jrzgrl02: I'm glad you're enjoying this story, too. You're going to see lot of Sekhmet's softer side as it comes out. Read below to see what happens with the other warlords and Tala. Life is going well for me now. My health has gotten better and I've got a date tomorrow night. Oh, happy days!

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Tala let out a wide yawn that almost toppled her over backwards. The afternoon was starting to bleed into the evening. She had taken a shower earlier and was now sitting on the bathroom floor with her back leaning against the wall around the corner. The little girl was building a house of cards when she heard a muffled voice in the next room.

"Big brother," Tala murmured happily.

She picked up all the cards and placed them back in their box. She left the box on the ground as she stood up and walked to the corner. She smiled as she heard her big brother shuffling around in his room.

However, her smile faded as she saw the doorknob rattling. She forgot she had locked the door after her shower. She took a step around the corner to cross the room to unlock the door but a voice made her stop in her tracks.

"Is it locked?"

"Yes."

"Can you pick it?"

"Of course."

Tala let out a tiny gasp. That voice was more than one and none of them sounded like her big brother. She reached into her pocket to clutch the marble she had found in her hand. She watched as the door knob was jiggled until the lock moved to the unlock position. It seemed as if time itself slowed down as the doorknob turned and the door opened.

"What the –."

/…/

THWACK! THUD! THUD! The three warlords now lay crumbled on the ground against the wall opposite of Sekhmet's now sealed bedroom door. Dais groaned, putting his hand up to his head. He had had the misfortune of colliding heads with Anubis.

"By the Nether Spirits, he's got a temper," Dais groaned, feeling the large bump forming on his head.

Anubis who sat on the ground beside him let out an equal groan. He felt the side of his head that had connected with Dais'.

"You ever seen him that…*groan* mad?" Anubis asked.

Dais shook his head.

"Get. Off. Me."

The two warlords immediately slid off their third who had been thrown first and into the wall. Cale sat up with a cut lip and a cut on the side of his head openly bleeding. Dais reached over to take a look at his head, causing the scarred warlord to hiss.

"I'm going to kill him."

Anubis chuckled while shaking his head. Cale shot him a nasty look and would have lunged for him if it wasn't for the stinging pain lacing through his head. That and Dais had a tight hold on him as he checked his head wound over.

It was true the four of them could be territorial about their spaces, but never had one of them reacted that violently. Sekhmet had moved as quickly as one of his vipers; they had never even sensed his presence in the room until after they were out in the hall and on the floor.

"Give him time. I'll talk to him," Dais murmured.

Meanwhile, within his room, Sekhmet had just finished sealing his rooms using his armor. Now not even the blue spirit would be able to access them. After searching every possible hiding place in the bathroom, Sekhmet finally managed to find Tala underneath his bed. He gently pulled her out from underneath the bed and placed her down to sit on the bed. He knelt down in front of her.

"Are you hurt?" Sekhmet asked.

Tala shook her head quietly with her closed fists clutched under her lowered chin.

"What happened?" he demanded, unable to keep his tone from becoming harsh.

"I-I was in the bathroom playing with the cards. I heard s-someone in the room. I thought it was you."

She explained about the door and the voices. Then the door had opened. Sekhmet knew his worse fears were coming to life, but he had to be sure before he took drastic measures.

"Did they see you?"

He was shocked to the core when Tala shook her head in the negative. He listened as she finished her tale.

"I closed my eyes when the door closed. I heard something. I opened my eyes and I was under the bed."

Sekhmet couldn't believe his ears. Not only had his fellow warlords been within a ten foot radius of Tala, but Tala had somehow remained undetected. He took a moment to collect his rampaging thoughts before speaking.

"Were you doing anything when you closed your eyes?"

Tala turned one of her hands and opened it partially to show his armor orb. Sekhmet closed his eyes and turned his head in deep thought.

/Is it…possible? Could holding my armor orb give her the ability to shift like the four of us can do?/

He had to test this theory. Sekhmet stood up while directing Tala to stand as well. He instructed her to keep holding the "marble" in her hand. She stood next to his bedside table that had a lit candle sitting on it.

"Close your eyes."

Tala closed her eyes and listened for her brother's voice.

