Vampire Sheikh (18 page)

“N
oooo!”

Seth could not stifle the anguished roar that erupted from him as his sister stepped over the side of Petru palace wall and started to fall toward the earth. His heart screamed, tortured, because he could never get there in time to save her.

Even so, he lunged from his saddle, shifting before he hit the ground. He changed to an eagle, flying as swift as an arrow toward her. Perhaps he could—

But before he reached her, a huge, scaly monster with giant wings swooped under her falling body and caught her on its back.

Haru-Re had shifted into a golden dragon just in time to save Nephtys.

Swallowing down his thundering heart from his throat, Seth's eagle flew close and circled the beast to make sure his sister was all right.

She was quietly weeping and clinging to the dragon's neck as Haru-Re winged her back up to the top of the rampart…where Seth saw that Josslyn was finally being hauled back in over the parapet by the bastard warriors who'd held her over the edge.

Fury the likes of which he'd never known burst through him. By the
gods,
he would avenge this outrage!

Suddenly he saw that Josslyn was not tracking Haru-Re and Nephtys's progress through the sky, but his own…the only person of the dozens gathered on the ramparts whose eyes were on the lone bird of prey rather than the dramatic rescue. Did she know the circling eagle was Seth?

He swooped closer.

Josslyn's face was a portrait of worry as she shook her head at him and frantically tried to wave him off.

He didn't think so.

As the dragon landed on the battlement with its precious burden, Seth spun down after them and shifted. He landed on his feet in front of Josslyn, his back to her and his sword gripped in his hand, ready to cut anyone to ribbons who tried to come between them.

With a roar, he unleashed his element. Chaos descended on the warriors of Petru, both on the high ramparts and those beyond the wall of the palace. Their camels broke ranks and started to run amok, spitting and bucking off their riders, who scurried back into the palace in a jumble of confusion.

In the middle of it all, unaffected, Seth and Haru-Re squared off. Nephtys was still weeping, an arm held up defensively across her face as the dragon stood on
its hind legs and gathered her in with its wing. Flame poured from its mouth, licking at the sphere of protection that Seth had thrown up around himself and Josslyn. He could feel her behind him, hands shakily gripping his tunic, fingers digging into the flesh of his arms.

The air was electric with dark power. It roiled and churned around them, whipping up in a hot, foreboding breeze that burned at his skin.

Seth wanted to grab Nephtys away from the beast that was Haru-Re and flee with her and Josslyn back to Khepesh and safety. But he couldn't reach his sister. Not tucked as she was under the wing of the fire-breathing monster. Not without leaving Josslyn open to harm.

And he would not risk Josslyn.

Nor would he leave Nephtys.

Haru-Re raised up and roared back, fire bursting forth from his mouth, preternatural energy spraying from every shiny scale on his huge body.
He must kill the beast.
Seth summoned every ounce of strength he possessed and every last vestige of magical power and lifted his sword high above his head.

He may die this night, but by the balls of Mithra he would take Haru-Re with him!

They each took a step toward the other, faces set in masks of hatred. He started to swing his sword.

“Stop!” Josslyn's authoritative command cut through the night air, for the second time startling both Seth and Haru-Re into halting in their tracks.

She shoved around him and stood with her fists bunched on her hips, staring the two of them down like the very image of Isis.

“Are you both
insane?
Why? Why are you doing this?” she demanded.

He and Haru-Re glared at each other for a split second, then swung their gazes to the mortal woman who had dared to interfere.

By the
gods,
it would take a thousand years to list all the reasons for the eternal battle between Seth and Haru-Re. Between Khepesh and Petru. Between darkness and light.

And yet, as he thought about them, each of those infinite reasons slowly withered and paled in Seth's mind, leaving but a single one: the fact that Haru-Re was threatening the two women Seth loved more than life itself.

Standing here today, expecting to die,
ready
to die, he realized there was only one thing that mattered in this world.

Love.

Everything else was meaningless.

