Chapter 7
A motion behind her made Evy turn around, the gun at the ready. In the low light of the evening she could make out the shapes if two men supporting another between them. "Evie. It's us." Rick"s voice came from one of the shapes and as they stepped closer, she could see their faces. "Oh, Rick. Thank God! Are you okay?"
Jonathan sighed and brushed dust and dirt of his pants. "Well, I'm fine. It was kinda tough."
Then her eyes fell on Ardeth and she gasped at the state of the warrior. "Oh my God, what have they done to him?"
Rick sat next to the exhausted and semi-conscious Arab and checked his pulse. "I don't know, Evie, but it's not good. He's not responsive and when I got him out, he didn't make any sense. He kept saying Zami-something and 'not safe, they know'." He looked from the Medjai to his wife. "I've never seen him like that. They must have done more than just torture him. I think they gave him drugs or something. That would certainly explain how they got the information out of him."
"We have to get him out of here."
Jonathan stood now next to Evie and looked down at Rick and Ardeth. "But where to? We can't take him to the hotel. People will ask questions and he needs a doctor."
Evie exchanged a quick look with Rick. "Rashi Omar's house across the plaza from the Museum of Antiquities. He was the one who contacted Ardeth for me and he will help us."
Rick nodded. "If we can trust him, we better not loose anymore time."
*
It didn't take them long to make their way to Rashid Omar's house. Evy almost found the way in her sleep. Rick had draped a dark cloak over Ardeth as they carried him to cover his identity. In front of the door of the small house, Evie knocked on the door. A few moment later, the door opened and a small man in his late 60s stepped out. He looked suspiciously at the women and the two men and his eyes rested at the cloaked form in between the two men. "Can I help you?"
"Mr Omar, I'm Eveline O'Connell from the Museum of Antiquities. Ardeth Bay said that if we ever needed help ..."
"Yes, I know who you are, Mrs O'Connell. And I will honour the will of the leader of the Medjai. How can I be of assistance?"
A groan and some mumbled words escaped from underneath the cloak and Rashid Omar took a step forward and lifted the cloak slightly to reveal an all too familiar face.
"In the name of Allah!" Rashid gasped as he spotted the limp figure of Ardeth Bey underneath the blanket. "Bring him inside! Quickly!"
Rick, Jonathan and Evie followed the Arab inside the house and up the stairs with their charge.
Rashid opened a door and pointed to a bed in the far end of the room. "In here, put him on the bed." They rushed over and carefully placed Ardeth onto the bed. Rashid had filled a bowl with water and grabbed a towel from the table next to the bed. He leaned over the Medjai and began to examine him. He lifted each eyelid and frowned. Then he took the warrior's pulse and checked Ardeth's body for injuries, his eyes narrowing in concern at the extend of the bruising around his chest and ribcage. After a few minutes, Rashid looked up at Rick and then at Evie. "He has been beaten and drugged. What in Allah's name happened?"
All the time that Rick and Evie relayed the events of the day, Rashid was fussing over the Medjai warrior. Evie held the bowl of water as he cleaned out the wounds and bandaged the young Arab's ribs tightly. Then he sat down and sighed, covering Ardeth's body with a blanket. He shook his head heavily. "Allah have mercy on young Bey."
"Rashid? He will be fine, right?" Evie asked anciously.
Rashid shook his head. " I have taken care of his injuries as best as I could, but as for the drug ... I know nothing of it and from what Rick has said, it sounds like something I have heard being used by foreign armies to make one`s mind succeptible to giving up secrets. It is a powerful drug and we have to wait and hope that it will work its way out of his body without leaving any physical harm."
"How long can that take?" Rick asked. "We have to know what he told the Germans."
Jonathan stood leaning against the door behind Evy. "They are probably half way to Am Shere by now!"
Evie shot both of them a deadly glance. "Oh really, you two! Ardeth is the most important thing right now."
Rashid took a last look at the young Medjai leader and then turned at Evie, Rick and Jonathan. "We should leave him to rest." They all threw a last look at their injured friend and followed Omar out of the room.
