Sekhmet's Curse (Pearl Vampire Chronicles) (36 page)

“Have you seen them?”

Jonas smiled, “They’re beautiful, Sarah. 
Sam
looks just like Matt.  And
Cassie
is a breathtaking combination of you and Carlos.”

I giggled and Jonas looked at me with a raised eyebrow, waiting for an explanation.  “Carlos was sure that his was a boy,” I explained
, “I wonder how he’s doing with a girl?”

Jonas chuckled.
Suddenly he turned and grabbed me in a warm embrace, “Before you go
,
I have to say ‘thank you.’”

“Thank you? 
For what?”

“For helping me get here.  If it weren’t for you
helping me get rid of my anger, I wouldn’t be here.  Here is a place where only those who have died with contented, peaceful souls can be.  And I love this place.  So thank you, Sarah.”

“You’re welcome, Jonas.”

We sat in silence for a few seconds while I stared at the terrifying black forest.  “So, I have to go through that to get back?”

Jonas nodded, “Yep.”

“And you can’t come with me this time, can you?”

“Nope.
 
I belong on this side.
This one you have to do on your own.”

“I was afraid of that.  It’s going to be hard, isn’t it, going through there?”

“The hardest thing you’ve ever gone through.  But you’re strong, Sarah.  You can do this
, for your kids, for your men, for you
.”

I started to stand, but quickly stopped.  I turned and hugged Jonas tightly, “Will you still come and visit me?” I said into his neck.

He pulled away and smiled at me, “Oh, I’ll be around, Sarah,” he said winking.

I leaned down and kissed his cheek, “Thank you,” I
whispered then I stood and began walking toward the black forest.

Chapter Fifteen

             
I stepped up to the edge and peered inside.  I slowly poked my left hand inside.  The blackness of the forest enveloped my hand and started to work up my arm – and then the pain hit.  I quickly pulled my hand back.  My heart was pounding.  This forest was alive.  I could hear it breathing.  I could see its heartbeat pulsing all around.  And it scared the hell out of me.  I turned back and looked at Jonas.
“Fight back, Sarah.  Don’t let it consume you,” he said from his spot on the sand.  I nodded and took a deep breath.  I started to turn around, but the blackness reached out and grabbed my hair.  I screamed as I felt it
trying to
pull me in.  I could feel it, like tendrils, moving around my head toward my face, onto my shoulders. I could see it out of the corner of my eyes then the world started to go gray.  I screamed as it tried to pull me in.  Suddenly I felt something from the outside pulling me.  I gripped Jonas’ hands tightly as he yanked.  The gray faded, but I could still feel it on the back of my head, my shoulders,
my
legs.  Jonas was yelling something but
I couldn’t hear him.  I grunted and pushed my head farther forward until I could feel the black pulling out of my ears.  “Fight it, Sarah! Push it out!  It will surround you, but don’t let it inside.  Keep it out, Sarah.  You have to keep it out.  I can’t lose you to it.”

“But it’s too strong, Jonas.  I can’t do this.”

Jonas’ hands came up to my face.  He looked deep into my eyes, “Sarah.  If you can break me then you can do anything.  You are the strongest person I have ever known because of the love you have inside of you.  That love makes you stronger than anything.  Take that love and use it as your shield, Sarah.  Use Matt’s love, use Carlos’ love, use Sam’s love, use Cassie’s love, use Aquila’s, use Jason’s love and use my love Sarah. I love you Sarah.  I’ve never said that to anyone in my entire life, ever.  I love you Sarah.  But you don’t belong here with me.  You have so much more to do on the other side and there are too many people over there
who
need you.  So, fight.  Fight for them.  Fight for you.  Just fight,” he said as his mouth closed onto mine.  This kiss was intense.  The sounds and screams from the forest
faded away. I pulled him tight and felt my lungs expand with so much air.  I felt so alive.  I felt so strong.  I opened my eyes…and Jonas was gone.  But that was okay, because I felt stronger than ever.  I took one more deep breath of the crisp ocean air, turned, and without hesitation, stepped inside.

             
The sunlight behind me faded instantly, the roar of the ocean waves was gone.  The only sounds surrounding me were slimy, creepy sounds…and whimpering.  Whimpering?  I looked around and that’s when I saw them.  The trees in this forest weren’t trees, they were vampires who had become the ‘trees’
,
e
ncased in the black
ness,
t
rapped
,
p
risoners.  The blackness was feeding off of them.  I shivered, fought off the panic and took a few more steps.  I could feel the tendrils grabbing at my feet, my ankles, my legs, my arms, my hair, but I kept moving.  I envisioned a force field around me.  A light, coming from inside me pushing it back, keeping it at bay.  I will not become like them, I told myself.
I kept moving forward.  Deeper into the forest I went.  Bloody tears streamed down my face as I began to recognize some of the trapped vampires.
  I
recognized Mason, Gregory, Megan, Alicia, Taylor.  Face after face was familiar to me.  I was sobbing and constantly wiping tears away as I also struggled to keep the blackness away.  I could feel its pain stabbing into my feet.  Like thousands of needles it stabbed into my belly, my face, my back,
my
legs.  I was fighting it hard
,
c
oncentrating on keeping it away as I stumbled my way through the forest.  I thought I was making progress when I rounded a corner and came face to face with Megan again.  “Crap!  I’m going in circles!” I cried as I kept moving forward.  I looked down, only watching my feet, trying to keep myself moving straight.  One foot in front of the other
, s
tep after step.  I kept moving as I fought the pain, pushed out the black.  I walked for what seemed like hours, maybe even days.  I was exhausted but determined to keep going, until I looked up and saw Megan’s face again.
“Oh God!”
I sobbed as I sank to the ground. I felt the blackness grow excited at my weakness.  I put my head on my knees and waited for the end.

