Chapter Thirteen

Jonathan ran down the wide expanse of road that led to the pillared entrance of the dead city.  His lungs burned, and in the distance he could see the dirigible's balloon bob gently in the light desert breeze.   He wanted to stop, collapse, have a nip of whiskey, but the desperation in his heart and the echo of the terrible roars in his ears drove him onwards.   For a painfully long minute all he could hear was his rasping breath, his blood pulsing in his ears, the pounding of the sun's heat on his body making him break in a sudden sweat.   He could feel his skin burning, and he struggled not to think of the battle behind him.

Skirting the corner of the entrance he raced towards the dirigible.  "GO, GO, GO, GO!"

He threw himself upon the side of the dirigible, pulling himself up.   Evelyn and Connie ran to the side, glaring at Jonathan.

Evy shook visibly as Jonathan hauled himself over the edge of the boat.  "What?  Where's Rick?"

"Where's Dad?"

Connie stood stock still, gripping the railing of the boat.

"They're back there," Jonathan said, gasping for breath, "They told me to get you away, get you to H-hamunaptra."

"What's going on, Jonathan?"  Evelyn's tone was demanding, her eyes glistening in withheld panic.

"There are hordes of evil beasts back there and if I were you I'd get Alex the hell out of here!"

Evelyn glanced back at Izzy, then to Alex.   Her heart clenched wildly in her chest as she laid eyes on her son.  Her thoughts raced, possibilities galloping through her mind.   Rick could be alive.  Rick could be dead.   He could be in trouble.   He could need her.  Could she stand by as he was killed?   Could she ever live with herself if she did such a thing?   She could help him, she could help him and stop him and Ardeth from getting themselves killed.  She took the boy by the shoulders, kissing him on the forehead before pushing him towards Izzy.

"Go Izzy," she said,  "Now.  Jonathan, you're going back there and you're taking me with you."

Izzy stepped forward, "Now come on ladies, there's been enough-"

"NOW!"  Evelyn sat Alex down on one of the pews.

"But Mum!" The boy cried, "I don't want to leave you here!"

Evelyn glared at him evenly. "It's bad enough that I'm going back in there, Alex.  Now let's not kill off the O'Connells in one fell swoop, eh?"

"That's not funny," he muttered.

"I'll be all right," she said, embracing him quickly.   She kissed him again and turned to Connie.  "You look after him," she said, "Please."

Connie's eyes drifted to Evelyn's.   Look after Alex.   Stay in the ship.   Drift up and away, and she wouldn't know...  Ardeth was in there.   She gulped, looking to her best friend, eyes welling with tears.   "I can't-"

Jonathan groaned. "Come on!!"

Connie shook her head, gripping Evelyn's arm. "I can't, Evy, I can't leave him!"

Evelyn gripped Connie's arms in return.  "It's dangerous in there.  I assure you, Ardeth has gotten himself out of more terrifying scrapes than I care to imagine, so don't you worry.  You get his friends, so we can undo this mess we've made."

Before Constance could protest Evelyn had leapt down the side of the vessel, pulling Jonathan after her.   Connie raced to the edge of the dirigible, eyes wide as her friends ran clear of the ship.   Izzy shouted out, orders or some such that she couldn't listen to, couldn't take the time to understand.   All she saw was Evelyn and Jonathan, running across the sand, and flashing blades.

There was a lifting around her, and the dirigible rose silently.

...Ramla...

Her heart clenched as the name was whispered in her mind, in that voice, that voice that spoke of a soul that was so broken, so broken.  She whimpered, grabbing a rope beneath her hands and leaping over the edge of the ship.

"OY!"  Izzy's voice rang out.  "OY LADY!  Don't you be doing that!  OY!"

Connie screamed as she dropped down, gripping the rope in her hands, her stomach in her throat as she fell.   Her shoulder sockets exploded in pain as the rope reached its length, her hands burning like fire.   Below her the ground rolled away, six feet between her.

"Miss ADAMS!"

She heard Alex's voice cry out, and glancing up she gasped for breath that seemed to be stolen from her lungs.   Her chest could barely move with her arms above her, and her vertigo seized her with a merciless spin.  "I..."  She let out a howl.  "Ohhhhhhhh!!  I am fine!"   Clenching her eyes shut and wagging her legs, she let go of the rope.

Her stomach yawned again, and she let her arms spread out wide as she hurtled down.   She relaxed her legs as she met the ground, sand giving way under her feet and balance continuing its absence.   She tumbled down the side of the dune she landed on, like a doll thrown down a set of stairs, and she felt each thump and impact roll through her body.  I am like the leaf, she thought as she went, I am like the leaf.  Light upon the ground.

