Soul Unleashed (Key to the Cursed Book 4) (24 page)

Kit fingered the key she had lifted from Kamen’s
pocket. The hugs had been spent and she had said goodbye to her sisters under
the guise she would be along shortly.

Turning the key in the lock, she waited for the
click. The tumbler vibrated the metal as it disengaged. The dungeon’s heavy
iron gate swung outward.

The cry of a baby stopped Kit in her tracks. She
glanced over her shoulder and found Siya behind her. “I have unlocked the
tunnel that leads to the dock. Make sure you use the southern passageway. I
will lock up once you are through.”

Kit blew out a breath, grateful Siya did not think
her mad for doing this alone.

Siya stepped forward and handed Kit her sacred blade.
“You will need this.”

Kit accepted the weapon forged by Khalfani, the
late Legion Commander. She fingered the hourglass glyph on the handle. Kit
shifted her stare to the matching scarification tattoo on Siya’s wrist. “Are
you sure?”

“It served Bomani well in my rescue against the
siravants. Perhaps it will work just as well on Apep.”

“I don’t know what to say.”

“Thank me when you return the souls to Aaru. We
will wait for you at the gates.” Siya grasped Kit’s forearm in a warrior
handshake. “Be mindful of Set. He serves only himself and will betray you.”

“I know, but he is my only chance of pulling this
off. Tell Kamen, I’m sorry.”

“When this is all over, you will be able to tell
him yourself.”

Kit sighed, praying that was the case.

“You must go now, if you are to escape. The battle
is about to begin and Kamen may return, looking for you.”

“What will you tell him?” Kit asked, standing at
the precipice of the stairwell. A cold chill brushed against her skin.

“You leave that up to me. Run fast and watch your
back.” Siya slammed the gate, locked it and then handed the key to Kit through
the bars. “May the gods be with you.”

Kit nodded and charged down into the darkness.
Sprinting past the temple door she whispered to her father, “I am coming for
you.”

She slowed as she approached Set’s prison cell.
Small puddles still remained on the stone floor from the flood. Set sat with
his eyes closed and a large grin on his face.

“You will have your freedom for one year,” she
said through the bars, her grip tight on the key.

Set rose and approached the gate, his black eyes
targeting her. “In exchange for what?”

She ground her teeth, wanting nothing more than to
punch the smug smile off his face. “You will help me round up the souls Apep is
holding and bring them to the gates as your sentence mandates.”

“Impossible.” Set shook his head.

“You must fulfill your penance and bring those
souls home.”

Set’s smile faded. “The souls you speak of are
within his castle. They are under his control.”

“You’re wrong. I saw my father, he was on the
beach.”

“If he was, he is no more. Those souls are lost.”

Kit couldn’t accept it. “We will go to the castle
and free them.”

“Not even I would dare set foot in that dungeon.”
Set stepped back from the bars.

Kit’s heart raced, she didn’t have time to
negotiate. The brink of war was upon them. She had to act now to stop Apep from
breaching the barrier. Anger fueled her resolve. “Maybe I picked the wrong
brother for this task.”

A growl resonated from the other side of the black
bars. Set rammed his fists into the metal, sending a shower of sparks down
around Kit. “Say that again, and I will rip your pretty head from your
shoulders.” White fanged teeth gleamed, and his black eyes smoldered with
hatred.

Despite her fear, she straightened her spine. “Trust
me when I say, Ammut will not let you harm me. If you dare cross me, it will be
your head that will roll.” Orange flames flickered in her vision. At least the
beast would protect her until the task was finished. “I will grant you
five
years
of freedom to live in the human realm to do as you wish. After that time, I
will come for you.”

“Five years is nothing.” Set spat and turned away
from the gates.

“If I walk out that door, five years is more than
you have right now in this cell.”

Set pumped his fists as he paced the length of the
metal.

Her heart ricocheted in her chest, not knowing if
she had the power to grant his freedom, yet he seemed to think so—for now. The
beast stirred in her chest, impatient and forcing her to walk to the exit.

“Open the fucking door,” Set growled.

Pausing, she looked over her shoulder. “You will
help me save the souls?”

“Yes.” He sneered.

Swallowing the lump in her throat, she returned to
the cell door and slid the key into the lock. She stared at the enormous god on
the other side, praying for the best outcome. Turning the key, she tripped the
tumbler. The lock clicked, and a flash of energy burst and then dissipated as
the containment spell was released from the metal.

