Ardeth strode out of his home his mind set on the battle ahead. His
turban back on his head, his weapons secure at his waist and across his
chest, he pushed away all thoughts of Emma and their troubled marriage.
He could not allow himself to think about that now. He took the reins
of his horse from Farid and swung up in the saddle easily.
“Abu, Abu (Father),”
Ardeth turned to see Yusuf running towards him. At the age of 6, Yusuf
was an exact replica of Ardeth. He was a handsome boy with boyish charm
and a head full of dark thick curls that fell about his face. The only
traits he had inherited from his mother were the blue eyes and deep
dimples. Already the young girls of the tribe followed him around vying
for his attention causing Yusuf to avoid them entirely. Ardeth urged
his stallion forward and leaned over to speak to his son.
“Where are you going, Abu?” Yusuf asked excitedly.
“I must go and take care of some trouble, Yusuf. I want you to go to
your Ume (Mother) and stay with her until I return,” he commanded. “Is
that understood?”
“Aiwa Abu,” Yusuf answered immediately and turned to enter their home.
Ardeth spun his stallion around to face his men. Abdul approached on
his own stallion with another Med-jai warrior riding beside him.
“Ardeth,” Abdul called to him, “Yasir here has just come from the
patrol with the latest news.”
Ardeth nodded to Yasir indicating he was listening, “Sayadi, we have
followed Hadid and his men as he is attacking the smaller, outer tribes
who have little or no defenses,” Yasir reported. “He is moving across
the Sahara in a northernly direction, hitting each tribe as it comes
up.”
“How many tribes has he attacked already?” Ardeth asked, his eyes
blazing with anger. They had been having trouble with Hadid and his
rebel band for several years, but they had always been elusive, always
remaining just out of reach. This was the first time, though, that
Hadid had tried something so openly defiant, knowing that he was
risking the wrath of the Med-jai, who had become the protectors of the
smaller tribes since things had settled somewhat in Hamanaptra.
“Three of the smaller tribes, Sayadi, have been totally destroyed and
pillaged.
“Khara (shit)!” Ardeth cursed violently.
Ardeth urged his horse forward to address his men. “Hadid must be
stopped now!” He yelled, “InshaAllah (God willing) we will have victory
this day!” Battle cries rose up from the army of warriors that waited
for their leaders instructions.
“Yallah, imshi! (come on, quickly)” He commanded and the army of
Med-jai warriors thundered out of the village leaving a dust cloud
rising in their wake.
Emma sat down in a chair and tried not to break down into tears. She
was afraid she had just lost her husband because of her stubbornness.
No! She told herself quietly, he is as much at fault. Damn male pride!
“Ume,”
Emma stood, wiping at her cheeks, “Here Joseph,” she called to him as
he bound into the house. After the defeat of Imhotep seven years ago,
the Med-jai had settled and began to build rather than live in tents,
which was their usual custom. They had built their village up against
the side of some cliffs, to keep from being attacked from all
directions. They had also carved out some hiding places within the
cliffs for the women and children to go if they were ever attacked. So
far things had been peaceful in the desert until recently when Hadid
and his renegade band of warriors began to arbitrarily attack the
smaller tribes so that he could claim rights to the tribes water
supply. Emma’s heart went out to Ardeth; Hadid had once been a Med-jai
warrior and a friend. From what Ardeth had told her in the past, Hadid
rebelled against his duty as a Med-jai and had broke away, taking a few
of the other Med-jai warriors, who felt the same, with him. Now Ardeth
was being forced to punish his one time friend and she knew it would
not be an easy task for him.
Joseph ran up to his mother and threw himself at her, wrapping his tiny
arms around her waist. Emma smiled, Joseph was such an affectionate
child, always hugging and kissing for no reason at all. He enjoyed
cuddling close to her and some evenings he would sit cuddled against
her as she read to him stories of far off places. “What is wrong, Ume?”
He was also a very perceptive child, “Do not worry about me, al ibney
(my son), I am only concerned for your father and his safe return,” she
lied. Emma refused to burden her son with her and Ardeth’s troubles. He
needed to have his innocence now. There would be plenty of time for him
to handle life’s troubles when he was an adult. She wished Ardeth would
allow Joseph to go to London to visit with Rick and Evy. Joseph adored
his cousin, Alex. They were the same age, Joseph the older only by a
week and had been practically inseparable until Evy was offered the job
at the Museum in London a few years back. But Ardeth was very adamant
about Joseph remaining here in the desert. Emma was beginning to wonder
if Ardeth was afraid to be completely alone with her. They had become
so distant that it was uncomfortable at best when they were together.
