HALLUCINATIONS
In order to see the future, you must first know your past and comprehend the present.
From the Harvester's Journal
1.1 "Anck-su-namun help me! Please, help me!" Imhotep watched helplessly as Ack-su-namun turned away from him, vanishing through the portal that led out of the chamber.
1.2
1.3 "Anck-su-namun?" he whispered, heart and hope shattering as the ceiling of the chamber collapsed. Below him the damned souls that belong to Akethros clutched his legs, pulling him down. He glanced at Nefertiri and the reborn Medjai and smiled softly. Their love was truly eternal. He let go, falling into the arms of the damned souls, letting them carry him to Akethros' realm.
***
Soralis stepped into the darkness, calling out her brother's name. The dark spirits converged on her, reaching out with dark fingers to grasp, to harm. A shimmering light enveloped her, seeming to come from deep within. The spirits' grasping hands stopped short, their voices screeching in anger.
She knew the light would not protect her from the hallucinations. The darkness swirled around her, bringing sensations, memories she wished could remain forever trapped in her subconscious.
She watched helplessly as the Aztec warriors destroyed her home, slaughtering her friends and family. She and those who were unlucky enough not to have had the time to kill themselves were rounded up, chained neck and foot and marched back to the hastily constructed temple their conquerors had built.
Around her, in a circle, were twelve youths, chained to stone pillars. She herself had the dubious pleasure of being the main sacrifice, the last to die. She closed her eyes and ears to the sounds of the children being tortured, raped and killed.
As the priests cut out her heart, she could her them laughing. She died, hearing their laughter echoing in her mind.
Soralis stumbled, falling over a prone, nearly naked body. She turned, her eyes picking out the form of a man, huddling on the ground, lost in his own hallucination. She knelt down, gently shaking him.
"Imhotep?" she asked. He didn't respond. "Imhotep!" she tugged three times on the rope and gripped the man's hands as she dragged him out of the cell.
***
Ardeth tugged on the rope with all his strength, propping open the door with his own body. Before him the darkness roiled with energy, as if angry. He was under no illusions; if the lights in the corridor went out, the cell would have not one, but three victims to play with. With a final heave, he caught sight of Soralis within the darkness.
"Don't let go Ardeth!" she shouted. "If the door shuts, we're all finished!" she cried out as she dragged a limp form with her.
Ardeth's entire being rebelled at the sight of Soralis dragging the former priest through the door of the cell. Every instinct he had, made him want to throw the man back into that hellhole and get out.
As she moved out of the cell, he noticed that Soralis' entire body was framed with a shimmering St. Elmo's like fire that seemed to emanate from beneath her skin. When she moved clear with Imhotep in tow, Ardeth slammed the door to the cell shut. He moved towards Soralis and Imhotep.
Soralis took little notice of Ardeth peering over her shoulder as she moved Imhotep onto his back. "Is he alright?" Ardeth asked.
Soralis' eyes narrowed as Imhotep began to moan softly. "No, but he will be."
Imhotep opened his eyes, the blurred image in front of him slowly coalescing into a strange, white-haired woman and a man. He tried to get up when he recognized the tattoos on the man's face. "Med-jai!" he whispered hoarsely. He looked at the woman more closely. She was somehow familiar to him, somehow… "Hathor?" he asked, touching her face in confusion, in wonderment.
"Yes," she grinned at him wryly. "Osiris has given you parole," she told him in his language. "Can you move?"
He thought about it for a precious moment. "Yes," he replied and was even more surprised when the Med-jai chieftain helped him to his feet.
Imhotep turned to Ardeth. "We must leave. The Isisethren cannot fall into Akethros' hands." He looked at Soralis, renewed hope giving him some of his former strength back. "I am sorry if we do not make it out of here,"
She grinned wryly. "This isn't the first hell-hole I've broken out of," she replied as the threesome cautiously walked out of the side tunnel and into the main corridors.
***
Akethros looked up and settled back into his throne. Something tickled his mind, a tremor in the energy fields, barely detectable, yet there. He delicately went over the tremor, studying it. It was subtle and he would not even have noticed it if it was hiding something so large, so obvious. He smiled.
"So, the little spirit-child wants to play," he murmured in great amusement. "Taking that which is not yours isn't nice," he told no one in particular and looked at his second in command, a creature that was slightly less disgusting than its master.
"Imhotep has been set free. Bring him and his companions to me, alive."
