Under Wraps: An Urban Fantasy Adventure (Werewolves vs. Mummies Book 1) by J.A. Cipriano Page A
Authors: J.A. Cipriano
Tags: Fantasy
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throwing off sparks and shrouding us in shadow. “Besides, I know the guy who runs this place.”
“Jailer, why have you come to Saqqara? This is a holy place, and none of your charge are here.” The voice boomed across the sands, whipping it into small dervishes all around us. I threw a look at Anubis, but neither he nor Bast were there. Both of them had vanished as though they had never been at our sides. Great. Just great.
“Didn’t even say goodbye,” I mumbled, trying to ignore the sinking feeling in my gut. Had they just left, or had they fled. Or worse?
“Anubis has told us that the soul of our friend is within your walls, Imhotep. We ask for passage within so that we might retrieve it,” Aziza said, blatantly name dropping. It reminded me of when my sister tried to get me to do something by saying our Alpha wanted me to do it.
“Denied.” The light on the dais went out like someone had flipped the off switch.
“Well, that was rude,” I said, staring at Aziza. Her mouth twitched for a split second before settling into a stony mask that could have sent small children fleeing to their mothers. I wasn’t sure what it meant, exactly, but her scent had changed subtly. I knew that scent. She was worried.
“Yeah, and odd. He should have let us in. Imhotep is usually a pretty reasonable guy, so…” She rubbed her chin thoughtfully with one hand.
“So something is wrong,” I said, and the wolf’s ears perked up. “I knew it couldn’t be this easy.”
“Don’t go getting your panties in a bunch,” Aziza said, walking over to me and putting one arm around my waist. “There’s more than one way to skin a mummy.”
“What are you doing?” I asked as she pulled me in close to her body and reached out toward the sky with her other hand. Her clothing shimmered, throwing off amethyst sparks moments before a linen cord exploded from her sleeve and shot off into the air like a rocket.
“Hang on,” she said, throwing a grin at me that reminded me of whip-wielding action heroes.
Our feet left the ground as I clung to Aziza like a damsel in distress. Our sudden role reversal was not lost on me. I was just thankful that no one could take a picture and post it for the rest of my pack to see.
We shot up along the line of her mummy-cord, and my heart tried to escape through my chest by beating its way out. The edge of the wall came at us so fast that I was sure we were about to be splattered against it. Aziza’s feet shot out, smacking into the stone with a thwack. Pain flashed through her eyes for a split second. She bit her lip and turned to look at me, amusement chasing away whatever momentary discomfort she’d had.
“Well, are you going to climb up, or are we just going to hand around all day?” she asked, the muscles in her arm cording with effort as she held us aloft.
I stared out at the rim of the wall and didn’t release my death grip on her dress. I hung there, suspended so far above the ground I couldn’t even see it. The world lurched and darkness approached around the edges of my vision. I wouldn’t say I was afraid of heights, per se, but I was, well, okay— I was terrified of them.
The scenery lurched again as Aziza moved, bending her legs so that all I had to do was reach out and grab the lip. The buttery stone was so close that it wouldn’t be hard to pull myself up. But what if I slipped? My hands were too clammy to risk it. I swallowed as blood thundered in my ears.
Aziza shot me a worried look. “What’s wrong?” she asked, concern filling her eyes as she glanced from me to the wall and back again.
“Scared,” I managed to get out through clenched teeth, and barely resisted the urge to wrap my legs around her. “I don’t like heights.”
Aziza’s lips twitched around the edges like she was trying to suppress a smile. She nodded once and pushed off with her legs, using the balls of her feet to somehow launch us up vertically. As she did so, she jerked hard on the
“Jailer, why have you come to Saqqara? This is a holy place, and none of your charge are here.” The voice boomed across the sands, whipping it into small dervishes all around us. I threw a look at Anubis, but neither he nor Bast were there. Both of them had vanished as though they had never been at our sides. Great. Just great.
“Didn’t even say goodbye,” I mumbled, trying to ignore the sinking feeling in my gut. Had they just left, or had they fled. Or worse?
“Anubis has told us that the soul of our friend is within your walls, Imhotep. We ask for passage within so that we might retrieve it,” Aziza said, blatantly name dropping. It reminded me of when my sister tried to get me to do something by saying our Alpha wanted me to do it.
“Denied.” The light on the dais went out like someone had flipped the off switch.
“Well, that was rude,” I said, staring at Aziza. Her mouth twitched for a split second before settling into a stony mask that could have sent small children fleeing to their mothers. I wasn’t sure what it meant, exactly, but her scent had changed subtly. I knew that scent. She was worried.
“Yeah, and odd. He should have let us in. Imhotep is usually a pretty reasonable guy, so…” She rubbed her chin thoughtfully with one hand.
“So something is wrong,” I said, and the wolf’s ears perked up. “I knew it couldn’t be this easy.”
“Don’t go getting your panties in a bunch,” Aziza said, walking over to me and putting one arm around my waist. “There’s more than one way to skin a mummy.”
“What are you doing?” I asked as she pulled me in close to her body and reached out toward the sky with her other hand. Her clothing shimmered, throwing off amethyst sparks moments before a linen cord exploded from her sleeve and shot off into the air like a rocket.
“Hang on,” she said, throwing a grin at me that reminded me of whip-wielding action heroes.
Our feet left the ground as I clung to Aziza like a damsel in distress. Our sudden role reversal was not lost on me. I was just thankful that no one could take a picture and post it for the rest of my pack to see.
We shot up along the line of her mummy-cord, and my heart tried to escape through my chest by beating its way out. The edge of the wall came at us so fast that I was sure we were about to be splattered against it. Aziza’s feet shot out, smacking into the stone with a thwack. Pain flashed through her eyes for a split second. She bit her lip and turned to look at me, amusement chasing away whatever momentary discomfort she’d had.
“Well, are you going to climb up, or are we just going to hand around all day?” she asked, the muscles in her arm cording with effort as she held us aloft.
I stared out at the rim of the wall and didn’t release my death grip on her dress. I hung there, suspended so far above the ground I couldn’t even see it. The world lurched and darkness approached around the edges of my vision. I wouldn’t say I was afraid of heights, per se, but I was, well, okay— I was terrified of them.
The scenery lurched again as Aziza moved, bending her legs so that all I had to do was reach out and grab the lip. The buttery stone was so close that it wouldn’t be hard to pull myself up. But what if I slipped? My hands were too clammy to risk it. I swallowed as blood thundered in my ears.
Aziza shot me a worried look. “What’s wrong?” she asked, concern filling her eyes as she glanced from me to the wall and back again.
“Scared,” I managed to get out through clenched teeth, and barely resisted the urge to wrap my legs around her. “I don’t like heights.”
Aziza’s lips twitched around the edges like she was trying to suppress a smile. She nodded once and pushed off with her legs, using the balls of her feet to somehow launch us up vertically. As she did so, she jerked hard on the
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