As Long As

by Jackie Ivie

  Because he is a vampire with super strength.

  Oh. No. No.

  The oppressive smell of age reached her first. Then the absolute darkness. Geena tightened her fingers on Sokar’s. He returned the gesture. Damn it! Her heart swelled again. And she was trying to portray a calm, collected, and unemotional façade here. Her steps weren’t hesitant as she followed him. Not at first. And then his flashlight started illuminating things. All kinds of items. Statues. And more statues. One was holding the reins of a horse statue. Two more were attached to a chariot. A real chariot. Shocked and stunned would be a misuse of words. Her jaw had dropped. The motion hurt her cheeks.

  Geena trailed him past shelves of ushabti statues that lined the wall. Some were in chests. Some individually displayed. He probably had one for every day of the year. Low-slung couches came into view. They had legs carved into animal shapes. His light kept showing more.

  And more.

  Baskets with lids stacked on more baskets. Jars. Sealed jars. More couches. He led her through a doorway into another chamber. His light touched on a series of ba statues, just as he’d told her. And a canopic chest holding four containers. The tops were shaped like the sons of Horus; one an ape, one a man, one a falcon, the last a jackal. They were meant to hold internal organs. After evisceration. And days spent drying in natron. Geena flashed a quick look at Sokar.

  He couldn’t have been eviscerated. His brain removed. His internal organs secured in canopic jars. There was no way he’d been mummified.

  Wait. Just wait.

  Something was not adding up. She needed to think. The walls were thick. She didn’t know how many tons of earth was atop them. The air choked with weird smells. Shadows loomed everywhere. It was beyond her experience. And really creepy. Geena clung to Sokar’s hand, staying as close to his side as possible. The man was a bastion of protection. Massive. Strong. His fingers pressed reassuringly into hers. Clinging to him was totally against type. Went against years of training.

  It still happened.

  His flashlight reached into another room, reflecting off a wall covered with ankh symbols. They’d been painted in gold on a black lacquered surface. It had to be a shrine. Four-sided. Enclosing the coffin. They’d reached the burial chamber. There was a rope fastening across the front. Affixed with a clay seal.

  And it was intact!

  Geena stopped, locked in place. Her eyes focused on that round clay seal. Sokar slid around the right, disappearing between the wall and the shrine. He took the light with him.

  “Sokar?”

  “Why are you waiting? I must show you my sarcophagus. And the outer coffins.”

  “You’d better not be a mummy. Okay? That’s all I’m saying.”

  “It is impossible to be two places at the same time, habibi.”

  “It’s impossible to be a vampire, too.”

  “I will set your mind at rest, little one.”

  “Oh yeah. How?”

  “I was not the one who was mummified and placed in here. Come. It is safe.”

  He held out his hand for hers. She reached for him. Her hand was shaking. He closed his fingers on hers, instantly passing warmth and comfort. She should be embarrassed. She’d save that for later. When she found her backbone.

  The back of the shrine pulled open from one corner. Sneaky. Very sneaky. Geena glanced up at Sokar. He looked overly-sinister in the light. It just touched his forehead. The end of his nose. His upper lip. Fang tips. She glanced back down and over to what he showed her.

  There was an immense stone box in the center of the enclosure. The lid had been removed and propped against one side. It looked like there was another square coffin inside. Wooden. The innermost one was unbelievable. Despite the proof before her eyes. It was burnished gold. And anthropomorphic. She couldn’t see inside it. The opening was shadowed and deep. And she didn’t dare step closer.

  “I-is-is that...gold? Real gold?” Her voice shook worse than her body.

  “Yes.”

  “S-solid gold?”

  “Yes.”

  “But...you’re from the Middle Kingdom. They didn’t have human-shaped sarcophagi then,” Geena said.

  He flashed a grin. Light reflected off sharp canines. Her heart thudded uncomfortably.

  “I had heard that, too.”

  “I don’t get it.”

  “Perhaps the reason we are told that Middle Kingdom burials use square wooden coffins is because they never found anything else. Think about it. If you were a tomb robber and came upon such a golden sarcophagus, would you have left it?”

