The Well of
Amun-Ra
Chapter 1
Thebes-2068
B.C.E.
The sun beat down on the desert
relentlessly. Thebes shone like a great jewel among the sand. The great city
was filled with the bustle of people going about their daily tasks. However,
outside the palace, on the banks of the Nile, there was one who had forsaken
her own responsibilities for the day.
Nefertiti lay between the reeds staring up at the
sky. Her mother had often brought her here to tell her the stories of the gods
when she was a child. Now she was a fully-grown woman, said to be the most
beautiful who had ever lived, but she still felt lost as a child. She had been
without her mother's guidance for many years now and life in the court of Seti
the First was restrictive. Though she had many of her father's wives and
mistresses to look after her, she had no one in whom she could confide.
"Nefertiti? Nefertiti?" The singsong
voice of her father's fourth wife, Ubastet, snapped her out of her daydreams.
"I am
here, Ubastet." Nefertiti rose and brushed off the sand and reeds that clung to
her robes.
Ubastet sighed at the sight of the
disheveled princess. "Your father wishes to see you. We must clean you up."
Nefertiti reluctantly followed the
small, bird-like woman into the palace.
Cairo,
Egypt – 1927 C.E.
Evelyn Carnarvon stood in the middle
of a huge chamber. The dust of ages seemed to have settled over everything in
the room. Firming herself to the mission ahead, she bent to pick up one of the
books.
"Well, I suppose I must start
somewhere."
It seemed a lifetime ago that she
had caused the catastrophe that was now the library of the Cairo Museum. When
she had left, months ago, to seek adventure in the lost city of Hamunaptra, the
mess in the library had seemed insignificant. Now, however, it seemed a
daunting task.
"I almost think I would rather be
fighting mummies than trying to sort out this mess." She said accusingly to the
book in her hand.
"Given the choice, so would I,"
replied the book.
Evelyn gave a start and dropped the
book as she whirled around to face Rick O'Connell.
"Rick!"
She threw her arms around him and kissed him firmly. "When did you get back?"
"Just now." He stepped back from her
and dropped his rucksack to the floor. With his arms unfettered, he wrapped
them tightly around her and kissed her again. "I don't know how I stayed away
so long."
"Well, it's a good thing that you've
come back now. I don't think I've ever needed your help more." She kissed him
playfully as he groaned.
Rick looked down at her through
narrowed eyes. "How did I know I was going to be recruited into this?"
"Right." She turned him to face the
other side of the room. "You start on that side. I will do this side, and we
shall meet in the middle."
He made his way, reluctantly, to the
huge pile of bookshelves and books. He bent to try and lift one of the
bookshelves and then dropped it to jump out of the way of a huge heap of books
that came crashing down at his feet.
Evelyn looked over at him with a small
smile of amusement, and in her best "librarian" voice she said, "Do try to be
careful with those, Mr. O'Connell. They are books after all, not mummies."
Rick
rolled his eyes and headed back to the job at hand. "Librarians."
A smile flickered across his lips. It was
good to be back.
Thebes
– 2068 B.C.E.
Nefertiti made her way into the
throne room of her father's palace. Music filled the golden room and dancers
spun as the courtesans looked on, seemingly unimpressed. She knelt before her
father, waiting for permission to rise. He leaned forward and gently touched
her shoulder.
"My most treasured jewel."
Nefertiti smiled for she did love
her father very much and knew that he loved her. He rose as she stood up and
embraced her, stroking her hair.
"You grow to resemble your mother
more everyday."
"Thank you, Father." He resumed his
seat on the throne and motioned for Nefertiti to stand at his left.
She walked up the steps and saw her
father's High Priest staring at her. He had the black eyes of an asp, and a
smile curved on his face as he saw her look at him. A cold shiver ran down her
spine, but she moved to take her place.
Seti clapped his hands and the music
and dancers stopped.
"Most beautiful daughter, I have
decided that it is time for you to marry."
Nefertiti's smile froze on her face
and a great sense of dread filled her.
"And who better to wed her than my
most trust advisor."
He rose from his chair and took
Nefretiti's hand. He turned and took Imhotep's hand as well. He placed their hands
in each other's and stepped back from them.
"In two months time they will be
wed." He kissed Nefertiti on the cheek.
