Kirill’s eyes narrowed. “Nothing you’ve said justifies what you did to me, those poor victims, or my precious beloved. If the Fates hadn’t intervened my beloved and those captives would be dead by now.”
“I didn’t mean…”
“You’re not allergic to bagged blood, I’ve seen you drink it. If your father abused you it might have justified you killing him and your mother as the council strongly suggests you did, but that’s got nothing to do with what you did after that when you targeted innocents. The only reason why you didn’t want me to claim my beloved is because you knew he’d scent out your victims the first time he went for a run around the coven.”
“There wasn’t… I mean…
“And as for caring, I’ve always cared about others. That’s why I stayed in my position so long, even when there were days you all sickened me with your petty concerns and stupid pretentious lifestyle. I care, because in the words of the great Prince Vadim, a vampire who acts without honor disgraces us all. If you weren’t about to be dead, you could’ve looked it up. It’s on his website.”
“Kirill, Master, please. I’m sorry.” Yakov had tears running down his cheeks. “I can change. You can help me change. I can be a better vampire. I’ll do anything… I’ll get on my knees…”
Arvyn snarled. The stench of lies was thick around the bound vampire.
Five lethal looking claws sprung from Kirill’s fingertips and with one slicing moment, Yakov’s head bounced onto the floor, his mouth still open, his eyes wide and unmoving. Kirill dropped the remains of his body on the floor and said to Arvyn, “Sometimes I hate my kind. I take it he was lying about everything?”
Arvyn nodded and wrinkled his long nose. The ghost of a grin flitted across Kirill’s face, before it disappeared. “Now, Sven, what are we going to do about you?” Kirill made to reach down for Sven’s gag, when a loud popping noise and then a groan was heard from outside. “You can wait,” Kirill said to Sven, but Arvyn was already outside. He saw Ra, still in his godly form, curled up on battered ground, and he howled long and loud, sprinting for his mate.
Chapter Twenty-Three
“I’m all right.” Ra coughed and took the cup of hot chocolate Arvyn had made for him. It even had little marshmallows on top and Ra appreciated the thoughtfulness. Now back in his human form, he was feeling a lot better, although embarrassed his mates had to carry his unconscious larger form into the house. Waking up curled up on their bed, covered in blankets and with a hot mate on either side of him, was a boost Ra enjoyed, even if he wished it hadn’t been necessary.
“Honestly, I just physically overdid it a bit and what with holding onto my power for so long… I seriously need to get in better shape.” He smiled up at the worried face of his mates. “I’m sorry for the whole falling over bit, but I did win the fight. Seth knows if he ever disrespects you again in word or deed, he’ll spend the rest of eternity in the world of the dead. I know how these things are important to you both.”
“You are important to us,” Arvyn said staunchly, climbing back on the bed, his arm draped around Ra’s shoulders. “That Seth friend of yours was an ass, yes, and I’m sure the slap-down he got was a long time coming, but we couldn’t see you, hear you…”
“I couldn’t take the risk of us being seen by anyone,” Ra jumped in quickly. “I would’ve taken the fight back to my realm, but I didn’t want you two thinking I’d abandoned you.”
“Will we ever get a chance to see this realm of yours? Or is it a place only gods can go?” Kirill had been quiet, but his concern shone through their bond.
“I’m planning to take you both. You have as much right to be there as I do. I ordered Seth to start organizing a celebration with my people so you can be welcomed properly. Most of the Egyptian gods have created lives for themselves in all parts of the world, so it’ll take a while to get organized, but…”
“You got Seth to organize it?” Arvyn laughed. “Isn’t that like rubbing shit in his face or something? You beat him, and now you’re forcing him to arrange a celebration for the two beings he hates the most?”
“You can’t take his hate personally.” Although Ra definitely had done. “Seth doesn’t like anyone. He’s always worried that someone will take his position or influence me in a way that goes against his beliefs. After he killed Osiris and went after Horus…”
“Hang on a minute,” Kirill interrupted quietly. “Are you telling us gods can be killed? You could’ve died during your fight with that asshole?”
“Not permanently, no. Sorry, I said that more as a figure of speech than anything else.” Ra thought about how to explain. “Way, way, back in history – millennia ago, gods were a lot more active and interactive with human populations. The younger gods like Seth, Osiris, and Horus were still working out their place with each other and how they fit on the world stage.”
“A sort of sibling rivalry type situation?” Arvyn asked.
“Something like that.” Ra nodded, but only briefly. His body still felt as though he’d been backed over by a truck. “Seth and Horus were so competitive with each other, and it didn’t help that Horus usually won any competition they had. Seth was carrying around a whole heap of rage, and one day he took it out on his older brother Osiris, who was the ruler of Egypt at the time. I don’t know why Osiris was the target, but he was. Legend will tell you that Seth dismembered Osiris, spreading his body parts all over the world, later to be collected and put back together by Isis, but then in other stories Seth apparently had a casket built to fit Osiris and locked him in it, sending it floating down the Nile out to sea. But most stories about our pantheon are only one percent true, ninety-nine percent imagination. Seth and Osiris did fight, but Osiris clearly isn’t dead although he now rules the world of the dead because he chose to do so. Seth rules the deserts known as the red soil, and Horus rules the black earth, the fertile lands around the Nile. None of them explained what happened that day. If they wish me to know, they would’ve told me. But things have… They… It’s always been different after that.”
“But you just said yourself, Seth killed Osiris.” Kirill snuggled in closer, draping his arm over Ra’s waist.
“He did, but he didn’t, if that makes sense. The thing is, with these stories, that are purely a mortal construct, Seth became feared by some and adored by others. To me he’s a protector, to others he’s a murderer even though Osiris is still as much alive as Seth is. The stigma of that fighting, which all stemmed from I don’t know what, because they chose not to tell me, has tainted Seth, making him very distrustful of others.”
“You don’t seem to see him in the same negative light.” Arvyn was very observant and Ra wasn’t quite sure what to say, given how rude Seth had been to his precious wolf.
“I believe in the importance of balance and Seth is necessary to that, even if he does annoy me sometimes,” Ra said slowly. “Osiris always struggled in his slot as the older brother and Seth’s anger at him… I don’t know. Seth still holds a grudge against him. Osiris had intimacy issues and is a lot happier being among the dead than the living. Seth, because he was angry and paranoid, that made him unfit to rule over Egypt. Horus was the better choice in that respect although I took a long time to see that, which didn’t help the situation either. But in his heart, Seth is loyal, and he’s protected me for eons. He’s been associated with so many negative things and that can impact a man’s soul.”