*********Important Note!!! We will be posting two versions of the end of Rite of Passage. Chapter 25 Original Ending: Souls Divided, and Chapter 25 Alternate Ending: Home at Last. The original ending is the ending you should read if you want the story to lead into the movies. The Alternate Ending is the one that you should read if you are interested in the rest of the series Rina and I have written. The Med-jai Chronicles, while mildly Alternate Universe from the Mummy movies, does span seven stories currently, most of which are finished. Whichever you choose, we hope you have enjoyed the journey of the boys in their Rite of Passage.
Disclaimer: Any characters you recognize do not belong to the authors. Some of the ideas were inspired by Xanthia Morgan's wonderful fic, Brother of My Soul.
Archiving: Please ask first!
Chapter 25: Souls Divided (Original Ending)
"I am so sorry, Rick," Suleimon whispered, hugging the boy tightly to his chest. "Someday, I pray you will understand and forgive me." The man closed his eyes and kissed Rick's forehead, invoking the memory spell at the same time.
Rick looked for a second like he had been about to say something but then, a strange daze came over his face. The wave that rushed through him was staggering, and it was too much for his overwhelmed senses to register. His eyes closed heavily, as if with a great sleep, and his body fell limp against the king's embrace. Suleimon, hurting from this necessary action, held him there for a few moments. The cries from Ardeth tore his heart in two.
Managing to twist away from his uncle, Ardeth sprang to his feet, grabbing Rick away from his father and lowering the older boy to the couch. Then, the prince rounded on his father, staying protectively between Rick and the adults. Ardeth tried to find words to express the betrayal he was feeling to his father, but couldn't, so he turned his back on the man and knelt next to Rick, who was sleeping peacefully now. The boy buried his face in his hands, crying, feeling utterly lost and abandoned.
Suleimon hung his head, knowing the pain Ardeth was going through. "I'm sorry, my son, that I had to do this to you and to Rick." He didn't move but let his son grieve the loss of his friend.
Terrence moved over to stand beside the king and Ardeth. "It was necessary for Rick's protection and for your own," Terrence spoke quietly.
"Rick would have been safe if he had stayed here." Ardeth's voice was hoarse, and he refused to look at his father and uncle. "Rick is the brother of my soul, and now, you have torn him away from me."
Suleimon slid closer next to his son and wrapped his arm around his shoulders. "Rick has a destiny to fulfill. If he stayed here as a Med-jai, he would have trained and gone with you on your watches to Hamunaptra. What would happen if he were to fall in battle in the service of his sacred duty?" he asked gently.
Ardeth's shoulders slumped. "I would not have let that happen," the boy whispered, raising a hand to rest on Rick's forehead like he did almost every night to ward off dreams sent from the Creature. "How do you expect me to be able to go on from this, Father? I cannot just—just pretend this has never happened."
Suleimon looked at Terrence who nodded almost imperceptibly. Suleimon turned back to his son, holding him closer. "I know." He kissed Ardeth's forehead as well, invoking the memory charm on his son. "Sleep, my son."
Terrence watched quietly as Suleimon caught Ardeth and put him on the other couch in the room. "It's better this way, my brother," the museum curator murmured, resting a hand on Suleimon's shoulder.
The king hung his head but nodded. "He will not have to bear the pain of memory this way, either of Rick, who will still be searching for someone or something to belong to, or of the depth of Kasim's betrayal." The king gave a hollow laugh despite the tears that were flowing down his face. "He will be most confused to wake and find himself home instead of guarding Hamunaptra."
Terrence watched as Suleimon brushed the hair out of Ardeth's face. He wrapped an arm around the king, wishing he could ease the ache from his brother's heart. "I will leave before dawn, and I will wake Rick up once we are back in Cairo. I will have to perform the memory spell on young Evelyn Carnahan also, since she saw them get taken, or she will question Rick about it."
The king nodded, watching his son sleep for a moment more. Then his eyes drifted back over to Rick's prone form. "Keep an eye on him for me, will you brother? Ardeth would never forgive me if anything were to happen to him now." Then, he laughed a little at the irony of his words. "Well, he might even without his memories."
"I will watch him and protect him as best as I am able," Terrence promised, steering Suleimon over to a chair. "The boys are just that—boys. When they are adults, they will understand why we had to do this. Will they ever regain these memories?"
Suleimon thought about this for a moment. "It has happened before. Let us both hope, for their sakes, that these memories come once they have fulfilled their tasks. Because by then, I don't think we will be strong enough to pin them down to perform this charm again."
