Mortal Seductions

by Allyson James

  Leon swore a little longer. When his throat got dry, he started drinking water. It was a fallacy that a person should spare the water until they were thirsty. Leon could dehydrate very fast down here, and drinking as much water as possible right away was the smarter move.

  He gulped down water until he was full and wiped his mouth. He calculated that he had enough water for a few days, even with keeping himself hydrated. It was cool in the tomb, but not freezing. And though the air was stale, it wasn’t dead. There must be tiny shafts somewhere high above that ventilated the place.

  That fact gave Leon hope that there was another way out. Did gods of the Greek pantheon know about exploring tombs? Leon remembered Remy showing him the detailed plans of tombs that had already been excavated and cleared. The simplest ones had an entrance, a stair straight down, another chamber, like the one he stood in, then another stair down to the main burial chamber. Some tombs were more elaborate, with long passages, more side rooms, and the tomb bending in an L-shape to fit the terrain in which it was dug. Leon had never seen any indication of a second way out.

  “Doesn’t mean there isn’t one,” he muttered. The tombs were sealed, Remy had said, after the main passage had been filled with rubble. But thieves through the ages had managed to find their way in and out.

  Leon picked up the flashlight and started to explore. There was another door opposite the one the god disguised as Remy had taken him through. The fill was a little higher here, but the supplies he’d left in the antechamber included a trowel.

  Leon used the small tool to work out a hole big enough to admit him. He scrambled through, swearing as the rocks peeled off some of his skin. On the other side, he held up the flashlight and stopped in astonishment.

  A long passageway sloped away in front of him, open and unfilled. His flashlight beamed on walls and ceiling covered with painted images in blue, red, and green, outlined in black. Gold and silver glinted at him from the walls, bright and fresh.

  Leon had a glimmer of understanding why Remy considered digging up ancient tombs a fine profession. The beauty of the art was incredible, and the thought that no one had looked at these images in thousands of years dizzying.

  Leon shouldered the water he’d brought with him and started down the passage. It ran about a hundred yards before branching off in two directions, both side passages covered in just as many pictures. He shone his light into the dark maw of each passage, flipped a coin in his mind, and went right.

  That passage led to a corridor with many rooms opening off it. Leon looked around him in wonder. It was silent so far under the earth, all this beauty hidden away under the stark surface of the desert.

  “Remy’s going to love this,” he murmured. His words sounded flat, dead on the still air.

  The place was a maze. Leon wiped sweat from his forehead and contemplated what to do. He didn’t worry about getting lost—he could find his way back to the entrance, for all the good that would do. The trowel wouldn’t cut through the huge rock fall that sealed up the only visible way out. He was stuck.

  Leon’s flashlight caught on a picture he hadn’t noticed before in the myriad of musicians, dancers, men on thrones, workers in fields, and the like. It was of a small man with horns on his head, his face distorted to look like a lion’s. The man pointed his right hand out in front of him, all fingers extended. The body seemed to shimmer when Leon’s light passed over it, as though it were painted in the silver gold mixture called electrum.

  A few feet down, Leon saw an identical picture, the arm pointing the same way. But at the end of the passage, the image appeared on the end wall, pointing left. Leon glanced that way then chose to turn right, as he had been.

  His flashlight brushed a series of images so closely packed it was almost like animation. The little lion-faced man seemed to be waving his arms, his mouth open in a painted yell. At the end of this series, the arm pointed to Leon’s left, his eye drawn large in a glare.

  “Fine, I’ll go left.”

  Leon started walking down the passage. When his light picked up a lion-faced man, he was still pointing that way down the passage. Leon kept walking. His feet ached from the stone floor, but he’d done tougher marches than this. At the end of this passage, the lion-headed man appeared again, his horns a little larger this time. He pointed right. Leon swung that way, and in the next image, the little man wore a large smile.

  “I sure hope you’re right,” Leon muttered, and he kept walking, down into the dark.

