Title: Imhotep's Obsession (Chapters 10,11, and 12)
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 10...
*~~1,290 B.C. Thebes, City of the Living~~*
Isiria walked out to the temple gardens, carrying a small dish of milk. One of the cats that lived in the garden had recently had kittens and she visited them often, bringing treats. She had found them nestled away from the main walkways and she sat in the soft grass next to them and watched their cute antics, speaking to them softly and tenderly caressing their little bodies. Isiria loved being here, it was so tranquil and so quiet and it was her secret spot. Nobody ever came this far into the temple gardens that is the reason she loved it. Suddenly though she felt that she wasn't alone, still holding a black kitten she looked up and noticed the tall man leaning against a tree a small distance away, watching her with a little smile on his handsome face. Instantly she recognized him, his face had appeared in front of her eyes every time she had ever closed them, ever since the day they had met in the Temple of Osiris....What was he doing here? Carefully returning the kitten to it's mother's care, she got to her feet.
"Lord Imhotep, what brings you here?" she asked curiously
"They told me I could find you here, I wanted to see you again so we could talk. Your dancing intrigues me....you intrigue me. Isiria, you are unlike any other temple dancer I have ever seen.... and I'd like to get to know you better.....where do you come from?"
She still had not recovered from his sudden appearance in her private world and tried to find words to answer him. And his question was a loaded one "Where did she come from?"
"That my lord is a long story" she finally answered.
His face barely concealed the amusement he felt at her slight discomfort. Unfortunately for Imhotep, she caught that sly, little smile that curved his full lips. Embarrassment gave way to an instant flare of temper, something Isiria was very capable of and everyone in the city of Thebes knew so.
"Does the High Priest of Osiris have nothing better to do than toy with an insignificant temple dancer? Aren't there some affairs of state or of the temple that need attending to?" she snapped hotly,her dark brown eyes flashing sparks. "It is your job to tend to the city!"
For a moment he was stunned. No one had ever spoken to him in that manner. Then he suddenly laughed out loud. "I decided to take a rest" he said with a grin.
Then seeing that did in no way appease her, he continued more seriously. "I am sorry if I insulted you in any way. I really do want to know you better....please"
The thunder clouds on her face slowly disappeared behind a bright smile. "I forgive you" she answered with a bright twinkle in her eyes.
Suddenly she felt at ease with him and enjoyed his company. Then she remembered that he was still waiting for an answer to his question.
"I really don't know exactly where I come from" she said softly.
As he raised a questioning eyebrow, she proceeded to tell him how she was found abandoned at the gates of Thebes as an infant by some soldiers of the Pharaoh. For some reason their general took a liking to the tiny child and took her home to raise her as his daughter, giving her the name 'Isiria' meaning: eternity. He had no other family so she was raised by men, and trained by her father in the martial arts of the times. He loved her like she was his own. When her father was killed in a war when she was sixteen, she found refuge in the temple of Osiris, where she first watched the dancers and then started dancing herself. She became the main dancer and the source of great pride to Thebes. "So here I am now" she concluded "and I'm very happy"
Imhotep was impressed by her story. He found himself relating to her as his equal, not a subordinate, or even a mere female. They sat in the little cove for a long time and he found that he could discuss problems with her and benefit from her comments. By the time he bid his good byes they were close friends, but he wanted to be so much more closer to her than that.
"I will see you again soon" he said in parting "and thank you"
She remained in the cove for a while after that, her mind digesting what had just happened. She had been fascinated with Imhotep after their first meeting. Now she knew the man behind the title, now she knew without a doubt that she felt something for him. Happiness flowed through very inch of her body and she ran back to the temple as fast as she could...it was time for the evening rituals and dances and she knew she would dance like never before...because love gave her the strength to fly.
*~~~Back to 1926, Abandoned Building~~~*
"I can still remember that day, when I fell in love with her and she with me, though I never knew it until it was too late" Imhotep said sadly, longing to be back there on that day with her.
"I am amazed, oh great prince, for I imagined you to be full of hatred towards her since she left you without saying anything"
Imhotep's expression changed from dreamy to that of sudden anger. Whirling around towards the small figure his eyes were flashing sparks.
"How do you know that?!" he asked furiously as he picked up the small figure up by the collar
"From the citizens, they're all talking about how Isiria is back, in fact some were telling the story about how you two and how she left Thebes the same day you killed Seti and was cursed with the Hom-Dai!" the figure said fearfully.
"I never want you to mention that ever again! in fact if you do....I will personally dispose of you!"
"No please! I promise, that I...Beni Gabor, will never mention that again! just please put me down!"
Imhotep glared at him but nonetheless let him go, allowing him to slide down the wall to his feet; the little man sighed in relief as he smoothed out his black cloak.
"I will leave tomorrow and I promise you, oh great one that Isiria will know what you want her to know" Beni said
"Make sure that she does"
*~~~Fort Brydon~~~*
"Well...I'm ready, never in my life have I seen so much blood come out of one person" Jonathan said as he buttoned up his shirt.
"I'm glad you weren't hurt, that's all I'm happy about...if you would have gotten injured or killed I would have never forgiven myself" Angela said uneasily.
"You were really worried about me?"
"Yes I was, I regret telling Lewis that you were my boyfriend, now he'll not only try to take me back to London but he'll kill you as well, I mean, you saw what he did!...why didn't I just go with him! it would have been the best solution to this problem"
"You will never go back with Lewis. I won't let him take you...let him think that I am your new boyfriend it's better that he knows you have people who are willing to defend you, so don't worry"
"I shouldn't have involved you guys, this is a very serious situation and it is one that I have to deal with alone"
"Angela, please listen to me...don't stress over it, what we need to do is take you somewhere... where you can relax, you deserve to be happy.....always. So what would you say if I took you out for a stroll tomorrow?"
"I'll think about it, Jonathan, but in the meantime I'm just going to stay here and repose...I think that will be the best thing to do for now"
"Very well, I'll be going then...and be careful, ok? if you need anything just call my name, I'll be here in a flash" Jonathan said reassuringly.