  “I don’t know. I can’t think.”

  “Forgive me. I am rushing you.”

  “You’re not...it’s just—. You said you weren’t mummified and buried here.”

  “Yes. I did say that.”

  “Then...who was?”

  “My brother, of course. He was close to my size. Not as fit, but it was an easy matter to hunt him down. Move him to my sickbed. Drain his blood. Stick a knife in his back. After an unfortunate accident with a brazier.”

  “A brazier?”

  “He fell headfirst into the fire. It damaged his face. He was unrecognizable.”

  “He replaced you in your tomb?”

  “You do not think I’d let him live, do you?”

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  “Sokar? I’m really cold. I mean. Really. Cold.”

  He glanced down. She was shivering convulsively. Despite standing amidst heat that could easily make him perspire. Sokar scooped her up with one hand, placed the flashlight atop the shrine with the other. A moment later, he had her in his arms, against his chest. The contact was akin to an electrical current. Generating warmth. Her trembling calmed. He held her and gloried in how wondrous it felt. Their heartbeats were synchronized. Their breaths matched. He began rocking slightly.

  “Um. Sokar?”

  “Yes?”

  “You should...probably put me down now.”

  She sounded flustered but nothing on her frame moved in contradiction. He decided to listen to what she was exhibiting, rather than her words. It was the better option.

  “We need to see my father’s tomb now.”

  “Do we...have to?”

  He straightened. The move shifted her against his belly. All kinds of impulses erupted from the contact. The effect was delicious. Highly sensual. Definitely erotic. And happening at the wrong time and place.

  “You need to see the truth. The entire truth. That is why we are here.”

  “What if I told you...I was very close to believing you already? Would that be enough?”

  “You needn’t fret, Geena. You are ever safe with me. I will let nothing harm you. I vow it.”

  By the god, Set! He’d said it incorrectly. Or used the wrong words. His statement made her stiffen. When she looked up toward him, she had a tight look to her mouth. And she wouldn’t meet his eyes.

  “I don’t need a man to protect me, Sokar.”

  “I would never infer such.”

  “Good. Because I find it insulting.”

  She did?

  “I just...need reality. Okay?”

  “Everything I have shown you is real, habibi.”

  “Except the vampire thing.”

  He sighed heavily.

  “You can put me down now.”

  “It will be easier to carry you.”

  “Easier...for whom?”

  Her voice lowered. He swallowed uneasily. In his mortal years, he’d known great power. Wielded it without thought. He’d gone on war campaigns. Annihilated any who dared stand against him. He’d gathered shiploads of tribute. Been awarded necklaces of golden bees, golden lions, and three gold arm bands for his victories. Had his exploits carved on temple walls for all to see. They had long since disappeared, sunk beneath the marshy fields in the delta area. Sokar’s mortal life had been obliterated by the passage of time. He hadn’t truly cared. That was one penalty of accepting immortality. He’d spent the centuries sinc
e searching and learning many things. But, he’d somehow missed an extremely important one.

  He knew precious little about women.

  This was a terrible time to find that out.

  “I did not just protect my father’s tomb with mine. I built a series of false passageways. Rooms that open into empty rooms that go nowhere. It is a maze of death if you do not follow it precisely.”

  “That figures.”

  “I do not understand the sarcasm.”

  “I am already impressed. Okay?”

  “You are impressed?”

  “I’m using sarcasm to hide just how impressed. And I really hate to admit that to an arrogant male who doesn’t need it. Okay?”

  He straightened further. Bumped his head on a roof bar of the shrine. Why would he not need to know he’d impressed her? Did it have something to do with this arrogance she attributed to him?

  Arrogant?

  Him?

  He really didn’t understand women.

  “So. You want to stand around...or show me this maze?”

  “I will need to think first.” Was it right two times? Then left? Then right again? He thought that was the correct sequence. He needed to be sure. Otherwise he’d get lost. And there were a lot of rock walls and empty chambers between the two tombs.

