Sekhmet's Curse (Pearl Vampire Chronicles) (29 page)

             
I woke, alone, as dawn broke through the clouds outside my window.  It had been a long time since I had woken up feeling so well-rested, so relaxed,
so
calm, so loved.  I had Carlos to thank for that.  For hours last night he had slowly, tenderly, expertly made love to me.  He made me feel so completely loved that I had no choice but to totally give myself over to him.  I stretched and rolled over onto his pillow, face first, and breathed his scent into my body.  ‘
Thank you,’
I thought.

‘
Any time, baby,’
he thought back.

‘
Where are you guys?’

‘We’re making good time.  We’re off the coast of Panama
.  We’ll continue over water towards Mississippi, but with land in sight in case he needs to rest,’
he thought.

‘
Okay.  Be careful, sweetheart.  And come back to me soon.’

‘You know I will.’

I rested my eyes for a few minutes, avoiding the fact that I needed to get up, shower and then find Aquila.   I really was not looking forward to that pain or the vomiting again, but I knew I had to do it.
  A knock on the door brought me back to reality.  I threw on my robe and walked to the door.  I had to suppress a groan when I saw that it was Aquila.  “Ready?” he said.

“Yes, but let me get dressed so we can do this in the lab.  I want others there to help pull me off if I can’t do it,” I said.

“I think I could manage it,” Aquila said.

“I know you could, but with your strength, you might just rip my head off.  I’d like to avoid that if possible,” I said, smiling.

“Chicken,” Aquila smiled back.

“I see you’re learning some of Carlos’ humor.  Give me a second,” I said as I stood up.  I ducked into the bedroom, threw on jeans and a t-shirt and headed back out.  “Okay, let’s go.”

             
I gasped and shot up on the couch, “I didn’t stop.  Oh God, I didn’t stop.  Did I kill him?”

Cameron put his hand on my shoulder, “Sarah, relax.  You did stop.  Nobody got hurt.  Aquila is fine.”

“But I don’t remember any pain this time.  I always have the pain when I stop.”

“That’s the thing.  When you stopped this time, you looked at both of us with a bit
of a
smile on your face and said ‘That didn’t hurt this time’ and then your eyes rolled back and you passed out.
”

“So I had no pain this time but I still passed out. Whoa
,
hand me that basin would
ya
?”

He tossed it over to me just in time.  I leaned over and heaved a small amount of blood into it.  I got up and rinsed it out in the sink, “That was much less than I usually throw up, too.  How long was I out?”

“About fifteen minutes.”

“That’s better too.  Interesting
, maybe my body is adjusting to this, who knows
.”

I spent the rest of the day helping out in the clinic in between visits with Matt. 

           **********************

Meanwhile, over the swamps of Mississippi:  “Jason, watch that tree on your left. 
Low branch overhead.
  Okay, now there’s that knot that I told
you about.  Slow down a bit, we go three trees to the right.  Good, now a sharp left and there’s the willow.  Her house is just on the other side of that willow.  There.  See that oil lamp in the window
?
 
Land on the walkway below.
  We don’t want her coming out and shooting curses and asking questions later.  This is not a woman you sneak up on.  Okay.  Give me a second.  Mona?  Mona? It’s Carlos.  Are you home?”

The front door creaked as it opened.  Jason gasped at her beauty as she stepped out onto porch.  Her long blonde
hair
danced in the moonlight.  “You’re late.  You should have been here hours ago.”

Carlos gestured to Jason, “Flight delay. 
The plane got tired.
Sorry.  Mona, this is Jason.  Jason this is Mona.”

Mona looked Jason up and down, “So, the r
eadings I’ve been getting
are true
.”

“What other readings have you been getting, Mona?”

“We can talk about that later.  First, come inside. Relax.  Eat.  I stocked up on blood when I knew you were coming.”

Jason tucked in his wings and ducked his head to get
through the door.  He managed to sit in the oversized easy chair in the corner, but not without a little effort.  “Don’t really fit too well in this world, do you?” she smiled.

“We manage,” he said, blushing.  He kept shifting in his chair, trying to prevent himself from becoming aroused. 
Mona’s
beauty was undeniable
, her thin silk nightgown clinging to her curves and not leaving much of anything to the imagination
.  And his attraction to her was unlike anything he’d ever felt.  But the oversized sweatpants that he was wearing would hide nothing
if he got an erection.  Carlos walked into her kitchen, pulled four pints out of her ancient icebox and tossed them into the microwave.  “How have you been, Mona?”

“You mean since you walked out of my life four years ago?  I’ve been fine. 
Great actually.
  You leaving gave me the opportunity to further my training into some really heavy magic: shape shifting and what not, very intense stuff
that has made for an equally intense sex life. More importantly, though, what happened to you?  I mean, you used to come and go all the time.  But something happened to you
four years ago that made you stop coming back.
”

The microwave dinged, “Yes, something happened.  But we can talk about that later,” he said as he headed back to the living room to give Jason his meal.  They made small talk for a little while.  “What else have you heard, Mona.”

“That the legend is
here among us
.”

“The legend?”
Carlos said.

“The changeling.
  Legend has it that your species survives this disease because one among you is different.  They change.  Physically
change
your
characteristics.  It’s almost like their sacrifice helps you evolve past the disease. Do you know one like this?  One who is different i
n
how they feed.  One who has changed how they do things
.  One who has the ability to change those around
them.
  One who is a reluctant but natural leader?
” Mona said.

