Reconciliation by Lisa Oliver
Chapter Eighteen
“Seriously, would you guys stop fucking translocating me all over the fucking place.” Luka angrily pulled his arm out of the grip he’d been held in, sure his abductor’s fingers would leave bruises. He looked around. All he could see was gold – the furniture, drapes, nets, floor – even the ceiling was painted gold. “I’m just checking here,” he said, half turning to his abductor who was watching him like a specimen in a jar. “Is this place any part of your realm of the dead?”
“Absolutely not.” His abductor took a step back. “I’m Horus, King of Egypt, God of the…”
“Blah, blah, blah.” Luka waved him off. “I don’t know you. I don’t want to know you. I don’t care.” Crossing his ankles, Luka sunk his butt to the floor, sitting with his arms folded across his chest. “I’ll wait for Seth. Damn, I wish there was a way of sharing translocating powers. This is getting to be a nasty habit.”
“Excuse me.” Horus sounded frosty. “I’m the King of all you can see. How dare you…”
“What? Sit on your precious floor? Don’t worry, I won’t leave any marks and I’m sure if I did, you’d have a hundred slaves who would all come and buff them out for you, probably with their tongues. Besides, can we remember I didn’t ask to come here, and I don’t want to be here. You could simply send me back.”
“You are remarkably disrespectful for one so young.”
“So I’ve been told but I’m getting thoroughly pissed off with my mate’s family. Dropping in, grabbing me hard enough to leave bruises and then taking me places without asking me first. None of you give a shit about how much that upsets Seth or me.”
“Mate? As in, one granted by the Fates like Ra’s?” Horus leaned over, peering at Luka’s neck before standing upright again. “How is it that the murderer Seth is granted a mate before someone as mighty as I? I am the King of all of Egypt.”
“So, you keep saying. I don’t know and I still don’t care.” Luka kept his sneer scornful as he looked Horus up and down. If he hadn’t met Seth, he might have been swayed by Horus’s looks – the tanned skin, white teeth and black hair was a type for him. But the man was slender, and he didn’t have any substance. He might call himself the King of Egypt, but his power levels were minimal and did nothing for Luka. “I have heard about you though, so I can guess why you don’t have a mate yet.”
“You’ve heard about me? People know about me?” Horus looked positively giddy. He clicked up a throne, gold of course, and sat on it, leaning towards Luka with his forearms on his thighs. “Tell me, rude wolf, what do scholars say about the mighty Horus in your modern times? Do they speak of my magnificence as I bested my murderous uncle? Do they tell tales with tears in their eyes of the benefice I showed the people of Egypt who were lost under Set’s uncaring rule? Do they espouse the closeness I had with the mighty Ra through all times when others didn’t warrant his notice?”
“Nope. None of that.” Luka shook his head. “What I was taught in school was that you cheated when you beat Seth and became King of Egypt. Cheated. The only reason no other god did anything about it at the time was because they were bored with your constant feuding.”
Luka raised his hand, covering a yawn. Seth must still be looking for me, and while he did think about tugging on their mating bond again like he did the time before, Luka remembered he didn’t like being pulled around, so he’d let Seth find him by himself. He had no doubt his mate would do so.
His pleasant musing about the wrath of Seth was interrupted by a roar from Horus. “Your young are taught I’m a cheater? How do I…? Who do I… who must I see to prevent this travesty from continuing?”
“It’s a bit late for that, buddy.” Luka chuckled. “The world has moved on from when you thought gold suits were the height of fashion. Face it - pants like that went out in the seventies. As for what children are taught, it’s not like it matters because no one where I went to school even believed in you anyway.”
“I. Did. Not. Cheat.”
Luka felt a tingle run down his spine and grinned. Seth was near. “Okay, prove it to me. Was it true that the final determination of who would rule Egypt came down to a boat race between you and Seth?”
“Yes.” Horus flicked back his hair. “I was magnificent that day.”
“Hmm. Was it also true that one of the rules for that boat race was that the boats be made of stone?”
“Mine was a brilliant sandstone that glistened under the sun.”
“Wrong. Your boat was made of wood, painted to look like that glistening sandstone. Because your boat was wood, your boat floated with no use of magic at all. Seth, who followed the rules, had a boat made of stone which every fucking person over the age of five years old knows will sink when it lands in the water. How is that not cheating on your part?”
A huge roar and a blast of wind came from behind Luka. The wind missed him completely, but it flipped Horus and the chair he was sitting on, so the god was left sprawled on the floor.
“You cheated? You conniving bastard!” Seth appeared, the winds at his fingertips sending his hair flying. “I should’ve known. I should’ve fucking known you were never capable of beating me fairly, you sniveling pathetic worm of a god. You fucking cheated me out of my birthright.”
