Kindred (52 page)

Nero looked at me quickly, just a glance, then back towards the street we were running down, his face was hidden, a mask of concentration. I didn't think he would answer me, but he said, “I told them you were a
Child of Nut
.”

I skipped around a group of people and rejoined him in the middle of the road, keeping pace with his long strides. “What does that mean?”

“
My people have a legend, that Thoth, the God of Wisdom and Knowledge, once prophesied a child would be born to Nut who would become Pharaoh after Ra.” He stopped talking to negotiate another group of people, then rejoined me and ran silently for a few paces. I was about to ask,
what the hell does that mean?
When he continued. “It is told that she had five children, Osiris was the first born and it was proclaimed to the heavens on his birth, 'The Lord of All comes forth into the Light!' We are the children of the Light, Kiwi. We force out evil and banish the Dark. To my people we are the
Children of Nut
.”

“
How did
that
stop him, it's just a legend.”

“
To my people it is not.”

I didn't know what to say to that. It was just a legend, but it had got us out of a tight spot, so who was I to complain?

“
Why did he believe you?” Another dodge around a group of younger people, loud and boisterous. They have teens in Egypt too then. Huh.

The streets had become more narrow, the buildings so much older. There were parts of walls bisecting alley ways that looked as old as time itself, or at the very least perhaps Roman in their origin. It was a rabbit warren of paving, low walls and crooked buildings. At any other time it would have been a lovely place to stop and take photos. Why is it on my first trip to Egypt I don't even get to be a tourist? I had no doubt I would not be seeing the Pyramids any time soon.

He shrugged, a simple yet elegant movement on him. “It is easy to see with you.”

That didn't make any sense at all, but just as I was about to voice that, he took hold of my wrist and steered me into the shadows, slowing our pace down to just a creep.

“
We are almost there. Let us be cautious.”

“
What's the plan?” I whispered as we were hunkered down behind a low wall some ten metres from The Coptic Museum. The
Cadre
hadn't settled for a simple dwelling as their
hide-out, they had commandeered The Coptic Museum, a beautiful old sandstone building engraved with arched designs and delicate mouldings along its roof line. The main entrance was a squat building, compared to the rest of the museum around it, with a flat roof. The glow of master vampire eyes obvious, every now and then on top of the entrance building, standing guard. Between us and the main entrance was a courtyard with two perfectly square green grass areas, each planted with a mini palm tree, and a large expanse of paving. Not an ounce of cover anywhere to be seen, crossing the courtyard unnoticed was going to be impossible.

“
We go in from the top. Take out the guards there and enter through the roof access.”

It was good as far as plans went, the buildings on either side of the museum were the same height as the outer buildings of The Coptic, which were all higher than the entrance building. If we could enter one of those and jump from their rooftop to The Coptic and then down to the entrance building, we might just be able to do it. Nero started moving off, back away from the entrance and towards the building on the left.

The neighbouring building was made up of various shops with what appeared to be apartments above. Nero ran his hands over the door to one shop, muttering his magic words quietly and the door clicked open. Dark inside, we negotiated our way past touristy objects, brightly coloured materials, Hookahs and small figurines of Pharaohs and Sphinxes, with the odd Pyramid or two.

At the rear of the building was a store room, a workshop and kitchen facilities, I guess for making morning tea and to the left a stairwell leading up into darkness. We quietly stepped on the stairs, expecting them to creak, but they remained silent as we ascended up past the closed door to the living area. A T.V. could be heard, passed unattended bedrooms above and finally reaching the door to the fire escape and roof access.

Another muttered word from Nero and a wave of his hand over the door knob and we were out on the external fire escape and climbing. The final steps to the roof top surrounded by dry heat and the noises of the city settling for the night.

Nero crouched at the edge of the building, trying to remain unseen. I knew we would have to move fast, the vampires guarding the roof would sense us well before we approached. Initially, they would assume our heartbeats belonged to the occupied buildings surrounding The Coptic, but once we landed on that building and made our way towards them, they would know an attack was on. There was just simply no way to sneak up on a vampire.

We both looked at each other, Nero's eyes shining in the dim light of the streets. I couldn't see their colour, but I knew there'd be gold and cinnamon and maybe coffee flecks dancing there. Right now they looked big and dark and endlessly deep. He reached up and ran the back of his fingers down my cheek, resting his hand at the side of my neck.

“
Whatever happens here tonight, Kiwi, it has been an honour and delight to have finally met you.”

I smiled, how could I not? He was warmth and light and everything good in this world, I couldn't imagine a world without him in it. He leaned in and lightly dusted my lips with his, a soft, warm meeting, too brief, not enough.

“
Let us do this.” And then he was over the edge of our building and running full speed across The Coptic's roof.

I launched myself after him, feeling my heartbeat rise and knowing the alarm bells would already be ringing through the vampire guards' minds and probably on to those inside as well. Vampires can communicate telepathically, it was a given we had just ruined our element of surprise.

Nero made contact first, rushing straight at the first vampire to greet his approach, he launched into the air in a spin and sailed past the guard leaving him a trail of dust behind. He paused only briefly to prepare for the next and began his spin again. I pulled my gaze away from him towards the vampires coming from the side. They had spotted Nero and were heading straight for him, they hadn't registered my heartbeat or presence in the storm that was Nero right now. I took advantage of their distraction and lunged at the back of one of the stragglers.

My stake slid home with a satisfying squelch, then dust coated the air and everything in it. Two vampires who had moments ago been hell bent on getting Nero, spun around and came for me. Oh goody.