"Got it, I will try and remember that"
Jonathan smiled and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him. As he walked up to the railing he looked up at sky and smiled, never in his life had he felt something so beautiful as he did for Angela, the feeling was love. Booze, money and women were his weaknesses, but now this sentiment, this feeling was so much more different; somehow he wasn't viewing Angela with the eyes of a rogue, seeking only temporary conquest. No, he was facing the worst danger that could have ever befallen on him: a girl he could love...the only girl that could understand him, the girl of his dreams. Then his eyes lowered to the floor below him where he detected another danger: Lewis Calabar, who seemed to be following along with him as he walked down the corridor, keeping pace.
"Damn, bloody fool, what does he want?" Jonathan murmured to himself.
Walking downstairs, he made his way into the courtyard and looked around but Lewis wasn't there, turning back in the direction he had just came though he found Lewis holding a gun to his head...again.
"Hello Lewis, um, how are you?" Jonathan stuttered "Well, I suppose"
"Cut the crap Jonathan, you're Angela's new boyfriend and to be honest with you...I hate that fact, and when I hate something I get rid of it, permanently...you got that?" Lewis said furiously.
"Lewis, please, I had no idea she had a fiancé....she never told me! in fact why don't you put the gun down so we can talk in a civilized way....no blood or gore, okay?". Jonathan said nervously.
Lewis stared at him intently and slowly lowered the gun, putting it on the ground in front of him as a sign of agreement.
"Ok, let's talk....I want Angela back, give her to me and I won't do anything to you, in fact I'll pay you twenty thousand dollars, just for handing her over, how's that?"
"Twenty thousand dollars! uh, I, no I'm not giving her back to you, so go and try to bribe someone else because I won't help you"
"Very well Jonathan, you bring this down upon yourself, you and Angela will regret this day... dearly. As well as Evelyn and Angela's brother...be careful where you walk because it may be the last place you set foot on. Now of course thinking it over, Angela will be the last to die...so she can suffer while seeing you die...slowly"
"Leave her alone Lewis, I'm warning you"
"Such nobility! It warms the heart. A bit late, though, Johnny Boy. You're going to lose and I'm going to win it's that simple, and I'll enjoy my triumph when I kill you"
Suddenly the little voice in Jonathan's head screamed "Attack!". Being a cautious little voice, though, it waited until Lewis turned his back. Punching wildly, he rolled around on the floor with Lewis for less than two minutes before the more experienced fighter dealt him an efficient combination of twin blows to the jaw and abdomen, that left Jonathan curled up on the floor in a shrimp-like position, clinging to consciousness, clutching his stomach, and thinking that it simply wasn't fair to be feeling this horrible without the benefit of getting drunk beforehand. Rising to his feet and dusting off his shirt and slacks, Lewis rubbed his chin and contemplated Jonathan. The little wretch had turned out to be something of a surprise....he hated surprises. After Lewis had walked away into the darkness, Jonathan heard footsteps coming towards him.
"Jonathan! oh god in heaven!" someone shouted.
Looking up at the sky he found himself looking into Evelyn's worried eyes. "Oh dear, who did this to you? how many attacked you?"
Jonathan only smiled "I love you Angela! Do you love me?" he said deliriously.
Evelyn's eyes went wide and even more so when she looked behind herself and found Rick looking down on them.
"What did he say?" Rick asked somewhat shocked
"He said 'I love you Angela, do you love me?' "
Rick went cold "Come on let's take him upstairs and get him fixed up" he said as he hoisted Jonathan onto his shoulder. "Both him and Angela are in serious trouble"
"I love you Angela!" Jonathan kept repeating over and over, much to Rick's annoyance.
"Who could have done this?" Evelyn asked uneasily. "He's not drunk and he didn't have any money with him, so it must have been someone he knew"
"Yeah, someone like Lewis Calabar, that son of bitch is going to pay for this, when I see him I'll make sure to take him out, what makes him think he has the right to rule over my sister's life?"
Walking into their quarters they set Jonathan on the bed.
"Rick, please we have to be careful with Lewis, you saw what he did to Angela, and now Jonathan, what makes you think you can beat him?....he has henchmen if you haven't noticed"
"And? I can beat them, I mean come on we fought against the Med-Jai and we won all the fights...what makes you think this will be any different?"
Evelyn didn't answer instead she picked up the book and looked at the drawing of Isiria, she indeed looked like Angela, it was odd, but true. Isiria was indeed beautiful, Evelyn couldn't deny that either, but why had she left Thebes? Could it be that Imhotep was her love and she couldn't stand to see him with Anck-Su-Namun?
"So what are you thinking about?" Rick suddenly asked, breaking her out of her revery.
"I was thinking about Isiria, and how people say that she looks like Angela, it's odd but she does look like Isiria and Imhotep has a love of some sort for her.. it's romantic in an eerie way, yet Angela has no memories of being Isiria"
"That's because she isn't Isiria"
"Part of her must be Isiria, and no matter what we say Rick, Angela is connected in some way at least to her, that is why Imhotep loves her and there is a greater chance that she loves him as well"
"No, she's not Isiria, and there is no way in hell he's getting near my sister"
Suddenly there was low moan coming from the bedroom. Rick and Evelyn looked at each other in shock... Jonathan was in there! Rushing in they found him tossing and turning in the bed muttering something. Walking closer, Rick stood by him and looked down curiously at him.
"Angela, I love you, will you marry me?" Jonathan suddenly said. "Come back don't leave....I love you"
Rick stepped back and glanced over at Evelyn who stared back at him. Pointing at Jonathan, Rick glared.
"and I'm not leaving him and my sister alone in the same room. Jonathan is planning to get Angela to be his girl...he has never taken anyone seriously, so there is positively no way I'm letting them get together...my sister doesn't deserve to suffer more than she already is" Rick said sternly.
"Please Rick, Jonathan is just delirious, he took some serious bashing down there, there is a chance he got hit in the head so maybe he's just seeing imaginary things of a sort, why don't I talk to him later on, ok? then I'll confirm if he in reality is in love with Angela" Evelyn responded softly.
Rick nodded and walked out of the room, Evelyn sat next to Jonathan and gently caressed his head. "Oh Jonathan, wake up, please, wake up soon" she thought.
