Dark Fates (A Paranormal Anthology)(27)

“Bring me the human.”

Ziyad paused. “Any human in particular, my lord?”

“The one you’ve been proverbially fattening up for slaughter.” He smiled. “The virgin.”

Ziyad rose, bowed, and disappeared. He returned moments later holding a pretty, young redhead by the neck as she screeched, begging and pleading for her life. “She has seen eighteen cycles, my lord. One of your most devout.”

Set stared into her eyes and saw a surprise. “My, my. You’ve been busy. Why did you kill your father, girl?”

She stared at him wide-eyed, her fear turning to awe, and started babbling. He caught his name in a revered tone, pleased when she lowered her gaze and bowed her head in obeisance.

“He said you did not exist, that I was a fool for believing in you.”

“You did well.” For a mortal. “You hold your virginity in high esteem.”

“Yes, Lord Set. I am your humble servant. I follow all the protocols.”

Set raised a brow. “Then, girl, you have bathed in the blood of the innocent?”

She frowned but kept her head bowed. “I am a virgin, and I offer you sacrifice each month as a sign of my fidelity. I did not know I should bathe in the blood as well.”

“Hmm.” He didn’t like her explanation. Ignorance was no excuse for flouting his directives. He studied her and noticed how pretty she was. His servant, humble and attractive. Yes, time to put the next part of his plan into action. He smiled and whispered to her.

A tear dripped down her cheek, and she trembled as she unbuttoned her blouse, yet she did not deny him.

Hours later, awash in all sorts of unmentionable fluids, he dressed. The girl had been divested of her virginity in every way possible and lay upon his bed like a broken doll. Her mind had fractured under his tutelage. He traced the pieces of flesh he’d rent and stitched back together with a thought. So many marks over her body. All that lovely red, in her hair, over her skin, between her legs…

He summoned his man, and Ziyad appeared. He glanced at the girl, disappointment on his face. Ziyad did like to inflict his share of pain, and Set normally let him indulge. “Shall I clean her up, my lord?”

“Yes, Ziyad. She’ll do what I need.” The girl had been ridiculously easy to break, but she’d serve his purpose. Like every other mortal he’d dealt with—with the exception of Eden, as she now called herself.

With a frown, he left Ziyad to his duty and stalked into his spell room. A quick glance into his scrying mirror showed Tariq and his men arguing and laughing as they showered in the large bathing chambers within their headquarters in the mortal plane. And there, Tariq’s weakness—clear affection for his fellow warriors. Loyal to a fault, Tariq knew of no other way to be. He always put his men’s lives ahead of his own. For them and for Anubis, the fool would lay down his life.

Now if only Set could sway that loyalty in his direction… Tariq turned, and to Set’s chagrin, Tariq’s back looked fully healed.

By the blood of Isis, what will it take to harm this prick? No matter how often or how hard he worked over the warrior, Tariq rebounded quickly. Such power in the creature, power that called to Set as well. What had he been thinking to give Tariq to Anubis all those years ago? Sentiment. Bah. Getting to Tariq now took crafty work on his part, enspelling the warrior only when Anubis was away. Not an easy task since Anubis loved his Elite and cared for them as his own.

Set cast a convoluted spell, making use of a spot of the girl’s virgin blood wiped from his belly, as well as adding a drop of his own to cement the binding. Then he flung his dark magic at the scrying mirror and watched with satisfaction as the magical command struck Tariq full in the face. The others saw nothing but water run over his eyes and cheeks, but Set knew the burning Tariq felt as his orders seeped inside the void where Tariq’s Ib should be.

Tariq glared right at Set, seeing through the dimensional window connecting them. Still, he bowed his head, obeying the unspoken order. Set nodded and closed the window into that world.

He once again called for Ziyad, who appeared out of thin air holding the girl by the arm. Her eyes were vacant, her body a shell through which Set would work his magic. She still felt deliciously innocent surrounded by an aura of fear. He was amused to find himself aroused once more. Ziyad had bathed the girl but not yet clothed her, and her mortal form was more than attractive. Young. Fertile…

“You may go, Ziyad.”

His servant nodded with respect then left.

Set lifted the girl’s chin and stared into her pale blue eyes that didn’t blink. “I shall call you Zaliki, for you have been well-born today. A virgin no more.” He smiled down at his cock, which was thick with need. “Suckle from my stalk, Zaliki. And I will reward you with a treasure beyond compare.” To be the mother of his child, a pawn he would use in the future. Set’s own demi-god, who could function in Ludos Deorum without breaking any of their precious rules…well, not exactly.

A loophole none had seen but Set. Should he, for some reason, not get his hands on the Elixir, he had a backup plan. Enthused at his craftiness and impressed with his own intelligence, he urged the girl to her knees, and she opened her mouth to receive him.

A god’s lust was no small thing. After spilling his fiery seed down Zaliki’s throat, he yanked her to her feet and bent her over the bed. Without pause, he slammed inside her hot cunt and poured himself into her while he noted the changes taking place in her mortal form. The fertile womb accepting his seed, the mortal flesh becoming hardier. Her muscles shifting and absorbing an immortal’s elasticity… Tsk, tsk, Set, breaking another rule.