Set stepped out and towered over her. Deadly power
to match Kamen’s. The only difference was Set had no soul and no loyalty to her
or the Underworld. He served his own purpose.

“Let’s go.” Kit turned her back on the god and
walked out the passage Siya had directed her. The last door opened up to the
devastated beach on the other side of the Underworld gates.

The
funerary
Mesektet
boat sat on its side, stranded on a sandbar. The remnants of
the dock lay strewn across the sands.

Set cursed and ran his hands over the black wood.
“Kamen will pay for this.”

Kit met Set’s black gaze. “Kamen didn’t do this,
Apep did. The war has begun, it is time to cut the legs out from under the
dragon.”

Coldness pushed out from Set to match the fury
burning in his face. He shouldered the wood and pushed the enormous vessel back
into the water. Kit stared through the gates to the Underworld palace, hoping
she would see it again. “Apep will be at the barrier in the human realm. We do
not have much time.”

“As you wish.” Set snarled and waded into the
water until he was chest deep.

Kit grabbed the rope and climbed to the railing.
Her boots hit the deck and she leaned over to pick up the oar. Blood still
stained the links tethered to the wood.

“Give it to me.” Glowering down at her, he jerked
the long staff from her grasp.

Kit stepped back, uncomfortable with the lethal
look in his face and the way he gripped the oar.

“Remember our deal, Set.”

He lowered his arms and stalked off to slide the
oar through the mooring. “Cut the line.”

Kit hesitated, knowing once it was severed there
was no turning back.

“Cut it,” Set barked.

Her katana sang as she pulled it free of her
holster. Created to kill revens, the blade’s edge was honed to a flawless
bevel. She raised it over her head and swiped down in one clean motion. The
ancient rope fell away without even a fray in the weave. The boat lurched into
the churning current. Consumed by the torrent waters, the stern sliced forward
fast and true. Kit gripped the ledge to steady herself as she rocketed towards
the barrier of fog, thinner than she remembered it to be.

Her skin prickled with dark energy. She ran to the
aft of the ship, following the dark shapes rocketing overhead in the mist.
Siravants descended upon the gates. Alarms blared in the distance from the
Underworld palace.

Kit prayed the spell they had cast with their
mother’s help would hold the gates and protect Siya and the baby. Only one
legion was left behind to protect the Underworld. She regretted taking Siya’s
blade for she feared the Goddess of War would need it.

Fog enveloped the boat and blotted out the
visibility. The screech of siravants chilled her, knowing there was nothing she
could do now to save Kamen’s home. Her destiny was far away from everything she
loved.

“This is suicide,” Set grumbled.

“We call it a Hail Mary.” Kit slid her hand along
the railing towards the front of the ship.

“Suicide.”

The silhouette of Set’s body formed in the fog as
she moved forward along the side of the boat. “How much further?”

He looked over his shoulder. “In a rush to die?”

“I should have done this sooner, maybe then this
whole war would have been avoided.”

Set made a noise in the back of his throat.

She stared at him, trying to figure out how twins
could turn out so differently. “What did Asar and Kamen do to make you hate them
so much?”

The muscles bulged in his arm as he tightened his
grip on the oar. “We are breaking the fog. Get your weapon ready.”

Kit stowed her katana in favor of Siya’s dagger.
The cold air burned her lungs. The water rippled and serpents thrashed at the
boat. The water level had plummeted and left little room for the thousands of
demons who patrolled these waters. The white bottom flashed beneath the boat in
the shallower areas. The
Mesektet groaned as it
scraped the riverbed made up of pulverized bone.

“Where are they all
going?” Kit asked, watching the eel like creatures swim off like spawning
salmon.

Set pointed off into the distance.

Kit gasped. A fire ball of energy shrouded by a
shimmering veil. Only a crescent of the moon could be seen and beyond it
darkness. The air was filled with thousands siravants, swooping and diving
towards the barrier. Sparks ignited when the creatures contacted the energy.
Energy that was dimming as the moon traversed the sun’s surface.

“Oh my god.” Kit’s stomach pitched. The Underworld
legions were outnumbered.

Black clouds rolled over head. A hurricane against
a levee ready to break.

“It won’t be long,” Set said, eyeing the horizon.
He steered into an inlet, so narrow Kit feared they would never get out. Tree
branches scraped the hull. The boat accelerated and then lurched up onto the
riverbank.

