Um...yeah. Still going on...ya know. Got about 6 chpaters left...uh huh. I hope this one goes over with you readers, I like it.
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"Save the girl! Kill the creature!" Ameera heard her great-grandfather yell, watching as he ran into the hallway of mummies, beating them off one by one. Next, she was in a large, well furnished home, watching Ardeth Bay and Evelyn O'Connell fight off men in red and black robes. "What's in the chest?!" "The Bracelet of Anubis!" She saw the outside of the large house, she saw him running up to a man, bowing his head in respect. "O'Connell." She watched as a large rock started to break apart, watching as a bony hand shot up from it, she could hear the chanting of the red & black warriors, and the spell being read somewhere from below her.
She watched this all like it was a movie, watching Ardeth and the O'Connell's fight off Imhotep and his minions. She was on a bus, on a plane, on a flying boat…she saw all the ruins they had been to in search of Alex. She saw the Blue Nile, and the large wall of water…and the face in the water…Then she saw the oasis of Ahm Shere, in all its glory, and pain. What the hell were those little pygmy things? She watched Ardeth fight and defeat Lock-nah, proving him self once more, as one of the greatest warriors ever.
But she never saw the creature himself, regenerated. She wondered what he looked like with skin. Then, she was standing in the desert, looking around, she saw the Med-jai standing ready to battle, swords held forward, and she heard Ardeth yell, "'Till death!" And heard the roar of the warriors. Turning her head, she watched as a sea of large dog-faced warriors came at them, full force. As the distance closed from one hundred yards to 80 to 60 to 50 to 40, she turned back to her relative, his face grim, eyes powerful and deep. She opened her mouth to scream, but nothing came out. She turned back, the dog warriors were now ten yards from them, then, the next thing she knew, and they were right there, right in front on them, ready to kill every Med-jai.
~~
Ameera sat up with a scream, body dripping in a cold sweat. Her chest heaved up and down, for whatever reason, she was out of breath. She closed her eyes tight, her breathing slowing down a bit. What a nightmare, she had never had one so vivid. She flopped back on her bed, staring up at the ceiling, letting her eyes adjust to the dim light in her bedroom.
After a long time, she sighed and sat up, throwing the covers off her body. She always loved the sound of bare feet on the cool floor of her home, and it brought a smile to her face as she left her bedroom and crossed into the living room. She looked out side and noticed that it was close to sunrise. Soon her tribe would start spilling out of their homes, making their ways to the city kitchen for breakfast. She knew that in a few hours, she would be leaving her city for Cairo, then making her way to Ahm Shere. Another sigh escaped her as she fell back onto the pillows in her living room. Now she understood why her father had always told her that sleep for a Med-jai was never restful.
Her father…her beloved father. The first chieftain to die from a battle in three generations. He was always a strong man, but somehow, those they were fighting got the best of him. He hung on for three days after being wounded so badly, and in that time he forced the ceremony of the next ruler. Customary to be held after the funeral of the fallen king, he had forced it to be held so that he could watched his daughter become chieftain of the Med-jai. It had made him so proud that she was his heir, and he told her often that there wasn't one person better for the job.
The thoughts of her father brought a tear to her eye, she had loved him so very much, and now missed him just the same. Often times, like now, she wished he was there to hug her tightly and whisper, "Everything will be alright, we will make it through this, my princess." Like he would do whenever there was trouble.
She sighed and stood up, crossing to her bedroom. She dressed for the ride, pulling on her black pants, which hung low on her hips, and a black, thin strap tank top, which she always wore under her robe. One if the hardest things about being a female warrior, was having such…delicate features. She was so very thankful she did not have a big chest, other wise, they would just get in the way. The tank top fitted her nicely, showing on her small curves, her nicely built arms and shoulders. It came down to just above her belly button, so it showed off her nice, flat stomach.
The people in the Med-jai were used to her beauty and form. But when she went anywhere else, men often would stare at her, mouths agape, eyes wide. Even in her robes she caught their attention, their heads turning as they walked by her. Some of these men would stop and try to talk to her, but then Omar would step in and they would back off. Unless she wanted to talk to them, which was hardly ever. She knew that she scared the men in the outside world. They could tell she was strong and could kick their ass in a second, but also always having the huge Omar at her side didn't help much. She did frighten people, with her duel scimitars hanging at her waist, ready to be used in a second. Those native to Egypt never got into the way of the Med-jai, for they were a sacred and powerful people. All knew about the legendary Med-jai warriors, and everyone respected them.
She picked up a fresh robe and carried it out to the living room, she would put it on later, when she was almost ready to leave. For now, she was hungry, so she joined those few people who were out at the kitchen, helping herself to a hearty breakfast. She talked and laughed with a few of the townsfolk, until she looked up and saw her best friend, Andrea, coming towards her. Her little five month pregnant belly sticking out.
"Morning Meera." She said with a smile as she got her food and sat down next to her friend.
"Morning Andie." Ameera said back with a smile of her own. "How are you feeling today?"
"Oh...fine. Except for the morning sickness. Oh…that is the one think I HATE about this." She pointed to her belly. "At least it is the first one, so that means there is more coming!"
They both laughed.
"So, Meera, how long are you going to be gone?"
"Some where around a week, I would have to guess. I really don't know how long we will be down there."
Andrea sighed. "Well, you will be well missed. Mainly by me! Who else is going to giggle with me about things?"
"I am a queen, I do not 'Giggle'. I laugh." Ameera said in a mocking manor.
They both laughed again. "Well, I need you to 'Giggle' with me about that Nick O'Connell."
"Andrea! You're a married woman!"
"I know! I don't mean it like that, but you should just see the looks he is getting from the local women! They are falling head over heals for him!" She lowered her voice to a whisper, "I don't blame them, either."
