It was morning, Ardeth could feel the humid heat of the desert rolling into the cool of the cave, sweat spread over Ardeth's rock hard body that wasn't only from the heat. He reached over to feel for Cassandra and felt only empty space; he sat up and looked around the cave, only his robes littered the floor of the cave. She had left. Ardeth felt a crushing loneliness as he stood up and picked up his robes and pants, he pulled them on fast, not wanting to be in the cave any longer. He stopped only when he saw the blood of her innocence on the blanket, he stared at it and felt a uncontrollable fear inside him, he missed her already. Beside the blanket was a small silver locket, very feminine with a small tiny silver chain, he bent over and picked it up lovingly. He touched the small heart shaped locket with a plant design on the front, he clicked the clasp and it opened, a picture of Cassandra sat on one side and a picture of a young man sat next to it. The man looked exactly as Cassandra did, the same intelligent eyes and dark hair, Ardeth stared hard at the picture of Cassandra and felt an emotion akin to love flutter in his chest.
She was gone and all he had was a picture, a name, and a memory, never before had he felt these things about a woman, it was strange, and exhilarating. He would leave soon, he would go to Hamanaptra and maybe he would forget the vivid memory of the young woman who had given him a most precious gift.
Cassandra was so close to home, Cairo was only a mile away, one mile till she could relax finally, it felt like her entire body was bruised and battered from riding through the morning and afternoon heat. Her inner thighs were chafed and bruised and the horse wasn't making her ride any smoother, her eyes drooped and her mind wandered. One more mile, she kept saying to herself, just one more mile, her heart raced as her mind wandered again to last night and she felt a delicious heat curl in her stomach. She tried to fight the feeling with the shocking thought that he had been a stranger; he had saved her life not even knowing who she was.
Cassandra smiled in the desert heat, miles of sand all around her, the outline of Cairo shimmering in the distance. Just one more mile, she told herself, one more mile away from her desert lover, and one more mile away from where she left her heart.
The ancient ruins of Hamanaptra were overflowed with men in dark red turbans and lighter colored robes that swirled out around them as they rushed to do their master's bidding. Their master was a tall Egyptian man with dark bronzed skin and a shiny bald head, he wore a black sleeveless shirt and clean cut slacks that fell to just above his ankles where sandals adorned his feet. His name was Khaldun, the reincarnated High Priest of Pharaoh Seti, Imhotep, and he was prepared for the embodiment ceremony to bring back his master.
The smile that passed over the Khaldun's face was one of malicious intent, he meant to raise more than just Imhotep before he gave control of his body to a far more powerful man. As a gift to Imhotep he would find the reincarnated body of his wife Hatshepsut, as a form of sacrifice, his plans would come together nicely.
"Sir." A young Med-Jai said.
"Yes?" he said his eyes pouring over the plans of Hamanaptra by candlelight.
"General Akins wishes for me to give this to you." The man-boy said
Ardeth took the note and waited for the boy to leave, he unrolled the small scrap of rough paper and looked at the note in Arabic.
ارديث الرجل قد غزت هامانابترا ، نحن بحاجة الى مساعدتكم. مع الاحترام ، اكينس
Translated to English it meant:
Ardeth, Men have invaded Hamanaptra, we need your help. My friend, Akins
He stared at the note for several moments, weighing the decisions in his mind as to what he as going to do, it was too early and time weighed heavily on his mind.
"Anzety!" He cried out
A tall man with flowing dark brown hair stepped into the tent, he looked at Ardeth in silence.
"Tell Ghassan that we are mobilizing our forces to Hamanaptra, it is urgent."
"Yes, Sir." He said in a solemn voice and he too left the tent.
Ardeth stared at the map before him, worn and faded at the edges, it was one of the oldest maps he owned, and the most used. Lines of many different colors spread over the surface of the map, dancing along the corners of the map then becoming thick as the lines came closer to the heart of the city. At the bottom of the map was a small signature, barely legible to many people's eyes, but the Med-Jai touched the signature lovingly, it said Hatshepsut. Long ago she had been married to Imhotep but she had rebelled and had begun to make maps as a way to escape her life with the High Priest. She was said to be a virgin, even in marriage, for she denied Imhotep because she found that he loved another, Anuck-su-namun.
It was also said that she found a great love in one of the Pharaoh's Med-Jai, a young man called Harith, the son of a Ploughman but the grandson to one of the great Med-Jai chieftains. She died at age 20 after Harith was poisoned by Imhotep, the same night that Imhotep was put to death. It seemed a large melodrama of events, everything twining together to make a clear picture.
"Sir?" came another voice from the entrance of his tent.
"Yes." He said as patiently as possible
"There is a message sir." He said steadily
"From who?"
"Passing Med-Jai in Cairo by the name of Rick."
Inwardly Ardeth laughed. "What is his message?"
"He said he saw your Arabian, answered to his name and all. He said that it was in the shade behind an apartment building."
"Did he see a young woman with him?"
"No sir."
"You may go." He said, his heart pounding
They had found her. "Wait." He said
"Yes, Sir."
"Tell Rick to talk to the owner of the building. I want to know who lives there."
