Disclaimer: I am not the owner of the Mummy. It is a cause of great sadness in my life.

Chapter Nine

"Rick, Libby, hurry up!" Evelyn's insistent voice carried through the hall onto the porch. From upstairs, Libby could hear the patter of Alex's feet, and as she walked through the door she saw him sitting at the foot of the stairs to listen in. Rick hadn't noticed him in the shadows, so she gave the boy a wink and a smile.

In the dining room, Evelyn was scribbling on a scrap of paper, translating the hieroglyphs aloud in hushed whispers. Ardeth Bay stood over her shoulder, reading each word before the ink had dried. "What have you got for us, Evy?" Rick asked, his eyes displaying a combination of trepidation and excitement. Libby felt the same way.

"Most of it's done, this last clue is giving me trouble," she babbled enthusiastically. Evelyn didn't seem to have a care in the world, her mind thinking of thousand years ago and picturing Cleopatra in her royal palace, dictating the clues. "Oh well, we have six of seven, right? It's a start." She paused.

"Alexander O'Connell! If you're going to sit on the stairs, you might as well try to wake your uncle up so he can be here for this as well."

Ten minutes they waited impatiently, as the pounding of feet and moans of the drunk resonated through the upper floor. Alex bounded downstairs, nearly breaking his neck running to hear what his mother had translated. Jonathan barely made it to a seat, and his head hit the table with a crack and a moan. "Read. Now," he demanded grumpily.

"Wait, wait!" Rick said loudly, grabbing Evy's arm as she raised it to eyelevel. "There isn't anything in here that says 'if this tablet is read aloud, angry mummies will rise and destroy humanity,' right?"

"I already looked, Rick," Evy said with a sigh. "You'd think I go around raising mummies every day. One, isolated incident…"

"Could we read this before he dies?" Libby asked, gesturing at Jonathan and instantly getting their attention. Jonathan shot her a miserable look that might have expressed just the slightest bit of gratitude. Not that she'd made the comment for his sake, mind you. She was still tired, and that guest bed she had avoided a short time ago was looking more tempting than ever.

"My love has betrayed me," Evy started, reading what she had translated. "By love, I believe she means Julius Caesar. "

"How do you know that?" Libby asked, her curiosity overcoming her exhaustion.

"Educated guess, in a way. Clues in the text," Evelyn responded patiently, a smile crossing her face. "I can show you later, if you'd like--"

"Bloody hell woman, read the clues and let the drunk sleep!" Jonathan whined.

"Moving on," Evelyn muttered, as the more impatient members of the group sighed in relief that she'd continued read.

"Not in deed, but in thought. He knows where the power lies, and seeks to obtain my seven friends, so pointedly guarded by those who came before me. I send my son to Rome to seek out Cassius, to ensure power remains mine alone. Herein, I make certain that Seth, He who can deliver power and danger greater than any army in this mortal life, remains far from this earthly paradise. I bid farewell to my seven, my lifelong friends, who depart to the safest places in the farthest reaches of the earth.

Beneath these hallowed grounds, to the Theban triad devoted, lies a temple to the love of Isis, protector of women and owner of these sacred guardians. I lay one golden statue at his altar, tribute to why they were first made.

Next, the white-walled city, leader of our nation. I leave my friend in the temple of the creator, he who dreamed in his heart the world, and made it be. From his immortal rest, he guides the craftsmen who make such works of pure gold. Now I leave him a display of their talent.

The third shall rest along the sacred road, the way of the sphinxes. Where Menkauhor built a resting place where he never rested, the tomb hides more than meets the eye. Look above, and find you have lost your way. Look below, and the path will be clear.

A desert tower, one of four, yet incomplete. Though the death chamber lies empty now, I shall fill it with a golden warrior. Snefru's work long lost is now fulfilled. It holds a body, though not human, to remain for all eternity.

Amidst the scrolls, the greatest minds have writ, I leave a fifth faithful friend. Study there all you wish, he shall not be revealed! A canopic jar, none would dare open out of respect for those who went before; the gold will remain hidden from all.

