Seeker (21 page)

Jake closed his eyes, focusing on the sound of Amy's voice. He didn't think she'd answer her phone, but she had. He wasn't sure what chilled his heart more, her excruciating politeness or that she now called him Jake, like an exclamation mark on the fact that he was no longer her Jacob.

He told her that he was heading to Southend, indeed he was at Fenchurch Street now waiting for the train, mirroring the journey Will had taken almost a week ago. Amy wasn't much interested in his plans, but she did agree that Lawrencia needed keeping an eye on.

“Truth is, I'm not sure I am getting through to her.”

“But you are,” Jake pointed out, “she even listened to me earlier when I asked her to pop over to her mom's. And she never listens to me. You can get through to anyone.”

“Hmm,” was the only response to that compliment.

Jake cringed. He didn't want to come on strong, but he couldn't help himself. Talking to Amy was hard, and he felt impelled to try and make her feel better. He still harboured much guilt, and wasn't sure how to handle it.

“You better bring Willem home soon, Jake, because I've seen what's going on. Lawrencia's got a broken finger, a black eye, and you can bet she never got that falling over Curtis's toys.”

“Shit.”

“Exactly. Jimmy's got himself into something big, and he's not playing ball very well. Which probably explains his broken arm. How long before Curtis gets dragged into this?”

Amy was spot on, it was just the same thing he'd warned Will of before he'd headed off to Southend himself.

Jake sighed. “I'll be back soon.”

“Whatever, just make sure it's with Willem.”

Without even a goodbye Amy ended the call, and Jake stood there on the platform, stung by her coldness. He knew he deserved it, but it still cut him to the core.

* * *

“This is all crazy talk,” Lilly said, as together she and Sam cleaned up the plates. Her hands were in the sink, washing the plates, while Sam stood beside her, leaning his back against the draining board, cloth in hand and drying the crockery as she handed it to him. “An oracle of the past?”

Sam shrugged. “Why not? I'm only guessing, of course, but isn't it possible? I know what I'm seeing, and I know what happened to me in that alley.”

“Maybe you did escape some mental hospital?” Lilly asked playfully. “Seriously, though, I don't know. Sure, there is a lot of historical fact that backs up a lot of the mythology, but usually such facts are only as good as the context. And we understand things a lot more these days, science gives rational thought to such supernatural occurrences.”

Sam looked at her closely. “I'm not one of your students, Lil, you don't need to give me the party line. I
know
you don't believe that.”

Lilly was beat and she knew it. “Okay, fair enough, I'll admit there is something very odd going on, and your description of Ancient Memphis is scarily accurate, based on my studies.”

“Exactly, and I've never even been to Egypt, all I know of it is the little bits I've seen on the Discovery Channel and what I learned at school. Which wasn't a lot.”

Lilly handed him a plate, a curious look on her face. “You're remembering more of your past?”

“A little bit,” Sam said quickly, in what he hoped was a convincing manner. She looked at him oddly for a moment, then turned back to the sink. Sam rolled his eyes. Got out of that one, just about. “The past will keep, it's the present that interests me more.”

Lilly pulled the plug out of the sink and watched the water drain away. “I can't deny the oddness that is you.”

“Well, no. We didn't meet in the conventional way, and then there's my eyes. And,” Sam added, placing the cloth on the side and turning away, “have you seen me working out at all?”

“No,” Lilly said, and looked over at him. He stood there, topless, his tee in one hand, and Lilly blinked in surprise. She stepped over to him and reached out for his well-developed muscles. “Wow. You were never skin and bones, but…”

“Exactly. I only noticed this while I was showering this morning.” Sam tensed himself, displaying his new definition. “Even now I can feel my body just…
changing
somehow.” He shivered as Lilly's cold and wet palm pressed against his new abs. She looked up at him and smiled.

“You know how I agreed we should take it slow,” she said, still looking him in the eyes, even as her free hand started gently pulling at his belt, “well I'm tired of that idea. It seems very unfair that I spend all day working, knowing you're here, and not being able to test-drive you when I get home. Especially now. Not sure what these people have done to you, but it's amazingly hot.”