"Yes, Sir." The man left
He was going to find her a little ahead of time, he smiled to himself and continued working on his maps.
Cairo seemed to be moving very slowly to Cassandra as she and the horse moved among the crowds of sellers and buyers, she walked slowly so that she could savor the wealth of feelings that spread over her. She looked around the city and smiled as Americans tried to speak Egyptian and failed to grasp what the others were saying. She took a deep breathe of the humid, moist air and felt it slide along her windpipe and fill her lungs with warmth. Various scents bombarded her senses, exotic food and potent cologne from the young men passing by, the fresh smell of clean laundry and the muddy, dirt smell of the little boys and girls that ran by.
Sweat collected on her brow as she watched life move and gyrate around her, it slid down her cheek and tickled the end of her chin, she swiped it away carelessly. Her eyes roamed over the brilliant and vibrant colors of cheap fabrics and the dull yellow color of the sand that lay hot underfoot, cool air radiated from some of the tall buildings that lined the narrow streets and brushed her skin lightly. Goosebumps flashed over her skin.
Brash voices yelled louder to be heard over the heavy din of the city, assaulting her ears, she smiled in return. She almost passed her apartment building in her distracted state, she bumped into an older woman and stopped for a moment to apologize. The woman nodded and snuck off into the shadows, Cassandra checked her pockets and pulled out her wallet, she smiled again. It felt good to be back in Cairo.
Her apartment building was a short, slender brick building with three floors, each of those floors belonged to one person. The bottom floor belonged to Cassandra, the second floor belonged to another American, Hayden, and the third floor belonged to a reclusive native, who rarely left his apartment for any reason. Dusty windows glared down at her, some windows closed, others open, she could see that Hayden had gone for work already.
"Come on." She said to the horse, lightly tugging on his reins.
The horse followed behind her to the back of the building, nudging her back every once in a while, she giggled softly and tugged him to a cooler shady spot behind the apartments. He instantly kneeled on the hot sand and nudged her hand with his soft brown and white nose, she brushed his nose, feeling the soft fur beneath her hand.
"You were great." She said to the horse "Now let me get you something to eat." And walked away towards the back door.
Inside her apartment was cool and dark, the familiar surroundings of her world a comforting sight, and she closed her eyes against the sensations. Cassandra opened her eyes and walked to the small white refrigerator, a rarity, and opened it. Inside was various cans of soda, a container of leftovers, a bag of green and red peppers, carrots and celery. She pulled the bag of peppers and the carrots and celery from the fridge and dumped them into a large tin bowl, she took another bowl and flicked the sink on, rusty water spurted out then clear cool water poured out, she place the bowl beneath the sink and filled the bowl.
When she was finished with all this Cassandra walked back outside and served the bowl of veggies and the water to the horse, which lifted chocolate brown eyes to her. She stayed near the horse for several moments, patting the soft fur on the top of his head, she smiled down at the horse then walked back to the apartment. Her apartment itself was small but lived in; the kitchen and the living room were separated by a large island in that jutted out from the stove. The kitchen was sparse, a stove, a fridge, and a few clashing cabinets, but Cassandra noticed nothing as she made her way to the bathroom. The bathroom was the same small room with a connecting door to the bedroom where she slept, she immediately stripped the grimy white shirt and matching undershirt.
Underneath her shirt she was naked, having her bra being torn the other night by Ardeth, she moved to pull the belt from her pants, yanking it away from her body then stripping her pants from her body as well. She stood naked before a body mirror, she examined her skin, a few light bruises spread over her stomach and the faint sight of blood between her thighs. She thanked whatever god was in the world for being alive and well, she then turned her back to the mirror and peered at her back. Scars rippled over the skin and moved as her muscles tensed and relaxed, jagged and white they were noticeable on her tanned skin.
She turned away from the mirror and walked to the shower, she pulled back the curtain and saw that a black scorpion was crawling around in the tub section.
"Ewww." She said disgustedly and walked to the bookshelf in her bedroom
She pulled a large thick black book from the shelf and walked back into the bathroom, and dropped the book on top of the scorpion, crushing it under the weight of the book. Cassandra pulled the book away and placed it on the counted, careful to place it face up with scorpion on it. Inside the tub were the remains of it. She turned on the shower and washed it away, then stood inside the shower, feeling the cool water washing over her hot skin. She moaned softly to herself, and closed her eyes, wringing out her hair as it fell down her back.
Cassandra took the soap from the wall and began to wash the dirt away from her skin, washing away the evidence of her night with her desert lover. Tears formed in her eyes and rolled down her cheeks and melded with the water of the shower.
After her shower, Cassandra walked with a towel wrapped around her body to the bedroom where she pulled a soft cotton nightgown and yanked down on her body. It was still evening, but all Cassandra could think about was sleeping, she pulled the warm coverlet away and slid into bed. She fell instantly asleep.
When she awoke it was dark outside, thick inky darkness spreading across the sky, her stomach rumbled, reminding her that she hadn't eaten since yesterday at Lunch. She pulled the coverlet away from her body and slid out of the bed again, her body felt hot all over as walked to the door. She didn't even notice the man in the doorway until he had wrapped his hands around her mouth, effectively stifling her scream.