She wasn't very light at all, and finally rolling to a stop, she let her brain pull itself from its state of shock to take stock of her situation. She was upside down, knees about her ears, sand in her mouth, in her eyes, in her hair, and she hurt all over.

"Ohhhhh," she moaned.   She let herself roll onto her back, and she coughed, clearing her mouth and lungs of desert dust.   Dragging herself to her feet, she glanced up.   The dirigible had flown right past her, and she could see little Alex at the stern.  She waved, using her whole body in the movement, hoping he'd know it meant she was okay.   For added security, she threw her arms forward, as if to shoo him off.   The dirigible didn't turn around, so she figured they got the point.

Staggering up the dune, she remembered Ardeth's words about not wandering too far away.   For one horrid moment she thought that she might have dropped herself in the middle of the desert, but as she made it to the crest of the sandy hillock, the sight that welcomed her also gave her a sigh of relief.

Amarna stretched away before her, and she saw the small figures of Jonathan and Evelyn running frantically towards the building where faint sounds of roaring were emanating from.    Gritting her teeth with determination, she began to run towards the structure, despite the heat that engulfed her from the late afternoon and the sand that half choked her.   Her breath was steady though, and for the first time in her life she felt a deep rooted, soul defining determination.

~~*~~

His muscles tensed as he stood his ground, the throng of evil creatures running headlong in his direction, their movement rattling the building and his bones.   He could hear Rick scuffle behind him, and his heart grew heavy.   He hoped that the man could get his hands on a blade quickly.   The beasts grew close, their teeth gleaming, and he threw himself forward into the mass of swirling blades, his own deflecting them with heavy clashes that numbed his flesh.

He thrust and feinted, kicking the beast in front of him.   As it toppled over he relieved it of it's head, and black dust burst out over the stone floor.   He grabbed the sword, throwing it back to Rick.

Somehow, Rick was already armed with a scimitar, but he took it anyway.   Dispatching another monster Ardeth took another sword, his arms now extended with steel, knocking aside each blow and pushing his enemies back.   He could feel the whoosh of blades behind him, and he ducked, rolled, avoiding two, three swords.  There were many.  Too many.

There was a scuffling of footsteps in the doorway behind him, and he heard a voice that he really, really did NOT want to hear.

"RICK!"

Ardeth glanced back as he dusted another creature, stepping back as the warriors tried to encircle him.   Jonathan stood in the doorway, wincing with fear.  "I told you to send her to Hamunaptra!"

Jonathan pointed at Evelyn.  "You think this woman ever listens to a word I say?"

Evelyn raced forward, grabbing a sword and ploughing into the warriors with a roar of her own.  Ardeth continued to block, slice, responding to manoeuvres that seemed almost ingrained into the creatures intelligence.   They were fierce fighters, lethal fighters, but their weakness was that they all fought with the same moves, the same responses.   They didn't learn from their mistakes, and thankfully they died from them.  Unfortunately they always had vast numbers on their side, which often tended to win out.

They were also strong - very strong.  He avoided blade-locks, going for slicing motions and a quick dispatch.  He could hear the rattling explosion of sand as his friends destroyed their opponents.   He glanced to see where Jonathan was... he was gazing out the doorway... he was surprised.

Ardeth couldn't spare more than glance.  He threw himself into the fight, swinging up, twirling his blade to deflect the strike of a warrior behind him.   How it got there he didn't know - he had to keep them in front of him.   The strength of their blows stung his body and taxed his strength.  He couldn't keep this up, and his defences were slipping.   Evelyn's fresh and sharp fighting rid them of many of the creatures, and Rick continued to kill more, but three against four hundred... it wasn't possible.

He felt his body go through the motions, killing, deflecting, feinting, kicking, killing, and his mind revolved around this, teeth clenched as he followed through each step.  What were they doing? he wondered, Why didn't they just run in the first place?   There were too many of them - what were they going to do in such small numbers?   A quiet part of his mind spoke back to him, and it made him fight harder.

If they had ran away, it would have led the entire horde to the dirigible...  and to Alex, and Connie.

He was killing another creature when the voice rang out.   His brain couldn't process the sound, because it wasn't possible, it couldn't be possible.   It was enough to distract him, another creature slipping past his perimeter and coming in from behind.  The half-rotted hound thing kicked out a clawed leg, knocking in the back of Ardeth's knees and sending him sprawling into his back.  That voice rang out again and he felt tears spring in his eyes.

"Ardeth, NO!"

He kicked at the wall of legs around him, one monster lost its balance and crumpled over.   Swords whooshed through the air, clanging and crashing, beheading the creatures around him.  A pair of pale hands grabbed his shoulders and yanked, nails digging into his robes.   Two more hands joined them and he was out of the way of the creature's blades.   He didn't wait to thank his rescuers.   Staggering to his feet he spun and wove his blades through the air, moving his body into its fighting rhythm, preparing to throw himself back into the melee.

