Disclaimer: yeah…I own nothing, for that matter I don't even actually own the computer I type this on.
Chapter XXV Separation
Both Ardeth and Josephine were just beginning to doze in each other's arms when suddenly the door to the cell opened with a clang. "My favorite Med-jai has come to visit, I see," came a thicker than tar accent that oozed contempt and despicability. Josephine moved closer to Ardeth without even realizing it, and Rick awoke with a start.
"Ghalib, we meet again," Ardeth spoke calmly although he was trembling inside. Visions of the first time they met shifted through his mind. Visions of his father's body being carried through the village as women wept and warriors bowed in respect. Ardeth remembered the detached feeling that encompassed him when the elders handed him his father's sword. Ardeth was ashamed that he shed more tears over leaving Ghalib to die in the middle of the desert than he did over his father's body.
"I see that you have brought your American friend along this time," Ghalib sneered as he glanced at Rick who was glaring straight at him.
"Where's my dear friend Gabe?" Rick asked darkly as he began to stand.
"No need to rise for me, Richard," Gabriel said as he stepped into the room followed closely by James who carried two lengths of rope. "It was so nice of your wife to let us borrow those maps, but I fear that your governess does have sticky fingers and just wouldn't let go of them. However, no worries we've found ourselves another way to find Nefertiri's tomb," Gabriel spoke in such a smooth Italian accent that Josephine despised him all the more. How could she have ever believed a word that came out of his mouth?
"You'll get yours Gabriel. I just hope that I'm there to see it when you do," Rick said as he watched Gabe's every move as though he would suddenly lunge at them with a knife or something.
"I hate to interrupt this touching reunion, but I fear I must. You see, we have a great deal more traveling to do before the sun sets," Ghalib said with false concern. "We'll just take Miss Montgomery, here, and be on our way," he sneered as he stepped forward to take Josephine's arm.
Before anyone could move a muscle, Ardeth yanked Josephine behind him and produced a small dagger from deep within his robes. "She isn't going with you," Ardeth growled as he watched Ghalib carefully.
"You see, my friend, that is where you are wrong. You may be chieftain of the twelve tribes outside these walls, but in here you're one man against hundreds who would love to see you dead. Even if, by some miracle, you did manage to kill me; you wouldn't make it down the corridor before a dozen men attacked you. And a tiny dagger like that is not going to ward off an entire army," Ghalib said with a sick smile.
"Even so, you'll have to kill me before you can touch her," Ardeth ground out as he glanced back to give Josephine a reassuring look. Josephine stood up slowly and tugged at the back of his robes, but Ardeth ignored her pleading eyes. He couldn't do as they beg for fear of losing her just when he had gotten to know her.
"As you wish," Ghalib laughed as four large men strode into the room. All of them were about Rashid's size at around 6'4" or 5" and looked like walls of solid muscle. Two walked toward Ardeth, and the others toward Rick. Ardeth crouched as though ready to attack, but before either side could move Josephine screamed.
"No…" she cried out as she rushed in front of Ardeth. "Please don't kill them," she continued to cry as she fell to her knees at Gabriel's feet. Ardeth was right behind her grasping her wrist to pull her away from them.
"Josephine, no!" he shouted as he tried to pull her back, but she continued to grovel at Gabriel's feet for the lives of both him and Rick.
"I'll go with you if I must, just please don't kill them. This is all my fault, they shouldn't have to die for my mistakes," she sobbed as she clung to Gabriel's robes. Ardeth didn't say another word, but instead knelt over her and pulled her to his chest in protection as well as comfort. He whispered soft words of comfort into her hair as she continued to cry, but he never took his eyes off of either Gabriel or Ghalib.
"Don't let her do it, Ardeth," Rick called from the corner where he stood on shaky legs before the two warriors. Rick may have had a concussion, but he was ready for a fight.
"It would seem he has little choice," Gabriel said calmly as he looked down at the pair crouched at his feet. Ghalib snorted at the image of Ardeth protecting her with his own body. In Ghalib's eyes, Ardeth's compassion was his biggest weakness. "I am inclined to grant you this one wish, Miss Montgomery, only because you have been so valuable to us in the past. However, you must come with us without a fight," Gabriel proposed as he stepped away from her clinging fingers.