Her skin felt cold. She looked down and for a moment
it seemed that the hand in hers had turned into the hand of a rotting corpse.
Bile rose in her throat, she looked at Imhotep and he smiled, a horrifying
smile.
"Now, to celebrate." Seti clapped his hands again
and two women walked side by side up to the throne. They bowed to Seti and then
turned, backs to each other, weapons raised. They were wearing ornate gold
masks to protect their faces and their golden ceremonial tridents glinted in
the firelight. The Pharaoh clapped his hands and the battle began.
The two women whirled around, slashing and dodging.
It was a breathtaking dance of skill and savagery. For a moment Nefertiti
forgot the hand holding hers, and her future husband. She couldn't take her
eyes off of the contest in front of her. One of the women knocked the other to
the ground.
The woman left standing assumed the victory too
soon. Her opponent's leg snaked out and caught her at the knee. She stumbled
and fell. The woman on the floor threw herself into a standing position and
charged the other woman.
She struggled to get to her feet and block the blows
coming at her, but she was tiring quickly. Seeing that her challenger was
weakening, the woman standing threw one of her tridents down and grabbed a
fistful of her opponent's hair. She jerked the woman's head back and pointed
the remaining knife at her exposed throat.
"Surrender! You are beaten!"
The kneeling woman threw up her mask. "I am beaten."
The champion let go of her hair and the woman
collapsed. The court burst into applause. Nefretiti stared at the winner, her
eyes wide. She had never seen such a show of bravery and skill.
Seti quieted the court and beckoned the champion to
him. Nefretiti and Imhotep moved away from each other to allow the Pharaoh to
step down toward her.
"You fought well."
She bowed her head. "Thank you, Mighty Pharaoh."
"Remove your mask and tell us your name."
The woman lifted the mask to reveal a face of feral
beauty. A savage light shone in her eyes.
"I am Anck-Su-Namun."
Cairo,
Egypt – 1927 C.E.
Rick O'Connell's neck, back,
shoulders, and arms were screaming at him to rest. He didn't know how much
longer he could go on. He hoisted the final bookshelf into place, while Evelyn
finished sorting out the books.
"There. All done."
Evelyn looked up at him over her
wire frame glasses. "What do you mean, 'All done'? We still have hundreds of
books to catalog and return to their proper shelves."
"We? Huh-uh. You. You're the
librarian remember?"
Evelyn took off her glasses and
smiled. "I suppose this could wait until tomorrow. I don't think one
more day of disarray will harm the library."
Rick smiled at her and she felt as
though her limbs had turned to water. He always had that effect on her.
She stood up and arched her back to
stretch the muscles. A light breeze blew through the library, swirling up the
dust. Evelyn's brow furrowed as she tried to remember if she had left a window
open. Her vision suddenly became cloudy and her head felt as if it were
floating away. The last thing she heard was Rick calling her name, from a very
long way away.
* * *
"Now really, I am perfectly alright.
I do not need you hovering over me like a protective hen, Jonathan."
Evelyn was trapped in bed. Placed there by a frantic
Rick who had ordered Jonathan to make sure she didn't move while he went to
fetch a doctor. And Jonathan was taking his role very seriously.
"For God's sake, Evie, stay put. We don't know
what's happened to you, and I can only imagine what O'Connell would do to me if
you were to move from that spot." He sat down beside her on the bed and tried to
take her hand.
Evie waved his concern away. "It's obvious what's
happened. The heat and working so long in the library had gotten to me and I
had a bit of heat stroke. It is nothing at all to worry about, and certainly
nothing to cause all this fuss over." She pulled the sheet off of her and swung
her legs off the opposite side of the bed. As she tried to stand she felt light
headed again and almost toppled over. She was surprised when a pair of strong
arms caught her out of nowhere.
"I thought I told you not to let her out of bed,
Jonathan." Rick's voice was full of barely controlled anger.
"Er, yes, well . . ." Jonathan stammered.
" I do not need you, or my brother, treating me like
an invalid, Mr. O'Connell. I am perfectly capable of looking after myself."
Evie replied huffily.
"Yeah, I could see that as you were about to land
flat on your face." Rick put her firmly back in the bed.
"Ooo. You really can be infuriating."
"Are all librarians this stubborn?" He gave her a
half smile as he leaned over and kissed her on the forehead.
