Marked by Death (The Godhunter, Book 4) (11 page)

His mouth was eager to claim, tongue immediately thrusting to meet mine, and lips sliding over me possessively. When he broke away, it was only to conquer another part of me. He bit at my throat, pulling sounds from it I didn’t want to make, and then he was pushing my breasts together so he could suck both nipples into his mouth at once. I nearly came off the bed.

The bed, when had I got into his bed?

It didn’t matter because then he was lifting my legs over his shoulders, my hips completely in the air, so he could slam deeper into my yielding body. With a sudden movement, he withdrew from me and flipped me over. I cried out, unsure if I was relieved or disappointed.

Before I could get up, he had my wrist in his hand and was pulling my ankle up to meet it. I heard a click and when he let go, my limbs remained pinned.

“What are you doing?” I looked back at him and saw he was doing the same to my other side. “I’m not fighting you. You don’t have to do this.”

He flipped me back over, my knees coming up high, so my arms didn’t have to strain. Then he slowly pushed them apart, almost to the point of pain, and lowered himself between them. I felt him slide into me, going even deeper than before, and I whimpered.

“I just like seeing you this way,” he looked down on me and the jewel tones were dancing in his eyes once more.

A clicking warned me that he had a hold of the chain leading to my collar. I panicked, looking up at his hand, afraid of what he’d do next, and he laughed. It was a purely sexual sound and it rippled along my skin like soft fur. Then my head jerked back as he drew the chain through a loop at the head of the bed. Another click told me I was fastened tight and he smiled down at me as he pumped harder.

I closed my eyes and tried to pretend it was Trevor, Trevor above me and inside me, Trevor’s new game of tying me up. Trevor, Trevor, Trevor, it became a chant in my mind until I felt Anubis screaming in rage inside my head.

“
Look at us,” he lifted a hand off the bed to angle my head down. I closed my eyes tight. “Look at us! Watch me take you, Godhunter. That’s my cock in you, the only one you will ever feel again!”

He forced my eyes open, made me look at the thick length of him, slick with my passion, sliding in and out of me. I shuddered and felt my resolve break. I just wasn’t strong enough for this. Anubis had studied me until he knew exactly which buttons to push and he’d easily manipulated me. It wasn't even about the sex. It was the humiliation, the loss of control, the betrayal of my love for Trevor, and those stupid damn chains that I always seemed to end up in. I did the one thing I swore I’d never do in front of my enemies, I cried.

He rocketed into his climax above me, giving one last hard thrust before collapsing over me. His cheek landed next to mine and he jerked as he realized it was wet with tears. Pulling back, he looked at me strangely and I looked away. I couldn't bear to see his triumph. I felt him move above me, then at each side, and was grateful when my body eased free of the humiliating position.

I rolled onto my side, going fetal and hiding my face from him. It didn’t really matter, he knew he’d won, but I'd keep as much from him as I could. I spread my hands over my face, feeling justified in all my previous kills. This was the face of evil. To infiltrate his way into my thoughts, make me comfortable enough to talk to him, tell him things I never should have, and then to use that knowledge to torture me, was the pinnacle of diabolical plots. This was the type of god I'd set out to stop.

I might seem like a vigilante to some. Like some kind of unknown comic book hero who fights the villains in the dark of night for the common good. I'm
so
not that person. Yes, saving humanity was a pretty good bonus to killing gods but if I'm totally honest, it was all about saving myself.

When I found out about the gods, after I'd made my first accidental kill, I barricaded myself in my house for days, maybe weeks, I don't remember much about that time. I was just so damned scared. Then I got tired of staring out my windows, waiting for the boogeyman to appear.

I started training, with sword, claws, daggers, and magic. I planned and practiced till I was sure of my abilities and my determination to never hide again. I used the tracing chants I found in Ku's book to get access to god homes, and then I killed them. I killed them as they slept and with every death, I felt a little stronger, a little more certain that I was doing the right thing. It was only after I'd been killing awhile that I realized I was fighting for more than myself, more than my peace of mind. I was fighting for all of us.

Maybe I’d been wrong but even as I lay there, completely defeated, I didn’t regret it. I’d given it my all. I’d fought not just for my country but for all countries. Yet when all was said and done, I was just one woman and I’d lost. Where is the shame in that? Here was my end, disgrace and torture for eternity at the hands of Death himself. But even that didn’t matter to me as much as the thought of Trevor dying a slow death, heartbroken and betrayed. Or of my Intare breaking without my guidance. Of Odin slipping away from life again, or my boys losing their mother. And Nick, never knowing why I didn't come back, just waiting for me with an animal's trust and confusion. Who would take care of him now?

The bed shifted and I felt thick arms slide under me, scooping me up and holding me against a wide chest. I buried my face against that chest, not caring that it was my enemy’s, the very cause of all my anguish. I needed comfort and I took what was offered. I knew there would be little of that in my future.

“
Little neferet,” his voice sounded sad and sweet, a kind note after all the chords of torment. “My beautiful one, it will get easier. His memory will fade and you will find joy in me, I swear it.”

“
Joy?” I was finally shocked out of my tears. “You brought me here to torture me. You raped my mind and then my body for revenge, and now you’re trying to comfort me with talk of happiness?”

He frowned, looking over my shoulder as if searching for the answers as well. “I…,” he swallowed hard and shook his head, placing me firmly away from him. “Shower and dress, I have business to attend to and you will attend me.”

I got to my feet after a few tries, and shakily made my way to the bathroom, the gold chain hanging heavy from my neck and dragging behind me like I was some tormented ghost. At the door, I stopped and looked over my shoulder. He was sitting where I’d left him, staring into space and looking more lost and confused than I felt. I closed the door with an angry slam. How dare he look like that?