Two creatures saved him the bother, running towards him, mouths open in guttural howls.   He brought his swords down, crashing against theirs, bringing their defences low so he could swoop in high and relieve them of their heads.  He beheaded one, and upon slicing through another he felt a blow against his side.

Searing pain... he tried not to fall back...  Gritting his teeth he continued to attack.  Then he heard it again.

"Ardeth... Ardeth!"

He didn't glance back, but he knew she was here.  "Run!" he roared.

"No!" she cried back.

"Connie-"

"Miss Adams!" she wailed, tears in her voice.  "You haven't gotten out of here yet!"

He growled, beheading another creature.  "I am doing the best I can!"

With a chorus of bellowing roars, more warriors threw themselves at Ardeth, Evelyn and Rick, unsheathed blades glinting in the torchlight of the unearthed shrine.

~~*~~

Constance felt panic grip her.   There were so many... so many of these things.  Terror burned and ran rampant in her blood, her hands shaking at the sight that was before her.  She had to do something... had to do something.  Evelyn...  She looked to her friend.   How could she fight?  She never knew of the woman learning to fight.  She grabbed Jonathan, blabbering almost incoherently.

"How- how?"

Jonathan glanced to her.  "What?"

"How?" She pointed at Evelyn. "With the swords!  How did she?"

"Oh," Jonathan gulped, nodding.  "She remembered, you know - from way back."  Constance glared at him then.  Jonathan looked to her, face clouding with puzzlement.  "What?"

"Brother..."  She whispered, "You... you're her BROTHER!"

"Ahaha," Jonathan nodded, grinning at her like she'd lost her last grip on reality, "Yes, yes, that's very nice Connie."

Connie had a spasm of excitement, eyes blazing, "Don't you SEE?!"

Still grinning and nodding, Jonathan then shook his head, the smile falling from his face.  "No."

"But it's so simple!" Connie laughed desperately, "Oh!  I must trance!"  At that she closed her eyes, crossed her legs and placed the palms of her hands together.    For all intents and purposes, she looked as if she fell asleep sitting up.

Jonathan looked about him, at the chaos and shouting and roaring, then at the woman who had shut down.   "Connie..." He gave a nervous laugh, "This isn't really the time...."

The woman didn't respond.  Her lips moved in silent words, fast, making shapes that to anyone else made no sense.   Her body tensed, her eyes darting about under the lids, her breath becoming faster.  "Sedjami metek," she breathed, hands pressed together, the skin bulging from pressure, "Sedjami metek!"

Her eyes shot open, a gasp taking her, and with a scrabbling motion she got to her knees.  All about her was black sand... and swords.   She grabbed one, thrusting it in the air, muttering words quickly, quietly.

"Connie..." Jonathan tilted his head, fear in his eyes, "Connie, what are you doing?"  He jiggled her arm.

With wild eyes she straddled the man, gripping the sword's blade above her head with her left hand.

Jonathan spluttered. "My word!  Now - I think it would be better if we... what are you doing with that?"

She squeezed tightly on the blade, her knuckles growing white, tears of disbelief in her eyes.  She pulled the sword from her hand, a terrible give shocking through her arm as her flesh gave way under the sword, blood spilling down her creamy white skin.  She threw the sword aside, and grabbing a handful of white desert sand, she smashed it in her palm, still breathing words, silent and strange.   She pulled a hand away, dipping her thumb in the mess of blood and sand, running it in circles till it was a ruddy thick mud.   She pinned Jonathan down with her legs, eyes still blazing.

"Djed-medewi her kah em khenoo!" she shouted, thrusting her arm up in the air, "Ahayi kah em hah sep!"

"Conniee!"  Jonathan struggled underneath her, but she had him firmly pinned, how, he didn't know, a woman her size shouldn't have been that strong.   He squirmed as she pressed the pad of her thumb to the middle of his forehead, the bloody sand dribbling down the bridge of his nose.

"Weben!" she growled, "Weben!"  She dragged her thumb over his forehead, drawing a shape.   Jonathan felt her make a vaguely circular shape, then a cross... an ankh.  She was drawing an ankh!  "WEBEN!"

She tumbled from his lap as Jonathan jumped up, cradling his head, his mouth wide open and a strangled gasp leaving him.  He almost looked in pain, but as he blinked, confusion shifted to clarity in his eyes.  He looked about, as if only just seeing the situation for the first time.

"Wh..."  He grabbed his jacket, ripping it off him and he grabbed a sword from the ground.  "AAAAARGH!"   The man ran headlong into the fray, sword flipping and twirling expertly, teeth bear in a berserker rage.

