As Long As (9 page)

It still happened.

His flashlight reached into another room, reflecting off a wall covered with
ankh
symbols. They’d been painted in gold on a black lacquered surface. It had to be a shrine. Four-sided. Enclosing the coffin. They’d reached the burial chamber. There was a rope fastening across the front. Affixed with a clay seal.

And it was intact!

Geena stopped, locked in place. Her eyes focused on that round clay seal. Sokar slid around the right, disappearing between the wall and the shrine. He took the light with him.

“Sokar?”

“Why are you waiting? I must show you my sarcophagus. And the outer coffins.”

“You’d better not be a mummy. Okay? That’s all I’m saying.”

“It is impossible to be two places at the same time,
habibi.
”

“It’s impossible to be a vampire, too.”

“I will set your mind at rest, little one.”

“Oh yeah. How?”

“I was not the one who was mummified and placed in here. Come. It is safe.”

He held out his hand for hers. She reached for him. Her hand was shaking. He closed his fingers on hers, instantly passing warmth and comfort. She should be embarrassed. She’d save that for later. When she found her backbone.

The back of the shrine pulled open from one corner.
Sneaky. Very sneaky
. Geena glanced up at Sokar. He looked overly-sinister in the light. It just touched his forehead. The end of his nose. His upper lip. Fang tips. She glanced back down and over to what he showed her.

There was an immense stone box in the center of the enclosure. The lid had been removed and propped against one side. It looked like there was another square coffin inside. Wooden. The innermost one was unbelievable. Despite the proof before her eyes. It was burnished gold. And anthropomorphic. She couldn’t see inside it. The opening was shadowed and deep. And she didn’t dare step closer.

“I-is-is that...gold? Real gold?” Her voice shook worse than her body.

“Yes.”

“S-solid gold?”

“Yes.”

“But...you’re from the Middle Kingdom. They didn’t have human-shaped sarcophagi then,” Geena said.

He flashed a grin. Light reflected off sharp canines. Her heart thudded uncomfortably.

“I had heard that, too.”

“I don’t get it.”

“Perhaps the reason we are told that Middle Kingdom burials use square wooden coffins is because they never found anything else. Think about it. If you were a tomb robber and came upon such a golden sarcophagus, would you have left it?”

“I don’t know. I can’t think.”

“Forgive me. I am rushing you.”

“You’re not...it’s just—. You said you weren’t mummified and buried here.”

“Yes. I did say that.”

“Then...who was?”

“My brother, of course. He was close to my size. Not as fit, but it was an easy matter to hunt him down. Move him to my sickbed. Drain his blood. Stick a knife in his back. After an unfortunate accident with a brazier.”

“A brazier?”

“He fell headfirst into the fire. It damaged his face. He was unrecognizable.”

“He replaced you in your tomb?”

“You do not think I’d let him live, do you?”

“Sokar? I’m really cold. I mean. Really. Cold.”

He glanced down. She was shivering convulsively. Despite standing amidst heat that could easily make him perspire. Sokar scooped her up with one hand, placed the flashlight atop the shrine with the other. A moment later, he had her in his arms, against his chest. The contact was akin to an electrical current. Generating warmth. Her trembling calmed. He held her and gloried in how wondrous it felt. Their heartbeats were synchronized. Their breaths matched. He began rocking slightly.

“Um. Sokar?”

“Yes?”

“You should...probably put me down now.”

She sounded flustered but nothing on her frame moved in contradiction. He decided to listen to what she was exhibiting, rather than her words. It was the better option.

“We need to see my father’s tomb now.”

“Do we...have to?”

He straightened. The move shifted her against his belly. All kinds of impulses erupted from the contact. The effect was delicious. Highly sensual. Definitely erotic. And happening at the wrong time and place.

“You need to see the truth. The entire truth. That is why we are here.”

“What if I told you...I was very close to believing you already? Would that be enough?”

“You needn’t fret, Geena. You are ever safe with me. I will let nothing harm you. I vow it.”

By the god,
Set
!
He’d said it incorrectly. Or used the wrong words. His statement made her stiffen. When she looked up toward him, she had a tight look to her mouth. And she wouldn’t meet his eyes.

“I don’t need a man to protect me, Sokar.”

“I would never infer such.”

“Good. Because I find it insulting.”

She did?

“I just...need reality. Okay?”

“Everything I have shown you is real,
habibi.
”

“Except the vampire thing.”

He sighed heavily.

“You can put me down now.”

“It will be easier to carry you.”

“Easier...for whom?”

Her voice lowered. He swallowed uneasily. In his mortal years, he’d known great power. Wielded it without thought. He’d gone on war campaigns. Annihilated any who dared stand against him. He’d gathered shiploads of tribute. Been awarded necklaces of golden bees, golden lions, and three gold arm bands for his victories. Had his exploits carved on temple walls for all to see. They had long since disappeared, sunk beneath the marshy fields in the delta area. Sokar’s mortal life had been obliterated by the passage of time. He hadn’t truly cared. That was one penalty of accepting immortality. He’d spent the centuries since searching and learning many things. But, he’d somehow missed an extremely important one.

He knew precious little about women.

This was a terrible time to find that out.

“I did not just protect my father’s tomb with mine. I built a series of false passageways. Rooms that open into empty rooms that go nowhere. It is a maze of death if you do not follow it precisely.”

“That figures.”

“I do not understand the sarcasm.”

“I am already impressed. Okay?”

“You are impressed?”

“I’m using sarcasm to hide just
how
impressed. And I really hate to admit that to an arrogant male who doesn’t need it. Okay?”

He straightened further. Bumped his head on a roof bar of the shrine. Why would he not need to know he’d impressed her? Did it have something to do with this arrogance she attributed to him?

