Title: Imhotep's Obsession (Chapters 7,8, and 9)

Author: Darlene Evelyn

Feedback: Please let me know what you think but please don't be rude.

Copyright: All Characters from both TM and TMR except for the new ones of course, which are mine are sole property of Universal Pictures. No profit is being made with this story.

Chapter 7.

Imhotep's Obsession

*~~~Fort Brydon...Rick and Evie's quarters~~~*

Laughter could be heard all through out the room. It was already 8:45pm.The entire afternoon from 4:15 until then Rick and Angela had told each other every detail about their lives.

"I can't believe you were in the French Foreign Legion!" Angela said excitedly.

"Yeah and on our last fight right at the last minute I got promoted and had to lead everyone against the Turaegs, when I saw that we were surrounded I ran with four warriors chasing me, then I made it to a statue and I turned to wait for my painful death, but I guess I scared them and they galloped away cause as I looked at the statue it-" Rick froze suddenly as if he had remembered something horrid.

"It what?" Angela asked after a long silent moment.

"Uh nothing, it must have been the statue 'cause there was nothing else there" he said laughing nervously.

"Well, all I can say is that you're really lucky you had a life unlike me who spent most of my childhood in Boarding School isolated from the world" Angela suddenly got serious.

"Don't worry you're still young you can enjoy life for what it is...so what happened those couple of years that you weren't at that jail?"

"Well I wandered around London after I got out of the school and one day Lewis Calabar's mom happened to see me and since she knew about the whole marriage crap and she quickly dragged me into the car.. I was only 14 so I really couldn't fight against an adult although I should of cause that's when my hell started....and now unfortunately Lewis is my fiancé"

"Why unfortunately?" Rick asked.

"Because Lewis is a superficial, moronic jerk who is so self- centered...it's not even funny. I honestly think dad despised me, I mean, to make my life a living hell he arranged me to be married with Lewis at the age of twenty one, if I don't marry him I'll be disowned" she said sadly.

"Ok, this isn't too good but you should know that I've already been disowned...I found that out a few months ago.....and about your marriage.....we'll just have to do something about that now won't we" Rick said sternly

"You know, I think I'm never going to see him again considering we were all separated in an ambush.. I say it's for the better"

Evelyn and Jonathan walked into the room...with a tray of cookies and tea. Finally standing up after hours of sitting Angela stretched out and walked over to the balcony where she opened the door to let in the cool air. Walking back over, Rick stood up and took her by the hand.

"I can't believe I haven't showed you these" he said as he opened a small trunk.

Angela peered into it to find photos of their parents and them also when they were children. Plus a few small trinkets that had belonged to their grandparents.

"When I went back to Chicago and that's where I found out about me being disowned.. but I managed to get these things from one of dad's friends. I also got the news that mom died two years ago, it's too bad we never said good bye to her" Rick said softly

"Well I know I shouldn't say this, but I don't miss mom after all she left us in the hands of our father, good for nothing jerk, I don't miss her one bit nor do I miss dad he never hardly cared for me why should I for him... but anyway I'm glad you have these for memories at least we have something to look back to no matter how stressful it was" Angela replied somewhat nonchalantly.

Rick nodded "Yes, at least we have these to see and remind us no matter how bad our lives were back then".

"Uh hem, could we cut in" Evelyn suddenly said.

"Oh! why of course...how silly of us not to have you two be in our conversation, we got so carried away, please forgive us" Angela said guiltily

"It's ok Angela...we understand" Jonathan responded.

"So why are you in Cairo?" Evelyn asked.

"Well, since you asked I'm here in Cairo because I was working on a dig out in the desert I got the job offered to me about four or five months ago back in London" Angela said indifferently.

"Who hired you?"

"A guy named David Richardson....why? do you know him?"

A look of utter shock came across everyone's faces all of a sudden, as if they had just been slapped in the face.

"Ok you guys, what's wrong? when I said his name it's like I had said a curse or something, what's wrong with David?"

"Wait a second, Evelyn wasn't he supposed to tell the workers to get their asses out of there" Rick said grimly

"Yes, he should have I can't understand why he didn't" Evelyn replied uneasily.

"Maybe we didn't get the message on time before the ambush" Angela suddenly cut-in.

"It could be a possibility but I'm calling him just to make sure that he did or didn't do it" Evie said as she walked out of the room to the room down stairs where you could make phone calls.

Rick had gone downstairs with her to get some whisky...he really didn't care much for tea. He knew he would have to get use to it once he married Evelyn, but for now he decided to do whatever pleased him. Now Jonathan and Angela were left sitting in the room together ...alone. The room was silent, Angela was looking out of the window, admiring the stars and Jonathan, well, he was admiring her.

"So, uh, Angela what do you plan on, uh, doing now that your brother is finally with you after so long?" Jonathan stuttered nervously.

"I plan on going back to London with you guys and from there I'll find a decent job and hopefully I'll find a husband... but I doubt that...who would want to marry me?" she giggled nervously.

"There is someone out there for you Angela, you'll find a husband, someone who cares about you and understands you" Jonathan said sweetly.

"Well hopefully when I run into him, someone will tell me because frankly I've had bad luck in life...that I doubt I'll find a good one"

Jonathan sighed and stood up. For a moment he stared at Angela who was too busy looking outside to even notice him. A heavenly light seemed to be surrounding her making her beauty become even more divine. He then left the room leaving her alone. As Angela looked out she could see the soldiers standing guard across from her and above them the crescent moon. She smiled and closed her eyes...suddenly her mind went into some sort of overdrive.

She was standing inside what appeared to be a temple filled with lighted torches and priests chanting, in front of her was the statue of Osiris. As she walked towards it she heard a voice say...

"My love you are here once again, dance for me"

Angela turned around to find Imhotep standing behind her with an outstretched hand. She put her hand into his and he guided her towards the middle of a circle where the other dancers surrounded them. Taking her into his arms he kissed her fervently and she gave in. After what seemed to be an eternity he parted, turned and walked away towards the statue of Osiris and when he turned...his face was that of a grotesque, decomposing mummy! That's when Angela started screaming.

"Oh my god! I have to get away! god, save me please!"

When she turned though she found that there were more mummies standing behind her.

"I was doomed to a life of eternal torment. I had to endure the Hom-Dai and all because of you Isiria! why? why did you leave me?!" he shouted angrily in Egyptian.

"No please I didn't do anything to you, please don't kill me...I don't know what you're talking about!" Angela begged.

Imhotep turned and disappeared and that's when suddenly the corpses closed in on her their horrid faces getting ever so close to her own as their hands grabbed her.

"No let go of me!! no please!" she shouted in terror.

Her eyes then burst open she could feel her heart racing a mile a second and she found Jonathan holding her down looking at her with worried eyes.

'"It's okay Angela, it was just a nightmare...nothing to be afraid of" he was saying

"But it was so real Jonathan, I mean everything...my surroundings, the corpses, the mummy...everything! They were going to kill me!" she said hysterically almost crying.

"Did you say, a mummy?" he asked shockingly

"Yes, it was a decomposing, walking, talking, mummy and that voice so piercing so hypnotic... wanted to kill me" she responded nervously.

"Okay it was just a dream don't worry it wasn't real...it won't happen, just relax and I'll bring you some more tea, okay?"

Angela nodded silently and put her hands to her head trying to calm herself down. That's when Rick walked into the room, seeing Angela he dropped his whisky and ran over to her.

"Angela, what's wrong? are you okay?" he anxiously asked

"Yes Rick I'm fine don't worry I uh, just had a bit of a scare with a dream, nothing to worry about...I swear"

"Okay but if you have any problems please tell me and I'll help you out"

"Thank you I will, but like I said before it was nothing to worry about, it was just a stupid nightmare I have them all the time.. I should be use to them by now, perhaps it's the stress I've had lately"

"If that's what it is, then try and do more relaxing things, but please tell me your problems after all I am your brother and we need to stick together through thick and thin...no secrets, okay?"

"Okay Rick, no secrets.. I promise"

He smiled and sat down next to her. She rested her head on his shoulder as he put his arm around her. Jonathan came back inside closing the door behind him and handed her the tea to calm her nerves. Suddenly Evelyn burst into the room with a look of worry and anger on her face...something wasn't right.

"Rick, Jonathan! I need to have a word with you both...now!" she said sternly.

