Nikolas (17 page)

Even though he was only a half-blood, Zeke needed to get out of the small hotel room and breathe in some of the night air. His shifter hated being locked inside. It was one of the reasons he lived near the ocean. Since it wasn’t too late, they decided to visit the Luxor temple complex. It housed five temples, one being the Karnack. It was a vast, open-air complex. Before the apocalypse, it was one of the most visited religious sites in the world. It was still popular since it was lit up at night, offering a completely different experience.

As they strolled through the complex, Xenia gave him a history lesson. The locals tried to infringe on their privacy, offering to provide the history, but Zeke made it clear they didn’t want to pay for someone to guide them. Ezekiel found himself entranced with his guide. Her knowledge was vast, and he could tell by the way she described everything that she loved history. He wished he’d had a history professor who loved the subject as much as she did. It would have made taking the class that much more enjoyable.

Once they had visited everything there was to see, they headed to a restaurant that had international dishes as well as local flavors. Zeke opted for Spaghetti Bolognaise, while Xenia chose fish and chips. Being a world traveler, he was used to eating foreign food, but sometimes he wanted a taste of home. If he was honest with himself, he was looking forward to the day he could retire from being a watcher. He didn’t mind the traveling so much, but he wanted to go to a nice, sunny island instead of the hole in the wall places his siblings had been shipped off to.

He and Xenia talked of her life growing up in South Africa and her parents. Zeke told her everything she wanted to know about Jonas and Caroline that Sophia hadn’t already shared. He talked about Tessa’s life and her being cloned. The last phone call he’d made to Elizabeth had been full of exciting, if not horrific, information. He was happy to know Tessa was going to be okay. He hadn’t been around her often, but when he had, she had kept him highly entertained.

He explained the Unholy and Tessa’s father’s part in that. Zeke sadly told her about their brother, Conrad, going undercover as Magnus Flanagan and how he lost his life. It was his opinion that the siblings be told everything, not just the bits and pieces Jonas wanted them to know.

Even though they had met only recently, the two were falling into an easy comradery. As they talked and laughed, they finished off three bottles of wine. Having shifter metabolism allowed them to drink more than humans, and neither one was feeling the effects of drinking that much. They walked the short distance to the hotel and turned in for the night.

In the morning, they set out for the Valley of the Kings. Zeke was more excited about this excursion than any since he would be seeing the burial chamber of King Tut. He had studied the young pharaoh in his college years and found the stories fascinating. Having Xenia as a guide would only enhance his visit.

Zeke was not disappointed. The chamber was decorated with colorful images and text designed to aid in the pharaoh’s trip into the afterlife. Xenia kept quiet during most of the tour unless the guide left out something important, or made a false statement. She had no problem correcting the young man. Once their tour was finished, she said, “I’d like to visit the Valley of the Queens. It’s much less impressive, but part of Sophia’s clue mentioned it. I want to see if there is anything I pick up on. It’s only about twenty minutes away.”

“Let’s go.” Zeke was all for visiting another ancient landmark. It would probably be a long time before he could return, and he was having a good time in spite of the reason he was in Egypt.

Once inside the Valley of the Queens, the tour guide instructed them that part of the corridor was closed off due to the recent murder of a guard in one of the cordoned off areas. “I heard about that on the news. Do you think it’s safe to be in here?” Zeke asked Xenia.

She whispered so only he could hear, “Between the two of us, I think we can protect ourselves.”

He knew she was referring to their shifter halves, and she was correct. The news report had stated a guard had been killed by a female tourist, but no names were given. As they descended farther into the tombs, Xenia stopped. “Do you smell that?”

The rich coppery tang of blood was present off to the left. “Yes. That must be where the murder took place.”

“Yes, but there’s something else, something… familiar.” Xenia inhaled deeply.

“Please stay with your group,” the tour guide chastised them for getting separated.