She followed him into the mud. “Where to?”

He directed her to a large rock face and pushed
through a small opening. Jagged rocks split open to reveal a narrow path.
Despite his size, Set maneuvered quickly through the maze.

“You have been here before.” Kit stopped, not
liking one bit that he seemed far too familiar with the route.

His eyes gleamed silver in the darkness. “Yes.”

“For what?” Kit planted her feet, unwilling to
move until she knew why.

He stared at her, his expression obscured by the
darkness. “My soul,” he said, and then turned his back to her.

Watching the condemned god disappear further down
the cave, she paused. The beast sensed no deceit in his answer and perhaps discovered
the real reason he had agreed to come here. What would he do if he found it?
What would he become?

Lacking the time to analyze his motives, Kit
pressed on. Light flickered along the ceiling and heated air flowed through the
cave. Set stopped at the opening. Stepping out on the ledge, Kit stared out
over a moat of fire. A black mountain of porous stone rose from the middle of
the burning vortex. Screams and cries of agony echoed from multiple openings
that acted as megaphones from within the structure.

Kit covered her ears.

Set sneered. “Welcome to hell.”

“How do we get across?” Kit gasped. The fire
stretched for as far as she could see.

“I do not know.”

“You don’t know? I thought you have been here
before?”

“I have been
here
.”

She shook her head. “If this catacomb leads here,
maybe another passage leads to a bridge.”

“I have searched for four thousand years and have
yet to find one.”

“There has to be a way in and out. My father
escaped.” She grabbed the rock and leaned out over the edge, searched for any
signs or symbols.

Set crossed his arms over his chest.

Palpating the sharp stone, she hunted for a lever
or switch. Finding nothing she pushed back and leaned against the stone. “Damn
it.”

Kendra would know what to do. Had the skill to
figure this out. Listened to their father’s teachings. “Mother,” Kit whispered,
“help me.”

“She, nor the gods, will hear you. Not here.”

“Can we jump?”

Set peered over the edge. “Miss and this journey
ends.”

“You would like that, wouldn’t you?”

His black eyes measured her. “And miss out on
freedom?”

“Shut up and move aside.” Kit stalked back the
length of the tunnel, measuring the distance she would need to leap across the
moat.

Shaking her legs out, she blew out a deep breath.
Just like the long jump in high school. Not that she actually participated in
track and field, but she had watched enough. Shit, what was she saying?

“Just get it done, Kit,” she grumbled to herself.
Risk taking was her craft. She stumbled at the start but quickly regained her
footing. Sprinting, she pumped her legs. In the last ten feet, a burst of power
rocketed through her muscles. She leapt off the ledge with flames licking her
boots.

Jagged black rocks scored her hands on the landing
as she scrambled to get a good hold. Her boots slipped down the mountainside
towards the incinerator. Despite her efforts, she couldn’t catch her weight,
and her feet slipped off the ledge.

With a wrenching of her wrist and shoulder, her
descent jerked to a stop. Set’s fierce grip grated her bones. He pulled her
back up with one arm supporting her weight. Gaining her footing, she hugged the
stone. “Holy shit.”

“You are either very brave or very stupid.”

“Probably a little of both.” She dared look down
at her almost grizzly death. “Thank you.”

Set’s brows furrowed to match his frown. “Do not
thank me.” He climbed the face of rock and found an opening. “The worst is yet
to come.”

Kit closed her eyes and slowed her breathing.
Blood dripped down her wrists from the gashes against her palm. An orange glow
emanated from her flesh as the edges of her wounds knitted themselves back
together.

After wiping the blood from her hands, she
followed Set through a lava tube. The stone on the walls and floor were smooth,
except for claw marks that had been scored into the rock. The tube opened into
a large cavern. Chains hung from the walls at various points along with other
sharp implements.

The pungent smell of blood and death filled the
channel.

She covered her nose and mouth to stave off the
offending odor. Her shoulders and spine began to ache, and the prickling
against her skin worsened with each step forward. She leaned her hand against
the wall to catch her breath as the pain intensified. Her vision bled orange.
The beast clawed beneath the surface of her skin, the call of evil too strong
to resist. Claws sprung from her fingertips as Kit fought to gain control.
No,
not yet. Not until they are safe.

Set stepped back, eyeing her warily. “You are not
going to make it.”

She bared her teeth at him and pushed off the
wall. “Move.”

“Provide me a weapon.” Set gestured to the
multiple knives she had hanging from her weapons belt.