"Andie, please…spare me."
"What? Do you think he is cute?"
"I had this conversation with my mother yesterday, I am not about to have it with you to!"
"Come on! If you cant tell your best friend, who are you going to tell?"
Ameera looked at her sideways. There was a long pause.
"Fine, I think he is cute. I think he is very cute. But he is also arrogant and slightly rude. Forcing his way into Med-jai business!"
Her friend laughed her self silly.
"What?" Ameera asked the shaking woman next to her.
"I have NEVER seen you fall for a guy like this!"
Ameera had to try her hardest not to slap Andrea upside the head. Instead, she just glared at her friend.
"Shut up, Andie. She said finally with a smile on her face.
"Come on Merra…"
"Merra?" A voice said behind them, both of them turned and looked up at Nick, a smile on his face. "What a nice way of saying your name. Mind if I call you that?"
"Not at all, if you don't want to live to see Ahm Shere." Ameera shot back.
"Ameera it is." Nick smiled and sat down across from the two women, holding out his hand as he did so.
"Nick O'Connell." He said to Andrea, "You are?"
"Andrea Maher." She smiled and took his hand, shaking it firmly. "I have heard much about you, Mr. O'Connell."
Ameera kicked her friend under the table.
"Really?" He shot a look towards the chieftain's way. "Well, I hope it was all good."
"For the most part."
He laughed, "Excuse me, I am going to get something to eat. Big day you know!" He stood and walked off. Ameera turned to her best friend, glaring at her.
"Damn you woman!" She spat.
But her friend just laughed. "Oh, come on, if I cant tease you about a boy, who will I tease?"
Ameera sighed and stood up. "I'm going to go find my cousin, seen him around anywhere?"
"Nope, probably still asleep. You know how Omar is."
Ameera smiled and placed a strong hand on her friend's shoulder. "Then I will see you later…and if you tell him anything, I will have to kill you."
"Love you to!" Andrea called as Ameera walked off, laughing.
~~
"OMAR!" He felt a sharp pain in his forehead. "Get up!"
"All right, all right. Damn…must you always wake me up like this?" He sat up, opening his eyes, seeing Ameera standing next to his bed, pointer finger ready to tap him on the head again.
"We should leave soon, it is going to be a hot day today. So get up! You need to make sure everything is ready for our trip."
"How come I always have to do stuff like that? Make sure we have all the supplies, make sure everything is ready…how come I have to do that and not you?" He swung his legs off the bed.
"Because that is what the second in commands job is, you knew that when you excepted the place at my side. But if you don't like it…I could always give the position over to Dannah…"
"NO!" She loved to threaten him with giving his position to his rival, kept him in check.
"Good. Then get up. We have work to do." She left on that note, leaving him to shake his head.
~~
An hour later, Ameera heard a soft knock on her door, as she was getting ready to leave for the stables.
"Come in!" She called, in Arabic.
The door opened and Nick stuck his head in, smiling. "I hope you just said 'come in'."
"I did." She said, sitting on her pillows to pull on her boots. "Are you ready to go, Nick?"
"Yes, I am. I thank you for allowing me to come, I know that…well…you didn't want me to."
"Don't mention it." She laced up one boot, and started on the other. Nick crossed to one of the shelves in her home; looking at the pictures that sat on top.
"Hey!" He exclaimed, picking up one of the pictures. "We have this exact picture in our house."
The picture was of The O'Connell's, Jonathan, Ardeth, and Izzy. Taken after they got back from Ahm Shere.
"Hum." She said, not terribly interested. She stood up and grabbed her robe, unfolding it neatly. Ameera had her back turned to Nick, as she began to put on her robe.
But a hand on the top of her back stopped her from pulling it up all the way. She turned her head to find Nick looking at her back carefully.
"Wha…" She got out as he ran a finger over her back.
"What a beautiful tattoo." He said softly. He was looking at, and tracing, the tattoo she had on her upper back, right in-between her shoulders, and inch under the base of her neck. It was of a sun, a moon, and a star. A circle, really, on one side, a crescent moon, on the other, the sun, its rays sticking out from its half, and in the sun, a star, beautifully detailed.
She was glad he couldn't see her face, for she was turning all kinds of shades of red. The feeling of his finger tracing the tattoo was sending electricity through her body.
"Thank you." She managed out, trying to control the feelings inside her.
"Another Med-jai secret tattoo?" He asked, leaning in for a closer view.
"It is a Bay family symbol. Every warrior Bay has held this tattoo, it is a sign of pride for my family."
"That's great…" He smiled to himself, before taking his finger off her body, allowing her to finish putting her robe over that tight, black tank top. He scolded himself in his mind for thinking about it.
She crossed to the other side of the room, to where her scimitars were waiting, as she finished putting on the robe, tying it loosely because of he hard day of riding she had before her. She was grateful to the feet between her and Nick.
He watched her carefully as she tied the traditional Med-jai robe, placed her duel scimitars in their scabbards. He then watched as she wrapped her turban around her head, covering her forehead and most of her hair. She picked up a large, flat, necklace and placed it around her neck. It looked old and well worn, It was of some sort of cartouche. She was beautiful in so many ways…stop thinking that Nick, it would never happen. He told himself in his mind.
"Um…what about Robert…?" He said finally.
"What about him?" She said back, smoothing out her outfit.
"Is he going to come with us…?"
"NO! Only you are going to Ahm Shere, not him to."
"No…I mean to Cairo. Is he going to travel back with us today?"
She hadn't thought about that before. It would be fitting to take him back with them now, and with Robert there, Nick would stay preoccupied with him.
