by Jill Myles
“I did it because the queen needs a halo, and I don’t plan on forcing Jackie to do anything she doesn’t want to do.” The look in his eyes was possessive.
Oh no.
Remy smirked. “Then you’re at an impasse, I’m afraid. I’m not going to do anything for you.”
Even I could tell Remy was lying. Her eyes were glued to Stan’s purple face.
Zane laughed and shook his head, giving Stan’s limp body a little shake. “Won’t you?”
Silence.
For about two seconds. Then Remy blurted, “Okay! Just stop hurting him!”
Zane let go of Stan’s throat, and he clapped the human on the shoulder as he wheezed for breath. “Of course, Remy.” The derringer wiggled against Stan’s temple encouragingly. “But you two are coming with me.”
“Where to?” Remy’s voice was flat. She’d given up the argument by this point.
“I believe Jackie mentioned Amarna. It seems that she’s all but found the halo for us.” Again, the bladelike smile.
“Is she coming with us?”
He shook his head, the dark lock of hair falling over his brow. Even in villainy Zane was stunningly beautiful, and my heart broke all over again. “I’m afraid she’s indisposed at the moment.”
“If you’ve hurt her—”
Aww, how nice that Remy was finally concerned for me.
“Why would I hurt her?” Zane seemed puzzled. “She’ll understand what I’m doing, once she’s had time to cool down.” He gestured for Stan to walk forward. “Now come on—we’ve got a boat to catch. I’ve got people waiting on me.”
That bastard! I recalled our conversation just before I’d nodded off into my unnatural sleep.
“I don’t know if I can do it, Zane. I don’t know if I can give her that halo. It’ll be really bad if she gets it, won’t it?”
His thumb rubbed against my lips. “Yeah.” There was a long pause in which neither of us said anything. Then Zane kissed my mouth. “I won’t make you do anything you don’t want to do, Jackie. Ever.”
In his own misguided way, Zane was saving me from a decision—and in doing so, destroying us all. I struggled again to awaken, but it was useless. I recognized the feeling of deep, unconscious sleep just moments before it swept over me, drowning out the rest of my vision.
I’m not sure when I woke up. It was more of a gradual return to consciousness, and my eyes fluttered open. My hands tingled in their bonds, and my head throbbed with an enormous headache that didn’t help my mood any.
I tested my wrists. Jerking on the scarf only caused the material to cut into my skin. Damn it.
The dream was still spinning in my mind, fresh and ugly. Part of me wanted to think it was nothing more than a bizarre dream, but the realistic part of me put the pieces together. Succubi don’t normally sleep, and the fact that my erstwhile lover was nowhere to be seen told me that I’d somehow glimpsed what was truly going on while I lay asleep.
The bastard just had to go and tie me up, didn’t he? I jerked at my wrists again and winced when pain shot through my arms.
I pondered my options as I lay there, nude. Call for help? Wait it out? Chew my own wrists off?
“Heeelp!” I screamed at the top of my lungs. “I need help in room 214!”
After five minutes of screaming, my voice started to go hoarse. I was about to give up when I heard a hesitant knock at the door.
“Miss?”
Delighted, I jerked at my bonds again. “Yes! Please come help me! I’m stuck!” I tried to kick one of the blankets crumpled at my feet over my body, with little success.
The door opened and two bellhops entered, their eyes bugging out at the sight of me, naked and sprawled and tied down to the bed.
Uh oh. I was starting to rethink my plan. Probably not the smartest thing I’d ever done, I thought as I watched their eyes glaze over from startled to lustful. “Hi, guys,” I said, trying to maintain a casual tone despite the fact that their eyes were fixed on my breasts. “Care to untie me?”
I watched them exchange a look, and my hope turned to fear. Those didn’t look like the expressions of people who were going to help me. Both wore smiles that made my skin crawl and regarded me with slitted eyes.
The first one came closer, and I recognized him from my ill-fated trip down the hallway. Oh crap. It was the same busboy as before. Kasib trailed a hand across my stomach, and to my dismay, my skin began to burn with a feeling of desire.
