“Enkara, don’t joke about such things—”
“Who says I’m joking?”
“Goddess, Enkara. I know you’re not.” He glanced up at the ceiling and then down at his hands. “All those years ago, when I first touched your mind, I simply wanted you, your love, the warmth of your soul. I didn’t know better then. I do now, but I still can’t let you go. Though if something were to happen to you because of me…”
“Kuwari, whatever fate has planned for us, it’s not your fault.” Enkara placed an arm around his shoulder.
At her urging, he turned his face to the side of her neck and wrapped an arm around her waist. “I’ve never seen a complete picture of our future. What I’ve seen has been a mixture of horror and hope.”
“That is more than most people get.” Her fingers were suddenly stroking the back of his neck and up into his hair. It was still in braids so she couldn’t work her fingers through it like he wanted, but her hand soon stroked down his back in a caress that had a deep rumbling purr escaping him.
He leaned closer and Enkara smacked his shoulder. “Someone needs a bath before he attempts courtship.”
“Goddess. I know I stink, but I’m too exhausted to get one at the moment. I’d likely fall asleep and drown.”
“Well, I was going to suggest we share a bath and then afterward I could massage away the soreness from Burrukan’s brutal training session, but if you prefer I don’t —”
“Ignore me. I’m tired and mumbling,” Kuwari said, unable to keep the hint of humor out of his voice. “Though, I’m suddenly not as exhausted as I was before. I would love a bath.”
“I thought as much.” Flashing him a shy smile, she reached down and grabbed his hand, then dragged him from her room.
Grinning, he knew he’d follow his beloved Blade anywhere.
Chapter 23
Several torches flickered and flared in a draft stirred by Enheduana’s slow dance before the Queen of the Underworld’s statue. The only witness to her summoning ritual was the tiny owl perched on the altar.
She ended the dance and spoke a prayer as she fed bits of a lion’s heart to the sacred owl. When the owl took the offered tidbits, she sprinkled him with drops of wine mixed with her own blood.
She only hoped it was enough. After all, this was more than a simple offering, it was a proposition for aid. Now she hoped half a night’s work was about to be rewarded. On the heels of her thought, a presence flared behind her, creeping down her spine in warning. She glanced over her shoulder in time to witness the Anunnaki rising out of the ground, emerging from another realm entirely.
Turning slowly, she faced the newly arrived Anunnaki. It was massive, towering over her. Though it made no outward sign of aggression, the Anunnaki’s sharp eyes tracked her every movement. His bird’s head with its deadly hooked beak didn’t show a hint of expression either. All she could ascertain was that this one was male to judge by his bare chest and large muscular figure. Not that it mattered, male or female, an Anunnaki was a fierce guardian of the afterlife.
Flicking the feathers of his double set of wings, he tilted his head, studying her. “Why have you summoned me, gryphon?”
Enheduana bowed her head. “There is a task that needs performing.”
“The gods always have tasks for their servants and guardians to perform. Speak your task and I shall decide if it is worthy.”
“Kuwari and his Blade have already performed the first of the Blooding Ceremonies. If they complete another, we risk losing them to Ishtar and Tammuz. We must act swiftly to stop that from happening.”
Enheduana waited for the Anunnaki to make his decision. Surely, he would agree to act. They had to act, or everything they’d worked for would come to nothing.
The Anunnaki turned from her to face the altar, and she was surprised to see him reach out to the tiny owl. He began ruffling the owl’s head feathers to its utter delight. After a few moments of vigorous scratching, he placed the little owl on his shoulder. In turn, the owl stretched up to groom the Anunnaki’s feathers.
The guardian from the underworld proceeded to stroke the owl’s feathers for long enough Enheduana had to repress the urge to pace. Showing impatience to an Anunnaki was the best way to destroy any semblance of goodwill the creature might possess.
They were known to be stubborn and inclined to act as they saw fit. The older it was, the more likely it was to act in unexpected ways. At last, he finished scratching the owl’s head feathers and placed the tiny bird back on his perch.
“I have spoken with Nergal. He wishes for the two younglings to learn the truth and choose for themselves. Force is never a good motivator.”
“You risked speaking with Nergal?”
The Anunnaki clacked his beak softly at the interruption and continued like she hadn’t spoken. “However, he also agrees that Ishtar already has too great a hold on the Blade.”
Isn’t that what I said? Enheduana thought sourly but didn’t let even a hint of her annoyance show on her face. Though the Anunnaki clacked his beak and emitted at a throaty chuckle.
“Your plan would require us to abduct one of them. Separating them would severely limit the development of their powers. Nergal is attached to the pair and doesn’t want to see either of them unduly distressed. He suggests we act to prevent Kuwari and Enkara from attending the next Sacred Marriage. The risk that Tammuz and Ishtar will claim them is too great.”
Enheduana compressed her lips in thought. What the Anunnaki said made sense. However, there was one problem. “Their presence will be expected.”
“Then we make certain they are forbidden from attending.”
“How? I don’t have enough influence to sway enough of the Council to achieve such a thing.”
“Then we create a situation that will make the King protective of his children.”
“What do you have in mind?”