Zeke and Xenia continued on with the rest of the tour. It wasn’t until they were outside that Xenia said, “I think Sophia’s been here. She has that distinct honeysuckle scent that few women can pull off.”

“I smelled it too, but it was so faint. She could have been here a week ago.” Zeke had a bad feeling about his niece. “Xenia, is there any way to find out who the woman was involved in the murder? I know I’m grasping at straws, but what if it was Sophia? The timing is about right since she disappeared.”

“You think she killed the guard?” Xenia asked, frowning.

“Anything is possible.” Zeke said, praying it wasn’t true and his niece wasn’t being held in an Egyptian prison.

Keys jingled in the lock. Time for lunch. Or was it supper? Sophia’s days were running together. At first she was able to keep count of how long she’d been locked away in the dark, dank hole. Now, she was losing all concept of morning versus night. When your home was a five by five concrete box with no bed and only a bucket to relieve yourself in, things became foggy. Her meals were the same as they had been since she arrived. Her pleas were the same, too. Every time a guard brought her tray, Sophia begged to speak to a consulate. Every time she was ignored.

Her body was weakening, as was her resolve. If she didn’t find a way to get out of this hell, she would surely die there. She knew the only thing keeping her alive was her shifter half. More than once the voice in her head had told her to buck up and figure a way out. Sophia was smart. If only she had as much faith as her Gargoyle half did.

She didn’t bother to move when the door opened. She knew the routine – a new tray replaced the old one. The guards had only emptied her bucket once, so she was used to the smell of stale piss. It was mixed with the odor of a woman who hadn’t bathed in weeks. One who was due to start her period any day now. That ought to be fun. She didn’t bother looking at the guard. The first few days when they sneered at her, she was ready to do to them what she’d done to the man in the tombs. At first, her shifter was urging her to fight her way out. When she convinced the beast she would not kill someone without physical provocation, it quieted inside her head.

This was one of the few things Sophia focused on – her inner Gargoyle talking to her. She had never heard of that happening. Maybe it did and no one spoke of it. If she ever got out of there, she would ask someone.

“
When you get out of here. I told you, Nikolas will not stop until he finds you.”

“You keep saying that as if you know it for fact,” Sophia said to her inner voice.

“Who are you talking to?” the guard asked. “The dark’s broken you, has it? Maybe now you’ll speak the truth.” He slammed her door shut, the darkness once again her only companion.

Sophia pulled the tray closer to her and picked up the bowl. She carefully spooned the slop into her mouth until it was all gone. She saved the stale bread for later in the day, but she did take a few sips of the bottled water.

“No, not your only companion. I am here, and I will never abandon you.”

“Then help me figure a way out of here,” Sophia pleaded.

Nikolas split most of his time between trying to crack into Sophia’s computer and meditation. He had gone to both the hotel and the bed and breakfast and retrieved Sophia’s things. It was easy at the hotel since he had put his name on the reservation. The inn was another matter entirely. When he went to the front desk to sign Beatrice out, the Waterfords were still staying there. As soon as Nik walked in the door, he was accosted verbally by Yvonne.

“You are one sick, perverted human being. How can you look your wife in the eye when you’re gallivanting and carousing with her mother? You should be ashamed of yourself!”

At first, Nik had no idea what the woman was going on about until she added, “Kissing like that on a public sidewalk. That’s just… wrong.”

Holy shit. She had seen him and Sophia. “I assure you, ma’am, I was not kissing Beatrice.”

“Don’t try to deny it! She admitted as much. And then those people came asking about her. She’s nothing but trouble. All I can say is good riddance.” Yvonne huffed off. It was a good thing, too. Nik didn’t believe in hurting females, but that woman was asking for it.

“Can I help you?” the woman tending the desk asked.

“I’m here to get Beatrice’s things and pay for any extra she owes.”

“That won’t be possible, sir. You’re name isn’t on the registry. You can pay her bill, but I’m afraid her things will have to remain where they are.”