To sate his desire for riches and power, I leave one in the hands of my love. We bring it to his homeland, to the place where my love for him unfurled at his feet; his expansive project of joy and entertainment. I beg him to leave tribute to my land, my kingdom, and he agrees. I shall leave my friend there, and pray that my love shall accept that much and forget these golden warriors exist.

The last I leave in that place which Isis first chose to hide her guardian. I leave you naught but what she left me, to continue your search. "

"This is where the last clue is. I just… I'm not sure if it's poor copying, or an older Egyptian dialect, but I have no idea what these words mean. I don't even see symbols I recognize. Then she finishes below."

"I leave you my words, not as a guide to find these golden warriors. The union of their powers will yield destruction, tempt the fates of turmoil, a destiny I wish upon no one. I leave these words to one who, if Seth's mighty power is threatened upon this world, will defeat this evil. At the City of the Dead, united, these seven friends will bring the end. United here, at this pylon of the Theban Triad, their powers will be rendered useless. May the gods ever travel at your side, and may we meet again in the Fields of Hetep and Iaru."

The room was silent. The words that Evelyn had spoken, that had been written by the youthful Cleopatra stunned Libby. Never before had she heard something so poetically written that had such devastating capabilities. Repeating the words in her head as her sister-in-law spoke, she felt herself dozing off, head on the table.

As Evelyn finished speaking, one thought crossed Jonathan's mind, which he felt it was essential to voice aloud. "Bloody hell, if they're going to wreck havoc on the world, why on earth would you write down where you put the sodding scorpions," he bemoaned, and next to him he saw Libby shoot up off the table, wide awake again. She shot him a nasty glare, but he didn't care. The booze was wearing off, and the hangover was kicking in. The pound, pound, pound of his brain against his head was miserable.

"Evy, do you at least have an idea which clues we can ignore? Which scorpions do we have?" Ardeth asked.

Evelyn didn't have a chance to answer. The back door burst open. Rick and Ardeth jumped up, sword drawn and gun loaded. Libby had pushed her chair away from the table, and looked ready to run. Maybe we do have a bit in common... Jonathan smirked, relieved someone in the group might actually dread fighting as much as he did. Their fears were unnecessary though, as two of Ardeth's men entered, dragging a limp, bloody body between them. "Chieftain Bay, we found him trying to enter through the back gate."

Libby was up and out of her seat. "Oh my god, Kaysar? Put him down, I know him."

The two men didn't seem to listen. It took a moment, but Jonathan finally realized that the man hanging between the Medjai warriors was the hotel bellhop. Ignoring his throbbing head, he watched as Libby gently lifted the young man's head.

"What do you wish us to do with him?" one of the men asked.

"Would you put him down? He's hurt!" Libby demanded. A nod of the head from Ardeth, and the young man fell to the floor.

"Don't drop him, you morons!" the girl screeched. Ardeth raised an eyebrow in surprise, and Jonathan struggled not to chuckle. Libby was most definitely an O'Connell. Only Rick could speak to Ardeth Bay and his men like that and live.

"Miss Grayson," he heard Kaysar whisper.

"I'm right here, Kaysar," she replied softly. Evelyn had gone into the kitchen and returned with a damp towel. Taking a seat on the floor across from Libby, she wiped his face clean of blood and whispered little words of comfort to him like any mother would.

"That man… the man with the gun. He made it out."

"Did he attack you?" Libby asked, the guilt evident on her face. The grip on his hand was tight, and Jonathan wished there was something he could do for the injured kid.

"I was there during the explosion. Roof caved in on me. There's something important," he said. "When I got out, that man who led the attack was gathering others. They're looking for you, Miss Grayson." Having delivered his message, it looked like Kaysar had finally given in to the extreme pain he felt, and passed out.

Sharing a look with Rick, Jonathan knew instantly that Evy's hunch was right. Davey and Arabella wanted more than the scorpions. They wanted Libby too.

"So what do we do now?" Jonathan asked.

