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I couldn’t give up. There was no way he was sticking me in some deep, dark hole for eternity. As I lay here, my desire to die, to remove myself as a threat from this world faded away, replaced by a strong instinct to survive and a burning rage at the man who had imprisoned me. How dare he? I was a goddess. I had lived countless millennia, and he was nothing more than an irritating mosquito on the face of the planet. I would rip him to shreds slowly. I felt my teeth sharpen and my claws lengthen, the desire for blood suddenly exploding through my body. I struggled to break free of the straps, throwing myself from side to side, raking at the bottom and sides of the coffin with my claws. I tried to shift further to see if changing my form might break the bonds that held me, but whether I was too weak from a lack of blood, or the magic of the sarcophagus was stopping me from shifting completely, I couldn’t do it. I roared with frustration and gave up.
I didn’t know how long I lay here until I felt the sarcophagus move in a gentle sway, unlike before. I was floating, I realised. On a boat maybe. Panic flared again as I envisioned them tipping me over the side. Would the water fill the sarcophagus, or would it keep it out? I had been afraid the sarcophagus was airtight, now I was afraid it wasn’t. Could I drown? I’d heard drowning was painful. Maybe I’d drown and then come back to life and drown again and again. I struggled again, throwing every last shred of energy I had at trying to get free until I finally collapsed, exhausted. Fatigue and blood starvation caught up with me, and I slipped into a restless sleep.
“Bastet.” The voice was warm and filled with so much love, I turned without hesitating. He stood there, a lone figure surrounded by the sands of the desert. In the distance, mountains rose along the horizon, broken only in the centre by a gap. Robes of white flowed around his powerful body, fastened by an elaborate belt that bore many precious stones. A matching collar lay around his shoulders, sparkling as the sun hit the gemstones. His skin was dark with a green-blue gleam, and he had closely cropped black hair. I knew how it would feel to run my hands over his head and pull him close to me. He had a generous mouth and a short beard, which was braided at the bottom in the divine way. I took in his straight, wide nose, high cheekbones, and those eyes...
My breath caught in my throat as my eyes finally met his and the world fell out from under me. My knees gave way, and I stumbled. He crossed the distance between us with supernatural speed, gathering me into his arms before I could fall, and I gazed up at him. His black eyes sparkled as his mouth stretched into a smile.
“My goddess. My wife,” he murmured and bent to kiss me.
Wife? The word coursed through me with a strange thrill, and as his lips touched mine, I gave myself up to the sheer rightness of the feeling. His kiss was gentle for just a moment before emotions crashed through him and his grip tightened on me, then he took my mouth in desperation, searching every part of it as though he were consuming me. I surrendered to him in an instant. I didn’t know who he was, but my heart knew him, and so did my body. All thoughts of blood drained away, replaced by a desire and love so strong, it was like a tidal wave carrying us away. His hands slid down my body, pressing me against him, touching me everywhere with the same desperation I found in my kiss.
He pulled away slightly before leaning his forehead against mine as we both gasped for breath. I waited only a moment, then I reached up to pull him back to me again. In the back of my mind, I knew I was dreaming, that I needed to wake up and try to escape, but emotions raged through my body—love and sheer joy that I couldn’t explain—and there was no way I could tear myself away. The next kiss was slower, more tender, his fingers stroking down my face and through my hair. When I pulled away this time, there were tears in his eyes, and I reached up to touch his face.
“My queen. My love. After all this time, I had almost given up hope...” He looked up, and his smile faded. “We don’t have much time. You need to go.”
“I don’t want to go,” I murmured, laying my head against his chest.
He stroked my hair. “You need to go. You need to escape.”
“I can’t. Let me stay here. Don’t send me back to the darkness,” I pleaded, looking up at the handsome stranger who wasn’t a stranger.
“You need to, my love. You fight your own battles, but you should be fighting for the world. There is evil coming, and the world needs you. I need you. Look.” He turned me around in his arms, pulling me back against his body, and I looked out across the rolling sands of the desert. Dark clouds filled the sky in the east, and the sand below them looked as though it was turning black. As I watched, it rolled towards us.
“What is that?” I asked, a tremor in my voice.
“An ancient enemy. You need to escape. The world doesn’t stand a chance without you.”
“But I can’t,” I cried, turning in his arms to look up at him. “I’m imprisoned, and I’ve tried to get out, but I can’t, and I’m so alone.”
He shook his head. “You forget that you are not alone. You never were. Call out to him whose bond is the strongest. Give yourself up to it, and he will hear you.”
I looked up at him. “Who are you? I know you... but... I’m sorry, I don’t...”
He smiled and brushed his fingers down the side of my face. “Your heart knows me, and that’s enough for me. Go now, my goddess. It is time to let Bastet sleep and allow Sekhmet to do what she does best.”
“I’m afraid,” I admitted.
“Don’t be. She is you, and you are her. Don’t listen to others’ stories, listen only to your heart. It is strong, and it will lead you right. It led you to me here, and it will lead you to me again.”
I gasped as his body began to fade away. The feel of his arms disappeared, and I reached for him as he disintegrated into sand.
“Call for him, my queen... and then come and free me. We will defeat this evil together.”
The sand blew away, and I stood alone in the desert. A shadow fell over me, blocking the sun, and I turned just as the dark clouds engulfed me and the sand underneath my feet turned black. Then I was once again lost to the darkness.
Chapter seven
WEST
Wetravelledalongtheriver Thames as fast as we could while trying not to draw too much attention. Time was not on our side, but getting stopped by the coastguard wasn’t really going to help matters either. The sun had set, and it was getting dark before we sighted Coulton’s ship far out in the estuary. It had stopped and appeared to be at anchor.
“What do I do?” Jasper asked, looking over at me. “They’ll see us long before we get close.”
I nodded, looking around. There were still quite a lot of vessels about, even as night fell. “I reckon they won’t drop anything until night falls completely, it’ll draw too much attention. We should do the same. Wait until night falls to get closer, then maybe swim part of the way?”
Jasper nodded.“That could work.”
We cut the engine and hunkered down to wait, allowing ourselves to drift towards the ship. A few stars appeared then disappeared as clouds covered the sky, blotting out any nocturnal light. I appreciated that, as it would make it easier to sneak onto the ship unseen. What I didn’t appreciate was the heavens opening and the deluge of rain that seemed to fall in sheets from the dark sky. The wind picked up, and our much smaller boat rocked on the waves. Fighting down a growing feeling of nausea, I nodded to Jasper, and he fired up the engine again, bringing us closer to the ship. I stood up, and Jack handed me a black messenger bag.
