“I don’t know where this is originating.” Anubis answered, bringing her into the lavatory to scrub up. “But it ends here.”
“We should be so lucky.” Tessa set the files down and began to wash. “Is there a lab in here?”
“Yes, state of the art.”
“Should I ask why a hospice has a full state-of-the-art lab?”
“I allow research to be done out of this facility. Many patients die from incurable diseases. This is as good a place as any for research.”
“Makes sense. I would like some samples from the live patients as well as the ones recently deceased.”
“There’s quarantine suits behind that door. After you scrub up, put one on.”
“Seeing as I’ve already entered the premises—”
“Doesn’t mean anything. We don’t know what we’re dealing with, so every precaution needs to be taken. I’m going to call the local hospitals and find out what exactly is going on and how long it’s been happening. There’s a fire escape map on the back of the door where the suits are. It should lead you to the lab. I’ll get you the samples you need.”
“You know how to procure samples? You sound like more than just a counselor, Torian.”
“Trust me when I say I am more than meets the eye.” He went over to her, and surreptitiously sniffed. She didn’t smell of impending death or even that familiar scent that assailed him when they first arrived. She wasn’t infected. “Don’t take any chances.”
“I know, I know. I am a practicing doctor, you know, and a damn good one.” Tessa stuck out her tongue.
That small teasing gesture lightened his heart. He couldn’t remember the last time anyone joked around with him. Not that he inspired joking when humans were around, but seeing her so naturally respond to him was endearing. “That I do not doubt.” He smiled and realized he’d smiled more at Tessa in the few hours he’d known her than he had in the last few years.
He made his way to his office and began making phone calls. Apparently this epidemic had started innocently enough more than a week ago, but it spread at an alarming rate. No one could tell him exactly where it began or even how to treat it. The virus responded to nothing. Not one person that had been afflicted with it recovered. Anubis opened the rest of the files Gale had left on his desk and stared at the tag in the photograph. Bleeding from the ears and eyes, Gale had said.
The tag above the heart was no coincidence either. He needed to talk to Thoth. First, he and Tessa needed to find out as much information as possible. His gut told him one thing, but the facts disputed it. One thing was indisputable — if he couldn’t stop these deaths soon, the humans were about to suffer a fatal blow.
* * * *
What was that human saying? Like shooting fish in a barrel. Green eyes that flashed serpentine-like surveyed the area. So many humans packed into one place was stifling, repugnant, convenient. He stood six foot five, with dark hair in thick braids that rested along his back. Looking around once more, he grinned and closed his eyes and called to him, for he had another offering. With raised arms he waited, already accustomed to the pain that traveled through his body when it was used as a conduit. In seconds, he accepted the offerings. The lights flickered and people murmured their curiosity. Machines stopped, as did the murmuring when the wind kicked up inside the building.
Too late they realized that they were in danger. The stranger mentally sealed any outlet the humans could use for escape. Screams began to pierce the air as he fed upon their energy. A stampede started as panic ensued. But there would be no escape. Fear became a palpable scent in the air. Pain racked the conduit’s body as the force greedily raged through him, taking, eating all that was offered. A thin sheen of sweat began to cover his almost-human skin as his knees threatened to buckle. That is all I can take for now. Immediately, the invading force pulled back, barely satisfied, demanding more.
As the lights regained their brilliance, it was easy to see that bodies were littered everywhere. Blood poured from their ears as well as their eyes. He had done well. There were a few, however, who still lived. He could not let them live. He needed to replenish the energy he had exuded feeding him. His preternatural senses told him which were dead, and which were dying. The green eyes again flashed serpentine for just a moment as the excitement of the kill rushed through him. Like shooting fish in a barrel.
Chapter Five
“We need to stop.” Torian’s voice seem to come out of nowhere, causing Tessa to jump. She stepped away from the microscope and tried to rub her eyes. It was impossible in the suit and that was just as well. “You’ve been in here for hours, the sun is almost up. You need to rest.”
