Free Under Wraps: An Urban Fantasy Adventure (Werewolves vs. Mummies Book 1) by J.A. Cipriano Page B

snarl.
    “Anubis…” Aziza growled, and the anger in her voice left me unable to speak. This was Anubis? The god of death? Why was he here, why now? Was he coming to claim me like Aziza said? And why was she so mad at him? Shouldn’t she be nice to him so he didn’t, I don’t know, turn her into a toad?
    He reached out and gripped my wrist, pulling me to my feet like I was weightless. It was sort of weird because Aziza was on top of me, and she tumbled to the ground in an annoyed heap. I was about to say something about it, but his eyes glowed like a pair of enormous rubies with flames flickering around the edges.
    “Hello, Thes.” He nodded toward Aziza who was still lying on the ground, mouth clenched together so hard, her jaw-muscles stood out against her flesh. “Jailer.”
    “Um… hello,” I squeaked. You would think that by now I would have gotten used to meeting Egyptian Deities, but really, I hadn’t. Every time it happened, I sort of forgot how to speak.
    “I have a problem, Thes.” Anubis smiled, baring his huge, dagger-like teeth, and the wolf inside me raised its hackles. “There seems to be a number of mummies on the loose within my realm. I would stop them, but unfortunately, Osiris has disappeared, leaving me to deal with the entirety of the underworld myself.”
    “What a jerk,” I murmured as Aziza got to her feet. She nodded once, but I don’t think she was referring to Osiris.
    “Indeed. You go and ask for one day off and instead of granting it, he just takes off like a jackass, leaving me with even more work.” Anubis shook his head. “Anyway, as we both know, the jailer had one job, to keep the mummies locked up. She’s obviously failed at her only task since there’s a full on mummy invasion going on down below.” A faint glimmer passed through his eyes as he gestured toward Aziza’s still seething form. “I want to bring you down there. Perhaps you can stop them before they release even more prisoners. What do you say?” He raised an eyebrow at me.
    Why me? The thought twisted my insides into a knot. I was just a werewolf and knew virtually nothing about mummies while Aziza was the jailer responsible for keeping the mummies at bay. Of the two of us, Aziza was clearly the better choice, so there had to be something else going on here… I just wasn’t sure what. Either way, I was pretty sure it wouldn’t be good for me and my quest to save Connor’s soul.
    I glanced over at Aziza, but her face was perfectly blank. Still her scent had changed and her hands were curled into fists. She was angry, why? Was it with Anubis, or how he had dismissed her?
    Anubis followed my gaze until his eyes rested on Aziza. He sighed and waved his hand. “I’ll even let you bring her along. You know, so she can pretend like she’s helping.”
    I was about to tell him how we were very busy and that I had a soul to rescue when Aziza shot me a look that made me clamp my mouth shut.
    “We’d be honored to assist you, oh great and wise Anubis.” It looked like she was about to say more, but even though her mouth kept moving, no sound came out. She reached up and rubbed her throat with one hand, her eyes burning with hatred.
    I tried to say something, to protest, but I found that I couldn’t talk. Every word stuck in my mouth like peanut butter.
    “Excellent,” Anubis replied and waved his hand in front of us. The air between us shimmered, taking on a haziness that swirled like the surface of a lake after dust had been kicked up. “After you,” he added, gesturing toward the spot. “Step right up. Don’t be afraid.”
     

Chapter 11
    We were standing in a landscape that didn’t scream underworld to me. I mean, maybe it should have, but it was all polished sky blue stone. Huge pillars reached so high into the sky that I couldn’t see the ceiling they supported. The ground beneath our feet was like the surface of a pond on a perfect spring day. The scent of wildflowers filled the air as