The Character of Bill belongs to Charliane Harris and Alan Ball. All other characters are the product of my warped imagination.
The Sons of Ramesses
All my life I had wanted to visit Egypt. The history of the Red Lands had always fascinated me, I had read books, both fact and fiction, watched documentaries, visited Museums and Galleries, anything I could to discover more about it. So when Bill informed me that he had been invited to an International Conference in Cairo and asked me if I would like to accompany him I was delighted.
"Oh Bill!" I squeaked excitedly. "I'd love to." I flung my arms around him and kissed him.
"Well" he smiled down at me, "I must admit I wasn't expecting quite such an enthusiastic reaction. After your recent experiences I wouldn't have thought that a Hotel full of vampires would be your first choice for a holiday destination?"
"If it's in Egypt I can cope!" I said "Besides you won't need me will you? I plan to be out sightseeing most of the time!"
"Of course I'll need you!" said Bill, looking highly offended. "I always need you." He gathered me up into his arms. "Who's going to take my mind off all the boring meetings? Besides, I want to come sightseeing with you!"
"Won't you be busy?" I asked.
"Well, I'm not really sure" he said in a slightly puzzled tone. Charles called me and said he wanted Gerry and I to attend, but I'm not sure why. From what I can gather the actual conference is pretty high powered stuff. There will be delegates attending from all over Europe and the Far East as well as representatives from the AVL and several members of The Authority." He paused thoughtfully, "Actually I would have thought that Gerry and I would be fairly far down the list."
"You are his most photogenic sheriff!" I said with a smile and he laughed.
"Perhaps he just wants us as backup" he said "but at least it should mean that I can get some sightseeing in!"
And that was how I came to be getting out of a bus on a hot afternoon in Cairo having been driven through the manic streets from the airport. Although Anubis, the courier company used by most vampires, were highly organised and extremely efficient I was beginning to wonder seriously if you could get those travelling pods from Anubis for two. Then I could just climb in with Bill and sleep for the whole journey. Sounded good to me!
We had arrived quite late in the evening after a long day and I was very tired. I had seen the names of Gerry and Claudia on the list belonging to the Anubis representative as well as Charles and I was looking forward to meeting them again, but not that night.
The Hotel in Cairo was a new, purpose built building next to the Mena Palace in Giza. Bill had told me it was part of a chain specially built to be suitable for Vampires called "The Osiris". There were three so far, one in Cairo, one in Luxor and one in Alexandria. The suite which Bill had reserved for us had a balcony which looked out over the Pyramids and the desert on the Giza plateau beyond.
Visitors to Giza are always amazed that the suburbs of Cairo are so close to the massive monuments and I was no exception but, sitting on the balcony with Bill that evening watching the son et lumière display lighting up the three great Pyramids and the Sphinx, it was as if I had been transported back to the time of Cheops and Chephren. I loved it! Bill and I sat together on the wicker couch and gazed out over the plateau as the great spotlights lit up areas in turn as they came into the story. It was a magical evening and It was just a shame that it had been such a long day that I eventually fell asleep on the balcony with my head on Bill's shoulder.
I woke the next day to find myself comfortably tucked up in bed next to Bill's still form. He must have carried me in off the balcony, undressed me and laid me down beside him without waking me. Bless him. I got up carefully, so as not to disturb him, and slipped into the adjoining bathroom for a shower. Thoroughly refreshed I headed down to the restaurant in search of food.
The restaurant was fairly full and I spotted Chris at a table in the corner and went over to him.
"Hi!" I said. "Since you're the only person I know here, do you mind if I join you?"
"Of course, please sit down." said Chris through a mouthful of toast. "Haven't seen you since Amsterdam." I sat down and helped myself to a coffee. "Of course, we both saw Bill on "Late Night Talk" with Charles." He said with a grin. "He's such a great spokesman and Claudia was so delighted with his little announcement. She thinks he deserves some happiness."
I blushed and reached over for some toast. "Oh, he's such an old softy really!" I said "But don't tell him I said that!"
Chris laughed and then said "Of course, we also saw the footage from the incident outside the courtroom. That was horrific! Are you okay, both of you I mean?"
"Oh yes, we're fine." I looked around for a waiter and saw two over by the window. I raised my hand and one came hurrying over.
"Could we have another pot of coffee please?" I asked.
"Certainly Madam."
As he hurried off I glanced back to the window at the other waiter, he seemed familiar somehow. He was a European, although that in itself was not unusual. The Hotel staff were a mixture of Europeans and native Egyptians, but I couldn't shake off the feeling that I'd seen him before somewhere. I was getting paranoid! I shook my head and turned back to Chris with a smile.
Later that morning Chris and I joined up with a group of people from the Hotel to go and have a walk around the Pyramids. It seemed strange to be sightseeing without Bill but I enjoyed myself tremendously and it was nice just to be with other humans who enjoyed the company of vampires for a change. The one exception was a young woman named Susie. She was a reporter who had been sent to cover the conference and she told me that she was a little nervous as she had never had any contact with vampires before. We wandered over to the Sphinx and sat down on a bench in the shade for a chat. She was such a pleasant friendly girl that I soon found myself telling her all about how I had met Bill.
"I can understand how you'd be nervous of him at first." She said. "I know I would be!"
"He's very sweet, really!" I laughed "I'll introduce you. But you're right to be wary, I don't agree with people who say that all vampires are monsters, obviously, but I have to say that some of them are! You should be careful!"
"I'd like to meet Bill, if you wouldn't mind introducing me?" she asked. "I saw him on TV and he seemed charming and very reasonable. Far more so than that guy from the Fellowship, certainly!"
"Sure!" I said, "why don't we meet in the bar tonight for a drink?"
"Oh yes, that would be lovely, thanks." She replied happily.
"Well, I'd better be getting back to the Hotel for a nap. That's something else you'll notice with people who associate with vamps. They like to have a nap in the afternoon as they're usually up all night!" She laughed and we got up and headed back.
