Chapter 19
The main thoroughfare of the city bent sharply to the south-east, as a huge temple, that was ironically only a minor temple compared to the larger one they’d been in moments before, was in the way. Rick sighed, wondering where the hell they were supposed to go next, but Evelyn had pointed the way with a cool smile, as it was rather easy to see where to go next. They clambered round about the temple, following the trail of excavation that Akhenaten had unwittingly left for them. It was a hot, dusty and awful walk, and they were not afraid to dip in and sip at their water supplies (All except Ardeth, who was very used to these conditions). The rest of the city seemed to be composed of workshops, hastily built apartments and various craft facilities. The workshops spread out to the south, mostly decimated by the shifting sands. They were not made of the same stuff as the temples; they were not made to last. To the south-west were the potteries, the distilleries, glassworks, timberworks and wicker wares. It was here that the latest efforts of excavation were taking place, and the dust in the air became thicker and more choking. Evelyn took the lead, gripping the weapons at her sides, Rick close behind.
“Getting a little carried away isn’t he?” he muttered with a cocked brow.
“Well, his life does depend on it,” Jonathan offered.
Rick nodded.
They found a very nice wall filled with holes and it was somewhat crumbled; it had been a part of the workshops. Thankfully a nice taller wall gave them some shade behind them. They were lucky enough to have a wonderful view of the site, and Akhenaten barking orders to his borrowed minions. They crouched down, eyes every wary upon the undead King.
If it was possible for a dried-out corpse to look tired, this one most certainly did. His voice was heavy, still resonant in its unearthly magic, his long spindly wiry arms pointing this way and that and frantically motioning to digging Anubis warriors. They were obviously looking rather put upon. They were not made for digging, they were warriors. They most certainly were not pleased with the labour they were given to do.
Evelyn licked her lip, a thoughtful frown on her face. “Well… it seems pretty clear he hasn’t found it yet.”
“Indeed,” agreed Ardeth.
“Gosh… how many days would they have been searching now?”
“Seven,” Jonathan said. “We were nearly stuck in the desert for a week.”
Ardeth nodded. He then looked about them, back towards the direction they’d come in loomed the secondary temple. “You know, there has been much sand flowing through these ruins for thousands of years. The objects inside these buildings are often moved in the shifting sands. I would not be surprised if the Orb has shifted too.”
Rick blinked at Ardeth. “You’re kidding me…”
Jonathan cocked a lip, shaking his head. “No… no it wouldn’t have moved that far. Not so that he couldn’t have found it.”
Evelyn didn’t say anything.
Ardeth shrugged. “It was only a theory.”
“What we need to concentrate on is keeping him out of trouble,” Evelyn said, pointing to Akhenaten. “And making sure he doesn’t find what he’s after.”
Jonathan sighed fitfully. “Well what are we going to do? Sit here and spy on that withered old corpse until he finds something?”
Rick sat back onto his bottom, crossing his legs and getting comfortable. “If you’ve got another suggestion…”
Jon sighed, leaning his head in his hand. “Great.”
Ardeth shook his head lightly. “I would not get too comfortable. We must be ready the moment he has found it.”
“If he finds it,” Evelyn said, looking troubled.
Ardeth shrugged. “We shall see.”
They all settled deeper behind the wall, as it seemed they would be there for quite some time.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Connie slept soundly for three short hours, the dirigible gently quiet. The balloon swayed silently, the ropes creaking against the sealed canvas as it drifted back and forth. She had almost become used to the ship-like noises it made, and they had helped her rest. Her nerves and her determination would not let her sleep any longer, so she sat up, tucking into the bread and dried meat that she had been feeding on earlier, making sure she left the dirigible as full and fit as possible. Alex was curled up on a corner of the blankets Connie had been sleeping on, napping lightly, looking rather like a dishevelled labrador puppy.
