Sekhmet's Curse (Pearl Vampire Chronicles) (14 page)

“Matt?  Do you remember what time of day it was when he took me?”
I said, with my eyes closed.

“Things were so hectic that day, Sarah.  But it was
before noon.  It had to be.  Because we were planning on doing the
transformation of Maria
at noon and had to bump that up because of what Jonas did, remember?
Yeah, when he slit
her throat to try to tempt you into killing her so we had to rush the change before she died, I think it was m
aybe eleven?”
he said.

“
Okay.  And if I’m standing on the beach, with my back to the house, where is the sun at eleven?  Can you show me on the map?”

Carlos, who had been sound asleep on the couch next to me, reached
his arm
over my shoulder
to point at a
spot on the map
, “It’s here. 
Out over the cave.”

I turned and kissed his cheek, “Good morning, sleepyhead,” I whispered.

He blushed, “Sorry.  Too much stress right now.  It messes up my sleep times.”

I wrapped my arm around his shoulder, “Don’t apologize, hun.  I completely understand.  We’re all pretty stressed right now.”
I said.

“Yeah, but none of you are nodding off at all hours of the day.”

“Maybe not, but we’re definitely feeling it, Carlos.  We just react differently,” Matt said, trying to make
him feel better.  I could tell it didn’t work though.  I needed to cheer him up, so I linked with him
and thought
, ‘
I’m dealing with it by needing more sex than I usually do. 
Which, for me, is a pretty tall order.
’ 
  He swallowed his laugh, but I saw the smile dancing in his eyes, ‘
One that I’m happy to try and fill, baby,’
he thought as he gave me a quick kiss and whispered, “Thanks.” 

I nodded and went back to the map.  I stuck my finger appro
ximately where the rock cave that is just a few hundred yards off of the shore of our island
and marked it with a red pen.  “Okay, I know I felt the sun on my cheek most of the time.  You guys have seen him fly.  About how far do you think he could go in ten minutes?”

They looked at each other, “What do you think, Matt? 
Sixty to seventy miles?”

“I’d say anywhere
between fifty to a hundred, just to be safe
.”
Matt said.

Using my fingers, I measured out approximately one hundred miles in an arc from the cave.  “Ummmm, Matt?  Could you take a look at this please?”

“What is it Sarah?  Oh,”
he said as
he knew
immediately what I was showing him.  There were at least forty island dots within the search area, maybe more.  “Well, we’ll just have to search each one as quickly as we can.  I mean, Aquila’s a big guy.  He shouldn’t be too hard to spot.” 

My heart felt heavy.  Searching that many islands in the short amount of time that Aquila had left was a daunting task, to say the least.  I could see the panic in Jason’s wide eyes as he
too
stared at the map.  I gently placed my hand on his arm, “We’ll find him Jason.  I promise we will.”

“But, will it be in time?  Father said
that
seraphim’s
don’t survive as long as vampires do without blood.  Three weeks, maybe a
month,
is what he told me.  We’
ll be starting the third week by the time we start searching.”

I wanted to respond, I truly did.  I wanted to tell him that everything was going to be fine, that we would find his dad in time.  But the truth was that I couldn’t say that.  All we could do is
try
to hold on to the hope that we would.  So as Jason turned to head down to his room to spend his time worrying alone, instead of trying to stop him and making statements that we
would all know weren’t true, I just let him go.  We would all deal with our fears in our own ways.

Two days out on the boat, Bahiti called me on my cell phone.  “Are you alone right now, Sarah?  Can you be?”

I walked below and into the state room that Carlos, Matt and I were sharing, Jason was using the other, but he was topside right now.  “I am now.  What is it?”

“Well, I’ve been doing some research, and also remembering a little.  It was a very long time ago, so the memories of it aren’t that clear.”
“
Memories of what, Bahiti?”

“The
Seraphim
’
s
,
a
nd how they react when they’re starving.  You have to be extremely careful, Sarah.  He won’t be himself.  He won’t know who you are.  He might not even know who Jason is.  He’ll be insane with hunger and he’ll probably attack first.
  If he doesn’t recognize Jason, he would see him as a threat.
”

“If he might not know Jason, then I can’t have Jason going in there with me.  If Aquila were to hurt his own son, he’d never forgive himself.  I have to go in
alone.”

“Are you sure, Sarah?  Does it have to be you?  Can’t you just drop the blood near him, then return to the boat until he feeds?”

“I’ll try to do that, but if he’s that crazy, he might just be more intent on attacking.  So I have to be ready to try to stop him, Bahiti.  I have to stop him just long enough to get through to him.”

“Okay, Sarah. I suppose you’re right.  But please be careful when you find him.   Take care and I’ll see you when you get back.”

“I will, Bahiti.  I’ll see you later.”  I hung up the phone and tucked it back into my pocket.  Matt and Carlos watched me very carefully as I walked back to the deck and took my seat next to Jason.  I knew I should probably go and tell them what the phone call was about, but I really didn’t want them to worry.  And I sure as hell didn’t want them fluffing their feathers and saying that they should be the ones who should approach Aquila.  I knew that, as a female, I would have the best shot of him not feeling threatened.  It had to be me, there really wasn’t a choice
;
was there ever?  Not in my mind.  And I’m
sure not for them either.  I was here to protect them.  They were here to protect me.  End of story.  So, now I had to work on what my distraction would be.  How would I keep both of them on the boat with Jason while I went
ashore?  One I could manage (I’
d ask
one of them
to make sure Jason stayed on the boat), but both?  I looked up when I felt the boat begin to slow down.  We were nearing the port at Haiti, our
final
refueling stop
before we reached our island
.  Jason stood up and headed below, so as not to be seen by anyone at the dock.  I followed him, but he tried to stop me, “Sarah.  You don’t have to wait down here with me.  I can tell that you need to walk around and stretch your legs.  Go on.  It’s okay.  I’ll be fine.”

