Sekhmet's Curse (Pearl Vampire Chronicles) (30 page)

“Well, while you were having amazing sex, I was trying not to worry about losing my wife, thank you very much.”

Mona sat in the chair next to him and placed her hand on his, “I’m sorry Carlos.  What can I do?”

“Help protect her.  And help me find a cure for this disease.  She’s already killing herself by feeding on Jason’s father.”

“Wait, what did you just say?  She’s
feeding
on Jason’s father?  You mean she can feed and stop?”

“Yes but it causes
her
horrible pain and then she passes out.
  And then she throws up.  And she’s doing this several times a day.”

“Why?”

“Because her blood is different.
  Her blood has some
s
eraphim
blood in it from carrying Jason.  And her blood mixed with
s
eraphim
blood is having some success with killing the bacteria or whatever the hell
this disease
is.”

“So what you’re telling me is
,
what did you say her name is again?”

“Sarah”

“So, you’re telling me that Sarah’s blood has mutated.  It’s
changed
,
a
nd it’s still changing every time she mixes it with
s
eraphim
blood
,
a
nd, unlike any other vampire, she can stop feeding before she kills who
m
ever she is feeding on
,
a
nd she survived the birth of a
Seraphim
?
”
“And she survived the tomb,” Carlos mumbled.

Mona gasped and clasped her hand over her mouth.  “Not Sekhmet’s?”

Carlos nodded.

“You mean Sekhmet is gone?  And Sarah has taken her place?”

“Sarah and Jason.
  They survived together.”

“Carlos this changes everything.”

“Why?”

“Because she’s not only the legend, Carlos.
  She’s also the future, the past, the present.  She has to survive or your species won’t survive.  She needs every shaman, witch, magic man, voodoo queen you can think of around her, protecting her.  She cannot die, Carlos.  We can’t allow that.”

“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you, Mona.”

Mona stood up.  “I’ll pack my things,” she said as she walked into her bedroom.

Carlos stared after her, “I thought you never left this place
, Mona.”

“I haven’t had the need to for the last eighty years or so.  Now I do
.
  Besides, I’ll need Jason’s help when I give birth
.”

“Mona?  Are you going to maintain that shape until the baby is born?”

“I’m going to try.  Nobody has ever held a shape shift for that long, but I think I’ve figured that out.”

“You
think
you’ve figured it out?  What happens if you can’t?  What happens if you’re almost at full term and you shift back to a human?”

Mona stuck her head out the bedroom door, carrying a suitcase.  She smiled, “Don’t worry, Carlos.  I’ll be fine,” she said.  But he had known her long enough to know when she was lying, or at the very least, worried.
  And she was now.

“Where are we going now,” Jason said from the doorway.

Mona walked over and placed her hand on his forearm, “We aren’t going anywhere.  You
and I
are going back to the fortress.  Carlos
is
traveling by more conventional means to pick up some friends of mine.”

Jason’s face fell in disappointment, “But, but, but, why? 
We just left there.  I was looking forward to some more adventure.
”

“Because you need to go protect your mother.
  And you need to get everything ready for the birth of your child. 
And I need to do some protection spells around your mother too
.”

Jason looked dejected, but he nodded his head, “I suppose you’re right.”

Mona sat down at the kitchen table and start
ed
writing.  After a few minutes she handed the paper to Carlos, “These are names and addresses of people I want you to go see.  Most will come, some will not.  Don’t force them.  The ones who do come will provide more than enough help.”

Carlos looked at the list, then he blew out from his lips, “It’s a good thing I brought my passport, but, damn, this is going to take a while if I’m traveling by plane.”

Mona stood up, “Carlos, it’s
still
dark so we’ll
give you a lift to the airport.  Then we’ll head south.”

             
Twenty minutes later they stood in the field at the edge of the airport.  “You’ll let your wife know that I’m coming?” Mona said.

“Of course.
  And you’ll watch over her for me?  I really can’t survive without her.”

“I will.  God, Carlos, I still can’t believe that you got married.  I am dying to meet the woman who tamed the
untameable
heart
.”

Carlos smiled and kissed her on the cheek.  “See you in a little while.  Fly safe you two.”

Chapter Thirteen

             
Carlos tipped his head back on the plane and closed his eyes.  He was exhausted and really wanted to sleep, but he had something he had to do first.  His mind found mine eagerly waiting for his.   ‘
Well, hello beautiful,’
he thought.

‘
You had me a little worried when I didn’t hear from you yesterday. 
Everything okay?’

‘Yes.  Everything’s fine.  We found Mona.  She thinks she can help
.  She and Jason are on their way back.  I’m travelling by plane to pick up a few of her friends.’

‘Why?’

‘Because she knows the importance of, of, of finding a cure.’

‘Why would she care so much about saving vampires if she isn’t one?’

‘Honey?
  Can’t I fill you in when I get back?  I’m really exhausted.  I didn’t get any sleep last night.’

‘Why not?’

‘Well, there’s something you should know about Mona.  She gets her mind set on wanting something and there’s nothing that can stop her.  She knew we were coming.  She was waiting for us.’

I was silent for a moment. This is something that I knew could always be a possibility, but that didn’t make it any easier to hear it.
  ‘
So, she seduced you.’