I hated being a succubus sometimes.
Okay, most of the time.
“Look, buddy, you don’t want to do that,” I said, trying to keep my voice reasonable.
His friend looked hesitant, but the look in the eyes of the guy touching me didn’t change. Drastic measures were going to be needed. The only question was, what would I do? I couldn’t do anything special.
Or could I?
As he bent over—to kiss me, I’m sure—my leg reached up and whacked him square on the forehead. I felt my mind connect with his at the same moment that my big toe touched his brow, and his eyes rolled back in his head and he went down like a light as I sent him into dreamland.
I glared at the companion, who was staring at his downed friend in shocked horror. “He’s going to be unconscious until I bring him back—and if you want that to happen, you’ll untie me now.”
“Yes, madam.” He hurried forward to undo my bonds.
Pleased, I began to plot out my next move. “Hurry it up,” I demanded, “and tell me where I can rent a speedboat at this time of night.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
The speedboat pulled up on the shore of the Nile, the sandy wasteland of Amarna glittering before us through the reeds of the Nile. As I spied the boats parked farther up the banks, I wondered what I was about to get into.
“Are you sure this is it?” I questioned my guide, who stood beside me in the small boat. Though a born and bred Egyptian with black hair and smiling eyes, he’d insisted that I call him “Smith.” It was an alias, of course. What we were doing was highly illegal and frowned upon by the government, who protected their national treasures.
But money talks, and I had stolen a big chunk of it from Remy’s room. With it, I was able to find myself a guide and a speedboat within a short time.
The trip to Amarna had been a long one. I’d sat in the back of the speedboat, lost in my thoughts. Guilt over Noah had obsessed me for the first few hours, and all I could think about was how I was failing him, and how wonderful he’d been to me. As the miles flew past, my thoughts turned darker as they led to Zane. He’d betrayed me, and now he was going to get the halo for the queen before I could save Noah, and we’d all be in deep doodoo—Remy, Stan, Noah, and me.
I was determined not to let that happen.
“Yes, this is Amarna,” Smith agreed in heavily accented English, breaking my train of thought. “There is not much left of the ruins today.”
“I’ll say.” I stared over the edge of the boat. “It doesn’t look like anything.” I was disappointed in my first sights of the fabled ancient city. A few tourist traps were visible over the tall reeds of the Nile, but other than a ferry ramp, it all seemed unimpressive. Where was the Temple?
I pulled out my guidebook and flipped to the bookmarked pages, looking for photos or a map. “So if this is Amarna, is the Temple to the Aten nearby?” The guidebook had listed it as the oldest monotheistic temple in the world, so I figured that was my best bet for halo finding, and no doubt where I’d find Zane and the others.
“You want the temple?” Smith asked. “I can take you there for two hundred euros.”
I frowned. “There’s going to be some vampires out there. I’m not sure you want to go. It’s dangerous. If you could just point me the way—”
Smith shook his head. “I will take you. Two hundred euros.”
I tossed the guidebook aside. “Suit yourself, buddy. Just don’t say I didn’t warn you.” I pulled out my purse and handed him the last of the bills i
n my wallet. Remy had loaded us with cash for the trip, and I was just about broke by now, which was another depressing thought. Money made things happen in Egypt, and without it, I was going to be sunk.
“So the driver of the boat is going to wait here for us, right?” I looked over at our “driver” who seemed more like Smith’s teenage kid than a certified, licensed tour guide. He’d driven like a bat out of Hell, though, so I had no complaints. We’d gotten to Amarna before the sun came up, and even though dawn was peeking over the horizon, I figured we still had about an hour before all the vamps dropped off the face of the earth for another twelve hours.
“Yes, the driver will wait,” Smith assured me, giving me a toothy white smile. “He will wait for one hundred euros.”
“Sure,” I echoed, trying not to wince. “Pay you when we get back on the boat after you take me to the temple?”
Smith shook his head, frowning. “Pay now.”
