Chapter 2
We had spent the better part of three weeks traipsing around the desert, just the four of us. I had enjoyed every minute immensely and had found a six-year absence had not put to rest the adventurer in me. We were currently investigating a Temple set up against the Nile River. Evie was down in the bowels of the Temple with Rick and I was minding Alex. I lay back against a stone pillar and remembered the moment we arrived in Cairo.
As soon as I stepped off the boat and placed my feet on the Egyptian sand a certain peace came over my heart. "There you see nothing to be afraid of" Evie said as she patted my hand and then turned to make arrangements for our Transportation. Rick and Alex busied themselves with our luggage and I headed up the dusty road towards the Cemetery. "Hotel Cairo Melissa, see you there in an hour" Evie yelled after me. I quickly remembered the layout of the city and soon found the Cemetery. I had made only one stop along the way to purchase flowers from a street vendor. I now clutched them tightly to my chest as I searched for the crypt marked "Wainbright". It was small and unobtrusive and nestled in the corner of the Cemetery. "Edward and Cynthia" were engraved underneath the family name. Evie had chosen well since it had been left to her to pick the plot, stone and make all the arrangements. I leaned forward and kissed each name and then laid the flowers on the ground. "I so sorry I didn't come sooner" I said quietly to the stone, "but I'm home now Mommy and Daddy, I'm home."
Voices, voices coming from outside. I looked around and realized that Alex was nowhere to be found. I stood up quickly, dusted off my pants and was knocked back down again by Alex. "They're coming, quickly up here," he pointed to the rickety old scaffolding. We climbed the ancient ladder and laid flat on the top. Three large and extremely dirty looking men entered the Temple and began to go through the pottery and artifacts that we had been collecting.
"We'll do it your way" Evie's voice echoed up from the passageway below.
One man looked in the direction of Evie's voice and then said to his companions "See if you can find it!" as he headed down the passageway.
The two left behind continued to make a mess of the items I had just finished cataloging. Alex let loose with his slingshot, against my better judgment, and before you knew it we were in an all out battle against them. I tossed rocks while Alex continued to use his slingshot. The man, who had gone in search of Evie's voice, came flying out of the doorway he had only entered moments earlier. "Let's get the hell out of here!" he yelled and with that they turned on their heels and ran, but not before one of them gave the old scaffolding a solid push.
"Hang onto me Alex!" I cried as I felt the rotten old legs of the scaffolding start to collapse. I swung him around onto my back and placed his arms around my neck.
"Hold on tight!"
"What are you doing 'Lissa?"
The scaffolding gave way and leaned to one side coming to rest against one of the 12 stone pillars, which formed a circle, in the anteroom of the Temple.
"That wasn't so bad," I said as we clung to the pillar. It then started to move again and then slowly descended with a thud into the next pillar and the next and the next until the 12th and final pillar crashed through the wall of the chamber and Rick, Evie and several hundred gallons of Nile River spilt out onto the floor.
Alex hopped down from my back and held out his hand for me to climb down from the pillar. Hand in hand we walked over to where Rick and Evie lay. They were gasping for air and soaked through to their skins. Evie held in her hands a large gold medallion and Rick clutched a large wooden box to his chest. They raised their heads, surveyed the damage and then looked to Alex and I.
"We can explain everything!" We said in unison
Evie and Rick had found the bracelet of Anubis. Evie had thought it was only a story handed down from generation to generation but now she was elated at the find and told the story over and over again on our journey back to England, back to our home.
Thousands of years ago the Scorpion King had led his warriors against the armies of Egypt. During the last battle they were badly defeated and wandered the desert for many years. Many died on their journey, until only he was left. As he lay dying of thirst, in the harsh desert, he made a pact with Anubis and received this bracelet in return. It gave him great power and allowed him to lead Anubis' dog-headed armies to many victories. Once Egypt was defeated, Anubis made good on their pact and took the Scorpion King's soul back to the underworld where he would serve Anubis forever. As the legend goes, whomever awakes the Scorpion King and defeats him in battle, will receive the bracelet as their reward. Then they will have total control over Anubis' army and possibly the World.
I shivered as Evie retold the story once again, as our car pulled up in front of our home.
"Evie surely you can't believe all this" I climbed out of the car and retrieved Alex and my bags.
"Melissa wait until I show you the books I have in the Library. All of them mention this bracelet. It must be true! If I remember correctly there are several references about the oasis Ahm-shere. It is said that is where the Scorpion King is buried. I must check on that once we get settled inside"
I looked at Rick and he rolled his eyes "Here we go again" he simply stated.
We managed to get the luggage into the house and Evie took off immediately towards the Library with Rick following quickly in pursuit. Their discussion was becoming quite heated but there was never an unkind word between them.