“You murdered my father, Osiris.” Horus scrambled to his feet. “You murdered him and desecrated his corpse. I had to remain hidden in the rushes until I was grown because of my mother’s fear of you. I sacrificed everything. I was the rightful king.”
“You lied. You cheated. You stole your way into a position that was rightfully mine. Now you steal my mate, take him from me…”
“Taken by force,” Luka added, rubbing his arm. “Something else your family seems to be good at. Never mind – I knew you’d find me, Seth. Can we go now?”
“We aren’t going anywhere, yet.” Seth was beyond fuming. His arm was rigid steel when Luka slid his hand over it. “I’m going to do what I should’ve done a gazillion years ago and kill this little bastard. He has insulted, lied, and cheated me for the last time.”
“You’re not going to kill him,” Luka said softly and as he spoke, a power bubbled up inside of him spreading from him like a giant cloud – Oh wow.
/~/~/~/~/
Seth’s temper was a familiar friend. He wore it like a cloak over his shoulders and pulled on it anytime anything didn’t go his way. So used to being despised, he needed his anger to keep any feelings of hurt from ever showing on his face.
Luka getting taken… for the second time no less, was enough to have his temper flaring. Not even a date had been sacred to his entitled fucking family. Hearing that Horus had actually cheated to become King of Egypt – that was the red rag to Seth’s bull. He was pissed and seeing Horus in a dozen pieces would go a long way to making him feel better.
Until Luka spoke, leaving Seth looking for his anger which had disappeared faster than a snowflake in hellfire. “He took you, he cheated on the defining test of who would rule Egypt. I think I’ve got a right to be pissed off.” Shit. I’ve even lost my menace.
“You’ve got every reason to be angry, mate of mine,” Luka said calmly. “I’m not denying that. I’m not a fan of this Horus person myself. He left bruises on my arm and threatened the people I was with if I didn’t go with him. He’s ruined our first ever date, something that was very important to me, but you have to feel sorry for the guy. Horus doesn’t understand our bond and probably never will because he’s got horrible taste in clothes and I’m sure unless he changes his attitude, he’s got to be well down the Fates’ list of who will be finding their mates.”
“Seth wants to kill me and you’re insulting my clothes?” Horus’s eyebrows almost disappeared. “And what’s all this about not getting a mate? I deserve a mate. No one has worked harder for our people than me. I’m the King…”
“Stop.” Luka put up his hand, and to Seth’s surprise, Horus stopped talking. “We’ve already had this king discussion. You cheated. You got the position. And now you get to enjoy it. Seth and I aren’t going to interfere in that.”
“I’m not?” Seth said at the same time Horus said, “you’re not?”
“No, Seth, we’re not.” Luka’s hand was warm on his arm. “There’s no point in fighting Horus anymore or killing him. No one believes in him anymore beyond a handful of cult peoples who long for the old days. Times have changed. Society has changed. We’re moving on, you and me. Horus can stay here in his gold cage, forgotten by everyone, cared for by no one. He’s not worth your time or energy.”
Seth looked at Horus and snorted. “You’re right, hon. I mean seriously, where did he get that outfit? It’s so outdated.”
“Exactly.” Luka was smiling at him. Seth could feel the heat of it along with the warmth of his power. “So, you can take me home, and we’ll go snuggle in the oasis, and Horus can just… do whatever it is aging, lonely gods do when no one loves them. By the way,” Luka raised an eyebrow at Horus.
He’s so sexy when he does that. Seth sighed.
“Why did you take me?” Luka tilted his head slightly. “Just so I know for future reference.”
“You’re consorting with a murderer.” Horus was actually pouting. “I thought you were probably a nice wolf shifter who didn’t realize you’d been taken in by someone who kills people. I believed I was doing it for your own good, but clearly you’re besotted.”
Seth felt his anger want to rise again, but it was as though a warm blanket was smothering it.
“I know my beloved mate is accused of killing someone,” Luka said calmly in that no-nonsense tone of his that probably had nurses swooning. “I’ve met Osiris. He appeared very much alive to me when I met him, and as far as I’m concerned, I have far better things to do than dwell on ancient, or should I say, very ancient history. From what I understand, Seth had a very good reason for doing it…”
“I lived in fear of him for twenty years,” Horus grumbled.
“A very long time ago.” Luka stayed firm. “Honestly, if you haven’t already, I suggest you hook up to Zeus’s Network, invest in a smartphone or computer, and start paying attention to the way mortals live now. Hanging onto grudges makes you an ugly person no matter what you look like on the outside. Now, Seth, can we…?”
“Most definitely. I’ll even provide some music so we can have that dance you wanted.” Smirking at Horus might have been petty, but when Seth looked at his nephew and really saw how the man was living, all he could see was an empty shell and a lonely man. King? So what. I’ve got something far more precious in my life and no one’s going to take that away from me. Sweeping Luka into his arms, Seth took them both to the peace and quiet of the oasis.
