Vampire Sheikh (17 page)

“W
e must hurry!”

Nephtys urged Josslyn to move faster. They were practically running up the narrow stairs, but Haru-Re was waiting for her. Ray had summoned Nephtys to the highest parapet that jutted from the top of Petru's enclosure wall, where he was said to be pacing and shouting orders to the commanders of his vast legion of followers. He'd asked Nephtys to bring the other woman to him before the battle was engaged, and sent one of his guards to accompany them—for their protection, he'd said. She didn't want to believe it was to ensure she obeyed. Not after the exquisite afternoon they'd shared.

She was still floating. Because today he'd made love to her for the very first time.

Oh, they'd had sex before. Lots of times. And he'd fucked her plenty, too. But never before today had they
made love together. Sweet, lingering, heart-rendingly emotional love.

“I love you, Nephtys,” he'd whispered softly in her ear when they'd lain in each other's arms afterward. “I want you to be mine forever.”

And she knew he'd meant it, because he hadn't pierced her flesh with his fangs nor drank of her blood. Instead, he'd punctured a small hole in the underside of his wrist and fed her with drops of his own blood, to cool the addiction for him that raged within her.

Even now she felt intoxicated by it. Euphoric.

His.

But in the air she also felt the distant pounding of a thousand hooves. Were the warriors of Khepesh already on the move?

“Nephtys, slow down!” Josslyn called, breathing hard as they clambered up the endless circular granite staircase inside the soaring tower, plastering themselves against the cold, rounded walls every few minutes to let more warriors go past. “You're killing me!”

Nephtys shot a sharp glance down at her. “I'd never hurt you, Josslyn. I hope you know that. I couldn't. My brother loves you.”

The mortal woman blinked up at her and then halted at a landing to bend over and catch her breath. “I think you've gotten faulty information somewhere. Seth wants nothing to do with me.”

Nephtys fought to control the other feeling that was nearly drowning her:
fear…
for Seth's safety. For his very life. Seth-Aziz had neglected to tell her the battle he'd spoken of was to take place
today!
She could feel the army's approach, felt the roiling presence of Shahin's
warriors practically outside the walls, charging in for combat, and she was terrified. Why had Seth done this? She'd
told
him she could convince Haru-Re to leave Khepesh in peace, now that she had claimed his heart! Why hadn't Seth
believed
her? All she'd needed was a little more time!

Josslyn was still breathing hard, so Nephtys stirred the air with her fingers and sent it to fill her lungs and said, “Trust me, men are clueless idiots. This I know.”

Her brother's lover straightened, testing her breathing. “Wow. How did you do that?” She shook her head. “Never mind. Look, you won't get an argument from me about men being clueless. But you're wrong about Seth. He's made it pretty clear—”

“Yes, yes.” Nephtys waved a hand impatiently. They had to
move!
“My brother is stubborn as a donkey and likes to think he's in charge of everything around him, including his emotions. But as you and I both know so well, emotions are impossible to govern. They are what they are, and the goddess help us if we try to ignore them or pretend they don't exist.”

“Sometimes one doesn't have a choice,” the other woman muttered.

Nephtys turned and hurried up the last few steps, anxious to reach Haru-Re before he gave the order to charge out to meet the Khepesh army, and Josslyn followed.

“You love him, too,” Nephtys said approvingly. She heard Josslyn exhale but otherwise remain silent. No denial. Good. That would help. She'd been desperately formulating a plan to try to stop what was happening.
Josslyn was the cornerstone. Having her cooperation was key.

They reached the top of the parapet, and her worst fears were realized.

Ray stood like a masthead upon the narrow battlement, stalking back and forth, peering out over the vast, undulating desert toward a sliver of sun that hovered on the western horizon. Against the shrinking arc of molten brilliance, the black slash of her brother's army rode, resplendent, mounted on the backs of massive black stallions, galloping hard in ranks three deep across the golden dunes.

Though still in the far distance, they were advancing quickly. And they were glorious! The sight made her shiver in both awe and terror.

As Haru-Re watched them come, a deep scowl was etched on his handsome face.
He
gave her shivers, too.

She could feel his preternatural energy sizzle and pop with his anger. The air around him glittered with sparks, and when he tipped his head back and raked his fingers through his hair, shimmering streamers of fire leapt around his head like a halo of golden snakes.

Sweet Isis, even in such a precarious situation, the man made her knees weak. His body had the perfection of a demigod, his mind was as sharp as his vampire fangs, his strength terrible and his power awesome.

She yearned to belong to him in every way, with a craving that filled every pore of her body with need, every beat of her heart with love.

And yet, she could not let him hurt her brother.

Outside the walls, the vast army of Petru had
assembled, the warriors riding a host of ghost camels so numerous it was impossible to see the ground below.

