Page 38 of Tamed By Air (The Nature Hunters Academy 4)

“During his first visit to the underworld,” said Aston, “Ramses passed along a piece of vital information—how to avoid sharing in his people’s fate—a loophole, if you will. To keep from being paired with a demon, Ra would have to do two things. First, he would be required to offer a great sacrifice. Second, he would have to keep any promise he makes. When he gives you his word, he has to fulfill it, or his get-out-of-jail-free card goes away. His destiny will be that of his ancestors.”

“Elias said he had to be the opposite of what a demon is,” Tara said. “It makes sense now. In order to avoid joining his soul with a demon, he had to be the antithesis of one.”

“Pure, uncorrupt, not power hungry,” Aston said.

“And not a liar,” Gabby added. “Which is why he has to keep his promises.”

“Exactly.” Aston nodded.

“I still don’t understand what this has to do with Shelly cheating,” Tara said. She snapped the book in her hand closed and tossed it aside.

Aston looked at her and held her stare as he spoke. “How long do you think Ra will remain uncorrupted with half of his soul missing?” He waited to let that sink in and then added, “And how long do you think Shelly can resist the schemes of the most cunning predator ever to walk this world, not to mention the one below?”

Tara shook her head. Her mouth dropped open and then closed again. Elias walked over and stood behind her. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her back to his chest. His head leaned down, and his mouth moved as he whispered something the others couldn’t hear.

“Almost every religion,” Aston continued, “throughout recorded history believes in some form of a Satan-type figure. I’ve done a lot of research on the topic, especially after Ra shared his story. When he told us about his deal with Osiris regarding the bond he and Shelly shared, I thought of something. Osiris explained to Ra and Shelly that neither of them could give themselves to another. At first, that seemed like a great deal for the good guys. We know Ra would die before he cheated, and Tara seems convinced Shelly would as well.”

“She would.” Tara growled.

“Uh oh,” said Gabby. “I think I see where this is going. Osiris isn’t stupid. Why would he make such a bad deal for himself?”

“Ding, ding, ding,” said Aston, pointing to Gabby. “Give the girl a prize.”

“Osiris may be a lot of things, but he is not dumb,” said Aston. “So, what’s going on then? I think we can assume that all these devil figures in each of these major religions are talking about one guy…”

“Osiris.” Tara threw her hands up in the air and dropped them quickly making a smacking sound when they hit her thighs.

“Ding, ding, ding. Another prize is awarded.”

“Now, let us consider one of these major religions—Christianity. According to the Christian Bible, adultery—cheating—in other words, isn’t just having sex with another person. The Bible says that a married person can commit adultery simply by lusting after another in their mind.”

“Well, that’s just stupid,” said Gabby.

“Is it?” Aston’s eyebrows rose. “The word adultery doesn’t actually mean what we think it means in today’s language. The origin of the word is Latin—adulterare—and means to pollute or defile, and it didn’t necessarily refer to sex. Once a pure stream is defiled by even the slightest toxin, the whole thing can become poisonous.

Aston paused. He ran his thumb across Rory’s palm and took in the pleasure of having her skin against his. “Lucifer, Osiris, Beelzebub, whatever you want to call him, is the father of lies. In any religion, he is evil. His ultimate goal is to trap as many souls in his domain as possible. And what better way to make that happen than by wrapping his lies in little bits of truth? He will only tell a person enough to latch onto the irresistible promise, distracting them from the fine print at the bottom of the proverbial contract. Much like the infamous Mr. Johnson, I believe Ra and Shelly may have sold their souls to the devil.”

“But neither of them received the supernatural ability to play the guitar in return,” said Gabby. Liam looked at her sideways.

“What? I spent a lot of time alone as a child. I know things.”

“You’re saying that all Shelly needs to do in order to break the deal with Osiris is tolustafter someone else?” Tara asked. “I mean, that’s a pretty high freaking standard to stick to. There are attractive people everywhere. You don’t just stop noticing them because you’re married or bonded, or whatever you want to call it.”

“Tara.” Elias’s voice was dark with a warning Aston understood. The idea of Rory desiring another made him both sickened and enraged.

“Thinking someone is attractive is not the same thing as lusting after them,” Gabby interjected. She pulled out her phone and her fingers went to work on the screen. A few seconds later, she read, “Lust is defined as an intense sexual desire or appetite, so strong as to be a craving or yearning for.” She cut her eyes at Aston. “You’re not the only one who can read the internet.”

Liam looked at his soul bounded and spoke in a serious tone. “You could have just said ‘lust—what Liam has for Gabby,’ and everyone would have gotten the message loud and clear.” Aston noted Liam’s eyes didn’t dance with their usual playfulness. Instead, they were full of the desires contained in the definition Gabby had just read.

Tara gasped and clutched her stomach. “I think I’m going to throw up.”

“What?” Liam scoffed. “I’m allowed to lust after my woman. There’s nothing vomit-inducing about that.”

“She’s not referring to that, you perv.” Gabby sighed. “She’s referring to the fact that Aston is implying that Shelly has had these feelings toward Osiris. If his hypothesis is correct, of course.”

Aston tilted his head to her. “I could certainly be off the mark,” he agreed and hoped like hell he was.

Elias spoke gently to Tara. “Love, it could be that Ra has broken a promise or done something to break the oath himself. It might have nothing to do with Shelly.”

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