Evelyn double took as her brother sped past her, beheading Anubis warriors like they were going out of style, and she glared at Connie, cowering back against the wall.

"What ...UGH!"  She pushed back a warrior.  It rushed back at her with a howl, "Did you -"  She beheaded it with a swift strike, "Do to my BROTHER?!"

"Nothing!" shouted back Connie, "I awoke what was within him!"

"Awoke?" she cried, "You brought it out of a coma more like!"  She growled and killed another creature.  Beside her Rick was busy, his own manoeuvres showing sign of fatigue.  Despite the addition of Jonathan's seemingly expert sword play, the Anubis warriors kept on coming.

"AHB!"

Evelyn spun about, crouching at the bone-rattling cry that rung out through the stone chamber.  The Anubis warriors, all in the heat of battle, froze like statues.   Jonathan, however, kept hacking into the still one in front of him, sword sinking into its limbs.  Rick turned, puzzlement in his face and seeing Jonathan, he put his hand on the man's shoulder.

"Jonathan... woah... calm down buddy!"

"I KILL IT!" Jonathan roared, "FOR EGYPT I KILL IT!"

Evelyn started at the words babbling from her brother's mouth, and storming over to him, she spun him about by the shoulder.   He blinked at her, and before he could do much else she slapped him, hard.  The man shook his head about, blinking, and looking down to his sword he looked startled.  He dropped it immediately, jumping back a bit.

"Thank you," he said, gasping a breath.  "I - I don't know what came over me..."

"No," Evy said, then eyed Connie firmly, "We shall find out later, shall we?"

Connie cowered.  With the chaos paused, she took a moment to breath.  Pain, she felt pain, and wet... her hand.  She looked down calmly, but then double took at the cut in her palm and her eyes bugged.  "OOOOOOW!"

Ardeth was looking around him, and upon hearing her cry he ran over to Connie.  His eyes flashed with alarm as he saw the blood, and he glared at her.

"I did it to myself," she hissed, tears of pain in her eyes. "When I went into my trance state."

Kneeling down in front of her, Ardeth ripped at his robes, bringing out a black strip.  Wiping away the dirt and mud he cleared the wound and began to deftly wrap it up.

"What are you doing here?" he growled, "I thought Jonathan-"

"That's gratitude," she muttered. "I don't know if you noticed, but I saved your life."

Ardeth ground his teeth, letting out a frustrated sigh.  "It would not have been necessary if you were not there to distract me in the first place."

She snorted darkly.  "Yes.  And those hordes of warriors didn't have you pinned at all."

Ardeth glared at her, eyes smouldering, frustration in his features.

Evelyn's voice cut through their heated discussion, her tone steeped in fear and dread.  "Oh my God...."

Ardeth was glaring at Connie, anger burning through is veins.  He finally turned his head around to see what Evelyn was so damn worried about, and promptly paled.

The sarcophagus that had previously been lidded on the altar at the end of the glimmering gold chamber was open.  Wide open.  From it was standing a wrinkled, shrivelled body in resplendent gold-threaded robes.   Its limbs were a dark brownish-grey, decayed flesh and muscles fluttering in the light flow of air and with his movements.   His arms were thrust up into the air, and hollowed rotted eyes glared at the intruders with steely judgement.

He spoke then, his voice a light mid-range chorus of sound, not from his throat, not from anywhere.  It seemed to resonate through the very matter all around them.   His words were curled, choppy sentences of words that only two people in his vicinity understood.

"What's he saying?" said Connie, quivering behind Ardeth, fingers digging into his robes.

Evy cleared her throat, stepping back.  "Uh... he - he's saying... Welcome."

Rick glared at Evelyn.  "Welcome?!"

"Yes," she said, "Welcome to my Great Temple..."

The creature nattered another phrase, and Evelyn gave a strangled cough.

"Er... he finishes with... My followers."

"Follower?"  Rick spluttered, "I'm not his-"

"Hush Rick," Evelyn said.  She looked to the risen corpse, stepping forward tentatively, ducking the frozen bodies of Anubis warriors.  She spoke in his tongue.  "If we are your followers, and you, I assume, are our great leader... then why were we attacked?"

The mummy almost seemed to smile.  It sighed heavily, shaking its head, bringing its arms down gracefully.  "Not my idea, my child of the Sun."

She gave a laboured breath, trying to calm herself as she looked upon the undead.  She would never get used to seeing them move, and the terror inside her was hard to curb, even if this one seemed benevolent.  "Why do you call me that?"

"You shine," it said, "You carry the soul of Egyptian Royalty."  It turned its head.  "You too, young man."

Jonathan turned about, doing a full three-sixty turn before looking back at the mummy.  "What - me?"

