The Blue Lotus Page 6

  "Well it is a little too late now for having such doubts."

  "I know, I know, but I had promised Kendra not to tell you about the pendant."

  "What pendant?"

  Tory groaned, then said sheepishly, “The pendant that had the hieroglyphs on it."

  The sound of a cat growl drew Tory and Scott's attention back to Nefertem. He growled once more. “How is it he translated the glyphs if he knows nothing of the pendant?"

  Cringing, Tory confessed. “I described what they looked like to Scott over the phone and he told me what they meant."

  Nefertem shook his head. “Fools. You have no idea what you have started. I herald the coming of another. One who will pass judgment on all mortals and mete out punishment. At the hands of my mother."

  Chapter Eight

  Kendra pulled into her driveway glad to have the day almost over. She felt as if a truck had run over her, more than once. And her boss had not made her day any easier for her.

  Having him impatiently standing at her desk waiting for her to arrive, had not boded well for her day. Being five minutes late hadn't helped either. That was one thing Stan Wilson did not tolerate from his employees. Lateness.

  After pointing out the time of her arrival, he spouted off the huge list of things he needed her to do that day. With important clients coming to the gallery, he wanted her to arrange a catered lunch for them and he wanted it done now.

  The rest of the day pretty much went downhill from there. Grumpy customers, uptight artists, and clients in the gallery to impress, Kendra felt her nerves stretched to the breaking point. Lack of sleep amplified the feeling.

  When she could finally leave at the end of the day, she had a massive headache. All she wanted to do was get home and see Nefertem. What they had done together the night before kept replaying in her head. Sex had never been that good for her in the past. With other men in other relationships, she had never felt such an all-consuming need. Not even with her ex-fiancé. Now that she was home at last, she couldn't wait to be in Nefertem's arms again. She already felt addicted to his touch.

  Much to her surprise, and dismay, Kendra found company had arrived. Tory had come to visit and had brought a friend, someone who should have been the least likely person to be standing in her living room. And if her assumptions were correct, the man could only be Scott, Tory's date from the other night. A shiver of unease ran down Kendra's back. What the hell could Tory have been thinking, bringing him here?

  The three people had not yet noticed her arrival. They all seemed frozen in some sort of tableau with Scott and Tory staring at Nefertem as if he were not quite human.

  "Can someone tell me why I have two unexpected guests in my house while I was at work?” Kendra looked pointedly at Tory.

  Her friend flushed under her regard. “Sorry, Kendra. I only wanted to have a chance to talk to Nefertem when you weren't around."

  "And you found it necessary to bring Scott along for the ride. It is Scott, correct?"

  "Yes this is Scott.” Tory made the introductions. “Scott Burrows this is my best friend Kendra Miller."

  Kendra reluctantly shook hands with Scott. He seemed like a nice guy, and under different circumstances she wouldn't have minded getting to know him better, but all she wanted now was for Scott to leave. Get him as far away from Nefertem as she could.

  "Nice to meet you, Scott."

  "And I you. I didn't know what Tory was up to until we arrived."

  Finally turning to look at Nefertem, Kendra felt the bottom of her stomach do a flip-flop. He had his helmet tucked under his arm, out in the open for Scott to see. This was definitely not good.

  Seeing the anxiety in Kendra's face, Nefertem placed his helmet on the coffee table, then taking Tory and Scott each by an elbow, he ushered them toward the door. When they were out of Kendra's hearing range, he quietly whispered to them both, “You will say not a word of who and what I am to Kendra. I will tell her when it becomes necessary."

  "What? She needs to know.” Tory whispered back.

  "Enough! Kendra is my responsibility now and I will protect her from this as long as I can. Now leave us."

  Not so easily cowed, Tory narrowed her eyes at Nefertem and poked him hard in the centre of his chest. “Now you listen to me. You may be a god, but I will still hunt you down like a dog if Kendra comes to any harm."

  With that last parting shot, Tory grabbed Scott by the hand and pulled him through the front door.

