The Death Skull: Relic Defender, Book 2 (33 page)

Besides, Jackson didn’t trust Lucifer’s Slayer. Those black eyes seemed to possess no soul behind them. No emotions. Even Mari, for all that she kept herself contained—with the exception of the night they’d made love—still had raw passion simmering under her controlled exterior.

As if the bastard had heard his thoughts, Ash looked at him with those black, fathomless eyes. Then, from one second to the next, he disappeared.

“Jackson, Ash is going to see if he can find a way through.”

“Wait. He can leave but can’t get us to the pyramid?”

She frowned, then looked over at the pyramid. “It seems Ash has freedom to use his abilities while I cannot.”

“So, all the important places we can’t get to, he can.”

“It would seem so.”

“Terrific.”

Silence fell over them for a few seconds then he asked, “Mari, what’s his deal? Why is he helping us?”

Her nose wrinkled. “I don’t know.”

“But you trust him?” That boggled the mind.

She didn’t answer for a long while then she nodded. “Yes, I do.”

“Why?”

“Because of Kat.”

Jackson opened his mouth but closed it. Yeah, he could accept that, even if he didn’t like it. Not much he wouldn’t do for Mari at this point.

From the corner of his eyes, he saw movement. Kanek walked past him to the edge of the abyss.

Jackson frowned. “Listen, son, get away from there. It’s a long way to the bottom.”

When Kanek ignored his warning, Jackson strolled toward him. He wasn’t in a hurry—he didn’t think the boy who could create and throw green fire was stupid enough to let himself fall. As he neared, he heard a low murmur from Kanek. With both arms sweeping in arches, the boy chanted, a soft litany of words.

With her teeth, Kat tugged on the ropes that bound her wrists. She blew out an exasperated breath when her efforts resulted in nothing. She gazed around her prison. After traipsing through the jungle and practically being eaten alive by these little biting gnats, she—along with Beliel in his new form and his entourage—had reached the ancient Mayan city Beliel claimed was where he’d find and possess the Death Skull and take over the world.

Using her to do it.

After shoving her down against one of the fallen stones littering the ground, he’d left her with a hulking man who had a flat forehead, pointy chin and a nose that was disproportionately small to the length of his face. Beliel had instructed the hulk to watch over her and make sure nothing happened to her. Good to know she wasn’t in any danger of being hurt.

Yet.

As long as he needed her, Kat was safe. The minute he got from her what he said he needed, she doubted she’d live long enough to enjoy this body. Would she go back to being a ghost or was one screwup enough?

And what was she supposed to be able to do that Beliel needed so much? As if she planned on helping him. She might have spent the last twelve years as a ghost but she was far from stupid. Whatever he was planning would end in disaster for the world. Even if it meant losing her life again for forever, she’d do it rather than give the asshole what he wanted.

She leaned her head back and sighed. Even in the relative shade of the large stone, heat bore down on her, the humidity coating her skin and dampening her clothes. It didn’t bother her. A small price to pay for being able to feel again. To have a body. Even if it was her sister’s.

How could her mother not have told her she had a sister? How could she have kept something like that from her? Unless Lillian hadn’t birthed Catherine. Had her sister known about her? But no, not with the shock on her face. Had she lived with their father? Was he the reason they were twins? But that wasn’t right. They had to have the same mother in order to be twins. Yet Beliel was certain they were twins. Sure, he could be lying but it hadn’t seemed that way.

Kat rested her chin on her knees. Now she’d never learn about her sister or what she knew. And she was living in her sister’s stolen body. Damn Ash. He should have just saved her sister and left Kat alone. He’d done enough the first time.

Something landed on her nose. She swatted it away, then opened her eyes. Hard for her to accept she now felt such things as small as the touch of insect legs on her face. Or the moist heat clinging to her skin. Or take in the earthy scents of dirt, vegetation and even her own sweat.