“Did you clean out her room already?” Nik hoped not. He had a plan.

“No, we kept hoping she would return for them herself. But since it’s been almost two weeks, we have no other choice.”

“I will pay for an extra day if you will leave her things where they are. I will make sure she gets them tomorrow.” Nik placed a credit card on the desk, praying his request was granted.

“Very well, but only one more day. We need her room.” The woman swiped his card and printed out a receipt.

“Thank you. You’ve been kind.” Nik folded the receipt and slid it in his back pocket. He was able to exit the small inn with no further run-ins with Yvonne. Looking back on it, seeing Nik kissing Beatrice must have been a great shock to the other woman’s system. Hell, it had shocked him. He returned to the bed and breakfast under the cover of night, thankful the window wasn’t locked. He packed all Sophia’s things in a huge bag and took them to the villa. That was over a week ago.

There was no sign of the people following Sophia, not since the day he caught the blonde woman across the street taking his picture. He had tried to follow her, but an SUV had been waiting on her. If there was anyone left, they were doing a great job of hiding. He knew in his heart something bad had happened to his mate. Whether the blonde and her goons had really captured Sophia, or something else had happened to her, he felt her despair when he meditated.

After seeing Sophia in a vision being chased by someone, Nik had spent hours trying to find her with his subconscious. Now, all he saw was darkness. He could feel her presence, but he couldn’t see her. Couldn’t see anything. Wherever she was, he prayed she was holding on. If something happened to her before he got to her…

His phone rang. He didn’t have to look at the caller I.D. to know it was Julian. “Brother, please tell me you have something.”

“I have something. I’m sending a new program to your computer. You will need to upload it to a thumb drive and install it on Sophia’s laptop. It will work regardless of whether or not you have her password. Once it finishes running, you’ll be able to access all her files.”

“I hope there’s something in there that helps me find her. Otherwise I’m invading her privacy for nothing.”

“Nikolas, I can’t begin to imagine what you’re going through, but do not give up hope. We will find Sophia and bring her home.”

“When are you and Gregor getting here?” Nikolas hated to sound so fucking needy, but he needed his family around him.

“About that. We have another problem. Are you sitting down?”

Nik sank down on the sofa. “I am now. What the fuck is going on, Jules?”

“I told you Dante and Isabelle have been spending time together. What none of us knew was Isabelle has a kid, a son named Connor by her late husband. He has been kidnapped, and Isabelle is now on her way to Greece at the behest of the kidnappers. The kid’s foster father is dead, the foster mother in a coma. Long story short, Tessa was going to disguise herself as Isabelle and go in her place with the kidnappers, but Isabelle got away before that could happen. Gregor and Tessa are on their way with Dante to Greece. I am so sorry we have to postpone our trip to Egypt. I promise you I don’t think Sophia’s life is any less important than Isabelle’s or her son’s. It’s just, well, he’s a kid.”

“I totally understand. Jules, what the fuck is happening? First Kaya then Tessa. Now Sophia and Isabelle? If Alistair is behind all this trouble with our females, it’s only getting started. Imagine all the Clan going through this when they find their mate.”

“Yeah, I’d rather not. I have to tell you, though. Tessa’s disguise threw everyone for a loop. She was the spitting image of Isabelle. Jonas’ creations are like nothing I’ve ever seen before.”

“I’ve witnessed it firsthand, remember? Had Sophia not kissed me, I’d have never known she was really the old woman on the sidewalk.”

“I remember. Listen, there’s something else. It seems one of Sophia’s uncles is there in Egypt looking for her, too. Tessa was going to go, but her mother intervened and called in a replacement. He’s another watcher, and his name is Ezekiel Seymour. I’m texting you his phone number. Other than that, I have no information as to where he’s staying. Hopefully, together you can find her faster. I promise, Brother, as soon as we find Connor and get Isabelle safe, Gregor or I will be there with you. Preferably both of us. Until then, I’ll help you as much as I can from here.”