Egypt, 1990
Giza
Sarah stood on the banks of the Nile, gazing up at the Great Pyramid with her twinkling emerald eyes. The sun was beginning to set on the pyramid's left side, bathing the sky a beautiful pinkish-red. She went to reach into a pocket for a cigarette, more out of habit than anything else, but discovered there weren't any. Of course. She had quit two years ago, after...
Shrugging lightly Sarah closed her eyes and took a deep breath, once again drawing on her reserve of vampire-magic. It was painful, but she managed. Eyes now a faintly glowing crimson she strode towards the massive stone structure before her, gaze on the ground. It was a little hard to make sense of so many footprints what with the sand and all, but Sarah succeeded in finding what she was looking for. The distorted footprints seemed to be more condensed in one particular area at the base of the pyramid and the stone block shimmered slightly in her magically-enhanced vision.
Humming her contentment, Sarah strolled over and placed one palm flat against the stone.
She frowned slightly in concentration, fingers twitching as she probed the gargantuan slab with her magic, looking for something in particular. Another hum and a smile as something within clicked, causing the shimmering stone to all but fizzle out of existence, revealing a long dark passage into the pyramid.
She swept inside without so much as a second thought, completely ignoring the stone slab as it reappeared behind her, bathing the passage in complete and total darkness. Night vision kicking in she set off at a run, barely slowing down upon reaching the narrow set of stairs at the end. They continued on for well over an hour, leading Sarah deeper and deeper into the bowels of the pyramid, far beyond anything the mortal archaeologists had ever discovered. There was more to this wonderful structure than just the King and Queen's chambers.
The deeper Sarah travelled the brighter and less faded the pictures and hieroglyphs on the wall became. The strange symbols were automatically translated by her magic, jumping out from the walls and filling her vision. They told of ancient magic, of monsters and Gods. But Sarah ignored them. There were more pressing matters at hand.
As she neared the very bottom of the stairs Sarah noted how unusually bright it was. She shut herself off from the reserve of vampire-magic within, eyes instantly reverting back to their usual glittering emerald. But even without the use of her magical eyes it was still just as bright, and as she emerged into the chamber below discovered why; dozens of huge brass basins lined the stone path that ran down the middle, blazing green fires roaring from each one. Pillars twenty feet high held up the beautifully decorated ceiling and rectangular alcoves were carved parallel along the walls, a golden and blue sarcophagus propped up in every one. Tall, wide tunnels continued on in all different directions, leading to other parts of the pyramid's underbelly.
At the head of the room were a dozen or so steps leading up to a large circular platform, something much like a tomb sitting in the middle. The lid lay cracked and broken on the floor a few feet away. The damage looked pretty recent.
Fingers hovering over one of her weapon belts Sarah started walking down the right side of the room, eyes darting back and forth for any signs of movement. She flicked out her serpent tongue to taste the air and a whole host of unusual smells assaulted her senses. One in particular seemed to bother her, although she couldn't quite figure out why. Shaking her head Sarah put that worry aside and continued. She had a job to do.
Her tongue disappeared back inside her mouth as she approached one of the Sarcophagi in a nearby alcove. The dusty floor in front of it was disturbed and the lid was open a couple of centimetres. Fingers curling around the hilt of a dagger on her belt she crept closer, her other arm outstretched. Standing to one side she grabbed the lid and tugged, jumping back into a battle-ready stance as it crashed loudly to the floor.
When nothing happened she peered around the alcove to better see what was inside the Sarcophagus. But it turned out to be nothing more than a shrivelled up mummy, bandages hanging from it in limp folds. Arching an eyebrow Sarah returned her dagger to the weapon belt and turned around, readying herself to continue. That was when two skeletal hands emerged from behind the mummy's shoulders, toppling said mummy straight into Sarah's back and showering her with dust and bits of decaying bandage.
"BOO!"
Without so much as a flinch, Sarah sighed and brushed what appeared to be an ancient, severed finger from her shoulder. "What," she began, turning around on the spot to face Skulduggery Pleasant, whose arms were raised above his head in a scary, threatening manner. "...in the name of Mevolent's over-sized underpants are you doing?"
"I scared you, didn't I?" Skulduggery said, lowering his arms. "Admit it. You were terrified."
"No."
"Not even just a little bit?"
Sarah grinned despite herself. "What are you doing here, Skulduggery?"
"The same thing as you, I should imagine." He stepped out from the Sarcophagus and started to brush the dust from his suit, removing his hat and giving it a little shake while he was at it.
"Oh? And what would that b-"
A loud crash and a fit of coughing interrupted her and both she and Skulduggery turned to face the newly opened Sarcophagus that lay in an alcove several metres away.
A man stumbled out, his hair and clothes covered in more dust than the mummy he had left behind. "Good god. I thought I was going to suffocate in there." He wheezed, giving his head a good shake, a cloud of dust flying into the air. "Remind me why we were hiding again, Skulduggery? I could have sworn that mummy moved. I felt its hand on my leg, the frisky devil! Although," a chuckle. "Can't say I blame the old gal, after thousands of years being stuck in that dreadful Sarcophagus without any-" And then he seemed to notice Sarah. "Oh!"
"This is Gordon Edgely, a friend of mine." Skulduggery introduced, sticking his hands in his pockets as the other man jogged over. "Gordon, this is Sarah."
"Are you really!" Gordon beamed, grasping Sarah's hand. "Skulduggery has mentioned you on many occasions, but I must admit..." He looked her up and down with a lopsided grin on his face. "You're not quite what I was expecting."
Sarah glanced back at Skulduggery, her emerald eyes twinkling with amusement.
"Been casting me in an unflattering light again have we, my dear detective?"