Her anger gave way, and a soft smile passed over her
lips.
"Ahem."
Evie noticed for the first time the man and the
child standing in the corner of the room.
"I am Doctor Achmed." He spoke in a thick Egyptian
accent and had a tanned, weathered face. His bright white hair stuck out in all
directions and brushy eyebrows of the same color hung above his bright,
chocolate eyes. If Evie had to guess, she would place the man in his mid-70's.
But the desert sun is often unforgiving and he could be much younger. "This is
my son Alaq." The boy held his father's bag in both hands. He could be no
younger than 10, but he seemed small for his age. He nodded shyly at Evie and
she could see that his brown hair was streaked with blonde, near the crown.
The doctor examined her and pronounced exactly what
Evie had predicted.
"Heat stroke. You must stay in bed for the rest of
the day, and remember to drink much water."
He snapped his fingers and Alaq scurried forward carrying the bag. His
father rummaged through it and came up with a vile of pills. "Take one of these
everyday and they will help you to avoid any more symptoms."
Rick had looked at her triumphantly when the doctor
had said she must remain in bed. She reluctantly accepted the pills.
"Thank you, Doctor, but must I really stay . . ."
"Yes, my dear girl. We would not want anything to
happen to you. Take one pill now and sleep. You will be refreshed in the
morning."
Evie looked at the vile of pills in her hand and
asked the doctor, "What are these, exactly?"
The doctor busied himself rummaging through his bag.
"They help your body to retain its nutrients and fight the effects of
overheating."
He snapped up his bag and prepared to leave. Rick
thanked him and shook his hand, then began leading them to the door. The doctor
had a firm grasp on his son's shoulder, but the young boy broke away from his
father and flung himself at Evelyn.
He whispered frantically in her ear in Egyptian,
before his father yanked him off of her.
"Alaq! You have frightened Ms. Carnarvon.
Apologize!" His father was shaking him by the shoulder.
The boy mumbled an apology and Rick showed them out.
He returned to Evie's bedroom looking perplexed.
"What was that all about?"
Evie looked at the door they had just left through.
"I don't know. He whispered something to me about a "well", but he was talking
so quickly and softly that I couldn't follow what he meant."
Evelyn sighed, puzzled. She accepted the glass of
water that Jonathan handed to her, and she swallowed one of her pills.
"There, there old mum. You'll feel better in the
morning." Jonathan took back the glass of water. He watched as she turned to
O'Connell and reached out for him. He felt a pang realizing that his baby
sister had found the love of her life, and felt that he would somehow be left
behind.
"I'll just head down into the bar. Could use a stiff
drink." He muttered to himself. A bit louder he added, "Goodnight, Evie."
O'Connell was sitting on the bed next to her, and
Evie had to lean around him a bit to see Jonathan.
"Goodnight, Jonathan." She yawned. She was suddenly
feeling very drowsy indeed. Rick looked down at her anxious with concern.
"Don't worry. I'll be al-" She broke off her sentence
with a huge yawn. "-right. I'll be alright. Watch out for Jonathan, though,
would you?" She lay back and was immediately snoring softly.
O'Connell got up from the bed and arranged a blanket
over her. He bent down and kissed her softly on the cheek. She smiled a little
and then her face relaxed back into sleep. Rick straightened and went down to
"watch out" for Jonathan.
Thebes
– 2067 B.C.E.
"Nefertiti? Nefertiti?"
Her eyes shot open and blinked in
the harsh sun. Nefertiti had fallen asleep on the banks of the Nile. The voice
of her most trusted friend and long awaited confidant had woken her from her
dozing.
She sat up and pulled her legs up
under her. "Anck-Su-Namun!"
Anck-Su-Namun's head peeked out from
between the reeds. "I knew I would find you here."
Nefertiti threw back her head and
laughed. "Everyone knows where to find me." She stopped laughing and her voice
grew softer. "There is no where I can go."
Anck-Su-Namun laughed at her friend.
"Nefer, you do not see things as they truly are! You have the will of your
father in the palm of your hand. This place is not a prison for you."
"Do you mean, as it is for you?"
Nefertiti looked closely at her friend, but Anck-Su-Namun laughed. Seeing the
wariness in Nefertiti's eyes, she became serious.