He stirred a bit then slowly fell back into sleep, much to her dismay. Finally standing up, she walked out of the bedroom and sat down on the small sofa that was in the next room. This time around, things were going to get a whole lot more hectic...even more because this time mind, magic, love, past and understanding combined into one. Mix substances and you are likely to encounter a reaction unlike any you've ever seen.
"God help us all" Evelyn thought as she fell asleep...."God help us all"
The sun was now above the horizon and slowly lowering itself, creating hints of blue, purple and gold. It appeared to be a scene taken out of a Friedrich Painting. The flaming crimson ball that was the setting sun once more threw streaks of red and purple across the city, until the eerie haze of dusk banished the silhouettes from view, the furnace of the day shut off, suddenly and coolness descended, at first crisp then downright cold.
Nights star-studded sapphire shroud now fell upon Cairo, moonlight painting the walls of the fort, a chalky ivory. Rick had been out all afternoon looking for Lewis, but to no avail. It seemed as if the ground had sucked him up...he was hoping it did. It was 8:02pm as he checked his watch. Walking up the stairs, he suddenly noticed Angela sitting on the rail of the hallway, looking up at the stars, from his angle and distance it appeared she was murmuring something or singing, he wasn't quite sure. Walking closer, he saw her eyes closed and she was singing a song, but not in English but in Ancient Egyptian!!! It was a sort of love song, even though he couldn't understand, Rick could tell by the tone of her voice.
It was eerie in a way, she seemed to become a different person. She leaned back and sighed adoringly, softly speaking in a whisper..."Imhotep, my love come back to me, I want to be in your arms once more"
Rick's eyes went wide and acting on instinct turned around and tried to run to get Evelyn, but instead tripped on his own feet and landed on the floor with a slam, knocking a chair down with him. Meanwhile Angela had been torn out of fantasy by the noise and fell off the railing to the floor behind her, landing with a shrieking thud.
Sitting up slowly she found herself sitting across from Rick who was rubbing his head in pain and silently cursing.
"Rick! what the hell were you doing?! good god bro! talk, do please talk when you see me alone...at least that way I won't be scared out of my mind and have a heart attack in the process!" Angela said angrily.
"You were too busy singing to hear me at all...so what were you singing, Angela? perhaps a love song of some sort?" Rick asked sternly, as he stood up and helped Angela to her feet.
"Uh, oh! that song uh, no, it wasn't a love song...it was a uh, lullaby! yes it was an Egyptian lullaby. I was trying to relax a bit and I thought that maybe that, uh, would work"
"Angela, let me get this straight you were singing a lullaby and then you just happen to mention Imhotep after you sang it, and what the hell do you mean by wanting to be in his arms once more? you didn't think of going farther with him did you?" Rick said harshly.
Without warning Angela slapped him twice, hard enough to get the attention of some soldiers down below. They stared at both Angela and Rick who just looked at them with guilty eyes, well Rick at least.
"Everything is all right men, nothing to worry about" Rick said as he rubbed his face "Just some brother/sister arguing that's all"
The soldiers looked at one another then at Rick, and they shrugged and walked away. When Rick turned back, Angela was already storming down the hallway.
"Where do you think you're going!?". Rick shouted as he ran after her... "Come back here!"
Opening the door to her quarters, Angela turned and glared at him saying sarcastically "Yeah, I'm sure!"
"Wait!"
"I'm going to bed!" she shouted and slammed the door just in time for Rick to crash into it with a slam.
"God! what is it with people and shutting the door on me!" he thought as he straightened himself up and walked back to his quarters. "We're definitely talking about this tomorrow!"
Having his sister back was nice, the arguments though had to change, especially because it wasn't everyday you were going to argue with your sister about a three thousand year old high priest of Osiris who was bent on destroying the world and was deeply infatuated with her... yes, things needed to change no matter how drastic the measures were. As night went on everyone went to sleep, and the fort was silent, peace set in and nothing stirred...this was as tranquil as it was ever going to get.
*~~~The Kasbah~~~*
"Bartender! another drink if you please!" David shouted drunkenly.
The bartender immediately served his drink and handed it to David. Although it was later the kasbah remained open. David was alone in the bar drinking himself away...the news of the destruction and loss of the artifacts was too much for him to bare and Angela! where was she?
"Angela must have gone back to London with Lewis and then they'll be married in a few days... what the hell is the worlds problem!?" he shouted loudly "Why doesn't it just end!"
"Oh will you shut up!" a voice shouted back
Quickly turning around David found himself face to face with Lewis! and from the look on his face it appeared that he was completely distraught.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't Lewis Calabar, so what happened? did Angela finally make the right choice and break up with you!" David said sarcastically.
Lewis glared at him, walking towards him as he did and said "Well, David...that's what you would like to hear, now wouldn't you? for your information she hasn't ...I'll take her back to London, you just wait"
"Calabar, you're pathetic, how can you expect Angela to love you if you're always acting like an ass, come on! both of us know, anyway, that she hates you and that she'll gladly put up a fight before she ever goes with you"
"I've thought about that, my men can settle her down"
David suddenly burst out laughing hysterically: "Ha! you're men, you see... you can't even control her yourself... you're so weak...oh and another thing, Lewis, don't think that no one has noticed the fact that you've never loved Angela at all, all you love is her fortune...admit it! you're nothing but a weak, scheming, frightened... bastard"
Without another word Lewis punched him in the jaw, knocking the drunken guy to the floor, where he landed with a loud crash.
"and what are you? nothing but a drunken fool who has another so-called crush on my fiancée!"
"Your ex-fiancée, Lewis....your ex, so where is she? by the way? from the looks of you it seems that you've already found her" David said as he stood up and rubbed his jaw.
"And what if I did? I wouldn't tell you"
"Well, let's see for one I would hate to have to lose the artifacts from the dig which you and your very beautiful ex-fiancée have, you both could be accused of stealing them...or worse you could bring down a curse of some sort upon you both"
Lewis sat down and sighed "What do you mean a curse? what kind of a curse? and you wouldn't dare accuse us of stealing"
"Oh but I would, and as for the curse well let me just say that one of your men or maybe even Angela herself have in their possession the artifacts which I so desire and which everyone in this measly world fears"
"What are they?" Lewis asked inquisitively
"A book and a necklace...those are the things I want"
"Wait a second, is the necklace a gold one that's in the form of a winged Isis and on the back it has sacred writing?"
