Chapter 56
Horus’ point of view
“As I predicted!” Anubis declared
triumphantly. “That foolish human let his flawed emotions cloud his judgement –
they are ours!”
I patted the young human on the head as she
slept peacefully.
“And this one? What do you plan for her?”
“Forget her!” Anubis snapped. “That doesn’t
matter. Just be ready to get rid of her as quickly as possible if they step out
of line.”
“Oh come now, Anubis,” I sighed. “Could you
really harm such an innocent looking mortal?”
My ally shot me an incredulous glance: “Yes.”
“Oh never mind. So what is your plan?”
Anubis rubbed his paws together gleefully. “We
meet them at the place I designated, and get them to agree to some frivolous
ransom or other. Then when they least expect it, we kill one of them.”
“Another of your subtle methods of torture I
presume?” I observed.
“You’re learning, my spirit brother.”
“I see no point in this. You should have just
killed the Soul Warrior yourself when you had the chance.”
Anubis spun on me enraged. His angry bellows
awoke the small human, who huddle behind me to escape Anubis’ scowling visage.
“Should have, would have, could have! This is
now, not then!”
“Quiet, you snarling fool!” I warned him. “Do
not distress the child! If anything happens to her, the plan is ruined.”
“You are cunning, but not as much as I. You
must learn, Horus, that the clever warrior attacks neither body nor soul, but that
which can never be retrieved.”
“And what is that, my friend?”
“His heart! Attack his heart! We destroy his
beloved!” Anubis bellowed. “We kill the one named Kristin!”
Brian’s point of view
The door to McColl’s store was unlocked,
presumably by our new adversary. The only ones emotionally willing to come
along were AJ, Howie, Kristin, Leighanne and myself. Flyer accompanied us,
while Monsoon and Dommur guarded the others at my house. The others were too
shaken to come along. It was dead-on midnight, and carefully opening the door,
we entered.
Numerous isles flanked either side of the
moderately sized store, yet standing at the end were two shimmering figures –
one was Anubis, the other was bird-like, obviously his ally. And nervously
holding the stranger’s wing was Julie.
My breath caught in my through, before I
launched myself into a run. I skidded to a halt barely metres away.
“Jules!!”
“Daddy!” she grinned at me, and tried to run
into my arms, yet the birdlike stranger held her back gently.
“So you have come as arranged.” Anubis stated
slyly.
“What do you want?” I demanded. “Money?”
“Money?” Anubis echoed.
Both of the Ancients laughed at my suggestion
heartily.
“Now, what use could spirit beings have with
currency?”
“Then what?” I asked anxiously. “You want my
soul instead?”
I heard the others gasp behind me at my
suggestion. I ignored them, keeping my hateful glance trained on Anubis. He
looked surprised for an instant, glancing over at his ally.
“Well, Horus? Do you think he’d be more use to
us?”
There was no doubting the sarcastic tone in
his voice, but at that moment I was too worried about Julie to try working out
his sneaky scheme. Horus shrugged, inclining his head slightly.
“Hmm… well, I suppose you’ll have to do. You
have a deal, human.”
I blinked back a few tears as Horus released
my daughter, and she ran without hesitation into my arms. I wept freely as I
held her again. Leighanne joined our hug uniting our family.
“How touching,” Anubis mocked, chuckling
mischievously. “Now keep your end of the bargain. Get over here, or do I have
to come and get you to take your soul?”
I let go of my wife and daughter. Standing up,
I gripped Leighanne’s shoulders, my tears still flowing.
“Bri, you can’t sell your soul…”
“For her life… it’s the only way…” I claimed
resolutely. “Take care of her, honey.”
“Bri, I…”
I silenced further protest with a tender kiss,
a final goodbye to her. As we parted, I pulled away and turned to head towards
Anubis, who was grinning with a face of evil. I was willing to sacrifice myself
for my daughter. I prayed for a quick death. However, when within reach of the
jackal spirit, he backhanded me across the face, and knocked me into
unconsciousness.
Flyer’s point of view
Brian crumpled to the floor like a rag doll.
As I flicked my head up, I saw Anubis charging up a bolt of telekinetic energy,
his eyes fixed on Kristin.
“No!” I squawked, diving for Kristin. “Look
out!”
Kristin turned at that moment, unwillingly
letting me crash into the nearest isle. A waterfall of small cans cascaded onto
my snout, stunning me and leaving me helpless. The others were frozen in shock,
and made no move to protect Kristin, unaware of Anubis’ aim.
As I struggled to free myself, a black paw
grabbed my wing and hauled me out of the chaotic pile of tins. I kicked out,
thinking it was Anubis, but found myself held in Solin’s paws.
“You?” Horus exclaimed nervously, staring at
Solin in shock.
“Solin, where have you-?”
“I’ll explain later.”
Anubis laughed wickedly, drawing his arm back
to throw. “You are too late, Soul Creature!”
“ANUBIS!”
A strong, booming voice echoed through the
room. Anubis froze, jerking his head behind him towards the new voice that was
hard to find. A shadow jumped from the ceiling to the floor as two icy blue
eyes glowed from the dark. Standing to full height, the new figure stood 7 feet
tall, and his silhouette sported two huge wings upon his human frame. He
stepped forwards, and the moonlight illuminated part of him. A cowl masked his
face and a cloth tied around his nose and mouth hid his identity. He wore a
long trenchcoat, striking an imposing figure.
Anubis frowned at him, his jaw dropping
slightly in surprise. The figure narrowed his eyes at him.
“You throw that telekinetic bolt,” the voice
declared, “and I’ll kill you.”
***