"I'm sure I don't know what you mean." Skulduggery replied innocently.
Huffing, Sarah draped her arms around Gordon's shoulders, an expression of mock-hurt forming on her face. "You would never lie to me, would you Gordon? Unlike mister meanie-pants over there." She pouted, jerking her head in Skulduggery's direction.
"Certainly not, my dear! How could I ever lie to someone so charming and beautiful?" Gordon exclaimed, placing a sneaky hand on Sarah's waist.
"That's very sweet of you." She hummed, giving his cheek a quick kiss, a smirk curling at her lips. He chuckled.
"Yes, well, if you two lovebirds have quite finished," Skulduggery began, turning his gaze on Gordon. "We need to crack on."
"Allow me to help. After all, you said yourself how we're both here for the same thing."
Sarah added, detaching herself from Gordon and strolling over to Skulduggery.
"Out of the question. You would no doubt make things worse."
"I'll behave. I promise."
"No." Skulduggery said firmly.
"Oh, stop being such a Scrooge." Gordon waved him off with a hand. "Of course Sarah can help us."He winked cheekily at her and she wiggled her fingers back.
"Bah humbug." Skulduggery muttered.
The three of them made their way to the circular platform at the head of the room, Skulduggery a little reluctant to do so with Sarah added to the mix. "It's funny." She began, thumbs hooked around her belt-loops as they ascended the stone steps."How we keep running into each other like this, I mean. First Russia and now Egypt." A tilt of the head and a thoughtful hum. "Out of all the places to visit in such big countries, we both end up together." Skulduggery opened his jaw to say something but Sarah interrupted him.
"And you're not allowed to say it's a coincidence either. Being a detective you should know that better than anyone."
Tilting his head to the side, Skulduggery turned to look at her. "What I was going to say is that both cases, in Russia and now Egypt, were and are pretty big, even if you were hired to investigate a different aspect of the latter. So it is unsurprising the two of us met in the middle, both being the renowned experts in our respective lines of work that we are."
Sarah grinned. "You think I'm an expert?"
"At being a lowlife mercenary, yes."
"What a lovely compliment. Thank you."
"You're welcome."
"Hm, that wasn't quite what I was expecting." Gordon interrupted, lifting his head to look at them, which had previously been buried in the open tomb. Sarah glanced at Skulduggery and she was pretty certain he returned the gesture. They made their way up the last couple of steps and joined Gordon by the tomb. All three of them peered inside to see-
"There's nothing here." Gordon stated.
"Exactly." Sarah frowned. "Notice the symbol on the lid?" She pointed at the cracked and broken stone slab on the floor. A large scarab beetle was carved there. "We were too late."
Skulduggery tilted his head to the side. "Nitocris found what she was looking for."
"And there are supposedly hundreds of these tombs dotted all around the pyramid, each one filled with amulets that have the capability to brainwash a person and control their actions." Sarah sighed. "Nitocris intends to create her own personal army of mindless minions."
"You sound particularly upset about that." Skulduggery mused. "And you would usually be grinning like a loon right about now."
"Yes, well, I can't believe that Nitocris of all people would be so clichéd, so obviously I'm upset."
"And you talk as if you know her."
"That's because I do, bonehead. She's an old girlfriend."
Gordon seemed to look a little disappointed at this, but Sarah didn't correct his assumption about her sexuality. "We dated briefly back in the 40s." Sarah elaborated, turning on the spot and making her way down the stairs. "And although our time together was short-lived, we had more fun than you can possibly imagine."
"I really, really don't want to know." Skulduggery told her, making his own way down the stairs.
"Well I certainly do." Gordon piped up as he followed behind, and Sarah chuckled.
"Nitocris is a powerful sorcerer." She continued, reaching the bottom of the stairs and choosing one of the many tunnels that branched off from the room. "And she's very sneaky."
Skulduggery didn't answer and instead made a point to pick up speed and overtake Sarah as she started jogging down the tunnel. She rolled her eyes. "Oh, that's mature."
"Look who's talking." Skulduggery countered. "Besides, with me in the lead there's less chance of us running into-" The three of them rounded a corner and came face to face with a small group of people. Their faces were expressionless and every single pair of eyes, glowing a faint blue, turned on them.
"-trouble." Gordon finished for Skulduggery. "Ah."
They all skidded to a halt, Sarah turning her head to look at the skeleton detective. "You were saying?" She smiled pleasantly at him.
"Oh, shut up." Skulduggery muttered, pulling his gun from its holster.
At first none of the expressionless people moved. They stared a little dumbly at the newcomers and Sarah could see a strange silver amulet winking from each person's chest. They took on the form of scarab beetles, little legs having poked their way through shirt cloth and then buried themselves into the flesh beneath. Sarah pulled her dagger from a belt, holding it ready at her side. Gordon looked from Skulduggery's gun to Sarah's dagger and frowned. "Why don't I get a weapon?"
"Because you would end up poking your own eye out with it." Skulduggery told him, head still facing the group of brainwashed people, gun never wavering.
"Even if it were a blunt weapon, such as a club or gun?" Gordon questioned, eyebrow arched.
"Especially if it were blunt."
Gordon started to nod slowly, an agreeing expression on his face. "Can't argue with that, I suppose."
One of the brainwashed people stumbled forwards and the trio returned their attention to him and the group behind. "Urrrghhh." He groaned, arms dangling at his sides.
"Ooh. Perhaps they are slow and clumsy like zombies?" Gordon said hopefully.
It was then the man lunged for Skulduggery, his friends following close behind. They were a lot faster than regular human beings and also decidedly stronger. One caught Skulduggery in the side of the jaw with an elbow, sending him flying back into a wall. His gun went skidding along the floor.
