The soldiers stepped between the king and his unruly wife and son and ushered them out of the courtyard. Her tongue silenced at last, Solomon took a deep breath and shook his head.
God, give me strength. If only he had paid more attention to the child, not been so obsessed with the Temple, perhaps, Rehoboam would not be such a disappointment as a man. But the Lord commanded him to build, and he did as directed. What a magnificent sanctuary God had ordered for His worship.
The Temple boasted a wide porch in front and narrow windows that allowed the sun to come in, yet kept the interior cool. Built of prepared stone, no hammers nor axes nor iron tools of any sort rent the air with their din during construction. When the Temple was completed, Solomon covered the outside of the house with timbers of cedar carved into flowers. Everywhere the eye rested gold sparkled. Overlaid in gold, the oracle and cedar altar gleamed like mirrors. Inside the oracle, two gold covered cherubims made from olive trees, each fifteen feet tall, stretched forth their seven and a half foot wings, one touching the other in the middle of the house. All around, the walls of the Temple were covered with carved figures of cherubims, palm trees, and open flowers, all overlaid with gold. Even the floor of the Temple was overlaid with gold.
The Temple was finished after seven years of construction. The elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the Ark of the Lord, the tabernacle of the people, and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle. King Solomon and the people of Israel assembled with him before the Ark and sacrificed multitudes of sheep and oxen, so many they lost count. The Ark of the Covenant held only the two tablets of stone that Moses placed into the Ark at Horeb. Upon completing the sacrifices to the Lord, the priests carried the Ark into the oracle, the most holy of places, and set it beneath the watchful gaze and protective wings of the cherubim.
The priests departed the holy of holies, and a dense cloud filled the house of the Lord, so thick they could not minister. Kneeling before the altar, Solomon heard God’s small voice speak to him.
Here I will dwell.
Now, a new King would be declared. The nation would rejoice and feast as it had when the Temple was accepted by the Lord. That evening, as the sky turned red with the setting sun, Solomon stood on the entryway of the Temple. Head bowed, Menelik stood before the holy of holies in white linen, his arms at his side, palms up. As Samuel had done for David, and as Zadok had done for Solomon, the old priest now poured oil over Menelik’s dark curls and recited the blessings.
When Zadok finished the ritual, Solomon held his son’s right hand on high. “Behold, I give you your next king, who shall now be called David, after my father the great king. All hail, King David!” The hills of Jerusalem rang with the sounds of rams’ horns, flutes, pipes, and shouts of joy. His people were grateful for his wisdom in choosing David/Menelik as his successor, of that he was certain.
Chapter Twenty-One
Summertown, Present Day
Dressed in the traditional butt-in-the-breeze hospital gown, Eliana perched on the edge of a gurney behind a gray curtain in a private ER room and pleaded with a stone-faced nurse. “I’m fine. I was a little dehydrated, that’s all. You gave me the IV—” she waved her left arm “—and I’m back to a hundred percent.”
The gray haired, green-eyed woman wasn’t budging. “I may just be an agency nurse, but I know what my orders are. Your blood work isn’t back, and that big ring is covering a nasty burn. Doctor says we’re keeping you for observation. I suggest you sit back and relax.”
“I know you’re swamped since the hospital re-opened. Why not give my spot to someone who needs it?”
Clad in blue scrubs, Arta stood in the door and smirked at her. “Do I need to post a security guard on you?”
The nurse shook her head. “See if you can talk some sense into her. She’s all yours, doc.” She pulled the door behind her with a thunk.
“Yes, she is.” He grinned and strode over to her side and grabbed her free hand. “Outside you might be a special agent, but in here—” he gestured around the room “—I call the shots.”
She groaned. “Bad puns this early in our relationship?”
He pressed his forehead to hers. “Yes, now and forever, my dearly beloved, you will be subjected to all my terrible Persian puns. You can thank my mother for her love of words.”
Dearly beloved. Her heart thundered so loud, he must have heard it thump. Breathless, afraid to ask, she forced herself to ask the question. “Speaking of parents, what are we going to say to them?”