The mummy chuckled.  It barked a command at its Anubis Warriors.   Two turned, and with swift movements they came towards the risen corpse, helping him down from the altar he'd been resting upon.   Rick looked to Evy.

"Ask him, why the dog-men?"

Evy sighed, "I did.  I'll try again."  She looked to the thing.  "Excuse me, you didn't tell me... er... why the Anubis-"

"My captors," it said, "My destroyers."

Evy tilted her head. "And who are you?"

The thing swung its arms up, threadbare cheek muscles pulling back to expose a rotted toothy grin.  "Akhenaten!  Benevolent King, lover of all creation!  Believer of the one true God...  that which brings us all life..."

"Aten," provided Evelyn.  "If... if they're your destroyers..." she said, indicating the Anubis Warriors, "How is it you have command over them?"

"This control is only for a short time," he said. "But let us not worry about such things..."  He went to step down from the dais his altar was set upon.

Evelyn stepped up to him to stop him, visibly trying to hold in her disgust but her seriousness blazing in her eyes.  "No, let's."

Rick stepped forward.  "Evy, what's going on?"

"Nothing," Evy said slowly, eyes not leaving that of Akhenaten's, "Just making sure we set some boundaries here."

Rick looked about, and then to the mummy.  "Is there a reason why we're not shooting it to bits?"

"Rick," Evelyn said with a gasp, "This is a being that is over three thousand years old!  If it's benevolent, we could learn a lot from it."

"If it were benevolent," said Ardeth, "It would not be doomed to be the walking dead."

"Good point there," laughed Jonathan nervously.

"Now listen," she hissed at them.  "I've seen nothing to indicate that he was an evil man!  In fact, I've seen some proof to the contrary."

Akhenaten tilted his head in question, and Evelyn smiled thinly.

"My friends just need translation," she said, "They do not understand Egyptian."

"Then you shall be my voice for them," Akhenaten said, bowing his head.  He turned, sweeping his arms up at the large polished gold disk above him.  "I worshipped Aten with all my heart!   Aten was a good God, a true God, a loving kind God that nurtured all."  He looked to Evy then.  "It was not selfish, nor did It demand the riches and sacrifice that the Egyptians Gods required."  Akhenaten gave a snort of a sigh and turned away from the disk.  "I was destroyed for my need for love."

Evelyn gulped, fiddling with her fingers.  She fought not to feel sorry for the man, but to be objective.  She didn't know who he was, and he could have been as evil as Imhotep ever was.   There was something about his voice though... it warmed something inside of her, and his graceful movements.  They were like that of a wise man.  Even so rotted, the man somehow managed to have charisma.   When this thought registered in Evy's head, she shuddered violently.

"That - that is very unfortunate," Evelyn said.

"Destroy a nation, you are a good king.  Conquer a people, you are a good king."  Akhenaten stepped down from the dais, approaching Evelyn.  "Try to create a paradise... and you are a very bad king, my child."  Rick moved forward, taking the hand of his wife.  Akhenaten tilted his head.  "He does not need to worry, I mean you no harm."

"Yet," muttered Jonathan in English, understanding the risen king's words.

"What is it you want?" asked Evy.  "You need something, that much is obvious."

"Perceptive," said Akhenaten.  "Yes.  I do need something from you all.  I need you to help me find something very precious to me, and for you to witness my reformation as I replace it to its rightful home."

Rick glared at Evy.  "What's he saying?"

"He wants us to help him find something," Evy said, looking worried.  "To help him become whole again..."

"No," Ardeth said, hands tensing on the hilts of his swords and coming forward.  Connie trailed after him, hands gripping his robes.  "We must not allow this."

"No of course not," said Evelyn, glancing to Ardeth.  "I just don't know how to say no..."

Rick snorted a smile of desperation, "You say - No!"

Evy sighed, looking to Akhenaten.  "My companions are concerned with tampering with the natural order-"

"What of the high priests tampering with the lives of my people?!" cried Akhenaten, his voice roaring through the structure of the room.   Evelyn shrank back.

"I - I am sure that upsets you, but-"

"It is not sadness I feel," Akhenaten said smoothly, his voice creeping and dark like tar, but growing again to a resounding cry.  "It is a grief so profound, that no man has ever felt the like.  I am a king, stolen of my people!    I shall bring them back, dear child, I shall be the man I was!"

Jonathan toed his way over to his sister, peeking over her shoulder at Akhenaten.  "Er... do you think he counts as Evil yet, Old Mum?"

Evelyn winced, "I believe so..."

"Well?  Wha'd he say that was so bad?" asked Rick.

"Er... something about bringing his people back and being again the man he was..."  Evelyn fretted as Rick pinned her with an urgent glare.  "But - even if we do try to stop him - what on earth are we supposed to do?  The dirigible's gone, we're surrounded by Anubis' - erm -  men, and we're miles from help!"

