Chapter Twenty
Alexander O'Connell was normally a well-behaved boy but he also had a short attention span, for someone who was ten. His mother and aunt had left no more then ten minutes ago, leaving him with the words "stay here". Alex fully intended to stay here, in hiding, with Horus but Alex was being to fell a string of mixed emotions. Fear, boredom and the since of adventure and rebellion were all collecting inside of him. He hadn't had a real adventure since he was captured by Imhotep and never cared to have another adventure like that one but this adventure was different. What if Jennifer and his mother needed help; what if his father needed help? Alex was the only one that could help them, he and Horus. That settled it, Alex stood up and decided to find his father or follow his mother.
In the fry of battle, Ardeth-Bay saw the young Alex O'Connell stand up from his hiding place and look around. He appeared to be alone -except for Horus; where were Evelyn and Jennifer. Ardeth-Bay put an end to another Anubis warrior with the slash of his sword as he thought about this. To the left of him, Ardeth-Bay became aware that one of the Anubis warriors had also spotted Alex. Ardeth-Bay knew what would happen if the warrior decided to kill Alex -that's just what would happen, he would kill Alex. Ardeth-Bay needed to find Rick and he needed to find Rick fast.
Jennifer and Evelyn were still thinking of how to attack Anubis and Sahure. They, of course, wanted to have the element of surprise on their part but the only thing they could think of was charging the two. That seemed to be like the only possibility.
Jennifer leaned closer against the cool stonewall and sighed. She was unaware that her body caused several chips of stone to break off from the wall and hit the dirt and sand below.
The little noise that the chips made caused Anubis to become aware that something was not right. His sensitive bat-like ears heard the sound and caused him to whip his head around. He growled and sniffed the air; his nose picked up the scent of humans. He knew who they were without second thought; it was Jennifer and her sister. Anubis smiled his horrid smile; now he would get the chance to kill Jennifer like he had wished.
Anubis came close to the wall and sniffed again; yes it was the two women for sure. Anubis silently and gracefully scaled the wall until he was above the women, starring down at them. His eyes burned with the fire of killing; he would enjoy making their blood spill.
Jennifer and Evelyn were not aware that Anubis was now positioned above them, ready to attack but Jennifer was aware that something was wrong. She no longer heard the deep growling/breathing of Anubis; the only breathing she could hear, besides hers and Evelyn's, was Sahure's. That was not a good sign. Jennifer felt little bits of stone drop on her head; they were like the chips she had broken off, only they were coming from above her. Jennifer's body tensed up with the unshakable feeling that someone was watching her and her sister. Jennifer gripped her sword, raised it in a swinging position and jumped back and turned around. She saw Anubis crouched above the wall; the same time she saw Anubis, Anubis saw Jennifer jump back and face him. He leapt off the wall at her with the grace and speed of a panther or jaguar. Jennifer realized that she screamed as Anubis leapt upon her; she also, however, realized that on instinct she swung her sword.
Jennifer's sword sliced Anubis's shoulder but the blow didn't seem to affect the jackal. Anubis had Jennifer pinned to the ground with his paws, his teeth were bared. Jennifer could smell the creature's foul, hot breath; she turned her head and gasped. Jennifer was helplessly pinned to the ground; the sword lay uselessly in her hand.
Evelyn still stood by the wall, surprised and numb with shock. It had happened so fast; Evelyn didn't have anytime to react. Now, however, was the time to react because her sister was pinned helplessly to the ground by what seemed to be -at the moment- the most powerful enemy that Evelyn had ever encountered.
Out of the corner of her eye, Evelyn saw Sahure snap out of what seemed to be a trace and stand up to help her master kill Jennifer. After seeing Sahure move, Evelyn seemed to be snapped out of the same "surprised" like trace.
Evelyn ran forward and met Sahure before she reached Jennifer and Anubis. Evelyn blocked Sahure with her sword, the same way Jennifer had done earlier. Sahure jerked back surprised but the surprise quickly wore off; Sahure reached into the pockets of her robe and pulled out a small dagger. The tip would have shown in the sun, if there had been any; the clouds were all that could be seen.
Compared to the sword, the dagger seemed like it was no match but Evelyn wasn't sure that was true. Sahure lunged at her with the dagger raised; Evelyn was caught by surprise and the dagger sliced her in the hand. Evelyn cried out and dropped the sword. That seemed to be exactly what Sahure wanted because as soon as Evelyn dropped the sword, Sahure bent to pick it up.
Jennifer heard her sister cry out and quickly jerked her head in Evelyn's direction. Jennifer saw her sister drop the sword and saw Sahure pick up. Realizing how useless her own sword was to her, Jennifer called her sister's name and threw the sword toward her.
Since her wrists her pinned, Jennifer could only throw the sword a few inches but that was enough for Evelyn. She quickly grabbed the sword off the sandy ground and held it, poised to combat Sahure's sword.
