The Demon of Egypt: Nala's Side by Amber Riel (good beach reads .txt) 📕

          “I see.”  Niki nodded then locked eyes with me.  “Good luck on this engagement.”

          Later on, Antinique walked into my room and walked over to my vanity.  I watched her from my bed eyeing her.  “Your father told me about your engagement to Imhotep.”  She turned to look at me with a smile.

          I faked a smile.  “I love him so much,” I lied.

          “Love is amazing, isn’t it?” she asked.

          “Yes it is.  It’s wonderful.”

          Antinique nodded.  “I can’t wait to see you two together.”

          The thought made me want to cringe but I kept my composure.  “I can’t wait for that moment either.”  I felt the nausea in the pit of my stomach as I spoke the words.  I kind of started regretting the idea of agreeing the fake engagement but it was too late and I wasn’t one to just back down.

          Antinique walked over to me and sat on my bed.

          I eyed her.  I didn’t want the woman anywhere near me but I had to play nice. 

“Your father’s planning another ball for you and Imhotep.”

Great, just what I need, I thought.  “That’s great.  I can’t wait.”  Then I realized the tone in her voice when she had mentioned Imhotep’s name.  I could sense the jealousy there.  I was kind of repulsed by the idea that any woman would find Imhotep attractive.  I was only lying so I could have my way but she apparently was feeling the same way that the man had for her.  I played it off though.  “We’re together forever,” I told her.  That was another lie I regretted but I had to act cool about it.

“That’s good.  Now maybe you can leave your father and me alone.”

I narrowed my eyes.  She was as bad as Imhotep.  How long would it take for them both to screw up?  “Well, now you can back off of my man.”  That was too far.  I didn’t like the last two words coming out of my mouth.  The nausea grew in my stomach and I shook my head.

Antinique dropped her mouth.  “I am in love with your father,” she told me.  “How could you think that I would want that man?  I will admit that he’s attractive but how can you just say that?”

I knew she was trying to throw me off guard with her words but I decided to just go with it.  “I’m sorry,” I replied.  “I’m just the jealous type and I’m not used to hear other woman talk about him.  I’m too jealous but I’m trying to work on it.”

Antinique gave me a look that meant she wasn’t really convinced but just went with it.  “I see,” she said.

I had wished she would just leave so I could hurry off and rinse out my mouth from talking about Imhotep in such a horrifying way.

“I’m glad that you two are together.”

I’m not, I thought.  “Me too.”

“Well, I was thinking that maybe we could get married the on the same day.”

I began choking on the thought.  “NO!” I exclaimed.  “I mean no.  We just got engaged and want to have time to plan for the wedding and…. I don’t want to ruin your wedding day to my father…. I mean that’s going to be your day, not mine.”  I scrunched up nose.  I couldn’t believe the words that were spilling out of my mouth.  I was really regretting agreeing to the engage now.  I hoped that I wasn’t going to have to really marry Imhotep and that him and Antinique would screw up soon because I would kill them both in order not to go on with the fake wedding.

Antinique nodded.

“Now could you please go?” I asked.  “I’d like some time to myself.”

“Okay.”  Antinique stood up and left the room.

I sighed.

“Going to marry a man whom you want to kill?” a voice asked.

I looked over into the dark corner and noticed the Grim Reaper had appeared again.  Man, this guy was really started to bug me.  “What do you want?”

He sighed.  “I’m counting down to the days…. What you’re doing with that guy is very horrible.”

“I know,” I agreed.  “Anyway you can kill him soon?”

Grim shook his head.  “That’s not what I meant.  You two are both evil and playing this horrible game against each other.  You both are going to end up in a very horrible place.”

I shrugged.  “I wouldn’t be engaged to him if I wasn’t waiting for him to screw up….”

Grim sighed again.  “You two are going to kill each other…. The game you’re playing is very deadly….”

“I can’t die….”

“Yes you can….  You think that you’re fine but really you’re not…. Just because you’re not fully human.”  With that he vanished.

I just stared at the dark corner, eyeing it.

          I sat on my father’s throne.  He had gone out for some kind of meeting and I was bored.  I slouched down in the tall, comfortable small throne.  My back was hanging over the right arm of the chair while I had my legs hanging from the left arm of the chair.  I wore a small tiara around my head.  The tiara was made of gold and it went with my long black wig which fell down my back. 

My dress was long and had a few layers which opened until the last layer.  The top of my lovely gold dress was the lining of the gold crest and the sleeves touched my shoulders slightly.

“How’s my lovely little bride?” Imhotep’s sarcastic voice asked.