  She looked up toward him again, but didn’t keep her gaze on his. The instant of regard was almost too much. Even in his tomb, surrounded by funerary goods, lit by a flashlight directed at one wall, her glance sent all kinds of sensations through him. He needed to disguise it. And quickly. Sokar tightened his grip on her thighs, brought them closer to his belly, turned sideways, and shoved a shoulder into the right side of the wall.

  A scraping sound of rock on rock accompanied his action. The wall pivoted open enough to fit if he went sideways. He slid through, entering an empty chamber barely the size of his shrine. The rock wall shut behind them. There wasn’t a hint of light. It didn’t hamper him, although she gasped. He turned to his right and smacked his shoulder into the side of that wall. It slid open with more scraping sounds. He stepped into another chamber. The wall behind them closed. He’d reached another chamber, approximately the same size of the last, and just as black. He repeated the action. At the third chamber, he stood for a moment. Yes. He was certain this was correct. It was hard to think, however. She was making it difficult. Her heart had sped up, taking his heart rate with it. Her breathing came in short gasps, dragging his into rhythm, and she’d wrapped her arms about his neck and clung there, making their embrace incredibly vibrant. And heart-stirring.

  Left.

  He pushed the left side of the left wall. The rock slid forward. He stepped through. It shut behind them. Then he turned right again. She stopped him with a few words.

  “Holy crap, Sokar. I mean...holy crap.”

  He grinned. It was probably a good thing she couldn’t see. “You are impressed?”

  “Um. Yes. Mightily.”

  He couldn’t help it. He tossed his head back and shouted the joy. That was a mistake. The chamber wasn’t large. The sound amplified and overwhelmed. She cried out and shoved her head into his shoulder. And she was shaking again. He pressed a palm to her exposed ear as the din slowly subsided. Sokar was rocking her again, and crooning some forgotten tune. She was just so perfect...and so infinitely precious! He stopped humming the moment it became obvious. She might think it another insult. He hoped it was soon enough. He moved his hand away, grunted, and shifted sideways, so he could smack his shoulder into the wall on their right. She stopped him again. This time with a whisper.

  “Um. Sokar?”

  “Yes?”

  “Are we almost there?”

  “Yes.”

  “How can you even see? And don’t answer that.”

  “Very well. I will not.”

  I...really hope I can handle this.”

  Anything he said might be taken as an insult. He debated options. Discarded each one. She spoke again, saving him from an answer.

  “I mean...what if it’s true? And...you really are a vampire?”

  Elation sent a shiver rippling over him. It raised goose bumps. She might have felt them since she lifted her head away from his shoulder.

  “It is not so horrid, habibi.”

  “Well, it’s crazy. Okay? Out there. Insane. I mean...will I have to admit I’ve gone insane?”

  “Hold that thought,” he replied, and slammed into the wall.

  He hadn’t been here in decades. Odors assailed him. He hadn’t realized the tomb had a smell. It was a blend of ancient wood, woven basketry, paint, and dust. He set her on her feet and turned, placing her back against him, facing outward. They were on the threshold. Several steps above the tomb floor. This room was the largest. He made out shapes of statues, chariots, and the long shape of a funerary boat along one wall.

  “Oh. Wow. I hope you have another flashlight hidden.”

  “No need. I have it wired. One moment...”

  He reached for the lever.

  “You brought electricity in here? Why? If a thief sees wires, they’ll look for why. Your compound will be compromised. They’ll find you.”

  Sokar waited with his hand on the lever, stalled halfway to connecting the alternating current. “If anyone reaches this far, that will mean I have failed. The only way that would happen is if I am dead.”

  “Wait! What? You can’t die. You’re immortal.”

  “Does that mean you believe me?” he asked.

  “Just answer me, Sokar. Okay? How can you die?”

  “A vampire can be killed many ways. A wooden stake to the heart. A beheading. A draining of fluid.”

  “Who would dare?”

  “Anyone with the right tools.”

  “Ah. Right. That would be...sunlight. Or...down here, maybe a sunlamp?”

  “Not exactly. I have lived long enough sunlight has little effect.”