"You've been flung into walls so many times I've lost count, Skulduggery." Sarah commented mildly, ducking a punch from a brainwashed woman and slashing a cut across her arm. "You must really like them."
"Oh, yes. It's something of a hobby of mine." Skulduggery groaned, picking himself up from the floor and leaping into the fight once again.
Gordon was having a hard time evading the fast moving opponents and had already amassed an impressive collection of cuts and scrapes. Sarah noticed this and as she finished up kicking one of the brainwashed people in the head, turned to face him. "Aren't you a sorcerer?"
"Ah." Gordon started rather breathlessly as he dodged a particularly brutal kick just in the nick of time. "Magic certainly is a wily seductress but so far I have managed to resist her charms."
"And yet here you are, neck deep in dust and mummies and brainwashed people, getting beaten to a pulp." Sarah smirked as she barrelled straight into an attacking foe, sending him crashing to the floor.
"I thought I was doing rather well, actually." Gordon replied cheerfully, receiving a punch in the face a few seconds later. Sarah snorted, sending the offending woman into a wall with a steel-plated boot.
Skulduggery quickly incapacitated the last opponent and, snapping open a palm, his gun flew into his outstretched hand. He returned it to the holster underneath his jacket and turned to face them. "There. That's wasn't so tough." The sound of dozens of feet stampeding across the ground and a group of brainwashed people three times as big as the last came rushing around the corner.
"You should probably keep quiet next time." Sarah suggested, backing up towards Skulduggery and Gordon as the group slowly surrounded them.
"Well, this certainly makes a change. It's usually Gordon's abnormally large mouth that gets us both into trouble." Skulduggery commented mildly, and Gordon shrugged.
"He's right, you know."
Sarah grinned, tightening her grip on the dagger in her hand as the brainwashed mob closed in on them, their blue eyes seeming to glow more intensely than before. "So, either of you have any bright ideas? Because we could really use one right about now."
"We could always throw a grenade into the crowd and then leg it?" Gordon suggested.
"Sorry. Fresh out of grenades." Sarah replied, backing up a little more. The three of them were almost back-to-back now, the space between them making a crooked triangle.
"That's actually quite surprising." Skulduggery told her, and she chuckled.
"Why don't you two talk them to death or something?"
"Ha ha."
"Or maybe..." Sarah lunged for the nearest drone and curled her fingers around the scarab amulet that was clamped to his chest. Skulduggery caught her wrist with one hand.
"Wait, you don't know what it'll do. It could kill him."
A shrug. "I guess there's only one way to find out." And Sarah yanked, tearing the scarab away from the flesh it clung to. The man's eyes glowed a dazzling blue for a split-second, causing Gordon to shield his own with a hand and then, just as quickly, the blue receded and he dropped to the floor like a sack of bricks, quite dead.
"Oops." Sarah said casually and Skulduggery turned his head to look at her. She got the distinct feeling that he was more than a little unimpressed. "What? At least we know forcing the amulets off is a bad idea now." She bobbed the little silver beetle up and down in the palm of her hand and then pocketed it. "All those in favour of running like hell, raise your hand and say 'aye'."
"Aye!" Gordon exclaimed, but Skulduggery was silent. And remaining silent, he raised both arms. Upon snapping open his palms, a wall of air went knocking into a large portion of the brainwashed men and women, sending them flying backwards. A path now mostly clear to them the trio continued on down the tunnel, jumping over fallen people as they tried to get back up again.
Skulduggery, Gordon and Sarah eventually managed to lose their mindless pursuers, ducking into a small room with a narrow doorway to avoid being rediscovered any time soon. While Gordon leaned against one wall catching his breath, Skulduggery approached Sarah."What happened back there." He started, arms folded. "That's the exact reason I didn't want you tagging along in the first place."
"What did you expect?" Sarah muttered, pulling the scarab beetle amulet from her pocket, turning it round and round in her fingers. "That's just the way I am. A vampire. A selfish, violent beast with no regard for others."
"Sarah-"
"You think that of other vampires. Why should I be any different?" She interrupted, tapping the amulet with a long nail. "But never mind that now. What's done is done and we at least have one of the amulets. Perhaps we can study it for vulnerabilities, give ourselves a fighting chance the next time we come across any brainwashed people ."
Skulduggery stared at her with his empty eye sockets for a moment and then nodded once.
"Let's get to it, then."
Having recovered a little Gordon walked over and peered at the amulet in Sarah's hand curiously. "Strange little thing, isn't it?" He commented, reaching out a hand to touch. "And rather innocent looking. You wouldn't think-" The words died in his throat when the amulet starting pulsating with a gentle blue light. "Ah. Should it be doing that?"
"I know as much as you, Gordon." Skulduggery replied with a shrug. "Perhaps it's shutting itself down, in a manner of speaking." There was a brief pause and then Skulduggery and Sarah turned to look at each other.
"Or switching itself on." They said simultaneously, Sarah dropping the amulet a few seconds later, looking as if she had been shocked. It landed on the dusty floor with a 'whump', scurrying out of sight before anyone could move.
"The little bugger is alive." Sarah broadcast rather unnecessarily, bringing her hand up to her lips and licking the spot where the beetle had nipped her.
"Thank you for that, Little Miss Obvious." Skulduggery muttered, casting his head about for the beetle. "Just stay still. We need to find and capture it again, before it can latch onto any of us."
Sarah narrowed her eyes at him, pupils contracting into slits, but did as she was told and remained perfectly still. The three of them scanned the room, Gordon looking a little nervous.
