“None of this makes any sense,” I complained, wandering a short distance away from Jabari, back toward the south. I could see the golden lights shining up at the tall walls that comprised the Temple of Isis. A soft breeze picked up, stirring the trees that ringed the island.
“It does not have to make sense to you.” His voice lashed at me like a whip, halting my complaints. “Leave now with your people. I will contact you soon in London.”
This was the other reason why I left Jabari, more than the need to finally take control of my own life. No matter how much I loved him, I would never be viewed as an equal in his eyes. Jabari loved me in his own way, but I would always be his subordinate, beneath him even if I earned his respect. I couldn’t live like that. It would have broken my heart.
With the long-lived, there were various hierarchies and layers of discrimination. For some, it was the Old World versus the New, or the discrimination of First Blood versus chum, or man versus woman, or ancient versus fledgling. But with Jabari the only creatures above him were Our Liege and his gods. And those not by much.
“As you wish,” I said, bowing my head stiffly. I had forgotten myself—he was an Ancient and an Elder. Regardless of what had occurred between us, I still owed him my respect, and in many ways my life. For now, it didn’t matter if I understood what was going on. All I needed to know was that I had to keep Sadira alive and find a replacement for Tabor. After that, I was done and headed home. The Coven and the triad would handle the naturi.
“What about Danaus?” I asked, looking up at the Elder again. “He knows about the naturi and he knows about Machu Picchu. He also knew where to find me. Sometimes I think he may be a spy for the naturi, and then other times…”
“Yes?” Jabari prompted when I drifted off in thought.
“I have seen him kill at least four naturi, and he has stood by while I killed several myself. He saved me from the naturi tonight when he had absolutely no reason to. I—I don’t know what to think about him.”
“Keep him close, Mira,” Jabari said, putting a strong hand on my shoulder. I suddenly felt very small next to his ancient height. “I do not think he is with the naturi, but we have other enemies. He may lead you to them.”
A half smile lifted one corner of my mouth as I looked up at my old friend and mentor. “You make him sound like a bori spy.”
A ghost of a smile slipped across Jabari’s face, but it could have just as easily been a trick of the light. “At least we know that is impossible. I do not know what secret he holds, but he needs to be watched for a time.”
“But will it be safe for him to be with me while I protect Sadira and search for the third member of the triad?”
“What better way to draw out our enemy?” Jabari asked, titling his head as he gazed down at me. “Besides, you will not fail me a second time by not protecting your maker.”
I resisted the urge to touch my neck, searching for the noose I swore I felt tighten there. I nodded, trying to smile up at Jabari but not quite succeeding.
He gathered me close again and I felt the world fall away. I closed my eyes against the darkness and only opened them again when I heard the splash of the Nile. Michael was being helped into the felucca by Omari. We were gone only a few minutes, but it felt like hours. I gave Jabari’s hand one final squeeze and then boarded the felucca behind Gabriel.
I didn’t know any more now than when I had first arrived in Egypt, but at least something was being done about the naturi. It was a start. Maybe not much of one, but at least there was the promise of progress.
I also had the possibility of a meeting with Themis. And while I might still be their enemy, we were both threatened by the naturi. The old “an enemy of my enemy is my friend” routine. This little shadow group might know more of what was going on with the naturi, and I needed any information I could get my hands on.
Fourteen
We made our way slowly back across the river. Less than two hours had passed since sunset and the streets were still crowded, but no one took notice of us. Usually I’d be rising from my daylight nap about now, but my nightmares had woken me early that evening. Or perhaps some deeper sense of self-preservation allowed me to wake as soon as the sun slipped below the horizon.
“So, we’re off to London now?” Gabriel asked.
“And we get to meet your maker,” Michael said with a wide, playful grin. “I always wondered what she would be like.”
“She didn’t birth me.” The words came out sounding sharper than I’d intended. I didn’t want them to meet Sadira. She was evil and I was not like her.
“No, but without her, we would have never met you,” Michael said, drawing my wandering gaze back to his face. I looked down at his bandaged arm resting in a sling fashioned from a black silk scarf.
Without Sadira, Michael and Gabriel would not be here in Egypt, fighting hunters and the naturi. But I shook off the thought as quickly as it appeared. They had made their own choices. They knew what they were getting into and were free to leave at any time.
“We go to London and protect Sadira,” I repeated, as if saying the words over and over again would give me courage. “I wonder if we could lock her in a box for a few days. Just until the Coven destroys Rowe and the rest of the naturi.” Sadira would never go for it, but I was sorely tempted to try.
The smile died on my lips before it had a chance to grow. We had gone one block in from Corniche and were walking past the giant souq in search of a private taxi to take us back to the hotel toward the south when I looked up to find a naturi staring dumbfounded at us. His hand rested on the knob of a door leading into a flat-fronted, two-story building. By his stance, he had been in the process of either entering or leaving the building when we turned the corner and caught him by surprise.
Muttering something under his breath, he pushed open the door and disappeared inside, slamming it shut behind him.
“Stay here,” I ordered, grabbing the knife from the sheath on Gabriel’s waist. I would have preferred the gun, but it didn’t have a silencer and any shots would catch the attention of the crowds still lingering in the market. I couldn’t afford to divide my attention between fighting the naturi and trying to cloak the fight from the humans.
“Was that…?”
“Naturi.”
“But—”
“Walk down through the souq. Stay in the more crowded area.” I laid a restraining hand on Gabriel’s shoulder, pulling his gaze back to my face. “Protect Michael. He’s weak. Keep one eye on the door. There should be two in there. If one slips past me, I will need you to tell me which way it went.”
Frowning, Gabriel nodded. He didn’t like the idea, but he would follow my directions. I wanted to flash him a cocky smile to ease his concerns, but I couldn’t. For the second time tonight I was going to be outnumbered by naturi. Sure, I could torch the building, but without going inside, I couldn’t be sure that I’d gotten both the naturi Danaus sensed earlier in the evening.
With the knife tightly gripped in my right hand, I kicked open the door. The scent of blood, death, and excrement smacked me in the face, causing me to hesitate. Humans were inside. At least, they had been at one time. I rolled inside, followed by the sound of darts hitting the wall where I’d just been seconds ago. I paused behind a chair. The spindly thin naturi I followed in was shouting something to Rowe. I couldn’t tell what they were saying, but I was willing to bet it had something to do with the vampire crouched behind the hideous patterned chair.
Pushing to my feet, I was prepared to hit both naturi with fireballs. No fighting. No taking chances. But I froze when I finally saw the room. I was standing in what had been a living room, but it looked as if hosed down with blood. There once were four humans in that room; maybe more, maybe less. Their appendages had been hacked off and strewn about. By the smaller torsos, I could identify at least two children.