“You should have brought your oar,” she growled
and pushed past him. Shifting through the scents, she searched for her father’s
all too familiar cologne. Oddly, the fragrance had stayed with him in death or
perhaps that was how she remembered him to be.

Cell after cell she passed with no sign of the
souls. Only strange dark beings hid behind the bars. The screams were getting
louder as they probed deeper into the castle. Movement down the passageway
caught her eye. A siravant gnawed on the remnants of a corpse. Pulling Siya’s
saber from her belt, she pressed herself against the wall. The beast in her
chest hungered for the demon’s soul. Black and wicked, it called to her.

“We need to go another way.” Set grabbed her bicep
and pulled her back.

“No.” A growl emanated from her chest, deep and
primal. She gripped Siya’s blade and stalked down the narrow ledge of black
stone. Confused at seeing a human, the siravant’s head raised and tilted to the
side.

Kit’s vision dimmed, consumed by a bright light.
Her legs gained speed. The rush flowed through her body. The taste of blood and
flesh. Kit woke, panting on her hands and knees. The saber remained clenched in
her fist, unused despite the blood splattered against the stone. Warm blood
dripped from her mouth. Dazed, she sat back on her heels. An enormous hole had
been torn into the siravant chest.

Set dragged her to her feet. “Remind me not to
piss you off.”

Energy the likes she had never felt fueled her
body. Heat flowed through her veins as the beast converted the fetid soul into
unlimited power. Drunk, she staggered a few steps before gaining her
equilibrium. Killing had never brought her pleasure. It had always been out of
mercy to release a cursed soul from a reven’s body.

This
—was like heroine. Just one and she wanted
more, no matter how much it disgusted her. A part of her liked the rush, the
craving. The other part of her soul knew she could be lost to it.

Kit forced herself out of the fog. She inhaled,
the scents now intense. “This way.”

“Once we find these souls, then what?” Set ducked
his head down the next passageway.

“Finding a way out.”

“If one exists.”

“Here,” Kit said, following her father’s trail.
The screams echoed louder, hurting her ears. The agony and pain made her
shudder. They entered larger rooms now. Prisoners hung from the walls.
Disemboweled.

A young girl cowered in the corner with her hands
covering her ears. The screams of a baby echoed from the trash can next to her.
Another man was being raped by a creature. Punishment for their crimes.

Fear, pain and agony suffocated this space.

A room off to the left had shelves after shelves
of organ jars. Black souls writhed within them. Apep’s mementos.

Kit skidded to a stop. A large metal door loomed
in front of them. “No guards?”

“No need.”

True, Apep had no fear of anyone invading his
territory. Kit gripped the handle and pulled. The iron groaned but didn’t
budge. “Help me.”

Set’s gaze drifted from the door down to a room at
the end of the hall. He walked towards it.

“Set, damn it, get back here.”

He left her standing at the door. The rustling in
the tunnel signaled something had followed them. With her booted foot planted
against the wall, she yanked the door. She grunted as the metal slid against
the door jam. The squeak of metal against metal vibrated in the air. The
shuffling and movement sounded closer.

“Set!” Kit jerked back several times, gaining only
small ground with each attempt.

The growls were getting closer. Releasing the
handle, she pursued Set into the room. He stood staring at all the jars sitting
on the shelves. These were different from the ones they had seen in the other
rooms. Hieroglyphics marked each of them. Symbols, Kit realized, for the
various gods. Not a speck of dust covered the ceramic canopic jars. A chair
faced the rows as if someone had sat and stared at the collection for hours.

“We need to get through that door.”

“Not until I find it.” Set shoved the jars around.

Kit turned in a circle. “There are thousands of
them. We must leave.”

A loud rumble followed by a quake shook the
mountain. Jars toppled from the shelves and smashed onto the floor, spilling
out nothing but ash. Kit toppled into the chair, barely catching her balance.

“God, the barrier is down. We don’t have much
time.” Apep had grown too strong on the misery of these cursed souls. She had
to free them to drain him of his power.

Another powerful quake shook the mountain. Kit
left Set to his search. Rock rained down overhead, forcing her to take several
detours. Finding another door, she leveraged her strength and pulled it open.

Heat buffeted her face. The door opened to a
bridge that crossed the center of the volcano. The lava beneath the stone arch
belched and boiled fiery magma. Cells lined the black crater. Kit tracked the
narrow stairs leading to the top. Stars shimmered above the shaft opening.

