| The Sisterhood Of One By V.N. Levitsky |
| Chapter 2 Ardeth kept staring into the stranger’s tawny eyes, along with the rest of the Medjai. Her eyes were ageless… or rather timeless. There seemed to be an unending depth to her gaze. It was as though they were the eyes of an innocent child and a wise elder simultaneously. Ardeth couldn’t stop thinking of how they resembled the eyes of the tiger from his youthful recollection of the traveling circus in Cairo. He pushed the memory from his childhood to the back of his mind for further contemplation at another time. Ardeth didn’t get a sense of danger emanating from the woman, but her presence here was indeed odd and something about her aura made him feel incredibly hyper… on edge, as if he were anticipating something. It was as though there was an electrical charge in the air around her. Ardeth shifted out of his fighting stance and lowered his scimitar to his side. Yet his hand continued to twist from left to right, keeping his wrist loose and ready should he spot a sudden move being made by the stranger. He spoke abruptly. “Just exactly who are you and what brings you here?” The stranger squared off her shoulders a bit, trying to hide the fatigue from her journey. “My name is Bethany Luna Morning Dove Krieger and as I tried to tell Ali… I am a friend and I’ve come to help you in your mission.” At the mention of her name, Fahd, Ardeth Bay’s lieutenant, stepped from behind his chief to stand by his side. Fahd was not quite as tall as Ardeth Bay, just less than six feet all, but was powerfully built and barrel-chested. Fahd’s dark beard was peppered with silver hair, although otherwise he appeared to be around the same age as Ardeth Bay. Fahd inquired gruffly, “Your given name… is it a variation of Bethania?” Bethany blinked hard at Fahd, expecting to be questioned about nearly anything at all but her name. Confused, she answered slowly, “Yes… yes it is.” Fahd looked at Ardeth intensely and whispered something in his ear. Ardeth nodded and grunted, as he seemed to store for future reference whatever it was that Fahd had said to him. Ardeth placed his closed left fist on his hip as he continued the slow twirling of his scimitar in his right hand while he spoke, his face unreadable. “So you presume to know of us and our mission and you claim you can help us?” She watched the movement of his sword hand, its constant movement unnerving her. She took a deep breath before speaking, for if she allowed her exhaustion to color her tone it might be viewed antagonistically. She could already sense this was going to be a long night. Bethany replied steadily with more patience than she actually had. “You are Ardeth Bay, leader of the Medjai… you and some of your warriors are actual direct descendents of Pharaoh Seti’s royal guards… sworn at manhood to protect Hamunaptra from anyone who would dare enter it and attempt to raise Imhotep from his cursed slumber of the hom-dai.” Ardeth’s gaze narrowed to a squint. “How and why do you know this?” “I belong to The Sisterhood.” Fahd laughed out loud, a deep, rough sound much like a barking dog and said, “The Sisterhood? The Sisterhood of what?” Bethany wrung her gloved hands as she began. “Our sole purpose has been to prepare for the coming of a very powerful man. Our only goal is to stop his evil doings from being any worse than necessary. There are prophecies we know of that pertain to him and he will be responsible for a prolific number of deaths and massive amounts of destruction.” Her voice dropped an octave, as though the very words she spoke had immense weight and were a mighty burden to bring forth. “Our only hope is that we manage to stop him altogether, but alas… the prophecies have rarely been proven wrong. We already know that countless people will die and much will be destroyed by the time his reign of terror ends.” Ardeth looked at her unwaveringly, realizing that she was telling him nothing that he did not already know. He spoke gruffly. “Your prophecies speak of Imhotep. But what you say is impossible. I’ve never heard of any other tribe that has been entrusted to the same mission as that of the Medjai. And yes, many of us are direct descendants of Seti’s guards and therefore we know there were never any female guards to the Pharaohs.” Bethany shook her head in frustration at the chieftain’s cocksureness. “The Sisterhood doesn’t have the same ancient beginnings as the Medjai. And no… I am not speaking of Imhotep, at least not directly. I speak of a very mortal man. He currently resides in Europe and has been slowly gaining power and building up his armies by convincing his countrymen that all their problems lie in the existence of other less superior people that must be destroyed.” Fahd smirked as he crossed his arms across his huge expanse of chest. The camp torches flickered in his eyes as he spoke in a condescending tone. “But what of this mighty Sisterhood you speak of?” Bethany turned her full attention to Fahd. She got the distinct impression that he was more unsettled by her presence than his own leader was. She sensed Fahd was threatened or disturbed by her being here and this came out in his speaking manner. She had also caught him looking at her and then at Ardeth and then back again at Bethany a number of times since they had rushed her at the entrance of the camp. She decided to ignore her impressions for the time being… she was weary and might not be interpreting things correctly. She had to deal with trying to break down the defenses of the Medjai so they could see and understand how her own mission, that of the Sisterhood melded with their own. Speaking directly to Fahd, “The Sisterhood is a relatively small group. For centuries we have operated under the guise of a scholastic apprenticeship for women. This allows us to travel and seek out knowledge helpful to our cause without raising suspicion. It also allows for us to intercept and sometimes even alter information that would then send people with questionable agendas in the wrong direction… in