"Okay Evie, we're all ears...do tell" Jonathan said calmly

"I called David a moment ago as you know and the worker who answered said that David had taken a trip to Cairo the same day we did, plus he didn't call or telegram here to Cairo...to top it off he never told me he was coming! and now who is going to be in charge of the museum?" Evelyn said frantically

"Evelyn, I'm sure one of your employees will fill in for you...so don't worry" Rick said tranquilly

"But Rick, David is in Cairo!! The book, remember what he told us back in London...you don't just leave your job from one day to the next without saying anything unless you have a reason to do so" Evelyn said furiously.

Noticing that they were now in their own world of things she wasn't familiar with at all or at least she thought she wasn't familiar with she stood up and excused herself from the room. But they didn't hear her. She walked downstairs to get some air. The night was cool and the sound of camels and conversations could still be heard all around. Angela loved Cairo and all of Egypt for that matter, a part of her seemed to belong here and yearned to stay forever.

"Thank you so much god for letting me be reunited with Rick, thank you for saving my life these many times and thank you for having me live this life of adventure which I so much love" she said as she walked out of the fort and into an alley.

"Don't thank god just yet" a voice said from behind her.

Angela's eyes became wide as she looked around her. She turned to face the direction in which she had came and saw the silhouette of a man walking towards her slowly. She slowly backed away suddenly tripping on her own feet and landing on her rear end with a thud. Trying to get up swiftly, the figure held out his hand to her, much to her surprise. In her mind Angela had actually thought that this guy was going to shoot her or something, but when he leaned into the moonlight out from the shadows she instantly recognized it.

"Anton! you idiot! don't you ever scare me like that! the least you could do was tell me who you were so I wouldn't run or have a heart attack doing it...but anyway how did you find me? and why are you doing here?"

"First of all Lewis as you may have guessed is looking for you he sent all of us out to find you and he said we had to bring you back no matter what...trust me on this one he's gone completely insane! he's capable of doing anything to get you back at this point...get out of Cairo as fast as you can and leave no traces of where you've gone too"

"Anton, I can't leave just yet... I found my brother and now I'm not leaving unless it's with him. Lewis can't do anything now that I'm with him...I have someone who can back me up" Angela said happily.

"I can't believe it....but how did you find him?"

"I don't know it just happened I can't even explain it right now but it did... he's with his girlfriend and her brother, both are extremely nice and I know we'll all be the best of friends"

Anton smiled softly "I'm very happy for you, but please I ask you leave if you ever want to be truly free"

"Thank you for the advice Anton...I'm grateful at least you aren't like them, I owe you so much but after all of this why are your working for Lewis?"

"Uh, I um well, I uh owe him a favor or two like paying for my debts and getting my family out of the misery they were living in... for that he's taken advantage and uses me to hurt you, which I'm not about to do...I know this means I'll be killed later on because well, it's treason but at least I saved you or will die trying"

"I'll be all right and so will you, so don't be so apprehensive...and thank you so much"

She then hugged him tightly as he did also. "I love you, Anton and now I have to go...be careful I will see you again soon.. I promise.. goodbye" she said as she turned and walked out of the alley.

"Good bye Angela" he said softly as she disappeared around the wall.

Walking back to the fort Angela thought about what Anton had just told her. She did worry about what Lewis was capable of doing....even if he was scared of everything else, he did have his men to do the job for him. A flashback of being locked up inside a dark, dank room in Lewis' house suddenly came back her...the remembrance of the all the odd noises in the room and how pitch black it was...her screaming and Lewis telling her how she was never going to leave. Nervously laughing it off, she shook her head slowly and continued on her way back to the fort not noticing two cloaked figures who had just walked past her.

Meanwhile Anton continued down the alley smiling at the thought that Angela was finally going to be happy for once in her life. Looking down at his watch he saw 10:45pm...Lewis was going to want to know why he was out so late. Suddenly he stopped though at the sound of footsteps behind him, everything had gone silent, deathly silent. He turned to look behind him but nothing was there...he was alone.

"This is odd, I could've sworn I heard footsteps behind me, I'm so paranoid that now I'm hearing things... there is no one else there!" he said somewhat nervously trying to make himself sound brave and fearless.

He turned back around and was about to start walking again when he found two figures in dark cloaks standing in front of him, how they had gotten there he didn't know nor did he want to. The moon had grown to a full circle... how odd he thought, now casting long eerie shadows in front of them not only that but it appeared to Anton that their hands were somewhat....crippled and....decomposing.

"Good evening, how can I help you?" Anton asked

"Well since you ask you could help us by giving us your internal organs that's how you can help us" the shorter of the two figures said.

"What!! oh you must be joking...yes that is seriously a horrible joke and I must be going now" Anton responded fearfully.

"What's the hurry?" the figure said as he took a step towards him.

Anton turned and without another thought, ran towards the alley entrance trying hard not to slow down his pace. But all of a sudden he felt his legs get dragged backwards... suddenly he realized he was being dragged by some invisible force and as his body whirled around he saw that he was heading straight toward the two figures!! Then the pain started, the burning searing pain that he could feel deep in his bones, all he could do was scream, but those screams were blacked out by death's blanket of darkness and utter non existence.

*~~~Hotel Stack...Downtown Cairo~~~*

"Where is Anton?! he was suppose to be with you, Vinnie!!! where is he?!.. that incompetent moron must have found her and told her about us... well I'll just make sure he doesn't make it through alive" Lewis was saying frantically as he paced through out the room.

"Lewis, Anton was with me but he managed to see Angela and told me to follow her...which I did but come to think of it I never actually saw her, I will find Angela I promise you that" Vinnie responded sternly.

"You better Vinnie, you better, if I lose Angela both you and Anton will wish you were never born and that goes for all of you!!!" Lewis shouted angrily.

"We get you Lewis, don't worry we will find her before she leaves Cairo, from what we've found so far she hasn't left the city by any means, apparently she thinks you won't ever find her...she's mocking you Lewis, are you going to let her do that?" the leader of the henchmen said straightforwardly with somewhat a tone of sarcasm.

" Of course not you fool, when I find her, I'm going to give her a piece of my mind, because no one mocks Lewis Calabar and walks away laughing...I always win and this time it won't be any different than the others"

"We will resume the search tomorrow at dawn with or without Anton" the leader signaled the others and everyone stood up and silently exited the room leaving Lewis alone.

"I will look for you myself and I guarantee that I will find you even if I have to go to the ends of the earth, but I will find you and you will regret messing with me" he spoke to himself as he looked out of his hotel room overlooking the city of Cairo.. the city that was a bit mysterious both in appearance and in history.

*~~~Back at Fort Brydon~~~*

Nights in Cairo were cold compared to the sweltering heat of the day...yes this country was a strange yet beautiful one. Angela had stopped at the fountain in the middle of the garden that was located in the center of the fort. The low, exotic scent of the flowers was rising all around her and along with the water trickling from the fountain it was set for a relaxing mood. Looking up at Rick's quarters she could see the three's shadows walking by the window talking to one another. From her mind she swore they were arguing or just being melodramatic, honestly she couldn't tell.

"Hmm, I'm tired, damn but Jonathan has the key to the room...oh well guess I have to barge in" she thought as she stood up.

While walking up the staircase she could hear their voices getting ever so loud. They were arguing. Slowly opening the door she peered in to find them all in different sides of the room yelling at one another. At that instant they saw her appear and the room went silent...and they all smiled at her in unison.

"Uh, Hi couldn't help but wonder what you guys were arguing about, sounds serious from your tone of voices" Angela asked curiously.

"Oh we were just arguing about...uh David's irresponsibility and how Evelyn should fire him, that's all" Rick said nervously

"Oh okay, well I just wanted to ask Jonathan for the keys to his room...since I'm extremely tired" Angela responded.

"Here are the keys Angela, you remember where the room is right? because if you don't I'll take you" Jonathan said tranquilly.

"No it's ok I'll go by myself, thanks anyway, and good night Rick" she said as she took the keys from Jonathan...she then hugged Rick tightly.

Letting him go she bid everyone good night and walked back to Jonathan's quarters.

"Isn't she the most amazing person" Jonathan said softly.

"Yes Jonathan she is...she really is" Rick said with a grin.