“Not so fast,” I said, glaring at him and clutching my purse close. “How do I know that you won’t just take my money and leave me here? You guide me to the temple, and then we’ll talk about paying Junior here. Got it?” I thought it was a pretty good bluff, considering I didn’t have the hundred.
“Fine, I will take you,” Smith agreed reluctantly, and my heart eased a little in its frantic pounding.
The boat pulled up against the dock, bobbing on the waves. I scanned up and down the river before I got out. Two white specks bobbed in the distance—the boats Zane and his crew had used to get here before us. I hoped that they were empty, or Smith Junior might be in for a nasty surprise.
Don’t think about that, Jackie. Just get out of the boat. One thing at a time, I told myself.
Smith and I headed into the flat, brown ruins in the distance. We didn’t carry flashlights; the sky had lightened to a murky twilight, the smooth desert becoming more visible with each moment. We cut through a few of the sandy hills and, to my surprise, they weren’t all necessarily dunes—crumbled bricks and neat lines were drawn in the sands.
There was a city here, after all.
We followed the tourist path deeper and deeper into the ruins. Smith didn’t need my map, heading directly for one area as if he had radar. I began to suspect this was not the first illegal run he’d made to off-limit sites. The path was rocky and hazardous, thanks to my ridiculous sandals, and I had to keep my eyes glued to the path.
“Almost there,” Smith announced, and I breathed a sigh of relief. Hiking sucked when I was living, and wasn’t any better in the Afterlife.
Smith suddenly stopped and hunched down beside a crumbling half wall.
I nearly plowed into his backside, and instead went stumbling to the ground, wrenching my ankle with a “pop” that only I heard. I hoped that was my shoe and not the bones of my foot. If I had to make a break for it, I’d be toast.
“Someone is out in the temple ruins,” Smith whispered, shivering against the stone wall and clutching his hat like a shield. “A man with a gun.”
Hmm. “Does he have black hair and a long coat? Two other people with him?”
Smith just gave me a terrified look, unable to speak.
“You’re a big help,” I muttered, crawling a few feet away and peering over the wall.
The ruins of the Temple of the Aten lay before me in all their unamazing glory. I’d read that there was pretty much nothing left of the Aten Temple except for a few fake fiberglass columns, so I’d expected that. Only the flat lines of stone indicated that once there had been a beautiful temple here.
Zane stood outside those lines, casually pacing behind his two prisoners, gun in hand as the dawn rose behind him. On the ground at his feet, Remy and Stan sat back to back, their hands and feet tied.
They were alone, which surprised me. I’d expected a few more of the queen’s lackeys to show up to ensure that this thing was done right, but nope. It was just Zane, who looked rather bored and kept checking his watch as if he were waiting for something.
Like me.
I won’t make you do anything you don’t want to do, Jackie, he’d whispered against my skin.
All a bunch of big fat tricks. Anger burned in my mind, searing out all the tender thoughts I’d had of him. I hated liars.
Furious, my hands clenched the crumbling brick wall. That asshole had used me from day one. Well, no longer. I pondered the distance between here and the boundaries of the Aten Temple. It didn’t look like anything was in there, but maybe it wasn’t obvious to those who weren’t within its lines. Zane scrupulously avoided even sweeping his coat over the bricks. I imagined it was warded from both angel and vampire, which was why they needed a succubus to do their dirty work.
Why hadn’t he used Remy to retrieve it?
I crouched back behind the wall. “Smith,” I said, turning to him.
But the wall next to me was empty. He’d run out on me. Couldn’t blame him. I sighed, rubbing my face. “Great. I guess I have to go at this alone.”
“Wasn’t that the plan all along, my dear?” The queen’s eerie, purring voice sounded behind me, and I froze in place. Oh, God.
I turned slowly to face her. “I can explain …”
Nitocris crossed elegant arms over her chest, her red eyes burning into me. She was dressed in a dark red pantsuit that looked painted onto her, highlighting the menacing bloodred of her eyes and lips. Behind her stood several vampire goons dressed in black suits and long, dark trench coats. One of them clutched a comatose Noah, hands and feet bound, his face badly cut.