His second in command bowed. "As you will my lord. If they resist?"
"Alive my friend. It doesn't matter what condition they are in, as long as they are alive."
The creature, a decayed mummy-like entity that vaguely resembled Imhotep smiled and bowed his way out of the room.
***
Soralis stumbled, pain shooting through her head. The message was loud and clear. "Shit, he knows!" she said hoarsely as her two companions turned to her.
Imhotep visibly paled and Ardeth bit back a few choice words. Soralis turned to her former twin. "Imhotep, do you know anyway out of here? Servant's talk, guard talk, anything?"
He thought a moment and grinned. "Yes, I believe so. If you will follow me,"
As they trailed behind them, hiding from more frequent patrols, Ardeth leaned towards her. "Soralis, we can't trust him!" he whispered.
"We have no choice," she returned. "Besides, we freed him and he owes us."
"She's right," Imhotep's voice carried back to them. "Even enemies can become allies under the right circumstances,"
Ardeth shot a look at Imhotep's back and silently cursed himself. The living dead frequently had heightened senses of hearing.
***
As they progressed further into the fortress, they had to hide more frequently, to avoid the guard's notice. As the threesome hid in an empty storeroom, Imhotep looked speculatively at his "twin". He could see the strain on her face. "Damnit Hathor, what are you doing?!" he hissed his in his ancient tongue.
Ardeth looked at them in confusion. "What are you talking about?"
"She's using some sort of spell to obscure us." Imhotep shot back. "And exhausting herself in the process," he added.
"No choice 'brother'," she replied, not bothering to deny it.
"You'll pay for it later," he said. "Maybe when we need you most."
Soralis drew a hand across her face, as if banishing the exhaustion she was feeling. She looked at Imhotep and Ardeth again and smiled sadly. "And if I let it go, Akethros will have no trouble finding us."
"Point taken," Ardeth replied. "How long can you keep up this spell?" he asked.
"As long as necessary," she lied.
Imhotep looked skeptical. "Right,"
***
Akethros' second grinned as he sensed them approach. There were only a few real paths out of Akethros' realm and he had set some of his best and most powerful creatures to guard it at his master's insistence. This particular path was the hardest and most obscure of all the available paths. He was pleased that they had chosen it.
Ardeth and his team paused at the final turn of the passageway. Both Imhotep and Soralis knew what was waiting for them and Ardeth could guess. Soralis silently handed her "twin", her sword.
He hefted it. It was a light weapon and plain, with a strange curve to it, completely unlike any sword he was used to. "Don't you need it?" he asked.
"Only on special occasions," she replied as sharp, adamantine claws popped out from between her knuckles on each hand. Imhotep stared at them in shock and then at her. She grinned humorlessly as she turned her attention to the passageway in front of them.
"Now," Ardeth hissed as he withdrew his scimitar. They stepped out into the corridor.
***
The guards, with the creature standing in front of them, completely barred the tunnel's exit. The creature smiled as he saw the two males flank the female. This would be entertaining indeed.
"You enter our realm uninvited," he told them conversationally. "We insist that you pay your respects to our lord."
The female smiled slightly. "With regret, we must decline. My father expects us to return to his realm shortly."
The creature pointed to Imhotep. "He is damned. You cannot take him with you."
Ardeth laughed softly. "That has not stopped him from returning before without consent." He looked at the creature speculatively. "Nor has it prevented you from riding along with him,"
"Clever mortal, very clever." The creature laughed. "Still, this cannot be allowed. Our master requests your presence." He pointed to the three fugitives. "Take them alive," the monsters rushed to obey.
They fought, back to back, surrounded by creatures much more powerful than themselves. The three should have fallen under the first assault, yet they did not. They traded blows, killing their opponents by cutting their heads off, as beheading was the only sure way to kill these particular creatures.
The creature stood back, watching the three fight, confident as only one assured of victory could be. Yet he was wrong. One by one, his soldiers fell, falling to dust at his would-be captive's feet. They turned as one, cold-eyed and determined. They were not surprised as the creature turned tail and ran away from them.
"Come on, he'll sound the alarm," Imhotep warned as he started down the passage.
Soralis paused, uncertain. "That was too easy," she murmured. "Something tells me we aren't going to like whatever is down that path."
Ardeth nodded in agreement. "Keep your eyes open," he told her softly as they followed the former priest down the passage.
