T. A. Chase

Anubis

Anubis copyright c. 2015 T.A. Chase

Part Thirty-Four-

Jamil watched as the others laughed.

“Being immortal does give one a long range outlook on things,” Anubis commented while pacing the room. “We can’t get complacent though. Those men can not be allowed to get their hands on anything that might further their agenda.”

“What does this say?” Jamil motioned to the spell. “I don’t mean for you to cast it or anything like that.”

Thoth snorted. “We couldn’t cast the spell even if we wanted to. There are preparations and sacrifices that need to be done first before someone could even think about doing it.”

“Sacrifices?” He hoped Thoth didn’t mean what he thought he meant.

Anubis slid his hand up Jamil’s arm to grasp the back of his neck and urged him to move closer. Jamil eased into Anubis’ side, needing the safety Anubis inspired.

“Just like you’re thinking. I wonder if the guards were their attempts to please the gods, so that they would help them find the book.” Anubis rubbed his thumb along Jamil’s jaw while talking to the rest.

“If they were, then they did something wrong. The gods turned their backs on their pleas.” Thoth took the book from Jamil then wrapped it in the leather. “Now that we know what this is, I’ll take it to our library.”

Kellan eyed him. “Don’t hide it. Put it in with the other copies of the Book of the Dead I found already. I don’t want to have to search the whole place to find it.”

“Yes, sir.” Thoth bowed slightly and Bastet rolled his eyes.

“Stop teasing him, Thoth,” Bastet ordered. “You know how much he hates the way we let the library go.”

Thoth snorted. “Thank the gods, you fell in love with him then, Bastet. Our library will be organized while we’re out saving the world.”

Anubis reached over and punched Thoth. “You’re being an ass. Kellan actually is doing us a favor by going through the books and artifacts we’ve collected over the centuries. He’s finding things we’d forgotten about—or didn’t realize we had. Once he has the catalogue done, I’m sure we’ll be shocked at what we have.”

“I’m sorry.” Thoth patted Kellan’s shoulder. “Your job is something I’d never want to do. I’d go out of my mind digging through all those dusty tomes and weird artifacts.”

Jamil straightened. “What kind of artifacts do you have?”

“Things that should be in museums,” Kellan muttered as he glared at Thoth.

“We can’t risk the wrong people getting a hold of them, Kellan. We’ve discussed this before.” Bastet shook his head.

“But you have things from lost civilizations that modern people know nothing about. If they could see these items in museums, they could learn about them.”

It sounded like an old familiar argument they’d had several times before. Jamil looked at Anubis who shrugged.

“I’m sure you would feel like Kellan does, but I’m with Bastet on this. The reason we have the artifacts is because of the danger they present to the rest of the world.” Anubis brushed a kiss over Jamil’s lips. “Maybe after you get done with your dig at Petra, you can come to Scotland and see our library.”

He stared up in Anubis’ dark eyes and felt something click inside his chest. It couldn’t be. He couldn’t feel like that after only knowing the man for a few days, and after listening to his story, could Jamil truly believe that Anubis was immortal? Or was he just a paranoid guy?

As weird as it might have sounded, Jamil didn’t feel as though he were in danger when he was with Anubis. In all honesty, he felt safe and that was saying a lot, considering men who were friends of Anubis surrounded him.

Lifting his hand, he cradled Anubis’ cheek. “I’d like that, though I won’t be done here for another year or so.”

Anubis nuzzled Jamil’s palm. “Lucky for you, I have all the time in the world.”

“All right, gentlemen. I’m glad to know you’re going to see each other after this is over and all that, but we have shit to do and dangerous people to find.” Thoth grimaced. “I changed my mind. Bastet, take the book and Kellan back to Scotland. With it in our collection, they’ll never be able to find it. Anubis and I will go in search of the men who want it.”

Jamil tilted his head and asked, “Why wouldn’t they be able to find your place in Scotland?”

“Have you ever seen that play Brigadoon where the town only appears for one night every hundred years?” Kellan waved his hands around as he inquired.

Frowning, Jamil shook his head. “No, I haven’t.”

“It’s not important that you have. All that’s important is to know that normal mortals can’t find our place easily. Plus Isis is usually there and sometimes Sekhmet is as well. There’s very few who could get the drop on either one of them. If they chose to challenge them, then they will learn why Isis and Sekhmet are the strongest of us all.” Bastet’s smile held a hint of evil and Jamil wasn’t sure he wanted to meet Anubis’ other brothers.

“They should kind of scary,” he mumbled.

Anubis nodded. “They are, though I will say Isis isn’t once you get to know him. Sekhmet still scares me from time to time.”

Jamil nodded as he watched the others say good-bye then Kellan and Bastet vanished in a blink. He rubbed his eyes, not sure he’d ever get used to that. Thoth and Anubis looked at each other, and Jamil got the impression they were holding a silent conversation.

“I’ll see you in a few. I’m going to Jamil’s house and making sure it’s safe. Is there anything you want me to bring back for you?” Thoth questioned Jamil.

“Why would you do that?”

“Because right at the moment, you aren’t going back there. You’re safest here in my suite with me. Once we figure out who the master minds behind this is, you can go back to your place.” Anubis hugged him. “I’m sorry, but I don’t want to risk your life.”

Tuesday, July 28th, 2015, by and is filed under "Anubis, Earth Warriors, Free story ". You can leave a response here, or send a Trackback from your own site.