  * * * *

  Pulling away from Kendra's house, Tory took a quick look at Scott who sat in the passenger side next to her. He really was a great guy. Their date the night before last had turned out to be unexpectedly fabulous. She had not gone out on a date with Scott before. She had met him through one of the girls she worked with at the bank. Cindy had arranged for the three of them to go out for drinks one night. Being a bit of a matchmaker, Cindy had thought Scott and Tory would make a great couple. But at the time, Tory hadn't been ready for a new relationship. She had been taking a break from men, something she did after having to dump a boyfriend. That night out with Cindy and Scott had happened the year before and Scott had left a very good impression on her. So much so, she had kept his phone number when he had given it to her at the end of the evening.

  Kendra wanting the hieroglyphs translated had given Tory the perfect excuse to call Scott after such a long time having gone by. And she had known a call from her would be tantamount to asking him out on a date.

  The man was a bit of a rarity. He had the mind of a scholar and the body of an athlete. As well as a face that was pure masculine beauty. Tory could quite easily see herself falling head over heels for him. There was only one problem—she notoriously had bad luck when it came to men. She somehow managed to attract guys who only wanted a good time, only to dump her when the shine wore off. Or she dumped them when she felt like she was being used for only one thing. Scott on the other hand, fit none of those categories.

  Taking another peek at him, Tory found Scott staring at her with a bemused look upon his face. “What are you smiling about?"

  "You. You seemed so lost in thought there. Hopefully it was me you were thinking of so intently."

  "Why would I do that?” Even though she had been, there was no way she would admit it to Scott, at least not at this early stage in their relationship. “If you really want to know, I was thinking about Nefertem. Gee, the man is an Egyptian god for Christ's sake."

  "Amazing isn't it? And you, my lovely, have some answering to do"

  "Sorry about not telling you where the hieroglyphs were from."

  "I didn't mind that so much. What does bother me is that it was the only reason why you called me. I have been waiting over a year for you to be ready to call me."

  Tory felt herself blush. “That is not totally true. It just gave me something to fall back on if you didn't want to see me. I have been ready for awhile now, I just hadn't worked up the nerve to pick up the phone and give you a call."

  Scott chuckled. “Then I am glad you called about the hieroglyphs.” He grew serious. “As for Nefertem, if the story is true about his mother, then we could be in for some trouble."

  "Truly?"

  "Afraid so. Though I am still finding it hard to come to grips with the fact that it isn't just a legend, but real. Nefertem's being here proves it."

  "Should I be worried about him staying with Kendra? With her brother away, she is alone in the house with him."

  "I don't think you have to worry. What is written about Nefertem doesn't mention anything nasty. He is only described as a sun god of Lower Egypt, identified with the lotus. Paintings of him are usually portraying him wearing a lotus and two feathers on his head. Occasionally he is depicted as a lion-headed man. Now that I have seen his helmet I understand why."

  "And his mother? What is said about her?"

  "Well she is another story completely. Sekhmet is the lioness-headed goddess of war and destruction. The god Re created her by the fire of hi
s eye. Her sole purpose was to be used as a weapon by Re for vengeance against mankind, because of their wicked ways and disobedience to him. Even her name means to be strong, mighty, and violent."

  "She sounds like the mother of the year award winner."

  "There is only the one story of when she was set loose on mankind. Supposedly, she slew all whom she saw, taking great pleasure in the slaughter and the taste of blood. The Nile was to have run red with blood from her victims. And Re couldn't control her either. She literally went on a rampage."

  "He must have stopped her somehow."

  "That he did, with a little bit of trickery. You know how much Egyptians love beer, well so do their gods. Re had red ochre mixed into seven thousand jars of beer. He then had it poured over the fields, so they appeared flooded with blood. Sekhmet, thinking it was indeed blood, drank it all up, getting very drunk in the process. Re was then able to tame her and bring her back under control."

  "Do you think all that is true? Just because Nefertem is real doesn't necessarily mean the story of his mother is real too."