Chapter Fourteen

The Hall of Two Truths, which I’d previously known only as the
hall of frescoes
or
that strange place with the throne and scales that Anubis dragged me through on the way to dinner
, had a line of people winding through it. They waited patiently, reverently, but with an air of nervous expectation. I looked toward the dais that Anubis was leading me to, the obvious destination for everyone.

Ma’at was there, looking all serene and regal again. She was wearing a white draped dress, similar to the one I’d worn the night before but ten times more beautiful on her. Her hair fell in perfect curls around her perfect bottom and her eyes were perfectly lined in kohl, making them stand out on her perfect face. I was perfectly disgusted.

I knew I shouldn’t be jealous. I’d received a good dollop of hottie when I took Aphrodite’s powers, and my hair shone silky soft and curled just as perfectly as Ma’at’s. My skin was completely unblemished for the first time in my life, and I never had to wear mascara because my eyelashes had lengthened and thickened like a Maybelline commercial.

I still wasn’t really a goddess though, and being around them all the time does something to your ego. My ego hadn’t been strong to begin with, although I’d grown to love my curves, including my completely natural breasts and my significant ass. I was blessed with a small waist and I focused on that when confronted with drop dead gorgeous women… not that Ma’at’s waist was anywhere near chubby.

I shook my head. I was being led toward a gathering of Egyptian gods bent on doing something god-like and probably horrifying as well, and all I could think about was my looks or lack thereof. I was definitely in denial mode, appropriate considering the pantheon I was forced to consort with… it wasn’t just a river in Egypt and all that. Okay, yeah that was bad.

Back to my imminent doom…

Next to Ma’at was Thoth, a large book in his hands, and slightly behind him was… was… the most horrifying creature I’d ever seen. I actually stumbled a little. Anubis turned and caught me by the arm.

“
What is it?” He looked me over.

“
Funny,” I swallowed. “I was about to ask you the same question.”

He looked over his shoulder at the creature and then back at me, smiling. “You’ve never heard of Ammut, the Devourer, the Bone Eater?”

“Obviously not,” I tried not to stare at the thing over his shoulder. Mama always said it was rude to stare.

It seemed to be a hybrid. Its head was all crocodile, shiny green skin and a mouthful of daggers for teeth, but where the neck met the body was where the croc ended and what I was able to clearly recognize as a lion, began. The lion chest was sleek golden fur, contrasting sharply with the green skin, and the thick forelegs looked strong enough to rip me in two. The fur flowed to mid back and there ended in gray, thick skin that flowed into wide legs and a little stump of a tail. I think it had a hippo’s ass. Well hippos really are pretty bad-ass and I guess if you’re going to be a monster you’d need the badest ass around so… good choice there.

“Ammut eats the unworthy souls,” Anubis was leading me up the steps.

“
Unworthy souls?” I looked at the line of people, then at Ma’at, who held a beautiful golden scale. She placed it reverently down on a stone pedestal. “Oh shit,” I stopped and tried to backtrack but Anubis turned and controlled me with a glance. “No, I can’t watch this. Don’t make me a part of this.”

“
You’ll be with me for eternity,” he said calmly. “You must see and accept what I do. This is my duty as God of the Dead. It is an honorable and esteemed position.”

I walked up the steps and stood next to the throne as he sat in it. Solid gold and crowned with a jackal’s head on each point, the throne looked thoroughly Egyptian and just as thoroughly uncomfortable. I guess you weren’t allowed to nod off when you were judging souls. There wasn’t even a butt-pillow.

Anubis fastened my chain to the arm of the throne, gestured for me to sit at his feet, the bastard, and then waved the first person forward. It was a man, he looked proud and unafraid of the god beside me. He did spare a confused glance for me though and it was enough to make me wish Anubis hadn’t dressed me in gold.

Yes, gold, can you freakin’ believe it? I was swathed in what looked from afar like gold lamé but what, on closer inspection, revealed itself to be way too fine for that. From the weight of it, I was betting it was the real thing. Yes all you history buffs, I was wearing cloth of gold. Yards of it clung to me from shoulders to toes, open at the neck to show off my stunning collar of course. The gold did nothing to hide and everything to enhance every bulge I had. I felt like an ancient Egyptian harlot.

Before I could submerge myself completely in mortification though, Anubis reached out, right into the guy’s chest, and pulled out his heart. Just as casual as you please and the man didn’t even flinch. In fact, the heart seemed to pull away from the body pretty easily.

Anubis placed it, still pumping, on one side of the scale that Ma’at stood behind. From her hair, she took a long white feather and placed it carefully on the other side of the scale. The scale wavered up and down and Anubis watched it closely. When it finally settled into an even position, he nodded and took the heart back.

I had a flashback to when he’d done the same thing to one of the Froekn, except the Froekn hadn’t been dead yet and it had sounded extremely painful. He’d said something then and as he looked at the current heart, he repeated the words.

“
You are worthy,” he gently placed the heart back within the man’s chest and gestured past Ammut.

A pair of gold doors swung open behind the dais and the dark I saw through them seemed to be its own entity, full of menace and nasty things with lots of teeth. I shuddered and looked back at the man who was now smiling. He bowed deeply and started for the doors, not in the least bit scared of what lay beyond.

What’s in there?
I whispered into Anubis’ head and he smiled a little at my anxiety.

That is the entrance to Aaru,
he replied in kind.
There are twenty-one gates, guarded by demons, which he shall have to pass through, before being allowed into Aaru and Osiris’ presence.

You gods sure do love messing with humans,
I watched Thoth scribble something in the book he carried.