Sekhmet's Curse (Pearl Vampire Chronicles)

by Dara Nelson

  Chapter Four

  I leaned the back of my head onto his shoulder. He kissed my temple, “Thank you, Baby. I knew you were something special the first time I met you in that restaurant in San Diego when you and Matt embarked on your journey to find out the process for changing a human into a vampire, but I had no idea the huge impact you’d have on me, on both of us.”

  I smiled, “Well, I knew you were a pervert the first time I met you, but I had no idea that you were the biggest pervert on the face of the planet.”

  He laughed, “I don’t do anything half-assed ever. It’s all or nothing with me. And you’re just as big of a pervert as I am, you just try to hide it.”

  “I know. That’s why I knew I’d never be able to stay away from you forever. You’re too, ummm, infectious. Yeah, I think infectious is the right word.”

  “I’m too damn sexy and you know it,” he whispered as his fang brushed against my ear, making me shiver. “Okay, I’ll admit it. You’re too damn sexy. But I need to get back and check on Jason and you need to get to the clinic to get that arm set.”

  “Shit, I completely forgot about the arm. You are one tough-assed broad, you know that? No one, not even Matt, has been able to beat me in a fight, but you sure as hell did. It’s embarrassing as hell to admit it, but you definitely kicked my ass, woman. Oh, and that reminds me. That thing you did with the cartwheels. You know, when you cart wheeled over to me and wrapped me in a leg-lock. Do you think you can do that again sometime, when you’re naked?”

  I laughed and turned around, wrapping my arms around his neck, “Oh absolutely,” I said as I kissed him. I helped him climb out of the water then I used my t-shirt to dry us off. Since I had nothing else to wear, I had to pull on the wet shirt. I smiled at the goofy Carlos grin that followed. I helped him pull his pants on, chuckling at how difficult it became because he was getting aroused again. “Stop,” he blushed, “I can’t help it. That’s what you do to me.”

  I patted his belly, “You do the same thing to me, but it’s just not as easy to tell.”

  “Sometimes it is,” he said as he winked and gently tweaked my nipple that was poking into my shirt.

  I laughed as I took his hand in mine and we started heading down the mountain towards home. As we reached the outside wall of the compound, Carlos stopped me. “Maria, Sarah, what are we going to do about her?”

  “Well, we’re going to find her. And then I’m going to talk to her.” I said.

  “You? Why you? Shouldn’t it be me? Or us?”

  I shook my head, “Not at first. Look, Carlos. She’s mad at me. She blames me. As a woman, I know what she’s feeling. She thinks that I get everything I want. She thinks that I decided that one man wasn’t enough for me. She thinks I went after you, that I stole you from her. That’s why I have to talk to her. I have to convince her of the truth. That we had this building long before we ever met her, that this had absolutely nothing to do with her, and that I’m sorry that I hurt her.”

  “And then?”

  “And then she has to un-do the damage she’s done.”

  “She does? Why her?”

  “Because she’s going to feel guilty about what she’s done, and this will be the only way for her to get over that.”

  “But, what about punishment?”

  “Her guilt will be punishment enough. Trust me.”

  “I do. I trust you completely Mrs. Delgado.”

  I kissed his cheek as I wrapped my arm around him and we floated up and over the wall. We ran into Matt who was standing in the hall just outside of our room, “Hey there. I was starting to get a little worried. Everything okay?” he said.

  “Well. Other than the fact that my ego is bruised because she kicked my ass, everything’s fine,” Carlos mumbled.

  Matt’s eyebrows shot up, then he grinned at me, “You? You kicked his ass?”

  “Stop, both of you. I feel bad. I broke his arm.”

  Matt wrapped me in his arms and kissed my forehead, “You animal.”

  “Yes she is. I need to go see Doc Cameron. I’ll be back in a bit.”

  I turned and wrapped my arms around him, “You sure you’re okay now? You’re not going to go do something stupid?”

  He chuckled and kissed the top of my head, “Well, I wouldn’t go so far as to say I’m not going to do something stupid. This is me we’re talking about. But yes, I’m okay now. And I’m not going to do anything without you. Okay?”

