Sekhmet's Curse (Pearl Vampire Chronicles)

by Dara Nelson

  “What do you mean ‘I don’t belong here’? This is my island. Of course I belong here.”

  Jonas shook his head, “No, you don’t. This isn’t your island, Sarah. It looks just like it, but it isn’t. This is my island. Mine and others like me.”

  I stopped hugging and looked at him. I smiled, “You are such a dork. Of course this is my island. Look! There’s the cave rock, there’s the house and there’s the garden,” I said as I pointed to each one.

  Jonas smiled sadly, “I know that it looks like your island but think about it Sarah. I’m dead. I’m a ghost. Yet you can see me. You can touch me. You can feel me do this,” he said as he traced a finger down my jawline, “And this,” his hand traced down my arm and came to a stop on my lower back as I shivered, “And this,” he leaned in and his mouth closed onto mine. His tongue parted my lips and began dancing with mine as sparks began igniting throughout my body. My shock quickly gave way and my arms moved up his back and pulled him tight. I moaned as his hand pressed my pelvis closer to his and I felt his growing desire. My mind screamed ‘Stop! What the hell are you doing?’ but I had no control over my body. My hands moved to the bottom of his shirt and started to push it up over his head but his hands reached back to stop me. “No, Sarah, not like this. It can’t be like this. Not here.” Jonas looked at me with a sad smile on his face. He leaned down, kissed me tenderly then turned around, dropped onto the sand and sat facing the ocean. I sat next to him and rested my head on his bicep, “What is it? Why so sad?”

  “Because I want this more than anything, but it can’t happen here. If it happens here, you won’t be able to leave.”

  “What do you mean, why not?”

  “Sarah, I’m dead. You sleep with me here, in this realm, it will bind you to it. That’s what this curse wants. You’re too weak to fight this so it’s using your love of sex and my own desire for you to try to permanently bind you here. For once, I have to be the strong one and say no to you.”

  “But, but, but what am I doing here? How did I get here?”

  “You’re hiding.”

  “I’m hiding? Hiding from what?”

  “From that,” he said as he pointed over my shoulder.

  I gasped and my skin crawled. Just down the beach was the blackest, densest, scariest looking forest that I had ever seen. “But what is that? Where did it come from?”

  “That is what’s keeping you from your children and your husbands.”

  My hands immediately went to my stomach, “My babies! I was pregnant. What happened to my babies?”

  “They’re fine, Sarah. They’re growing like weeds. But they need their mother, Sarah. They miss you.”

  “But I thought I just got here. How long have I been here, Jonas?”

  “You did just get here. But here, time is different. You’ve been gone from over there for over nine months. You’re babies are toddlers now.”

  “Toddlers? So they’re not growing like human babies?”

  “Not exactly. They’re more like a human, vampire, seraphim hybrid.”

  “Does that mean that they will get old and die?”

  Jonas shook his head, “No. Cameron’s fairly certain that, just like a seraphim, they will reach adulthood quickly and then stop aging.”

  “Have you seen them?”

  Jonas smiled, “They’re beautiful, Sarah. Sam looks just like Matt. And Cassie is a breathtaking combination of you and Carlos.”

  I giggled and Jonas looked at me with a raised eyebrow, waiting for an explanation. “Carlos was sure that his was a boy,” I explained, “I wonder how he’s doing with a girl?”

  Jonas chuckled. Suddenly he turned and grabbed me in a warm embrace, “Before you go, I have to say ‘thank you.’”

  “Thank you? For what?”

  “For helping me get here. If it weren’t for you helping me get rid of my anger, I wouldn’t be here. Here is a place where only those who have died with contented, peaceful souls can be. And I love this place. So thank you, Sarah.”

  “You’re welcome, Jonas.”

  We sat in silence for a few seconds while I stared at the terrifying black forest. “So, I have to go through that to get back?”

  Jonas nodded, “Yep.”

  “And you can’t come with me this time, can you?”

  “Nope. I belong on this side. This one you have to do on your own.”

  “I was afraid of that. It’s going to be hard, isn’t it, going through there?”

  “The hardest thing you’ve ever gone through. But you’re strong, Sarah. You can do this, for your kids, for your men, for you.”

  I started to stand, but quickly stopped. I turned and hugged Jonas tightly, “Will you still come and visit me?” I said into his neck.

