Sekhmet's Curse (Pearl Vampire Chronicles) (16 page)

“Okay, Jason.  Thank you.  Alright, let’s go
get him
.”

             
Our boat was
racing
through the water a few minutes later.  All of us
were
tense
and
worried, but also revived with this jolt of hope.  It took about thirty minutes to get to the island.  Thirty minutes by
boat, ten minutes through the air with Jonas, I marveled. 

Carlos nodded, “That’s it, Sarah
,
j
ust another few minutes.”

I nodded and went below.  I heated ten pints in the microwave,
p
ut them in a bag and headed back up top
with them
.  Jason and I locked eyes as I made my way to the railing near the stern.  Just as Matt began to slow the boat down, I nodded to him, climbed onto the railing and jumped into the air.  I landed at the edge of the shore and ran through the sand towards the trees as I tried to ignore the commotion behind me.  “No!  You need to stay here.  My father will feel less threatened by a female.  I will stop you forcibly if I have to.”

“Are you frickin’ kidding me?  Did she put you up to this?  Of course she did.  God damn it.  Sarah!  You come back here right now!”  Matt yelled.  I heard minor struggling on the boat, then finally resignation.  “Damn it!  Fine
,
w
e’ll stay
,
b
ut if we hear any hint of a struggle
,
o
ne peep
,
w
ell, you can’t stop both of us for long,”  Carlos said, then I heard him grumble, “I should have known she’d do
something like this.”

I suppressed a smile then went back to concentrating on what I was doing. 
Aquila’s
scent was everywhere.  He had obviously searched the entire island
for food
.  I was trying to pick up the freshest trail.  It seemed to be leading to the base of the only mountain on the
small
island. 
And as I broke through the tree line, I saw that it lead directly to a cave.  Of course
,
a
cave would feel more familiar to him.  But it would also be more dangerous for me.  I stopped and crouched down.  How am I going to do this?  I thought.  Should I make some noise and hope that he recognizes me?  No, that might just piss him off.  I definitely don’t want to piss him off.  Should I hope that he’s asleep, sneak in the cave, hopefully get him to drink one pint as I wake him and hope that that’s enough for him to not be crazy?  I really didn’t want to confront him without him having any blood in him at all, so I decided that was probably my best option.  I reached into the bag on my shoulder, pierced one pint with my fangs and held it upright in my hand, hopefully ready to squeeze it into his mouth as he woke up.  I tried to
steady my shaking hand as I tiptoed forward.  I avoided leaves and branches as best I could, but I could
n’t
silence my heart pounding in my chest.  If he was awake or sleeping lightly, it wouldn’t be long before he heard that.  Just a few more steps would have me at the mouth of the cave, and the more nervous I got, the more I kept second-guessing my decisions.  Suddenly I stopped.  I heard what sounded like a low growling and the rustle of wings.  I glanced back to the tree
line.  Should I run?  The trees might give me a little protection.  I took a deep breath and decided to throw caution to the wind. 
“Aquila?
  It’s Sarah.  I have blood for you.”  No response except the growling got a little louder.  I jumped as I heard his wings expand.  Turning, I ran as fast as I could toward the trees,
too
terrified to turn around.  I could feel him gaining on me as I weaved in and out through the jungle.  I jumped over a fallen tree, but was brought to a sudden stop as I landed on the other side.  Aquila
had
grabbed my hair and yanked me onto my back.  Luckily for me, he straddled me instead of putting his weight on me, but his hand closed around my throat and began to
squeeze, making it difficult for me to speak.  His mad eyes showed no recognition of who I was as he growled into my face.  I managed to get my arm between us and I squeezed some blood onto his face.  He looked startled and his grip on my throat loosened slightly as his tongue moved around his mouth, trying to lick the blood.  “Aquila, wait,” I croaked.  “I’m here with Jason
,
y
our son, Jason.  He wants to see you.”    For a brief moment he looked confused, then the mad fury returned and his hand tightened on my throat again.  I weakly squeezed more blood from the bag, this time managing to get it directly into his mouth.  His eyes popped open, he choked and coughed a few times then he grabbed my hand with the blood in it and squeezed them both.  He emptied that bag into his mouth, and broke a few bones in my hand in the process.  I tried to sit up, but he growled and pinned my wrists above my head, “More, must make more,” he spat out.

