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Chapter eighteen
TORY
Timeseemedtostand still or speed up. I wasn’t sure which. I just knew I had no perception of how fast it was moving. I don’t know how long I lay like that, naked in the dark, surrounded by silence but for the agonisingly slow heartbeat of the man next to me who’d risked his life over and over to protect me. A man who’d given his lifeblood to strengthen me. A man who’d told me he loved me. I didn’t know whether I loved him back, and he hadn’t asked. The passion and heat between us had thrown me somewhat, and whether it was just the effect of the blood or something else entirely, it had felt completely natural, which was why I had gone with it. I didn’t know if there was something between us beyond physical attraction, and I still hadn’t dealt with my feelings for West for that matter. All I knew was that Jack had been there for me since I was young, always warm and friendly, always quietly supportive, and always smiling at me when no one was looking. He was a part of my life, and I couldn’t bear to lose him as well.
I thought I might go insane as I constantly listened for his next heartbeat, his next breath. The gap between them seemed to grow longer, though that might have just been my imagination. In one such gap, I heard a sound that filled me with sickening dread. An icy coldness crept over my skin as the soft rustle of the hatay drifted in from the tunnels. I lay still, barely daring to breathe. Nothing tried the door, and the sensation seemed to come and go, leaving me with a heightened sense of danger that never quite went away as I waited for them to return and discover us.
Terrified, and with no idea what to do, I sank into the depths of my own mind. I cast myself back in time, running over memories of Jack and West, looking for signs that might have given them away, but there was nothing I could remember. It had been the ultimate cover story, two security agents overseeing the protection of an earl’s daughter. They’d had free rein to follow me everywhere, to detect even the slightest threat, and to keep me safe as they had apparently sworn to do—until I had decided to throw caution to the wind and run. Granted, I had believed all they protected me from was my parents’ fear of another kidnapping attempt and not demons from an ancient Egyptian underworld, but still, I was beginning to realise the idiocy of my actions.
I thought back to my parents. Tears escaped at the notion that I’d never see them again and they’d never know what happened to me. I thought of my father and our chess games by the fire in his study as we sipped fine brandy and talked about everything from business deals to books. I recalled my mother, reflected in the mirror as she brushed my hair as a child, talking about her exciting life when she was younger and the forbidden romance of her Saudi father and Egyptian mother. I thought of Hattie and how I wouldn’t be able to attend her wedding next year. She’d be furious. I’d promised to be her maid of honour. I even thought of Jasper, berating myself for not accepting his proposal and just going along with the life that had been mapped out for me. Yes, it hadn’t been what I wanted, but at least I would have been alive. I had cared very much for him, so maybe we could have made it work...
My mind drifted, touching on things that had happened since I’d reached Egypt. Images of souqs, mosques, and temples drifted through my mind. I let it float between memories, all the while hearing the rustle of sand passing through the tunnels. They were searching for us. Tears ran silently down my face, brought on by grief, terror, and frustration. Weren’t goddesses supposed to be powerful creatures? I felt anything but powerful. I felt cold, empty, and useless. Grief flooded my heart with a heavy weight that seemed to pull me down. I couldn’t see anything beyond the darkness we were trapped in. I had no hope and no idea of what to do. Even taking my next breath seemed to take effort. Everything in me felt like giving up.
Almost everything.
As I lay there, I heard another sound from the tunnels. It seemed very far away, and for a moment, I wasn’t sure if I had heard it or not until it came again—the tiny, piercing sound of a cat’s miaow. I blinked.
“Kitty cat?” I whispered. It came again and then went quiet, but that was all I seemed to need. A tiny spark of hope flared deep down inside, and I sat up as an idea began to form. West had said we had abilities, abilities that made us strong and powerful, driven by blood. If I could remember what they were, I might have something to work with or some way to help save Jack. Leaning back against the wall, I gripped the amulet in my hand, running my fingers over the Eye of Ra. I couldn’t remember these lives my priests had insisted I’d lived through, but I could remember this one. A memory drifted through me of a class I’d taken...
“You all know, I assume, how important cats were to the ancient Egyptians. It was a death sentence if you caused one harm. In a society so reliant on storing crops, especially grains and seeds, rodents and pests such as rats, mice, and snakes were a constant threat, and cats were the perfect protection against them. Their importance was reflected in the qualities of one of their goddesses, the daughter of Ra, Bastet.”
The lecturer turned down the lights and brought up a slide on the huge interactive screen. It was a painting of the goddess sitting on a throne, her head that of a cat.
