Anubis
Anubis copyright c. 2015 T.A. Chase
Part Two-
He rubbed his sweaty palms over his thighs, grimacing at how even the thought of Petra made him nervous. He shouldn’t be upset about going back. Nothing could touch him now. All the truly evil people who betrayed and killed him were long dead themselves while he still lived.
“Anubis, I’m going to have to send you there alone to begin with. I have smaller jobs for the others to do before they can come help you.” Isis tapped his fingers on his chin while he eyed Anubis. “The name of the archaeologist is in the file. You’ll be using your usual cover as a consultant for UNESCO on their World Heritage sites. We need to find out what artifacts they found and if they’re important to our mission.”
He nodded. “Of course.”
“Wait. Are you an consultant for UNESCO?” Kellan spoke up. “It wouldn’t be good to go in impersonating someone like that.”
They all looked at Kellan and he ducked his head, but Bastet caressed his neck.
“Yes, he really is a consultant for them. We all have jobs as covers for what we really do. Sometimes we don’t have any emergencies or bad guys to fight, so we work at other stuff.” Bastet chuckled. “You’ll start going with me when I visit museums and universities since you’re almost as knowledge of ancient Egyptian cults as I am.”
Kellan’s eyes lit up and Anubis lowered his head to hide his smile. The guy wanted to be useful beyond organizing their library. While they still had enemies out there, Anubis knew Bastet had been teaching Kellan how to protect himself. It was time to let him off the leash.
“Is that all you need me for right now?” He asked Isis.
Narrowing his dark brown eyes, Isis studied him for a second, then nodded. “Yes. Plan on leaving tomorrow in the morning. I’ll meet you before you go to over a few other things with you.”
“Good. I’m going for a run.” He glanced at the others. “You’re welcome to come with me if you wish.”
None of them took him up on his offer, which made him happy. He liked his brothers, but there were times when he wanted to run the moors alone. It wasn’t the same as running the deserts of Egypt and Jordan, yet he’d take what he could get.
He wandered to the back of the house to the small mudroom off the kitchen. After stripping his clothes off, Anubis hung them up neatly before stepping just outside the back door.
Taking a deep breath, he allowed his shift to overtake him. When it was done, he stood on four paws, was covered with fur and had a tail. He wagged it a few times to get used to it being there, then he took off.
His long legs drove him over the moors as his lungs took in the fragrance of heather. It was strange how his animal equated that scent with home now, instead of the dusty smell of sand and heat. A rare surge of homesickness swept through him and Anubis found himself almost looking forward to returning to Jordan and Petra.
No matter what terrible things had been done to him there, for decades it had been the one place he called home. It was where his family had lived until their enemies killed them as well.
Sadness swept through him and Anubis stopped at the top of a hill to lift his muzzle to the sky and sing. Oh, he didn’t howl. Not like Isis could when he was in wolf form, but he yipped and barked, letting his sorrow drift from him on the night air.
An answer came out of the darkness, though it wasn’t from a canine. No, it was the roar of a lion and Anubis jumped to his feet. All of his jackal’s instincts screamed for him to run, but he controlled the creature inside him.
In the wild, lions could—and did—kill jackals, and Anubis had spent more than a few hours racing away from them when he was in Africa. But in Scotland, there was only one lion out on the moors that he knew of, and it wasn’t going to kill him.
At least not yet. Sekhmet rarely showed his face to the others any more. Only Isis spent any time with him, and it worried Anubis that the oldest of his brothers was withdrawing more and more every day. Would there come a time when Sekhment didn’t even come to visit Isis? Would he bury himself in a cave somewhere in the wilds of the Amazon or the deserts of Africa?
::Don’t fear for my mind yet, brother. I’m still around and keeping an eye on all of you.::
Anubis didn’t react to the voice in his head as he dashed down the hill in pursuit of a rabbit he’d seen trying to sneak from its burrow. He let his jackal take over while he answered Sekhmet. ::Does Isis know you’re around?::
::That’s none of your concern, Anubis. Petra holds as many fond memories for you as it does bad, but it’s up to you how you deal with them when you get there.::
He sent a mental image of him exposing his throat to show his submission to Sekhmet. The one topic none of the brother spoke about was the relationship—or whatever they wanted to call it—between Isis and Sekhmet. Anubis knew there was something more than them just being very old friends. He could see it in Isis’s eyes and hear it when he spoke about Sekhmet. But again, it wasn’t his place to give advice or worry about it.
::I ran away from there when I was given over to Anubis for this mission of ours. I vowed I’d never return.::
Pouncing on the rabbit, he killed it with one quick bite to the back of the neck. He settled down by some scrubby trees to eat his dinner.
