Page 94 of Obsidian Dream
Khalida nodded.Her heightened senses were nowhere near Kade’s predatory level, but she believed the hunter.“What do we do about it?”
“We kill Ninhursag.”
Khalida took a step toward Kade, her heart thundering in her ears.“You said you can’t kill an Anki.”
Kade grimaced.“I don’t know how far gone Talik is.But you can kill the Anki—drain their power enough and their bodies can be destroyed.As long as the O’hurani is alive, anyone who carries the Anki bloodline will not die.”
A small piece of her felt guilty that the thought hadn’t even crossed her mind of how many innocent Atlanteans and humans, unaware that they carried the ancient bloodline, would die along with the O’hurani—it hadn’t even been an afterthought.
“The archives have a scroll dating back to Atlantis that details a binding ritual of the Anki and how to weaken them,” Kade continued.
“How?”
“Iron.The tunnels and catacombs were coated in iron, and Ninhursag could not use most of her power, but she was not entirely powerless.Instead, somehow, she has grown stronger through the centuries.There must have been a crack somewhere that she has managed to exploit.”Kade frowned.“We thought the iron manacles and a prison would be enough.We should have forced her to ingest the iron.Once it is in their system, it slows down their ability to heal and decreases their power.”
“The iron just needs to enter her bloodstream?A knife or a round will work?”She blinked, hope filling her as Kade nodded.She was going to need to get close enough to Ninhursag that the god would assume she wasn’t a threat.“I want to do the honors.”
“I thought you would say that,” Kade said.“We will only get one chance.”
“When Ninhursag is distracted looking for the Ša,” Khalida added, grimacing.It was a risky plan—but they really didn’t have a choice.And as much as it pained her, she had to be realistic.“We are going after a god.”
Kade lips curled.Khalida wouldn’t describe it as s smile.
“Being close to the Ša will weaken Ninhursag.A failsafe from the O’hurani, that he could not be overthrown by the ambitions of the Anki,” Kade continued as he took a step closer to the window.“Combined with the exertion of finding the relic and not being at full power because of her imprisonment, we stand a chance of stopping her.”
Dante had reinforcements, but she wanted to know what Kade was hiding.“How many hunters do you have?”
“We are not that friendly.”Kade smirked.“You haven’t asked what the ritual was used for.”
Because she didn’t care?But she was willing to play along with Kade.“What was it used for?”
“To transfer the Ša of an Anki into another body.”
Khalida blinked, not sure what to do with that.Or the fact that Kade had become overly talkative.He must be worried about Talik if he was sharing information.“Their body can die, but their power doesn’t.Some form of reincarnation.”
“Is that how they are planning on resurrecting the O’hurani?”
Kade nodded solemnly.“We need to ensure that the binding can’t be used by Ninhursag once we have weakened her.We need to destroy the Ša to prevent her from inhabiting another body.”
Khalida flexed her hand.It would not be a problem.Khalida was going to turn Ninhursag into a pile of ash after she killed her.Talik may still not want to see her again after the mission, but she would ensure that he wasn’t beholden to anyone.She swallowed; she didn’t want to ask, but she needed to know the answer.“What do we tell Talik?”
“What do you want to tell him?”
Her gaze flicked to the window and the bustling city in the distance.If they made the wrong assumption, it wasn’t just their lives on the line.“We tell him the plan, but—” She swallowed again.“But, we only tell him that the iron will slow Ninhursag down.”
A small lie, but one that still made bile rise in her throat.“And that we will contain her with an iron-coated net or container until she can be transported.I’m sure we can find something in Rome.”
The door opened without a knock, and Dante slipped into the room.Any other time she would have been annoyed at his audacity, would have thrown one of her knives at him and then asked questions.Now she needed all the help she could get.First Kade and now Dante, both in her room.
“Palatine Hill,” Khalida said.Dante’s ability to source information was one of his more impressive skills.“That is what we are preparing for.”
Dante looked at both of them but mentioned nothing about Talik not being there.It was better this way.Khalida wasn’t sure she could tell Dante what had happened with Talik.Whatever Kade had told him was enough for now.
“I will have reinforcements in place,” said Dante.
Khalida crossed her arms as she glanced first at Dante, and then at Kade.She was putting a lot of trust into Dante, more than she ever had.“And you can hold her?”
“Yes,” Dante answered before he nodded to Kade.“All you need to do is subdue her.There are places below Rome that can imprison her.”