Shutting the door behind her Angela let out a sigh of happiness or was it relief. The room was dark, only a beam of moonlight showed through the shutter. The world seemed so beautiful this night even with the events of the afternoon. Smiling to herself she walked over to an oil lamp and lit it, and with it came the eerie shadows of the objects in the room which became more prominent, scary to be precise. After turning on all the lamps, the room seemed to be filled with sunlight which was a good thing since to her darkness was death in disguise, it was a weird philosophy of hers that she had developed in Lewis' home while being locked up in the room with no light source of any kind.

"Time to sleep, this is what I've desired for so long" she said aloud, relieved to finally sleep in a comfortable room.

Putting on her nightdress she suddenly had another flashback this time: she was standing in the middle of a plaza it seemed and looking around she saw a large crowd of people watching her and chanting once more: Angela then looked up at the altar to see Imhotep and all his priests looking down on her with cold, stern eyes. Still she didn't know what was going on at least not until she looked down at herself and saw what she was wearing.

There was a great moment of silence and then the drums slowly started to beat, flutes played and chimes rang softly.

"Isiria, dance for us, let Osiris bless us with his glory, dance for all of us" Imhotep said

Angela looked around and saw everyone staring at her and worst she looked up high above her where the palace balcony was located and saw what appeared to be a Pharaoh, his daughter, and his mistress looking down upon her with commanding eyes. Looking back she saw Imhotep looking her up and down questionably. Then without another thought she started dancing, her feet softly hitting on cold stone floor, she was giving herself up to the happiness of this dance, offering her art as an offering for Osiris, she felt very much alive and joy filled every inch of her body. Today was a very special day. She was dancing in the great plaza, as part of the festival. The dance came to an end and she was on her knees in front of the statue of Osiris, eyes to the floor, arms lifted up in invocation. She was breathing heavily from the exertion, her chest rising up and down. She slowly raised her eyes, and encountered the mysterious dark eyes of Imhotep, the High Priest of Osiris. He looked down at her, his lips curving into a slight smile. He extended his hand to her as an offering and she took it letting him pull her to her feet. Suddenly though she felt it hard to breathe. For a small moment they both stood there staring at one another, an eternity that she wanted to last forever. Then he smiled fully and slowly let go of her hand.

"Your dancing pleases Osiris greatly, what is your name? "

She opened her mouth and found it hard to make a sound suddenly. "Angela" she said forcefully, feeling her breath escaping her "My name is Angela"

"That is not your name!! " he shouted suddenly

"What?!! it is!" Angela's heart froze.

Before she knew what had happened Angela found herself laying on an altar... hands and feet shackled and manacled. She squirmed violently and tried to pull herself up but to no avail. Looking around she saw that she was in the temple of Osiris, torches flickering in the whispering wind. Priests were kneeled on the ground below her and they sounded like monks chanting Celtic songs, hauntingly grotesque and surreal. As she continued to struggle she heard footsteps behind her looking up she found Imhotep standing above her.

"What are you doing?" Angela asked fearfully.

He didn't say anything instead he leaned down and kissed her suddenly. Standing tall he took out a golden dagger.

"Now with your death, the gods will finally remove this curse and I shall see Isiria once more!"

Angela let out a bone chilling scream as he plunged the dagger down into her chest.

Instantly her eyes shot open, gasping for air she sat up and looked around trying really hard not to have a panic attack. Dreams come true she knew that in her mind but what about nightmares? she suddenly felt a chill go up her back... had it been a vision of some sort? Angela slowly glanced around the room, suddenly realizing it was morning and Jonathan was sitting on a chair fast asleep.

"Oh Jonathan, you didn't have to" she thought as she climbed out of the bed and opened the shudders letting the cool morning breeze blow in.

Looking outside Angela saw soldiers walking the parapets, outlining against every turret. As the breeze drifted in the open window the sounds of flutes and tambourines came along with it bringing back the images of the Casbah into Angela's mind. Then the breeze grew colder and she turned to walk towards the bed. The foreign music seemed to be beckoning her to dance, it's compelling rhythm calling to her. Closing her eyes she slowly started to feel something seeping into her soul, a feeling of sudden remembrance came, the music sounded so familiar ...she had heard it before, not only in her dream but some other place that she couldn't remember. Without another thought she danced following every beat of the music. Reality shut out and she was taken into a new world. Twirling around she felt free and liberal, but in a flash she was thrown back to reality by the feeling of two arms around her waist. Looking behind her she found Jonathan smiling slightly at her.

"Can I join you?" he asked softly

Angela blushed trying really hard not to giggle with embarrassment. "Why yes of course you can dance with me"

"Well, let's see where shall we start?" Jonathan asked playfully.

"How about a waltz?" she responded timidly.

"Very well a waltz it will be"

Taking her hand into his and finally getting into their positions, they started to dance around the room, occasionally knocking down something as they waltz faster and faster. Both having the time of their lives, laughing if something fell or if one almost tripped.

"Slow down!" Angela exhausted from the dance

"Slow down? but why? this is quite fun!" Jonathan was saying jubilantly

As they continued on Angela suddenly tripped and stumbled on a fallen vase, but Jonathan managed to catch her before she fell. Looking up she found herself looking into Jonathan's eyes their lips almost touching one another's. They remained in that position for what seemed to be an eternity and Jonathan was trying to fight the temptation, the temptation to take her and passionately kiss her. After staring at him for awhile Angela laughed childishly only to wince in pain as she straightened herself out... her ankle was twisted.

"I guess this means we won't be having another dance" Jonathan said sadly.

"I guess not, I'm sorry...ow! oh damn I need to sit down"

They slowly walked over and sat down on the bed. Taking a good at her ankle Angela sighed and shook her head. Pain was something she was used to and this was nothing compared to everything she had gone through. Now Jonathan kneeled down in front of her and gently rubbed his hands over and around her ankle.

"What are you doing?" she asked

"Trying to fix your ankle, after getting hurt so many times I've managed to learn how to put a bone back into place" he responded somewhat coyly.

"You don't seem like the type of...ow!! person who would get into brawls...why do people hurt you? ow!!!"

"Well to tell you the truth it's usually because I have a tendency to get drunk and play poker.. and lose....it's not a pretty picture, believe me"

"Well Jonathan, I'm going to help you out with that problem"

"I think you already did" Jonathan said low enough for her not to hear.

"So Jonathan, what is my brother like? I mean you've known him more than I do"

"Well let's see, O'Connell is simply the type of guy who shoots first asks questions later, sweet yet tough, that's all I can say...there I think your ankle is set"

Gently moving her ankle Angela smiled and hugged him unexpectedly.

"What was that for?" Jonathan asked surprised

"It's my way of saying thank you for everything, that's all...now I think we better start cleaning up this small mess, how about that?"

"Fine with me"

*~~~Rick and Evie's Quarters~~~*

"Rick come on!! we mustn't be late after all breakfast is only served at 9:20 downstairs in the officer's mess!" Evelyn was saying frantically. "We must hurry!"

"Evelyn, it's only 8:45 we have more than enough time and if we do miss it for any reason then...uh well, then tough luck we'll have to wait until dinner" Rick said carelessly.

"I don't know about you Mr. O'Connell, but I am going to eat"

"Well then we'll meet you down there...save us a table"

"Fine" she said

"Fine" he said

Evelyn marched out of the room and after two seconds she opened the door. "Fine!"

Rick grinned and shook his head suddenly remembering the similar incident had happened. At least this time he hadn't gotten hit or smacked. As he walked on over for the door it swiftly swung open smacking him in the face with a slam. Cursing and stumbling backwards he looked back to see Evelyn standing by the door giving him an innocent look.

"O Rick I'm sorry...I forgot to ask...have you noticed anything different while we've been here?"

"Evelyn, we've only been here for one damn day...no of course I haven't seen anything, gees and next time please open the door a bit softer, would you?"

"Of course, I'll remember, anyway I'm going to go get Jonathan and we'll meet you downstairs"

Shutting the door softly behind her she walked down the hallway towards Jonathan's quarters. The day had started out quite nicely and it seemed that it was going to remain so, but to Evelyn something was missing she knew something was odd...and she thought about it.

"There has been a murder....a grotesque murder! a man in the alley! dead and dried!" a young boy was shouting desperately.

There was the answer to her thoughts...maybe this wasn't going to be a calm day after all.

Chapter 8....

