Chapter 14
Anya's POV
There hadn't been any more messages in mirrors or weird trances from Dr. Connor.
A few weeks passed by without incident. It might have been a month, I could never be sure of the days. It all flowed together, seamlessly.
One afternoon, I was watching the sky from the window in my room. A storm was approaching. I shivered, feeling a chill sneak up my back.
A fog was rolling in as well with the storm.
The lights flickered overhead. I heard voices down in the hallway. I got up and stood in the doorway, sticking my head out to see what was happening.
"One of the nurses says a big storm is approaching," Piper said, from across the way, from my room. She looked almost excited. Entertainment and excitement were hard to find in the facility.
A few other girls were talking to each other down near the activity area.
Dr. Connor was walking quickly down the hall from the nurses station, towards Piper and I.
"Ladies, let's all gather in the activity area." She said ushering us in with her.
The lights flickered again. I Pulled my arms around me and followed behind her. I found a spot on a chair and I picked up a random book hoping to kill some time before dinner.
An hour or so later, I was broken from my quiet reading, when I heard another set of footsteps in the hallway. Dr. Caplan was joining us.
"Anya, Are you ready for your session? We are gonna go down to another ward to use some therapy materials" She smiled, warmly.
"Oh ok, I got wrapped up in the book" I said, getting up. I couldn't remember her mentioning an upcoming session but I was always forgetting things since being here.
"No worries, follow me" She said. I looked back on the group before leaving.
Dr. Connor looked at me briefly before smiling. It was a nervous smile though. I started to feel a ball of anxiety in my gut as I followed Dr. Caplan.
We got into an elevator that was beyond the door of the nurses station. She pushed the button down for Level 5. We reached our floor and the lights flickered again. The door opened, with a metallic groan.
"It's ok, we have a backup generator for emergencies" She said, sensing my nervousness.
We came upon a door that was marked, Laboratory 3. I had never been down here before. It looked like it had been abandoned for ages.
She unlocked the door and led me into the room. A light came on overhead. In the middle of the room was a chair, almost like a dentist's chair. There was a cap with wires attached to the headboard on the chair.
"You aren't gonna give me electroshock therapy right?" I asked, inching back a little, my back hitting the wall.
"Nothing quite so archaic. It's a treatment that stimulates the brain's nerve cells, it's usually used to treat depression but I would like to test it out with what it does to your hallucinations" She smiled, reassuringly. She placed a hand on my back and led me to the chair.
I sat down in the chair. She began attaching the cap to my head, each probe had to be secured to my head.
She attached a heart monitor and a blood pressure cuff to me as well. I glanced around the room. There was a painting on the wall of a black cat, almost like a sphynx. I tried to shrug the feeling of fear that came up as I looked at the painting. Everything else about the room seemed like a normal testing room.
"Just relax" She said, I figured she saw my heart race. I nodded and took a deep breath.
"Does it hurt?" I asked
"It tingles and maybe will feel like pins and needles but it shouldn't hurt" She said, attaching a last probe. The lights flickered.
"Is it safe to be doing this during a storm?" I asked.
"The generator will kick in if anything is shut off" she said
"Now, close your eyes and relax. I want you to think about the memories after the fall. Being in the library"
"Focus on the memories." She said, I heard a switch click on and a warm tingle ran up my spine. Followed by a sharp pain in my shoulder"
"Dr. Caplan it hurts right in my shoulder…" I said, trying to move it. I couldn't though.
"Yes. that's just the paralyzer I gave you" She said, matter of fact. A new tone in her voice.
I opened my eyes and she was standing in front of me now.
"What's the paralyzer for? What did you do to me?" I asked, panicking but not being able to wiggle.. I could move my eyes and my mouth, but barely. Each second was becoming harder.
" It took a long time to orchestrate all of this," Dr. Caplan said.