Anubis
Anubis copyright c. 2015 T.A. Chase
Part One-
Anubis winced when the door slammed shut as he entered the library, but he didn’t apologize. He stalked through the shelves and piles of books, searching for his missing brother.
“Bastet, you better not be fucking Kellan in here, or I’m going to knock over the closest bookshelf that he’s finally organized,” he yelled as he wound his way through the rooms.
“What the fuck is your problem,” Bastet asked when he walked out of one of the chambers off the main room.
Kellan trailed behind him, looking a little ruffled and Anubis knew he’d interrupted some afternoon delight—or actually early evening delight considering what time it was.
“Isis and the others are waiting for you, so we can go over what Horus and Thoth found out about that last report out of Egypt.” He propped his hands on his hips. “I don’t appreciate you ignoring the mind calls and making me come all the way down here to get you.”
“Christ! Anubis, what’s gotten into you? It’s not like you had to hike twenty miles through a snow storm to find me.” Bastet glared at him.
He sighed, shoving his hand through his hair and giving it a little tug at the ends. “I’m getting stir crazy. After our meeting, I think I’ll go out for a run.”
“Why didn’t you go with Horus and Thoth?” Kellan spoke up, which he didn’t always do around Anubis.
“I had to finish up some business in Russia and couldn’t get back before they left,” he answered, feeling a little guilty that he seemed to make Kellan uncomfortable. Yet he didn’t know how to change it. “There wasn’t any point in following after them.”
Whirling around, he lead the way out of the library to the stairs heading up to the main floor. Anubis stuck his hands on his pockets as they climbed and decided to make an effort.
“The library is looking good. Are you figuring out your way through the clutter?” He glanced over his shoulder at Kellan.
Kellan blinked in surprise, then nodded. “Thanks, and yes, I’ve figured out that none of you had any system. You just tossed whatever book you found on top of the pile of other books and shut the door. It’s amazing I haven’t been squashed under a tumbling slide of them.”
He snorted. “I had nothing to do with that. I might have found them, but I just turned them over to Isis or Amun. They’re the ones who put them away.”
“How often have you been in the library?”
Anubis shrugged. “Counting just a minute ago…about five times since we moved here.”
“Anubis isn’t really into books and maps,” Bastet joked, poking him in the side when he passed by on the way to the study where the others were waiting.
“You don’t read?” The horror in Kellan’s voice and on his face caused Anubis to burst into laughter.
“Of course, I read, but not those stuffy historical tomes. That’s more Isis’ and Sekhmet’s area of expertise than mine. I like fictional books—action adventures or horror.” Anubis wasn’t ashamed to admit he liked stories that other people might think weren’t highbrow enough. “So I’m not into those kinds of books, and I can read maps just fine.”
He nudged Bastet in the back and the bastard laughed.
“It’s about time you got your ass in here,” Horus complained as they entered the study.
Anubis waved at Bastet and Kellan. “Not my fault, guys. He was downstairs molesting the librarian again.”
“He’s never going to get his work done, if you don’t leave him alone,” Amun pointed out from where he sat on the couch, flipping through some papers.
“Shove it, all of you. Just because I’m getting some regularly doesn’t mean you need to talk about it.” Bastet encircled Kellan’s waist and pulled him close.
Kellan blushed, but he didn’t look like he wanted to run away. Which was a big step up from when he first arrived in Scotland with them. He must be getting used to us.
“Oh we can all get some if we want, but it’s more fun to tease you about it.” Thoth grinned.
“All right, gentlemen.” Isis stood from behind the desk then walked around it to prop his hip against it. “Take a seat. We need to go over the new information.”
It took a little pushing and shoving, but they finally settled on the furniture except for Anubis who stood with his back against the wall and the entire room in front of him. Isis lifted an eyebrow when their gazes met. Anubis shrugged, not willing to explain why he felt the need to keep his back against something solid while knowing where all the exits in the room were.
“Why did you send them to Egypt?” Kellan leaned forward, obviously eager to know what was happening.
“They went to do some reconnaissance for us. Amum had been hearing some chatter on different forums about some items discovered at one of the major Egyptian archaeological sites.” Isis frowned.
Thoth gestured to the files Amum was reading. “We couldn’t find anything about what the items were, but we found the site and the archaeologist in charge.”
“What site is it?” Anubis had spent many years wandering the deserts of Egypt and had come across a lot of burial sites and temples that haven’t even been discovered yet in modern times.
“They were wrong. It’s not in Egypt, but Jordan.” Horus shot Anubis a quick glance.
“Petra,” Anubis said, his voice low.