*
It had been several hours since they sat together in Rashid Omar's living room, waiting and hoping. Jonathan was busy skipping through a magazine while Rick and Evie sat with Rashid.
"By the way, who is Zamira?" Rick suddenly asked.
Rashid looked at him in confusion and concern. "Where did you hear that name?"
"Ardeth was saying the name over and over when I got him out of that prison cell."
Rashid sighed heavily. "Zamira is the daughter of the curator of the Museum of Antiquities and Ardeth Bey's wife."
Rick raised his eyebrows. "Who would have thought? Ardeth married! He never said anything."
Evie squeezed her husband's hand. "Well, it never really came up." Then she turned at Rashid. "I remember meeting her. She studied for her doctorate at Oxford and spent some time working at the museum a few years ago. Did she not have a son?" Just then she realised the implication - Ardeth Bey was actually a father himself.
Rashid nodded as he took another sip from his tea. "Yes they did. Sami was only 5 years old when he died almost eight years ago now."
"Oh my god, how awful. What happened?"
"Ardeth had taken the boy to see his mother at the museum. She worked there after her return from England. It was not easy for them - Zamira being at the museum and Ardeth back at the Medjai camp. But he visited her as often as possible and as she was working most of the times, Sami stayed with his father."
"One day, they came to pick her up to return with them into the desert. I don't know exactly what happened and I think even Ardeth doesn't know up until today. But Sami broke loose from his hand and ran across the street toward the museum entrance. There was a speeding car and he was run over by it as it was being chased by another car. It was an unfortunate accident and Zamira accepted that, but Ardeth has blamed himself for not being able to keep his only son safe."
Evie and Rick stared at the old man in shocked silence and Rashid shook his head sadly. "It has broken my heart to see that they have not had any more children since that day." Then he looked up with a small smile on his face. "But I have just heard from my wife this morning who is a friend of Zamira's mother, that she is with child again." Rashid looked up to the ceiling as if his eyes could pierce the walls and look straight into Ardeth's room. "He does not know it yet. I do not wish to break the news to him as this right is reserved for Zamira, even though this might just be what he needs to hear right now."
Then Rashid stood up and went into the kitchen. As they heard him opening cupboard doors and noises of mugs being moved around, Evie squeezed Rick's hand firmly. "Now I understand why he helped us to find Alex at Am Shere and didn't go to join his men."
Rashid returned from the kitchen and placed a mug of hot tea in front of Evie. Then he checked his watch. "The drug should have worn off by now." He looked at Evie. "This is some herbal tea that should help him recover. Why don't you go upstairs and see if he is awake?"
Evie nodded and reached for the hot, steaming mug. Then she made her way upstairs. In front of Ardeth's door, she stood and took a deep breath. Then she gently knocked on the door and waited for a few moments. There was no sound coming out of the room. Evy took a deep breath and opened the door. Stepping into the room, she spotted Ardeth standing on the balcony, looking across Cairo and holding a book in his hands.
"Ardeth?"
"And as I walk in the dark valley of the shadows of death, I shall fear no evil." he said, his voice almost a whisper. "For you are with me all the way, my God, and I shall come and dwell in the house of the Lord, forever." Ardeth closed the book. "There is a lot of comfort in these words."
Evie stepped closer to her friend. "It is a prayer from our faith." she said, concerned. "I didn't know you read the Bible." She walked forward until she stood right behind him and held her hand holding the mug out to him. "Rashid said you should drink this. It will do you good and give you your strength back."
Ardeth placed the book onto a small table on the balcony. "Rashid is a very wise man." He reached for the tea and took a small sip. "He and his wife have been friends of the Medjai since the days of my father."
Evie stepped closer, the thoughts of what Rashid had told them earlier still fresh in her mind. What other pains had Ardeth suffered in his life? "You have never spoken about your family. They must be very proud of you."
The Medjai closed his eyes painfully. Then he laughed drily. "Proud? You do not know what shame and pain I have caused my family. I have not only failed to stop the secrets of Hamunaptra from being discovered and prevent the creature from rising, it was I who revealed the secrets of Am Shere to the Germans." He shook his head as he opened his eyes and stared across the city. "There is only one thing I must do now that would restore the honour to me and my family."