"The cult of the black sphynx took time to find you. Traveling back and forth between 1927 and 2017 was the hardest. A few blood sacrifices did the trick though. Fred set the bait of the statue in the library, it was a curse made for you. It sent you back to this time" she smiled, a new glint in her eyes.
"With your blood, our great God Horemakhet can be brought forth. We needed strong blood"
"Why not just kill me right away?" I mumbled.
"Things had to be set in place first, waiting for a storm and a full moon to coincide was challenging enough but we had to wait for a blood red full moon" she sighed.
"There is always some ancient magic with these rituals unfortunately" she added, rolling her eyes.
She picked up an IV needle. It was attached to a long tube. I couldn't see where it led.
"The machine attached to your head will slowly drive you insane. After we take enough of your blood" she stabbed the IV into my arm. I felt the pain of the needle going in.
I couldn't move.
"Now just sit tight" She said, walking behind me to adjust something.
"We knew getting you away from that damn Medjay was gonna be hard. You two have always been so much trouble. Even in your previous incarnations" She sighed.
"I can see the confusion on your face. Tia was your ancestor just as Malik was Ardeth's"
I thought back to what Tia's visions had shown me. How she and Malik had a son together before Imhothep killed her. It was too big of a coincidence to not be fate in some way. I thought back to Tia possessing me to fight Set. I was scared. I tried to cry out as a painful surge wracked my head. My eyes scrunched tight as a cry managed to escape my throat.
"Good, the machine is working," Dr. Caplan smiled.
I could feel the minutes slip by. Everything was going fuzzy. I tried to close my eyes and reach out mentally to the Goddesses, hoping they could save me.
I wasn't sure how much time had passed. There was no clock anywhere, My eyes were hurting,
Dr. Caplan was sitting behind me watching what I assumed was an Iv bag containing my blood. I wanted to just go to sleep. The pain in my head kept me awake.
I closed my eyes as more pain filled my head. Blinding pain. My vision was darkening.
I heard a commotion in the hallway. An orderly ran in.
"Frederick, what is the problem?" Dr. Caplan said, turning around.
"The Medjay is here. I don't know how, but he found us"
Dr. Caplan growled in her throat.
"We need her blood fresh, keep watch while I go sort this out" Dr. Caplan stormed out.
Fredrick walked over and stared down at me. I recognized him. The one who came to the museum.
"See….I told you I would be seeing you soon" He smiled. I just stared at him.
He reached up and stroked my cheek. I wanted to squirm away.
"Such a pretty thing, too bad you are needed for a greater purpose" He smiled.
His smile suddenly faltered and I saw a blade plunge through his chest, spraying my front with blood.
His body dropped to the floor with a thud.
There stood Ardeth, breathing heavily. his usual black attire torn in places, his cheek was cut and bleeding. His hair was wet and stuck to his face.
I tried to mumble something but my mouth couldn't move. Tears were streaming down my face.
"I found you ya amar, I am here, I am so sorry" Ardeth sighed, cutting the power on the machine and taking everything off me slowly. He eased the IV out of my skin, finding a gauze to wrap my arm in. I looked at his face as he bandaged me up. Tears were in his eyes.
"I'm sorry I wasn't here sooner. I'm gonna get you out of here" he said, gingerly lifting me out of the chair.
"Is she ok?!" I heard Dr. Connors' voice, entering the room.
"She is paralyzed." Ardeth said. I closed my eyes and tried to move my mouth.
"I thought this was gonna be an easy job when I took it. But so far I have been possessed by goddesses for the last few months. Been threatened by Caplan more than once" Dr. Connor sighed.
"I appreciate your help and I know Anyana does as well." Ardeth said. Adjusting my body against him.
"Can you pick up the IV bag of blood?" Ardeth asked.
"They need it to bring about their plans," He added.
"What are you gonna do with it?" She asked
"Get rid of it. Luckily they didn't take too much" Ardeth observed
"I know a quick way out of the building," Dr. Connor said.
She led us out of the building and into a parking lot.
