by Becca Van
Tears leaked from behind her closed eyelids but she managed to answer. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, baby.”
“Here, put the helmet on her,“ Sab said. “Sit her up a bit, and I'll put it on for her.ˮ
Zara drew another deep breath and with Set's help sat up a bit straighter. Sab gently pushed the helmet down over her head and then secured the straps. The whole time he worked, she stared into his amazing blue eyes. When he was done, he gave her a wink and turned toward his own bike. She slumped against Set's chest and squeezed her lids closed.
Zara wanted to open her eyes and take in the sights from the motorbike when they began to move, but she was too intent on not breaking down and blubbering like an idiot. She could hear the rumbles of the other bikes as they followed and although it seemed to take them hours to reach the hospital, she knew it was only minutes.
The bike stopped, and Set removed the helmet from her head before passing it off to someone behind her. Before she could blink, Setau lifted her back into his arms and began walking. The sterile smell of disinfectant assailed her nose and she knew they were inside the hospital.
“I’m Doctor Gillette. What’s happened?”
“She fell over. We think her wrist is broken,” Setau answered.
“I need a gurney,” the doctor yelled.
“I can carry her,” Setau said. “The faster we get to where we’re going the quicker you can give her a shot for the pain.”
“Are you family?” Doctor Gillette asked.
“I’m her fiancé.”
Zara couldn’t believe he’d just said that but knew the doctor would boot him out if he wasn’t someone close to her. Although she was in a great deal of pain she was comfortable in his arms and didn’t want him to leave. Which was completely crazy since she didn’t even know the man.
“Place her on the table. I need to get an X-ray,” the doctor ordered.
Zara opened her eyes and stared at the big man as he backed away to allow the doctor to examine her. He gently gripped her elbow and pulled her arm away from her body. She clamped her teeth together so hard she wondered if she would break one. When tears formed in her eyes again she squeezed her lids shut but it didn’t stop the moisture from trickling down her cheeks.
“You’re hurting her,” Setau said angrily.
“I need to see how much damage there is.”
“You need to give her some pain relief first,” Setau demanded.
“I was about to,” the doctor answered. “If you can’t let me do my job then you should leave.”
Zara heard Setau growl. “I’m not going anywhere.”
She looked toward the door when it opened and met Sabu’s gaze. “What’s going on?”
Sabu and Setau both looked angry enough to kill so she decided she should speak up. “Please let the doctor do his job.”
Setau crossed his arms over his chest, looked away from the doctor, and met her gaze. His fierce expression softened when he met her eyes and when he looked back at the doctor he nodded for the medical professional to continue.
The doc swabbed her arm and injected her with a painkiller. The pain lessened in seconds and she felt like she was floating in a boat drifting with the currents. She could hear murmuring but she was too tired to really listen and before long she drifted to sleep.
* * * *
Sab couldn’t believe how right Zara felt in his arms. The painkillers the doctor had given her had been strong enough to knock her out, or maybe she had a low resistance to the medicine.
The moment the doctor had said they could take her home anticipation and excitement raced through his body. Although the others had been waiting for them outside and Pen had Zara’s purse, Sab didn’t feel that it was right for them to search her things for her address and keys, so they had decided to bring her home with them.
“How is she?” Set asked as he entered their shared living quarters.
“Still sleeping.”
“That must have been some powerful shit the doc gave her.” Set sat on the end of Sab’s bed. Sab was leaning against the headboard next to Zara, who was still sound asleep.
“Has she been dreaming?” Set asked.
“No.”
“That’s good. The last thing we need is for the demonic to try and get to her when she’s already hurt and vulnerable.”
“They wouldn’t dare,” Sab growled. “We would know the instant they arrived.”
“You’re right. From what we heard Zara say, their shadow spirits are still too weak to manifest into solid beings. We’d be able to take them out with one strike from our swords.”
“Were you able to contact Ra?” Sab asked.
Set shook his head. “He must be busy.”
“Do you think he sent her to us?”
“I don’t know, Sab.”
“Do you want her as much as I do?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m struggling to keep my fangs in check.” Sab sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face.
“Me, too.”
“The only time that happens is if we’re injured and suffer great blood loss.”
Set nodded.
Sab and the other sentinels weren’t vampires but if they were gravely injured their fangs descended so they could replenish blood lost in battle. They ate food like any normal human being and loved being out in the sun. The only difference between them and a human was their strength, speed and enhanced senses. Plus the fact they were all immortal.
Sab was torn. He wanted Zara in his life—to hold and love her—but if he and Set did make her theirs, would she continue to age while they stayed the same? It would be torture watching her grow old and die.
Set had gone to Ra’s temple to ask the sun god some very important questions but it looked like they would have to wait to get their answers.
He wanted to get to know Zara on a deeper emotional level but the yearning to make love to her was strong, too. His fangs erupted from his gums and his teeth throbbed along with his hard cock. Her sweet scent called to him on so many levels he wasn’t sure how much he could take.
