Sweet Temptations

Chapter Fifteen

“Richard,” he greeted in his deep melodic voice.

Even after all these years, he still could feel the power and the tug that came from that voice. Master’s voice held a charming but enrapturing tone in it. It kept his minions, followers, and family members in line. It made his enemies wary if not outright afraid of him.

Master was sometimes referred to by humans as Hades. Mortals didn’t rather to believe in a monogamous god or pagan gods. They had different sets of beliefs. Some believed that Lucifer had been an archangel created by God, who had fallen from heaven into hell. Others believed that Lucifer was the son of Aradia and Loki.

He hated that name and often killed those who called him by it. Master had two brothers. One was what humans considered to be Lucifer or the Devil. Sure, Lucifer was the very definition of evil. He had reigned for a few millenniums on the throne but that was before his brother and now Master—and the other one was the Egyptian high priest, Imhotep. There were a variety of tales that went on surrounding Imhotep. A lot of them evolved around the theory that he had helped assassinate a pharaoh in the past in order to get with “the love of his life”. It had all stemmed from the three part movie series “The Mummy”, “The Mummy Returns”, and “The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor”. Of course all three of them were utter bullshit. Richard found that particularly amusing because of the simple fact of the matter was that anyone who knew Imhotep, knew that it was ridiculous.

Imhotep was in actuality a man of Egyptian descent who had once been an architect, High Priest, and a man of many lovers. He didn’t believe in love. Even as a mortal on the mortal plane of Earth during B.C., he hadn’t believed in it. He had said in his own words, “Fucked Egyptian women and then discarded them like the change in a pocket. He had been the favorite of one of the Pharaohs; although, he wouldn’t tell them who the pharaoh was. Only the Master knew. He hadn’t betrayed the Pharaoh according to him. The Pharaoh had betrayed him and in the process he had been mummified while alive and a curse placed on him. The curse had been lifted by an unknown ally. Imhotep still didn’t know to this day who had lifted the curse from him. He didn’t seem to care either. 

“Master,” Richard greeted in response.

“What brings you here, Richard?” he questioned. He motioned for him to enter the room. When Richard did, the door closed behind them.

Richard sat down on the couch that was by the door. “Master, Selene—the Perez witch is mistrustful and refuses to pursue mentoring through us, unless you present yourself to her. I believe she has the idea that you’re associated with that politician, Andrew, who sometimes does deals with us.”

“Richard, how many times have I told you to call me by name, when we are alone?” his Master inquired softly.

“Azael,” he corrected, “the Perez—“

“I heard you the first time,” Azael answered. “I will go see the witch; perhaps, I can work this around to suit me.” He stroked his chin in thought. “Yes, go find that witch and tell her that I will be by to see her later on today.”

**

Selene looked around Rafael’s kitchen with a smile on her face. She had been here once before and made him eggs. Now he was going to make her a real meal. “What’s on the menu, Chef Rafe?” she asked teasingly.

He opened the refrigerator door and then looked at her and chuckled. “Let’s see how about steaks with a marinade sauce. He quickly began pulling out items, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, minced garlic, Dijon mustard, and soy sauce. After setting that out, he searched through a few cabinets. “Baked potatoes covered in herbs and butter,” he said with a smile. “And soft layered butter biscuits with green beans.”