"Alex you stay put until I take these bags upstairs"
I turned and headed up to the second landing, with both bags in my hands, I stopped and turned back to look at where Alex stood. He was fidgeting with something. I adjusted the bags in my hands and then continued to climb to the second floor. "What did he pack in here, rocks?" I thought to myself. I reached the second floor and dropped both bags. "I'll take my bag down to my room and then drag Alex's down to his" I thought when suddenly I heard a shot ring out somewhere on the second floor. I turned and ran quickly down the stairs. Evie now stood in the middle of the room with her arms wrapped protectively around Alex. I turned to my right and saw several tall men wrapped in bright red robes, their leader a tall black man stood in front of them. I inched my way over to Evie and stood beside her.
"Watch Alex," was all she whispered.
"Where is the bracelet?" the tall black man demanded.
"Right here" was Alex's reply as he pushed his way between Evie and I and tried to reach for the wooden chest on the table.
"ALEX, NO!" Evie screamed.
Just then the door to Rick's study opened and a tall dark man walked into the room. He wore black robes trimmed with sliver and had strange tattoos along his cheeks and forehead. His long, black hair ended in a mass of curls, which rested upon his shoulders. A sword and gun hung from each hip, held in place by a thick leather belt.
Evie took hold of Alex's shoulders and guided him back to me. I leaned down and wrapped both my arms around him and held on for dear life!
"I think we are in some serious trouble Alex!" I whispered.
"ARDETH BAY" the black man bellowed.
"Good to see you, old friend" was the dark man's sarcastic reply as he pulled out the long sword and the battle began.
I grabbed Alex and backed into the corner. Chaos descended on the room. Evie had now taken a sword and was fighting like a madwoman. I had no idea she knew how to fight! This Ardeth Bay person was also putting on a good show. Several of the men he fought had already been wounded and were now inching their way towards the front door. The tall black man was standing at the hallway entrance, a small odd looking man now stood beside him clutching the wooden chest. Again gunshots rang out from somewhere upstairs. "Dear God let Rick be OK!" was my only thought. Alex ran out from behind me and dashed towards the small man holding the chest only to be caught up in the arms of one of the others.
"ALEX!" both Evie and I screamed in unison. Evie dashed towards her son and the black man swooped down and grabbed her around the waist.
"Don't follow or harm will come to her" he stated menacingly and then turned and walked down the hall to the front door. The others immediately followed. The one holding Alex tossed him up into the air and ran from the house.
"ALEX!" I cried out as leapt to catch him and break his fall.
It was only then that I realized Ardeth Bay was still with us. We collided into one another in our attempt to break Alex's fall and ended up in a heap on the floor. Alex was sandwiched between us and Mr. Bay's strong arms were wrapped around us both. I looked into Mr. Bay's dark eyes and saw his concern, he started to speak but I then remembered the child that lay between us.
Looking down I ask "You OK sweetheart?"
Alex looked up at me with his wide frightened eyes "He's got Mum"
"Not for long" Ardeth Bay replied.
The three of us quickly untangled ourselves and jumped up, running down the hallway and out the front door. Jonathon was bent over in the driveway gasping for air and Rick was chasing after the cars that carried Evie away from us!
"Evelyn, Evelyn!" Rick screamed as the cars turned the corner and disappeared into the night.
He turned back slowly and walked to where we now stood with Jonathon.
"Everyone OK?" he asked and then noticed Ardeth Bay standing quietly beside Jonathon.
He took two quick steps and grabbed Mr. Bay's robes at the collar, shaking him Rick asked angrily "What the Hell are you doing here?"
"I need your help, but I can see you need mine more" was Mr. Bay's quiet reply.
"That man, the short funny looking one. I have seen him before" Alex interrupted.
"Where honey?" I asked.
"The British Museum, he is the Curator, I'm sure of it!" he exclaimed.
"Now Alex this is very important, you must be absolutely sure," Ardeth Bay said as he bent down and looked in Alex's face.
"Oh he is absolutely sure, he lives there every weekend" I replied.
It was then that Mr. Bay turned, stood up and looked at me. His eyes dropped down to my feet, and then slowly traveled up the legs of my brown tweed pants, across my white linen blouse and finally rested upon my face. I felt a blush creeping up from my neck and spreading across my cheeks. "How odd" I thought "I feel as if I am standing here naked!" I broke his stare by turning to look at Jonathon.
"O'Connell, we must go to the museum immediately!" announced Mr. Bay.
We walked quickly towards the car.
"You said you needed our help?' Rick asked Mr. Bay.
"I was coming here to warn you. I received word from the Cairo Museum that during your recent trip you may have found the bracelet of Anubis," Mr. Bay replied and then he hurriedly continued, "You see they have found the creature and are planning on resurrecting it, once they have done this they want Imhotep to defeat the Scorpion King. Then and only then will Imhotep rule the world. That is why they need the bracelet!"