  He pulled away and smiled at me, “Oh, I’ll be around, Sarah,” he said winking.

  I leaned down and kissed his cheek, “Thank you,” I whispered then I stood and began walking toward the black forest.

  Chapter Fifteen

  I stepped up to the edge and peered inside. I slowly poked my left hand inside. The blackness of the forest enveloped my hand and started to work up my arm – and then the pain hit. I quickly pulled my hand back. My heart was pounding. This forest was alive. I could hear it breathing. I could see its heartbeat pulsing all around. And it scared the hell out of me. I turned back and looked at Jonas. “Fight back, Sarah. Don’t let it consume you,” he said from his spot on the sand. I nodded and took a deep breath. I started to turn around, but the blackness reached out and grabbed my hair. I screamed as I felt it trying to pull me in. I could feel it, like tendrils, moving around my head toward my face, onto my shoulders. I could see it out of the corner of my eyes then the world started to go gray. I screamed as it tried to pull me in. Suddenly I felt something from the outside pulling me. I gripped Jonas’ hands tightly as he yanked. The gray faded, but I could still feel it on the back of my head, my shoulders, my legs. Jonas was yelling something but I couldn’t hear him. I grunted and pushed my head farther forward until I could feel the black pulling out of my ears. “Fight it, Sarah! Push it out! It will surround you, but don’t let it inside. Keep it out, Sarah. You have to keep it out. I can’t lose you to it.”

  “But it’s too strong, Jonas. I can’t do this.”

  Jonas’ hands came up to my face. He looked deep into my eyes, “Sarah. If you can break me then you can do anything. You are the strongest person I have ever known because of the love you have inside of you. That love makes you stronger than anything. Take that love and use it as your shield, Sarah. Use Matt’s love, use Carlos’ love, use Sam’s love, use Cassie’s love, use Aquila’s, use Jason’s love and use my love Sarah. I love you Sarah. I’ve never said that to anyone in my entire life, ever. I love you Sarah. But you don’t belong here with me. You have so much more to do on the other side and there are too many people over there who need you. So, fight. Fight for them. Fight for you. Just fight,” he said as his mouth closed onto mine. This kiss was intense. The sounds and screams from the forest faded away. I pulled him tight and felt my lungs expand with so much air. I felt so alive. I felt so strong. I opened my eyes…and Jonas was gone. But that was okay, because I felt stronger than ever. I took one more deep breath of the crisp ocean air, turned, and without hesitation, stepped inside.

  The sunlight behind me faded instantly, the roar of the ocean waves was gone. The only sounds surrounding me were slimy, creepy sounds…and whimpering. Whimpering? I looked around and that’s when I saw them. The trees in this forest weren’t trees, they were vampires who had become the ‘trees’, encased in the blackness, trapped, prisoners. The blackness was feeding off of them. I shivered, fought off the panic and took a few more steps. I could feel the tendrils grabbing at my feet, my ankles, my legs, my arms, my hair, but I kept moving. I envisioned a force field around me. A light, coming from inside me pushing it back, keeping it at bay. I will not become like them, I told myself. I kept moving forward. Deeper into the forest I went. Blood
y tears streamed down my face as I began to recognize some of the trapped vampires. I recognized Mason, Gregory, Megan, Alicia, Taylor. Face after face was familiar to me. I was sobbing and constantly wiping tears away as I also struggled to keep the blackness away. I could feel its pain stabbing into my feet. Like thousands of needles it stabbed into my belly, my face, my back, my legs. I was fighting it hard, concentrating on keeping it away as I stumbled my way through the forest. I thought I was making progress when I rounded a corner and came face to face with Megan again. “Crap! I’m going in circles!” I cried as I kept moving forward. I looked down, only watching my feet, trying to keep myself moving straight. One foot in front of the other, step after step. I kept moving as I fought the pain, pushed out the black. I walked for what seemed like hours, maybe even days. I was exhausted but determined to keep going, until I looked up and saw Megan’s face again. “Oh God!” I sobbed as I sank to the ground. I felt the blackness grow excited at my weakness. I put my head on my knees and waited for the end.

  “Mommy!” said a whispered voice from my right. My head flew up. I looked and saw a tiny pin hole of light coming through the forest. “Over here, Mommy. We’re over here,” the tiny voice said.