Sahure and Evelyn's swords hit with a clang of metal; vibrations tingled toward Evelyn's arms and to her shoulders. Sahure and Evelyn's swords stayed locked together, each of the wielders trying to force the other backward. Evelyn finally managed to over-power Sahure and push her backward. Sahure stumbled backward and quickly met Evelyn's advances. Like the battle against the Anubis warriors and the Medji, this was a battle to the death.
Jennifer vaguely saw Evelyn and Sahure begin to engage in a swordfight. She began to attempt to twist away from Anubis's grasp; Jennifer wrestled with all her strength but the jackal seemed to be too strong. Suddenly, Jennifer realized that her legs were not pinned down like her arms were. Jennifer drew her legs toward her stomach and kicked Anubis.
The jackal jerked off her, surprised by Jennifer's sudden attack. Jennifer leapt to her feet and turned to face Anubis. The jackal was growling, his teeth bared and his paws clenched in fists. Jennifer backed up, realizing that she was not in a good situation right now; she was as helpless as she had been when she was pinned to the ground.
Anubis lunched at Jennifer; the girl quickly dodged the large jackal-man. Anubis staggered and turned around to face her, growling. Anubis charged at her again and pressed Jennifer up against the stonewall; Anubis managed to pin one of Jennifer's hands back but she managed to keep the other free. Anubis bared his teeth and attempted to bite Jennifer's throat; Jennifer grabbed his muzzle with her free hand to keep it away from her throat. Jennifer knew that she might be able to hold the jackal away for now but she wasn't as strong as he was and she would tire out quickly.
Evelyn's "fighting skills" proved to be a prefect match for Sahure. Evelyn and Sahure were able to combat each other's blows skillfully and quickly. Evelyn knew that one of them was bound to mess up eventually and she prayed it wasn't her.
Sahure decided to aim lower then Evelyn's upper-body and catch her foe off guard. Sahure sliced Evelyn's leg, catching the woman off guard. Evelyn cried out in pain and surprise and dropped her sword -without thinking- to inspect her wound. This was just was Sahure wanted; she raised her own sword, preparing to deliver the deathly blow. On instinct, Evelyn looked up to see Sahure bringing her sword down. Evelyn quickly dodged the blow and grabbed her own sword off the ground. While Sahure was still planning her next attack, Evelyn drove the sword into Sahure's chest. Sahure gasped, surprised and dropped her own sword. Sahure staggered backward and fell to the ground; Evelyn swallowed, surprised that she had the courage to exactly kill someone. As Sahure took her final breath Evelyn muttered, "That was for my sister."
Alexander O'Connell was normally a well-behaved boy but he also had a short attention span, for someone who was ten. His mother and aunt had left no more then ten minutes ago, leaving him with the words "stay here". Alex fully intended to stay here, in hiding, with Horus but Alex was being to fell a string of mixed emotions. Fear, boredom and the since of adventure and rebellion were all collecting inside of him. He hadn't had a real adventure since he was captured by Imhotep and never cared to have another adventure like that one but this adventure was different. What if Jennifer and his mother needed help; what if his father needed help? Alex was the only one that could help them, he and Horus. That settled it, Alex stood up and decided to find his father or follow his mother.
In the fry of battle, Ardeth-Bay saw the young Alex O'Connell stand up from his hiding place and look around. He appeared to be alone -except for Horus; where were Evelyn and Jennifer. Ardeth-Bay put an end to another Anubis warrior with the slash of his sword as he thought about this. To the left of him, Ardeth-Bay became aware that one of the Anubis warriors had also spotted Alex. Ardeth-Bay knew what would happen if the warrior decided to kill Alex -that's just what would happen, he would kill Alex. Ardeth-Bay needed to find Rick and he needed to find Rick fast.
Jennifer and Evelyn were still thinking of how to attack Anubis and Sahure. They, of course, wanted to have the element of surprise on their part but the only thing they could think of was charging the two. That seemed to be like the only possibility.
Jennifer leaned closer against the cool stonewall and sighed. She was unaware that her body caused several chips of stone to break off from the wall and hit the dirt and sand below.
The little noise that the chips made caused Anubis to become aware that something was not right. His sensitive bat-like ears heard the sound and caused him to whip his head around. He growled and sniffed the air; his nose picked up the scent of humans. He knew who they were without second thought; it was Jennifer and her sister. Anubis smiled his horrid smile; now he would get the chance to kill Jennifer like he had wished.
Anubis came close to the wall and sniffed again; yes it was the two women for sure. Anubis silently and gracefully scaled the wall until he was above the women, starring down at them. His eyes burned with the fire of killing; he would enjoy making their blood spill.