I slipped back into the suite and curled up on the sofa. I hadn't really thought that I was tired but I soon found myself beginning to nod off. After nearly falling off the sofa a few times I gave in, undressed and put on the lovely coffe coloured silk nightdress I had bought to go to Amsterdam, and somehow never managed to wear! I slipped into the bed next to Bill and fell fast asleep in moments.
Bill woke me shortly after dusk. I was lying on my side facing away from him and I felt a cool hand slide down the silk over my hip and cool lips on my shoulder.
"Hmmm….nice nightdress, but too long…" his fingers were tugging insistently at the silk, trying to ease the nightdress up over my hips as he nuzzled at my neck, running his tongue around my ear, pulling the lobe between his lips and sucking on it. I rolled over onto my back and smiled up at him.
"What do you think you're up to Bill Compton?" I asked.
"Well..." he said thoughtfully "I woke up to find this beautiful woman in my bed. Consequently I think I'm "up to" pretty much anything you fancy?"
"But we have to go down to the bar to meet everyone right? Besides I agreed to meet Susie for a drink" I said.
Bill leaned over me and brushed the hair back from my face. "And who is Susie?"
"I just met her earlier today, she's a reporter." I explained.
Bill sat up, "A reporter! Oh Alex, you know I hate reporters!"
"Don't be unreasonable Bill, you'll like her, really. She's very sweet. I said I'd introduce you, she's never met a vampire before and she's a little nervous to be covering the conference."
Bill gave a short laugh. "I'm not surprised...talk about being thrown in at the deep end!" He looked down at me again. "Well, I suppose I could be persuaded to meet another reporter. If you're very nice to me..."
"Hmm…..and what exactly would I have to do to persuade you?" Bill reached for me and pulled me over into his arms.
"Well, you could help me get this nightdress off for a start!" he said.
We strolled into the bar and immediately spotted Claudia and Chris, who waved to us. We went over to them and Bill gave Claudia a friendly hug.
"Hi you two" she said "How are you?"
"We're both very well all things considered" said Bill with a smile.
"We saw the footage of the shooting on the internet" said Claudia "and, of course your TV appearance!"
Bill gave a little sigh and looked down at his feet, embarrassed. "Oh, Bill. You were amazing!" she said "you were perfect, calm and reasonable, and so sweet!"
"Completely unvampire-like you mean?" said Bill with a laugh.
"You were just yourself!" said Claudia, seriously, putting a gentle hand on his arm. "You showed that we're not all creatures out of late night horror movies. When you told the story of how you were turned I was nearly in tears, and I wasn't the only one!"
He smiled down at her. "Well the last thing I wanted was to make you cry my dear. Let me get you a drink to make up." We headed over to the bar. As I turned I noticed Susie come in and look around nervously. I caught her eye and waved. She came over with a shy smile.
"Hi Susie" I said taking her arm and bringing her into the group at the bar, "This is Bill and Claudia….don't offer to shake hands, vamps don't do that!"
"Oh, sorry" she said with an embarrassed little smile, "you can tell I don't know much about this."
Bill smiled at her "Don't worry, you'll soon get the hang of it. I suggest you stay with us for a while, there are a few vampires here that you really shouldn't offend, even accidentally. They wouldn't take it very well!"
"Okay, I'll stick with you!" said Susie, clearly charmed.
I turned to Chris who was trying to catch the barman's eye. "And this is Chris, Claudia's partner."
"Hi Susie! What would you like to drink?"
I gave Bill a nudge while Chris and Susie were conferring at the bar. "Hey, what happened to "I hate reporters" Mr Compton?"
"Well," he said with a little smirk "They can't all be bad. I thought I should give her the benefit of the doubt."
"Oh, you….!" He laughed and slipped his arm around me. "Why Miss Morgan" he said, "I do believe you're jealous!" He gave me a kiss. "Let's get you a drink shall we?"
Soon we were all standing at the bar chatting happily together. Claudia was facing the main doors and suddenly she looked up and said "Oh my, look who's here!" I turned to the doorway and saw Charles Montague coming into the bar with a tall, extremely well dressed, blond woman. She had the vaguely dissatisfied expression of someone who expects everything to be organised exactly to her specifications.
"Who's that?" I whispered to Bill, who turned to see what I was looking at.
"Oh no! That's Nan Flanagan from the AVL."
"Do you know her?" I asked.
"Unfortunately yes, I do." He didn't sound too happy about it though.
Charles spotted us and said something to Nan, taking her arm and steering her through the growing crowd, towards us.
"Well, Bill!" she said, "What a surprise, you look remarkably healthy for someone who supposedly met the true death a couple of years ago!"
"You've evidently been misinformed Nan, it's most unusual for you to be working with out of date information. I'd have a serious word with your informant if I were you!" said Bill smiling sweetly at her.
"That would be your Viking associate, now why would he give me wrong information I wonder?"
"I suspect that he was hoping it was true." said Bill.
"Well, since you're here, you may as well be of some use" she said briskly. "I understand that you have travelled quite extensively in the past. We need someone who knows some of the Eastern contingent. Charles and I know most of the Western Vampires but very few others. How about you, have you spent any time in Egypt before?"
"Yes, actually I spent some time here in the early 1900's but I was here with an American entrepreneur, Theodore Davies, he was an archaeologist, I only met a few vampires and I don't see any of them here at the moment."
Nan looked annoyed for a moment. "Oh well, it was just a thought." She said, already looking around for the next mark.
Just then I noticed someone turn around and look in our direction, evidently recognising Bill's voice. He was a middle aged Chinese in a very expensive looking silk suit. He said something to his companions and began to make his way over to our group, coming up behind Bill and tapping him on the shoulder.
"William, my good friend! It has been a long time!" he said with a broad smile.
