Chapter 8

After another hour, the group set off on horseback to reach the Medjai village by early afternoon. The ride was mostly silent, with Jonathan wondering loudly about what would wait for them at the oasis. It took the small group not as long as expected to reach the village. As they arrived, they see that there has been an attack. There is much damage to the tents and several men are wounded.

Hamid, Ardeth's second in command saw the small group and rushed to meet them as they entered the destroyed village. "Ardeth, it was the Germans." he panted, his face covered in dirt and blood. "They came with tanks against which we had no chance." His head sank. "I am sorry, but we have tried everything to stop them."

Ardeth closed his eyes painfully and it was clear to his friends that he blamed himself for this turn of events. "This is not your fault, Hamid, it is mine. Whatever else did I tell the Germans besides the secrets of Am Shere and the location of the Medjai camp?"

Ardeth stood silent as his eyes wandered across the burning and smoldering tents.

"Ardeth." a voice called behind him, but he ignored it. Death and destruction was all around him and it was his fault. He had told the Germans the way to Am Shere and he must have also told him the location of the Medjai camp. This much was obvious. His stomach knotted and he could no longer breath.

"Ardeth!" the voice behind him called again, more insistent his time. It was Evie and at her gently tuck on his cloak, he turned around and his gaze followed her pointed finger. He could almost not believe his eyes.

"Zamira .." he whispered.

As she ran up to him, he sunk to his knees and embraced her, burying his head in her stomach.

"My love." she whispered as he pressed him close to her, stroking his head, running her fingers through his long, black hair. "We thought we had lost you! That the Germans had taken you from us."

"Me?" Ardeth asked, looking up at his wife. "My love, it was I, who told the Germans the location of Am Shere and our camp. It is my fault that they came here."

Zamira reached down to lift her husband's chin up so he was looking at her. "Ardeth Bey, none of this is your fault. And I am surprised at you. That you of all people would jump to conclusions without taking another look around the place you call home and the people. YOUR people."

Ardeth looked in confusion at his wife and then he looked around, slowly standing up. What he saw was no possible. The tents were burned and the corral empty of horses, but it appeared that all men, women and children were there, uninjured.

"Nobody was hurt .." he whispered.

Zamira nodded as she reached for his hand and squeezed it gently. "No, my husband. The camp was empty when they came because we were warned that the Germans were on their way. By you."

Ardeth did not understand. "By me? How?"

Zamira smiled. "A messenger returned to us to warn us in time. The young warrior had seen what had happened to you at the hands of the Germans in Cairo. He had followed you secretly, to watch over you since the fight in the museum. The young man is as stubborn as the man who has trained him so well. Haarif did not want to leave his chieftain and teacher out of his sight and he delivered your message to us."

"Haarif?" Ardeth asked, astonished. He could not believe that the young boy he had sent to join the diggers at Am Shere and who had been so bold as to disregard his orders to withdraw and followed him, had reached the tribe before the Germans. "He made it in time?"

"Yes, he did. You have trained him well, Ardeth. He did as you have taught him."

Rick had walked up to the two and placed a calming hand on his friend's shoulder. "Ardeth, what are we going o do?"

The Medjai stood up and held his wife's hands in his'. Then he turned and looked at his American friend. "Even if the Germans will reach the location of Am Shere today, they will not be able to start their search for the statue. It will be dark soon." He took a deep breath. "We will stay here for the night and set out at first light. There is much to do in preparation for tomorrow and I need to meet with the Elders."

Rick nodded and turned to walk back to where Evie and Jonathan stood by their horses. "O'Connel!" Ardeth called him and the American turned around. "I would be honoured if you and your family would accompany me to this meeting. There is much that needs discussing and I value your opinion and Evie's knowledge."

Rick smiled and nodded. "The honour is all mine, my friend."

*

After the men had worked hard to repair most of the destruction and the women had prepared a meal for all as best as possible, Rick, Evie and Jonathan had joined Ardeth in a large tent at the centre of the village. Around them, in a large circle, sat the elders of the village. There was a moment of silence before Hassan, the oldest of the council spoke.

"We have studied the ancient texts and have found a way to defeat the Army of Anubis, should the Germans manage to raise them before we can stop them. It is written in an ancient prophecy."

Evie was passed the ancient scroll and smiled at Jonathan who sat next to her. "Well, you always wanted to know where all this stuff is written." Then she glanced over it. Some of the symbols, she had never seen before, but most of them she recognised. The language the scroll was written in was a mix between ancient Egyptian, Coptic and a code she had seen in other Medjai documents. Ardeth had explained the basic symbols to her. Her eyebrows creased in concentration. "And the chosen one will return an with him a mighty army that will bring about great destruction. The Scorpion King will rise and bring with him the unholy Anubis warriors. " She shuddered. "Now that does not sound good. It says also that once the army has risen a second time, The chosen one will defeat the Scorpion King and the sacrifice of a warrior heart will destroy the mighty army."

Rick exchanged a worried glance with Ardeth. He didn't like the sound of that. "What does that mean?"

Hassan looked almost accusingly at the American, obvious in his expression who he thought was responsible for the latest mess they had to face. "We do not know. Never has the Army of Anubis been raised once since the cursed time of the Scorpion King." Then he looked at Ardeth, his eyes narrowing. "And certainly it has never been raised twice."

