Anubis copyright c. 2015 T.A. Chase
Part Thirty-Eight-
The scent was faint, but he could follow it easily enough. Thoth stayed right with him as they moved through the back streets, avoiding the small groups of people wandering home from work—or restaurants.
He kept going, trusting Thoth would keep an eye on their back trail. Time eased by without Anubis knowing until he got to a place where a new scent joined the others. His upper lip curled back and he whined. Stopping, he glanced around. They’d wandered back to where his hotel was.
Anubis shifted before whirling to snatch his clothes from Thoth. “We have to get up to my suite. They’re here.”
“They were here,” Amun spoke from the back entrance of the hotel. “Unfortunately, they got the drop on me somehow.” He was rubbing the back of his head.
Clenching his hands, Anubis did his best not to grab a hold of his brother and shake him. “What do you mean they got the drop on you? How the hell did that happen?”
Amun shrugged. “I don’t know. I was about to contact you when I realized you were here. I already talked to Horus and the ladies are fine. We should’ve known they wouldn’t go after them. They were probably watching Jamil and you, so they can see how close you are.”
“They think Jamil knows more than he does. We have to find him before they start torturing him.” Anubis tried not to think about what Kellan looked like after Sterling’s men got a hold of him.
“Can you follow his scent?” Thoth asked, seeming not interested in wasting any more time.
He didn’t need to be in his animal shape to track Jamil’s scent, but when it disappeared at the next corner, he growled.
“They put him in a vehicle and the windows weren’t rolled down,” he told the others. “Who are these men? Why not come after us? Why take Jamil?”
“Because he’s your weakness. They believe you’ll do anything to keep him safe.” Amun held up his hand to stop Anubis from saying anything. “We all know you would, but he’s not safe anymore. We have to work on the assumption that they’re going to work him over and all he can tell them is that we have the book.”
“Jamil could tell them where it is, but that won’t do any good since no one can get to our place without one of us taking them. Plus we’re not going to hand over that book.” Amun grimaced.
Anubis bit his lip then said, “How are they going to get a hold of us to tell us their demands?”
Bastet materialized next to Amun and punched him in the shoulder. “Do we need to give you a refresher course on safe guarding people? Also on how to keep your eyes open for potential bad guys?”
“No.” Amun snarled at him. “I don’t know how they managed to sneak up on me. It’s never happened before.”
There was a hint of guilt in Amun’s voice, and as much as Anubis wanted to jump on it, he knew it wasn’t important at the moment. What was done was done. They could yell at Amun all they wanted, but it wouldn’t change the situation.
“We’ll discuss that later,” he said. “Right now, we have to start searching every group we know to figure out who might have done this.”
Bastet nodded. “Horus will meet us in your suite. There’s no point in watching the women any more. They won’t go after them.”
Suddenly Anubis’ phone rang and they all froze. He took a deep breath as he dug it out of his pocket then stared at the unknown number.
“Are you going to answer that?” Horus asked, having appeared a few seconds earlier.
“Yes.” He swiped his finger over the screen then hit speaker. “Al Hazzan.”
“Let’s dispense with the lies, Anubis. We all know you are more than a consultant for UNESCO. I’m calling to tell you we need to make a trade. I have something that I believe is very important to you.” The voice had a thick accent and Anubis wasn’t entirely sure where the man was from.
“How do I know you haven’t killed him already?” Anubis shot a look at Bastet who nodded.
The man laughed. “You don’t trust us?”
“Seriously? After you kidnapped him, I’m supposed to trust that you’ll keep your word and return him to me.” Anubis snorted.
There were some sounds then Jamil said, “Anubis, don’t give them what they want and definitely don’t trust them. Ow!”
“Jamil,” Anubis shouted.
“No more. I’ll text you an address. You’re to drop the book there. Once I’m assured you haven’t tricked us, I’ll text you an address where you can pick him up.”
Anubis growled. “I don’t think so. Once you have the book, you have no reason to keep him alive. You’ll make sure he’s there and after I drop the package off, you’ll send him out to me. He better not have any injuries either—or I’ll hunt you down. I have all the time in the world while your life is finite.”
“Fine. We’ll do it your way.” The man hung up.
After stuffing his phone away, Anubis stared at his brothers. “Who here believes he’ll do what he said?”
