3 Goddesses ~ 3 Books ~ 1 KindlePaperwhite: Gods & Heroes Part 2 of 4

Okay, let’s continue our fun – Part two. If you missed the first post (Part 1) it’s not too late. Click on the link. (ALL giveaways on these posts are US/Canada. For international entries – where Amazon available and not to exceed USD).

9am : Gods & Heroes/Part 1 – Meet Bakari of Soul Awakened ~ Giveaway – Encyclopedia Mythologica (These books are awesome – pop-up book on steroids. I love them so much I hate to give them away. I only have two. Value $30)

12pm: – Gods & Heroes/Part 2 – Meet Kendra of Soul Awakened ~ Giveaway – Ancient Egyptian Themed Tarot Cards (This is my last deck. Value $12)

3pm: Gods & Heroes/Part 3 – Meet Bomani of Soul Awakened ~ Giveaway – Encyclopedia Mythologica

6pm: Gods & Heroes Finale ~ Giveaway – Autographed copy of Soul Reborn and Wicked Romance Canvas Tote Bag

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Gods & Heroes/Part 2 – Meet Kendra of Soul Awakened

Giveaway ~ Egyptian Tarot Cards

Giveaway – Egyptian Tarot Cards (Value $12)

LOVE FOR BLOOD OR HONOR

Kendra, an Egyptologist and demi-god in waiting, is the key to unlocking Bakari, the Egyptian God of Death, from his cursed slumber. Desperate to free him, she inadvertently binds herself to the god with a spell that only death will undo. To save Bakari from himself, she may have to sacrifice her innocence, and possibly her soul, before he becomes his family’s worst enemy.

HAUNTED BY SINS OF THE PAST

Bakari awakens to a world at war and a beautiful woman who has tethered his soul to hers. In the wake of his self-destruction Kendra is his only hope of salvation, but another has vowed to keep Bakari from the one thing he craves most– his Parvana. His butterfly.

*********************

Kendra

Chapter 2 Excerpt

Bitter thoughts chased Kendra down the next damp corridor. Spanning floor to ceiling, formidable iron bars thicker than the ones at the entrance loomed ahead. The black stone at the edges swallowed the bars into its core. From appearances she could only assume the metal stretched the circumference of the cell, hidden beneath the breadth of impenetrable rock. Her mind pondered what would require such enormity to contain. Why had Asar chosen this cell for his son?

Three large guardians stood rigid against the wall. Long bladed sabers decorated their chests. Based on the way the males shifted on their feet and the weapons they brandished, there was a good reason for the isolation of this sarcophagus. Even Bomani’s posture stiffened to the point that her small hand was crushed between his bicep and forearm. She wiggled her fingers free and shook them.

“Sorry.” He clasped her hand and caressed her fingers gently with the rough pad of his thumb. His brows furrowed slightly before he released her hand. He shifted his gaze to the large open crypt. His gold eyes darkened almost to the color of his skin and a cold current of energy filled the space around him.

Blanketed in Bomani’s cold embrace, Kendra shivered. She had spent hours standing next to this sarcophagus in the human realm, but never felt this level of anxiety. Upon her insistence the wooden sarcophagus had been placed inside a stone vault before transporting it from Thebes, Egypt. She wanted the evidence preserved for her inspection. Her gift would help her release the god who slept inside.

She nodded to the sentry and the black bars slid open. With her heart pounding in her ears she stepped over the threshold. She maneuvered around the crypt’s lid that had been laid upon the floor. The wooden tomb sat upon pillars that elevated it above the stone base. A loud click drew her attention to the gate. The heavy door sealed her in the room.

Turning to the sarcophagus, she rubbed the goose bumps on her arms. With her focus on the tomb, the darkness and the warriors standing on the other side of the bars retreated from her consciousness.

