Blood Talisman (10 page)
“Which was why he was throwing me all those hateful looks,” Andorra remarked. “He
might have guessed at some point the vampire would have problems with me there, but he
was thwarted in that he couldn’t say or do anything for fear of exposing himself. I suppose he missed the fact that I would be able to read the vampire’s mind. Although the vampire could close his mind to me in the beginning, the shock of my attack weakened him. I was able to penetrate hsi thoughts just before he died, thus discovering the truth of what he was involved in.”
“Wow,” Tommy muttered, after gulping at his beer. “You think this will ever be on the
news?”
Andrew chuckled. “Doubtful. The President’s Press Secretary would have difficulty
explaining this particular episode.”
“But what will they do with Hollingsworth?”
“That is under discussion, I believe, even as we speak.” Andorra smiled. “I suggested
severe memory loss, resulting in his having to resign. Denise Harper was quite keen on that idea.” She put aside her wineglass and stood. “Now gentlemen, Tony and I must leave you.
BLOOD TALISMAN J.P. Bowie 58
We have to fly to Washington D.C. and file a report, then I believe we have a meeting with the President when he gets back.”
Tony grinned at Tommy. “’Course, we’ll be there before him.”
“Oh, yeah? How’d you reckon?”
Tony spread his arms out imitating a plane. “Andorra’s really fast.”
Tommy spewed out a mouthful of beer then clapped a hand over his mouth, his face
reddening with embarrassment. “Christ, I’m sorry! But you guys are flying—flying—all the way to D.C.? Holy sh—! No way, no way could I do that.”
“Hell, that’s nothing,” Tony told him. “We’ve flown much farther hundreds of times,
right Andorra?”
“Right, Tony.” Andorra smiled indulgently. “Now if you’ll get your backpack ready
we’ll be on our way. And don’t rumple that new dress I bought today.”
Tommy did a double-take. “You bought a new dress on top of everything else you did
today? You are truly amazing!”
“And you are truly adorable,” Andorra said, kissing his cheek. “Andrew, I think you
must take very good care of this young man.”
“Oh, he does,” Tommy said, then blushed again.
“And please…” Andorra’s expression turned serious. “I know what you are planning
on doing tonight, so please, please be careful. I would hate to hear something terrible has befallen you.”
“Don’t worry, Andorra,” Roger butted in. “Marcus and I will be there to look after
them.”
Andorra rolled her eyes. “Well then, I needn’t worry, need I?”
Although Andrew was certain Marcus considered his quest a waste of effort, the Master
Vampire had offered his and Roger’s assistance when it came time to begin the search for the Scrolls of Ashelak. Andrew had purchased a rather poor map of the Babylon ruins, all that was readily available from a street vendor. At least it had the points of interest highlighted, though crudely represented.
BLOOD TALISMAN J.P. Bowie 59
Years before, Sadaam Hussein had begun work restoring Babylon, or at least the
dictator’s idea of what it should look like, but Andrew was not interested in anything that might be within the dead dictator’s reconstruction. Lying in the ruins was the site of the ancient temple to the god Marduk. Andrew intuitively felt that, although the site had been excavated, what he was looking for, hoping for, would be found there.
“I don’t know why I feel this, I simply do,” he told Tommy while they were sitting side
by side studying the map. “It’s one of the most ancient parts of the original city, and
somehow it makes sense to me that if there is an access leading to the pit the Secret Service man mentioned, it will be here.”
“If you say so,” Tommy murmured, stroking Andrew’s back. “Let’s face it, we’re gonna
be looking for something that maybe doesn’t even exist, so why not take a shot in the dark—
literally.”
Andrew turned and smiled at him. “You know the only way to get there is by ‘vampire
express’ as you like to call it, don’t you? We can’t very well take a cab or rent a car. The place is guarded by US military even though we’re told they no longer have a presence in Iraq.
And I have to warn you, to avoid being seen even at night, we will have to drop from the sky faster than at any time before you have ever flown with me.”
Tommy gulped involuntarily. “I know—just don’t drop me in the process.”