It slowly occurred to her that her expensive luggage would simply not be practical for her march into El Amarna. She needed some kind of bag, and Izzy kindly led her down into the hold, digging through the supplies for anything useful. They were lucky enough to dig out a heavy canvas knapsack, worn and dusty, one of the buckles bent a bit out of shape. It still served its purpose however, and Connie began darting about the dirigible, stuffing supplies into it. She put in all that she could imagine that she’d find useful: food, a drinking flask, spare shirts, most importantly - her crystal ball, and finally, Izzy handed her a beaten old pistol.
“It’s only got four shots left in it,” he said, staring at her firmly, obsidian eyes glinting with worry. “Don’t waste ‘em!”
“I won’t,” she said with a brash smile. “Thank you Izzy!” She pressed a kiss to his cheek.
Izzy shook his head with an embarrassed smile.
As Connie rushed this was and that, preparing herself, Alex stirred from his sleep, a frown of confusion on his young lightly freckled face. He watched Connie a moment, and a look of dawning realisation became him.
“You’re going to go now, aren’t you?”
She sighed, looking away. “I… I have to Alex.”
He nodded, pressing his lips together. “Just be careful.” Connie glanced to him then, and he added; “Those Mummies can be tricky.”
Connie, again, found herself in a situation with Alex in which she was totally lost. What did one do in such a position? Pat the boy on the head? Smile? She knelt in front of him awkwardly, eyes roaming over the tousled hair and the grim expression on a face too young to hold it. He enclosed his small grubby hands in hers, smiling to him with a mirroring grim smile.
“Tell you what, Alex. When I make it back from that city, I promise I’ll go into a trance state and find out what *your* past life was, okay?” It was a strange thing to promise, but considering everyone else around him knew who they used to be, it only seemed natural. Alex smiled at this, and Connie grinned. “Poor lad. Must be a bit odd to have a strange old bird like your Auntie Connie around…”
Alex shook his head, but then his expression cleared, and his eyes gleamed. “…Wow.”
“What?”
He swallowed nervously. “I’ve never had an Auntie.”
“Well now you do,” Connie said. “An Auntie that wants very much to return and help your parents make sure you grow into a wonderful man.”
Alex sighed happily. “Just look after yourself or you’ll be the shortest lived Auntie in history!”
Connie laughed. “You are so like your father.”
Alex’s brows dipped down. “I’ll try to take that as a compliment.” Connie looked shocked for a moment, at least until Alex smirked. “Just joking.”
At that Connie ruffled his hair. “Watch your backs, and make sure those Medjai find us!”
“Yes Ma’am!” Alex looked like he was itching to salute her. She ruffled his hair again, dropping a kiss on the top of his head before hitching her knapsack over her shoulder.
She turned to Izzy. “See you, Izzy.”
Izzy sighed fitfully, walking her over to the side of the dirigible. “You be careful!” he barked. “Keep an eye out for those warrior things, and remember!” He pointed to her sternly, deeply-brown eyes bugging. “Four shots!”
“Four shots!” Connie nodded back at him, pointing too.
Izzy nodded again, eyeing her worriedly as she climbed over the edge of the dirigible. He sighed again as she carefully made her way down the rope ladder. “Good luck!”
Connie waved back with a brash smile and jumped down onto the sandy earth. It hissed and gave under her feet, and with a grit of her teeth she toed her way to the once hidden city of El Amarna.
~~*~~
Connie was amazed at the change the city had gone through in the four or five days it had been since she’d been there last. Great quantities of sand had been moved, and large bites of earth seemed to have been taken out of the surrounding landscape. He must be looking very hard for that orb, she thought. Let’s just hope he hasn’t found it yet! Her eyes darted at the slightest movement, and her heartbeat began to climb slowly. Beads of sweat formed on her brow, her cheeks and top lip. The main thoroughfare was a wide, grand road, and worn, tired looking lion-topped plinths lined it with a sad distant majesty. She allowed herself to gaze at them only a moment before hurrying on to the temple ahead. This too had been emptied of sand and dust, and now gleamed handsomely in the light allowed to filter in from outside. She did not let herself tarry here; she saw that it was empty of any supernatural forces, but eager to be on with her quest, she moved on quickly.