"Yes, he will be going with us. You better go tell him, though, we leave in five minutes."
She looked around, making sure she had not forgotten anything, she hadn't. So, with a soft sigh, she crossed to her front door and held it open, gesturing him to leave her house. "I will meet you two by the stables in five minutes, if you are not there, we will leave with out you."
He smiled and chuckled. "We will be there, My lady."
He crossed to the door, looked at her for a second, then left, whistling along the way. She shook her head and closed the door behind her as she left.
~~
She found Omar, Haris, and Radhi packing up the horses they were going to be riding. Six horses who would hold riders, one supply horse. They would pick up the other weapons they would need in Cairo. The three men bowed their heads respectfully as she entered.
"My Lady," Haris said, "We are all ready to be going."
"Great, then go say your good byes, we will leave soon."
The two young warriors left, leaving Omar and Ameera to look at each other.
"Ready for this?" He asked softly.
"No, but I don't think it will make a deference."
"No, it wont. Come on…I know your mother and Andrea want to see you before you leave."
Five minutes later, after saying good bye to their loved ones, the group of six, seven if you counted the supply horse, left the Med-jai City, of on their day and a half ride to Cairo.
~~
"DIG!" Steven yelled at the workers they had hired. "We are not paying you do stand there!"
In the mid-morning heat, the seven diggers glared at their boss then went back to work, cursing under their breaths. Steven satisfied that they were now working, walked back to the open tent where Travis was sitting with Martin. From the look on his face, Steven could tell Travis was about to murder the smaller man.
"You see, this map only tell us where the oasis is, not how far it is under the sand. We can hope not to far, right!" Martin laughed for some reason.
Travis was clenching his fists, ready to knock the little man through the wall of the tent.
"Martin." Steven said in his thick voice, "Will you excuse us for a few minutes, I wish to talk to Travis in privet."
"Of course!" He stood and crossed out of the tent, squinting as he left.
"Thank god!" Travis said once he had left. "I was about to shoot that little bas…"
"Come now, we have bigger problems at hand. Like finding that pyramid and that book."
"True…damn it, you would think they would have thought to grab the book. It would have made it so much easier."
"The O'Connell's were running for their life's, I don't think the book of the dead was on their minds at the time. Besides, the pyramid is made of pure gold, so it is worth it either way."
"Do you think the monsters will still be down there?"
"The pygmies? HA! There is no such thing. Little bastards…that part of the story was just made up!"
Travis sat back, wondering what other parts of the story were made up over the years. "We should have just brought O'Connell, you know that right? We should have tied that bugger up and brought him with us, then we could have fed him to the pygmies."
"Don't worry, my friend, I don't think Nick O'Connell will be getting out of the safe for a very long time."
~~
"They locked you in the family safe?" Omar asked Nick, as they rode through the desert. "They locked you in a safe…"
"Yep. After they boozed me up, they tied me up, locked me in the safe, and kept the keys." Nick shuddered at the thought. "Spent about twelve hours in that damn thing before someone heard me banging around in there."
"But…they kept the keys…"
"My family wasn't stupid, the safe has about five different sets of keys among all of us. Bloody awful place to be stuck in, for so long."
"I would have to think so." Ameera piped in finally. She had stayed quiet for most of the trip so far. "Why didn't they just kill you?"
"I don't know. I thought they were going to, but I guess the best plan they could have come up with was to lock me in the safe."
~~
"Why didn't we just kill the little bastard? We could have done better then locking him in a safe." Travis said, mindlessly throwing a ball into the air and catching it.
"Believe me, I would have, if someone hadn't forgotten the gun." Steven spat.
"We could have stabbed him!"
The thought had never dawned on Steven before.
"Well, I am sure he is dead by now. There is no way he could have survived this long in that place. Nick O'Connell is no longer a problem to us."
~~
On the second day, Robert was relieved to see Cairo on the horizon.
"Thank god!" He let out, wiping the sweat off his forehead. "I have never been more happy to see a city before."
"Happy to know you enjoyed the desert so much, Robert." Ameera said rolling her eyes. When they got to Cairo, Robert and Nick made their way to their hotel as the Med-jai made their way to the small hotel owned by the Med-jai. All the Med-jai who worked there were not marked like the warriors. As they entered the grounds, a few young boys ran out to grab their horses', taking them to a stable behind the hotel.
"My lady!" A soft voice called out, "What a delight it is to have you here with us again. Please come in." A small, old woman walked up to them, smiling.
"Thank you Eliza." Ameera flashed her a smile and followed the little woman inside. The Med-jai sat up their rooms and unloaded their few things. Then, Ameera and Omar sat off to get Nick and go talk to Izzy, the third. While Haris and Radhi went to pick up their extra weapons.
~~
Ameera and Omar found the hotel the Englishmen were staying at, a Hilton, no less. Receiving strange looks from tourists as they crossed the lobby, got in to an elevator, and made their way down a crowded hallway. Omar knocked firmly on door 107.
"Been gettin' funny looks?" Nick asked, opening the door and looking at the two Med-jai. Dressed in dark blue and black robes, tattoos showing brightly on their faces and hands. Omar with his one very long scimitar at his waist, Ameera with her duel scimitars, not as long as Omar's, but both could still do some damage.
"Like you would never believe." Ameera said with a smile, as a female, she was getting even stranger looks from the non-locals. "Are you ready? It is already late in the afternoon and I want to get to Izzy before he heads out for the night."
"Yeah, I am." He grabbed a small bag next to the door and called out a good bye to Robert, who appeared at the door to wish his best friend and the Med-jai a safe trip. And with that, they walked out of the hotel together, the Englishman and the Med-jai getting even stranger looks then before.
"So, you going to trust your life to Izzy?" Nick said, slightly amused.