Carlos stared at her for a moment with his mouth open.  Then his emotions go
t
the better of him.  He silently stood up, walked outside and leaned against the railing on her porch balcony.

Mona turned and looked at Jason, who spoke for Carlos.  “He does know someone like that.  She is
my mother.  And she is his wife.”

Mona’s head whipped toward the door.  She stared at Carlos through window.  “That’s why he left and never came back.  He met his soul mate.  But, wait, how is she your mother?  She’s a vampire, right?  I thought they never survived the birth.
”

“The strongest do.  That’s why father picked her.”

“And she agreed to do it even though she knew she might die?  Carlos allowed her to do that?”

“Father chose for her.”

“Oh.  You mean she wasn’t given a choice.  And Carlos is okay with that?”

“He is now,” Jason said then he shifted in his chair again.  He was losing his fight with controlling himself because she was sitting so close to him, and he knew it.  He stood suddenly, “
I’m s
orry, but I need to go stretch my wings for a bit.  Then I’m going to find a tree to sleep in.”

Mona smiled to herself.  She knew he’d be back, she planned it that way.  She was tempted to stop him now, but she knew he had to get to that point where he desired her so much that he couldn’t stop.  And he wasn’t quite there yet, almost, but not quite.  She
walked out to the porch and gave Carlos a little hug.  “She sacrifices herself, Mona?  Are you sure?  That’s my wife you’re talking about.  I don’t know if I can survive without her.
  Is that really what the legend says?”

“Wow.  She must be incredible Carlos.  I always thought that maybe, someday, you might fall in love. 
But marriage?
You?
  That is something that even I couldn’t have predicted.”

“Mona.”

“Okay.  You should know as well as I that legends are not exact history.  They are always
somewhat
unpredictable.
”

“Well, can’t you work some of your magic to protect her?  Please?  And you can’t tell anyone else.  This can’t get back to her,
‘
cause
she’d sacrifice herself in a second if it would save us. I can’t let her find out about this.”

“Us?”

Carlos smiled, “Me and Matt.  Yes, we’re both married to her.  And, no, don’t ask.”

Mona raised her eyebrows and just stared.  “Do you both know that you’re married to her?”

“Yes.”

“Do you share the same bed?”

“Sometimes, but not for sex.
  We have separate bedrooms for that, but every other part of our lives we share.”

“And Jason’s father?
  When did he come into the picture?”

“He didn’t
come
into the picture,” he said bitterly, “he forced himself into the picture about a year ago.”

“So he raped her?  Why wasn’t an abortion performed when you knew her life was in danger?”

“Because he kidnapped her too.
  I couldn’t find her.  I tried Mona, but I couldn’t find her.”

“How long did he have her?”

“
A little over sixty days.”

“Sixty days?  That’s all the gestation takes is sixty days?” she said, and the corners of her mouth turned up slightly.

Carlos squinted at her, “Mona?  Why all the questions about the
s
eraphim
’s gestation?  What are you planning?”

“It’s probably better if you don’t know.  You might want to go inside and get
some sleep.  There’s still a
cot in that little room off the kitchen. 
Go,
pass out for a few hours.  And just ignore the sounds that you hear outside.”

“Jesus, Mona.  You’re not planning on seducing him are you?  He’s never mated before.  And you could get hurt.  He’s huge Mona.  And I don’t just mean his body. 
Most of the time he and his father are naked.
  Believe me, I’ve seen.  And he’s huge.  He could rip you apart.  And you can’t hope to get pregnant.  Even if you did, it would kill you.”

“Not if I’m not human.”

“No
t
human?  Mona, what the hell are you planning?”

She smiled.  “Take a few steps back and I’ll show you.”

He did and he watched as she closed her eyes.  This weird vibration and hum began emitting from her.  The vibrations got faster and faster and the hum got louder and louder.   Carlos took another few steps away from her.  The vibrations were so fast that even he couldn’t see them anymore.  Suddenly she threw her head back and let out a scream that soon turned into the cry of an eagle.  She dropped to the floor in a
crouch and Carlos gasped as he saw wings grow out of her back.  Her dress tore and fell to the ground as her body got larger.  Her bare feet changed into talons.  Suddenly the vibrations stopped, she grunted a few times and then slowly stood up.  She turned and
smiled at Carlos.  “Still think I won’t survive?” she said then she stretched her wings out, testing them.  “He’s ready now,” she said then she threw her head back and let out an eagle’s cry again that echoed through the trees.  It was closely followed by an answer as Jason swooped down from a nearby tree.  He was no longer wearing his sweatpants, and he was obviously more than ready.  Mona jumped into his arms, took him inside her then he jumped up into the night sky.  Carlos just shook his head as he turned and walked inside, mumbling, “I hope you know what you’re doing, girl.”

             
Carlos tossed the pillow off of his head, “I give up,” he groaned as he sat up.  Another eagle cry from the dawn sky mocked him.  “I said I give up,” he yelled to no one in particular.  He stumbled into the kitchen and angrily tossed a few pints into the microwave.  Then he went and flopped into the easy
chair and closed his eyes.  The two thuds on the porch told him they had returned.  He kept his eyes closed as they walked inside, giggling.  “Shhh, don’t wake him,” Mona whispered.

“Like I was able to get an ounce of sleep with you two screeching all night,” Carlos mumbled
.

Mona blushed, “Sorry.  But that was unlike anything I’ve tried before.  I’ve shape shifted into many different species, male and female.  But that was the most intense, satisfying experience I’ve ever had.  That was truly amazing.”