No one answered and he nodded.
Anubis
Anubis copyright c. 2015 T.A. Chase (very short installment, but I wanted to get you something today)
Part Thirty-Seven-
“Son of a bitch,” Thoth muttered. “Where the fuck did those guys go?”
Anubis shook his head. “I don’t know. I thought we were following close enough that they couldn’t lose us. Let me shift and I’ll see if I can sniff them out.”
Thoth nodded, though he didn’t look happy about it. Anubis understood. Shifting in the middle of the city wasn’t the best option, but they needed to find the men they’d been following. Worry gnawed at him as the thought that they might have slipped away to go grab Jamil.
“Amun and Horus won’t let anything happen to Jamil and the ladies,” Thoth told him, taking Anubis’ clothes as he stripped. “If—somehow they get by them—they’ll let us know and we can rescue them.”
“I remember what Kellan looked like after we saved him from Sterling’s men. I don’t want Jamil—or the ladies—to suffer that torture.” He took a deep breath then let his jackal over take him.
When the pain and light disappeared, he glanced over at Thoth who stood at the opening of the alley where they’d last seen the two men. He’d shifted when they first started following the other two, just so he’d know their scent if needed. Trotting over, he inhaled deeply then sneezed.
Thoth chuckled. “I guess it does stink in there, and it must be like a hundred times worse for you.”
Anubis shook his head then moved through the alley out the other side. The shadows hid him a little, so if anyone were to see him, they might think he were simply a rather large dog. He was far bigger then his mortal counterpart. Unlike Bastet, who turned into a regular sized house cat, Anubis’ jackal was bigger than a wolf.
Anubis
Anubis copyright c. 2015 T.A. Chase
Part Thirty-Six-
“Aren’t you bigger than the usual jackal? Not that I’ve seen any of them outside of the zoo.”
More blinding light and when Jamil could see again, Anubis crouched in front of him. Before anything could be said, Anubis surged forward to press his lips to Jamil’s. He opened to Anubis, letting his lover take control of the kiss and running his hands over Anubis’ warm skin.
Jamil grunted when Anubis encircled his waist then stood, holding Jamil tight to him. He trusted Anubis wouldn’t drop him, so he didn’t break the kiss to protest. Nibbling and sucking, he ate at Anubis’ mouth as though he were starving for a taste of the man.
Anubis shouldered open the door to the bedroom then must have kicked it shut behind them. Jamil moaned as Anubis flexed his fingers, digging into Jamil’s ass cheeks. He rubbed his groin against Anubis’ hard stomach and enjoyed the feel of his erection running over the ridges of Anubis’ abs.
“Hey,” he gasped, bouncing on the bed when Anubis had tossed him. “You could warn a guy.”
Smirking, Anubis reached out to yank at Jamil’s jeans. “Where’s the fun in that?”
Jamil shook his head, but joined in to get him naked. Once his clothes landed in a pile on the floor, he held out his arms for Anubis.
“Come here,” he demanded.
Anubis crawled onto the bed then wedged his shoulders between Jamil’s legs before licking a line along the underside of Jamil’s cock. Letting his hands drop to the comforter, Jamil whimpered and fisted the material as Anubis wrapped his lips around Jamil.
“Please,” Jamil begged and it was obvious Anubis knew exactly what Jamil wanted because he swallowed Jamil’s entire length until it hit the back of his throat.
Jamil tried to lift his hips off the bed, but Anubis pinned him down, forcing him to stay still while Anubis worked him. All that heat and suction drove Jamil to the edge and brought him back again and again. Anubis never let him go all the way over. Soon Jamil had lost all ability to speak. He barely managed to make noises to let Anubis know how much he loved what the man was doing to him.
Suddenly fingers were at his opening and he spread his legs wider to give Anubis more room.
“Holy shit,” he shouted when Anubis breached him with two fingers and didn’t stop for him to adjust. Anubis stretched and worked lube into his hole unmercifully as though the man was close to losing control.
Jamil forced himself to relax. It burned, but he knew he could take it as long as he breathed. Anubis wasn’t interested in hurting him. The man was simply caught up in his desire, not that Jamil blamed him. Anubis nudged his gland with his knuckle and electricity danced along Jamil’s spine.
