" I'm dead? You mean, dead-dead?" Jessica smacked herself in the forehead with her palm. "Duh. Only you can see me. Of course, I am. Damn! This sucks." She turned around and examined her staked body. "Wow. I look awful."
"You're not dead, Jess. You're just having an out-of-body experience. You have to stay real close to yourself until it's time to get you back in there."
"Okay." She looked down and saw Gabriel. "Hey, is that your wolfie? He's hot. When Patrick started in with all that soul mate crap, I really wanted to punch him in the mouth. But he was right." She smiled at me. "Does Gabriel make you happy? Do you go all gooey when he looks at you or touches you?"
"Yeah," I said. "On all counts."
"What's she saying?" asked Patrick.
"She thinks Gabriel is hot." The laugh burbling in my throat turned to a sob. Gabriel looked at me, sympathy glowing in his eyes. He was still kneeling at Jessica's thigh, his hands gripping the metal.
"You're definitely talking to Jessica."
"Nobody's hotter than he is," said Jess, grinning. "He's the hottest of the hotties."
"She says you're the hottest of all."
Patrick tried for a smile, but didn't quite make it. "I will see you soon, mo chroi. I love you."
"Isn't he sweet?" Jessica cupped his face, though of course he didn't know it. "Tell him I said 'back at you, babe.' "
"She loves you, too."
Passing along messages between spirits and people was a tiresome thing. And Jessica liked to jaw on more than anyone else I knew.
"How did they get you?"
Jessica looked embarrassed. "I went back to our house to check on the stupid pony. Jenny was worried about Glitter. I took a digital camera so I could take pictures and show her the horse was all right." She shrugged. "I guess they figured I was better than no hostage at all."
"She snuck out to check on Glitter. She figures the bad guys saw it as an opportunity to strike."
Patrick's anguish was palpable. "She should've told me."
"She knows that," I said. "She's sorry."
"Wow, Pats. You're good. So, what's the plan of attack?" asked Jessica. (See what I mean?) "Y'know, for getting me back into my body?"
"We're waiting on Zela," I said.
"Oh," said Jessica. "She's the one who has the metal mojo."
"We need information about Koschei or we might all find ourselves staked to walls." Terran's voice was no-nonsense.
"Gah! Who's the bitch?" Jessica's words had no heat to them. She waved away her own rancor. "She's right. Koschei is behind this whole thing. Man, that guy is such a dickhead."
"She says Koschei is a dickhead."
"We are aware of his personality," said Terran, whose lips tugged into a reluctant smile. "We need to know his plan."
"Well, he didn't exactly tell me, now did he? He's a helluva lot scarier than Ron. Anyhoodles, the only other thing I know is that they have a real hankering to raise the dead. Is that gross, or what?"
"What is she saying?" asked Terran impatiently.
"She says Koschei has been busy recruiting other vampires to his cause. And that he's raising an army of zombies."
At that moment a woman arrived. She was statuesque and cocoa-skinned, and very well dressed. Her silver hoop earrings jangled as she assessed Jessica's staked body.
"Move away," she said in a thick, exotic accent. "I need space to do this work."
"Jess, this is your ride back to consciousness," I said, as we all fell back. "At least, I think it is. Stay close. You'll know when it's time to go back in."
Jessica nodded. Her gaze went to Patrick, who stubbornly stayed right where he was. This did not disturb Zela. "When I have freed her from the metal, you must catch her."
Patrick nodded, his expression grim.
Spirit Jessica stood between her body and Patrick, her ghostly arms clasped around his neck.
Zela turned her hand up and pointed it at the metal stake in Jess' left shoulder. She clenched a fist and the spike jerked out of the wall and hovered. She put her palm down and it clattered to the concrete.
"How the hell can she do that?" I asked.
"Her Family power is the ability to control metals of any kind," said Patrick.
Zela worked her magic three more times and Jessica flopped forward. Patrick grabbed her and held on tightly. I watched her spirit rejoin her body. Relief cascaded through me.