"You know I do not love your
father," She cast a sly look at her young friend. "Just as I know you do not
love your husband. As women, we must grasp what power we can, for our
happiness." She leaned in to whisper to Nefertiti. "And I have met the one who
will make me happy for all eternity."
Nefertiti was shocked by
Anck-Su-Namun's brazen announcement. "But, Anck-Su-Namun! My father, you
couldn't . . ."
"I would never betray your father,
Nefer! Just as you would never betray your husband. You do not love him, but you must honor the vows that you made.
The vows that I take will bind me to Seti, as yours do you to Imhotep. I
will truly be a prisoner here, but in my mind I will always be able to take
flight to my lover's arms. In my mind I am free to love the man I want."
Nefertiti
seemed satisfied, but a part of her felt that her dear friend was not telling
the truth. She shook herself to rid her mind of such thoughts. "Who is this
man? For he truly must be extraordinary."
Anck-Su-Namun directed a sidelong
glance at Nefertiti. "You will never know how much so." She was silent for a
moment, just long enough for Nefertiti's suspicions to rise again. But, then
she laughed and jumped to her feet, dragging Nefertiti along with her. "It is
time for your lesson."
Cairo,
Egypt – 1927 C.E.
Rick spotted Jonathan at the bar and
made his way over to him. He clapped him on the back and took a seat next to
him. Jonathan offered O'Connell the bottle he was pouring shots out of, but he
waved it away.
"How did everything go?" Jonathan
leaned close and slurred at Rick. His breath smelled like a barrel of sour mash
whiskey.
"Jonathan,
you've only been down here for five minutes. How could you be drunk already?"
O'Connell's voice held a small note of incredulity.
"It's what I'm good at." He winked
at Rick and lost his balance on the barstool. O'Connell reached out and
steadied him.
"Well, at least you're not
gambling." He took a quick glance around the bar and noticed several games of
cards going on. "Yet."
"You haven't answered my question,
O'Connell. How were things in London?" Jonathan leaned toward O'Connell and
tried to whisper conspiratorially.
Rick looked over at him and raised
one eyebrow. "Wet."
Jonathan looked confused, but Rick just
shook his head and rose from his seat. "See ya in the morning, Jonathan."
* * *
"Evelyn! Evelyn, wake up!" Rick shook her trembling shoulders
lightly, and then a bit rougher when she didn't respond. "Evelyn!"
Evie opened her eyes to O'Connell's face
hovering just above hers. She gave a startled yelp. "Rick, what are you
doing?" She brushed his hands away and sat straight up in her bed.
Rick stood up and backed away,
almost unsure of himself. "You were screaming in your sleep, and wouldn't wake
up."
Evie rolled her eyes, "Honestly, if
you are going to beset upon me every time I have a little nightmare . . ." She
threw her hands up exasperatedly to finish her sentence. Evie looked up at him
and saw his jaw tighten, to avoid a fight she quickly gathered her composure
for an apology. Taking his hand in hers, she stroked the back of it with her
fingers. "Rick, I know you are only trying to look out for me, but honestly, I
am alright. You can't protect me from everything, you know."
"I know, I just . . ."
Evelyn smiled up at him. "I promise
if a rogue band of the Undead comes after me, you will be the first one I call
for."
Rick squeezed her hand and released
it. "Well, while we're waiting for the mummies to attack, why don't you get
dressed and come downstairs for breakfast."
He headed for the door, but turned
back at Evelyn's voice. "Rick?" She hesitated a bit before continuing. "What
was I screaming?"
He shook his head, at a loss. "I
don't know. Sounded Egyptian."
Thebes
– 2068 B.C.E.
Nefertiti kneeled on the cold stone
floor, waiting. Her father laid a warm hand on her shoulder and she rose before
him. He had sent for her in the middle of the night, and she was tired, but
curious. "You summoned me, Father?"
"Nefertiti, you must never tell another living soul
what I am about to show you. I know that it is you alone I can trust." He
handed her a black hooded cloak and put one on himself.
She
opened her mouth to ask a question, but he waved it away, motioning for her
silence. He held a burning torch before him and stepped onto the platform that
held his bed. Reaching down near the floor he turned one of the wall carvings
to the right. The massive wall swung open with only slight sound from the gust
of air. Seti motioned for his daughter to follow him into the deep passage
within.
