Soul Reborn (Key to the Cursed Book 1) (6 page)

“This sucks! We have
been out on patrol for three nights and haven’t seen one reven. What are the
odds of that?” Kit ranted, kicking over a newspaper stand.

Lilly continued to
walk down the empty street. “The odds are very low. It’s more likely we are off
limits now that we have this little alliance formed.”

“I can’t believe
you agreed to help them.”

“I didn’t have much
of a choice. They were going to take Kendra with or without us. We’re just
lucky they’re allowing us to tag along,” Lilly said, looking into a store’s
barred windows. God, she missed window shopping and buying new clothes. All her
outfits were made of tight leather, the standard uniform for members of the Nehebkau.
Protectors of humans. Exterminators of revens. Mother recruited both her and
Kit shortly after her father fell ill, but with Asar’s “help,” she hardly felt
necessary.

“Well, let’s see
how long Captain Underworld sticks to his side of the deal before he asks for
something.”

Lilly squeezed her
sword’s grip. He already had. What burned her gut the most? She lusted for the
asshole. “Yeah, we’ll see.” She just hoped her bargain would pay off in the end.
It had to or all was lost.

“I hate when things
are held over our heads. We’ll never be able to get out from under Mother or
these stupid gods.”

Lilly sighed. “Once
again, no alternative.”

“There’s always an
alternative. Our problem is we just aren’t willing to give up.”

Lilly shook her
head. The street was barren. “This is ridiculous. Let’s go to the museum and
help Kendra. We’re doing no good out here.”

After a short ride,
the sisters stood in front of the museum. Kit typed in the pass code while Lilly
stood guard. She entered the building walking backward, never taking her eyes
off the street. Not until the door locks engaged did she turn and lower her
weapon. Despite this, Lilly remained on alert. Once her sanctuary, the museum
was now just as dangerous as the streets. He watched from some dark corner. She
had no idea how they came or went, but it never tripped the alarm system, even
when the motion sensors were active.

Lilly walked slowly
across the great expanse of the front entrance to the stairs. The smallest
sound of her metal weapons hitting the curve of her hips resonated in the large
room like the distant sound of wind chimes. Her eyes locked immediately on the
dark shape as he watched her ascend the steps to the Egyptian exhibit where
Kendra conducted her work. He never moved, even as she lost sight of him around
the corner. Only then did she turn and join her sisters.

With books strewn everywhere,
Lilly had to step carefully to avoid tripping or falling. Kendra, lying on her
stomach in the middle floor, looked like she was reading a book at the beach. Lilly
shook her head at the complete vulnerability of her sister’s position. Kendra
couldn’t defend herself from that pose.

Another chill rippled
down her back. The other hulking deity stood like a statue in one of the darker
corners of the exhibit. Larger than Asar, the god had thick black hair that
fell past his shoulders and a perpetual five o’clock shadow. Asar addressed him
as Kamen. With his arms clasped in front of his chest, he looked as if he
belonged here among all the antiquities. His stoicism did not match the wildness
in his eyes. His stare would wilt even the strongest resolve.

“Where do you need
us, Kendra?” Lilly asked, looking around.

Kendra bounced up
to hand Kit a book and brought her notes over to Lilly. “I need you to go into
the archive and find a picture of the goddess marked with these symbols. I
think I know who our key thief is and where she might be heading to next, but I
need a picture to see the writings inscribed on her sarcophagus.”

Lilly headed down
to the basement.

When she pulled out
a drawer of the cataloging system, a plume of dust exploded into the air. Apparently,
the drawers hadn’t been opened in a very long time. She waved her hand in front
of her face, but it didn’t stop her from sneezing. Memories of climbing through
old dig sites with her father surfaced in her mind, followed by another series
of sneezes.

“God, I hate this
stuff,” she mumbled to herself, rubbing her nose with the back of her hand. She
shivered and immediately looked to her left.

“Your sister seems
to enjoy it.”

“Well, it’s her
thing.”

Asar stepped
closer. “What is
your
thing, Lilly?”

His question
actually made her laugh. “My thing? Yeah, well. I guess that would be killing
revens.” She scratched the back of her neck, where it burned just under the skin.
“Seems I’ve run into a cold spell.”

“I cannot very well
let you die. And you made me vow to keep your sisters from harm. Letting you
fight revens would seem a contradiction to our agreement.”

With her choice of
expletives threatening to break free, she bit and held her tongue tightly. How
was she going to explain this to Mother? All of a sudden her best hunters had
no kills. She rubbed her neck again and twisted her head a few times to stretch
the muscles. Finally, she turned back to what she had been doing and tried to
ignore the fact a deity loomed over her shoulder. Not to mention her neck hurt
like hell where the snake’s fangs leaked venom into her muscles.

An occupational
hazard for the Nehebkau.

Lilly leafed
through the parchments carefully laid on top of one another. She finally found
the one she was looking for and carefully pulled it out of the stack. Rolling
it up, she turned to leave, but his black body blocked her egress.

“Excuse me.” She
didn’t bother hiding the annoyance in her voice.

He turned to the
side. She tried to pass without touching him. She needed to stay focused on the
task and not his body, but he didn’t budge an inch to accommodate her. The
burning in her neck only added to her acrid mood. Finally, she pushed past, but
not before her breasts brushed against his cold broad chest. Her nipples instantly
tightened into small peaks underneath her vest. Of all things she didn’t want
to happen. Why the hell did he have to be so cold?

Over the table, she
spread the parchment containing sketches of the hieroglyphics matching Kendra’s
picture. Her stalker stood in the corner watching her. His ass could stay there
for all she cared. She leaned over the small table and rested on her elbows,
which brought her sleek blonde hair forward over her shoulders to block her
view of him.

