Soul Unleashed (Key to the Cursed Book 4) (17 page)

Asar hurried Kit into Kamen’s bathroom and opened
the door to the stairwell. She pressed one hand to the wall and descended down
the stone steps, followed by Lilly, Kendra and Bakari. Asar pulled the heavy
stone door shut behind the group.

Kit followed down the dark stairwell until it dead
ended at the large chamber door. The same door she had stood with Kamen.

“I do not know what state Kamen will be in when
you enter. I will need to close the door immediately once you are through. Once
you are sealed in, only Kamen can open it from the inside.”

Lilly grabbed her hand. “Are you sure about this?”

Kit nodded. The battle raging in her chest would
erupt as it did in her dream this morning. She needed to be as far from her
sisters when it happened. Kit grabbed Lilly and Kendra in a big hug. “I love
you both.”

Asar released the lever inside the wall. Kit
turned towards the stone slab. The heavy door rolled to the right. Taking a
deep breath, she stepped into the chamber. She stole one last look at her
sisters before Asar engaged the locking mechanism. The stone slammed shut,
sealing her in. The impact echoed into the room.

The bitterness burned her nose. She had smelt a
similar bitterness when she was in Duat. In fact Apep smelled very much like
what was in this chamber. Hairs prickled on the back of her neck as she swept
the room. She was alone with one enormous heat signature.

And other shapes of bluish hues—cold and lifeless.

Staying along the wall, she edged her way towards
the orange glow. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. She thought Kamen would be
alone, thus no weapons. The blue shapes shifted towards her. A low guttural
growl, similar to a lion, emanated from the far corner. She wasn’t sure if it
was growling at her or the other shapes.

Despite the danger, she continued along the stone.
She must love the fool to get herself into this. The enormous orange figure
moved so fast, she almost didn’t register the strike. A squeal bounced off the
walls followed by the sound of bones crunching. One less blue shape. Three
huddled together. Another stole across the expanse headed right towards her.

She moved faster along the wall, but the soul, or
what was left of it, reached out and grabbed her arm. Cold and slimy, she
slipped out of its grasp. “Kamen,” she shouted in alarm. Despite her repulsion,
there was a strange attraction to the fetid soul.

The outline of the soul’s face shimmered in the
darkness. Hard cold eyes. It launched itself at her. She planted a boot right
in its chest, and it stumbled back into the center of the room. It lunged
again, but a large animal swiped it mid-air. Several shrilled screams pierced
the stale room. No more blue shapes, only her and…a beast.

Her heart hammered in her chest as the beast
finished its latest meal and turned its burning eyes on her. An all too
familiar glare. She ground her teeth, finding what was left of her courage. The
beast charged but stopped inches from her. Inhaling several large breaths it
blew out the air in large puffs through its nose. Fur covered a large portion
of the beast’s neck, shoulders and chest. Long saber teeth gleamed white. It
nudged her with its nose, gentle at first and then a little harder.

“Easy.” She held up her hands, having nowhere to
go with her back pressed up against the wall.

The creature dipped his nose and sniffed her crotch.
“Hey, stay out of there.” She swatted its nose. Bad idea. The snarl about made
her knees buckle. “Sorry, there are just places that are off limits when you’re
like that. Thanks for taking that thing out by the way. I didn’t much like it
touching me.”

The beast’s nose flared and zeroed in on her arm.
Black streaks marked her skin where the soul had touched her. A large pink
tongue, rough as sandpaper, licked the slime free. “Ah, thanks.” Taking
advantage of its head being so close, she touched its fur.

The beast jerked back. She took a tentative step
forward and held her palm up. Either she was going to lose it, or he would
accept her. A soft velvet muzzle came to rest in her hand. She rubbed its chin
and risked rubbing the top of its head with her other hand.

“Why did you not want to tell me this?” she asked
quietly. She sighed, knowing she would never get her answer from him in animal
form or otherwise. At least she got to see him. Not dissimilar to his human
form. Potent and powerful. The beast was surprisingly gentle considering its
objective. It had to have sensed the evil in her chest. Hell, she did.

“What am I going to do with you?” She leaned
against the wall, the pain in her chest robbing her of strength. The beast
loomed over her, but then soon settled next to her. She absently ran her
fingers through its hair. Its chest vibrated in a rhythmical way similar to a
house cat. A really gigantic house cat.

Oddly at ease or just down right stupid, she
grabbed on either side of its wide jaws and looked in its eyes. “Are you in
there? We kind of need to talk. I don’t have much time.” It shook its head and
broke her hold. The beast nudged her hand again. “Fine.” She went back to
petting it.

