Soul Slam, Soul Warriors Book 1

Chapter Nine

I awoke screaming. Gigantic sobs rocked my body. Hugging myself, because no one else could, I swiped the wetness from my cheeks. The hard wooden floor of the stall bit into my back and the sharp points of hay poked my skin.

The dream had seemed so real. I'd lived through it. Had seen the darkness lining King Tut's view and sensed his end. His soulmate, Queen Ankhesenamen had later died and moved on to the proper Afterlife, while King tut had lived in this empty middle ground because he'd abused the sun's powers.

I am Pharaoh. I had every right to use the sun's powers.

My breath hitched and my body spasmed, slight twitches I couldn't control. As if Tut still suffered even though he now lived inside of me.

The dream had awakened more questions than answers. Forcing my eyelids closed, I tried to go back to sleep with hopes of learning anything else. It was no use. My body was restless. My mind raced.

I rubbed my eyes and scratched my butt. Then, I checked to make sure Xander was still sleeping. Like all teenage boys, of course, he'd slept through my screams of distress.

He lay on his side. Silky, black hair covered part of his face. A slight shadow grew on his chin. Early morning light filtering through the high window highlighted his long eyelashes.

I crawled over to him, the sharp straw needles poking through my pants. "Wake up."

He turned away and burrowed deeper into the straw.

"Xander, wake up." I held one finger an inch away from his shoulder. Would one tiny touch hurt?

"What?" he mumbled.

I didn't want to tell him about the dream while he was still half asleep. "We need to get up."

"Don't tell me you want to catch a bus home." He twisted toward me. "Can it wait until morning?"

The sun would rise soon. And with it, my powers. And Fitch's anger. "Technically, it is morning."

His eyes opened and their sleepy green tried to focus making me envision waking up with him every morning. His tousled hair stuck up in places. His mouth slumped in a frown. Guess he didn't look perfect all the time. But he still looked good.

"What's the hurry?"

"Hmm," I poured sarcasm into my tone. "We're in possession of a stolen museum artifact. The police, the Society and who-knows-who-else is looking for us. I've got the soul of an ancient Egyptian King inside me. And I could burn out and die at any time." I took a deep breath. "You're right. Maybe we should sleep in."

"All right. All right." He sat up and shook his head free of hay. The golden straws fell out of his kohl-black hair.

Kohl?

Where did I come up with that word?

My mind searched for an answer. I'd never heard the word before yet I knew it meant black. Jet black—like Xander's thick hair. Hair a girl wanted to run her fingers through.

I squeezed my hand together. Clearing my head, I focused. "I had a dream."

"Martin Luther King Jr." Xander shot me a know-it-all smile. "How many points do I get?"

"This isn't a game." I wanted to slap him on the leg, but held myself back because I wanted him to concentrate on what I was about to tell him, not the pain. "I had a dream of King Tut dying. Except he didn't go to his Afterlife, but was stuck in this half-life because he abused the sun's powers."