“When was your
conversion?”

She stiffened as
the serpent shifted under her skin. He moved just behind her, never making a
sound. She glanced over her shoulder. He was nearly five feet away, yet her
skin rose up in goose bumps. She rubbed the big knot of muscle running from her
neck to her shoulder. “Five years ago.”

He stepped closer. “It
is a very painful transformation, relative to the species of snake.”

She caught his
gratuitous glance down her back to her ass. No doubt a hint of her pink lace
panties peeked out from beneath the waist band.

As if she didn’t
already know it was painful. She lived through the damn thing. Her current level
of discomfort was a constant reminder of that moment. If she had known how agonizing
it would be in the beginning, she’d have never agreed to it. Straightening up
off the table, she refocused her attention back to the parchment.

“Hold still.”

Every muscle in her
body tightened to fight when his ice cold fingers pressed against the base of
her neck across the snake’s head. She didn’t like having her back turned to a
potential enemy. Well, not so much an enemy, as an unwanted business partner.

A partner with
hands of magic.

“An Egyptian asp is
a very deadly snake. Used for the execution of criminals, it signifies the
power over life and death.”

Her shoulders melted
as the pain dissolved under his touch. The cold chill against her skin ceased when
he pulled his hand away. She turned around to face him. With her arms crossed over
her chest, she leaned her bottom against the table.

“Appropriate,
seeing as I kill revens for a living, and we just added a convicted goddess to
the list.”

“Fate, perhaps.” Asar
touched his pectoral necklaces hidden under his tunic.

Lilly followed the
motion to his chest. “May I see them?” she asked. Surprise fluctuated in his
eyes, but then he untied the tunic in the front and pulled back the edges. Honed
out of well chiseled muscle his chest spanned above a six pack abdomen. His
dark skin entirely smooth and devoid of hair held tautly against the bulk of
muscle. The locations she had come in contact were lighter in color. His linen
pants hung dangerously low against his hips, just above his pubic bone. Lilly
glanced away when heat flushed her face. It took all her strength to refocus on
the necklaces.

The three gold
ropes lay at the broadest part of his chest. She recognized the lion and the
moon pendent. The second, a ram’s head. The third, a crown with a crook and
flail. With her lower lip pulled between her teeth she slowly extended her
fingertips to touch the three medallions.

She searched his
expression for any displeasure, but it remained placid. He at least wasn’t
offended by her curiosity and touch. She withdrew her hand, and saw a cast of
disappointment in his eyes despite his emotionless face.

“You left it there
for me to find,” she said, astounded. “Did you know it would bring you here?”

“Your youngest
sister has not been initiated into the Nehebkau. Why?”

His blatant disregard
of her question, only confirmed her suspicions. Damn if she didn’t walk right
into his plans. “I wouldn’t let her. It’s much too dangerous.”

“But you let your
other sister.”

“Kit can handle
herself,” she quipped.

“Do you know what
they say about Nehebkau?” Asar asked, as he walked around the table.

“He was the God of Protection,”
Lilly said, tracking him with her eyes. He circled her like a predator testing
his prey.

“He
is
the God
of Protection, both in life and in the afterlife. The ancient Egyptians depicted
him in the form of a snake with a human body. He joins the
Ka
, the soul,
to the body.”

“Well, then Mother
picked the right god to represent us. I just hope the revens we kill eventually
find peace.”

Asar narrowed his
eyes on her. “Mother? Your mother?”

“No. It’s a term
we, Nehebkau, use for our leader. She believed in the curse, and used Nehebkau’s
spell to create hunters to combat the revens. Mother believes we can find a talisman
to cure those afflicted.” Lilly looked directly at the pectoral necklace, the
very one she placed around his neck.

“What of your
natural mother?”

Lilly glanced away
and shrugged. “It’s always been our father and us. She left when we were very
young.”

Despite her
efforts, she couldn’t keep the pain out of her voice, which made her feel even
more vulnerable— a sensation that never sat well with her. Her pain turned to bitterness.
“I don’t see the relevance to this discussion. Does it really matter what kind
of snake I have implanted in my body? It gives me the strength to protect what
I love. Why are you even interested in my family?”

He moved closer, and
placed his hands on the table on either side of her hips. With no means of
escape, she leaned back, but he closed the space.

“Your reasons for
joining the Nehebkau reveal the character of your soul. It is no coincidence
the asp was chosen for you. It was chosen for you by the gods. As you said, we
want the same thing. To protect what we love. The gods have decided to cross
our paths, our fates. It is important we succeed. You are not the only one that
has family at stake.”

She straightened
closing the distance between them as far as she dared without touching him. “Yes,
this is personal for me. The curse destroyed my family’s life. I’ll do
everything in my power to stop it. And, if you are asking whether I’d betray
your trust? No. No, I wouldn’t.”

He narrowed his
eyes slightly before he pulled away, though his hands remained on the table
close to her hips. She let out a heavy breath.

Lilly saw the hunger
in his eyes. Hunger she had seen several times before when he stared at her. She
squirmed under his gaze. With very little room to move, her hip brushed his arm.
The fire in his eyes intensified with the slight contact. A stark contrast to
the coldness of his skin.

Finally, she
couldn’t take it. “Do you have to look at me that way?”

“What look would
that be, Lilly?”

Another chill ran
down her spine when he said her name. She lifted her chin. “The one that looks
as if you are going to take a
bite
out of me. It’s very disconcerting. I’ve
enough problems with revens trying to make me a meal.”

He blinked, then
suddenly his eyes darkened. He leaned in closer so that his lips almost touched
hers. “You mean
this
look.”