Rick stepped forward, setting Evelyn next to him and smiling thinly.  "We play along, honey.  Translate."

Evelyn looked to Akhenaten nervously.  "Eh - uh - my husband, Rick, he wants to say something to you.  Er - I'll translate."

Akhenaten folded his thread-bare arms, nodding shortly.   Rick squared his shoulders and stared at the mummy.

"Whatever it is you want," he said, "We'll help you find it.  On one condition though."

Evelyn looked between Rick and Akhenaten.  "Er - Rick says that we agree to help you, as long as you agree to one of his conditions."

Akhenaten looked to Rick, tilting his head slightly.  He tossed a swath of his gold-threaded robe over his shoulder, standing tall.  "Tell me this condition."

"He says tell him the condition."

Rick nodded.  "You explain your little curse in every single gory detail.  Why you're up, how long you'll last, how many people you gotta suck up before you become immortal and how many become your slaves in the advent of your full resurrection."

Evelyn looked to Akhenaten and translated.  As she did so, a low staggered laugh fell around the undead man in front of them, and he sighed.  "Aah, he assumes much, my child," he said to Evelyn.  "My rising is not a punishment.  It is a second chance."

Evelyn crossed her arms, narrowing her eyes.  "Why would Gods that you do not worship, and obviously angered in some way, give you a second chance?"

"I was to be their face on earth," said Akhenaten, "A guide to the people and a leader to keep them strong.  Without that leadership the people are nothing, and the kingdom will fall." The moving corpse tilted his head.  "A God never wants their people to suffer."

Evelyn looked wary.  "I don't believe you've answered my question."

"The Gods are merciful," Akhenaten said.  "This is all I can offer you."

"I believe you owe us an explanation to the conditions of your resurrection," Evelyn said, "Otherwise you will not receive the help that you ask for."

"Evy," asked Rick in a low tone, "What's goin' on?"

"He's not divulging much," Evy said.

Rick cocked a brow, "Well he better start divulging or I start hacking off limbs!"  He lifted the sword in his hands and smiled thinly to the risen corpse.

Akhenaten looked to Evelyn, who stuttered with wide eyes.

"Er- my husband, that is to say--"

"He is not a friend," Akhenaten said, frowning thoughtfully.  "I cannot allow him to bring me harm." With a wave of his arms he spoke to the jackal-headed warriors.  "Capture them."

The warriors came forward, grabbing them all, clawed hands gripping arms roughly.  They struggled, fighting to be free.  The Anubis Warriors resisted their kicking and held them fast, expressionless faces looking forward.

Ardeth snarled, unable to pull himself away from the hold of the Warriors around him.   He jerked and lunged, and his heart froze as he heard the terrified scream of the blonde woman next to him.

"No!" Connie shrieked, "Get off me!"

"Connie!"

She growled, and kicked at their legs with her heeled boots.  The Anubis Warriors bobbed up and down as they tried to avoid the sharp strike of her heels.   Ardeth felt sweat break out on his brow.

"Stop it!" he shouted.  "You will make them angry!"

"Angry!" she said with a gasp, "What do you think I am?"

He gazed at her imploringly.  "Please Connie!"

"Miss Adams, for the last time!" she growled again, being dragged away with him towards the room.  She looked behind her.  "Evy!  Are you okay?"

Evy hung in the arms of the Anubis Warrior that carried her, a wrinkle of thought in her brow.  "I'm trying to figure out what the hell we're going to do now."

Rick, with a similar expression, struggled in the grip of the Warrior that held him.  "We're going to kick ass as soon as we get free of these Dog-Men things."

"Anubis Warriors," said Ardeth darkly.

"That too," Rick nodded.

The group were handled with no great care as they were bustled through a side door of the expansive gold room that was the Main Temple.   They were lead down a dark corridor lined with stone, deeply etched and painted and lighted dimly with low burning torches.  The scenes were all in the style of the other carvings - large round stomachs, long limbs and extremities, long faces and full lips.  Contradictory to all the Royal art before it and for some time after it, all echoing the appearance of the risen King in his prime.

An Anubis Warrior broke away from the group, walking to a lever buried deep in the wall.  They didn't even know what he was doing till he made a violent movement and the wall began shaking and moving.   It was a door, and it was opening.   The Warrior grabbed a torch from next to him, and threw it inside the room with little care.  He cocked his head at the door with a strange guttural growl, and the other Warriors proceeded to throw their prisoners into the room in a similar fashion to their Commander with the torch.

Jonathan was the last to tumble in the room that was a foot deep in sand.  He turned and winced at his captors.

"Yes!  Nice service here, old chum!"