As she stepped outside, she noticed footsteps in the sand. There were that of sandals, many of those, and in one tight set of prints were sturdy boot prints, heavy and flat, the elegant heel of a woman’s boot, the nervous steps from a pair of British loafers, and then the sure and steady pace of riding boots… Her heart leapt and she followed them carefully… Ardeth…
The tracks led round and about a slightly smaller but similarly grand secondary temple, and it was here that the hairs on the back of her neck prickled and stood on end. She crouched, retreating into the stark shadow of a tall heavy stone wall. She looked all about herself, but she could see nothing. None-the-less, the feeling was still there…. She felt like she was being watched!
She closed her eyes, trying to calm herself, trying to get a hold of her senses so she could figure out what to do now. She worked to relax her mind, letting it open in a hope that she could perhaps sense what - or who - was nearby. The tendrils of her mind reached out, and it was easier to feel than she imagined it would be. She’d been training herself so hard back home in Britain to little avail, yet here the spirits rushed her, eager to use her conduit nature, filling her every cell with an awesome hum.
“Get out of my mind,” she moaned under her breath, clutching her head. “Please help me or leave me!”
Of a sudden, a great light called her attention. It was golden, warm, brilliant, and in pulled her heart in such a way that it stilled her as her mind’s eye settled upon it. It made her entire being feel as though it were glowing too, glowing with it, to it, joining with it. It was as if she were always meant to be with this light. She thought that maybe she should have been afraid, but it just wasn’t within her. She felt so safe with this light. It was surrounded by other lights, different to it yet as bright, but it alone seemed to call to her, yearn to envelope her.
So beautiful, she thought, so magnificent.
She let her sight draw nearer to it, and as she closed in it suddenly all made sense. It began to shift and look as a falcon, this spirit-thing, and she could see, beyond the falcon, warm brown eyes. Ardeth! She thought, a gasp in her throat. I’m sensing Ardeth!
Then, darkness leapt closer, creeping, stalking… her heart leapt into her throat.
A rattling roar shook her to her very bones. Her eyes flew open, and before her towered a slathering, half-rotted beast.
“AAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!”
She bolted, skidding about the wall she had been hiding behind and racing down what seemed to be an off-shooting road, this one surrounded by decimated old buildings and workshops. Pottery was scattered about, broken and worn smooth from the shifting sands. The savage grunting rhythmic breaths of the snarling beast behind her filled her ears and he gained, growing ever closer.
“Oh God oh God oh GOD!” she whimpered.
Her bag felt so heavy, and she thought she could hear more breaths, more grunts. She did not have the time to glance back and check. Her feet flew, and she was too afraid to be worried about falling, though it did enter her mind once or twice.
Her stomach seized within her as from behind an off-shooting alley jumped two more Anubis warriors, clawed hands flexing hungrily. She gulped at them, eyes wide, fear freezing her.
“Oh… dear!”
~~*~~
“I hate all this waiting,” muttered Jonathan.
Rick just looked at him flatly for a moment before his eyes fell back to the main thoroughfare. They’d been sitting there for nearly four hours, and they were all approaching the mood of downright tetchy. Ardeth looked thoroughly strung out, worried, and his eyes glinted with purpose. Even in his most serious of adventures with Evy and company, he had always maintained a firm and confident determination. One had to wonder whether all the world-saving was getting to him, and surely testing his every-surviving patience. Of course, the stakes completely changed now there was a rather lovely lady in the picture. It was funny how one person could make that much of a difference.
