by Kim Faulks
“Let me.”
She turned to see Sakhr move forward, pulling the blanket. “You need a lighter one, to move across the sand faster. The quicker it will be to get away from here and us.”
She could feel the hurt in his words, but she had nothing to say, nothing that would make him feel better anyway. “I’m sorry.”
“I understand your pain, you want to get away from Kasia and all we want is to have her back.”
“Her death must have been traumatic for everyone here. I am sorry for your loss,” she said, speaking as though the death of Kasia had no impact on her. In fact it was the complete opposite. Kasia affected everything there was about her, without her, she would never have existed.
“This afternoon with you, was the happiest I have been since she left,” he said, his eyes burning with an unquenchable desire.
“Our fighting?” she said, wondering if there was something that she had missed. He looked at her, his gaze trailing over her body with a look of longing that was almost painful, then nodded and looked away.
“I had forgotten how soft your skin was, how you looked at me, like...Never mind. Let’s get you out of here.”
He piled the blanket on a smaller camel and lifted the saddle, quickly securing it. “You will need a lot of water, take my container and the others. Go now and fill them from the lagoon, the camel will be ready when you get back.”
Natalie reached out, grabbing the water containers he held out towards her. She moved towards the lagoon and filled the containers, drinking as much as her body would allow and headed back to the awaiting camel.
“She is ready. I have given you a sword and a map and some food. Follow the line and it will take you back to the mountains.”
She had nothing to say to this man, his kindness was the only thing that held her together. “I know you are not her, but it means no less to have known you Natalie, may the light shine on you for all eternity.” He stepped forward and lowered his head to her. She didn’t want to betray his kindness by refusing him a simple kiss. He encased the back of her head in his massive hand and bought her lips towards him.
His lips tasted of salt but the softness urged her mouth wider and a deep hunger inside her burst inside her. She moved into his body, pressing against the hardness of him, as a voice whispered inside her, my wasiim.
He broke their kiss and her lips left his. It wasn’t until she stared up into his face that she realized the saltiness she tasted was because his tears flowed along his face to trail over the ridges of his lips. “I can feel her love for you inside of me. If this were another time, another place, who knows what might have happened. But I have to go.”
“I understand,” he said, moving back and he lifted her, placing her on top of the camel. “Ride hard, ride fast. If you see someone behind you it will be me. I will follow you for as far as I can to make sure you are safe. Go now, hurry, she will feel that you have left when you pass across the line.”
She didn’t know what he meant, but she could feel the sense of urgency he gave and she grabbed the reins from his hands. “Thank you.” She turned the camel around and urged her forward as he moved to open the gate. He looked up at her and she moved past and she couldn’t help but notice the sheen of fresh tears in his eyes.
She urged the camel faster and it broke into a run, lurching her backwards and forwards in her seat as she headed for the relentless heat of the desert. She didn’t look back and pushed the beast harder in an effort to move as quickly as possible. It was when the camel slowed to a more gentle pace that she turned and noticed the camp was far off in the distance as a dark figure followed her, Sakhr. He reminded her of Grayson, the size of his body was small in comparison to the size of his heart. The more she thought of him, the more she wanted to be back home to the bustle of the City streets and the glistening of the Harbor and into his arms. She was determined to make it right, to beg his forgiveness and that would be enough for her, she would make it be enough.
They kept the pace, walking until the sun dipped into the sky and the night grew around them, throwing stars like a splash of diamonds before her.
She was alone now; Sakhr had abandoned her long ago for the comfort of the camp and now it was just her. She pushed the camel into walking in the darkness, while she wrapped a blanket around her. She ate what food there was and drank some of the water, stopping the beast for a rest. It was when she slid from the saddle and her feet hit the hard sand that she saw the sparkle of something hidden between the folds of leather. She reached up and drew it out. It was a sword, polished until it gleamed, even under the soft light of the moon. She gripped the handle and pointed it out before her. It was a perfect fit, almost like it had been made just for her, balanced perfectly for the size of her palm.
She could feel the engraving in the handle and she bought the handle closer to her face. The moon wasn’t bright enough, so she trailed her fingers over the gouges. Kasia.
He had given her Kasia’s sword and by the look of how it shone he had polished it over and over again, her last parting gift from a man she barely knew, but he had known her forever. She slipped the sword back into the saddle and climbed back onto the camel, heading towards the mountains.
Chapter 16
She had slept in ten minute intervals until her body screamed at her to climb down from the camel and regain the feeling it once had. And when the day broke she had travelled well into the mountains, pushing herself. She could see the place where they had camped only days ago. To her it felt like months, so much had happened in such a small amount of time and she was still reeling from the impact.
When she found the crevice of the mountain wall with the help of the map Sakhr left her she could have wept with relief. The wind whipped around her as she emerged from the mountains and in the blink of an eye he appeared and was standing in front of her.
“Natalie, please,” he begged but she turned away from the flames in his eyes. They would no longer burn blue. No, she was done with these creatures. She was done for good.
“I know I’m probably the last person you want to see and I don’t know what I can say for you to believe me, that I don’t want Kasia. Sure, I started out thinking that you were another version of her, but I now know differently. I love you Natalie, you are so different than she was.
