Thoth by Alessa Thorn

10

Kema spent the following day focusing on her readings and trying not to think of ghosts and handsome, complicated sorcerer gods. She knew that she liked Thoth, and spending the afternoon chatting and chasing ghosts had only made him more interesting.

This train of thought is far too dangerous, even for you, she scolded herself. It didn’t stop her from looking for him every time she stepped outside of her tent.

Thoth was never there, though she did see the man that she had bumped into the previous day. He was sitting on a nearby bench, reading the newspaper and people watching. Kema couldn’t stop the pang of disappointment that he wasn’t Thoth.

He was often rude, arrogant, and challenging, but under his layer of bullshit, there was something that Kema found relentlessly appealing. She had always found intelligence attractive. Her disastrous relationships with two professors proved that.

Kema walked home from the park, wondering if she should seek Thoth out instead.

Don't be silly. He'll be back. He's not going to let you off that easily.

Kema was singing along to the radio and contemplating dinner when there was a knock on her door.

For a heart-stopping second, she thought it might be Thoth. Instead, two men loomed in her doorway.

“Can I help you?” she asked before recognizing one of them. “Hey, didn’t I see you at the park?”

“Your husband, Ibrahim Zaki, would like a word with you,” he replied. Kema’s stomach lurched. She tried to slam the door shut, but the man stuck his boot in to stop her.

“We aren’t here to hurt you, but you’re coming with us. Mr. Zaki has been looking for you for a long time,” the second man said. Kema picked up her phone.

“Get out or I am calling the police. I have no husband,” she said as they tried to back her into a corner.

“He has a marriage certificate that says otherwise, Mrs. Zaki.”

Kema picked up her empty coffee cup and threw it at him. It smashed against his forearm, and Kema tried to dodge around him. The second man’s hand curved into a fist, but Kema didn’t have time to duck as it smashed into her cheek bone and sent her to the floor.

“We said we don’t want to hurt you,” he growled, standing over her. Kema kicked him in the knee and scrambled backward towards her bookshelf.

“Stop trying to fight us, or we’ll lock you somewhere that you won’t ever be found,” the other man threatened. His arm was bleeding from where her cup had hit him.

Kema got to her feet, using the bookshelf to keep herself upright. She couldn’t make it to the door, and the apartment was too high up to escape out the window.

“You can’t take me to him. We were never married. I never signed that certificate,” she said, trying to buy herself some time.

“He seems to think otherwise. I knew I recognized you. He has a photo of you that he shows each new person he hires. He’s been trying to find you all this time. Why would you run from a man who cares so much?”

Kema spat out a mouthful of blood and picked up her statue of Hermes, ready to use it as a weapon if she had to. “Ibrahim only cares that he couldn’t have me. I won’t let you take me.”

Through her blurred vision, she saw Thoth’s bronze cartouche on her arm glimmering. Kema put her hand over it and felt something surge up inside of her. It wasn’t like when she was doing a reading. This was a sudden hot burst.

Thoth, please help me! Kema prayed, not knowing if he was a god that listened to prayers.

Hot air rushed out behind her, and Kema turned as a door opened where her bookshelf had been. The men shouted as Kema rushed forward and tumbled through the doorway. She crashed straight into Thoth, sending him sprawling to the floor of a library.

“Kema! What the fuck just…” he started.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” she murmured into his shirt, hands clinging to him.

Thoth sat up slowly, lifting a shaking Kema with him. “What happened? Is that blood?” He lifted her chin, and his eyes darkened. Her right eye was swelling up, and blood was leaking from her mouth. “Who the fuck did this?”

“The man from the park,” she replied, tears spilling down her cheeks.

“Come with me,” Thoth said, helping her up. He led her into his workroom, and Kema sat down on a stool next to the embalming table, putting the bloody Hermes statue beside her. Thoth took a clean cloth from a cupboard and wet it under the taps.

“Give me a look,” he said softly.

Kema pushed the loose hair back from her face, wincing as Thoth pressed the cold cloth to her swelling cheek. “Tell me what happened.”

“My husband found me. That man from the park worked for him. He followed me home and attacked me. He called me Mrs. Zaki and said Ibrahim had a signed marriage certificate. I swear I never signed anything that day. We barely got halfway through the ceremony when I ran,” Keema said in a rush. “They were going to take me to him, lock me up, so I grabbed your brand, and something happened…”

“You opened a doorway by yourself,” Thoth replied.

“I thought you did that!”

Thoth shook his head. “It wasn’t my magic that opened that door.”