“Get behind me, woman,” he ordered Josslyn, suddenly terrified he would lose her at the exact moment he finally understood what Nephtys had been telling him all along.

Josslyn Haliday is your soul mate.

“No,” she said, stubborn to the last.

Sekhmet's teeth! He wanted to grab her and—

Nephtys wriggled out from under Haru-Re's dragon wing and ran over to Josslyn. They wrapped their arms around each other and stood their ground, united against him and Haru-Re.

“Josslyn's right,” Nephtys said tearfully. “You are both so blind! I can't stand this!”

With a swirl of golden scales, Haru-Re shifted back to his human form. But instead of the fire-breathing fury Seth had expected to see on the face of his enemy, he saw only bewilderment and dismay as Ray turned toward Nephtys.

“Why did you do it,
meruati?
Why in the name of the gods did you jump like that?”

Her eyes filled, and she looked miserable. “Because I can't stand by and watch the two men I love kill each other! I would rather die than to have to choose one of you over the other.”

Her words stabbed at Seth's heart. Hadn't he just thought exactly the same thing about her and Josslyn?

“What would you have us do?” Ray demanded hoarsely. Seth frowned, wondering where this was coming from.

Josslyn's shoulders squared. “Make peace,” she said, the words echoing loudly across the battlement.

“Now it's
you
who's insane,” Ray ground out, more like himself, casting a sidelong glance at Seth. Then Ray looked back at Nephtys and beckoned to her. “Come to me, my heart. Please. I need you with me.”

She shook her head. “I'm sorry. I can't. Not unless I know things will be different between you and my brother.”

“But I don't see how that's possible!” Ray said, spilling frustrated sparks from his fingertips.

“I'm told,” Josslyn interjected, “that you two are the last of the vampire demigods. That once there were dozens of you, and hundreds of
peru netjeru
flourishing in Egypt. Thousands of
shemsu
keeping the ancient rituals. Now they're all gone. Only Khepesh and Petru
are left. Do either of you really want to be the last one standing in this twilight of the gods?”

“Of course!” Haru-Re said in bafflement, obviously not getting the nuance of what she was saying. “Who wouldn't want to be the sole ruler of the immortal world?”

“Me,” Seth answered with a tired sigh. Frankly, he didn't care either way. He just wanted the followers of Set-Sutekh to be left to live as they wished, with no interference from the outside world and no fears of their home being attacked or taken over by a megalomaniac demigod.

Haru-Re frowned at him. “I don't believe you.”

Seth shrugged. “It's true. I am bone-weary of this eternal struggle for dominion. I miss the friends who have been taken. I despair of the old gods ever returning, and I yearn to spend the rest of my nights puzzling the meaning of life, wrapped in the arms of my beloved.”

He glanced at Josslyn, who was listening with parted lips and a look of hopeful wonder shining in her eyes. She swallowed and turned back to Ray. “You see? You've been fighting all this time for something that is now freely offered for a word of conciliation.”

Ray's gaze sought Nephtys and hesitated a long moment. As though he understood the import of his response to his future with her.

“This…this is what I've wanted for as long as I can remember. To be the sole demigod left on earth. To have the power and magic of this world at my fingertips. To be the ruler of all the immortals and spread the golden light of dawn throughout the land.”

“Yes,” Nephtys said wistfully. “I knew that.”

“But,” he continued, “I would give it all up,
meruati,
if that is your wish. You are more important to me than any possession or promise of power. I don't want to lose you a second time. I couldn't bear it. Please say you'll come back to me.”

Seth could see the heart of his sister melt completely. “Do you mean it?”

“With all my heart.”

“Then I will. Oh, Ray, I will.”

“And by the crown of Horus, please Nephtys, swear you'll never, ever jump from a place higher than two feet again.”

A slow smile curved her lips. “My sweetest love, I knew you'd catch me. I know you'll always catch me, Ray.”

The Guardian of the Sun looked stunned. “That's a hell of a lot of trust to have in a man like me.”

