Chapter Fourteen

Shepseheret went back to Egypt to inform Larry and Nick of our plan. I didn't go myself for fear of hurting either of them again. Merenkahre and Ahk stayed with me, the younger pharaoh calming me by holding me in his arms and rubbing comforting patterns into my back. It's around this time that I become aware of the fact that I'm not wearing anything but the billowing white dress, which of course, has been miraculously cleaned of any blood. Is there anything this power isn't capable of doing? At this point, my wardrobe is the least of my worries. Shepseheret returns.

"Are we ready?"

"I believe so." Merenkahre responds.

They all turn their attention to me. It's up to me to take us there, and I'm fairly certain I can do it.

"Everyone join hands, please."

We do, Ahk giving my right hand a reassuring squeeze. We form a little circle.

"Close your eyes."

They do. I do as well, taking a deep breath. I don't exactly know where we'll end up, but I think about taking us to the High Priest's tomb. Slowly, the gold edges into my vision. I can feel a strange wind picking up around us, swirling through my hair. A roar that starts out quiet at first quickly becomes deafening, and I can no longer feel the floor beneath my feet. Then, all too suddenly, the roar silences and the wind dies. I can feel ground beneath my feet again, but it's not the tiles of the museum. I open my eyes. It's too dark to see Ahk next to me, but I fix that by lighting up the dead torches on the walls of the tomb with a flick of my eyes. We are in a large room with a dirt floor and stone walls. The torches cast grotesque shadows over our faces. We hesitantly let go of each other. The room is dead silent, I can hear the royal family's hearts beating rapidly. Of course, that may also have something to do with my enhanced senses. There are pots and trunks lining the walls, with scrolls and other artifacts filling in the spaces between. Everything is covered with a thick coat of dust. The room is musty and warm. There is a sarcophagus along the far wall, one that I can only assume contains the High Priest. The family almost simultaneously sends off a prayer to Osiris asking for forgiveness for disturbing the tomb of their dead priest. My powers are buzzing with electricity, likely recognizing the old vessel and the place of their origin. We're in Egypt.

"Wow." Ahk breathes, finally breaking the silence.

"What do we do now?" Merenkahre asks, for once not having the answer.

I take a moment to orient myself, and then I glance around the room. Immediately, my attention is drawn to a chest in the corner. It looks rather inconspicuous, but my attention is drawn regardless. I cross the room to it, and pry it open. Centuries old dust puffs up into the air. Inside the chest is a scroll, and an exact replica of Ahk's tablet. I reach out to touch it, but I stop myself. All it took was one touch to inherit the powers and "kill" the tablet, what if I do the same thing to myself? Instead, I reach for the scroll and pull it out of the trunk. The parchment is thick in my hands, perfectly preserved within the trunk despite the years. I unfurl it. The hieroglyphs jump out at me with perfect clarity, and I read its contents to the waiting royal family.

"On this day, I have discovered the way to finally rid my body of this power. By creating a new vessel, the tablet, underneath the same ceremony in which the power was transferred to me, I can bestow the power upon the tablet. My research has given no indication that any of its abilities will be compromised, and it will instead require a specific sequence of tiles to make each spell work as opposed to myself simply willing the spell into being. I will begin the ceremony tonight, alone, beneath the full moon. The tablet will draw its powers from the moonlight, just as my very blood gives life to the power now."

There is a space, and then the glyphs begin again.

"The moon has risen to directly above the temple. I will place my hands on the tablet beneath Khonsu's light, and the powers will leave my body and be given to the tablet. There is a chance that I will not survive the transfer of power, and in that instance, I will cross over into Osiris' waiting arms. It will be a relief to be dead or alive and not have the burden of the power weighing heavily on my shoulders. This gift has been a curse to my existence, and I solemnly wish that no one else in the universe has to bear this burden. If this be the case, then I know that the following message will ease the mind:

Do not allow this power to take over. Here I sit with a pot of ink and a sheet of parchment, writing my own words, but every other movement I make is not mine own. This body is simply a vessel, and my soul is the unfortunate wretch pushed to the side to make way for the power and its demands. Consider death as an option, for now I wish that more than anything.

I will be able to add more about my experience to this scroll if I survive this ceremony. If I do not, here lie my last words.

The glyphs end. He died. The hieroglyphs begin to shake before my eyes, and I realize my hands are trembling. How am I going to get this out of me? He died trying, and I highly doubt that my chances of survival are any better.

"Alex… Don't cry. We will find a way. I swear it."

I didn't even realize I was, and yet, I see the ink of the glyphs smudge as my tears drip to the parchment. Ahk gathers me in his arms. For the first time, I feel genuinely lost. There is no way to get rid of this without dying. I don't want this to be my life. Maybe death would be the best way.

"Ahk, I should just do the ceremony. I'd rather die than have to live like this."

"Don't say that. Please, don't say that. We will solve this."

"There's no other way, don't you see it? This stupid body is too weak to handle the transfer. I can't get this out of me without dying."