“Why don’t you go and check on the others?” Set suggested. “You need to calm down before she wakes up. If she sees you like that you’ll scare her.”
Sab nodded and stood. He gave Zara a lingering glance before heading out. He paused in the hall. He really needed to get his urges under control. Mitry and Weni would tease him mercilessly if they saw him with his fangs out. Sab turned left instead of right and walked into the large cavernous room which had been set up as a temple to Ra. There were hieroglyphs on the walls and ceiling. The only surface not decorated with the art was the clear glass dome which let the sun’s rays through into the underwater room.
He was glad that Ra had set this home up for them so long ago. He'd been bewildered when the deity had plunked them in Utah. Back then, there hadn't been anything but trees and fields, but the sun god had told them the demonic seemed to be very active in the area. Of course they were able to go to other parts of the country when necessary, but most of the time, they found themselves fighting close to home. When they were needed elsewhere, he and the other sentinels could get wherever they wanted with a thought. Sab thought it must be like teleportation, but he wasn't a scientist and didn’t know about such things. All he cared about was being able to go where he wanted when he wanted—although to do so was very disorientating—and he much preferred to move under his own steam than with a thought. He hated the lightheadedness that seemed to follow every time he and the others moved like that.
At times it was frustrating chasing after the demonic, and although he was glad for their naiveté, humans never seemed to see what was right in front of their eyes. Utah Lake had been specifically made by their deity. The water was used to blend in with the clear pyramid of the glass and no doubt Ra’s powers had a hand in their keeping their home hidden.
Sab knelt on the stone floor under the dome and sighed as the sun’s rays replen
ished his weariness and fortified his control. His fangs receded and the tingling under his skin dissipated slightly. It seemed that nothing was going to help ease his erection but his own hand.
“That won’t help either,” Ra’s booming voice startled him but he made sure he didn’t flinch.
“What won’t, my lord?”
“Masturbating won’t ease the hunger.”
Sab felt his cheeks heat. He’d never spoken about his sexuality with his god and was a little uncomfortable.
“Do you think I have never had a woman?” Ra’s loud laugh echoed around the room.
Sab didn’t want to think about Ra having sex and quickly pushed the thought from his mind.
“Is she ours?”
“Do you want her to be?”
“Yes.”
“You need to keep her close. She has been chosen by one of Apep’s minions.”
Sab wanted to howl with rage, but he was able to swallow his anger. When Ra didn’t say anything else, he chanced a peek from under his lowered eyelashes. A sigh of frustration escaped when he saw the room was empty. Although he hadn’t seen Ra but for when he'd saved him and the others from being whipped to death, he always tried to keep his body in a submissive pose when in his god’s presence. He was the only entity to see him in such a way because Sab didn’t have a submissive bone in his body. Nor did any of the other sentinels.
He couldn’t help but think back to the day Ra had appeared before him and Setau.
The crack of the whip hitting flesh made him cringe. He was walking behind Set, tugging on the thick rope as he and many other men dragged the huge square rock toward the second pyramid. It had taken years to complete the first triangular structure and although he was fitter than a lot of the other slaves, he was so tired he was scared if he closed his eyes he would never awaken again. Food was scarce and although they got to eat once a day, it wasn’t enough to fill a mouse. The only thing that kept them going was water and the sound of that whip being wielded.
He cursed the pharaohs sitting in the lap of luxury with their bellies full as they gave orders for the tombs to be made. Why anyone would spend so much on something for when they died he had no clue and no doubt would never understand. The money they spent on having their monuments made could feed all the slaves working for them for an entire year and probably vastly more.
What he hated most was the way the overseers treated them. It didn’t matter if you were young or old or on your last legs. If you weren’t seen as pulling your weight you were whipped to within an inch of your life.
Each day his anger grew until he felt like he was consumed with rage. His inner turmoil grew hotter and higher with each passing second until he wondered if he would snap.
A cry of agony behind him had him spinning. The elderly man fell to his knees as the whip slashed across his back. Fury roared through him when he saw the man’s back had been flayed open, flesh torn apart and blood dripping down.
Sab combusted.
He caught the whip in his hand, a howl of wrath emitting from his mouth. He pulled on that whip as hard as he could. Set roared and joined him, both of them taking the overseer down, fists pounding until their knuckles split. More overseers came running but Sab didn’t care. He was in a berserker rage and took all of his anger out on as many men as he could.
He had no idea how long before he, Set and six others were taken down and although he knew he wouldn’t live to see the end of the day, the carnage he’d left behind was worth it. They were dragged to posts and secured with their hands restrained and the light slave tunics they wore were stripped from their bodies.
Sab looked at each man who had taken a stand against the cruelty of their masters and nodded his thanks. They each nodded in return but that was the last he saw of them until he met them in the plain between life and death.
This time he was the man under the lash of the cruel whip and although he wanted to cry out in agony he didn’t make a sound. Lash after lash ripped his flesh open and it took all of his will to remain on his feet. When the blessedness of unconsciousness beckoned he gave in to it willingly.