Arrogant?

Him?

He really didn’t understand women.

“So. You want to stand around...or show me this maze?”

“I will need to think first.”
Was it right two times? Then left? Then right again?
He thought that was the correct sequence. He needed to be sure. Otherwise he’d get lost. And there were a lot of rock walls and empty chambers between the two tombs.

She looked up toward him again, but didn’t keep her gaze on his. The instant of regard was almost too much. Even in his tomb, surrounded by funerary goods, lit by a flashlight directed at one wall, her glance sent all kinds of sensations through him. He needed to disguise it. And quickly. Sokar tightened his grip on her thighs, brought them closer to his belly, turned sideways, and shoved a shoulder into the right side of the wall.

A scraping sound of rock on rock accompanied his action. The wall pivoted open enough to fit if he went sideways. He slid through, entering an empty chamber barely the size of his shrine. The rock wall shut behind them. There wasn’t a hint of light. It didn’t hamper him, although she gasped. He turned to his right and smacked his shoulder into the side of that wall. It slid open with more scraping sounds. He stepped into another chamber. The wall behind them closed. He’d reached another chamber, approximately the same size of the last, and just as black. He repeated the action. At the third chamber, he stood for a moment.
Yes.
He was certain this was correct. It was hard to think, however. She was making it difficult. Her heart had sped up, taking his heart rate with it. Her breathing came in short gasps, dragging his into rhythm, and she’d wrapped her arms about his neck and clung there, making their embrace incredibly vibrant. And heart-stirring.

Left
.

He pushed the left side of the left wall. The rock slid forward. He stepped through. It shut behind them. Then he turned right again. She stopped him with a few words.

“Holy crap, Sokar. I mean...holy crap.”

He grinned. It was probably a good thing she couldn’t see. “You are impressed?”

“Um. Yes. Mightily.”

He couldn’t help it. He tossed his head back and shouted the joy. That was a mistake. The chamber wasn’t large. The sound amplified and overwhelmed. She cried out and shoved her head into his shoulder. And she was shaking again. He pressed a palm to her exposed ear as the din slowly subsided. Sokar was rocking her again, and crooning some forgotten tune. She was just so perfect...and so infinitely precious! He stopped humming the moment it became obvious. She might think it another insult. He hoped it was soon enough. He moved his hand away, grunted, and shifted sideways, so he could smack his shoulder into the wall on their right. She stopped him again. This time with a whisper.

“Um. Sokar?”

“Yes?”

“Are we almost there?”

“Yes.”

“How can you even see? And don’t answer that.”

“Very well. I will not.”

I...really hope I can handle this.”

Anything he said might be taken as an insult. He debated options. Discarded each one. She spoke again, saving him from an answer.

“I mean...what if it’s true? And...you really are a vampire?”

Elation sent a shiver rippling over him. It raised goose bumps. She might have felt them since she lifted her head away from his shoulder.

“It is not so horrid,
habibi.
”

“Well, it’s crazy. Okay? Out there. Insane. I mean...will I have to admit I’ve gone insane?”

“Hold that thought,” he replied, and slammed into the wall.

He hadn’t been here in decades. Odors assailed him. He hadn’t realized the tomb had a smell. It was a blend of ancient wood, woven basketry, paint, and dust. He set her on her feet and turned, placing her back against him, facing outward. They were on the threshold. Several steps above the tomb floor. This room was the largest. He made out shapes of statues, chariots, and the long shape of a funerary boat along one wall.

“Oh. Wow. I hope you have another flashlight hidden.”

“No need. I have it wired. One moment...”

He reached for the lever.

“You brought electricity in here? Why? If a thief sees wires, they’ll look for why. Your compound will be compromised. They’ll find you.”

Sokar waited with his hand on the lever, stalled halfway to connecting the alternating current. “If anyone reaches this far, that will mean I have failed. The only way that would happen is if I am dead.”

“Wait! What? You can’t die. You’re immortal.”

“Does that mean you believe me?” he asked.

“Just answer me, Sokar. Okay? How can you die?”

“A vampire can be killed many ways. A wooden stake to the heart. A beheading. A draining of fluid.”

“Who would dare?”

“Anyone with the right tools.”

“Ah. Right. That would be...sunlight. Or...down here, maybe a sunlamp?”

“Not exactly. I have lived long enough sunlight has little effect.”

“How about Holy Water? A crucifix?”

“I am almost four thousand years old,
habibi.
Christian symbols were not in existence. They cannot harm me. Although...”

“Yes?”

“You are not planning my demise, are you?”

“I’m just trying to figure things out. You know. Act normal. That way...maybe when I return to reality, I can pretend none of this happened.”

That stupid promise
.

His heart hurt. Sokar blinked rapidly and viciously against a wash of moisture that came unbidden and swift. He’d never dealt with such a thing. For a few moments, he wasn’t sure he could conquer it. He was extremely thankful he hadn’t turned on the lights yet. He finally had the emotion defeated, but had to clear his throat to answer her. And then the words trembled.

“There is water that has debilitating effects. If it is trickled down a
Cippi
statue and blessed by a priest of
Amun
first.”

“A what statue?”

“It is a sacred statue of the young god,
Horus
. He stands atop a crocodile. He holds two scorpions in each hand. This water has healing properties for the living. Ancient Egyptian physicians used it.”

“It will harm you?”

“Most assuredly.”

“Well. I think you’re safe. Anyone wishing to use it would have to find the statue and then track down a priest of
Amun.
I think the last one disappeared sometime during the Roman occupation. Or thereabout. Yes?”

He grunted, and pushed the lever down.