“You mean more blood?  I have more, Aquila
,
i
n my bag by the tree.  There’s plenty more.”

He shifted his grip so that he was pinning both my wrists with one hand, and as he reached down to the
button on my shorts, I realized with a shock what he meant by ‘must make more’.

“Shit, not again.  Aquila, no!  You have a son.  Jason.  He’s your son.  Remember him?  Please don’t do this to me again.”

“Jason?” he said as he hesitated.

My heart was pounding in my chest as I nodded my head, “Yes, Jason. 
Your son.”

My heart dropped as I quickly saw the madness return.  He shook his head, “Not enough.  Must make more,” he said as he broke off the button, pulled down my zipper and tried to move my shorts down.  I managed to cross my legs, but I knew that would only hold him back for a moment or two.  A small sob escaped my throat as I turned my head to the side, resigned to what was about to happen to me, again.  I had no way to fight it.  He was just too strong.

“Father, stop,” Jason calmly said as he emerged from the shadows holding my bag.  “I have nourishment for you.  Here, have some.  Please.”  He reached into the bag and held out a pint toward his father as he stepped up to him.  Aquila hesitated.  He started to reach for the pint, stopped, looked down at me,
looked back at the pint, then back down at me.  Another sob escaped from me as his hand moved between my legs again. 
“Father.
  Take this, now!” Jason said sternly.  Once again Aquila hesitated, a little startled by his son’s tone.  He looked into Jason’s eyes then ever-so-slowly he nodded his head and took the pint.  Slight relief flowed into me, but I was still pinned underneath him, with my shorts undone.  It would only take him a moment to finish what he started if he decided to.  Movement behind a tree caught my eye, “Don’t,” I whispered then I smiled weakly at Matt and Carlos, who were just about to foolishly try to take on Aquila, which would surely mean death for at least one of them, and probably both.  They both stopped and watched me, tense and ready to attack in the blink of an eye.  Jason handed him another pint, then another, then another.  The more he drank, the more I began to have a little hope.  But I felt the panic well up again as Jason reached into the bag, pulled out the last pint and handed it to Aquila, who still had the madness in his eyes.  He still needed more
blood
.  He dropped the last empty on the ground, then leaned down
toward
s
me again, “Am dying.  Must make more,” he growled.  Jason placed his gentle hand on his father’s shoulder and calmly whispered, “No, father.  You’re not dying.  I have more blood for you.  You don’t need to procreate.  Not now.  Not today.  You are not dying.”

In that second, I understood.  Aquila was running on pure instinct right now.  His instinct told him that he was starving to death.  And his instinct told him that it was imperative that he make more
Seraphim
s before he died.  Instinct in an animalistic creature is incredibly powerful
,
m
ore powerful tha
n
thought process for many.  Aquila struggled with that conflict right now.  His mind was telling him to listen to his son, but his instinct was screaming at him to procreate.  Which would win, at this point, was anyone’s guess.  I watched his face as he struggled.  Slowly, as if Jason’s calmness was flowing from his hand into his father’s shoulder and spreading throughout his body,
Aquila
began to relax.  His head dropped.  His shoulders slumped.  He released my hands, pushed off of me and fell to the ground next to Jason.  I heard him say, through gritted teeth,
“
Female, y
ou need to stay away from me until I feed more.”   I nodded and pushed myself up with my
uninjured
hand.  I struggled to pull the zipper up on my shorts as I walked over to Matt and Carlos.  They both noticed my wincing.  “What happened to your hand?” Matt said as he pulled my zipper up for me.

“Just a few broken bones when it was holding a pint for Aquila.  No big deal.  Can one of you please help?”

Carlos glared at Aquila and Matt growled. 

“Don’t
,
h
e was starving
,
h
e didn’t know what he was doing
,
i
t wasn’t his fault
,
t
his was Sekhmet’s fault, and mine because I didn’t find him sooner.” 

I glanced over my shoulder as Jason called me, “Sarah?  Can you get back to the boat and get some pints heating in the microwave?  Then you wait near the bow.  I’ll bring him onto the stern and we’ll stay below and I’ll feed him until we get back to the island.”

