Sekhmet's Curse (Pearl Vampire Chronicles) (28 page)

“Oh, Carlos.
  You’ve always been
that
guy to me
,
”
I whispered as I hugged him tight.

Cameron came around the corner just as we arrived outside the cell.  I grabbed
the keys off of the wall and unlocked the cell.  Carlos kissed my cheek then stepped inside.  Cameron followed, “You ready?” he said.  Carlos nodded and rolled up his sleeve.  Cameron swabbed it, then plunged the needle in,
depressed it, pulled it out then stepped out of the cell.  I pulled the door shut and locked it.  Carlos walked over
to the bars
and put his hands over mine.  He kissed me through the bars.  My eyes were closed as he kissed me.  Suddenly I felt his fangs drop near my tongue and he grunted.  My eyes flew open just as Cameron grabbed my waist and pulled me backwards. 
Carlos gripped the bars and groaned.
His eyes flew open, his changed eyes.  He threw his head back, “Oh fuck! Fuck it burns!  It burns goddamn it. Fuck, fuck, fuck!”

I turned to Cameron, “Let me in,” I pleaded.

He shook his head, “I can’t, Sarah.  He could hurt you.”

“Do, Not, Come, In, Here,” Carlos gasped.  I turned back to him, and screamed.

“Oh my God.
  What’s happening to him?” I cried.  His nose, mouth, ears and eyes were bleeding.

“Stand back, Sarah,” Cameron yelled.  I turned and jumped back just as Cameron threw a bucket of cold water through the bars of the cell.  Carlos screamed then tore his shirt off.  “More,” he yelled.

Cameron had anticipated this and was just finishing
filling the bucket again from the spigot on the back wall.  He tossed this through the bars onto Carlos, who was crouched down on the floor.  Carlos pushed both hands onto the floor.  I watched as every muscle in his arms flexed and his fingers actually made dents in the stone floor.  He was gasping and grunting, but I could see that he was beginning to calm down.
  I calmly turned to Cameron, “Give me the bucket and let me in, Cameron,” I said.

He hesitated for a moment, looked at Carlos then nodded his head.  He handed me the full bucket and unlocked the door.  I grabbed the metal cup that was hanging on the wall and slowly walked inside.  “Wait, Sarah.  Not yet.  I don’t want to hurt you.  Stay back,” he grunted.

“You’re not going to hurt me, Carlos,” I said as I walked up then kn
elt
down in front of him.  His arm shot out and he grabbed my wrist, squeezing tight.  I winced, but reached into the bucket with my other hand.  I scooped out some water and slowly poured it over his head.  His grip loosened slightly. 
“My back, Sarah.
  Pour some on my back.”

I did and he relaxed even more.  He looked up at me,
“Now my face,” he groaned.  He let go of my wrist and rubbed the water over his face.  I continued to pour the water over various parts of his body – his belly, his legs,
his
feet – until he finally stopped me, “Okay.  That’s good.  You can stop now,” he said.  He smiled at me slightly then looked over at Cameron, “Son of a bitch, Cameron. 
That better have
worked or I’m going to kick your ass.”

“Ha
ha
.
 
Don’t be such a wimp
, Carlos,” Cameron said with a smile.

“Cameron?  How’s Matt doing?” I whispered.

“Same as yesterday.
 
Not any better, but not any worse either.
  And still unconscious.  There’s really nothing you can do for him except watch and wait.  And donate blood.  Don’t forget, I need you to feed again now, Sarah.”

I nodded then looked down at the empty bucket in my hand, “I think I’m going to bring this so I don’t have another mess to clean up though.”

Cameron nodded, “Good idea.  As soon as you feed and are recovered, come to the lab so I can draw a few pints, okay?”

“Will do,” I said as I reached out my hand to Carlos,
“hold my hair when I puke?”

Carlos rolled his eyes, “The thing
s
a husband
’
s gotta do,” he groaned, smiling his goofy grin.”

