The Quest (32 page)

Looking up, I faced the red-ringed eyes of the demon who threatened me time and time again. Billy Rodriguez.

Before I could step back, he thrust something into my lower abdomen, and I gasped. He pushed the cold object deep into me. My temperature skyrocketed as if I were on fire. Sweat trickled down the back of my neck while pain branched out from my stomach. Something wet and warm spilled on my skirt.

Billy shoved me back until I smacked against the wall of the shelf. One hand wrapped around my throat while the other held the object lodged in my gut. A vibrant beat grew in my head, matching my pounding heart.

“Ah, Shelley,” he said as a malicious grin took shape. “We meet again.”

His breath reeked of cigarettes and rotten garbage. My gag reflex kicked me, but I held back, focusing on the drumming going on in my head. From the corner of my eye, I saw a man walk around the corner.

“I have her,” Billy said, his evil gaze fixed on me. “You can go now.”

Billy’s hand squeezed my throat, but I managed to turn my head an inch. The man disappeared. Where the demon had stood, I heard a growl. I struggled to look down, Billy’s hand tight around my neck and cutting off my air. Sweat dripped into my eyes. After I blinked the sweaty drops away, I saw a large brown wolf a few feet away. Large, pointy canines protruded from the wolf’s mouth.

“Company has arrived,” Billy said right before he jerked the cold, metal object up.

Flesh tore and searing pain consumed me. Fluid bubbled into my throat. The taste of blood filled my mouth. I choked as blood spilled from my nose and mouth. My body burned, sweated, dripped and ached with a ferocity I’d never felt before.

“Come any closer, and I gut her,” Billy said, his eyes locked on the growling beast within a leap from us.

The throbbing in my head intensified. Even my teeth ached. Strong pain consumed me whole while warm fluid dribbled down my legs. I couldn’t think straight and I struggled to breathe. My throbbing head leaned forward. I tried to keep it upright but it weighed a ton. Weak and sleepy, I wanted to drift into the darkness where there was no pain. My eyelids fluttered. I forced them open and fought the lethargy wanting to devour me. I couldn’t die. I couldn’t go like this.

The werewolf stepped closer. Billy pushed his sharp weapon deeper and lifted it, tearing through more of my flesh.

“Come on, puppy. I’m more than willing to bring this knife all the way up her chest,” Billy said.

More blood flowed out of me. My tongue soaked in the thick fluid as it filled my mouth. My lower extremities were soaking wet and warm. Hunger plagued me. I wanted to sink my canines into the nearest human and consume every drop of blood. I needed substance, needed the pain to go away.

Billy jerked on the blade inside me, delivering more agony. My legs quivered, threatening to give. I blinked and saw through my distorted vision a large dark blur fly past me. Billy’s hand on my throat was gone. He’d disappeared, taking his weapon with him.

I looked down and saw the werewolf circling and growling. A deep yelp from the other side of me drew my attention. Another wolf with dark and white hair stood next to me.

Fierce pain crippled me as I tried to inhale. A million ice picks chiseled away at me while a sledgehammer repeatedly beat my skull. My vision spun. Soaked in my own blood and overwhelmed with pain, I battled to stay awake. Alive. Underneath the heavy blanket of pain was a savage hunger. I needed blood, but my body wouldn’t move.

“Shelley,” Jackson said in a panicky voice. He stood in front of me, naked. A shame I couldn’t focus my vision.

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. My strength to fight was gone. Pain overpowered me. Thirst overwhelmed me. Tired of everything, I closed my eyes and let go. I crumbled and warmth closed in around me like a blanket.

“Stay with us, Shelley,” Jackson said.

His voice sounded distant, yet comforting. If I died, at least his gentle voice was the last one I heard and his naked body was the last image I’d seen, even if it was a bit blurry.

Unable to resist, I drifted into a river of darkness.

Chapter 22

“I will always protect you.” A familiar voice said to me as soft fingers caressed the side of my face. The soothing touch relaxed me and supported my dreamy state of consciousness.