  Scott shrugged his shoulders. “They do say there are some truths behind the legends."

  "In that case, I had better tell Kendra to stock up on a lot of strong beer."

  * * * *

  After Scott and Tory left, Kendra went upstairs to change out of her work clothes. Nefertem followed her up. “You don't need to be so worried, Kendra. Scott will not reveal my presence here."

  "How can you be so sure? Your helmet would be a valuable addition to the museum where he works, same with the pendant. Thank goodness I have kept it in my room or he would have found that as well."

  Nefertem refrained from telling her Scott already knew there was a pendant. There really was no point in upsetting her more. “He is a man of honour and would never try to take what is mine.” The man knew more than enough about what happened when a mortal angered a god.

  "I hope you are right.” Finished changing, Kendra moved to stand closer to Nefertem. She placed her hand on his broad chest. “I've had a terrible day at work. All I could think of was that you were here waiting for me."

  Taking hold of her hand, Nefertem pressed it so it lay over his rapidly beating heart. All it took was for her to touch him and his body raged into life. “And I thought of you."

  Bending his head down, Nefertem claimed her lips, plundering her mouth with his own. He loved the taste of her. Her scent washed over him, a heady smell that was all woman. Releasing her hand, he wrapped his arms around Kendra and pulled her hard up against his body. This was how he had wanted to greet Kendra upon her return from work. Not having to banish her fear of his being found out.

  She felt herself weakening, succumbing to the passion building up inside her. Her body remembered the night before, and craved more. But she knew if she didn't resist until she got some answers from Nefertem, they would go by the wayside, forgotten.

  Breaking the kiss, Kendra looked up at Nefertem. His eyes had changed. “Before this goes any further, what exactly did Tory need to talk to you about without my being around?"

  "Only to warn me not to hurt you or she would hunt me down."

  Kendra groaned. “She promised me she would stop doing that. That would be the reason why she came while I as at work."

  "She meant well.” He tried to claim her lips once again, but Kendra pushed his face away. He growled in frustration. Obviously Kendra wasn't going to be easily put off.

  "What did you tell Scott? How did you explain having possession of your helmet?"

  Nefertem sighed in defeat. “I told him it had been in my family for generations."

  "And he accepted that?"

  "Of course. That is enough about Scott. I have waited all day to make love to you and I won't wait any longer."

  Scooping her up in his arms, Nefertem took Kendra to the bed. Before she could ask another question, he claimed her lips in a searing kiss.

  Like the first time he had made love to her, Nefertem felt the cat rise within him, taking control. Kendra was his mate; he didn't have to question that. Knowing the cat wouldn't hurt her, he let it join with him fully.

  It didn't take them long to strip each other of their clothing; neither one of them wanted to draw out this joining. Later would be time enough for slow, tender lovemaking. Unable to wait any longer, Nefertem tested Kendra's readiness. Finding her wet and more than ready, he slid his cock into her, relishing the feel of her body embracing his.

  Clutching at Nefertem's back, Kendra pulled him closer to her. He moaned/growled in response, heightening her desire. Her release came hard and fast, making her cry out. Nefertem soon followed.

  Still holding her close, Nefertem rolled to his side, taking Kendra with him. He tenderly kissed her lips. Kendra could feel the beating of his heart against hers where their chests touched. As her breathing slowly returned to normal, Kendra knew she was lost. She was falling for Nefertem. Big time. And in doing so, she was opening herself up for the pain that would come when he left her. But her heart would not be denied.

  Her body now completely satiated, Kendra felt her lack of sleep creep over her. Her eyes fluttered shut. She was soon fast asleep.

  Chapter Nine

  The dream claimed him while he slept next to Kendra. He did not normally dream while in his mortal form. This one took him by surprise, causing warning bells to go off in his head.

  He found himself standing in the middle of a lavishly adorned temple chamber. Gold and jewel tones painted on all the walls and furnishings. At the end of the chamber, there was a raised dais with a gold throne upon it. The woman who sat on it smiled warmly at him.

