Hello my lovely readers!
So, so, so sorry that it has been so long since I updated, I've been really busy with work! I've working two jobs this summer and at one point worked nineteen days straight! I'm down to one job now but one of my co-worker had a mini stroke last week (she fine, thank god) so now I'm picking up extra shifts that run between 7-10 hours, 5-6 days a week. So I'll try to punch out these chapters as fast as I can.
Also, great news! I'm going back to school in the fall! So that will take up a lot of my time as well, I'll get the chapters out then I can when school starts.
Also I was wondering, if by chance, any one of my readers is a beta. Being so busy now I'll be lucky just to get the chapter written, let only proof read it (although there are a lot of grammar mistakes I miss). If one of you happens to be a beta and would like to proof read my latest chapters, just send me a message, I'll be very thankful! (Plus, you get a sneak peak :P)
One more thing! The cover image is Alexa for anyone who didn't see it. There was link to the full picture is in my profile and was a link to the Deviantart account of my friend who made it, but I don't see them anymore. So go to Deviantart and look up G4M3kitty! She is still taking commissions so feel free to ask her!
So, as always, I hope you enjoy this chapter!
That night was the best sleep Alexa had in a very long time, she woke up feeling refreshed and even more energize then before. She figured it had to do with her conversation with Ardeth last night and the fact that he actually gave her faith that she could find her soul mate, or her Immortal in this case. After being cheated on by David she never thought that she would ever feel this way again or ever give another man a chance in her life, but she trusted Ardeth, even if she only just met him. Just the thought of his name was enough to make her smile to herself, she was able to keep it hidden from Rick because if he seen that smile, he would find out that she was falling in love again, and he would lose his mind…especially after she told him about David and the others.
"I thought you lost your pistols on the boat?" she heard Rick ask from behind her. She didn't turn around to answer him because if she did, he would be able to tell that she was lying. She didn't want to listen to him rant if he found out that Ardeth gave them back to her.
"Turns out one of the ones that attacked us last night had them on him and I took them back" she said while rolling up her sleeves.
"That was odd coincidence; I don't remember you having them when you stormed off last night"
Shit! He noticed! Alexa thought as she inhaled sharply, what the hell could she tell him? As long as she didn't turn around she could tell him anything, but luck wasn't on her side as she seen Rick walk up beside her. Now she can't lie to him because he'll know, so she quickly thought of a half truth to tell him.
"Alright, when I stormed off I came face to face with another one of them and he ended up dropping them on the ground before leaving" she said and just prayed that he believed that. She looked at him and seen that he was studying her face then she cursed to herself when he frowned, he didn't believe her.
"Lair, where did you get them?" he asked again and crossed his arms over his chest.
"Why does it matter where I got MY pistols from? I have them and now you can stop bitching about me using your weapons" she told him and went to walk off so she didn't have to explain, but was stopped when Rick grabbed her arm and pulled her back.
"Oh no, Alexandra Elizabeth Isabella O'Connell, you're staying here until you tell me the truth" he told her and gave her a hard look to which she returned.
"Oh, using my full name are we? You mean business. Ever stop and think Richard John Jack O'Connell that I don't want to tell you the truth? Did you ever think about that?" she asked and pulled her arm away She was so caught up with the fight with Rick that she failed to see everyone else standing there watching them.
"Why don't you want to tell me how you got your pistols back when they should be at the bottom of the river? It's a simply question"
"I don't like sharing thing things remember? That also includes my thoughts, feelings and all that other crap! Why do you want to know so badly?"
"Why are the two of you fighting?" she heard Paul ask.
Alexa looked over at the rest, along with Rick, and finally noticed that everyone was looking at them with confused look, while Beni was clearly scared, seeing how he knows what can happen when the O'Connell's fight...he has the scars to prove it.
"We're not fighting" both she and Rick snapped at the others, causing all of them to flinch.
"Oh no, this is where someone gets hurt…and it's usually me" Beni said and hid behind Henderson.
Alexa placed her hands on her hips as she glared at Beni. He was right, in the Legion it was nothing for Alexa and Rick to get into a fight, Beni would always happen to be there for one of them to hit. It was Alexa that would normally hit him just because she hated him from the beginning.
"What's the big deal? So what if their fighting, they're siblings, besides, Alexa always had a short temper and was always fighting, this is nothing new. She always had to prove that she was the strongest and the best" David said while rolling his eyes.
Alexa felt her eye twitch a few times as she balled her hand into fists, she was about to walk over and slug him in the face when Evy stepped between them, stopping her in her tracks. She looked away from David and back at the Englishwoman, who she could tell was silently asking her to stop fighting.
"Enough of that, both of you. Now, instead of fighting how about we get back to the real reason all of us are here." She said.
"Whatever" David said while turning around and walking back over to his tent.
