Soul Reborn (Key to the Cursed Book 1) (19 page)

Asar lead Inpu, Nebt
and Kamen down the long corridor to the secret chamber. Several members of the
council Nehebkau felt trustworthy enough to share the information about the
Carrigan sisters had gathered to meet with him. The two Pantheons had not met
since the fall of the Ancient Egyptian Empire and subsequent loss of a three
thousand year old religion.

The last gathering had
been less than cordial.

The Creation gods thought
themselves better than their brothers and sisters of the Underworld, which was
ironic considering Asar held the power to judge and take their souls with a
single thought. Only one Creation god was as powerful as he, and the Mother
Goddess had not been seen in a very long time.

To announce his
arrival, Asar purposely allowed his power to precede him into the room. He had
no intention of harnessing his dark energy. He would protect Lilly and her
sisters, whether the Creation gods agreed or not.

The repugnance
directed toward him when he entered the chamber burned Asar's senses. Their
animosity was nothing more than a mask for their fear. The same fear he saw at
the exact moment he refused their entry into the afterlife.

Gods were the worst
at accepting the reality of their bad deeds, especially upon death. The rules
by which he judged were very specific. It always galled Asar when the gods he
sentenced acted surprised that they did not meet the test to be granted
passage. Despite stacks of evidence, they still would plead their innocence. In
the end, they would find a way to blame him.

Kepi was an extreme
example of this sentiment.

Nehebkau greeted
him in a slightly more amiable manner since their first meeting. “Gods are with
you, friend,” he said, grasping Asar’s forearm. He greeted Inpu in the same
fashion, but stopped short of greeting Nebt. No one dare touch a mated female
god, lest he face the wrath of their male. Instead, Nehebkau bowed to the Underworld
goddess. “Goddesses are with you, Nebt. It has been a long time.”

Nebt smiled. “It
has. It is good to see you in health.”

Nehebkau chuckled
and glanced toward Kamen. “Well, let’s hope it stays that way.”

Asar grabbed
Nehebkau’s shoulder. “No worries, my friend.” A look of relief crossed the Snake
god’s face. “Let us get down to business, shall we?”

Nehebkau nodded and
headed toward the three Creation gods. These three not only belonged to the Creation
Pantheon, but more specifically held the title of Protector. With no need for
introductions, Asar sat down not waiting for his lighter olive skinned cousins.
He wanted it clear he was in charge of this meeting, and they were here at his
request. Inpu and Nebt sat to his left, while Kamen stood post next to the
exit.

The Protector
goddess, Bast, spoke first. “I demand to know why you have summoned us.” She
looked down the table and the two other gods nodded. “Nehebkau stated that only
once we came would you reveal your intentions. I must express my disgust with
this secrecy, not to mention your need to bring him here.” With a scowl, she
gestured toward Kamen.

Asar grew irritated
at her tone, but kept his expression even. “My apologies, goddess. It was not
my intention to make you uncomfortable.” Well, it was but they did not need to
know that. Kamen had a way of making people stay truthful in his presence.
Plus, he never knew when the opportunity to lay judgment would arise.

His choice of words
had the desired effect.

“I am not
uncomfortable. I am only expressing my distaste for the lack of disclosure.”
Her voice became more even as she continued. “It must be important for the Underworld
gods to contact us. Especially, since you have obviously won the favor of
Nehebkau.” She inclined her head to the Snake god.

“Actually, it is
Nehebkau who has won my favor, and made the recommendation on who to call to
this meeting. And, yes, we have a situation that needs the immediate attention
of both Pantheons.”

Bast lifted her
chin and smile. “He has chosen wisely.”

“Agreed,” the
Creation god, Meti, said.

“I have reason to
believe there are those among us that are attempting a shift in power. There
are circumstances I had thought isolated and unrelated until I spoke with
Nehebkau.”

Haru, the third
Creation god, merely sniffed. “If this is related to your ex-goddess going on
her revenge crusade, this has little to do with us. She is your problem.”

“This isn’t any
goddess, Haru. It is Kepi,” Nehebkau said.

“Entomb her, and
this will be finished.”

“She has my son,”
Asar said in a flat voice.

Haru’s eyes widened.
“What?”

Everyone at the
table knew the importance of Asar’s son. He could do more than entomb her. He
could kill her and any other god. No one was immune, not even Asar.

And now that fatal
power was in the hands of their enemy.

Nehebkau sat at the
table, his agitation apparent with how he rubbed his thumb and forefinger on
his lip above his fangs. “It is worse, my friends. Kepi has knowledge of the
existence of the Mother Goddess’ descendants, and has already attempted to take
one of their bodies.”

“There are no
descendants of the Mother Goddess, or else we three would know about them,"
Bast scoffed. "She would place them under our care and protection. And if
she chose not to release them to our care, we certainly would have sensed
them.”

Asar rubbed his
jaw. It was forbidden for gods to sire human offspring, and considering whose descendants
the Carrigan sisters were, what he was about to say would rock the foundation
of the Pantheon. “These descendants are human.”

Meti jumped out of
his chair. “That is blasphemy! I will not have you disgrace the Goddess Mut’s
name.”

Asar stood and
slammed his fist on the table. “I do not have to disgrace her. I have seen the
proof of their existence. You dare to call me a liar?”

Bast stood up put
her hands up between the gods. She glowered at her fellow god. “Sit down, Meti.
We must hear Asar out. If he says they exist, they exist.” She waited for the
two men to take their seats before she continued. “The question, gentlemen, is
why? Mother never does things without plenty of forethought. There must be a
reason.”

“Mother has been on
life quest for several centuries. How old are these humans you speak of?” Haru asked
evenly.

“Between two to
three decades.”