  THEY found no sign of Leon in Luxor. Val grew cold with worry. Demitri’s Egyptian friends, which he seemed to have so many of, reported to him that Leon hadn’t been seen returning to Luxor. Demitri’s hotelier friend, Karim, knew the operator of the ferry line, who said Leon hadn’t bought a ticket or disembarked from any of the ferries. Nor had he come across the bridge in a taxi. But Karim and his network would watch out for Leon and call Demitri if he was seen.

  Val sat down on a bench outside Luxor Temple and clasped her hands. “What if he did go back out to Remy’s tomb? He might have spent time in Afghanistan, but he doesn’t know deserts like these.”

  “I’ll find him.” Demitri spoke in a determined voice.

  Val reached up and took his hands. “We both have magic, Demitri. We can rip this place apart, stone by stone, until we find him. If anyone has hurt him, I’ll peel their flesh from their bones.”

  “Which is exactly what Aphrodite wants you to do. Then she can kill you without remorse.”

  Val’s anger stirred, black rage she’d kept suppressed for centuries. “Do you think she did this deliberately? Used him as bait to see how I’d react? Maybe that’s why I met him in Cairo in the first place. Damn it, she knows how to twist the knife.” She squeezed Demitri’s hands in sudden worry. “She’ll do the same to you.”

  “I won’t let her, love.”

  “You’re powerful, but you’re still only half god.”

  Demitri leaned to her, his warmth comforting. “My mother’s people were also very magical, a fact which the Greek gods tend to forget.”

  “Then help Leon.”

  Demitri touched her face. “Don’t worry, love. I’ll find him. And if he’s hurt, the gods will learn what vengeance truly is.”

  FELICIA finished reshelving and rerecording the artifacts she’d taken from the room, marveling that she’d had the courage to take them in the first place. But her mother’s care was expensive, and she’d been desperate. Felicia’s sister, who lived half a mile from the nursing home where her mother was housed, tried to help, but her funds were limited, too. At least she could visit their mother every day, unlike Felicia, who was trying to build a career thousands of miles from home.

  Remy hadn’t spoken to Felicia at all since her confession that she’d taken the artifacts. She couldn’t really blame him. The fact that he hadn’t told her to pack up and go home was a miracle. But of course, he’d have to explain to the department why he’d dropped his second most experienced person from the team, which would lead to questions about how he’d let this happen in the first place. Remy was simply avoiding complications.

  Felicia set the last article in place. The only thing missing was the faience necklace and pendant, but she hadn’t taken that. She thought maybe Val had, but she had no idea why the woman would. Val didn’t seem interested in antiquities, and she had Demitri to buy her gold and jewels. But Val was odd, and there was no telling why the woman did anything.

  As Felicia finished restoring the checklist, Val and Demitri abruptly entered the storage room.

  “Where’s Remy?” Demitri demanded. His eyes were hard, his voice even harder.

  Felicia dropped the clipboard. “At the dig. What’s wrong?”

  “Could you find your way back out to Remy’s tomb if you had to?”

  “Yes, I mapped it. Why?”

  “Right now?”

  “It’s pretty hot right now. And you didn’t answer. Why?”

  “Can you take us?” Demitri was a
big man, and his anger and power of command filled the room. Felicia had the sudden, strange impulse to fling herself on her knees and bow to him.

  She resisted. “Remy would kill me. He’s already pretty pissed at me.”

  “Thanks to me, I know,” Val said in understanding. “But Leon might be trapped out there. We can’t find him.”

  “Are you sure? Why would he go to the tomb without Remy?”

  “He might have been lured there,” Demitri snapped. “I need to check.”

  Worry welled up inside Felicia. The desert could be brutal, and if Leon was out alone, he could be in grave danger. None of the Jeeps was missing, so he’d have gone out there on foot—either human or in the form of whatever animal he’d chosen to become.

  “We have to look,” Demitri said. “Can you take us?”

  Felicia bit her lip. In the desert, every minute counted. Remy was deep inside the dig today, on the other side of a rockfall that took time and ropes to climb over. By the time he got a message and came all the way back to the house, it could be too late for Leon.