  "My son, will you not come and greet your mother properly?"

  Preparing himself for what was to come, Nefertem slowly moved across the room until he stood before his mother. He kissed the top of the hand she held out to him.

  "Mother. Why have you summoned me this way?"

  An enraged cat snarl bounced off the temple walls. He looked at his mother to find anger flashing in her gold cat eyes. Unlike himself, she was cat and woman combined at all times. Her body was that of a woman's, but her head was that of a lioness. On her head, she wore a black braided wig, which fell just past her shoulders. She also wore the solar disk and the uraeus, a cobra. These two objects stated her role as the protector of the sun against the destructive elements that might attack it during the night. Her gown was red and semi-transparent. Nothing but a length of sheer cloth wrapped around her body.

  Sakhmet growled once more. “Do not question me. You left me no other choice. You will not answer my calls while you are awake."

  "I ask for your forgiveness.” Nefertem bowed his head hoping to make his mother see he was contrite, which was the furthest thing from the truth. He had to tread warily. “I was not ready to report to you as of yet."

  "Why not, Nefertem? Two days have passed since you were summoned. That is more than enough time to determine what the punishment should be."

  "The one who summoned me did not do it purposely. There is no enemy to defeat."

  "How could a pharaoh not know what the pendant invoked?” his mother snapped.

  "It was not the pharaoh who summoned me.” Nefertem paused, taking his time to think out his next words carefully. “We have been too long out of touch with the mortal world, mother. The reign of the pharaohs is over. They no longer rule over Egypt."

  Snarling in rage, Sekhmet surged to her feet. “How can this be? The pharaoh was as much a god as you or I."

  "The mortal world has changed.” Flashes of what he had watched on the television, of all the pain and destruction the mortals did to each other in this time, came to the forefront of his mind. He quickly tamped them down before his mother could pick up on them. Her next question told him he had not banished the thoughts quickly enough.

  "And it has changed for the worse. Hasn't it my son? Do not bother to deny it. I can see it in your mind."

  Now came the tricky part. He had to conv
ince his mother she was not needed in the mortal world. “Yes, in some ways it is worse, but in others it has vastly improved. The quality of life is much better. Mortals live to a far greater age. Their lives, for the most part, are good."

  Moving with the quickness only a god or goddess could display, Sakhmet came to stand directly in front of Nefertem. “You defend mortals now? Never before have you ever said such things about them.” She sniffed the air around him. “You even smell like one of them."

  He ignored her last comment. “I feel the mortals should be left alone. We need not interfere with them."

  Backing away, his mother once more seated herself on the throne. “There is one thing you have not told me about the mortals. Do they still worship us?"

  This was something he could not circumvent. His mother would sense the lie even before it left his mouth. “No, they do not worship us any longer. There are new gods, but one stands out among the rest. A lot of mortals worship this one god."

  In response, his mother's eyes flashed fiery red. “Their fate is sealed. Nothing you say can save them. Punishment must be meted out for scorning us. Let them feel the power and destruction of the goddess Sekhmet. Once more I will slack my thirst on the blood of mortals. None shall be spared."

  Before he could at least try to dissuade his mother from this course of destruction, he awoke. His body was covered in sweat and his heart raced. For the first time while being in mortal form, he felt actual fear. There would be no stopping his mother. In little more than two weeks she would come. All would fall before her, a victim of her rage. Reaching over to where Kendra lay blissfully asleep, he pulled her up against him so her back was to his chest. He was going to lose her and there was nothing he could do about it.

  * * * *

  Kendra was having a hard time keeping her mind on her work. Her thoughts kept straying to Nefertem and how oddly he had acted that morning. Something was not right and he was as closed mouthed as he could be about certain things.

  When her alarm clock had gone off, which she had thankfully remembered to set the night before, she had awakened to find herself tightly clutched in Nefertem's arms. Even in sleep, he would not relinquish his hold. She had to forcibly break free, waking him in the process. Which caused him to jump from the bed, with a look that seemed very much like fear on his face. Fear for her.