  “I’m so sorry I broke your arm, honey.”

  “Don’t be. I needed this. Thank you for knocking down the walls, baby,” he said as he headed down the hall toward the clinic.

  “Walls? You knocked down the cave walls?”

  I shook my head, “Nope. I knocked down his walls.”

  “Excuse me?”

  I smiled and hugged him, “You wouldn’t understand because you came without walls. You were easy.”

  He grinned as his eyebrows went up, “Easy? Show me how easy I was.”

  I hesitated, “I’d love to, but I was going to check on Jason. Is that okay?”

  “He’s fine. He said he was tired and was going to go to sleep.”

  I definitely felt disappointed. I wanted to talk to him some more, “Oh. Okay. Then I guess it’s bedtime for us too.”

  “Sweet,” he said as he scooped me into his arms. It only took him a few seconds to help me completely forget my disappointment.

  My eyes shot open. “Something’s wrong,” I whispered to myself. I glanced at the clock: three a.m. Was it Carlos? I never saw him after he came back from the clinic. Maybe he was in pain. I quietly rolled out of bed, pulled on sweats and a t-shirt, then tip-toed out our bedroom door. I rushed through the main room to Carlos’ bedroom. I listened at the door, but didn’t hear anything unusual. I quietly opened the door and smiled when I saw him sleeping peacefully, with a brace on his arm. I walked over, bent down and gently kissed his forehead. He was sound asleep and didn’t stir at all. No, that’s not what woke me. But what was it? I quietly closed Carlos’ door and stood in the main room, thinking. Suddenly it hit me, “Jason,” I whispered. “Something’s wrong with Jason.” I walked out the door, crossed the hall and placed my ear to Jason’s door. I heard muffled crying inside. I tapped, gently, on the door, “Jason?” I whispered. The crying stopped as he walked to the door. He opened it a crack, “What?” he mumbled.

  “Is everything okay?”

  “Fine. Everything’s fine,” he snapped. He was trying so hard to be brave. He started to turn away and close the door.

  “Jason? Would you like me to show you where we held your father?” I said, thinking that his father’s scent might help him feel better.

  “Now? Isn’t it a little late?”

  I smiled, shook my head and held my hand out to him, “No. It’s not too late at all.”

  He looked at my outstretched hand, hesitated for a moment, then stepped into the hall and took my hand in his. We made our way quietly down the halls to the holding cells. His hand gripped mine tighter when his father’s scent hit him. “We never harmed him, Jason. We just didn’t understand what the seraphim’s were doing. We held him while we were trying to figure that out.”

  Jason nodded, then we rounded the corner and the cell came into view. He slowly walked up to the open door. He wrapped his hands around the bars, looked up and around the cell, then gave it a little shake. “This never would have held him. He chose to stay when he did.”

  I nodded as I walked inside the cell to the back wall, “I figured as much. I knew from the moment I met him that he was much too strong for us.” I sat down on the floor and leaned my back up against the wall. Jason hesitated before stepping inside, which is exactly why I had walked in first. I knew that he was still worried that we might try to capture him. Trust still had to be earned. Finally, he took a deep breath through his nose and walked inside. I saw a tear glistening on his cheek as he walked over and sat down next to me. “We’ll find him Jason. I promise.”

&
nbsp; He nodded, slipped his hand in mine then brought his head down on my lap as he quietly cried. “Shhhh,” I whispered as I caressed his cheek, “you’re not alone, Jason. We’ll find him.”

  It took about an hour, but he finally fell asleep. I leaned my head against the wall, closed my eyes, and dozed off too.

  * * * * *

  ‘Sarah? Where are you?’ Matt thought.

  From Carlos I got, ‘Hun, don’t make me panic. Not now. Where’d you go?’

  ‘Relax, guys. I’m down in Aquila’s cell. But please be quiet. Jason’s still asleep.’

  I smiled as they rounded the corner a few seconds later and stepped into the cell. Carlos crossed his legs, sat in front of me and began rubbing my feet with his good hand. Matt sat next to me and slid his arm behind my back. I leaned my head on his shoulder. ‘Been here long?’ Matt thought.

