Sekhmet's Curse (Pearl Vampire Chronicles) (10 page)

We turned into the kitchen, “Okay.  But actually, the first time we met was also the time he broke my ribs,” I said as I grabbed some pints from the fridge. 
“How many for you?”

“Ummmm, four please?  Is that too many?”

“It’s not too many at all, Jason.  You can have as much as you want when you’re here.”

“Then six please.”

“Six it is,” I grabbed them, and four for me, and dropped them in the microwave.  As
I
was heating
the
blood
I began telling him of my first encounter with his father, “Your father and others like him were working for someone who wanted female vampires for their breeding abilities. But vampires and
s
eraphim
’s weren’t,
ummmm
, friends yet.
Seraphim’s had been extinct for hundreds of years, or so we thought.”

“Until that priest guy used DNA to bring us back, right?” Jason said.

I nodded, “Yes.  So when they basically appeared out of nowhere and all they were doing was kidnapping female vampires, some of which were my close friends, well, we immediately came to the conclusion that they were trying to kill us off so
w
e began trying to figure out how to defend ourselves. We never, ever thought that vampires and seraphim’s could
get along and live in peace.
It was only because of your father that we became friends, but that
happened
much later.”

“Funny, but he told me the same thing about you.  He said you were the reason that my kind and
vampires got along now.  He said that it was because of how you treated him when you had him captured.  He was intrigued by you, fascinated by you and he even developed a little crush on you.
The priest had raised them to despise vampires, he said that you were the reason that we went extinct in the first place. But when he first met you, when he first talked to you, h
e knew he could never harm you.  And because he wanted you to stay alive and be his friend, then
he thought that
maybe it was okay to let all vampires live and even be friends.”

“Really?
  He told you that? 
That’s, well, I didn’t know that he felt that way.  Anyways, w
e were trying to figure out why the
s
eraphim
’s were kidnapping female vampires.  And we thought the best way to figure that out would be to capture one.”

“And you were the bait
,
”
Jason said.

I smiled, “He told you that?  Yes, I was.  I was out on the lawn when your father and his friends showed up.”

“Why didn’t you just ask him why he was here?”

“Because he only spoke Latin.
  He pretended that he didn’t know English.  And nobody here at the time
knew Latin.  So, when you father first saw me, he waved his friends off and hovered right above me.”

“Yes.  He said he knew immediately that you were excellent breeding stock and so he marked you as his mate right then.”

“He marked me?”

“Yes. 
With his scent.
  From his,” he blushed, “from, you know.  Didn’t you feel it?”

“Well, yes.  But I didn’t realize that was what he was doing.  What does that do, when he marks me?”

“It repels all other
s
eraphim
s. 
It tells them that you are his. 
They won’t come near you.”

“Oh.  Well, when he was, ummm, marking me, he knew we were going to capture him and he seemed okay with that.  I grabbed his arms and that was when he folded his wings and dropped his full weight on me.”

Jason shook his head, “It wasn’t his full weight.  Not even close.  He was trying to not hurt you.  His full weight would have crushed your entire body in a second.”

“
That wasn’t his full weight?  He told you that?  I guess I should be grateful but, man it hurt like hell.
T
hat was when he broke my ribs, and my pelvis.”

“I remember you, you know.” he whispered.

“You remember me? 
How?”

“I remember you talking to me when I was inside
of
you.  I liked your voice.”

Carlos cleared his throat behind me.  He and Matt had been standing in the doorway, and they had obviously heard that last part.  “We like her voice too,” he said as he leaned down and kissed the top of my head.  Matt sat down across from me with his meal, “She’ll be waiting for you,” he said. 

Jason stood up, “I should probably go.”

“Actually, I was hoping you’d stay, Jason.”

He eyed me.  I could tell he was leery.  “Why?”

“I’m worried that you might be seen by this reporter or her photographer.  I was hoping I could convince you to stay here.”

“Where?
  In the cage you kept my father in?” he snapped.

I couldn’t keep the hurt from my voice, “No, of course not.  We have a room at the end of the hall.  You can come and go as you please.  I just ask that you stay indoors until dark and don’t hunt any
humans within a fifty mile radius.”

Now he was the one who looked hurt, “I don’t hunt humans.  Father doesn’t want us to.  And I’m sorry I said that.  But I am curious to see
the cell
where he was
kept
.  Perhaps you could show me when you get back?”

“
Absolutely
.
  Let me show you to your room
n
ow
and I promise that I will be back soon
.” 

We all headed down the hall, to the room at the end, right next to the courtyard door that leads to the waterfall.  “Have you ever seen television?”

He looked at me like I was an alien.  “You’re kidding me, right?”

“Well, no.  Haven’t you been in the cave this entire time?”

“No.  We move between the cave and a small cottage in the mountains above Austria.  It has its own power: wind generators, solar panels.  And we have a satellite dish.  Humans are amusing, to say the least.”

“Oh. 
I guess I should’ve known that your father would want to teach you not only about yourself but other species as well
. 
I can tell that he loves you
very much. 
I have to run out
now
.  Will you be okay here by yourself?  I could get someone to keep you company.”