I laid still, eyes closed with a cheek, an ear and my breasts flat on his body. Underneath me, I heard silence. He had organs, and blood–plenty of it since he recently fed from me. Yet, his ancient body made no noise, no gurgles, growls or wisps of air from his lungs. Sometimes I missed the characteristics of a living creature, and the warmth accompanied with the body containing a beating heart. What he lacked he made up for in spades with his love, honor, devotion and pleasure. A lot of pleasure. The few living men I’d spent extra recreational time with didn’t compare to the God of the Underworld.

“Mm,” I mumbled. “Always is a long time.”

“I have forever.”

True. He did.

I lifted my head and opened my eyes. “And what if I’m far, far away? What if someone kidnapped me and took me to the other side of the globe? What if I’m buried deep in a mountain, or a cave?”

He glided his thumb over my lips. “You focus on my face and call my name,” he said, his Egyptian accent thicker this time. I called it Egyptian since I couldn’t pronounce the word for his true language, which no longer existed and hadn’t for thousands of years. “Do this, and I will find you, even in Hell.”

I studied his face, memorizing the details. Though he died long before Christ, he didn’t appear older than thirty. He had a light bronze skin with black hair, brows and lashes. Even his dark brown eyes captured me. My body tingled with arousal every time I stared into them.

“All I have to do is picture your face and call your name, regardless of where I’m at.”

He smiled and my heart fluttered a little more. “I give you my word.”

A loud snap sucked me away from my vampire lover and tossed me into a pitch-black world. White-hot pain gnawed at my body. My head violently throbbed. My chest burned. Worse, I yearned for blood so fiercely I was ready to attack at a split second notice for it.

I heard male voices. Two of them. They spoke in a foreign language. German possibly. Without a doubt, European. Where was I? Had I dreamed about Anubis?

I tried to recall my last thoughts. The memory of Anubis remained fresh, yet I knew he was not one of the men in the room with me. The voices were much different, which led me to believe I had dreamed about him. So where was I, and who were the men?

Pain from my abdomen shot through my entire body. Why did I hurt? Had someone hit me? No. Worse. An image of Billy flashed in my head. He stabbed me. The event replayed in my mind. After Jackson chased him away, I passed out. I wondered if Jackson had taken me to a hospital.

Something or someone touched my abdomen. The men spoke to each other, but it was their heartbeats I heard the most. One
thump-thumped, thump-thumped
. The other
thump-thump-thump
in a steady and fast rhythm. Both beats called to me, enticed me to sink my teeth into their throats and gorge on their blood.

The man with the quick heartbeat moved closer to my side. His musky, sweaty scent didn’t distract me from the crave plaguing me. No amount of filth could hold me back from the fluid I wanted, no, needed. Even my teeth ached.

He spoke and then lifted one eyelid at a time. Bright lights surrounded a big blur in front of me. I quickly gathered my body was laid flat on a hard bed, and the distorted image belonged to a man’s head. As he disappeared from my sight, I heard the other man talk.

I tried to blink, but I lacked the strength. Pain and hunger consumed all my energy and weighed me down. I was dead weight, useless and lifeless, or so it seemed.

Minutes later, something cold touched my belly and graze up my torso. Along with the coldness came the ripping of cloth and air brushing over my chest.

The two men spoke to each other. I felt a series of pokes at my stomach. A part of me wanted to move, wanted to run, wanted to escape. But not enough of me had the drive. I lay immobile and unresponsive, hoping they didn’t know what I was.

One of the men appeared briefly in front of my eyes. He said something to which the other responded. Did they know I was still alive? My heartbeat pumped slowly, but I could still hear it. If they were doctors, they had to know I wasn’t dead. Didn’t they?

The sound of metal clacking disturbed me. What were they planning to do? Dissect me? No, they wouldn’t. Would they? As doubt besieged me, warm fingers touched my chest, above and between my breasts. Oh no, no. Seconds later, cold, sharp metal sliced open my flesh.

Instinct kicked in, and I screamed. I jerked my arms. Only, they didn’t budge much. Something held my wrists and arms down, along with my legs. The razor-sharp knife sliced open the center part of my chest. Liquid spilled and streamed toward my throat. My exposed flesh sucked in the cool air, making me feel ten times colder. And the pain… I couldn’t stop screaming.

Tears rolled away from my eyes. I used the little bit of energy I had trying to break free from my restraints. The tight straps didn’t budge. How much longer could I hold on?