When he opened his eyes again he was surrounded by white fog, but there was no pain. Shadows moved through the mist and he was surprised to see Set and the other six men who had tried to help him save the old man.
“Where are we?” His voice seemed to echo off the fog but it also sounded suppressed.
“I do not know,” Set answered.
“You are in the fade,” a deep booming voice said. “The place between the living and the dead.”
A huge muscular man stalked toward them and although he looked familiar Sab couldn’t place him.
“You have a choice to make.”
The man had a golden aura around him and it was in that moment that Sab knew he was a god. The glow around his head was bigger and brighter than the rest of his body. Sab drew in a deep breath and knelt with his head bowed.
“Ra,” Sab whispered.
One by one the others knelt to the god in subservience. Sab had no idea why they were here but he didn’t want to antagonize the deity.
“Yes,” Ra said. “I need men like you. You are willing to fight against injustice and evil. If you agree to be my sentinels I will give you strength, stamina and speed beyond your imaginings. Your sight and hearing will be acute, and you will have immortality.”
Sab wanted to ask more but didn’t dare question the god.
“My nemesis Apep is the cause of all this greed and evil. His shadow minions have been hard at work. If you decide to work for me I will give you weapons that will dispel the demonic with one swipe. Your life will be long and lonely but you will never again lack for food and I will provide you with a home.
“You have a few minutes to discuss it with the others, but the answer you give will be final. There will be no changing your mind once you decide.”
Sab didn’t need any time to think things over or discuss his decision with Setau. He had always hated how the rich and powerful got away with anything they wished and if he could make a difference in the world and help his fellow human beings, he would.
He looked at Set and his friend nodded.
“I am Pentu Chatha. This is my friend Paser Ebo. We say yes.”
“Nehi Fadil and I, Menna Jahi, agree.”
“As do Mitry Mois and I, Weni Oba.”
“Me too,” Sab murmured to Set.
“Good,” Ra boomed. “When you awaken you will be in a land far away. You will be healthy, muscular, and strong. You will need to train with the weapons I’ve supplied. The swords of Ra you will become proficient with and when I call you will come. You will have the ability to travel wherever needed with a thought and so much more. My command will be absolute and you will not argue.”
“Yes, my lord,” Sab answered. He didn’t know if that was the correct way to address a god but when Ra didn’t take umbrage with him he sighed with relief.
“Go and work hard, my demigods. Your rest won’t last long.”
Sab came back to the present when he heard Mitry’s laughter echo down the hallway. He rose and headed toward the kitchen. Zara was going to be hungry when she woke up and he was going to make sure food was ready.
* * * *
Apep grabbed one of his demons around the throat the moment he felt a ripple of power surge through the earth into the bowels of hell. He lifted the sniveling prick from his feet, careless of the fact the idiot was clawing at his hands. He was used to pain and a few scratches weren’t going to bother him. The moment his thighs met the cold stone of the altar, he slammed his minion down and with a wave of his free hand the demon become mortal. With a thought he called the long sacrificial dagger and plunged it deep into the minion's chest and then ripped it down through his body.
An evil laugh echoed through the underworld as Apep felt the demon’s spirit rise from the body. He didn’t care that the shadow was angry with him, all he cared about was getting rid of Ra’s sentinels and seeki
ng vengeance on the sun god. If it hadn’t been for that fucker Apep wouldn’t have been stuck in the bowels of hell for eternity.
He’d lost count of the times he’d tried taking out the sentinels with his shadow minions but since Ra had made them demigods they were impossible to kill. He’d come close a few times but close wasn’t good enough.
Apep followed the trail of blood as it dripped into the brass bowl beneath the altar and when there was enough life essence he plunged his hand into the warm liquid and closed his eyes. This time when he laughed it was with glee and not maliciousness.
The moment he saw Setau and Sabu looking at the woman he knew that she would be instrumental in taking out the sentinels and no one was going to stop him. Not even the sun god, Ra.
Chapter Three
The moment Zara surfaced from sleep she felt the throbbing pain in her wrist and arm. It only took her a couple of seconds to remember why she was hurt and the men who’d come to help her. She frowned when she didn’t hear normal hospital sounds around her nor smell the sterile environment she and many other people equated to that environment. And the bed she was lying on was way more comfortable from what she remembered when she’d had her tonsils out as a kid.
She held her breath when she heard a rustle and realized that someone was in the room with her. At first she thought it best to keep her breathing even and deep so that whoever was in here would think she was still asleep, but Zara had never been a coward.
She opened her eyes and peered about the dimly lit room, stopping her gaze near the left side and foot of the large bed she was currently resting in. Bright green eyes looked at her and she felt like she was falling into that gaze until he blinked and the spell was broken.
Making sure she was decent before she sat up, she was pleased to find that she was still wearing the clothes she had donned that morning before heading to work, sans the shoes. Using her left arm for leverage, she pushed up and scooted back against the headboard.
“How are you feeling?”
