Warrior's Destiny

by Allie Burton

  Those three simple words deflated my anger, healed my internal wounds, lessened my fear. Every girl wanted to hear words of love from the guy she cared about.

  But was he speaking the truth? Did he truly love me or was it another trick to sway my point of view? Others had professed their love and their words meant nothing.

  None of it mattered now. I was about to become a prisoner of my own power. Did love matter?

  Love matters, Tut pleaded. Believe in your heart.

  How could I believe in my heart when I didn’t know what it was telling me?

  “Now that your love life is straightened out, it’s time for lover boy and his Society friends to die.” X waved his hands around the sphere. “Olivia, destroy them.”

  The amulet flashed against my skin. Electrical volts charged my body and power surged inside. I lost control. It wasn’t like when Tut took charge of my feet forcing me to run through the park. That didn’t hurt.

  The goons dropped my arms like I’d zapped them through the gold mesh gloves. X’s eyes glowed with fanaticism and power. The entire Society seemed to brace themselves for pain. Even Xander flinched.

  My body twisted and turned. This force inside me slashed and burned. It melted my insides like I was just a big, liquid slush. The excruciating pain made my skin feel like it was blistering in the sun.

  “I. Don’t. Know. How.” Each word rasped out of my mouth. I didn’t want to know how.

  My throat went dry. I fought the urge to lash out. I fought X’s control over me. I couldn’t hurt the one person I loved, whether he truly returned that love or not. I waged an internal war against the electric current. I had never killed anyone. I didn’t want to kill these people. I didn’t want to kill Xander.

  Breathe calm and deep, Tut instructed.

  Calm? Tut wanted calm when all I could think of was causing death? When my skin flamed like I was on fire. When my insides burned like acid drizzled down my throat.

  Pounding came from the small annex behind me. Stone on stone scraped against the concrete floor. The temporary wall crashed down with a bang and spread dust in the air.

  X’s face paled. The sphere dropped into the chalice. My pain subsided and I felt like I controlled my own body. I twisted my head, trying to figure out why the wall had fallen.

  Mayhem filled the exhibit space and dust choked the air. Most of the Society members fled the room. X appeared petrified, as if what ever made the wall crash was to be his personal destruction.

  Terror flashed across Xander’s face, but he rushed into the storm, rushed toward me.

  I held my hands out, palms up. The sphere rose but no pain accompanied its reawakening. The golden globe floated toward me and landed in my hands. A sense of power and confidence strengthened my resolve. The amulet heated but didn’t burn. The warmth felt comforting.

  If X could control me through the Sol Control, why couldn’t I control the orb?

  I held the globe in my hands. My lungs filled and I straightened my spine. I could control everything.

  “Olivia, look out!” Xander shouted.

  Unsure if it was another of his tricks, I took a quick look back and stopped. My earlier elation shrank.

  The stone shabti army of seven advanced. In formation, they’d broken through the annex wall and marched toward me, their concrete bodies only yards away. That’s what had caused the dust and the petrified expression on X’s face. At only a few feet high, the shabtis probably didn’t weigh a ton. They moved at an even measure with pounding steps. Their pace seemed steady, but I knew seconds played out like minutes.

  “Olivia, move.” Xander dashed toward me.

  But I couldn’t move. My limbs shook hard. My nerves misfired at a world gone mad. Stone men advancing. Strong enough to knock a wall down. Fierce enough to kill. A memory of the first night in the museum flashed. Had the shabtis really shifted positions when Xander had cornered me in the annex?

  Tonight, would I be crushed by the mini army?

  The shabtis continued their steady march, their ancient weapons drawn. My gaze darted around the exhibit space. X retreated behind the sarcophagus with his goons. All the Society members had left, except Jeb their leader and one other…

  Xander reached my side.

  “Sol Control. Arise and return,” X commanded.

  Intense pain cut through me. My fingers cramped and my hand loosened around the globe. I grabbed my head with my other hand. I had no time to analyze my thoughts on Xander.

