flashes of a car moving down a freeway before everything went black again. I knew Amun was still wearing the ring because I felt the pull to him, but he was obscuring his vision so that I didn’t know where he was going.
Meet me on top of the mountain. What mountain is he talking about? We didn’t have mountains in Austin; hills yes, mountains no. I ran down the hallway and dodged Rachel who was coming out of the Employee lounge.
“Hey, Skye!” she called as I ran past her.
I didn’t bother to stop as I hit the door and was now out in the employee parking lot. I knew I needed a car but I didn’t have any keys on me to any of Archer’s. I did the only thing I could think of and ran to Seth’s old Toyota pickup. I tried the handle and thankfully it was unlocked; I guess he thought no one would bother stealing his early 80s model yellow truck. Thank you, Seth! I quickly got in, ripped off the bottom panel, cut the wires I needed and sparked the right ones together. I knew how to hot wire older vehicles (don’t ask!) and was so glad someone still drove one. The truck purred to life and I twisted the wires to each other and wasted no time driving out of the parking lot.
I made sure to take the back way to the freeway to avoid passing by the entrance to The Mausoleum. If Seamus saw me, he would know something was up. I felt the pull grow stronger as I navigated west through downtown and then north on MoPac Freeway.
At that time, I got another glimpse of what Amun was seeing and gasped when I saw Trey’s bloody, terrified face. I screamed at the sight and almost drove the truck into a guardrail. Amun grabbed Trey by the back of the neck and threw him into a flight of rock stairs. I gasped again as I recognized those set of stairs. Amun had taken Trey to Mount Bonnell.
Chapter Twenty-Three
A few minutes later, I skidded to a stop in the parking lot and jumped out of the truck, not bothering to kill the engine or shut the door. I flashed up the 106 stone steps in seconds and looked around when I reached the summit. There was no sign of Amun anywhere but I could feel him. I headed left, past the covered viewing area, and into the park section.
Amun’s vision began interfering with mine again and I saw myself from his eyes. He was standing behind me. I whirled around and took off the ring, throwing it to the ground.
“I’m here, just like you asked,” I said, trying to remain calm. The last vision I had of Trey was of his frightened and bloody face which had completely unnerved me. “Where is Trey?”
Amun studied me for a few moments and then smiled. “It is good to see you, Nisiqtu. I have not been in your presence in over a month. Come, greet me properly, Damu,” he smiled as he held his arms out.
I swallowed hard and looked around for Trey. I didn’t see him anywhere but that didn’t mean Amun hadn’t hidden him before I got here. I quickly weighed my options and knew there was no way out of this. I would give myself to him if he guaranteed that Trey and everyone I loved would be safe from him.
“Is Trey okay?” I asked as I slowly walked toward him.
“Your friend is unharmed,” Amun smiled as he closed the distance between us. He wrapped his arms around me and sighed deeply as he held me to him.
“You do not appear happy to see me, Damu,” Amun grumbled, displeasure painting his voice.
“I am, father,” I sighed as I lifted my arms and hugged him back. The action itself was one of the hardest things I had ever done in my life. Everything in me was screaming at me to kill Amun while a tiny part advocated for Trey’s safety. In the end, Trey’s life won out. I loved Trey deeply and would do anything for him, even hug the devil himself. “I am happy to see you.”
“Good,” he smiled as he pulled away and held me at arm’s length. “Let me behold you. My, you are stunning. Immortality suits you. What a beautiful bride you will be, Nisiqtu. Do you have the dress I left for you?”
“I-I never got to see it,” I swallowed