  She nodded. “I’ll send word to Remy, but I’ll drive you out right now.”

  Demitri gave her a curt nod, no thanks, and wrenched open the door.

  “I’ll stay here,” Val announced.

  Demitri turned back, rage on his face. Val stepped in front of him, meeting his awful gaze. Felicia had always thought Demitri handsome and reserved, but today something else shone in him, a strength and power she didn’t understand.

  “It might be safer for Leon if you rescue him by yourself,” Val said quietly. “Besides, I can find Remy and tell him what’s happened.”

  Demitri looked down at her for a long time. White light sparkled in his eyes, his face hard with brutal anger. Finally his gaze softened, and he bent down and kissed Val’s lips. “I’ll find him,” he promised.

  He turned and strode out. Felicia took the storage room key off her key ring and handed it to Val. “Make sure you lock up when you go find Remy.”

  Val accepted it with a sad look and a nod, and Felicia scurried out after Demitri.

  The Jeeps were always kept stocked, so Felicia only had to grab a few more bottles of water before she started the engine and pulled away from the dig house.

  Demitri was silent during the dusty ride into the desert. Felicia had never been very comfortable with him, and now he stared moodily into the distance, his emotions almost palpable. The sun was at its zenith, the heat intense. Felicia opened a water bottle one-handed and took a long drink.

  “Why did you steal the artifacts?” Demitri asked her abruptly.

  Felicia coughed. She closed the bottle and wiped her mouth. “Why do you want to know?”

  Demitri turned his head, the flat black of his sunglasses trained on her. “You’re a smart woman. You have integrity. There must have been a good reason.”

  “There was.”

  “Tell me.”

  He was like Val—Felicia had no desire to open her heart to him, but she found herself pouring out the story. She told him everything, about her mother and working her way through school, her sister’s worries, Felicia’s own fear that she’d have to give up the career she loved. When she finished, her mouth was bone-dry, and she took another long gulp of water.

  “How much money will it take to keep your mother cared for in this place?”

  Felicia gave a shaky laugh. “A lot. It’s not a one-time deal—there are expenses every month.”

  Demitri’s mouth flattened. “I asked you, how much?”

  Felicia named the sum, unattainable in her opinion.

  “I will open an account in your name in Chicago,” he said. “I have business friends who will do this for me. You will have money there that you will use to pay for your mother’s care.”

  Felicia jerked the steering wheel and the Jeep skittered off the track. With effort, she pulled it back in line. “You can’t do that.”

  “I can do it easily. I will make one phone call when we return, and it will be done.”

  Felicia stared at him. Demitri returned to gazing at the desert in front of them. I just snap my fingers, and all your problems are solved.

  “Why would you do this for me?”

  He didn’t look at her. “Remy is important to Leon, and you are important to Remy.”

  Felicia clenched the steering wheel. “That’s taking friendship a long way. I can’t let you do it.”

  “You can’t stop me. I care very much for Leon, which is why we’re driving out here to find him. It is the least I can do to repay you for your help.”

  “For driving the Jeep?”

  “For not arguing or stalling, for helping us immediately even though you thought Remy would be unhappy with you. You understand essentials and have the courage to do what needs to be done.”

  “I’m that terrific, am I?”

  “You do not deserve to worry unduly about your mother. I can easily provide the small sum you named and relieve those worries. Then you won’t be tempted to steal worthless bits of clay and ruin your relationship with the man you love.”

  “They aren’t worthless bits of clay.”

  “You put worth on them because of their connection with the past. That is your choice.”

  “You’re an odd man, Demitri.”

  “I’m not a man.”

  With that strange comment, Demitri stopped talking, conversation over. He was silent the rest of the way to the tomb, and Felicia brooded on her own thoughts, not sure what to make of him.