Alexa gave the back of his head once last glare and took a deep breath and let it out before she looked towards Evy "alright, let's get back to work then"
"Not until you answer my question" Rick said once more with a stern look.
"Oh for heaven's sake! If Alexa doesn't want to answer then she doesn't have to! Now, please, both of you, don't fight with each other" Evy said in a mother like tone before she started walking back towards one of the entrances under the city.
Alexa couldn't help but blink a few times, Evy really did sound like her own mother there for a moment and she couldn't help but listen, for now. She shook her head back and forth before she smiled to herself, Evy would make a good mother someday…hopefully a mother to her niece or nephew. Pushing that thought to the back of her head she walked pasted her brother and Jonathon and followed Evy back to the room where they had found a sarcophagus buried at the base of Anubis.
Now they were going to opening it so that Evy could take a look at the mummy that was inside, but as she got closer to the room, Alexa started to get an uneasy feeling in her stomach. She didn't know nearly as much about Ancient Egypt like Evy did, but she knew Anubis was the God of Death and nothing good could have come from being buried at his feet, in her option.
When they got back inside the room she and Rick, with next to no help form Jonathon, opened the stone coffin and was able to get the actually sarcophagus out. Once they had the sarcophagus out Jonathon finally helped them and stood it up and leaned it against the wall. Once against the wall, she looked over it and noticed the same lock that was on it as the stone cover, there was also a spot that once had writing on it but looked like it was chiseled off
"Oh, I've dreamt about this since I was a little girl" Evy said with a smile on her face.
"You dream about dead guys?" Rick asked while arching an eyebrow at her.
"Look, the sacred spells have been chiseled off. This man must have been condemned not only in this life but the next" Evy explained.
"And am I the only one that has a bad feeling about opening this sarcophagus?" Alexa asked which earned her a look from Evy and Jonathon that said yes but she could tell that Rick was agreeing with her…silently.
"The man has been dead for thousands of years, even if he could come back I doubt he would be very strong, being all bones and everything" Jonathon told her as he stepped up to open it.
Alexa stood beside Evy and crossed her arms as she also waited for the sarcophagus to be opened. Once Jonathon unlocked the sarcophagus she could feel Evy getting more and more excited by the second. But once it was actually opened, the mummy popped out of it causing the rest to scream but for her, the moment her eyes seen the mummy the picture of a man, with no hair and dress in ancient Egyptian clothes flashed in front of her, causing her to take a step back. She placed a hand on her head and looked away for a moment, she didn't know what the hell that was, but she figured it may be due to the fact that she was Isis's reincarnation. When she looked back at the mummy nothing else happened, it looked like a normal mummy to her…or so she thought.
"Is he supposed to look like that?" Rick asked Evy.
"No I've never seen a mummy look like this before. He's still…still..."
"Juicy" Rick and Jonathon said at the same time.
"What could cause this? I mean he has been dead for thousands of years, why does it look like he's still decomposing" Alexa asked.
"I don't know, I've never heard of anything like this"
"Hey, look at that" Rick said and pointed over to where the cover went flying "what do you make of this?"
"My God, these marks were made with…fingernails, this man was buried alive. And he left a message 'dead is only the beginning'" Evy read.
Alexa looked back at the mummy with everyone else before looking up at where this man was buried, what did this person do to deserve all that? And why did a man flash before her eyes when she seen the mummy? All this got her thinking back to Ardeth's threat, and how they only had one day to leave this city. She knew it had to be what she saw here three years ago, that face in the sand, right above where they were currently standing.
We should not be here.
The day has finally come, the day where Isis will see if all of her hard work training Nefertiri will pay off or not.
Isis stood between two of her fellow Medjai holding the mask that Nefertiri would wear to protect her face. With each passing moment her grip on the mask got tighter and tighter, she had completely faith in her friend, but as a warrior she also had her doubts. It was not only that either, for the first time ever, she and Phoenix would be fighting each other.
"Isis, the princess is coming"
Isis snapped out of her thoughts and looked down the hallway to see Nefertiri walking towards her. She took a deep breath before walking forward and meeting her halfway, she was wearing a skin color top that stopped below her breasts and a matching colors skirt. Isis herself was wearing something very similar only in black and she also had arm protectors.
"Isis"
"Nefertiri" Isis greeted her with a small bow, when she striated back up she held out the mask to her "Are you ready for this match?"
"I am, you have trained me well my friend, and I will make you proud" Nefertiri said with a smile before she placed the mask over her face.
"You already have" Isis told her before giving a sign for the other Medjai to open the doors. When the doors opened Isis walked in side by side with Nefertiri until they were facing the Pharaoh, Phoenix and Anck-Su-Namun. Isis bowed to the Pharaoh before she stood on his right side in front of the stairs leading up to his throne as Nefertiri stood in front of her and Anck-Su-Namun got her weapons.
"Do you have any last words for me before I duel?" Nefertiri asked.