the hopes of stopping or changing the prophecies.” Fahd stroked his salt and pepper beard as he listened. “Go on.” Bethany took a deep cleansing breath as she beckoned a sense of calm to fill her before continuing. If this bulky brute was prompting her to continue, this was a good sign. But she needed to maintain patience. She proceeded. “It was assumed correctly by our founders that a society or fraternity of women, even if someone were to bother to research our existence... it was assumed that we would be observed or studied for a short time and eventually be dismissed. So far, no one outside the Sisterhood and our connections has divulged our true purpose.” A subtle change came over Bethany’s face as she decided to tease Fahd a bit after putting up with his attitude thus far. The corners of her tawny eyes crinkled with a smile that lit up her entire face. She spoke good-naturedly, “And we intend to keep it that way… much as the Medjai have silently encouraged the embellished tales of your own tribe’s ruthlessness when it comes to protecting the City of the Dead.” Fahd and Ardeth looked at one another as they allowed themselves the smallest of smiles. It seemed evident that this woman had indeed done her homework on the Medjai, up to and including their unspoken acceptance of exaggerated stories about their tribe. Bethany’s gaze hardened as she looked at no one in particular, thinking of the man who had absorbed so much of her time and effort these last few years… a man who seemed to be the very personification of evil. She thought of the speeches this dreaded man had already given and the future speeches that he would give that would bring his people to a level of bloodlust rarely seen in the entire history of Mother Earth… if he wasn’t stopped. Her voice penetrated the night air with her conviction. “This man goes by the name Adolph Hitler. He speaks of a perfect race of people. He calls them Aryans. He speaks of doing away with the infirm and the feeble-minded. He talks of eliminating those who lie down with those of the same sex and anyone else who is not, what *he* deems to be of pure blood.” Fahd posed a question. “So he wishes to cleanse the world of those he deems as unclean or unworthy of existing in the world as he sees it?” Bethany nodded. “Yes, and currently his main scapegoat appears to be those of Jewish blood. However, he is also taking great issue with gypsies and many others.” Ardeth looked at Fahd with a weary gaze, sighing deeply before he spoke, “The Jews have been persecuted since the beginning of their very existence. It would almost appear to be their lot in life. Being chased from country to country when all they have ever wanted is to try and practice their faith in peace.” Fahd nodded in quiet agreement as Ardeth continued his thought. “There are certain matters that seem to be constants throughout time. The Medjai protect the desert and the Jews are persecuted.” When Bethany heard the tired compassion in Ardeth’s voice, she then decided to try a more personal detour. “Had my own father stayed in Germany, my entire family could have been snuffed out like a candle in the wind, simply because of the hereditary nature of our white hair. Or my mother, my siblings and me could be put to death for simply not being considered ‘pure blooded.’ But my entire family would be perceived as defective because of our hair and therefore the whole family would be eliminated to stop the bad blood from continuing.” Ardeth countered, “Why would you be considered not of ‘pure blood’ in Hitler’s eyes?” “My mother is Spanish and American Indian. My siblings and myself are therefore German, Spanish and American Indian. Ergo we are perceived as tainted for not having all the same blood running through our veins.” Her gaze dropped to the ground as she continued speaking, a deep sadness creeping into her voice. “As it is, we have lost contact with a great deal of my father’s family in Germany. We inherit our white hair from my father’s family. We suspect the worst and are assuming they’re dead.” Fahd inquired, “And this Hitler is rallying his people behind this idea that those not of pure blood are a nuisance?” Bethany nodded. “Hitler has been glamorizing the perception of war. He wants to lead his people towards the notion that it’s a noble and just endeavor. A crusade, or jihad, if you will. He wants to convince them that their lives will be better economically and socially when they rid themselves of the supposed weak and inferior people who are dragging them into the mud instead of being raised on high in the ecstasy and knowledge of their own superiority.” She altered her glance from Fahd to Ardeth. “A great man named Nostradamus prophesized that a man by the name of Hitler would come to power. Currently in Germany, there is a man by the name of Adolph Hitler who has been rallying the Germans. And there are numerous prophecies that can be interpreted to mean Hitler. And there are actually some prophecies that mention Hitler by name or nearly so.” Ardeth asked, “Is this significant?” Bethany shrugged her shoulders. “Well, Nostradamus *is* known for his astounding accuracy. As a matter of fact, Nostradamus himself knew that his predictions were so reliable that he wrote them in rhyme and distorted the wording, so as to not allow them to be easily deciphered. His quatrains… his method of writing down his predictions… if you like, I have some written down and can show you what I mean.” Bethany quickly dropped her saddlebag to the sandy ground and eagerly grabbed the edge of her cape, tossing it over her shoulder as she reached under her arm. In an instant both Ardeth and Fahd jumped towards her, brandishing their scimitars at Bethany, the sharp blades each a mere fraction of an inch from her throat. Bethany saw all the other Medjai warriors swiftly closed in behind Fahd and Ardeth. Fahd growled, “Not another move from you or the sand shall drink your spilled blood.” ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ The Sisterhood Of One - Chapter 3 |