"If it was good enough for the great Ardeth, then it is good enough for us." Ameera said as they walked across town. "Although, he didn't really trust the original Izzy either."
They came upon a small airfield towards the end of town. Many a broken down plane sat around the runway, many a dirty man working on the planes.
"You know, it amazes me that the first Izzy had children, let alone those kids having some of their own…" Omar said softly, so that only his companions could hear. This caused them both to laugh slightly.
"I am with Ardeth…why cant you people keep your feet on the ground?" Ameera said shaking her head. After the stories Ardeth had told her as a child, about plane rides with the O'Connell's, she was not looking forward to this very trip. Granted, she had flown before, but an Izzy and an O'Connell were involved, and that could never be good.
A short, plump black man walked out of the front gate humming softly to himself, reading a map.
"IZZY!" Nick called out happily.
"Oh god…no…not you." Izzy said, looking up, and backing away. "Not an O'Connell…you are noten but trouble. Every time one of me family gets involved with one o' yours, there is noten but trouble."
"At least I don't shoot you." Nick said, taking a step forward. "Like Rick would have done."
"Don't matter, you ain't coming near this air field."
The two men now stood right in front of each other, staring each other down. Then they both laughed happily and hugged.
"How are ya, Nick ol' boy?" Izzy (The third, not that different from his Grandfather) said, grinning stupidly.
"Just fine my man, just fine. We still on for a plane ride from you?"
As he said 'we', Izzy looked past Nick to see the Med-jai standing behind him, looking on rather puzzled.
"What a' they doin' here?" He said, taking a step back in fright.
"Don't worry Izzy, these are my friends, Ameera and Omar Bay."
"Huh…" He looked puzzled. "Really. How many of them will there be?"
"There will be five, including my self."
"Huh, well alright. When will we be leaving?"
"At around six in the morning. Will that be alright with you?" Ameera spoke up, walking towards the man. She had to be at least six inches taller then him.
"That's a bit early…don't like bein' up that early. But…if I have to, I will."
"Great. How much will it cost?"
"Me en Nick already took care of that."
Ameera flashed him the brightest smile she could manage. "Wonderful." Then an idea hit her. "What are we flying in?"
"Don't worry, it is a normal plane. Not what our family rode in…but if you want to see that." Nick pointed towards a large boat with a very large balloon folded over the side.
"That's…"
"Yep, that is what took them to Ahm Shere."
"You have got to be kidding me."
"No ma'am, he's not." Izzy spoke up. "That is the one and only."
Ameera's mouth dropped as she and Omar walked over to the ship, looking into it.
"Does it run?"
"No…"
"Huh." Now she could see why Ardeth didn't like to fly. Being slammed to the ground in that thing must have, for lack of a better word, sucked. She poked her head around the ship, looking at all the old pieces of furniture and such.
"Well, Izzy, on behalf of my people, I thank you for helping us out. We are very grateful that you are…um…here to help us." Ameera said, smiling softly.
"Your welcome, miss, happy to be here to help." He winked a dark brown eye at her.
"Um…we have to go." She said quickly, "Omar, let us be off. We must meet up with Haris and Radhi."
Omar hadn't missed the wink. "Yes, Ameera…I agree with you. Nick, coming?"
"Yeah, be right there." Nick stayed behind to talk with Izzy as the Med-jai got out of there.
"Creepy little fella, don't you think?" Omar said as they stood in the shade of a building, waiting for Nick.
"Oh yes. Thank god we don't have to spend that much time in the same area as him." She smoothed down her robe. "But, he is getting us there, and hopefully before they discover the book of the dead."
~~
"MASTER!" The voice fell over the small dig site, causing Steven and Travis to race out of their tent. "Master! We have hit something!"
There was a small rush to get to the stop where they workers were digging. Indeed they did hit something…something gold.
"What is it?" Travis said, dropping to the ground where the 45-foot sloped hole was.
"Don't know yet, master, but we will find out quickly." One of the workers grabbed a small paintbrush and began to lightly brush away sand from gold.
"Give me that!" Travis yelled, pulling the brush out of the mans hands and began to blow and brushed as hard and fast as he could. He wanted to find out what they had hit. There was an eerie silence around him. Then, finally, he uncovered a claw. Going down further, he found an arm, then another claw, and another arm. Finally a body. It was a golden scorpion, a large golden scorpion. And from the way it held its arms, it was meant to be holding something big.
"Steven!" Travis called out, brushing more sand away. "What is this?"
"Oh my god…" The thick voice came from above him. "It is the golden pyramid of the Scorpion King…"
There was a collective gasp around them. Travis's lips curling back to an evil smile.
"We are close, very close. I want EVERY one of the diggers working until they find us a door, got it?" Those around him nodded as he stood and brushed the sand off his pants.
"We are close. We should have the book in our hands by tomorrow."
Steven smiled evilly as well. "Then. It is power and riches…for both of us."
~~
The workers worked well into the night, only getting a small diner break. By nightfall, they had uncovered the top of the pyramid, and by the time they were finally able to sleep, they had uncovered little more. It was hard work, having to brush away all the sand, then hall it up the ever growing hill in buckets, and dumping it out up on top. Many workers had hurt themselves, one fainted.
Martin was in disbelief at the way they were being treated, and tried to get Steven or Travis to give them a break, but they did not. Then it was up at the crack of dawn the next morning, a ten-minute breakfast break, then back to work on the hole. All the workers grumbled and cursed at the two headmen, but none dared to attack them, for the large red & black guards were always by them.
