Page 8 of Obsidian Dream

“I have seen your definition of self-inflicted,” Dante drolly added.

So had Talik, and it was not pretty.

Khalida ignored Dante, turning to look at the serpopard.She touched the base of the table, and the glass cover ascended, blocking some of the stench, but not enough.“They all said one name.Ninhursag.One of the Anki I assume. I am assuming they were declaring their allegiance to their ancient god.”

“Not to the O’hurani?”Talik asked.He would have assumed they would have begged for protection from the O’hurani, the king of the Anki, a god who supposedly had limitless power, and not one of his subordinate gods.Maybe the wayfarers were not very bright?Or perhaps the wayfarers were not aware of the hierarchy within the Anki pantheon and that Ninhursag served the King.

“Ninhursag is also the name given to an ancient Mesopotamian deity who was worshipped more than three thousand years ago,” Anhur mused before he looked them over.“I wonder if they are linked or if it is coincidence.”

Talik didn’t believe in coincidences, not with power-hungry gods who wanted to remake the world in their bloody image.“And they were the deity of...”

“The creation of humanity and the earth was attributed to her.”

“Nothing major?Just a mother goddess figure?”Talik put his hands in his pockets and took a couple of steps away from the marble table.“I’m assuming she also wants to find Atlantis.”

Khalida’s top lip curled.“And more than enough time to build networks and allegiances that will be nigh impossible to identify without an insider.”

The silence surrounding them grew until it was almost uncomfortable.

“We need to find Ninhursag and prevent her from finding Atlantis.Under no circumstances can she be allowed to reunite with the O’hurani,” Dante quietly said, as he looked at Talik.“We contain and interrogate her.She may have a clue to stopping the O’hurani before his powers are fully replenished.”

Unlike Dante, Talik was not as confident that they could kill a true god.

Khalida shook her head ruefully.“We need more than Ninhursag.Our ancestors were only able to slow down the O’hurani, and it cost us the destruction of Atlantis.It may have triggered an eleven-thousand-year hibernation, but he is now waking up.Because of us.”

Talik wouldn’t go so far as to place the blame entirely on their actions, but they certainly had helped the process of awakening the ancient god when Rieka had activated the violet flame.As a direct descendant of Vandana, the last queen of Atlantis—Rieka had been the missing link the Anki had been looking for.

“Going to appeal to the god’s better nature?”Talik muttered under his breath.

Dante slowly smiled, but his eyes remained glacial.“Even gods know that there are worse things than death...especially gods who have been relegated to the past and forgotten by time.”

“How do you propose finding Ninhursag?”Khalida asked as she tightened her grip on the hilt of her sword.

Talik took in the subtle movement.She must be slightly more annoyed than she was letting on.

“Sypha.”Talik shook his head, slightly uneasy at the turn of conversation.They were going to need someone they trusted, and the seer was their only actual option.“If they wake up.”