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Immortality is a Curse

Chapter Three: Risen

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1934

Giza Port, Cairo

            It had been hours since the group of people (the O'Connell's, Jonathan, Akila, and Ardeth) had arrived in Cairo.  They were all tired and frustrated, and even Akila was somewhat in the blind.  For all the knowledge she had, the journey she was about to embark upon was one of working as she went.  But what she truly wanted at that moment was for the Medjai to meet up with them so she could get going – and the sooner that happened, the sooner her body could be in contact with a bed.

            "Jasmyne and the others were supposed to meet us here." Akila stated, as she stared at the people who passed her, "I knew we should have just met them at the city."

            "They will be here.  Jibade was probably leading them again." Ardeth told her, turning her gaze in his direction.

            "Well, that would be just such a surprise.  I knew Jibade was the right name for him.  He's just like the Jibade he is named after."

            Evelyn looked up curiously, "If I may, I believe I've heard the names Jasmyne, Eshe, Jibade, and Hasani multiple times.  Are they Medjai?" She asked, her fatigue lightening.

            "No.  They're my family.  Jasmyne is my wife.  Jibade, Hasani, and Eshe are my children.  Akila named all three.  Their names are honoring those who've died for the Princess."

            Akila glared at her keeper, "If you call me a princess again, I'm going to throw you across the river."

            "Yes, Akila." He replied, seeing Jasmyne come into view.  The three children and many Medjai followed her, "There they are."

            Akila nodded, before walking forward to meet her friends, "I've missed you, Jas."

            "As I have you, Akka." Jasmyne smiled and used Akila's nickname.  They hugged for a few moments, before Eshe tugged at Akila's pant leg.  They parted and the immortal picked up the child.  The two talked for a few minutes – in ancient Egyptian – before returning their attention to the group.

            "I'm sorry we are late.  Hasani decided to scare his little sister.  It took us a fairly long time to get to her, she ran so far."

            "Hasani Bay!" Ardeth scolded, "I have told you…"

            "I know, I know – teasing my sister is not right.  Medjai don't torment their family.  I don't understand why Akila gets to scare people, but I can't scare Eshe." He said, fairly irritated, tugging at his button down shirt.

            "This is your son?" Rick asked, raising an eyebrow at his friend.

            "Yes.  He is more fascinated by the west then his own heritage."

            "He and Alex will get along very well.  Now let's get going!" Akila told them, as she headed towards the horses.

            Ardeth sighed, "Yallah.  Nimishi."  The other Medjai did as they were commanded and headed towards the horses, all unaware of what their destination was.

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Late that night

            Camp had been set up hours before, but most of the inhabitants were still awake.  Only a few of the Medjai and Jibade, who had been allowed to know his sister's (as he still regarded her) secret, were asleep.  Everyone else were doing sorted activities – Evy was writing something down in hieratics, Rick was cleaning one of his many guns, Jasmyne and Ardeth were busily trying to get their other two children to bed so the adults could talk to Akila, and Akila herself had her face buried in a book.

            But the book had caught Alex's attention, and he was studying it from his seat.  He could tell it had an ivory cover, and the pages were old – so old, it appeared they had been sealed in wax to keep them from falling apart.  Finally his wandering eyes landed on a hieroglyph.

            "Little boys, who stare at something that isn't theirs, used to spend the night with Imhotep."

            "I…ummm…wasn't…I mean to say…" Alex stuttered.

            Akila smiled as she looked at him from over the top of the book, "I'm joking.  I would never have let them do that to you when I was there.  He told me once that he got to lecture the boy for a long time on why the Gods don't like little boys who stare at young women." She turned her eyes back to the hieroglyphs of the book, "Always pitied the poor children."

            "Can I ask you something?" He decided to continue with the conversation – after all she was privy to three thousand years of history.

            "Depends on what the answer will be."

            "What's that say?  I can read the words, but they make no sense."

            She tore her eyes away again, and smiled once more, "That's because it's in code.  If I ever lost this book, it would mean big trouble for mortality.  That's why the entire thing is in code.  Ini-herit and I wrote it just after I was cursed.  He wanted to make sure that if either victim of the hom-dai was released, I could help keep it…weakened until Ardeth or someone could return the creature to its prison."

            "Either victim?" Evy looked up, "There was more then one?"

            "Yes." Akila looked at her strangely, "You did not know that there were two?"

            "No.  I thought there was only one.  I was told the Medjai never had the ritual preformed after Imhotep."

            Akila sighed, "There was another.  His name was Bomani.  He was the one who cursed me to this life.  After he did the ritual, he added a chant that would make it impossible to break without Seti or Imhotep.  I know a way around that, by the way.  But, Ini-herit was there, as were Amunet and Nefertiri and my brother.  Bomani then proceeded to curse Amunet.  She has been doomed to sleep for all eternity.  Her body, still breathing and her heart still beating, await us at our destination.  As does the sarcophagus of Bomani."

            "You still haven't said why he was cursed."