A few minutes later we were all safely on the boat and heading towards home, although I couldn’t exactly say that I felt completely safe.  I could hear Aquila growling downstairs.
And when we were still about
ten minutes from home and I heard Jason say from downstairs, “Last one Sarah.  I’m out now,” I definitely didn’t feel safe anymore.  Hopefully we’d make it to our island before he got out of control again. 

Matt slowly pulled up to the dock and Carlos jumped off and secured the boat.  Matt stuck his head in the doorway, “Jason?  We’re going to go inside, put some pints in the microwave and get them heating up.  Follow us inside in about two minutes, okay?”

“Got it,” Jason said from below.  Then I heard him whispering to his father, trying to calm him down.  “You’re fine now.  You’re going to feed again in a minute.  Everything will be alright,” he calmly said.  Matt, Carlos and I made our way to the house, but I stopped when I was halfway up the stairs.  “What is it, hun?” Carlos said.

“Maybe I should go over to the guest house for a while.  Until he’s got more blood in him.  My scent in this house might make him worse
.”

“That might be a good idea,” Matt said.  “I’ll meet you two over there in a few minutes.”

I leaned on Carlos as we slowly walked over to the
guest house, because I was suddenly completely exhausted.  “I miss you, you know,” he whispered.

“I miss you too.  Hey, do you realize that the last time we were here was when we got married? 
It s
eems like so long ago.”

“Tell me about it,” he smirked, “feels like forever since you shackled me.”

“Oh, shut up.  You don’t fool me, you dork.  You’re really happy right now.  Happy as in content, satisfied.  I’ve know
n
you long enough.  I can tell.”

“Yeah, but that could all be gone in a few months
Sarah,”
he whispered.

“Shhhh,” I said as I patted his arm, “Let’s not worry about that right now.  Let’s just enjoy our time together, okay?”

“Okay, Sarah.  I know you’re right.  It’s just really hard, you know?”

“I know.”

We made our way up the steps and into the guest house.  “Hungry?” Carlos said.

“Yeah, but more tired than hungry.
I think I’m going to go up to bed, okay?”

“Sure thing.
  I’m going to grab a drink first.  You
want me to send Matt up when he gets here?”

“I want you to send Matt AND you up when he gets here.  I’m emotionally drained and I need you both by my side.”

“I understand,” he said as he gently kissed my forehead, “see you in a minute.”

I nodded and forced my legs to get me up the stairs.  I was out the second my head hit the pillow.

Chapter Seven

             
It was the dream that woke me.  Or actually, I should probably say¸ it was the nightmare.  I was suffocating.  I couldn’t breath
e
.  I was locked in Sekhmet’s tomb, and I was dying.  Her hungry, evil eyes bore down on me as she prepared to consume me.  “You failed.  I had such high hopes for you, and you failed, you worthless bitch,” she screamed at me.

“But, but, but I answered every question correctly.  I passed every test you threw at me.  How is it that I failed?” I sobbed.

“Because
, you didn’t figure out why I brought you here
,
t
hat was the final test
,
t
he one that I didn’t tell you about or spell out to you.  That was the one that you were supposed to be smart enough to figure out on your own, but you didn’t, you miserable loser.  You failed and now you must die.”  Her mouth began to open wide.  Wide enough that I knew that she wasn’t going to bite me or drain me.  She was going to swallow me whole.  I opened my mouth to scream, and that was when I woke up.  I gasped as
my eyes shot open. I quickly took in my surroundings as I tried to calm myself down.  Matt and Carlos were sleeping soundly on either side of me.  ‘Relax, Sarah.  It was only a dream,’ I tried to tell myself.  But something about it seemed more than that.  It felt more real.  It felt like a premonition.  So, she’s going to give me some tests to pass, but the final test is one that I have to figure out on my own. 
Fucking marvelous
.
  As they both began to stir next to me, I decided that telling them about the dream was probably not a good idea.  Not a good idea at all.  But I would tell Bahiti.  She might be able to help.  And she deserved to know what
had
happened to
Hapshet
, her mentor
, why his body was never found
when he was locked in the tomb with Sekhmet
.  I shivered as I thought about her consuming him.  The terror he must have felt.  “That will not happen to me.  It can’t,” I whispered.