Alex looked at his father and then at me; "I don't think they will be getting the bracelet just yet" he stated and then pulled up his coat sleeve to reveal the bracelet closed tightly on his wrist.
"Child! What have you done? You have started a chain of events that could lead to the next apocalypse!" yelled Mr. Bay. " We only have 7 days!"
By this time we were standing beside the car. Jonathon was twirling the keys in his hands and I stood beside him quietly. "Can we not remove the bracelet?" I asked.
Mr. Bay turned, looked directly down at me and spoke "It cannot be removed, the chain of events have started. You must understand if we don't get him to the Oasis of Ahm-shere and inside its Temple by the dawn of the 7th morning he will die!"
My eyes widened in horror as my hands reached out to grab Alex.
"OK, OK!" Rick yelled.
"You!" he pointed to Mr. Bay "Lighten up!"
"You!" he pointed to Alex "Big trouble mister!"
"And you two," he pointed to Jonathon and I, "get in the car!"
Rick jumped into the driver's seat and Jonathon the passenger. In the back seat Alex sat between myself, and the mysterious Mr. Bay. Rick gunned the engine and sped out of the driveway towards the British Museum.
"Melissa, see if that thing will come off Alex's arm!" Rick yelled at me over his shoulder. I fumbled with the bracelet looking for a secret latch or button.
"I can't open it Rick, I'm sorry."
"Damn it!" Rick yelled.
"Now, now, don't take it out on her!" Jonathon scolded. Rick turned, gave Jonathon a menacing glare and then stared back at the road.
"Sorry" Rick apologized, again from over his shoulder.
I settled back into my seat, clutching Alex's tiny hand and felt dark eyes burning into my cheek. I turned and looked over the top of Alex's head to see Mr. Bay watching me.
"I'm sorry" he said quietly, "We have not been properly introduced, I am Ardeth Bay from the Med-jai tribe of Egypt, a old friend of The O'Connell's, and you are?"
"Oh, this is just Melissa" was Alex's casual reply.
I smiled over Alex's head and said, " I am Melissa Wainbright, Evie and Rick's ward."
Alex then turned and explained my entire life story to Mr. Bay, the loss of my parent's, my life at boarding school and how I had finally returned to Egypt with them after a six-year absence.
He smiled down at Alex and then turned to me "So your parent's were Egyptologists, like Evelyn and her parents, Miss Wainbright?"
"Please call me Melissa, and no they were not, just fairly wealthy and able to do what pleased them most. They dabbled in a lot of things but Egypt was their first love. They never excavated a site for money or notoriety. They devoted their entire lives to uncovering the history of Egypt. They truly loved your land, Mr. Bay" I replied.
"If I am to call you Melissa then I only think it right that you should call me Ardeth"
"Oh good God" Jonathon muttered from the front seat. I reached forward and swatted the back of his head.
"Enough" Rick said quietly as we pulled up to the front of the museum.
It was decided that Jonathon would stay with Alex and the car. Rick, Ardeth and I would enter the museum. Rick opened the back of the car to reveal a trunk full of weapons.
"Rick, what are we supposed to do with these?" I asked.
"Use them" was Ardeth's reply as he reached into the trunk.
I looked at Rick and then Ardeth "But I don't know how, I have never …."
"Hope you're a quick learner" was Rick's monotone reply as he handed me two large handguns.
I followed the two men into the museum, Rick was leading the way, and Ardeth turned and spoke softly "Stay close to me." I nodded my head.
We went through a door and onto a balcony. From this position we could look below into a large warehouse where red-robed men had formed a circle around a large amber-like object. The Curator was reading from a black book.
"It has begun" Ardeth whispered to Rick and I.
Hiding behind a pillar, we watched as the amber object began to tremble and then crumble onto the floor. The creature burst out of the object and then rejuvenated itself
"Imhotep," Rick whispered.
A tall dark woman appeared before Imhotep. He reached out and touched her face and then spoke a name "Anuk-su-namun". She smiled at him and then offered a sacrifice. Evie!
"OK, I've seen enough, I'm going down there to get her" Rick whispered, he looked at both of us, "Cover me!"
Rick took off in the direction of the stairs, Ardeth pointed to a pillar across from the one we hid behind. "I am going over there, you stay here," he said as he crept away from me.
Once he had reached the safety of the second pillar he whispered, "On the count of three start shooting, don't think about aiming just shoot, we need to distract them so that Rick can get to Evelyn." I nodded my head and gave him a thumbs up.
"One, Two, Three!"
I leaned out from the pillar and began to shoot at anything that was moving. My aim was not good but I managed to wound a few men. I hit a case of something on a shelf and it exploded in a ball of fire. I continued to shoot randomly until I realized I was out of bullets. They had started to shoot back and the bullets were burrowing into the pillar that protected me. I stole a glance below to see that Rick now had Evie with him. I pulled myself behind the pillar quickly as another round bounced off the walls in front of me.