“As Rumi said, ‘Love is the water of life.’ Without you, I would be a man in a loveless desert dying of thirst.”
A warm flush washed over her. “You and your poet leave me breathless.”
“I am going to tell my mother Dostash Daram—Ghesmat man bood. I love her—she is my destiny. And you will tell your father we are, how do you say it? Beshert. I am your destiny. We are meant to be together.” He leaned in for a kiss, and a thrill of anticipation feathered down her spine. She reached up and ran her fingers through his thick hair and pulled him closer. His soft lips met hers and opened. A heady mixture of caramel, cinnamon, dates, honey, and wine, met her tongue.
His hand slid beneath the loose gown, pressed against her unencumbered breast, and circled her nipple. She gasped in pleasure and pulled him between her legs. The hardness of his cotton-covered flesh rubbed against her, teasing her with the promise of even greater pleasure. She arched her back, and he slid his hands under her buttocks, pulling her closer.
He paused and whispered against the tender skin at the base of her neck. “Are sure you want this? Your promise to your mother—”
“Was to protect me from being hurt. My mother told me the ring would let me know when it was the right man. The burn on my finger tells me our union is blessed. You’re never getting away from me.” She pulled him tighter, the thin layer of underwear barely containing her longing “Don’t stop until I tell you to.”
A chuckle rumbled in his chest, and he ground his hips against hers. “Better?”
“Yes, oh, yes.” She rose up again and again, every fiber of her core on fire with the need to be one with this man.
He breathed into her ear as his nimble fingers danced across her nipples in feathery touches. “I wish our first time together could be more special, in a bedroom, with silk curtains, satin sheets, and the scent of roses and lilies filling the air.”
“You are my heart’s desire. I don’t need finery or flowers. Wherever you are, I’m home.”
Arta lifted her gown and suckled at her breast, his tongue flicking, teeth nipping. A hiss escaped her lips. His finger glided under the thin material, found her frantic bundle of nerves, and stroked all around her nub, never touching it directly. He was driving her mad with desire.
“I want you.” The words were scarcely out of her mouth when he slid two fingers inside her. Goosebumps erupted on her arms, and she quivered with anticipation.
“You like?”
“Yes, I like, but—” She scooted back on the gurney, disengaged from him, and in an instant missed the connection. “I want this—” she undid the tie of his scrubs, reached inside, and slid her fingers across the slick tip of his erection “—more than that.” She slid her hand up and down his hardness and he moaned.
Pupils dilated, irises now a dark shade of gold, Arta allowed her to push his pants down.
She stared at his groin. “Big. Bold. Beautiful.” She slid out of her panties and pulled him tight, thigh to thigh, groin to groin. “Hurry.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Grinning, he slid inside her, and she gasped with pleasure. He stopped. “This is your first time. Are you okay?”
“Never better.” Eliana gazed deep into his eyes and saw devotion. Devotion to his profession, his family, his beliefs—and to her. “I love you. No matter what happens, no matter what our families think, I’m never letting you go.”
“Sometimes the smartest people can ignore the most obvious signs. I’ve loved y
ou from the first moment we met. When we parted, I was afraid to tell you who or what I truly was. Yet, here you are completely accepting of something I can hardly understand. Too bad it took a brush with death and a jinni to see we’re meant to be together.”
“Should we write him a thank you note? Stop talking.” She rose up to meet him with a deep kiss and arched upward. He filled her with his flesh and soul. Fast and frenzied, again and again, each stroke bringing greater pleasure. She ached with the need for release. Fingers threaded through his hair, she pulled his head closer, urging him on. He nuzzled her neck and bit her nipples through the thin cotton. She swallowed a scream, whimpered, and fell back on the gurney.
Heavy lidded, face flushed, Arta moaned and fell on top of her, whispering, “Hail to thee, O Love, sweet madness!”
Breathing heavy, she murmured, “A bedtime poem and a nap would be good, but—”
“Code Pink, Code Pink.” The PA system shrieked overhead. “All employees to their designated stations. Code Pink, Code Pink.”
