Heart of the Gods (36 page)

“So,” Tareq said, remembering what he’d heard and felt below with a slight shudder, “you have seen Djinn, too? Real Djinn, in this time…”

With bow, Hassan said, “Yes, Director. I have seen several in my lifetime. The marid are the most common and the most dangerous since they can take the form of men more readily and they do. Most quite successfully. Give me a handsome, wealthy man with no obvious means of support, a skill at gambling and a reputation with women and you will likely find a marid Djinn. Fortunately they like their comforts and will do little to jeopardize them. The ghul like to feed upon the newly dead and stories of grave disturbances usually signal their presence. Ifrit and sila are creatures of the desert―although reports of possession are usually the sila.”

His black eyes steady, Hassan said, “Hundreds of thousands of people disappear every year, for a variety of reasons but no few wind up in the hands of Djinn. The trade in women and children favors them, giving them a means to feed their various appetites and to procreate.”

Tareq sat back, his eyes shocked.

Returning to their original conversation, Hassan said, “In any case, those who follow are only hours behind. It is likely the second group will allow Zimmer’s people to do the groundbreaking. Both will likely be more cautious upon entering but they will come.”

It was inevitable now.

There were moments in time when one could feel the wheels of fate grinding…this was one of them.

Raissa looked at Ky.

His dark eyes, gilded now by the firelight, met hers steadily.

She looked to Tareq, who shrugged eloquently. Somewhere Komi slept, hopefully peacefully, as Ryan stood watch again by the tunnel.

Almost absently, she conjured up another spell, with apologies to the snakes.

It was coming.

Ky looked at Hassan. “My rules, I lead…”

Looking at him skeptically, Hassan said, “And how many missions have you led…?”

With a laugh that was only slightly bitter, Ky said, “More than you would believe.”

From beside him, Raissa said, sharply, “And I am the Guardian of the Tomb and he is my chosen Champion.”

Hassan went still and then he bowed, his hand over his heart.

There was no gainsaying that.

“Let’s get some sleep,” Ky said. “We don’t know when we’ll get the chance again. Rest while you can.”

Chapter Thirty Two

Waking up in the darkness wasn’t a slow process but it was a pleasant one, as Ky realized his arms were filled with a warm, willing woman, her body curled against his, her legs tangled around his. He cradled Raissa’s head against his shoulder and inhaled the scent of her hair, brushed his cheek against the silken softness of it, felt every inch of her supple, lush body against his―firm breasts, the curls between her thighs, the heated core of her against his leg, his own growing hardness pressing against the softness of her belly.

He’d never been a cuddler with other women. With Raissa he wanted to wrap around her, keep her safe, wake up with her nestled against his body forever, to feel her breast fill his hand.

She stirred, her mouth against his throat. Drowsily, her tongue lapped at him lightly, just the tip of it grazing his skin. A shot of heat, of anticipation, went through him and his body responded. He sighed, tightening his arms.

Raissa nuzzled his throat and growled softly, almost a purr, but hungry. The sound sent another jolt of heat straight to his groin.

Her hot mouth moved on him as he pulled her closer and her body shifted against his. Need rushed through him. Her teeth scraped across his skin…desire pooled deep inside him.

Desperately, he grabbed a handful of her hair, pulled her head back to look into her eyes.

Her eyes sleepily aglow, twinkling mischievously, Raissa looked back at him, grinned and licked her lips slowly before her sharp white teeth bit the lower one lightly, provocatively…

The gesture had its intended effect. He tightened.

He had to laugh but he kept a firm grip on her hair, holding her mouth only a breath away from his throat, the sense of it so close was as tantalizing to him as it was to her. A flick of her tongue sent a delicious shiver through him. Waking up in the morning promised to be a heady experience…if they survived this one.

For the moment he wouldn’t think of that, he would only think of her hot mouth on him , her sharp teeth so close, and of the welcoming warmth between her thighs.

He kissed that ardent mouth and her eyes softened, warmed.

“Ky,” she sighed, smiling.

That smile was glorious, deep, full of warmth…brilliant. So beautiful, teeth and all.