She circled around the burial chamber. The hieroglyphics carved into the wood spanned the entire circumference, even the underside. It saddened her to think Bakari had to be confined to the dungeon after all he had been through, but Asar insisted it was for everyone’s safety. After five years of torture at the hands of the malevolent goddess Kepi, the god who lay inside would be forever changed. For good or bad, Kendra didn’t know, but hoped for the best.

“Hello, Bakari. How are you doing today?” she asked, retracing her steps. “If you don’t already know, my name is Kendra. I’m going to help you out of this box.” She glanced through the iron bars at Bomani and the guards, who had taken position along the wall. Their eyes reflected a strange trepidation.

The tension in the air gave her pause. Asar assured her she would be safe, as long as the lid was closed. His reassurances did little to control the curling anxiety in her belly. She shook off the uneasiness and refocused on the task.

Not unlike archeological excavations, she approached the sarcophagus in a logical and methodical manner: broad view working in small increments down to the miniscule. This was another unearthed tomb, kind of. The only difference, this one contained the God of Death and was sealed with a spell no one should have to endure.

Scientifically driven, she looked for any clues that might be apparent. The crypt should have preserved the evidence, if there was any. Specimen bags sat on a workbench against the wall along with collection tools. She picked up gloves, tweezers, and a clear bag. The surface of the wooden tomb was surprisingly smooth, even within the hand carved symbols. A few areas were scuffed, allowing small slivers of wood to poke out. On five separate locations she found long hairs.

Red, blonde, black, and brown. Brown?

She could account for all the other colors based on the various bodies Kepi had possessed, but brown was not one of them. She ruled out her own hair, as hers was reddish brown. The warriors had short military cuts. This one had a course wave to it. From a reven, perhaps? Kepi’s undead army of soulless humans was nothing more than decaying flesh. It was reasonable to think a reven could be the source.

She took pictures prior to plucking them away from the surface and tucking the hair strands into separate bags. With her marker she wrote the locations on the labels. She dusted the fine black power over the entire surface of the sarcophagus. Surprisingly, there was only one set of fingerprints, which were hers—left when she touched it in the human realm.

Finally, she took off her nitrile gloves and walked to the head of the tomb. “So are you going to talk to me?” She paused, waiting for his answer. “I need to understand how they did this to you.”

Her fingertips traced the outline of glyphs—too chicken to actually touch her palm to it. She hesitated, fearful of what she might hear or see. The torture he must have endured made her chest ache. The spell would have relegated him to a death-like sleep, but sleep it was not. No, the incantation assured Bakari would be fully aware, locked inside a body that would never awaken from the nightmare.

She closed her eyes and imagined brushing her fingertips across his forehead to comfort him in some way. “It’s going to be okay,” she whispered. Her heart clenched. None of this was okay. How could he be?

The urgency to release him weighed heavy on her shoulders. She inhaled deeply and held it. With muscles clenched she readied herself for the punch to her head. Her palms hit the wood and…

Absolute silence.

“Huh.” She ran her hands across every inch of wood and came up empty, except for several small slivers. No residual history existed anywhere on the tomb. An impossibility, since Bakari was entombed by Kepi over five years ago. She locked her hands on her hips and turned to Bomani. “He’s in there, right?” she asked, pointing to the sarcophagus.

Bomani entered the cell. His severe brown eyes targeted the etchings on the tomb’s surface. “Yes.”

She laid her palm against the lid and drummed her fingers on its surface. This had never happened before. Undeterred, she marched over to the wall of the cell and slapped her hand on the cold stone. Offending sights and sounds seared a white flame to her skull. She snatched away her hand and turned to the sarcophagus. Her gift worked perfectly on everything but the tomb.

Oh, God. Her gift failed her. Failed Bakari. Of all the times for her to be blinded to the history of an object—why now?

Stunned, she turned to Bomani. “I’m going to need to see the palace library. The sooner, the better.” Bakari’s chance at freedom lay hidden in some ancient text. She prayed to the gods she would find it quickly.

Everyone counted on her to free Bakari. His soul and the souls of the world depended on it.