Chapter Ten

The jaguar growled inside him, aching for freedom as much as Issa yearned for the escape. Muriah was a strong psychic. She’d touched the codex and witnessed its story. Her gift. That had to be why even his power couldn’t pierce the mental wall that shielded her thoughts.

And she’d seen his true self. The killer.

Worse yet, the echo of his past made contact with her in the future. Had she sensed his torture, witnessed the madness lurking in his eyes, the torment in his soul?

Holding her in his arms, gazing into her beautiful eyes, her untamable spirit caged within, and feeling her cling to him, hungry for him, had been a moment of heaven. But it was an undeserved paradise. She was right, he had hoped her blood would enable him to enter her mind, but he hadn’t realized that the discovery of her secret would hurt her.

He’d spent too many years in seclusion, only coming in contact with humans who obeyed his wishes. Spending one night with a woman who could stand toe-to-toe with him, with a will every bit as strong as his own, left him confused, frustrated, and now empty.

Her blood moved through his veins, sustaining him with her essence. He’d never tasted anything like her, sensual, magic, and full of light to his darkness. And she’d wanted him. It was her desire he felt, not something his power forced upon her.

With her body pressed against his, bloodlust blended with the strange emotions she conjured within him. Drinking from mortals usually revealed their memories, their lives, uniting their minds as one, but he’d never met anyone like Muriah before, so he hadn’t been sure if it would work.

The chance to discover her secrets added strength to the temptation she offered. He’d given her his left hand, while his right, the bringer of death and sacrifice, remained at his side. He didn’t wish for the stains of his past to blemish her. The moment Muriah had taken his hand and smiled up at him, he realized that the ground had shifted beneath him.

Although he’d recognized he should resist this connection, she’d carefully unarmed him. He was enthralled by this willful, mortal woman, and he ached to please her.

She’d witnessed his pain, his guilt, and she’d still opened herself to him.

Until he discovered a secret she never intended to share.

His gaze cut to the back of her chair. He wondered why she considered the gift to be a curse. There was so much about her he yearned to learn.

And he needed her back in his arms, her body pressed against his. Somehow, she lifted the mantle of his position as upholder of this mortal world and made him believe there could be more. She made him want more.

He closed his eyes, resting his head on the sofa, grinding his teeth against the treacherous fantasies.

The plane landed in New York without incident. They disembarked from the jet, but Muriah remained cool and distant. He carried the bags down the steps and onto the tarmac. She unfolded a paper while Issa glanced up at the sky. The lightening sky.

“Come.” He reached for her arm. “Apep can move freely in the daylight. You need to be at the hotel. Now.”

“I’m trying to look at the reservation.” She hurried ahead of him, struggling to open her folded up piece of paper. “You can go wherever you’re going to rest. Come find me tonight at the Millennium Broadway Hotel. It’s in Times Square.”

Times Square. Chaos. The coming sunrise weighed on his shoulders like two tons of cement, but the thought of her alone in that mass of humanity while he had no idea where Apep might be hiding gave him an extra dose of awareness. She would be angry with him, but he saw no other solution.

Using his preternatural speed, he raced ahead, catching her around the waist as he rushed through the airport, down the New York streets, and didn’t slow until he stood in front of the Millennium. He moved so fast, no one could see them.

He set Muriah on her feet, and she rewarded him with a groan. “Ugh.” She huffed in some deep breaths. “I’m going to throw up.” She glared at him. “I told you I hate that super-fast Night Walker thing.”

He ran his hand up her back while she bent over, pulling air into her lungs. “Apep could be anywhere. You cannot stay alone. The daylight does not affect him like it does the Night Walkers.”

“Are you saying you’re staying with me?” She finally straightened, her skin a little ashen from the high-speed trip. “Lukas told me hotels are too dangerous. If someone opens the door or the window… Badness, right?”

Issa had no desire to rest in a hotel room. She was right, it was far too risky. But leaving her alone was out of the question. “You trusted me enough to let me drink from you. I will trust that you will keep me safe from the daylight.”

Her gaze held his suspended for a moment. “Fine.” She sighed and took her bags from his shoulder. “Let’s get a room, but I haven’t forgiven you.”

He almost smiled. “Understood.”