***
The tunnel abruptly opened out onto a flat plain covered in dark mist. The only path through the plain was a broken, beat-up road that terminated or began at the tunnel's entrance.
Soralis closed her eyes. "The broken road,"
Ardeth nodded "And no one knows where it ends,"
Imhotep smiled briefly. "One of its endings is here. We will find the other." Behind them they could hear the shouts of guards. "Let's go,"
They stepped on the broken road, the mists surrounding them, cutting them off from the guards, leaving only silence. Ardeth glanced back. He saw only the shifting mists pressing in on them. Soralis tugged his arm impatiently.
"We can't stop once we set foot on this road Ardeth. If we do, the mists will swallow us," she told him. The three began walking.
***
The creature bowed on its knees before Akethros. "My lord, forgive me, they are now on the broken road."
Akethros smiled softly. "Good. Then their final defeat will be all the more delicious." He frowned as he felt a particular tingle.
"Go," he looked down at the creature. "Prepare our troops. It will not be long now," the creature bowed its way out of the antechamber.
Before him an indistinct figure formed, coalescing into that of Audric Blackburn. "My lord, what is your will?"
"Go to London, find Nefertiri and her family. Take them to my temple in Xochilnac. They will be the bait for the Harvester." He paused. "We must at least have either Rick O'Connell or his son. If you can not get them all, it will be understandable." He laughed. "We only need one."
"Why must we take the Harvester my lord?" Audric asked quietly.
"She is the daughter of my enemy and she has escaped me too many times. Her power is great and will become greater. I will have that power as my own, as is my right." He snarled.
"She will not serve you willingly," Audric told him.
"As long as she serves me it doesn't matter." Akethros looked down at the kneeling mortal. "Go, do not fail me,"
"As you will, my lord." Audric whispered.
***
Their journey back was terrible, with the path at times becoming no more than an indention in the road, other times so thin, they could only pass sideways, one at a time.
The danger was apparent, the mists themselves seemed alive, only held back by the tenuous bounds of the road itself. Even then, the mists had already swallowed the road behind them.
Somehow, they managed to trace their way back to the crossroads. Somehow they managed to avoid or surpass the broken road. Somehow, they made it. Anubis was waiting patiently for them at the center of the crossroads.
Imhotep and Ardeth bowed before the jackal-headed deity. Soralis frowned slightly. In his hands was the book of the dead. "You now have what you need to defeat Akethros. We have done all we can," he said as he handed her the obsidian bound book.
"Now it is up to you," As she reached for the book, it incandesced, blinding her and the two men flanking her. She fell into the light that was hidden in the book and then into the darkness the light hid.
***
"Is this normal?" Ardeth asked Imhotep worriedly. Soralis had been unconscious for two days after they had escaped Akethros' realm.
The rest of the Medjai had been understandable hostile towards Imhotep and questioned their leader's sanity. Ardeth only shook his head and pointed to Imhotep's wrist. Inscribed in hieratic were Osiris' symbol and the sign of Maat. This silenced most of them. It meant that Imhotep was under a geas to perform some task for Osiris and any attempt to stop him meant doom to those foolish enough to try.
Imhotep bent down beside her pallet, frowning as he saw clear signs of stress, fatigue and overuse of her own magical gifts. When Ardeth told him about his own rescue, Imhotep starting cursing in several languages before calming down. Ardeth looked confused. "What's wrong?"
"She nearly killed herself keeping you alive on that little 'trip' through the Shadow Realm. Dimensional travel is trying enough, but taking an injured individual along with you is suicidal!" he snarled softly. "Then this," he shook his head and looked at Ardeth. "We must keep her from casting any sort of spells for at least a week. Otherwise, she may collapse again."
"Good luck there," Ardeth grinned wryly. "She's very stubborn,"
"Indeed," Imhotep sighed.
***
Soralis slowly regained consciousness, feeling as if something had taken her apart, then put her back together again in no particular order. In other words, she felt like hell. She cracked open an eye and finding it in semi-working order, she cracked open the other, letting wherever she was slowly come into focus.
She was in a tent. In her tent to be exact, or at least the tent the Medjai had provided. She heard a faint movement to her right and turned around. She smiled faintly as she recognized Imhotep sitting cross-legged beside her pallet. He looked like he had been sitting vigil for a while. He silently helped her sit up and passed her a cup of water.
"Thanks," she replied.