"Err-" He began, but was cut off for the second time in as many minutes when something small and silver leaped into his vision. Gordon looked down at the scarab amulet that had attached itself to his chest, his eyebrows flying up. "Um, I don't mean to alarm you or anything, but- ...Alright, so perhaps I do. I found the beetle."
Skulduggery and Sarah whipped around to face him, Sarah narrowing her eyes and baring her teeth like a cat. "Well, shit."
"That, ah, just about sums it up." Skulduggery said slowly, shifting into a battle-ready stance as Gordon's eyes started to glow blue. "Gordon?" He tried, but the man was no longer aware. He stared at them with emotionless eyes, his face devoid of any expression.
"Now would be a good time to figure out how those amulets actually work." Sarah hummed, skirting around Gordon with light footsteps.
"When I called you Little Miss Obvious," Skulduggery began, flexing the fingers on one hand and curling them into a fist. "I honestly didn't expect you to take the title so seriously."
A shrug and a grin from Sarah. "Yeah, well, you know me. I take everything way too seriously."
Gordon lunged forwards all of a sudden, punching Skulduggery in the head, who went staggering back. Sarah ducked another punch and brought one of her own up into Gordon's stomach. It didn't appear to do a whole lot. "Ah." She managed to say before a knee connected with the underside of her jaw and she went flying back into a wall.
"I didn't know you shared my hobby of getting thrown into walls, Sarah. What a small world we live in." Skulduggery commented happily, snapping a palm wide and sending Gordon skidding back. Grumbling, Sarah righted herself and charged the brainwashed man, bringing a fist round to punch him square in the face. His head snapped back but he remained conscious.
"Are you quite sure you hit him hard enough?" Skulduggery teased, and Sarah shrugged.
"I could try again if you really want me to start breaking things."
Gordon tried to rush them but Skulduggery and Sarah jumped out of the way, leaving him to charge straight by. Sarah brought up one hand to grip him by the collar, jerking him back.
"Well, trying to knock him out certainly doesn't work and something tells me he's not going to stop until the both of us are dead." She pulled an old flintlock pistol from her belt and primed it to fire.
"Sarah, what are you doing?" Skulduggery asked slowly, his voice low and serious as she pressed the barrel of the gun to the back of Gordon's head. "Put it down."
A shrug. "It's him or us, Skulduggery." Her finger tightened on the trigger, and-
Distressed chittering filled the air, followed by the sound of something small and heavy dropping to the ground. Gordon's shoulders seemed to relax and he shook his head.
"Let's see...a pounding headache and no recollection of what happened." He muttered. "Did I get drunk, Skulduggery? It's funny, because I don't remember there being a bar anywhere in the pyramid." Turning around on the spot, Gordon found himself staring down the barrel of Sarah's gun.
"Ah. Look, whatever I did to offend you in my drunken stupor I'm sure we can work it out."
He glanced down to look at his front and breathed out a sigh of relief. "Well, at least my clothes are still on. Whatever it was, it can't have been too embarrassing or humiliating."
Chuckling, Sarah lowered her gun and slotted it back into her belt. "Welcome back, Gordon."She moved around him and crouched down, scooping up the scarab amulet, which had detached itself from Gordon's chest. "I think that went rather well."
"Better than expected." Skulduggery agreed with a nod of the head.
Sarah stood back up and turned to face him, a grin on her face. "I love how we can formulate a plan together without actually having to speak. That's how like-minded we are."
"Are you kidding? I actually thought you were going to kill him." Skulduggery replied, and Sarah snorted.
"Kill me?" Gordon echoed. "That's a bit drastic, don't you think? I didn't even get naked."
"You weren't drunk, Gordon." Sarah chuckled, opening a small pouch on her belt and slipping the silver beetle inside. "You were taken over by the scarab."
"And we now know that if the host dies, so will the scarab." Skulduggery added, crossing his arms.
"So that's why you had a gun to my head." Gordon said slowly, understanding. "You and Sarah got the scarab believing she was actually going to kill me, causing it to flee. Self-preservation and all that."
"Precisely." Sarah hummed, walking over to the doorway. "Now, we should get moving. Nitocris is somewhere in the pyramid and we have to find her.
A great many scents lingered in the stale air of the ancient pyramid's underbelly, the bothersome one from earlier now more prominent than the rest. And it was with great effort that Sarah managed to single out Nitocris from such a diverse jumble of smells.
As the three of them ran through numerous winding passages, Sarah at the lead as she followed the scent, Gordon shuffled over."Just a thought, my dear..." He began with a smile. "But what if you had been wrong back there and it made no difference to the scarab whether I lived or died?"
A shrug and a grin from Sarah. "Then I would have been minus a bullet and you would have been minus a brain."
Gordon nodded once and then slowed his pace a little so he was jogging alongside Skulduggery. "You know, I was beginning to wonder if anything you had told me about her was true." He said in a low voice."But I see now that you weren't being entirely untruthful."
Skulduggery tilted his head slightly and Gordon got the distinct impression that he was smiling.
"You boys had best stop talking about me." Sarah called, amusement clear in her voice. "Or I'll knock your heads together." She glanced back at the duo and they both raised one hand to point at the other.
"It was him." They said simultaneously and Sarah rolled her eyes, albeit with a smile on her face. Without warning she stopped dead, causing Gordon to trip over his own feet as he struggled to stop. "What-" He began, but Sarah cut him off.
"She's close. Listen."
Gordon righted himself and together with Skulduggery listened out for noises. There, echoing from the tunnel up ahead was a female voice that boasted a large amount of authority. She barked out orders to a group of people who all seemed to obey without question."Aah, Nitocris." Sarah hummed fondly. "She hasn't changed."
"There will be time enough for reminiscing later." Skulduggery interjected. "Right now we have to stop her before she can build up an army of considerable size."