  “Olivia, are you okay?” The agony in his tone showed his worry.

  The orb jerked out of my weakened hand and floated above me. The Sol Control started spinning around and around and heading toward where X hid. Dizziness spun in my head like I spun with the orb.

  The shabtis stopped their march.

  I needed to control the sphere. I needed to grab it before X. Struggling through the pain, I held my palms out and concentrated.

  The ball spun again and came back toward me. My pain diminished.

  The shabtis shifted.

  X raised his arms and waved in a fancy maneuver like he knew a secret code to control the orb. It floated toward him again and a sharp slash of pure agony spiked my brain.

  “Pickle.” Xander held up his arms. He motioned like he was throwing a baseball. “Pickle.”

  Understanding dawned. My pain disappeared when I controlled the sphere and Xander wanted to help me take back that control. I held my hands higher. The Sol Control careened toward me.

  The orb landed in my palm. X made a move toward me and tried to use his tricks to control the globe. I lofted it toward Xander, just like continuing baseball’s pickle play. He caught the sphere with both hands.

  If X couldn’t concentrate on the orb, he couldn’t control it.

  X’s face reddened. He pointed at Goon One. “Get Xander.”

  Goon One peeked from behind the sarcophagus. He got to his feet and made a move toward Xander. So did Jeb.

  Xander threw the Sol Control back to me. Then, he tackled Goon One to the ground.

  I held the orb aloft in my hand. It was like playing Monkey in the Middle, except X was no monkey. And this was no game.

  The shabtis started their march again.

  X raised his arms, waving them around in intricate moves. The ball slipped out of my hands and headed toward him. Pain sliced my brain. My head spun. I reached up and yanked on my hair trying to stop the internal torture.

  The shabtis halted.

  I focused on retrieving the sphere through the thundering misery in my head. Holding my arms up, I squished my face in concentration. The Sol Control stopped moving toward X and reversed course. Toward me.

  The shabtis marched closer. I didn’t know how X, or was it the Society, controlled them. Their feet pounded on the concrete, shaking the ground. They might be small, but they were mighty. I couldn’t move out of their way without losing focus.

  I stretched and grabbed the orb just as the shabtis reached me.

  Xander ran over and reached to take hold of me. His pale face held a fearless expression. His sharp emerald eyes cut with concern and caring. His lips flattened with determination.

  Realization struck. He was my hero. He was trying to save me. He’d do anything to protect me. Even die.

  “You can’t—” Touch me.

  My last words were lost when he tackled me to the ground and out of the way of the shabtis. The warning was too late.

  As we fell, he twisted around. His back hit the hard, concrete floor protecting me and the globe in my hand. I slumped against his body, clinging to him and his strength.

  The shabti’s feet ground to a halt.

  “You can’t touch me.” I didn’t want to hurt Xander.

  Except he didn’t act stunned or zapped. My touch didn’t hurt him now. Why?

  “You could’ve been killed.”

  “I had to save you. That army—” He didn’t slur his words or shake.

  I cared so much about him. And I wan
ted him to know, before it was too late. Before the army attacked or X pulled himself together. The words burst out of my mouth. “I love you.”

  My face flushed. Blurting it out wasn’t the way I wanted to tell someone I loved them. But we were in a desperate situation. Seconds counted. And I wanted Xander to know how I really felt before it was too late.

  A loopy grin appeared on his face. “You love me?”

  “Yes, I lied on the bridge. To save you from—”

  He gripped my chin and leaned into me. His lips brushed softly against mine. “I love you, too.”

  My lips tingled. Everything inside heated. Not like the heat of power, but from the heat of love. Xander loved me. He’d come back to save me. He’d only gone to the Society because he knew no other way to help.

  My hand trailed across his cheek enjoying the rough feel of his stubble. I examined him. “Why didn’t I hurt you when we touched? We aren’t in water.”

  Souls united. Tut’s words came back to me.

  The Sol Control flew out of my hands. It drifted in mid-air, floating like a party balloon.

