Disclaimer: This is a non-revenue-making work of fan fiction. I make no claim on the rights to the movie Scorpion King or to any of its characters.
Into the Valley of the Dead
Chapter 1: The Harem
Thorak, captain of the Red Guards, lead twelve of us into the Valley of the Dead in pursuit of the Akkadian assassin, Mathayus. I was the only pursuer who survived. Yes, I was there-that I swear! And yes, I lived!
Okay, this will take some explaining.
Let's see. I first encountered Mathayus when we Red Guards responded to cries of alarm from Memnon's harem. Red Guards Tahnn and Lemo managed to burst through the doors just ahead of me and Uncle Thorak. I could hear scores of Red Guards racing up to reinforce us.
Concubines were screaming. Eunuchs were scattered all over the floor, their crimson blood gushing in rivers. Mathayus stood like a titan amidst this chaos, a bloodied scimitar in one hand and Pheon, the last remaining eunuch, hanging desperately onto his back.
Uncle Thorak pointed his sword. "Kill him!"
Our short bows came up, our arrows flew, but the Akkadian spun around, and poor Pheon took the arrows in his back. He went limp and slid to the ground. I cursed. He owed me 900 shekels.
As we notched more arrows, Mathayus ducked behind the ceremonial gong on the far side of the harem and slashed the ropes which suspended it. Our next flight of arrows bounced harmlessly off the huge metal disk as the Akkadian rolled it across the floor.
He was hiding behind it, and the fleeing concubines who ran between us and him didn't help matters much.
More Red Guards came up. More arrows flew. More concubines screamed. But Mathayus managed to crash the gong through twin doors and flee into the corridor beyond.
We Red Guards were right after him, throwing down our bows and drawing our swords. We clattered into the corridor, racing like the wind. We were gaining on him.
His huge gong splintered another set of twin doors on the far end of the corridor, shattered a brick wall on the edge of a balcony, and fell into nothingness. Mathayus's momentum took him over the edge along with it.
We didn't stop running though, and in a heartbeat, I was glad of it. I saw his head bob up and look back at us. That piece of camel dung had managed to grab the edge and to hold on. But how long could he maintain his grip once Gomorrahian steel began piercing his flesh? I grinned.
When we got there, Mathayus was already plummeting.
Enraged, Uncle Thorak grabbed the backs of the necks of Tahnn and Lemo, bellowed, "Go get him!" and shoved them over the side as well. Sometimes, my Uncle Thorak can be a little harsh.
"He's in the sorceress's quarters!" snarled Thorak. "Come on!" He led a charge back the way we'd come.
But I didn't go. The death of Tahnn and Lemo had taken the tuck right out of me. Let the others chase the Akkadian. I came back up the corridor very slowly and back into the carnage of the harem. There was so much blood, and so much death. Poor, poor Pheon. And alas, my 900 shekels.
A concubine was standing nearby, weeping uncontrollably. My heart went out to her. I held open my arm and, childlike, she crept into my embrace to cry some more upon my shoulder.
And suddenly two more were there, holding on to me. One was sobbing softly. The other was fighting back tears.
"Thank you for saving us," one whimpered.
"Yes, thank you."
"Oh," I shrugged magnanimously, "I was just doing my job."
They smelled wonderful. One wore jasmine perfume, one had on rosewater, and the third wore lavender. And if you think my nose was having a good time, my arms, palms and the parts of me they were pressing against were in Seventh Heaven!
"If you come back this evening," murmured the one with jasmine, "I will thank you in a way that you'll remember for all eternity. I promise."
"Lilah!" squeaked the one wearing lavender.
"Well, when was the last time Memnon visited us?" Lilah retorted. "Human flesh needs company, and this one is handsome, and the gods knows he's earned it."
"But still—"
"And after she thanks you, I'd like to thank you as well," said the one wearing rosewater.
"You too?" snapped the lavender one.
Lilah pointed a distaining finger at her detractor. "Take her last. She's a grump."
This was good. This was very good. You see, at this early point of my life, I would need a, uh, a certain amount of instruction. And my guess was these three were just the ones who could educate me.
Unfortunately, my night of passion was not to be. The Fates decreed I be ordered to accompany Uncle Thorak into the Valley of the Dead. Remember the Valley of the Dead? This is a story about me in the Valley of the Dead.