Rick saw the look the elder threw at the Medjai leader and took a deep breath. "Oh, hey, now, listen here, it wasn't Ardeth's fault that this high priest managed to raise Imothep . and the Scorpion King . and subsequently the Army of Anubis. We defeated the lot of them and sent them back to whatever version of hell they believe in. Case closed, 100% success, and the end justifies the means. And now with those Germans, well, you inject yourself with one of their cocktails and try to keep your mouth shut. There was nothing Ardeth could have done short of killing himself"

He waited for some outcry from the council, but there was only silence amongst the elders and Rick laughed. "Oh, c'mon, you can't be serious! It's enough that his head is full of this pride and honour crap, but isn't it your philosophy that says 'live today, fight tomorrow'? Get a life!""

"Thank you, my friend." Ardeth said, his voice low. "But he is right. It is my duty to prevent these things from happening and I failed. Twice."

Evie shook her head. "Oh for God's sake, this is ridiculous." she argued passionately. "Ardeth is the best warrior and the best leader any tribe can wish for. He has dedication beyond anything I have ever seen, but he is not a superhuman. Against all the odds, he never once hesitated in his duties or questioned any sacrifice that needed to be made. And he lead his men against the Army of Anubis, an army that outnumbered him and his men to the point of facing certain death. But still he came out victoriously. He has done all that is asked of him and more. How can you accuse him of failure?"

The elders murmured amongst themselves at the English woman's passionate words, when Jonathan spoke up. "Well, I don't know much about all this honour business, but shouldn't we be thinking about how to stop them rather than wasting time with pointing fingers?"

Evie's eyes widened in surprise and she nodded. "Jonathan is right. We need a plan."

Hassan sighed heavily. "When the German army attacked our camp, they raided many tents and we believe that they have found one of the ancient scrolls. We must assume that they know now how to raise the army of Anubis."

Rick's eyes narrowed. "You can't be sure of that." he said.

Evie nodded in agreement. "Yes, and even if they have a copy, the chances that they can decipher it are small. I mean if Ardeth hadn't taught me some of the symbols, I would have a really hard time. The text has been obscured through the use of the Medjai language to such an extent that any translation can easily be false."

Ardeth shook his head. "Hassan is right, we can not rely on that. We must prepare for the worst." Then he turned and looked at the council of the elders. "The warriors are well prepared and I have complete trust in their abilities and their dedication. The Medjai will not fail in their duties."

Hassan nodded but didn't say anything. Evie and Rick exchanged a worried glance as their friend sat back down, obviously suffering under the intense scrutiny of the council.

Rick cleared his voice. "Okay, worst case scenario: How do we defeat the Scorpion King and Anubis' army this time? The golden Scepter of Osiris went down with him when I killed him. And unless we have another one or a better idea, I think we're short of a secret superweapon."

The elders exchanged worried glances and talked amongst each other. Then Hassan stood. "Your guess is a s good as ours, we fear. There is no precedence for this in our scrolls and in our history."

Rick took a deep breath. "We'll, improvisation R Us." Rick said. "We kicked them up the 3,000 year old behind the last time, we'll do it again. No problem."

Ardeth stood up and looked from his friends to the elders. "Then we should retire for the night and head off early tomorrow. With Allah's help, we will be successful."

The eders and the O'Connels rose from their seats and began to leave the tent.

"Ardeth." Hassan called the Medjai leader and Ardeth stopped and turned around. "A word."

As Rick, Jonathan and Evie filed out of the tent, Evie caught some of the words spoken between their friend and the elder. She closed her eyes and sighed.

Rick looked at her. "What is it?" he asked.

"Hassan is giving Ardeth a hard time." She whispered. "I can't believe this. I mean fair enough they live by a code and honour for them is everything, but this is taking it over the top. He should give him a break."

A few minutes later, the Medjai leader came out of the tent and looked at his friends. Before Evie could say a word, he tried a tentative smile and said, "Do not worry yourselves, my friends. All will be fine. Rest now and tomorrow, we ride."

Ricks followed Ardeth out of the tent. "Ardeth!" he called, stopping the warrior in his track. The tall Arab turned around and looked at his friend. "Don't let them get to you."

Ardeth sighed. "You do not understand. It is my responsibility to ensure the tribe fulfills its sworn duty and I have failed twice. They have every right to doubt me. And they do more than doubt me."

Rick stepped forward and grabbed Ardeth by his upper arms. "I don't care what those guys in there think and neither should you. Evie's right, you know. You are the best leader they have and the best warrior I have ever seen. I've put my life and that of my family without hesitation into your hands and no matter what this bunch of old guys say back there says, you're in charge a round here. Not them." Rick's hands wandered to the front of Ardeth's robe. "Why don't you acknowledge that under this robe is no phantastical superhuman, but a man who will do anything to defend what he has sworn to protect. But there are times when all the bravery, dedication and honour is not enough, when the odds are impossible and then you have to take a step back, re-evaluate and try again." The American's hands let go of the Medjai and he looked at him. "They might win the battle, but as sure as hell they're not gonna win the war."

Ardeth stared at his friend for some time and let the words sink in. Rick was right and the Medjai leader felt ashamed that it had to take Rick to make him realize the truth. Her had been so buried in his feelings of duty that he had not seen what needed to be done. He had allowed the council of elders to dictate him. The conflict still battled within him, when Rick smiled and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"You know, you shouldn't worry. Everything will be okay. We kicked their buds before and we'll just have to kick it again."

Ardeth smiled at the American's optimism. "Ins'allah, my friend." He said. "Ins'allah."