She soon discovered that a trip to the grocery store wouldn’t be needed since Tor had picked up a lot of the ingredients she’d used earlier that day. She’d decided to make spaghetti. The sauce came out of a jar, but Kenna added sausage and mushrooms to it.
The pasta done cooking, she drained it and put some on two plates before topping it with sauce. Tor already sat at the island, drinking a beer. She also had one. Kenna had liked the idea that she could drink as much as she wanted and never get drunk. And really liked it that she could eat whatever she wanted and not have to worry about getting as big as a house. Immortality did have its advantages.
She placed a plate of spaghetti in front of Tor before she set hers next to him, then came around the island to sit on the stool beside his. “I know it isn’t as fancy or exotic like what you made yesterday, but it should taste good. At least I think it does.”
Tor picked up his fork, twirled some pasta on it, then put it in his mouth. He chewed and swallowed. “It’s good. I like pasta.”
While they ate they talked about moving her things out of her apartment to the house. Then the topic of her working at the Luxor came up.
“I’m going to have to quit, aren’t I?” she asked, not sure how she felt about that.
“Not right now if you don’t wish to, though I’d prefer you did. It’s your choice, but keep in mind you will have to eventually. You’re immortal now. You won’t ever age. At some point one of your coworkers will notice. It depends on whether or not you want to make the break now or wait until more years have gone by.”
Tor did have a point. And if she continued to work during the day, and Tor still had to go out hunting evildoers by night, they wouldn’t see each other all that much. And after her recent night shift at the hotel, Kenna knew she didn’t want to work those hours again.
“All right,” she said. “I’ll give them my two weeks notice. I’m not going to leave them in the lurch. The only person I can see who would be upset by it will be my good friend, Nick. He’s a blackjack dealer. And I can’t see how I’ll be able to cut him out of my life so abruptly without him thinking something is going on. I usually tell him everything.”
“Well, you can’t tell him about this. If you do Anubis wouldn’t like it at all. He wants mortals to have no knowledge of his warriors’ existence.”
“I know. I’ll just have to think of something when it comes to Nick. I want to keep him as a friend for as long as I can, which means I want to introduce you to him.”
Tor nodded. “I’d be more than happy to meet this friend of yours. I don’t expect you to cut all ties you have in your life. You do realize you’ll eventually have to make a break from your family as well.”
Kenna shrugged. “That’s not a biggie. My mom died when I was about ten. My dad remarried a few years after that and started a new family. We weren’t really close so he was more than happy when I was old enough to move out on my own. I talk to him about once a month and see him only on birthdays and Christmas. I doubt he’d care all that much if I just didn’t bother after a while.”
“I’m sorry to hear you’re not that close.”
“Don’t be. It doesn’t bother me, really. What about your parents? Do you remember them?”
“Of course. I may have been alive for thousands of years, but I remember what it was like growing up in Egypt. My parents were farmers. My brothers and I used to help with the land. I knew farming wasn’t going to be for me, so I took up the sword and joined the pharaoh’s army.”
“You never went back to see them after you became immortal. I saw that.”
“No, I didn’t. I thought it best if I stayed away, let them go on with the rest of their lives, let them believe I died on that battlefield.”
“Do you miss Egypt?”
“Sometimes, but I’m happy here. This is where Anubis wants me so this is where I’ll stay. I have no knowledge of the other warriors. He keeps us apart. We each live in different cities from one another. We all work alone.”
“That must suck.”
Tor chuckled. “I don’t mind.” He turned his head and looked out the window. “It’s starting to get dark. It’s almost time.”
Kenna knew what he meant. It was almost time for Tor to see if he could lure the demon here to fight him. She wasn’t thrilled with the whole idea, but Tor knew what he was doing. He was a skilled warrior and wasn’t exactly helpless. Tor also figured he’d shift into his other form at some point once the demon showed up. If evil forced the change on Tor then the demon would for sure have it happening. There was nothing more evil than that creature.
“I’m coming outside with you,” she said as she gathered up their plates and brought them to the counter.
“No, you’ll stay inside.”
Kenna turned to face Tor. “Who is to say I’ll be any safer in the house? Besides, Anubis used that spell on me that should protect me from any demon attack. So he shouldn’t be able to hurt me. I’m going to watch your back.”
“I’d feel better knowing you were out of the thick of things.”
“And I’d feel better if I was in it. I have to help protect you as much as you want to protect me. Our life forces are tied together. You go, I go. So I kind of have a vested interest in how well you do.”
“I don’t plan on losing to the demon.”
“Then my being outside with you shouldn’t be a problem.”
Tor stood and walked around the island to stand in front of Kenna. He cupped her face in his hands and brushed her lips with his. “Fine. You win. But you will do what I tell you. I don’t need to be distracted by worrying about you doing something you shouldn’t.”
“I promise.”
He nodded, then helped her wash up the dirty dishes and load the dishwasher. By the time they were finished it was full dark and Kenna was getting nervous. She just wanted this over and done with so Tor and she could move on with their new life together.
She followed Tor out to the backyard and stayed on the edge of the patio while he picked the ground he wanted to confront the demon on—the nice wide-open space of the expansive lawn away from the in-ground pool, which was as far as Tor allowed Kenna to stand.
Tor lifted his hand and a sword appeared in it. He then shouted, “Demon, show yourself.” Nothing happened. “What did you think sending an evildoer to my home would accomplish? If you thought it would throw me off my game, well, you’ll have to do better than that. Are you so weak that you must use mortals to do your dirty work?”
Still nothing. Kenna wondered if the demon had actually heard Tor and would show up. The minutes ticked by and she figured the creature was going to be a no-show. She stepped off the patio and walked toward Tor. She had a feeling they’d be going back inside the house.
“I don’t think the—” she started to say.
Kenna didn’t get a chance to finish her sentence when two men suddenly appeared out of thin air directly across from Tor. The one who held the man who struggled, trying to free himself, had eyes that glowed red. She came to a sudden standstill, knowing full well that had to be the demon. He shoved the man he held into Tor who grimaced.
Tor looked at her, and yelled, “Go inside the house! He brought an evildoer.”
She knew what that meant. Tor would be forced to deal with his prey first before he could think about taking out the demon. He wouldn’t be able to help himself. Even as Kenna spun around to run, Tor’s body took on the change to his other form.
She didn’t get very far before the demon appeared right in her path. Kenna came to a halt. Except for his glowing-red eyes, the creature would have passed as a normal, not-bad-looking man.
“Where do you think you’re going?” he asked as he sidled closer. Kenna took a step back for every one of his forward ones. “I’m going to have some fun with you while your mate is busy.”