They walked down the rough, dark passage for what
seemed an eternity. There were sharp turns and steep drops that had to be
carefully navigated in the semi-dark. The passage's walls pressed closer the
further they went. Ahead, Nefertiti could hear the soft, musical sound of water
bubbling.
At last they stepped into an underground cavern with
a pool so large that they could not see where it ended. The walls were bathed
in a bright golden light that stung Nefertiti's eyes after so long in the
darkness.
Her father's voice echoed through the vast cavern.
"This is a sacred place, Daughter." He dipped the burning end of the torch into
the waters and extinguished the flame. Even though the flame no longer burned,
the walls continued to shine. Nefertiti could see that it was the golden water
of the deep well that was casting the light. "The Well of Amun-Ra. Many years
ago, this pool was a stretch of desert sand. There was great chaos in the land
of Egypt and the people cried out for relief. The great god Amun-Ra heard their
pleas and stretched out his finger to touch the earth. The waters of this pool
offer healing for the sick, the lame, and even the damned."
Nefertiti looked at her father questioningly. "The
damned?"
Her father looked out across the pool. "If a man has
lost his immortal soul, bathing in these waters would restore it. People began
to abuse the sacred waters and the great god Amun-Ra was saddened. So, he
decided to bury his gift and sent an immense sandstorm sweeping across Egypt."
He looked up to the ceiling of the cavern. "This chamber lies directly under
the Throne Room of the palace. For centuries our family has protected The Well.
Now, I must pass the secret to you, that you may keep it safe and its purpose pure."
He reached out and embraced his daughter. "My most faithful, Nefertiti."
Cairo,
Egypt – 1927 C.E.
Evelyn walked out into the
mid-morning sun, searching for Rick. She spotted him sitting at a shaded table
and gave a small wave with her free hand. In her other hand she was carrying a
packet of letters. She set them down on the table as she took a seat across
from Rick.
"Where's Jonathan?"
Evie looked up from her letters. "Jonathan?
Oh, I looked in on him, but he was still snoring away. Oblivious to the world."
She shook her head. "I don't know what to do with that brother of mine."
"Well,
there was something I wanted to talk to you about, and I don't mind doing it
without Jonathan."
"Oh, yes! You never did tell me how
your trip to London went."
Rick was caught of guard for a
moment. "It was good. I was able to sell most of it. The museum offered to buy
the biggest pieces. Pretty good prices, too. I pawned the smaller ones off in a
couple of different shops. In other words, we won't have to worry about money,
pretty much, ever. I put most of the money in the bank along with the rest of
the stuff I didn't sell."
Evelyn smiled. "I knew you'd take
care of everything." One of the letters caught her eye. "Hmmm." She opened it
and began reading it.
"I'll talk to Jonathan about it
later." O'Connell started to look a bit nervous. "Anyway, that wasn't what I
wanted to talk to you about." He reached into his pocket and touched the small
velvet box for reassurance. "I've never met anyone like you, Evie, and I know I
never will again. You're smart, and brave. You risked your life for me, not
many people would do that. I . . ."O'Connell had never felt more awkward or
scared in his life. He took a deep breath and pulled out the small box. "The
point is that I love you. I wanted to ask, if you would . . ."
Before he could even finish or show
her the box, Evelyn jumped up from her chair with her hand over her mouth. It
took a moment for Rick to realize that she was staring at a letter and not at
him.
"Rick! Oh, Rick! The Bembridge
Scholars have accepted my application! They've assigned me to go on a dig to
Thebes, isn't this exciting?"
Rick nodded and forced a smile.
"Yeah it's great. Great." He slipped the small box back into his pocket.
Evie sat down, still staring at the
letter. She looked up at Rick suddenly. "What were you saying?"
"Nothing. Don't worry about it."
"Hmmm." She shaded her eyes as she
looked up into the sun. "I should probably take one of my pills." She reached
into the pocket of her skirt and pulled out the vile of small, brown pills and
set them on the table. Placing one on her tongue, she took a swallow from her
glass of water. Just as she did, there was a large crash and the table in front
of her toppled over. Both she and Rick jumped up from their seats and away from
the table. Looking down she saw a small boy in a crumpled heap. Rick reached
down and helped him up. Evie looked at his face and uttered a small sound of
surprise.