We found Aquila waiting for us outside of our room.  We all walked inside and sat on the couch. 
“Wrist again?”
I said.

Aquila nodded but held out his other arm, “That’s fine, but please use the other arm.  The first one is still a little tender from the tearing you did when you pulled out.”

“Sorry about that.  I’ll try to be more careful this time,” I whispered.

“I know you will.  But, please, let’s get on with this.  Bahiti is waiting for me.”

“She is?
” I said.

“Yes.  Now that she’s already pregnant, she’s willing to help me relieve my, ummm, pressure,” he whispered.

“Oh, okay.  Carlos, please time me.  If I don’t pull out after five seconds, please yank on my hair.”

“Sarah, I’m not going to yank on your hair.”

I turned and gave him a look, “Yes you are,
understand
?”

He nodded, “
Fine
. 
Ready now?
  Drop your fangs.”

I did and hovered just above Aquila’s wrist.  He was tense as he waited for me to bite.  I started mumbling, “I’m doing this to save Matt, I’m doing this to save Matt,” over and over.  I nodded at Carlos, letting him know that I was ready.  “Go!” he said, and I plunged
.

             
The room swam in and out of focus.  I could hear voices.  Carlos and Cameron were talking by the door, “Doc.  She can’t go through this over and over.  It’s got to be doing her some harm.  There’s no way this is not
damaging
her
somehow.
  It could be killing her, Cameron.  Admit
it,
you have no idea what this is doing to her, do you?”

“No, I don’t.  But I’ll try to minimize her involvement as much as I can, Carlos.  And David and I are working around the clock to try to come up with other solutions.  But right now this is all we’ve got.  I really wish there was something else, but this is it.” Cameron said.

“Fine.
  But I’m leaving first thing in the morning to try to find something else too.  I’m going to visit a witch friend of mine in Mississippi and a gypsy that
Aquila knows in Romania for starters.  I’m hoping they might have something that can help.”

That got my attention.  I pulled myself up on the couch.
  I coughed a few times then found my voice, “You’re leaving in the morning?” I sputtered out before the nausea hit me, “Oh shit,” I said as I quickly grabbed the bucket and heaved into it.  Carlos shot over to me and grabbed my hair.  “Thanks,” I muttered as I spit out a few remaining drops
of blood
.
 
“You’re welcome.  But honey, you can’t keep doing this, you know that right?”

I ignored his question because I knew he wouldn’t like my answer.  “Why did you decide to leave so quickly?  I thought you wanted me to talk to Aquila so you could take Jason with you.”

“I talked to Aquila when you were passed out.  He thinks it’s a good idea.”

“You did and he does?  Okay, then I
guess
it’s a good idea.  But tell me about this witch in Mississippi.”

“Who?
  Mona?  I’ve known her for a long time.  About eighty years, I think.”

“Is she a vampire?”

“No.”

“So she’s over eighty years old?  Are you sure she’s still alive?”

“Oh yeah.
  She uses all sorts of magic to keep herself young.  I’m sure she still looks like she’s twenty five, just like she always has.”

“Really?
  Do I need to be jealous?”
I said, smiling.

He smiled back with a twinkle in his eye, “Sarah, you don’t have to be jealous of Mona or anyone else.  Nobody else turns me on anymore other than you. You’ve ruined me for everyone else.”

My sarcasm was clear as I said, “Oh, gee, I’m so sorry honey.”

He laughed and hugged me, “I’ll bet you are.”

“Would you help me get to the clinic? I need to donate blood then I want to go visit Matt for a few minutes to see how he’s doing, okay?”

He slid his arm under my legs and picked me up, “You got it, babe.”

A few minutes later, I had donated two pints of blood to Cameron, “How’s Matt’s treatment going, Cameron?  Is he improving at all?”

“He seems to be.  He definitely hasn’t deteriorated,
which is good.  But he’s still in a coma with no reaction at all to stimulus.”

I nodded and Carlos reached over and wiped a bloody tear from my eye, “
He’s going to make it honey.  We have to believe that.”