Patrick scooped Jessica into his arms and sparkled out of the chamber.
Zela stepped forward and offered her hand. I took it. Power surged through me. "It is done," she said. She lowered her head. "My queen."
"Er ... thanks." It figured I'd gained the last of the seven powers of the Ancients in a sewer.
A scream echoed.
"Zerina," whispered Terran.
All of us ran toward the entrance, even the Ancients, though they had the power to leave.
Zerina plummeted through the manhole, her body flailing as she hit the nasty water. She didn't come back up.
Fire whooshed down from the manhole. The huge wave of flame rushed toward us.
Everything happened so fast. Zela grabbed Terran, who was closest to her, and in a flash, they were gone, out of danger's way.
In the blink of an eye, Zela returned and reached for me, but Gabriel was between us. I pushed him into her arms and they disappeared, both horrified by what I'd done. Hey, if I was the queen, then I got to say who freaking got saved.
The only thing I could do was jump into the water. I tried not to think about what I was swimming through. I just kept under the muck and moved away from the manhole. I didn't have to breathe, so it made getting the hell out of there much easier.
When I finally broke the surface, the flame was gone. I wasn't sure what to do next. Find another way out?
I climbed onto the ledge and thought about which way to go. I was disoriented and unsure of how far I'd gone.
I crept down the ledge toward the manhole, hoping that Lia and whoever else might be up there were gone. I couldn't decide if I should try to get up on that ladder and escape, or try using my new powers.
Then I heard splashing and froze. Zerina poked through the dark water. Her pink eyes darted around the tunnel and found me, a quivering mess, huddled against the wall.
"Did everyone get out?" she asked. She swam toward the ledge and hoisted herself up.
"Seeing as I'm the only one not gone, then yeah, you could assume everyone of importance got out."
She grinned at me. "Don't get your panties in a wad, Patsy. Why do you think I screamed and fell into the water?"
"You did it on purpose?"
She squeezed out her shirt and brown water dribbled onto the pavement. Yuck. "Stupid Koschei sent a minion from the Family Hua. No matter how good you are at mind-screwing, you can't get that slightly glazed look out of your victim's eyes." She shook her head. "Besides, I'm a fairy. You can't glamour me. I wished I hadn't gone for the big splash."
Oh, yeah. She was Sidhe. She could fly.
"So, you're sure it wasn't Lia who sent the fire down here?"
"Nah. Lia would've fried me on site." She looked down at her ruined outfit. "This stuff reeks. Humans are disgusting."
I could agree with her since I wasn't a human.
Nausea swished in my stomach. The smell was getting to me. I looked at the ladder. "I guess we'd better get out of here."
"Why'd they put the ladder in the middle like that? You have to go into the sewage!" complained Zerina.
Good question. But not one I could answer.
Zerina walked off the ledge and floated in the air. She looked back at me and waited with pink eyebrows raised.
"I'm all out of magic dust," said Zerina sweetly. "Let's go, queenie. I smell like manure-filled, sweaty socks."
I rolled my eyes. I'd flown down here. I could fly out of here, too. I thought about flying, told myself I could fly, and stepped off the ledge.
And dropped like a stone into the sewer water.
Zerina's laughter pealed like church bells.
"Oh, shut up," I groused as I swam toward the ladder. This time, I imagined floating upward, and within seconds, I was rising out of the water.
Zerina insisted on going up first, and who was I to argue with a pink fairy? She poked her head through the hole. After a few seconds of looking around, she climbed out.
I followed.
We headed toward the Hummer, which the minion had thoughtfully not blown up.
"What's that?" I asked, pointing toward town. A huge red bubble bumped against the night sky. "That's where the compound is."
My stomach cramped and I bent over. I pressed a palm against my tummy and wished I had the ability to take deep, calming breaths.
"Fuck," said Zerina, yanking open the driver's-side door. "That's the work of demons."