I rolled my eyes.  Since we weren’t around people, I figured that the act didn’t have to go on but for some reason the idiot found it to be fun and torturous.  “We’re alone so the act can stop.”

I felt Imhotep eyeing me at a distance, even though I didn’t bother to look at him.  “Don’t have to be so rude, princess.”

I flicked my right hand back at him to let him know that I didn’t care.  If anything, Imhotep was the last person I really didn’t to see.  “Something going on between you and my father’s bride?”

“What?  No.”  There was something in his tone that was telling me he was lying but I still couldn’t proof it even if I wanted to.  I needed proof myself to let everyone see the kind of man Imhotep really was.  “The only woman I want is you remember?” he replied again with that sarcastic tone in his voice.

“Whatever.”  I sat up and locked eyes with Imhotep.  “If you’re lying about you and my father’s prostitute bride, I will find out about it and I will let everyone know.  I will have you both murdered.”

Imhotep sighed.  “Well, princess, you have nothing to worry about.”

“Again we’re not really engaged and right now if you say one my sarcastic remark about the engagement I swear I will attack you right here and right now.”

Imhotep held up his hands as if he were breaking up an argument.  “Whatever you say, your highness.”

His mocking words were pushing my buttons.  I was growing so angry with them when my father and Antinique walked into the room.  Great, I thought.

“Aw the happy couple,” my father spoke with a smile.

I stood up from the throne and stepped down onto the ground.  Imhotep walked over to me and wrapped his left human arm around my body.  I looked at him, growling silently.  “You better remove that arm,” I whispered to him.

He looked down at me with fire in his dark brown human eyes.  “Just play along.”  We just eyed each other.

His human sent hit my nose and I had to resist the erg to attack.  I looked at his arm and snapped.  I swerved to the left and pushing Imhotep out of my way and turned toward his right arm.  I placed my hands on the lower half of his arm and bit into his human flesh.  The blood splattered all over the place and my dress was covered in blood.  The taste was so good I couldn’t stop myself.

“Let go of me,” Imhotep spoke as he continued to hit me off of his arm.

My grip grew tighter around his arm and my wolf fangs torn into his skin.  I couldn’t stop myself.  It was an enjoyable tasteful moment that nothing could ruin it.

“Stop, Nala,” Vanessa’s voice trailed behind me.

I kept feasting.  I felt a blast from behind me.  The pain hurt so bad.  I turned to face my attack, releasing Imhotep’s arm from my grip.

Vanessa stood eyeing me.

“What do you want?”

“This game that you two are playing has a horrible ending…. Not just for him but for you too.”

“I was enjoying a meal.”

Vanessa shook her head.  “That’s what you believe.  That’s what you think.”

I raised an eyebrow at Vanessa in confusion.  I had no idea what she was talking about.  I looked at Imhotep and realized that everything was in my head.  I hated moments like that.  Man, Vanessa was worse than I thought.  I had to get rid of her as soon as possible and I knew that killing her would be a bad idea because I would have had to kill myself in order to kill and I wasn’t one for suicide.  I had to figure out another way to eliminate her someway, somehow.  She was the only person I knew I couldn’t kill off.

My father and Antinique walked over to me and my unwanted groom.  That was when I noticed Imhotep and Antinique staring at each other with want in their eyes.  My father was too busy, even for a pharaoh, to notice what was going on, and also as a human, he wasn’t aware of the truth.  I could see it in their eyes.  Although, Imhotep knew that I was waiting for him to screw up, Antinique had no clue that I was onto her as well.  “Honey, can you go and get me a water lily?” Antinique asked my father.

“Of course,” he replied.  My father kissed Antinique’s cheek and then left the room.

I knew that was her way of getting rid of my father so I decided that I would play her little game before her and Imhotep could try to get rid of me as well.  “I would like some flowers too, sweetie,” I told Imhotep, wearing a fake smile on my face as I looked up at him.  The nausea began to fill my stomach again at the words.  I had wish that I hadn’t made that agreement.

“What kind of flowers would you like?” Imhotep asked.

“Papyrus,” I spoke quickly.

Imhotep and Antinique looked over at me confused.

I then remembered that papyrus dealt with fertility and something about life.  I couldn’t believe I had said that but I couldn’t back down.  “What?” I asked, rudely.

Imhotep sighed.  “Fine.”  He went to go kiss my cheek but I quickly pulled away from him, disgusted.

“Not until the wedding,” I replied, not helping the nausea feeling one bit.

Imhotep smiled a little.  Then left the room.

“You two make such a cute couple,” Antinique said, jealousy slightly hiding in her words.

I looked at her raising an eyebrow.  I could really care less.

My father walked in with a