Soul Unbound (Key to the Cursed Book 3) (21 page)

“She is not breaking,” the siravant said, returning
the barb laden whip to the wooden table.

“She does not fear you,” Nebt said, tucking her
arms into her long black robe.

“Everyone fears us,” the siravant said and paced
in front of where Siya hung.

Siya spit the sour taste of venom from her mouth.
The fabric of her shirt clung to her blood soaked skin. The cold air at least
numbed the fresh jagged wounds. At the start of the flogging Siya feared she
would black out again, but then a strange sensation washed over her. A renewed
strength of sorts. Her heart rate slowed, her body cooled and the pain in her
wrists and shoulders receded to a bearable ache.

Her body changed on an elemental level. Why?

Without raising her head, she scanned her
surroundings. The black demotic text sat on the table next to the instruments
they had been using on her throughout the last twenty-four hours. At least she
assumed that much time had passed, it was difficult to track when she went in
and out of consciousness.

“Apparently you and the previous demon she killed
were misinformed,” Nebt said with a sneer.

Nebt shifted silently forward, floating across the
blood slick cement. The Underworld goddess’ foul breath brushed against Siya’s
face, and she turned away.

“I give you points for effort, but we both know
how this will end,” Nebt hissed.

Siya stared at the Underworld goddess. “Why did
you do it? Betray your family. Your husband.”

“So pious, you are. Self-righteous.” Nebt raked her
fingers against Siya’s lip and brought her bloody fingertip to her mouth. “Why
do you stay when no one loves or needs you?”

Siya opened her mouth, but Nebt clamped her palm
over her lips. “Do not speak, for I already know.” Nebt leaned into Siya’s ear
and ran her tongue over it. “I know all your fears, Sekhmet. Or shall I call
you, Siya? Do you think changing your name will erase the blood on your hands
and in your soul? No amount of good deeds will change the blackness in your
heart.”

Siya swallowed, hating she could not hide from
Nebt’s probing gift to read souls. The goddess had yet to say something about
Bomani’s mark even though she had to have sensed it when she touched Siya’s
skin.

“You are alone, Siya. No one will come and save
you. Your fears will become reality.” Nebt released her and walked over to the
table. “I think you were looking for this.” She raised the black spell book.

Siya’s heart thumped in her chest, louder and
harder with each step Nebt took forward.

Nebt flipped through the book and stopped at a
page of significance, as evidenced by the sneer on her face. “Siya and I know
there is only one thing I can take from her. The one thing she is willing to
fight and resist us so valiantly for.”

“No!” Siya thrashed against the chains restraining
her wrists and feet.

“Why? You never wanted it.” Nebt ripped open
Siya’s outer shirt, leaving only the thin tank top. “I am here to grant your
wish.”

Siya retracted from Nebt, but there was nowhere to
go. Helpless, Siya could only suffer while Nebt traced Bomani’s mark with her
sharp fingernail. Siya choked on a sob.

“No one wants to die alone. Certainly not you.”
Nebt smiled and dug her claws into Siya’s chest. “Shall we read the verse
together?” She grinned wickedly and began to read the first line of the demotic
spell.

Siya tipped her head back and screamed.

Bomani bolted upright. Dagger-like pain seared
through his heart. He stumbled and rammed his shoulder into the jagged rocks of
the cell wall.

“Siya.” He grabbed his chest. The next wave
dropped him to his knees.

“What in
duat
is wrong with him now?” a guardian
asked the other.

“Fuck if I know. Hard to believe he was Commander
of our legion. Look at him,” the other replied with a shake of his head.

“Get Bakari down here now,” Bomani growled at the
two males.

Two additional guards arrived. The leader barely
gave him a glance. “That will not be necessary. Time to go, boys. Enjoy your
time off.” He slapped them on the shoulders as they passed him.

Bomani squinted. He recognized the new arrivals.
Both were in Bakari’s platoon. Sin and—shit, what was the warrior’s name?

Sin crossed his arms over his chest and watched
the warriors depart. The other stood by the far entrance, waited a few minutes
and then nodded.

Sin lurched forward and unlocked the door. “Time
to go.”

Bomani cursed. He was in no condition to fight off
Bakari’s beat down party. Sin hooked his arm under Bomani’s, pulled him to his
feet and hustled him out the door.

“What is going on?” Bomani hissed through clenched
teeth.