Evie's eyes went wide as she realized what he was considering. "Ardeth, you can't be thinking about what I think you're thinking!"
"It is my duty, Evie." Ardeth said. "A duty that my tribe has fulfilled for generations. A duty that I have sworn to fulfill when I received these markings." The tall Arab's fingers slid across the tattoos on his cheeks. "But I have failed. Not only this time, but other times before. I have disgraced those that have bestowed the trust of the Medjai in me. My honour demands that I do what has do be done."
Evie's eyes were still wide in shock. "But taking your own life? I can not believe you of all people would think about something like that! Ardeth, if anything then the past two times with Imothep have shown that there is always a way. There is always hope! We defeated Imothep and the Scorpion King, even when the odds were against us. And you were there at our side. If it wasn't for you, then neither of us would be alive today. Alex wouldn't be alive. Doesn't that mean anything?"
Ardeth was silent for a moment, his hands tight around the mug. "I am not worthy of the title of leader of the Medjai." he said, his voice heavy. "What I have allowed to happen is inexcusable."
She was just about to ask him what his wife would have say about that, but there was a motion at the door.
"Hey guys, I just wanted to see how our patient is doing." Rick said as he entered the room. Then he sensed the seriousness in the air. "What's going on?"
Evie's eyes never left Ardeth. "Your Medjai brother here thinks he has to kill himself because he thinks he told the Germans about Am Shere!"
"What?" Rick looked from Evie to Ardeth who had now turned around. "This is a joke, right?" Rick took a step forward and looked intendly into the dark eyes of his Arab friend. "C'mon, buddy, they drugged you. There was nothing you could have done. Trust me. I know what it's like. I have come across this in the French Foreign Legion and nobody can resist the power of those drugs."
Ardeth looked at his friend, his brother. "Fear not, my friend. It is now only important that we stop the Germans from reaching Am Shere and raising the army of Anubis."
Evie shrug her shoulders and exchanged a worried look with Rick. "Okay," he said. "But this discussion isn't over yet!"
A motion behind her made Evy turn around, the gun at the ready. In the low light of the evening she could make out the shapes if two men supporting another between them. "Evie. It's us." Rick"s voice came from one of the shapes and as they stepped closer, she could see their faces. "Oh, Rick. Thank God! Are you okay?"
Jonathan sighed and brushed dust and dirt of his pants. "Well, I'm fine. It was kinda tough."
Then her eyes fell on Ardeth and she gasped at the state of the warrior. "Oh my God, what have they done to him?"
Rick sat next to the exhausted and semi-conscious Arab and checked his pulse. "I don't know, Evie, but it's not good. He's not responsive and when I got him out, he didn't make any sense. He kept saying Zami-something and 'not safe, they know'." He looked from the Medjai to his wife. "I've never seen him like that. They must have done more than just torture him. I think they gave him drugs or something. That would certainly explain how they got the information out of him."
"We have to get him out of here."
Jonathan stood now next to Evie and looked down at Rick and Ardeth. "But where to? We can't take him to the hotel. People will ask questions and he needs a doctor."
Evie exchanged a quick look with Rick. "Rashi Omar's house across the plaza from the Museum of Antiquities. He was the one who contacted Ardeth for me and he will help us."
Rick nodded. "If we can trust him, we better not loose anymore time."
*
It didn't take them long to make their way to Rashid Omar's house. Evy almost found the way in her sleep. Rick had draped a dark cloak over Ardeth as they carried him to cover his identity. In front of the door of the small house, Evie knocked on the door. A few moment later, the door opened and a small man in his late 60s stepped out. He looked suspiciously at the women and the two men and his eyes rested at the cloaked form in between the two men. "Can I help you?"
"Mr Omar, I'm Eveline O'Connell from the Museum of Antiquities. Ardeth Bay said that if we ever needed help ..."
"Yes, I know who you are, Mrs O'Connell. And I will honour the will of the leader of the Medjai. How can I be of assistance?"
A groan and some mumbled words escaped from underneath the cloak and Rashid Omar took a step forward and lifted the cloak slightly to reveal an all too familiar face.
