Something inside of me trembled when I looked down at my angel. A quick search of his thoughts revealed he had no idea how close he came to dying. But Gabriel knew. When I released Michael, I felt a wave of relief wash from Gabriel as he put his gun back in its holster. A bullet from Gabriel wouldn’t have killed me, but would have succeeded in loosening my hold on my bodyguard and saved his life, at least until I reacted.
It had been a long time since I last succumbed to the blood lust. A well-fed vampire was a vampire in control. But the pain and poison had shattered that hard-won control and nearly cost me my angel.
“You must go to Sadira,” Jabari said in an even voice, as if we hadn’t just been interrupted by my desperate need to feed.
“I can’t.” Shaking my head, I took a step back, away from Jabari. “Send someone else; someone older and stronger than me. Have the nightwalker escort Sadira to rest with the Coven. They can protect her.” I walked over to a low bookshelf and picked up a small statue of a man seated on a throne. By the arrangement of the hands and the facial structure, I determined that it was a piece of Nubian art, though very similar to some of the pieces of work that came out of the Middle Kingdom.
I think I would have said anything at that moment—not only to avoid Sadira, but also the chance of meeting the naturi again. My good deed was done. The Coven now knew of the growing threat. Hell, I’d destroyed four naturi in as many nights, and I was willing to wager it had been centuries since the last nightwalker could make such a claim. Now, I just wanted to go home.
“Protect Sadira while I hunt this Rowe. You failed me once with Nerian. I am willing to give you a second chance. Will you fail me in this request as well, my Mira?”
A string of curses in three languages exploded from me as I slammed the stone statue on the bookshelf and stomped away from Jabari. It was a mix of gutter nonsense, but it didn’t matter. The Elder’s deep laughter rumbled over my curses. He’d won and he knew it. He was the only one who could convince me to face the naturi yet again.
“Where is she?” I said, unable to keep the distaste out of my voice as I turned back to face him. Jabari stared at me a moment, surprise filling his dark brown eyes. “I won’t do it,” I snapped. “I won’t reach out for her.”
“She is in London. I imagine she will come to you after you arrive,” Jabari said after letting me twist for a moment in the silence. I had not seen or talked to Sadira since Machu Picchu. I didn’t want to see her now, but I didn’t have much choice.
However, I couldn’t stop the instant curiosity that furrowed my brow at his answer. “England?” I asked before I could stop myself. The British Isles were a hotbed of magic, which nightwalkers tended to avoid. We had our own problems without heading to a place beloved by witches and warlocks. “Has she moved from Spain?”
“No, her main residence remains in Spain. I do not know why she has gone to the island.” His tone was neutral, but something in his eyes made me think Jabari was laughing at me.
Shaking my head, I turned around the room again and stared at my angels. Gabriel had helped Michael onto the pile of cushions. My wounded bodyguard was a sickly shade of white and his arm was wrapped in a white bandage. I knew this was part of their job; protecting me meant that they put their own lives in danger. However, the past few years had been quiet, each of my random trips without incident. The relentless peace had made us all soft in a different way.
“Omari,” Jabari called, breaking the silence that had stretched in the room. “Take Mira’s companions down to my felucca. I will bring Mira down in a moment, and then you will take them back to Aswan.”
I nodded when Gabriel glanced up at me for direction, and then watched as he and Omari helped Michael back to his feet. Michael would bounce back from this encounter soon enough, but I knew it was weak and stupid of me to take so much blood. Such behavior only endangered both our lives.
“Walk with me, Mira,” Jabari said, extending his hand toward me after Omari and the others disappeared out the front door.
I hesitated a second, stunned by the gesture. The pain of the fight from the previous night was still fresh in my mind. My body was still recovering from the fight with the naturi too, and I didn’t need any more fresh wounds. But it was Jabari who reached for me. With my lips pressed into a tight line, I took his hand.
