Page 3 of Death and Desire

He crept closer, keeping to brush and shadows. Even in the dark, a large animal was easy to spot.

When he reached the old woman’s grave, he found a hole surrounded by tools and wooden contraptions.

Distant shouting drew his attention.

Fury blazed within him at the sight of desecration at the hands of the men before him. They pulled bones from the dirt, shoving aside remains, pocketing anything of value.

Grave robbers. Anubis snarled.

Power coursed through him as he pounced on the nearest thief. Under the cover of darkness, he tore the men apart, ravaging each thief, leaving nothing but blood and shards of bone amid the dirt and decay.

When he searched their satchels, he found golden trinkets and baubles but no sign of his jewel. His heart.

A rush of panic rippled through him followed by the simmering heat of vengeance. Someone had stolen his heart. Where was it?

Anubis stood beneath a crescent moon and closed his eyes. The bond between him and the jewel glinted like spider silk in the darkness of his mind. He could not see where it led, but the connection remained firm. He felt the power of his heart pulse inside his mind.

A relentless hunger awakened inside him. He must find it, must recover that which was stolen. Return it to where it belonged, punish the possessor.

Slowly, he unfurled his power, allowing it to travel down the silk thread. Whoever possessed his heart would feel the wrath of the curse. He would torment them until they returned it to him. The further he ventured, the fainter the tether became.

When he reached a cold sea, he hesitated. His heart was no longer in Egypt. It was gone.

He pushed forward and shivered at a chill sweeping through him. His heart was somewhere cold. Wet. North. An ache settled deep in his chest.

He growled, shaking fog from his mind. Wherever it was, he could not follow in this physical form. There had to be a way to bring the thief back to Egypt and the Nile, to the portal separating the living from the dead.

Swearing, Anubis curled the darkness into himself. The smoke wrapped around him, pushing him back to the Netherworld, to his home. Standing on a balcony overlooking the blood-red mirrored underbelly of the Nile, he reached out again with his mind.

The agonizing search took time and energy. The person who possessed his heart was bound to him. His curse had woven a mental bond between him and whoever held the jewel. He could access their thoughts and plant his own. If they did not return to Egypt, they would go mad. Of that he was certain.

Anubis waited patiently until he located the steady beat of a heart. The soft, delicate breath of a woman. The sweet laughter of a child. A purple flower.

Violet. A woman’s voice echoed in his mind.Violet, come here. I have a gift for you.

Anubis held his breath as he watched the scene unfold in his mind’s eye. The woman held out her hand to the child, a girl of no more than ten with bright green eyes and hair the color of crimson silk. She wore a dress with lace and frills, and dirt smudged her face as she ran across the hardwood floors.

What did you bring me, Mummy?The girl blinked up at the woman, her eyes full of hope and joy.

A gift, all the way from Egypt.The woman took the girl’s hand and slid a gold bracelet around her delicate wrist, its weight heavy on her arm.

As the girl spun it, Anubis sucked in a breath.

The bond between them clicked into place. Her thoughts became his.

He walled himself off, pulling himself from her mind. The tether hung between them in the ether, a grim reminder of the truth hanging over his head like a scythe.

The jewel...and his heart...were in the hands of a child.