“The goddess Bastet was worshipped throughout Egypt since the second dynasty, though most commonly in Lower Egypt. A cat symbolised the gentler, more accessible, more attractive nature of a feline goddess, a goddess of the home, domesticity, women’s secrets, cats, fertility, pleasure, and childbirth.”
The light from the screen threw shadows and highlights across the lecturer’s face, emphasising every line and wrinkle as the old man grinned.
“Gentle. Hmmm… An interesting description of this goddess. Tell me, have you ever seen a cat protecting her kittens? Or a woman in labour? Gentle is not the word I’d use to describe either of those things. Few remember the fact that Bastet was once a mighty warrior goddess. It was believed that she would ride through the sky with her father, the sun god Ra, every day. As his boat pulled the sun through the sky, she would watch over and protect him. At night, she would turn into a cat to protect Ra from his greatest enemy, the serpent Apophis...”
The slide changed, and the goddess now no longer bore the head of a cat, but a lioness...
Something stirred deep down inside, something dark and powerful, and I gasped, instinctively trying to pull away as the memories began to surface. They swirled there in the darkness at the back of my mind, just out of reach, and yet the idea of diving deeper into them terrified me. I took a shaky breath and tried to pull myself together. A goddess wouldn’t be a coward, so I sat up straighter, and this time I tried to focus on that goddess part of me that the men were insistent lived somewhere inside me. I searched for her, deep down, holding onto the amulet that seemed to be the link to my past. Memories began to drift again, but this time, they weren’t from the twenty-first century. They weren’t clear either, but the feelings and senses hit me the hardest.
I felt adrenaline surge through my veins, strengthening my muscles. I felt my limbs stretch, my nails grow sharp, and my teeth lengthen. I saw blood dripping from my claws and tasted it in my mouth. I felt fury at those who dared to oppose me, and the need to kill and devour. I felt the cool, calm knowledge that I would, without question, defeat my enemies, and that they would fall before me like wooden figures and be lost amongst the sands. I felt the silent pad of my feet as they stalked prey and smelled the scent of demons blowing across the sands. I felt the heat of the sun on my back and the soft breeze that ruffled my fur...
I snapped back, and I was once more in the darkness, alone and trapped, but I could feel the goddess within. It was a tiny, far away spark, but it was present, like the small cat out in the tunnels who miaowed in the dark. I dropped the amulet against my skin, and for a second, it burned, and then the sensation faded away.
I looked down at the grey form of my lover, my priest, and instead of panic, I felt a deep sense of calm and certainty that he wasn’t going to die. I wasn’t going to allow death to take him from me so soon this time. I tore into my wrist once more, this time opening the vein fully. I could feel my strength surging through my veins and knew I had enough to share, enough to save him. I poured the blood into his mouth, and I massaged his throat with my hand until I felt movement beneath my fingers. A grin spread across my face as Jack’s muscles clenched and he swallowed again and again. I pulled my wrist back and licked myself clean, squeezing my hand around it to staunch the flow. To my surprise, the wound began to close quickly, and when I ran my fingers across it a couple of moments later, all that was left was a soft scar.
Jack’s body began to shudder as my blood passed through him. He gasped for air and his eyes flew open, seeking me. I grabbed his hand and held it tight. My heart exploded with relief, and fresh tears ran down my face as I realised not only was this gorgeous man not going to die, but that I was no longer alone.
“I’m here, Jack. I’m here,” I murmured.
He squeezed my hand, his breathing heavy and laboured. “What... Where...”
“We’re still in the room.”
He looked about wildly, and I reached over and stroked his forehead.
“It’s okay, we’re safe right now. Just breathe.”
He did, closing his eyes and letting his muscles relax. I couldn’t tell the colour of his skin in the dark, but I felt him grow warmer. I climbed over him, intending to listen at the door, but he caught my hips and pulled me down on top of him. It appeared my blood had caused other reactions than just healing, and he pushed up against me.
“Please, just… quickly. I need you so much.”
I tried to refuse him, but his hard shaft slid against my clit and pleasure rippled through me. I knelt, carefully trying not to crush him. He was clearly feeling much better, but I wasn’t going to let him exhaust himself. I lowered down slowly, gently, letting him fill me completely. He groaned and tried to push up, but I took his hands in mine and linked my fingers with his.
“Slowly,” I whispered, conscious of the hatay moving through the tunnel outside our door.