A gentle knock on their hotel room door signalled Marcus and Roger’s arrival. By
mutual decision the men were dressed in black shirts and pants.
“How do I look?” Roger did a little pirouette.
“Fantastic,” Tommy muttered.
“Are you nervous?” Roger asked.
“Why do you ask?”
“Because you look nervous.”
“It’s just the flying thing.”
“Oh, not the wandering about in the dark under trillion-year-old ruins?”
“No, actually that doesn’t bother me. It’ll be like when I have to go into smoke-filled
buildings.” He smirked at Roger. “You should try that sometime.”
Roger chuckled. “Point taken.”
“So, are we ready to go?” Marcus opened the door to the balcony and stepped outside.
BLOOD TALISMAN J.P. Bowie 60
Tommy took a deep breath. “Ready as I’ll ever be. Jeez, what I do for you, my
vampire.”
Andrew took his arm and they watched as Marcus and Roger lifted off into the dark
sky, then Andrew slipped his arms around Tommy.
“Hold tight,” he murmured.
“Like I wouldn’t. Whoa!”
They were travelling faster than ever before in Tommy’s experience, and it only took a
few minutes for them to be hovering high over the ruins of Babylon. Below, Tommy could
make out a few pinpoints of light he guessed to be a military outpost. His eyes widened
when he saw two dark shadows plummet earthward.
“Ready, my love?” Andrew whispered.
“Yes,” Tommy said, his voice sounding like a croak to his own ears. He closed his eyes
and tightened his grip on Andrew trying not to let any weird noise, like some girly squeak, escape him as they went into freefall. The air rushed by them so fast that Tommy felt as if every breath in his body was being ripped out of him—then just as quickly it was over, his feet were on the ground and Andrew was already pulling him by his arm towards where Marcus and Roger were waiting. Tommy had no time to even reflect on what he’d just
experienced. In the faint light cast by a shadowed moon he saw Marcus pointing at a pile of rubble.
That can’t be anything, surely…
“I sense something under us right here,” Marcus said quietly.
You do?
Tommy could see only age worn bricks.
“Yes,” Andrew murmured.
“Let’s get rid of this debris,” Roger said, sweeping his hand over the pile. Andrew and
Marcus joined him in the sweeping motion and soon the bricks and rubble had been
removed and a gaping hole exposed.
Tommy peered into the inky blackness. “How do we get down there? Shit—silly
question. We’re gonna jump, of course.”
“Roger and I will go first.” Marcus said to him, “To ascertain how safe it is for you
down there, Tommy. There might be a lack of oxygen.”
“Should have brought my breathing gear,” Tommy quipped, in what he hoped was a
couldn’t-care-less jaunty tone.
BLOOD TALISMAN J.P. Bowie 61
Marcus and Roger stepped over the rim of the shaft and immediately disappeared from
sight.
“How deep d’you think it is?” he whispered, his arm around Andrew’s waist.
“Not so deep—and Marcus says there is breathable air. Let’s go.”
“Huh? Oh, right…” Marcus must have sent Andrew a message only he could hear.
Tommy closed his eyes as Andrew grabbed him and jumped forwards. Would he ever get
used to this? he wondered as they hurtled downward.
Probably not
. Their feet hit the ground and reluctantly he released Andrew from his death-like grip. “Just as well you don’t bruise,”
he muttered. He reached for the flashlight he had secured to his belt. “Dark as shit in here. I know you can see, but where are Marcus and Roger?”
Andrew pointed to a passage entrance. “Down there. Marcus says they have found
something of interest.”
“Already?” The beam from Tommy’s flashlight picked out the remains of intricate
brickwork lining the passageway’s walls and roof. It was high enough for them to walk with their heads only slightly bowed. The passageway opened up into a large circular space lined with the broken remains of stone sarcophagi strewn around in disarray.
“A crypt,” Andrew murmured, stepping inside.
“I’m afraid this is the work of grave robbers,” Marcus said as they approached. “These
tombs have been thoroughly pillaged over the centuries, and there are also signs of recent excavation. This does not look good for your search, Andrew.”
