Arabic
Hebrew
Ancient Egyptian
"Nyx it's me Rick." A voice said as a hand knocked on my door. I sighed and quickly opened the door to see my brother in clean clothes and his hair under control.
"What do you want now dear brother?" I asked trying to keep my voice under control. My brother never came to me anymore much less talked to me unless he needed a pawn in one of his schemes to get a girl.
"I kind of need your help on a trip to Hamunaptra. This woman named Evelyn Carnahan saved me from the jail now she wants me to take her there will you come along." he asked uncertainly I turned my back and sighed again.
"Give me a reason why I should." I said heatedly before feeling his hand on my shoulder.
"If you find a reason to stay I'll let you and you never have to argue alright?" he asked as he turned me towards him.
"If you keep that promise I'll go but let me get my weapons." I said he gave a small grin and nodded. I quickly got my throwing daggers, both of my swords and my gun. The mirror I was standing in front of let me see Rick's shocked face it made me smile. I quietly slipped a sharpening stone in my pocket, a small knife in the slot in my boot and crisscrossed two ammo belts across my chest.
"Ready brother?" I asked he nodded in a daze and left slinging his gun sack over his shoulder.
"Nyx here I got this for you." Rick said as he dug in his pocket and brought out a necklace with three charms. A bow and arrow on one side, two swords forming an 'x' on the other and the tattoo I secretly had on my wrist.
"Thanks Rick." I said as I quickly put it around my neck so I wouldn't forget it.
"Do you really think he'll show up?" A voice said as it floated through the crowd I followed it.
"Yes undoubtedly knowing my luck. He maybe a cowboy but I know the breed his word is his word." A man said when I finally managed to get through the crowd dock.
"Well personally I think he's filthy rude a complete scoundrel I don't like him one bit." A woman said I noticed Rick was walking up to her I figured she must be Evelyn.
"Anyone I know?" Rick asked making her look at him in shock.
"Oh um hello." She said before noticing me curiously.
"And who might this young beauty be?" The man next to her asked I glared before placing a hand on my gun.
"My sister Nyx and you might not want to call her that again." Rick said I glared at him.
"Mr. O'Connell can you look me in the eye and guarantee this isn't some sort of flimflam because if it is I'm warning you…" Rick cut her off.
"You're warning me? Lady let me put it this way my whole dang garrison believed in this so much that without orders we marched halfway across Libya and into Egypt to find that city and when we got there all we found was sand and blood. Let me get your bags." Rick said picking them up and walking onto the ship.
"Yes, yes you're right filthy rude complete scoundrel nothing to like there at all." The man whispered as Evelyn glared at him.
"Bright good morning to all." A voice said I turned to see the warden of the jail standing behind me it made me wonder what he was doing here.
"Oh no what are you doing here?" Evelyn asked apparently she was wondering the same he answered.
"I am here to protect my investment thank you very much." he said walking up to the ship.
"Well this is just wonderful." I said sarcastically before boarding the boat. I walked into an empty room and hurriedly placed my stuff on the bed before someone knocked at my door.
"Rick go away." I said knowing it was him but the knocking persisted.
"Look Nyx I know things haven't been easy since…" I flung the door open anger flooding my veins.
"Don't you dare tell me things haven't been easy! When mother and father left you ran off I never saw you until the orphanage took me in when I was five then when we turned seventeen you ran off for war I never saw you after that until a few weeks ago. Now leave me alone." I said shutting and locking the door before he could get a word in edgewise. I sat down on my bed as tears streamed down my cheeks I quickly wiped them away so no one would notice. I walked out and a man in black robes grabbed me.
"Let go of me!" I yelled but he never did I elbowed his stomach making him let go of me. I heard Rick and Evelyn before someone pushed me over the railing into the water I made it to a side of the river before noticing that my brother and the others were following me.
"Well this is useless!" I said throwing my gun down on the ground I handed Rick the ammo belts which he took with a sigh.
"We've lost everything all our tools all the equipment! All my clothes!" Evelyn said or should I say complained I sighed and draped my jacket over her shoulders to give her some cover from the cold winds before we heard Beni, a friend now traitor, yelling.
"Hey! O'Connell looks to me like I got all the horses!" Beni yelled triumphantly.
"Hey Beni? LOOKS TO ME LIKE YOU'RE ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE RIVER!" Rick yelled before laughing Beni scoffed then looked at his surroundings angrily kicking the water.
"Nyx come on we're traveling on foot for awhile." Evelyn said I nodded and started walking they followed. After what seemed like hours we suddenly saw a small camp. Rick and Jonathan, Evelyn's brother, went to go buy some camels.
"If you will come with us we could help you clean up." I smiled at the woman's request.
"Thank you." I said the woman smiled as she opened the flap to the tent I gave a small laugh as several other women surrounded us. I was conversing with them as they helped us clean up.
"Do you have a favorite color?" Marian, the woman, asked me I could not help but laugh.
"Midnight blue will do." I said she quickly pulled out dark blue robes and helped me get them on before her daughter tied a white sash around my waist.
"There you look beautiful just like your name. Oh and someone said to give these to you." She said handing me a bow and a full quiver of arrows.
"Thank you I will use them well." I said they smiled and left Evelyn then turned to me.
