Sekhmet's Curse (Pearl Vampire Chronicles) by Dara Nelson Page B

leaned my head against the wall, closed my eyes, and dozed off too.
    *    *   *   *   *
    ‘Sarah?  Where are you?’  Matt thought. 
    From Carlos I got, ‘ Hun, don’t make me panic.  Not now.  Where’d you go?’
    ‘ Relax, guys.  I’m down in Aquila’s cell.  But please be quiet.  Jason ’s still asleep.’
    I smiled as they rounded the corner a few seconds later and stepped in to the cell.  Carlos crossed his legs, sat in front of me and began rubbing my feet with his good hand.  Matt sat next to me and slid his arm behind my back.  I leaned my head on his shoulder.  ‘Been here long?’   Matt thought.
    ‘Since about three.   Something woke me.  At first I thought Carlos was in pain from his arm, so I went and checked on him.  But he was out cold.  That’s when I realized that it was Jason.  He was missing his Dad and he was crying.  So I brought him down here.’
    Jason yawned, stretched and blinked his eyes a few times.  Suddenly, he realized that we were no longer alone and it scared him a bit.  He shot upright and scooted a few feet away from us.  We stared at him for a few seconds until he gave us a sheepish smile.  “Sorry.  Didn’t realize we had company , ”  he said, then a huge yawn escaped him again. 
    I chuckled, “ It’s okay. They scare me sometimes when I wake up too.  Are y ou hungry?”
    He nodded and we all clamored to our feet.  As we headed to the kitchen, Carlos leaned down and whispered in my ear, “How’s you r hunger, Sarah?  Are the cravings going away or getting any better?”
    I thought for a second, “Yes and no.  They’re definitely still there, but, with Jason here, I have more distractions to keep my mind off of them.  And that makes them easier to deal with.”
    “Okay.  But you let me know when you need to hunt again.  I’ll take you to a place that you’d swear was hell on earth.  Full of the cruelest, nastiest, humans on the face of the planet,” he said then he grinned and pulled his arm tighter around me when he felt the shiver that rocked my body.  “What time does the car leave for the airport?” I said.
    “Noon,” Matt said
    “Okay.  That gives me time to go talk to Bahiti a little more.”
    “Us.   It gives us a little more time to talk to Bahiti.  There has to be a way to get you out of being locked in that damn tomb with Sekhmet.  There just has to,” Carlos mumbled.
    Matt’s cell phone rang on his hip.  He pulled it out, gave me a quick worried look after he checked the caller id, then he stepped out into the hall to answer it.  Carlos and Jason were talking over by the microwave as their breakfast warmed up, so I took the opportunity to listen to Matt’s half of the conversation.  “Yes, Alan.  Uh huh.   What?  You found her? No!  Absolutely not.   You will not hurt her in any way.  Do I make myself clear?  Good. Bring her to one of the holding cells and make her comfortable. No, don’t worry about the reporter right now.  We’ll deal with her later.  Yes.  Okay.”  I heard his cell fold close.  He stepped back into the kitchen as he was tucking it back into its holster.  “Where was she?” I whispered, but I saw Carlos’ eyes flicker to me.  He was listening now too.  “A small hotel in Lima   It’ll be several hours before they make it here.  It probably won’t be until after we leave.  Do you want to delay our trip or have me stay behind?”
    I shook my head, “No.  It’s critical that we find Aquila soon, Matt.  And you know those waters better than I do, I need you there.  Just keep her comfortable while she’s locked up, okay?  We’ll deal with her when we get back.”
    He nodded, “I’ll eat in a bit.  I need to go brief Derek.  I’ll see you in a bit, sweetie, okay ?”
    I nodded and gave him a quick kiss.  I turned and joined Carlos and Jason at the table.  Carlos had already heated several pints for me.  I sat next to him and he quickly wrapped