Sarah shrugged and walked over to the nearest wall and, with her back against it, started shuffling down the tunnel. She stopped after a few paces, turning back to look at Skulduggery and Gordon. "Well, are you coming or not?"
"I don't see why you should be in the lead." Skulduggery grumbled childishly, but pressed his back against the wall and started side-stepping regardless. Gordon followed suit.
"Because I know the most about Nitocris."
"Ah. I knew there was a reason."
Sarah smirked. "Speaking of which, Nitocris isn't all that keen on people of your-...ah..."
"Sunny disposition?" Skulduggery offered cheerfully.
"Gender." Sarah corrected. "So you should just leave the talking to me."
"What a coincidence." Skulduggery muttered. "And it's also quite clear that she has never met me, being less inclined to persons of the male variety as she is."
"I mean it, Skulduggery." Sarah warned. "If you want to remain alive, in the loosest possible term of the word, then keep. Your. Jaw. Shut."
Skulduggery raised both hands in surrender and then moved one of those hands to the side of his head in a mock-salute. "Yes ma'am."
Rolling her eyes, Sarah continued on down the tunnel at a slow pace, all the while listening out for Nitocris as she gave orders to her minions; "You there! Go and search for the intruders. The last group has not yet returned and my patience wears thin." A figure hurried past the entrance of the tunnel and Sarah stopped walking. She held out a hand for the others to do the same, but Gordon still managed to walk straight into Skulduggery.
"Ow!" He yelped in a hushed tone, clutching his eye. "You have extremely sharp shoulder blades, Skulduggery. I'm lucky I didn't poke my eye out."
"In case you hadn't noticed, Gordon, I am a skeleton." Skulduggery paused, and then turned back to look at him. "And that has just reinforced my point about you carrying a weapon. God knows what would happen if someone gave you a knife."
Gordon waved him off with his free hand. "Yes, yes. I know. But it would be useful, is all I'm saying. I might not get punched in the face nearly as often."
"I don't know what all the fuss is about. Getting beaten up is half the fun." Skulduggery replied cheerfully.
"You won't be saying that in a moment if you don't shut up." Sarah interrupted, grinning a sharp-toothed grin, her eyes twinkling dangerously. "But,"a shrug. "Seeing as that's never going to happen, we may as well throw subtlety out the window." And she sprinted the length of the tunnel and out into a large room, barrelling past a group of brainwashed people, knocking two of them to the floor. All eyes were now on Sarah as she jogged to the centre with her arms spread wide. "Honey, I'm home!"
Nitocris, who was seated on a large golden throne at the head of the room, peered down at her and smiled. "Sarah, my love. You are finally here."
She was a beautiful woman with olive coloured skin, shoulder-length black hair that was braided and decorated with many golden beads and a fringe that stopped just above her eyes. The eyes themselves were a rich chocolate brown, but the pupils glittered a startling gold. She wore traditional Egyptian Kohl, and her lips were painted to suit her theme of gold. A thick band made of the same precious metal was clamped around her neck and a bulky collar encrusted with turquoise rested against the top of her rib cage. From there on up she looked very much like a Pharaoh of old. But that's where it stopped; knee-high black boots hugged her slender legs, the soles chunky and the metal heels carved to sharp points. She wore leather shorts and a top to match with red lace criss-crossing its front, barely containing her generous sized chest.
"I've been expecting you." Nitocris continued, pushing herself into a standing position and strolling over to where Sarah stood. "In fact, you're late. I was starting to get rather bored."
"Late?" Sarah questioned, eyebrow raised.
"Expecting her?" Skulduggery added, having made his way into the room with Gordon. The pair of them now stood several metres away, flanked by dozens of brainwashed people who were all looking to Nitocris for instructions. Her top lip twitched slightly, but that was the only reaction she gave to Skulduggery and Gordon's presence.
"Never mind them." Sarah waved a hand in their general direction, draping her other arm around the Egyptian woman's shoulders. "Now, rumour is..." Her emerald eyes twinkled mischievously. "That you-" She brought up her free hand to tap Nitocris gently on the shoulder with a single finger. "-are planning to go after the Irish Sanctuary with your little army of brainwashed people."
"Is it really?" Nitocris purred, smirk twitching at her lips. "And do you have any idea where this rumour started?"
Sarah stared at her for a few seconds and then retracted the arm from her shoulders.
"You started the rumour." It wasn't a question.
"Indeed, my love. A threat on your beloved Irish Sanctuary was the only sure way to gain your attention."
"Why didn't you just give me a phone call like everybody else who wants to get in touch?" Sarah arched an eyebrow. "I would have come to see you."
A shrug from Nitocris. "Would you have, though?"
Sarah frowned.
"If there is one thing I learned from our time together, it is that you are constantly moving forwards, never looking back. We all just get left behind."Nitocris continued, observing Sarah with her glittering golden pupils for a reaction. Sarah's frown deepened, but she didn't answer. "But never mind that." Nitocris smiled. "You are here now, and that is all that matters."
"Wonderful. Just wonderful." Skulduggery interrupted, throwing up his arms in exasperation. "We came all the way to Egypt so that Sarah could go on a date."
Nitocris glanced at Skulduggery and Gordon, but otherwise ignored them. "Those two men..."She began, curling her lip in distaste at the word. "Are they with you?"
Sarah chuckled."Unfortunately." She then diverted her attention to the brainwashed people in the room. "But what about all this? That's an awful lot of trouble to go to, just for me."
"Oh, that's all just theatrics." Nitocris waved a casual, dismissive hand and started to circle Sarah with heavy footsteps, her metal heels clacking against the stone floor. She came full circle and stopped, standing a foot away from the black-haired sorcerer, face to face. They simply stared into each other's eyes for a few moments, Sarah's pupils contracting into slits. When nobody made a move, Skulduggery turned on his heel and started to walk away.