  ‘Since about three. Something woke me. At first I thought Carlos was in pain from his arm, so I went and checked on him. But he was out cold. That’s when I realized that it was Jason. He was missing his Dad and he was crying. So I brought him down here.’

  Jason yawned, stretched and blinked his eyes a few times. Suddenly, he realized that we were no longer alone and it scared him a bit. He shot upright and scooted a few feet away from us. We stared at him for a few seconds until he gave us a sheepish smile. “Sorry. Didn’t realize we had company,” he said, then a huge yawn escaped him again.

  I chuckled, “It’s okay. They scare me sometimes when I wake up too. Are you hungry?”

  He nodded and we all clamored to our feet. As we headed to the kitchen, Carlos leaned down and whispered in my ear, “How’s your hunger, Sarah? Are the cravings going away or getting any better?”

  I thought for a second, “Yes and no. They’re definitely still there, but, with Jason here, I have more distractions to keep my mind off of them. And that makes them easier to deal with.”

  “Okay. But you let me know when you need to hunt again. I’ll take you to a place that you’d swear was hell on earth. Full of the cruelest, nastiest, humans on the face of the planet,” he said then he grinned and pulled his arm tighter around me when he felt the shiver that rocked my body. “What time does the car leave for the airport?” I said.

  “Noon,” Matt said

  “Okay. That gives me time to go talk to Bahiti a little more.”

  “Us. It gives us a little more time to talk to Bahiti. There has to be a way to get you out of being locked in that damn tomb with Sekhmet. There just has to,” Carlos mumbled.

  Matt’s cell phone rang on his hip. He pulled it out, gave me a quick worried look after he checked the caller id, then he stepped out into the hall to answer it. Carlos and Jason were talking over by the microwave as their breakfast warmed up, so I took the opportunity to listen to Matt’s half of the conversation. “Yes, Alan. Uh huh. What? You found her? No! Absolutely not. You will not hurt her in any way. Do I make myself clear? Good. Bring her to one of the holding cells and make her comfortable. No, don’t worry about the reporter right now. We’ll deal with her later. Yes. Okay.” I heard his cell fold close. He stepped back into the kitchen as he was tucking it back into its holster. “Where was she?” I whispered, but I saw Carlos’ eyes flicker to me. He was listening now too. “A small hotel in Lima It’ll be several hours before they make it here. It probably won’t be until after we leave. Do you want to delay our trip or have me stay behind?”

  I shook my head, “No. It’s critical that we find Aquila soon, Matt. And you know those waters better than I do, I need you there. Just keep her comfortable while she’s locked up, okay? We’ll deal with her when we get back.”

  He nodded, “I’ll eat in a bit. I need to go brief Derek. I’ll see you in a bit, sweetie, okay?”

  I nodded and gave him a quick kiss. I turned and joined Carlos and Jason at the table. Carlos had already heated several pints for me. I sat next to him and he quickly wrapped his arm tightly around me and kissed my temple, but I instantly noticed that he was shaking. I patted his leg and looked at him, “It’ll be okay, honey. I promise.” He watched me for a second. Finally he couldn’t hold back anymore, “I wish I could have your optimism, Sarah. But it’s so hard. Right now, my ex-girlfriend is on her way here, in chains, because she talked to a reporter about you, us and vampires in general. Something she did because you and I didn’t have the guts to get together years ago. If we had, she never would have gotten hurt. Because you and I fought this thing between us for so long, she paid the price. And, if that weren’t enough, there’s a very good chance that I’m going to lose you forever in less than two months. Do you know what that’s doing to me? Do you realize that it’s eating me up inside? That it’s slowly killing me? I spent most of my life thinking that the only person that I needed was me. The moment that I met you my whole world turned upside down in a good way. Without realizing it, you showed me how amazing, how beautiful, how fulfilling it is to need somebody else. Now there’s a very real chance that I’m going to lose all of that. How, with all of this going on, how in the fuck am I supposed to believe that everything’s going to be okay? Hmmmm? How?”