Bill turned and his mouth dropped open with surprise. "Li Cheng!" he had barely got the name out before he was grasped in a hug by the other man.
"You seem surprised to see me my friend?" he said
"I'm surprised you even remember me! It's been over a hundred years since we met" said Bill with a big smile.
"Oh, now how could I ever forget someone who saved my life!" said Li Cheng.
At this Nan turned back and began to look interested. "Bill, perhaps you would introduce me to your friend?" she asked.
"Certainly" said Bill "Li Cheng, this is Nan Flanagan, the spokesman for the AVL. Nan, this is Li Cheng, an old friend of mine."
"Ah! I am very pleased to meet you Ms Flanagan. I have heard of you of course, I should explain that I am here as the head of the Chinese delegation."
"Excellent" said Nan "I'm very pleased to meet you. There's going to be a meeting of the delegation leaders later tonight, we would be delighted if you would attend. Bill, perhaps you should attend as well?" she said turning to Bill.
Bill's face fell "Do you really think that's necessary?" he asked with a sigh.
"Oh, in view of your recent media exposure I think it would be a good idea, don't you?" she gave him a sharp look.
"Oh very well then!" he said in a resigned tone.
"Excellent!" she said with a smile "I'll see you later then, I must go and circulate." She headed off purposefully into the crowd with Charles in tow.
"Please, come and join us" said Bill drawing Li Cheng into our little group. "Let me introduce you, this is Claudia, Chris and Susie" he said, indicating them each in turn, and this is Alexandra, she is mine."
Li Cheng took my hand and brought it to his lips "Ah, I see you still have good taste in women my friend!" he smiled at me. "Speaking of which…..you didn't take my little Lotus Flower with you to America after all?"
Bill looked highly embarrassed for a moment. "Well…er…..no. I didn't think it would be safe for her…..with Lorena….." Li Cheng laughed and patted him on the arm.
"Please, don't worry my friend. I understand. Lorena would not have liked it at all, I can see that. Is she here?" he asked looking around.
"No, she has met the true death I'm afraid." said Bill. "But she had released me a long time before that. Tell me…." he paused for a moment.
"What happened to Lotus?" asked Li Cheng gently. "She married Jung Lu and he was transferred back to Shanghai to be nearer to his widowed sister and her son. This meant that he was not involved in the siege of the Legations which was instigated by the Boxers, in which many Imperial soldiers were killed." He smiled at Bill "I met her again, many times….she died an old lady with many children and even more grandchildren. She had a good life William San, and she always remembered you."
Bill was silent for a moment as we all stood watching him and Li Cheng. Then he smiled and said "So you're the Chinese delegate? You never struck me as being interested in politics."
"Well, the world is very different now, someone has to speak for us – would you rather it was Sang?"
Bill stiffened and looked around warily. "He's not here is he?"
Li Cheng laughed "No, he was one of those who opposed the Revelation, but he certainly wouldn't be happy to see you again. You were the first vampire to defeat him in many years, in fact I don't think anyone has since!" Bill looked around. Gerry had strolled up to join us and he and Claudia were gazing at him with a new respect.
He gave a little laugh. "Oh, I was lucky!" he said "If he'd had any idea how to use a cavalry sabre I would have met the true death there and then!" He smiled at the puzzled expressions around him. "It's a long story! Another time perhaps."
We found a table in the corner of the bar and talked comfortably together for another hour or so until Nan and Charles re-appeared and invited Bill and Li Cheng to join the delegates meeting.
"I'll be back as soon as I can" Bill said, giving me a kiss on the cheek.
"See you later then." I replied and turned back to Susie. "Well, how are you getting on. Think you're going to be able to cope now?" I asked with a grin.
"Oh I feel much more comfortable now that I've met Bill and Claudia," she said "and Li Cheng seemed nice too."
"I wouldn't get too comfortable if I were you!" warned Claudia. "Bill and I are not exactly typical. You will need to be careful, even here at the conference, but so long as you show a proper respect, you'll be okay."
I kept an eye out for Bill, but he didn't re-appear for another hour. The bar was lit up for a disco and I watched him walk towards me across the dance floor, his pale skin glowing and luminous under the ultraviolet lights and I thought he looked slightly worried. Susie had already left and Claudia and Chris were just leaving as he got back from the meeting. We said goodbye and sat down by the bar.
"Is something wrong?" I asked.
"Possibly" he said quietly. "It appears that The Authority has information about a possible threat to the conference. They have received an anonymous tip off that someone from the Fellowship of the Sun will try to plant a bomb in the Hotel."
I suddenly felt a chill. "What!"
"Shhh! We don't want this information getting out. It could cause a panic. There's really nothing to worry about, the security here is first rate. No-one can get in who isn't either registered or an employee." Bill went up to the bar to get a Tru Blood and I sat quietly at the table thinking. Something was worrying at my brain, what was it? Bill came back and sat down just as it came to me.
"Oh my...that's it, an employee. Now I know where I've seen him before!"
"Seen who, what are you talking about?" asked Bill, confused.
"Listen Bill, when I came down for breakfast this morning I could have sworn that I recognised one of the waiters. But I couldn't remember where I'd seen him before."
"But how could you?" Bill interrupted. You told me you've never been here before."
"Exactly! So I thought I was imagining it, or maybe it was just some chance resemblance, but now I'm not so sure." I took a deep breath. "Bill, I think he was in the green room at the TV studios. I think he was one of Stuart Nelson's people, from the Fellowship!"
Bill sat absolutely still, in that way that only vampires can, staring at me for a moment. "Alex, are you sure?" he asked. "Well...not really, really sure but, oh I don't know!" The more I thought about it the less sure I became. "But, what if it is him Bill? How many people are in this Hotel? Do you think the Fellowship would really do something like that?"
"Yes, they would" he said harshly "They've done it before. I've seen it happen, in Dallas. Alex you have to come and tell the delegates about this."