With one hand deep in her hair, his other was free to touch and he drew her limber body against his, feeling every inch of her satiny skin move against him.

In the pre-dawn darkness, with her need for him rampant her body literally glowed but he knew she was aware, knew it was him who touched her.

Raissa could taste him on the air, could scent him, his arousal growing and pressed hard against her belly. She reveled in it…and then he touched her.

His hand closed around her breast, squeezed and teased, tormented.

It seemed her blood caught on fire.

With a sigh… his scent, his taste filled her.

Raissa’s body arched as he touched her, wanting more, not just the taste of him but the feel of him. She craved him, and not just his blood, but Ky, his strong body over her, inside her, possessing her.

His hand drifted down, his fingers dipped into her navel, trailed down the inside of her hipbones where the skin was sensitive so she quivered, down to the tight curls between her thighs, slipped between the damp, heated folds as she opened to him, her hips rising in entreaty.

Ky was hard against her thigh, pressed against it…and then her hand found him, closed around him…and he struggled desperately for control.

Desperately he fought to distract her and found a way as he dampened his fingers with her moisture and then slid them up to the small pearl between her thighs, the intensely sensitive nub there. A soft moan escaped her, drifted across his skin.

Her teeth scraped against his throat as his control wavered.

Ky drew her head back, his precarious control nearly snapping as he felt her tongue flutter over his skin…his gut tightened with need and he went hard as a rock.

Looking down, he saw her laughing eyes…

Deliberately, he stroked that delicate nub and watched her eyes widen as he played with her, watched her control shatter as her muscles jumped and twitched while he teased and tormented it. His fingers slipped over her, dipped into her, slid around the entrance to her core until she gasped, need pouring through her as her hips pumped with growing desperation.

His own need was intense, nearly blinding, the lure of her heated, wet tightness was maddening.

As much as he needed to feel her around him, he needed to feel her feed…wanted to feel her in so many ways… She was his, he wanted to know all of her.

Rolling her beneath him, he drove up into her. Her arms wrapped around him, clung tightly, her soft cries of pleasure buried against his throat, tormenting him further. He thrust harder, deeper, his arms tight around her, one around her hips, the other clenched in her hair.

Beneath him, Raissa’s hips rose, bucked as Ky filled her, body and soul, pulsed within her, hard, filling her, stretching her, his pleasure building as he swelled inside her.

It was too much, she hungered for him, all of him.

Her teeth sank into his throat. That was all it took to push him over the edge. He groaned as his pleasure took him and he poured into her body, into her mouth…hips hard against hers, he emptied into her deliriously, deliciously

Ecstasy blinded her as the taste of him filled her, as his ecstasy rushed into her. She trembled wildly as her own pleasure overwhelmed her. Her mouth was locked on him, drawing on him, feasting, her body jolted as ecstasy blinded her, as she took him into her, the taste and feel of him glorious, astonishing.

She shuddered in sheer bliss.

“Ky,” she whispered as he collapsed over her and she enfolded him in her arms.

Drawing her against him, Ky said, “I love you, Raissa.”

“And I you,” she said.

In the sky above them, the first light of dawn was breaking.

For a moment Raissa simply clung to him, feeling him still inside her. Holding onto him and feeling the same longing in the arms wrapped tightly around her.

Chapter Thirty Three

The best plans were the simplest ones as all battle plans turned to smoke at the first sign of the enemy, whose plans had little to do with yours. Both sides could only estimate and guess what the other side would most likely do.

Ky scanned the area above and around the tunnel to the glade in the gray predawn light.

They could try to hold it, to bottle Zimmer’s men up in the entrance. With limited supplies, though they couldn’t take the chance Zimmer would decide to settle in and wait them out. Or discover the opening in the roof. With helicopters and military rifles it would be like shooting ducks in a barrel. It was easier to let them get inside and take them here in the glen.

Keep it simple, he reminded himself.

“Ryan,” he asked, “I want you and Komi inside the entrance to the tomb. Keep anyone out that isn’t us…” Which was about as simple as it got. “If the shooting gets too hot, get inside and take cover behind the statue of Isis and stay there.”

For a moment, Ryan just looked at him.