“These men, do you think they are still at your apartment?” Set asked, making them both jump. “Sorry, I overheard you two talking and came to see what the fuss was about.”

“I’m going to have a chat with them,” Thoth said through clenched teeth. “Stay here, Kema. I won’t be long.”

“I’m coming,” Set told him. “Ayla will be here soon. She will patch you up.”

“Thoth, be careful. I told you, Ibrahim isn’t someone that takes kindly to losing,” Keema said, worry clenching inside of her.

Thoth smiled unpleasantly. “He’s about to learn not to touch things that don’t belong to him.”

* * *

Thoth hadn’t felt trulyangry in centuries. It had taken strong Kema crying in his arms to set his rage ablaze. Now he was after blood. Set followed him through the doorway and into Kema’s apartment. It had been trashed, whether from the fight or the men had done it out of spite, Thoth couldn’t guess.

They followed her home and tried to take her against her will…Thoth’s vision blurred, and he tried to stop his power from leaking out of him.

“They are already gone,” Set said, sniffing the air. He crouched down and touched a small pool of blood. “Looks like your girl got a few good hits in.”

“Can you track it?” Thoth asked.

“I might have a better idea.” Set pulled out his phone and dialed a number. “Connect me to Kader.”

Kader Ayad, Set’s old boss and Ayla’s father, was a gangster that ran his large operation out of Cairo. Thoth didn’t question Set but sent his magic through the apartment to repair the damage.

“Hey Kader, it’s Set. Tell me what you know about a man called Ibrahim Zaki.”

Tell me where I can find him and break every bone in his useless body, Thoth thought when he cleaned Kema’s blood up from the bookshelf.

“Right, thank you, Kader. Yes, I’ll tell her,” Set said and hung up.

“Well?” Thoth growled softly.

“Sounds like he is a middleman with black market antiquities and has a front as an import export company. His mansion is in Kafr Abdu.” Thoth’s expression darkened, and Set took a step back. “Woah, there, sorcerer. What are you planning on doing?”

“I’m going to tell him in terms he will understand that if he ever comes near Kema again, I’ll rip out his spine,” Thoth replied.

Set barely batted an eye. “Maybe you should ask yourself why you’re having such a strong reaction to this first?”

“Because she is mine, Set. She bears my mark. She has my favor and protection. He thought he could just buy her when she was only fifteen years old. I wouldn’t let him have her then, and I won’t let him have her now.”

“Don’t you think it’s odd that a big shot like Ibrahim wanted to buy a girl bride? Rich assholes never go without company for long. Why her? I’m telling you, Thoth, there is something about her that I can’t put my finger on,” Set said with a frown.

“If this is about god magic, I don’t care. I’ll…figure it out once this is dealt with,” Thoth said, waving his concerns away with an irritable hand.

“Okay, but don’t say I never warned you.” Set gave him the address in Kafr Abdu, and Thoth opened a doorway for them.

The mansion was gated, and with a twist of Thoth's hand, the guard stationed out the front entrance slumped to the ground. Set hadn’t pulled a weapon but instead let Thoth go first. He was there either for entertainment or moral support. Thoth couldn’t figure out which.

“He doesn’t seem to think too many people want to kill him,” Set commented. They hadn’t encountered any more guards as they opened the mansion’s polished wooden doors and walked right in. Set pointed down a corridor, and Thoth could make out the faint voices of men arguing.

Thoth’s power sizzled like coals under his skin with every step. He kicked the door open to a sunken living room. Three men were sitting around a coffee table, one with a bandage wrapped around his forearm, another holding an ice pack to his knee. The third man, who Thoth assumed was Ibrahim, was in his early forties, polished and handsome with a neat beard and pressed suit.

“Aren’t you Set Akhom?” Ibrahim asked. “What possible reason could you have for being here?”

“This isn’t my party, I’m just here to watch,” Set replied.

“Which one of you assholes hit her?” Thoth asked, before anyone could say another word.

Both of the wounded men opened their mouths to speak and promptly found their tongues missing. They scratched at their mouths and throats, moaning pathetically before they passed out. Ibrahim’s glass fell to the floor.

“What the hell is this about?” he demanded.

Thoth sat down opposite him, poured himself some of the expensive amber liquor. “Tell me about Kema.”

Ibrahim wet his lips. “She is my wife.”

“Don’t lie to me, mortal,” Thoth hissed.

“This matter doesn’t concern you—”

Set sat down beside Ibrahim, just a fraction too close. “That’s where you are wrong. Anything to do with Kema matters to my friend here. Better tell him what he wants to know. Last time I saw him in this mood, he flooded the Nile for the better part of a year.”

