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

open as I sat there totally stunned.  That was the first time I had ever thought of my first-born son, Scotty , and not felt overwhelming sadness.  I had actually smiled.  “What?” Matt whispered.  I shook my head, “Later,” I whispered back.  I looked at Jason, “When you flew here, it was over land, correct?  The cave that he raised you in, you flew east over to Alaska and then South over land to get here, right?  You were able to stop when you needed to and rest?”
    “Yes, but I’m a strong flyer.  And I don’t want to fly in one of your airplanes.” he whined.
    I walked over and placed my hand on his shoulder.  “Jason.  Our island is in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, hundreds of miles from land.  You’d have to fly for hours without resting.  What if it was too far?  What do you think your father would do to me if I rescued him but had to tell him that you didn’t make it?”
    Jason couldn’t suppress a small laugh, “You’d never see the light of day again, that’s for sure.  Okay.  I’ll ride in your airplane, if you insist.”
    “Thank you.”
    Matt dialed his cell and stepped into the outer office when Stefan picked up.  I turned back to Jason, “Ummm, Jason .  Even though we’ll be flying on a private plane, there’s still a possibility that some humans will see us: in the hanger when we move from the car to the plane , o r when we land in Texas to change to our boat for the ride out to the island .  Would you be willing to wear pants and maybe a cape to cover your wings?”
    He rolled his eyes at me, “Fine.  Anything else?   Get it out now, please.”
    I smiled, “No, there’s nothing else.”
    Matt stepped back in, “The plane is in Paris right now.  It’ll be here the day after tomorrow.”
    “Two days?  We have to wait two days?” Jason said, as panic shook his voice.
    “Jason, you know how strong your father is.  I know how strong your father is, believe me, I know.  He broke five of my ribs once.  So I know.  He’ll be fine for a few more days.”
    Jason stared at me with his mouth open, then tried not to smile as he said, “He, he broke five of your ribs?  At once?”
    “Yes he did.  And I’ll tell you all about it, if you’d like to hear, in the kitchen, over a meal, okay?”
    “You bet I want to hear.  Wow.  That’s my dad.”
    Suddenly Matt’s cell phone chirped.  He put it to his ear, “Yes, Derek?  Who?  She’s at the gate?  No, absolutely not.  Tell Miguel that she does not come in.  I’ll be right there.”  He hung up his phone and motioned me and Carlos over to him, “It’s that reporter , t he one who tracked us down at the dock in Corpus Christi and i s trying to get some scoop on vampires.   She’s here.  She’s at the gate,” he whispered.  Carlos growled low in his chest. 
    “Are you f-ing kidding me?  How did she find this place?  Who the hell is feeding her information ?  I’ve gotta go talk to her,” I said as I started to move toward the door.  Matt stopped me, “Ummm, Sarah,” he said then he motioned toward Jason with his chin.  I looked at him, “Shit.  Okay, look, tell her to meet me at the café in the center of town in an hour.”
    “You?   Why you?  I am head of security, Sarah,” Matt said.
    “Really?   You want to try to pull rank right now?  Fine, I’m the friggin’ President.  So I’m talking to her, kapish ?” I said.
    Matt pressed his lips together, “I wasn’t trying to pull rank Sarah.  I’m just asking why you think that you would do a better job than I would.”
    “I’m not saying that I would do a better job, Matt. I’m just saying, my intuition is saying that I will be able to get the information we need from her because she’ll feel less threatened by me than she would a man.”
    “Sarah, is that really a good idea?” Carlos said. 
    “Guys, trust me on this.  Let me talk to her.  It’ll be fine.  I promise.”
    “Fine, but I’m going