Sekhmet's Curse (Pearl Vampire Chronicles) (2 page)

‘
No, more like I’m excited, pumped
.
.
  I can’t help it.  The idea of watching you hunt is really doing a number on me.’

I tried not to be repulsed.  Carlos and Matt were both older than me, much older.  I had been a vampire for less than a decade, while they had been around for hundreds of years.
Of course they would have been forced to
hunt at some point in their lives, and even though it was humans that they hunted, it was still their animalistic vampire side that took over when they did.
There was a certain adrenaline rush involved, I know, I had felt it the one time that I had been forced to hunt to help Matt
survive
.  I had the feeling that the more times you were forced to do this, the longer that rush lasted each time. 
I smiled
at him
. 

“Close your eyes, Sarah,” Carlos said, “Concentrate.  How many kidnappers are there?  Each one has a slightly different scent.  Concentrate. 
Can you smell h
ow many?”

I sniffed again and felt my fangs drop.  He was right.  There were several slightly different scents here, “Five, no, six,
”  I
said.

“Correct.  Now let’s move closer to the house to see if you can tell where they are,” he said.  We all climbed out of the car.   “I’m sure they have motion
sensors, so let’s fly and hover above the house,” Matt said.
Vampires could fly for short distances. 
Seraphim
’s had wings and could fly longer.

I grabbed both their hands and we rose up above the trees.  Within a few seconds we were hovering above the house.  They both popped into my head. 
‘Okay, Sarah.  We all see the two
guards with guns
in the yard.  But where are the ones in the house?’
Carlos thought. 

I sniffed again and concentrated.  I could see their scents in my head, like blips on a radar screen. 
‘One in that back room.
 
One in the left end.
  And two in the
middle,’ 
I
thought.

Carlos nodded
, 
‘Right
.  Now I’ve done this more than you two. 
Matt, why don’t you take the two in the yard.
  Sarah, you go for the two in the middle room.  I’ll get the other two.  Okay?’  
We all nodded and flew directly over the two in the yard.  Matt kissed the back of my hand then descended directly in between them. 
“
Que
?”
One managed to say before Matt sunk his fangs into him and drained him.  He reached out with his other hand and grabbed the other by the throat, silencing his scream
before it could escape. 
As I watched – the first time that I had watched either of them hunt – I was shocked and a little appalled at the reaction that came over me
.  My heart raced, every nerve in my body came alive,
and I felt like I was getting turned on
.
  This definitely didn’t happen the last time that I had to hunt.  This was more than an adrenaline rush. This was something different.
I clamped my hand over my mouth to suppress
a
groan
that suddenly wanted to make an appearance
then smacked Carlos on the arm when he chuckled.  ‘
I told you it was a
rush seeing it
,’
he thought.  As Matt was finishing the last one, Carlos and I dropped to the ground and went inside.  The two in the middle
of the house
were in the kitchen.  One was sitting at the
table,
the other was searching in the fridge for something.  I smiled at Carlos as he stopped and leaned against the doorframe and motioned me forward with his chin,
‘Go.  There’s time for the others.  I want to watch,’
he thought.  I moved quickly and silently into the kitchen, surprising the one at the table.  Before he could utter a sound, I s
a
nk my teeth into his throat, draining him in seconds. 
A shiver launched itself
through my body as
I quietly laid his head on the table and moved behind the open fridge door.  The one
with his head in the fridge
asked a question, and, when he didn’t get a response,
he
looked at the table.  I watched the confuse
d expression on his face turn even more perplexed when I took a step and he saw my face
.  I
reached my arm out, grabbed the back of his neck and
sank my teeth into him
.  Another titillating shiver rocketed through my body as I gently lay him on the floor.  I was confused, trying to figure out what these strange reactions in me were but then I got distracted when
I heard Carlos quietly growl.
‘Come.  Watch
me,’ 
he
thought.

I shivered and nodded my head.  As I followed him back into the hall by the front door, we were joined by Matt, whos
e
hand I quickly grabbed and squeezed.  He smiled at me and I saw the
adrenaline rush
burning in his eyes too. We stopped in the doorway to the living room, where the next one was, and Matt pulled me in front of him.  He pressed himself into my backside and
hugged me
tightly
.  I shivered again as Carlos leaned over the couch and buried his fangs into the unsuspecting kidnapper. 
“Sarah? 
Are you cold?” Matt whispered.  I couldn’t say yes, because vampires don’t get cold, so I just shook my head and hoped that he would let it go.  I was hoping to figure out what was going on without involving either of them. 