Ardeth had been trained since birth to be a warrior. Along with walking, speaking and riding whatever four-legged animal was available to him (be it camel or horse), he had been taught to hone is senses to the degree that they were in complete tune to the desert around him. He knew how it was supposed to look, smell, and most importantly, he knew how it was supposed to sound. He knew the scuttling of a beetle, the shifting of a snake. He was aware of distant sounds, close sounds, and he knew what was to be expected at this moment in time, and what wasn’t. The breathing of each of his comrades was clear, as were the barking yells of Akhenaten, and the sharp yet padding steps of the Anubis Warriors all around them he monitored very carefully.
However, the sudden shifting of sand, the frantic crunching of boots upon well-trodden rocks was not something Ardeth could attribute to what was going on around him. Something wasn’t right, not right at all. Any lingering uncertainty of whom or what made this unexpected sound that may have lived in Ardeth’s mind died at the sound of an all-too-familiar scream resonating off the sides of the dilapidated temple nearby. He tensed all over and tried to leap up.
“Connie!” rasped from his throat, unbidden and unwisely.
Three sets of hands pulled him down, and he glared about himself in something a lot like rage.
“What are you doing?!” he demanded.
“What are you doing?” Rick hissed, “Trying to get us killed?”
“But Connie!”
“Ardeth, look!” Evy said, pointing to the thoroughfare below. Tens upon hundreds of Anubis Warriors swarmed towards Connie. “You don’t stand a chance, not like this, not without a plan.”
“And Connie? What chances does SHE stand?” he hissed back at her.
Evy looked to him firmly, tears rimming her eyes. “She’s my best friend Ardeth.”
Ardeth ground his teeth. “Then why aren’t we out there saving her?”
“Because if he kills us before we’ve had a chance to deal with the Orb, then our efforts will be for nothing. The world will be in danger, not just Connie.” Evy clutched his shoulders. “We have to think of the greater good first.”
“Wait a minute… Connie?!”
It was the plaintive askance of Jonathan. Evy glared at him. “What?”
“That Orb, you said that it was a big orangey looking thing, right?”
“Yes…”
He pointed towards Connie down below. “Would that be it, that thing they’re dragging out of her knapsack at this very moment?”
Evy peered at her best friend. “What on EARTH?”
“How do you suppose he knew it was in there?” asked Jonathan conversationally.
“He sensed it,” Ardeth said, his voice grim.
“Here’s a good question,” Rick said dryly, “What’s *she* doing with the Orb?”
“It’s not the Orb,” said Evy. “It’s her crystal ball! That’s genius!”
“Whether it is the Orb or not and how she came to it is inconsequential!” Ardeth growled, “Connie is in danger!”
“Calm down, Ardeth, we gotta figure out how to get her out of there first,” Rick said. He frowned, narrowing his eyes to focus on Akhenaten, who looked as pleased as a dried up old Mummy could possibly look. “He seems to think that her ball is the Orb… Huh… Guess he’s stupider than we thought.”
“Right,” Evy looked to the rest of them. “We need to form a plan.”
“Better make it quick,” Jonathan said, “Look!”
The Anubis Warriors had Connie by her arms, twisting the behind her back and dragging her off down the thoroughfare towards the Main Temple. Rick grabbed a sword from a hastily modified holster under his arm and looked determined.
“Okay Evy,” he said. “Now we act.”
Evy nodded resolutely, drawing out her own weaponry, Jonathan following suit. Ardeth sighed with a touch of relief, and together they crept towards the Main Temple, whispering between each other different ways they could attack Akhenaten’s forces. They agreed it all looked pretty bleak for them. They were out-numbered, Akhenaten had someone they held dear as leverage and the Anubis Warriors didn’t tire. They also, however, didn’t care about anything. They cared about Connie, and they cared about putting Akhenaten in his right place.
It wasn’t much of an advantage, but it was the only one they had.
~~~*~~~
The screams that lifted from her ripped her throat painfully. It was nothing compared to the pain that throbbed in her shoulder joints, yanked this way and that carelessly as they dragged her into the newly cleaned out Temple. Fear gripped her, but she fought it defiantly. She would not let it take her over and she would not let it make her weak. Where-ever the others were she had to stop Akhenaten from using the Orb, whether it was a pretend talisman or no. She could not fail them.
