Page 20 of Her Dark Powers

My door opened, and Jasper reached in to help me out of the car. They didn’t belong to us. Austin had rented two large black Bentleys for the evening, and I had to admit they were delightfully comfortable. Strangely, in a way, dressing up to the nines and arriving in a nice car had me feeling much more like myself again. It wasn’t dark yet, but the sun was slipping below the horizon somewhere beyond the buildings of the city, and the sky was awash with colour. I looked up at a house that was not too dissimilar to my father’s, though it was a lot bigger, and smiled at the other cars pulling up and the sound of music and chatter coming from the house. It was just another society event, and I could handle those, especially with Jasper by my side. I went to slip my hand through his arm, but he shook his head and stepped back.

“Not this time, Tory. Here, I’m only your priest. I don’t have the status to walk in with you.”

“Oh,” I said. “So I have to walk in alone?”

“Never,” came Austin’s voice from my side. He stood beside me and offered up his arm.

I looked up at him as I slid my hand through, curling it around his sleeve. Aside from the immaculate suit, he also wore a gold pendant with a cartouche engraved on it. I looked closer. It seemed very familiar.

“It’s yours,” he explained. “Your name, Bastet. The pendant signifies I am your high priest and allows me to act as your escort for the evening. Are you okay with that?”

I smiled up at him and squeezed his arm gently. “Of course I am. What about the others?” I asked, turning to look at them.

“We’ll follow, beautiful one,” Zayn replied, his fingers lacing with Jasper’s. “But we’ll be hanging back with the other priests for most of the evening.”

“Yes, go mingle.” Jasper grinned, and I rolled my eyes at him as Austin led me up the steps to the door.

Two doormen, wearing white suits with red ties, stood on either side of the door, and as I approached, they bowed low and opened the door. I took a breath and held my head high as we entered the foyer. Never show weakness, that much I knew.

The entrance hall was huge, all white marble and gold leaf. In the centre stood a huge fountain in a long, rectangular pool embedded in the marble floor. Large pots stood everywhere, with large palms and wide leaf plants with bright flowers adding colour to the room. People milled about, talking and laughing, and servers in white suits moved elegantly through them with trays of drinks and platters of hors d’oeuvres. The only difference from most society events was that some of the guests wore full ancient Egyptian regalia, just like me. I guessed at least it would be easy to work out who the divine ones were in the crowd, rather than mistaking one for a priest. At least I’d be spared that embarrassment.

I took another deep breath, though perhaps deeper than I’d meant to, because Austin looked down at me with concern on his face. “Are you okay?”

I nodded. “I’m just... What if I screw up? Forget someone’s name that I’m supposed to know? And what about Neith? What if I accidentally insult her? I don’t know the rules for Egyptian courts, only the British ones, and I would imagine they are very different.”

Austin smiled. “You’ve got this, Tory. Just be yourself and go with your instincts. You might not remember everyone, but you’ll be fine. You are equal to everyone here, if not even higher in rank than most.”

“Plus, everyone here goes through the same thing,” Wesley added. “Everyone reincarnates over and over and has to remember and learn who they are again. I’ve heard Hathor has just found out who she is, and I think she was expected tonight, so you might find some common ground with her. You two were very close in the past.”

“Really? Hathor... Oh, the goddess of love and childbirth, wasn’t she?” I said, memories stirring under the surface. I recalled a friendly, beautiful face and the feeling of comfort and love. I smiled. A friend would be nice. I missed Hattie so much, and I couldn’t even talk to her about this even when she did come back from the South of France. I had texted her a few times, but I hadn’t received a reply, even though her parents reassured me that Teddy had been in touch and Hattie was just being... Hattie. It felt awful to be so cut off from her, and how was I even going to explain my five priests?

“Oh, she was so much more. People always dumb things down. She was another daughter of Ra in a sense, though she was more associated with trade and foreign lands, and childbirth, fertility, and healing. But you both shared your love of music and feasting and... um...”

“Um?” I prompted, turning to him. He blushed and removed his glasses, polishing them hurriedly on his handkerchief before replacing them.

“He means that you both celebrated the art of lovemaking and spent many long hours revelling in it.” Jack grinned. “I mean, our ‘celebrations’ often went on for days and weeks at a time.”

“Weeks?” I looked at him, blushing at the thought of spending days just being pleasured by these men. My face heated, and my blood seemed to spark at the thought. Memories flickered at the edge of my mind, teasing me with glimpses of us all in my temple. There were different faces and names, but it was still us, and the screams and moans of pleasure over and over....

“My lady.” Austin tugged on my arm, and I turned to look at him. Memories surged, and I saw him on his knees before me, his face buried in my pussy as he made me come and come until I begged him to stop. I sucked in my breath, and my knees weakened. My grip on his arm tightened, and he moved around, wrapping his other arm around me. “Tory, are you alright?”

“Just feeling a bit...” I tried to fight back the memories swarming me, but the heat of his body pressing against mine wasn’t helping, though I was worried if he stepped away I’d crumple to the floor. “Is there somewhere I can get a bit of air? Somewhere to sit down?”

Austin nodded. “Of course, we’ll find you something.” He looked over and caught the eye of one of the servers. Jack headed over to him, and after a few murmured words, he returned. “This way. There’s a garden with benches that they’ve kept closed off from the other guests.”

I allowed them to steer me through the crowd, trying not to catch anyone’s eye. My face was flushed, and my body burned with desire and a craving for blood. It seemed to take forever, but finally, Austin was pushing open a door, and the night air brushed over my face, cooling my skin slightly. The garden was walled on all four sides. It was a courtyard garden, and the ground was paved, but beds of exotic plants similar to those that had been inside the entrance hall gave a feel of some tropical paradise. I could hear another fountain, the rush of water dimming the chatter from inside, and fairy lights twinkled in towering palm trees. It was totally secluded. The scent of jasmine drifted over the night air and out of sight of the guest.

I turned to Austin and pulled him down into a kiss. He hesitated at first, more out of surprise than reluctance, then gave himself up to it. I wasn’t gentle like he had been in the building. Desire and bloodlust flooded through me, racing through my veins like fire, and I was swept away with it. I pushed Austin down onto the bench, climbing astride him. He groaned as I pulled away.

“I’m hungry,” I told him, and he instantly tipped his head to the side. I didn’t hesitate, sinking my teeth into his skin and sighing with relief as the glorious taste of his blood flooded my mouth. I ground myself against the rising hardness that pressed against my core, and he settled his hands on my hips, pressing me closer. Trying not to take too much, I pulled back, flicking my tongue over the wound I’d caused. He pressed his mouth to mine, his blood still on my lips. I leaned back, fumbling between us to loosen his belt, until I felt his hand wrap around my wrist, stopping me.

“No?” I asked. Words appeared to be a problem for me right now as every instinct was urging me to take him body and blood.

He sighed. “No. Not like this. Not the first time.” He placed me onto the bench beside him and turned to look down at me. “When I take you, I want to know it’s you, Tory. Not the goddess needing to be sated. I want all of you, and I think you want the same.”

My body screamed denial at his words, but my heart sang. He looked down at me, as though unable to tear his gaze away, then finally turned to Jack. “I’ll keep watch. Don’t be too long.” Then he was gone, melting into the shadows.

Chapter ten

---