Thoth nodded. Anubis saw Kellan look from Bastet to him, then at each of the other men before looking back to Anubis. It was obvious he could tell something was going on.
“Why does it seem like that’s not a good thing?” Kellan wiggled with excitement. “I can’t wait to go. I’ve wanted to see Petra all my life.”
“First of all, you’re not going,” Bastet told him.
Kellan huffed and folded his arms as he flopped back. Anubis was pretty sure the man was going to do all he could to convince Bastet to change his mind.
“You’re not going because you don’t know how to take care of yourself yet, Kellan. We’re teaching you as we have the time, but this isn’t going to be a vacation,” Amum explained.
“But I might know something that you don’t.” He stopped when everyone looked at him. “Fine,” he muttered.
“Second of all, Petra is where Anubis died,” Isis announced. “It has no good memories for him, yet he’s the one who knows it the best. So unfortunately, he’ll have to go back.”
And that made Anubis’ jackal howl inside him.
Monday Memories…
I thought I’d try something new on Mondays. Doing a flashback to some of my older books which tend to get lost in the shuffle as new ones come out. 🙂
Today, I’d like to remind you all about Out of Bounds. It’s the first of my Love of Sports books at Samhain. It features Kasey, a pro basketball player, and Gram, a nightclub owner. I’m sure most of you have heard about it. 🙂
Here’s the blurb:
Can a sexy nightclub owner convince an all star basketball player to risk it all?
Love of Sports Book 1
Professional basketball player Kasey Johnson makes a point of keeping his sexual preference under guard and out of the public eye. Empty, off-season flings are all he can look forward to until he retires. He figures his secret is safe—until he meets Ingram Fletcher, a nightclub owner who ignites a passionate inferno in his body.
Gram has lusted after Kasey ever since the long, tall basketball player was traded to Phoenix a year ago. But with Kasey’s twin brother running interference, up until now Gram’s been unsure if it’s safe to make a play. Then some incidental contact in the crowded club leads to a kiss that starts Gram wondering if a relationship is possible—now, and beyond March Madness.
A romantic weekend together answers that question. Now the only one remaining is if Kasey is ready make a fast break out of his comfort zone.
Wednesday Work in Progress…
I thought I’d give yo a sneak peek at Cold Truth, Book 3 of the Delarosa Secrets trilogy. 🙂
Cold Truth copyright c. 2015 T.A. Chase
Excerpt-
Taking a deep breath, Victor stopped himself from fidgeting. The head of the Delarosa cartel didn’t twitch—or show any other kind of nerves—even when he was worried about the man he loved. He shoved the thought deep in the back of his mind. Victor couldn’t think about love or the future. Being who he was, there wasn’t a future for him unless it was in a prison cell somewhere. Yet Victor held out hope he could change the outcome.
“Senor Perez’s car is at the gate,” Valdez spoke from where he stood in the doorway of Victor’s study.
He waved to show Valdez he’d heard him, but didn’t say anything as he stared out the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the manicured back yard. Can I do this? Is it possible for me to change my destiny? Giving a full body shake, Victor focused on what he could control.
Someone had sold him out, and he was going to hunt the person down. No one snitched to law enforcement without feeling the consequences. He was sure Bieito was already on top of that.
Stuffing his hands in his pants’ pockets, he frowned as one of the guards roaming the grounds walked into sight. The man was smoking and had his gun slung over his shoulder instead of in his hands. Things had gotten lax here while Victor was in Texas. That would stop right there. He wouldn’t allow any of the men to forget what their job was, protecting the compound from other cartels and the police.
He turned back to the room then picked up a pen to write a note for Bieito to call a meeting of the security unit. After that was done, he put the pen back in the drawer before pulling out a cell phone. No one knew about it. Not even Bieito. He fiddled with it for a moment then returned it.
Victor tugged on his suit coat, shrugging it into position. Smoothing his hands down the front of it, he’d never admit it was to get rid of the sweat on his palms. Christ! When did I turn into such a nervous nelly? It’s not like I haven’t met Bieito before. Yet it was the first time he saw him after Bieito was arrested in order to keep Victor from being taken by the DEA in Houston.
I owe him so much, but how do I give him what he really wants when it would mean our deaths?
He asked that question of himself every day and hadn’t been able to come up with the right answer. Maybe some day he would, and they could be happy.
Valdez fell in step behind Victor as he left the study to make his way to the front of the house. He went out onto the porch just as the black sedan pulled up.
Today…
okay…so my new blog story will be Earth Warriors: Anubis, but I’m not quite ready to start it. Hopefully I’ll be able to come up with a blurb like description and see if I can find some pictures to represent my guys by Thursday. I’ll start the actual story next Tuesday.