Tessa wasn’t about to argue. She would have gone on forever if she had not been interrupted. Her maniacal work ethic was the source of many migraine headaches. “I can’t believe this, Torian. It’s like these cells were invaded and the insides were just scooped out.” She tiredly made her way to the lavatory to decontaminate. “Hell, it doesn’t even look like a virus, just looks like the cells just … died.” Torian began to help her out of the suit and she got a good look at him. “Hey, why aren’t you wrapped up?” her tired brown eyes looked at the man still dressed irresponsibly in his casual clothing.
“I assure you, if I were going to catch anything, I would have caught it already.” His words were teasing, but something about them gave her pause. What was it about him that seemed so powerful and indestructible? She gently pulled off the suit, which he took care of for her. After scrubbing down yet again, she finally rubbed her tired eyes. Torian came back with a worried look. “I am awful for letting you come down here.”
“You couldn’t have stopped me if you tried.” Tessa yawned.
“I appreciate the help.” Torian stood in front of her and slowly smoothed a curl away from her face. “You truly are beautiful, Dr. Michaels.” His voice dropped at least three octaves and despite her fatigue, her body flared to life with interest at his touch. He looked as if he wanted to say something else, but refrained.
“Thank you, Torian. Right now I just want to—” Tessa stopped when she realized Torian’s attention was no longer on her. His eyes took on an almost vacant stare, as if he were looking at something she couldn’t see. She waved a hand in front of his face, and he didn’t blink. Perhaps he was a lot more tired that he let on. “Torian.” At the mention of his name, his eyes riveted to her.
“We have to go.” He grabbed her by the hand and headed towards the exit.
“What’s wrong? Is there another storm?” His long legs ate up the short distance, and though she had no difficulty keeping up, she was tired and would have rather walked at a normal pace. He didn’t reply as he paused at the front desk, where Gale had left the newest files neatly stacked. Torian grabbed them in one scoop and kept heading out the door. “Don’t you want to lock up or something?” Tessa looked at all the lights being left on, and the unlocked door.
“It will be seen to.” Torian seemed really distracted, but at the same time focused. “No harm will come to the inhabitants. I have a full staff and they see to such things. They are very competent.”
“Oh.” It was strange the way his behavior suddenly changed. Still the gentleman, he opened the car door for her and closed it securely as she buckled in. He slid behind the steering wheel with a grace Tessa had never seen in a man so tall. “Did something happen that you just remembered?” Torian didn’t speak as he navigated the car towards Anaise and Jonathan’s home.
“No,” came his reply at last. “I apologize for my abrupt behavior, Tessa. I promise I will make this up to you.”
“You don’t owe me anything. You’re probably just as tired as I am.” He slid her a quick glance, and Tessa wished she could see the expression in his dark eyes.
“That’s very … thoughtful of you.” He seemed to stumble over the word.
Torian still seemed preoccupied with his thoughts, so Tessa took the opportunity to shut her burning eyes. The silence in the car
seduced her into sleep. She tried to stay awake, but found she could no longer keep her eyes open.
She was floating, it seemed. Strong arms cradled her to a chest as hard as oak. She snuggled closer, loving the scent that flowed into her nostrils. It was so earthy, natural, and masculine.
Then, for the briefest of seconds, she felt as she was free-falling, before landing in something soft. Strong fingers lightly caressed her face, and lilting words urged her to go deeper into sleep. The fingers played lightly in her hair then traveled back to her face. She could feel the outline of her mouth being traced, then the faintest of kisses against her lips. Tessa moaned at the kiss, loving the feel of the warm lips against hers. Sleep, my beauty. The words seemed to echo in her head, sending her tumbling into a deep sleep.
When Tessa awoke in the bed in the spare room, it was to the dying refrains of the mantra that seemed implanted in her brain. Sleep, my beauty. How odd. She couldn’t for the life of her figure out where she had heard it. Tessa sat up, reluctant to get out of bed. The soft sheets against her naked skin felt wonderful. With that thought, Tessa froze. She swallowed and with all her will wished she were just now waking up, fully clothed. She closed her eyes, opened them again and looked under the covers. Yep, as naked as a jaybird.