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In case you didnt make the conection, the necklace Ameera puts on, is the same one Ardeth wears in TMR. I really hope you like the story so far. More action is coming, I promise. Thanks for all those who reviewed it. *Cough*bothofyou*Cough*
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"Save the girl! Kill the creature!" Ameera heard her great-grandfather yell, watching as he ran into the hallway of mummies, beating them off one by one. Next, she was in a large, well furnished home, watching Ardeth Bay and Evelyn O'Connell fight off men in red and black robes. "What's in the chest?!" "The Bracelet of Anubis!" She saw the outside of the large house, she saw him running up to a man, bowing his head in respect. "O'Connell." She watched as a large rock started to break apart, watching as a bony hand shot up from it, she could hear the chanting of the red & black warriors, and the spell being read somewhere from below her.
She watched this all like it was a movie, watching Ardeth and the O'Connell's fight off Imhotep and his minions. She was on a bus, on a plane, on a flying boat…she saw all the ruins they had been to in search of Alex. She saw the Blue Nile, and the large wall of water…and the face in the water…Then she saw the oasis of Ahm Shere, in all its glory, and pain. What the hell were those little pygmy things? She watched Ardeth fight and defeat Lock-nah, proving him self once more, as one of the greatest warriors ever.
But she never saw the creature himself, regenerated. She wondered what he looked like with skin. Then, she was standing in the desert, looking around, she saw the Med-jai standing ready to battle, swords held forward, and she heard Ardeth yell, "'Till death!" And heard the roar of the warriors. Turning her head, she watched as a sea of large dog-faced warriors came at them, full force. As the distance closed from one hundred yards to 80 to 60 to 50 to 40, she turned back to her relative, his face grim, eyes powerful and deep. She opened her mouth to scream, but nothing came out. She turned back, the dog warriors were now ten yards from them, then, the next thing she knew, and they were right there, right in front on them, ready to kill every Med-jai.
~~
Ameera sat up with a scream, body dripping in a cold sweat. Her chest heaved up and down, for whatever reason, she was out of breath. She closed her eyes tight, her breathing slowing down a bit. What a nightmare, she had never had one so vivid. She flopped back on her bed, staring up at the ceiling, letting her eyes adjust to the dim light in her bedroom.
After a long time, she sighed and sat up, throwing the covers off her body. She always loved the sound of bare feet on the cool floor of her home, and it brought a smile to her face as she left her bedroom and crossed into the living room. She looked out side and noticed that it was close to sunrise. Soon her tribe would start spilling out of their homes, making their ways to the city kitchen for breakfast. She knew that in a few hours, she would be leaving her city for Cairo, then making her way to Ahm Shere. Another sigh escaped her as she fell back onto the pillows in her living room. Now she understood why her father had always told her that sleep for a Med-jai was never restful.
Her father…her beloved father. The first chieftain to die from a battle in three generations. He was always a strong man, but somehow, those they were fighting got the best of him. He hung on for three days after being wounded so badly, and in that time he forced the ceremony of the next ruler. Customary to be held after the funeral of the fallen king, he had forced it to be held so that he could watched his daughter become chieftain of the Med-jai. It had made him so proud that she was his heir, and he told her often that there wasn't one person better for the job.
The thoughts of her father brought a tear to her eye, she had loved him so very much, and now missed him just the same. Often times, like now, she wished he was there to hug her tightly and whisper, "Everything will be alright, we will make it through this, my princess." Like he would do whenever there was trouble.
She sighed and stood up, crossing to her bedroom. She dressed for the ride, pulling on her black pants, which hung low on her hips, and a black, thin strap tank top, which she always wore under her robe. One if the hardest things about being a female warrior, was having such…delicate features. She was so very thankful she did not have a big chest, other wise, they would just get in the way. The tank top fitted her nicely, showing on her small curves, her nicely built arms and shoulders. It came down to just above her belly button, so it showed off her nice, flat stomach.
The people in the Med-jai were used to her beauty and form. But when she went anywhere else, men often would stare at her, mouths agape, eyes wide. Even in her robes she caught their attention, their heads turning as they walked by her. Some of these men would stop and try to talk to her, but then Omar would step in and they would back off. Unless she wanted to talk to them, which was hardly ever. She knew that she scared the men in the outside world. They could tell she was strong and could kick their ass in a second, but also always having the huge Omar at her side didn't help much. She did frighten people, with her duel scimitars hanging at her waist, ready to be used in a second. Those native to Egypt never got into the way of the Med-jai, for they were a sacred and powerful people. All knew about the legendary Med-jai warriors, and everyone respected them.
She picked up a fresh robe and carried it out to the living room, she would put it on later, when she was almost ready to leave. For now, she was hungry, so she joined those few people who were out at the kitchen, helping herself to a hearty breakfast. She talked and laughed with a few of the townsfolk, until she looked up and saw her best friend, Andrea, coming towards her. Her little five month pregnant belly sticking out.
"Morning Meera." She said with a smile as she got her food and sat down next to her friend.
"Morning Andie." Ameera said back with a smile of her own. "How are you feeling today?"
"Oh...fine. Except for the morning sickness. Oh…that is the one think I HATE about this." She pointed to her belly. "At least it is the first one, so that means there is more coming!"
They both laughed.
"So, Meera, how long are you going to be gone?"
"Some where around a week, I would have to guess. I really don't know how long we will be down there."
Andrea sighed. "Well, you will be well missed. Mainly by me! Who else is going to giggle with me about things?"
"I am a queen, I do not 'Giggle'. I laugh." Ameera said in a mocking manor.
They both laughed again. "Well, I need you to 'Giggle' with me about that Nick O'Connell."
"Andrea! You're a married woman!"
"I know! I don't mean it like that, but you should just see the looks he is getting from the local women! They are falling head over heals for him!" She lowered her voice to a whisper, "I don't blame them, either."
