Marked by Death (The Godhunter, Book 4) (5 page)

You still think you can escape me, Godhunter?
He was hot and hard against me and I whimpered, feeling cornered like an animal.

Trevor and Kirill both shot into the room, Trevor in his wolfman form and Kirill holding a nasty looking blade. Anubis slid a snide look at them but continued to press into me as if they weren't important enough to be concerned with. My boys pulled up short, looking at me in sudden confusion. Kirill lowered his weapon a little as he scented the air.

“What the fuck is wrong with you? Help me!” I screamed at them and Trevor shot forward, straight through Anubis, who stepped back with a smirk.

“
What is it, Minn Elska?” Trevor stared with deep concern into my eyes.

“
Can’t you see him?” I pointed at Anubis who was still standing in the corner of the shower.

“
No, see who?” Trevor stared hard into the corner, pulling me out of the shower stall.

“
Anubis,” I felt a towel slide around me and looked over to see Kirill’s worried gaze. “He’s standing right there.” I pointed to him again. “You fucking bastard!”

He only laughed and faded away.

“I scent somezing strange,” Kirill pushed past us and checked out the shower, sniffing in quick bursts. “It’s leaving now.”

“
Cause he’s gone,” I collapsed against Trevor, shaking badly.

“
What the fuck is going on, baby?” He leaned his head back to try and peer into my face.

“
Let me get dressed and then I'll tell you,” I sighed and pushed away, heading into the other room as I dried off with shaking arms.

“
Minn Elska,” Trevor and Kirill followed me, Kirill looking towards the ceiling when I dropped the towel to get dressed. “Just tell me.”

“
I’ve been having nightmares,” I pulled on some underwear, then a comfy black sheath dress before I headed down the hall and into the kitchen to make myself a cup of coffee.

“
Yeah, I know,” Trevor sat across from me at the table, Kirill taking the seat on his right. “I’m the one who sleeps with you, the one who holds you when you wake up terrified, remember?”

“
Can I finish?” I placed my hands flat on the table, willing them to stop shaking.

“
I wish you would,” Trevor had changed back to human and I just realized he hadn’t bothered redressing. He must have been really worried.

“
I could be bounded in nutshell and count myself king of infinite space, vere it not zat I have bad dreams,” Kirill looked so calm but I knew instinctively he was spooked.

I raised an eyebrow “You quote Shakespeare?”

“I have great memories of you reading it to me,” his smile was soft. “Now please to tell us vat your dreams have been about, Tima.”

“
They’ve been about Anubis,” I rubbed at the cold spot on my shoulder and Trevor reached across the table and pulled my hand away to inspect it.

“
The wound’s healed alright,” he frowned and poked at it, then hissed at the cold. “What the fuck?” He shot out of his seat and pulled me out of mine.

Without a thought to Kirill’s presence, which said a lot, he lifted the sheath over my head and splayed his hand over the growing cold. It had spread over my arm and down my side. I met his scared gaze with one of my own.

“Remember how Teharon couldn't heal the knife wound completely?” I gently reclaimed my dress and pulled it back over my head, “He said it had something to do with Anubis’ magic, death magic.”

“
Yeah,” Trevor ran a shaky hand through his hair. “He said you’d have to let it heal the rest of the way on its own but it did. So why does your skin feel like ice?”

“
I don’t know,” I sat back down but he remained standing. “All I know is that Anubis has been making an appearance in my dreams more and more lately. I finally decided to take sleeping pills last night and it worked, my mind was too drugged for him to invade. Then I went to take a shower this morning and he appeared. I don’t know if it was a hallucination, since you walked right through him, but he sure felt real.”

“
Why didn’t you tell me about this sooner?”

“
I was hoping it would go away,” I shook my head at my own stupidity. “I thought maybe it was post traumatic stress or something.”

“
Tima,” Kirill’s steady voice drew our attention. “Vat did Death God say to you?”

“
He said,” I swallowed hard. “He said I was his and that he was going to make sure I was punished for attacking him. Kinky, huh?” I tried to laugh it off but that didn’t work out so well.

Trevor turned and headed back into the bedroom. I gave Kirill a questioning look but he just shrugged. Soon the sound of drawers being flung open floated out to us. I got up and headed back, Kirill close on my heels. Sure enough, Trevor was packing… my clothes.

“What are you doing?” I held my coffee with both hands as I watched him chuck handfuls of clothes and necessities into my suitcase.

“
We’re going to the Pride,” he zipped up the case and started on his own. “I have a better chance of defending you there. Then I’m going to get Teharon, Father, and all the others, and we’re going to fix this.”

“
Okay,” I said quietly.

He stopped and looked up at me. “Okay? You’re not going to argue with me?”

“No,” I was suddenly happy that I had others to rely on, to help me when I needed it. For once I didn’t care that he was being presumptive. I’d kept him out of the loop and he was reacting with concern and intelligence. I appreciated that. “It sounds like the best thing for us to do. Kirill,” I turned and looked at my Ganza.

“
I go pack as vell, Tima.”

“
Thank you,” I smiled gently at him. “I’ll go pack up Nick.” My gray tabby would need some things too.

I turned to leave but Trevor pulled me back around. He took the mug out of my hands, placing it on the dresser before pulling me in tight. I didn’t even realize I was shaking again until he held me against his steady strength.

“It’s going to be alright,” he whispered into my hair and I wasn’t certain who he was trying to reassure, me or himself.