Ardeth looked over at me "What's wrong!" he yelled.
I held both guns up in the air "I'm out" I yelled back at him.
He continued to shoot his rifle as he crawled over to me. I was now standing with my back pressed against the pillar and could feel the sting of plaster as it hit my face and arms. Ardeth reached my feet, still shooting below, and slowly stood up. He pressed his body against mine. "Hold on" was all he said. I dropped the guns on the floor, wrapped my arms around his waist and laid my head on his chest. "Well at least the plaster is not hitting my face," I thought as I inhaled deeply. He smelled of spice and sandalwood and I could hear his heart pounding in his chest. I looked up quickly at his dark face and realized my own heart was beating just as fast.
"Let's get out of here," Rick yelled as he reached the top of the stairs, his hand holding Evie's.
Down below on the warehouse floor, Imhotep resurrected his guards from the afterlife.
Four extremely gruesome looking Mummies were now heading towards the stairs that Evie and Rick had just climbed.
Rick kicked open the door and sent Evie through first, Ardeth put one arm around my waist and ran with me through the door, Rick was last out but not before he sent another round of bullets spraying down the stairway.
We ran, through the corridors of the museum and out a side door. Ardeth held tightly onto me as we ran down the back alleyway heading towards the car. "Honey, these guys don't use doors" I heard Rick yell. I tried to turn my head to see what was going on.
"DON'T, KEEP RUNNING!" Ardeth yelled at me.
We turned the corner to see the car sitting at the front of the museum, no Jonathon, no Alex.
"What now!" Rick gasped as he and Evie caught up with us.
A large double decker bus pulled up and Jonathon yelled from the drivers seat "Get on!"
I ran on the bus and up to the front, Evie was right behind me. Alex reached out to his mother and wrapped his arms around her waist. Ardeth and Rick jumped on the back quickly and yelled for Jonathon to go.
Within seconds the Mummy Guards were upon us. Rick shot out the back window and tried to blast them back to the afterlife. There was a loud noise from above and Rick headed up to the second level to investigate. Evie was hanging on to Jonathon and shouting instructions, I was holding onto Alex and the nearest pole. A Mummy guard entered the back of the bus carrying a sword. Ardeth drew his from his belt and proceeded to battle with the guard. I could hear the battle raging above and watched the battle raging below.
Rick's gun fell onto the hood of the bus. Evie reached out and grabbed it. She turned and yelled for Ardeth to duck. He dove onto a seat as she fired the gun, blowing the Mummy guard into several pieces. Jonathon bellowed as we hit something above and then he headed onto the ramp, which lead to London Bridge. He pulled the bus to a stop and Evie and I surveyed the damage around us.
Rick came down from the second level, which was now non-existent. He strode over to Evie and Alex and enveloped them in a huge hug. I looked over at Ardeth and realized that he had been hurt; he was lying back on the seat and was breathing heavily.
I sat down beside him and began pulling back his torn shirt. There was a nasty looking gash along the upper portion of his chest. It was several inches long and bleeding quite badly.
"We have to stop the bleeding," I said.
I pulled my blouse out of the waistband of my pants and tore three strips from the hem. I then lifted his arm, placed it in my lap and continued to tear open his already torn shirt. I tied the strips tightly around his chest and then turned to look at Evie and Rick. They were whispering to one another and Rick was playing with a whisp of Evie's hair. I turned back to find Ardeth staring at me.
I looked down at his chest and fingered the bandage, "This is only temporary, once we get home I can properly dress the wound," I raised my eyes to find him still staring at me.
Without thinking I lifted my hand from his chest and touched the markings on his face.
"What are these?" I whispered.
"They are the markings of my people, the Med-jai, we were once the Royal Guard to the Pharaohs and now we guard their tombs," he whispered back.
"Oh get a room," Alex muttered as he walked past us towards the back of the bus. I turned and noticed that Rick had taken Evie into his arms and they were kissing. Jonathon, still in the driver seat, was rolling his eyes. I turned back to Ardeth and looked into his dark eyes. My hand was still on his cheek.
"What do they mean?" I asked.
"One reads "Guardian" the other "Protector" he replied. His hand moved up towards my face and his fingers push a stray strand of hair behind my ear. They then continued to trace along my jaw line and stop near my lips. I looked from his markings back to his dark eyes. My heart was beating a thousand times a minute and I thought how I would very much like him to kiss me.
Alex screamed and I turned in time to see his feet go through the back window. Rick ran past us out of the bus, Evie followed right behind him. Ardeth and I jumped up at the same time and Jonathon sprang out the driver's seat. Ardeth ran after Rick and Evie. Jonathon and I ran to the "shot out" back window. He put his arm around me "I think we are in a heap of trouble, again," he whispered as we watched Rick running after the car.
The car that carried Alex away from us.