"Yeah, why? do you know who has it?"
"In fact I do...it's Angela who last had it and I'm sure she kept it, though I'm not sure about any other artifacts that we got back at the dig... I mean I only saw her outside in a garden, I wasn't with her in certain room"
"Tell me where she is at, Lewis, and I promise you that you won't regret it, just tell me where she is and I'll hand her over to you in exchange for what artifacts she has....what do you think?"
Lewis stared at him for a while and stood up. "Very well David, I'll tell you, but be very careful in betraying me, because believe me you will regret it if you ever do"
Shaking hands in partnership, they smiled at one another and once again sat down for another drink.
"Angela is here in the fort somewhere...I found her this afternoon, and she's well accompanied from what I saw....and experienced"
"Well thank you, Lewis, and about the company I'm sure I can deal with them.....Angela won't know what hit her and I assure you tomorrow I'll find her and you'll have her back in your hands once more"
Toasting, they laughed wickedly and drank up their whisky....their laughter echoing throughout the fort like that of two preying hyenas hunting in the dark African savannas for the innocent ethereal prey that lay fast asleep in it's den of tranquility.
Chapter 11...
*~~~Fort Brydon~~~*
As the sun rose up over the pyramids of Giza it cast a large beam of light in the shudders creating a step-like image of hazy, light and dust. Angela awoke to find herself engulfed in the of the room, it was blinding, enough to make her cover her face with her blanket.
"Ah, you're finally awake!" Jonathan said happily "Good Morning!"
"Yes, Jonathan I'm awake, good morning and oh dear god!!! what happened to you?!" Angela said softly but changing her tone of voice to a frantic question.
She got out of bed and walked up to him and examined his face. The bruises on Jonathan's jaw were black, blue and orange, like a rare, exotic, tropical-blossom.
"Think nothing of it, Angela....it was just a fall I had yesterday" Jonathan said cheerfully. "This happens all the time"
"What? so you fell off of the stairs? cause other than that I don't think you'd have bruises on your cheeks and jaw... Jonathan, what really happened? Did one of Lewis' men attack you?"
"No, don't worry about it, ok so I did get attacked, but it wasn't anyone I knew and oh look it's 8:03 I think we should get ready"
"Fine, I can take a hint, if you don't want to talk about it then I'm going outside" Angela said
Jonathan sat down and smiled as he watched her walk over to the balcony and go outside...
"What a beautiful day, Jonathan! come out here and take a look!" she called out.
The day indeed had turned out to be beautiful, not a cloud in the sky, the cool morning breeze rustling the plants and the sound of the swallows chirping up above was utterly relaxing. Down below everyone was walking in and out of the fort, talking, the soldiers were all at their posts and the animals were being fed.
"I'm here, wow it is a nice day, and adding you to the picture makes the day seem dull, you out shine it in every way" Jonathan said softly.
Angela blushed and looked up at the blue sky, smiling to herself then at Jonathan. "Are you always full of flattering comments?" she asked "because I could get use to this".
"Only when I truly care about someone, other than that count me out of the compliment circle"
"Oh really? well thank you for caring about me, I really care about you too...and since you kind of brought it up... what are the plans for today?"
"Hmm, well lets see I'd have to say....anything you want to do, I mean, if Rick and Evie don't already have plans of some sort". Jonathan said. "Oh and uh, I wanted to ask you something, but I need you to promise me that you won't get mad"
"Ok, I promise, just ask"
"Um, well, I wanted to ask you about Imhotep, what do you feel for him? how come you aren't afraid of him? he kills, he destroys, he's evil"
"No Jonathan, he's not evil, he's a kind person, you just have to get to know him...he doesn't kill because he wants to, he kills because of the curse of the Hom-Dai...and also because people make him mad, but that's it, and I, I don't know what I think about him, he's incredibly handsome and has great body...uh not that I would know, but I'm guessing he does....to tell you the truth I don't know what I feel for him" Angela said skittishly.
"You don't know? well I guess you would totally find that out for yourself" Jonathan said softly
"Ya I guess, the things is, Jonathan...that whenever he kissed me I felt this incredible surge of energy inside of me, it was a feeling I've never experienced...I felt like I knew him and I craved his kisses as much as much as he craved mine...our bodies seemed to know each other and I actually enjoyed his company...yet I'm confused at all of this, oh god what am I really feeling...do I love him or not?" Angela said anxiously.
Jonathan looked away holding back tears, he was completely brokenhearted after what he had heard. Each of Angela's words drove a dagger into his heart, until nothing was left but bleeding shreds. He watched the passion and tenderness in her face as she spoke and he hated it. He kept his composure as he stared at her sadly, closing his eyes as if that would help him shut out her words.... Jonathan hadn't felt his heart so heavy since the day his parents had died.
"I'm happy for you, and I'm sure you'll figure out what you feel for him sooner or later" he said, trying to conceal his sadness. "Let's just hope you make the right decision"
"Thank you and I assure you that I will try and make the right choice" Angela said. "Jonathan, why don't you have a girlfriend? frankly I'm amazed...you're such a sweet, humorous guys that I think any girl would like to be your girlfriend"
Jonathan looked away at a pair of swallows that were chirping away, singing their lovely songs and sighed "The girl I want is already taken by someone else...I doubt she'll ever notice me....what good is being humorous and sweet, if the girl you like doesn't love you back" Angela turned him towards her and caressed his cheek gently, causing him to shiver slightly.
"You have to show her how much you love her then, prove to her that you are the one that she's been looking for and most importantly let your heart tell you what to do...that works, I assure you that she'll notice you in no time" she said with a soft smile.
"I will, I'll try...I promise" he said.
With that he hugged her tightly not wanting to let go of her. Resting her head on his shoulder, she sighed and closed her eyes.
"Oh Jonathan, you're the best, sooner or later you'll see, that girl you love will come to you and I bet you that she'll regret not having have noticed you sooner"
"I hope so Angela, I hope so" Jonathan said as he softly ran his hand up and up and down her back.
Parting, Angela smiled at him and looked down at the garden, where she could see Christian reading by himself.
