Jackal's Measure

A member of Anubis's Elite Guard, Tariq has spent several lifetimes serving a just god. He does his part to stay on the right path. There's a darkness in him, a potential for great destruction should he ever let it loose. Helping the righteous dead and protecting Anubis fills him with purpose. Unfortunately, Set, the god of chaos, has wicked plans for Tariq's power.

Centuries of torture at Set's hands have numbed him to the pain, but lately Tariq is getting tired. Ludos Deorum, the Games of the Gods, has stuck him Portland of all places, protecting Anubis's territory. Tariq is away from his home in the Egyptian Underworld, constantly bombarded by Set's temptation. Then he sees her—a woman he knows, a woman he's dreamed about for years.

Eden Dixon, a mortal, has denied Set, and what Set wants, Set gets. Enspelled to bring her to his tormenter, Tariq can do no other than obey. But even the god of chaos doesn't know everything. Eden is much more than she seems. She makes his missing heart beat again. Tariq cannot—will not—turn her over to Set. Except Eden doesn't know who she really is. Tariq's salvation, or the tool of his destruction?



Note: This novella was previously published in the Dark Fates Anthology