The Anubis Warrior slammed the heavy stone door in response, the room being plunged into darkness.   There was silence for a moment, everyone a little stunned from their experiences, and in that silence the mechanism in the door could be heard clinking and slipping into place.

Rick grabbed for the torch on the floor, almost put out by the sand that half buried it.   He rolled it in his hands, letting it burn stronger, and stepping to the door he let the circle of light it created fall upon the seam it created in the wall.   He gave a low rumble.

"No lock on this side," he said.  "Damn it.  What would these rooms be for anyway?"

Jonathan shrugged with a curled lip.  "Maybe they’re for storing virgin sacrifices?"

Evelyn and Connie turned their heads to Jonathan with looks of slight horror.

"Egyptians didn't perform human sacrifices in this era, Jonathan, and you know it."  Evy sighed, squinting in the darkness around her.   She reached forward, and plunging her fingers fearlessly into a mess of cobwebs against the wall, she dug out another torch from the dust.   Touching it to Rick's she sighed.  "I got us in trouble again."

"No," Rick said, pursing his lips as his wife lit her torch.  "We weren't careful."

"It smells like old socks in here," complained Constance.  "I'm going to be sick, I think."

Evelyn frowned and looked to Constance, staring at her a long moment.  "Now that we've got the time to spare, I want to know what you did to Jonathan back there."

Constance smiled faintly, the gesture flittering off her face quickly.  She turned, stepping behind Ardeth and clearing some dust from a foot-wide ledge that ran all around the room.  Evelyn stepped forward, rising a brow, Jonathan behind her looking a little drawn.

"Yes, yes," Connie sighed, "It was nothing really, nothing."

Evelyn's eyes grew wide as she held herself.  "I'm sorry, but it didn't look like nothing!"

Jonathan pushed his lips up in a troubled pout.   Connie met those eyes, darkened with a tinge of fear, and she ran her hand over her other bandaged one.

"What I did was simple.  That - thing - out there... he half explained it."  Connie smiled nervously.  "Royal blood... remember?"

Evelyn looked to Jonathan, who seemed to pale a little as he gulped.  She looked back to Connie.  "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"Well..."  She pointed to Ardeth, who stood next to her.  "He was the guard."

Jonathan looked back and forth between the women.  "Who was what guard?"

Evelyn's eyes grew wide and she pointed to her husband, ignoring Jonathan.  "Rick - he was the other one."

"Exactly," nodded Constance. "I was Ramla and Jonathan was-"

"Ramesses."

As the word dropped from Evelyn's mouth, she felt a recognition blaze through her.  Blue round helm, galloping horses, cheering crowds and women - so many women.  She shook away the visions, taking a hold of her brother by the arm.

"Evy," he said, brows tilted up in worry.  "What are you both talking about?"

"I was Nefertiri..." she said, placing a flat hand on her chest.  "We were all there, all in Ancient Egypt.  I don't know why we're all together like this... maybe that's the way things work but - I was Nefertiri, and you - you were King Ramesses."

It fell into place in Jonathan's head, and with a dawning smile, he chuckled.  "Yes, very amusing.  Now really here," He turned to Connie, "Are you sure that you've not got things mixed up a bit?"

Connie pouted, sitting up straight and looking a little indignant.  "Obviously, your opinion of my gifts is lower than I originally thought."

Jonathan's mouth dropped open, and just as he was about to speak to his defence, Connie shook her head.

"I'm sorry, Jonathan I - " She sighed. "This afternoon has been a little unsettling."

"Understandably," muttered Ardeth, gripping the hilt of the sword at his side.  Connie nodded, absently patting the tense hand on the sword and looking back to Jonathan.

"Jonathan, I can't quite remember what happened during my trance state, but I do know that before I went into it I intended to bring your past incarnation forward to be your... well... your present one for a little bit."  She shrugged.  "The personality we witnessed was-"

"Insane," grinned Rick tensely.   Evelyn gave a nervous smile and nodded in agreement, Jonathan gulping in dread.

"Insane or not," Connie said, "That's who you were when Evelyn was Nefertiri.  Whether that's Ramesses or some sort of warrior, well...  that's for God above to know."

"Well Mr. Sun-Worship out there seems to think he's someone important," said Rick.  "And when Jonathan is out of his mind like that, we have a fair chance of making sure we all stay in one piece so let's keep that little trick in mind shall we?"  He eyed Connie deliberately at this.

Connie gripped her injured hand and frowned.  "I only have so much skin on my hand, Mr. O'Connell!"

"The word you said," Evelyn said, stepping forward to Connie, "Over and over after you cut your hand... can you remember it?"

Connie frowned, looking down.  "Uhm...."  She squinted, wracking her brains.  All she could remember was trembling and blood.  She sighed, cradling her head.  "I... damn it..."

