As Long As (8 page)

They walked down a hundred steps of hallway before turning into another hall that looked just as lengthy. He held her hand the entire time. The touch sent vibrations she studiously ignored. This was her fault. They could traverse halls in an eye-blink if she allowed it. Geena had asked him to walk. With only a slight hesitation, he’d agreed. He didn’t ask. She didn’t explain. She
needed
to walk. She was searching for reality. Normality. Something that would put everything on an ordinary, common, boring basis. And then she needed to stick her feet firmly to it.

All, while studiously ignoring how her chest hurt.

Geena had never considered a love interest in her life. She’d worked hard to be unlovable. Unapproachable. Cold. She couldn’t afford to feel anything for a man. And with Sokar? Why...he shouldn’t even be an option. He was a psychopath. A demonic killer with amazing reflexes, unbelievable speed, impressive mental acuity, jaw-dropping abilities as an illusionist...

Geena stopped adding to the mental list. There was too much to consider, even before the vampirism and immortality stuff. What had he claimed? He was three thousand, eight hundred years old?

Oh. Give me a break
.

No way. The man was mid-twenties. Barely. Extremely fit. Nicely put together. Sinfully handsome. She couldn’t seem to forget how amazingly skilled he was in the sex department, either. A thread of heat slid through her and pooled in her lower belly.

Wrong.

This was so wrong.

Despite how it felt just to be near him, Sokar was firmly in the ‘
DO NOT TOUCH
’ arena. It didn’t matter how amazing making love with him had been. Nor how much fun it was to argue with him. His nearness made her thighs turn to mush, her innards quiver, and her breath catch. The touch of his hand to hers right now warmed the area around her heart so severely, it swelled. Her chest grew even more painfully tight...

Ah!
She had to cease this. It wasn’t helping. She was not willing to fall in love with Sokar.

Period.

They arrived finally at an impressively ornate metal door with a combination locking mechanism at the center. Geena watched silently while he spun the dial. Turned down the lever. Pulled it open. She jerked backward as a huge Egyptian statue loomed out of the blackness. Life-size and set atop a pedestal, it would have been the crown jewel of acquisitions for any number of museums. The figure presented in a walking position, barefoot, holding a spear. The skin was glossy black enamel. The kilt and headdress were painted white. Everything else was gold; the spear tip, breastplate, arm bands, belt. And its eyes were inset with light greenish-yellow stones.

Sokar caught her backward stumble easily. He waited until she regained her footing before releasing her. He was probably laughing but it didn’t sound in his voice.

“This is one of my
ka
statues. It is meant as a replacement during reincarnation. In the event the body has been destroyed.”

“I didn’t major in it, but I got a liberal amount of Egyptology in my education. I’ve seen
ka
statues. I have never seen one in this condition.”

“There will also be
ba
statues. They have a human head and the body of a bird. They represent the soul and its ability to move.”

“You have those, too?”

“Yes.”

“Well. It doesn’t look much like you, but I think they did a great job on the big, bad, and scary part.”

She smiled. He grunted and looked away.

He led the way around the statue and into what looked like miles of tunnel. Dimly lit. She couldn’t see an end. It was also instantly hotter. Dry. The air conditioning must not extend this far. Geena’s shoulders dropped.
Why was everything against her?

“Sokar?”

“Yes?”

She tipped her head up to his. He wouldn’t meet her eyes. “How far is it?”

“That depends on our destination. Which tomb do you wish to see first? Mine? Or my father’s?”

“You realize that asking that question makes you sound crazy. Answering it is going to make me sound just as insane.”

He sighed loudly.

“Yours,” Geena inserted before he’d finished.

“About six kilometers.”

“That far?”

“Yes.”

“That will take some time.”

“We have time.”

“Well. It’s going to get hot and sweaty if we walk, isn’t it?”

“Sweaty?”

“You don’t sweat, either?”

“I...might.”

“Might?”

“I am uncertain. I feel the heat. That means I will probably sweat.”

“You are really cute. And really stubborn.”

“How so?”

“You truly believe seeing ancient artifacts will change things? Make me believe in vampires? And that you are one? And you keep saying you have time on your side. I beg to differ here. I don’t think you have enough of it.”

“I actually have something better.”

“Really? What?”

“The truth.”

He looked down at her and stopped the world with the look in his eyes. They looked much more golden than before. Molten. Hot. Geena had to look away. Quickly. Or be sucked into heaven again.

“I’ll tell you what. Maybe I could be a good sport and let you fly us there?”

“You understand I can only do that because I am a vampire.”

“Oh, I don’t know. You could be an illusionist. I’ve seen tricks. Big ones. Cable specials. There are magicians who can make anyone think and see anything. Like this tunnel. It may not be as long as it looks.”

“In that event, perhaps we should walk it.”

“That will take some time. Six kilometers did you say?”

“Time is on my side, Geena. Remember?”

“Well, I’m not dressed for a hike. I’m wearing crappy little sandals.” She lifted her skirt to show him one.

“I will carry you.”

Oh. Heavens.
That sounded like complete and total—

She put a hand up to stop the thought. “Wait. I give. If I admit that flying could be an indication that you are a vampire, will that suffice?”

He snatched her to him and moved. Rocks walls blurred. The row of lights hanging from the ceiling went to one long line. And then he stopped. Just like before. Without any sensation of braking. He settled her on her feet, opened his arms, and released her to face another door almost exactly like the first. Geena sucked in her lower lip and turned toward him. She regarded the top of his six-pack at her approximate eye level. Her voice shook.