  In a sudden burst, the glass orb shattered.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Olivia

  Tiny slivers of glass exploded. Sparks shot from the ground where the Sol Control pieces fell like fireworks on the floor. Glass shards splayed like shrapnel. A golden-yellowish aura rose from the remains and floated across the air like pixie dust. Sparkles rained down in a golden wash of light.

  On me.

  On Xander.

  On all the concrete shabtis.

  The sparkles melted into my skin, but they didn’t burn. Each spot glowed for a second and then disappeared. No mark remained where they’d touched.

  A jolt rocked my body. A swooshing sensation swam up my spine. Getting to my feet on shaky legs, a soothing coolness invaded my veins. The entire room spun around, like it was on a carousel and I stood in the center.

  The power of your love shattered the orb and the curse. I’m free.

  A powerful sucking started in my toes and traveled up my legs to the core of my body. My chest rose and I was lifted off my feet a few inches into the air. Like I was being sucked by an object more powerful than an industrial strength vacuum. The whooshing continued up my arms and into my shoulders and head.

  My ears felt like it popped. My feet touched the floor. The room stopped spinning.

  A sense of euphoria erupted in my chest, lightening everything inside. I no longer carried the weight of Tut’s soul. Strength and determination straightened my spine even without his royal bearing. Tut might be gone, but parts of him existed inside. His teachings and his belief in me. Control of myself anchored. I could sense it.

  I jumped to my feet ready for anything. Ready to take on X, and Jeb, and the entire shabti army. Ready to take on the world.

  No one would ever control me again.

  Xander stood taller. The sparkles shimmered on him. His wondrous gaze traveled the length of his bare arms. The golden dust melted into his dark skin. The dust embers took longer to disappear than the ones that burnt me.

  Could it be because he didn’t possess Tut’s power?

  “Does it hurt?” I wanted to wipe away the sparkling dust so Xander felt no pain.

  “No.” He flexed his arm and then flashed a bright white smile. “It feels great. What happened?”

  I shot a tremulous smile back. “The orb shattered.” Did he not see the explosion and indoor fireworks? “Tut is gone.”

  “From inside you?”

  I nodded.

  “What happened to me?” He touched his arms and legs. “I feel great. Different.”

  “You broke the Sol Control.” X peeked from behind the sarcophagus as if afraid to come out. His cheeks sagged and his gaze had lost the light of fanaticism. “The miniscule shards of glass carried the soul and the power. You broke it.”

  Did that mean what I thought? My insides started dancing a jig, but then I froze. Even though Tut had told me the same thing, I had to be sure. “The curse is broken? The burnout is doused?”

  “Each shard doesn’t have enough of the curse on its own.” X’s voice sounded shattered like the orb. “And the burnout ended with the creation of the orb.”

  A new lightness filled my soul. “Is the power gone too?”

  X braced himself against the sarcophagus, standing with his head bowed. He took a shaky step toward the exit. “You’ve ruined my only chance at Tut’s power.” His defeated words echoed across the exhibit space. Real pain scratched through his voice.

  “Wait a minute. You’re not just going to leave.” Xander grabbed hold of X.

  X jerked like he’d been shocked. “Aaagh!” He fell to the floor, shaking and vibrating.

  The scene reminded me of the first time I touched Xander in this same museum. “What just happened?”

  Xander’s eyes grew larger. In shock, he stared at X writhing on the floor. “I touched him, and I felt this force surge through me. Did I get your power?”

  “I don’t know.” But it didn’t really matter. With or without mystical powers, I was stronger than before. More confident. And Xander and I were a team.

  My gaze traveled around the exhibit space until I spotted one of the goons crawling toward the exit. I advanced toward him. “Where do you think you’re going?” I grabbed the collar of Goon One’s jacket.

  My hand brushed across his chest and power surged through me.

  Goon One’s face went white. His body jerked and fell to the ground. “Aaack!” He’d lost his gold glove in the struggle.

  Air sucked from my lungs. “I still have power.”

