Chapter Nine

"A live mummy and a dead one," Ahkmenrah said from his place perched on the fountain. "I feel like I'm in a modern horror film."

"Dare I ask?" Kahmunrah replied.

"They're actually pretty cheesy, but it's easy to think that when you know the events aren't actually taking place."

"But they are," Larry said, "and that's why we're so screwed."

"Actually we're screwed because of an unforseen consequence of Kahmunrah's opening the gate to the underworld and extending immortality to all of the exhibits that the tablet has touched: either directly or indirectly, he allowed Karahe entrance into this world, going with the theory, of course."

"Not like we have a better one."

"Regardless, that our situation mimics a horror movie is either a coincidence or somehow deliberately planned."

"How do the protagonists win in horror movies?" Amelia asked.

"Kill the unkillable," Larry said.

"And how are we supposed to manage that?"

"We have the tablet," Ahkmenrah said. "That's our chief bargaining chip. We also have direct access to the gate. At the very least, we can seal Karahe in the underworld, to be left at the mercy of the monsters that realm has to offer."

"Not the best option, but I guess we need to take it."

NATM

Finally, Horus thought.

NATM

"How do you know this crazy plan of yours is going to work?" Ivan asked.

"If you've got a better idea, let's hear it," Al snapped.

"Gentlemen," Ahkmenrah said. Al and Ivan fell silent. "Here's how we know this'll work. I told his nasty little secret, and as soon as he finds that out, he'll try to kill me."

"Wait, we're using human bait?"

"Yes. While our dear mummifying friend Karahe is trying to kill me, I will lead him to the gate, which my brother will have opened."

"Where do we come in?"

"You'll be on hand in case anything goes wrong, but remember, he can't be killed."

"So if something goes wrong, what're we supposed to do?" Al asked.

"Your best."

"If it ain't good enough?"

"It should be, especially to scare him off."

"You think we can pull that off?"

"We're going to have to trust you to. Can you do it?" The three of them whispered amongst themselves for a moment, nodded to each other, and then nodded to Ahkmenrah, Larry, Amelia, and Kahmunrah. "Alright, let's go."

NATM

Ahkmenrah took the latest in a long string of breaths meant to calm his nerves, and he clenched his fists in his pockets. This had to work, he told himself. It was the only way he could get Karahe out of this world and into the underworld, where he could be taken care of by someone or something else. Then he could right what Kahmunrah had done with the tablet, set the world back into order, and go back to New York.

But his brother was coming around from the man he had been during the civil war that had nearly destroyed Egypt and had certainly ended his life. At least this time around Kahmunrah wasn't plunging a spear into Ahkmenrah's chest. The closest they got to their old relationship was the fight on the steps of Smithsonian Castle. And now Kahmunrah knew the reason behind the favoritism, that it was used to buy Ahkmenrah's silence in spite of the fact that the death threats were enough to ensure it, and Ahkmenrah had seen the change in his brother's eyes.

What was Karahe so afraid of that he felt the need to buy silence as well as threaten for it? Surely Kahmunrah would be wondering the same thing. Maybe Karahe felt that Ahkmenrah would suddenly grow a pair, as the modern expression went, and tell someone, but Ahkmenrah was almost certain no one would believe him. After all, the story was so outlandish he hardly believed it.

But that didn't change what he'd seen, or the fact that it actually existed, regardless of what anyone said about the rules of existence, what he had been taught throughout his formative years.

He shook his head and stopped at one end of the Reflecting Pool, his gaze drifting over the water's smooth surface and up to the Lincoln Memorial. He could see the statue within, perhaps fearful of garnering too much unwanted attention. Ahkmenrah couldn't blame him.

He felt the unnaturalness of Karahe's presence almost immediately, and he clenched his jaw against the terror it evoked in him. He could do this. He could do this. He turned slowly and looked Karahe in the eye. The recent mummifications had left their mark on him, giving his visage an even more pronounced air of evil and filth. How he kept his gaze even, he had no idea, but he managed it even through what he had to say next. "Do you know how to keep a secret? You make sure it dies with you. I'm afraid I'm not so careful." Karahe blinked at him. "There's a saying in modern times. 'Loose lips sink ships.' It looks like you're going to sink, Karahe."

Karahe conjured a khopesh and pressed it to Ahkmenrah's throat. He wasn't sure which threw him more: the fact that the blade burned on contact or the fact that Karahe could do such a thing. "Who else knows?" he asked.

"Well, Larry, his companion, Kahmunrah...but you know Kahmunrah. He's an inveterate gossip. He's probably told half the statuary by now." Karahe took a swing at him. Ahkmenrah ducked and espied the Castle. Time for a game of cat and mouse, he thought, and he took off.

NATM

Ahkmenrah almost sensed a disturbance behind and to the right of him, and he turned and almost had to stop and stare. A mummy, unwrapped enough to reveal some decomposing flesh, was staggering toward him. He turned and kept running for the steps of Smithsonian Castle. Make the foyer, he told himself, but there was another disturbance, in front of him. Shit. Another mummy staggered forward, this one one of Kahmunrah's hawk-headed minions. You're an idiot, he thought to his brother.

He staggered to a stop and looked around to gain his bearings. Three enemies, two serving the one slavishly. In all likelihood, if he eliminated the master, he could release the slaves, though they'd still be dead. But then they'd have a shot at the afterlife. Primary target: Karahe. Only trouble was, he couldn't be killed.

He moved around the hawk-headed mummy and toward the gate. Accomplish the mission, he thought. That's all you need to do. All three of his adversaries now encroached upon him. Good, he thought. Keep taking the bait.

Karahe swung at Ahkmenrah again. Ahkmenrah blocked and wrestled with him for a moment over the khopesh before tearing it out of his hands and moving back.

Kahmunrah took his cue from the events taking place and began entering the combination that opened the gate.

Karahe conjured another khopesh, and his sword fight with Ahkmenrah began. Ahkmenrah personally led him to the gate, which now swung open. He felt the energy at his back, and he smiled and threw renewed force behind each of his blows. He shoved Karahe toward the door, and then he felt Karahe forcibly pull on his shoulder, sending him through the gate as well.

Ahkmenrah instinctively groped for the door but touched nothing.

Kahmunrah turned away as the door closed on his father and brother.