…

Apep watched the humans disembark from his flight like lambs to the slaughter. He wet his lips in anticipation. Sliding out of his seat, he made his way to the back of the plane. The flight attendant gasped as she turned.

“I’m sorry sir; you’ll need to exit the aircraft now.”

He shook his head, feeling the energy rise as chaos clouded his vision. Her eyes met his, hypnotized by the storm lurking in the dark depths, and her mind opened to him. “Marjorie, you will open all the emergency doors and deploy the rescue slides.” He ran his finger along her full, red lips. If only he had more time. “Undress and take the slide out of the plane. Now.”

She nodded slowly and then dutifully hurried toward the exits. Apep continued back to the convection oven. The serpents slithered along his neck, already feeding on the chaos of the alarms and shouts of another member of the flight crew.

“Not yet.” He mumbled, forcing himself to focus all his anger. Egypt. The desolate, damned desert. The rage manifested in his gaze, agitating the electrical system at a molecular level and heating the oven until flames erupted around the edges. Smoke billowed, sending another surge of chaos toward him. His eyes rolled back in his head for a moment, the pleasure threatening to drown his senses.

Pulling the black smoke deep into his lungs, he opened his eyes and jumped from the back emergency door to the ground. He landed in a crouched position, watching the carts and utility trucks already circling the plane. One man in coveralls approached him, drowning Apep in the savory scent of his adrenaline.

“Hold it, sir. You can’t be on the runway.” The man glanced up at the airplane door and back to Apep. “How the hell did you make that jump without a scratch on you?”

“Look me in the eyes, and I’ll tell you.”

The worker focused on Apep, quickly mesmerized by the storms of chaos in his gaze. “You will drive your vehicle to the nearest breaker box. Every breaker needs to be turned off. Then you will do the same at the next box until all of LaGuardia is dark.”

The man nodded and walked back to his vehicle. He drove away, ignoring his coworkers yelling for his help. A smirk tugged at the corner of Apep’s mouth as the screams from inside began.

Once the lights vanished, he made his way over to the walls of the terminal. He only needed it to remain dark long enough for his serpents to complete their task. Placing his palms against the block wall, he called to them. The tattoos slithered down his body, off his arms, and up into the shadows on the walls. In a moment, the computer systems would be as fried as the back of the airliner.

The prophecy was somewhere in this mass of humanity the mortals called New York City. He’d pulled the info from the mind of the Night Walker who arranged the God of the West’s plane flight. They’d landed at LaGuardia, and he intended to keep them here. He would collect the codex without having to return to Egypt.

Ruining the travel plans of thousands of mortals only sweetened the deal.

And to be certain that Issa and the woman couldn’t complete the rest of the journey to Egypt, he’d ruin the nearby airports as well. He ran his tongue along his teeth, the chaos infusing him with power.

The Night Walker wouldn’t be able to travel during the day. He would search for the woman, and if the airports managed to get their computers back online, maybe he’d blow something up next time.

Maybe he’d blow something up either way. His mouth watered.

No maybe about it.

…

Muriah stood as far away from Issa as possible in the elevator. It wasn’t nearly far enough. His scent, his broad shoulders, his dark eyes…yeah, he was standing way too close to her. She couldn’t stop thinking about his lips on hers, the way it felt the moment he pulled at her veins and her entire body screamed for an even closer connection. Instead of being weakened from blood loss, she almost seemed empowered. This all-powerful, ancient immortal needed her.

In trade, she’d trusted him with her life.

She focused her attention on the red numbers over the doors. Trust. Idiot. She knew better, but something about him called to her. Seeing the pain in his eyes from her vision of the past, and watching it change into a sparkle when she’d made him smile, flipped a switch inside her that she’d had no idea existed.

A switch she damned well needed to shut off.

He’d already shared her mind and witnessed her curse in action. Psychometry. She’d never asked for the ability, but she’d used it to find countless lost relics. It cost her in migraines, nosebleeds, and occasional blackouts. It also left her weak and defenseless, so she’d kept it a secret.

Until Issa stole it from her.

He crumpled against the wall of the elevator, snapping her out of her inner grumbling. Clenching his jaw, Issa frowned, reaching for the railing.

Her pulse answered, hammering through her veins. “You’re not going to fall asleep right here, right?”