*~~~Still in Fort Brydon~~~*

Evelyn watched as some soldiers ran out of the fort in a hurry. Something told her to follow them and she immediately ran downstairs and outside of the fort. It was not too hard to find the soldiers, there was a huge crowd of people surrounding them looking in horror at whatever it was. Murder was common in these parts of Cairo with thieves and fake-mummy makers, they were always on the prowl looking for prey. Pushing some people aside, Evelyn peered over the soldiers and saw the body of a young man completely sucked dry of all bodily fluids, a burnt husk of only skin and bones. The eyes and tongue had been removed as well, it looked as if it was still silently screaming for help in agony and Evelyn gasped before looking away.

"Oh my god, it can't be, his first victim, who was he?" Evelyn murmured.

"Okay everyone back off, there is nothing more to see here" a soldier shouted in both English and Arabic.

Without another thought Evelyn ran back to the fort as fast as she could, this was too hard to believe...why was this happening again? and where were the other plagues? Running into the officer's mess she found Angela, Rick and Jonathan merrily talking, laughing and having breakfast unaware that she had just barged into the room. Not even the soldiers seemed to notice.

"So I said to her "oh come on mom the worst that could possibly happen is Angela falling out of the car" Rick was saying tranquilly.

"Ya and when you stuck half my body out of our car, dad hit you about seven times for doing so" Angela said giggling at the thought.

"Now I see where you two get your toughness" Jonathan added.

"Rick, I need to speak with you urgently...you too Jonathan." Evelyn suddenly interrupted.

"Uh, ok and you can't tell us here...why?" Rick asked questionably

"It has something to do with a mummy we saw last year at a certain dig site"

"Oh...oohh! um okay Jonathan let's go, Angela why don't we meet you in the plaza in about twenty minutes, okay?" Rick said.

"Um ok, I was about to leave anyway... I'll meet you guys there" Angela said as she stood and walked out, disappearing into the hallway leading to the stables.

Walking into the garden that was located in the center of the fort the trio stopped and looked around to make sure no one was looking.

"So what happened, Evelyn?" Rick asked sternly

"Rick, I just saw a corpse, it's bodily fluids were sucked dry and it had no eyes or tongue...it was Imhotep's first victim....the body...it's in the alley, it's so horrible, Rick we need to stop him before other people get involved!" Evelyn said urgently.

"Oh damn, did you manage to find out who it was?"

"No, the soldiers were there I really couldn't get near it at all" Evelyn said.

"We have to find out who he was and who was with him, we may just be able to save those people before Imhotep gets to them" Rick said seriously.

"Follow me " she said as they took glances at each other.

Slowly peering from behind a pillar Angela stepped out cautiously and watched them leave.

"They're hiding something from me, but what? I'm going to follow them. I need to know why the hell they're acting so oddly" she said to herself as she slowly walked out, keeping her distance as she trailed their moves.

"There! there where the crowd is...that's where the body is located" Evelyn pointed out.

Making their way through the crowd they could hear people murmuring and talking about the body and how it could have been a demon or a spirit who had whisked him away, well the trio knew better... that it was a combination of both plus more. The soldiers had left temporarily to get a stretcher so no one was guarding the body.

"Evie, we really need to find Imhotep...I can't believe this I'm such a bloody idiot, I dropped the book and now we don't have any weapon". Jonathan suddenly said frustratingly.

"Jonathan, it's ok don't blame yourself, we will find other means to stop Imhotep, we did last year, we will this year" Evelyn said reassuringly

"I take it this is the guy" Rick said as he kneeled down by the body giving it a look of disgust and worry.

"Noooo!! Anton!" a voice screamed from behind them.

Jonathan and Evelyn looked up in unison to find Angela standing a few feet away from them. Horror and disbelief were spread across Angela's face, she couldn't believe what she was seeing at that moment. It was all a nightmare that she couldn't wake up from, seeing the body or what was left of Anton's body...how could this have happened? Rick looked up at her in utter shock not knowing what to say or do, instead he only stood up. Angela was frozen in place, eyes wide open, face as pale as a ghost. The silent crowd stared at her in wonder as if they were seeing a beautiful deity of some sort, she was gorgeous.

"By Allah, it is Isiria, the temple dancer of Osiris, it was foretold that she would return and she is here, she really is here!" a woman said in Arabic

"Isiria,is back from the dead! she has came back, came back from the dead....she has came back in search of her lost love that she left behind so many years ago" another man responded.

Angela kneeled down beside Anton's body and cried uncontrollably not caring that mostly everyone was watching her and saying things about her. Rick kneeled down beside her and held her in his arms tightly, consoling her as

she cried.

"No-it-can't-be-Anton-it-can't-be" Angela was stuttering.

"Angela, I'm so sorry, I'm so very sorry" Rick whispered softly

"Who could have done this to him? who could have been so malicious?" Angela said sadly.

"I, I don't know, but who ever it was they're going to pay for it, I assure you...we'll stop them"

Suddenly a group of soldiers appeared from behind them barging in through the crowd. Guns in hand they suddenly aimed at both Angela and Rick who suddenly looked up in surprise.

"You two, what are you doing?" one soldier asked in a commanding tone.

Rick stood up and with head held high he stared at the soldiers silently, some how he wished he had his gun or something to defend himself with, he knew this wasn't a good thing from the looks on their faces.

"I will ask you again, what are you two doing?" the soldier asked.

"What does it look like we're doing?....we're mourning the loss of my sister's friend" Rick said coldly.

"You knew this man?" the soldier asked Angela, who was staring at the corpse almost in a trance.

"Miss.....hello?"

Rick tapped Angela on the shoulder causing her to jump. Whirling around she looked at the soldier with reddened eyes. The young soldiers eyes became wide, awestruck by her beauty and innocence that her features expressed, they had never seen anyone such as her in all their lives.

"Yes, I knew him, he was a good friend of mine, his name was Anton Laramen he was twenty-six years old, uh, I last saw him last night precisely here in this alley at ten thirty-five" Angela said blankly.

"About ten minutes later he was killed...did you see anything or do anything? !"another soldier interrupted rudely.

Rick glared at the soldier angrily trying really hard to fight the urge to punch him. Angela though didn't do the same, without saying a word she walked right up to the soldier and gave him a sharp right jab in the jaw, the punch dropped him to the ground with a thud.

"What gives you the right to blame me? you haven't even investigated you moron! next time I recommend you watch your words because if you blame me once more like that, I swear I won't just punch you like just now" Angela snapped at him.

The soldier sat on the ground rubbing his jaw, not quite unconscious, Rick stepped in front of Angela and looked down at the soldier with a half smile.

"I don't think threats and injuries are productive, at this point" Rick said in a reasonable, intelligent, yet scornful tone of voice.

"Well, then tell that idiot to measure his words" Angela said furiously.

"This idiot, is private Mark Rennes and if I were you I wouldn't insult an officer or injure him for that matter, you could be arrested you know" the soldier said sternly.

"and if I were you I'd shut up before someone hurts you" Rick responded coldly.

"Like who?....you?" Mark asked.

"Perhaps, if the occasion calls for it"

The situation suddenly stiffened and grew tenser by the second. Seeing this, Jonathan suddenly walked up to Angela and put his hand on her shoulder, catching the eye of Mark who smiled arrogantly.

"Looks like the broad has her share of protection" Mark said tauntingly

"I protect myself, no one protects me" Angela snapped dryly "I don't need men to defend me...unlike you"

The younger soldier finally interrupted.

"Mark, I mean, private, don't be so rude with them, the girl is right...we need to look over the entire scene and stuff not to mention contact the police, we can't just blame people"

"Christian, our job is to do the right thing as well as taking care of fort business, don't question or comment my actions". Mark said sternly

"You're just intimidated by me, Mark,...admit it I injured your manly pride". Angela said harshly

"and you know what? I'm about fed up with you, men take these three back to the fort we need to teach them the proper way to respect soldiers"

As the soldiers walked towards Rick, Angela and Jonathan, the crowd ambushed them with such a fury that it took everyone by surprise. The people were using anything they could get their hands on. Yelling and cursing in Arabic. As this was happening Christian signaled Jonathan, Rick, Angela and Evelyn to follow him down an alleyway, making sure that they were going the right direction. In the distance the group could still hear the crowd shouting "You will never hurt Isiria, you will not touch her!"

'My god, what just happened back there?" Angela asked astonished at the events.