"You're a bloody fool," Imhotep hissed, unable to contain himself. "You could have been killed, or taken by Akethros. You should have never come for me."
"I didn't have a choice," Soralis replied softly. "I am the Harvester of Souls. I am bound to protect the living as I stand for the dead and dying." She retorted in the same ancient language he used. "And death isn't an option for me brother."
"What?" he demanded, startled.
"The same metal that makes up those claws you saw in Akethros' realm encases my skeleton in a nearly unbreakable, impenetrable sheath. Nothing can cut it; nothing can melt it. Those who are more knowledgable than I, told me it is a bio-organic adamantine alloy. That prevents my head from being taken. And beheading is the only way to kill what I have become," she hissed.
"And what is it that you have become?" he asked softly.
She looked at the cup in her hand before continuing. "I died more than five hundred years ago. But death couldn't hold me, I came back, changed." She held out her hand, which blurred; white fur covering it briefly, then equally white feathers and finally semi-transparent black scales before shifting back to tanned skin.
"I'm a shape-shifter and immortal or very nearly immortal anyway. I hold earth by Shadowlord law." She finished the cup of water and continued.
"I brought you back because I was allowed to and because I need your help to stop Akethros. I simply don't have the power to do it alone."
"I was under the impression you could defeat entire armies without help," Ardeth replied as he entered the tent.
She smiled slightly. "Do you honestly believe I could be taken by an evil immortal like Shao Kahn if my ability to take souls was controllable?"
Ardeth looked at her unhappily. "You mean you're likely to loose control over it at any moment?" he asked.
Imhotep grinned at him, amused. "Don't be foolish. The gods would not give such a gift to any lesser immortal or mortal creature without some sort of boundaries to it. The only time she is allowed to use it is if some greater god has a task for her that calls for it."
Ardeth sighed. "I'm glad you are awake Soralis. I've spoken with the wise men. They believe that now that we have you two and the book of the dead, the next logical move for Akethros' cult to make is to strike out at Seti's daughter and her family." He looked at Imhotep darkly.
"The O'Connells." Imhotep murmured.
"Correct, we leave for Cairo tonight. A plane will be waiting for us."
This time it was Soralis' turn to be confused. "Question, Who are the O'Connells?"
In order to see the future, you must first know your past and comprehend the present.
From the Harvester's Journal
1.1 "Anck-su-namun help me! Please, help me!" Imhotep watched helplessly as Ack-su-namun turned away from him, vanishing through the portal that led out of the chamber.
1.2
1.3 "Anck-su-namun?" he whispered, heart and hope shattering as the ceiling of the chamber collapsed. Below him the damned souls that belong to Akethros clutched his legs, pulling him down. He glanced at Nefertiri and the reborn Medjai and smiled softly. Their love was truly eternal. He let go, falling into the arms of the damned souls, letting them carry him to Akethros' realm.
***
Soralis stepped into the darkness, calling out her brother's name. The dark spirits converged on her, reaching out with dark fingers to grasp, to harm. A shimmering light enveloped her, seeming to come from deep within. The spirits' grasping hands stopped short, their voices screeching in anger.
She knew the light would not protect her from the hallucinations. The darkness swirled around her, bringing sensations, memories she wished could remain forever trapped in her subconscious.
She watched helplessly as the Aztec warriors destroyed her home, slaughtering her friends and family. She and those who were unlucky enough not to have had the time to kill themselves were rounded up, chained neck and foot and marched back to the hastily constructed temple their conquerors had built.
Around her, in a circle, were twelve youths, chained to stone pillars. She herself had the dubious pleasure of being the main sacrifice, the last to die. She closed her eyes and ears to the sounds of the children being tortured, raped and killed.
As the priests cut out her heart, she could her them laughing. She died, hearing their laughter echoing in her mind.
Soralis stumbled, falling over a prone, nearly naked body. She turned, her eyes picking out the form of a man, huddling on the ground, lost in his own hallucination. She knelt down, gently shaking him.
"Imhotep?" she asked. He didn't respond. "Imhotep!" she tugged three times on the rope and gripped the man's hands as she dragged him out of the cell.
***
Ardeth tugged on the rope with all his strength, propping open the door with his own body. Before him the darkness roiled with energy, as if angry. He was under no illusions; if the lights in the corridor went out, the cell would have not one, but three victims to play with. With a final heave, he caught sight of Soralis within the darkness.
