WRATH of the MUMMY
By Lady JenDragon
Disclaimer: I don't own the movie characters. Story's mine though – joyous!
Author's Notes: Been away awhile I know. I moved then mother got diagnosed with cancer so I've been a little behind and a bit busy. But, now I'm getting back into the groove.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
The Dream
Seamus and Xalla discussed plans in the Wheel Cabin of Speedeater, ignoring the remainder on the boat. Xalla occasionally pointed towards items on deck through the window as Seamus eagerly asked questions. The two seemed inseparable since returning the boat.
On the deck below, Rick reloaded his weapons, the ammo bag rolled out before him on a makeshift table. Evie and Jonathan looked on in quiet discussion occasionally glancing up into the wheel cabin silently wondering what the other two were up to.
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The caravan began to mount their camels in the early morning light just after dawn. Madara stood with her gun trained on Ardeth as the Med-Jai got onto his horse without aid. She occasionally veered her eyes to the resurrected priest.
Imhotep sat on his legs in meditation, his eyes closed. His hands rested on his thou=ghs, seemingly forgotten in his mental. Four armed guards approached him, holding the loaded weapons in front of them menacingly.
"Mount your camel!" The guard insisted in ancient Egyptian.
Imhotep continued to meditate, obviously ignoring the order spoken in the ancient language.
"I said mount your camel!" Came the order again, growled out through gritted teeth.
Serin began walking towards Imhotep sensing that the guard might set off Imhotep. He may get the impression that those who brought him back from an unhappy death would fall prey to his powers would learn exactly who he was dealing with. But it was Amolitiye who reached the priest first, keeping thirty feet between them.
"Is this what you expected?" Serin asked quietly as he stopped next to Amolitiye.
Amolitiye nodded, restraining from smiling.
"It's too soon for the curse to fully regenerate." Serin spoke his thoughts out loud. "The medallion?"
Amolitiye veered her eyes to Serin knowing Serin understood the consequences. The medallion changed nothing of the strength of his powers, only accelerated the amount of time it would take to regain full power. At least another day was needed before his power returned. Serin backed towards the others giving her space. Perhaps he understood more than he related with words.
It was then that Imhotep got to his feet, turning to study a confident Amolitiye. She neither flinched nor cowered from him. In fact, she appeared unmoved by him and his history.
"I do not wish to fall in with your plans." Imhotep asked in his language and glared at the young woman.
"Your cooperation is not a request." She replied evenly.
"You are a priestess?" Imhotep questioned finding her far too calm.
Amolitiye remained silent.
"I can destroy you!" Imhotep challenged.
Imhotep raised the desert behind him, the desert coming alive with sands swirling into a chaotic wall of ferocity. Two tornadoes took form zig-zagging their way across the sands towards them. With his arms stretched forward, Imhotep took hold of several weapons from the nearest guards, pointing them at Amolitiye menacingly.
Amolitiye regarded the wall of intimidation with indifference and lowered her eyes to the ground.
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Rick, Evie and Jonathan relaxed on deck, eating a leisurely breakfast. Muffled pounding emanated from below with the occasional loud creaking noises squeaking loudly. Xalla appeared on the stairs then, scanning the deck as if looking for something.
Suddenly the sky off in the distance seemed to explode. What seemed like a sonic boom erupted across the deck, shaking the boat fiercely enough to knock over anything not weighed down. The sands dispersed into a dark cloud before settling back down. It was too far off to see exactly what the source was. Anyone who paid it attention might think it was just an explosion. They would lose interest and return to their life in progress.
Rick, Evie and Jonathan jumped to their feet, looking towards the horizon for answers. Could it be the new menace? Xalla joined them at the port railing, watching the sky for anything that might give them a clue as to where they might be headed.
"A face off between our Sorceress and the priest?" Xalla wanted to know.
"What do you think?" Rick looked to Evie.
"We're catching up." Evie smiled. "Which means we're on the right track."
