Immortal Dynasty (19 page)
“We’ve got a live one, here!” The sudden exclamation from the floor below made everyone in the hallway flinch. But none hesitated to hustle downstairs to assist.
Left alone for a moment, Shaila wasted no time ducking under a yellow strip of glossy fabric. Entering the room, she moved slowly around, absorbing the various energy trails left behind. She scrunched her face in disgust as she smelled the stench of demon energy. But at the first trace of the unmistakable cold energy left behind from a
shadow walker,
her fangs unsheathed and a growl of dominance vibrated in her throat.
“Those poor humans,” she whispered. “They had no chance.”
She could no longer deny what she was up against. What they were all up against. Apophis was somehow reaching beyond his prison. The prophecy had begun, and time was not in their favor. She still had to find the babe, but Darius was right. How would a child help them now? What had Papa Shadi seen in his visions of the future? She needed his insight.
Footsteps in the hallway alerted her that the official-looking humans were returning to the room. Pulling out the cell phone Darius had given her, she flipped it open and pressed the green button as he had instructed her to do. As he answered, she shimmered away from the bloody room and away from the cold residue of fear.
* * *
“So, are there a lot of these
shadow walkers
running about?” Shaila heard more curiosity than fear in Marcus’ voice.
Bessie meowed at the kitchen door. As Darius let her in, the cat bounded over to Shaila, rubbing back and forth against her legs. Panting with exhaustion, the cat flopped across the floor.
“There are always five of them.”
“So, Lilith’s army is a group of about five of these guys? That’s a manageable number.”
“No, Marcus. They are not Lilith’s army. Let me start from the beginning. There are two bloodlines that carry a master cell, which is what determines the royal lines of the Anunnaki. When a new queen is enthroned, her cell becomes enlightened as well, awakening in her a power greater than any other of our kind. The cell will replicate and pass on to only her female offspring.”
“A matrilinear line of succession. That’s an ancient concept.”
“Yes, and one that preserves the pureness of our race. Queen Tia’Mat was obsessed with maintaining a separation. She decreed that the Anunnaki could not breed with the humans. But Apophis also carries a master cell. I do not know why, but I think it is part of the balance of life. Equality in the forces of dark and light. Neither can really exist without the other.”
Shaila paused a moment, her hands still shaking from seeing the fate of those young humans. “Apophis discovered that he could use humans to his advantage. He enticed them into his cult, promising them a better path to the Underworld. They only had to give him their souls, their light energy. He absorbed this, which added to his strength. Then the human was made to drink the blood of Apophis. The result was an agonizing death and rebirth into a demon. Because they exist without a soul, demons crave them. Demons are attracted to negative emotions, like fear and despair, which is when a human’s light energies are especially vulnerable.”
“Then what are
shadow walkers
?”
“I do not know. My mother once told me that Apophis freed them from another world. In return, they promised eternal allegiance to him. I do know they will feed on human flesh, and they cannot be completely destroyed.”
“Invincible.” Marcus shuddered. “They sound like a professional hit squad.”
“One that is commanded only by Apophis. He has somehow gained influence beyond his imprisonment.”
“Could they be commanded by a blood
descendent
of Apophis?” Darius’ brows wrinkled together as he puzzled over an idea.
“You mean Therion? If he is the son of Apophis, then he carries that bloodline and possibly the dark master cell.” Shaila grew thoughtful. “That could be it. Even without his astral spirit, Lilith can use her son’s blood power to raise an army and control the shadow walkers. But I cannot fight Lilith until I regain my astral spirit.”
“Then we need my grandfather. He has answers. And we only have a few hours until the gala. That may be our only chance to free him.”
Bessie leaped onto the table.
I know where he is, sister. I can help.
Shaila looked into Bessie’s eager yellow eyes and nodded. “Darius, there is someone who can help us.”
Marcus fell off of his chair, wide-eyed, as Bessie transformed into her human form: piercings, body paint, leather clothing and all. Never without a sweet treat of some kind, Bessie blew into a small pink bubble that grew until it popped and wilted.
“Marcus. Darius. This is my sister, Bessie.”
That damned goddess.