The sound of a saw firing up spiked my heart rate. Fear and panic flooded my mind while stinging pain spread from deep within my chest. My heart. Oh God.

I didn’t want to die. The memory of Anubis returned. He was my only hope. I pushed aside the mechanical sound of the saw, the pain, the hunger and pictured his face. Teeth clenched, I called his name.

My voice sounded scratchy, barely audible. One of the men leaned over me. Through my watery eyes, I saw a green cap covering his head and a mask over half his face. A surgeon?

The revving sound of a machine fueled my fear. I thought about Anubis’s handsome face and said his name again. This time, it came out as soft as a whisper. From my screams before and the agonizing pain, I could barely speak. Still, I called him with my raspy voice.

My lungs felt constricted, and I struggled to breathe. I tilted my head and saw the man on my right dressed in the same operating attire. He drew near, holding a device in his hand with a spinning blade. The other surgeon said something to him. He finished talking, then the sound of the saw grew louder. I struggled to break free one last time, tugging on the restraints as hard as I could. A force as tight as a vice squeezed my heart. I was going to die, either by a heart attack or by the hands of the fuckers wanting to dissect me.

As the man with the saw stood over me, tears streamed down the sides of my face. I fought so hard for so long, and where did it get me? On the road to death. I should’ve listened to Benny, to Boss, Jonas and Jackson.

I closed my eyes when the man lowered the spinning blade to my chest. Darkness and pain wanted to swallow me. I decided not to fight it anymore. I drifted off like a leaf in the wind, floating endlessly. I was free in the emptiness, free from pain, fear and all worries. My body felt light and my mind at peace, until a loud boom bounced off the walls.

“Do not move!” I heard a voice shout. “Do not touch her!”

The familiar voice brought an image to mind. Anubis. He found me, just as he said he would.

The sound of the saw died slowly. I opened my eyes, but was lost in a fog. Everything appeared cloudy. The outlines of figures moved next to me. Metal clanked and crunched. Glass shattered. Electricity hummed before bulbs popped. I couldn’t see what was happening, but I heard plenty. One heartbeat ended within a matter of seconds. As the other faded, I heard gasping sounds, then silence.

Once again, darkness engulfed me. Was I dead, alive or dreaming? I didn’t know anymore. I heard nothing, not even my heart.

“I am here for you, my love,” Anubis said, his voice gentle and distant.

Something touched my lips. The tangy flavor of blood coated my tongue. I would’ve have greedily taken more, but I had journeyed too far into the black hole and I couldn’t stop falling. The deep well swallowed me and showed me blissful peace.

* * * *

The sound of voices arguing woke me. They started as mumbles until I focused on them and dragged my mind from a heavy sleep. I heard different voices, at least four, and none of them sounded happy.

“I’m taking her with me.” I heard one of them say.

“We should wait and let her decide,” said another.

“There is nothing here for her.”

“Please, let her decide. She gave everything to see this investigation through,” said a different man.

“She gave her life,” the first retorted, his tone flat.

I recognized the voice of the man grumbling. Anubis.

I opened my eyes and lifted my head while the men continued to argue. The room was dark except for a patch of light flowing into the room from underneath the door. After a glance around, I recognized my surroundings. I was lying on the bed in Boss’s bedroom. How did I get here? Jonas and I had packed up and moved all our belongings before I went to work.

My thoughts backtracked. Billy stabbed me. I passed out in Jackson’s arms. Two men tried to slice me into bits. Anubis showed up, and I blacked out for a second time. Had Anubis brought me here? How did he know to bring me to Boss’s house?

As I slid from the bed, a wave of nausea rippled through me, and I froze. Bile threatened to rocket up my throat. For a minute, I stood motionless while I broke out in a cold sweat and restrained myself from vomiting. The off feeling shouldn’t have surprised me after Billy stabbing me, losing blood and blacking out twice. Hell, I was grateful to be standing.

The sick feeling slowly subsided. I touched my chest. Someone had removed my clothes and slipped a button-down shirt on me. They’d also taken the time to clean me. How long had I been sleeping?

After I slipped my hand under the oversized shirt, I glided my fingers over my stomach and up my chest. My skin felt cooler than normal, yet smooth and free from any abrasions. Maybe Anubis had healed me.