Akhenaten moved about in front of her, pointing this way and that, chattering orders in his ancient tongue. The Anubis Warriors about him bowed and carried out all he commanded. Strangely, every now and again his alien words would make sense to Connie, like a distant object coming into focus for a moment. She relaxed her mind, concentrating on the words that drifted past her ears…
“… heavenly. My God… blessed is the Aten… touching the land… beauteous gold… bountiful gift… with so… amongst… been so delayed… assured that blood will flow…”
Connie struggled, her heart beating hard at those last words she captured. She glanced to the bonds she had been placed in. Smooth hemp ropes bound her wrists and ankles, but she was strung painfully against a gold statue, its nobbled form digging into her from behind. She hung against the thing glumly every now and again before struggling again, trying to break free. She stared darkly at the undead being in front of her, stalking this way and that, throwing up dry spindly arms and jabbering away endlessly at a large gold disk before them that was embedded into the temple wall, a round and significant looking niche in the wall underneath it.
“What do you want with me?” she asked him. “Please… you have the Orb. Let me go.”
Akhenaten stopped mid-step, and he turned his head, looking at her. He tilted it quizzically, almost in curiosity. He then continued his nervous pacing. It was obvious he had no idea what she was saying, and she very much needed him to.
I must channel that voice, she thought, the one that helped me bring Jonathan’s past soul forward… I must be able to communicate with Akhenaten… but when I’m in that state, I barely have any control over myself! Damn! It’s my only chance though…
She closed her eyes, opening her mind to the complex mesh of energies that was carefully woven in the world about her. Soon she began to feel it again, the trance becoming her, and she was able to avoid the frightening rush of voices that had bombarded her before, as purpose drove her and cleared her mind. Her injured palms began to throb and ache anew, and she could slowly feel the world become smaller. Despite this, however, she could feel every part of it, so vividly, so simply, she felt she could reach out and touch it all.
All at once that primal voice slipped to the fore, and she could only watch as it spoke to Akhenaten through her with a language long-dead.
“You have little time, Sun-King.”
Akhenaten spun about, glaring at her. “I did not bid you to speak.”
“I am not yours to command,” she said gently. Little did she know it, but her large blue eyes were cool with an unfamiliar firmness. “This life is not yours to take.”
The undead King stepped forward, clutching Connie’s shoulders in cold, sharp bony fingers.
“This I know,” he breathed, this escaping him as a chill rattle, “But I ask for forgiveness for taking that which isn’t mine for a cause that is beyond the good of just one.” He sighed, stepping away, pacing again. “I do this for the Aten! For my God - the only God! I do not expect a commoner as you to understand.”
“There will be a price to pay,” Connie said. “How can a God so kind love one that does such a cruel thing? Are you so eager to taint your soul in such a way?”
Akhenaten growled, a slight whimper in his strange voice. “This is not for my soul! My soul is unimportant! I will willingly take all the trials that I deserve in my travels in the beyond. To me it is a small price to pay for the saving of so many unenlightened souls!”
“You care not for these souls,” she said. “It is your foolish pride that drives you.”
“Be quiet!” Akhenaten howled. “I must be about my task!” He gripped her shoulders once more. “I am very sorry you must die for a cause you do not share, but in the end you will be with Aten and you will be happier.” He shook her slightly. “Aten will bless you!”
He turned away, striding towards his altar before the great gold disk in the wall beyond them. He began his prayers again, chanting to the Aten, his rattly voice following some long-lost tune that may have been beautiful once upon a time, but now just sounded like a haunting dirge. The Anubis Warriors lined the walls, looking, for the first time, fidgety and unsure. Connie frowned in thought. Was Akhenaten’s time nearly up? Is that why he was so frantic? Perhaps she could slow him down, bide her time, hold him up. If she could, then perhaps there was a chance they could all survive this.
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Hello From Sunny Hamunaptra – Chapter 20