“Christ, Anubis. Fuck me already.” He reached down to rap his fist against Anubis’ shoulder.
Chuckling, Anubis pulled away from him. Jamil pushed up on his elbows to see what Anubis was doing. He watched while Anubis tore open a foil package then rolled the rubber over his thick length. A palm full of lube coated it before Anubis positioned himself at Jamil’s hole.
Jamil bit his lip as Anubis pushed in, filling him to the point of discomfort. Anubis didn’t stop, but he smoothed his hands along Jamil’s sides, doing his best to soothe him while his body adjusted to the invasion.
He didn’t know how long it took for Anubis to bury balls deep since Jamil was lost in the sensations of being taken. Closing his eyes, Jamil took another breath then met Anubis’ gaze.
Those dark eyes held his and he saw so many emotions race through them. Did any of it mean that Anubis loved him? Jamil blinked and shook his head. It didn’t matter how Anubis felt about him. The man would leave as soon as they figured out who was after the book and Jamil knew they wouldn’t see each other again.
Don’t think about it now. Enjoy this.
Rocking into Anubis, he encouraged the man to move. Anubis grinned then pulled out a little before shoving back in. There was no gentleness in their lovemaking. It was rough and sweaty. The noise of their grunts and skin slapping against skin filled the air. He’d have bruises from where Anubis gripped his hips hard. Pressure built in Jamil’s groin until he couldn’t fight it any longer.
“Anubis,” he cried out as he came, coating their stomachs with his cum.
He shook. The clenching of his inner channel dragged Anubis over the edge as well. Anubis threw his head back and shouted as he filled the condom he wore.
They trembled in each other’s arms while their pluses returned to normal and they stopped panting. Jamil winced when Anubis pulled out.
“Come on. Let’s take a shower then we can rest for a little while. I’ll have to go with Thoth in search of who might have hired those men.” Anubis took care of the rubber before offering his hand to Jamil.
“That sounds good to me,” Jamil said as he strolled to the bathroom with Anubis. “The shower and the nap. Not you going to look for the bad guys.”
Anubis shrugged as he turned on the water. “It’s what I was created to do, Jamil. I must find the men who wish to destroy this planet, plus I want to make sure you’re safe. If we don’t stop them, they’ll come after you until they get you. They’ll torture you. It happened to Kellan.”
As much as he wanted to continue arguing, Jamil knew it wouldn’t do any good. He would deal with everything that happened when it did and try not to worry before. Like how he was not thinking about the relationship he might have going with Anubis.
Goodbye Town available now
Goodbye Town is a reunited lovers story as part of the Military Men PAX at Amber Allure. 🙂 It came out on Sunday and is on sale this week. Check it out here.
And Bulls and Blood is doing very well. I appreciate all of you who purchased it. I’ll be starting the second book, Bones and Blood, soon. It’ll feature Oak, a shifter, and Loman, one of the Thorn brothers. We’ll see a little more of the cattle cowboy side of the ranch.
I’m also hoping to get to work on Edward’s story. I started it a few months ago, but something just wasn’t right. So I put it aside and let the idea set in the back of my mind. The other day, I think I worked out what was wrong and I’m going to be able to get it done soon. 🙂
Have a great Monday, everyone.
Anubis
Anubis copyright c. 2015 T.A. Chase
Part Thirty-Five-
Jamil accepted Anubis’ embrace for a few seconds before leaning back to meet Anubis’ gaze. “I can take care of myself,” he pointed out. “I’m not a child.”
“I know.” Anubis leaned down to brush a kiss over his lips. “But you’ve never dealt with men like these. It’s obvious they’ll stop at nothing to get what they want.”
“There have been a lot of robbers at the different sites I’ve worked,” Jamil reminded his lover. “I survived them.”
“You did, but like Anubis said, you’ve never encountered men like these. They aren’t just interested in trinkets they can sell on the black market. They want the artifacts that can give them true power to rule the world.” Thoth held up his hand to stop Jamil from scoffing. “Don’t laugh. You’ve been told items like that are mere legends. That the Holy Grail is just a myth created by poets and authors to get people to read their writing.”
Jamil eyed both men. “Are you saying the Grail is real?”
Anubis nodded. “Of course it is, along with the spear that pierced Christ’s side while he was on the cross. They are real and have powers beyond what any human can imagine. We’ve seen them in use and they’re scary.”