“Yes,” she said softly. “It is.”

T
he two armies were recalled, and at dawn the next morning a joint Great Council meeting was convened, where Joss's plan was to be argued by the leaders of Khepesh and Petru.

It seemed like a no-brainer to her. But then again, she was the new kid on the block. Her sisters, however, agreed with her, so she was pretty sure it was a good plan. Gillian and Gemma sat in the audience with their men, lending moral support as Joss explained her solution to the somewhat stunned—and very suspicious—councils of the two
peru netjeru.

“Set-Sutekh is the God of Darkness and Lord of the Night Sky,” Josslyn said after a few words of greeting and introduction. “Re-Horakhti is Lord of Light and God of the Sun.”

“Everyone already knows all that,” one particularly cantankerous old goat pointed out immediately.

“So then the answer is obvious,” she continued undaunted. “Rule jointly. Khepesh shall be masters of the night, and Petru will reign during the day.” She smiled. It was so easy. That they hadn't put this in place themselves about four thousand years ago was flabbergasting.

Still, every member of both councils frowned.

“That's it?” one asked, to head shakes and murmurs from the rest. “
That's
your answer?”

“In all its simplicity. Really, what more is needed?” She knew there were issues to be solved, but really, people. Share or die. Didn't they see that?

The cantankerous goat rose to his feet. “Ridiculous. This addresses nothing,” he pronounced, starting to leave.

Gemma, the cultural anthropologist and born mediator, prompted her with a nod from the back of the room.

“Naturally,” Joss continued, “the Great Councils will have to hammer out the details, so everything is divided fairly between you. That is an immense responsibility, which will take all the intelligence and skill of both councils to accomplish.”

The old man halted and turned.

She smiled again. “But I am sure that won't be a problem. The main thing tonight is that you all agree that the hostilities must end.”

“Why?” the old man demanded, reminding her a little too much of herself. Always asking why. Never just accepting what was right in front of her face.

“There is good reason for our strife,” he said hotly.
“The followers of the sun will never bow down to the darkness! It is unnatural!”

Not that she thought you should just meekly accept anything handed to you. But sometimes, when appropriate, you had to take some things on faith…or go crazy.

This whole bizarre world was a case in point.

An unruly discussion erupted among the councils and the audience about what it would mean to them personally, and about the nature of light and dark, and about whether one's preference denoted good or evil in the world, and if it said something about one's inner soul to choose to serve the shadow world versus the supposed state of enlightenment.

Not that the leader of Petru seemed terribly enlightened to her. The supposed “Guardians of Darkness” seemed far more tolerant and open-minded.

But she let them all talk. She trusted they'd come to the same conclusion she had: If they continued on their present path, they were surely all doomed to perish in the struggle, because neither would give in.

She glanced over at Seth, who occupied the larger of two ornate silver thrones placed on the western side of the grand audience chamber where the meeting was being held. She sat in the smaller one. It felt a bit weird, a bit frightening, to find herself in such an exalted position, but Nephtys had insisted. Nephtys herself sat on one of two golden thrones on the eastern side of the room, next to Haru-Re.

Seth was watching Joss in return, pride beaming from his eyes. His intense regard made her squirm a little.
Seeing it, he offered her his hand. She gratefully took it, needing the reassurance of his touch.

She loved the strength she felt in his long fingers, in the thick brush of power that purled over her skin from his fingertips. She also loved his square-jawed face and aristocratic nose, his flashing black eyes and his imposing body. He wasn't picture-perfect handsome, but God, was he ever sexy. Her insides did summersaults and her toes curled just looking at him.

Let alone the shivers he gave her as they lay together in the intimacy of his bed.

Memories flooded through her of the few times they'd spent in each other's arms. Lord, how she loved being with him!

He'd taken her again last night.

After the harrowing experience on the walls of Petru, he hadn't let her out of his sight. His personal guard had come to collect them, and to her relief, Seth had swung her up behind him on his huge black stallion for the ride back to Khepesh. She'd clung to his waist, comforted by his familiar masculine scent, absorbing his calm strength through their physical contact and the emotions of his steady compassion through the blood magic they shared.