Ignoring his question, Sin pushed Bomani forward
through a restricted door leading to a hidden hallway underneath the palace. Before
opening the next barrier, Sin turned to the second warrior. “Secure the cell.
No one else passes the primary door.” The warrior nodded and jogged back the
way they came. Sin unlocked and pushed open the iron gate. “After you.”

Bomani stepped into a circular cavern that served
as the secret underground bunker. A large map table filled the center of the
room. Based on the level of dust covering the surface, this place had not been
opened in millenniums. “What am I doing here?”

“You’ll find out soon enough,” Sin said and leaned
against the wall.

“Great.” Bomani stared at the door on the other
side of the room. His neck prickled with uneasiness.

Bakari entered the arched doorway dressed in full
battle gear. He tossed a chest plate and harness across the table to Bomani.
“Put it on.”

“Why?” Bomani asked with a hard edge of suspicion.
He did not trust his brother not to have an ulterior motive.

“Because we are going on a rescue mission,” Kendra
said, stepping out from behind Bakari. The white aura around her brightened the
red ringlets of hair. The flecks in her brown eyes sparkled with life. She was
everything he remembered her to be, except for the large silver scar just to
the left of her sternum.

Bomani swallowed against a tight throat and
stepped back. “I do not understand,” he stammered, completely taken off guard.
The fact that she was smiling at him worsened his sense of displacement.

She gingerly placed a black book with a gold buckle
on the table. Bomani stared wide eyed at the woman who had come between him and
Bakari. The countless hours he had spent with her in the library, looking for
the right spell to awaken Bakari. The kiss they had shared.

A time, not that long ago. Yet, he could not
conjure the feelings he once had for her.

Kendra opened the book and turned it so he could
see it. She tapped the black page with gold hieroglyphics. He stared at the
symbol matching the mark on Siya’s wrist and dagger.

Bomani leaned in closer, his curiosity blocking
the pain in his chest. He read the glyphs across the page. “What is this?”

“This is the Book of Creation. The hourglass
figure is in this book and translates simply—
the beginning and the end
.”

Fixated on the page he touched the glyph with his
fingertips.

“Bomani, please look at me,” Kendra said and placed
her palm on his hand.

Under a heavy weight of guilt Bomani forced his
gaze to meet hers.

“We have a lot to talk about, but right now, we
need to know how to find Siya,” Kendra continued. “The prophecy speaks of a
male and female like no other. Mated and blessed to bring new life into the
world.”

Bomani blinked, not quite registering the
significance of Kendra’s message. Her gaze shifted to the hand he had clamped
over his heart. Right now it was difficult to organize rational thought when
his chest ached with a vengeance.

“Is there any chance she could be pregnant?”

“Pregnant?” Her question jolted Bomani’s focus
away from his pain.

“You mated with her. Bonded.”

“Yes.” He shook his head. “What are you saying
exactly?”

Kendra pointed at the hourglass symbol again. “You
are both unique. This prophesy speaks of you and Siya.”

“A baby?” Bomani swayed on his feet. Gods, he did
not even think bonding could happen, let alone siring offspring.

“Stay with us, brother.” Bakari grabbed Bomani’s
shoulder, steadying him.

Kendra stepped forward and touched the hand Bomani
clasped to his chest. “Nebt will try and break the bond.”

A new wave of pain assaulted Bomani. “I think she
already figured out how,” he said on a groan.

“I know this is going to sound bad, but pain is
good. It means Siya is fighting it. We need to go now.”

“If Nebt breaks the bond, what will happen to
Siya. To our baby?” Bomani asked, barely able to get the words out.

“Apep will claim them both.”

Bomani leaned his forearms on the table and
cradled his head. He reached out through the bond.
I am coming. Do not give
up.

“He is in no condition to go,” Sin said, pointing
to Bomani.

Bomani forced himself up. They would have to
shackle him again before he would let them leave without him.

“He goes with me. Siya will need him when we find
her,” Bakari said, beating Bomani to the punch.

“What about your father?” Sin asked.

“He has his hands full stopping civil war with the
Creations. We have time, but not much,” Bakari added. He pulled weapons off the
wall and began dressing Bomani out with gear. “Kamen will be harder to get
past.”

“Leave him to me,” Kit said, appearing through the
archway followed by Lilly.

“I will run interference as much as I can. The
younglings can help,” Lilly said, closing the door behind her.