"Don't let go Ardeth!" she shouted. "If the door shuts, we're all finished!" she cried out as she dragged a limp form with her.
Ardeth's entire being rebelled at the sight of Soralis dragging the former priest through the door of the cell. Every instinct he had, made him want to throw the man back into that hellhole and get out.
As she moved out of the cell, he noticed that Soralis' entire body was framed with a shimmering St. Elmo's like fire that seemed to emanate from beneath her skin. When she moved clear with Imhotep in tow, Ardeth slammed the door to the cell shut. He moved towards Soralis and Imhotep.
Soralis took little notice of Ardeth peering over her shoulder as she moved Imhotep onto his back. "Is he alright?" Ardeth asked.
Soralis' eyes narrowed as Imhotep began to moan softly. "No, but he will be."
Imhotep opened his eyes, the blurred image in front of him slowly coalescing into a strange, white-haired woman and a man. He tried to get up when he recognized the tattoos on the man's face. "Med-jai!" he whispered hoarsely. He looked at the woman more closely. She was somehow familiar to him, somehow… "Hathor?" he asked, touching her face in confusion, in wonderment.
"Yes," she grinned at him wryly. "Osiris has given you parole," she told him in his language. "Can you move?"
He thought about it for a precious moment. "Yes," he replied and was even more surprised when the Med-jai chieftain helped him to his feet.
Imhotep turned to Ardeth. "We must leave. The Isisethren cannot fall into Akethros' hands." He looked at Soralis, renewed hope giving him some of his former strength back. "I am sorry if we do not make it out of here,"
She grinned wryly. "This isn't the first hell-hole I've broken out of," she replied as the threesome cautiously walked out of the side tunnel and into the main corridors.
***
Akethros looked up and settled back into his throne. Something tickled his mind, a tremor in the energy fields, barely detectable, yet there. He delicately went over the tremor, studying it. It was subtle and he would not even have noticed it if it was hiding something so large, so obvious. He smiled.
"So, the little spirit-child wants to play," he murmured in great amusement. "Taking that which is not yours isn't nice," he told no one in particular and looked at his second in command, a creature that was slightly less disgusting than its master.
"Imhotep has been set free. Bring him and his companions to me, alive."
His second in command bowed. "As you will my lord. If they resist?"
"Alive my friend. It doesn't matter what condition they are in, as long as they are alive."
The creature, a decayed mummy-like entity that vaguely resembled Imhotep smiled and bowed his way out of the room.
***
Soralis stumbled, pain shooting through her head. The message was loud and clear. "Shit, he knows!" she said hoarsely as her two companions turned to her.
Imhotep visibly paled and Ardeth bit back a few choice words. Soralis turned to her former twin. "Imhotep, do you know anyway out of here? Servant's talk, guard talk, anything?"
He thought a moment and grinned. "Yes, I believe so. If you will follow me,"
As they trailed behind them, hiding from more frequent patrols, Ardeth leaned towards her. "Soralis, we can't trust him!" he whispered.
"We have no choice," she returned. "Besides, we freed him and he owes us."
"She's right," Imhotep's voice carried back to them. "Even enemies can become allies under the right circumstances,"
Ardeth shot a look at Imhotep's back and silently cursed himself. The living dead frequently had heightened senses of hearing.
***
As they progressed further into the fortress, they had to hide more frequently, to avoid the guard's notice. As the threesome hid in an empty storeroom, Imhotep looked speculatively at his "twin". He could see the strain on her face. "Damnit Hathor, what are you doing?!" he hissed his in his ancient tongue.
Ardeth looked at them in confusion. "What are you talking about?"
"She's using some sort of spell to obscure us." Imhotep shot back. "And exhausting herself in the process," he added.
"No choice 'brother'," she replied, not bothering to deny it.
"You'll pay for it later," he said. "Maybe when we need you most."
Soralis drew a hand across her face, as if banishing the exhaustion she was feeling. She looked at Imhotep and Ardeth again and smiled sadly. "And if I let it go, Akethros will have no trouble finding us."
"Point taken," Ardeth replied. "How long can you keep up this spell?" he asked.
"As long as necessary," she lied.
Imhotep looked skeptical. "Right,"
***
Akethros' second grinned as he sensed them approach. There were only a few real paths out of Akethros' realm and he had set some of his best and most powerful creatures to guard it at his master's insistence. This particular path was the hardest and most obscure of all the available paths. He was pleased that they had chosen it.