  “Cassie? Is that you?” I cried.

  “Yes. It’s me. And Sam is here too. Come to us, Mommy.”

  I struggled back to my feet. I looked at the blackness, “Back the fuck off,” I yelled and it hissed at me.

  “Not this time. Not today,” I said to it then I started walking toward the light. “That’s it Mommy. Keep coming. We’re here. We’re waiting for you.”

  “Sam,” I cried. “I’m trying. I’m trying to find you.”

  “We’re right here,” he said, and the pin hole got a little bigger. More light poured in through it. I was no longer tired as I marched towards it. The blackness kept trying to trip me. It wrapped around my ankle, but I kicked it off. It grabbed my leg but I spun around and knocked it away. Everywhere it grabbed, I pushed it back. And every time I did, the light grew stronger. “Come to us, Mommy. Daddy’s here too. He’s so sad without you here,” Cassie said.

  “Oh, Carlos,” I whispered as my feet began moving faster towards the light. I was exhausted and trying not to get frustrated because I didn’t seem to be getting any closer to the light. “Don’t slow down Mommy. Daddy’s waiting for you. He wants you to wake up now,” Sam said.

  “Matt. Oh my love,” I whispered. I felt a warmth inside me grow hotter. Suddenly a light inside me reached out toward the light in the forest. “That’s right Mommy. That’s how you do it. Come to us. We’re here,” Cassie said. My heart felt like it was going to explode. “I love you so much,” I cried and the light from inside me reached out farther, stretching, trying to touch the light from my children.

  Inside my hospital room, Matt and Carlos watched in amazement. Cassie and Sam had climbed onto my bed and, sitting on either side of me, they each held one of my hands. They clasped their other hands across my body, closed their eyes and went into some sort of silent trance. Matt looked to Carlos. He shrugged his shoulders and looked at Mona. “Shhhh. They’re trying to break the curse,” she whispered.

  “Them? They’re babies, Mona. How are they supposed to do that?” Matt whispered.

  “Matt. She’s the creator. They are her creation. They are the ones who can beat this.”

  Cassie suddenly opened her eyes and smiled, “Mommy’s coming,” she said then she closed her eyes and went back into her trance, her small lips trembling as if whispering unspoken words.

  Carlos and Matt watched in amazement as my breathing got deeper and intensified. “Look at her, Matt. She’s fighting her way back,” Carlos said then he moved forward and wrapped his arms around Cassie as Matt did the same to Sam. “Come back to us, Sarah. We love you so much.”

  From in the forest, I gasped. “Matt.” Suddenly the pin hole grew even larger and I saw them. Matt and Carlos, my loves, were hugging my….. “Oh my God,” I gasped when I first saw them, my babies. My knees wanted to give out but I forced myself to go on. I felt the light explode out of my chest. Pushing forward, forward, inch by inch, until, finally, it joined with the light in front of me. My path was clear now. And as I raced towards it I saw the blackness around me breaking apart. I stopped for a moment and marveled at the smiling faces of the vampires as their trapped souls were freed. They flew around me in a dance of freedom, as if they were thanking me then they sped off in a thousand different directions. I took my final step into the room.

  From my hospital bed, I gasped, opened my eyes and croaked, “I love you so much.” And we all wept and laughed as we became one giant hug.

  Epilogue“God, I missed so much,” I groaned as I popped another DVD into the player. Matt and Carlos had recorded as much of the twins’ lives as they could in between visits to my hospital bed. The changes that had occurred in both Matt and Carlos from the Seraphim blood treatments were slowly diminishing – neither of them had a taste for human food anymore – my symptoms were taking longer; perhaps because some of the changes had occurred But not only did I miss my twins’ birth (by C-section of course), I missed the joy of breast feeding (Matt and Carlos would each hold them to my chest as they suckled until they grew tired of milk and wanted blood), I missed changing diapers (they were fully toilet trained now, looking like about four year old children), I missed first teeth, I missed their first vampire teeth. I was feeling so left out right now. Cassie climbed up on my lap, “No you didn’t Mommy. You were just sleeping, but you were there. We knew you were there.” I wrapped my arms around her as I said, “Oh, I know that baby girl. It’s just that I didn’t know that I was there and that’s what I’m upset about.”