"I'm leaving." He declared, waving a hand over his shoulder. "You two have fun with your date."
Sarah and Nitocris ignored him and instead launched themselves at each other, lips mashing together in a flurry of passion. Gordon glanced back at Skulduggery and hesitated. "...Are you absolutely sure we have to leave just yet?" He returned his attention to the kissing women and sighed. "I suppose that's one down side about going on adventures with a dead man." Shuffling backwards, he reluctantly followed after the skeleton detective as he made his way over to the tunnel entrance.
Grinning, Nitocris pulled away from the kiss and brought up a fist to punch Sarah right in the face. She stumbled back, but returned the grin with a slightly breathless laugh, swinging a punch of her own. It soon broke out into a full-scale fight, but still Skulduggery walked, completely ignoring them both.
"Stop them!" Nitocris called, momentarily withdrawing from her fight with Sarah, the turquoise gems in her collar glowing a brilliant blue. The brainwashed people all turned to face Skulduggery and Gordon, three of them moving to block the tunnel entrance.
"These men have offended me with their presence."
Skulduggery stopped and turned back to face Nitocris, head cocked to one side.
"Let me get this straight." He stuck his hands in his pockets. "Gordon and I offend you with our presence, so you prevent us from leaving? I don't know about you, but that seems a tad contradictory to me."
"Kill these idiots." Nitocris commanded, and the brainwashed people dashed Skulduggery and Gordon, blue eyes glowing intensely.
"You should have taken my advice." Sarah called, laughing as Skulduggery readied himself for a fight. "Keep your big ol' jaw shut next time, m'kay?"
"And perhaps you should pay more attention to your surroundings." He replied, ducking a punch from one of the brainwashed people and flipping them over his hip. Sarah raised an eyebrow and turned just in time to see the point of a heel come flying into her vision. She dropped into a roll, missing the sharpened metal by a hair's breadth.
"Oi oi, that was a close one!" She laughed a little psychotically, flipping the right way up and springing to her feet as Nitocris landed on her own.
A shrug and a smirk. "You weren't paying attention." The Egyptian woman turned and slowly raised her arms, upturned fists clenched tightly.
"True. Very true." Sarah nodded, glancing at the collar she wore around her neck. "But that isn't the issue here. Gordon and Skulduggery may be idiots, but you know I can't just let you kill my friends."
"Of course. This controls the amulets." Nitocris tapped the collar casually. "Come and get it..." She quickly uncurled her fingers, two golden snakes springing from her palms and flying straight for Sarah. "If you can!"
Sarah sidestepped one of the golden snakes and it flew harmlessly past. The other she grabbed by the neck and swung it in a half-circle, sending the hissing serpent right back at Nitocris. With one arm still raised, she absorbed it back into her palm. "Come." She beckoned to the remaining snake, but it lay on the floor behind Sarah, thrashing around and hissing wildly.
"It's frightened." Sarah stated, brow furrowed. "Something is coming." She flicked out her serpent tongue to taste the air.
"What is it?" Nitocris questioned, but Sarah shook her head.
"I'm not sure, but its scent has been bothering me since I arrived." She crouched down next to the thrashing snake and tried to calm it. She muttered soothing words of magic and placed one hand upon its scaly head. Still a little nervous, it slithered up Sarah's arm and came to rest across her shoulders. "Call off your minions, Nitocris. Something more serious is going on here."
"Very well, Sarah. But only because it is you." She turned to look at the group of brainwashed people trying to kill Skulduggery and Gordon. "Stop!"
The collar glowed once again and every single person under its influence obeyed immediately. Gordon, who had screwed his eyes shut against the oncoming assault of mindless drones, cracked one open to see a clenched fist mere centimetres from his nose. "Ah."
Skulduggery, who held his own fists in a defensive position, stopped to look around.
"Why aren't you all trying to kill us? I was rather enjoying myself."
"Save the sarcastic comments for later, Skulduggery." Sarah told him, walking over. "Right now we have a bigger problem." She flicked her tongue out again, trying to pinpoint the bothersome scent. "Something is headed this way. Something big, and I think it intends to kill us all."
"Oh, so no different from Nitocris then?" Skulduggery lowered his arms and straightened out his tie. "My day couldn't possibly get any better."
"She wasn't actually going to kill you. The both of us used to get into fights like this all the time." Sarah walked over to the nearest wall and placed one palm flat against it, eyes scanning over the hieroglyphs. "Now shut up. I'm trying to concentrate. We're not alone down here and I have a feeling these hieroglyphs will reveal the identity of our company."
Nitocris strolled over to Skulduggery while Sarah studied the wall, hands clasped behind her back and head tilted back slightly so she was looking down her nose at him. "I was going to kill you, by the way. Just thought you should know that."
"How very kind."
"I was going to have my minions tear your very bones apart." She added, golden pupils twinkling dangerously.
"Such a charming woman you are."
"Play nice, you two. Don't make me come back there." Sarah called, eyes now a faintly glowing red. "Mama's workin'." She frowned as her fingers brushed past a particular cluster of hieroglyphs. "Uh-oh." Her expression changed somewhat as she read the symbols on the wall, shifting from one of concentration to one of mild concern.
"The words 'uh-oh' coming from you, Sarah, don't exactly fill me with confidence." Skulduggery commented, ignoring the daggers Nitocris was glaring at the back of his head and walking over.
"That's probably a sensible reaction." Sarah agreed, nodding slowly. "On another note; we're all going to die."