“Mommy!”
said
a whisper
ed voice
from my right.  My head flew up.  I looked and saw a tiny pin hole of
light coming through the forest.  “Over here, Mommy.  We’re over here,” the tiny voice said. 

“Cassie?  Is that you?” I cried.

“Yes.  It’s me.  And Sam is here too.  Come to us, Mommy.”

I struggled back to my feet.  I looked at the blackness, “Back
the fuck
off,” I yelled and it hissed at me. 

“Not this time.  Not today,” I said
to it then
I started walking toward the light.  “That’s it Mommy.  Keep coming.  We’re here.  We’re waiting for you.”

“Sam,” I cried. 
“
I’m trying.  I’m trying to find you.”

“We’re right here,” he said, and the pin hole
got a little bigger.
  More light poured in through it.  I was no longer tired as I marched towards it.  The blackness kept trying to trip me.  It wrapped around my ankle, but I kicked it off.  I
t
grabbed my leg but I spun around and knocked it away.  Everywhere it grabbed, I pushed it back.  And every time I did, the light grew stronger. 
“Come to us, Mommy.  Daddy’s here too
.  He’s so sad without you here,
” Cassie said.

“Oh, Carlos,” I whispered as my feet began moving faster towards the light.  I was exhausted and trying not to get frustrated because I didn’t seem to be getting any closer to the light.  “Don’t slow down Mommy.  Daddy’s waiting for you.  He wants you to wake up now,” Sam said.

“Matt.  Oh my love,” I whispered.  I felt
a warmth
inside me grow hotter.  Suddenly
a
light inside me reached out toward the light in the forest.  “That’s right Mommy.  That’s how you do it.  Come to us.  We’re here,” Cassie said.  My heart felt like it was going to explode.  “I love you so much,” I cried and the light
from inside me
reached out farther
, stretching, trying to touch the light from my children
.

             
Inside my hospital room, Matt and Carlos watched in amazement.  Cassie and Sam had climbed onto my bed and, sitting on either side of me, they each held one of my hands.  They clasped their other hands across my body, closed their eyes and went into some sort of silent trance.  Matt looked to Carlos.  He shrugged his shoulders and looked at Mona. 
“Shhhh.
They’re trying to break the curse,” she whispered.

“Them?  They’re babies, Mona.  How are they supposed to do that?” Matt whispered.

“Matt.  She’s the creator.  They are her creation.   They are the ones
who can beat this
.”

Cassie suddenly opened her eyes and smiled, “Mommy’s coming,” she said then she closed her eyes and went back into her trance
, her small lips trembling as if whispering unspoken words
.

Carlos and Matt watched in amazement as my breathing got deeper and intensified.  “Look at her, Matt.  She’s fighting her way back,”
Carlos
said then he moved forward and wrapped his arms around Cassie as Matt did the same to Sam.  “Come back to us, Sarah.  We love you so much.”

From in the forest,
I gasped.  “Matt.”  Suddenly the pin hole grew
even
larger and I saw them.  Matt and Carlos, my loves,
were
hugging
my
….. “Oh my God,” I gasped when I first saw them
, my babies
.  My knees wanted to give out but I forced myself to go on.  I felt the light explode out of my chest.  Pushing forward, forward,
inch by inch,
until, finally, it joined with the light in front of me.  My path was clear now.  And as I raced towards it I saw the blackness around
me breaking apart.  I stopped for a moment and marveled at the smiling faces of the vampires as their trapped souls were freed.  They flew around me in a dance of
freedom
,
as if they were thanking me
then
they
sped off in a thousand different directions.  I took my final step into the room.

From my hospital bed, I gasped, opened my eyes and croaked, “I love you so much.
”
 
And w
e all wept and laughed as we became one giant hug.

“God, I missed so much,” I groaned as I popped another DVD into the player.  Matt and Carlos had recorded as much of the twins’ lives as they could in between visits to my hospital bed.
The changes that had occurred in both Matt and Carlos from the Seraphim blood treatments were slowly diminishing – neither of them had a taste for human food anymore – my symptoms were taking longer; perhaps because some of the changes had occurred 
  But not only did I miss
my twins’
birth (by C-section of course), I missed the joy of breast feeding (Matt and Carlos would each hold them to my chest as they suckled until they grew tired of milk and wanted blood), I missed changing diapers (they were fully toilet trained now
, looking like about four year old children
), I missed first teeth, I missed
their
first vampire teeth
.
I wa
s feeling so left out right now.  Cassie climbed up on my lap, “No you didn’t Mommy.  You were just sleeping, but you were there.
  We knew you were there.
”
  I wrapped my arms around her as I said, “Oh, I know that baby girl. 
It’s just that I didn’t know that I was there and that’s what I’m upset about.”

“
Well, you’re here now and you aren’t going anywhere.  Isn’t that what matters?” she said.

I looked at her for a few moments, “How on earth did you get to be so smart?” I said.

She grinned at me, “Oh that’s easy.  Daddy always says ‘Your smarts come from Mom.  Your beauty comes from me.’”

I rolled my eyes as I glanced at the grinning Carlos, “Oh he does, does he?  I wonder what else Daddy has said that Mommy needs to fix?” I said, chuckling.

“Hey, I think I did a pretty good job, considering,”
Carlos said.

“Considering, what?  Considering that you’ve been a narcissistic womanizer for over two hundred years
who couldn’t even think the words commitment and responsibility without getting nauseous until a few years ago? Sure, I’ll give you that,” I said, smiling.

“I think I liked you better when you were in a coma,” Carlos said, pouting.

“Daddy, pouting is for weaklings, that’s what you always tell me,” Cassie said.