He'd fed her. He'd bathed her. And then he'd taken her to his bed and made love to her.

She'd loved every minute she'd spent with him. Holding him. Feeling him. Taking him deep within her body.

How had this drowning emotion happened to her so quickly? So completely?

Was she bespelled? Were her profound feelings for
Seth the result of the magic of his vampire bite, as he'd said?

She didn't think so. Nephtys had told her how it felt to have the blood addiction. The hot cravings. The aching, sizzling, agonizing need that coursed through a woman's blood at the very thought of the vampire's sharp fangs.

But that's not what Josslyn felt. The stinging kiss of the vampire was not what she craved when she thought of Seth-Aziz. No, her cravings were of a much more personal nature. The cravings of a woman for a man, and all he offered for her intimate delight and enjoyment. Cravings every mortal woman had for the man she loved.

His bare chest. His sculpted lips. His long, thick cock.

Fangs were just icing on the cake.

As if reading her mind—and perhaps he was—Seth gave her a slow, lazy smile, crinkling the corners of his eyes and sending heat quivering through her body.

His lips quirked slightly and his brow rose a mere fraction of a millimeter. In invitation?

She felt her cheeks grow warm. And certain other parts of her body, as well. She sent him an answering smile, just as subtle. Just as telling. Just as much an invitation.

She shouldn't. She knew he didn't really want her. After his daring defense of her on the ramparts of Petru, she'd expected some kind of acknowledgment of their relationship. At least a simple statement of his feelings for her. Not necessarily a declaration of love—though that would certainly have been welcome. Just…
something. Something verbal, rather than the physical intimacy he'd showered her with since that harrowing episode.

Admittedly, they hadn't been alone together for more than a few hours since then. He'd been caught up in a whirlwind of activity and meetings with the other leaders of Khepesh, always in a crowd. But he'd insisted she accompany him wherever they went, keeping her close by his side.

Still, he hadn't brought up the future. Nor had the Great Council, despite his previous warnings of their plans for her. Apparently they'd changed their minds about her.

Unfortunately, Seth hadn't. He obviously felt protective, and enjoyed making love with her. But she knew he would break her heart into a million pieces when the day came and he finally let her go.

Right now she didn't care. She was basking in the wellspring of his attentions, and she would not give up that feeling for anything.

No, not even to protect her fragile heart.

But it hurt, that he didn't want her for more than this. It hurt like crazy.

With a deep breath, she turned back to the arguing councils, keeping his hand in hers, loathe to let him go.

From across the room Nephtys caught her eye and sent her a beaming smile and a wink. Damn, she really wished she would stop doing that! Joss was sure her cheeks were as crimson as the embroidered sash Seth wore over his black robes.

Nephtys couldn't be more wrong about their relationship!

As they'd all walked into the audience hall earlier, the priestess had suddenly halted and scanned the room—the furnishings, the thrones, the councils and onlookers as they sat cross-legged on the floor on the thick Persian carpets. She'd broken out in a huge grin and spun to Joss and Seth and exclaimed, “This is it! My vision! It's come true!” And then she'd hugged them both, along with a puzzled Haru-Re for good measure. She'd been sending Joss meaningful smiles ever since.

Yeah. The whole vision thing made Josslyn acutely uncomfortable.

Seth had not commented one way or another. Not surprising. He still hadn't brought up the future, hadn't as much as uttered the word
consort
or even
lover
since dismissing her so coolly two days ago.

Obviously his feelings had thawed. Or rather, heated. Considerably.
Physically.
But that didn't mean he wanted to make their arrangement permanent. As in
eternity
permanent.

Hell, okay, Joss didn't know if
she
wanted it permanent, either. She'd known Seth-Aziz, for what, three days? Four?