Memories of but a few hours ago involved nothing whatsoever of drinking, so why was she naked? She couldn’t even remember walking from the car to the bedroom. She slapped her hand against her forehead as she realized the floating dream was not a dream at all. She didn’t need to be a rocket scientist to know that Torian had not only carried her in, but had undressed her as well. Her cheeks flared hot as she thought about being so vulnerable and naked in front of a man she didn’t know very well.
The more she thought about it, the madder she got. How dare he? He had taken too much of a liberty. Tessa flung the covers back and marched naked into the bathroom to splash cool water on her face. After drying her face, she caught sight of her hair and with quick, jerky movements, braided it, all the while mentally stroking her anger even more. What the hell had he been thinking? Surely he’d heard of people sleeping with their clothing on?
Caught in the eye of her anger, Tessa wanted to confront him, now. She marched right to her suitcase and pulled out a fresh pair of jeans and a tank top. She didn’t even bother to put on shoes. She knocked on the adjoining door and received no answer. Undaunted, she decided to hunt him down.
Barefoot and angry, she strode down the hallway looking for the tall, dark and handsy individual who had stripped her. It only took a few moments for her to realize she didn’t know where the hell she was going.
She slowed her pace when she heard the deep timbre of male voices. In seconds, her ire picked up. She followed the sound of the voices until she stood outside a door of the main floor. Just as she was about to burst in, she remembered she was a guest in this house and certain manners were required of her.
“Are you sure?” She knew that voice belonged to Jonathan.
“You saw the pictures,” Torian responded.
“This doesn’t make any sense.”
“I know. Who would do this? The tag almost looks like a serpent.”
“Who do you think is behind this?”
“I don’t know. Perhaps Ammut. But whoever it is, someone or something has to be stopped immediately.”
“Tessa, can I help you?”
Anaise’s voice made her jump. Tessa turned with a guilty look on her face. Caught eavesdropping, she smiled weakly. “I was looking for Torian and I thought I heard his voice.”
“He and Jonathan are having a meeting. Are you hungry?” Anaise put her arm around Tessa’s shoulders and began to lead her away from the door.
“Not really. Anaise, I know what that looked like. I’m not an eavesdropper. Well, I know what you just saw begs to differ, but—”
“I won’t mention it if you won’t.” Anaise flashed her a perfect smile that eased her guilt just a little. “Do you like coffee?”
“Coffee runs through my veins.” Tessa grinned, suddenly in the mood for the strong concoction. Anaise chattered about everything, but nothing at all, until all Tessa wanted was to be left alone to think. “Will it be all right if I took this to my room?”
Anaise excused her, citing she had errands to run anyway. As Tessa made her way back to her room, for a second she considered finding her way back to the room Jonathan and Torian were in. She thought better of it and went straight to her own.
She pulled the thin laptop from her suitcase and prayed she had a place to plug it in. After hunting down an outlet, she immediately booted up and typed in “Ammut.” The results that came back were confusing. Ammut was some sort of Egyptian god. The words “Devourer of the Dead, also called Eater of Hearts,” seemed to jump off the screen. Deeply interested, Tessa clicked on link after link, learning about this being.
Apparently, Ammut was linked to the Dark god Anubis. Anubis decided who crossed over into the netherworld. For those who did not pass judgment at the scales of truth and justice, their hearts were eaten by Ammut.
Tessa couldn’t stop clicking on the links, becoming more and more obsessed with Anubis, who was often shown with the head of a jackal. Tessa’s finger paused after reading the caption beneath one picture of Anubis. A jackal. She had dreamed of a jackal. Tessa shook her head to clear her thoughts. She was being ridiculous. Egyptian gods and jackals? She snorted out loud. Her imagination sometimes got the better of her.