"Oh no, Bill please! Can't you tell them?" I really did not want to get involved in this.
"I didn't see him, and I wouldn't recognise him" he said taking my hand. "Please Alex, I believe you and you know you have to help us with this."
I put my head in my hands for a moment, but I knew he was right, I had to do this. So we got up and headed out of the bar and down the corridor to the conference room the Authority was using. Bill gave a perfunctory knock and walked straight in, holding me by the hand. There were several vampires sitting around the table. I recognised Nan, Charles and Li Cheng, but I had never seen any of the others before. They all looked around, surprised, as Bill strode into the room. A tall blond man stood up at the end of the table.
"I was not aware that we had requested your return Mr Compton?" he said coldly.
"No," said Bill "but I think you need to hear this." He put his arm around me protectively. "This is Alex, she is mine. I told her about the possibility of an infiltrator from the Fellowship..."
I heard a few gasps and Charles pushed his chair back as if to rise. The blond man glared at Bill angrily, his fangs beginning to drop. "You were specifically told not to say anything to anyone!" he growled.
Bill stood his ground and growled right back. "It's just as well that I did. Alex thinks she recognised one of the waiters as someone she saw in the green room at the TV studios in London last month. One of Reverend Nelson's people." There was silence for a moment and then everyone began to talk at once.
"Silence!" roared the blond vampire.
In the hush that followed Charles said "I don't think I recognise any of the waiters?"
"He's not around tonight" I said. "Maybe he's only working a day shift?"
The delegates stared at me as if they actually hadn't thought of that. The tall blond man turned to the woman sitting next to him and said "Tina, go to Security, I want pictures of every employee in this hotel, from the personnel files." He pulled out the chair beside him and turned to me. "Alex? Perhaps you would care to sit down? I am Ulrich. I hope you will be able to help us."
I have to say that I was impressed with Ulrich's efficiency. Within ten minutes I was sat at the conference table next to a trolley on which were piles of files, and an extremely worried looking Egyptian was wringing his hands and trying to explain the details of the Hotel's security checks to half a dozen angry vampires. I got the Hotel Security staff to remove all the files for the local Egyptian employees and concentrated on the westerners. Fortunately these were far fewer and after another ten minutes or so I opened a file and saw him.
"Alex?" Bill was sitting opposite me watching my face intently. "What is it?"
"This is him, I'm sure of it!" I handed the file to Ulrich who was sitting quietly next to me.
"You're quite sure of this?" he asked.
"I'm only sure that this man was in the green room at the TV Studios. I don't know who he is or what he was doing there though."
Ulrich stared at the face in the personnel photo. "So what's he doing here working in this Hotel. It's a bit of a stretch to imagine that it's just a co-incidence don't you think?" He turned back to the woman he had spoken to before. "Tina, I want everything you can find on this man, and fast!" He handed her the file and she slipped out of the room.
Ulrich turned back to me and took my hand. "Thank you Alex. This could be the breakthrough that we need. Even if it doesn't work out I should like to offer you our thanks and gratitude for coming to us with this information." He turned to Bill. "Thank you, I'll keep you updated Bill."
Bill nodded and got up. He came round the table and took my hand, evidently we were no longer required. Well that was fine by me! I gave Ulrich a little nod and he smiled back at me. Then Bill and I left and headed back to our suite. We walked back in silence and it was only when we were safely back inside that I felt able to say anything.
"What's going to happen Bill?" I asked. "What will they do?"
"They will get as much information on the man as possible. If they find he has links to the Fellowship…. I really don't know. If they find something definite then he would probably be handed over to the human authorities, if not…then….." His voice tailed off.
"Oh God, Bill…..what have I done? What if I'm wrong, what if it's just a co-incidence?"
"What if it isn't!" Bill came over and took me in his arms. "I've seen first hand what these fanatics can do Alex. If they find nothing then there'll be no problem. Trust me, they won't do anything to him unless they have evidence."
"You're sure of that are you?" I have to say he didn't look entirely sure.
"I need some rest." I said and got up. In a few minutes I was curled up in bed. Bill had got in with me and was lying beside me with an arm across me. Despite my worries I drifted off to sleep.
I was woken a few hours later by a knocking on the door. Bill was still awake, it appeared to be about an hour before dawn. Bill went to the door and opened it to reveal Ulrich standing in the corridor outside. "May I come in?" he asked politely.
Bill stood back to let him in and I sat up in bed and pulled the sheets up around me.
"I thought you would like to know what has happened." He said. "Your waiter turned out to be registered here under a false name, but Tina was able to identify him from the photograph. He is a fully paid up member of the Fellowship of the Sun. He had a brother who disappeared two years ago after an alleged vampire attack. My security picked him up and brought him to the conference room, they searched his room and found Fellowship literature and sufficient explosives to make a sizeable bomb, together with a laptop containing instructions downloaded from the Fellowship's website. He was subsequently handed over to the Egyptian Security Services. They think it's likely that he had accomplices outside the Hotel complex."
We all sat in silence for a moment. "So Alex was right." said Bill.
"Indeed!" said Ulrich giving me a little smile. "Without her information there could have been a disaster. Many of the senior people in the Authority might have met the true death…..not to mention the many humans in the Hotel complex." He stood up and smiled down at me. "We have made good use of your information Alex, but in view of the fact that he may have accomplices that we cannot identify I have made the decision to move the conference to Luxor.
I sat up straighter "The whole conference!" I asked.
He laughed, "It's just the people really, and they would probably all enjoy a move to Luxor anyway. As a small token of our appreciation I've booked you and Bill into the honeymoon suite at The Osiris Luxor, and I've arranged a trip to Abu Simbel for you both before the end of the conference. I understand that you would find that interesting?"
"Oh….yes, thank you so much, I'd love that!"
At this Ulrich levered his tall frame out of the chair and turned to Bill. "My team will make all the arrangements during the day and we'll be ready to transfer just after dusk. I'll leave you to sleep." He reached over to put his hand on Bill's arm. "Thank you" he said "Thank you both."