Their eyes glowed eerily in the night and we circled each other briefly. It wasn't long before one came at me from the front and I rolled out of his approaching grasp slicing my stake across his stomach. His growl was low but controlled, a minor gash that would heal almost instantly. I had come to a stop in a crouch, but didn't stay there long, launching myself at the other vampire and managing a strike to his upper chest, that bounced off with the flick of his wrist. Unfortunately, I went spinning too at the tremendous force behind that casual movement.

I landed in a heap to the side and glanced up to see Nero had stopped spinning and was now battling hand to hand with three vampires. More were coming out through the roof top access, I could only hope we lured them all outside and managed to kill off the bulk of the guard on Amisi, even before we entered the museum itself. If there were still the same amount inside, then God help us.

Two more vampires joined my attackers, the odds were rapidly depleting on my side, but Nero wasn't doing much better. Had he realised there'd still be so many here at their hide-out? Did he care? He certainly wasn't showing any shock at their approach, just a single minded concentration and an increased look of dogged determination on his face.

I had already moved from my position and now found myself facing off with two vampires in the front and the other two circling around the back. I did not want them to make it there, so I struck out quickly to the vampire on the right, gashing his arm and receiving a shriek in return. I spun around behind him in a move I didn't even know I was capable of, flying through the air and watching the horizon spin slowly around me and landed a blow to the second vampire across his neck. I needed to get more accurate, none of my strikes were connecting where they should, but these vampires were fast, super fast and I just didn't have Nero's speed.

I continued to move in that slow spin aiming for my next victim and praying for a just a little break in my luck. But as my arm came out to land the blow, stake tip already resting on the vamp's back, right above his heart, I felt an excruciatingly tight grip on my wrist and a sudden pull of my body as I went flying through the air to only be hit by the bulk of a solid wall. The solid wall turned out to be a vampire and he didn't waste time in getting a boot into my side as I lay at his feet. He was pulling back his size 12 shoe, ready to go in for the next rib cracking hit, when I stabbed my stake through his other foot and watched the blood begin to well around its tip.

He screamed out a curse in Arabic, but by then another vamp had hauled me to my feet and was attempting to strangle the life out of me, his face inches from mine, his red eyes blinding in their intensity. I had not been able to pull the stake out of the other vampire's boot and was trying alternately to grab my second from inside my shirt and also pry his fingers from around my neck. Neither was working, my breathing was shallow, my heartbeat pounding, my head had started thumping, the pulse in the side of my neck sending shockwaves into my skull with each ever increasing beat. Flashes of bright white interspersed with strobing black, had already begun their deadly dance before my eyes. All of this happening in less time than it takes to think it, I was running out of time and that meant so was Michel.

I was only too aware of what Michel was feeling right now, somehow the nearness of my death made me more in tune with him. I could feel his efforts in the battle he was fighting, his
determination to win at all costs, the desire to protect me from death so strong. He was not concerned for his own safety at this point, only in so much as his death would mean mine. He was fighting like a man possessed, holding his own, as none of those around him had even remotely his power level, but despite this, the numbers were vast. The
Cadre
had been so much bigger than we had expected, those facing Michel and Nafrini amounted to over 50 still and yet there was already so much dust. The chances of overcoming those odds were slim, yet Michel never wavered. His only thought to preserve his own life so that I would not die.

I was struck by the sheer selflessness of his emotions, he was taking a beating, but only because he was holding back from placing himself in a position that would mean my death. The overriding thought in his brain was of me.

I couldn't let him down. I tried to think of what I could do to get out of this situation.
Get a stake and stab him.
I couldn't feel my fingers, couldn't even tell if they were near my shirt, near my stake, if they could grip around it.
Pry the vampire's fingers off my neck.
Yet again my hands weren't working, I now realised they were lying limply at my sides, my arms just tingling, but not able to follow the commands from my brain.

I could feel my heartbeat faltering, my chest was so tight from lack of air, the world had grown dim and a sense of fear laced with stillness had begun to envelope me. I couldn't remember why I was here, what was happening. Nothing made sense any more, but I knew I should be scared. Strange though, I wasn't.

What was I doing here?

Why am I so tired?

Maybe I should just let that blackness that's coming in arrive, maybe I'm meant to sleep. That's it, I'll just sleep. Sleep sounds so good right now.

Fight back! Don't give up!

What was that? It sounded so far away. Can't be important.

But sleep is, back to sleep. I want to sleep.

Lucinda! Fight!

OK, I heard it that time and it really was a voice. A loud and demanding voice, but also it wrapped me up in warmth and light, then slapped me in the face.

I opened my eyes and stared straight into the depths of hell, two red glowing orbs hovering in front of me. I took what little breath I could and croaked, “You're going to let go of me now.”

Nothing happened, he just continued to grimace and sneer and kept on with his pursuit of crushing my wind pipe and throat to smitherines. So, stubborn girl that I am, I repeated it and this time I really meant it.

“
LET GO OF MY THROAT, NOW!”

He immediately released me and the air came rushing in my mouth and down my sore throat like a wave of burning fire. I doubled over trying to catch my breath and was immediately grabbed from behind by another vampire. The first was still staring at me, slightly puzzled, so I shouted at it, holding his gaze, “KILL ALL THE VAMPIRES. DO IT NOW!”

And with that he was off, racing around in that vampiric speed, ripping one head off after the other. It was only after he had left me in the grip of vamp number two, that I realised I should have commanded him to help free me.