by Allie Burton
Still, there was much to be concerned about.
He kept his pace even with her. “You have to know the basics for hosting King Tut’s soul. To handle his power.”
“What power?” Her harsh, high-pitched tone showed her disbelief tangled with the question.
“Did you not feel something when you stole the amulet?” He knew she had. She’d said as much as she lay on the museum floor.
“A little.”
“Did you not see the shabti army move?”
“No. My back was to them.” The quickness of her response sounded like a lie.
“I fell at your touch. And so did the man with the gun.”
“Lighting and atmosphere.” Her tone firmed as if cementing the theory in her mind. She kept walking.
He flattened his lips. The girl should believe him. He’d believed the Society elders. Of course, they’d raised him since he was a toddler. He was brought up to believe.
Brainwashed.
The word floated through his head and he pushed it aside. He’d seen the truth of the Society’s teachings. He believed.
The girl, on the other hand, knew nothing of what had transpired. Didn’t understand the power she now possessed. Didn’t comprehend the danger she was in, to herself and others, just by walking alone in the woods.
Her brown hair was pulled tight on her head into a braid reminding him of how ancient Egyptian queens styled their hair. She wore no jewels in her ears or around her long neck which would be the opposite of Egyptian queens. She didn’t need jewelry because her natural beauty shined in a fresh look. The plush, red lips and the pert nose were perfect accents to her large eyes. She was perfect.
Stumbling, he kept pace with her. How she looked wasn’t important. “King Tutankhamun harnessed the power of the sun and worshipped the sun god Aten in secret.”
She slammed her hands onto her hips. “If it was in secret, how do you know? Huh?”
Xander pulled up short. She thought he was lying. He needed to ease into the explanation slowly so he wouldn’t shock her into running away. “The Society of Aten carried on the traditions, wrote the scrolls keeping the history, paid the sacrifices.”
“Human sacrifices?” Her lips quirked. “Figures I’d get caught up in a killing cult.”
He scrunched his face. “Because King Tut used the powers of a god, when he died his soul didn’t go to the Afterlife. His soul existed in a vortex. His powers were stored in the amulet. The amulet you now wear.”
Through her T-shirt, she tugged the amulet away from her body as if the piece of jewelry was contagious.
“During a phase of the moon, when an appropriate host is found, and the ancient words spoken the amulet acts as a conduit transferring Tut’s soul and the powers to a new host.” Xander’s footsteps echoed on the blacktop path they crossed over.
Crickets chirped. Another owl hooted. The woods provided the spooky atmosphere she’d mentioned.
She wrapped her arms around herself while digesting his story. She appeared to be totally sucked in by the tale until she said, “Ha, ha. You weave a great story. Ever thought of writing a book?”
He didn’t crack a smile. His conviction was a steel rod through his spine. “Did you hear the ancient words Jeb spoke?”
“Yes, but I didn’t understand any of it.”
“He spoke the ritualistic words on the night of the summer solstice during a total lunar eclipse.”
The damp blanket of fog rolling in from the Pacific didn’t hide the eerie, copper-colored moon. Earth’s shadow covered a portion, making the moon darker than most nights. He lost his focus appreciating the unusual view.
“I heard about the eclipse on TV.”
He had to stay on track. “Both events happening at the same time hasn’t occurred in almost 400 years. The receiver of King Tut’s soul must have turned sixteen this year.” Xander whipped his head to analyze her expression. “How old are you?”
Her eyes grew as large as the moon emphasizing the golden flecks in the orbs. “Sixteen.”
“Thought so.” He’d partially proved his point. “You’re pretty young for a thief.”
Her brow furrowed, and she reached up and started to unbraid her long hair. The strands went from being plain brown to more of a chestnut with streaks of honey and wheat. The hair sprung with a life of its own and reached way past her slim shoulders. She was skinny without much shape in her black shirt and jeans.
His body gravitated towards her. Of course, he’d never met a girl before so that could be the reason. No, now was not a good time to be attracted. It must be King Tut pulling him in her direction.
“Don’t change the conversation now.” She ran her slim fingers through the tangled ends. “What do you want?”
“I want to explain, to teach you the higher purpose.” His voice took on a preachy tone which he hated. She probably thought he was a zealot. Except he’d had doubts recently. The thought of him being the Chosen One is what kept him on board. That and the fact he had nowhere else to go.
“Right.” She re-braided her hair with fast fingers and he wondered if it was a nervous habit. “You’re luring me in with incredible stories and then, bam, you’re going to swipe the amulet.”
“No.”
Their steps echoed in the acres-big park housing several museums, a few small lakes and ponds, bike paths, and lots of trees. From maps, he knew Highway One ran through the center of the park and it ended at the Pacific Ocean. That’s about it.
She headed into a thicker forested area and he followed. At least they were off the main roads in case the Society or the men with the guns still searched for her. No one was looking for him.
Her shoes squelched in mud. “Those men must’ve scared my contact away. Wonder who they were.”
“They were dangerous.” Xander had no doubt. They weren’t with the Society.
Somehow the men had known the immense event taking place at the museum, had known Olivia had gotten the power, and had known she’d come out through the loading dock door. His mind clicked running through possibilities but came up empty.
