Page 70 of Marked

Seth snaps his head towards Jack with bewilderment. “You baited me,” he hisses, his grip easing on my hair but not my hand.

“You have always been one so easily riled,” Jack muses and then cracks his knuckles. “But your fun is over. Summon Ammit, and let’s go back home.”

Seth tosses his head back and cackles. “Go back? Why would I ever do that?”

“Because Ammit is throwing the world out of order with her mindless killing,” Anubis growls. “And you will be punished for aiding her escape.”

He lifts a brow at my partner. “Exactly. So, tell me again why I would willingly go back?”

Is there any chance they can have this conversation without a knife stuck in my fucking leg? Every time Seth talks I’m terrified he’s going to hack through my femoral artery.

I must make a small noise of protest because Seth turns his attention back to me. “And what do you think, Val?” Again, his tone is mocking and condescending.

“I think,” I breathe through my nose to help manage the pain. “That I’d like this knife out of my leg. Then I’d like to get Taylor and go home.”

Shezmu blinks at me before laughing. “Silly me, I completely forgot about your friend!” He lets go of my hand, but mine remains locked around the knife, fingers numb and stiff from his hold. “I’ll go get her.”

“She better be in one piece, Shezmu,” Jack warns. “Head intact.”

My stomach drops at that visual. “Why would you specify something like that?” I ask anxiously then look at Seth with desperation. “Why would he say that? Why would you remove her head?”

“Our victims,” Jack reminds me.

I keep my stare on Seth despite the nausea rising in me. “What is with the missing heads?”

He shoots me a grin that used to leave my panties discarded on the floor, but now all it does is make me shudder. “For the wine press, of course.”

I blink at him, refusing to comprehend what he’s saying. “The…wine press?” I repeat slowly. “I don’t understand.”

His grin widens as he pets my cheek with his red-stained fingers. “Oh, I think you do. But, in case you really don’t, let me give you a history lesson.” He clears his throat dramatically and gestures at the barrel in the sink. “I am Shezmu, God of Wine and Blood. I’m also a deity of oils and perfumes.”

Anubis snorts. “He is a demonic god, a lesser deity.”

Shezmu snarls at the insult. “I was once called the Executioner of Osiris! He is the one who told me to use the heads of the wicked for my wine press!”

“Before you started giving your wine to other gods to increase their power,” Jack sneers. “Then he forbade from you doing it!”

“Forbade?” Seth rolls his eyes. “The other gods love the power boost it gives them, and I love the favors they owe me. Why would I stop?”

My stomach hollows out again. “Wait. You make wine from heads?”

“Yes, the best blood is there, in my opinion,” Seth says as a matter of fact.

My throat tightens and convulses with the need to vomit. I’m scared to ask the next question, but it’s tumbling out of my lips before I can stop it. “And the wine you had me try?”

He grins at me again. “Which one?” He laughs and playfully taps my chin. “Just kidding.” When my face relaxes with relief, his smile turns into a cruel smirk. “It was all of them.”

Oh gods.

I’ve drank blood from pressed heads.

I cover my mouth with my free hand as I gag. Oh my gods, did that include the heads of my victims? “The bodies we’ve found? Their heads?” I manage to choke out the question even as my stomach roils with disgust.

“Of course. I can only keep them frozen for so long. Plus, it takes two to three weeks to ferment it all properly. The last bottle I left at your house was the second woman you found. I still have your first victim’s head in the works,” Seth muses.

“Stephanie…?” I murmur, remembering the woman I found at the strip club.

His hand cradles my face tenderly. “Oh, my Val, you look so pale. Don’t worry, a little bit of wine will add some color to your cheeks. Good thing I have plenty.”

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