Chapter 21
Evy gripped her sword, jaw lax as her mind processed what she had just seen. It seemed like it had all happened in an instant. Ardeth, blind with rage, raced down the centre aisle of the temple, robes fluttering behind him, his sword flashing and swinging, no Anubis Warrior that stood before him standing a chance. As he reached the podium he let out a terrible cry and leapt upon the Undead King. Akhenaten howled, bony hands clawing and scrabbling at the man atop of him. The Anubis Warriors unsheathed their scimitars and all turned towards Ardeth.
Rick’s jaw set, eyes gleaming. “Okay guys, NOW!”
They leapt out, racing into the congregation of Anubis Warriors, swords whirling and hacking, crying out in the spirit of battle. The Anubis Warriors spun about and homed in on the new intruders, and a handful remained with Ardeth on the podium, leaping atop of him and smothering him underneath their lanky slate-grey bodies.
“ARDETH!”
Connie’s cry echoed off the gilded walls and she struggled in her bonds, tears still wet on her face.
Rick hacked and sliced at Anubis Warriors as if they were choking weeds, swirls of black grit following him where he went. Evelyn and Jonathan moved with similar ease, though Jonathan struggled with the Anubis Warriors about him, being a little less quick to block and parry as his sister and brother-in-law. There was panic growing on his features as the Anubis Warriors’ numbers didn’t seem to thin. He did not see that indeed, they had taken out a good number, and Ardeth had thrown off those that tried to crush him on the podium. As he finished off the last that had smothered him, Akhenaten crawled away, shaking with rage. He pulled an urn from one of the ceremonial plinths, raising it up in the air and crying out in his ancient tongue. Connie narrowed her eyes as she struggled to make out any meaning, the word ‘weben’ floating past her ears.
“Ardeth!” she cried, “Watch out!”
Ardeth pulled himself to his feet just in time to see Akhenaten throw the urn in his hands to the ground. It smashed and the ash from within swirled and rose up, yellow desert sands lifting up out of the ground from nothingness, gathering and congealing to solid human forms. Solid headless human forms.
“RICK!” called out Evelyn. “Akephalii! Right there!”
Rick spun about, the grimace on his face dropping. “This is not good.”
The Akephalii had sprung up all about them, their numbers more than the Anubis Warriors, and who knew if any had sprouted up beyond the Temple. Their headless mummy-like state was daunting, and with reaching arms they plodded towards Rick and company, silent but numerous. Rick grit his teeth and swung his sword at the nearest of the new foes. He lopped off arms and legs, limbs flying this way and that, and the limbs would still wriggle and reach for him, fingers grabbing for his boots and trying to trip him as he battled to fend off remaining Anubis Warriors.
Connie, upon the podium, watched with horror as Ardeth fought off countless numbers of Anubis Warriors, Akephalii now joining the assault. She still struggled, but was tied fast against the golden statue. All right Connie, she thought, You’re not going to be able to fight. Trance. You need to get back into a trance state and battle what Akhenaten is doing… She closed her eyes, breathing deeply, clenching her hands closed and rubbing the wounds of her trance with her sweaty fingertips, hoping to bring forth new blood. In the back of her mind a voice grew in intensity… it was female, strong, frightening…
“Djed-medewi her kah em khenoo… Ahayi kah em hah sep… weben… weben…” She threw her head back, her voice crying out over the din, “WEBEN!”
Jonathan buckled, letting out a strangled yelp and falling to the floor. Anubis Warriors and Akephalii gathered about him and fell upon him and for a moment there was a tangle of undead monsters where Jonathan had been. Evy struggled, hacking her way towards her brother to free him, but only a few steps away there was a sudden roar from the pile of fighting bodies.
Creatures, Anubis and Akephalii alike, were hurtled backwards, flipping and tumbling away as from underneath them leapt a roaring and vengeful looking Jonathan. Any hint of the soft-spoken and quick-witted gentleman was gone, and grabbing another scimitar the fellow let loose on the warriors around him, Ancient Egyptian curses flowing from his mouth. He held no mercy, and his swords were barely seen as he slashed and swung expertly at the monsters before him. Assured of Jonathan’s safety, (with a look of utter shock and disbelief), Evy threw herself back into the fray, knocking back her own share of terrible creatures.
During this, Akhenaten seized another of his urns, this one black and carved of obsidian. He chanted and threw it to the ground, flexing his hands and lifting them up above him. A shadow swooped through the temple from the broken urn, and it was accompanied by a growling slathering rumble that Rick and company knew all too well. Akhenaten chuckled darkly and turned on Constance.
“You will not thwart me, peasant seer!”
“Osiris will claim you,” she said, her words fast and furious in the old Egyptian tongue. “You will not know mercy before the end; you will only know fear and pain!”
Akhenaten roared, striking her across the face, his bony hands marking her. “SILENCE!”
With a growl he took a hold of her face once more, fingers digging in as he chanted the old spell to absorb her life-forces. There was a howl, and again Ardeth pulled himself away from his adversaries, this time running towards Akhenaten and fully wrapping his arms around the rotted body, pulling him away from Connie. He fell, the Mummy atop him, and both he and Akhenaten tumbled down the steps of the podium, landing in a heap on the ground. There was a half-crazed blood-curdling cry, and from the crowd of monsters burst a wild and maniacal looking Jonathan, hair thoroughly on end and askew, shirt ripped and bloodied, sweat pouring off him, swords in his bruised and scratched hands. He swiped madly with the swords and Connie fell to the ground.
She gripped her wrists, gasping for breath, her body stunned from its sudden release. The ropes that had bound her laid on the floor, cut to pieces. She had barely a moment to adjust when Jonathan pulled her to her feet, his hands gripping her shoulders tightly. His wild eyes met hers, and he spoke in Ancient Egyptian.
“I release she who tried to save my noble father! Fight and live, good woman!”
Without another word he let her go and threw himself into the mass of monsters beyond the podium. She was not left to her own devices for long, however. From all directions came Anubis Warriors and Akephalii, and Ardeth was nowhere to be seen.
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Hello From Sunny Hamunaptra – Chapter 22