this place in Peru again?” he asked.

  “And make it out of there alive?” She scoffed. “Doubt it.”

  “Let’s just ignore the coming out alive part for now. Can you find it?”

  “I think so. Bu
t it was many years ago, Rohan. And like I said, those people—”

  He held up a hand “If it’s a question of our safety or saving the world, I think I choose saving the world.”

  She opened her mouth as if to argue, but then smiled. “Let’s get to it, then.”

  Chapter 7

  “Walk me through the plan again?” Rohan said, pocketing the two tickets to Peru that he’d just spent more money than he wouldn’t liked to. Then again, he’d always wanted to visit the Amazon, and no amount of money was too big to save the world. As long as this wasn’t a false lead that would just distract them while Altemus found a way to truly harness the powers of the tablet, it’d all be worth it.

  Nora waited at her teal green hybrid, wearing an outfit that hugged her body. It was like she was a completely different person from the confused woman he’d met at her house—her pony tail hung over dusty leather jacket in a way that screamed feminine badass, even if the jacket did seem out of place with her shorts and t-shirt. She opened the car door for him and waited for him to get over his I’m a man so should be opening the door and get in before she answered, leaning into the window that probably revealed more cleavage than he should be noticing when the world’s fate was in their hands.

  “It was in the jungles outside of Cusco,” she said, then cleared her throat to remind pull his gaze up to her face. “Don’t worry, I know a guy. He’ll point is in the right direction.”

  Rohan blushed as she stood and walked around to the driver’s seat. She had definitely caught his eyes wandering, and it wasn’t even like he meant to—it was just natural, wasn’t it? He tried to calm the flutter in his chest, focus on the task at hand.

  But something about the way she’d said she knew a guy bothered him. Why should it? He laughed at himself, and when Nora pulled out of the parking lot, she glanced over and said, “I’m glad one of us can find humor in this situation.”

  “Sorry, it’s just….” He knew it was stupid before he said it, but his tongue seemed to be on autopilot as he said, “I mean, we just met, and already we’re going away for the weekend together.”

  “It’s Wednesday, first of all,” she said as she pulled onto the freeway. “Second….”

  “Yeah? Second?”

  “You seem like a nice guy and all, and thanks for taking care of me back there, but….” Her eyes were focused on the road ahead, but possibly too much so. Was she trying to avoid looking at him?

  “No, yeah, I didn’t mean anything by it,” he said. “A stupid joke.”

  She bit her lip, gently, and gave him a quick, sideways glance. “We’re going to need clear heads on this trip, okay? With everything we’ve got going on, and been through, on top of the fact that we’re basically going to be wandering through a jungle without any real clue of what we’re looking for.... I’m a bit of a ball of nerves right now.”

  He nodded, wanting to kick himself for giving her the wrong impression. No matter what he came up with to say now, he’d just be digging himself deeper and deeper into that hole, so instead he just leaned back, and closed his eyes.

  Her fist connecting with his arm caused him to sit up in alarm.

  “Ouch, what was that for?” he asked, rubbing the sore spot. She was stronger than he’d expected—or at least expected before she’d put on the leather jacket. That thing really did make her look hardcore.

  “Just ‘cause I’m driving, doesn’t mean you get to sleep,” she said. “That seem fair to you?”

  “God, no, I guess.” Was she for real? He sat up, adjusting himself in a way that caused her to glance over with a judging look again.

  “Hey, come on,” he said. “I just—okay, we’re going to be driving for a bit, I have to be comfortable.”

  “Sure, one of us should be.”

  “I get that you don’t know me,” he said, trying to start over, “but I promise you, I’m a nice guy, just set on stopping the evil jerk who killed my fiancé and now means to do far worse.”

  Nora didn’t say anything for some time, but when she did, her voice was gentle. “So that was it, huh. You went after your fiancé, and all of this—”

  “Yes, and all of this is my fault.”

  “That’s not what I was saying.” He put a hand on his and squeezed, then pulled it back to the steering wheel. “I didn’t realize, is all. I mean, this Altemus creep wouldn’t found some other poor chap to include in his plans. If anything, we’re lucky it was you, so we’d have a fighting chance.”

  Rohan hadn’t thought of it that way, but now that she said it, he thought back to Lev, the Russian guide Altemus had sacrificed to get the portal open. Anyone other than Rohan might have fallen as quickly as the Russian had, and the portal to the afterlife would have been completely opened.

  “Thanks for that,” he said.

  The city disappeared behind them, replaced by long rows of lush, green trees.