After he had left, Bill sat down on the bed with a little sigh.
"Do you think, one day, we could have a little holiday with just the two of us?" I asked plaintively.
Bill climbed into bed and put his arm around me.
"One day precious, one day!" he laughed. "Well Ulrich seems to like you at least."
"That's good is it?" I asked puzzled.
Bill looked surprised. "I forget sometimes how little you know of us" he said. "Ulrich is one of the three most powerful members of The Authority, which in itself is the most powerful vampire organisation in the world. That makes him one of the most powerful vampires on the planet!"
"Oh…..I see." I was very glad I hadn't known that earlier or I'd have run a mile rather than walk in on one of his meetings.
"Did I hear you say earlier that you had come to Egypt with Theodore Davies?" I asked, snuggling in close to him.
"Yes" he answered. "You know how, at first, I hated the thought of what I had become, what Lorena had done to me. The trip to China had changed me, I had begun to realise that I had almost indefinite time ahead of me. That, if it were not for her, I could do whatever I wanted, go wherever I liked. She sensed it too, she realised that, if she wanted me to stay with her willingly, she would have to allow me some freedom at least. And so she began to loosen her grip on me a little." He smiled down at me. "Don't misunderstand me, she was still my maker and I was still bound to her, but she began to allow me a little more leeway to come and go as I pleased. I had been making highly successful investments on the stock market for some time and had accumulated a substantial amount of money and in 1904 I read an article about the excavations in the Valley of the Kings. There had been a lot of discoveries there in the previous century and more digging had recently been authorised.
"Mmm, yes" I murmured. "Belzoni had discovered the tomb of Seti I in 1817 along with those of Ramesses I, Amenhotep III, Merneptah and Ay."
Bill turned my head to face him and looked down at me. "My, you're quite the little expert aren't you?"
"Reading about it is one thing, it's not like actually being there." I said. "Oh, Bill. Did you go? Did you actually go to the Valley of the Kings?"
"Yes, indeed I did." He said, smiling at my enthusiasm. "Davies wanted financial backing but he didn't want anyone who would take the spotlight off him. He wanted the publicity, which obviously I didn't. I was simply interested and agreed to subsidise some of the digging that season, provided I could join him in Luxor and observe the work."
"1904….hmmm." I thought for a moment. Bill leaned back against the headboard and watched me. "Now you're going to tell me what we discovered aren't you? Won't you allow me any surprises?"
I grinned up at him. "I think we've had enough surprises for one night don't you?" I said. "Oh, wait…I've got it. It was Yuya and Tuya right?"
Bill slid down the bed and grabbed me around the waist, pulling me to him and rolled me over so that I was lying on top of him. I gave a surprised squeak and he laughed. "Right then, are you going to tell me this story or am I going to tell you? What do you know about them?"
"Well, I know that Yuya was Grand Vizir to Amenhotep IV and they were the parents of Queen Tiye, the "King's Great Wife". They were the grandparents of the heretic Akhenaten." Bill slid his hands down to my hips and said "Very impressive."
I wriggled out of his grasp and lay down beside him. "Okay, tell me what happened!"
Well, I described Davies as an archaeologist earlier, but he was an amateur and in order to get a licence to excavate he needed someone qualified. He had been working with Howard Carter earlier in 1904 but Carter had resigned from his position after a row with Gaston Maspero, the French director of the Department of Antiquities. By the time I arrived in January 1905 there was an Englishman, Arthur Weigall in charge of the excavations. I met Theodore Davies in Luxor and arranged to come out to the Valley of The Kings every evening. I had made my substantial donation to his expedition funds conditional on the fact that he asked no questions about me. I imagine he thought of me as some kind of rich eccentric who simply wanted to stay out of the strong Egyptian sunlight.
His men were digging in a bank of chippings left behind by the ancient workmen, next to the entrance to the tomb of Ramesses IX and one evening, while I leaned on a boulder watching the work, one of the workmen called out to Weigall that he had found something. He looked over to me and called "Well, come on Bill, you'll want to see this!"
The workmen had exposed the top of a sealed door protruding from the filling of limestone chips and sand that blocked the stairwell. Although everyone was hugely excited by this find it was late in the evening and Weigall sent the workers home. The leader of the work gang, however, remained behind, along with his small son and between us Weigall, the workman and I broke through the seal at the top of the door, watched by Davies and the valley guards. There was not enough room for a man to get through the gap but we could see a steeply sloping corridor dropping away into the gloom. The workman took off his turban and unwound it, putting the long strip of cloth under his small son's arms and lowered him gently through the gap. We could just see a small group of objects lying on the floor of the corridor and the boy ran over and picked them up. His father hauled him back up to the gap and he passed the finds out to me. There was a gold-covered wooden yoke from a chariot, a magnificent staff of office and a stone scarab, also covered with gold leaf."
Bill paused and looked down at me. I was gazing at him in amazement, fascinated by his story. "Oh, Bill!...how wonderful" I was almost speechless. Bill smiled, obviously pleased with the effect his reminiscences were having on me.
"It took a week or two to clear the entrance and the corridors, but when Davies and Weigall, with Maspero, finally entered the burial chamber, I went with them. It had been robbed in antiquity, as had almost all the royal tombs but the chamber was still so packed with objects that we could not reach the far side. First we saw the name of the owner Yuya and then that of his wife Tuya. We had found, as you said, the parents of the Great Queen Tiye. We were standing among the remains of the finest burial ever seen at that time."
"What was it like?" I whispered, afraid to break into his thoughts. "What did you feel?"
"It's hard to describe. The knowledge that it had been three and a half thousand years since anyone had stood where I was standing. That the bodies of these two people who lay peacefully in the torn open caskets had lain here for nearly fifteen hundred years when Christ was preaching in Palestine. It's almost impossible to imagine that length of time, even for us."