  “How about Holy Water? A crucifix?”

  “I am almost four thousand years old, habibi. Christian symbols were not in existence. They cannot harm me. Although...”

  “Yes?”

  “You are not planning my demise, are you?”

  “I’m just trying to figure things out. You know. Act normal. That way...maybe when I return to reality, I can pretend none of this happened.”

  That stupid promise.

  His heart hurt. Sokar blinked rapidly and viciously against a wash of moisture that came unbidden and swift. He’d never dealt with such a thing. For a few moments, he wasn’t sure he could conquer it. He was extremely thankful he hadn’t turned on the lights yet. He finally had the emotion defeated, but had to clear his throat to answer her. And then the words trembled.

  “There is water that has debilitating effects. If it is trickled down a Cippi statue and blessed by a priest of Amun first.”

  “A what statue?”

  “It is a sacred statue of the young god, Horus. He stands atop a crocodile. He holds two scorpions in each hand. This water has healing properties for the living. Ancient Egyptian physicians used it.”

  “It will harm you?”

  “Most assuredly.”

  “Well. I think you’re safe. Anyone wishing to use it would have to find the statue and then track down a priest of Amun. I think the last one disappeared sometime during the Roman occupation. Or thereabout. Yes?”

  He grunted, and pushed the lever down.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Words failed her.

  Geena stumbled down a step, her eyes wide, one hand pressed to her breast. The other held tightly to Sokar. She laced her fingers through his, alternately squeezing and then releasing. She blinked several times. Tried squinting. The light came from florescent tubes in the ceiling. They took a moment to brighten. That was a distinct blessing since she’d been in pitch blackness. It was also a problem. The view was indistinct. She had to wait. She stood at the top of the steps and watched the world turn into intense color, precious oiled woods, statuary... />
  And gold.

  She thought she’d prepared herself. She’d seen filmmaker’s versions of what an Egyptian Pharaoh’s tomb looked like. Not a young one like King Tutankhamen, but an older pharaoh. One with time to accrue a lot of worldly goods.

  The truth was ground-shaking. Stunning. The walls and columns in this room were covered with enormous depictions of the gods. She recognized Anubis, the jackal-headed god. Toth, the ibis-headed one. Tefnut, the lion-headed goddess. The falcon-headed god, Horus. Ma-at, the goddess of truth and justice, complete with a feather atop her head. More.

  The walls were works of art. And yet, everywhere she looked was treasure. Where Sokar had two ka statues, his father had an army of them. They stood in rows, three abreast, facing the portal with spears held at the ready. The statues were all dressed in the kilt and headdress of a pharaoh. And every one of them wore a golden breast collar inset with a fortune in jewels. There were statues of horses, too, at the back. Life-sized. Maybe larger. They looked enormous from her standpoint. Their collars and reins were also fashioned of gold and inset with all kinds of gem stones. The horses were hitched, two to a chariot. She counted twelve in sight, and the heads of more horses through another doorway.

  It was intimidating. And awe-inspiring.

  A wooden boat graced one wall. There was a striped fabric tent in the center. Its oars extended out into the room, as if ready to navigate the Nile. Its lines were elegant. She’d only seen one like it. King Khufu’s boat, found at the Giza plateau. It resided there now, in its own museum. Could this be an indicator that all pharaohs had them?

  Geena descended the steps reverently. Silently. She stood at the base of the stairs, looking up at the front row of statues. Feeling very small. And extremely insignificant. Her voice reflected it.

  “Sokar?”

  He answered from her side. His voice was deep. Full. Resonant.

  “My father was Amenemhet the Fourth. He was the seventh pharaoh in what is known as Dynasty Twelve of the Middle Kingdom. He is called a forgotten pharaoh. His reign considered of no importance. There is little known of it because researchers can’t locate much. They didn’t find a pyramid. Or a tomb. My father had a pyramid. It was almost as large as the one built by my namesake, but my father’s was completely destroyed by robbers looking for his tomb. They found all the other pharaoh’s tombs. Emptied them of treasure. They did not find Amenemhet the Fourth’s.”