‘What?!
  No! Hell, she didn’t even look at me funny
, Sarah
.  No, she had her sights set on Jason, or actually what Jason could give her.’

‘What? What do you mean?’

‘She wants a child, Sarah.’

‘From a
s
eraphim
?
  She’d never survive the birth, or the pregnancy.’

‘Not as a human, no she wouldn’t.  But she could
,
as a
s
eraphim
.’

‘But I thought you said she was a human witch?’

‘She is.  But right now she’s a
seraphim
,
a
pregnant
s
eraphim
.’

‘She’s a what?  Carlos.  Did she drug you
last night
?’

Carlos laughed, startling his seat mate.  Luckily he had earphones in from his mp3 player.  He pointed to
his ear and whispered, “Sorry,” then went back to his conversation with me. ‘
No, she didn’t drug me.  She’s perfected shape shifting.’

‘Shape shifting. 
Awesome.
  So she shifted
into a
s
eraphim
, seduced my teenaged son and his now carrying my grandchild.  Is that about it?  Does that cover it?’

‘Almost.
  She plans on holding her shift until the baby is born.  Holding a shift that long has never been done as far as we know.’

‘Super.  This just gets better and better.  So this woman is going to be struggling to hold this shift and she expects to help me how?’

‘I don’t know, Sarah.  Just talk to her, please? 
She’s a good person. 
Don’t judge her until you meet her.  Can you do that for me?’

‘I suppose.’

‘Thanks, hun.  How’s Matt doing?’

‘Actually, a little better.
  The rash that covered his body is almost gone.  But he’s still in a coma.’

‘And how are you doing?  You’re not pushing yourself too hard are you?  You sound tired.’

‘So do you.  I’m not pushing myself any harder than you are.  How much longer will you be gone?’

‘Not too sure.  I called Marie and
she
and her mother will be on their way tonight
(Musetta
Glapion
was a Haitian voodoo priestess who helped us uncover one of the clues to creating a vampire – her daughter, Marie, became our friend when we rescued Musetta after the Elders had kidnapped her)
.  I’m off to
Louisiana, then Paris and Istanbul.’

‘Really?
  Don’t any of these people have phones?’

‘Apparently not.
  Mona doesn’t.  But I’ll hurry, baby.  I promise.’

‘I know you will.  Be careful too.  I have to go feed now.  I’ll talk to you soon.  I love you.’

‘I love you too.  And you
be
careful too.
  Don’t overdo it, Sarah.  Promise me you won’t overdo it.’

‘I promise.  Bye sweetheart.’

Carlos quickly fell asleep
as the plane cruised through the night sky
.

                 ****************

Matt’s eyes fluttered, once, then twice.  I held my breath, hoping, praying that this time he would wake up.  I balled up my fists so tight that I
could feel blood dripping down
my palms
.  His eyes fluttered one more time and then, thankfully, finally, they stayed open.  He looked around the room.  I saw the confusion, and the fear, as he tried to find something
that
he recognized.  I tried to
beg
his eyes
in
my direction,
hoping
that seeing my face would help him relax.  I exhaled when they finally, slowly made their way to my face.  I smiled at him.  He tentatively smiled back.  I opened my mouth to say “I love you” but something stopped me. 
His eyes.
  His eyes were looking at me but they showed no recognition.  “Hi,” I whispered.

“Hello,” he rasped, “Would you please tell me where I am?”

“You’re in the hospital,” I said, trying to prepare myself for what I now knew was coming next.

“
Are, are you a nurse here?”

“No.  I’m a friend.”

“Oh. 
A friend of mine?
  I’m sorry, but I don’t remember you.  What did you say your name was?”

I choked back my sobs as I whispered, “Sarah.  My name is Sarah.
”

He nodded, “Sarah.  That’s a nice name.  I’m
starving.  Could I get something to eat, maybe?
A sandwich or maybe even a burger?”

My mouth fell open as I stared at him.
A burger?
  Not only does he not remember who he is.  But he doesn’t even remember
what
he is.

“Ummmm, let me go check with the doctor, okay?  I’ll be right back.”

He laced his fingers across his belly, and nodded his head as he lay back.  I stared at him, dumbfounded, as I walked away.

Cameron looked up as I walked into his office, “Oh, hi, Sarah.  How’s Matt doing?”

“Ummm, he just asked for a burger?”

Cameron’s head whipped around to me, “He what?!?  He, he asked for a burger?  Why
in
the hell would he do that?”

“Well, apparently he’s lost all memory of
who
he is and even what he is, Cameron. What am I supposed to do?”

“I don’t know, Sarah.  I haven’t seen or heard of this happening before.
  We can stall him for now. I
’ll
tell him that food is not something that he’s ready for.
And I’ll bring a pint of blood with me to see how he
reacts.  If he doesn’t seem interested in it, I’ll hang it on his IV and give it to him intravenously. It won’t help him as much as he needs, but at least that will keep him alive.
In the meantime, you go talk to David, see if he’s heard anything
like this happening
.  Then maybe
talk to Aquila
?  Find out if there’s anything like this in
s
eraphim
history.  And dig into your head too.
  Maybe there’s something in there.
  And call Carlos, maybe he knows something.
”