"What is it? What did you find?" Nitocris asked, joining the other two by the wall and peering at the hieroglyphs by Sarah's hand. She blinked. "Uh-oh."
"You can read hieroglyphics?" Gordon asked curiously, walking over to complete their little group.
"My great-grandmother was an Egyptian Pharaoh. Of course I can read hieroglyphics." Nitocris looked at Gordon like he was a complete and total moron, but he didn't seem to mind.
"Yes, and what do they say?" Skulduggery prompted, getting impatient.
"These lower chambers serve as a home to an ancient, virtually indestructible creature, and its main job is to protect the amulets." Sarah explained.
"And Nitocris disturbed the amulets, so now it's after us." Skulduggery concluded. "That's great. Just perfect." He turned to look at Sarah. "I blame you."
"What? It's not as if I knew what was going to happen. You can't blame me!" She rounded on him, eyes a blazing red. "Drop dead, numbskull."
"Already have done."
"Encore!"
"Look at this." Nitocris interrupted in a low, serious voice, luckily before things could get too ugly. She had crouched down next to the wall and was examining one particular patch that had been hastily scrawled on in what looked like blood. "No hieroglyphs this time. It's in Arabic." Sarah took a deep breath and shook her head, crouching down next to Nitocris to look at the bloody writing. She spent a moment reading over it and arched an eyebrow.
"What does this one say?" Gordon asked, head tilted to the side.
"It's a warning." Sarah told him. "Looks like the last sorcerer to come down here happened across the creature, which apparently abandoned its job of protecting the amulets a little over a hundred years ago. It's been trying to escape the pyramid ever since." She peered up at Skulduggery. "See? It's not my fault. This creature has been on a rampage for a hundred years."
"I still blame you." Skulduggery stated. "If you had bothered to stay in touch with Nitocris, she wouldn't have gone to all this trouble to get you here. I wouldn't be here. This has been a complete waste of time."
"Is that really all you're bothered about? " Sarah hissed. "Well sorry to inconvenience you, Mr. Pleasant, but that's just how I am. I go around ruining people's lives, remember?"
"Oh, I remember all right. And not a day goes by I don't want to wrap my fingers around your throat and choke the life right from you." Skulduggery snapped, and Gordon's eyebrows flew up.
"Come on, Skulduggery. That's taking it a bit too far, don't you think?"
"Not with her it isn't." He muttered.
"So why don't you just come over here and kill me?!" Sarah threw up her arms, the expression on her face quite demented.
"Don't tempt me."
"I'll tempt you all I want. Bring it!"
CRASH.
Skulduggery and Sarah immediately ceased their argument, turning in the general direction of the noise. Nitocris and Gordon did the same. Only the brainwashed people remained perfectly still.
CRASH.
The noise was getting closer and Nitocris narrowed her eyes, getting into a battle-ready stance. "The creature has found us."
CRASH.
The entrance to the nearest tunnel exploded outwards, bits of rubble flying every which way and crushing the group of people that were standing before it. From the settling dust emerged a creature and at first glance it looked to be nothing more than an ordinary lion, if not abnormally large in size. But on second glance, one would notice the feathery head and sharp, curved beak, the scaly bird forelegs and eagle wings that sprouted from its back.
"A griffin. I honestly thought they were extinct." Sarah said slowly, staring up at the majestic creature with admiration. "It's beautiful." The griffin shrieked loudly, its orb-like eyes narrowing to glare at the small group by the wall.
"And it's also going to kill us." Skulduggery added. "I think we should probably run."
Shrieking again, the griffin lunged for them and they were forced to separate. Gordon and Nitocris flung themselves in one direction while Skulduggery and Sarah leapt in the other.
The griffin collided with the wall in between, making a large crater upon impact. It shook its head, dazed, and Skulduggery took this opportunity to pull his gun from its holster and fire off a couple of shots. This only seemed to further provoke the eagle-headed lion. It screeched loudly, swinging a scaly paw at Skulduggery as it finally righted itself. He barely managed to dodge the razor sharp talons as they sliced through the air, making deep gouges in a nearby wall.
Nitocris summoned a dozen golden snakes and they all surged at the griffin, hissing loudly, fangs bared. The one draped around Sarah's neck joined the fight, but was easily torn apart by the griffin's powerful beak along with its fellows.
Skulduggery put his gun away and summoned a fireball in each hand, but Sarah threw herself between him and the griffin. "Wait! Don't hurt it."
"Move, Sarah!" Skulduggery ordered. "Do you want it to kill us?"
"At least let me try to reason with it first." She slowly approached the creature, her red eyes glowing faintly. It screeched and raked its talons across the stone floor, sending sparks up into the air. "I'm a friend." Sarah told it, her tone calm and friendly. "I'm not going to hurt you." The griffin screeched again, a little louder than before. "He's not listening." She told the others.
"What a surprise." Skulduggery muttered.
"Well, he hasn't exactly had a good experience with humans. They trapped him here, thousands of years ago, just to guard those damn amulets. He only wants to be free." Sarah growled.
"Yes, but what would happen if it were to get free?"
Shaking its head wildly, the griffin shrieked and snapped its beak threateningly. ""Tear every human limb from limb"." Sarah translated slowly. "And I honestly don't blame him."
"You know we can't allow that to happen. We can't allow it to get free." Skulduggery told her, the flames in his hands still burning brightly.
Sarah shrugged. "You're on your own, Skulduggery. I'm outta here." And she turned to leave, ignoring the griffin as it screeched after her. Nitocris glanced once at the massive creature and then made to follow Sarah as she walked over to the nearest accessible tunnel.