“Kema is my wife. I have the paperwork. I only wanted them to bring her back. I haven’t seen her in so long,” Ibrahim said quickly.

“Thirteen years to be precise. I would know; I hid her from you the day she ran. She doesn’t seem like someone to hang about to sign off on a marriage certificate,” Thoth replied, swirling the brandy before having a mouthful.

Ibrahim raised his chin before he said, “I paid for her fairly. She was an orphan; she had nothing. I was going to pull her out of the gutter and give her the life she deserved! She had no reason to run from me!”

“Accept you tried to buy her like she was an expensive fucking watch. Why? Why her of all the girls in Alexandria?” Thoth demanded.

“I saw her at church. She was too old for the orphanage. Too beautiful to be sent out into the streets. I spoke to the Mother Superior who raised her, asked her if Kema was amenable to marriage. She said yes.”

“Then she fucking lied. Kema never wanted to be married to you back then, and she certainly hasn’t changed her mind.”

“But I love her! You know her. You could convince her to come home to me,” Ibrahim began. Thoth grabbed him around the throat, the asp from his tattoo pulling free to hiss close to the frightened man’s eye.

“She will never be yours,” Thoth snarled in his face, his god aspect tearing loose. He lifted his fist to hit him when Set caught his arm.

“Thoth, look at this asshole. Really look at him. He is enchanted.”

Thoth glared down at the bleeding man. He pulled his head back and stared deep into his eyes. It was subtle, but it was there. Thoth tugged off the magic filming Ibrahim’s eyes. It tasted familiar, sweet and of roses…Kema’s magic.

“Fuck,” he growled under his breath. He didn’t have time to consider the possibilities. His hand tightened around Ibrahim’s throat. “You are going to forget about the girl that got away. Any paperwork you have pertaining to her, you will destroy. If you don’t, and if you come anywhere near her again, I’ll strip out your Ka and feed it piece by piece to Ammit. Do you understand?”

“Y-Yes,” Ibrahim gasped, and Thoth let him go. He stormed out into the gardens, Set following closely behind him.

“Don’t fucking say it,” Thoth muttered, ripping open a doorway to the bookstore.

“You can’t keep running from it, Thoth. You need to figure out which god sired her. This isn’t normal,” Set said gently.

“Not tonight. She has been through enough for one day,” Thoth replied, stepping through the doorway.

Ayla was waiting for them in the kitchen, her eyes scanning Set to make sure he wasn’t injured.

“Where is she?” Thoth demanded.

“In a guest room on the second floor,” Ayla replied, curling into Set’s side like she could sense the dangerous mood Thoth was in.

Thoth took the stairs two at a time, the coiled energy in him growing hotter. Kema was sitting on a bed with her arms wrapped around her knees. She had showered while he had been away, leaving her hair out and around her shoulders in thick black waves. It was so beautiful, he wanted to bury his face in it and breathe her in.

Have you enchanted me too? Thoth wanted to ask. He knew she would have no idea what he was talking about. She never would have enchanted Ibrahim on purpose either. It was all too strange.

“Hey,” Kema whispered. All the hot, spiky rage simmered away at that single word. Thoth sat on the edge of the bed beside her.

“Ibrahim and his men are never going to bother you again,” he said, voice tight.

“You didn’t kill him, did you?”

Thoth looked sideways at her. “Would it matter?”

“I don’t know,” she answered honestly.

“I didn’t kill him, but I threatened him. He’s smart enough to take the warning, but just to be sure, I’d like you to stay here for a few days. I want to make sure that no one decides to drop by your apartment and…” Thoth’s words cut off as Kema leaned over and hugged him. He was still and shocked for a few moments before his arms came up of their own accord, her dark curls soft in his fingers.

“Thank you, Thoth,” she murmured into his shoulder. Thoth didn’t know what to say, so he turned his face and kissed her forehead, sending streaks of healing magic through her.

“Wow,” Kema whispered, leaning back to touch her cheek. Thoth watched as the swelling went down, and the bruises vanished.

“Better?” he asked.

Kema nodded and brushed her warm lips against his. It was only the briefest press, and it still caused fire to sizzle through his ichor and lust to burn in his chest.

“You should get some rest. You’ve got a busy day tomorrow,” Thoth said, gently pulling out of her arms before he did something impulsive.

“I do?” Kema asked, lying back on the pillows.

“Who else is going to open the store for me?” Thoth replied as he reached for the door.

Kema’s face broke into a smile that hit him in all the dangerous places, and Thoth had to agree…it was devastating.