Sam raised an eyebrow, unable to keep himself from blushing. It was very clear from the life of Willem that he'd been a gay man who had never ever been remotely interested in women, but as Lilly pulled him closer to her once again he felt that life belonged to a different person.

He held her hands steady, stopping her from unbuckling the belt. She looked up at him, her green eyes searching his face suggestively.

“Your hands are shaking,” she said, gently.

“Maybe I've never done this before,” Sam said just as gently.

This idea clearly appealed to Lilly, and she held his hand in hers and led him out of the kitchen. “Don't worry, I'll guide you around the curves.”

Sam allowed himself to be led up the stairs, calmed by her words and assurance. He'd had sex before, of course, but this was a whole new world to him. And he found, as they entered her bedroom, that it was one he was looking forward to.

They stopped at the foot of the bed. She sat down and removed his belt, and then, slowly, began to unbutton his jeans. All the while he watched her, his breathing slow. He let out a gasp as her hands traced the outline of his hard member pressing against his boxer briefs.

“There he is,” Lilly said, running her fingers around the band of his boxers, and carefully pulled them down. He stepped forward, leaving his discarded jeans and boxers on the floor behind him. “Ooh, what's this then?”

Sam didn't need to look down to know that she had found the scar just above the pubic bone. “Yeah, I noticed that myself.”

She ran her fingers over it, and Sam shuddered, the thinner layer of skin more sensitive than the rest. He smiled at Lilly, and leant over her. She lay back on the bed, lifting her arms above her. She smiled at him, and he reached out to remove her blouse.

* * *

Lilly rode him gently, building up a steady rhythm. He closed his eyes, enjoying the feel of her surrounding him. This was so unlike being with another man; gentler, the moistness of her lips puckering around his member like a perfectly fitting glove. He let out a gasp of pleasure, feeling a sudden jerk down below. Sam opened his eyes, looking up at Lilly, who was looking down at him with a smile, her hands running over his sweaty chest, fingers playing with the slight hair there. He reached up and caressed her breasts.

“Slowly,” she said, releasing him from her hold. She rolled over, and he manoeuvred himself so he was kneeling between her legs. He brought his mouth down over a pert nipple, sucking softly, and with his free hand he guided himself back inside her.

“Yes, Onuris, give yourself to your god,” she said
.

Sam let out a gasp…

…and Sekhmet arched her back as Onuris ran his tongue around her brown nipple. Her bronze body was moist with sweat, looking not a day older than when he had first seen her in the temple five years previously. He, however, had aged. His body leaner, more toned. As she had promised he was now her high priest, her
Hem-Netjer Tepey
, and so much more than any other priest had been. He was the lover of a goddess, her chosen one
.

He pressed himself deeper, gratified at the look of pleasure on Sekhmet's face
.

She lifted her head, and as their
lips touched Sam closed his eyes, quite delirious in the knowledge that somehow he was making love to two women at the same time.

* * *

“Anything in particular?” Sam called in from the living room.

Lilly grinned, still glowing, and called back. “Oh, I don't know, something nice and post-coital.”

She listened to Sam laugh and then turned back to making the coffees. They had crossed a new bridge, and for a while Lilly had wondered if it would affect them in a bad way, but lying there beside each other afterwards had just been nice. Comfortable.

And the sex had been great. It was both tender and passionate at the same time, convincing Lilly that Sam had never been with a woman before. He didn't strike her as a virgin, but the way he gently entered her told of his inexperience in such things.

She closed her eyes, and could still see him looking down at her, smiling, as his red eyes burned with his desire to make her happy.

His stamina was also amazing, holding back until she was ready to climax with him. They had truly crossed the bridge now, and found themselves on green pastures.

Even more she was certain that the future for them was going to be great, and she didn't mind that Sam was lying about recovering his memories. She could tell by the look in his eyes that he knew more than he was letting on, and that was okay. He had been through a lot, and even more was happening to him; there was only so much a person could process at once.