Matt and I kept our arms locked around each other - mine behind his back, his around my stomach - as we followed Carlos to the back room, where the last kidnapper was.  My entire body was on fire and I
was so confused.  Why was my body reacting this way?  How was everything throbbing when nothing had been touched?  Why was this happening now when it didn’t happen the last (and only
)  time
that I had hunted?  What was different?  What had changed?
I tried to work through these things as w
e reached the end of the hall
.
  I
sensed the overwhelming evil emanating from this one and I instinctively
hissed. 
This kidnapper
was torturing one of the prisoners right now - and this was definitely not his first
time doing this to somebody
.  Dear God,
I thought as his memories seeped into my head,
this one had even mutilated and killed children in his quest for money.  He was the lowest of the
low.  He was the leader of this gang.  And he had to be stopped.  I tensed as I heard him walking towards the door.  Carlos ducked off to the side as Matt and I stayed right where we were.  The kidnapper opened the door and took one step into the hall.  Surprise, then anger, filled his eyes when he saw us.  He reached for his gun at the same moment that Carlos stepped behind him.  Carlos locked his eyes with mine then sunk in his teeth, staring at me the entire time
.
–
His brows furrowed as he watched me visibly shiver and drop to the floor. 
Carlos
dropped his prey to the floor, walked over
a
nd knelt in front of me.  “Sarah?  Are, are you okay
, honey
?” Matt whispered.  I nodded my head, “Yes, I’m fine,” I cried, shivering
again
and hoping against hope that
they would just let this go.
Carlos
tilted his head to the side as he stared at me.  His fingers reached out and brushed my cheek.  “Hun, what’s going on?  Your heart is pounding and your body is giving off
a scent
like
you’re
a cat in heat.  I’ve never seen anything like this.”

I pursed my lips and searched my brain for something, anything, that I could say that would get
them to just shrug this off and let it go, but I came up completely blank.  So, instead of hiding my head in the sand I decided to jump in head first,
“
I don’t know.  This didn’t happen the last time that I had to hunt, but it
started outside when you killed
, Matt
.  It was from watching both of you hunt
and from when I killed mine. It’s not just an adrenaline rush, it’s more
.
  I’m, I’m, well, I’m sexually excited right now.  I’m completely turned on.
This is crazy. We just killed people, human beings.  I hate doing that.  I feel horrible that we had to…and yet.  God, what the hell is wrong with me?
  Why is this happening?
”

“Sarah.  There is nothing human about us when we hunt.  You’ve got to stop thinking like a human.  It’s all animal.  It’s pure animal instinct.  We all get excited when we hunt, just like all animals do.” Carlos said, trying to make me feel better.

I shook my head, “
You get excited, as in a rush, not sexually excited as in getting a hard on, so that doesn’t
help.
And stop thinking like a human, Carlos? I am a human and I will always be a human.  Unless you’re born as a vampire, which as far as I know nobody ever has been, or as a seraphim like Aquila, I
don’t see you can stop thinking like, feeling like or being a human.  We’re just humans who have to drink blood to survive, well, you are.
I’m still
the
freak
here
,” I moaned.

They both tried really hard not to laugh.  Matt wrapped his arms around me and kissed the top of my head, “Honey, there’s nothing wrong with you.  Really, there isn’t.”

I snapped my head around and glared at him, “Really?  Have you ever seen this happen before?  Has it ever happened to you?  Have you ever heard of it happening before?  Well?  Have you?”

They looked at each other.  Matt shook his head and Carlos shrugged his shoulders.  “See?  I’m a freak.  You should just lock me up and throw away the key,” I spat.

Carlos reached for my hand, “Kiddo, you’re not a freak.  You’re unique.  That’s what we all love about you.  That’s why we’re drawn to you. 
Because you are definitely one of a kind.”

“And what if I don’t want to be unique?  What if I don’t like it?  What if it’s embarrassing as hell?” I said.

“Uh, guys?” Matt said, “Can we talk about this in the car?  We need to figure out what we’re going to do with the
se poor
hostages
.  We can’t just leave them here.
”

“We’re going to let them go, that’s what we’re going to do,” I said.

“Well, I know that.  But are they just going to have to fumble their way out of here or are we going to help find them transportation?” he said.

“I’ll go check the garage,” Carlos said
as he stood up and
moved past us.  He poked his head around the corner a few seconds later.  “There’s a Suburban in there.  Check pockets for keys.”

I checked the pockets of the dead kidnapper on the floor in front of me. 

“Got ’
em
,” I said, “I’m going to check on the guy in this room who was being interrogated.  You two let everyone else out.”  I turned and opened the door at the end of the hall.  There was a man tied to a chair.  His face was battered, but not too bad.   He had blondish hair and his skin looked light
,
so I
guessed
that he was
probably
not local
.  I walked around
to the
front of him.  “Ummm, are you awake?  Do you
speak English?” 

“Bill.  My name is Bill Tomkins.  I work for Exxon, but I’m not an executive
.  I based out of Dallas but they send me here twice a year for audits
.  I don’t make very much money.  That’s all I can tell you.”

I smiled.  He thought I was one of the kidnapper’s.  I knelt down and put my hand on his knee.  He tried to focus on my face through his swollen eyes.  “Bill?  I’m here to rescue you.  I’m going to let you go.  You and the others are going to get into a car and drive away from here.  I would suggest that you drive north to the border and talk to the U.S. Border Patrol.”

“You’re, you’re really going to let us go?  You’re not just saying that to get our hopes up
t
o get us to talk?”

“I’m really going to let you go, Bill.  I promise.”

Carlos poked his head in the door, “Is he okay?  The others are ready, hun.
  I’ve helped them to the car.
”

I nodded.  “Bill?  Do you think you can walk?” I said as I moved behind him and looked at the handcuffs.  I grasped either side if the metal around his wrist and gently pulled it
open
,
as if it wasn’t
locked.  Then I did the same to the other one.  He rubbed his wrists and looked at me, “How, how did you do that?”