Josephine was silent for a moment as she clutched Ardeth's forearm which was wrapped across her shoulders and chest. Ardeth continued to speak rapidly into her ear in Arabic, but Josephine knew she had to agree to the terms even if it meant she would face unimaginable horrors. "Don't do it. Please, for me…don't do it," was Ardeth's final plea as he finally took his eyes off of Gabriel and buried his face in Josephine's neck.
"Very well…I-I will go with you. However, you must promise me right here that you will not kill either of them," Josephine said as she began to pull away from Ardeth's desperate embrace. She was terrified beyond belief, but she realized that she had a better chance of escaping if Rick and Ardeth were left alive.
"You have my word that we shall not kill them," Gabriel said as he reached out his hand for her to take. Before Josephine could take his hand, Ardeth clutched her even tighter and pressed his lips to her temple. Her determination shattered as the soft pressure on her temple disappeared leaving only a ghosting memory in its place. Tears renewed their flow down her cheeks as she clung to Ardeth's are for one last brief moment.
"I will find you and rescue you. Even if I die here, I swear I shall find a way," Ardeth whispered for only her to hear before she was wretched out of his arms.
"It is so sweet that you two have forgiven each other, but sadly it is too little too late I'm afraid," Gabriel said as he nearly dragged Josephine from the room. "Tie them up before we leave," he called over his shoulder as he walked. Josephine's eyes never left Ardeth's as she was pulled from the cell. It was as though all of the pain that they had caused each other melted away as they bid each other farewell with a single look.
Josephine heard herself scream when she saw James hand the lengths of rope to the guards as they approached Rick and Ardeth, but it was already too late to stop them. Ghalib and James stayed a moment longer as the guards quickly subdued both men. "I look forward to enjoying your woman, Ardeth. She has some spirit in her, doesn't she?" Ghalib taunted as he watched the two guards strip Ardeth of his outer robes in case they concealed another weapon, before jarring his arms and legs behind his back in order to hogtie him. Rick wasn't fairing much but, but at least his assailants only tied his arms and legs together in front of him. Frankly, Rick didn't think he could bend the way that they had Ardeth.
"You see, Ardeth, I am a man of my word. When you left me in the desert to die, I vowed that I would have my revenge. However, your little whore seems to have put a slight damper on things. Now, I will not have the chance to watch you take your last breath because I have promised not to kill you by my own hand. But, that does not mean that you will survive this. Do you feel that noose that Rahim just placed around your neck? Well it's also tied to your feet, so I wouldn't try to move them if I were you because you'll only strangle yourself," Ghalib smirked as he spoke. He then turned and began to exit the cell before he stopped and turned back to them. "Oh, and even if you do manage to escape the ropes, you won't make it out of this cell before the city burns to the ground," Ghalib said with a sadistic smile. "Goodbye my friend. We shall meet in hell someday, but before then I shall enjoy your little governess immensely," Ghalib spoke in Arabic so that only Ardeth would understand before he disappeared down the corridor.
"No!" was all Ardeth could get out before he realized how hard it was to breath with the pressure of his body weighing on his ribs. He choked for a few moments before regaining his composure and arching his back a little more in order to relieve the pressure on his neck. Not a minute, later the four warriors finished their task and stood to leave. However, the last one stayed behind a moment to retrieve Ardeth's discarded garments. As he lifted the pile of robes, a small dagger slipped out but the guard didn't seem to notice it as he walked out and locked the cell.
"Baqi, hurry up," Ardeth and Rick heard one of the other guards call as the man hurried down the corridor. "Ghalib wants you to watch the girl!"
"Coming, Ziyad," was all the guard said as he disappeared. Baqi just hoped that the two men were able to use the dagger in order to escape because that was all he could leave them that wouldn't be too conspicuous. Baqi knew that they were Josephine's only hope at survival because Ghalib would have no mercy on her.
"Here we are again. It seems like every time I do something with you either one of us ends up hurt, someone gets kidnapped, someone gets killed, the world nearly ends, or all of the above. I just want to let you know that after this, I'm not coming to visit you anymore," Rick said as he tried to loosen his bindings enough to scuttle over to the dagger.
"Do you think that I enjoy your visits any more than you do? The last I checked it was your wife that brought back Imhotep, and your son who raised the army of Anubis," Ardeth choked out as the rope dug into his throat.