"We'll go there together, won't we?" I asked. "To the Valley of the Kings, when we get to Luxor?"
"Yes, I'd like to go back. It's a strange place, very peaceful despite all the disturbance over the centuries, especially at night. There's a hill at the far end shaped like a pyramid. Some say that's why the valley was chosen for the burials of the Pharaohs. It's sacred to the snake goddess Meretseger, "She who loves silence" I'd like to take you there." He leaned over me and pressed his lips against mine. I put my hands around his neck and pulled him down to me, opening my lips to his hungry kisses.
Bill tugged the sheets down and began to lay a line of kisses down my body, starting in the hollow of my throat and kissing his way down past my full breasts, down my stomach, heading for the tender flesh between my thighs. I lay back and relaxed as he placed his head between my legs and pushed his tongue inside me, flicking it insistently as deeply as he could. I began to feel a hot liquid sensation in my stomach as the blood bond transmitted his rising exitement to me. Just as I reached the edge of a peak of pleasure he gave one last flick with his tongue and sat up.
I moaned, begging him not to stop as he picked me up effortlessly in his arms and turned me away from him and sat me down on his lap. I could feel the rumble of a growl from his chest as he felt my silky juices oozing onto his spread thighs and he lifted me slightly and pushed himself gently inside me with a sigh of contentment. Then, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed, he put his feet on the floor. He held me on his lap, his iron hard shaft still buried deeply inside me and curled his feet around my ankles. He began to ease his feet wider apart, pulling my legs apart helplessly and pushing himself even deeper into me. He nuzzled at me pushing my hair aside and planting delicate kisses down the back of my neck.
One arm was around my body, holding me firmly on his lap, his hand cupping my breast. The other hand began to slide down between my spread legs and I felt his long fingers begin to massage the silky smooth fluid over my delicate folds. I leaned back against his hard cool body. Putting my head back over his shoulder as his lips moved around and up to my throat. I could feel the scrape of his fangs over the thin skin and then he bit down into my flesh and drank deeply as I writhed and convulsed with pleasure in his arms.
I slept deeply that day and didn't wake until after dusk. Bill was already up and dressed and had started to re-pack his case.
"Well hello sleepy!" he said coming over to the bed. "It's time you were up. Ulrich has arranged a car to take us down to Luxor and it'll be here soon.
"Why didn't you wake me?" I asked drowsily.
"You were sleeping so peacefully I didn't like to, besides there's no need. I'm sure the car will wait for Ulrich's golden girl!"
"I don't want to be anyone's golden girl." I said grumpily getting out of bed and heading to the bathroom. "I just wanted to have a quiet holiday." Just as I reached the bathroom door I felt Bills arms slide around me, his hand moving up my stomach to cup my breast. It was only at that point that I realised that I was still naked!
"What? Not even mine?" he whispered in my ear pulling me back against him and lifting my hair to kiss the back of my neck.
"Well…..all right then, maybe yours" I said with a smile as I leaned back into his arms.
"Mmm…you're lovely and warm" he murmured, running his hands over my skin.
I laughed "Only because I've just got out of bed. I won't be for long if I hang around here with you. Besides, didn't you say the car would be here soon?" He let go of me, somewhat reluctantly and I hurried into the bathroom for a shower.
Half an hour later we were packed up and heading through the outskirts of Cairo on our way to Luxor.
"So, if I can persuade Ulrich that he doesn't actually need me for the meetings, would you like to go to the Valley of the Kings tonight?" Bill asked when we were settled into the car.
"Can we?" I asked, turning to him.
"Of course." He smiled. "I hoped you'd say that. I happen to know that Gerry has arranged a trip for him, Claudia and Chris and I asked him if we could come too. He suggested that we also ask Susie, if that's all right with you?"
"Oh yes, that'll be lovely."
"We won't have time to unpack" he warned, we'll have to set off as soon as we get to the Hotel."
"No problem!" I said "I can't wait.
Bill pulled out his phone and made a call. I listened as he spoke to Ulrich, asking if he was required tonight. "Fine….thanks." he said and clicked the phone shut.
"Right! We're on!" he smiled at me as I grinned with delight. "Is there anything in particular that you want to see?" he asked, putting his arm around me.
"Oh, I'll be happy just to be there, to see whatever happens to be open. A lot of the tombs I'd really like to see are not open to the public anyway. Seti I, Ramesses II. I'd like to see Tutankhamun" I said twisting my head to look up at him. "One of the most interesting ones that I've recently read about isn't open though. It was discovered in the early 1800's, you might even have seen it. I'm not sure if it was open then. Burton dug his way in sometime in the 1820's but it was filled up with flood debris and it was subsequently covered over and lost."
Bill stared at me in disbelief. "Oh come on….how can you lose a tomb!"
I laughed, "It's true, I promise you. The early maps of the valley were very vague and, although it's marked, it was thought to be quite small and insignificant and it was covered over with the debris from other excavations. By the time Kent Weeks started the Theban mapping project in the 1970's its location was unknown. So he set out to find it, and he succeeded. It's right at the entrance to the valley just where the souvenir sellers are based. The tomb was filled almost to the ceiling with flood debris. His team cleared the first two chambers, which was as far as Burton had got in the 1820's and discovered a doorway in the far wall which they thought would lead to another chamber. When they cleared enough space to get through they discovered it led to a long corridor. A corridor with doors all the way along, there were sixteen chambers off the first corridor and a statue of Osiris at the end. When they got to the statue imagine their surprise when they discovered that, instead of leading to two more chambers, the two doorways at the end of the corridor led to two more corridors with more chambers. After clearing out the flood debris which choked the first few chambers, they have found two more corridors coming back from the first chamber. So far they've discovered something like 150 chambers – four or five times as many as in any other tomb in the valley."
"So what on earth was it for?" asked Bill.