Whatever she was supposed to do for Beliel might cause her to lose it all.

Kat shifted, trying to ease the ache in her right butt cheek. Her movements drew the hulk’s attention. He turned to face her and grunted, as if that sound was enough to tell her to settle down. She resisted the urge to test the whole not-hurting-her bit by sticking out her tongue at him or trying to get up.

The bright sun darkened as a shadow moved across her. She looked up and squinted. Haloed by the light, Beliel stared down at her. A muscle twitched in his jaw and his fingers clenched into fists. He didn’t bother hiding his demon from one of his minions who looked fairly nervous at the sight. Beliel’s eyes were tinged with yellow and some of his skin had split, peeling back to show black flesh underneath. It was all she could do not to shrink back with fear.

She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. Taking a cue from Lexi’s irreverent behavior, Kat gave him a mocking smile. “What’s the matter, Beliel? Did you lose something?”

He snarled, the sound low and menacing. This time, she couldn’t help herself and she flinched as he reached for her. After he wrapped his fingers around her upper arm, he squeezed tightly then in a quick movement, jerked her upright. She hissed as his rough grip pinched the tender skin of her underarm.

“Let’s go. It’s about time.” He leaned in, his face close to hers. “You have a body now. Don’t screw this up or I’ll make you wish you were still a ghost.” Hot breath heavy with the stink of Hell filled her nostrils and she shuddered.

Chapter Twenty-One

Mari stood in the large open room and stared around her in surprise. Once her group found their way around the gorge by a small slit in the rock face Kanek discovered, they had entered this room.

The memory of the last pyramid she’d been in flashed through her mind. This one was identical, down to the altar and obelisk holding the crystal skull. Her eyes widened. Just like the hooded creature, the pyramid was real. She’d been in it when Michael had shown her the skull in action during her time-travel trip, courtesy of the Archangel. Her heart raced and her body threatened to curl in on itself to protect the soul she’d almost lost as the whole nasty experience rushed in. She remembered finding out she had a soul, even if it was not complete; she remembered the trip. Why had she forgotten? Had Michael something to do with that?

“Mari, what’s wrong?”

Taking a deep breath to get control over her emotions, she turned to Jackson. “I’ve been here before.”

An eyebrow arched. “Here? You’ve been here before?”

She nodded. “Michael sent me here. Last week. Remember the library?”

His turn to nod.

“This is where he sent me,” she continued. “The pyramid was newer and in a jungle and there were lots of Mayans around, but it’s still the same place.” She swept her hand around, waving at the altar and obelisk. “And that. That was exactly the same. The skull even sat in the same place.”

He stared at her as if he tried to think of some kind of reply, whether to agree or laugh at her, she didn’t know.

Stones rattled and Ash stood before her, back from wherever he’d gone. “I must go.”

She didn’t get a chance to speak because Jackson shoved himself forward.

“What?” he said. “You pop in to tell us you’re leaving just when it’s about to get real?”

Ash stared at Jackson. “I cannot be here when Beliel arrives. It is bad enough I’m here now. I don’t have to justify why I’m here, or leaving, to you, a human.” A sneer twisted his lips.

“I didn’t take you for a coward, Dakeni.”

Ash snarled and lunged at Jackson, who met him with a snarl of his own. Mari stepped between them, her hands on their chests. On Ash’s, she flamed but on Jackson’s, she kept her hand empty of fire. “Stop it.” She narrowed her eyes. “Jackson, I want to talk to Ash.”

“So talk.”

“Alone.”

He stared at her for a minute, then shoved his hand through his hair. “Fine. I’ll go see if we can get to the skull without triggering anything.”

“Thank you.”

With a glare at Ash, Jackson pivoted and crossed to Kanek. With his hand on the boy’s shoulder to guide him, Jackson walked with him toward the skull.

She turned back to Ash. “I know you aren’t a coward and leave if you must, but I don’t understand why you are continuing to side with Beliel when it’s obvious you no longer support him.”