"Maybe we shouldn't try to get it out of you, then." Merenkahre interjects.

I detach myself from Ahk, wiping my eyes.

"What do you mean?"

"If we know that your body will die if we transfer the power, then we shouldn't transfer it."

"But I don't want to keep it!"

"All you have to do is control it."

I stay quiet, waiting for him to piece his thoughts together.

"If we can utilize the weapon that Kahmunrah found, then we can keep the power under control, and unleash it when we need it. You'll have to deal with having the power, and you'll still be able to use it, but perhaps the weapon can control its compulsiveness."

"I like that plan." Ahk says, smiling at me.

"There are too many things that could go wrong," I muse, "he said that the weapon would kill me. How are we to know if it will simply contain the power?"

"Alexandria," Merenkahre responds, "he said that the weapon would control you. Death was an option, but only if he deemed it necessary. I seem to believe the gods had pity on the poor mortal harboring the power, perhaps creating a talisman that could control the power was exactly what they had in mind."

I want to find fault in this plan for the sake of self preservation, but nothing comes to mind. Could it really be that simple? Could there be an Egyptian artifact created specifically for the purpose of easing the burden on my shoulders?

"I want to believe it," my voice comes out as a whisper, "I do. I truly do. But I can't-"

"You must!" Ahk's voice is fierce with intensity, any hope of protesting dies in my throat, "you must believe in this, Alexandria. You cannot give up hope yet. I will not allow you to."

Why is he so adamant about not allowing me to give up? I must admire his doggedness, though.

"Alright, alright. I'll try. But only because either way leads to death, and it's all the same to me."

He heaves a pained sigh, but we turn back to his parents.

"So it is decided," Shepseheret declares, "we take the weapon from Kahmunrah, and use it for ourselves."

"Um, small problem. How are we going to steal it?"

Merenkahre's eyes glitter in the low light, "In case you haven't noticed, we have a weapon as powerful as the gods standing before us. I don't think we'll have a problem."

A little voice deep inside of me is telling me not to underestimate Kahmunrah. But then again, Merenkahre does speak the truth. I have a fair chance against Ahk's brother. With these optimistic thoughts floating through our heads, I allow a little bit of hope to bloom inside of me. Maybe, just maybe, this will work. We join hands and close our eyes, and in a matter of seconds, we are whisked from Egypt and back to the British museum. We have been deposited in Egypt, which is largely empty. Except for one very disturbing sight. Nicky is trying his hardest not to cry, and Larry lays barely conscious on the floor. His arm is a whole other sight entirely. I don't wish to describe it. Ew. Nicky flinches when he sees me. I feel the powers buzz to life in the presence of the two strangers, suffocating me with its need to hurt them. I manage to hold it at bay long enough to run out of the room and down the hallway. Sparks fly from my fingers and into the wall, knocking the entire thing down in a massive crash. Where a once eighteen foot by ten foot wood paneled wall stood, there is only dust. When it clears, a very terrified group of Icelandic fishermen are gaping at me.

"Undskyld. Ingen grund til at være bange." I murmur, the Danish rolling off of my tongue with ease.

They relax marginally at the sound of their language, and hurry off before I can blow them to smithereens. Luckily for me, that release of energy and distance from the "threat" has calmed the powers considerably. The sound of footsteps and the feeling of a warm presence draws my attention to Ahkmenrah before he even has a chance to appear from around the corner. As soon as he sees a gaping hole where a wall once stood, he freezes. His eyes flick between me and the non-wall for a full minute.

"Are - are you alright?"

"To be completely truthful, not in the slightest."

A timid smile spreads across his face as he approaches me, realizing the power has likely been calmed for now. It has, I hope. He hugs me again, and I sink gratefully into his arms. The comfort of another human being is doing wonders to my frazzled nerves. He pulls away, placing his hands on my forearms.

"Is everything going to be okay?" I ask, knowing the silliness of the question.

"Without a doubt," he responds, "I brought this upon you, and I will get it away from you."

Ahk seems to realize what he just said, and his gaze drops. No. He doesn't blame himself, does he? He does! That's why this has been so horrible for him. This entire time, he has been beating himself up over this.

"Ahkmenrah, don't you dare tell me you blame yourself for this." I say, backing up and craning my neck to peer into his lowered eyes.

He looks up, and a pain that I have rarely seen is etched into his features. His voice is weak, "How could I not? I am the one that brought you to the tablet and showed it to you, and I am the one that made you touch it."

"Are you insane? This is a centuries old prophecy! You couldn't have stopped it even if you did know about it! Don't you dare blame yourself for any of this. If anything, we should be blaming the gods."

The powers zing at my blatant blasphemy, but I'm so wrapped up in my speech I hardly dare to stop.

"Don't hurt yourself on my account. Don't you dare. This is my problem to face, and mine alone. You should never think that you had a single thing to do with any of this happening. It is not your fault."