"Well they found the cartouche of Ramesses II on the wall as well as the names of two of his sons. Ramesses was in his 80's when he died and had reigned for over 60 years. He had about 30 or so sons which we know of, and those were only the sons of his principal wives, I don't think they even counted the daughters."
"He built the temples at Abu Simbel, is that right?" asked Bill, "the ones Ulrich has arranged for us to visit later on?"
"That's right" I said "One temple is dedicated to him and the other to "The King's Great Wife" Nefertari. But Ramesses had two "Great Wives" Nefertari and Isisnofret, not to mention all the secondary wives and concubines. He outlived a dozen of his sons and he was succeeded by his thirteenth son. We only know where two of them were buried. Merneptah, who succeeded him as Pharaoh is thought to have been buried in the Valley of the Kings and Khaemwese, who was the high priest of Ptah is buried at Saqqara. So the theory is that this tomb was built for the other sons, the ones who would have been Crown Princes but who each died before their father.
Imagine that Bill, to be able to walk down a corridor which Ramesses had walked, numerous times during the funerals of his sons! The statue which they identified as Osiris, at the end of the main corridor, has the face missing. They think now that it may have been a statue of Ramesses, as Osiris. Placed there to watch over his sons for eternity."
I fell silent for a moment. Bill gave me a hug. "You really love this don't you." He asked with a smile.
"Oh yes…I do!" I said.
We spent the rest of the journey to Luxor discussing the tomb of the sons of Ramesses. Well, I did most of the talking!
When we arrived at the Hotel the others were already in the foyer waiting. Bill told the porters to take our bags up to the honeymoon suite which Ulrich had reserved for us.
"The Honeymoon Suite?" said Gerry with a laugh. "Hey, is there something you're not telling us Bill?"
Bill blushed furiously, I hadn't even known that vampires could do that! "It's just a co-incidence." He said hurriedly. He couldn't explain because no-one else knew of the reason for our move to Luxor.
"Oh right, a co-incidence, yeah!" There was a considerable amount of giggling as we hurried out to the cars which would take us down to the quay. Bill seemed unusually flustered and I took his hand and squeezed it gently. He put his arm around me and smiled. "Should have kept that quiet!" he said ruefully. "I'll bet Gerry's not going to let it go that easily."
As we got into the boat which would take us across the Nile to the west bank Gerry told us that he had arranged with the Hotel to provide an Egyptian guide for us, he was waiting for us on the far bank. When we arrived we discovered that he was not the only thing awaiting us! Sitting by the side of the track were seven camels! A man jumped up when we disembarked and ran over to us.
"Hello, hello! I am Alayah….I will be your guide tonight!" he cried, smiling broadly.
"Oh great!" said Gerry "you managed to find some!"
We all turned and stared at him.
"This was your idea?" asked Bill.
"Oh come on Bill, don't be so stuffy, it'll be fun!" cried Gerry heading over to the camels.
Well, I'd never seen anything like it! Eventually, after a bit of a struggle we were all in the saddle and Alayah mounted his own camel, warned us to hold on tight, called out something in Arabic and all the camels obediently stood up. No-one actually fell off, but it was a close thing! Chris came closest because he was so laid back he wasn't holding on tight enough!
Hanging on for grim death we set off across the strip of cultivated land alongside the Nile and headed out towards the desert, glowing pale in the moonlight. After a few minutes I began to get used to the swaying gait of the camel and looked around at my companions. Susie was clinging on bravely but still obviously uncomfortable. Claudia, however, looked as cool and elegant as always while Bill was back to his normal, calm and unflappable self, although I had noticed that while I had been getting used to the motion, he had been laughing so hard he almost fell off himself. Chris and Gerry were having a great time and seemed almost disappointed when we arrived at the Valley of the Kings.
We spent several hours in the valley visiting as many of the tombs as we could. Most had electric lighting but one or two did not and Alayah took us in by the light of several swaying lanterns. In these it felt almost as Bill had described it to me, as if we were discovering them for the first time. I wondered for a moment if it would have been better to come in the daylight, but, once inside the tombs, it was dark anyway and I wanted Bill with me. I remember seeing Chris and Susie gazing in awe at wall paintings so bright they might have been done yesterday. There was one tomb which was half finished. The King for whom it was made must have died unexpectedly and I walked with Bill along a corridor lined with paintings, first coloured, then in line drawing until we came to one which was only half drawn, as if the painter had put down his brush and gone outside for something and would return in a moment to finish his work. I badgered Alayah with endless questions and I noticed Bill at one point leaning on a doorway watching me with a smile as I bored everyone silly with information.
Eventually we came to the tomb of the boy king Tutankhamun. It was a much smaller and less impressive monument that any of the others we had seen but had been filled with treasures, everything that the young king would need for his journey to the underworld. Bill and I stood quietly looking down into the sarcophagus where the king's body still lay, sealed under glass.
"Compare the size of this tomb with the tombs of the other Pharaohs we've just seen" I said. "The treasures that must have been in a tomb the size of Ramesses II must have been unimaginable, no wonder they were all robbed in antiquity."
"This boy only reigned for a few years" said Bill thoughtfully "Did you say Ramesses ruled for 60 years?"
"Just think of it" I whispered. "Most of his people had never known any other Pharaoh, life expectancy was much shorter then. He was truly a god to them. Imagine how the priests must have panicked when he died There was probably no-one left alive who had ever even seen a royal funeral, let alone organised one."
Bill put his arm around me and we went back out into the valley. Alayah had arranged for two cars to take us back to the quay. All too soon we were back at the Hotel. We piled out of the cars into the foyer of The Osiris, talking excitedly and headed for the elevators. We said our goodnights and split up to go to our rooms, Bill and I heading for the Honeymoon Suite to a rousing chorus of "Here comes the Bride" from Gerry and Chris!
"This damn suite had better be worth it!" growled Bill as we opened the door. I was walking behind him, half asleep and walked straight into him as he stopped dead in the doorway.
