Accidentally…Cimil? (Accidentally Yours #4.5)(11)
Author: Mimi Jean Pamfiloff

He slowly pulled away and gazed into my eyes. “I am unable to remove the barrier or the collar, even if I so desired, my love. You are the only one who holds the key to breaking the spell.”

So the little devil had lied to me. He could not remove it. Sneaky, little pharaoh. Gods, I think I love this man.

“However,” he added, “if it will make you feel more comfortable, I will first make my vow to you.” Once again he kissed me deeply, passionately. My mind swirled with new emotions and with a fire I’d quickly and irrationally become addicted to. I’m pretty damned sure his lips were feeling the fire, too. Touching me for any length of time was no fun.

He kneeled and stared up with his dark eyes.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“I, Narmer, son of Ka and king of Egypt, vow to you, Cimil, Goddess of the Underworld, my eternal soul, my eternal loyalty, my eternal love—”

I blinked and Narmer was on his side, blood oozing from his chest, a giant spear sticking from him.

I pivoted on my heel and saw two men standing in the doorway, one with his arm cocked, ready to throw another spear. I reached toward the small table at the side of the bed, grabbed a vase, and threw it right at his head. It landed with a loud crack and the man dropped. The second man scrambled for the spear and came at me. I ducked and spun, avoiding the razor-sharp tip of his spear, and ended up behind him.

Sorry, buddy, but in my sixty-five thousand years, one thing I’ve learned is how to fight. I grabbed the man from behind, wishing I could reach inside him and yank out his f**king soul; however, I still didn’t have my powers. Instead, I settled for hanging on tight and letting nature take its course. In this case, that meant allowing my energy to flow into his body. The man howled and dropped to the floor, his body smoking. I picked up the spear and ran it straight through his heart. Evil bastard.

I looked over at Narmer who hacked blood into crimson puddles.

“No. Oh, gods, no!” That’s when I realized that I wasn’t ready to let him go. Not now. Not ever. I couldn’t imagine a future, an eternity without him by my side. It was like discovering cheesecake and finding out the only chef in the world who knew how to make it had jumped off a cliff. Narmer made life taste so good, and I wanted more. He understood me. He saw me for who I really was, and yet, he still loved me, wanted me.

I kneeled next to him. “Don’t leave me, you bastard.” My mind raced through the solutions but found only one. I would have him free Minky. We’d dart off to my portal, and I would take him back to my world. Damn the gods if they didn’t agree with my choice to grant him immortality. What was the point of being a goddess if I couldn’t use the tools given to us by the Universe?

“Narmer, honey.” I stroked back the dark locks from his face. “Tell me where you put Minky.”

Narmer groaned. “Are you going to leave me now that I am dying?”

“No, you silly man, I am going to save you.”

“Your creature was taken to the Temple of Bastet.”

Camel crap. That was on the other side of the city.

“You might not live that long. Dammit all to hell! There has to be another way.”

Something flickered in his eyes. “If you see Mitnal, whatever you do…” Narmer’s eyes rolled into his head and he passed out.

Oh my gods. Oh my gods. He only had minutes at best; I had to do something.

“I, Yum Cimil, Goddess of the Underworld, vow eternal loyalty to you, Narmer, pharaoh of Egypt. For as long as I live, my heart and soul belong to you and no other. I love you. I love you. Please don’t die,” I cried.

My collar fell to the floor, and my body buzzed with divine energy.

I’m free!

I cracked the spear sticking from his body and pulled it out so I’d be able to carry him over my shoulder. But there was so much blood.

Fuck, f**k, f**k. I pulled strips of fabric from the bedding and tried to plug the hole, but the blood came too fast.

I flung him over my shoulder, grateful for the return of my powers, which included physical strength, and fled the chamber. Dead bodies were strewn about the temple, and it was obvious Narmer’s guards had taken down a few of his brother’s men before losing the battle to defend their king.

I scampered down the steps of Narmer’s private temple, feeling his warm blood trickling down my lower back and legs. Oh, gods, he wasn’t going to make it!

I ran straight thought the courtyard toward the outer temple that led to the exit, but standing there was a strange, little man. He wore a loincloth and necklace made of human fingers. His hair was pulled into a strange, little ponytail atop his head. He reeked of dark energy, like he’d bathed in evil.

Ugh! It’s one of those creepy Mayan priests! I knew this because (a) we bumped into his peeps quite often given our portals were in their barrio and (b) because these tiny bastards had recently decided that ripping out people’s hearts was a spiffy way to amp up their powers. Remember that River of Tlaloc I talked about? Well, his people had been drinking the damned water for so long, they’d developed supernatural powers. Mostly harmless ones—seeing the dead, making rain, talking to animals, blah, blah, blah—but they were certainly on our deity radar.

“What the hell are you doing here?” I asked.

He held out his hand to stop me. “He will die, but I can help you save him.”

I blinked as my mind tried to sort out the pieces. “Mitnal, I presume.”

He smiled and flashed his blackened teeth. “Why, yes, my dear goddess.” He bowed. “At your service.”

“Good. I need to get across town to the Temple of Bastet. I need to get back to my cenote.”

Mitnal slowly shook his head as if he’d achieved some sinister victory. My goddess red flags were flying their colors high in the sky. In fact, if I weren’t so busy, I’d snatch the soul right out of him. He was bad news.

“You will never make it in time,” he said. “He is turning blue. If I may, my goddess, offer another suggestion. One that is guaranteed to save our dear pharaoh?”

What had Narmer been trying to tell me before he’d passed out? It had sounded like a warning. Well, I didn’t need a warning. Anyone could see this man was up to no good.

“He has stopped breathing,” Mitnal pointed out.

I stilled. Dammit, dammit, dammit. I slid Narmer down on the ground and started doing that thing called CPR. Humans in the future had developed the technique, and it did save lives on occasion.