I have to go back and read Bastet to make sure I get things right…lol.
I’m still working away on Cold Truth, which is moving along quick well. 🙂
Have a great day, everyone. Stay safe.
Hey there…a new month already.
Not sure where January went…lol. But we’re on the second day of February already. Hope it doesn’t go by as quickly.
I wanted to update you on the blog story. You seem to be wanting a paranormal, so what would you think of me doing the second book in the Earth Warrior series? I’ve been getting interested in visiting those guys again. 🙂 I do believe the next guy will be Anubis.
As to the paranormal vampire/cowboys idea, I had to laugh when I read that suggestion. I actually just discussed with my editor at Totally Bound about doing a vampire/cowboy series. It’s going to be called The Blood & Thorn Ranch. There’ll be six books because there are six Thorn brothers who are vampires. They own a ranch in Colorado and there are going to be some interesting things happen to them during these stories. 🙂
Shuffle of Angel’s Feet has been contracted by Amber Allure and will be released in ebook form on March 29th. The print copy will be out later in April. 🙂
Also, I just subbed a story called Scarecrows and Devils to Amber Allure. It’s my story in the 77th Precinct PAX. My story takes place in Detroit and deals with humans, demons, and fallen angels. Among other paranormal creatures. I don’t know when it’ll be out yet since it’s not due until March 1st.
I’ve started Cold Truth, Book 3 of the Delarosa Secrets series. It’s Victor’s story and I really hope you all fall in love with him, even though he’s a cold hearted drug lord.
That’s all I have to update you with. Hope you have a great Monday. Please stay safe if you’ve been hit with the snow.
New Blog Story
Hello everyone…today is the day you get to suggest what I should write about next. lol Since I just finished up a historical, we’ll have to take that genre off the list for this one. But any other one is open. 🙂 Let me know what you’d like to see.
Also, I’ll be chatting with Will Prater and Jeff Adams on Writers Online Network (radio show) about my YA book, I Call Death Dad, plus my other YA books (Upcoming and planned) Please if you get a chance, listen in. If you can’t make it, then I believe it’ll be available online afterwards, so you can catch up. 🙂 Here’s the link: YAY! YA with T.A. Chase Hopefully I won’t sound foolish. lol
Have a great day. Stay safe and warm. 🙂
Happy Monday
I forgot I didn’t share the cover to Snap Decision, the second book in the Delarosa Secrets trilogy. Here it is. This one is about D’Marcus “Snap” Jefferson, a DEA agent and Mac’s friend. (Mac is one of the main characters in Borderline, the first Delarosa book) Ken Santos is the other main character and he has a few secrets. One of which he doesn’t even know about until a little later in the book. lol.
Book 3 is titled Cold Truth. I haven’t started it yet. It’s on the list to get started on Feb. 1st, but I’m hoping to finish up the story I’m working on early this week to get to CT sooner. CT is about the eldest Delarosa brother, Victor, and for those of you who have read Borderline when it was out originally, you’ll remember Victor isn’t really a nice guy. Yet like the other two, he has his own secrets and when they’re revealed, I’m hoping you all love him as much as I do…lol
I just signed the contract for Climbing the Savage Mountain, the sequel to Mountains to Climb in Totally Bound’s What’s His Passion line…and it’ll be up for pre-order August 28th. Also I signed a contract for Cead Mile Milte (there are accents to go over some of the letters…lol) It’s a short story for St. Patrick’s Day. It’ll be out at MLR Press on March 13th. Yay!
I’m working on Scarecrows and Devils, which is a crime/suspense/paranormal story for a PAX at Amber Allure. I think you’ll like the characters in this one. Also, Jackie Nacht and I are working on A Bittersweet Dance, the second book in our Mark of the Jersey Devil series.
Hmm…at the moment I think that’s all there is to talk about. I’ll be posting a question tomorrow about what kind of story you’d like to see next on the blog. 🙂
Have a great Monday…and for those of you in the Northeast, stay safe and warm.
New Covers…
I’ve had these covers for a while and have just forgotten to share them here. Sorry about that, but here you go.
The first is from the Semper Fidelis anthology which will be out in February from Totally Bound. It features stories about Marines, Navy and Coast Guard soldiers. 🙂
This second cover is for my story, Always Ready, when it comes out as a single release. Not sure of the date on that. But I do love this cover. My story features a Coast Guard rescue diver and a Bering Sea crab fisherman. 🙂 (And I’ll admit to watching way too many episodes of Deadliest Catch…lmao)
And this third cover goes to my Tarot/Fortune PAX story, Deserves to be Adored. This one will be out probably in February at Amber Allure. When I get more info on it, I’ll let you know. 🙂
I do believe that’s all I have to share with you at the moment.