"Think of a place here in the rooms and think of yourself being in that spot."

He watched as the candle behind her dimmed then heightened back up to its flame. At the same time, Tala disappeared from view. Sekhmet turned around to find her standing over by the table where he kept his snakes. As he walked calmly over to Tala, the words of his Master echoed in his mind.

"You have been distracted as of late, my loyal warrior." No. I am only planning on how to capture the ronin armors and give glory to you.

"You have become distant from your fellow warlords. Perhaps I should question your loyalty." Never. My loyalty is to the dynasty and my dark master.

Even as he thought over his words, he pondered on why Talpa had said such things. He had never been concerned about the loyalty of his warlords before. Could he know about Tala? Was he waiting for the others to discover her to expose him?

These thoughts were what had prompted his last-minute visit to Rose's house. He hoped that with Tala gone for a week he could prove to everyone, including Talpa, nothing had changed. The presence of the little one in his life did not change anything.

"Big brother! Look what I did!"

Tala's voice broke him out of his thoughts. He looked down to see Tala's arms wrapped around him and her gaze turned up to him.

"I saw," he murmured before reaching down to pick her up.

Sekhmet lifted her to hold her on his side. Her legs hung down by either side of him while her arms wrapped loosely around his neck. He turned his head to give her a small smile.

"You're going to be staying with your old neighbor for a few days," Sekhmet told her.

Tala's face lit up as she bounced excitedly on his side.

"Mrs. Rose?" Tala asked.

Sekhmet nodded. The little girl pushed her face into the upper part of his arm as she hugged him.

"How long are we staying?" Tala asked.

Sekhmet shook his head.

"Just you, little one. And you're going to stay until Thanksgiving. I'll come join you for Thanksgiving and then bring you back," he told her.

The little girl frowned. She wasn't happy her brother wouldn't be coming with her, but she was happy he would join her for Thanksgiving.

"When do I go?" she asked.

"In the morning. We'll pack a bag for you now," Sekhmet said.

Tala smiled.

"Okay."

He put the squirmy little girl down and watched her as she darted into the open doorway of the bathroom. He sighed before following her. He needed to find out what this Thanksgiving was.

/…/

"What holidays do you celebrate?" Tala asked.

It was early morning in the Mortal Realm in North Carolina. The two had managed to sneak some dinner and sleep a few hours before shifting to the Mortal Realm. Sekhmet hadn't allowed the child to shift without him; he didn't know how much of a strain that would be on her small body. Not to mention what it could possibly do to aggravate her "condition."

Sekhmet glanced down at the little girl who was holding his hand and swinging their arms back and forth. Truth be told, him and the other warlords really didn't celebrate a lot of holidays. They recognized each other on their birthdays, but that was about it. He had to rack his brain for the holidays he had once celebrated.

"I don't celebrate a lot. I suppose I celebrate the New Year and Christmas," he answered.

Tala's face lit up. "Really? Can we stay up until Midnight?"

Sekhmet told her they would see when the time came.

"What do you want for Christmas?" Tala asked.

Sekhmet shook his head. The excitability over visiting Rose was causing the little girl to jump her conversation everywhere.

"You don't need to get me anything, Tala," Sekhmet told her.

Tala pouted, causing him to release a small chuckle. They soon came up to the house where Rose was waiting on the front porch for them. Sekhmet stopped at the end of the drive, giving Rose a small wave. He put down the bag he had been carrying for Tala and knelt down on one knee while facing Tala.

"Be good," he warned in a light tone.

Tala smiled. She leaned forward to give him a very gentle kiss on the nose.

"I'll miss you, big brother," she whispered.

Sekhmet crooked a finger at her, motioning for her to lean forward. He turned his head so he could whisper in her ear.

"I'll miss you, too."

Tala giggled before throwing her arms around Sekhmet to give him a tight squeeze. When Sekhmet stood up, Rose was walking down the drive to them. She retrieved the bag from him with a smile.

"Don't worry. We'll take good care of Tala," Rose tried to reassure him.

He knew the mortal meant well and he had no reason to believe she wouldn't take good care of Tala. He pressed a soft yet firm hand to the top of Tala's head and reminded her he would be back in a week.

