Touch of the Fire God [Scions of the Ankh 1] (Siren Publishing Classic) Read Online Free PDF Page B

they dabbled for the sake of appearance, and he had acquired a liking for the fiery liquid.
    He poured Ralabos a glass, sure his long-sleeping friend would take to it as well. He pushed the contents into Ralabos’s stiff fingers.
    “You must take this slow, my friend. The people of this age, well, let’s just say they are not very accepting of unusual talents.”
    “She’s mine!” Ralabos slammed the quickly-emptied glass down on the desk in the den. Jonathan smiled in approval.
    “I am not disputing that, my friend,” Jonathan said smoothly, quite used to his temper and thoroughly undaunted by it. “But we have to do this slowly. Too much too soon could cause her to bolt.”
    “She would not get far.” Ralabos grunted, strolling around the room to think. Jonathan tried another approach.
    “You will frighten her.”
    Ralabos whirled to stare at his friend.
    “That’s right, my friend. She will be frightened of you. You would have waited all this time for nothing. If she doesn’t accept you and her situation willingly, you can’t have her completely.”
    “She cannot remain mortal. It is too dangerous,” Ralabos beseeched his friend. “How do you suggest I go about this task?”
    “You know her far better than I in this instance. Trust your instincts, but don’t push too strongly.”
    Jonathan plopped in the overstuffed chair while unbuttoning his shirt. “The women in this day and age are completely different from what you knew.”
    “How did you find her?” Ralabos asked, eyeing the shirt warily.
    “Part spell, part human technology,” Jonathan answered smugly.
    “Explain yourself.”
    “I sent out a spell the moment she was lost to us, eons ago. About twenty years ago, the spell came back reporting five possibilities.”
    “Five, how can that be?” Ralabos began to pace again. “How can you be sure it is her?”
    “Old friend, I have but to look how you’ve been acting. Not to mention the moment she stepped foot on this homeland, you awoke.
    “I researched each possibility on the Internet, and then I had Franklin Summit care for the girls until they were of age. I’ve brought each one here, and nothing happened—until now.”
    “Who is this Franklin Summit?” Ralabos demanded, approaching Jonathan slowly.
    “Relax, friend, he doesn’t really exist.”
    Ralabos displayed a confused expression, which almost made Jonathan laugh out loud, until he thought better of it and bit his lip instead.
    “I merely presented myself as an older human. I was careful not to attach myself to any of the girls. They received the best the human world had to offer them. I took good care of our dear friend, Ralabos.”
    “I owe you much, Thoth,” Ralabos stated with sincerity.
    “No more than both Hathor and I owe you.”
    “What is this Internet?”
    “We’ll get to the World Wide Web later. You have much to catch up on.”
    “That shirt looks very uncomfortable. Am I expected to wear such clothing?”
    “No, humans expect a certain dress for certain occasions. I take care of things in the business world of humans, so you have no need.”
    “Business? Why do you even need to ...”
    “Consort with them? You have been asleep for a long time; this culture, though still primitive, has changed a great deal. We would stick out like a sore thumb, as they say. We have to blend in, have a reason for our existence. I have been so many people in the last hundreds of years including Franklin Summit—that even I, who was worshipped as the god of wisdom and writing, have forgotten some of my identities.”
    “Do the humans still worship us?” Ralabos looked stricken, almost afraid of the answer. He hoped that all that had been sacrificed hadn’t been for nothing.
    “No, they do not. In that you were most successful.” Ralabos breathed a sigh of relief until Jonathan’s next statement. “But as a result, you will have to blend in, get an identity.”
    “That means what to me? My only concern is the