Oh, Noah. My heart ached just looking at him.
The queen smiled down at me, showing rows and rows of sharklike teeth. “An explanation? I think I should like that.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Hands shoved me toward the ruins of the Aten Temple and I stumbled, trying desperately to keep my balance with my hands tied behind my back.
“Hey, not so rough,” I protested. “If you want this halo so bad, you’re going to have to treat me with a bit of respect.”
A hand jabbed me in the back, knocking me down. My cheek slammed into the dirt and the world exploded in black and red.
That one was gonna hurt in the morning.
Someone hauled me up from behind and I spat sand out of my mouth, mentally cussing out my captors. “Real classy,” I retorted, though due to my swelling lip, it came out sounding more brain-damaged than tough. Way to keep your cool, dumbass.
A hand brushed the dirt off my sleeve, and I turned … only to stare into Zane’s eyes. I shrugged violently, trying to fling his hand off my shoulder, hurt betrayal coursing through my veins. My chin lifted, daring him to say something.
His thumb brushed under my lip, wiping away the blood from my split lip. “You shouldn’t have come, Jackie,” he whispered, his gaze darting over to Nitocris. “I have this handled.”
“Handled?” I screeched, jerking away from him and stumbling away a few steps. “You left me tied to the bed in our hotel and kidnapped my friends. How is that ‘handling’ anything? You totally screwed me!”
“In more ways than one,” Remy quipped dryly from her place on the ground.
I resisted the urge to kick sand at her, focusing my hate on Zane. How had I ever trusted him?
“Touching little scene,” Nitocris purred, interrupting my anger as she stepped forward to wrap her hand around Zane’s throat. He stiffened at her touch, the look in his eyes growing shuttered. “Now tell me, my sweet … when were you planning on telling me that you were here to retrieve the halo?”
Zane’s cocky, teasing smile brushed across his face. “What, you didn’t get my memo?”
The queen’s hand tightened around his throat, and he wheezed for breath. Nitocris’s face was furious.
What was going on?
I shot a confused look at Remy, who shrugged. She didn’t know either.
“You think to subvert me?” The queen hissed at Zane, lifting him into the air with one hand. Her fingers gouged into his throat. “You
think to take power from me when it is so close?”
Zane’s pale face was turning an alarming shade of purple, and the idiot inside me that was still charmed by him couldn’t do anything. “You’re hurting him,” I yelled, fists clenched in frustration. “Let him go or I’m not doing this for you.”
Eyes the color of blood focused in on me, and Zane collapsed to the ground as the queen’s interest turned to me. “You think to tell me what to do, little one?” Her voice rumbled low, dangerous.
“Uh,” I said, backing away in fear. My hands jerked in their bonds behind my back, and I could feel blood snaking over my wrists, rubbed raw through my frantic motions. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Zane’s on your side.” I forced a fake smile to my face.
“Is he, now?” Her eyes narrowed. “Did he fuck you?”
My eyebrows raised at her vehement question and my gaze flicked over to the nearly comatose Noah. Awkward. “Well, that’s a bit personal, don’t you think—”
“Don’t say anything, Jackie,” Zane called hoarsely as he picked himself up. “It’s a trap, no matter what you say.”
“Touching,” the queen sneered. “Your answer does not matter. I can smell the stink of your blood—blood I expressly forbade him to take—all over him. He has not obeyed one of my orders since joining you on this little trip. Not that that should surprise me,” the queen said, her tone cold. “Zane has never followed instructions well. This is why I followed him.” Again, I caught a flash of razor-sharp teeth.
She had told him not to sleep with me? Confused, I stared at Zane. His eyes met mine, and I saw a softness there. Weakness, the queen would say.
I remembered lying in bed with Zane after we had just made love. He kissed my mouth. “I won’t make you do anything you don’t want to do, Jackie. Ever.”
Oh …
Oh, hell. Was Zane breaking the rules for me? Was he in love with me?
The enormity of the situation crashed down on me and I slumped to the ground. What a mess. I wanted to bury my head in my hands, but they were still tied behind me.
