Eight

Im'hotep approaches Cynbel and Candace, his chin lifted in absolute pride.

"The ooman did not believe you could defeat the Kainde Amedha." Cynbel says with a playful chuckle. Im'hotep grunts in disbelief and glares daggers at the ooman.

"As if she could defeat one." he growls.

"She has." Cynbel responds,

"How many?" his brother demands with a wide, competitive eyes.

"Just one. A Queen."

"Ha! I have defeated three Queens!" he boasts to the ooman who stares at him with questioning eyes. She has no idea what their saying.

"And I have defeated five. They had surrounded me." Cynbel barks. Im'hotep makes astonished clicks, even he wasn't sure whether he would survive an ambush by so many Queens. But his brother is more than an honored warrior, though he prefers to keep the title. On many occasions he was invited to become an Elder, the top of their entire species, yet he denied each request. Im'hotep still wonders why.

"We must locate Afif. Upon determining his situation we can eradicate the rest of the Queens with an explosive."

"But… the pyramid. It will be destroyed."

"We still have no idea how many Queens are here, and we are not enough to keep them at bay. They cannot reach the surface, no matter what. and we can always build a new and advanced pyramid." Cynbel concludes. There would be no more talk of the pyramid's destruction.

"Have you found out anything about the increase of Queens? I am sure, whoever brought them wanted us dead." Im'hotep says, and his brother nods.

"I encountered a Queen who was fertile. I am sure the oomans were lured here for impregnation. This is more than someone wishing us dead, they want the Kainde Amedha to reach the surface."

"Can you please stop speaking in fucking gibberish! I deserve to know what your saying!" Candace shouts angrily, and instinctively Cynbel purrs, calming the female so that her grimacing expression softens to an aggravated pout. Im'hotep doesn't know what she said, nor could he respond. Her anger only makes him annoyed-what does Cynbel see in this child maker?

"We are discussing the whereabouts of our brother Afif." Cynbel thought it best to leave out the other details. His experience with oomans let him know that they don't, emotionally, handle deceit well.

"Once we find him, we will finish off the Kainde Amedha."


By now Afif is sure there are more than six Kainde Amedha Queens in the pyramid. What has him, especially, anxious is that two out of the three Queens he fought were fertile. Currently where he stands the view before him has the color draining out of his face.

He stands in a room filled with the aliens' eggs. He is aware that Queens can impregnate beings without laying eggs, but this sight clarifies that at least on of the Queens is pregnant-and one Queen can have over thousands of eggs. Now he understands why the oomans were here. They were bait; brought here to be vessels for the Queen's children.

And this hunt is a trap, someone wants his brethren dead, and even worse-with so many Queens-someone wants them to surface. They would have no choice but to exterminate them by blowing up the pyramid. Afif shudders at this revelation.

"Someone! Please help me!" he understands the language, English, and the tone belongs to a male. Afif follows the cries, venturing deeper into the nesting room. He finally locates the distressing noise. An ooman is glued to a wall, completely covered in the Kainde Amedha slime-except his face.

"Please, it hurts! Gah, it hurts, its, its b-bustin' outta me!" the ooman despairs. Afif switches his masks vision to x-ray and growls when seeing the infant creature pushing aggressively against the ooman's ribcage. Through his mask, a target locks on to the alien and the plasma gun attached to his shoulder armor moves in sync. The ooman is aware of his intentions and understood its inevitable demise.

"Please, before ya kill me. There's a bracelet on my left wrist. Please take it, and, if she's still alive, give it to a woman named Candace, it was her's to begin with." Afif does see the device the ooman speaks of and simply nods to his last request.

"T-thanks." And the plasma gun follows its command, obliterating the creature and ending the ooman's suffering.


"Stop messing with it! you foolish ooman!" Im'hotep scolds and pushes away Candace's hand from swiping through the hologram of the pyramid. She frowns at him,

"Geez, don't be such a diva." He looks to his brother for a translation, but Cynbel remains silent. He knows Im'hotep wouldn't like her words. He concentrates on the translucent map, having formed on the disc in his brother's palm. Afif isn't appearing on it, which either means he's further underground or his tracking device is ruined.

"The pyramid will shift soon brother." Im'hotep says, and he nods.

"Candace." Cynbel calls, she glances at him.

"Stay close to me, the shift will begin soon."

"If you want me so close, then carry me." she sasses and he purrs in delight,

"As you wish." And he picked her up into his arms once more, pressing her against him.

He likes how her skin feels soft, compared to his own. He fantasizes of her lying on top of him, nude, and he would run a hand through her locks while the other caresses her back. And of course, he would purr for her and revel in her sweet moans. If he didn't know any better he would love her right then and there.

"Cynbel! I've found Afif! He is a level below us!" Imhotep cheers.


A/N: Hope you all had a safe and awesome Christmas and New years! I know I did (hehe), anyways as a present I got two chapters for ya and some more on the way. I actually plan on having this series wrapped up in a few weeks. And then start another as a sequel. Thanks for the lovely reviews and sticking with the story!