Chapter 7 is a go!

Thanks a bunch for your patience!

-Ravyne

(Disclaimer: I DO NOT own the 'MUMMY' movies or any of their characters. Just my characters Katherine and Bastet belong to me.)


Life Forsakes Her

Chapter 7:

"Evie, I know you haven't exactly been yourself lately with all these dreams and visions but-."

"No, no, they're memories from my previous life. Honestly, I'm not losing my mind, it all makes perfect sense now," Evie explains to Rick.

"And that's the reason why we found the bracelet?" he asks skeptically.

"Exactly, I was its protector," she nods.

"Now do you believe, my friend?" Ardeth cuts in on their conversation. "Clearly you were destined to protect this woman."

"Right, she's a reincarnated princess and I'm a warrior for God," Rick fights back an eye roll.

"And your son leads the way to Ahm Shere," Ardeth urges. "Three sides of the pyramid; this was all preordained thousands of years ago."

"And how does the story end?" Evie asks worriedly.

"Only the journey's written, not the destination."

"Convenient." This time Rick doesn't bother hiding the sarcasm in his voice.

"How else do you explain Evie's visions, that it is your son who wears the bracelet?" Ardeth continues. "How do you explain your mark?"

"Coincidence," the man shoots back.

"My friend, there is a fine line between coincidence and fate."

Rick stifles a frustrated sigh and lets his eyes wander to the front of the deck where his sister leans silently against the bowsprit with a blanket wrapped tightly around her. After rescuing Evie from her fall, Kat had fallen to the deck in a fit of spasm from a nasty cold spell that was far worse than any of them had seen from her. He had long expected that she was hiding most of her pain from the rest of them to keep them from worrying about her but this was much worse than he had first feared.

Now she's gone silent, distanced herself even more, and refuses to interact more than she has to. She's shutting down now, that much is clear.

Fearing what her actions may lead her to, Rick calls out across the deck to her, "Kat?" The only reaction he receives is a tilt of her head in their direction but he's thankful for even that so he continues, "What are your thoughts on all of this?"

Kat's head turns away again and Rick starts to think that she's going to remain silent, until her shoulders move from a heavy sigh she releases and then her voice speaks, "Pyramids have four sides, not three."

"Really?" Rick's voice flattens. "That's it?"

"You are the fourth side," Ardeth answers her despite Rick's silent motion for him to drop the subject.

"Oh God, not this again," Kat growls low and shakes her head. "I swear a tree can grow in the wrong direction in this country and all of a sudden it's burdened with a sacred destiny."

"Kat," Rick warns cautiously.

Ardeth ignores the man, standing to his feet and stepping around the small fire they've built to keep them warm against the desert's cool nights, "You and your brother must understand that there are more powerful forces at work around you. Evil has put things out of balance and Light has chosen its warriors to keep that balance in check."

"We are not madjai," Kat enunciates her words threateningly, frustration beginning to turn her tone deep and sharp.

"No you are not," Ardeth answers with his own voice changing defensively, "You are sacred madjai, warriors for God. And more than that, you are also the reincarnation of a weapon sworn to protect mankind from the very creature that is now threatening the world. If you do not embrace this part of yourself you have denied for so long, I fear it will destroy you. Bastet is your-."

"NO!" Everyone on deck jumps at Kat's outburst and freeze when she spins on the madjai and closes in on him. Her green eyes flare with raging anger as she stops on the top step so that she's eye to eye with Ardeth and able to stare him down. "I. Am. Me! I am no one else! Bastet was just some girl from a long time ago who made a poor decision and then allowed herself to get dragged off by your ancestors to get cursed."

Ardeth's eyes narrow and his own temper flares dangerously the second she practically spits out that it was the fault of the madjai for the whole situation, "They were doing what they thought was right-."

Kat bares her teeth and cuts him off, "They sacrificed a girl because they got too scared to do a job for themselves." Her eyes turn cold and sarcastic as she looks his form up and down, "Looks like you still can't handle the job. You failed. Twice."

Ardeth opens his mouth to react but Rick and Evie quickly step in to break them up. Evie hurries to pull the stiff form of the madjai back while Rick grips a stern arm around his sister's shoulders and pushes her back a few feet. She struggles against him, clearing wanting to go after Ardeth again, but Rick holds tighter.

He's never seen her like this before. Sure she's always had a short fuse, she teased, she's defensive, and sometimes way too protective, but she has never been cruel. This isn't his sister; this is something else. This anger isn't hers.

"That's enough, Katherine. Stop!" Rick orders.

At his words, Kat suddenly shakes her head and blinks quickly as if snapping out of a trance and her eyes find her brother's unsteadily. Confusion passes over her face and she looks around at everyone else around the deck at the mixed emotions staring back at her. That's when Rick sees the realization cross her face and she pales even more than she already has.

Her heart starts hammering rapidly in her chest so much so that he can feel it against his arm. Pushing away from him, Kat hurries across the deck, making sure to keep her distance from everyone, and then disappears behind the make-shift shelter covering the helm where Izzy stands.

The pilot opens his mouth to say something but instead smarts up and goes back to reading his charts quietly. Best not to get in the middle of that.


Kat drops to her knees in the back corner of the deck and collapses against the wall of the railing beside her. Her breath is heavy, beating in time with her panicking heart beat as a throbbing pounds through her skull, but she ignores it as she concentrates on keeping her horror inside.

What had she just done?! That wasn't her! That couldn't have been her! It wasn't… Right?

No, the anger wasn't hers…but the words had been. Kat squeezes her eyes shut. She might as well have just thrust her own knife through his chest. That would have been less painful than what she'd just done to him.