"Remember your training and remember your basics, they will be of more use to you. Do not try to appeal to anyone with advanced moves you are not ready for, and do not underestimate her. The moment that you do will be the moment that you lose" Isis said as she took her sais off of her legs and handed them to Nefertiri
Isis folded her hands in front of her, just like her fellow Medjai as she once more took a deep breath in.
Moments after, the match began.
Their sais clashed against each other as both women blocked and attacked each other. Not for a moment did Isis look away, her eyes were constantly moving, studying both Nefertiri's form and Anck-Su-Namun's. At one point during the match Anck-Su-Namun swung her arm at Nefertiri face, Isis tighten her jaw in anger when she seen that. Anck-Su-Namun could have seriously hurt Nefertiri if it wasn't for the mask! This is the reason why most people, when they duel, they wear the mask.
That last attack had enough force to make Nefertiri spin around and gave Anck-Su-Namun a chance to get her arm around her neck. Thankful, Nefertiri acted quick and kicked her leg up, hitting Anck-Su-Namun and forcing her to let her go. Seeing that made a smirk slip onto Isis's face, oh how she prayed to the Gods that she would get the chance to fight Anck-Su-Namun herself, but first she needs to fight Phoenix.
Her blue eyes widen when she noticed that Nefertiri made a wrong move, she watched as she went to spin around the concubine to attack her but left her right side opened. Isis cursed under her breath when Anck-Su-Namun kicked Nefertiri's legs out from under her, sending her to the ground.
"This is not good" she mumbled under her breath as she shook her head back and forth when they both lifted their masks. True, Nefertiri hated Anck-Su-Namun as much as she did, if not more because it was known she would become her step-mother, but her anger was now letting clouding her judgment.
Which she knew is what Anck-Su-Namun wanted.
"Put your mask on! Let's not scar that pretty face" Anck-Su-Namun said, taunting Nefertiri.
Nefertiri did a kip up and they both spun their sais around as everyone else around them clapped, all but Isis.
When they started fighting each other again it wasn't hard for Isis to tell who was going to win, as much as she hated it. It was just a few minutes ago that she told her friend that if she underestimates her she would lose, she forgot to mention the same would happened if she let her anger get the best of her as well.
Soon, Anck-Su-Namun managed to knock Nefertiri's sais out of her hands and threw her to the side. Thankfully Nefertiri's learned to fight with acrobatics, like Isis, and started to cartwheel over to the wall with axes displayed on them. When she jumped back down with an axe in hand, Anck-Su-Namun threw her sais at two statures, hitting them right in the manhood, and began doing back flips towards the other wall where there were spears displayed and grabbed one.
The two women started fighting with their new weapons; however it didn't last very long. Anck-Su-Namun was able to knock the axe out of Nefetiri's hands and then the princess made the mistake of grabbing the spear which gave Anck-Su-Namun the chance to throw her over her shoulder and point the spear at her neck, ending the duel.
Isis let out the breath that she didn't know that she was holding till just know. She had hoped that Nefertiri would win this match and put Anck-Su-Namun in her place, but that wasn't the outcome. Now it was up to her to show the concubine that she, the first female Medjai, was to be feared, now it was her time to duel the man she fell in love with.
"You are learning quickly, Nefertiri. I'll have to watch my back" Anck-Su-Namun said with a smirk.
"Yes…and I'll watch mine" Nefertiri said back sharply as Anck-Su-Namun dropped the spear and offered her, her hand, but Nefertiri didn't take it.
"Bravo! Bravo! Who better to protect the Bracelet of Anubis than my lovely daughter, Nefertiri" the Pharaoh said as she walked over to his daughter "and who better to protect me then my future wife, Anck-Su-Namun"
Just the thought of her becoming her queen made Isis sick, the fact that at that moment Anck-Su-Namun was now standing in front of her made it worst.
"Now then, I have a special show for everyone. One that everyone has waited for and will prove to be the greatest duel ever performed in these chambers. Please step forward and face each other, Phoenix and Isis!" the Pharaoh said.
Isis smirked when Anck-Su-Namun looked over at her in shock, she simply grabbed her second pair of sais and walked to the middle of the room and faced Phoenix. Her heart once again started beating faster and faster inside of her as Phoenix drew his sword and got into a fighting stance. This was it, she was about to fight Phoenix but at the same time she couldn't help but think back to yesterday, when he stood right behind her and whispered in her ear that he was looking forwards to this duel.
"Enough Isis, you need to focuses or else this duel will be over before it begins" she whispered to herself and got into a fighting stance. This was her chance to show off in front of Anck-Su-Namun and show her that she alone was the best female warrior in Egypt.
"Begin!"
So yeah, I'm looking for a beta. I'm looking myself but if anyone of you, my readers, is a beta, you you consider being a beta reader for me? I would love you forever!