"My car is just over here," Dr. Connor said. Pointing a key fob to unlock it.
I could feel myself being placed in the backseat of a car.
Ardeth got in with me and placed my head in his lap.
Dr. Connor got into the driver's seat.
"We need to get her somewhere safe for now. The fight is far from over" Ardeth said to Dr. Connor. He looked behind him at the building and several men dressed as orderlies were coming out.
"I know a place. It will be an hour or so" she answered. "I have an apartment in the city that is empty but has security cameras." She added as she sped out of the driveway.
"How long do you think she will be paralyzed?" Ardeth asked, as we got farther away from the building.
"A few hours. I'm not sure how much she was given" Dr. Connor said
Ardeth looked down at me. His thumb brushing my cheek, Wiping tears away.
"My flower. I am so relieved you are alive." He said, bringing his face closer to mine, he spoke quietly.
He closed his eyes and brought a kiss to my forehead.
"Watching you vanish in front of me was a nightmare" Ardeth said, tears clinging to his beard
"Evie and Rick came running to my shouts but you were gone and I tried to explain what happened. We spent the entire night searching the city for the men who came to the museum. I had my men keep a watchful eye on comings and goings in the city" he said stroking my hair.
"I knew I looked like a mad man. I barely slept or ate. A week after you vanished I remembered what the goddess had said about you going back to your own time. I knew you hadn't chosen to go back. I reached out to the sisters of fate for months. Evie helped me find clues into a cult that was called 'cult of the black sphynx' that she thought was likely to be involved." He continued.
I listened to him intently. I was crying. I wanted to move, to touch his face.
"The sisters came to Evie one night. They showed her the way" Ardeth said, cupping my face.
"After I went through the door in the closet. I came out into a forest. I wandered around for hours hoping to stumble upon anything….I did and the facility was being heavily guarded"
I closed my eyes. My body was feeling exhausted.
"Rest. We can talk later." Ardeth whispered in my ear, placing a kiss on my cheek.
I felt myself doze off. Ardeth was stroking my hair.
Ardeth's POV
We had reached Dr. Connor's apartment. The place was just furnished enough so that Anyana could rest and we could hide out for awhile.
I set Anyana's body gently onto the bed. I pulled the covers over her and brushed the hair out of her face. I sat down on the side of the bed, next to her. I took her hand in mine.
"Will she be safe here?" I asked Dr. Connors, not looking away from Anyana.
"Please call me Elizabeth and yes. I made sure of that" Elizabeth said, sitting on the only chair in the room.
"The goddess told me Anyana had so much more to do and the strings of life were intertwined too finely to untangle things now. They had to have someone within the human realm interfere. It doesn't make much sense to me, but the letter from Evelyn imploring me to help, convinced me." She continued
"I knew we would need a safe place to regroup and I wanted to get far enough away from the facility" Elizabeth sighed
"Yes, unfortunately we can not just go back to Egypt in 1927. The Goddesses said we must bring the leader of the cult down first. Otherwise they would stop at
nothing to hunt her down again." I sighed.
"How do we stop them?" Elizabeth asked
"They said Anyana would be the key, '' I said, looking back on Anyana's sleeping form.
Anya's POV
First thing I felt was the cool sheets beneath my hands. I flexed my hands instinctively, relieved to be able to move again.
I sat up briefly adjusting my eyes to my surroundings. Worry formed in my chest, as I had thought I had woken up in the facility still.
The room was quiet and dark. My eyes adjusted to the darkness. The rain was pelting the windows outside. I could tell I was somewhere in modern New York city.
I looked next to me and Ardeth was asleep. He had removed everything but his pants. I wanted to throw my arms around him, but I also didn't want to wake him.
He startled me by speaking first.
"Glad to see you awake" He said, his voice rough with sleep, eyes still closed.
"How long was I out?" I asked, scooting closer to him. He opened his arms so I could lay my head on his chest.