"Andie, please…spare me."
"What? Do you think he is cute?"
"I had this conversation with my mother yesterday, I am not about to have it with you to!"
"Come on! If you cant tell your best friend, who are you going to tell?"
Ameera looked at her sideways. There was a long pause.
"Fine, I think he is cute. I think he is very cute. But he is also arrogant and slightly rude. Forcing his way into Med-jai business!"
Her friend laughed her self silly.
"What?" Ameera asked the shaking woman next to her.
"I have NEVER seen you fall for a guy like this!"
Ameera had to try her hardest not to slap Andrea upside the head. Instead, she just glared at her friend.
"Shut up, Andie. She said finally with a smile on her face.
"Come on Merra…"
"Merra?" A voice said behind them, both of them turned and looked up at Nick, a smile on his face. "What a nice way of saying your name. Mind if I call you that?"
"Not at all, if you don't want to live to see Ahm Shere." Ameera shot back.
"Ameera it is." Nick smiled and sat down across from the two women, holding out his hand as he did so.
"Nick O'Connell." He said to Andrea, "You are?"
"Andrea Maher." She smiled and took his hand, shaking it firmly. "I have heard much about you, Mr. O'Connell."
Ameera kicked her friend under the table.
"Really?" He shot a look towards the chieftain's way. "Well, I hope it was all good."
"For the most part."
He laughed, "Excuse me, I am going to get something to eat. Big day you know!" He stood and walked off. Ameera turned to her best friend, glaring at her.
"Damn you woman!" She spat.
But her friend just laughed. "Oh, come on, if I cant tease you about a boy, who will I tease?"
Ameera sighed and stood up. "I'm going to go find my cousin, seen him around anywhere?"
"Nope, probably still asleep. You know how Omar is."
Ameera smiled and placed a strong hand on her friend's shoulder. "Then I will see you later…and if you tell him anything, I will have to kill you."
"Love you to!" Andrea called as Ameera walked off, laughing.
~~
"OMAR!" He felt a sharp pain in his forehead. "Get up!"
"All right, all right. Damn…must you always wake me up like this?" He sat up, opening his eyes, seeing Ameera standing next to his bed, pointer finger ready to tap him on the head again.
"We should leave soon, it is going to be a hot day today. So get up! You need to make sure everything is ready for our trip."
"How come I always have to do stuff like that? Make sure we have all the supplies, make sure everything is ready…how come I have to do that and not you?" He swung his legs off the bed.
"Because that is what the second in commands job is, you knew that when you excepted the place at my side. But if you don't like it…I could always give the position over to Dannah…"
"NO!" She loved to threaten him with giving his position to his rival, kept him in check.
"Good. Then get up. We have work to do." She left on that note, leaving him to shake his head.
~~
An hour later, Ameera heard a soft knock on her door, as she was getting ready to leave for the stables.
"Come in!" She called, in Arabic.
The door opened and Nick stuck his head in, smiling. "I hope you just said 'come in'."
"I did." She said, sitting on her pillows to pull on her boots. "Are you ready to go, Nick?"
"Yes, I am. I thank you for allowing me to come, I know that…well…you didn't want me to."
"Don't mention it." She laced up one boot, and started on the other. Nick crossed to one of the shelves in her home; looking at the pictures that sat on top.
"Hey!" He exclaimed, picking up one of the pictures. "We have this exact picture in our house."
The picture was of The O'Connell's, Jonathan, Ardeth, and Izzy. Taken after they got back from Ahm Shere.
"Hum." She said, not terribly interested. She stood up and grabbed her robe, unfolding it neatly. Ameera had her back turned to Nick, as she began to put on her robe.
But a hand on the top of her back stopped her from pulling it up all the way. She turned her head to find Nick looking at her back carefully.
"Wha…" She got out as he ran a finger over her back.
"What a beautiful tattoo." He said softly. He was looking at, and tracing, the tattoo she had on her upper back, right in-between her shoulders, and inch under the base of her neck. It was of a sun, a moon, and a star. A circle, really, on one side, a crescent moon, on the other, the sun, its rays sticking out from its half, and in the sun, a star, beautifully detailed.
She was glad he couldn't see her face, for she was turning all kinds of shades of red. The feeling of his finger tracing the tattoo was sending electricity through her body.
"Thank you." She managed out, trying to control the feelings inside her.
"Another Med-jai secret tattoo?" He asked, leaning in for a closer view.
"It is a Bay family symbol. Every warrior Bay has held this tattoo, it is a sign of pride for my family."
"That's great…" He smiled to himself, before taking his finger off her body, allowing her to finish putting her robe over that tight, black tank top. He scolded himself in his mind for thinking about it.
She crossed to the other side of the room, to where her scimitars were waiting, as she finished putting on the robe, tying it loosely because of he hard day of riding she had before her. She was grateful to the feet between her and Nick.
He watched her carefully as she tied the traditional Med-jai robe, placed her duel scimitars in their scabbards. He then watched as she wrapped her turban around her head, covering her forehead and most of her hair. She picked up a large, flat, necklace and placed it around her neck. It looked old and well worn, It was of some sort of cartouche. She was beautiful in so many ways…stop thinking that Nick, it would never happen. He told himself in his mind.
"Um…what about Robert…?" He said finally.
"What about him?" She said back, smoothing out her outfit.
"Is he going to come with us…?"
"NO! Only you are going to Ahm Shere, not him to."
"No…I mean to Cairo. Is he going to travel back with us today?"
She hadn't thought about that before. It would be fitting to take him back with them now, and with Robert there, Nick would stay preoccupied with him.
"Yes, he will be going with us. You better go tell him, though, we leave in five minutes."