Jennifer and Evelyn were not aware that Anubis was now positioned above them, ready to attack but Jennifer was aware that something was wrong. She no longer heard the deep growling/breathing of Anubis; the only breathing she could hear, besides hers and Evelyn's, was Sahure's. That was not a good sign. Jennifer felt little bits of stone drop on her head; they were like the chips she had broken off, only they were coming from above her. Jennifer's body tensed up with the unshakable feeling that someone was watching her and her sister. Jennifer gripped her sword, raised it in a swinging position and jumped back and turned around. She saw Anubis crouched above the wall; the same time she saw Anubis, Anubis saw Jennifer jump back and face him. He leapt off the wall at her with the grace and speed of a panther or jaguar. Jennifer realized that she screamed as Anubis leapt upon her; she also, however, realized that on instinct she swung her sword.
Jennifer's sword sliced Anubis's shoulder but the blow didn't seem to affect the jackal. Anubis had Jennifer pinned to the ground with his paws, his teeth were bared. Jennifer could smell the creature's foul, hot breath; she turned her head and gasped. Jennifer was helplessly pinned to the ground; the sword lay uselessly in her hand.
Evelyn still stood by the wall, surprised and numb with shock. It had happened so fast; Evelyn didn't have anytime to react. Now, however, was the time to react because her sister was pinned helplessly to the ground by what seemed to be -at the moment- the most powerful enemy that Evelyn had ever encountered.
Out of the corner of her eye, Evelyn saw Sahure snap out of what seemed to be a trace and stand up to help her master kill Jennifer. After seeing Sahure move, Evelyn seemed to be snapped out of the same "surprised" like trace.
Evelyn ran forward and met Sahure before she reached Jennifer and Anubis. Evelyn blocked Sahure with her sword, the same way Jennifer had done earlier. Sahure jerked back surprised but the surprise quickly wore off; Sahure reached into the pockets of her robe and pulled out a small dagger. The tip would have shown in the sun, if there had been any; the clouds were all that could be seen.
Compared to the sword, the dagger seemed like it was no match but Evelyn wasn't sure that was true. Sahure lunged at her with the dagger raised; Evelyn was caught by surprise and the dagger sliced her in the hand. Evelyn cried out and dropped the sword. That seemed to be exactly what Sahure wanted because as soon as Evelyn dropped the sword, Sahure bent to pick it up.
Jennifer heard her sister cry out and quickly jerked her head in Evelyn's direction. Jennifer saw her sister drop the sword and saw Sahure pick up. Realizing how useless her own sword was to her, Jennifer called her sister's name and threw the sword toward her.
Since her wrists her pinned, Jennifer could only throw the sword a few inches but that was enough for Evelyn. She quickly grabbed the sword off the sandy ground and held it, poised to combat Sahure's sword.
Sahure and Evelyn's swords hit with a clang of metal; vibrations tingled toward Evelyn's arms and to her shoulders. Sahure and Evelyn's swords stayed locked together, each of the wielders trying to force the other backward. Evelyn finally managed to over-power Sahure and push her backward. Sahure stumbled backward and quickly met Evelyn's advances. Like the battle against the Anubis warriors and the Medji, this was a battle to the death.
Jennifer vaguely saw Evelyn and Sahure begin to engage in a swordfight. She began to attempt to twist away from Anubis's grasp; Jennifer wrestled with all her strength but the jackal seemed to be too strong. Suddenly, Jennifer realized that her legs were not pinned down like her arms were. Jennifer drew her legs toward her stomach and kicked Anubis.
The jackal jerked off her, surprised by Jennifer's sudden attack. Jennifer leapt to her feet and turned to face Anubis. The jackal was growling, his teeth bared and his paws clenched in fists. Jennifer backed up, realizing that she was not in a good situation right now; she was as helpless as she had been when she was pinned to the ground.
Anubis lunched at Jennifer; the girl quickly dodged the large jackal-man. Anubis staggered and turned around to face her, growling. Anubis charged at her again and pressed Jennifer up against the stonewall; Anubis managed to pin one of Jennifer's hands back but she managed to keep the other free. Anubis bared his teeth and attempted to bite Jennifer's throat; Jennifer grabbed his muzzle with her free hand to keep it away from her throat. Jennifer knew that she might be able to hold the jackal away for now but she wasn't as strong as he was and she would tire out quickly.
Evelyn's "fighting skills" proved to be a prefect match for Sahure. Evelyn and Sahure were able to combat each other's blows skillfully and quickly. Evelyn knew that one of them was bound to mess up eventually and she prayed it wasn't her.
Sahure decided to aim lower then Evelyn's upper-body and catch her foe off guard. Sahure sliced Evelyn's leg, catching the woman off guard. Evelyn cried out in pain and surprise and dropped her sword -without thinking- to inspect her wound. This was just was Sahure wanted; she raised her own sword, preparing to deliver the deathly blow. On instinct, Evelyn looked up to see Sahure bringing her sword down. Evelyn quickly dodged the blow and grabbed her own sword off the ground. While Sahure was still planning her next attack, Evelyn drove the sword into Sahure's chest. Sahure gasped, surprised and dropped her own sword. Sahure staggered backward and fell to the ground; Evelyn swallowed, surprised that she had the courage to exactly kill someone. As Sahure took her final breath Evelyn muttered, "That was for my sister."