She remembers the anger that had come over his face, darker than she's ever seen from him or even thought him capable of. And yet more than that, she had seen the deep hurt spark behind his dark brown eyes; eyes that had so many times shown her kindness and worry.

Her head sinks lower into the shadows of the corner as the shaking starts to shiver up her spine from another cold spell starting to take over her. And she isn't going to try to stop this one. She forces her body to relax and welcomes the violent shivers that wreck her body. She refuses to allow her arms to try and wrap around her in a feeble attempt to battle the cold.

She won't fight it. She deserves this for being so weak, for allowing such venom to take control of her.

It wasn't like this nine years ago. Back then it had just been her and the weapon. Bastet had simply been the fuel, joined to the weapon by the curse, and her anger gave power to the weapon itself.

Kat had just been the vessel.

But this is different. What ever happened during the initial awakening must've done something. Evie had explained to them all that Imhotep had attacked the weapon with some red haze stuff after he had said something. No matter how much Kat tries to push her brain to remember something about that night, to find some kind of answers, all she can recall is that weird limbo she had been trapped in.

Now it's like the weapon has been separated and they've all been thrown out of alignment. Now Bastet's anger is free to lash out whenever it wants. It's slowly eating Kat alive and she's not sure if she can fight it. It's more powerful than she could've ever imagined; like acid fire with the power of a hurricane behind it.

Every time it hits her, Kat can feel herself being battered into submission.

Each time her will to fight weakens.

There's no way she can survive this.


Karnak appears on the horizon like a shining beacon of hope and rescue; cabin-fever is settling in much too comfortably in Kat and she's going more stir crazy by the minute. She's the first to head to the railing of the dirigible and waits until the ground below is within safe jumping distance before leaping out. The sands below burst up as her weight hits with an almost silent poof.

Her brother and Ardeth land after her and head for the train waiting soundlessly beyond the temple site. Kat and Evie head inside to do their own search. Statues on pedestals, pools, and pillars both fallen and standing bar her way and make a full out run next to impossible so Kat slows to a jog as her eyes scan for movement from the enemy.

There are signs everywhere of human activity but no humans to be seen besides their own group: footprints in the sand, discarded clothes and wood from fires, and even an abandoned tool or two.

But no actual people.

Kat tries to track the footprints but there are so many going in so many different directions that all she gets in the process is a headache. She's about to give up completely when Evie's loud cries cause her to race off towards the direction the shouts come from.

"RICK!"

On the way through the maze that is the temple, Kat nearly runs into her brother and Ardeth if not for the sharp turn she makes to avoid them. They ready their weapons for an attack only to find Evie standing alone by the base of a sphinx statue and gazing down at something in her hands. Upon reaching her side, Kat discovers a familiar green and yellow tie in the woman's grasp. She holds it out for Rick to see as he comes to a stop at her side while her own gaze drops to the sand at her feet.

"Alex left us his tie," she explains before they all kneel down to get a better look at the obstruction in the sand, "And…he made us a little sandcastle. It's the Temple Island of Philae. They've gone to Philae."

"Atta boy, Alex!" Rick states proudly before grabbing Evie by the elbow and helping her to her feet. "Come on!"

They all follow after him in a hurry but it's Kat who stumbles to a pause at the sight that catches her eyes and drops a heavy weight into her stomach. Near the statue, a wooden stake stands erect out of the sand and a thick chain drapes over it, sporting a shackle big enough to circle the wrist or ankle of a child.

Her blood turns to ice in her veins as she thinks, They had him in chains! Oh my God!

A large hand grabs her elbow gently and she turns to find Ardeth there. He remains a large distance away, to her chagrin, and his dark eyes are well guarded. Guilt breaks her heart. He shifts his gaze momentarily to the chains before returning it to hers.

"We must go."

Nodding, Kat follows after him hesitantly but not before throwing back one last look at the spot where Alex had once been held captive. They return to the confining space of the dirigible but their spirits have lifted in hope. Alex and his captors had been here.

It's only a matter of time before they catch up to them.

Kat busies herself with the only thing that she can find to do to pass the time and that's cleaning her knives. Sadly, she's done this so many times that she's starting to worry she'll start cleaning the blades down to stubs pretty soon if she isn't given the chance to move.

Izzy said the next leg of their journey wouldn't take as long this time and he was true to his word. Within much less time this go around, the Temple of Philae comes within view just as the sun begins to drop from its highest point in the sky.

Rick finds the clue left by Alex this time, hidden under the cover of his jacket to keep it obscured from wandering eyes.

Evie deciphers the sand castle clue easily, "The great Temple of Abu Simbel."

They all look up at Ardeth who writes down the information and attaches it to Horus before sending the bird off into the skies once more to deliver the message to the commanders and their armies behind them.

Kat follows the falcon to the skies above and watches him for a long time until he vanishes within the sun. A feeling of being watched forces her to turn and investigate the origins of the sensation and she finds Ardeth's dark gaze on her once more.

Still guarded heavily, those dark eyes almost seem to darken when their gazes meet and guilt forces Kat to drop hers to the ground where it belongs.

Would this problem ever be resolved?

Would she ever win back his trust?

Do I even deserve it?, she argues with her conscious silently as they all return to the dirigible. Deep in her heart, she knows that she doesn't.


Author's Note:

Just FYI:

Italicized words: personal thoughts or sounds or words said in Egyptian language.

Italicized/Bolded words: power infused words of otherworldly beings said in Egyptian language (AKA: Imhotep or Bastet)