  “Well, you’re here now and you aren’t going anywhere. Isn’t that what matters?” she said.

  I looked at her for a few moments, “How on earth did you get to be so smart?” I said.

  She grinned at me, “Oh that’s easy. Daddy always says ‘Your smarts come from Mom. Your beauty comes from me.’”

  I rolled my eyes as I glanced at the grinning Carlos, “Oh he does, does he? I wonder what else Daddy has said that Mommy needs to fix?” I said, chuckling.

  “Hey, I think I did a pretty good job, considering,” Carlos said.

  “Considering, what? Considering that you’ve been a narcissistic womanizer for over two hundred years who couldn’t even think the words commitment and responsibility without getting nauseous until a few years ago? Sure, I’ll give you that,” I said, smiling.

  “I think I liked you better when you were in a coma,” Carlos said, pouting.

  “Daddy, pouting is for weaklings, that’s what you always tell me,” Cassie said.

  “Yeah, Daddy”, Matt said as he walked into the room, picking up his son as Sam held his arms up to him. “How was work, Daddy? Did you protect us from the bad guys?” Sam said.

  Matt beamed at Sam, “I did, buddy. Did you take care of Mommy today like I told you to?”

  Sam emphatically shook his head, “You bet I did,” he said.

  Sam squirmed out of Matt’s arms as Matt leaned down to kiss me, “Get a room, you two,” he said as he walked back to his toys. Matt and I both glared at Carlos, who tried, unsuccessfully, to look innocent as he said, “What, do you think that I taught him that? I have no idea where he got that.”

  “You are such a bad liar, Carlos,” I said, trying to hold back the grin that eventually crept onto my face.

  A knock at the door drew Matt’s attention. When the kids saw who had walked in, they both jumped up and screamed, “Aunt Stacy!”

  “Hi, Cassie, Sam,” she said as she hugged them. She looked at me, “How are you feeling, Sarah?”

  “Much better, thanks,” I said then I looked to the table when my cell phone started ringing. I smiled when I saw who it was, “Hi, Cindy,” I said as I answered the call from my sister. The silence on the other end had me frowning and Matt and Carlos both instantly concerned, “Cindy?” I said again.
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  “Sarah, I know were in a coma and you almost died not too long ago. I know you’re recovering and I know you’ve got the kids now. That’s why I really hate to call about this. I mean, it’s probably nothing, but, but, I need to be sure, ya know?”

  “Cindy, it’s okay. I’m fine, really I am. What’s going on?”

  “It’s Amanda, Sarah. I think she’s missing but the cops don’t believe me,” she said. Amanda is our older sister, the oldest of the four of us girls. I was the youngest. Cindy was a year younger than Amanda.

  “Missing? What do you mean Amanda is missing?” I whispered as Matt, Carlos and Stacy all looked at each other.

  “Well, she’s been dating this guy, he said his name was ‘Addon’, pronounced like Aiden but he seemed really off to me.”

  “Off? What do you mean, ‘off’ Cindy?” I said.

  “Well, he was just kind of creepy when she skyped me and introduced him and even though he looks young, he felt ancient to me. And now I haven’t been able to get a hold of her for a week. ” Cindy said.

  Stacy could feel the tension in the room so she stood up and said, “Sam, Cassie, how about we go outside to the playground?”

  I nodded my head and mouthed a ‘Thank you’ to her and she and the kids headed towards the door.

  As soon as she closed the door, I put the phone on speaker and set it on the table, “Alright, Cindy, Matt’s arranging a flight for us to Amanda’s place in Monterey, tell me everything you know,” I said, sighing……….as I silently wondered if we’d ever be able to find that peaceful, quiet, happily ever after that I read about at the end of those romance novels. A smile crept to my lips as I realized that with my life, being married to two men, the baby I’d had with Aquila, well, I’d pretty much turned the romance novel world on its ear already, so who was I kidding. I liked things upside down all the time. “Cindy, sit tight. We’ll be at her place tomorrow afternoon and I’ll give you a call, I promise. Talk to you soon,” I said then I hung up.

  Matt and Carlos were staring at me. “Do not tell me that I am not going. You’ve never been to Amanda’s place. You wouldn’t know if anything was out of place when you got there.”