"It appears that you have become quite an idol to these people, they were defending you..... you're their guardian or some supernatural being to them, it's odd yet spectacular in a way" Christian responded somewhat amazed.

"What I find weird is that they were calling me Isiria". Angela said confused... remembering her encounter with Imhotep.

"Perhaps we should do some research on Isiria...we may just get a clue to this whole mystery" Evelyn said excitingly at the thought of going to the museum.

"I'm with Evelyn, come one let's go" said Angela as she ran down the alleyway towards the museum, everyone looked at one another and ran behind her.

*~~~Marketplace, Cairo~~~*

"The things I have to do for money, meddling with all these commoners, frankly I don't know why I put up with Angela's actions...I should just lock her up like I use to...at least that way she couldn't get away from me" Lewis said frustratingly.

"Well, Mr. Calabar as soon as we get her back you'll be able to control her like old times" the henchman said.

"Yes, you're right, Vlad, you are so right"

"So now where to?" Vlad asked

"Why don't we go to the Museum of Antiquities I hear it's a very interesting place to see artifacts from Ancient Egypt, who knows maybe I'll see something worth it"

"As you wish Lewis, we're going to the museum...I don't see why you want to go...you've never liked stuff like that"

"Well Vlad, maybe my honest and very noble fiancée decided to stop and drop her artifacts off and left a clue as to where she may have left to, or maybe we may just run into her" Lewis said reassuringly

"Oh come on there is no way in hell we'll run into Angela at the museum.. don't torture yourself, that run in would have to be an extremely big coincidence or act of fate,no way, no how, it ain't happening.. it's just not that easy" Vlad responded.

Sighing Lewis said "Ya you're right...you know what? let's not go to the museum let's go have a few drinks and a few women while we're at it"

"Now you're talking, that sounds great....I'm sure we'll have a good time"

*~~~Entrance of Museum~~~*

The massive Museum of Antiquities loomed in front of them, palm trees out in front swaying in the morning breeze, Egyptian warrior statues standing tall...guarding double front doors where seconds later Angela and the rest of the group walked through. Walking inside towards the curators office to ask for permission to do research, they rounded a corner and in the gallery to their right there stood Ardeth Bay and not alone...behind him was the curator of the museum.

"You!" everyone said in an echoing chorus of surprise.

Ardeth merely smiled, something very rare, but his expression suddenly changed at the sight of Angela, he glared at her as she did back to him.

"What are you doing here?!" Ardeth asked angrily pulling out his scimitar.

Everyone backed away in shock. Looking behind, Rick and Jonathan saw Angela was missing. Looking back at Ardeth Bay they realized it had been her who he had been talking to. Now running towards the hallway he barged his way through a few exhibits before Rick finally blocked his way.

"Wait! hold on a second, how do you know my sister? where did you meet?" he asked.

"O'Connell let me go! I have to finish her off!" Ardeth shouted infuriatingly.

"No way! before you kill my sister you'll have to get through me pal, what did she do?"

"She read from The Book of the Dead...she has released Imhotep once again! now let me go!"

The room went dead silent all of a sudden. Rick's face had gone pale as a sheet not something very easy for him to turn to.

"What did you say?" Rick asked sternly

"Your sister has awaken Imhotep just like this woman awoke him last year, what luck the two women in your life have released the same man or should I say demon that will destroy the world if not stopped soon" Ardeth said sarcastically.

Evelyn looked away embarrassed at the reminder of what had happened the year before. She could feel her face burning up and she quickly walked out of the room at that moment.

Blaming is an essential thing in life, we need to blame people for our errors. It's a fact of life.....you do something, you immediately blame someone else. Humans tend to do this to get off of the hook and look like the innocent one, but there comes a time when you blame a person you'll still get in trouble because no one person is to blame for one thing..... that's life and possibly death.

Jonathan ran out of the room after seeing the commotion between Rick and Ardeth, and was now searching for Angela throughout the museum.

"Angela!.....Angela! where are you? it's ok to come out....I'm alone! come on Angela please come out!" he called out

Slowly walking into an exhibition room he realized there was an eerie silence all around him. He knew this happened frequently especially being in a sprawling turn-of-the-century building where room after room was lined with the coffins of kings, their embalmed bodies exposed to view. He moved through the connecting room into the area where treasures and other artifacts from the Middle Kingdom were on display, the room had no windows and the gas lighting was subdued flickery, throwing shadows, making a haunted house of the museum. Suddenly he heard a muffling sound behind him, whirling around he found Angela standing behind a sarcophagus that was standing upright.

"My god, don't scare me like that!" Jonathan said uneasily while putting his hand on his chest trying not to hyperventilate.

"I'm sorry, no one else is here right?" Angela asked softly.

"No one is here other than me, don't worry if you don't want anyone to know you're here I won't tell anyone, but tell me...why did you run out of the room?" he asked as he sat down on the edge of a display.

Angela sat next to him "Ardeth Bay, wants to kill me"

"Well, why is that?"

"Remember how I told you guys about the dig I had been on? well he and a bunch of other warriors ambushed the group I was with, I managed to get away but barely because he almost slice me up...I can't believe this...why is he here?" Angela was saying giddily.

Shaking his head Jonathan said "Oh god no, but why? the Med Jai...Angela, by any chance did your group happen to find anything?"

"Like what?" Angela asked

Suddenly Rick's voice called out "Jonathan! where are you?! have you found Angela yet?"

Angela's eyes became wide as she looked over at Jonathan in horror. Standing up she said "Please Jonathan, don't tell Rick I'm here....please"

"I won't I told you already that I wouldn't and I'm keeping my promise...I'll tell him I haven't found you yet.. ok?" he said reassuringly

Rick's footsteps were heard coming up the stairs towards the gallery. "Jonathan have you found Angela or not?"

"Uh, um, no I haven't I'm still looking for her! I think she went back to the fort" he said as he looked into Angela's desperate eyes that pleaded with him.

The footsteps didn't stop though they kept on coming "Are you sure? I need to have a talk with her, if she's there she better come over...now...so I recommend you don't lie to me because if you do Angela won't be the only one getting yelled at or worse"

"I'm positive, she's not here!"

Frantically looking around Angela looked over at an open sarcophagus that had the lid slid off to the side. Immediately she jumped into it and struggling pulled the lid on with Jonathan's help leaving a crack so air could seep in enough for her to breathe. Just as Rick walked in Jonathan turned around and gave him a skittish smile.

"Hello O'Connell...smashing displays aren't they?" Jonathan said giddishly.

"Ya, smashing...where is my sister? I have a feeling you know where she is and you don't want to tell me"

"I wouldn't lie to you O'Connell, she's not here...have a look if you want"

That he did, peeking around corners, lifting things, and opening doors he searched for Angela calling out her name, but no response came from any of his calls. Looking back he saw Jonathan sitting on a sarcophagus, the only thing he hadn't checked.

"Get off" Rick said sternly

"You can't be serious why would she hide in a sarcophagus? I mean no way, especially with the risk of suffocation and having the feeling of being buried alive...she's not in there!"

"Well, we'll just have to see about that...now won't we" Rick said suspiciously.

Rick then yanked Jonathan off of the sarcophagus and took upon himself to try and lift the lid of the coffin. As he did the curator walked in" What do you think you're doing! put that thing down!" he shouted angrily.

Instantly Rick dropped the lid onto the sarcophagus closing it entirely much to the shock of Jonathan who managed to hear Angela scream.

"What are you doing, sir?" the curators asked demandingly.

"Uh, I was looking for my sister"

"In a sarcophagus? well that's rich"

"I'm telling you I think she's in there! just let me check...please!"

"Are you kidding? we're leaving the sarcophagus closed, I'm not opening it because of a ridiculous hunch...it's too priceless to disturb"

"But I-"

"No buts! oh and your girlfriend would like to have a talk with you, as well as the warrior"

"Oh fine....Jonathan come on" Rick said

"Uh I can't, I have to check up on something...I'll catch up with you later" Jonathan replied.

"What do you plan on doing?"

"Keep looking for Angela of course"

"Uh huh, ok I'll see you later" Rick said as the curator and him walked out of the gallery.