"A few hours or so. I am not sure how I have gotten any sleep, because there is so much noise outside"
"Yeah, that would be New York city. I am sorry.." I sighed burying my face into his shoulder.
"So many bright colors and odd sights," Ardeth murmured.
"I can explain most of it to you later…" I said quietly.
"Maybe...we have to figure out a plan, have you had any dreams or visions?"
"Nope. I was hoping maybe the Goddesses told you something" I said.
"We will have to wait till Elizabeth comes back in the morning and we can talk about the cult"
A loud siren outside made Ardeth jump.
"It's ok. Just an ambulance...someone on their way to hospital". I said reassuring him. He settled back down.
"I much prefer the quietness of 1927." Ardeth said, pressing a kiss to my head.
"I do too. I thought being back in 2017 would make me realize how much I missed it...but I didn't feel anything. I just was so upset that I thought I lost you" I said, I felt my cheeks blush. I was afraid to admit something like that. We hadn't had a chance to discuss anything before I was taken and it had been months since I last saw him.
"my flower. I thought I lost you too" Ardeth whispered, sitting up.
I didn't realize I was crying until I felt myself sob. He rubbed my back soothingly as I clung to him.
"My elders were questioning my reason for being so adamant about finding you, I had to speak with them about our relationship...but also about your heritage" He spoke quietly.
"And what did they say?" I asked, pulling away, my eyes finding his eyes.
He gently stroked my cheek.
"They were not pleased about my secrecy of our relationship. They said the most important thing was stopping this current threat." He wiped a stray tear away.
"So there is hope for us?"
"Yes. However, I have to remain diligent in my position."
"It is my duty as the chieftain, to protect my people as well as protect sacred treasures. The Sphynx should not have fallen into such hands." He said, hanging his head.
"I feel like I have failed them and you," he sighed, taking my hands and kissing them.
I cupped his face with my hands. Pulling his gaze to mine.
"You have done so much for me already" I whispered.
He leaned in and kissed me softly.
"Let's get some sleep, we have much to discuss tomorrow with Elizabeth" Ardeth murmured, pulling away.
I nodded and we laid back down, letting sleep claim us.
The morning light flooded the room. I squinted against the rays. I glanced at the clock on the bedside table and it read 7am. I closed my eyes again and reached over to Ardeth, who wasn't beside me.
"Ardeth?" I called out, my voice groggy with sleep.
I sat up when I didn't hear him reply.
I felt my legs wobble some as I climbed out of the bed. body still feeling the after effects of the paralyzer.
I heard a door open. Ardeth Emerged from an adjoining bathroom, a towel wrapped around his waist.
"I woke up early and decided to at least get clean. You were sleeping deeply, I didn't want to wake you"
I nodded. "It's ok. I should get cleaned up too"
"Elizabeth said there was some clothes in the closet that should fit you" He said
I nodded again, feeling slightly awkward as I tried to look away from his toned chest.
He chuckled.
"No reason to be afraid of me" He said, low in his throat as he approached me.
"I am not afraid.." I stuttered.
I felt his fingers tilt my chin up, so my eyes could meet his.
"I can feel your heart racing from here…" He whispered, leaning in to kiss me.
I melted against him.
My hands sliding over his shoulders to pull him closer to me.
I had missed the feeling of him. We hadn't had much time together before I was taken. He groaned, deepening the kiss.
"Ardeth" I sighed, pulling away as he began kissing my neck. I could feel the heat radiating off of him. I slid my hands down his chest. He stopped my hands half way to his towel. He pulled my hands back up and pulled them to his mouth and kissed the knuckles.
"Anyana…." he chuckled. I could hear the arousal in his voice.
"As much as I would love nothing more than to take you….Elizabeth is due to turn up at any moment" he smiled, reassuring me.
"I suppose you are right." I said, pulling out of his grasp.
He pulled me back into him and pressed a kiss to my forehead.
"I am going to get cleaned up" I said and headed into the bathroom and into a much needed shower.