“An attempt upon a gryphon’s cubs always stirs a parent’s protective instincts.”
Enheduana’s eyes widened in surprise. While an Anunnaki could be reasoned with if they deemed the cause worthy, having one take the initiative was very rare.
“As you say, that should work.” She almost wished to ask this Anunnaki his name, to figure out if he was one of the seven judges. But fear held her tongue. It was said an Anunnaki only revealed his name to the soul he was transporting to the underworld.
“Do not take this action lightly. It may result in many, many unintended deaths. All the gods will be angry if we disturb the balance too greatly. Are you prepared for that, Priestess?”
Enheduana barked out a laugh. “The balance shifted millennia ago when Ishtar first tricked Nergal and trapped him in the world of the living.”
“I know the history.”
“Then how can you worry about a few lost lives when a god is held against his will, trapped to forever be reborn as a mortal, to never be able to rejoin his wife in the afterlife?”
The Anunnaki ruffled his feathers and started to laugh. “Is that not exactly what Ereshkigal has forced Ishtar’s husband to endure? The sisters could end this feud if they wanted.”
“How can you say such a thing? Ereshkigal will hear of your insubordination.”
“Insubordination?” Outwardly unflustered by her words, the Anunnaki merely flattened his feathers back in place. “My duty is to protect all the souls in the land of the dead. Not to serve any one of the other gods. Remember that Priestess.”
A coil of fear stirred in her gut, but the need to know overrode it. “Who are you?”
“I am the first.”
Enheduana’s breath stilled in her lungs.
“Fear not, little Priestess, I will complete this task to help one whom I call a friend.”
“Friend?” she dared question.
“Nergal is my friend. I would see him restored to his former self if that is his wish.” The Anunnaki speared her with a look. “We have much work to do if we don’t want Ishtar to claim a second Blade.”
“Yes, even the threat of being ground beneath a Lamassu’s hooves won’t be enough to deter my kind. We so rarely get to play in the living realm since the sisters had their falling out.”
“You will need to find suitable mortals to act as hosts. I have already spoken with the leader of the assassin’s guild. He promised us aid as long as none of your Anunnaki brethren take any of his people as hosts.” She couldn’t blame the guild master for that little stipulation since an Anunnaki tended to take its host’s soul with it when it returned to the underworld, leaving a lifeless husk behind.
“Fear not. I’m sure my fellows and I will find it no hardship seeking out a few other wicked mortals to take as hosts.” He eyed her speculatively. “I do enjoy purifying a tainted soul, and if it is beyond healing, I’m not against consuming a little extra power.”
Enheduana shuddered, and then the Anunnaki fluffed his feathers, clacked his large beak as he laughed. “Yours isn’t as dark as I prefer. Besides, I have a use for you. You can start by summoning three more of my brethren while I hunt for suitable hosts to hide us from the watchful Lamassu.
“Only three?”
“More will alert the Lamassu of our presence no matter how carefully we hide.”
Enheduana bowed her head. “I will see to the summoning immediately.”
The Anunnaki stepped back into the shadows and vanished. She might not be able to see him, but she could still feel his cold power prickling across her skin. It was an attempt to intimidate her. And it did, but she merely shook off the feeling of being watched and began preparations for summoning the next Anunnaki.
Chapter 24
Kuwari’s streak of ill luck hadn’t abated. While it had taken the king and council much debating, they’d come to the unified consensus that the City-State of Nippur was the most deserving and the best place for him to settle into his role of Crown Prince of New Sumer. Nippur—Nakurtum’s home territory.
While he’d always known Councilor Nakurtum had a great deal of power within the council, it had likely been noted that he and Lady Kullaa had struck up a friendship. Kuwari scowled. He liked Kullaa just fine, as a friend, but he very much wished she had any other female as a mother.
Now he and the rest of the royal family were getting relocated to Nippur where he’d be installed a ruling prince after much pomp and circumstance. Councilor Nakurtum and Lady Kullaa had left four days ago to begin preparations for the arrival of the court.
The only redeeming quality about the entire situation was that Enkara would be at his side as his betrothed. Perhaps after all the festivities, they’d get some down time together.
Facing out to the vast ocean, Kuwari stretched his wings to catch the ocean breeze. Below, waves crashed against the cliff wall and sent salt spray high up into the air. Here at the top of the cliff, the royal party was mostly safe from the sea spray, but the occasional strong gust of wind still carried the fine mist high enough to sprinkle packs, harnesses, and feathers.
Shaking his wings, he displaced the fine droplets.
“Thanks,” Enkara said with an accompanying glare as she wiped her face on her sleeve.
He gaped his beak at her and issued a hissing laugh. His beloved was in human form and unfortunately would remain in that form for the time being since her coloring was a little too noticeable and they didn’t want a shrewd noble putting the pieces together until after Enkara’s destiny as his Blade was revealed to the court. And that would only happen after she had full command of her power.
But that didn’t mean he couldn’t look forward to flying wing-tip to wing-tip with her again sometime soon. Though, it would have to wait until well after dark when all dark colors looked the same since her coloring was so rare.
In the meantime, Enkara would ride on his back.
She must have sensed his emotions because she was eyeing his naked back.