At that, Terrence laughed, rubbing his arm. "I wasn't able to keep Ardeth pinned for long this time. I'm amazed that the temple guards were able to capture them at all. Well," the man stood, sighing, "I must go tell the Med-jai who came with me to prepare to leave. Are you going to announce to the tribes what has been done tonight, while the boys still sleep?"
The king nodded, knowing that it would be more difficult to explain once Ardeth had awakened. He moved to the door and had the guards there move Rick while he was sleeping to another room. He did not want to go through this all over again if, for some reason, he or Ardeth should wake before they were supposed to. Then, he summoned the woman who had the power over dreams to Rick's chamber. The last thing they needed was for Rick to find Hamunaptra on his own somewhere on down the road and die there anyways. The king quickly explained the situation to her, asking her to bind the Creature forever from his dreams.
The woman knelt, placing her hand on Rick's forehead and closed her eyes as she began her task. It was almost an hour later before she stirred, moving away from Rick, utterly drained. "It is done, Your Majesty," she whispered, looking at the boy with pity. "I would not have been able to accomplish this if your son had not already begun the process—the Creature's hold on this boy was strong."
Suleimon's brow furrowed. For the hold to be almost too strong for even a woman of her magic to break through, he was astounded that Rick had not already succumbed to the Creature's power. Usually once a fully-grown man reached this point, he was already too far gone to be saved. The king nodded and thanked the woman for her service. This was the least he could do for Rick before sending him back to Cairo. At least now, the boy could sleep in peace. Then after looking back at Rick one last time, he walked out the door to address his people.
Because the Med-jai were used to unusual things happening, they accepted Suleimon's explanation and command that both Rick and Ardeth had forgotten the last two weeks and were not to be told anything about it. The Elders were, of course, upset that they hadn't been informed prior to the memory wipe but accepted it with a minimum of fuss.
The next morning, Terrence visited the king before he set out on his journey back to Cairo. "We have performed the enchantment that will keep Rick asleep until we reach the city." He moved to embrace his brother. "I am sorry that our meeting and parting had to be under such painful circumstances. Perhaps next time I see you, it will be for something as normal and dull as the report I bring to you from Cairo," he said with a sly grin.
Suleimon smiled at that. "We can always hope. Have a safe trip, brother," the king returned Terrence's embrace before watching his brother go.
Terrence walked down to where the horses were waiting. Rick had been secured, sitting behind Gen on horseback who had a grim look on his face. He was sad to learn that the boys' memories had to be erased. But he knew that the City of the Dead must be protected at all costs. He nodded to Dr. Bey that they were ready to begin their journey. Dr. Bey nodded in reply, mounted his horse, and led Med-jai warriors out across the dessert.
Suleimon watched them until they disappeared, then turned to go back into the palace. Ardeth would be waking up soon, and the king needed to come up with an explanation about why the boy was here.
The king knelt next to Ardeth's bed. He had had the boy moved back to his own room after he had spoken to the people the night before. He waited there for a while, resting his hand over the boy's. He tried to keep a smile on his face, since the boy would have no memory of the night before and would be confused to awaken to see his father so sad. He ran his other hand through the dark hair that fell gently across his son's face.
Ardeth stirred, and blinked at Suleimon, looking confused. "Father?" the boy asked, rubbing a hand over his face and wondering why his eyes ached like he had been crying. "What happened? Why am I home?"
Suleimon smiled gently at Ardeth. "You have had a long journey, my son. You went to Cairo to find hidden allies and were kidnapped by temple guards."
Frowning, the boy absently rubbed at his temple. "I don't remember, Father. I remember being at Hamunaptra, but I don't remember going to Cairo at all!"
Suleimon nodded as if that was to be expected. "They brought you back to Hamunaptra to try and force you to reveal the secrets that only members of the royal family are allowed to keep so that they could raise the Creature. You stopped them but, in the process, were tortured and injured greatly. We brought you back home so that you could heal. We knew you would not remember, and somehow, I feel that is for the best. You have been through much in the past fortnight, my son."
With a sigh, the boy sat up, yawning . "Very well, Father. Does this mean that I get out of lessons?"
Suleimon laughed. "I'm afraid not my son. You are almost completely healed now."
"I got out of lessons and I don't even remember it? That is not fair at all," Ardeth grumbled, smiling, and blushed as his stomach growled.
"You will find as you grow there are many things in life that are not fair," Suleimon said, shaking his head in amusement. "Some things more than others. You will, however, eat breakfast before you begin your studies. And do not worry. I've managed to keep your cousins away from the kitchen this morning. Although, it wasn't easy—they were all quite worried about you and wanted to prepare food to help speed your recovery."