She looked around, making sure she had not forgotten anything, she hadn't. So, with a soft sigh, she crossed to her front door and held it open, gesturing him to leave her house. "I will meet you two by the stables in five minutes, if you are not there, we will leave with out you."
He smiled and chuckled. "We will be there, My lady."
He crossed to the door, looked at her for a second, then left, whistling along the way. She shook her head and closed the door behind her as she left.
~~
She found Omar, Haris, and Radhi packing up the horses they were going to be riding. Six horses who would hold riders, one supply horse. They would pick up the other weapons they would need in Cairo. The three men bowed their heads respectfully as she entered.
"My Lady," Haris said, "We are all ready to be going."
"Great, then go say your good byes, we will leave soon."
The two young warriors left, leaving Omar and Ameera to look at each other.
"Ready for this?" He asked softly.
"No, but I don't think it will make a deference."
"No, it wont. Come on…I know your mother and Andrea want to see you before you leave."
Five minutes later, after saying good bye to their loved ones, the group of six, seven if you counted the supply horse, left the Med-jai City, of on their day and a half ride to Cairo.
~~
"DIG!" Steven yelled at the workers they had hired. "We are not paying you do stand there!"
In the mid-morning heat, the seven diggers glared at their boss then went back to work, cursing under their breaths. Steven satisfied that they were now working, walked back to the open tent where Travis was sitting with Martin. From the look on his face, Steven could tell Travis was about to murder the smaller man.
"You see, this map only tell us where the oasis is, not how far it is under the sand. We can hope not to far, right!" Martin laughed for some reason.
Travis was clenching his fists, ready to knock the little man through the wall of the tent.
"Martin." Steven said in his thick voice, "Will you excuse us for a few minutes, I wish to talk to Travis in privet."
"Of course!" He stood and crossed out of the tent, squinting as he left.
"Thank god!" Travis said once he had left. "I was about to shoot that little bas…"
"Come now, we have bigger problems at hand. Like finding that pyramid and that book."
"True…damn it, you would think they would have thought to grab the book. It would have made it so much easier."
"The O'Connell's were running for their life's, I don't think the book of the dead was on their minds at the time. Besides, the pyramid is made of pure gold, so it is worth it either way."
"Do you think the monsters will still be down there?"
"The pygmies? HA! There is no such thing. Little bastards…that part of the story was just made up!"
Travis sat back, wondering what other parts of the story were made up over the years. "We should have just brought O'Connell, you know that right? We should have tied that bugger up and brought him with us, then we could have fed him to the pygmies."
"Don't worry, my friend, I don't think Nick O'Connell will be getting out of the safe for a very long time."
~~
"They locked you in the family safe?" Omar asked Nick, as they rode through the desert. "They locked you in a safe…"
"Yep. After they boozed me up, they tied me up, locked me in the safe, and kept the keys." Nick shuddered at the thought. "Spent about twelve hours in that damn thing before someone heard me banging around in there."
"But…they kept the keys…"
"My family wasn't stupid, the safe has about five different sets of keys among all of us. Bloody awful place to be stuck in, for so long."
"I would have to think so." Ameera piped in finally. She had stayed quiet for most of the trip so far. "Why didn't they just kill you?"
"I don't know. I thought they were going to, but I guess the best plan they could have come up with was to lock me in the safe."
~~
"Why didn't we just kill the little bastard? We could have done better then locking him in a safe." Travis said, mindlessly throwing a ball into the air and catching it.
"Believe me, I would have, if someone hadn't forgotten the gun." Steven spat.
"We could have stabbed him!"
The thought had never dawned on Steven before.
"Well, I am sure he is dead by now. There is no way he could have survived this long in that place. Nick O'Connell is no longer a problem to us."
~~
On the second day, Robert was relieved to see Cairo on the horizon.
"Thank god!" He let out, wiping the sweat off his forehead. "I have never been more happy to see a city before."
"Happy to know you enjoyed the desert so much, Robert." Ameera said rolling her eyes. When they got to Cairo, Robert and Nick made their way to their hotel as the Med-jai made their way to the small hotel owned by the Med-jai. All the Med-jai who worked there were not marked like the warriors. As they entered the grounds, a few young boys ran out to grab their horses', taking them to a stable behind the hotel.
"My lady!" A soft voice called out, "What a delight it is to have you here with us again. Please come in." A small, old woman walked up to them, smiling.
"Thank you Eliza." Ameera flashed her a smile and followed the little woman inside. The Med-jai sat up their rooms and unloaded their few things. Then, Ameera and Omar sat off to get Nick and go talk to Izzy, the third. While Haris and Radhi went to pick up their extra weapons.
~~
Ameera and Omar found the hotel the Englishmen were staying at, a Hilton, no less. Receiving strange looks from tourists as they crossed the lobby, got in to an elevator, and made their way down a crowded hallway. Omar knocked firmly on door 107.
"Been gettin' funny looks?" Nick asked, opening the door and looking at the two Med-jai. Dressed in dark blue and black robes, tattoos showing brightly on their faces and hands. Omar with his one very long scimitar at his waist, Ameera with her duel scimitars, not as long as Omar's, but both could still do some damage.
"Like you would never believe." Ameera said with a smile, as a female, she was getting even stranger looks from the non-locals. "Are you ready? It is already late in the afternoon and I want to get to Izzy before he heads out for the night."
"Yeah, I am." He grabbed a small bag next to the door and called out a good bye to Robert, who appeared at the door to wish his best friend and the Med-jai a safe trip. And with that, they walked out of the hotel together, the Englishman and the Med-jai getting even stranger looks then before.
"So, you going to trust your life to Izzy?" Nick said, slightly amused.