By the time we got to the cave, we were both a mess. Me, because I was feeling sick. Zerina, because we were stinking up Terran's pride and joy so much she was gonna kill us.
Zerina got us into the hidey-hole the same way Terran had. When we stumbled into the cavern, Arin was pacing and pulling at the hair on his head.
"You're all right!" he cried, hurrying toward us. He stopped short and slapped a hand against his nose and mouth. "You smell like - "
"Shit," Zerina and I said together. I didn't care about the fancy couches. I plopped onto one and squeezed my eyes shut. "That's how I feel, too."
"You feel that way because you're separated from Gabriel," said Arin. "That's the way it works with life mates."
"Vampires, too," I muttered. "But I didn't think it would be like this."
"You ladies must bathe." Arin backed away, waving his hand in front of his face. "Then we will discuss the plan to free the others."
My eyes popped open. "Does this have something to do with the demon bubble?"
"The Consortium evacuated everyone into the shelter beneath the compound," said Arin. "They're trapped."
Amahte
Translated from the Memoirs of Ruadan
Amahte was the high priest of Anubis and a favorite of Pharaoh Amenemhet II. He brought offerings to Anubis and cared for his shrine. Anubis rewarded his faithful service. The god gave him the ability to speak to the dead and he also gave him the ability to raise the dead.
He was a tall man with a shaved head and always wore a white garment that looped over one shoulder.
I became friends with him and his family. One night, I went to meet Amahte and found him outside the temple, bleeding from a slit throat. Later, I learned that jealous rivals had attacked him.
"My friend! It is me, Ruadan. We have talked much these last few nights, remember?"
Amahte's eyes clearly showed that he did.
"I can save you. But my gift has a price. You will not be able to see the sun again, my friend, but you will live forever. You will be among those I have chosen to rule our kind. Do you accept my offer?"
Amahte took an inordinate amount of time to decide. Blood seeped from between his fingers and pooled blackly on the ground. Finally, he managed a weak nod.
Here is where I will describe the process for Turning. The first six vampires required seven symbols. Turning others requires only the symbol of the Family.
I removed Amahte's hands from the wound. The blood poured out. I watched the life drain from my friend.
Amahte lay still, his caramel skin going gray, his eyes wide and unstaring. I muttered the spells over Amahte, pressing my palms against his chest.
After I secured Amahte's soul, I removed a small, gold knife tucked into his wide belt. I punctured my forefinger and rubbed it on Amahte's neck wound.
The skin started to mend.
Then I carved symbols into Amahte's flesh: one on each wrist; one on the top of each foot; one on the forehead; one on the chest; and one on the belly.
I pierced my finger again and with my blood, I retraced all the symbols I'd cut into Amahte. As I did so, they all glowed gold.
I slit my wrist and pressed it against the lips of the man I hoped to save.
Amahte began to drink.
Minutes passed, but it felt like years when I finally pulled his wrist away.
Amahte's body started to convulse. His eyes rolled into the back of his head and his arms and legs went wild. The symbols went bright white and Amahte screamed.
He went still. The symbols burned into his skin. The blackened marks faded slowly, until they couldn't be seen anymore.
I finished my gruesome work. Blood splattered the man on the ground, staining his white clothes. I fared no better - my own clothing was soiled with his blood.
I found a deep, dark cave to hide in. When we awoke, Amahte insisted on seeing his family. He thought it better they believe him dead. However, he refused to leave Egypt.
His son, Khenti, was already full grown. Not long after his father became deamhan fola, Khenti became a high priest.
He met the same fate as his father. As Khenti lay dying from stab wounds, Amahte came to him and Turned him.
Amahte was the fifth vampire I Turned. He refused to leave Egypt with me, but agreed to be on the Council and to attend the meeting with the others. I was restless and decided to leave the lands of the Nile.
I headed north once again and crossed the water until I reached what is now called Italy.