Here, on the battlements, scores of men and women ran to and fro carrying longbows and shouting to one another to get into position. If she didn't know better, she'd think Seth's element still held sway over the palace. But Ray had long since smashed through the spell of chaos and shattered it.

Thinking of Ray's immense powers, and the vastness of the army he had gathered, her heart quailed. Seth and his comparative handful of men didn't stand a chance!

Ray spotted her and Josslyn, and a brief smile curved his mouth as he turned his head to follow their progress along the rampart. She hurried toward him, followed by the other woman and their trusty guard.

When she finally reached Ray, he caught her up by the waist and lifted her to meet his lips.
“Meruati,”
he murmured, kissing her. “You've come to me.”

“Of course,” she returned, kissing him back, passion sweeping through her. Being held in his arms was like floating on clouds of joy. “Did you doubt it?”

He just smiled, then glanced at Josslyn. The smile faded, and he spoke to her. “It seems your faithless consort has deserted you to my tender care,” he said with no small satisfaction ringing in his voice.

Josslyn's gaze went in dismay from the galloping warriors of Khepesh to the eager armies of Petru gathering below and back to Haru-Re. “If you mean Seth-Aziz, I am not his consort,” she said. “And I wasn't deserted. I chose to stay here in Petru.”

Ray's brow rose. “Indeed?”

“My parents live here. Although I still haven't been
allowed to see them,” she added, the words tinged with accusation. “Why not?”

“First I must be convinced of your loyalty,” he responded, his expression turning hard. He gestured toward Seth's advancing army. “Your sister, it appears, is not to be trusted. Can you blame me for suspecting you?”

Josslyn's face faltered and she glanced anxiously back at the galloping warriors. “What are you talking about?”

With a small motion, Ray conjured a spyglass and handed it to her. “Take a look at the group of riders leading the charge. Recognize anyone?”

She did, and gasped in horror. “No! What are they
doing?
”

Nephtys swiped the glass from her and peered through it. “Blessed Isis,” she said in dismay. Both of Josslyn's sisters as well as Lord Rhys were riding stallions next to Seth and Shahin, black robes flying in the wind like raven wings, weapons flashing and glinting in the dying light.

“Ray! You must stop this!” she cried, dropping the instrument and grasping his arms. “This isn't necessary!”

“Oh, but it is,” he refuted, a gleam of impending victory glowing in his eyes. “This is the moment I've awaited for five millennia. Finally I have you at my side, and now I shall have all the world bowing at my feet, mine alone, to rule over as I wish.”

She shook her head. “No,” she breathed. “You mustn't do this. You can't!”

“On the contrary, I can, and I will,” he growled.

“Please! You mustn't hurt my brother!”

He just laughed. He snapped his fingers, pointed at her and Josslyn, and gave the command she'd dreaded in her heart.

“Seize them!”

I
nstantly four of Haru-Re's warriors surrounded Joss and Nephtys, grasping their arms so they couldn't escape.

Joss struggled against their steely hold. “No! Damn it, let go of me!”

Fear gripped her nearly as hard as the men did.

Coming up here had been a
huge
mistake. She glanced down at the quickly advancing army of Khepesh, and her heart pounded out of control. She should never have trusted Haru-Re. And she wasn't so sure about Nephtys, either.

“Ray!” Nephtys cried, pulling at her arms, betrayal flaying her expression. “What is this? Tell them to let me go!”

“Meruati,”
Haru-Re said soothingly, coming over to Nephtys and gently putting his hand against her cheek. He kissed her and said, “It's all right. It's just for show.
I would never let my men harm you, you must know that. But play along with me now. If Seth-Aziz thinks his sister and his chosen consort are both in mortal danger, he will surrender without a fight. No one will be hurt or killed.”

Oh, please.

Despite her quaking limbs, Joss barely resisted snorting. Surely, Nephtys wasn't falling for that load? She might be in love, but she wasn't stupid.

“I am
not
Seth's chosen consort!” Joss yelled at him as a distraction, to give the priestess a chance to get hold of herself and think straight. Besides, she was really getting tired of everyone saying that. Were they all deaf and blind? “Seth-Aziz doesn't give a damn about me, so your plan won't work!”

He spared her a narrowed glance. “That's not what I've heard. But even if it's true, your sisters will hardly let him sacrifice you.”

Oh, God.
Her pulse took off at a tear. For a second she'd forgotten Gemma and Gillian were with Seth. But Ray's assessment was correct. Her sisters would cut off Seth's head themselves before letting anything happen to her.

“You're wrong,” she bluffed, but even to herself the statement lacked conviction. She looked to Nephtys for aid. If they were going to get out of this, it would have to be through her influence.