"Last I checked it was your job to make sure things like that didn't happen," Rick retorted as he continued to struggle with his bindings.
"I can smell the smoke already, my friend. I just hope that Rashid gets to the burial grounds before Ghalib does," Ardeth said in resignation as he continued to try to relieve the pressure on his throat. Images of Josephine's tear streaked face were burned into his memory as he felt himself beginning to lose the battle with consciousness.
"Oh we're going to get out of here, buddy. I have some unfinished business with a certain pompous Italian artifacts merchant that I would like to attend to before he brings about the end of the world," Rick growled as he once again tugged at the ropes. When Ardeth made no reply, Rick turned his head to see that the Med-jai chieftain was on the brink of losing consciousness whether from the amount of energy it took to keep his back arched or the fact that he probably couldn't breathe due to the pressure on his ribs. Suddenly, Rick was trying with all his might to wiggle toward the dagger.
XxXxXxX
"Why are they all carrying torches," Josephine asked as she was dragged into the light shining down through the crevasse between the mountains. She was still extremely weak, but fear was giving her enough adrenaline to struggle with her captors.
"The city no longer serves a purpose, so it shall be burned to the ground," Gabriel said calmly. He pushed his turban onto his head and continued to tug Josephine's arm with his other hand. "Come now, we must be getting along," he said as he pushed her toward the guard that just followed them out into the courtyard.
"Baqi, she is to ride with you again," Ghalib said as Gabriel pushed Josephine into his arms. "She's your responsibility until we camp for the night. Then perhaps I will show her what true desert men are like."
"You can't burn the city. You said that you wouldn't kill them. You…" Josephine cried but was cut off by Gabriel's calm and calculating voice.
"I simply promised that none of us would kill them ourselves. I said nothing about a fire killing them. After all, I cannot protect them from everything. That would be impossible," Gabriel said as he mounted his waiting camel. "Now, hurry up before the city collapses around us."
"No! Rick…Ardeth! You can't do this!" she shouted as she was dragged by Baqi toward his horse. Baqi's heart broke at the frantic and gut wrenching quality of her shouts, but he had done all that he could to ensure their survival. Now he could only watch over her and follow orders.
"He most certainly can, and if you were as smart as your title claims, you would learn your place before he forgets about treating you with the respect a proper Englishwoman deserves," James growled before turning and following Gabriel.
"Oh God…no," Josephine gasped as she watched dozens of men torch the city. Josephine watched as any hope of escape that she had still harbored began to go up in smoke.
XxXxXxX
Rashid was floating motionlessly in one of the various ponds within the oasis. Though the sun was well into its ascent in the sky, Rashid was still awaiting both Ardeth and Naji's return. Rashid hated when he was left in charge because he did not have the same mind that Ardeth possessed. Rashid had a tactical mind. He could place warriors, set up a watch, and develop a defense; however, when it came to dealing with the emotions that ran high at a time like this, Rashid was lost.
He knew how to deal with Ardeth's often volatile emotional state and even his half-brother's passionate outbursts, but dealing with all of the men and O'Connell's wife as well was far beyond Rashid's capabilities. So instead of sitting in the middle of the camp watching his men crumble around him, he decided to find solitude in order to work things out in his mind. This was working quite well in fact, until he was interrupted.
"Rashid, how can you bathe at a time like this," came Evy's tense, with worry, voice. Rashid immediately submerged the lower half of his body for modesty sake, but Evy didn't seem to care. "I am married, Rashid; it is not like I have never seen a naked man before. Now, hurry up. Naji has just returned," Evy yelled as he began to swim toward the shore. He was shocked to see her holding his robes out to him, but swallowed his embarrassment and simply marched out of the water with his head held high and accepted his garments from her. He dressed quickly before following her back to his tent.
"Rashid, we have trouble," Naji exclaimed even before Rashid could sit across from him.
"Oh God…Is Rick alright?" Evy asked worriedly as she heard Naji's words. Naji just looked at her with concern shining in his bright eyes.
"Please, tell us what you found, brother," Rashid said with a renewed calm from his relaxing swim. Naji turned his eyes back to Rashid's and an understanding passed between them. He was to leave out anything that might be too much for Evy to handle.