"In the name of Allah!" Rashid gasped as he spotted the limp figure of Ardeth Bey underneath the blanket. "Bring him inside! Quickly!"
Rick, Jonathan and Evie followed the Arab inside the house and up the stairs with their charge.
Rashid opened a door and pointed to a bed in the far end of the room. "In here, put him on the bed." They rushed over and carefully placed Ardeth onto the bed. Rashid had filled a bowl with water and grabbed a towel from the table next to the bed. He leaned over the Medjai and began to examine him. He lifted each eyelid and frowned. Then he took the warrior's pulse and checked Ardeth's body for injuries, his eyes narrowing in concern at the extend of the bruising around his chest and ribcage. After a few minutes, Rashid looked up at Rick and then at Evie. "He has been beaten and drugged. What in Allah's name happened?"
All the time that Rick and Evie relayed the events of the day, Rashid was fussing over the Medjai warrior. Evie held the bowl of water as he cleaned out the wounds and bandaged the young Arab's ribs tightly. Then he sat down and sighed, covering Ardeth's body with a blanket. He shook his head heavily. "Allah have mercy on young Bey."
"Rashid? He will be fine, right?" Evie asked anciously.
Rashid shook his head. " I have taken care of his injuries as best as I could, but as for the drug ... I know nothing of it and from what Rick has said, it sounds like something I have heard being used by foreign armies to make one`s mind succeptible to giving up secrets. It is a powerful drug and we have to wait and hope that it will work its way out of his body without leaving any physical harm."
"How long can that take?" Rick asked. "We have to know what he told the Germans."
Jonathan stood leaning against the door behind Evy. "They are probably half way to Am Shere by now!"
Evie shot both of them a deadly glance. "Oh really, you two! Ardeth is the most important thing right now."
Rashid took a last look at the young Medjai leader and then turned at Evie, Rick and Jonathan. "We should leave him to rest." They all threw a last look at their injured friend and followed Omar out of the room.
*
It had been several hours since they sat together in Rashid Omar's living room, waiting and hoping. Jonathan was busy skipping through a magazine while Rick and Evie sat with Rashid.
"By the way, who is Zamira?" Rick suddenly asked.
Rashid looked at him in confusion and concern. "Where did you hear that name?"
"Ardeth was saying the name over and over when I got him out of that prison cell."
Rashid sighed heavily. "Zamira is the daughter of the curator of the Museum of Antiquities and Ardeth Bey's wife."
Rick raised his eyebrows. "Who would have thought? Ardeth married! He never said anything."
Evie squeezed her husband's hand. "Well, it never really came up." Then she turned at Rashid. "I remember meeting her. She studied for her doctorate at Oxford and spent some time working at the museum a few years ago. Did she not have a son?" Just then she realised the implication - Ardeth Bey was actually a father himself.
Rashid nodded as he took another sip from his tea. "Yes they did. Sami was only 5 years old when he died almost eight years ago now."
"Oh my god, how awful. What happened?"
"Ardeth had taken the boy to see his mother at the museum. She worked there after her return from England. It was not easy for them - Zamira being at the museum and Ardeth back at the Medjai camp. But he visited her as often as possible and as she was working most of the times, Sami stayed with his father."
"One day, they came to pick her up to return with them into the desert. I don't know exactly what happened and I think even Ardeth doesn't know up until today. But Sami broke loose from his hand and ran across the street toward the museum entrance. There was a speeding car and he was run over by it as it was being chased by another car. It was an unfortunate accident and Zamira accepted that, but Ardeth has blamed himself for not being able to keep his only son safe."
Evie and Rick stared at the old man in shocked silence and Rashid shook his head sadly. "It has broken my heart to see that they have not had any more children since that day." Then he looked up with a small smile on his face. "But I have just heard from my wife this morning who is a friend of Zamira's mother, that she is with child again." Rashid looked up to the ceiling as if his eyes could pierce the walls and look straight into Ardeth's room. "He does not know it yet. I do not wish to break the news to him as this right is reserved for Zamira, even though this might just be what he needs to hear right now."
