The three heroes of Assistance Unlimited stood panting, wondering what would happen next. Femi was breathing just as hard and when she spoke, her words were not what any of them had been expecting.
"Lazarus Gray, you have impressed us with your display. All of you would be welcome additions to our ranks." Femi rose from her throne and crossed the room to where Gray stood. She placed a hand on his chest, a teasing smile on her full lips. "Become my mate and I will see that your friends are treated like royalty."
"No!" Achmed barked. He immediately looked chastened when Femi turned to glare at him and he softened his tone. "My princess, it would not be proper. He is not of Egyptian blood. He is a commoner."
"I think it is for me to decide such things, not for you," Femi replied coolly.
"Actually," Lazarus interrupted, "I have no interest in bedding you. In fact, my only reason for being here is to see that you and your allies are silenced forever."
Femi blinked as if slapped. It was quite clear that she had never considered that he might actually reject her proposal. "If you refuse me, then there is only one option left for you and your friends: death."
Gray leaned close enough to her that she could feel his breath on her face. "I’d advise you to reconsider. I meant my earlier offer. Surrender and I’ll do what I can to ensure your passing is painless."
The look of rage that flew over Femi’s face was incredible to behold. Her eyes shone with mystic fire. "Kill him," she hissed between clenched teeth. "Kill all of them!"
The Undying drew their weapons, a combination of guns and knives, but Gray had already delivered a backhanded blow to Femi that sent her flying. Normally, he would have felt qualms about hitting a woman but in this case, he had none. Femi was a monstrosity, doomed to un-life for heresy. Now that she had a second chance at existence, what had she done? Nearly killed Morgan and left a night watchman to bleed out. She had proven her unworthiness to live.
Femi landed on her back, scrambling into a crouch as The Undying rushed at Eun and Samantha. She saw the Korean leaping into the air, kicking one of her men so hard that his teeth were knocked from his mouth in a bloody spew. Samantha had dived behind a display of Egyptian art and pottery, exchanging gunfire with The Undying.
"You, Lazarus Gray, are going to regret this," Femi said. Her beautiful face twisted into something awful as her anger took hold. She stood up, looking resplendent in her Egyptian finery, and pointed both hands at Gray. Tendrils of foul energy shot forth from her fingers, wrapping around him. His skin began to shrivel and Lazarus felt as if the very life were being sucked from his lungs. "I’ll show you what it was like for me," she stated. "I’ll see how you like being a living mummy for the next few decades."
Gray bucked in agony, falling to his knees. His eyes seemed to shrink into their sockets and his mouth became as dry as sandpaper. As death seemed to swell up, ready to envelop him, he began to remember a similar event, another time when he had teetered on the brink of the abyss: Lazarus saw himself staggering through a burning building. The stench of burning flesh had made him retch and the wails of the dying filled had filled his ears. He’d been bleeding from a number of wounds, most notably from a massive hole in his neck. He’d held a blood-soaked rag against his neck as he stumbled from the building, out into the night air. It had been an autumn night in Mexico and as he had turned back to face the flames, he saw a young girl, no more than a child, trying in vain to escape the deathtrap. She’d howled like a banshee, her hands reached out to him beseechingly.
"I killed them," Lazarus hissed, even as Femi cast her dark spells on him. "All those people in the house — men, women and children. I killed them." He looked up at Femi and his mouth twisted into an expression of disdain. "I can’t let you kill me. Not yet. Not until I know why I did those things."
Amazingly, Gray managed to force his way back to his feet. Even as his skin turned an unhealthy shade of white, Lazarus drew out one of his daggers. He took careful aim at Femi, who stared at him in disbelief. The knife flew through the air, embedding itself between her eyes. She gasped and fell back, her body beginning to decompose immediately. Her skin fell away in patches of dried earth and her skeleton disassembled, shattering as they hit the floor.
Achmed, who had been firing upon Samantha, howled in agony. He shouted for his men to cease their attacks and slowly they did as he asked, facing their adversaries warily. Lazarus was healing quickly, now that Femi’s magic was no longer working on him, and he watched as Achmed crept over to the remains of Femi, kneeling at her side. He ran his fingers through the pile of dust and bone, tears shining on his cheeks.
"You monsters," Achmed whined. "You destroyed her. She was the last remnant of the great Egyptian dynasties and you killed her."
"She should have died long ago," Gray responded. He looked toward the hallway as a set of uniformed officers rushed into the room. Evidently, the sounds of gunfire had finally attracted the authorities.
"Chief? You okay?" Samantha asked, moving to stand at his side. He looked distracted and she was worried that his injuries were more severe than they looked.
"I killed children."
Samantha blinked. "Chief?" She looked around at the police officers, which were rounding up The Undying and taking a statement from Eun. "What are you talking about?"
"While Femi was attacking me, I had a vision of the past. I think I may have done some awful things, Samantha." He looked at her and his emerald-colored eye shimmered, even as his brown one seemed to darken. Samantha had always found it peculiar how they could do that. "It’s time to stop playing around with the mystery of who I really am. The time’s come for me to find out once and for all."
Samantha took his hand. "All that matters is who you are now, Chief. The old you… maybe he should stay dead and buried."
Gray looked down at the dusty remains of Princess Femi. "That’s the problem, I’m afraid. Sometimes the dead don’t stay in their graves."
Morgan Watts was sitting up in his hospital bed when Samantha slipped into his room. She had a brown paper bag with her, from which the smells of Morgan’s favorite burger — a bacon & cheese concoction from Murray’s Deli — rose up invitingly. "Mind some company?" she asked, holding up the bag.
Morgan smiled. "Not at all. Especially when you’re bearing gifts!"
Samantha sat on the edge of his bed and offered him the bag. "How do you feel?"
"Rotten. But getting better. Sorry I missed all the fireworks."
"I think you saw plenty." Samantha waited until Morgan had pulled the hamburger out and taken the first bite before she began speaking again. "I’m sorry I slapped you. It wasn’t fair. I had been leading you on a bit. It’s not that I don’t like you in that way — I think I could — but we’re friends and coworkers and it’s just not wise to get involved. So, how about we go out for coffee sometime and agree to keep it simple."
Morgan stared at her with wide eyes and a mouthful of hamburger. He swallowed hard and settled back. "I’d like that," he said slowly. "To be honest, I thought you might be harboring feelings for Lazarus and that’s why you weren’t interested in me."
With cheeks flaming red, Samantha laughed and looked away. "No! That’d be silly. The Chief doesn’t have time for romance."
"If I were him, I’d make the time where you were concerned." Samantha looked pointedly at him and he shrugged his shoulders. "I’m saying that as a friend, of course."