Bomani looked around the room. “Why are you doing
this for me of all people?”

Kendra leaned against Bakari and then met Bomani’s
gaze. “This is what families do.”

Family? The word made Bomani’s eyes water. For all
his sins they had taken him back without question and were willing to risk
their lives to save the woman he loved.

“Yep, looks like you are stuck with us,” Kit said
and punched him in the arm.

Lilly smiled. “Hell yeah.”

“Thank you,” Bomani said through a tight throat. His
thoughts turned to Siya.
Hang on. I am coming for you.

Bakari led the way through the passageways. From
what Bomani could gage, his brother was taking them to the farthest point of
the isle. Close to where the gates of the Afterlife anchored to the shore.

The pain in his chest steadily grew. He did not
know how long Siya could last against Nebt. If Nebt used the demotic spells against
her, the bond could crumble any minute. He pushed past the pain and followed
his brother out the last security door.

Bomani stepped onto the soft white sand of the
beach. The Underworld River snaked by their feet. On the other side of the wide
black water, paradise waited for souls worthy to pass the gates. In the last
century the ferry rarely traveled these waters.

“Father will probably throw you in the cell with
me once this is all said and done. Are you sure you want to do that?” Bomani
said, distracting himself from the ancestral voices bubbling their secrets in
the water’s current.

“A likely outcome, but he will understand once
Kendra explains the situation.”

“You have more faith than I.” Bomani rubbed his
chest, the ridges of his legion brand still prominent under his fingertips.
“How do I find her?” he asked, unwilling to waste time trying on his own.

His brother turned to him. “Normally, I focus on
Kendra’s strongest emotion rippling across the bond. In your case, Siya’s pain
is your best bet. Follow it. Relax and your body will take you there.”

“If things get bad, I want you to leave us there,”
Bomani said. “I will not have Kendra suffer because of this.” Nor would Bomani
leave Siya, even if the outcome was hopeless.

“Kendra will be protecting us, even from a great distance.
Let me take care of the siravants, you just concentrate on finding Siya.”

Bomani nodded. For the first time in his life he
hesitated, fearful he may have to battle the very woman he loved. He stared at
Siya’s saber in his hands, wanting to believe this was the beginning of
something. Not the end. His faith had never been a source of power for him.

But nevertheless, it was all he had at the moment.
He searched for the right prayer to recite. The only thing that came to mind
was his warrior’s oath. As Commander, he had led the legions in reciting this
prayer before battle. He had no legion, but it seemed appropriate all the same.
He dropped to one knee. Bakari knelt next to him and echoed his words.

“From the waters of my birth to the blood that
gives me life, I will fight with purpose and fatality until my dying breath to
defend my Lord, my life, my brothers and my charge. For it is why I was created
to serve faithfully and honorably, as my ancestors before me. I swear my
allegiance to my Lord and Legion to defend its land and souls that have sought
refuge. I know not the meaning of surrender. For I am a warrior, blood and honor
will be mine.”

Bomani met his brother’s gaze and held out his
hand. In all their years, he had never once offered Bakari a warrior’s
handshake. A sign of respect and loyalty, he had never felt Bakari worthy of
such a greeting.

Bakari grasped Bomani’s forearm. “For blood and fury,”
Bomani said and squeezed his brother’s arm.

“For blood and fury,” Bakari answered.

Still holding his brother’s arm, Bomani focused on
Siya’s energy. Weakened and battered, she was still holding onto him. Bomani
clung to her pain, made it his own. His body became lighter and shifted through
the realms, pulled by a force of agony and desperation.

He rematerialized in an empty room beneath the
earth. The frigid air hit his skin. Quickly he surveyed the area. White
minerals leached through the thick concrete.

Bakari leaned against the wall and peered out the
dark hallway. “We are in Siberia.”

“Yeah,” Bomani agreed. A cold war bunker, long
since abandoned or the residents exterminated or possessed.

“Where to next?” Bakari asked and pulled his Mevt
daggers from his chest strap.

Bomani did not need to follow the energy trail.
The smell of Siya’s blood saturated the crisp air. “Last room at the end.”
Bomani placed his hand on Bakari’s chest. “Nebt will be there with the demotic
text.”

“I am counting on it.” Bakari’s stare was as cold as
the subzero temperatures.

Bomani nodded, realizing his brother had his own
score to settle with Nebt. He had no doubt the dagger his brother palmed would
find its home in Nebt’s black soul.