Ky looked back, having a pretty good guess what he was thinking.

“Yes, I’m keeping you safe, if I can. Neither of you signed up for this. You’ve been the best grad student I ever had and you’ve got a job once you graduate, if we live to talk about it. So, live to talk about it. Keep them off of us if you can, keep them out of the Tomb if you can but survive to tell the tale. Both of you. If you can’t, remember what Raissa said, take cover behind the statue of Isis.”

He looked at Tareq, knowing the other man’s skills, his background.

Tareq grinned, lifted an eyebrow.

With a grim chuckle, Ky smiled back.

“You know what to do, find a vantage point near the entryway to the Tomb,” Ky said, “Keep an eye out for snipers and keep them off us if you can. Good luck, my friend.”

Clapping him on the shoulder, Tareq said, “You too, my friend Ky.”

His eyes went to Raissa. With a smile, he made her a deep obeisance.

“And to the Guardian of the Tomb,” he said.

“Stay alive, Tareq,” she said. “If you’re cornered, shoot the stele and unleash Irisi, throw your gun away and take cover.”

For a moment he only looked at her, then he stepped close and kissed her lightly on the cheek.

“I pray it isn’t necessary. Good luck to you, my friend.”

Then he turned and trotted away, scanning the inner wall of the glade for a good vantage with a clear line of retreat.

Heart aching, acutely aware of where his lips had touched her skin, Raissa watched him go.

So, for a moment did Ky. Then he took a breath, turned to Hassan.

“Hassan,” Ky said. “I need your best marksmen watching for snipers above us and on the rock face. Your people are best against the Djinn inside, under cover, supporting Ryan and Komi. If the Djinn get out, we’ll need people who know how to fight them. The rest out here will try to keep Zimmer’s people from getting in. Have those people take cover where they can. Retreat if the firing gets too close, we’ll need you inside. Make your shots count.”

With the numbers against them…

They needed to reduce them.

He and Raissa would play commando and watch each other’s back. Not simply to keep close but because it was what they were best at. They and the lions.

“Just try not shoot us. If they reach the Tomb…”

Hassan nodded, his eyes knowing, touching his forehead in salute to Ky, before his eyes went to Raissa in question.

For her, there was none.

“If there is a chance the Tomb might be opened,” she said, “and I can seal it off to the outside world, I will. As much as I love and care for many of you and I will do all I can to keep you alive, I will seal it to keep the Djinn in. I must. Not a single one can escape into the world.”

Every eye looked at her.

Ky could see what it cost her to say it, she couldn’t look at him but he could see the pain and the truth of it in her eyes.

How many times in the past had he made similar decisions, in similar circumstances, knowing the lives of people he cared about were at risk? It was why he’d returned to the study of archaeology as soon as he was able. He’d watched too many good people die over land that had been fought over since Irisi’s time.

Ky caught a lock of Raissa’s hair in his fingers, tugged lightly.

Raissa’s gaze met his, saw the look in them, the understanding there. She should have known. Closing her eyes in relief, she let out a sigh, straightened.

“All right,” Ky said. “If we can, we stop them here. If not we’ll stop them inside. Now though? Now comes the worst part. We get into position and wait.”

There were a few strained chuckles.

With a nod, Ryan and Komi faded back toward the tunnel to the Tomb itself, some of Hassan’s people with them.

Ky hated putting good people on the sidelines but he’d never fought Djinn and he suspected the learning curve was steep. It was clear they weren’t much fond of it either but they understood the necessity.

The others fanned out and took positions.

With a gesture, Raissa sent the lions to hunt, too, to take cover in the high grass somewhat near the entrance. All except Nebi who stayed at their heels.

The lions would give them their first warning of trouble arriving, if they chose to come in quietly.

She and Ky found cover, her swords sheathed at her back, Ky armed with both the rifle and the knife he’d taken. It was the knife Ky intended to use most.

Nebi settled at their feet.

The light increased. It also made deep concealing shadows.

Zimmer, or more likely the canny Kamenwati, wisely wasn’t risking his people in poor light where their enemy knew the ground, he’d waited until there was plenty of light available.