“Abu is a great warrior and leader, Ume. Allah will watch over him and
bring him home safely. Do not worry about him,”
Emma looked down at her son amazed at his wisdom. She smiled, “You are
right, Joseph, your father is a great warrior and leader.” Emma
remembered back when she saw Ardeth in battle for the first time. He
had been fighting against Mr. Simms’ and had moved with such fluid
grace, cutting down his opponent easily. She shook her head, clearing
her thoughts, “Are you hungry, al ibney?”
“Yes, Ume,” the boy answered eagerly. Emma laughed Joseph was always
hungry!
“Come then, we shall see what we can find,” she said as she led him to
the kitchen.
The Med-jai carefully picked their way through what remained of a small
village. Ardeth looked around at the burned tents and the dead
villagers everywhere. Men, women and children, no one had been spared.
He felt a mixture of sadness, disgust and rage burn deep within him.
Such senseless killing!
“Sayadi,” Abdul approached on his horse, “Hadid and his men continue
north. The trail is fresh, they were here not more than half an hour
ago.”
Ardeth nodded, indicating that he heard. “Then we must hurry before
they reach the next village,” he replied in a hard voice.
“Do not blame yourself for this, al sadeeq (my friend). Hadid chose his
own path and none of us could have predicted he would go the way he
did.”
Ardeth turned to face Abdul a mixture of regret and sadness in his
expression, “He was our friend, Abdul. The three of us grew up
together.”
“I know, but now he is our enemy and we must stop him before he kills
more,” Abdul placed his hand on Ardeth’s shoulder lending his support
to his leader. He knew how hard this was on Ardeth. No one enjoyed
killing a friend.
The Med-jai continued on Hadid’s trail. It was getting dark and Ardeth
wanted to catch up with Hadid and his men before it became too
difficult to see.
“Sayadi,” Abdul called out.
Ardeth reined in his horse and turned his head in the direction of
Abdul’s voice. “What is it, Abdul?”
Abdul rode up next to him, “One of our trackers has returned and
reported that Hadid has set up camp for the night about 2 miles ahead.”
“Good, we will stop here for now and rest. We attack in a few hours,”
Ardeth commanded. Abdul nodded and turned to give the orders to the
men.
The light of the full moon lit their way as the Med-jai warriors spread
out to surround Hadid and his men. Ardeth knew the exact place of every
guard that Hadid had placed to keep watch and he sent his warriors to
cover them. They were to attack on his command. From his hiding place
amongst the rocks where they had set up their camp, Ardeth watched and
waited for the right time. Some of Hadid’s men had already turned in
and were sleeping, others sat around the campfire talking and laughing.
Hadid was nowhere to be seen and Ardeth guessed that he was in the only
tent that was set up in the camp.
Ardeth froze when he heard a woman’s scream and then laughter from the
men at the campfire as they turned to look over at the tent. A young
girl, not more than 16 or 17 years old, Ardeth guessed, burst from the
tent. Her clothes hung on her body in shreds and her hands clutched at
them trying to keep them from falling off her. She stumbled and fell as
Hadid appeared at the entrance to the tent. Several of the men from the
campfire rose up and grabbed the girl, lifting her up. They laughed as
each took turns in grabbing at her body. She screamed again and
struggled to free herself, but to no avail.
“Ardeth!”
“I know, Abdul,” he hissed quietly.
Hadid moved away from the tent as the men who held the girl groped at
her. “You may have your fun with her, but her virginity is mine!” He
informed them quietly as he parted his robes around his waist and began
to undo his pants. The men who held the girl, pushed her to the ground
on her back. The girl continued to struggle and scream as Hadid
approached her.
“Yahajim (attack)!” Ardeth yelled out to his men and they charged the
campsite with a battle cry that pierced the night.
Hadid spun and dove back inside his tent only to return with his
scimitar in hand. “Get up, you lazy idiots!” He screamed out as he saw
the Med-jai swarm onto the camp.
They had been taken by surprise and they were paying dearly for it.
Hadid jumped into the battle, immediately cutting down several Med-jai
warriors. He looked back to where the girl had been and saw Ardeth Bay
helping the girl up and wrapping a blanket around her. “Laa (no)!” He
yelled out and charged across the campsite towards them.