Immediately Jonathan rushed over and tried with all his strength to open the lid but to no avail, it was too heavy. He could hear Angela's screams of desperation inside as well as her hands and legs banging on the lid. The air inside wouldn't last long and in a few moments hysteria would set in, something eventually leading up to death or self mutilation...though neither one was worse than the other. From inside, Angela could see nothing but darkness and hear Jonathan's muffled voice talking to her desperately, trying to keep her in reality and not having her black out. Now seeing that he couldn't slide the lid open she gave a hard thrust with her legs and it budged...a sense of relief went through her and putting all her strength into her legs, slammed the lid hard enough that it popped open. Jonathan managed to slide it off with a bit of her help of kicking it. Climbing out she fell to her knees gasping for air unable to speak, only a few words.

"Rick-is-in-so-much trouble...I'm definitely-giving him-a piece of my mind" Angela said exhaustedly.

"He didn't know you were in there, why get yourself in trouble? the most important thing is that we got you out of that thing...next time just make a run for it, it's so much more simpler and less life risking" Jonathan said trying not to sound lecturish.

"Yes I know....I'll make sure of that, come on, let's go.. I don't want to be here anymore"

"Very well, oh why don't we get a drink...that'll calm your nerves"

"No thanks let's just go back to the fort ok? I'm suddenly not in the mood for anything...I think I'm going to sleep"

"Ok then let's go...but not through the front entrance let's go through the back" Jonathan said as he took her hand into his and they slowly walked down to the back entrance of the museum.

Downstairs directly beneath them Rick and the rest of the group was having a discussion with Ardeth Bey and the curator, Hanan Dmoen.

"I'm telling you, you have the wrong girl...my sister never did anything like that...I doubt she even knows how to read hieroglyphics, so case closed ...she did nothing, you just scared her with your shouting and your weaponry... that's all" Rick said positively.

"But then again she could have ran off if she feared a secret would be discovered" Hanan said somewhat ticked off.

Rick glared at him and stormed out angrily through the museum door without saying another word.

"He didn't believe us, the fool is too blind by love to see that his sister is the cause of all of this" Hanan said sternly

"We will have to somehow make him realize that she is guilty, we need to stop the creature and the only way we can is by killing her and getting the book" Ardeth Bey replied.

"Couldn't have put it better myself" a voice said from behind.

Ardeth and Hanan turned around to find Vinnie standing in the archway holding two guns. Smiling ever so innocently he walked closer to them. No one had ever expected anyone else had been spying after all...the museum hadn't

even opened yet.

"Who are you?" Hanan asked

"The name is Vinnie Alaster and I couldn't help but hear that you are looking for a girl that seems to have the Book of the Dead in her possession...I'm looking for her too...you see she was with a friend of mine and I and she's very unstable so we need to have her returned to us so that we may take her to the proper specialist back in London" Vinnie said

"Oh is that so, and could you tell us what her name is?"

"Of course her name is Angela O'Connell...and like I said before I was with her on the dig near the famed Hamunaptra, she has the book...I saw her take it when she got away after the ambush ..it is urgent that I reach her, you don't know how dangerous she can become when not in good care, so the deal is we give you the artifacts and you give us Angela or we keep Angela and give you the artifacts ..it all depends on who finds her first"

"Well then it appears we have the same person and we need to find her soon...the deal is on and you can count on us" Hanan replied

"Yes, it appears we do and thank you....oh where is it possible, that I could find her?"

"We don't know, but if you hurry you may catch up with her brother, you saw him didn't you?" Ardeth asked seriously.

"Yes, of course I saw him, thank you so much and I'll make sure to keep in touch just to see if she shows up here or something, if you find her contact me...I am in Hotel Stack, here is the number" Vinnie said as he handed Hanan a card.

Vinnie then ran out the door as fast as he could hoping to catch up with Rick. In the meantime Hanan and Ardeth had watched him go and gave themselves questionable looks. Walking over to one of the windows Hanan looked ahead at the road.

"Follow him, Ardeth, and make sure you bring both him and the girl here...alive."

Chapter 9....

*~~~Back at Fort Brydon~~~*

"Well we're back, if you need anything I'll be downstairs in the library" Jonathan said helpfully.

"OK, thank you, Jonathan" Angela responded calmly.

He smiled and walked out of the room shutting the door behind him softly as he did. Angela sighed and walked over to the large mirror across the room and stood in front of it looking at her reflection, as she did though she heard a soft, hissing sound coming from the door. The reflection of the mirror revealed...sand streaming through the keyhole and down onto the floor, pouring like water from a faucet, making a small pile, then a larger one...like an hourglass getting out of hand. Angela couldn't help but just stare in wonder. When the sand had stopped streaming in, that dune, that mound began to form itself as if some invisible sculptor were fashioning a sand statue of a man, or a god, or in Angela's case something that was both and neither: Imhotep.

Almost floating, in his dark robes, Imhotep went to the beautiful woman and like a prince meeting his princess he pulled Angela close, whispering "Isiria" and kissed her.. his mouth which met hers did so with the confidence and the voracious hunger of a panther who had been long denied the taste of flesh, his full lips and agile tongue mounting an expert and long assault, ardent as a demon from hell craving a taste of her soul and if given the chance...her body as well. His hand let go of hers to tangle in her long hair, drawing her closer, melding her body into his, while the other hand caressed her cheek, her shoulder and her hip with sultry fingertips.

Angela felt their heat rising slowly through her clothing and in a sudden movement graceful even in it's urgency, Imhotep gathered her skirt up into careless folds, exposing her skin to the voluptuous contrasts of the cool air and his insistent touch, molding the muscles of her thigh. As he did this Angela moaned into his mouth, panic and fear melting in a heedless flow of pure arousal. She embraced him as she would a dream, shivering as he trailed his kisses up her neck to linger near her ear, softly speaking vows of passion and devotion in Egyptian, that she had heard many times before this, but couldn't remember exactly where or when.

Inexperienced as Angela was, she somehow knew the passion of his touch; she'd felt it in a passage of a thousand longing nights, waking damp and tangled in her sheets, back when she was at the boarding school in London, her throat feeling buckled in a wordless sense of loss. She knew his scent, spiced and sweet as the incense from the Temple of Osiris. She knew his golden voice, rich and enigmatic. Somehow she also knew the name he whispered, lips and tongue grazing the sensitive skin of her neck once more to shape the syllables of a single phrase, transforming the word into a passionate kiss "Isiria". Whimpering she braced herself for his touch as she heard his voice murmur a hushed invocation inches from her ear, the words weighted with the soft tinge of an ancient magic. Angela immediately turned away afraid to meet his gaze...that gaze that she had seen in her dreams countless number of times, the dark flame which consumed her whole soul... that is when this dream ended abruptly.

"You are.... a mortal? You are reborn?" he dropped her wrist, trapping her face between both hands forcing her to keep her frightened eyes locked on him. "Isiria, do you still not remember me?"

Each word fell with the finality of the stone sarcophagus that had closed in on her, narrowing her options, to the one she did not want to choose.

"Yes, of course...I, I remember you" Angela stammered realizing in terror that she had slipped into speaking English, she then quickly stumbled back into Egyptian at mid-sentence.

He turned away from her for a moment and now whirling back around to confront her, he resolved his tormented face into a stone mask, though the look remaining in his eyes was enough to make Angela wonder if she could actually survive the leap from the balcony down to the floor below; his dark, piercing eyes had been less disturbing to her than this storm of raw fury and anguish. Imhotep moved too quickly for her to do more than wonder, suddenly trapping her shoulders in a grip of concrete...

"What is your name? what is your real name?" he asked sternly

She trembled violently and deciding on honesty as the best way to go her lips hesitantly gave shape to a resigned whisper "My name is....Angela"

Imhotep intentionally raised his hand and Angela winced, expecting a painful slap. Instead he merely caressed her cheek, his palm cupping the soft flesh, thumb softly stroked away the tears from her face.

"No, your name...your real name is Isiria, Do you understand me? soon you will remember, you will remember who you really are and you will remember who I am. You will remember that I love you with all my heart. I promise you that" He kissed her softly on the forehead smoothing the tousled hair away from her eyes and said "The Book of the Dead offers us a way".

Angela's eyes became wide, she knew this white lie of hers would cost everyone big time in the end if she didn't solve it now...though she felt oddly familiar to his presence.