Ice covered the floor and ceiling. A few spots had
black smears of blood. Based on the putrid smell, demons were heavily
concentrated on this level. No wonder Menthu had been so elusive—he had been
buried deep in the earth.

A chorus of growls and hisses sounded above their
heads. Bomani could not see the demons, but the stench grew stronger.

“Go,” Bakari yelled and slashed a siravant to his
left. The spell on the Mevt daggers sliced a large unhealing wound.

With Bakari tight on his heels, Bomani sprinted
down the long concrete hall. Three demons hit Bomani. He stumbled and rolled
with the momentum. He thrust his broad sword into the demon’s chest. Unfazed,
the demon stripped off the human body and attacked again.

Bomani’s weapon was kicked out of his hand. The
broadsword bounced down the hard stone. He pulled Siya’s saber from his belt
and arched the curved blade, slashing another demon across the neck. It let out
a screech and exploded into black ash.

“Shit,” Bomani cursed as the disintegrated demon
rained down upon them.

“My daggers are only slowing them down,” Bakari
said, rendering multiple slashes to one demon.

“Maybe there is something to this prophecy,”
Bomani said, leaving another demon to be swept up off the floor.

“Kendra is never wrong,” Bakari grunted and
slammed a demon against the wall. “I hold, you cut.”

“We do not have much time before more come,”
Bomani said and wiped the ash from his eyes. He maneuvered just outside the
door with the strongest scent of blood.

Bakari grabbed Bomani’s arm. “Let me go first.”

Bomani leaned his head back on the stone while his
brother stepped into the doorway and froze. He motioned to Bomani and allowed
him to pass.

Crimson icicles hung from the chains suspending
her above frozen pools of blood. Her head hung limp. No breath came from her
lungs. Bomani’s knees weakened at the sight. He swallowed the gasp threatening
to escape from his lungs.

Bakari cursed and stowed his daggers. His brother
moved to the wall and loosened the chains. “Bomani!”

His brother’s call fell on deaf ears. Bomani could
not move, only stare with crippling grief. “Bomani, look at me. She can still
be saved, but I need you to grab her when I lower her down. We need to get the
chains from her wrists and ankles.”

Bomani nodded, unable to formulate any words. The
pulleys clattered against the cold metal links. Siya landed in his arms, limp
and lifeless. It had been only a day and a half and yet she felt lighter than a
feather. He pulled her tight to his chest. His mark had faded to no more than a
shadow on her skin. “Stay with me,
ka’ti
.” His soul mate, if he could
just stop the spell from breaking their bond completely.

Bakari shoved the tip of his dagger into the key
holes on the cuffs and snapped the locks. The thick studded metal crashed to the
floor.

“Give me her saber, I will transport us out of
here.” Bakari placed his hand on Bomani’s shoulder and pulled their energy
inward.

“Something is wrong,” Bomani protested. His body
faded while Siya’s remained solid.

Bakari shifted his grasp to her arm and
dematerialized. Again, she remained anchored. Bomani swore, realizing they were
going to have to walk out. “Nebt must have put a spell on the room. We have to
go back to where we came in.”

Bakari stepped out into the hall. “Shit.”

Bomani did not need to ask. Based on the stench,
the corridor was filled with demons. With Siya incapacitated, Bomani would not
be able to wield a weapon effectively to fight.

“They are not moving, just waiting. They know they
have us trapped.”

Bomani shifted her weight. “Fight them back as far
as you can and get out of here.”

Bakari glared at him. “We go out together.”

“Listen to me, this is my decision. Kendra and the
legion need you. I have made my choice and I am staying with her.”

Bakari stalked towards him and pointed the tip of
his dagger at Bomani. “Do not insult me with that bullshit. You honestly do not
see anything other than the male I was. I have changed, brother. So, get
fucking behind me and we go.”

“Fine,” Bomani growled and placed Siya over his
shoulder. He grasped the saber in his hand and followed Bakari out the door. A
black wave of bodies shifted, like a Tsunami wave ready to crush them.

Bomani squinted his eyes, not sure he was seeing
the female he once called family. Nebt stood before them, her face twisted with
malevolence. Eyes rimmed in red. Black blood coated her now jagged teeth.

The temperature plunged as his brother’s hatred
poured out of his body. “Nebt,” Bakari hissed.