“Who else would’ve been hanging around the museum tonight? Your cruel Society people?”
Bitterness tasted on his tongue and heat swamped his body. When she’d been hiding, she’d heard every word Jeb spoke. “Why did you decide to help me?”
“I couldn’t leave you lying there.” There was an edge in her voice as if she understood what he’d been going through.
Abandoned and lonely and afraid. His cheeks heated.
“The Society did.” The bitterness multiplied, swamping the taste buds in his mouth.
“There’s no comparison between your Society and my ring of thieves. Our history, our goals, our sense of loyalty are totally different. Even if loyalty was served with a side dish of knuckle sandwich.” She tripped on a half-buried tree root.
He reached out to help and stopped before he touched her. “Knuckle sandwich?”
Her nose scrunched up in a snarl. “If you’re afraid to touch me, then why don’t you leave?”
“I can’t. You have no clue what you’ve gotten yourself into.” Neither did he. But he wasn’t about to abandon her. He’d advise her about the powers, teach her the Society’s teachings, and help her succeed in what was originally his task.
She stomped onto another path that headed west. “You knew I was hiding behind those tablets. Why didn’t you tell Jeb where I was? Maybe he would’ve—”
“Not left me on the ground to get caught?” Xander had contemplated that exact thing while he laid on the floor. But he’d seen how cruel the elders could be to those who failed. “The Society of Aten still would’ve kicked me out because I don’t hold the power. And in the process, I would’ve helped them capture you. Didn’t seem like a fair trade.”
Her body ramrodded straight and stiff. Her chin stuck up and her lips formed a disapproving line. “So I’m not good enough for your snobby Society?”
“You don’t want them to want you
.” A trickle of fear for her washed through his veins.
“They want the amulet.” She fingered the necklace around her neck.
“You have the power. The amulet alone has no value to the Society. They need the host of King Tut. Which is you.” Xander held back a branch for her to pass. “It was supposed to be me.”
He was supposed to be the important one, the Chosen One, the one with the powers to save the world. The thoughts floated through him leaving a chasm of emptiness behind.
She passed him without a glance, ignoring his claim. Stomping her mud-caked shoes, she announced, “I need to find a bus stop.”
“Bus stop?” He scrunched his nose, his mind swiveling at the change in conversation.
“Have a problem with taking the bus?”
He focused in on her words. “I’ve never ridden one before.”
Just as he’d never been free to travel around the city alone. His chest hitched.
“You rich?”
He shook his head relishing the small adventure on public transportation. “Just protected.”
“Where are your parents?” Her voice went lost and soulful.
And an answering echo responded in his heart. He’d been adopted when he’d been two years old. Once he was old enough to understand, Jeb had told him that his parents didn’t want him. When Xander misbehaved, he’d been threatened with being sent back to the orphanage. He’d learned to obey, except for in secret.
“No parents.”
“Me, either.” Her voice cracked as if she wished things were different.
They had that in common.
“The Society thought it best if I stayed away from the general public.” Because once he had the powers, he wouldn’t be able to touch anyone. No sense being hugged when you couldn’t hug any longer.
“And I thought I had a weird upbringing.” Her eyebrows practically arched off her face. “This Society raised you?”
“Since I was born. Home-educated me. Trained me.” He sounded like a trick pony.
“This Society—”
“The Society of Aten.”
“They picked you, raised you, because you were the correct age to receive King Tut’s soul at this precise moment in time?” Her words wound up as if she was offended for him.
No one had ever been on his side.
“Yes.”
“This Society were like mad scientists training you for their own purposes.”
Her words sucker punched him because they were true. The Society had adopted him, raised him, educated and trained him for one purpose and one purpose only.
“Didn’t you hate being used?” She gritted her teeth. She must hate being used, too.
And yet, weren’t they both the products of being used their entire life? He didn’t know her full story, but she was a thief at the age of sixteen working for a man who wasn’t her father.
“I didn’t know any better.” What was her excuse?
“And then, because you didn’t touch the amulet, they left you lying on the museum floor?” Her incredulity continued to grow.
The need to defend the Society burst forth. “Since I didn’t receive the soul, and since you were the first to touch the amulet after the ancient words were spoken, the Society has no use for me.”
A slight thrill went through him. If they didn’t need him, he was free.
Then, he halted. He focused his gaze on her and something fierce and protective hardened inside him. “But they’ll be searching for you.”
Chapter Four
Olivia
Great. More people following me—the Society, the cops, and Xander. Plus, the weird guys on the loading dock.
“What does this insane Society think I can do?” I spit the words between tense lips.
Fog seeped through the park and floated over the bike path presenting us with another obstacle to get around. Like I didn’t have enough challenges already.
“Aren’t you listening? By hosting King Tut’s soul, you control the sun.”
Control the sun? Control. The. Sun. Was he crazy?
Whether I believed Xander or not, I had to take the Society threat seriously. I’d seen Jeb’s fanatical devotion to the cause. A harsh laugh burst out of my mouth. “So, you’re telling me I’m Mother-freaking Nature?”