“You could be truly frightening, Sokar. I hope you know that.”

“I will fetch the torch.”

“Torch? Won’t the smoke damage things?”

He grinned. Reached into a niche and pulled out a bundle. Started unwinding it. All kinds of muscle in his arms and chest flexed. Geena moved her glance to anything else. His chin looked safe.

“I mean a flashlight. I keep forgetting. Along with borders and countries, the world changes words and meanings, as well.”

“You don’t have power? Wait. You have to. The lights are still on out here.”

“My
Isis
name is Amun-Kamose
.
I was named for
the god of hiddenness.”

“
Isis
name?”

“Before becoming pharaoh, I had two names. Every Egyptian does, even the lowest born. One name is known to all. The other name is one only his mother and
Isis
knows.”

“Oh, yeah. The curse thing.”

“Exactly. If any man places a curse on another man, it will fail because they did not use the real – or
Isis
–name.”

“Got it. But I’m a little at sea over the electricity thing and what that has to do with being named after
Amun.
”

“Being able to generate power is a new invention. I waited until I could access it without leaving any traces.”

“Only you would call electricity a new invention, Sokar. But, please. Go on.”

“I am grateful to have had such foresight. I have just seen how easy it is to view the earth from an internet link. I installed solar panels. They are hidden throughout the desert. The wires stretch for miles underground.”

“Smart. Very smart.”

“Well, I did have years to figure things out.”

“And now, you’ll link this somehow to the need for a flashlight in your tomb?”

He straightened. Inhaled deeply. Puffed out his chest. And spoke like he was a Shakespearean actor orating at a theater. It wasn’t necessary with his voice.

“I am the eldest son of Pharaoh Amenemhet the Fourth. I failed him as heir. My brother murdered me. I did not fail him in the afterlife. I moved the tomb after robbers destroyed his pyramid at Dashur. I have guarded it ever since.”

Wow.
Her spine tingled.

“Um.” Geena cleared her throat. Her voice sounded small after that performance. She actually felt like clapping. “Sokar?”

“Yes?”

“That doesn’t explain why you didn’t wire your tomb. Or, I’m pretty obtuse tonight.”

“My father’s tomb is deep in the cliffs. It is behind my tomb. If the worst happens and thieves find mine – which recently happened – they should assume it a small tomb of a lesser, previously unknown pharaoh. They will take what belongings I claimed in life and leave. My father will be safe. However, if I had electricity in my tomb—”

“Ah. They wouldn’t stop. Not if they saw wires. They’d do all kinds of excavating. Bring in ground penetrating radar. They’d find your father. And your compound. I get it. Wow. Very clever. I am really impressed.”

“As I already made mention, I have had a lot of years to learn,
habibi
.”

My love.
She really should stop him from calling her that. She couldn’t possibly be his love.
But, oh!
Right now, it sent a thrill of pleasure through her entire body. It even tingled the soles of her feet strapped into flimsy sandals with little leather straps.

“There is another
ka
statue behind this door,” he informed her.

“Got it. Prepared.”

She saluted him. He frowned and turned back to work the lock. The guy couldn’t take a joke. Or, he didn’t recognize one.
Because he is an ancient Egyptian who doesn’t go into the modern world very often.

No, Geena. Just no.

She studied how his back moved as he spun the lock. How the muscles rippled with restrained power.
Wow!
She had an innocent look on her face before he finished and turned around. He clicked on his flashlight.

“You ready?”

“Yep.”

He pulled the door open. Shone the light on another huge statue. The back of the door looked like a solid chunk of rock wall. It had to weigh tons. Geena pushed on it as she passed. She’d been right. It was an immovable chunk of rock that matched the interior walls. And Sokar had pulled it open as if it weighed nothing.

Because he is a vampire with super strength.

Oh. No. No
.

The oppressive smell of age reached her first. Then the absolute darkness. Geena tightened her fingers on Sokar’s. He returned the gesture.
Damn it!
Her heart swelled again. And she was trying to portray a calm, collected, and unemotional façade here. Her steps weren’t hesitant as she followed him. Not at first. And then his flashlight started illuminating things. All kinds of items. Statues. And more statues. One was holding the reins of a horse statue. Two more were attached to a chariot. A real chariot. Shocked and stunned would be a misuse of words. Her jaw had dropped. The motion hurt her cheeks.

Geena trailed him past shelves of
ushabti
statues that lined the wall. Some were in chests. Some individually displayed. He probably had one for every day of the year. Low-slung couches came into view. They had legs carved into animal shapes. His light kept showing more.

And more.

Baskets with lids stacked on more baskets. Jars.
Sealed
jars. More couches. He led her through a doorway into another chamber. His light touched on a series of
ba
statues, just as he’d told her. And a canopic chest holding four containers. The tops were shaped like the sons of
Horus;
one an ape, one a man, one a falcon, the last a jackal. They were meant to hold internal organs. After evisceration. And days spent drying in natron. Geena flashed a quick look at Sokar.

He couldn’t have been eviscerated. His brain removed. His internal organs secured in canopic jars. There was no way he’d been mummified.

Wait. Just wait.

Something was not adding up. She needed to think. The walls were thick. She didn’t know how many tons of earth was atop them. The air choked with weird smells. Shadows loomed everywhere. It was beyond her experience. And really creepy. Geena clung to Sokar’s hand, staying as close to his side as possible. The man was a bastion of protection. Massive. Strong. His fingers pressed reassuringly into hers. Clinging to him was totally against type. Went against years of training.