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Six
The Decision
Rick awoke on the hardwood floor of the library and nearly yelled outright as his neck and shoulder screamed in pain. Grunting, he pushed himself upright with both hands. This time, he did yell. Grabbing his right hand, he saw it snugly wrapped in bandages. And he remembered.
"Morning, Mr. Hero," said a soft voice at his ear. Turning, he saw Jami still half-asleep on the divan that had been his pillow overnight. No wonder all his muscles were so screwy.
"Good morning," Rick muttered grouchily. "Lord in Heaven, my hand hurts!"
"That's not a surprise. It was bleeding like all hell last night. You're lucky no bones are broken."
"Yeah… ohhh, damn it." And he fell back in defeat. "I give up. I'm just going to lay here until I feel like making my life hell by moving."
Jami chuckled, and returned to her doze. Rick lay there, feeling achy and miserable, until his son appeared in his line of sight.
"Morning dad!" Alex announced with a grin. "Guess what! Ardeth just tried to kill Imhotep again."
"Oh Lord… Look, just make sure they're separated, and leave me alone. I feel like a huge Ancient Egyptian evil priest's mouth-shaped wind just chewed me up and spat me back out."
"Okay. Mom says to get moving, by the way." And Alex hopped off, leaving his father to lay there stiffly, still groaning.
Breakfast was precarious, to say the least. Although separated by four people, Imhotep and Ardeth continuously glared at each other over their plates. Evy, Jami, Jonathan and Rick attempted light conversation, while Alex unsuccessfully tried to distract Imhotep with a stream of chatter in both English and Egyptian, but all of it was in vain. Neither of the two foreigners ate hardly anything, so intent were they on murdering one another mentally.
After breakfast, Rick called a gathering in the library. Jami stood behind Ardeth and kept a firm grip on his shoulders while Alex braved the storm and sat decisively on Imhotep's lap. A surprised look flashed across the High Priest's face, and then he sat back in defeat. Nonetheless, Ardeth still kept a wary eye on his enemy. Jonathan preferred to sit in a safer zone: beside Evy on the couch.
"All right, while everyone's settled down and not intent on murder," Rick began, "we have some things to discuss. Jami, I would be much obliged if you would begin…?"
"Oh, fine," Jami gave in. "Ardeth and I are after one of what you Egyptologists call 'artifacts' and what we realists call 'divine objects'." There came a snort from Rick, but she ignored it. Alex translated for Imhotep quietly.
"And exactly which artifact do you speak of?" Evy inquired, purposely avoiding the 'divine' subject.
"It's very rare, but when it is named, it is called the Eye of Sehkmet," Jami explained. "It is known among the Medjai as the Bw-bin m paa H'py. The Evil of the Nile."
They all waited a moment, watching Imhotep as Alex rapidly spoke in Ancient Egyptian, finishing Jami's speech. The older man's face paled with every word.
"Bw-nfr ntr," he breathed, closing his eyes. (Literally 'good gods'…)
"All right, the High Priest is scared. Now I'm freaking out," Rick muttered. His uninjured hand reached back and tugged one suspender unconsciously – nervously, almost.
"You should be scared," Imhotep murmured. His gaze locked knowingly with Jami's. "The Bw-bin m paa H'py is not to be trifled with."
"But what is it?" Alex demanded, almost bouncing in Imhotep's lap. The High Priest gave him a hairy eyeball hairier than his mother could give him even when she tried, and he hopped off immediately.
"To the layman's perspective, it appears a chain of gold with a disk-like apparatus connected," Ardeth said. "If you have seen the full Ht of Amon-Ra, you know the basic shape. However, instead of the ruby that is set in the center of the Staff to cause it to resemble the sun, the disk is set with a black, flawless jade stone. It is polished and smooth, about the size of a robin's egg; very small, but very deadly. Strange designs and incantations of the gods fill both sides, written in a pattern not seen by any but its creator." (…Staff…)
"And let me guess," Rick put in dryly. "It has the power to destroy the world."
"That's what they say," Ardeth replied, pretending not to notice his friend's sarcasm. "But we are not sure how exactly. If it could be read, perhaps we could find out."
"Mr," Imhotep stated in a low voice. "Mr hr s-phr nb phw s-'haa r 'nh." (Disease…Disease and a useless struggle to live.) He bowed his head. "No one survives the Bw-bin m paa H'py."
"Well? Give us some background, here," Rick prompted.
"It was lost around 2500 BC," Jami said, picking up the tale. "It was recovered twenty years ago by a foolish archeologist looking for fame and glory. He never found them. He was brutally slain, and all his assistants with him, by the Tuaregs of Africa, who oppose the Medjai fiercely and did not wish us to find it. Five years ago it was recovered again, and put on display in the British Museum of Archeology here in London. It was almost stolen, and for more protection, it was moved to the Museum of Egyptology, which is where we were last night."
"And did you get it?" Jonathan inquired, cringing slightly. Jami smiled, and her smile was that of a feline who ate all the cream.
"What do you think?" she asked softly. Reaching into her tunic, she withdrew a gold chain. On it was the disk she had spoken of.
A deadly silence fell over the room, and Alex shivered. Imhotep rested a hand on his shoulder in what could have been interpreted as comfort.
"Put it away," he said harshly. "It wih attract our… dw." (…enemies.)
"That is superstition," Ardeth scoffed.
"I said put it away!" Imhotep repeated angrily, standing and taking a few steps toward Jami. She obeyed, if reluctantly. The High Priest gave her a warning with his eyes, and then stepped back to sit again. "Thank you." Despite his formality, the fury still smoldered in the back of his eyes. Jami shivered and looked away.
"But why is it called the Eye of Sekhmet?" Alex inquired softly.
"Mere superstition," Ardeth intervened smoothly. "It is said that when the proper incantation is spoken, the jewel becomes like an eye, and that the Great Lady Sekhmet herself can converse with those on the Earth. All rumor of course; none of it is pure truth."
"Interesting," Evy mused. "Strange that I have not heard of it before."
"Very strange," Rick muttered, rolling his eyes. Evy shot him a look, and they exchanged some unheard conversation through their gaze. They both looked away satisfied.
"All right," Rick began slowly; musingly. He made eye contact with every person in the room and then proceeded to energetically crack his knuckles. "Evy and I have reached a decision."
"A decision?" Jami laughed incredulously. "You haven't spoken privately since this morning, if then."
"Don't try to understand what you cannot, or you will make a fool of yourself my dear," Rick said with sarcastic sweetness. "What we have decided to do is this: obviously, the Tuaregs are after Ardeth and Jami. I do not suspect that they will give up so easily. It may be only a matter of days – possibly hours – before they discover where you have hid. The manor is no longer safe for anyone, especially Alex and Imhotep. Therefore, we are going to migrate."
"Migrate," Jami mumbled with a grin on her face she was trying desperately to hide. "I haven't heard you use that word in ages."
"Nevertheless," Rick said, acknowledging her and waving her off in the same gesture, "we must leave the manor for a while, and perhaps we shall do some discreet uncovering of our own."
"But where will we be going?" Alex asked; his voice was a little more eager than it should have been.
"A place you have not seen yet, and a place your father and I have not been since before you were born." Evy smiled mysteriously. "We are going to the home of an acquaintance who has the good fortune to live near Hamunaptra."