"Hey didn't you say you were going to take me out for a stroll?"
"Yes Angela, and now I suggest you get ready, I'll wait here"
As she turned to walk inside she found Rick standing in the doorway of the balcony, stern look on his face that caused her to jump abruptly.
"So you two are going out for a stroll? well would you mind if Evelyn and I went along with you?" Rick asked. "I couldn't help but hear your conversation"
Before Jonathan could answer, Angela nodded. "Of course you can come with us, the more the merrier! We'd be delighted! wouldn't we Jonathan?"
She looked at Jonathan who seemed distant as he looked at Rick. Rick on the other hand smiled at him and Angela brightly.
"Well, Jonathan, is it ok with you?" Rick asked insistently.
"Uh yes, yes it's okay, the more the merrier" Jonathan said uneasily.
"Well, if you'll excuse me, I'll leave you two alone to talk...I'll be right back" Angela said as she hugged Rick and walked back inside.
Rick watched her go and when he saw her shut the bedroom door, he turned towards Jonathan with a grim look on his face.
"So where were you planning on taking her?" Rick asked. "Any place I know"
"On a boat trip down the Nile...then to Luxor...why?" Jonathan asked..."It's not bad, is it?"
"Well, it sounds fun, but what else? were you planning on telling her that you're in love with her?" Rick asked suddenly, catching Jonathan off guard.
"Uh, what!, no, no I wasn't planning such a crazy thing like that! why would I do such a thing! I mean what makes you think I love Angela?!" Jonathan stuttered nervously.
"Hmm? Let me think, perhaps it was yesterday after Lewis beat the living daylights out of you! don't deny it Jonathan, you're in love with my sister"
Jonathan stared at him with wide eyes and shook his head. "I don't know what you're talking about, O'Connell"
"You know perfectly well what I'm talking about"
"Okay O'Connell, if it'll make you feel any better I do! I do love your sister with all my heart! and I would do anything possible to make her happy... I would go to the darkest regions of hell if I had to help her out...because I love her!"
"I'm not leaving you one second alone with her"
"But O'Connell! why are you acting like this!"
"First of all I care a lot about my sister and I don't want to see her suffer because of you, and Secondly you haven't changed at bit...and that's the main factor, lastly, well...I can't think of that right now, but I will and I'll tell you when I do"
"O'Connell, I've changed! I haven't had one drink since she's arrived! ok, so it's only been four days, but I plan on not drinking any more...as for poker, gambling and lying...I swear I haven't done any of it! and frankly I've done it all for her!"
"You've done what for who?" Angela suddenly appeared, causing Jonathan to jump.
"Uh, I've uh always stood up for Evie, even if I'm not the best at fighting" Jonathan smiled slightly.
"Oh, well that's good, you're a good brother, Jonathan" she said kindly.."So if we have nothing left to do then let's get going"
"Why don't you go and get Evelyn and we'll meet you down at the car" Rick said."Jonathan and I have a bit of conversing to do anyway"
"OK, see you down there" she said as she turned and walked out of the quarters into the hallway.
"Now you and I are going to talk" Rick said seriously to Jonathan, who only looked at him uneasily.
Down the hallway Angela was knocking on Evelyn's door. "Evelyn! Hey Evelyn are you there?" she called out. "Are you OK in there?"
No answer ..."Hmmmm? I wonder where she could be?" she thought, pausing for a moment, "If I were Evelyn.. where would I be? Oh wait!!! I'd be in a library!"
Running downstairs she grabbed an apple off of a fruit tray that a soldier was carrying and she ran into the fort library. Sure enough Evelyn was there reading and doing some kind of research. Always in the books, never into looks... Angela thought as she took a bite of her apple and walked closer to her.
"Hey Evelyn, don't want to bother you but, Rick says that we're going now...oh!!! what are you doing?"
Evelyn looked up and signaled her to sit down. "Angela, how many times have you seen Imhotep?" she asked "It's important that you tell me the truth"
"Uh ok, um I've seen him uh, three times" Angela replied as she looked away.
"OK, so then that leaves seven plagues left to go" Evelyn murmured.
"Come on Evelyn, we can't be late" Angela said suddenly, as she yanked Evelyn off of the couch and out the door. "We can talk about this later"
"But we need to-" Evelyn tried to say.
"What we need to do is have fun and today we are doing so...if something comes up then we can start researching and stuff, now hurry up!!! we don't have all day!"
*~~~Small Cafe, El-Sayed...a block from Hotel~~~*
"So what's the plan?" Vinnie asked curiously as he took a drink of his hot English tea.
"The plan ,Vinnie is to go to Fort Brydon and get Angela, but you and I aren't going to even try because of various reasons but David can go, he's the only one that has absolutely no problems with The Carnarvons and Angela's brother"
"I see, so David goes and tries to gain Angela's trust and friendship and when she least expects it, we'll strike" Vinnie said
"Exactly, David is on his way there as we speak, Step one is put into place and I guarantee it will work...Angela's fortune will be mine"
"Granted Angela doesn't find out what his intentions really are, we're done for if she finds out"
"She won't, Vinnie, Angela is a sucker for nice guys.. she'll fall into our trap quicker than you'll realize"
"In the meantime though, what do we do?"
"I'm curious about those artifacts that Angela has in her possession. Why don't we pay that curator, Hanan...a visit I'm sure he'll tell us what they are and what's so special about them"
"Fine with me, Lewis...why don't we go now"
"Let's do so, if they are of any value I won't give them to David... lets just say that this will be a two for one deal, I'll be twice as wealthy and have a beautiful woman by my side...ah David won't know what hit him"
With that they shared grins and toasted to a bright and happy future...a bright, happy, and very uncertain future.
*~~~Fort Brydon~~~*
"OK we're here, so where to?" Angela asked as she looked around anxiously.
"How about we go to Giza Port and catch a boat, the weather is perfect for a fun trip down the Nile". Evelyn replied
"Well then Giza Port it is" Rick said "Ok Jonathan, you drive...we're off to Giza Port"
Within seconds they were speeding down the streets of Cairo in the Dusenberg Convertible, Jonathan behind the wheel, honking the horn to clear the path of slow traffic. Angela sat in the back seat, while Evelyn sat in front somewhat squeezed between Rick and Jonathan. Closing her eyes Angela sighed and slowly fell into dreamland , the sounds of the world fading away in the distance of her mind. Suddenly the car braked, causing her to open her eyes, where she found herself looking at a bazaar, full of people trading and arguing about how much some thing cost.