“I’m gauging I have only a few minutes before my
body starts to really change. I need you here when that happens, okay? It’s
going to be bad. Really bad.” She traced the velvet curve of the beast’s nose.
Its orange eyes locked on her. “I almost think you understand me. I’ll come
visit you regularly if you agree to let me have Kamen to myself.”

The beast nipped at her fingertips. She jerked her
hand back. “Hey, not cool.” Crossing her arms over her chest, she glared at it.
It shoved its head under her arm, nudging her again. “If you are going to bite
me, I’m not petting you.”

It bared its teeth and nudged her again.

“No. And don’t think intimidating me is going to
work.” She gulped a breath.

With a heavy paw it swiped at her but missed. Kit
knew it was testing her, damn if it did about undo her courage. If the beast
wanted to kill her, it could, instead it bellowed in her face, paced and then
stalked off into the dark corner. It glowered at her with bright orange eyes.

The pain in her chest forced her to sit down on
the cold stone. She bent her legs and rested her elbows on her knees. A
standoff, but she was alive. It finally lay down and rested its head on its
legs. Now what? She wondered how long she would wait for him to turn back to
Kamen. “Come on. How long are you going to make me wait?” Kit grumbled.

Its head shot up, broke its gaze from her and
looked at the opposite corner of the room on her side. The smell of bitter
almonds wafted in the air. She pushed up off the floor and moved closer to the
beast. Already up on its feet, it moved in front of her. She instinctively
grabbed its coat. “What the hell is that?”

Stabbing pain ripped through her heart. Crying out,
she grasped her chest. If not for her grip on the beast’s back, her legs would
have given out. The beast lunged forward and broke her hold. She fell to her
hands and knees. Sourness gurgled up her throat. She choked as the fired burned
in her chest. Scratching at her throat, she attempted to relieve the
suffocating hold. Tears streamed down her face. The heat that had been kept at
bay plunged daggers into the ice of her heart.

“Kamen.” Kit struggled to lift her head to find
him. Fire raced down her spine. Rivulets of blood rolled over her shoulders and
dripped to the stone. The snake lifted from her back. Trapped under her shirt,
the serpent bit her several times, trying to reestablish its hold on her. She
grabbed the head and pulled it free. The serpent rolled and slithered back
towards her.

Another wave of pain exploded in her chest. She
retched and black fetid blood dripped from her mouth. “Help me,” she begged the
beast.

The snake reared up to strike. The enormous animal
tore into it and then turned on her. Large fangs clamped around the back of her
neck and dragged her to the far corner. She whimpered as the teeth punctured
her skin.

As she heaved, more fowl blood ejected from her
mouth. The beast dropped her and she collapsed face first into the stone. Hot
heavy breaths cascaded over her face, worsening her already feverous body.
Claws dug into her side and rolled her onto her back. The beast loomed over
her, baring its jagged teeth. A volcano erupted in her chest and throat. Kit
screamed and arched off the floor as a dark force exploded from her chest and
shot into the air. The shadow of Apep consolidated in the chamber.

Kit’s vision blurred, her body in shock. A
horrific bellow of beast and shade burst in the chamber. Her visions were a
blur of the beast descending down upon the black being, much too large for him
to defeat. Kit suddenly feared this had been the Dark Lord’s plan all along.

Eliminate Apep’s only threat. Her one hope. Her
one love.

Anger, pure and violent, forced the icy pain out of
her heart. Heat bloomed and rushed through her veins. Orange flickered in her
vision as she rolled onto her hands and knees. She arched her back as fire
raced down her spine where the snake had once taken hold. Her mind clouded with
visions of death and destruction. The foul scent beckoned her. She would not be
satisfied until she tasted blood.

Lying on his side curled into a ball, Kamen gasped
in relief.
Thank the gods
, he had made it to the chamber. Since leaving
Kit in his bed, everything went black. The beast claimed him the moment he
tasted her blood.

He crawled to the wall and pulled himself to
stand. Following the circumference to the keyhole for the door lock, his foot
kicked a fleshy object on the floor. He stooped and picked up the limp
rattlesnake. His hands started to tremble.

Alarmed, he threw the carcass to the floor. Slick
black blood smeared the walls a few short steps away, along with shredded
clothes. He dropped to his knees and clasped what was left of black leather.

No.

A soft whimper echoed from the center of the room.
He snapped his head around.

“Kit?”

He scrambled across the floor.

“Stay away from me.”

