“He’s gotten some kind of gift. An acquisition, they called it. Armageddon will use it as the centerpiece of his new scheme.” Her large blue eyes fill with sympathy. “I’m so sorry, Great Scala. This time, he means to destroy your family.”
All the oxygen gets punched out of my lungs. Family? That can’t be true. I suppose at one time, the word ‘family’ would have meant of all sorts of people. Like my parents, maybe, or Lincoln. But now, I have a Mommy reflex. The word ‘family’ immediately leads to one thought.
Maxon. Please, don’t let him mean Maxon.
At that moment, the Arena floor heaves and shifts, sending me reeling. My mind empties. I wobble from foot to foot, trying to stay upright while the ground beneath me shudders and moans. Finally, my brain catches up with the latest turn of events. What’s happening now hasn’t taken place in years, but the signs are unmistakable.
Anubis will be here any second.
An ear-splitting rumble echoes through the stadium. The earth shimmies, buckles and then, it bursts wide open. A circular wall rises from the ground, enclosing Nefer and I as if we were lambs in a pen. A shifting network of dark green vines form the structure around us, the slender cords slithering around each other like snakes.
Nefer turns to me, her eyes wild. “End this dreamscape. Now.”
“You aren’t going anywhere until I get my answers.” My mouth thins to a determined line. “This may involve my son.”
Along one section of the wall, the snake-like vines pull back to reveal Anubis, a tall man with a lean frame, broad shoulders, and ebony skin. His head is shaved bare, accenting his intelligent eyes, full mouth, and strong jawline. His outfit is the classic fashion of ancient Egypt: a simple white kilt with leather sandals and a bare chest.
Anubis steps onto the Arena floor and pauses, his liquid-brown eyes locking with Nefer’s. The air becomes charged with emotion, but I can’t define the mix exactly. Love? Hate? Fear? Whatever it is, Anubis’s visit promises to be a huge time suck, and I need information fast. When I speak again, I work hard to keep the frustration out of my voice.
“Greetings, Anubis.”
No reply. Lots of staring at Nefer, but no reply. Damn.
“I’d introduce you two, but it looks like you already know Nefer.”
At last, Anubis speaks. “I know her.” Still, he doesn’t so much as glance in my direction. Instead, Anubis keeps looking at Nefer like she’s a tall glass of water and he’s a man who’s very, very thirsty.
“Okay, it’s obvious that Nefer is somehow—” I fumble for the right words. “Well, clearly she’s interesting to you, Anubis.”
He nods.
“But Nefer was just sharing some important stuff that she overheard about my family. She needs to keep telling me all about it.” I stare at her in a way that says ‘start talking, honey.’
“That’s right.” Nefer’s voice comes out in a dream-like whisper. “I have something important to say.” She doesn’t do any actual saying, though, and that makes me want to punch her.
My family, Nefer.
My tail taps out an anxious rhythm on my thigh. “Nefer, will you please—”
“Silence!” Anubis raises his left hand, and the slithering vines creep out of the wall toward me. “Give Nefer and I a minute to speak.”
“Or what?” The vines coil closer to my chest. A particularly greasy cord starts winding its way up my arm. “You’ll bind me with vines?”
“Don’t test me. My power here is absolute. All I ask is one minute.”
Unholy Hell. Even Armageddon can’t touch Anubis when he’s in a gateway like this one. My options are limited.
“Fine.” I slap away the vine with my palm. “One minute.”
Anubis steps closer to Nefer, the lines of his face etched with worry and pain. “Why didn’t Kiya ever come to see me?”
Nefer stares at her feet. “That’s not easy to explain.”
“Please try. You owe me that.”
A memory flickers through my mind. There were rumors about Anubis pulling some strings with Onyx, the last Queen of Hell, to get a prisoner placed in Club Dead. Everyone knows Anubis rarely takes an interest in specific spirits. But when it came to Nefer, he must have been quite interested, indeed.
“Kiya never came to see you—” Nefer inhales a shaky breath. “He never came because I never sent him.”
Anubis’s dark eyes widen with disbelief. “That can’t be true. That was our signal. You send Kiya and I break you out of prison.”
“That was your signal, Anu, not mine. I was never certain.”
“Of what? That Kiya could find me? Hell is the burned-out shell of the Garden of Eden.” Behind Anubis, the vine-wall slithers, emphasizing his point. “Kiya can still travel through it at will without being seen.”
“That’s not the part I was worried about.”
My jaw tenses with frustration. This conversation’s taking way too long. “Thirty seconds, guys.”