Ardeth winced. "Thank you, Father, for saving my life," the boy said, imagining how painful his death would be if he was forced to eat his cousin's cooking.
Suleimon patted his son's hand reassuringly before rising to his feet. "You're welcome, Ardeth. I must go. There many things to see to that have been long since requiring my attention." He had to suppress a groan as he thought of all the work he had fallen behind on because of the abduction and rescue mission. He would probably be in session with the Elders all day now.
Ardeth waved as he went off to get his breakfast. Throughout the day, he did his best to focus on his lessons, but several times caught himself turning to make a comment, only to find no one beside him. The boy focused on doing his duty, ignoring the missing part of his soul.
Rick groaned as he rolled over groggily. He felt a hand on his shoulder, trying to rouse him. "Five more minutes," he mumbled.
He heard a laugh, and his shoulder was shaken again. "Wake up, young O'Connell." It was Dr. Bey's voice, and he sounded just as stern as always.
"What?" Rick opened his eyes and blinked a few times. It took a while for his vision to come into focus. When he did, he pushed himself up on his elbows sleepily. He looked around confused. "Why am I in your office?" He stretched somewhat to get the stiffness out. He felt like he had been asleep for days.
Dr. Bey gave him a sad smile. "You were badly injured when the museum was attacked. I have been caring for you, but you are almost healed now. Father Duncan will be here in a few minutes to escort you back to the orphanage."
"Attacked?" Rick asked in confusion. "Why would anyone attack the museum?" Then after a moment, the statement sunk in, and he sat up more fully. "Is Evy alright?"
"Miss Carnahan is fine. Now, you did suffer one injury that has made it so that you will not remember the last two weeks. I apologize for this, though there are some parts of it that I'm certain you will be glad not to remember," Dr. Bey sighed and drew a small bag out from behind his desk. "Here are your weapons. I do not want to see them in my museum again, do you understand?"
Rick took the bag and looked at them for a moment, confused. These aren't my weapons, Rick thought, but he didn't say anything out loud. He had always wanted a gun set, and if they had been left behind, Rick figured they wouldn't be missed too much. The smile on his face, though, was like a kid at Christmas as he slid the holsters out of the bag and put them on. "Yes, sir." he said, nodding. He found the penknife as well and smiled with the pleasant feeling it gave him, but then, he frowned, wondering why. He had never seen it before in his life. He examined it a moment longer before stuffing it into his belt. As he looked in the bag to see what else was in there, he spotted his bracer. Fishing it out to put it on, he was surprised to find a tattoo on his right wrist. "How did that get there??" He looked up at Dr. Bey for an explanation.
Dr. Bey looked at him gravely. "That mark was given to you to help you later on in life. I will tell you more about it later," the man said with no intention of telling Rick any more about it. He couldn't chance the boy's memories returning. "Also, there is a phrase that you should know."
"What??" Rick sputtered, incredulous. "You did this? What am I part of some secret society now?"
Dr. Bey fixed Rick with his most severe expression. "Mr. O'Connell, do you honestly believe that I am part of some 'secret society', as you so eloquently put it?" the man demanded, using Rick's own perceptions of him against the boy. "Now, listen carefully. If someone were ever to say to you, 'I am a stranger, traveling from the East, seeking that which is lost,' then you must reply, 'I am a stranger, traveling from the West; it is I whom you seek.' Do you understand?"
Rick paused and considered the phrase for a moment. He had heard that somewhere before, he just knew it, but for the life of him, he could not remember where. "'I am a stranger traveling from the West; it is I whom you seek.'" His voice as he repeated the words were distant before he raised his eyes to regard Dr. Bey strangely. But from the look in the curator's eyes, Rick decided it would probably be safer not to question him just now. And what did he care? He got a gun set out of the deal. But something in the back of his mind felt vaguely out of place.
A few minutes later, Evy opened the door to show Father Duncan in. The girl was looking slightly dazed, like she had forgotten something important. Rick forgot about Evy almost immediately, though, because the old priest had grabbed him in a fierce hug.
Rick smiled. As he turned to leave with Father Duncan, he turned to say goodbye, but not to Evy or Dr. Bey. He stopped, slightly confused for a moment. Who had he been about to say good-bye to? His heart sunk at the pain that this brought though he didn't understand it and tried to shrug it off. Maybe the museum was reminding him again of the loss of his parents, but something told him otherwise. As he walked out of the building with the priest heading back to the orphanage, he dug his hands into his pockets and was surprised to find a small octagonal box.