Ardeth turned just in time to see Hadid’s approach. He raised his
scimitar to block the attack at the same time pushing the girl away.
“Yanhaar imshi (go quickly),” Ardeth commanded her as he blocked
another swing of Hadid’s scimitar. The girl looked with fear at Hadid
but obeyed Ardeth immediately and went to hide.
Hadid stopped his attack and smiled at Ardeth, “So, al sadeeq, you have
finally caught up with me,”
“It ends now, Hadid, you will not kill again,” Ardeth replied, his dark
eyes watching closely for any surprise attacks.
“And who made you judge and jury, Ardeth?” Hadid hissed vehemently.
“You did, when you left the Med-jai and turned into a murdering
renegade,”
“The Med-jai,” Hadid spat angrily, “You are nothing but a slave to your
traditions! It is time for the Med-jai to evolve, Ardeth and I will
lead the way.”
Hadid attacked suddenly, but Ardeth was ready for him. As their
scimitars clashed together, the battle raged around them. Former
friends fought against each other as the Med-jai struggled to deal with
the traitorous men. Hadid began to sense that he was loosing. Ardeth
was beginning to get the upper hand between them and his men were
falling around him. Suddenly Ardeth swung his scimitar up and Hadid
found his scimitar flying out of his hands and landing on the ground
several feet away. Ardeth moved forward to finish him, but stopped. He
still saw his childhood friend and struggled with killing him.
Hadid smiled, “You are weak, Ardeth, just like your father was weak,”
he taunted.
“Shut up, Hadid!” Ardeth growled raising his scimitar and placing the
point of the blade at Hadid’s throat.
“Go ahead, Ardeth, do it,” Hadid raised his arms straight out from his
sides. “DO IT!” He screamed when Ardeth still did not move.
Ardeth shook his head, “It is finished, Hadid. You will leave the
Sahara, never to return. To do so will mean your instant death!”
Then Ardeth did the unthinkable, he turned his back on Hadid and walked
away. When he thought back on it later, he would wonder at what
possessed him to do such a foolish thing, but for now he couldn’t think
at all. He turned his back on his enemy and tempted fate.
“ARDETH, BEHIND YOU!” Abdul cried out the warning.
Ardeth felt something hit him from behind and he stumbled forward.
Catching his balance, he spun on his feet and sent his scimitar flying
through the air. It hit Hadid squarely in the chest and sent him
hurdling back, falling to the ground dead. Ardeth winced as he felt
pressure against his back. Damn, what did Hadid hit him with? A rock?
He felt bruised. Turning back towards Abdul, Ardeth saw a look of
horror on his face and he frowned.
“Ardeth,” Abdul hesitated.
Confused, Ardeth felt something warm running down his lower back. He
reached behind him to feel his back. When he brought his hand back in
front of him, it was smeared with his blood. “Laa (no),” Ardeth swayed
as he suddenly felt light headed and weak. He began to sink to his
knees as Abdul rushed forward to catch him, wrapping his arms around
his leader, he lowered him gently to the ground, careful not to
dislodge the knife in Ardeth’s back.
Ardeth’s breathing became labored as the suddenly realization of his
injury invaded his mind. “Easy, al sadeeq,” Abdul commanded. He lifted
his head and barked some orders to the Med-jai warriors that had
surrounded them. Several moved swiftly to do his bidding as Abdul
turned his attention back to his injured leader.
“Abdul,” Ardeth rasped.
“Laa Sayadi,” Abdul hushed him. “Save your strength. We will get you
home.”
Ardeth felt fuzzy, strange. He was dying and he knew it. “It is Allah’s
will that I leave here now, Abdul,” he spoke hesitantly. “I want you to
send a couple of men to Cairo. Rick O’Connell is there. Bring him back
for Emma.”
“Laa Sayadi! Do not speak this way,” Abdul chided him. “You are not
going to die, do you hear me?”
“Do as I command, Abdul. Bring Rick to the village.” Ardeth winced as a
sharp pain shot up his back.
“Aiwa Sayadi,” Abdul looked up and gave the command for three of the
men to ride immediately to Cairo. He looked back down at Ardeth who lay
in his arms with his eyes closed. “Ardeth?” His heart froze, then began
to beat again when Ardeth’s eyes fluttered back open.
“You will not die,” Abdul leaned forward and hissed in Ardeth’s ear.
“Do you understand me, Ardeth? You will not die! We need you, Emma and
Yusuf need you! Fight, damn it!”