Lilly doubled over in pain, the spoon falling from her hand as she reached for her chest. She stumbled backwards, but was just able to balance herself before falling against the washing machine.

For a moment she stood there, looking around, and a look brushed across her face. It was hard, mean, accompanied by a smile that spoke of perverse pleasure.

A knock came at the door, and Lilly's face returned to its usual gentle composure. She picked up the spoon and replaced it on the side. She was expecting no one, and it was unlikely to be someone for Sam.

“It's okay,” she said, “I got it.”

It was Fred. Maybe he was calling to explain why he had almost ignored her outside the pub on Monday eve? He seemed the kind that needed to explain himself, although it did make her wonder how he knew where she lived. She didn't actually know him, but they'd often exchanged polite smiles and hellos. He looked to be about six foot; he wore a faded brown leather flight jacket and looked at Lilly with grey eyes, his mouth an “O” of surprise.

Lilly wanted to get this call over as quickly as possible; all she really wanted to do was return to Sam, but in front of Fred she had a role to play, and politeness was expected. “Can I help you?” she asked demurely.

Fred's face hardened, and he shook his head, looking at her coldly. Lilly blinked, and then it came to her.

She knew exactly what Fred was, feeling the pull of the blood flowing in his veins. She held herself in check; it was too soon to give herself away.

A role was a role, and she suspected that she ought to be intimidated, but she knew that in truth Fred was as nothing before her. She forced herself to shudder.

Fred smiled thinly. “I doubt it. I need to see Willem.”

* * *

Sam sat on the sofa, fully dressed once again except for his socks and trainers which were still in Lilly's room, mindlessly flicking through the channels, still pondering how it had felt to be with a woman. There was a time when such an idea would have made him ill; Willem could no more sleep with a woman than Jake could with a man. And yet Sam could. The changes his death had brought him seemed to include his sexuality. Certainly the thought of relations with men still held an appeal for him, but he wasn't interested in getting with men any more. He was only interested in Lilly now.

Sam was pulled out of his reverie by the voice at the front door. He froze for a second, then slowly stood.

Like a shard of metal pulled towards a magnet he found himself drawing closer to the open living room door. The voice he knew well; he had heard enough in his flashbacks, although the face always escaped him. It was the same voice he had felt calling him earlier today when he'd rang Lawrencia.

Sam stopped at the doorway, and finally the shadow fell. The man was exactly as Sam remembered; the brown leather jacket, the stubble on his handsome face, the short dark hair, and those grey eyes.

A feeling of dread welled up inside Sam. This was the man responsible for his death, who had the audacity to say that he'd done Sam a favour.

Everything came rushing back into his mind, every second of every moment from inching his way out of the alley all the way to his meeting Lilly in the garden. He knew exactly what had happened to him, and more, what he could do to the man at the door, still arguing with Lilly, who was now dressed in her pyjamas.

“I've told you, there is no one of that name here, now please leave.”

“Oh, he's here, I can finally feel him,” the man said, barging past Lilly. “I've searched too long to be denied now.”

Over the man's shoulder Sam saw Lilly turn and walk into the kitchen; he expected she was going to pick up the phone and call the police. Not that they could help now. The man stopped abruptly, his grey eyes alighting on Sam.

He smiled, but it was a not a smile returned.

Instead Sam simply spat out; “Frederick!”

* * *

Time passed, and the house was empty but for Lilly who lay unconscious on the kitchen floor. She came to with a start, looked around confused, then nodded her head slowly. Of course, she remembered now.

She picked herself up. The front door was still ajar, so she walked over and closed it. She sniffed, smelling the blood in the air, and looked down at the spots of red that ran from the living room to the front door. Lilly smiled and walked to the lounge.

The rug was stained with blood. Lilly sniffed again, her lips pulling back in a grin, enjoying the coppery scent. She let out a yawn, tired all of sudden, as if she'd just woken from a very long sleep. Which, she knew, in a way she had, and it was a sleep that carried with it a dream of decades.