Arta jumped to his feet, pulling his pants up while Eliana scrambled back into her underwear. “The baby abduction code. We’d better find out what’s—”
The nurse slammed into the room, ripped the curtain back, and pulled out Ellie’s IV. “You’re back on duty, Special Agent Solomon. The nurse with the pregnant werewolf in the X-ray suite hit the inter-com, shouted Code Pink, and was cut off. There was a guard with her. We haven’t heard from him, don’t know if he’s alive or dead.” She tossed a set of scrubs at her. “PPE gear and radios are waiting for you in the hospital basement, right where you get off the elevator. The Prussian blue capsules we gave you and Dr. Shahani should protect you from cesium poisoning. We’ll be monitoring your radio channel.”
Eliana stared at the nurse. “Who are you?”
She grinned. “Didn’t I tell you I was an agency nurse? Your boss has your back, never forget that. Now get going.”
Bert was going to hear from her about this. If she survived.
“Wait.” Arta grabbed her shoulders. “He’s using the pregnant werewolf girl as bait, playing games. He wants you. That’s why he branded you. He thinks you belong to him. The trip into the mine was to try to capture you. Janie didn’t escape. He let her go. It’s always been about you. I can’t let you do this. I’ll go.”
The agency nurse snorted. “Dr. Shahani, she’s under orders.”
Eliana twisted her snake branded arms to the full fluorescent light. “Beyond following commands, it’s time for me to confront my tormentor. The ‘Ifrit took my mother away from me and scarred me for life. You can come with me, but don’t expect me to hide behind you. This is my battle.”
He pulled her into a violent embrace. “I’m never letting you go, is that clear? Never.”
She nodded, her chin rubbing his broad shoulder. “You can come—if you follow my instructions.”
****
Eliana and Arta moved slowly toward the X-ray suite, following the trail of radioactivity with a fresh RID, since hers had been lost in the mine. Listening to the steady clicking, her jinni radar buzzing faintly on her skin, they moved forward with caution. They rounded the corner to the suite, and Ellie’s heart lodged in her throat. A uniformed police officer, sidearm still in his hand, lay next to a nurse in pink scrubs, each surrounded by a pool of blood.
She keyed the radiocomm. “Arta?”
“Right behind you.” He removed his bulky gloves, knelt by the cop, felt his neck for a pulse and shook his head. He followed up with the nurse. “She’s alive. He barely missed her carotid. Call for help while I put pressure on her wound.”
Again Eliana keyed the radiocomm and shouted for help, then spoke to Arta. “Stay here. Take care of the nurse. I can’t stop now, not while he has the girl.”
Blood oozing between his fingers, he gazed at her with stricken eyes. She turned and walked away before she lost her nerve. The pregnant werewolf carrying a were-jinni was missing. Find the girl, save the baby.
Skin itching with the sting of a thousand nettles, she followed the radiation trail deeper into the bowels of the hospital. Pipes with giant valves vied with mops, storage units, and buckets for space. The dark corners, side corridors, and metal doors each called for a quick once over to see if the clicks increased. Everything seemed to be chirping, as if the jinni had sprayed the tunnels with cesium. The possessed Old Thiess could be anywhere. She turned yet another corner, and the needle buried itself in the red zone. A million crickets raged, and her skin burned as if on fire. Another door, this one labeled “Boiler Room,” stood at the end of the hallway.
He must be in there.
She took a deep breath, marched forward, and slammed the door open.
Show no fear.
Drool dripping from his fangs, the enormous brown wolf, the same one she saw in the woods, sat on the floor, claws poised over the pregnant girl’s belly. He grinned at Eliana—and laughed.
Mesmerized and horrified, she raised her hands to show she was unarmed. She needed to confront the ‘Ifrit who destroyed her family. Encased in the PPE, Eliana couldn’t communicate with anyone except her team. She must know why he hated her. Slowly, she removed her headgear, leaving the radiocomm switched on. She stripped out of her bulky yellow suit and stood before her nemesis clad only in blue scrubs, bare feet, and latex gloves.
“Why did you—”
“Ahhh, my lovely Eliana. You’ve grown up to be a beautiful woman. Just like your mother, her mother, and her mother’s mother and beyond.”