There was no warning. The world around me slipped away and was consumed by complete blackness. I tightened my grip on his hand and felt him pull me to him until I was pressed against his strong chest. One second there was only blackness, and in the next the world rushed back, golden sand and towering walls bathed in a warm yellow light. We were at Philae, several miles south of Elephantine Island and just north of the High Dam. Not far away, a large chattering group of people gathered for the nightly light and sound show.
Jabari tightly gripped my hand, threading his long fingers through mine before turning his back on the crowd and leading me toward the Temple of Augustus. It was darker in this area, and it appeared that the nightly tour would stop at the Temple of Isis before winding south back to the Hall of Nectanebo and the boat landing.
I gazed around, admiring the way the lights and shadows washed over the high walls. The regal faces of gods and pharaohs watched as we passed by in silence. “They did a good job,” I ventured as we neared the temple hidden in darkness. “I really can’t tell the difference.”
Before the High Dam was completed, the government had been forced to move the Temple of Philae from its original island to Agilkia Island, to the north, or it would have been permanently submerged beneath the deep blue waters of the Nile. They had obviously been careful to reconstruct the temple and the surrounding flora almost exactly as on the original island.
“Hmmph,” Jabari snorted. “The island is too small. The temples are too close.”
“Better too close than underwater,” I softly said, but instantly regretted it. When had I become so careless with my comments? Valerio. I blamed Valerio. He had been a bad influence, and too many years at his side made me careless when it came to speaking to other nightwalkers. “I’m sorry, Jabari.”
“No,” he snapped, and then stopped. He sighed heavily, running his free hand over his head as he stared at the Temple of Augustus as it rose up before us. “I am the one who is sorry, my young one.” He pulled me into his arms, releasing my hand so he could wrap both arms around me. I flinched at the contact, but relaxed a moment later when he brushed a kiss across my temple.
“Last night I overreacted when I saw you standing in the quarry with the human. Egypt was always our home until you left, but then you returned…with a hunter of our kind and word of the naturi. I didn’t mean to…” His voice drifted off as I let his words soak into my brain, completely stunned. I don’t know which part took me more by surprise—that he referred to Egypt as “our home” or the quiver in his voice when he spoke of me leaving. There had been no question of me leaving Egypt centuries ago. I told the Ancient that I wanted to return to Europe, and he made no move to stop me. I had no idea that he was bothered by my choice to leave.
Taking a step back, out of his arms, I reached up and cupped his face with my hands. I brushed my thumb over his lips, loving the feel of his smooth skin beneath my fingertips again. “It was time for me to leave,” I whispered in a choked voice.
Jabari took my right hand and laid it on his chest. “I know you are right, but my heart did not wish for you to leave.” There were no heartbeats beneath the palm of my hand, but I understood the gesture.
Leaning forward, Jabari kissed me. At first it was just a light brush of his lips against mine, soft as a baby’s breath, as if he were testing my response. I instantly went up on the tips of my toes, pressing closer to him. He deepened the kiss as I wrapped my arms around his neck. The kiss quickly became hard and possessive, claiming me back from the hunter, my domain, and the wide expanse of years that had separated us. He tasted me, as if trying to relearn me.
I pressed close to him, welc
oming him. As he deepened the kiss I also felt him slip into my mind like a finely sharpened blade. For the first time in so long, I could finally sense him. I could feel the presence of his soul, and some tension I hadn’t been aware of eased around my own soul. Jabari was everywhere, everything, for a brief span of time. The world slipped away and the years rewound. I was home and safe.
And then it was over. Jabari slowly pulled away, slipping out of my mind. Yet, my lips tingled and something in my chest burned. I felt as if he had branded me, marked me for all the nightwalkers to see. It screamed, “Mira belongs to Jabari.” Not a Companion, never that, but something…different.
The Ancient reached up and touched my cheeks, wiping away tears I hadn’t realized were falling.
“What is going on, Jabari?” I inquired, unable to completely purge the fear from my voice.
