Accidentally in Love with…a God?(Accidentally Yours #1)(67)
Author: Mimi Jean Pamfiloff

Chapter THIRTY-SIX

“This can’t be happening. This can’t be happening.” I squeezed my eyes shut, hoping when I reopened them, the nightmare would be over. I was locked inside a medieval holding cell, complete with dank stone walls, a torch sconce, and a small bucket in the corner for what I imagined was supposed to be my toilet. Sad part was, there was nowhere to sit or sleep. Could that be because I wasn’t going to be here long enough?

“Effing great.” I threw up my hands and paced the eight by ten room, chewing the distasteful cud of my colossal mistake.

Earlier, after I’d realized that I was quite possibly the lamest person on the face of the planet for not jumping into that cenote when I had a chance, I peacefully went with Tommaso and the two Maaskab who’d appeared out of thin air behind me. I truly feared for my life, but tried to remain focused and mentally record everything I could: which direction we were walking, the direction of the sunlight, what kind of weapons the putrid monsters carried—anything I could to help me escape later.

After zigzagging through the jungle for over an hour, they blindfolded me and tied my hands behind my back. Without them free, I thought for certain the mosquitoes and gnats would treat me like their own private buffet. But then I’d realized the bugs hadn’t come near me since we set out.

So, that finally settles it! The trophy in the Evil-Eviler-Evilest Contest goes to—drum roll, please—the Scabs. Not even bloodsucking bugs wanted to get near them.

“Are you going to kill me?” I asked Tommaso.

“Walk, Emma,” he’d said.

“Why are you doing this? I know this isn’t you.”

He pushed me forward. “Walk.”

I remembered the four raised lines running across his chest like fleshy, speed bumps. “But they must have done something to you. Those scars.”

“The scars are a badge of honor.”

So, they hadn’t tortured him? He was proud of those scars? “Why four?” I asked.

“I am one of their leaders.”

If he really, truly was one of them, then it all made sense now. When the Maaskab were around, the buzzing got louder. Every time Tommaso was around, the same. Their presence must somehow rile up the gods.

I stumbled. Tommaso caught me by the shoulder. “Are you out of your mind?” I asked.

“Yes,” he admitted.

“Why?”

“The Uchben killed my family,” he said without the slightest hint of emotion.

“Are you sure? It just doesn’t seem like—”

“I arrived right after it happened and saw the bodies. They killed my parents, my brothers and sisters, even their children. They shot them right at the dinner table.”

Horrible. Just horrible. “Why would they do that?”

“I still don’t know.”

“Then how? How do you know for sure?” I argued.

“Listen, Emma, even I didn’t want to believe it. But there were witnesses who saw the men entering the house. They described their clothes, gear, guns—everything. Then I found a record in the Uchben database. It was only an entry with a date and time, but I knew.”

“So you joined the Maaskab instead of finding out why?” I couldn’t believe he’d simply make such a drastic leap to the “dark side” without solid proof.

“No. That’s when Chaam asked me to work with him.”

Chaam must have been Guy’s brother—the sexual predator. I wondered what his unique talent was. Maybe hitting women? The God of Domestic Violence. That seemed like a fitting title for the bastard.

“I didn’t want to at first,” he explained, “but I realized how right he was about everything. The Uchben and the gods only care about keeping their power.”

“Do you honestly think the Maaskab and this Chaam guy don’t want the same thing? Sounds like they’re just trying to knock the high-man from the totem pole so they can sit up top instead,” I argued.

Tommaso laughed. “Oh. You couldn’t be more wrong.”

“Are you sure about that? Because you’re about to kill me simply because I happen to be related to them.”

“Emma, you were created for a purpose. Your life was never yours to begin with.”

“My life isn’t mine? What the hell is wrong with you?” I asked.

“I don’t expect you to understand.” He flashed a nervous glance at the two Scabs walking behind me.

“So you’re going to kill me?” I still couldn’t believe this was the same Tommaso.

“No. Chaam likely will, though. But he could decide to give you a temporary reprieve if you play nice.”

“Screw you, Tommaso. This is my life. And make no mistake, if you help them end it, then you’re a cold-blooded killer—a murder—just like the people who killed your family. Period.”

He winced and then laughed wickedly.

No, not the man I thought he was. How could I have been so wrong? I saw how he reacted when I’d talked about the pain my family was going through after I’d been taken to the villa. He had genuine compassion. He’d been so kind and so…“Wait. It was you, wasn’t it? You brought the Maaskab to the villa, when they came to get me.”

“So you figured it out,” he answered.

“Why didn’t you take me yourself?” I asked.

“I couldn’t compromise my position. It’s very difficult to infiltrate the Uchben.”

“And the necklace? What was that for?”

“Chaam has a particular fascination with you. It was a gift from him. All his women wear one.”

“Lucky me.” Then I wondered if the Uchben had figured out yet that there was more to the black jade than we’d originally understood. In fact, it seemed like a multipurpose supernatural tool for evil. It could act as a fertility aid to the gods, create watery god-prisons, act as a shield from being viewed by the gods, become unattractive pottery, and, according to Guy, be used as a weapon. What else could this stuff do? Get rid of toe fungus, cellulite, or pimples? Those were evil too, right?

“What’s next?” I asked. “Do I have hours or days?”

“Now you wait. Get in.” He pushed me down onto the cold stone floor. “Good bye, Emma.” I heard him say as he began closing the door behind me.

“Wait! Tommaso. Please!” The door slammed in my face, and now I had nothing to do except replay my mistakes over and over again in my head, fidget with the bracelet, which wasn’t coming off without a hacksaw—oh, add tacky, unbreakable jewelry to the list of black jade uses—and think about how I’d give anything to see Guy again.