"I'm surprised that you know their language it sounds like gibberish to me." Evelyn said before we heard the men's conversation.
"I only want five! Five! I only want five, not a whole bloody herd! O'Connell oh can you believe the cheek?" Jonathan said exasperatedly Rick was obviously annoyed.
"Would you just pay the man!" he said Jonathan sighed and pulled a handful of bills out of his pocket and handed them to the camel trader.
"Oh for heaven's sake can't believe the price of these flea bags. Yes happy? Very good." Jonathan said taking two of the reins while Rick grabbed the other three.
"Probably could have got them for free all we had to do was give him your sister." Rick said Evelyn giggled at that but it disturbed me that he could talk about trading someone so freely.
"Yes awfully tempting wasn't it but what about your own sister?" Jonathan asked as they met up with us I scowled at both of them.
"Awfully." Rick mumbled as he saw Evelyn in the black clothes.
"Rick do you need any help?" I asked when I saw that all of them were having trouble I sighed and helped each one before getting on my own.
"Never did like camels," Jonathan complained as we rode out into the desert, "Filthy buggers. They smell, they bite, they spit." Just then, the Warden spat into the sand making me grimace for I hated him and here I was a few feet from him. "Disgusting." Jonathan finished his opinion.
"I think they're adorable," Evelyn replied with a smile as she patted hers. The Warden started to sing a love song in Arabic adding in English words when he wanted and glancing over in my direction I kept a hand on one of my swords. We rode all day and into the night Evelyn was asleep next to my brother who seemed worried.
"Rick what is it?" I asked he pointed toward the cliff I looked to see several men in black robes looking down at us. I smiled back at my brother.
"They will not harm us Rick we need to keep going." I said he nodded. And soon it was morning and Beni and the Americans were coming at us from the west.
"Good morning my friends." Beni stated as he saw us.
"What the heck we doing?" Henderson asked breaking the silence that had taken us he stared at the sand I could tell he didn't have any patience with anything.
"Patience my good barat'm patience." Beni said before he looked back at Rick with anger in his eye.
"Remember our bet, O'Connell. First one to the city, 500 cash bucks." Henderson said to us. Rick shook his head as did I hating that my brother would resort to gambling so early in a journey.
"A hundred of them bucks is yours if you help us win that bet," Daniels added to Beni. I had to roll my eyes all they wanted was treasure this was going to be a horrible adventure.
"Oh, my pleasure," Beni said with a small nod. "Hey O'Connell. Nice camel." he added as Rick patted the camel's head.
"Get ready for it." Rick said suddenly making Evelyn look at him.
"For what?" She asked now looking out at the horizon.
"We're about to be shown the way." he said and as he talked the sun rose and like an illusion Hamunaptra appeared.
"Hamunaptra." I breathed astounded at the sight. Then Rick yelled pushing his camel forward I let mine walk instead of run I was in no hurry to get there but Evelyn suddenly raced by before going into the city. We had won making me groan for now Rick would be impossible to deal with.
"Do they know something we don't?" I heard one of the Americans ask.
"They were led by a woman. What does a woman know?" The Egyptologist said it made me wonder how much Evelyn knew.
"That's the statue of Anubis its legs go deep underground. According to Bembridge scholars that's where we'll find a secret compartment containing the book of Amun-Ra. Uh Jonathan you're meant to catch the sun with that." Evelyn said as she watched her brother wipe the dust off one of the metal disks. That answered my question she knew a lot.
"So what are the old mirrors for?" Rick asked trying to start a conversation.
"Ancient mirrors it's an old Egyptian trick you'll see." She said going back to work before Rick brought out a brown cloth tied with string.
"Uh, here, this is…uh, for you." Rick held out the leather bag he was holding. Evelyn stared at him. "Go ahead; it's something I borrowed off our American brethren. I thought you might need it for when you're...uh, yeah." he made digging motions. "What are you looking at?" he added to the Warden beside him who held his hands up letting my brother know that he was not interested and had tried to ignore him. Evelyn opened it to see a tool kit.
"I'll get camp set up you all explore." I said they nodded barely noticing what I just said. I sat up their tents before going to a spot near the cliffs and set up my own tent. I then saw a few of the diggers that had accompanied the Americans coming over to me I smiled and let them.
"It is alright you can talk to me." I said they came over and sat down soon we were talking as if we had been friends for ages. I then noticed the Egyptologist coming over I quickly warned them and they went back to work.
"Look miss you may not know this but we do have a schedule to keep so leave my diggers alone." he said I quickly stood.
"They are not yours they are people not pieces of property that can be bought and sold. Now go on with your work but do not test my anger." I said bringing out both of my blades he ran off whimpering making me laugh.
"Nyx everything alright?" Rick asked when he saw that I had made my camp far away from everyone else's.
"Fine just thought I would guard this side considering all of you are guarding everywhere else." I said with a genuine smile he nodded and sighed.
"Hey Nyx come on we're going down and you're coming with us." he said pulling my arm I groaned but followed him underground.
"Rick I thought all of you would be digging at the statue?" I asked when we came to a bare and empty room.
"The Americans got that room." he said as he sat down beside Evelyn and they began talking about the mummification process.