"Uh, where are we?" she asked curiously.
"O'Connell and Evie decided to get a few things for the trip, you know the basic stuff, like food and other supplies you may need for a picnic" Jonathan replied as he looked around at the tumultuous chaos of people.
"Oh ok, well while they're doing that...I'm going to explore a bit" she said..."I won't take long"
Hopping out of the car, she walked across the narrow street to where more merchants were selling trinkets, figs, dates and many other exotic spices. While looking at some of the trinkets, she felt a slight tug at her dress. As she looked down she saw a young boy of about 10 looking up at her innocently.
"Oh!! where did you come from?" she asked in Hebrew. "How can I help you?"
"Please, I must quickly tell you that a man wishes to speak with you...he is around that corner and he says that it is very urgent that he have a word with you" the boy replied uneasily, in the same language.
"Who is he?"
"I do not know, miss, he did not show his face, he is all covered up" the boy answered. "and now I must go"
"No wait!!" Angela called out, but it was too late...the boy was gone in a flash.
Returning her attention to the alleyway the boy had pointed out to her, she slowly walked towards it, stopping suddenly wondering if it indeed was the right thing to do. Curiosity always got the best of her and she continued towards it. As she got close though, a hand reached out from behind the wall and grabbed her, covering her mouth in the process.
"Where is Angela?" Rick asked, as he put some small baskets of fruit and bread into the trunk of the car.
"She said she was going to take a look around". Jonathan replied
"Oh Rick, don't worry, I'm sure she got caught up in the hustle and bustle of the trade bazaar or something, she'll be here any moment now" Evelyn said reassuringly.
At that very moment Angela found herself looking into the eyes of her worst nightmare...a corpse, skin sickly gray, but clearly with the strength to hold her tightly against the wall. To her it was as if hell had sent one of it's best soldiers to wage war and chaos in the world of the living.
"You must be Isiria" the figure said slyly.
Angela only stared at him in horror, unable to move an inch.
"My master told me so much about you"
Angela tried to calm down and speak but could only mumble under the decaying hand. The corpse removed it's hand from her mouth and let her speak.
"You speak English?" the shocked young woman asked
"Yes" replied the corpse "I speak English"
He looked her up and down and smiled (and Angela never recalled seeing such a nasty smile)
"Who are you?" she asked, horrified at the sight.
"That is not important, I came looking for you because my master Imhotep had sent me to find you and to tell you that he loves you and that he wishes to see you again, but this time without any interruptions"
"Uh,ok...anything else?" Angela asked nervously.
"Oh! and he wanted me to give you this" the corpse said, taking out a ring with an emerald scarab on it. "He says that with time you shall remember and recognize what it means"
Cautiously, Angela took it out of his hand and slipped it on...wow it was beautiful indeed.
"Now I must go, but remember to meet him...he will be waiting for you in the same place as always"
"Where?"
"Where else? your quarters at Fort Brydon"
Angela quickly turned and walked out of the alleyway suddenly realizing that Rick and the rest of the gang was waiting for her. Sure enough as she looked in their direction across the street...she saw all three waiting in the car.
"Angela! come on or we'll miss the boat!!" Rick called out to her.
"Coming, Rick!!!" Angela called back..."Hold on a sec!"
She ran across the street and jumped into the backseat. "Sorry I took so long, something got my attention"
"Well, what kept you?" Rick asked
"Um, well I was trying to do a bit of shopping back at the bazaar, you know how it gets there, all crowded and stuff...once you buy something from someone, everyone literally ambushes you with more stuff asking you to buy it as well!!"
"Well, from the looks of it, it seems that you bought something" Rick said, pointing to the ring on her right index finger.
"Oh this! yes I did buy this there I fell in love with it when I first saw it on the stand...isn't it beautiful"
"My god this must have cost you a fortune, being an emerald and all, plus it's pure gold!! how did you afford it!"
"Uh, well you see I had a bit of cash stashed up and I decided to buy myself something"
"Hey Angela, you told me you didn't have any money" Jonathan said suddenly.
"I know, but at that time I hardly knew you...so I wasn't about to tell that I had money" Angela said.
"OK, OK enough arguing let's go" Rick said carelessly.
Jonathan shrugged and stepped on the gas pedal, sending the car into the street.. saying as he did... "Giza Port here we come!!"
"So that girl knows Rick I can't believe this...it's perfect, Rick and his friends all here.. and oh how they'll pay for leaving me in Hamunaptra" Beni said to himself, as he peered out from the alleyway. "Because of them I ended up like this...they will pay...though I still wonder what is she doing with them?.. I wonder"
Without another thought he slowly disintegrated himself into nothing but sand letting the wind carry him away.
*~~~Fort Brydon~~~*
"What!!!! so you're telling me that they left early this morning!" David shouted angrily.
"Yes sir, the Carnarvons and the O'Connells have left for today...I don't know where but I saw them leave in the Dusenberg" a young cadet said... "about an hour or so ago"
"When they come, please notify me, OK? I would very much appreciate it" David said giving the cadet his card and the hotel phone number.
"OK sir, I will try to notify you as soon as possible"
"See that you do" David said
Without another word he shook hands with the cadet and walked out of the fort, pausing only a moment.
"Where could they have gone to?" he thought.
*~~~Giza Port~~~*
The Nile with it's two, large branches: the Blue and the White...was the longest river in the world and the only one that the group had ever heard of that flowed up north. Under the hot, dry midday sun, the Nile lay like a bolt of shimmering silk a few shades deeper than the nearby cloudless sky, spiked by he pyramids across the sky. On the rivers placid surface, graceful little boats glided, carrying passengers and cargo, sails spread like the white wings of a dove. The peacefulness of this view was negated by the bustle of the two adjoining docks of the all busy, yet interesting Giza Port, where both tourist and explorers were pushing through the multitude of turbaned men and women in their shawls and nightshirt-like robes, hawkers peddling King Tut stuff and beggars asking people to give them what they could spare.