Cursing, Skulduggery threw both fireballs at the griffin, but it shook them off like it was nothing. Now angrier than ever it dived for Skulduggery, talon tipped toes reaching for him, beak wide open and ready to crush his bones to dust. He splayed his palms wide, sending a solid wall of air at the griffin, but the only thing it seemed to do was send a slight ripple through its feather-fur combination.
"Skulduggery!" Gordon yelled, but the skeleton detective had no time to move out of the way. A black blur and he was knocked aside, the griffin colliding with the figure that had taken his place. Its powerful beak clamped around their waist upon impact, slicing through flesh and bone, sending them both skidding across the floor.
Sarah, with her arms spread wide, looked up slowly, the blood flowing from between her clenched teeth. "OK. I gotta admit. That one hurt."
As Skulduggery groaned and picked himself up from the floor, Gordon stared wide-eyed at Sarah and Nitocris was running towards her. "Sarah!" She yelled, not quite understanding how the black-haired sorcerer was still alive. The griffin had almost severed her clean in two, and yet she was still standing.
"Let me go." Sarah gurgled, her eyes glowing more brightly than before. "Now."
The griffin released its hold on her and backed up quickly, feathery ears flattening against its head. Sarah smiled weakly, her body already starting to repair itself. "Good boy." And she promptly collapsed. Eyes widening Nitocris rushed to catch her, almost slipping in the pool of blood that had gathered by her feet.
Sarah awoke with golden beads in her face. She looked up to see Nitocris leaning over her, concern in her eyes. "I'm sort of afraid to breathe in. You know, just in case I inhale your hair. I might choke." She hummed, a grin on her face.
"You're awake!" Nitocris exclaimed, and Sarah couldn't help but laugh.
"Actually, it's just sleep-sarcasm. Sort of like sleep-walking but more, you know, sarcastic." She muttered, one eye screwed shut and the other only open a crack.
Nitocris laughed. "I am relieved. For a moment there, I thought you would not wake at all."
"Well, you know me." Sarah opened her eyes fully and pushed herself into a sitting position, wincing slightly as her stomach folded. "Too stubborn to die."
"Indeed." A warm smile from Nitocris, her golden pupils twinkling. "So tell me...how did you heal? It was like no magic I have ever seen."
"Ah." Sarah shakily got to her feet, both arms unfolding to steady herself. "It's kind of a long story."
"I've got time."
"Then perhaps later, over dinner?"
"It's a date." Nitocris reached behind her neck, unclasping the collar that rested there. "Here. You had best take this back to your Irish Sanctuary or I might be tempted to use it again." A mischievous grin as she handed it over to Sarah.
"Thank you."
She chuckled and glanced around the trashed room. Skulduggery was stood next to the golden throne while Gordon sat on the ground before it. The griffin lay several metres away, wiggling its feathery ears and flapping its wings nervously.
Sarah arched an eyebrow and Nitocris seemed to notice. "Hm, yes. The griffin has been like that ever since you passed out. I think it is worried about you." She looked slightly disbelieving, even as she said these words.
"Looks like I've made a new friend." Sarah started walking over to the griffin, wobbling precariously as she went. "Hey, buddy." She greeted upon reaching the agitated beast, and its ears instantly perked up. It got to its feet and bounded over to Sarah, rubbing one feathery cheek against her own, making a strange sort of purring noise. She laughed, her free hand coming up to scratch behind its ears. The griffin wiggled its head happily and continued to purr, eyelids fluttering half-closed. "Are you going to behave now?" An obedient scree. "Now more trying to hurt my friends, right?" Another wiggle of the head.
"And if I free you from this pyramid, will you promise to behave?" The griffin started jumping up and down on the spot excitedly, so Sarah took that as a yes. "Good, good!" She chuckled. "I have a, hm, friend you can stay with. I sent him away to keep him safe. So far as I know, he's the last of his kind. You two should get on well together."
Leaving the griffin to take off and do something much like a victory lap around the room, giant wings buffeting everyone with a cool blast of air, Sarah made her way over to Gordon and Skulduggery. She sat down in the golden throne and looked up at her old friend, who was apparently staring down a nearby tunnel. "Are you alright?"
He didn't answer for a long while but eventually turned to look at her. "Why did you save me?"
Leaning on the arm of the throne to prop herself up, Sarah brought one hand to the back of Skulduggery's head and slapped it, knocking off his hat. "Idiot. You're my best friend and I love you."
"Even after what I said earlier?"
A shrug from Sarah. "I know you didn't mean it."
"But what if I did?"
"Then I wouldn't blame you." Sarah smiled and stood up, leaning over to kiss Skulduggery on the cheek bone before turning to leave. She said goodbye to Gordon, who seemed to be coping surprisingly well with the whole thing.
"Goodbye my dear! This was all such a wonderful adventure, but I shall probably just stay home next time." He chuckled and went on to mutter about how the whole thing would make an excellent novel. Still smiling Sarah continued on her way, the griffin landing clumsily and charging off ahead, Nitocris following after it.
Before Sarah could start walking down the tunnel after them a skeletal hand caught her wrist. She turned back to see Skulduggery standing before her, head cocked to one side.
"I didn't mean those things." He said after a pause, and Sarah smiled.
"I know." She moved in for a hug and Skulduggery wrapped his bony arms around her. "So I guess this means we've made up now, huh?"
"I guess so."
"Good." Sarah grinned, withdrawing from the hug. "We still don't have to see each other but as long as we're friends again, that's all that matters."She handed the collar to him. "And you had better take this. It's used to control the amulets and leaving it with someone like me is probably a bad idea."
"I couldn't agree more."
Laughing, Sarah turned back to face the tunnel and started walking down it, waving a lazy goodbye to Skulduggery over her shoulder.
"Catch you later, bonehead."