"What? but how?" she asked curiously

"The elixir of remembrance, the ingredients are in the book, it will bring back your memories of your past when you were my one true love and when the world was so much more peaceful, you will see"

"No, I-"

"Don't speak, just listen to what I have to tell you...once I have fulfilled this curse, you and I will remain on this earth to love one another for eternity"

"But-"

"The only way we can do this is by making you immortal and we can with the spell" he said as he caused the book to appear in midair right in front of them.

"How did you know?"

"Your mind told me where it was...now come on we are going to find the fools who dared to enter Hamunaptra"

Up until that point, Angela had truly believed that she had reached a sort of terror brink, a boundary beyond which fear could not increase or decrease. As he gathered her into the circle of his arms once again, she realized that her former fear was really.... only the beginning.

*~~~Library in Fort Brydon~~~*

Jonathan wondered and wondered about one thing "Why had Angela really run away? What was she really hiding?"

He had been trying to read a book he had just found: "Romeo and Juliet"...to be precise. But something inside of him wouldn't stop gnawing at his mind, he knew it was bad, what was it though?...Standing up he walked towards the window and looked outside, everything seemed tranquil. Turning back he heard a low humming sound, coming from a distance, the buzzing, building drone that was streaming in from the desert as if a plane were swooping somewhere out there, only as time went by, the sound was more piercing...more of a whine. And then whatever it was became incredibly, dreadfully apparent, as a living cloud of locust descended upon the fort enveloping everything and everyone.

"Oh no! Angela!"

Jonathan tried to open the door soldiers instead bolted inside knocking him to the ground with a thud. Slamming the door behind them they were all in quite a bit of shock. Jonathan stood up to find Mark and Christian and two other soldiers standing there shaking the locusts off.

"What are you doing in here?!" Mark said surprised.

"What does it look like I'm doing you bloody moron!" Jonathan answered.

"Calm down! this isn't the time to argue! what are those things?" Christian asked nervously looking outside.

"Those things out there are locust, and pardon me but I'm leaving"

"No! you can't! those things will attack you!" Christian said frantically.

But Jonathan was already out the door and racing up the stairway to the living quarters above, knocking on the door like mad Jonathan kept calling to Angela...but nothing. After about five tries he did something he never thought he could: gaining up all his strength he slammed himself against the door causing it to open. Stumbling in he saw Angela in Imhotep's arms. They hadn't even noticed that he had just slammed the door open.

"Angela! get away from him!" he suddenly shouted.

Angela looked at him as if awaken from a dream. Jonathan looked at her in utter shock, but Angela was in a sort of trance that even when she saw Jonathan she responded with no reaction what so ever.

"Angela, please step away from him and come towards me, he's dangerous, come on, come here please"

"But Jonathan, why is he dangerous? he's so handsome and so kind, I want to stay with him" Angela responded in a trance like voice.

"I'll explain later, please come here" Jonathan said uneasily suddenly looking over at Imhotep and seeing his face turning in a grotesquely, angry one.

Imhotep walked right up to Jonathan and without so much as a flick of the wrist he managed to pick Jonathan by the neck and throw him across the room where he landed with a loud crash: "You will not interfere!" Imhotep said furiously.

In that instant, Angela was slapped out of la la land and back to reality. Looking across she saw Imhotep pick Jonathan and start to choke him.

"Let him go!" she shouted in Egyptian

Imhotep glared at her causing Angela to back up just a tad bit. Her mind froze and suddenly on instinct she grabbed a small statue of Bast, a cat shaped obsidian figure, and ran over to him.

"Imhotep, let him go!"

At the sight of the statue of Bast, Imhotep reared back shrieking like a scared old woman. Then the balcony doors blew open with a suddenly gust of wind. Imhotep seemed to spin into a tiny twister of sand, wind and speed, whipping himself into nothing except a spiraling sandstorm that went swirling towards the window, screaming Angela dove out of the way landing by Jonathan. That's when it was sucked out of the doors....gone. No sign was left of him, like it had never ever happened.

Jonathan and Angela stood up and stumbled towards the center of the room and huddled.

"Are you okay?" Angela asked trembling

"Yes, I'm fine, just a bit sore but that's it, tried to save me...and I'm grateful"

"It was nothing...really" Angela responded.

The bedroom door swung open and Rick entered the quarters. Seeing Angela and Jonathan huddled in the middle of the room. He took out his revolver from under his left shoulder and trained it at every angle of the room, after making sure that nothing was inside he lowered his revolver returning it to his holster. Behind him Evelyn came running into the room and stopped abruptly.

"Isiria was a temple dancer to Osiris who had a relationship with Imhotep, the story has it that she disappeared from Thebes...on precisely.. the same morning that all the fateful events happened to Imhotep...perhaps Anck-Su- Namun wasn't his true love after all"

Everyone was staring at her in silent surprise. Evelyn realized that perhaps this hadn't been the right moment to say that.

"So Imhotep is with me because he's confusing me with his lost love?" Angela asked in shock trying to actually conceal her knowledge of this information.

"Yes, but that's not the worst of it, he's not just confusing you with her but he actually knows that part of you is her, take a look at this" Evelyn said as she handed an open book with a picture on the page.

Looking down at it, Angela gasped. The picture on the page was an Ancient Egyptian drawing of a girl dancing to the beat of drums, flutes and bells. In the background it appeared to be that she was in a festival....the festival of the annual rebirth of Osiris, made precisely three thousand years ago.

"No it can't be, it just can't" Angela said to herself realizing that her problem had just gotten worse. "Oh my god"

"What is it Angela?" Rick asked.

"I had a dream of being in this festival, I was the dancer, the crowd around me, the music... Imhotep all those things were there...in Thebes"

"And you never told us anything" Rick commented suspiciously.

"Because I didn't think much of it...I mean dreams aren't real...possibly it's just a figment of my sub-conscious, that's it"

"I don't think it is Angela, dreams were a huge and are still a huge part of Egyptian culture perhaps this is a message or worst yet.. your past coming back to haunt you" a male voice suddenly said.

The group looked at the direction of the closed door and found Ardeth Bay and Vinnie standing there...weapons in hand.

"Oh damn"

In an instant Angela ran for the balcony and without thinking she suddenly jumped down landing in some big bushes full of flowers. Looking above she saw Vinnie looking down at her as well as Ardeth and Rick, though the pain was sharp she managed to sit up.

"You are never taking me back to Lewis! you first would have to kill me you bastard!" Angela shouted as she got up and ran.

"That can be arranged!" Vinnie shouted back suddenly realizing that Rick was there and had heard him.

"So you work with Lewis! you goo for nothing son of bitch! here let me show you the door, shall I?" Rick said grabbing him like a rag doll and tossing him out of the door. "And go tell Lewis to leave Angela alone or he'll have to deal with me!"

Meanwhile downstairs Angela sat huddled in the corner of the stables, arms around her knees. Closing her eyes she suddenly started crying, was it fear setting in? fear of being locked up like a caged bird in Lewis' grasp? or was it the fear of being killed by a three thousand year old guy who she had lied to?

"He knows I'm here, he'll tell Lewis and Lewis will come for me, why didn't I listen to Anton? god help me please" she thought.

Peeking up she looked around and saw no sign of Vinnie, standing up she walked outside slowly carefully looking around. A hand suddenly touched her shoulder and she screamed, looking back she saw Jonathan and Evelyn with rather surprised looks on their faces.

"Sorry you two I thought you were-"

"The man who was with Ardeth Bey? no he's gone, thankfully, come on let's go upstairs and talk we all need to get updated onthis whole situation, the room is a safe place" Evelyn said softly.

Jonathan smiled tenderly taking Angela's hand into his once more "Don't worry Angela, we'll help you get out of this problem, we promise"

"Thank you, I don't know what I'd do without you guys" Angela said tearfully.

That's when he hugged her tightly and held her close letting her cry into his shoulder. "I wish you knew how much I love you." he thought. "But I can't tell you, I just can't".

Parting they walked towards the stairs, preparing for the lecture of Angela's life. Somehow jumping out of a balcony didn't seem like such a bad thing.

*~~~ Outside of Fort Brydon~~~*

"Well here we are...Fort Brydon, home of the Kasbah, the most decent in this messed up city" Vlad said pointing to an Arabic looking building connected to the fort.

"Very, very nice Vlad...you impress me, now come on let's go, I'm in need of a drink" Lewis said

Walking inside they took a seat at the bar where immediately the bartender served them up some whisky shots, taking it into his hand Lewis walked out to the corridor of the Kasbah and stood looking around the fort.