“Where are they?”
Thoth grinned. “If you come visit Anubis in Scotland, you can see them.”
He huffed. “Why do I think you stole them from somewhere?”
“We acquired them so no one would get hurt.” Butter wouldn’t have melted in Anubis’ mouth.
“Where the hell did you steal them from? What organization would be powerful enough to have those objects?” He shook his head. “You know what? I don’t really want to know. I’m sure you probably took them from the Vatican or someplace like that. Since you don’t seem to have any problem sneaking into that sacred place.”
Thoth shrugged. “Sacred is a relative term. What’s sacred to me isn’t nearly as important to someone else. It’s all in what you believe in. So is there anything you want me to get from your place?”
Jamil found a piece of paper and a pen to make a list. When he was done, Thoth disappeared and Jamil managed not to jump. It was going to take some time to get used to the people around him popping in and out of the room.
He dropped to the couch then rested his head back on the cushion, staring up at the ceiling. Anubis sat next to him, but he didn’t move.
“Is it always dangerous like this when you go on your missions?”
Anubis hummed low for a second then said, “Yes, I guess they can be dangerous, but to be honest, when you’re immortal and can shift into another shape, what’s there to worry about?”
“Wait a minute. You can shift shapes?” He tensed and straightened.
“Umm…yes. Did I not mention that earlier?” Anubis looked uncomfortable.
“No, you didn’t. Why would you not mention that?”
“Because you have enough to process after all the other information I gave you. Are you sure you want to absorb the fact I can change into a jackal?” Anubis grimaced.
Jamil jerked. “A jackal? And Thoth is a hawk, right? Was that video of the two of you?”
He started searching for his phone. He wanted to see it again, to see if there was any clue that the animals in it weren’t your typical jackal and hawk. Anubis rested his hand on Jamil’s arm.
“Yes, that was us. We didn’t realize there was anyone near by or we would’ve never done it. It’s been a long time since I’ve been back to this area and my jackal wanted to run over familiar sand.” Anubis sighed.
“Can I see you?” He wasn’t sure how he was going to react, but he did know he wanted to see Anubis’ jackal. “Please.”
Anubis didn’t look happy, but he stood and stripped. Jamil’s cock hardened at the sight of Anubis’ muscular body. He clenched his hands to keep from reaching out to trail his fingers over the ridges and valleys making up Anubis’ abs.
At first, there didn’t seem to be any kind of change, but slowly a bright light began to shine until he couldn’t look at Anubis anymore. He closed his eyes, not sure how long it took before he heard a soft woof. Slowly opening his eyes, he gasped when he saw the large canine standing in front of him.
“Wow. You’re beautiful,” he muttered, reaching out to run his hands over Anubis’ short fur.
The jackal licked his hand.
Bulls and Blood is available
hey everyone, my newest book, Bulls and Blood, is available at all 3rd party sellers. 🙂 It’s the first in The Blood & Thorn Ranch featuring six vampire brothers who own a ranch in Colorado. I’m also doing a blog tour about it, so I’ll post the stops along the way.
I hope you get a chance to check it out and I’ll have a new installment of Anubis for you on Thursday. 🙂
Have a great day.
Sorry
I’m still trying to get back into the swing of things. Sorry I was MIA most of last week. I’m going to try and get on track tomorrow though.
I hope you all had a great weekend. 🙂
Busy Week
Sorry that I haven’t posted this week. I’m trying to get caught up on a bunch of stuff that’s come due. lol.
I will be back to writing Anubis next week for sure. Have a great weekend.
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.”
Weekend is here
Sorry. The last couple of days have been really busy and I wasn’t able to get the installment done. But I’d like to let you all know that my newest book, Bulls and Blood, is available for early download at Pride Publishing (formerly part of Totally Bound). It’s book one in a new series, The Blood & Thorn Ranch.
It’s vampires, cowboys, and various other paranormal creatures. 🙂 Also, I have a short story coming out in a new military anthology, Aim High, from Pride as well. My story, Possibilities, features a para-rescue jumper in the Air Force and a diner owner. 🙂
I don’t have a cover for the single release yet, but as soon as I do, I’ll try to remember to share it with you. lol
I hope you all have a great weekend. 🙂
