Page 105 of Obsidian Dream
He blocked out the rest of his plan in case Ninhursag didn’t believe his change of heart.A god would surely believe she could sway anyone to their side.
Ninhursag had agreed to the bargain—all it had required was swearing his loyalty to her, and that he would ensure the Atlanteans didn’t get hold of the artifact she searched for.In return, he could feel the tendrils of her powers growing stronger within his mind and her thoughts infiltrating and overriding his.It didn’t matter.If he had a soul, he would have traded it in a heartbeat.Without the consort mark, Khalida was free.Free to live her life as she wanted.It was the only gift he could give her, after the centuries of hatred and apathy, a fresh start, and one where they were no longer linked.
He kneeled next to the human who had fallen a few feet away from him.Placing his hand on the woman’s neck, he felt for a pulse.It was there, barely.He didn’t have to look far to know that the other tourists were all in the same situation, scattered throughout the site.They were all nothing but chattel to Ninhursag, only useful in their ability to worship the ancient god and do her bidding.
He twisted the ring on his pinkie—the move was ingrained into muscle memory more than a conscious act.After playing with it for a few more seconds, he slowly removed the ring and held it up to the light.Talik could not make out the worn-out inscription, but the words had been etched into his heart for centuries.
Until we are stardust.
Talik slowly walked toward the bridge, but not before placing the ring on a broken white marble column laying on its side.He also placed his earpieces next to the ring—not wanting anyone to convince him of the folly of his decision.
In the distance, the ground shook and vines grew from nothing, rising from the ground, tearing through the wildflowers and stretching to seven feet in height.The sound of branches breaking and bending screeched through the air, easily reaching him as the wood took on humanoid shapes.Long limbs contorted unnaturally, reminding him of scarecrows.It didn’t take long before the vines and branches took on a fleshy tone, first filling out muscles and then skin that spanned the spectrum of skin tones, from alabaster white to the color of the night.They were the same creatures he and Khalida had fought under the catacombs, the gallu.Time hadn’t made them any more appealing.In the blink of an eye, he counted twenty sprouting from the ground, before they dislodged from their roots and stumbled into the growing fog surrounding them.Then another twenty replaced them...At this rate, they would number in the hundreds within the next hour.
“Beautiful, are they not?”
Talik didn’t acknowledge the newcomer.The overpowering smell of wet cotton candy made him want to retch.It was a hundred times worse than when he had encountered Idris.He stared at the too-tight sweatshirt with the red wordsITALIAwritten across it.The human’s eyes were a dull brown, with a black sheen.The mark of a wayfarer.Had the sheen already appeared on his own eyes?Idris’s hadn’t appeared until after he had been captured.
“Welcome.”
The voice was anything but welcoming.Waves of hostility rolled off the wayfarer.Talik almost chuckled.They clearly trusted him as much as he did them.
“Our lady has requested your presence for the retrieval.”
Talik smiled.
At least one of the gods was finally smiling upon him.
Chapter Forty-Seven
KHALIDA
“Stop.”
Khalida brought up the sword, the tip glancing off Kade’s neck.A droplet of blood dripped from the wound before quickly knitting itself.He was the first person she had come across, and she had reacted on instinct.She looked over Kade’s shoulder as she lowered her sword.The once green grass had quickly become sickly in the wake of the god, as if her powers couldn’t keep the earth beneath her alive for anything but a temporary renewal.There was no other sign of the wayfarers.And all the humans were still prone on the ground, unmoving.
“She isn’t at her full power.The relic is draining her,” Kade said, as if he had read her thoughts.“But that doesn’t make her any less dangerous.”