Ardeth felt himself fading, “T-tell Em-emma that I love her.”
Abdul watched in horror as Ardeth’s eyes rolled up and his head fell to
one side. “ALLAH LAA (God no)!” He cried out and checked for a pulse.
It was there, but faint. He checked to see if Ardeth was breathing.
“Abdul, is he dead?” One of the men asked.
“MashaAllah (by the grace of God) no, he is alive, but barely,” Abdul
breathed a sigh of relief. “We must hurry though. Kazim,” Abdul called
out.
“Aiwa?”
“Ride ahead to the village and warn Emma that Ardeth is badly injured
and we are bringing him to her. Be quiet about it and do not alarm the
people. Everyone should be asleep by the time you arrive, no one needs
to know of Ardeth’s condition yet,” Abdul instructed him, “Yanhaar
imshi!” Kazim turned immediately and left. Looking around him, Abdul
asked, “Where is the young girl?”
“We haven’t seen her, Abdul,” one of the warriors answered immediately.
“Find her, tell her that she is welcome with the Med-jai if she has no
other family.” Several of the warriors left to go search for the girl.
“Someone bring me my horse and I want some of you to gather our dead
warriors and bring them so their families can bury them,” Abdul
commanded. He was trying to think if there was anything else before he
concentrated on getting Ardeth home alive. What had Ardeth been
thinking turning his back on Hadid? Damn him for being so careless. It
wasn’t like Ardeth to do that.
“I am going to need to remove this knife before we can go. I need
something to stanch the flow of blood when the knife comes out,” Abdul
directed some of the men to look for anything, a piece of cloth,
anything for him to use. One of the warriors found a sheet in Hadid’s
tent and brought it to Abdul. He had the warrior tear several long
strips, then a large piece that was folded several times to make a
thick bandage to soak up the blood. Abdul had several of the men hold
Ardeth as he rolled him over onto his stomach.
“Keep him still,” he ordered as he grabbed the handle of the knife and
pulled it out. Ardeth groaned loudly, but remained unconscious. Once
Ardeth was bandaged up, Abdul climbed up on his horse and several of
the men carefully lifted Ardeth up to sit in front of Abdul. Abdul
steadied Ardeth in front of him, letting Ardeth’s unconscious body rest
back against him. “Please Allah,” Abdul lifted a quiet prayer to the
heavens. “Do not let him die!” Then to the men, “Yallah imshi!” And
they headed home.
********************
Chapter 4
It was very late when Emma opened the door to find Kazim standing
there. She knew by the look on his face that something was terribly
wrong.
“Kazim, I didn’t know the men had returned,” Emma stated nervously.
“They haven’t yet, Sayada,” Kazim answered softly. “May I come in?”
Emma stepped back, “Certainly,” she answered and allowed Kazim to
enter.
“Ardeth has been badly wounded, Sayada,” Kazim said immediately after
Emma shut the door. “Abdul is bringing him in. He sent me ahead to warn
you and for you to prepare for his arrival.”
“Oh god!” Emma cried out softly, her hand flying to her mouth. “He is
not . . .” Dear god, she couldn’t bare to say it.
“No, he is not dead, at least not when I left them,” Kazim answered
truthfully. “But it is bad, Sayada.”
It was too much for Emma. The guilt over her failing marriage and their
earlier fight with Ardeth overwhelmed her and her knees gave out. Kazim
moved quickly to catch her and helped her to the couch. “Are you
alright?” He asked concerned.
Emma doubled over, burying her face in her hands resting against her
lap and sobbed. Kazim was uncertain what to do. He wanted to offer her
comfort, but to touch her, even in comfort was strictly forbidden. He
was breaking tribal law and risking his own death being alone with her
now, but he was only carrying out Abdul’s orders.
“Forgive me, Sayada, but I can not remain here,” Kazim told her.
Emma raised her head and nodded her understanding, “It’s o-okay,
Kazim,” she answered. “Go, before you are discovered, I will be fine.”
Kazim nodded and turned to leave. “Tell Abdul I will be waiting for his
arrival.”
“Aiwa, Sayada,” he answered and left.
Emma pulled herself together. Ardeth would need her to be strong for
him now; she would be no good to him if she were falling apart. She
thought about the things she would need and set out to get them
prepared.