"Alaq?" The boy looked at her with
large, unblinking eyes. "That is your name isn't it?"
He nodded, quickly. "I am sorry. I
trip. Very clumsy. I go now."
Rick grabbed his arm. "Hold on
there, partner. What's going on?"
The boy's eyes grew even larger, if
that was possible. He kicked Rick in the leg as hard as he could and took off
running when he let go of his arm.
"Oww." Rick rubbed his shin. "That
kid has some problems."
"Yes," Evie looked after him for a
moment and then sighed. She bent to pick up her scattered letters. "Oh blast!"
She grabbed the vile that held her pills. Most of them were scattered in the
dirt and disintegrating in the water from her glass. She dumped the few that
were left into her hand and counted them. "There are only five left."
Rick came over next to her. "I guess
we'll have to get more before we go to Thebes."
Evie's heart leapt and she couldn't
contain her smile. "So, you're coming with me?"
Rick smirked. "Someone has to
protect you from yourself."
"It's just an excavation." She said,
wrapping her arms around his neck. "No
harm . . ."
"Don't finish that."
Evie smiled at Rick and he leaned in
to kiss her.
Thebes
– 2067 B.C.E.
Nefertiti was tiring quickly. Her
arms ached with the effort of defending against the blows. Her opponent was too
strong, too fast. One of her tridents was knocked out of her hand, and her legs
were knocked out from under her. She lay on her back, her breath heaving. Her
opponent's hand reached out to help her up.
Nefertiti removed her mask and
looked into the face of Anck-Su-Namun.
"Good! Good! You are learning so
rapidly, Nefer. Soon you will be able to defeat even me!"
Nefertiti flushed at the praise of
her teacher and friend. "I will never be as skilled as you, Anka."
Anck-Su-Namun laughed. "We shall
see, dear friend. You are learning more swiftly than any student I have ever
had. Soon, I will have nothing left to teach you."
They moved out of the sun and sat
down in the shade.
"I am so glad that you are here, Anka.
I know that you are unhappy, but in time perhaps . . ." Nefertiti let her voice
trail off and shrugged her shoulders.
Anck-Su-Namun's face softened. "You
are truly a good friend, Nefer. I wish only that I could be as good to you."
"Oh, but you are, Anka! You are dear
to me as a sister!" Nefertiti protested.
A strange look passed over
Anck-Su-Namun. "You flatter me, Nefer." She looked around her on all sides to
make sure the Med-Jai were not listening. She leaned toward Nefertiti and
beckoned her closer. Nefertiti leaned closer, becoming confused. "As my friend,
Nefer . . ." Anck-Su-Namun looked away. "No, I cannot ask it of you." She tried
to smile. "Forget I have said anything."
"No, Anka." Nefertiti replied
anxiously. "You may ask anything of me! Please, tell me what is troubling you."
Anck-Su-Namun sighed, "I must see
him."
Nefertiti furrowed her brow. "Who?"
When Anck-Su-Namun did not answer, she knew. "Oh, you mean your, the man you
are in love with." She nodded in response, casting her eyes to the ground. "But
why?"
Tears filled Anck-Su-Namun's eyes.
"He is to leave and will never return." She looked into Nefertiti's eyes. "I
would never wish you to mislead your father, but . . ."
Nefertiti steeled herself, never
before had she deceived her father. "He will never return?"
She nodded again, the tears where beginning to fall
down her cheeks. "Though nothing has ever come to pass between us, he says he
will not watch as I marry another. I know I will never see him again."
"Say no more. I will let you know when you can get
away and for how long."
Anck-Su-Namun reached to embrace her
friend. Brokenly she sobbed, "You are a true friend, Nefer. Better than I who
would ask this of you."
"Do not
say so, Anka. I will send you word." Nefertiti rose and took Anck-Su-Namun's
hand, giving it a slight squeeze. She smiled and headed into the palace.
As Anck-Su-Namun watched Nefertiti
walk away her sobs stopped and she wiped the tears from her eyes, smiling
dreadfully.
Cairo,
Egypt – 1927 C.E.
Evelyn looked up at the knock on her
door and smiled broadly as Rick came in.
"Jonathan and I are going out
to get some small supplies and your pills. Are you all packed?"
"Not quite, I'm afraid." She smiled
sheepishly.