"If it was good enough for the great Ardeth, then it is good enough for us." Ameera said as they walked across town. "Although, he didn't really trust the original Izzy either."
They came upon a small airfield towards the end of town. Many a broken down plane sat around the runway, many a dirty man working on the planes.
"You know, it amazes me that the first Izzy had children, let alone those kids having some of their own…" Omar said softly, so that only his companions could hear. This caused them both to laugh slightly.
"I am with Ardeth…why cant you people keep your feet on the ground?" Ameera said shaking her head. After the stories Ardeth had told her as a child, about plane rides with the O'Connell's, she was not looking forward to this very trip. Granted, she had flown before, but an Izzy and an O'Connell were involved, and that could never be good.
A short, plump black man walked out of the front gate humming softly to himself, reading a map.
"IZZY!" Nick called out happily.
"Oh god…no…not you." Izzy said, looking up, and backing away. "Not an O'Connell…you are noten but trouble. Every time one of me family gets involved with one o' yours, there is noten but trouble."
"At least I don't shoot you." Nick said, taking a step forward. "Like Rick would have done."
"Don't matter, you ain't coming near this air field."
The two men now stood right in front of each other, staring each other down. Then they both laughed happily and hugged.
"How are ya, Nick ol' boy?" Izzy (The third, not that different from his Grandfather) said, grinning stupidly.
"Just fine my man, just fine. We still on for a plane ride from you?"
As he said 'we', Izzy looked past Nick to see the Med-jai standing behind him, looking on rather puzzled.
"What a' they doin' here?" He said, taking a step back in fright.
"Don't worry Izzy, these are my friends, Ameera and Omar Bay."
"Huh…" He looked puzzled. "Really. How many of them will there be?"
"There will be five, including my self."
"Huh, well alright. When will we be leaving?"
"At around six in the morning. Will that be alright with you?" Ameera spoke up, walking towards the man. She had to be at least six inches taller then him.
"That's a bit early…don't like bein' up that early. But…if I have to, I will."
"Great. How much will it cost?"
"Me en Nick already took care of that."
Ameera flashed him the brightest smile she could manage. "Wonderful." Then an idea hit her. "What are we flying in?"
"Don't worry, it is a normal plane. Not what our family rode in…but if you want to see that." Nick pointed towards a large boat with a very large balloon folded over the side.
"That's…"
"Yep, that is what took them to Ahm Shere."
"You have got to be kidding me."
"No ma'am, he's not." Izzy spoke up. "That is the one and only."
Ameera's mouth dropped as she and Omar walked over to the ship, looking into it.
"Does it run?"
"No…"
"Huh." Now she could see why Ardeth didn't like to fly. Being slammed to the ground in that thing must have, for lack of a better word, sucked. She poked her head around the ship, looking at all the old pieces of furniture and such.
"Well, Izzy, on behalf of my people, I thank you for helping us out. We are very grateful that you are…um…here to help us." Ameera said, smiling softly.
"Your welcome, miss, happy to be here to help." He winked a dark brown eye at her.
"Um…we have to go." She said quickly, "Omar, let us be off. We must meet up with Haris and Radhi."
Omar hadn't missed the wink. "Yes, Ameera…I agree with you. Nick, coming?"
"Yeah, be right there." Nick stayed behind to talk with Izzy as the Med-jai got out of there.
"Creepy little fella, don't you think?" Omar said as they stood in the shade of a building, waiting for Nick.
"Oh yes. Thank god we don't have to spend that much time in the same area as him." She smoothed down her robe. "But, he is getting us there, and hopefully before they discover the book of the dead."
~~
"MASTER!" The voice fell over the small dig site, causing Steven and Travis to race out of their tent. "Master! We have hit something!"
There was a small rush to get to the stop where they workers were digging. Indeed they did hit something…something gold.
"What is it?" Travis said, dropping to the ground where the 45-foot sloped hole was.
"Don't know yet, master, but we will find out quickly." One of the workers grabbed a small paintbrush and began to lightly brush away sand from gold.
"Give me that!" Travis yelled, pulling the brush out of the mans hands and began to blow and brushed as hard and fast as he could. He wanted to find out what they had hit. There was an eerie silence around him. Then, finally, he uncovered a claw. Going down further, he found an arm, then another claw, and another arm. Finally a body. It was a golden scorpion, a large golden scorpion. And from the way it held its arms, it was meant to be holding something big.
"Steven!" Travis called out, brushing more sand away. "What is this?"
"Oh my god…" The thick voice came from above him. "It is the golden pyramid of the Scorpion King…"
There was a collective gasp around them. Travis's lips curling back to an evil smile.
"We are close, very close. I want EVERY one of the diggers working until they find us a door, got it?" Those around him nodded as he stood and brushed the sand off his pants.
"We are close. We should have the book in our hands by tomorrow."
Steven smiled evilly as well. "Then. It is power and riches…for both of us."
~~
The workers worked well into the night, only getting a small diner break. By nightfall, they had uncovered the top of the pyramid, and by the time they were finally able to sleep, they had uncovered little more. It was hard work, having to brush away all the sand, then hall it up the ever growing hill in buckets, and dumping it out up on top. Many workers had hurt themselves, one fainted.
Martin was in disbelief at the way they were being treated, and tried to get Steven or Travis to give them a break, but they did not. Then it was up at the crack of dawn the next morning, a ten-minute breakfast break, then back to work on the hole. All the workers grumbled and cursed at the two headmen, but none dared to attack them, for the large red & black guards were always by them.
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In case you didnt make the conection, the necklace Ameera puts on, is the same one Ardeth wears in TMR. I really hope you like the story so far. More action is coming, I promise. Thanks for all those who reviewed it. *Cough*bothofyou*Cough*