I hesitated.  He was right.  My legs felt tight and cramped.  A walk around the pier would do them some good.  But did he want to be alone or did he just feel bad about not wanting to be alone?  I watched him for a moment: his shoulders were drooping, his head hung down.  This was a desperately sad young man, trying so hard to be brave.  The last thing he needed was to be alone.  I
could stretch my legs when we got to the island.  “I’m fine, Jason.”  I went and sat down on the couch.  He opened his mouth to say something, but then just shook his head and sat near me.  He was completely silent, and I could tell he was losing control.  I gently placed my hand on his shoulder and whispered, “It
’s
going to be okay, Jason.  You have to believe that.” 

“
I’m  t
-t-t-trying, S-s-s-
arah
,” he sobbed, then his head came down and rested on my lap.  I wrapped my arms around his broad shoulders and rested my cheek on his head.  “Shhhh,
it’s
okay, Jason.  You’re not alone.  You will never be alone.”

We stayed exactly where we were until Matt and Carlos were finished fueling the boat.  But as soon as Jason heard the footsteps above, he quickly sat up, dried his eyes and put on his brave face once again. 
“You hungry?”
I said, realizing instantly that I was starving again, something I had managed to ignore given how busy and stressed I was.  My body ached for more blood, something that I just couldn’t give it right now, given our limited supply.  I sadly grabbed four pints from the fridge - two for me and two for Jason.  I warmed them and then drained mine in the
blink of an eye.  “Why do you drink them so fast?” Jason said, as he slowly worked on his.  I had to visibly stop myself from snatching his right out of his hand. 

“We can’t drink any other way.  It’s fast or not at all
,
”
I said.

“Have you tried?”

“What
,
t
o go slower?
  Well, no, I guess I haven’t,” I said.

“You should.  It might help you keep the benefits of it longer and not need to feed so often, which I gather is something you’d like, correct?”

“You’re ri
ght about that. 
Absolutely.
  Maybe I’
ll try after we find your father.”

“How much longer until we get to the island and can start searching?”

“From Haiti, it’s usually two days.  But this boat
is bigger and faster
,
so
a day and a half, maybe less.”

“I’m going to try to get some sleep for a bit.”
“Sounds like a good idea.  Good night, Jason.”

“Good night, Sarah,” he said as he closed the door to his room.  I heated four more pints and brought them up to Matt and Carlos, “Anyone hungry?”

“Starved,” they both said.  I handed them their meal
s
, then wrapped my arms tightly around both of them.   “I’m scared, guys.  What if we don‘t find him in time?  Jason will hate me,” I whispered.

“Sarah,” Matt began, “He’ll be sad, he’ll be angry, he’ll be upset, but he won’t hate you.  He can’t.  Nobody can.”

“Maria does.”  I said and I felt Carlos bristle next to me.

“No she doesn’t, Sarah.  She’s upset and hurt right now.  But she doesn’t hate you,” he said.

“Well, either way, I’m not worried about Maria.  I’m worried about Jason and how it will affect him if his father is dead.  They have an incredible bond.  I’d hate to be the one to break it.”

“Sarah, stop that.  You can’t blame yourself if we don’t find him in time.  You’ve only been to that island once, and you were scared and with Jonas.  It’s a vast ocean with countless small islands.  It wouldn’t be your fault if we can’t find it again.” Matt said.

“Yes it would,” I said as I turned and walked to the couch.  I was suddenly exhausted, and trying to
ignore the fact that I was hungry again.  I stretched out and put my arm across my eyes.  Carlos looked at Matt.  “Do you want me to drive for a while?” he said.

Matt looked back at me then shook his head, “No.  You go talk to her.  You usually have better luck getting through to her.”

Carlos laughed, “Yeah, right.” 

Matt smiled as he went back to concentrating on driving the boat.  We were about a half day from the island.  Carlos walked over and stood next to the couch, looking down at me.  “Sit up for a second, would
ya
?”  I moved my arm up, stared at him for a second while debating to myself whether I should acquiesce, then decided I didn’t want any more arguments, so I sat up.  He plopped down on the couch, guided my head back to his lap and began caressing my forehead.  “I don’t want to argue and I don’t want to talk anymore, Carlos.  I’m tired.”

“Shut up, Sarah.  I know,” he whispered then a shiver rocked
through
his body.  My eyes shot open, “What the hell….,” I started but he stopped me when he popped in my head. 
‘
Shhhhh
.
  Sorry, hun.  I
couldn’t help it.  I was just remembering what you did the last time your head was in my lap,’
he thought as he gave me a giant goofy grin.  I tried really hard not to, but couldn’t help smiling back, “You, seriously, don’t fight fair.  You know that, right?” 

“If I didn’t cheat, I’d never beat you and that could damage my fragile ego.”

I rolled my eyes, “Oh, please,” I said as I rolled onto my side and closed my eyes.  He leaned down, kissed my temple and whispered, “I love you, Sarah.”

I reached my hand up, weaved my fingers through his and mumbled, “
love
you too,” as I drifted off to sleep.

The scent penetrated my nostrils and I was instantly awake.  I moved Carlos’ arm as gently as I could and then flew to Matt’s side, “Humans?  Here? 
At our island?”

“Apparently,” he said as he cut the motor. 

I gripped his shoulder, “I can’t, I can’t be near them Matt.  Not right now.  We’re on a limited diet and I’m still trying to adjust to things.  If they’re bad at all, I don’t think I’ll be able to stop myself.  And I don’t want to do this.  Not here.  Not at this place.  Not at my home.  I can’t tarnish my home like that.”