Regardless of her current feelings for him, because they could change—just look at the 180 Nephtys had done with Ray!—would it not be totally nuts, not to mention scary as hell, to commit to an eternity with a man after so short a time? Eternity was a long, long time.

But it was clear from Nephtys's face that the priestess expected her to do just that.

To be perfectly honest, Joss's own reckless heart wanted to jump over that cliff without looking down. But her mind? Much more cautious. Her mind remembered the view from the top of Petru's wall….

And yet, despite the way he'd avoided any mention of the future, every time she looked at Seth she felt… God, she felt more cherished, more secure, more alive with wonderful possibilities than she'd ever felt before in her life. She wanted to dive into his meltingly dark eyes and lose herself in them forever and ever.

Irrational, terrifying, but there you go. Josslyn Haliday was stone cold in love with the man.

And how scary was
that?

The noise level pulled her attention back to the audience chamber with a jolt. The shouting had increased as the debate heated.

They were going round and round. It seemed like most of the leaders of both camps agreed with her obvious solution to the political dilemma and wanted to avoid total annihilation for one of the palaces, and possibly for all the
shemsu.
But some of the most vocal debaters were still not convinced their side shouldn't claim a total victory, and damn the consequences.

Desperately needing an outlet for her pent-up feelings of frustration over Seth, she felt herself grow impatient. Did they not see how this would benefit everyone concerned?

Wanting it just to be over, when there was a pause in the argument Josslyn pulled her hand from Seth's and stood.

“You're all speaking of politics and war,” she said over the din, “of territories lost and gained, of hoarded
assets, of filching followers, of secret rituals and stolen magic, of the problems of sovereignty and identity. But there's one thing you haven't talked about,” she said to the debaters. “The most important thing of all.”

A hush fell over the room in waves, and all eyes turned to her.

“Tell us, Lady Josslyn. What could be left?”

She blinked at the use of the title she'd never get used to and cleared her throat. “The point you're missing is, the world needs
both
of you. The dark
and
the light. What would we mortals do without the cool darkness of night or the dark shadows hidden deep in our psyches? And how could anyone live without the blessings and the fruit of the sun or the enlightenment of knowledge gained? We might prefer one way of living over the other, but we could never exist without both in all our lives.”

Slowly, murmurs of assent could be heard.

“I don't pretend to know anything about your world, really,” she continued. “But I do know mine has lost so much experience and wisdom that can never be regained, because we mortals so often choose to destroy what we don't understand. Don't make the same mistake. The powers of the universe have designed this planet with the contrasts of day and night, darkness and light, order and chaos. Who are we, whether mortal or immortal, to tell the universe it's wrong?”

There was a moment of silence as her words were digested.

Amidst an undulating sea of nods, a vote was called for, and at long last the momentous decision came to be
made to merge the forces of light and darkness into one powerful union that would rule the earth together.

The last two to voice their votes were Seth-Aziz and Haru-Re.

When his turn came, Seth rose regally to his feet and said, “Lady Josslyn has spoken wisely. I, for one, agree with her and am honored to throw in my lot with those who have chosen peace between our peoples.” He lifted his gaze across the chamber. “Furthermore, to prove my seriousness and pledge my sincerity to the cause, I hereby give my official blessing to the marriage of my sister, the Priestess Nephtys, to Haru-Re, High Priest of Petru.”

A few gasps mingled with cheers of approval.

At this, Haru-Re also rose, to a shower of felicitations. “I, too, vote for peace, not war.” He smiled at Nephtys and beckoned her to rise with him. “As does my future consort, Nephtys, my truest love. With our coming union, we hope to forge a true and lasting friendship between the palaces of Petru and Khepesh, and in so doing keep alive the rituals for both our gods, indeed all the ancient lore, for many millennia to come.”

He sought out Joss with his gaze. “And to prove
my
sincerity, I hereby bequeath a secret which because of my selfishness I have held closely guarded.” He glanced at Nephtys. “I now wish to share it and put to right some of the mistakes I've made in the past.” His bride-to-be nodded and smiled.