  “Dulles Airport’s only another thirty minutes or so,” she said. “If you want to get some rest, go ahead.”

  “Thanks for the permission,” he said.

  She laughed. “Better take advantage of my offer before I rescind it and make you drive.”

  He smiled at her, then leaned back and closed his eyes. He’d need every bit of rest he could get, and right now he felt he needed a break form talking about the past. It still hurt too much.

  They arrived, leaving her car in long-term parking, and checked in without issue.

  “One last time before we’re lost in the Amazon?” Rohan said, nodding at the food court and a sign for a delicious looking breakfast sandwich. “Sausage egg and cheese?”

  She looked at him like he was crazy, but said, yeah, might as well try one.

  “Try one?” he asked. “Wait, don’t tell me you’ve never had one of these.”

  “It’s not really my style. I mean, you don’t look this good eating sausage, egg, and cheese breakfast sandwiches every day.”

  His eyes darted up and down her body, and she caught him with a raised eyebrow.

  “Not fair,” he said. “You baited me there.”

  “Just shut up and get me a sandwich,” she said with a cute laugh.

  That flutter in his chest returned, and he stepped up to the counter to order before she could see him cheeks flush with red. He shook his head, and laughed to himself, before noticing the guy at the counter giving him a weird look. Rohan shrugged, placed his order, and soon found Nora sitting and watching an airplane pull away.

  “Do you travel much?” she asked Rohan.

  Images of the Door to Hell in Turkmenistan and the temple of the Ural Mountains flashed through his mind and shuddered. “I’ve been known to travel, sure.”

  “It’s magical, don’t you think?” She took her sandwich, unwrapping it slowly. “I mean, not that many years ago people didn’t even know some of these places existed, and here we are, just hopping on a plane and going to them. My parents used to always talk about their travels—they met in Milan, Italy, by the way, and—”

  But then she took a bite of the sandwich and her eyes widened as she let out a low moan.

  “Good, right?” Rohan beamed.

  “Screw traveling the world,” she said, chewing fast so she wasn’t talking with a full mouth. “This is magical. I can’t believe I’ve been missing out on it.”

  “You’re welcome,” he said.

  They spent the rest of their wait talking about where they’d traveled, with Rohan doing his best not to get too distracted with thoughts of Senna anytime somewhere came up that she’d always talked about wanting to visit.

  She’d told him to move on, and he was doing his best, even if it hurt.

  When the time came for them to board and they found their seats, Nora seemed as exhausted as he felt, and both of them fell asleep before the plain even took off.

  The plane hit a patch of turbulence and woke Rohan. He was surprised to find Nora’s head on his shoulder.

  He wondered if he was supposed to move her head or j
ust let her sleep like that. What was proper gentleman etiquette in this situation? A tiny bit of drool sat at the edge of her lip, and he wanted to wipe it away, but stopped himself—imagine her waking up, head on his shoulder, him gently brushing a finger across her lips! He stifled a laugh, and instead leaned back and let sleep take him again.

  ***

  When they landed at the Alejandro Velasco Astete International Airport—a building smaller than Nora’s house and the most un-airport-like airport Rohan had ever seen—Rohan rubbed his eyes as mountains and a terraced wave of red, tiled roofs came into view. They stepped off the plane into the mild air of Cusco, Peru. Rohan felt that same pull on his lungs that he did when they were in the Ural Mountains. The air was crisp, but there was less of it, and he had to acclimate.

  “You good?” Nora asked, stepping up next to him. Clearly, the altitude didn’t bother her.

  “Just, catching my bearings,” he said and nodded for her to continue on.

  Her ponytail bobbed as she jogged down the stairs, and when a baggage attendant offered to take her bag, she spoke fluent Spanish and told him to have a nice day.

  “Espanol?” Rohan asked.

  “When your travels take you around the world, you pick up a few languages,” Nora said as they passed through customs. “My Spanish isn’t really as good as it sounds.”

  They entered the air-conditioned airport and joined a long line of tourists waiting to get through customs. A sleepy man with a paunch behind a plate glass window stamped their passports and welcomed them to Peru.

  As they walked into the sunshine again, a massive group of men swarmed them.

  “Taxi, amigo?”

  “You want to go? I take you!”

  “Where you going, my friend?”

  Rohan had never seen anything like it in his life. The men nearly pulled at him, reached for his backpack, offered to take it for him.

  “Just keep going,” Nora said. “Don’t let them take your bags.”

  One of the men heard her and said something out loud in Spanish. Then the men seemed to stop harassing them and focused on other tourists coming out of the airport.