  “We both have power?” Xander’s gaze darted between me and X, and then swiveled to Jeb who crawled toward the exit. “Let’s test the theory out.”

  Xander rushed toward the man who’d once controlled his destiny. Jeb had blood dripping from his head and his clothes were covered in dust. Xander lightly touched the man’s back.

  Jeb screamed. His body trembled and shook falling to the ground.

  Both Xander and I had power.

  He beamed his melt-my-knees-smile. Then, his eyes went wide, and his mouth dropped open. “Watch out!”

  Instinctively, I shot a glance at the goon. He was still down for the count. So was X. I ducked and looked behind me not knowing what to expect.

  The last light of the Sol Control’s sparkles melted onto the shabtis. Their concrete skin glowed. Each of their eyes twinkled with color, not the dull grayish-white of concrete.

  Their hair softened—into real hair.

  Their sculpted faces took a softer shape. Skin formed as they grew.

  And grew.

  And grew.

  Their arms and legs took on muscular definition. Their lips molded and colored…and moved.

  The shabtis were alive.

  Chapter Thirty

  Xander

  Xander sucked in a breath and braced for a fight. A different fight than he’d expected. The small stone men were no longer small. Or stone.

  His chest pounded in a fast rhythm. Even if both he and Olivia had powers, taking on seven, full-sized, army guys would be a challenge. The shabtis were trained fighters meant to serve in the Afterlife.

  Jeb still convulsed on the floor. X and Goon One lay motionless. They wouldn’t help or hinder the battle. It was two against seven.

  Olivia stood by Xander’s side. On the bridge, she’d pushed him away believing it was for his own good. Because she cared about him, had sacrificed her happiness for his. He grabbed her hand and squeezed. No pain transferred between them. Only warmth and love. They were in this together.

  Soulmates.

  They were stronger united. United against the new danger in front of them.

  The shabtis continued to grow. They equaled around Xander’s height now. They weren’t all identical either. While all had dark hair and green eyes, their faces were shaped different. Some were round and others more square. A couple of the shab
tis bodies were thinner and a bit taller. Others were stouter and more muscular.

  “What’s happening?” Her voice shivered and her hand held his tight.

  The shabtis were real guys. No longer a stone army sculpted to serve in the Afterlife. A real band of warriors. In unison, they fell to one knee and bowed. “We are here to serve.”

  Dropping Olivia’s hand, he sidestepped in front of her. His skin prickled. He didn’t like how the army stared at her, spoke to her, bowed to her.

  She peeked over his shoulder, her body tense. “Are they talking to me?”

  “We sense the power of the Mighty Tut’s presence whom we are sworn to serve.” One of the shabti, who if Xander remembered right had had the most wear on his concrete form, spoke.

  “Ah, well.” Her shoulders dipped and she sounded more relaxed. “I’m Olivia.”

  This wasn’t a tea party. Best to keep their identities secret.

  “Who are you?” He wanted answers and he wanted them now.

  The worn one stood. “I am Xander.”

  Xander’s breath quickened. Coincidence?

  “I am Xander,” another spoke.

  “I am Xander, too,” a third agreed.

  The Xander—him—standing beside Olivia wavered. His head felt light.

  “Xander.” A fourth nodded.

  “Also, Xander.” The fifth in line.

  “Xander, again.” The sixth bowed.

  “And Xander,” the seventh said.

  Shaking his head, the real Xander tried to clear his swimming brain. “I’m Xander, too.”

  “You’re all named Xander? That could be confusing.” Olivia placed a hand on his shoulder. Her comfort warmed his soul.

  “You idiots.” X’s voice echoed with pain. The man struggled to his knees, clutching his chest. “These are some of the original Xanders that survived the centuries. Like you and I,” X spat. “If conditions weren’t right and the sacred chant was read, the Xander ready to host turned into a stone shabti. Most of them were destroyed over time.”

  Xander’s muscles tensed. He felt the blood pumping through his veins. His tension released a little.

  “You didn’t turn into a shabti.” She pounded a foot forward and rolled her eyes.