Evelyn and Rick walked in. "Alex!" Evelyn cried. Alex went to his mother and they hugged.
"Awww," Sagira said sarcastically. Daniel snickered. As they came to the table, Sagira placed the dagger on the table. Rick and Evelyn gasped. "Next time, send someone more competent."
Rick started to argue but Evelyn held him back. "This isn't the time."
"Where is he?" Rick demanded instead.
Sagira frowned. When they had gone outside later, the body was gone. "I don't know."
"Then he is alive," Evelyn breathed.
"Don't be so sure of that," Sagira said. She wasn't even sure.
"Where is the book?" Rick asked.
Sagira smiled and put the Book of the Dead on the table. Rick picked it up. The family started toward the door when Sagira stopped them.
"Don't you want to know what I wanted it for?"
They turned toward her.
"It is time," Sagira said.
A figure stood from further back in the diner. As the person turned, Evelyn and Rick could see a blonde woman in modern clothes. The woman began to walk toward them. Evelyn narrowed her eyes. There was something familiar about those confident footsteps and that I'm-better-than-you-will-ever-be smirk, even if the face didn't look at all like someone she knew.
The woman stood before Evelyn. "Nefertiri," she said.
Evelyn gasped.
"We live to fight again."
"Anck-su-Namun!"
******************
Sagira could hear Rick arguing with Evelyn as they left the diner. She knew Nefertiri would not back down from the challenge. The two had agreed to weapons combat set behind the O'Connell home. It had the space and privacy that was needed.
Anck-su-Namun looked at Sagira. For her to take over the body, Anck-su-Namun had to force the other woman's peronality out completely. She was in total control, which is what she needed for the fight. Unfortunately, it meant Sagira could not communicate with her. The ability for Anck-su-Namun to speak English left with the other woman's personality.
To get Anck-su-Namun to cooperate with her, Sagira had to spin her tale a bit. She told her mother's worst enemy that it had been Evelyn who killed her love, Imhotep. At first, Alex had refused to tell her that, but Sagira made a deep cut in his leg that changed his mind. She knew Alex would tell Evelyn of their plan.
Unfortunately for Evelyn, Alex didn't know the best part. They weren't just going to fight. Anck-su-Namun was going to kill Evelyn/Nefertiri.
********************
Sagira would have preferred a better method than just a duel of sorts, but as long as Anck-su-Namun did her job she didn't care how it was done. Anck-su-Namun practiced in Daniel's basement with the triple-bladed daggers Sagira had read about in Evelyn's diary. Evelyn had borrowed these from the museum.
As Sagira watched, she became slightly disappointed. Anck-su-Namun had a disadvantage of sorts. She was not in a body at all familiar to her. Nefertiri was being the usual good guy type and taking this into consideration. Evelyn's only disadvantage seemed to be two personalities in one body, something which her diary claimed was a very minute problem.
Before the appointed time of battle, Sagira had to go to the hospital to get her leg fixed up. They arrived at the O'Connell house late, but no one was worried.
A large stone circle had been made in the backyard. The two women were to fight within the circle. The rules were not clear to Sagira because as soon as Nefertiri stepped into the circle, Anck-su-Namun struck her first blow.
Nefertiri looked at her bleeding arm for a second, then took after her enemy with a force Sagira ahd never witnessed in Evelyn. The two women fought all around the circle, using moves that left Sagira breathless just watching. Nefertiri was backed against the edge of the circle. She lashed out, and Anck-su-Namun jumped back. It was too late. Nefertiri had drawn a thick line across her cheek.
Anck-su-Namun stepped back to the middle of the circle. With a sly grin, she lowered her weapons to her sides. Bowing her head slightly, she gave no sign of what happened next. She was calm one second, the next her arm was straight in front of her. Only five seconds could have passed since she had been struck.
"Evelyn!" Rick screamed.
Sagira thought at first she had fainted. Evelyn lay on her back, half outside the circle. Then Sagira saw the triple-bladed knife sticking out of her chest.