Ardeth turned to her and gave a dark look.  "I believe it was 'weben'."

Connie glanced up to him, snapping her fingers and pointing to him.  "That's it!  Weben!"

Jonathan staggered suddenly, falling to his knees, his fall cushioned by the foot of desert sand coating the stone floor.  He cradled his head, moaning.  "Don't DO that!"

Evelyn spun about, kneeling and wrapping her arms around her brother.  "Jonathan?"

He groaned, sitting up slowly.  "God... my head..."

Pouting, Connie asked him.  "What did I do to you?"

"Made me feel like I drank a bottle of whiskey and ran into a wall, that's what you did to me."

She frowned, covering her mouth in regret.  "I am sorry, Jonathan.  I didn't know it had that effect on you."

"Just don't do it again," he groaned, straightening out his mussed hair from the rough handling he'd been receiving in the last few hours.    Behind him Rick examined the walls, the light of the torch flickering a burning orange over his hands as he went.  He ticked his tongue, shaking his head.

"Don't think we have that luxury, Jonathan."

Jonathan immediately groaned, burying his head into his sister's shoulder.   Evy blinked, then rubbed his shoulder.

"It'll be all right, Jonathan.  We just have to find a way out of here."

Her brother gave a hollow laugh.  "A way?  Out of here?"

Ardeth looked about himself and then looked to Jonathan with a wry glint in his eye.  "Sure - why don't you just kick something like you did before?"

Rick glanced to Ardeth, gave a huff of a laugh then continued to run his fingers over the wall.  Jonathan groaned and rolled away from the Medjai, staggering to his feet.

"Very funny, yes, ha ha.  Who don't you all just laugh at my expense?"

Rick wordlessly patted his brother-in-law on the shoulder before examining the far wall.   The room was silent for a moment, Evelyn standing up to join her husband, Jonathan sulking in the corner, Ardeth taking a seat next to a thoughtful Constance.  The mood of the room was a sullen one, stained with the darkness of fear.  Evelyn tilted her head, reading the hieroglyphs as the light of the torch swept over them.

"Look at this, darling," she said to Rick.  "It tells of the offerings to Aten, which was stored in this chamber."  She tapped a picture of a wheat sheaf.  "They'd store the wheat here in these rooms, and every festival of the Sun they'd open chutes that were built into the walls here and they'd pour out into troughs for people to take and make their special holy feasts with."

Rick eyed his wife.  "How'd they do that?"

Evy frowned in concentration.  "Said a prayer to Aten, ta... hmm... touching the sun?  That's - that's what it says I'm afraid.  "Pray to Aten, touching the sun."

Jonathan looked up at them wearily.  "How on earth are we supposed to do that?"

Evelyn's eyes were fixed to the carvings before her.  "I assume that it's a figurative instruction, Jona-"  Her words dragged to silence as Rick moved the torch.  "Rick!"

Rick brought the light up to the top of the carving, where a large stone sat in the wall.   A large stone, cresting in a many-armed sun.  "Maybe it's not that figurative, honey."

Evelyn's mouth gaped in awe, and Rick reached up to the yellow painted carving, pressing his palm to it firmly.   The grinding low melodic sound of massive stones shifting deafened them, sand and dust raining down from the ceiling.  Ardeth jumped to his feet, unsheathing his sword.  Jonathan ducked and cringed in the dust-filled room.

"Careful there, old mate!"

A sudden scream filled the dust-dampened air of the room, and Ardeth waved madly in the dust, leaping to the wall where Connie had been sitting.

"Connie!!"

Waving more through the dust, he grabbed the torch from Rick, bringing it to where Connie was.  In her place was a dark hole, too small to be a doorway, but large enough to be a very big chute.   He gripped the sides of it, shouting down the hole again.

"Connie!"  He tilted his head, looking behind him to the others.  "I hear coughing."

With a press of his lips, he sheathed his sword, and without another word he threw himself down the chute.  Evy, Rick and Jonathan leapt forward, gathering around the chute.

"Ardeth!" cried Evelyn.

"He's mad!" Jonathan gasped.

"No, just not thinking with his head," Rick muttered.  "Come on - let’s go."

Evelyn glared at Rick.  "But we don't know what's down there!"

Rick shrugged.  "Gotta be better than what's in here."  He grabbed the torch, holding it at the entry of the chute.  "I can't see anything.  I think it's curved..."  He threw the torch into the sand and sighed.  "Here goes nothing."

"Rick!"

He pushed himself off down the chute, letting out a 'whoop' as he went.  It echoed up the small passage-way, growing distant.  Evy grabbed her brother's arm and let out a short whimper before throwing herself down after her husband.

"Come on!"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Hello From Sunny Hamunaptra – Chapter 14