"Ouch, what the…..!" I looked around him and saw at least six huge bouquets of red and white roses arranged around the suite. I looked at Bill but he was obviously as surprised as I was. So they weren't from him. Oh dear….
He walked over to the bouquet on the dresser and picked up the card. I noticed his fangs slide out as he read the name. "Ulrich!" he said, turning to me with a questioning expression.
"Don't look at me!" I said "I've only spoken to him twice. He probably just asked the Hotel to put some flowers in the suite for us." Bill still looked unconvinced so I opened the bathroom door and said "well I need a bath, I'm hot and dusty and…oh my!" There was another bouquet in the bathroom alongside a huge whirlpool bath. "Right, I'm having a bath, I'll see you later." I turned to see Bill sit down on one of the couches with a scowl.
Fifteen minutes later I was lying in the hot scented water wondering what to do about Bill. I had to admit that he had been painfully honest with me. He had told me about Sookie, I knew that he had loved her deeply, that he still did, and that he had lost her to a more powerful vampire. Now it looked like he was afraid the same thing was happening again.
As I thought about this the door opened and Bill put his head through the gap. "Mind if I come in?" he asked quietly.
"Of course not" I answered and he opened the door and walked in. He was wearing one of the Hotel's fluffy dressing gowns and he came over and sat down on the broad shelf at the edge of the sunken bath. He reached over and ran his fingertips across my cheek.
"I'm sorry precious," he said. "I'm just being foolish aren't I?"
I took his hand in mine. "Bill" I said "I love you, I love you for yourself, for who you are, not what you are. I'm not interested in other vampires. I don't imagine for a moment that Ulrich is trying to make a move on me, but even if he was, it wouldn't do him any good. I'm not interested in anyone else but you."
Bill reached down and took me in his arms. He leaned over me and began to kiss me, working his tongue between my lips and sliding his hand behind my head, pulling me closer in as his kiss deepened. He slid the robe from his shoulders so that he sat naked on the edge of the bath and I moved closer, nudging his legs apart and running my hands over his muscled chest. He sat and watched me in silence as I ran my hands down his sides and onto his thighs, sliding down deeper into the water until my head was level with the edge of the bath. I slid my hand back up his thigh and took him gently in my hand as he threw his head back and groaned.
"Oh...I so love to feel your hands on me" he whispered. "So warm and soft."
I bent my head and took him into my mouth, sucking gently and feeling his stiffness rubbing against the roof of my mouth. He gave another groan and reached down to take my head in his hands. Holding me with his fingers tangled in my wet hair, pushing himself between my lips. Soon I felt his shaft swelling in my mouth and I could tell that he was beginning to lose his iron self control. I bent my head back, feeling the tip of his shaft against the back of my throat and held on tight as he gave a roar and exploded into me, pumping his essence into my waiting mouth.
"Oh... Alex!" he whispered, releasing my hair and pulling back from me, "I'm sorry...I...I couldn't stop."
I reached up and took his hand, tugging until he slid down into the bathwater alongside me and I leaned against him. "It's okay, I'm fine. I'm not made of glass you know, I won't break. Well, so long as you don't really overdo it!"
We sat together for a while until I felt the bathwater was getting too cold, Bill always seemed to absorb the heat somehow. Then he picked me up gently and carried me out to the bedroom. He insisted on carefully drying every inch of my body with one of the deliciously soft towels before climbing into bed beside me.
"I must remember to thank Ulrich for the roses" he said with a smile.
I woke just after mid-day feeling ravenously hungry. I groaned and tried to ignore my stomach and go back to sleep. After tossing and turning for a while I began to worry that I would disturb Bill who was lying beside me and so I gave in and got up. I had a quick shower and dressed then headed downstairs in search of food.
Since we had not had time to look around the Hotel when we had arrived last night I simply followed my nose and soon found myself in a large restaurant opening onto a courtyard with a fountain. Looking around I saw Chris and Susie at a table by the fountain and headed over to join them.
"Hi guys!" I said "Mind if I join you?"
"Oh Hi Alex!" said Chris "Hey, Bill isn't mad at me is he? The teasing was Gerry's fault, he started it!"
I must have looked puzzled because he started to explain. "You know…..the "Here Comes the Bride" thing? He looked furious!"
"Oh, he'll get over it, don't worry." I said. "But a little less harping on the honeymoon thing wouldn't be a bad idea!" I picked up a plate and went over to the substantial buffet and began to help myself. Returning to the table I poured myself a coffee and began to eat.
"You two always seem to be starving" said Susie innocently.
Chris and I looked at each other for a moment. "Er…fast metabolism?" said Chris. I just smiled and carried on eating. Neither of us felt up to discussing the nuances of vampire relationships at the moment.
"Anyone like to come out for a walk?" she asked. "I've got a map from reception showing the local market, it's not far."
"Mmm…sounds fun." I said through a mouthful of fruit. "I'm up for that!"
"Think I'll just go back to the room and have a rest" said Chris. "I'll leave you girls to go shopping!" He got up and said "See you later."
Half an hour later Susie and I were strolling around the local market amongst the other tourists trying to avoid the calls of the souvenir sellers. We watched as a man drove a dozen camels down the main street and laughed when a little boy about 10 years old rode past on a bicycle balancing a tray of loaves on his head. To our amazement he let go of the tray to wave to us and then got hold of it again without losing a single loaf!
We wandered around looking at piles of bright silk scarves, jewellery and perfumes for a while. I saw several items of jewellery which I decided I would like to take a closer look at later and I had just turned to Susie to suggest we headed back when I noticed two men heading towards us. They were obviously not locals and one was looking directly at me. As I stepped back I felt someone take hold of me from behind and shouted to Susie to run. Instead the turned back to me and I saw one of the two men run up behind her. Then something hit the back of my head and I collapsed in a heap on the cobbles.