CHAPTER THREE

O'Connell residence, London, England, pre-dawn hours, Sunday September 8, 1940



"Honey! Honey! Wake up!" Rick said as he gently shook Evie's shoulder.

Evie sat up with a start. A lock of her dark hair fell over her eyes. "Ardeth! He's in trouble! We must warn him!" she shouted.

Rick took Evie in his arms and stroked her hair. "Shhh. I'll send a telegram to him. What kind of trouble is he facing?"

"That troublemaker Set. He is planning on drowning Ardeth. And I think Ardeth has the Bracelet of Lostris. He was wearing the Bracelet in my dream," a shocked Evie stammered. "Amongst his other duties, Set is the god of wind and storms. We must warn Ardeth!"

"I'll go out later and see if I can get a telegram to Ardeth," Rick replied as he stroked Evie's hair and rocked her.

Evie sat up as she realized the dull sounds from the dropping bombs had ceased. "The bombs! They've stopped bombing us," she said.

"Sounds like it," Rick replied.

"Do you think they'll drop more bombs?" Evie asked, her voice tremulous. She sank back against Rick's chest, allowing his arms to envelop her again. She breathed deeply of his scent.

"I don't know. We've been fighting an air raid since July 10."

"We should be prepared, just in case. We need to stock up on supplies for the villagers," she murmured.

"I'll go out later this morning," Rick said.

"Neferteri's father and grandfather were rumored to have red hair, like Set's. They both tried to popularize the worship of Set." Evie murmured, changing the subject.

"Doesn't Seti's name mean "he of the God Set?" Rick asked, his voice sleepy.

Evie's voice was barely audible, "yes," she breathed. Her breathing evened out and RIck realized she was asleep. He kept rocking Evie and soon he too fell into a dazed sleep.


O'Connell residence, London, England, mid-morning, Sunday September 8, 1940

The night had been long, and weary. The villagers had come to the O'Connell residence seeking shelter and the O'Connells let them in, gave them bread and hot tea and one by one the villagers dropped off into a stony sleep. The sounds of the bombing were dulled by the strange black cloud which had settled over the O'Connell estate.

Rick would make an offering to Nuit and thank her for drowning out the sounds of the bombs, which had finally ended around 4:30 am, about the time he had woken Evie up from her nightmare.

But what Nuit couldn't drown out was the anguished cries of the doomed souls who had suddenly found themselves on their way to the Afterlife, instead of on their way to high tea yesterday afternoon.

When Rick had first moved to England, he had thought it strange how English villages were laid out: a small collection of residences, and one large manor house, either at the village edge or down the road from the village.

Evie had told him the layout was a remnant of the feudal age: the Lord owned the biggest house and the villagers lived in the smaller houses. In the Middle Ages, the villagers would work in the Lord's fields, or in his house and in return, the Lord would give the villagers protection.

Now it was the O'Connells who provided protection to the villagers from something the feudal lords had never dreamed about: bombs.

Rick was glad that he was the one who went to send Ardeth a telegram. The devastation caused by the bombs last night was terrifying--blackened bombed out shells of homes were littered on streets and he didn't want Evie or Alex to see this destruction.

He found himself passing the village store. Its blackened shell still smoldered and pieces of shrapnel were shining in the morning sunlight.

Rick picked his way carefully around the debris. Nothing remained. They would have to rely on the supplies laid up in the O'Connell basement. Rick was glad to see the library was intact on the other side of the store, for the library contained the telegraph equipment.

He went to the library, opened the doors and stepped inside.

"Shhhh! Someone's here!" a boy's voice whispered.

"It is them? Are they here to kill us?" a girl's voice whispered back.

Rick cleared his throat. "It's okay. I'm Rick O'Connell." Rick opened the door to let the sunlight in and he stepped aside so the young kids could see him.

"It's not them!" the child shouted happily and came out from beneath a table. Bookcases had tumbled down, and books were strewn everywhere.

The girl stood up, and Rick saw she was one of the village children--seven year old Mary Hartford. She appeared to be unhurt physically. Mary motioned to her friend, and the boy also stood up. Rick saw that he was nine year old Michael O'Hare.

"Boy, are we sure glad to see you!" Michael gushed to Rick, his changing voice full of relief. His face had a scratch on the forehead, and other than being scared, Michael was physically all right.

"Are you all right?" Rick asked.

Both children nodded.

"Good. If you will go to my house, you will be safe. Your parents are there. They will be glad to see you. They thought you were dead."

"Thank you!" both children went by Rick and out the door.

"Be careful, and run to my house...you will be protected!" Rick called after them. He started to turn the doorknob leading to the library's basement, then thought better of it and went back to the door.

The two children had made their way to the village's end but were standing frozen at the bottom of the small hill leading to the O'Connell estate. They holding their hands up to protect themselves. Overhead, a lone bomber plane was circling--German by the insignia.

"Ruuuuunnnnn!" Rick shouted to the children as he darted forward. Mary looked at the rumbling cloud over the O'Connell estate. The cloud was quickly turning black. Mary tugged on Michael's arm and he looked. The two children looked at each other, then simultaneously broke into the fastest run Rick had ever seen.

He was charging behind the children when they reached the edge of the estate, and were enveloped by the black cloud covering of Nuit. Golden light suffused the dark cloud and her voice rang out "Be gone!" and the cloud made contact with the lone bomber plane.

Rick watched dumbfounded as the plane exploded into pieces. The two children were holding hands, and their mouths hung open.

"Thank you, Nuit," Rick said.

"You are welcome," her melodious voice answered, startling Rick. The black cloud drained away until there was just a golden shimmer hovering over the O'Connell estate.

"Nuit?" he asked but the golden shimmer remained silent. "Hmmmpf. She probably needs to recoup her strength," Rick said aloud to no one in particular.

Rick motioned for the children to go into the house, but their parents had already run out to meet them.

Seeing that the families were reunited and that the sky was clear of bomber planes for the moment, Rick went back to the library and went down to the library's basement and used the telegraph machine to send Ardeth a telegram.

TO: COMMANDER ARDETH BEY, CAIRO EGYPT STOP WE ARE OKAY STOP STRANGE BLACK CLOUD HOVERS OVER OUR ESTATE BY NIGHT AND SHIMMERS GOLDEN BY DAY STOP WE THINK IT IS NUIT PROTECTING US STOP SET IS PLANNING ON DROWNING YOU STOP TAKE CARE AND PLEASE HURRY STOP RICK O'CONNELL END

After sending the telegram, Rick stood in the doorway to the library, and looked at the remnants of the village. The blackened shells were still smoking and from the library's door, Rick could see street after street of London, blackened and smoking from the bombs.

Tears started slipping down Rick's face.