Bast’s eyes
fluctuated slightly. “How many offspring?”

“Three females.”

Bast eyes darted
away when he said it. A tightness developed in her face. She knew more than she
was letting on.

“Where are they?"
Meti demanded. "You must hand them over to us.”

“We will do no such
thing," Nebt said, standing. The Underworld goddess was not to be
underestimated. Although not as strong as Asar, she held a significant amount
of power—enough to extinguish Meti’s claim on the females. "They will
remain under our protection.”

Meti’s face flushed
red, but he managed to soften his tone before addressing her. “Where do you
intend to keep them? Aaru?”

Asar signaled for
Nebt to sit. “Yes. They will reside at my palace.”

Haru folded his
hands in his lap before he spoke. “Asar, I appreciate your willingness to
sacrifice, but they are our responsibility. These children belong to the Creation
Pantheon, not yours. For a Creation descendant to be in the Underworld is just…
unnatural
.”

All civility went
out of Asar’s face. The sense of entitlement and superiority of these Creation
gods burned his gut. “They will remain in Aaru under my protection and that is
my final word. You,” he said disgusted, “cannot guarantee their safety when
Kepi and her conspirators are still at large.”

The Creation gods
knew he had the power to restrict their access to Mut’s offspring. No one
entered Aaru without his express permission.

“You think
we
are the ones assisting Kepi?” Haru asked.

Asar’s temper
flashed in an instant. The ground shook under their feet when he stood and
leaned forward. “If I thought that, you all would be soulless.”

“I would gladly
oblige. Just say the word, brother.” Kamen’s deep baritone voice fell like
arctic blast over the room.

“Control your
beast, Asar,” Haru snapped.

Kamen stepped
toward the table, a feral snarl on his lips.

Bast rose slowly,
her palms up in submission. “Gentlemen,” she implored.

“Gods, we need to
stay focused. Let our differences rest,” Nebt added.

Eventually,
everyone settled back into their seats. Bast sighed. “There is a reason that
Mother crossed her children’s paths with Asar’s. We will not second guess her
reasoning. It is obvious that Asar has the children’s best interest in mind. We
will honor the Mother Goddess’ choice. The reason will be revealed at a later
time, no doubt.”

She took her seat
again now that both men were sitting. “Please accept our apologies, Asar. These
are unusual circumstances, and have taken us off guard. What is it you require
of us?”

Asar closed his
eyes to collect himself. He wanted to get back to the human world to check on
Lilly, and these gods were dragging out the meeting. The fact he had sent his
best commander and warriors to assist her did not settle the acid churning in
his stomach. He tried his best to push his anxiety to the side in order to
focus on the topic at hand.

“We need to locate
the Mother Goddess. I am afraid her life and the lives of the gods who support
her maybe in danger,” Asar said, heavily.

Bast leaned forward
in her seat. “Why would you think that Mother is at risk?”

Asar looked to
Nehebkau.

The Snake god nodded
and stood. “Asar came to see me, requesting my help to raise an army to capture
Kepi and terminate the revens. He brought two of Mother’s offspring with him, both
of whom had undergone a Nehebkau conversion initiated by the humans to combat
the revens. Lilly, the oldest sibling, has been awakened to her demi-god form,
and already, Kepi had attempted to kidnap her with the intension of
assimilating her body and essence."

"Lilly has
very strong healing powers, and emits potent energy, the likes I have never
experienced before," Asar interjected. "If Kepi were to take her
form, she would be almost indestructible."

The Creation gods’
faces paled with the news. Unfortunately, the Snake god had not yet gotten to
the bad part.

"It was not
until Asar told me that his son was entombed by the goddess that I started to
get concerned," Nehebkau continued. "If Kepi discovers the ability to
coalesce Lilly’s and Bakari’s powers…”

He did not have to
finish his sentence to express the significance of the connection. Asar’s son
had the power to kill gods. Lilly’s energy would boost that power.

Asar leaned forward.
“I think we all know the potency of Kepi’s hatred, not only for me, but for the
Creation gods. I will not allow her to use my son or Lilly in such a manner.”

“The solution is
simple," Meti said. "Kill the human females and our problems will be
solved.”

Bast and the other
gods could not move quickly enough. Asar grabbed Meti by the throat and slammed
him down on the table.

Asar bared his
teeth. Smoldering rage rippled off him in powerful waves. “You touch them, and
I will feast on your soul in the most depraved and painful way.” Kamen moved in
to reinforce his promise.

Bast’s eyes
widened. Asar guessed she had figured out Lilly's significance to him. Much to
his surprise, she did not reveal this to the other gods.

Inpu, who had been
quiet through the entire meeting, laid a hand on Asar's arm. Although the
gesture looked insignificant, Inpu was actually absorbing his rage, so as to
defuse the situation. The tension slowly bled from Asar's shoulders.

Nebt stood at
Asar’s side and spoke in a soft, methodical voice. “We all agree protection of
Mut’s offspring is the highest priority. The human females will be granted
every respect and privilege due a full blooded god. If there is anyone who
would choose to ignore that, the Underworld gods will see to their punishment.”

The Protector gods
nodded, even Meti who was still pinned to the table.

Asar felt his anger
continue to drain away through the connection to Inpu. He loosened his grip on
Meti and pulled away. Kamen returned to the wall. The visceral response came
from the beast within him, clawing its way to the surface to protect Lilly.
There were few occasions he would ever condemn another god, but apparently
Lilly was one of those exceptions. No one would touch or hurt her, or so help
the gods, as he would rain destruction down upon them.

Bast gave Meti a
look that told him she would kill him herself if he spoke another word. Her
fearful eyes turned back to Asar. “You suggested Kepi is not working alone. How
is it you believe this?”