  I stared at the panic in his eyes. At the pure terror. He was right. I knew that. But I had to convince him that I really believed. I had to. It was the only way he’d survive this. “Jason? Carlos and I will be back in a few minutes. Will you be okay by yourself?”

  “Sure, Sarah. I’ll be fine. I’ll just wait here.”

  “Thanks, Jason,” I said as I stood up. I took Carlos’ hand in mine and led him down the hall to our room. As I led him to his bedroom door, he said, “Sex isn’t going to convince me, Sarah. Not this time.”

  I sat him on the end of the bed and stared into his eyes, “Please. Give me a little more credit than that, Carlos. I didn’t bring you here for sex. I brought you here for privacy. I want you to answer something for me. It’s hard for me to say it, because, well, it’s kind of hard for me to believe it myself, but here goes: What have I been wrong about? Since the day that Matt walked into my life on that pier, what have I been wrong about? Go on, tell me. What?”

  I could tell that he was thinking very hard. It was exactly what I wanted him to do. “Was I wrong when I told Matt that we’d be successful in figuring out how to change me? Was I wrong about the Elders? Was I wrong when you went missing? Was I able to figure out where you were? Was I wrong about Jonas? Was I wrong about what the priest was doing? Was I?”

  He interrupted me, “Matt. You were wrong when you thought Matt was dead.”

  I shook my head, “Caused by emotional trauma from that fake tape that Malina made. That doesn’t really count.”

  “Us. You were wrong when you said it wasn’t you that I wanted.”

  I shook my head, “I wasn’t wrong, I was lying. And I was in deep denial. So, in life and death situations, have I ever been wrong?”

  I smiled as I saw him fight the head shake that finally forced its way out, “No.” he whispered.

  “Okay. So listen to me now, Carlos. Maria’s going to be fine. She’s going to feel awful for what’s she’s done. She’s going to fix it. And then she’s going to get on with her life, and she’ll be happy. And I’m going to figure out whatever test that Sekhmet gives to me. I am. I know that without a shadow of doubt. I will make it out of there, Carlos. I will make it back to you and Matt.”

  He stared for a moment then anguish filled his face. He wrapped me tightly in his arms, “Oh God, Sarah. What am I going to do without you when you’re gone? How am I going to survive.”

  I lifted his face in my hands and looked into his eyes, “You’ll survive because I need you to survive. I need you there for me when I come out. Do it for me. Please?”

  He finally nodded, “I love you so much, Sarah.”

  “I love you too, Carlos. You’re strong Carlos, much stronger than you give yourself credit for. You can do this,” I said as I held him tight.

  We stayed that way for as long as we could, until I knew that we had
to get back, “Are you okay for now?”

  He nodded, “For now, yes. But don’t ask me in a few months.” He smiled but I could see the sadness behind it. “Okay, I won’t.” I pulled him to his feet and he gripped my hand tight as we made our way back to the kitchen. Jason was talking to Tanya, our receptionist from the clinic. “Oh, hi Sarah. Jason here gave me quite a shock when I walked in. I came very close to pulling the alarm. But he very calmly explained who he was and why he was here. For someone so imposing, he exudes calm, doesn’t he?

  I smiled at Jason, “Calm? I hadn’t really put my finger on it yet. But, yeah, I guess that fits. It fits very well. Jason? I have to go talk to Bahiti for a bit. Did you want to come with me or are you going to wait here?”

  He looked from Tanya to me, and back again. I tried to hide my smile as I realized that he had his first crush. “Well, ummmm, I guess I should go with you. It was very nice meeting you, Tanya. I hope I see you again.” His voice cracked with the last sentence. Seraphim’s grow so fast, not even a year and his body had already reached puberty.

  We made our way down the hall to Bahiti’s office. Her head was buried in the mountain of books and papers on her desk. She looked up as we walked in, “Hello, Sarah. Please, all of you, come in.”

  “So, tell me more about what happened to those who were summoned before,” I said as I sat down.

  “The first, that we know of, was Hapshet in 1345 A.D.”

  “What do you know about him?”