"We need to get to Alexandria." Alex spoke up, his head peering around the scribbles his mother had written. Jon had nearly forgotten his nephew was in the room, but evidently in the commotion he'd taken to studying the translation. "And then we need to get a boat."

"Why?" Rick asked.

"The clues, dad. We need to go to Italy."

The velour of the train seats rubbed gently against Libby's cheek as she woke from her nap. Two hours on the train, three since they left the house. She knew for a fact she'd fallen asleep in the car, and wondered who'd carried her onto the train. There was something heavy lying across her left side, and shifting, she found that it was Jonathan slumped over in a deep sleep.

"Get offa me!" she mumbled, moving him to the other side of the seat with an elbow to the side. The annoying man began to wake up.

"Just let a man sleep, woman!"

"Do I look like a pillow?"

In the hours since Evelyn had translated Cleopatra's message, all had been rushed. Ardeth Bay, who she had discovered was not quite as frightening as he came across, had kindly said that he would leave some of his men with Kaysar. He would live and recover, though the damage to his leg might cause him to walk with a limp the rest of his life. They had left, but not before Libby had promised the man that as soon as all had settled and he had recovered, she would help him find a new job. Evelyn informed them that she would explain the clues later, but that Rick had better go and get some train tickets. She'd then set Jonathan and Alex to packing supplies, and brought Libby upstairs. Thrusting several pairs of clothes suitable for the desert into her hands, she encouraged Libby to change her clothes. She hadn't noticed that she was covered in soot and blood until that moment.

She was now dressed comfortably in khaki pants, leather boots, and a light white shirt. The clothes were a bit big, as Evy was taller and a bit heavier than she. Nonetheless, she was grateful to the other woman for her kindness.

For the first time in her life, she was leaving Cairo. By the morning she would be in Alexandria, then a boat to Italy. It was incredible, if she just ignored the circumstances of her traveling.

"So Evy, you never explained to us why we're going to Italy," Rick stated. The two were still wide awake, though Alex was now passed out from exhaustion across their laps.

"It's really quite simple," she started, which earned the stares of the other four. Simple in Evelyn's terms was not the equivalent of simple in an ordinary person's terms. "Ardeth said they'd found the scorpions from Memphis, Karnak, and Medium. So I found those clues first. Karnak is dedicated to the Theban Triad, Amun, Mut, and Khons. There's a temple to Osiris there as well—Isis's love. Memphis is the white-walled city, and was the early capital of Egypt. The temple of Ptah, who created the world, was in that city. There's scorpion number two. Pharaoh Snefru was rumored to have four pyramids, the last of which was incomplete and lay empty. That's the pyramid at Meidum. Those are the three scorpions that Davey has found."

"And Libby's scorpion?" Jonathan asked.

"I figured that one out by luck," Evelyn admitted sheepishly. "The other morning you asked me to examine a canopic jar you wanted to sell. It didn't have the typical wear you'd see from being in a tomb. In fact, if anything, it had water damage. I couldn't figure it out until I read the clue. The scrolls that the greatest minds wrote were in the Lighthouse at Alexandria. She put it in a canopic jar, the canopic jar that you sold this morning."

"Are you kidding me?" Libby asked.

"But why Italy, old mum?"

"It all comes down to Julius Caesar. 'Where my love unfurled--' Cleopatra, determined to meet Caesar, was said to roll herself in a Persian Carpet and present it to him as a gift. It was unrolled not in his villa, but in the Circus Maximus. Caesar's one love, outside of power, was watching the chariot races, and he devoted quite a bit of money to expanding the complex. It was there he built a tribute to Egypt for Cleopatra, an obelisk. If I'm right, we'll find the next scorpion there."

Hey there all! Hope your all doing well! Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read the story so far, I hope you're all enjoying it! Special thanks to Alexandria Halliwell and lark lover for the reviews! Next chapter, we take a rather exciting boat trip and finally arrive in Italy. PLEASE leave a review! I love to hear what you think, and constructive criticism makes me smile!

Best wishes to all! Jac