Darius gritted his teeth. He should be feeling embarrassed, remembering the times Bessie had curled into his lap. Instead, he aimed his irritation at the stubborn woman who always had a surprise up her sleeve. He hated surprises. When was she going to fill him in on
this
little detail? And how many more did she have?
He wanted to shake Shaila, to shout at her. Instead, he just looked over Bessie’s strange outfit. She looked like a Goth teenager who’d raided a vintage clothing shop. “Well, now I see where Shaila got her taste in clothes.” He didn’t hold the sarcasm.
“Don’t get your panties in a wad, Darius. Papa Shadi knew you weren’t ready to meet me yet.”
Shit, now I have two of them?
He didn’t see the humor in the situation, but Marcus did. Between laughter, he was muttering something about dinosaurs having been the wrong choice of study.
“When I get him back, I will certainly pay more attention to a lot of things.”
Shaila put her hand on his shoulder. He shrugged it off, but she was persistent. “Darius, she says she knows where your grandfather is. Bessie has been inside Lilith’s home. She can lead the way tonight.”
“How do you manage to roam around Lilith’s estate undetected?”
Fingering the unusually large collar around her neck, Bessie filled in the blanks. “He made this for me. It masks my Anunnaki spirit, so I can move around Lilith without her knowing that I am anything other than a simple house cat.”
The cat woman preened with apparent pride in her efforts. His palm wasn’t itching, but she aggravated him nonetheless. Marcus was looking at her with an intensity he rarely showed unless he was talking about a recent dinosaur dig.
“Papa Shadi was certain that Lilith had found the tomb. All of his research hit dead ends, until Mr. Artie and I came along. Once the collar was ready, it was easy to go in there and snap a few photos.”
“Does she have the rest of the items from the tomb?” Hope gleamed in Shaila’s green eyes.
“Not that I’ve seen, sister. But I think there’s a hidden room on the other side of the wall. The one that your statue stood in front of.”
Had he missed something? He hadn’t seen that on any of the architectural maps of the estate. “What makes you think that?”
“Because I felt air coming from under it.”
This time when Darius fingered his grandfather’s medallion, he felt a sense of excitement instead of despair. Maybe this wasn’t such a bad surprise after all. For a man who preferred to take his time to prepare, tonight’s plan formulated in his mind with surprising alacrity.
“Marcus, we need a limo.”
“Sidekick is on it.” Flicking out his cell phone, Marcus launched into his task.
“Shaila, tonight you’ll be my date to the ball.”
Damn, woman.
Darius rubbed the back of head, searching for the right words to say. “You can’t go to a masquerade without a costume.”
Shaila picked at a loose gold thread on his outfit, starting a run in the flimsy material. “You call this a costume?”
“It’s not like I had time to order something more authentic off of eBay.” Irritated, he punched the button that opened the divider between them and the limo driver. Through the rear-view mirror, he could see Marcus completely focused on maneuvering the long vehicle.
“Hey.” His skin shivered as Shaila rubbed her palm across his bare stomach, which showed between the top and bottom pieces of his pharaoh’s costume. Darius actually heard her purring as she stroked his stomach. On a different day, he would make the driver spin around the block a few times.
He gave her a piercing look. “Costume. Now. But remember, this is Lilith’s party. She’s going to sense you, isn’t she?”
“Yes, she will feel that another Anunnaki is present, but she will not be able to sense who it is.”
“Then, whatever you come up with shouldn’t be too close to the real thing. Catch my meaning?”
“Yes, my pharaoh.” Shaila sat back into the red velvet seats, closed her eyes and smiled. Her leather outfit melted away. White linen slid from some invisible spool and wrapped around her body. It turned into crisp pleats, which hugged every curve of her body. Her hair turned to a coal black shade and divided into long, tight braids. A queen’s tiara straddled her hair, and a wide beaded collar strung around her neck. “I am now your queen, the primary wife of the pharaoh.”
She took his breath away.
Marcus was not so tongue-tied. “Shaila, how are you ever going to blend in dressed like that?”
Bessie’s face appeared in the window next to Marcus’. “Simple. Shaila’s a warrior. She’d never be caught dead in a dress. Lilith won’t suspect a thing.”
Darius cleared the lump in his throat and fisted the medallion. “Okay, Papa Shadi. We’re coming for you. Marcus, don’t park up close to the estate. Keep the limo in the back where you won’t be trapped.”