Getting out of the car, Rick and Jonathan carried the baskets out of the trunk and put them down on the floor by the car.
"Wow this is so interesting!!..just imagine, I can't believe this! I'm actually here.. in Giza Port!" Angela said happily.
"Nothing to be excited about here sis, believe me the fun is on the boat, just wait" Rick said.
"I know, but I mean, I've never been here and this is all like a dream" she replied.
"I understand" Rick answered. Hearing the horn blow on the steamer he picked the baskets and said "OK, well that's our signal, we better get on or they'll leave without us"
Jonathan picked up the rest of the small supply bags and walked to the steamer with Rick and Angela. Evelyn slowly walked behind them, her mind still seeing the image of Angela's ring...it was very pretty yet something about it wasn't right, a ring such as that was priceless and was never sold to any one, which made her wonder more about it.
The steamer had a glorified passenger barge with two decks, the lower one having a bar, thirty cabins and a parlor, the upper one was an open area arranged with chairs and small tables under the sun so passengers could watch the green and tan scenery glide by. The ship slowly pulled out after everyone had gotten on board.
Angela sat down and looked at the river just as Jonathan set his stuff down by her.
"Isn't it beautiful" she asked.
"Very" Jonathan said, suddenly catching the attention of Rick who managed to see him staring at Angela.
O'Connell stood at the rail about five feet from Jonathan and watched the sun stare back at itself from the surface of the iridescent Nile, the desert on either bank, a smooth tan. Moments like these reminded him why he had left his aunt's house in New York and especially his home in Chicago and gone looking for adventure and thrill. They also reminded him about how much he had missed his sister and fought to stay by her side.
"Rick, what are you thinking about?" Angela finally asked, breaking him out of concentration.
Rick turned to face her and smiled "Just thinking how great it is to have you back, that's all"
Angela smiled slightly and stood up, walking over to him. As she put her arm around his shoulder she leaned on him.
"I'm glad to have you back too" she said..."I love you"
"Um, sorry for the interruption, but where's Evie?" Jonathan asked.
Everyone looked at each other questionably, as if asking each other only with their eyes.. Where was Evelyn?.
"I'm sure she must be taking a good look at the ship, and if there is a library on board then I'm sure she's there" Angela said, pausing for a moment..."Isn't she?"
"Well, I'll go look for her" Jonathan said anxiously. "Maybe she felt sick or something"
"All right, catch you later!" Angela called out as Jonathan walked away.
"OK Angela! catch you later!"..Jonathan called out as rounded the corner.
Angela turned to face the railing by Rick and asked "So where do you think Evelyn can be? I mean she couldn't have gone far.. what do you think?"
"I don't know. I just hope nothing is wrong"
"Yeah, me too...well we'll know as soon as Jonathan comes back"
The desert breeze wasn't just warm, but hot, which made it for a typical day in Egypt and Jonathan discovered that Evelyn had the lower deck to herself. The sun was so bright and Evie was sitting beside a wicker table where her cup of water rested, she was lost in thought. He tapped her shoulder and she jumped, startled.
He sat down at a chair across from her. "Sorry, I didn't mean to bother you"
"Don't worry about it" Evelyn responded.
"So what were you thinking about?"
"Well Jonathan, I was thinking about that ring Angela has...it is a beautiful piece of jewelry and all but there is no way that she could have gotten that at the bazaar and for only a couple hundred dollars"
"Well, where do you think she got it from?" Jonathan asked curiously.
"I don't know but I have a big feeling that it wasn't from the bazaar"
"Oh Evelyn it's only your mind playing games with you, you're still paranoid over Imhotep and Hamunaptra...there is no way that Angela has ties with them...ok other than me seeing him with her, but maybe he was trying to hurt her! so the ring can't be anything bad"
"No, something honestly tells me that Angela is hiding something from us".
Arching an eyebrow, peering over his shoulder to make sure no one was around, Jonathan asked.... "So what do you think she's hiding?"
"I'm not sure, but whenever I speak about Imhotep or the plagues she gets restive, ever since the day I showed her the picture of Isiria"
"Well maybe she fears him and prefers not to talk about something she's afraid of...but I suppose certain precautions are necessary"
"We have to find out what is wrong with her and we must solve this problem with Imhotep once and for all...we can't just have him running around killing innocent people and developing infatuations with every woman that he sees"
"Yes you're right, dear sis....you're right"
*~~~Cairo Museum of Antiquities~~~*
Seated behind his desk in his neatly organized cubbyhole office, Hanan, was using a jewelers eyepiece as he examined a small bracelet dated back to the New Kingdom, sighing he put it down and leaned back in his chair.
All of a sudden the door swung open and in stepped Vinnie and another young man that Hanan had never seen before. Closing the door behind him, Vinnie smiled and sat down on a small couch and said....."My friend would like to have a word with you, if you don't mind"
"Not at all, please sit down" Hanan said as he signaled Lewis to sit.
"Mr. Dmoen, my name is Lewis Calabar and well, I'm here to speak to you about the artifacts that my fiancée, Angela O'Connell, has in her possession, a person has informed me that they are things that can cause end of the world if ever used unwisely, what are they? If I may know" Lewis asked inquisitively.
Hanan seemed rather shaken all of a sudden by Lewis' statement, but only for a moment. He smiled and laughed, shaking his head.
"My dear boy, whoever told you such a thing?" Hanan asked. "I'm surprised at you, you seem like a very intelligent, young man, What ever they told you were lies and myths...normally stories here in Cairo are just told by people to amuse Greek and Roman tourists"
"Lets not confuse the myth of Hamunaptra, doctor, after all it turned out to be real, I should know...I was there".
"OK fine, from what your friend has told me, so was your fiancée, it appears she has a few things we want back" Hanan said sternly.
"We? As in who?" Vinnie suddenly asked.
"The people at the museum of course and my good friend, Ardeth Bay" Hanan answered.