An hour later, there was a commotion at the front door of Ardeth and
Emma’s home. Emma rushed to the front door and opened it just in time
to see several Med-jai warriors gently lower her husband’s body from
Abdul’s horse. She breathed in deeply and had to get a quick hold of
her emotions then quickly led the men to the master bedroom, where they
laid Ardeth’s unconscious form on the bed. The men left quietly leaving
Emma alone with Ardeth. She went over and knelt down beside him.
Reaching out, she traced her fingers over the tattoos across his
forehead, down along side his temple, across his tattooed cheek to his
full lips. Leaning forward she pressed her lips to his, then put her
lips to his ear.
“You will live for me, Ardeth! Please do not die, I need you, Joseph
and I need you!” Taking a deep breath, Emma pushed her self back up and
turned to retrieve the items she would need to clean and stitch his
wound.
“Sayada?” Emma turned to see Abdul standing in the doorway.
“I will need your help, Abdul,” Emma stated softly as she brought a
basin of water over to set it next to the bed.
“I am here to do your bidding,” he answered. “What do you need?”
“Help me get him undressed,”
Abdul moved forward to do as she asked and a few minutes later, Ardeth
lay naked on the bed. “The wound is in his back, Sayada. It is a stab
wound.”
Emma’s head came up quickly to meet Abdul’s gaze, “From a scimitar?”
She asked fearfully.
“No, a knife, like a dagger only a bit bigger,” he answered.
Emma nodded relieved that it had not been a scimitar, those swords were
deadly and rarely did one survive a wound from one. Cutting the strips
of cloth that bound the bandage to his back, Emma asked Abdul to roll
Ardeth over onto his side. The cloth that was pressed to his stab wound
was soaked in blood. Already the blood was soaking through onto the
bed. Carefully Emma removed the bandage and winced when she saw the
angry red stab wound that marred his skin.
“Forgive me, Sayada, I did the best I could to tend the wound, but we
had little to work with and I was more concerned with getting him home
alive,” Abdul informed her as he watched the different emotions play
out on her face.
Emma gave him a weak smile as she reached for a clean rag and dipped it
in the basin of water and began to clean the wound. “I know you did
what you could, Abdul,” she answered softly. “Please tell me what
happened?”
As Emma cleaned Ardeth’s stab wound, Abdul told her of what Hadid had
done. He told her of the three tribes that they had discovered
completely destroyed and of the battle with Hadid and his men once they
caught up with him. “Ardeth showed mercy to Hadid,” Abdul told her,
“Rather than kill him, Ardeth banned him from the Sahara, told him he
would die if he returned.”
Finished with the cleaning, Emma picked up a bottle of alcohol, “Hold
him, Abdul, this might cause him to struggle.” Abdul tightened his grip
on his friend and leader and Emma carefully poured the alcohol directly
onto the wound.
Sure enough the alcohol burned bad enough to penetrate Ardeth’s
unconsciousness. He groaned and began to thrash about. Abdul tightened
his grip more and held him still until he finally settled. Emma picked
up a sharp needle with some thread and prepared to stitch the wound.
“Was it Hadid that did this?”
“Yes,” Abdul answered. “I do not understand why he did, but Ardeth
turned his back on Hadid.”
Emma glanced up at Abdul with a disbelieving look, “Ardeth would not do
something so foolish, Abdul!”
“I know, that is why I do not understand why he did,” he answered. “It
was totally out of character for him. It was almost like he wanted it.”
Emma froze, her hands trembled, “Are you telling me, Abdul, that Ardeth
wanted to die?” She asked quietly.
“No, Sayada,” Abdul answered immediately. “Not to die, but to tempt
fate.”
“Is Hadid dead?” She asked.
“Yes, Ardeth killed him.”
Emma nodded continuing with her stitching, making sure that they were
small so that the scaring would be minimal. It took some time, but
finally she finished. Taking another clean rag, she gently cleaned
around the stitching. Picking up a smaller bowl, she scooped out a
poultice that she had mixed together with healing herbs and covered the
wound with it, then placed a clean cloth over that. She had Abdul hold
Ardeth up so that she could wrap the long strips of material around
Ardeth’s torso to keep the bandage in place. After she was done, she
told Abdul to hold Ardeth so that she could put clean sheets on the
bed. She moved quickly and within moments, Abdul was carefully laying
Ardeth back down on the bed. Emma pulled the covers up over Ardeth and
began to pick up the bowls and bloodied rags.
“I must go, Sayada,” Abdul told her. “Will you be alright?”
“Yes, Abdul, I’ll let you know if anything changes.”