The fear curdling her voice propelled him forward,
but he stopped short. Naked with her knees hugged to her chest, she sat upon
the stone which was the convergence of the hieroglyphic spell. The very spot he
woke up night after night after a feeding. Black blood stained the pale skin of
her mouth and neck.

How had she gotten into the chamber? How had she
survived the beast?

“I don’t want to hurt you,” Kit said, raising her
hand to ward him off.

Hurt
him
?

He knelt down, certain she was confused. “Gods
Kit, how did you get in here? It’s not safe.”

“Asar let me in.” She touched her mouth and stared
at the black blood covering her fingertips. Her entire body shuddered.

“Then you saw what I am.”

She nodded and pulled her knees closer.

“Did it hurt you?” He scanned her body for
injuries. The smell of fetid blood overpowered the room, making it hard to
discern any wounds. He moved closer.

“I don’t want to hurt you.”

“You cannot hurt me, Kitten.” He reached out his
hand. “Come to me. Let me take care of you.”

“I saw what he made me become. I couldn’t control
it.” She sobbed into her hands.

He inched closer.

Coldness pushed out from her soul. Her tear soaked
eyes lit up with flames. “I said stay away.”

His eyes gravitated to the hieroglyphics etched
over her left breast. He sat back on his heels. The bond had done its job,
almost too well. She had been purged of Apep, but as Kamen feared, the beast
had claimed her soul as well. “I know what you must think of me. Please
understand, I wanted to spare you from the truth of what I am. Who I used to
be. Apep did not do this to you.” He swallowed against his closing throat. “I
did.”

“As long as it’s you and not him.” She wiped her
mouth and stared down at the blackness against her palm.

“I did not want this to happen to you. It was a
risk of our bonding. A risk I wanted to spare you from.” He lifted her up into
his arms.

Wrapping her arms around him, she sobbed.

Both grateful and sad, he was blessed that their
bonding had worked to free her of Apep, but in the same right, he wanted a
better life for her without his burden. He couldn’t change what had happened.
She would need to adapt to the changes.

“Apep looks into the darkest places in our souls,
exploits our fears and blackest thoughts. The beast will want to do the same of
others, probing for the evil within. It will sense and want to consume it.”
Kamen knew it all too well. The constant struggle to prevent the beast from
taking the piece of his soul touched by Apep. Kamen feared if he let it go
completely, he would never remember the male he once was, what he never wanted
to be again. The male undeserving of Kit’s love.

“I know what Apep wants to do. Wanted me to do.”

Kamen nodded. Every condemned soul revealed a
portion of Apep’s plan. Kit had seen through the Dark Lord’s eyes, during her
possession. “We can use that against him.”

The flames in her eyes burned hotter. Kamen
reached out through the bond to her soul, sliding along the thread like
tendrils of a vine. His muscles jerked when he made contact with her soul. A
churning vortex of anger to match the flames dancing in her eyes. He pushed
deeper into her soul, cooling the burn of her pain. The beast stirred in his
chest and followed the connection, anxious to bond with its other half.

Kit gasped, her mouth parting with each draw of
her breath. “Kamen.”

“Look at me,” he said, absorbing her fear and
pain. “We can do this together. You don’t have to fight this alone anymore.”
Nor did he, which made her all the more important to him.

“I’m scared.”

Shit, he was too. Petrified in fact. He pulled her
to his chest and buried his face into neck. “Kitten. It is going to be okay.”

She clung to him all the harder. “I know this
sounds stupid coming from me, but don’t ever leave me.”

“Leaving you is not possible.” He would live and
die with her. Her body warmed against his, soothing his worry. “I know you
didn’t want this.”

Kit pulled back and met his gaze. “For all the
wrong reasons. I wouldn’t change this, Kamen.”

He traced the column of her throat. Her pulse
strengthened under his touch. Now that they were bonded, he would need to
commit to marrying her to ensure her immortality. An official ceremony and an
exchange of blood between the couple would bind their lives and souls together
permanently. Despite his reservations he would not enter into war without their
lives being bound. “We will need to marry,” he said on a forced breath. It was
not the place he would have thought to propose, but considering the
circumstances of all that had happened, it could not get worse.

Her brows furrowed and she laced her trembling
fingers through his hair. “I never saw myself married.”

Shit, neither did he. He had been alone for so
long, he was not sure what life would look like with someone at his side. He
did not want to disappoint her.

“What’s wrong? Am I still infected?”

“No.” Kamen ground his fanged teeth. “You
understand that you are bound to a criminal. I have been stripped of my title
and rank. I have nothing to offer you, but this.” He gestured to the chamber.
Resentment hardened his heart.

He would never be free of this, and now he had
bound Kit to the same horrible fate.