"As you can see, I am the only one of my group that has returned. Malik and Jafar are perfectly well, so do not worry. However, I sent them to track the caravan that we saw riding from the northwest. From what we could see, they have Josephine but there was no sign of either O'Connell or Ardeth. It is possible that Ardeth decided to ride ahead to cut them off," Naji's last statement was said with a pointed look at Evy's worried form. Rashid instantly knew that Naji's last words were solely for Evy's benefit and most likely far from the truth.
"Thank you Naji. Evelyn, would you be so kind as to fetch my brother some water. He is looking a bit pale himself, don't you think?" Rashid asked Evy as he turned his focus to the spirited archeologist.
"W-what…oh, yes of course. I will be right back," Evy said as she hurried away.
"Speak quickly my brother, for she will not be gone long," Rashid said as soon as Evy was out of listening distance.
"We would have missed the caravan completely if not for the wails coming from Miss Montgomery. Her screams and sobs were so intense that we could hear them from a great distance. As I said, we would not have seen the caravan cutting close to the base of the cliffs so as not to be seen, if she had not been so vocal. However, this leads me to believe that something has happened to Ardeth and O'Connell. I told Malik that he was to follow the caravan no matter what. I rushed back here as soon as possible, and sent Jafar in the direction that they had come from hoping that it will lead him to Ardeth," Naji spoke quickly and in a hushed tone as he relayed what he knew.
"This is not good. Did Miss Montgomery seem injured in anyway?" Rashid asked as he stroked his bearded chin in contemplation.
"She seemed well considering when I last saw her she was ill with heat exhaustion," Naji said then smiled slightly. "She has quite a pair of lungs. I don't think I ever heard a woman wail so loud. Like Rick would say, she would put a banshee to shame."
"What am I going to do, Naji? Ardeth would want me to go on and follow Miss Montgomery, but I have a feeling that he and O'Connell need us just as much," Rashid said with a sigh. "We do not have enough men to split up and still be able to take on Ghalib's men or else I would. I cannot go searching for Ardeth myself because I have no one else that I can leave in charge. Time is running short, and we are more unprepared than we have ever been," Rashid continued as he rubbed his temples to relieve the tension growing between them.
"I'll tell you what you're going to do!" Evy exclaimed as she came up behind them carrying a clay cup of water and an expression that would make even the coldest of criminals feel the tentacles of fear crawl down their spines. "You're going send Naji with Jonathan, Alex, and I to go find my husband. Then, you are going to take the rest of your men and rescue Josephine. And if you know what is good for you, you will not try to keep information about my husband from me in the future," Evy continued in a deathly calm voice. "Is that clear?"
"Aiwa," Naji said in the voice of a child getting caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
"And you, Rashid?" Evy turned to the temporary leader of the Med-jai. Rashid couldn't believe that a tiny Englishwoman dared boss around one of the leaders of the Med-jai, but he too found himself sheepishly agreeing. "That's better. Now, Naji as soon as you are ready to leave, we will head in the direction that you saw the caravan coming from. Rashid, I want you out of my sight and following Josephine before I finishing packing up my tent. Is that understood?" she asked them as she folded her arms across her chest, but before they could answer she continued. "Good…now get moving," she said before turning on her heel and disappearing into her tent.
Both men let out a relieved sigh as she left, but neither man could meet the other's eyes after being scolded by a woman half their size. "Bloody frightening she is, isn't she?" Jonathan said as he collapsed next to Naji and took a swig of one of the flasks he had hidden in his bag. He was running out of them, but he figured that the situation called for a quick nip. "I usually run in the other direction when she starts getting all mother bear like. I find it much safer behind a sofa or under a table instead of in her path," Jonathan said as he took another sip of his flask. "I suggest doing what she said too because the only person who can put her in her place when she is like this is currently missing at the moment," Jonathan finished and offered his flask to Naji, but the warrior just shook his head sipping his water instead. Rashid, on the other hand, was out of his seat and shouting orders before either of them could say anything further.
XxXxX
I would like to thank everyone, especially Nakhti, for their wonderful and inspiring reviews of the last chapter. As you have probably noticed, my updates have been a bit more frequent in the past week. It is absolutely wonderful to have the time to write this story again. I hope everyone is still enjoying it, and don't be afraid to tell me what you think of it!