"Don't be so naive," he snaps, his anger finally boiling over, "I am the fool that brought you to the exhibit. I'm the one that showed you the tablet. I'm the one that let you in. Larry wouldn't have let you, Rebecca wouldn't have let you, Nick wouldn't have let you. And yet, in my never-ending foolishness, I did. I let you in. And look where that has brought us! You have died! You have been cursed with a power that has made your life a living hell! You have caused pain to a man that you love with all of your heart! And it's all my fault! I can't let you give up. I just can't. I have dragged you into this hell, and I will pull you out of it. Even if I have to die trying."

"Ahk, don't! Don't risk your life for me. I'm just a vessel. I'm just another pawn in the game of the gods. The power is what matters here, and you cannot do a single thing to control it. Believe me, I've tried! And I sure as hell don't want you to try and save me from this, because you will die. And I will not let that happen. I would rather die a thousand deaths than rip you away from an eternity with the family that loves you."

"An eternity that will mean nothing if you aren't there with me!"

Before I have time to push him away, he has crashed his lips onto mine with a force so incredible I would have buckled if not for his arm firmly holding me in place. No. No! I can't let this happen. If I let myself hurt him like I hurt Larry… Those that I love mean nothing to the power.

And yet...

A different energy is sparking within me. His lips slide against mine, and I find my hands winding themselves into his dark hair on their own accord. I pull him even closer, my heart rate speeding up to a rate I hadn't thought possible before this. Sparks fly. Literally. He pulls away, shocked. I press my fingers to my lips, feeling the electricity radiating from me. I just electrocuted him.

"Woah." his voice comes out dark and full of lust.

"I knew I would hurt you if-"

He tugs me against him again, pressing another fierce kiss to my mouth. The tingles spread through us, electrifying our bodies in a way I hadn't thought I would ever find pleasurable. His lips are feverish against mine. It's as if he's saying everything he couldn't say before. I don't even have to dig through his thoughts to see it, clear as moonlight. And I love him for it.

good lord. good good lord. well, hello friends. please accept my sincerest apologies. I feel like a horrible person. I don't even want to look back at the last time I updated this story, because I know it was ages ago. I'm going to tell you in complete honesty what happened: I got a God awful case of writer's block. I knew where I wanted the story to go, and yet, I couldn't put it into words. has that ever happened to you? it happened to me. and it SUCKED. I didn't want to post a chapter that I wasn't proud of, so, I spent my time writing my other stories and mulling over what to do with this one. also (again in complete honesty) I was kind of scared to come back to this story. but today, I received a review for this poor little story certainly buried beneath other fantastic works and I thought: hey. if people are still reading this, why am I not still writing it? so, I booted up my laptop and got to work. the words flowed, and became what you just read that I hope was to your satisfaction. I am SO SO SORRY that it took me this long to update. I truly am. Alex ought to smite me with that power. thank you to the following people that didn't give up on me and followed me anyways, Emerald180, RaggedyManGoodnight, CarstaK, Lillie123, RockstarAddict, StopEatRead, Alienatia, MedianocheGlow12043 (amo tu nombre!) Maddell (for following the first! don't worry, a rewrite is in progress for that train wreck), anji1504, hettledettle, Cidney Cousinit Williams, Zusette (for following me and the story! I LOVE YOU), StressedButWellDressed (literally tho), Pretty Little Red Rose, Snickerdoodle22, roseangel21 (tysm for following me as well!), cutekoalas, and str81994. and finally, to my guest reader known only as lea, thank you for inspiring me to get back on here! also, a massive thank you to those that are continuing to follow/favorite/read "Rose as Red as Blood", I've hit a bit of a block with that story as well, so I'm stewing on it. thanks for your unending support! please guys, do not hesitate to leave a review about this story. even just a comment on how hot ahk is will suffice (you were all thinking it, don't lie), it means the world to me. I'm finding that your reviews really help me to stay motivated, knowing that people are actively reading the story really pushes me to keep going. feel free to berate me on my lack of updates, if you want. anything. please, please, please accept my apology for being gone for so long. my life has been a stressful one and I'm counting on summer break in a few months to give me much needed time to write. I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH, thanks for being awesome! also, currently accepting ship names for our lovely couple, and a name with which i can address you all. lovelies is too generic for my taste, although all of you are rather lovely ;P also also, as I'm starting an original story for the first time ever (SCARY RIGHT), I am in desperate need of a queen bee character. if any of you are interested, leave a review or PM me. she is a senior at a private school and best friends with co-queen bee, adelaide huntington. she is also musically inclined, playing the violin in the school's world class orchestra program. she is as snotty as a nostril, and is preferably a brunette (my mc is a redhead, and adelaide is platinum blonde). if you have any ideas, don't hesitate to reach out! I'm sure your idea is lovely. please don't be mad at me for taking artistic license if i do use it though, i may need to tailor her to my novel's needs. but you will most certainly get credit for her creation. ok. sorry for the long authors note. I had a lot to say. please remember to review, favorite, and follow, and I'll see you next chapter! (hopefully much, much sooner)