Chapter Seven

Pride Palace, as I had named the vast estate I’d inherited from Nyavirezi, was huge. Among the numerous bedrooms(a hundred-twenty total), which were needed for all of my lions(seventy-seven total), there was a kitchen complete with a fireplace big enough to roast an entire cow, a common room filled with pool tables and video games, a central courtyard with tropical flowers and butterflies right off of my master suite, a dining hall, a theater, a music room, an armory, a fitness room, a wine cellar, a larder, a ballroom, and my favorite, the library.

The library in Pride Palace was almost as wonderful as Thor’s but it didn’t have that old world charm. My library was open and airy like the rest of the palace. The furniture was heavier in there, mahogany instead of bamboo, but the cushions were still done in a gold and cream pattern like the couches in the common room, and the walls were linen wallpaper… what wasn’t covered by bookshelves, that is.

Like Thor’s library, this one had very few patches of wall left that weren't taken up by books. All four walls had shelves, broken only by the door and the two bay windows that had stunning views of the grasslands. There were even free standing shelves placed throughout the open room, back to back. Priceless objects of art were scattered about, representing pretty much every country in the world. Statues, inlaid boxes, wood and stone carvings, and paintings on gilt stands. They'd been gathered by the Intare, who were just as diverse in race. A treasure trove that any museum would be proud to display and which I adored, but it was the books that I considered to be the true treasure.

Nyavirezi had a penchant for magic and most of the tomes were old and filled with spells I’d never seen before. That meant only one thing, either they were ancient or they were filled with god magic. Both possibilities thrilled the hell out of me. I'd been practicing god magic, which was distinctly different from human magic, since I'd come into possession of Ku's spell book. So far I'd only been able to manage a few beginner spells but I was improving fast and I had hopes of being able to hold my own against the other gods someday.

I hadn’t had the chance to sit and start reading any of Nyavirezi's books yet, so I found myself staring at them wistfully as the gods, the Froekn, and the Intare argued over my head. Teharon and Kirill were the only two who remained silent besides myself. They sat to either side of me, Kirill guarding me as always and Teharon inspecting my shoulder.

“
What are you going to do, go running around the God Realm shouting
Come out, come out wherever you are
?” Odin was in Trevor’s face. “This is Anubis we’re talking about. No one even knows how to get to his territory… not even Horus, and they're cousins.”

“
And I wouldn't go, even if I did,” Horus muttered with a shiver.

“
Well it’s a hell of a lot better than sitting on my ass doing nothing.” Trevor looked like he was about to shift, so I sighed and got to my feet, inserting myself between them.

“
I love you both but this isn’t helping,” I placed my hands up between them.

“
I love you too, Minn Elska,” Trevor gave me a sweet smile before sending another angry glare at Odin. “It’s Odin I don't like. He says he loves you, claims you’re his dead wife reincarnated, the mother of his son, but he doesn’t seem to give a shit that Death is coming for you.”

“
You go too far, wolf pup,” Odin’s one eye started to flash, the peacock iridescence becoming a swirl of blues, greens, and purples. “You’ve no idea how much I love her. How much I've sacrificed just to ensure she have this second chance at life. You’re bound to her on oath, the magic strengthens your love for her. I however, have loved her for centuries, all of my own volition, forsaking all others for her even after she died and left me to face eternity alone. You’ll never love her even a fraction as much as I do.”

I gasped, my body starting to shake in response to Odin’s heated words. I knew he spoke the absolute truth, even though his nickname was Oathbreaker. With me, and especially about us, he never lied. I knew it because I'd lived it. There was no question whether I was Sabine, Odin’s dead wife and the mother of Vidar. I had raised Odin's son Vali too and counted him as my own. I had Sabine's memories, her tarot cards recognized me, and my soul cried out for not only Odin but for my sons as well. I missed being a family.

For Trevor to question our connection had to mean he was scared shitless but what Odin revealed in his impassioned speech hadn’t been about nerves, it had been an opportunity to tell me and everyone else what he really felt. Not exactly a complication I needed at the moment. It was bad enough that Thor still wasn’t speaking to me after I forgave Loki for breaking us up.

“
You one-eyed, two-faced, son of a bitch,” Trevor growled. “You better start running.”

“
Who are you calling a son of a bitch, mutt?”

“
Enough,” I roared, the lioness clawing her way out of my throat. I'd be damned if my men were gonna go at it in my own house.

Both men looked startled, then sheepish as they backed away from each other.

“If you guys both love me so damn much,” I eyed them. “Why don’t you try working together to save my big white ass!”

“
Yes, Rouva,” Trevor sat on the couch near my chair.

“
You’re right, of course, Vervain,” Odin sighed. “I apologize, Trevor. I know we’re both worried about her and I fear it’s shortened our tempers a bit.”

“
Yeah,” Trevor ground out. I gave him a hard look until he added, “I’m sorry as well.”

“
Thank you,” I sat back down and looked around the room at all the worried faces. It was so strange to not have Thor there. “I’m lucky to have such good friends that care so much about me but I honestly don’t think there’s anything to be done.” People started to speak but I held my hands up. “I’ll stay here until the threat is over but Odin’s right, there’s no way to find Anubis and we have no idea what to do about him, even if we could.”

“
Horus,” Tsohanoai, who I called Mr. T, was seated beside his wife Estsanatlehi (Mrs. E). “Is there perhaps an Egyptian spell to help relieve the cold for Vervain?”

“
No,” Horus looked even grimmer than usual. “Nothing. He claimed her with a blade made of pure magic. Atlantean soul magic.” A low gasp circled the room. “Yes, exactly.”

“
What?” I looked around at all the even more worried faces. “What
exactly
?”

“
Soul magic,” Horus grimaced. “It's like your Froekn's Binding but against the will of the victim. The cold you feel, that numbness, is your soul leaving your body.”

“
So I'm going to die,” I said hollowly.