"Calabar, There's Angela! there she is!" Vlad started shouting.

Lewis whirled around in the direction and there walking across the garden accompanied by two strangers was Angela! Dropping his shot glass, he ran towards her.

"Sweetheart! Angela!" he shouted to her.

Angela suddenly froze in mid-step at the sound of his voice.

"What is it Angela? what's the matter?" Jonathan asked curiously.

"Lewis, oh my god, it's my fiancé!" Angela said frantically.

Jonathan turned to look and saw Lewis running towards them. "You have a fiancé?" he said, somehow he could feel his heart break in two pieces at that moment.

"Lewis, is the man you were talking about with Rick? the man who you do not want to marry?" Evelyn asked surprised at this.

"Yes Evelyn that's him" Angela said

Lewis stopped and gasping for air tried to hug Angela, who backed away suddenly. Vlad was just arriving holding a shot glass in hand.

"Angela! my love I've been looking for you! where have you been? you had me worried sick, come on let's go, we have a long journey ahead of us" Lewis said as he took her by the wrist."Thank you for taking care of her" he quickly said to Evie and Jonathan.

Angela took his hand off of hers and happened to glance over at Vlad who had a revolver in hand pointed directly at her.

"Uh, Lewis, I'd like you to meet Jonathan Carnarvon and his sister Evelyn. They're my friends that I'm sure you would like to get to know" she said nervously.

"Jonathan Carnarvon? well you must be the son of the late Howard Carnarvon, the man who found King Tut's tomb and Evelyn, you are the curator at the London Museum of Antiquities are you not?"

Both Jonathan and Evelyn nodded in agreement but didn't utter a single word.

"Jonathan here...is my....boyfriend" Angela suddenly said much to the surprise of everyone around her.

"I am? oh yes, yes I am her...boyfriend" Jonathan said somewhat stunned at the comment

"But Angela you can't have a boyfriend...I'm your fiancé!!!" Lewis said angrily.

Angela took off her engagement ring off and threw it at him. "You are not my fiancé! I will never marry you! Now you can't lock me up in those torture rooms of yours or try to hit me whenever you please, I'm free and you can't do anything to change that! not anymore,Lewis!"

"That is where you're wrong, I can kill you" Lewis said pulling out a gun and pointing it straight at her chest.

"Not if I kill you first ...you son of a bitch" Rick suddenly said as he pointed another gun at Lewis' head.

"How did you?--" Evelyn tried to say

"That's not important, get out of here" he responded sternly

Evelyn and Angela ran away as ordered after seeing the menacing look in his eyes.

"Now you and me are going to talk, Lewis"

"I don't think so, you have to decide between me and your friend, Jonathan's life...so which one will it be?" Lewis said slyly.

Rick suddenly looked over at Jonathan who was being held tightly by Vlad who was also holding a revolver to his head. Rick sighed resignedly and said "Hand him over"

"You know, I changed my mind, kill him, Vlad"

But before Vlad could pull the trigger Rick took his gun and shot him four times knocking him to the ground...dead. Lewis looked at him in shock and ran disappearing within the large crowd that had quickly gathered around them.

"Are you okay, Jonathan?" Rick asked

"Never been better, O'Connell" he said relieved that he hadn't been hit.

"Sorry about the clothes, but it was either his blood or yours"

"Don't worry about it, I'm just glad it wasn't me at the end of those bullets"

Upstairs Evelyn was trying really hard to comfort Angela who was nervously pacing around the room. Everything was happening so fast and too complicated to understand.

"I heard gunshots, oh no! what if Lewis and Vlad killed both Rick and Jonathan? I'll never forgive myself!" Angela said frantically

"I'm sure nothing happened perhaps they were just warning shots....look there they are now" Evelyn said pointing at Rick and Jonathan who were just walking in.

"Jonathan you're hurt! you must be in so much pain! come on we have to take him to the hospital! here let me help you out" Angela said as she ran over to him and started to try and help him out.

His clothes were soaked in blood, and he looked rather pale and disoriented, from the looks of it.

"I'm fine don't worry, the guy who was with Lewis took the hits....Lewis got away though" Jonathan replied happily but changing to a disappointed tone of voice in mid sentence.

Angela slumped into a chair and put her hands onto her face and sighed. Looking up she found herself looking into Rick's grim face.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked.

"I'm only going to ask you these once and don't lie to me...Do you have the Book of the Dead? Did you read from it? and How did you get it?" Rick asked demandingly

"Rick, I, I uh" she stuttered.

"Angela, we said there would be no secrets! Did you or did you not read from book?" Rick said infuriated

"Rick, I, I did read from it, I found it, I read it...I did everything" Angela answered passively, forcing herself not to break down.

"Where did you read it?"

"It was back at the dig near Hamunaptra, I read from it and there was, I shall never forget, a scream, a loud explosion coming from the toppled ruins, that is when the group I was with got ambushed by the Med-Jai and we all ran away"

"Ardeth was right, both the women in my life set the same guy free"

"Rick, it was an accident, I had no idea that reading from the book would do that....I swear" Rick glared at both her and Evelyn, who suddenly slumped in a chair across from Angela. If looks could kill both Evie and Angela would have been toast to a crisp.

"O'Connell, it's not their fault, both didn't know what would happen if they read aloud from that damned thing" Jonathan suddenly said defensively.

"Ya Jonathan is right, if we both would have known what would have been unleashed we would have never read from them book...so don't go on blaming us two for the mistake of many people combined" Angela said seriously as if suddenly possessed by the spirit of a rebel.

Noticing that he was out numbered three to one Rick walked into the bedroom and slammed the door behind him, hard enough to cause the pictures on the wall to shake... everyone in the living room jumped slightly at the sound.

"Come on Jonathan let's go, I have to get you cleaned up" Angela said softly as she stood and walked outside with Jonathan trailing behind.

"We'll be back later, ol'mum" Jonathan said, his voice trailing in an echo down the hall.

Evelyn now sat alone looking at the door of the bedroom every so often. Standing up she walked out of the quarters and down the stairs and decided at once to go to the museum once more. This time around things were getting more complex than before...a whole lot more complex.

"Rick, needs time alone" she thought. "I just hope he doesn't do anything foolish"

*~~~ Abandoned Building, Outskirts of Cairo~~~*

"Master, this is no place for you, you deserve something better, a palace, or perhaps a suite in the plaza, but not this" a little man said in Hebrew.

"No, for now I shall remain here until I deem it right to see Isiria, I have found her after so long, oh how I long to be by her side and cherish her for all eternity" Imhotep said longingly.

"Master, we must first dispose of the mortals, for it is better to have all the world for you both than share it with them"

"My good man, I plan on doing so, but I must also regain Isiria's trust and I must bring back those memories of the joyous times she had back in Thebes...she is a mortal so I must make her forget her mortal life and bring her back to me". Imhotep responded back in Hebrew.

"Yes, I understand but do you have the Book of the Dead?"

"I do have it and I nearly had her mind in my grasp, in part she remembers the love she has for me, for when we kissed she had the same longing to be in my arms as I with her... something inside of her is wanting to be with me and I must help it come back ..for I love her with all my heart and I will not lose her again"

"When shall I got tell her to see you?"

"Tomorrow when the sun rises from the depths of the earth, only then can you go and see her"

"Very well, my good prince, I will see her in the morning...and I shall I bring her to you?"

"No do not bring her to me, only tell her that I love her and give her this" Imhotep said as he took out a gold ring with an emerald scarab on it.

Taking it in his hand the other man turned and sat down on a ledge.

"So why is it that you are now after Isiria?" the figure asked "Did you not love Anck-Su-Namun?"

"What I felt for Anck-Su-Namun was not love...it was lust and now I regret everything I did with her and what I did to Seti, all what I did was all done blindly, for Anck-Su-Namun would have truly been my second choice in life and had it not been for my foolishness I would have never lost Isiria or killed Seti"

"But why Isiria? What is it that she has? that Anck-Su-Namun didn't have?"

"She has kindness, innocence, her heart and her soul are pure...everything about her is nothing but good. Isiria is a goddess compared to Anck-Su- Namun, and she truly loved me"

"Would it be too much to ask if I asked you to tell me what were some of the happy moments you had with her?"

"I'll tell you one, it all started....."