“Not exactly.” Xander raised his hand toward me and then yanked it back. His face reddened. “Remember when you brushed past me in the museum and I fell? Your touch singed me, causing burning pain and dehydration.”
“Impossible.” I’d barely touched him. And I certainly didn’t singe. I wasn’t that hot.
“The powers are absorbed from the sun.”
“Maybe these Society people brainwashed you.” I reached out to touch his hand. “You think you felt pain.”
Of course, that doesn’t explain the guy at the loading dock.
He jerked back. “I’ll show you another way.” He glanced around and then walked toward a muddy puddle on the path. “Come here.”
I sauntered over acting like I didn’t care, curious but disbelieving. “What.”
“Put your finger in the puddle.” He squatted down, and I got another look at his defined thigh muscles.
Heat flared from my neck to my face. Sparks of awareness danced through my midsection. “We really need to find you pants.”
Again, his frustrated face reddened. He tugged at the edge of the tunic. “Just do it.”
The puddle didn’t look deep. Greenish moss or mold stained the edges. “Gur-ross.”
“You want proof? This is it.” In the bright moonlight, his expression seemed totally open and honest.
How could he be honest about hosting an old pharaoh and having the powers of the sun? Unless he was a lunatic and didn’t realize the truth.
I huffed out a breath and crouched next to the puddle. There goes my shiny manicure. I held up my hand, twisted my wrist, and gave him a princess-parade wave. Then I stuck out a finger, my middle finger, flipped it upside down and stuck it in the puddle.
Warmth spread from my face down my neck to my shoulder. Growing hotter, my arm heated all the way to my hand and then the tips of my fingernails. A strange sucking sensation pulled at my finger, like drinking out of a straw.
I went to jerk my finger away, but Xander shook his head challenging me.
The water level in the puddle dropped. Slowly at first, and then faster.
The water was gone.
The proof was in front of me. Or wasn’t in front of me because I made the water disappear.
Disappear.
I fell back on my tush hitting the hard asphalt bike path, my eyes as wide as the now-nonexistent puddle. The warmth inside me died and froze over like ice on a pond.
“Like magic.” I sounded awestruck.
“Like science—sun evaporates water.” His logical tone stood polar opposite to what he’d demonstrated.
This wasn’t logical at all.
“So I’m the sun?” Still dazed, I slumped farther down onto the pavement, probably dirtying my one pair of decent jeans.
“No, but you carry the powers of the sun inside you.”
My mind tried to wrap around what he’d told me, what the experiment had shown, what I felt inside. Which was everything and nothing. Shock and awe. Incredulity and terror. My brain ticked away, calculating and recalculating, but nothing added up. “If I carry the sun inside, wouldn’t I burn up?”
He got to his feet and pulled down his tunic. “I’m sure Tut can handle the power.”
Xander stood like a warrior. Squared shoulders, hands on trim hips, stance wide. From my position on the ground I almost got a glimpse of what he wore underneath.
This is so not the time to be thinking about whether he wore boxers or briefs.
As what he said sunk in, a glow lit inside my chest. He’d said Tut could handle the power which meant I could handle the power. I wanted to dance. I felt lighter and stronger and more self-assured.
Like I was important.
Who cared about the historical stuff?
I was special.
Special enough to do something more with my life. Be somebody besides a thief. I might have powers beyond my wildest dreams. Like a superhero.
I sprang to my feet. “What else can I do?”
His hard jaw dropped almost to the ground. He seemed surprised I believed him. He turned and thundered away, his feet stomping out anger, not surprise.
Hurrying to catch up, I asked, “What else can I do?”
“Stuff.”
“Like?” I skipped next to him. “Can I make it hot tomorrow? Can I evaporate the entire San Francisco Bay? Can I make it sunny 365 days-a-year or 24 hours-a-day? Can I get an insta-tan?”
Limitless possibilities.
Seeing a pond to the side of the path, I ran over. “Watch this.” I crouched down on the rocks edging the small pond and stuck my finger in the water feeling the warmth and the sucking sensation and getting more excited with each missing drop. I watched the water evaporate. Doug and Tina would think this was so cool and I couldn’t wait to show them.
Xander leaned over me. “What about the fish?”
Several orange koi fish clustered in what had been the deepest part of the pond. Only a few inches of water remained.
“Oh.” The warmth inside died. “Can I re-hydrate the pond?”
“No.”
I bit my lip, staring at the almost air-drowning fish. To them, it probably felt like being locked in a dark box or closet, barely able to breathe. Through carelessness I almost killed them. “What can I do to help the fish?”
“Nothing.” He pounded the ground harder as he walked away. So hard, if he had super powers—like me—I bet the ground would’ve shook.
He didn’t have super powers though. I did. But I still couldn’t help the fish. My mouth twisted down and confusion twirled in my mind. Maybe I did need his help.
“Are we still looking for a bus?” His feet stomped with each terse word, anger evident with each step.
Got it. If I’d been raised to believe I’d hold the sun’s power and then a stranger received it instead, I’d be angry, too. He shouldn’t blame me though. I received the powers by accident. He needed to get over it. Shooting him a half-smile, I tried to lighten the atmosphere. “Can I conjure one?”