"It could'a been anything." Jonathan was not one to sound excited. "How do we know it wasn't a truck blowing up or something?"
Seamus arrived on deck, dropping the wood logs in his arms, both eyes wide. Xalla glanced over her shoulder and smiled.
"There's no explosives at this time that would produce something that large." Xalla spoke out loud. "You'd need three trucks of TNT to get that result. Not possible in this day and age. That's abnormal."
Jonathan only stared at Xalla perplexed by her explanation. Ignoring him, Xalla noticed Seamus and returned to the big man to get back to work. They had a lot to accomplish before they hit land again. If her calculation was right, that would be early tomorrow.
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The wall of desert slowed behind Imhotep, stopping at his command. He smiled evilly, confident that his show of power would rouse fear among these people. Yet none seemed to quiver in his presence. They were awed by his abilities but none seemed nearly fearful of the show of power.
Amolitiye eyes opened, looking up from the ground glowing bright red. Both hands open at her sides, she stretched them forward with careful thrust. The winds seemed to pick up from the opposite direction, swirling around the camels and guards standing watch.
Suddenly the wall of sand shuddered.
Imhotep turned in time to find his wall of desert twisting and turning as if molded by the hands of another. Two giant guards take shape in the sand, their eyes glowing red just as Amolitiye's. Imhotep glanced at Amolitiye then back at the guards taking a step forward. One lifted his foot and cast Imhotep in shadow then stepped down.
The weapons hanging in the air around Amolitiye fell to the sand. Imhotep took one last look at Amolitiye as the sand guard's foot disintegrated around him. He shielded his eyes with his arms.
Suddenly, Imhotep levitated off the sand and floated over to her, hanging in mid air.
"Now, you and your power belong to me." Amolitiye's eyes remained glowing red.
He stared at her then down at the medallion hanging from around his neck. His eyes widened as the depth of power she possessed sunk in. She flicked her hand and he flew through the air, landing next to his camel.
Ardeth could only stare at the small woman. She was the bigger threat than Imhotep and it was she who gained the upper hand. The priest's powers now belonged to her. The children's story was true.
And that scared him.
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Xalla returned below deck with Seamus, Jonathan watching them curiously.
"I wonder what she's up to." He placed both hands on his hips. "They've been tinkering since Thebes."
"Something to do with transportation." Evie shrugged. "I'd doubt any of us would understand it."
Rick nodded towards the artifact bag. "Has the book changed?
"No!" Evie said impatiently. "I was hoping the cover would show us something more. But it's done nothing more than sit there."
"It's okay." Rick could tell she was frustrated after running out of options to open the lock.
All methods of lock picking failed. They tried fire, cold, and plain old beating but nothing happened. Not even a dent in the metal was made to indicate their hard work. Jonathan took a few whacks at it as well.
"I just wish I could open it!" Hating that she could not open such a book. "The answers just have to be in there."
"It's probably waiting for the right time to open up." Jonathan shrugged finding his bottle of wine. "I guess we'll just have to wait till its time for it to open."
"You know." Rick hated to admit he had to agree with Jonathan. "Sometimes you just amaze me."
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Imhotep stares intensely at Amolitiye on the lead camel. He closes his hand over the medallion, drops the necklace suddenly.
"I cannot remove it!" He looked over at Amolitiye.
Ardeth watched Imhotep intensely, frowning when the priest could not remove the medallion from his neck. Perhaps the medallion was her only link to the priest. He kept his stares short and made the most of his observations. Since he could not die at the hands of Serin and his wrath, he would be allowed to find out more of this sorceress.
Serin rode beside Madara, looking between Ardeth on his right and Imhotep on his left both riding a few paces ahead of him. Madara appeared angry since Ardeth Bay's arrival. He was not one to bring up a subject, noting Madara's sudden interest in torturing techniques. She did not seem to pay attention before.
He smiled.
They would stop for the night shortly. The day had been long and hot. Everyone would need to rest and gather strength for tomorrow when they reached their destination. Wherever that was to be, he did not know. Amolitiye was the one leading them through this desert.