Andrew nodded in agreement, and Tommy could see the disappointment evident in his
expression. “There is still the pit,” he said taking Tommy’s hand.
“And there’s another passage over there.” Roger pointed to the far curved corner of the
crypt. A doorway had been cut into the wall, flanked on either side by delicately carved pillars. “Let’s see where that one goes.”
This passageway was longer, narrower, making it necessary that they walk single file,
Marcus leading the way. It was an accepted fact that his senses were more powerful than any other known vampire so that if there were obstacles ahead or—as in many ancient tombs and labyrinths—perhaps a booby trap or two set for the unwary grave robber, Marcus would be aware of them well ahead of time.
“Steps ahead,” Marcus said, “going down.”
BLOOD TALISMAN J.P. Bowie 62
“Going down? We must be several hundred feet below the surface already.” Tommy
wasn’t nervous. At times he’d had to work in confined spaces, but he found it amazing that they could be descending even farther below the earth—and they hadn’t even reached that pit yet. But Andrew had told him the bunker where the President had met with the Taliban was buried deep under the desert. Perhaps the architects who had designed the bunker had followed the paths of the ancient tunnels.
The steps led them even deeper and the air seemed thick and dank. Tommy really
wished he had his breathing apparatus now. His flashlight beam picked out an unadorned
ceiling, fallen bricks by the side of the steps, but nothing more. The silence was oppressive, the only sound Tommy could hear was his own breath rasping in his chest.
“Tommy, are you all right?” Andrew put a hand on his arm to slow him down.
“I’ll be fine. It’s just that the air’s not so good down here.”
“Sit for a moment or two…”
“No, I don’t want to hold you guys back.”
“Tommy, sit. I’ll sit with you.” He pushed a reluctant Tommy down onto the step and
sat beside him.
“Sorry… God, I feel so weak all of a sudden.”
“Don’t be sorry. You’re lacking oxygen.”
Marcus climbed back up to where they had stopped. After staring at Tommy for a brief
moment he pulled back his shirt sleeve.
“No…” Andrew moved closer to Tommy. “Tommy and I both thank you for offering,
Marcus, but the blood he needs should be mine to give.”
Marcus nodded and stepped back. Andrew bit into his wrist, then held the bleeding
flesh to Tommy’s lips. Their eyes met and held as Tommy first licked tentatively, then sucked hard, the spicy, potent essence coursing through his body, revitalising and oxygenating his blood almost immediately. Andrew kissed his forehead and the combination of the blood and the sensuous touch of Andrew’s lips gave Tommy an instant hard-on that was clearly
visible when, a few moments later, Andrew helped him to his feet.
A low chuckle came from an expected quarter—Roger. “Beats Viagra every time!” he
snickered and received a look of disapproval from Marcus along with one of embarrassment from Tommy. “Nothing to be embarrassed about,” Roger added. “Looks pretty impressive, even from here.”
BLOOD TALISMAN J.P. Bowie 63
“All right, now that Tommy is fully recovered, shall we proceed?” Marcus grabbed
Roger by the arm and hauled him down the last few steps.
“Just sayin’,” Roger muttered as he was hurried away. “No need for everyone to get so
uptight.”
Andrew put an arm around Tommy’s waist. “Feeling better?”
“Much. Sorry about the display.”
“No need to be sorry. I’d have been surprised if there hadn’t been that reaction. We all know vampire blood has aphrodisiacal effects. Roger just loves to tease.”
“Doesn’t he though? Uh, Andrew, you’re stroking me. Nice as it is, you keep that up
and I’ll come in my pants.”
“Right.” Andrew nuzzled Tommy’s neck gently. “It’s your fault for being so alluring.
Come… I mean, come with me.” He chuckled as he took Tommy’s hand. “I mean, follow
me.” His quiet laughter helped ease the tension that had surrounded them earlier.
“Wow, look at that,” Tommy exclaimed. The steps had led them into a short
passageway that opened up into another large crypt, again lined with plundered tombs, but this time it appeared they had come to a dead end. There was no opening other than the one they had used to enter.