            "For what he did.  He cursed me and Amunet, and his last words were a curse upon Ini-herit's…I think you'd call it a soul."

            "He did a lot of cursing." Rick said, adding humor to the words.

            "Bomani was evil.  He believed that my father was more powerful then any god, that his death would bring about the decline of my homeland.  It would take until Cleopatra to do that."

            "Cleopatra was the downfall?"

            "Not really.  It was Octavian, Marc Antony's first wife's brother, who attacked our land.  The Romans sank our ships very fast.  The two managed to get past the blockade, but were separated.  Antony believed the Queen to be dead and fell on his sword.  He soon found out that she was not dead, and ordered to be taken to her, where he died in her arms.  She killed herself soon after.  There was no one to take the throne after that.  Her children were taken by my people for their safety, and I would have gone up to rule, but I did not know if the people would have accepted who I am, what I am."

            The others stared at her as they digested what they just heard.  It was fact that Cleopatra was the last ruler of Egypt.  Much was known about her, but now all of it had just been proven.

            "I would tell you about Napoleon or the English kings, but I think that would cause your eyes to pop out of their homes." She said, once again returning to her book.

            And not another word was uttered.

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The next day Where Hamunaptra is beneath the sand

            "You know, trouble always comes from this place." Rick stated, as they all sat on the horses and looked at Akila, "Whether it's above the sand or beneath it."

            "Well, this time.  I expect all of you to stay here.  I am only going to raise it and retrieve one thing from inside.  Then we will go." She said, as she dismounted.

            "This isn't our destination?" Evy asked.

            "No." Akila started walking away, "Our destination is Thebes.  The only way to do this is to return to the place of my birth."

            About to ask why they were at Hamunaptra, Ardeth's hand stopped Evy's question, "She needs something from here." He explained, as the immortal came to a stop in the middle of the sand.  Her lips began to move, as though she were casting her own spell.  The ground began to shake, and the city began to rise slowly.

            "What the…" Rick murmured, as the group moved their horses back.

            Akila began to rise into the air, her feet treading air.  Beneath her, the dust cloud that enveloped Hamunaptra was settling – revealing the city to the daylight once more.  But instead of coming down, Akila kept her eyes shut, kept her lips moving.  And the pillars that had fallen began to replace themselves, paint reappear as it had been in her time.  Walls seemed to be built from the sands, and torches formed from nowhere.

            The work finished, Akila began to descend from her spot in the air, while the others – even Ardeth – stared open mouthed at what had just been resurrected.  Finally, Rick regained his composure, "Let's go." He ordered, and took off for the city.  The other people followed, still quite amazed at what they had just seen – Eshe and Hasani more so then the others as they had no idea who Akila truly was.

            "How did you do that?" Evy asked, when they had stopped and dismounted.

            Akila smiled, "You searched for many years for the book of Amun-Ra.  I am the living version of it.  I am also the living version of the Book of the Dead and the Book of Truth.  And the Book of Secrets, for what it's worth." She picked Eshe, and spoke to her again in Egyptian, as she had the day before, and Eshe nodded.

            As they started walking, Evelyn couldn't control herself, "Did all the books have a counterpart?"

            "No.  Just the texts that contained our knowledge, our secrets.  The incantations were kept in two books – one that could revive, one that could kill.  The truth was kept in one book, the secrets few knew where kept in the other.  There were more books, but I can only memorize so much before I lose sight of what is what." She said, as they walked in the door that lead to the temple.

            "Where are we going?" Jasmyne asked, picking up Hasani.

            "To get my key." She replied, walking through the sar-netjer.

            "Your key?" Rick asked.

            She nodded, "It's much like the one your wife used to open the books the first time Imhotep rose.  Only it's made of ivory and silver.  And it's hidden in the room with things that I have collected over time."

            "Must be one big room." Jibade said, walking forward to take Akila's free hand in his.

            "It is." She smiled at him, and continued her walking until she reached the steps in the treasure room.  She once again spoke an incantation, and the broken mirror was replaced by a new one.  The light filtered into the room, and displayed for human eyes once again, the riches of the ancient land.

            "Wow!" Jibade let go of Akila's hand and ran down the steps.  He picked up a gold statuette, "Anubis.  He was the God of the sky, right?"

            "You're a little off there, Bade.  Anpu was the God of embalming."

            "Anpu?"

            "Anubis is Anpu's name in Greek." She replied, running her fingers along the gold, before removing her cloak.  She had changed that morning out of her pants and shirt and back into her dress.  She still wore very little jewelry, and as usual, no sandals.

            "Three thousand years and you still will not dress like the others." Ardeth stated.

            Akila smiled, and looked around, "There you are." She whispered, before walking over to where her key laid.  She picked it up and blew off the dust.  As she had said, it was made of ivory and accent with silver.

            "If that's all we're here for," Rick said, "Can we go now?  The faster we're out of here, the less likely we'll wake the dead."

            Smiling, the immortal picked up her cloak, "We can go." She guided them out the way they had come, and, with but a glance back, they all departed.

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Cassie Jamie

noahXfiles@aol.com