“I know.  And I’m trying.  Really I am.”

I hesitated a second as I looked out the window into the clinic, watching Matt in his bed next to Tracy’s bed.  Carlos kissed my temple, “Go honey.  Visit.  I’m going hang back and talk to Cameron for a bit.”

I nodded
and pushed my way silently out the door.
  I walked out and pulled up the chair next to Matt’s bed.  I choked back tears as I clasped my hand in his.  I leaned down and kissed him on the lips.  Nothing
, there was n
o response at all. 
I wiped a tear from my cheek as I sat down in the chair, “I’m here honey, waiting for you.  Please come back to me.  I need you to get better,” I whispered, hoping
that
his subconscious could hear me.

On the other side of the room, Carlos watched me through the glass while Cameron stood at the table, squinting into the microscope.  Without turning his gaze from me, Carlos said, “I’m leaving tomorrow for
a few days, Cam, and I need you to promise me something.  Promise me you won’t let her overdo it.  Don’t let her overdo this feeding, vomiting and donating cycle that’s so hard on her.  She’ll push herself too hard, you know she will.  I need you to promise me that you won’t let her do that.  Will you do that for me?”

Cameron looked up from the microscope and stared at Carlos’ back for a few seconds.   He was torn between acquiescing to Carlos’ request
and finding a cure for this deadly disease.  Finally, he closed his eyes and nodded, “I promise, Carlos,” he whispered.

Carlos nodded as he stepped towards the door
,  “
Thanks, man.  I’ll see you soon,” he said as he stepped out into the clinic.
  He quietly walked up behind me and wrapped his arm around the front of my shoulders then he kissed the top of my head, “How’s our boy doing?”

My hand came up and wrapped around his forearm, squeezing tight, “Same, I guess. 
Still no response.”

“Look at the monitor when you talk, Sarah.  There’s a response in his heart beat every time you speak.  He knows you’re here.”

I watched it for a second.   Was he right or was he just trying to make me feel better?  I couldn’t be sure, but the gesture was extremely sweet.
  I stood up and hugged him.  “I love you,” I said into his neck.

“I love you too, honey.”

“Let’s go eat and get some sleep
,  I’m
exhausted.”

We slowly wandered, hand in hand, down the hall to the kitchen.  We fed and then were snuggling in bed a few minutes later.  I kept interlacing my fingers in his hand then unlocking them.  Then interlacing them again then unlocking them, over and over and over.  Finally Carlos whispered, “Sarah, what’s wrong?”

“Well, ummm, it’s just that, well, shit, I can’t, but, well, it’s just,
ummmm
.”

“Sarah, spit it out.”

“Matt’s on the brink of death, Carlos.
  I could lose him forever.  So even thinking about sex just seems wrong.  It seems evil.  But you’re leaving tomorrow and I don’t know how long you’re going to be gone and I really want to, well, I just want to make love to you, but I don’t know if I can.”

“It’s okay, honey.  We don’t have to. I’ll be fine if we don’t.”

“I know you will and I know we don’t have to.  But a part of me wants to.  But that part is fighting with the part who thinks I should just be sitting at Matt’s bedside worrying.”

“What would Matt want you to do?”

I turned around in the bed and looked at him, “What?”

“Sarah.  What would Matt want you to do?  Think about it.  Be honest.”

He got me with that, and the smirk on his face told me that he knew that he had me.  “Matt would want me to stop worrying and be happy, damn you.”

“So stop worrying and be happy.  But we still don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do,” he whispered as he pulled me in closer to him.  My back was to him and he began kissing the back of my neck.  That was my sweet spot and he knew it.  The back of my neck has always been my weak spot.  The kisses sent shivers throughout my body.   “You so do not play fair, you know that don’t you?” I said as I turned around to face him.  He grinned at me, “Never
have,” he whispered as he leaned down to kiss me.
He lovingly spent the next few hours making passionate love me
, bringing wave after wave of pleasure that coursed through my body and finally gave me the sated exhaustion that I needed to sleep.