“Well, what a sight. I thought you dead, nephew,”
Nebt sneered at Bakari. “Along with that bitch of yours.”

“You will pay for what you have done.” Bakari
pointed the god’s death dagger at her.

“Unlikely,” Nebt said and looked around. “From
where I stand, it is you who will pay.”

Bomani stepped next to Bakari. “Where is Menthu?”

“Menthu,” Nebt scoffed. “He did not stick around
to watch his daughter’s transformation. Honestly, I think he has a weak spot
for her. Maybe it is the fact that she looks so much like her mother. Do not
think his absence is a tactical advantage. I control these demons, not him.”

“And who controls you? What has Apep offered that
is worth destroying your husband, family and the humans we were commissioned to
protect? What will be left exactly? You, Menthu and a bunch of siravants,”
Bomani yelled.

“Your words are empty as will be your hearts.”

The demons jerked and snapped their jaws as if
already knowing the Dark Lord’s plan. Black saliva dripped from their fangs
onto the icy floor. Nebt’s control over the siravants was an overstatement.
Based on the dark oily look in their eyes, they were being restrained by
something far nastier than Nebt.

“They will not attack as long as we have Siya,”
Bomani whispered, keeping his eyes on the siravants.

Bakari gave him a sideward glance. “All the more
reason to get her out of here. Apep must know of the prophecy.”

“Or a different version of it,” Bomani said,
eyeing the black text in Nebt’s hands.

“Apep means to rewrite the prophecy?”

“Maybe. Shit, anything is possible.”

“Care to let us in on your conversation?” Nebt
snapped, palming the open face of the demotic text. “I do not think you
appreciate the gravity of your situation.” Nebt’s lips moved in silent
incantation.

Siya moaned against Bomani’s shoulder and pain
shot through his chest. Unbalanced, he slammed into the wall. Losing his grip
on Siya, he grappled to keep her from falling.

Bakari blurred in Bomani’s peripheral vision.
Clouds of black ash exploded and demons scattered under the wake of Bakari’s
attack. Bomani slid down the wall under the unbearable pain.

A large hand clamped under Bomani’s arm and jerked
him up. “Come on, brother.”

Bomani clung to Siya and staggered forward, guided
by Bakari. “Where is Nebt?” Bomani asked on a choked breath.

“Somewhere hiding,” Bakari replied in a low growl.

“I will not stop you from killing her,” Bomani
said, taking on more of his own weight. The pain was receding. Although it gave
him more of his strength back, he remembered Kendra’s warning. No pain meant
the spell had broken the bond.

Hang on ka’ti.

Bomani pulled on his energy to dematerialize. Siya
remained heavy in his arm. “We have a problem.”

“Besides the demons and one
damned
goddess?”

“The spell is holding Siya.”

“We need the gods' damn book.” Bakari stared up
the long stairwell. “Or we walk out.”

“Nebt will be waiting,” Bomani stated the obvious.

“To tighten the noose. The demons have retreated
from this level. My guess is we are about five stories below ground.” Bakari
wiped the black blood from Siya’s blade and his hands. “I am glad we brought
this.”

Bomani knelt and shifted Siya in his arms. Besides
the moaning, she had not moved. He assessed her visible injuries and palpated
her legs.

“How is she?”

“There are so many wounds. I am not sure which one
is worse.”

Bakari squeezed his shoulder. “Lilly can work
magic.”

Bomani nodded in agreement, but the worry in his
gut did not dissipate with his brother’s reassurance. The pain in his chest
lessened with each passing minute they delayed. Lilly could not heal the bond,
only Siya’s physical wounds.

Bomani shifted his hand over Siya’s flat belly. Could
she really be pregnant?

They had joined only once.

“Siya.” Bomani pressed his lips to her temple and
shifted her blood soaked hair away from her face. His mark on her chest had
faded further. He hugged her tight, willing their connection to hold.

“Find Siya through the bond. Reach out to her,
draw her to you,” Bakari said, sympathy infusing his stare. “Remember she can
sense your emotions. Let her know you will not give up on her. Think of your
future together.”

“Our future?” Bomani choked out a rough laugh. “We
have a bounty on our heads. The Creations are calling for our execution.” What
future could he offer her? Or a child for that matter?

“Father will not let that happen, no matter the
outcome.”

“He would risk a civil war in the midst of Apep’s
rise? If there was any time in history our kind need to be united, it would be
now.”