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Night fell upon the land. Everyone seemed to suddenly catch the urge to surrender to sleep earlier than normal. Jonathan liked staying up at night could not find the strength to fight off his eyes closing. Xalla made her bed below the Wheel Cabin, sleeping on her side. Several large sacks were stacked beneath her that made a firm yet comfy bed.
Rick and Evie rested together near the port side railing, the breeze from the waters gently blowing over the deck. Jonathan laid unconscious near the bow on a large flat crate, resting on his back against sacks of sand, his head hung over the crate's edge. His mouth stayed wide open as he breathed in heavily.
Loud snores emanated from the Wheel Cabin as Seamus kept careful watch from the perch. The ship was on something he called 'automatic pilot'. Only Xalla seemed unafraid of what that meant but they succumbed to sleep quickly once settled down.
Rick O'Connell and Xalla rolled over at the same time.
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Ardeth slept on a sheet on the sand inside a canvas tent. Kept away from the Imhotep and the others, he had constant guard patrols watching over him in case he decided to escape. But not tonight.
Tonight he was overcome with exhaustion. A proud warrior, he could not keep his eyes open despite his training. At one point, he suffered minor ridicule from the guards for being so sleepy but eventually he knocked out.
He rolled over in his make-shift bed, the sheet uncovering him.
At that moment, Amolitiye walked briskly into Ardeth's tent. The guards step aside as she approached the Med-Jai warrior, eyeing him intently. Amolitiye stopped at Ardeth's feet, watching him sleep soundly. Unusual for a Med-Jai.
"What are you up to?" She whispered.
Ardeth stirred then, shifting position then settling back down.
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Left alone to sleep in a small canvas tent alone, Imhotep was over come by a strong desire to sleep as well. And so he fell asleep on a camping cot shortly after the others ate their dinners. He rolled over onto his back, both eyes closed. Seemingly restless, he took in a deep breath then settled down.
Suddenly his back suddenly arched.
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Imhotep opened his eyes to find the entire kingdom was gathered in the throne room. Standing in the middle of the room, he wore white and gold robes over his gold tunic. The Pharaoh and Aneksunamun sat on the throne watching him intently as he went through the motions of the ritual.
Baskets were gathered around him in a circle for the upcoming harvest. He blessed the festivities in slow but calculated movements of his hands. Amolitiye sat behind Imhotep with the other servants watching as Imhotep began the end of the ritual blessing.
Imhotep bowed to the Pharaoh and then moved off. A second girl resembling Amolitye sits beside her distracted by someone off to her left. Amolitiye leaned over and whispered.
'Amenutiye." Tapping her on the shoulder to get her attention and pointed at the throne.
Her words were lost in the clapping of the attendees of the blessing. Then Amenutiye looked between Imhotep and Amolitiye then over at Aneksunamun. The queen-to-be watches the priest with such an intensity that she was startled when the Pharaoh touches her hand.
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The view changed suddenly.
Amolitiye witnessed Imhotep's execution from a dark corner, tucked into the darkness with careful calculation. Curious as to his fate, she waited in the shadows as the priests slowly convert Imhotep and condemn him to the Hum-dai curse. Screams and curses are heard but feel muffled as if behind closed doors.
An eerie smile crosses her lips.
She spotted something that got her full attention. Amolitiye opened her hand, his necklace lying on the table beside the sarcophagus flies to her unnoticed by the Royal Guards. She catches the necklace, quickly slipping it into a waist level pocket at her waist.
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The view changed once more. Hieroglyphs cover the walls in bright colors from ceiling to floor. Pillars line the walls with twelve-foot of female statues in between. Nothing else was kept in the room meant for rituals and learning at the palace.
Amolitiye sat on the stone, raised platform in the center of the medium-sized room. A plate of fruit and goblet of drink were her only other companions. She melted Imhotep's necklace with her powers, forming the Kai medallion.