I want to thank all of you for reading my books and my blog throughout 2014. I wouldn’t be able to do what I love without your support. There’s going to be just as much fun and excitement in 2015, with some sequels coming out that you’ve been waiting impatiently for. lol
Trailing Air, Book 4 in the Preternatural series (Rover’s story) will be out in the spring. I’ll be writing Edward’s story as well this year. He’ll finally get his own happy ending and I hope you all love that. Though his story will be either the second or third book in a new series I’m writing, but it is a spin-off from the Home series. So you’ll be seeing some favorite characters/couples again. And meeting some new characters as well. 🙂
I hope you all had a safe and happy New Year’s.
Wednesday’s Work in Progress
It’s been a while since I’ve posted a WiP excerpt. I thought I’d do one with the newest book I’m working on. I’m really enjoying it…and hopefully you will when you get a chance to read it. I don’t have a release date or anything for it yet. It’s not contracted or anything, but it’s the sequel to Mountains to Climb. So you’ll get to see how Jensen and Toby are doing, now that Jensen has returned and Toby has welcomed him back.
This book is titled Climbing the Savage Mountain (K2 is nicknamed the Savage Mountain and Jensen climbs it in the story).
Climbing the Savage Mountain copyright c. 2014 T.A. Chase
Excerpt:
“Why Everest?” Toby asked. “Whenever I hear people talk about something on their bucket list—or the ultimate dream—a lot of them say climbing Everest. What makes Everest such a goal?”
Jensen scrubbed his hand over his hair as he tried to think about how to explain how he felt whenever he thought about Everest. “I don’t know about other people, though for most of them, Everest might seem like the biggest insurmountable obstacle they can think of. And to be able to say they got to the summit ends up putting them in a rare class of people who have faced a challenge and defeated it.”
Toby nodded. “I guess that makes sense, but why do you want to climb it? I know that it’s only number two on your list. K2 is the one you really want to conquer. Why not focus on that one instead of risking everything on Everest?”
Jensen met Toby’s gaze and said, “If I can summit Everest, I have no doubt that I’ll get to the summit of K2.”
“So Everest is just a litmus test as to your ability to climb big mountains? What happens if you end up getting injured while trying it? Will that convince you that you can’t do it or will it strengthen your resolve to try again?” Toby clenched his hands.
He winced at the pressure Toby was exerting on his fingers. Jensen cupped Toby’s face in his free hand.
“Nothing will happen to me on this trip. I promise.”
Toby jerked away from him then shot to his feet. He started pacing while Jensen watched. “Don’t promise me something like that, Jensen. You’re a good climber. I know that. Hell, Cat and Jigger tell me that all the time. You’re a natural. One of the best they’ve seen in years. I know that means jack shit when you’re up on that God forsaken piece of rock and a storm rolls.”
Jensen opened his mouth then snapped it shut when Toby whirled on him. He saw the fear in Toby’s eyes and he went to him, wrapping his arms around his lover to hold him close. He pressed his mouth to Toby’s ear and whispered, “I promise to never make light of your fears. I’m sorry. I guess I didn’t realize how scared you were about me going.”
“It’s not just Everest, Jensen,” Toby confessed. “It’s every time you walk out that door on a trip. I’m left here, wondering if you’re going to come home. So far you’ve done it, but what if something keeps you from coming back to me?”
As much as he wanted to say that the only way he wouldn’t be coming back to Toby was if he were dead, Jensen knew it wasn’t the right thing to say. It certainly wouldn’t reassure Toby at all.
“I know you’re afraid I’ll decide to keep wandering.” He stepped back to stare down at Toby. “I can make you this vow, Toby, and this one I do have control over. I will always come back to you. I wasn’t strong enough to face you when I ran away before. I didn’t trust in how much you cared for me. We both know I should’ve come to you and tell you about my addictions and my problems.”
“Damn straight you should’ve. How can I help you when I don’t know what’s wrong?” Toby encircled Jensen’s waist, resting his head on Jensen’s chest.
Jensen kissed the top of Toby’s head. “Do you really feel like talking about my trip right now? Why don’t we go for a run then we get back, we can take a shower?”
Tension eased from Toby’s shoulders and Jensen realized it was just a reprieve from the complications of him going away. Yet he didn’t want to talk about it right then. He wanted to spend time with the man he loved and soak up all the good times, so he had something to cling to when he was on the side of Everest, praying to God to keep him safe.
