Page 96 of Obsidian Dream

I could give you a million versions of her, and they would worship you like a god.

He only wanted one.

The reflection in the mirror was the same one he had seen every day for more than six hundred years.Faint laugh lines around his eyes were the only legacy of his human heritage, a time stamp before his Atlantean genetics had kicked in.The world around him was suddenly blurry, as if he had tried to open his eyes underwater.In his reflection, his eyes changed to snake green—the color of Ninhursag’s.A heartbeat later, they were back to the same dark color as usual.This time, he wasn’t so sure that she didn’t have access to his mind.

He looked down at his arm and slowly lifted the tight shirt of his uniform, wincing as the stickiness caught the material.Sharp talon marks pierced his flesh, beginning from his wrist to his elbow.He counted five deep gouges.It was as if Ninhursag had dug her claws into him and scratched him, like a giant cat.He stared at them, his mouth slack.Seconds ticked by, but the injury was still red raw.They should have started healing by now.

The laughter started softly, no more than a murmur.But before too long, it was a cacophony.The sound grew louder and louder until it was all he could focus on.Like an insidious parasite that was burrowing deep inside of him, merging with him, and he was beginning not to know what was him or her.

Chapter Forty-Two

RIEKA

Rieka closed her eyes.She could hear them in the distance, a whisper that became a thundering cry, their screams becoming one as she tried to sort through the voices.Tried to find the source of them.Every time she thought she got close, the voice changed or disintegrated into nothing.

The Anki.

Forcing her attention inward, she ignored the extravagant sitting room she was in.Any other time, and she would have spent hours exploring the room and the villa, but she was here for a purpose.The red velvet curtains faded to the background, as did the glitter of gold that kissed all the furniture.

One voice was stronger in Rome.A female, whose voice grew insistently louder the longer Rieka remained in the city.

The gauntlet on her arm throbbed—the electrical shocks had grown more forceful during the last hour.Each shock was like a fire that burned within her, and it was growing harder to ignore.Or feign indifference when Dante was in the room.If he’d had an inkling that the gauntlet had reactivated the moment she arrived in Rome, he would have had her on a flight out of the city in a heartbeat.She had learned that if given the choice, Dante would let the world fall rather than sacrifice her.But here, she could be of help, even if she didn’t know how.

Something was wrong, and she was powerless to stop it.Holding out her hand, she willed the violet flame forth—the flame that had helped them stop the wayfarers in Egypt—but she got nothing.Not even the fizzle of a fire.Even if she concentrated hard enough and opened herself to the gauntlet, it was a one-way connection to the Anki.

The whispered promises of power and sacrifices still slithered through her.She would have given it almost anything it asked for to control the flame.Except for power over herself—the desire to taste the limitless gifts of the gods was tempting, but she knew better than that.

She poured everything she had into calling the flame, the same flame her grandmother, Vandana, had wielded and used to stop the O’hurani and the Anki the first time.But nothing happened.Not even a tingle or a spark.

Maybe she had used it all up in Egypt.A one-time trick.Maybe she wasn’t quite worthy of her grandmother’s flame.She pushed that thought away as soon as it appeared.She was more than worthy.

The door slowly opened behind her, the sound muffled by the matching red carpet.She didn’t need to turn.She could taste the whisper of a cold flame brush up against her.Dante walked through the connecting door from their bedroom.

“When did it start?”

“Not long ago,” Rieka sweetly said, gritting her teeth as another jolt of pain went through her.Her limbs weakened, and she tried to steady herself.Dante moved and caught her before she tumbled to the floor.