Then Rashid stood up and went into the kitchen. As they heard him opening cupboard doors and noises of mugs being moved around, Evie squeezed Rick's hand firmly. "Now I understand why he helped us to find Alex at Am Shere and didn't go to join his men."
Rashid returned from the kitchen and placed a mug of hot tea in front of Evie. Then he checked his watch. "The drug should have worn off by now." He looked at Evie. "This is some herbal tea that should help him recover. Why don't you go upstairs and see if he is awake?"
Evie nodded and reached for the hot, steaming mug. Then she made her way upstairs. In front of Ardeth's door, she stood and took a deep breath. Then she gently knocked on the door and waited for a few moments. There was no sound coming out of the room. Evy took a deep breath and opened the door. Stepping into the room, she spotted Ardeth standing on the balcony, looking across Cairo and holding a book in his hands.
"Ardeth?"
"And as I walk in the dark valley of the shadows of death, I shall fear no evil." he said, his voice almost a whisper. "For you are with me all the way, my God, and I shall come and dwell in the house of the Lord, forever." Ardeth closed the book. "There is a lot of comfort in these words."
Evie stepped closer to her friend. "It is a prayer from our faith." she said, concerned. "I didn't know you read the Bible." She walked forward until she stood right behind him and held her hand holding the mug out to him. "Rashid said you should drink this. It will do you good and give you your strength back."
Ardeth placed the book onto a small table on the balcony. "Rashid is a very wise man." He reached for the tea and took a small sip. "He and his wife have been friends of the Medjai since the days of my father."
Evie stepped closer, the thoughts of what Rashid had told them earlier still fresh in her mind. What other pains had Ardeth suffered in his life? "You have never spoken about your family. They must be very proud of you."
The Medjai closed his eyes painfully. Then he laughed drily. "Proud? You do not know what shame and pain I have caused my family. I have not only failed to stop the secrets of Hamunaptra from being discovered and prevent the creature from rising, it was I who revealed the secrets of Am Shere to the Germans." He shook his head as he opened his eyes and stared across the city. "There is only one thing I must do now that would restore the honour to me and my family."
Evie's eyes went wide as she realized what he was considering. "Ardeth, you can't be thinking about what I think you're thinking!"
"It is my duty, Evie." Ardeth said. "A duty that my tribe has fulfilled for generations. A duty that I have sworn to fulfill when I received these markings." The tall Arab's fingers slid across the tattoos on his cheeks. "But I have failed. Not only this time, but other times before. I have disgraced those that have bestowed the trust of the Medjai in me. My honour demands that I do what has do be done."
Evie's eyes were still wide in shock. "But taking your own life? I can not believe you of all people would think about something like that! Ardeth, if anything then the past two times with Imothep have shown that there is always a way. There is always hope! We defeated Imothep and the Scorpion King, even when the odds were against us. And you were there at our side. If it wasn't for you, then neither of us would be alive today. Alex wouldn't be alive. Doesn't that mean anything?"
Ardeth was silent for a moment, his hands tight around the mug. "I am not worthy of the title of leader of the Medjai." he said, his voice heavy. "What I have allowed to happen is inexcusable."
She was just about to ask him what his wife would have say about that, but there was a motion at the door.
"Hey guys, I just wanted to see how our patient is doing." Rick said as he entered the room. Then he sensed the seriousness in the air. "What's going on?"
Evie's eyes never left Ardeth. "Your Medjai brother here thinks he has to kill himself because he thinks he told the Germans about Am Shere!"
"What?" Rick looked from Evie to Ardeth who had now turned around. "This is a joke, right?" Rick took a step forward and looked intendly into the dark eyes of his Arab friend. "C'mon, buddy, they drugged you. There was nothing you could have done. Trust me. I know what it's like. I have come across this in the French Foreign Legion and nobody can resist the power of those drugs."
Ardeth looked at his friend, his brother. "Fear not, my friend. It is now only important that we stop the Germans from reaching Am Shere and raising the army of Anubis."
Evie shrug her shoulders and exchanged a worried look with Rick. "Okay," he said. "But this discussion isn't over yet!"