“The naturi have found a way to weaken the seal.” His voice was calm again, the emotion wiped away as if it never existed. Our world had been put right and we were back to the business side of our relationship.
“How?” I asked, struggling to hit the same unemotional calm that he possessed. “It can’t be because of Tabor’s death. That was more than fifty years ago. Why would they have waited so long to strike?”
“I do not know how they have done it. It is one of the reasons that I go to the Coven. Our Liege may know something.” For some reason, I wasn’t sure that Jabari believed it. There were other things troubling him, something dark and grim enough to make my beloved mentor shield himself even from his own.
“How do we stop them?”
“We will reform the triad and destroy Rowe.”
Oh, yeah. Just like making the bed or tying my shoes. “How?” I countered, frustration rising in my voice. Damn it, I was starting to sound like a bad fifties cowboy and Indian movie. How? How? How? “Tabor is gone.”
“Your task is to protect Sadira and reform the triad while I speak with the Coven and Our Liege. The three were chosen by bloodlines…find someone of Tabor’s bloodline and the triad will be reformed.”
“None of this makes any sense,” I complained, wandering a short distance away from Jabari, back toward the south. I could see the golden lights shining up at the tall walls that comprised the Temple of Isis. A soft breeze picked up, stirring the trees that ringed the island.
“It does not have to make sense to you.” His voice lashed at me like a whip, halting my complaints. “Leave now with your people. I will contact you soon in London.”
This was the other reason why I left Jabari, more than the need to finally take control of my own life. No matter how much I loved him, I would never be viewed as an equal in his eyes. Jabari loved me in his own way, but I would always be his subordinate, beneath him even if I earned his respect. I couldn’t live like that. It would have broken my heart.
With the long-lived, there were various hierarchies and layers of discrimination. For some, it was the Old World versus the New, or the discrimination of First Blood versus chum, or man versus woman, or ancient versus fledgling. But with Jabari the only creatures above him were Our Liege and his gods. And those not by much.
“As you wish,” I said, bowing my head stiffly. I had forgotten myself—he was an Ancient and an Elder. Regardless of what had occurred between us, I still owed him my respect, and in many ways my life. For now, it didn’t matter if I understood what was going on. All I needed to know was that I had to keep Sadira alive and find a replacement for Tabor. After that, I was done and headed home. The Coven and the triad would handle the naturi.
“What about Danaus?” I asked, looking up at the Elder again. “He knows about the naturi and he knows about Machu Picchu. He also knew where to find me. Sometimes I think he may be a spy for the naturi, and then other times…”
“Yes?” Jabari prompted when I drifted off in thought.
“I have seen him kill at least four naturi, and he has stood by while I killed several myself. He saved me from the naturi tonight when he had absolutely no reason to. I—I don’t know what to think about him.”
“Keep him close, Mira,” Jabari said, putting a strong hand on my shoulder. I suddenly felt very small next to his ancient height. “I do not think he is with the naturi, but we have other enemies. He may lead you to them.”
A half smile lifted one corner of my mouth as I looked up at my old friend and mentor. “You make him sound like a bori spy.”
A ghost of a smile slipped across Jabari’s face, but it could have just as easily been a trick of the light. “At least we know that is impossible. I do not know what secret he holds, but he needs to be watched for a time.”
“But will it be safe for him to be with me while I protect Sadira and search for the third member of the triad?”
“What better way to draw out our enemy?” Jabari asked, titling his head as he gazed down at me. “Besides, you will not fail me a second time by not protecting your maker.”
I resisted the urge to touch my neck, searching for the noose I swore I felt tighten there. I nodded, trying to smile up at Jabari but not quite succeeding.
He gathered me close again and I felt the world fall away. I closed my eyes against the darkness and only opened them again when I heard the splash of the Nile. Michael was being helped into the felucca by Omari. We were gone only a few minutes, but it felt like hours. I gave Jabari’s hand one final squeeze and then boarded the felucca behind Gabriel.