Ardeth and his team paused at the final turn of the passageway. Both Imhotep and Soralis knew what was waiting for them and Ardeth could guess. Soralis silently handed her "twin", her sword.
He hefted it. It was a light weapon and plain, with a strange curve to it, completely unlike any sword he was used to. "Don't you need it?" he asked.
"Only on special occasions," she replied as sharp, adamantine claws popped out from between her knuckles on each hand. Imhotep stared at them in shock and then at her. She grinned humorlessly as she turned her attention to the passageway in front of them.
"Now," Ardeth hissed as he withdrew his scimitar. They stepped out into the corridor.
***
The guards, with the creature standing in front of them, completely barred the tunnel's exit. The creature smiled as he saw the two males flank the female. This would be entertaining indeed.
"You enter our realm uninvited," he told them conversationally. "We insist that you pay your respects to our lord."
The female smiled slightly. "With regret, we must decline. My father expects us to return to his realm shortly."
The creature pointed to Imhotep. "He is damned. You cannot take him with you."
Ardeth laughed softly. "That has not stopped him from returning before without consent." He looked at the creature speculatively. "Nor has it prevented you from riding along with him,"
"Clever mortal, very clever." The creature laughed. "Still, this cannot be allowed. Our master requests your presence." He pointed to the three fugitives. "Take them alive," the monsters rushed to obey.
They fought, back to back, surrounded by creatures much more powerful than themselves. The three should have fallen under the first assault, yet they did not. They traded blows, killing their opponents by cutting their heads off, as beheading was the only sure way to kill these particular creatures.
The creature stood back, watching the three fight, confident as only one assured of victory could be. Yet he was wrong. One by one, his soldiers fell, falling to dust at his would-be captive's feet. They turned as one, cold-eyed and determined. They were not surprised as the creature turned tail and ran away from them.
"Come on, he'll sound the alarm," Imhotep warned as he started down the passage.
Soralis paused, uncertain. "That was too easy," she murmured. "Something tells me we aren't going to like whatever is down that path."
Ardeth nodded in agreement. "Keep your eyes open," he told her softly as they followed the former priest down the passage.
***
The tunnel abruptly opened out onto a flat plain covered in dark mist. The only path through the plain was a broken, beat-up road that terminated or began at the tunnel's entrance.
Soralis closed her eyes. "The broken road,"
Ardeth nodded "And no one knows where it ends,"
Imhotep smiled briefly. "One of its endings is here. We will find the other." Behind them they could hear the shouts of guards. "Let's go,"
They stepped on the broken road, the mists surrounding them, cutting them off from the guards, leaving only silence. Ardeth glanced back. He saw only the shifting mists pressing in on them. Soralis tugged his arm impatiently.
"We can't stop once we set foot on this road Ardeth. If we do, the mists will swallow us," she told him. The three began walking.
***
The creature bowed on its knees before Akethros. "My lord, forgive me, they are now on the broken road."
Akethros smiled softly. "Good. Then their final defeat will be all the more delicious." He frowned as he felt a particular tingle.
"Go," he looked down at the creature. "Prepare our troops. It will not be long now," the creature bowed its way out of the antechamber.
Before him an indistinct figure formed, coalescing into that of Audric Blackburn. "My lord, what is your will?"
"Go to London, find Nefertiri and her family. Take them to my temple in Xochilnac. They will be the bait for the Harvester." He paused. "We must at least have either Rick O'Connell or his son. If you can not get them all, it will be understandable." He laughed. "We only need one."
"Why must we take the Harvester my lord?" Audric asked quietly.
"She is the daughter of my enemy and she has escaped me too many times. Her power is great and will become greater. I will have that power as my own, as is my right." He snarled.
"She will not serve you willingly," Audric told him.
"As long as she serves me it doesn't matter." Akethros looked down at the kneeling mortal. "Go, do not fail me,"
"As you will, my lord." Audric whispered.
***
Their journey back was terrible, with the path at times becoming no more than an indention in the road, other times so thin, they could only pass sideways, one at a time.
The danger was apparent, the mists themselves seemed alive, only held back by the tenuous bounds of the road itself. Even then, the mists had already swallowed the road behind them.
Somehow, they managed to trace their way back to the crossroads. Somehow they managed to avoid or surpass the broken road. Somehow, they made it. Anubis was waiting patiently for them at the center of the crossroads.