“I’d still prefer a saddle,” Enkara said with an unhappy look between his naked back, the drop off to the ocean below, and then back to him again.
“A saddle would destroy my regal look.” He sent a blast of humor down their link. “The servants worked so very long and hard to make every feather gleam. They even applied a touch of oil to my beak. Makes me want to fly down to the beach and roll in the sand.”
He craned his head in Enkara’s direction and found her admiring his powerful physique. When she realized she’d been discovered, she grinned. “You already draw the eye of every female as it is. The servants’ efforts are wasted on you.”
“You’re the only female I care to have look. I’d even preen a little bit if I thought it might sway you towards my charms.”
“You are a horrible flirt.”
“Flirting implies a playfulness I lack. I am in deadly earnest. Haven’t I convinced you of that yet?”
He liked the flush of pink that crawled up her otherwise calm expression. In the six nights since he’d announced their intention to formally become betrothed, he’d done his best to seduce his Blade, and while he hadn’t yet succeeded, she hadn’t tossed him out on his ass either.
“Mind on the task,” Enkara said as she rapped him sharply on the shoulder.
Kuwari snapped his beak and grinned. She had a point, he supposed, but the court never did anything quickly, even getting ready for a royally decreed flight to Nippur.
“Do you think we’ll be ready by sunset?” Enkara asked as she took in the sun still beginning its climb into the sky.
“Great goddess, we better or I’ll be helping my father heave the worst of the culprits over the cliff,” Kuwari said as he craned his neck again, hoping for a good scratch.
She smacked him on the shoulder again, so he just shifted closer to her, urging her to mount up. Glowering, she did. Moments later King Ditanu gave the order to take flight.
Two companies of Shadows took to the air, the sound of their wing beats thunderous. His father and Iltani took to the air next, followed by Burrukan and Ahassunu.
Then it was Kuwari’s turn, and Enkara grabbed handfuls of his fur. The air ruffled his feathers, and he joyfully stretched his wings wide. Each mighty down sweep powered him higher into the sky.
Kuwari’s other siblings followed, fanning out behind him. On their heels flew close to two hundred accompanying Shadows. Well behind the guards, the rest of the court took to the air, over five hundred strong.
The sky was black with wings and the sound of thunderous flight. And this was just a pleasure flight. He briefly wondered what an army of gryphons on the wing might look like. Luckily, his visions had never shown him that possible future, and he hoped they never did.
***
After an uneventful trip to Nippur, the members of the royal party were shown to their quarters to rest up for the next day’s celebration. Before long, Councilor Nakurtum and Lady Kullaa arrived to see that the Royals had everything they needed.
Kuwari had been hoping not to see the councilor so soon, but fate had different ideas.
“Crown Prince Kuwari, Nippur welcomes you,” Nakurtum said and gestured for a servant to open the door. “I hope you like your quarters.”
Kuwari nodded his head since he was still in gryphon form.
“The servants are here with your evening meal.” She turned and nodded to the servant waiting at the door. Soon more entered carrying various trays of food.
Enkara carefully scanned the servants and the trays of food. When she deemed them safe, she chose a couple of pieces of fruit and began to eat them while she instructed the Shadows on guard duty for the night.
The councilor stepped closer while Enkara and the other Shadows were distracted by the servants.
“Crown Prince Kuwari, there is something of a delicate nature that we need to discuss, but it would be better spoken in privacy. At yo
ur earliest convenience, of course.”
The councilor added the last part as an afterthought he was sure. While he didn’t know what game she was playing, she was a councilor, so it was a game with consequences. Best he learn what she planned as quickly as possible. He nodded his head again in agreement.
“Good. Simply send me word when you are ready.” With that, she bowed and left.
Chapter 25
The next evening, Kuwari found himself surrounded by his younger siblings with Enkara herding them all towards Nippur’s main hall.
“Get a move on, or we're going to be late,” Enkara barked as she grabbed Prince Akiya by a shoulder and steered him in the right direction before he had a chance to escape.
“But it’s going to be another long, boring formal dinner with the nobility. If we all bolted in different directions some of us surely would escape.”
Eluti and Etum were bobbing their heads in agreement. At which point, seven-year-old Erra burst out crying because he was slower and would be the first one caught.
“Don’t cry,” Princess Alittum said, “While they’re off making fools of themselves, we will be learning how to rule one of the other City-States.”
“Alittum is correct,” Kuwari said. “Besides, you have to list to Enkara. She outranks you now that she’s my betrothed.”
“What’s betrothed?” Erra asked but seemed excited to stay and discover something new.
Kuwari sighed and explained while they walked. Soon the sixteen-year-old twins were laughing and making inappropriate comments. Akiya added a few more innuendos until even little Erra and Arwia were catching on. Kuwari glared at Etum and Eluti, but the twins just grinned back at him.
Meanwhile, Alittum merely pretended her four younger brothers didn’t exist and grabbed Arwia’s hand.
“Enough, all of you,” Enkara said in a stern tone she was clearly having trouble maintaining. “We’re nearly there. The entire court doesn’t need to hear your thoughts.”
Blade's Honor (Ishtar's Legacy Book 2) Page 17
