Asp of Ascension (A Nefertari Hughes Mystery #1)

Chapter Fifty

When Terry opened her eyes, she was no longer in the Egypt room, lying in a pool of her own blood. She stared down at her legs, but there was only swirling mist, as if she was floating. There was no pain and everything was quiet. She squinted against the whiteness.

"The asp has chosen," the voice said again. A nervous tremble trickled down Terry's spine. She recognized that voice.

The clouds parted to reveal a woman dressed in white robes. Naomi Hughes gave Terry a knowing look.

"Mom?" Terry tentatively reached out, the ends of her fingers shaking. "Are...are you a ghost?"

"In a way." She tilted her head, studying Terry. "Each time a protector is chosen, a small part of their spirit is absorbed by the original priestess, thereby making the asp more powerful. It is my image and my memories that are being used to communicate with you."

"So you're not really my mom," Terry said heavily.

Her mother reached for her hand and pulled her close. The sleeve of Naomi's white robe flowed. "I'm real enough," she replied, squeezing Terry in a hug.

Terry collapsed into the familiar embrace and let out a long string of sobs.

"There, there." Her mother patted her back.

When Terry finished, she stepped back and stared at her mother's face. She forgot how beautiful she was. "Does this mean I'm dead too?" Terry asked.

"No. You've been chosen as the next protector."

"Protector?"

Naomi smiled wisely and bowed. "The asp chooses the protector. It always has, for thousands of years, as proclaimed by Cleopatra with her last dying breath."

The asp.

A collage of images sped through Terry's mind; her father's hospital bed, Dr. Mullaca bleeding, Maude's garbled scream, Zach lying unmoving... and the coffin.

She reached up and felt her forearm, but the asp wasn't there. "I don't have it anymore," Terry said. Was she supposed to keep it? Had she made the wrong decision? Was everyone she loved hurt because of her mistake?

Naomi's luminescent form smiled at Terry. "You do not have to be in possession of the asp in order to be its protector. But I must warn you, it comes with an ancient power that few can comprehend and control."

"But I wasn't protecting the asp," Terry said. "I was using it to open the coffin."

Naomi's ivory-smooth features crinkled into a look of amusement. "Your actions must have been noble, or you wouldn't be standing in front of me."

Terry stammered. "I'm confused. If I've only just been chosen as the protector, how come the asp responded to my touch the day I stole it from the museum?"

"Because I relinquished my right and passed the honour to be the next protector onto you." She clasped her hands in front of her. "But you had to prove yourself before the asp would mark you for life."

"You? I thought Dr. Mullaca was the last one to wear the asp."

A sombre expression clouded Naomi's features. "June proved less than noble with her violent temper. It cost her the power of the asp."

"But she was strong enough to fight me," Terry said, desperate to fit all the puzzle pieces together.2 8 7 A S P O F A S C E N S ION 2 8 7

"She wasn't always vengeful. The original priestess allowed her to keep some of the power, stored in the mark of the asp on her arm...for one last battle."

"I should have given it to her," Terry said, deadpan. "She'd still be alive."

Naomi stayed quiet.

Terry mulled over what her mother was telling her. She frowned. "If the asp was always in the museum, how could the priestess offer you to be its next protector? Dr. Mullaca said your life had to be in danger."

The dark curls of Naomi's hair swirled in the mist. "The asp, the coffin and Cleopatra are connected. Protecting one means protecting the other. My decision was magnanimous, but it came at a risk—it always does. That's how the asp knows."

A wave rippled through Terry. "The cave-in..." she whispered.

Naomi nodded. "When the original priestess appeared, telling me I'd been chosen as the next protector, you and I were dying under the rubble of the cave-in. Only one of us could survive. I asked for your life to be spared if I passed the power of the asp on to you."

"No." Terry shook her head, disbelieving. Her memory of the accident came into focus. The collapse had been followed by a bright light—the priestess. Until now, she always assumed the flash of light had been part of the collapse.

"The priestess granted my request but still absorbed a small part of my spirit, knowing that you'd be connected to the asp until the day you proved yourself worthy."

Terry was drowning in guilt. If she hadn't insisted on going up front that day, her mother would have the power of the asp and still be alive. How different life would be.

Her mother's voice became solemn. "And now you have been chosen to protect Cleopatra's most valuable piece and prevent it from falling into the hands of those who would abuse its power for profit or gain. This is your destiny. Do you accept?"

Terry wanted to scream until she had no breath left. Her insistence to be on the dig that day with her mother had ruined so many futures. Everything was her fault: her dad's poisoning, Zach's broken arm and loss of a scholarship, Maude's assault, and Dr. Mullaca's murder.

"Do you accept?" Naomi prompted.

"I'm not worthy." There was a heavy lump in Terry's stomach. "I wish I'd died in that cave too."

"Nefertari Hughes!" She gave Terry a stern look. "I'm shocked you'd be so selfish."

"Everyone in my life is hurt because of me."

"Everyone is in your life because they love you." Her features softened. "The people who surround you are not there by accident, sweetheart." She touched Terry's cheek. "I died peacefully knowing you and your dad still had each other."

Terry wanted to bury her face in her mother's robes and cry until she fell asleep. "I miss you so much. And I miss how everything used to be." Terry's spirit lifted, considering a new possibility. "If I choose to be a protector, will I be able to talk with you like we used to...like in real life?" she asked hopefully.

"No," Naomi answered softly. "What you see now is a memory of who I was before I died. Life is dynamic. Things have to change to evolve." She paused and put a finger under Terry's chin. "The asp has chosen. Do you accept?"

Terry pictured her father, recovering from Dr. Mullaca's snake venom poisoning. Would he wake up in the morning only to learn his daughter had bled to death on the museum floor? "What happens if I say no?" she asked.

"Then you return to your body, and the asp waits until another protector can prove herself."

"Are you happy?" Terry swallowed. "Or do you regret your decision?"

"I died saving you. I can't think of a more noble cause." Her mother took in breath and stood taller. "Cleopatra absorbed life and emitted energy. Her greatest talent was not holding onto power but how she made everyone around her feel powerful. She inspired the world."

"Still does," Terry added.

"No matter what you decide, it will always be a part of you," she said. She took hold of Terry's hands. "Keep your head up, Nefertari. Empower those around you, and you'll find your own destiny." Then she added, "Protector or not."

Terry stepped in for one last hug. The protector even smelled like her mother. "I wish it really was you," she said.

"My real spirit is always with you," she said. "Now close your eyes and let your heart decide."

Terry let herself sink into her mother's arms. She silently made a promise, then the darkness came.