Imhotep and Ardeth bowed before the jackal-headed deity. Soralis frowned slightly. In his hands was the book of the dead. "You now have what you need to defeat Akethros. We have done all we can," he said as he handed her the obsidian bound book.
"Now it is up to you," As she reached for the book, it incandesced, blinding her and the two men flanking her. She fell into the light that was hidden in the book and then into the darkness the light hid.
***
"Is this normal?" Ardeth asked Imhotep worriedly. Soralis had been unconscious for two days after they had escaped Akethros' realm.
The rest of the Medjai had been understandable hostile towards Imhotep and questioned their leader's sanity. Ardeth only shook his head and pointed to Imhotep's wrist. Inscribed in hieratic were Osiris' symbol and the sign of Maat. This silenced most of them. It meant that Imhotep was under a geas to perform some task for Osiris and any attempt to stop him meant doom to those foolish enough to try.
Imhotep bent down beside her pallet, frowning as he saw clear signs of stress, fatigue and overuse of her own magical gifts. When Ardeth told him about his own rescue, Imhotep starting cursing in several languages before calming down. Ardeth looked confused. "What's wrong?"
"She nearly killed herself keeping you alive on that little 'trip' through the Shadow Realm. Dimensional travel is trying enough, but taking an injured individual along with you is suicidal!" he snarled softly. "Then this," he shook his head and looked at Ardeth. "We must keep her from casting any sort of spells for at least a week. Otherwise, she may collapse again."
"Good luck there," Ardeth grinned wryly. "She's very stubborn,"
"Indeed," Imhotep sighed.
***
Soralis slowly regained consciousness, feeling as if something had taken her apart, then put her back together again in no particular order. In other words, she felt like hell. She cracked open an eye and finding it in semi-working order, she cracked open the other, letting wherever she was slowly come into focus.
She was in a tent. In her tent to be exact, or at least the tent the Medjai had provided. She heard a faint movement to her right and turned around. She smiled faintly as she recognized Imhotep sitting cross-legged beside her pallet. He looked like he had been sitting vigil for a while. He silently helped her sit up and passed her a cup of water.
"Thanks," she replied.
"You're a bloody fool," Imhotep hissed, unable to contain himself. "You could have been killed, or taken by Akethros. You should have never come for me."
"I didn't have a choice," Soralis replied softly. "I am the Harvester of Souls. I am bound to protect the living as I stand for the dead and dying." She retorted in the same ancient language he used. "And death isn't an option for me brother."
"What?" he demanded, startled.
"The same metal that makes up those claws you saw in Akethros' realm encases my skeleton in a nearly unbreakable, impenetrable sheath. Nothing can cut it; nothing can melt it. Those who are more knowledgable than I, told me it is a bio-organic adamantine alloy. That prevents my head from being taken. And beheading is the only way to kill what I have become," she hissed.
"And what is it that you have become?" he asked softly.
She looked at the cup in her hand before continuing. "I died more than five hundred years ago. But death couldn't hold me, I came back, changed." She held out her hand, which blurred; white fur covering it briefly, then equally white feathers and finally semi-transparent black scales before shifting back to tanned skin.
"I'm a shape-shifter and immortal or very nearly immortal anyway. I hold earth by Shadowlord law." She finished the cup of water and continued.
"I brought you back because I was allowed to and because I need your help to stop Akethros. I simply don't have the power to do it alone."
"I was under the impression you could defeat entire armies without help," Ardeth replied as he entered the tent.
She smiled slightly. "Do you honestly believe I could be taken by an evil immortal like Shao Kahn if my ability to take souls was controllable?"
Ardeth looked at her unhappily. "You mean you're likely to loose control over it at any moment?" he asked.
Imhotep grinned at him, amused. "Don't be foolish. The gods would not give such a gift to any lesser immortal or mortal creature without some sort of boundaries to it. The only time she is allowed to use it is if some greater god has a task for her that calls for it."
Ardeth sighed. "I'm glad you are awake Soralis. I've spoken with the wise men. They believe that now that we have you two and the book of the dead, the next logical move for Akethros' cult to make is to strike out at Seti's daughter and her family." He looked at Imhotep darkly.
"The O'Connells." Imhotep murmured.
"Correct, we leave for Cairo tonight. A plane will be waiting for us."
This time it was Soralis' turn to be confused. "Question, Who are the O'Connells?"