I was only with her for a short amount of time and in that time she left a mark on my soul, something that you cannot erase. But I do not feel that mark when we are together and I will do whatever I need to, say whatever I need to, so that you will see that what I say is true. I am in love with you, Natalie Sommers.”
She didn’t know what to say, there was nothing she could say, her mind had stopped working hours ago and now it was just going through the motions of keeping her alive. But it was those innate functions that drove her to say, “I need sleep, food and water.”
“Okay, please let’s just get back to Suez and tomorrow we can talk.”
She nodded, there was nothing else she that she could do and he grabbed the reins of the camel, leading them towards the yard. He walked inside while she waited in the Jeep that still sat in the exact same position they left it in, her bags in the back.
He walked over and slid in and before the engine caught with life, she was asleep.
Chapter 17
She woke cradled against the softness of a pillow, her body a dull ache but nothing that she couldn’t handle. It took her a moment to realize where she was and the reasons for her to be here. She sat up and looked around the room, recognizing the bedroom she had shared with Malik in his house, but something was different. Something that shocked her to her core – there were no photographs, or maps. They were all gone.
She rolled over and closed her eyes, steading herself as the scent of Malik drew her closer and just because she cared little for her sanity she buried her face into the soft down and breathed deep. Dear God give me the strength to get through this.
She pushed herself away and climbed from the be
d, wincing as soon as her feet hit the floor. Her lips were dry and cracked badly and they stung as soon as she licked at them. She knew she must look like hell, because that was how she felt. She glanced around the room, the walls were hauntingly bare and slowly walked down the stairs.
He was waiting for her, like she knew he would be. She had no answers for him, none that would ease either of their hearts. Now that she had slept and the scent of him on her pillow still lingered in her body she knew that she couldn’t forget him. Damn.
It would have been easier to remain angry, that she could work with; she had been doing so all her life. But, the bare bedroom walls and his words to her back at the mountains begged her to at least figure out her feelings towards him.
He rose as she walked down and silently placed a bowl of food in front of her. She ate and neither of them spoke, they seemed too frightened at what the other would say. She ate until her stomach hurt, then rose. “I need to shower then we can talk.”
“Okay,” he said, his face foretelling his apprehension for bad news. Would it be bad news? Only for her, that she was sure of.
“Will you stay until tomorrow at least?” he said, his voice emotionless.
“Yes, if you want.”
He nodded and rose from the chair. “I need to see someone, I’ll be back as soon as I can, okay?” he said stopping and turning towards her. “I want you to know one thing before I leave.”
“Yes?”
“I will not give up on us. When I get back we will have our talk, but I refuse to relinquish my hope to win you back.”
His sincerity wasn’t lost on her and she felt each word in the way he stood, proud but not proud enough to do what he must. Her Arabian Djinn.
She nodded and turned away, walking back upstairs and into the bedroom. She gathered her clothes and walked into the bathroom, hearing the door downstairs close and the Jeep start. She could have a life with Grayson, a long contented life with as many good memories as she could want. But would she be content with that? Could she turn her back on her heart and leave Malik behind?
These thoughts plagued her while she showered and her head and heart battled for the control over the rest of her life. The water felt so good on her body and she felt content with her decision, although it seemed that it had already been made for her, all she needed to do was to let go.
She loved Malik, there was no denying that and she cared for Grayson. But her heart would always win; the desire would plague her forever until it drove her mad and sought him out. She knew that. She turned off the shower and stepped out, grabbing the towel. She dried herself and pulled on her underwear, hearing the front door open and close. She even smiled for a second before she saw the darkened circles under her eyes. But she felt good, happy that she made the right decision as she turned and opened the door as she heard footsteps on the landing.
But it wasn’t Malik who stood outside the bathroom waiting for her and the smile froze on her face. She had never seen this person before in her life, she seemed frozen, unable to speak or move. Instead her eyes were drawn to the shimmering black hair that lay softly around her shoulders. The woman looked up, her black cloak blending in with the darkness of her skin. She smiled at Natalie, although it didn’t make her feel at ease. No, it terrified her. Long white teeth grew over the blood red lips and they seemed so much larger as her lips were pulled back in a sneer and Natalie knew that this was no woman...she wasn’t even human.
Natalie turned and reached for the metal towel rail, anything that she could use as a weapon, her body felt like it was moving in slow motion. It was pointless, how could she even hope to match the strength of this vampire? She used the leverage of her body to pull the rail from the wall and turned towards her. She just stood there and walked calmly towards her and she screamed as though her life depended in it – because it did. “Malik!”
She swung towards her as she screamed, fire ripped through her throat from the effort. She knew it was useless, she didn’t even know where Alexander was, and she hadn’t felt him since he told her he was coming for her inside Makkah’s tent, but she prayed he could hear her now, Alexander, please help me!
It wasn’t even a contest as the rail was ripped from her grip and the blur of a hand whipped towards her face. She was helpless and all her body could do was shut down as the blow landed, and all she knew was nothingness.