Rick glanced around at the chaos of
her room. There were clothes, books, and papers scattered everywhere. He raised
an eyebrow as he turned to her, "I don't think you need to take everything you
own. We're only gonna be gone two weeks."
Evelyn
put her hands on her hips. "This is my first assignment from the Bembridge
Scholars. I have been waiting years for this and I don't want to forget
anything."
"Well, if you're not done packing
soon, your 'first assignment' will probably be your last assignment."
He smiled at her and Evelyn glared
back at him. "Make all the jokes you wish, Mr. O'Connell, but I am going
prepared."
Rick smirked and bent to pick up the
snow-white cat circling his legs. "Think we should throw her in? Just to be
'prepared'."
Evelyn snatched the cat from his
arms. "That is quite enough." She pushed him toward the door. "Now if
you will excuse me, I have to finish packing."
She hustled him out the door and
turned to face the crisis at hand. Packing. She walked over to the open
suitcase on the bed, wringing her hands. She picked up two books, weighing them
in her mind. She decided on one and then changed her mind and packed the other.
A moment later she put the other one in the suitcase as well, only to change
her mind again and take them both out.
"Boat leaves in two hours." Rick's
head was leering at her from around the door. She threw one of the books in
question and it narrowly missed his wide grin. She could hear him chuckling as
he left the outer room.
"Ooo." She picked up the cat looked
into its eyes. "At least you don't laugh at my expense, Cleopatra." The cat
purred back at her in a non-committal response.
Evelyn sighed and put her back down.
She walked over to the dresser and poured a glass of water from the ewer. She
took out her vile of pills and shook the last one out, swallowing it she set
back to work.
An hour later, she was almost
finished packing. Most of her clothes were neatly packed away into the first
suitcase. In a smaller rucksack, a gift from Rick, she packed a few extra
changes of clothes and her tool kit. One never could be too careful. She had
just decided on the final combination of books and manuscripts when the room
started to spin. Placing a hand to her forehead, she tried to make it to the
bed.
"Oh," she gasped as she collapsed to the
floor. Cleopatra paced uneasily around her mistress's face, purring madly.
* * *
The small shop was dim in the face of the
mid-morning sunshine. The shades were drawn and dust danced merrily in the
cracks of golden light that streamed in between them. Behind the counter there
was a tiny hidden room, for storage. However, at this time two people having an
argument were occupying it.
"My dear Dr. Achmed, I told you the boy would be a
problem. Now it has become one more thing for me to concern myself with." The
woman's eyes flashed with a violent light. She was a tall, lithe woman with
long, straight black hair that set off her angular face. It was a stunningly
beautiful face, but not a kind one.
Dr. Achmed quaked and tried to explain himself. "You
never told me that he had The Sight. How was I supposed to keep anything from
him?"
The woman reached out a black-gloved hand and
caressed the doctor's cheek. "You weren't." She said, almost casually. "You
were supposed to keep him with you, and you definitely were not supposed
to LOSE HIM!" She brought back her hand and slapped him, just hard
enough to sting. Softening her voice, she leaned close to his ear, practically
humming. "Good work has very good rewards, but remember that mistakes have very
costly consequences." She reached into the folds of her black robes and pulled
out a vile of small, brown pills. Placing it in his hand, she glared at him.
"The doses have been increased. The sooner the spell is completed, the sooner
she will lead us to The Well."
Satisfied that Achmed had been sufficiently
terrified, she turned to leave. "Try not to screw this up, hmm?"
As she left the shop the doctor bent over,
hyperventilating. He tried to regain his composure, hearing the bell as the
door opened. Leaving the storeroom, he had the vile tightly gripped in his
hand.
* * *
Jonathan's head throbbed; he was
suffering from a terrible hangover, as usual. He stared into the windows of the
bars as they passed, wishing to be able to go into one and curl up with a nice
bottle of whatever he could afford. His arms were starting to feel achy under
the weight of the 'small' supplies O'Connell had decided they needed. He glared
at the back of his head, first the man leaves all the money in some blasted
bank in London and now he was treating him like he was his personal packhorse.
Better yet, a camel. What did he bloody mean leaving the money in London? That
was half way across the world! They passed another bar and Jonathan garnered
the courage to tell O'Connell that he was going to get a drink, whether he
bloody liked it or not.
"Er, O'Connell. You don't suppose we
could . . ."