He rolled his eyes, “Please.  I’ve been on my own for over a week.  Do you really think I can’t take care of myself?”

“You’re right.  I’m sorry.  But can I ask that you please stay in this room?”

“Why?  I thought I just had to stay indoors.  You said you weren’t trying to keep me prisoner.”

“I’m not.  It’s just that I haven’t had a chance to inform everyone here that you are my guest.  The last time most of them saw a
s
eraphim
was when they were kidnapping vampires.”
“Oh. 
I suppose t
hat makes sense.  I’ll stay in here until you get back.”

“Thank you.  I’ll be back soon.” 

I turned and headed back into th
e hall, joining Matt and Carlos
.
.
 

“Are you sure about this, Sarah?” Matt said as we headed toward the doors. 

“Positive.  Do you have a tape recorder?  I want to record her answers.  Hopefully something will give
us a clue to who
is
supplying her information.”

Carlos smiled and handed me one from his pocket. “I had a feeling you’d want one,” he said.  I smiled, “Of course you did,” I said as I tucked it into my purse.  A half block from the café, I dropped their hands, “Wait here, please.
  And stay out of my head for now.  I need to concentrate on this, not you two.
”  They both started to
protest
, but thought better of it when I glared at them.  I turned and made my way the rest of the way to the café, reaching into my purse and turning on the digital recorder when I reached the door.  I found her easily, sitting at the table in the middle of the room.  I smiled, “Not much privacy at this table is there? 
Are y
ou worried about being alone with me?”

She ignored my question, but I got my answer from her shaking fingers as she opened her notebook.  “Thank you for seeing me, Ms. Pearl,” she began.

“Please, call me Sarah.”

She stared at me,
with her mouth hanging open
, for a few seconds.  “Okay, Sarah.  First question: How old are you?”

“Forty-
four
.”

“No, really.
  How old are you?”

“Really.
  I’m forty-
four
.  Would you like to see my driver’s license? 
My birth certificate?”
I said.

“They’re
fake
,
”
she spat.

“No, they’re not.  I was born in Seattle, Washington on September 2
nd
, 1968.  I was married to Robert Jensen on May 4
th
, 1995.  Shall I go on?”

“Where is he?”

My eyes looked down.  “Dead,” I whispered.

“Did you kill him?”

My head shot up,
“What?  Fuck, no, I didn’t kill him.  Why would you say something like that?  That’s a horrible thing to say.  He was killed in a car accident.  Look, I’m sure you’ve done your research on me and you know all this already.  What do you really want?”

She stared at me for a second then took a deep breath, “Okay.  Do you always get what you want?”

“What do you mean by that?  No, I don’t always get what I want.  Nobody does.”

“Well, you lost your son then couldn’t have more children, yet somehow you were able to conceive and give birth last year.  You weren’t satisfied with just
one lover, so you stole, what’s his name? Oh, yes, you stole Carlos away from, ummm, well you just stole him.  So I ask you again, why
are
you so lucky?  Why do you always get everything you want?”

I just stared.  My heart was breaking.  I knew exactly who was feeding the information to the reporter.  Was she really that bitter about what had happened
,
s
o bitter that she would jeopardize our very existence?
  She had been a nurse in the clinic that we ran in our compound, a clinic for both humans and vampires
.  I had helped her become a nurse after she was brought to our clinic as a patient.  She had to have an emergency hysterectomy.  She had been engaged at the time but her fiancé dumped her when he found out that she
could no longer have children
.
She was devastated. 
I helped her pick up the pieces, gave her a home and training, and introduced her to Carlos.
At the time
I was trying to ignore my attraction to Carlos and thought that she might be a good candidate for one of his many girlfriends.  She had actually been better than that
.
S
he was the first
woman
that he had fallen in love with.  But
even
that hadn’t been enough to keep the two of us apart, and
she had been hurt
by us
.

“Where is she?” I whispered.

“Where is who?”

“Maria.  Where is she?  I’d like to talk to her.”

“Maria?” she said, trying unsuccessfully to cover her tracks, “I don’t know any Maria.”

“I saved her life, you know. 
Twice.”

She was obviously flustered.  She quickly tossed her notebook into her bag and stood up, “I have to go now.”

“Please tell her I’m sorry.  I never meant to hurt her.”

The reporter rushed out of the café and out int
o the street.  I watched as Alan, one of our security officers,
nodded to me and then began following her.  I wanted to run out of there, but I couldn’t move.  I knew
Matt and Carlos
were coming, but I didn’t want to face them.  I knew what had to be done, but how could I possibly do it?  “Sarah?” Carlos said from behind me.  I cringed.  How would he take this?  How would he react?  Suddenly I knew that I couldn’t tell him here.  And I
knew that I
had to tell him alone.  I linked to Matt.  He frowned at me but let me in, ‘
Honey, I need you to go back to the
compound. 
The snitch that the reporter’s getting her information from?
  It’s Maria.  I have to tell him alone.’

Matt tried to hide the shock, then
the
anger, from his face.  He nodded and kissed me.  “I’ll see you when you get home.  But be careful, Sarah,” he whispered then he turned and walked out.