“Father,” Kit cried out.

She ran along the narrow path checking each cell.
Half way up, she wondered if she had missed him. “Dad?”

“Katherine.” Hands reached out to her through the
bars.

“Dad.” Kit recognized the thick curly brown hair.
She gripped his hands.

“Have you seen my Katherine? She ran away. I need
to find her,” Jonathan Carrigan begged, terror coloring his voice.

“I’m here. Safe.”

“No. She is only twelve. Black hair. Blue eyes.”
His wide panicked gaze stared through her.

Realizing he was replaying a time long ago when
she first told him of her dreams, her heart ached. He had refused to listen,
dismissing it as just a nightmare she should ignore. With anger and hate in her
heart she had run away to punish him.

Shoving the saber into the lock she snapped it.
“Come, let us find her together,” she said with guilt heavy in her chest.
“There are others that can help us look for her. I think she may be down by the
river. Do you remember how to get there?”

“The master will not let us go.” Jonathan wringed
his hands and stepped back into the darkness of the cell.

Devastated to see her once proud and invincible
father cower in the corner, Kit held out her hand. “Ammut has come to protect
you.” Kit showed him the glyphs on her forearms and then Kamen’s mark on her
chest. “She walks with us.”

He focused on her then, his eyes clearing.

“Mut is waiting for you in Aaru. As is Lilly and
Kendra.”

He took a hesitant step forward. “There is a boat
that will take us there.”

Tears filled Kit’s eyes and she nodded. “Yes, it
is waiting for us to take you home.”

“Is Katherine there?”

“Her heart is. She is sorry for the pain she has
caused you.”

Jonathan grasped Kit’s hand. “She is one of a
kind.”

Knowing that all too well, Kit sighed. “Come, let
us get some help.”

He nodded and followed her. Lock after lock she
freed the cursed souls. Too many to corral, they tittered on the edge of the
narrow stairwell. She guided them up the mountain’s throat. Once at the top,
she stared out over the land and river. From here there was a clear view of the
entire realm and the barrier to Egypt. The temple of Thebes was no longer
shadowed by the iridescent light. Blackness had descended to all the realms.
The only light burned from the raging fires on the other side. Only a few
siravants remained in Duat, circling the waters.

Another rumble shook the mountain, along with
screams below. The level of the magma surged upward. “Go. Go. Go,” Kit yelled.

Panicked, the souls charged up the stairs,
knocking each other off the ledge and into the fires below. A loud screech
sounded from the sky as siravants flew straight towards them. “Down the
mountain.”

Thousands of souls spilled out over the edges and
down the path. A small bridge extended over the moat. The path to the boat was
not too far from their location. Kit ran to intercept the demons diving from
the heavens and picking off the vulnerable and weak.

“Take them to the boat,” she yelled to her father.
“I will meet you there.”

Sprinting off to the left, she slashed at the
siravant as it tore into a shade. The saber met flesh and burst the demon into
ash.

A loud explosion shot burning ash and lava into
the air. Rock and debris rained down upon her head. She shoved a few souls in
the direction of the boat. They would be over capacity, but the dead were far
safer outside the castle than in.

Lava flows chased them down the hill and to the
water, mowing down anyone who was not quick enough to get out of the way. Kit
helped everyone onto the boat then walked back up the path looking for Set. She
shoved at the hull, pushing it, but not as effectively as Set. “Set, where are
you?”

A crash of trees and footsteps sounded down the
path. Set came charging out, carrying two jars in his hands. He slid them into
his pockets and shouldered the vessel. Once in the water, he jumped up onto the
deck.

“Come.” He held out his hand.

Kit stepped back on the shore. “Take them as you
promised.”

“And my freedom?”

“The barrier will be open to the human realm for
another thirty minutes. You must be through before it closes.”

“Then our deal will be finished.” Set shoved the
oar against the bank.

“See you in five years.”

Kit met the gaze of her father from the deck. He
smiled and raised his hand. She waved back. If she succeeded, he would finally
find peace.

Steam rose from the riverbed as lava extended its
reach towards the human realm. The farther the boat sailed, the slower the
bright orange rock flowed. Kit ran up the embankment to watch the vessel
disappear into the fog.

She turned her gaze back to the eclipse where the
larger battle raged. The Dark Lord was just on the other side. Death filled the
air.

A black figure stood in the path.