“What amuses you?” Torian’s voice was so close to her ear, she jumped, spilling the coffee onto the carpets.
“What is it with you and sneaking up on me?” Tessa rose out of the chair and went into the bathroom. She came back out with a damp washcloth. “What are you doing in here?” As she approached her computer, she saw a peculiar look upon his face.
“What are you doing?” He jerked his head slightly towards her computer screen.
“Research.” Getting on her hands and knees, she dabbed at the stain. “I don’t recall inviting you in.”
“I knocked several times and you didn’t answer.” He pushed a button on her keyboard, closing the web page she had been reading about the Dark god.
“In case you didn’t realize,” Tessa stood, freshly irritated at his audacity, “that’s my computer. You had no right to—”
“You had no right to eavesdrop,” he said, his voice soft. He put a finger under her chin and lifted it so he could see into her eyes. “What did you hear, Tessa?” His voice seemed hypnotic.
“I, I didn’t hear much,” Tessa stammered, trying to clear her head.
“Tell me what you heard.” His words seemed to invade her mind. She felt herself going under as if she were in a pool of water. She fought the urge to tell him she had heard of Ammut. He seemed to be inside her head, probing around. But that was crazy. Tessa shook her head and stepped away from Torian. His eyes seemed to be funnels and then black. That was the second time she’d imagined that. As her thoughts became more focused, Torian continued to stare at her.
“You were mad at me.” It was a statement that surprised her. How would he know that?
“Yeah,” Tessa latched onto the change of topic. The anger cut through her fog. “How dare you undress me?” She put her hands on her hips and began tapping her foot.
“You want to even the score?” His tone seemed accommodating, but there was a meaning behind them, she was certain.
“Of course,” she said carefully, trying to see where he would go with this.
“I undressed you and saw you naked. I have to say, your form is more exquisite than I imagined. However, you want to even this up, yes?” Tessa nodded. Torian walked over to the bed and lay across it. He propped his head up with his hands behind his head and seemed to just wait.
Tessa stopped tapping her foot as curiosity took over. “What are you doing?”
“Giving you the chance to even the score. But if you’re not brave enough …”
“Oh, no, you think
I’m going to strip you naked in that bed? That’s not going to happen and I hardly see how that evens things up.”
Torian looked thoughtful for a moment, before he suddenly bounded out of the bed to stand right in front of her. “I love the way your mind works.” Grinning, he took her by the hand and pulled her towards the door that linked their rooms.
Tessa don’t know why she didn’t protest more. Hell, why she didn’t protest at all. Her mouth had gone dry just thinking about undressing him. He was certainly challenging her endeavor to be celibate. He flung the door open and pulled her through it, and immediately shut it behind them.
“You are absolutely right, my beauty. That’s certainly not going to even the score.” Torian then lay down on his bed and assumed the exact same position he had on hers. “Now let’s see what you’re made of.”
“You expect me to strip you?” Tessa felt her palms get sweaty. A thrill shot through her body at the thought of unwrapping this virile man. Somewhere between her room and his, she’d taken her common sense, bound and gagged it and thrown it in the back recesses of her mind. She licked her lips as she looked at Torian. Her feet seemed glued to the floor. Her anger had deserted her, leaving nothing but the desire to rise to his challenge.
“Strip me? No, that’s quite crass, my beauty. I peeled your clothing off, savoring every inch of your skin as it was revealed to me. I drank in the perfect beauty of your form. You see, I couldn’t let you sleep in such uncomfortable clothing.” He looked at his own clothes. “I’ve had these on for a while. I need to shower and change. So if you could just give me the same care, I would more than appreciate it, Dr. Michaels.”
He was baiting her. Reminding her that a naked body shouldn’t make her this nervous. He was a cad, rubbing it in at every chance that she desired him and he knew it. Slowly, she approached the bed, every fiber vibrating with the anticipation of seeing him unclothed. She stopped in front of the bed and took a breath.
Caress The Dark God [Scions of the Ankh 2] (Siren Publishing Classic) Page 4