  20

  VAL reported to Remy that his brother might be in trouble out in the desert, which started a flurry of activity. Remy wanted to rush off after Felicia, but Val cautioned him to slow down and carefully stock up with the tools he’d need for a rescue. Remy, his green eyes so like Leon’s, nodded tersely and started shouting orders.

  Not long after, two Jeeps roared off into the white desert. Val watched them depart, then she walked to the crossroads and talked a taxi driver into taking her back across the Nile to Luxor. The taxi dropped her at the hotel, where she procured a few things from her room, then walked to Luxor Temple.

  Val tucked her head scarf more securely around her neck as she joined the throng of tourists entering the place. She walked along the aisles listlessly, not seeing the wonders the tour guides shouted about in several different languages.

  Val left the group at the end of the temple and approached the antechambers in the rear. The tour guides didn’t take people much beyond this point, declaring the crumbling inner sanctuary not as interesting as the preserved halls of Amenophis and Ramses the Great.

  Val waited until the crowd had thinned a bit, then she ducked into the shadows of a ruined wall and removed her clothes. From her large handbag, she pulled out a thin dress of gauze that clasped at her right shoulder with a gold pin. She drew out a collar of gold and lapis lazuli and placed it around her neck, then slid gold bracelets onto her arms. She painted her eyes with eyeliner and dabbed scarlet on her lips. Barefoot, she stashed her bag and clothes under a pile of wall paintings from Roman times that had been removed from the more ancient temple.

  “Look, Mum,” a boy said in an English accent as she emerged. “That lady is dressed like Cleopatra.”

  The mother looked up, gaped at the paper-thin dress over Val’s lush body, and abruptly dragged her son away. Val ignored them and turned to the sanctuary that housed a ruined statue of Amun.

  Amun, one of the first gods of the Egyptian pantheon, had risen to great prominence during the Middle Kingdom. By the time of the New Kingdom, the time of Hatshepsut and Tuthmosis and Tutankhamun, Amun began to be conjoined with Ra, and a new manifestation rose—Amun-Ra, the all powerful, the sun god.

  Val knelt at the base of the ruined statue and bent her head to the stone floor. “Your servant has come,” she whispered in ancient Egyptian. “I give myself into your hands.”

  Nothing happened. Behind her, tourists still filed through the hypostyle hall, and i
n front of her, beyond the sanctuary, impatient traffic flowed. She heard the hum of a loudspeaker in the city followed by a muezzin calling for mid-afternoon prayer.

  Slowly, slowly the sounds of the modern world faded. The temple walls began to solidify around her, as they had when she’d come with Demitri and Leon to call Aphrodite.

  The god who answered Val was not the lovely Aphrodite. A beautiful marble statue appeared where Amun had once stood, but sculpted in the Greek mode. He was naked, perfect, his phallus erect, a coronet of laurel leaves resting on his head.

  The white of the statue flushed pink, the marble faded, and the sun god of the Greeks stood in front of Val, his large toes just above her forehead.

  “What is this?” His voice boomed through the temple, carrying the same timbre as Demitri’s, but with an edge to it, a cruelty that Demitri lacked.

  Val raised her head. “God of the sun, you want my life.”

  Apollo smiled, his beautiful face made even more beautiful. “I do. But I can’t simply kill you, unfortunately. Aphrodite has claim on you until certain conditions are filled.”

  Val crossed her hands over her chest. “You gave her the chance to integrate me with the personality of Valerie, her servant. To render me harmless. But it won’t work. I’m still Valenarian, and that’s all I ever can be.”

  “I know that,” Apollo said impatiently. “But Aphrodite likes her games. She likes to watch people fall in love. Very sweet. Sickeningly so. You must have grown tired of it over the years.”

  “Not really. I knew what it was to fall in love.”

  “Don’t be maudlin.” Apollo dragged Val to her feet with one great hand. He towered over her, twice her size, a god not willing to look quite like a normal human. “You seduced my son, who is an idiot for letting you.”

  “I love Demitri.”

  Apollo sneered. “You ruined him. He was happy and carefree until you found him.”