Page 152 of Taming the Beasts

“And I know they’re not nasty,” Kebe said. “I’m sorry. I was just told for thousands of years that they were. And it’s hard to get the stereotype out of my head. They seem quite civil and organized. They have very impeccable taste. And I’ve never seen one of them take a nap in the middle of the street.”

What the fuck?

“But I was just doing what Daddy told me to do,” she said. “I always do what Daddy tells me. But when the vampires suddenly turned on me? They’re supposed to be my babies.” Her voice cracked and she touched the center of her chest, like she actually possessed a heart. “But they didn’t act very thankful that I’d created them. Instead, they attacked me. Huxley saved me back there from being bitten. And then Ace saved me too. And that’s when I knew that Daddy was wrong about this one thing. Not all werecats are bad. And not all vampires are good babies. It’s much better to makethem the old-fashioned way. The coin vampire babies are no good.”

“I’m so confused,” Emma said. “Who the hell is your father?”

“King,” Kebe said. “The guy that Zoey strips for for small sums of money.”

What the fuck?!The sums weren’t small. King was one of my best tippers. But that was all beside the point. “Ew. Didn’t you say you cammed with him too?”

“No, I said we talked. Don’t be gross. He’s my daddy.”

“Stop calling your father that! You’re the gross one!”

“But he is my daddy.”

“Stop it!”

“Fine. What do you want me to call him? The god of the dead?”

“Sohe’sSatan?”

“No.”

“You just said...”

“He’s Anubis,” Kebe said. “Obviously. He didn’t even try to hide it. He wears a freaking Anubis mask when he talks to you. This coin belongs to him.” She pulled the silver Anubis coin out of her pocket. “Your boyfriends stole it from him.”

Oh my God.Otto had said he thought King looked familiar.

Emma reached out and hit her hand, knocking the demon coin to the ground.

“Well that certainly won’t do anything,” Kebe said. “I think your boyfriends may have actually gotten the fabulous design for this bank from my daddy’s home when they broke in. They really do have wonderfultaste. So different than Daddy described. And I’m sorry, I should have trusted my gut. But my daddy can be very persuasive. The way your boyfriends have behaved around me isn’t anything like how he described though. And as I touched Anubis’ scales...” she turned and looked at the golden Anubis scales sitting on the shelf. She shuddered. “The aura was off. It’s like you said, Zoey. Maybe measuring a heart against the weight of a feather is rigged. Maybe the scales are evil. Maybe my daddy is evil too.”

I opened my mouth and closed it again. “Sorry, if Anubis is your father...who the hell are you?”

“Kebe.”

“And what the hell is a Kebe? Are you a god too?”

“A goddess.” She pointed to her tits. “Don’t be weird.”

“What goddess’ name is Kebe?” Emma asked.

“Oh.” Kebe laughed. “Sorry, it’s just a nickname. My real name is Kebechet. I’m the goddess of serpents and embalming.” She smiled like it wasn’t the creepiest thing to be the goddess of.

Ew.I remembered her talking about embalming being an artform the last time we were in this vault with her.

“So what do you do exactly?” Emma asked, as if that was a normal profession and she was having an everyday chat.

“I embalm people, prepping them for my daddy. But vampires are all for me. Usually to make vampires, I embalm someone a little before they die. The transition is slow. And they’re always well behaved. I mean, well behaved for me at least. But those vampires out there don’t see me as their mother. The coin isn’t the same asmy normal process.” She picked it up off the ground. “And I’m not a fan of Daddy’s process. Perfection takes time.”

She shrugged like she hadn’t just created an apocalypse. “That’s why Elias, Raymond, and Patrick were all so well behaved back there. Because I made the three of them the old-fashioned, tried-and-true way.”

I knew she’d messed with Ray and Patrick! She’d teleported to Egypt just like I’d said! And I did not think that those three boys had been very well behaved. The only person they hadn’t wanted to attack seemed to beher. But I guess that was her point. She was their mother or something.

All the stuff she’d said about King made so much sense now. He’d sought me out. He must have known Crooked Point had werecats. Werecats that had stolen something valuable from him. And I felt like an idiot for not looking more into the Anubis mask. Especially after he’d told me to find the Anubis coin. I’d just thought he was really into Egyptian artifacts and mythology. I never guessed he was an evil god. In my defense, I didn’t even know that supernatural creatures existed a month ago. I was so far out of my element here.