Her skin screamed with pain, and to her horror, the snakes began to move on her arm. “What did we ever do to you? Why do you hate my family?”
“We go back many centuries, Eliana Solomon, or should I say, my Queen?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
His yellow eyes flashed, and he shifted his weight.
“Once upon a time, a white snake and a black snake fought in a desert.”
The snakes on her arms battled with one another.
“A stupid man came across this battle and wounded the black snake with his spear.”
He locked gazes with her. “I was the black snake. Before I shifted to the jinni realm to save my life, the white snake appeared before your ancestor in human form and promised him his sister as a reward. She was pledged to me! Her brother and I battled because he decided to go back on his word. I deserved the jinniyah, not that filthy human. I was too weak to battle him right then, but I never forgot.”
Eliana felt light-headed and woozy. “I need to sit down.” She stepped back, and her foot hit something. A large toolbox, big enough to serve as a seat, gave her respite.
He grinned and chortled. “I’m sure this all comes as a shock to you.”
Stall for time and hope the others would come soon. Keep him talking.
“I can understand your sense of betrayal. But why come after my mother and me after so many years?”
“You’re all alike, you jinniyahs.”
She shook her head. He was mad. “I’m not a female jinni. I’m an Ethiopian Moroccan American Jew.”
His eyes flashed gold, and his fangs grew larger. “SILENCE!”
She bit her lip. How much longer did she have? Her radiocomm was wide open. Why wasn’t anyone coming? Where were the back-ups? Couldn’t they hear this raving ‘Ifrit?
“You are just like your great-grandmother many times over, Makeda, the Queen of Sheba. Why do you think your middle name is Dameka? It’s an anagram. You come from King David/Menelik, the child born to King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba.” He stroked the werewolf girl’s forehead with his paw. “Her kind, all the wolves, are loyal to you and your house. King Solomon commanded me with his seal, made me a slave.”
Beneath the latex covering, her ring pulsed with heat.
Could it be true?
“The great king.” He spat the words out. “Forced me to work on his Temple. When the Queen of Sheba came to Jerusalem, I knew she was my jinni
yah’s daughter. Makeda was rightfully mine. She was owed to me. She teased me with her eyes and body, led me on, and made me want her, just like her mother. She coerced Solomon into forcing me into an iron bottle, trapping me at the bottom of the Dead Sea for centuries. She betrayed me.”
Stall for time. “I’m not my ancestor.”
“You have her blood. You and your mother.”
Her heart wrenched in her chest. The truth. At last. “You killed my mother.”
“Makeda and Solomon thought they were done with me. I swore I would avenge myself on their descendents. Little did I know their treachery would give me greater powers. As I raged within my iron chamber, an earthquake split the floor of the sea open, and the container fell into a crevice that glowed and pulsed so hot, I could see through the walls of the bottle.”
A natural nuclear fission reactor? Could it be? Rare, but real, it sounded as if the underwater gulch his bottle fell into was a uranium deposit with self-sustaining nuclear reactions.
“Made from smokeless fire, my jinni form was impervious to destruction. Instead, I became more powerful and learned to harness the destructive force given to me.” He shook his head. “Still the bottle held me.”
“How did you escape?”
“Twenty human years ago, another earthquake sent the jar flying to the surface of the salt sea. A stupid American tourist found it and smuggled the container into the United States.” He guffawed. “He got quite a surprise when he opened the bottle. I destroyed him and went looking for the descendants of Makeda and Solomon. I found your mother and her pretty little daughter.”
She closed her eyes. That night in Baltimore. The wind whipping a frenzy around them. The stinging of a million wasps. Her mother drove him off with her ring and prayers, but not before he focused his power on her blood cells. Intense exposure to radiation in such a short time caused her mother’s sudden onset of leukemia.
“You belong to me. I marked you that night. This time the black snake wins. This time, the jinniyah comes with me to the jinni realm, never to return.” He turned his attention to the werewolf on his lap. “Your job protecting humans and werewolves from jinnis served me well. I have no need for this girl or her baby now.”
Kiss of the Virgin Queen Page 21