Read Online Unwrapped: An Urban Fantasy Adventure (Werewolves vs. Mummies Book 3) by J.A. Cipriano - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: J.A. Cipriano
Tags: Fantasy
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on his back, spine bowed painfully. The body of Anubis crumbled into gray powder as I raced toward the fallen mummy. I’d barely gotten to him, even though it was only a couple meters away, when the last of the smoke wormed inside of him, leaving Khufu laying there with his eyes vacant.
Purple ringed the edges of his eye sockets as he turned his gaze upon me and blinked several times. His flesh had taken a yellow, sickly quality to it, and as he tried to get to his feet, he collapsed forward onto his face. I grabbed him beneath the arms and hauled him upright, but even still he put nearly all of his weight on me. His muscles trembled as he craned his head toward me and shook his head languidly.
“Before you ask,” he wheezed. “No, I’m not okay. It feels like my blood has been replaced with molten gold.”
“How do we fix it?” I asked, trying to keep the fear out of my voice.
“You don’t fix it.” He coughed, shaking his head. “That thing kills whoever kills it. Some kind of death curse” Khufu tried to swallow and wound up coughing violently. Yellow phlegm sprayed from his lips and splattered across one of my arms. My stomach nearly revolted. “That’s why I did the honors on that imposter,” he continued, wiping slime from his mouth with one forearm. “I’m already dead so the joke is on him.”
“Are you insane?” I yelled, shaking him even though that caused him to cry out in pain.
“Maybe a little,” he capitulated, gripping my wrist. “Either way, we need to find the real Anubis and fast.”
“No, I have to figure out a way to save you.”
“No, Thes, you don’t. As I said, I’m already dead. This will pass. Besides, finding Anubis can’t wait.”
I let out a slow breath as I studied him closely, trying to decide if he was lying. If he was, I was going to find a way to resurrect him so I could kill him for lying to me. “Where do you think he is?” I asked after the silence between us had stretched into an eternity.
Khufu pointed toward the open door, and I could have sworn the tip of his finger was made of stone. “Hopefully, through that door because I doubt I’m going to be doing much more than lying down for a while.” He took a wobbly step away from me and lost his balance. Thankfully, I caught him before he collapsed completely, but it was a near thing, especially since he was so heavy.
“Let’s just take this slow,” I whispered, hoping I sounded more confident than I felt. I was terrified by what that thing had done to Khufu. Sure he’d betrayed me, made fun of me, and been mostly a jerk, but he’d always been sort of open about it, and besides, I sort of liked him. There, I admitted it.
“Okay.” Khufu nodded, hobbling along like his joints were as stiff as boards. “That’s a good idea.”
It took a while, but we eventually made our way inside, and I almost wished we hadn’t. The place was trashed. It reminded me of those crime scene photos you see of houses that had been ransacked. Every single statue and all of the furniture had all been toppled over and smashed. The once plush green carpet was marred and stained with a variety of foul smelling goop. Even the torches lining the walls were broken, and the ones that were lit, seemed to have seen far better days.
“Um…” I swallowed. “What the hell happened here?”
“Seems like someone was looking for something they didn’t find.” Khufu tried to smile at me but wound up looking like he was going to hurl. “Or did find. I have no idea.”
“You’re not being very helpful,” I replied as I sat him down on a relatively clean patch of carpet and turned a relatively stain-free couch right side up. “Now get on there and lie down. I’ll look around more.”
“What if something tries to eat me?” Khufu asked, an uncharacteristic look of fear flashing across his face as he climbed onto the couch and flopping into its soft pink cushions like a half-dead fish.
“I don’t think you really
Purple ringed the edges of his eye sockets as he turned his gaze upon me and blinked several times. His flesh had taken a yellow, sickly quality to it, and as he tried to get to his feet, he collapsed forward onto his face. I grabbed him beneath the arms and hauled him upright, but even still he put nearly all of his weight on me. His muscles trembled as he craned his head toward me and shook his head languidly.
“Before you ask,” he wheezed. “No, I’m not okay. It feels like my blood has been replaced with molten gold.”
“How do we fix it?” I asked, trying to keep the fear out of my voice.
“You don’t fix it.” He coughed, shaking his head. “That thing kills whoever kills it. Some kind of death curse” Khufu tried to swallow and wound up coughing violently. Yellow phlegm sprayed from his lips and splattered across one of my arms. My stomach nearly revolted. “That’s why I did the honors on that imposter,” he continued, wiping slime from his mouth with one forearm. “I’m already dead so the joke is on him.”
“Are you insane?” I yelled, shaking him even though that caused him to cry out in pain.
“Maybe a little,” he capitulated, gripping my wrist. “Either way, we need to find the real Anubis and fast.”
“No, I have to figure out a way to save you.”
“No, Thes, you don’t. As I said, I’m already dead. This will pass. Besides, finding Anubis can’t wait.”
I let out a slow breath as I studied him closely, trying to decide if he was lying. If he was, I was going to find a way to resurrect him so I could kill him for lying to me. “Where do you think he is?” I asked after the silence between us had stretched into an eternity.
Khufu pointed toward the open door, and I could have sworn the tip of his finger was made of stone. “Hopefully, through that door because I doubt I’m going to be doing much more than lying down for a while.” He took a wobbly step away from me and lost his balance. Thankfully, I caught him before he collapsed completely, but it was a near thing, especially since he was so heavy.
“Let’s just take this slow,” I whispered, hoping I sounded more confident than I felt. I was terrified by what that thing had done to Khufu. Sure he’d betrayed me, made fun of me, and been mostly a jerk, but he’d always been sort of open about it, and besides, I sort of liked him. There, I admitted it.
“Okay.” Khufu nodded, hobbling along like his joints were as stiff as boards. “That’s a good idea.”
It took a while, but we eventually made our way inside, and I almost wished we hadn’t. The place was trashed. It reminded me of those crime scene photos you see of houses that had been ransacked. Every single statue and all of the furniture had all been toppled over and smashed. The once plush green carpet was marred and stained with a variety of foul smelling goop. Even the torches lining the walls were broken, and the ones that were lit, seemed to have seen far better days.
“Um…” I swallowed. “What the hell happened here?”
“Seems like someone was looking for something they didn’t find.” Khufu tried to smile at me but wound up looking like he was going to hurl. “Or did find. I have no idea.”
“You’re not being very helpful,” I replied as I sat him down on a relatively clean patch of carpet and turned a relatively stain-free couch right side up. “Now get on there and lie down. I’ll look around more.”
“What if something tries to eat me?” Khufu asked, an uncharacteristic look of fear flashing across his face as he climbed onto the couch and flopping into its soft pink cushions like a half-dead fish.
“I don’t think you really
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