I didn’t know any more now than when I had first arrived in Egypt, but at least something was being done about the naturi. It was a start. Maybe not much of one, but at least there was the promise of progress.
I also had the possibility of a meeting with Themis. And while I might still be their enemy, we were both threatened by the naturi. The old “an enemy of my enemy is my friend” routine. This little shadow group might know more of what was going on with the naturi, and I needed any information I could get my hands on.
Fourteen
We made our way slowly back across the river. Less than two hours had passed since sunset and the streets were still crowded, but no one took notice of us. Usually I’d be rising from my daylight nap about now, but my nightmares had woken me early that evening. Or perhaps some deeper sense of self-preservation allowed me to wake as soon as the sun slipped below the horizon.
“So, we’re off to London now?” Gabriel asked.
“And we get to meet your maker,” Michael said with a wide, playful grin. “I always wondered what she would be like.”
“She didn’t birth me.” The words came out sounding sharper than I’d intended. I didn’t want them to meet Sadira. She was evil and I was not like her.
“No, but without her, we would have never met you,” Michael said, drawing my wandering gaze back to his face. I looked down at his bandaged arm resting in a sling fashioned from a black silk scarf.
Without Sadira, Michael and Gabriel would not be here in Egypt, fighting hunters and the naturi. But I shook off the thought as quickly as it appeared. They had made their own choices. They knew what they were getting into and were free to leave at any time.
“We go to London and protect Sadira,” I repeated, as if saying the words over and over again would give me courage. “I wonder if we could lock her in a box for a few days. Just until the Coven destroys Rowe and the rest of the naturi.” Sadira would never go for it, but I was sorely tempted to try.
The smile died on my lips before it had a chance to grow. We had gone one block in from Corniche and were walking past the giant souq in search of a private taxi to take us back to the hotel toward the south when I looked up to find a naturi staring dumbfounded at us. His hand rested on the knob of a door leading into a flat-fronted, two-story building. By his stance, he had been in the process of either entering or leaving the building when we turned the corner and caught him by surprise.
Muttering something under his breath, he pushed open the door and disappeared inside, slamming it shut behind him.
“Stay here,
” I ordered, grabbing the knife from the sheath on Gabriel’s waist. I would have preferred the gun, but it didn’t have a silencer and any shots would catch the attention of the crowds still lingering in the market. I couldn’t afford to divide my attention between fighting the naturi and trying to cloak the fight from the humans.
“Was that…?”
“Naturi.”
“But—”
“Walk down through the souq. Stay in the more crowded area.” I laid a restraining hand on Gabriel’s shoulder, pulling his gaze back to my face. “Protect Michael. He’s weak. Keep one eye on the door. There should be two in there. If one slips past me, I will need you to tell me which way it went.”
Frowning, Gabriel nodded. He didn’t like the idea, but he would follow my directions. I wanted to flash him a cocky smile to ease his concerns, but I couldn’t. For the second time tonight I was going to be outnumbered by naturi. Sure, I could torch the building, but without going inside, I couldn’t be sure that I’d gotten both the naturi Danaus sensed earlier in the evening.
With the knife tightly gripped in my right hand, I kicked open the door. The scent of blood, death, and excrement smacked me in the face, causing me to hesitate. Humans were inside. At least, they had been at one time. I rolled inside, followed by the sound of darts hitting the wall where I’d just been seconds ago. I paused behind a chair. The spindly thin naturi I followed in was shouting something to Rowe. I couldn’t tell what they were saying, but I was willing to bet it had something to do with the vampire crouched behind the hideous patterned chair.
Pushing to my feet, I was prepared to hit both naturi with fireballs. No fighting. No taking chances. But I froze when I finally saw the room. I was standing in what had been a living room, but it looked as if hosed down with blood. There once were four humans in that room; maybe more, maybe less. Their appendages had been hacked off and strewn about. By the smaller torsos, I could identify at least two children.
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