Rick didn't even look back. "No."
"Just for a small . . ." Jonathan
whined
"No." He
stopped in front of a small shop. "This is it."
Jonathan looked up at the sign above
the door. Dr. Achmed, MD. Jonathan bumped into a man standing near the
door and dropped his parcels.
Irritated Jonathan snapped, "Why don't you watch
where you're . . ." The words died in Jonathan's throat as the man glowered
down at him. He was a large, muscular black man dressed in red and black
ceremonial robes, with a very large scimitar in his belt.
"Quite right. My mistake." The man
took a step toward him with his hand on the hilt of his sword. Jonathan gulped
audibly.
"Lock-Nah, let him be." A woman's
voice came from behind. "He is nobody."
Jonathan nodded in agreement, never
taking his eyes off Lock-Nah. "She's right, nobody. That's me."
Lock-Nah growled, but stepped around
Jonathan to the woman. Jonathan placed a hand over his heart. As he picked up
his packages he watched the man and the woman. He couldn't see the woman's
face, but he could hear them talking as they moved away.
"Do not worry, Meela. I will find
the brat."
He heard the woman laugh. "I do not
think that will be a problem. I have a feeling that he will find us."
Jonathan picked up the last package
and they were too far away for him to hear Lock-Nah's response. He shrugged off
the strange conversation and hurried to follow Rick into the shop to get Evie's
pills.
* * *
Rick rushed into Evelyn's room
without even knocking. "Good, you're done." He snapped the suitcases closed,
and slung her rucksack over his shoulder. Picking up the rest of the bags, he
started for the door. "I left Jonathan downstairs with the car. I don't know
how smart that was, so we should get moving." He was almost out the door before
he noticed that Evelyn hadn't moved from her chair. "Evelyn, come on. Time to
go."
Evelyn had been following
O'Connell's every move with her eyes from the moment he walked in the door, but
she had not so much as uttered a sound.
Rick was a cross between bewildered
and irritated by her behavior. He sighed exasperatedly. "What? Did I say
something wrong?" Realization suddenly dawned on him. "Are you still mad about
the cat joke?"
Evelyn continued to stare at him,
not moving save for her rhythmic breathing. He put the bags down and walked
over to the chair she sat in. He crouched in front of her until they were at
eye level and reached out to put a hand on her knee. "Evelyn?"
At his touched she exploded out of
the chair. "WHO ARE YOU TO DARE TO TOUCH ME?"
O'Connell stumbled back and fell at
her feet. He jumped up completely taken by surprise. "What the hell did you
just say?"
Evelyn was pacing back and forth,
avoiding any contact Rick tried to make with her, almost as if she were trying
to fight him off.
"Where am I? What is this place? I DEMAND TO KNOW?"
Her voice was filled with anger and frustration, masking the cold, hard fear
that she felt.
"Evelyn!" He reached for her again and her hand shot
out, raking him across the face with her nails. "Oww. Goddammit!" He covered
the wounds with his hand. Anger and pain filled his eyes. He grabbed her hands
and held them together. She hissed at him and spit in his face.
"LET ME GO! YOU MAY NOT TOUCH ME! LET ME GO! YOU
HAVE NO RIGHT!" Her voice was shrill and she was struggling against him
violently.
"Goddammit, Evie! Speak English!" Panic rose in the
back of his throat. He had to yell over her to try to make himself heard. "I
CAN'T UNDERSTAND YOU."
Just as suddenly as it had begun, it was over.
Evelyn slumped against him. Rick had no idea how explain what had just
happened. He looked down at the quiet woman cradled in his arms. Fear gripped
his heart, a fear that perhaps he couldn't protect Evie from herself. He had
been able to brush off the nightmares she could never seem to remember, as an
after effect of their ordeal with Imhotep. But he couldn't brush away something
like this. He felt helpless and didn't know what direction to take.
Evelyn stirred and looked up at Rick, blinking
owlishly. "When did you get back?" What's happened?" She stood up and stared at him. "My God, Rick. How did you get
those scratches on your face?"
"You, Evelyn. You were having some sort of attack,
screaming in some other language, and when I tried to grab you to snap you out
of it, you scratched me." Rick's voice was soft and full of concern.
Evie
reached a tentative hand toward him and then brought it to cover her mouth.