“The sun is rising.” He gripped the handrail so tight she wondered if he’d yank it off the elevator wall. “Soon I will succumb.”

She looked up at the red numbers again. “We’re on the fourteenth floor, just a couple more to go.”

There was no way she’d be able to drag him into the room by herself, and from what she understood, his heart would stop when the sun came up. He’d look like a corpse. New York was a crazy place, but she doubted she’d find someone willing to help her lug a dead body into her hotel room.

“Keep all the lights on and stay inside today. Until I awaken, you must remain hidden from Apep.”

She raised a brow, narrowing her eyes at his command. He looked like hell, but she did her best not to cut him any slack.

The corner of his mouth curved into a weak, would-be smile. “Please, Muriah.”

Hearing him say her name shook her better judgment. She stepped across the elevator as it lurched to a stop and took the bags from his shoulder. Issa straightened, head held high, regal in spite of the fact that his heart threatened to stop beating in his chest.

Muriah pulled out the room key and stayed close to him, as if she could catch him if he fell. “Just a couple more minutes…”

“You did not answer my—”

“Command?”

“Request.” He leaned against the wall as she slid the card into the slot on the door. “I did say please…”

Laughter crept up in her while she held the door for her fading Night Walker god. “Technically, that’s true.” He wobbled a little and caught himself on the dresser before Muriah dashed over to try to help. “I’ll stay inside. Besides, I couldn’t leave you alone, right? What if housekeeping came in here and opened the drapes.”

He nearly smiled. “I will rest in the bathtub. Keep the door closed and no sunlight will enter.”

She followed him inside. “What if I need to use the bathroom?”

“I can assure you, as long as the sun is up, I will never know.” He stepped into the bathtub and slid down like he was settling into a hot bath.

“You won’t be comfortable.” She went into the other room and ripped a fluffy pillow from the bed. “Here, use this…”

The bathroom was silent. Too silent. Issa didn’t move. Not his chest, his stomach, nothing. It shouldn’t bother her. He’d wake up when the sun went down. And yet…

She knelt beside the tub. His dark features looked more like a statue than the man who had held her tight only a couple of hours ago. Taking a deep breath, she reached out to lift his head. His black hair was silky with gentle curls, but his skin was cold. She slipped the pillow behind his head and laid him back against it. It might not help him rest, but she’d sleep better knowing she at least tried to make him comfortable.

I shouldn’t even care. She closed the bathroom door and plopped onto the bed. After clicking on the television set for background noise, she gave Lukas a call.

“We made it to New York.”

“It’s about time you called. I was losing my mind over here.”

“Sorry, Dad.” Muriah rolled her eyes and started surfing through the TV channels. “I know how to travel. This isn’t my first trip to Egypt.”

“But you don’t usually travel with ancient Night Walkers who need to hide at dawn. It’s morning in New York, right?”

Muriah glanced at the thin strip of light streaming through the blackout drapes and onto her legs. “Yeah. But it might as well be nighttime. I’m exhausted.” She yawned. “If I keep staying up all night, I’ll be a Night Walker, too, by the end of this trip.”

“Did Issa find a safe resting place?”

“I think so.” She allowed her gaze to wander to the bathroom door. “He’s in the tub, in the bathroom.”

“He’s inside the hotel?” Lukas sounded like he was going to crawl right through the phone and shake her. “What is he doing there? He knows that’s not safe.”

“Take is easy… I’ve got this. I’ll sleep for a few hours, and then I’ll hang out in the room today. No one from housekeeping is going to find a Night Walker in my bathroom.”

He sighed and started to say something, but the television grabbed her full attention. She clicked up the volume, and the hair on her arms rose.

“Lukas?”

“Are you listening to anything I’m saying?”

“You need to get online and click on CNN. All of New York’s airports are off-line.”

“What do you mean off-line?”

She listened to the newscaster’s summary of the scene and shook her head. “Two terminals had explosions, one has no power.” The news headlines scrolled across the bottom of the screen. “And the computer mainframe has a virus.” She paused and clicked off the TV. “It’s him.”

“Apep?”

“The airports are in chaos. And it’s probably making him stronger.” She closed her eyes and took a slow breath. “He knows we’re in New York.”