“Got it.”
“Bessie, I think you’ve got your costume thing covered.” He smiled at the devilish amber gleam in her eyes.
“That I do. I’ll be waiting for you outside of Papa Shadi’s room.”
Bessie flashed into her cat form. Darius could no longer see her up in the front, but he clearly heard her tail thumping loudly on the velvet seat.
He looked at the aggravatingly gorgeous goddess-slash-queen sitting beside him. This was the most important night of his life, and he had to somehow trust this woman to help him succeed. Her unpredictability factor weighed on his mind. “Shaila?”
She put a finger to his lips. Her green eyes darted to the medallion and back again. The emotions that flickered across her face told him everything. She loved Papa Shadi too. Although she had her own task tonight, she would not let Darius down.
She leaned in and pressed her lips against his, sealing a silent promise between them. He knew she wanted him to trust her. Each muscle in his body slowly began to relax.
“Yes, Darius?”
“Don’t forget your mask.”
* * *
“I sense a familiar dark energy here.” Darius felt goose bumps raise along Shaila’s arm as they stepped into the foyer of the Troy Estate.
“Well, you should. You stood a few rooms over for many years.”
“Can we skip the party and look for Shadiki now?” He could hear an edge to her voice. One that sounded like a warrior anxious to just get the hell on the battlefield.
“I’d love to, but I’m sure Lilith will know that we’ve arrived. We can’t go skipping off through her house.” As if in answer, Bessie darted past his legs, heading in the other direction toward the darkened galleries. “We must make an appearance in the dining room, and then I can figure out a good time to slip away. But even then I need to have a good idea of where Lilith and Therion are.”
Shaila growled. “I look forward to seeing Lilith again.”
“This isn’t a family reunion, Shaila.” He pulled her to the side allowing other arriving guests to continue down the hallway. “Rule number one: I’m in charge. Rule number two: we must stay together.”
“Is there a rule number three?”
He smirked at her disdain. “Yes, always refer to rule number one.”
“What if we do get separated?”
“If we get separated, I will stick to finding Papa Shadi, and you can search for the baby mummy. We’ll meet up at the limo with Marcus.”
She nodded, and reached into the bodice of her outfit, pulling out the cell phone he’d given her. “I have this too.”
He took it and programmed in Marcus’ number. “Excellent. Now we have our backup plan.” Lifting an edge of the cheesy gold sash, he checked his silver belt buckle. The throwing knives nestled securely inside of it. “You have to be prepared for anything in this place.”
Stepping inside the grand ballroom of the Troy Estate felt like stepping back in time. Lilith had transformed the room into a lush temple garden, complete with marble floors, alabaster fountains and stone columns. Hundreds of chandelier bulbs had been replaced with candles, casting a soft flickering glow in the room.
The reception was in full swing already. Silver trays of hors d’oeuvres floated around the room, carried by men wearing only the simple twisted linen of the Egyptian working class. It was just enough material to cover their more private parts. Their chests were bare, but glistened with glittered oils. Golden cuffs wrapped around their wrists and arms.
Stationed throughout the room, models posed on platforms with silver poles reaching up to the vaulted ceiling. They all displayed Lilith’s newest line of clothing, accessories and jewelry. All of it coordinated with the ancient Mediterranean theme of the party.
Lilith Troy’s annual gala was one of the most anticipated events each year. This year’s masquerade idea was apparently a big hit. The room was filled with guests who all seemed to share in the excitement of hiding their identities under costumes of ancient world figures.
Darius found it hard to concentrate on surveying their surroundings with so many scantily-clad ladies around, and not just the models. Behind their masks, women pranced and posed in sultry costumes. Sheer togas slung around silky shoulders. Glittery tunics and gold bustiers clung to curvy Grecian goddesses. Satiny ribbons wrapped around long legs. A tall lady dressed as the snake-haired Medusa really stuck out in the crowd.
At the next table sat a King Tut wannabe, but the leather and gold costume barely concealed the short man’s very round belly. Numerous men sported costumes of gladiators, centurions, and senators. At least a dozen Caesars strutted around, some with black robes and others with white. Hercules pranced around a table of Amazons.