Nephtys gazed at Haru-Re with an expression so wounded that Joss thought his heart must be made of stone. “I can't believe you're doing this,” the priestess lamented, tears welling in her eyes. “You said you love
me. You said you want to make me the happiest woman in the history of time!”

The hardness of his face shifted, and with a sigh he signaled her captors to let her go. His voice softened as he took her hands and kissed her knuckles. “I do, my only heart. I want to lay the world at your feet. To give you the bright sun and the two horizons and all the goodness that enlightenment brings. But you have to see, to do that I must claim victory over Khepesh and Seth-Aziz.”

“Why?” Joss demanded desperately, when it looked like Nephtys might cave at his pretty promises. “You already have all that. What does eliminating Khepesh do for you, other than satisfy your insatiable greed for power?”

Fury swept over Ray's features. Lightning flashed overhead, lighting up the darkening sky over the palace. “By the love of Horus, you are insolent!”

The grip of his warriors tightened.

He slashed up a hand and boomed, “Hold her up so her lover can see what he risks with this attack!”

She screamed in terror as his men obeyed, lifting her high over the upper parapet. They were at least three stories above the ground, of which a narrow band around the foot of the wall was covered with large, sharp rocks that had been arranged in colorful, beautiful patterns. But from her perspective they looked positively lethal. No doubt even immortals who fell onto their jagged points would be smashed beyond healing.

Oh, God!

She wanted to twist and jerk herself free, but one
slip of her captors' fingers and she would bounce off the wall and plunge to an instant, horrible death.

She stifled another scream when they thrust her far out over the wall's edge, and a circle of brightness appeared around her as though she were lit up by a floodlight. She held her breath, praying for her life.

She knew Seth must have heard her screams through their blood connection and could feel her abject fear. As proof, the gait of his stallion faltered and he wheeled about, peering up and yelling to those around him. His muscular horse reared and pawed the air as he reined it in and stared straight up at her across the thousand yards of desert that still separated them.

The warriors charging at full tilt behind him wheeled their mounts away in confusion to avoid mowing him down. Against the fast-dimming orange and yellow of the sunset's last glow, she could see Shahin's silhouette gallop along the front line, shouting orders so the army slowed and eventually came to a chaotic standstill.

Sweet Jesus.

Joss forced herself not to look down. Told herself not to search out her sisters in the distant turmoil. But it was impossible. They were much closer now, and she saw clearly when Gillian and Gemma converged on Seth and started to argue and gesticulate at her and then him. He didn't appear to answer, didn't even seem to hear them, just continued to stare up at her hanging there like a Christmas angel as his stallion reared and chomped at its bit to start the charge again.

Seth wasn't the only one being yelled at. Behind her, she heard Nephtys argue with Ray.

“—barbaric! I will not go along with this savagery!
I never believed the awful things they said about you, always thought you were a good man beneath it all, but now I—”

“Enough of this!” Ray shouted. Joss cringed as bolts of lightning flashed through the sky above, now darkened nearly to black. “Your brother can go straight to the fires of Hades!
He
is the one attacking
me,
in case you missed noticing!”

“Because you've been threatening Khepesh for weeks!
And
you took Seth prisoner!” she argued back just as vehemently. “He probably thought you were going to execute him and burn his palace to the ground!”

There was a silent pause, and Joss wished like hell she could turn around and see what was happening. But when she heard Nephtys gasp, it wasn't hard to guess.

“Blessed Hathor!” Nephtys cried. “You
were
going to kill him! Oh, Ray, you promised me you'd back away from this horrible feud if I consented to wed right away!”

“I'll back away when that viper of a brother of yours is nailed into his fancy coffin,” he shot back.
“Permanently!”

Joss heard Nephtys gasp even louder. “And what about Josslyn?” The priestess's question wavered with anguish. “Do you plan to execute her, too? To let your minions drop her from this parapet to her death?”

Omigod.
Dread swamped over Joss, and an unbidden sound of dismay escaped her throat. Did Nephtys
have
to bring that up? She squeezed her eyes shut against the burning tears that threatened to break loose.

“Killing the daughter of one of my immortals is the last thing I want to do,” Ray clipped out. “But Josslyn
Haliday's fate is now firmly in the hands of Seth-Aziz.”

In a strangled tone, Nephtys protested, “No. I won't let you. If you do this awful thing, Ray, I swear I'll—”

“You are mine now!” he barked at her.
“And you will do as I say!”

Joss heard Nephtys swallow audibly. “So that's how it is. I thought you were willing to change, for me, Ray. To stop this never-ending madness, because you love me,” she said, in almost a whisper. “But I can see now I was wrong. So very wrong.”

“Nephtys—” he began impatiently.

But he never got the chance to finish.

Because Nephtys went calmly to the edge of the battlement and stepped up onto the parapet next to Joss. The priestess smiled sadly at her and whispered, “I'm so sorry.”

And then she jumped.