A short distance away, Amenutiye watched her sister from the doorway, hidden in shadows.
Sad eyes lowered to the stone floor then back up to her sister practicing black magic within the palace walls. Amolitiye lifted a partially frosted, transparent rock into the air with her hands. Light engulfed the rock, carving it into a perfectly cut pear-shaped diamond.
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The view changed once more to the palace, inside where the large hall came to an entrance to another inner room. Amenutiye meets the with the head guard of the three tattoo-covered Med-Jai standing outside the Queen's chambers. The hall is sparsely decorated except with hieroglyphs covering the walls.
"Amenutiye, what are you doing here?" The head guard asked her softly.
She whispered her story into his ear. He jolted upright and took a step back. Regarding her with deep thought, he took her inside.
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The new queen, Nefertiti, awakens to her Head Guard asking her to wake. There is an important matter which requires immediate attention. He quietly related his reasons for waking her as she gets out of bed. The Queen frowned in anger and walked briskly towards Amenutiye.
Amenutiye went down on one knee, bowing her head.
"Why have you not identified yourself to me?!" Nefertiti demanded.
"I have only just discovered my potential." Amenutiye offered quietly.
Nefertiti did not waste time. "There is a plot against my kingdom?"
Amenutiye nodded and bowed again.
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View dissolved to brown tones before clearing to find the Queen arrived to find Amolitiye reading from three scrolls in the medium sized room seen before. Lights hovering in the air above her, they shift when Amolitiye flicks her wrist.
She waited for several more minutes allowing the level of ability to be learned. The Queen narrowed her eyes then turned from the doorway silently.
Amenuitiye stood at the end of the hall just visible behind the Queen as she turned from the doorway. Amolitiye looked up and turned to the door finding no one there. She shrugged then returned to reading.
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On a moonless night, three Royal Guards run down the palace hall. One is the Head Guard. The other two guards resemble Rick O'Connell and Ardeth Bay dressed as Med-Jai warriors. They slip into the maids bed chambers silently.
Amolitiye sleeps quietly in the bed nearest the balcony wearing white robes in the heat of the night. Quickly and in one sweep, Rick and Ardeth pulled Amolitiye from bed, holding her firmly by the arms.
"What is going on?! Let me go!" Amolitiye demanded.
Head Bodyguard backhanded a struggling Amolitiye across the face, unsheathing a pearl-gilded sword. Amolitiye kicked the sword out of his hand, rubbing her hand over her face. The head guard threw himself and maneuvered to retrieve the sword from where it skittered across the floor, disappearing beneath another bed.
Amolitiye used her powers to throw Rick and Ardeth across the room in opposite directions. She smiled when they slid to the floor grunting. She returned to her bed and pulled a short sword from under her pillow in anticipation of an attack occurring. Rick distracted Amolitiye engaging in sword fight. He allowed her to attack and swung wildly as Ardeth snuck up behind her. He wrapped both arms around her, effectively lifting her off the floor, her feet kicking frantically.
Ardeth and Rick positioned a disarmed, struggling Amolitiye between them. They gripped her firmly by the arms once more, despite her fight to get free. The Head Guard strode over after retrieving the sword, thrusting the pearl gilded sword forward hard.
Amolitiye's eyes widen as she's impaled in the abdomen. She slid to the floor, hand outstretched towards Amenutiye.
Amenutiye watched from the balcony as Amolitiye slipped to the floor, blood pooling by her feet. The Head Guard turns to find her there but says nothing. Amolitiye's eyes never leave Amenutiye's as life drained from her.
"Amolitiye!" Amenutiye covered her mouth with both hands then stretched them forward and whispered. "What have you done?!
She left the balcony running.
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Amolitiye stumbled backwards then fell to the ground at Ardeth's feet, visibly weak, her hand over her abdomen. She cringed in pain, her breathing ragged from just being in close proximity. Ardeth remained unconscious.
"The Triad has grown stronger." She growled as her eyes grew a deep purple.