Tala watched her brother walk away down the familiar pathway to their spot before he disappeared around a tree. She reached her hand into her pocket to make sure she still had the marble. Her brother had made her promise to keep it on her at all times. Her other pocket held Herbert which she had promised not to scare Mr. and Mrs. Lane with.

Tala turned around to throw her arms around Rose. The two shared a tight but small hug. Rose took the little girl's hand and they started their walk up to the house.

"We're so happy to have you with us, Tala. I have a lot of things planned for us to do and I set up an appointment for you to see your doctor on Monday," Rose told her.

"I get to see Dr. Connor?" Tala asked, a bright smile beaming on her face.

Dr. Maxwell Connor was a wonderful doctor who specialized in rare children's diseases such as the one Tala had. Tala always enjoyed visiting him. Rose smiled down at the happy child. She was happy to see the medical bracelet peeking out from under the sleeve of the pullover she was wearing.

"Can I go see Cecilia and Marla after school is over?" Tala asked as they stepped up onto

Rose smiled sadly down at her.

"I'm sorry, sweetie, but they moved away."

Rose didn't have the heart to tell her that the family had moved away shortly after Sekhmet took her in. Tala glanced down the road at what she now knew was an empty house. Rose stepped into her view as she guided the little girl inside. The elderly lady dropped the bag by the stairs while Tala dropped her backpack next to it.

"Have you eaten breakfast yet?" Rose asked.

Tala shook her head. Rose led her into the kitchen where she immediately started fixing up a small breakfast feast for the young child. Tala sat down at the table where a familiar coloring book and crayons were sitting. Tala flipped to the page she had finished the last time Rose had been watching her.

Tala flipped to the next page which was a picture of a dragon lying by a lake. She opened the large crayon box full of bright colors and picked out a light blue. As Tala colored, Rose spoke with her.

"How do you like your new home?" Rose asked.

Truth be told, she had been overjoyed when Sekhmet had asked her to watch Tala for a week. She wanted to know how the little girl was doing. The moving of her foster family and the abrupt disappearance of the Social Worker hadn't set well with Rose. Hell, she hadn't even told Tala's "big brother" about any of this.

"I love it! Sekhmet is the best big brother. He works with snakes (Rose made a face in the background) and lets me help him!"

Rose listened as the little girl prattled on about doing her school work on her iPad, her brother caring for her while she was sick, and more. However, she didn't mention anything about her seclusion in her brother's rooms or the other men. Her brother had cautioned her about telling Rose and Edgar everything. The little girl was smart. She knew some parts of her new life wouldn't be considered "normal."

Rose finished fixing up a small but sizeable balanced meal for Tala. She brought the plate over and Tala scooted her coloring book out of the way.

"Thank you, Mrs. Rose!" Tala said, before picking up her fork and diving in.

She smiled as she watched the little girl eat her breakfast. The little girl fascinated her. She had never met such an intelligent young child. She had a hard time remembering that Tala was only eight years old. There was no doubt the young child would do well with testing in the spring.

"You know what, Tala? Why don't you just call me Grandma Rose from now on?" Rose offered.

Tala's face broke out in a wide grin as she jumped up from her seat to throw her arms up around Rose. She had been blessed with finding her brother and now she had a Grandma, too.

/…/

Tala grinned as she plopped down onto the bed, bouncing slightly as she landed. She looked around the room with big, bright eyes. Grandma Rose's granddaughter by blood was only a few years older than Tala so the room was designed for a child.

She pulled Herbert out of her pocket and placed him on her lap. She smiled as the tiny snake slithered over her lap and up to her hand. She let him slide between her fingers as she brought her hand up in front of her face. She giggled as his scales tickled her skin.

Tala was overjoyed to be back in North Carolina, her home state. Yet at the same time she knew it was going to be the longest week of her life. She hadn't been away from her big brother for such a length of time in quite a while. She knew she would miss him more than anything else.

END OF CHAPTER ELEVEN

*looks around* Okay, now I know I have readers, but where did all my reviewers (with the exception of jrzgrl02) go? Come on, readers! This Tigress likes to hear how she's doing. Don't make me call out the Warlords!

Warlords: *pop their heads in* Did you call us?

Tigergirl: *shakes her head* *whispers* Please review soon.