Abdul turned to go, but stopped at the bedroom doorway. He turned back
to Emma and smiled kindly at her. Abdul had always liked Emma, from the
very beginning. She had won his respect and loyalty when she had been
the only person to make Ardeth laugh. She had proven to be a good wife
for Ardeth and though he wasn’t privy to what was going on between
Ardeth and Emma, he knew there was something not right. He hoped that
this event would change whatever it was that was driving these two
apart, “He is strong and stubborn, Emma. InshaAllah, he will live!”
Emma’s eyes began to fill with tears as she looked over at Abdul. She
gave him a weak smile, “Thank you, Abdul,” she responded. “Would you do
something for me?”
“You need only to ask, Sayada,” Abdul told her returning to formality.
“Please inform Amina that I will need her help with Joseph while I care
for Ardeth.”
“Aiwa, Sayada,” Abdul answered, “I will tell her immediately.” He
turned and left the room.
The next few days were critical to whether Ardeth lived or died. The
whole tribe knew of his condition and spent much time on their knees in
prayer to Allah to spare their great leader his life. Emma never left
Ardeth’s side. Joseph went to stay with Amina and her husband and Abdul
took over as temporary leader of the Med-jai, making sure that
everything continued as normal in Ardeth’s absence.
The next day after Ardeth had been wounded, he broke out in a fever.
Emma continually bathed his hot flesh with cool water and several times
had to call for some of the men to hold Ardeth down as he tried to
thrash about. She was afraid he would rip his stitches and he was too
strong for her to hold down herself. He talked incoherently in his
unconscious feverish state. Most of it made no sense, it was as if he
were battling against unseen demons as he thrashed about and called out
in Arabic.
He finally settled for a while late that next afternoon and seemed to
be resting peacefully. Emma forced some food into her mouth though she
was not hungry, but Amina had told her if she was to keep up her
strength and be there for Ardeth, then she needed to eat and get some
rest. Emma started to lie down beside him to catch a short nap, when
she heard him speak her name.
“Emma,”
Emma sat up immediately and looked at Ardeth. His eyes were closed and
sweat from the fever dotted his brow. “Ardeth?”
“Emma,” he whispered again.
Emma moved closer and placed her hand against his cheek. “I’m here,
Ardeth. I’m right here.”
His eyes fluttered open and he looked right at her. His dark gaze was
feverish and Emma knew that he was dreaming again, that he was not
really awake. “The baby,” he said softly. Emma gasped, her hand going
to her mouth.
“What about the baby, habibi?” She asked, tears filling her eyes.
Ardeth licked his dry lips, “Not your fault,” he whispered his eyes
closing. Emma stroked his cheek with her fingers as the tears fell from
her eyes.
Just those few words had been the most he had ever spoken regarding her
miscarriage. Emma did blame herself for the miscarriage. She had
disobeyed Ardeth and the price had been loosing the baby. She had been
in her 6th month and had wanted to go riding. Ardeth had forbidden it,
telling her that she needed to consider her condition and not
jeopardize the baby. But Emma, being stubborn and angry at Ardeth’s
bossiness, had gone riding anyways after he had left to go on patrol
with his men. A snake had startled her horse and had thrown her. By the
time she was found, she had already miscarried and after burying the
baby, Ardeth had carried her home. He never talked about it and in his
silence and refusal to talk about the loss; Emma began to believe that
he blamed her for the loss as well. The more she pressed him to talk,
the more angry and distant he became until they hardly spoke and he
spent more and more time away.
“Ardeth,” Emma whispered close to his ear. “Please do not leave me.”
She could hear his labored breathing as he struggled with life and
death. Emma picked up the rag she had been using to bathe his face and
dipped it in the cool water and wiped the sweat from his feverish face.
She kissed his forehead and nearly yelped when he opened his eyes again
to stare up at her. He lifted his hand to cup her cheek.
“Ana ahibuk ya habibti (I love you my darling),” he whispered then
closed his eyes again, his hand falling back to the bed. Emma laid her
head on his chest and began to cry. Giant sobs racked her body as she
mourned the loss of her baby and the possibility of loosing her
husband.
“Please God, do not take him from me too.”
“Emma?”
Emma froze at the familiar voice. She turned on the bed and sat up to
see Rick standing in the doorway of her bedroom. She had no idea how he
had come to be there and at the moment, she didn’t care, she was on her
feet within seconds and launching herself into her brother’s arms.