“I’ve never supported Lucifer’s son. My loyalty is to Lucifer.”

“Isn’t that the same thing?”

“No.”

“Wouldn’t Lucifer be upset to know you are here?”

“Yes.”

She rubbed her temples. “Ash, help me out here. If Lucifer would be upset, why are you here?”

He swept his palm across the back of his neck. “Because there is more going on than you know. I’m here to protect certain…interests. To ensure things are kept in balance.”

“Balance? By Cerberus’s heads, what does balance have to do with anything?”

“Everything, Mari. Everything.” He held up a hand as she opened her mouth to protest. “I cannot tell you more than that. You will just have to trust that I know what I’m talking about.”

A snort blew out her nose before she could stop it. “Trust you? When have you ever given us any reason to trust you?”

“I could have let you die.”

Her lips pressed into a thin line. Lucifer’s balls, he was right. He could have let her die. It was only due to his interference that she’d survived. The Goreals would have torn her into small pieces.

She sighed. “Okay, Ash. Go. I don’t have the time or energy to worry about other than what’s right in front of me.”

“Soon enough, you will need to worry, cousin.” He lifted his sword in salute then disappeared.

She stared at the spot he’d been, her mind spinning. When had things started to go so wrong? Had it been less than two weeks ago she’d been in Mikos’s house complaining about how bored she was? Now she was in a place that had nearly taken her life, learning there was some greater plan that affected them all and Lucifer’s Slayer was in the middle of it all. One day, she was going to get Ash to share his secrets.

She spun on her bootheels, then strode to Jackson and Kanek. The Texan and Mayan were crouched in front of the obelisk. With the tip of his finger, the boy traced the carvings. She joined them and hunkered down. Jackson cast her a searching glance. She just shook her head, then focused on Kanek. She felt Jackson’s eyes on her for a bit longer before he, too, turned to the boy.

The carvings were writings—symbols mostly, not pictures—cut deep into the stone. The effects of nature had chipped away at their edges so many were so worn they were hard to decipher.

“Kanek, can you read them?”

He nodded. “A blessing,” he said, his fingers trailing over one set of symbols, “and a curse.”

“Great.” Jackson snorted. “I love those blessing-and-a-curse messages.”

She shot him a scolding glance then focused on Kanek. “What are they?”

“The blessing offers that the one with the most to lose will learn what it means to sacrifice all.”

“Huh. That doesn’t sound like much of a blessing.”

She shared Jackson’s disbelief. “And the curse?” she asked Kanek.

“Death.”

She waited for him to elaborate. When he didn’t, she looked over at Jackson, noting he had nothing to say in response. His gaze cut between Kanek, her and the obelisk. Two vertical lines slashed the space between his eyebrows.

Something occurred to her. “Physical or spiritual death?”

Kanek shrugged. “It does not say.”

Jackson rubbed the back of his neck. “Does it matter?”

“It might be important, Jackson,” she said. “Could be a transformation of some kind.” Her shoulders hitched. “Or it could truly mean death.”

“Well, either way, I think we need to find the skull and get the hell out of here. This place gives me the creeps, and I’m still waiting for the trap to snap shut.”

Almost as if his comment offered a challenge, she heard a grinding roar as a heavy stone door slid into place, blocking the path. Jackson swore and darted for the opening. He tried to hold back the stone, his fingers scrabbling for purchase. She headed to his side but only got about halfway there before she heard another grumble and whirled to see a second door closing, neatly imprisoning them.

The trap had indeed sprung.

At the chuckle scraping across the room, Jackson turned to face the issuer. That damn brown-robed son of a bitch stood near the obelisk, which was no longer bare. In the dim glow that came from the torches, a crystal skull reflected a rainbow of colors.

Jackson stared at the thing they’d come all this way for. The thing that had already taken so many lives, and if Beliel had his way and they failed to stop him, would take more.