"I want to know what they are, you see, I do not want to be responsible for the end of the civilization, in fact all I want is my fiancée, so we can finally be married...that's all"
"Your fiancée has the Book of the Dead and the key which opens it, so far we know that, that is all she has in her possession. She has released a demon from the depths of hell that will destroy us all in a matter of time if not stopped....the book contains all the spells of the Old Kingdom, that is why we want it back...so that it does not fall once again into the wrong hands"
Lewis smiled slightly and turned towards Vinnie..."So then what you said was true?" he asked.
"Yes, everything" Vinnie answered.
Turning back towards Hanan, Lewis said calmly "Well then I'm willing to help you, I know where she is and I have sent someone she trusts to see her, I am sure she will gladly hand over the artifacts without hesitance"
"Well, Mr. Calabar don't be too confident, you see she's already proven twice that she does not want to have anything to do with us...which in turn may mean that she isn't willing to give us those things without a fight" Hanan answered earnestly.
"Hanan, we guarantee you'll have the book here on your desk sooner than you expect" Vinnie said confidently.
"Let us hope so because if we don't get the book here and the creature gets possession of it we are all doomed to a fiery and very painful death...if he doesn't and your fiancée is unwilling to give to us still we will have no choice but to get rid of her"
"Well with that said we must be going now" Lewis said, standing up as he did. "and thank you once again, without that information we may have never known how dangerous those things are, good bye"
"Good bye Mr. Calabar, and may Allah watch over you both...you will need his guidance" Hanan said, his voice trailing off at mid-sentence.
Lewis nodded and both he and Vinnie walked out of his office, shutting the door softly as they did.
"So do you think that those things are worthless now, Lewis?". Vinnie asked.
"No, in fact a thought just sprung into my head...David wants to be an all powerful tyrant, he'll get that power if the book is in his hands, he'll kill any who try to stop him in the process and get Angela as well....damn bastard"
"What do you plan on doing?"
"I'm not giving him the book, like I said...as soon as Angela is in my possession I shall take the Book to a dealer and get a good amount of money for it, that's all, now lets go and whatever you do don't mention any of this to David"
"Don't worry Lewis, I won't say anything"
They put their coats on and walked out of the museum...suddenly fear was something common in their minds....and that led to much more dangerous things.
Chapter 12...
*~~~The steamer, Tigris~~~*
"How long until we arrive in Luxor?" Angela asked.
"We'll be there in another day in a half or so, god Jonathan is taking awhile in finding Evelyn, I wonder what's the matter with her" Rick said uneasily.
"Rick, Jonathan just must be talking to her somewhere, who know? I'm sure he'll show up with her sooner or later"
"Yeah, well I guess we should just wait a little longer"
"Well, while we're at it, why don't we see if we can throw these pebbles far enough like we use to back in Lake Michigan? It'll bring back old memories" Angela said, as she took out a handful of small pebbles that she had in her pocket.
"Where did you get those?" Rick asked curiously.
"Funny you should ask....I got them back in London, I would usually use them to aim at Lewis' head whenever he got on my nerves....these are what I had left"
"Well then, hand some of those over...you know I can beat you at this"
"Oh really!! lets see you try then, Rick"
Rick took a pebble and threw it as far away as he could, it landed about half way between the boat and the river bank. He turned back to face Angela and smiled confidently.
"Let's see you throw it farther" he said mockingly.
"Ok here goes" Angela said as she backed up. Thrusting forward, the pebble went flying out landing with a small splash just ahead of where Rick's had landed.
"So who's the good one now" she asked with a grin.
"Ok big shot, two more rounds and we'll see who wins"
"Fine but you know I'm going to beat you"
"Oh yeah I'm sure, Angela....keep dreaming"
"Well here then let's see you throw it"
"Ok, you're on"
As wound up for the throw he noticed suddenly that Angela was staring out into the river with a look of astonishment on her face...or was it fear?
"Uh Angela, I haven't thrown it yet" he said
"I know, Rick come here, take a look at this"
Rick slipped the pebble in his pocket and walked over to the railing where Angela was standing and he paused to look at her.
"What is it" he asked "What has you so damn spooked"
Angela stared out and didn't answer she only pointed to the edge of the river. Rick looked in the direction of the river and stared out, suddenly staggering back as he held on to Angela's arm. The river was slowly turning to blood, the blood appeared to be seeping slowly as it drifted all throughout the river...filling it in a matter of minutes. A sick feeling clenched Rick's stomach, not nausea of the sight of blood all around the water, but the realization that if one those plagues was here then...
"He's gotta be here"
"Who?" Angela asked in shock.
"Your three thousand year old buddy, that's who"
"Then that's honestly....blood"
"Yes, oh my god...it can't be"
"The rivers and waters of Egypt ran red.... and were as...blood" Angela said solemnly
"Damn it!!!!" Rick growled as he backed away. "We have to find Evelyn and Jonathan before that damn mummy does"
As they ran down the corridor into what was a sunny afternoon, they found people standing on the rails, gathering in bunches, murmuring in wonder at this sudden change in the color of the river. Running down the stair case leading to the cabins they both spotted a spooked Evelyn walking towards them with her purse in one hand and a book in the other, Jonathan tagging along, staying as close as possible.
"Rick, what is going on?" Evelyn asked "Has anyone been killed? Is Imhotep around?"
"I don't know where he is!!! but what I do know is that if we don't get out of sight we're all in grave danger" Rick answered.
"Uh, hate to add another gram to the already unbalanced scale but what the hell are those horrible things?!!!" Angela asked frantically.
Looking at the river, all four watched in horror as out of the red river, small jumping creatures came ribeting as they came popped out. Hordes and hordes of slimy awful frogs came onto the boat, where a sudden burst of chaos began.
"Two plagues!!! in five minutes!!!!" Angela said, doing her best to regain composure. "That doesn't make any sense!!"
Everyone suddenly stared at her as if she had all of a sudden struck a brass plate in their face.
"She has a point, there can only be one plague at a time because it's only one guy doing all of this and not even Imhotep has the power to do a double whammy" Rick said in agreement. "Plus he would have to have killed a few people in order to do so"
"Unless there's two, but it can't be possible" Evelyn responded a bit confounded.
"Well, lets figure this out inside the parlor, shall we?" Jonathan said urgently as he kicked frogs away from himself.
O'Connell nodded and said "Come on!!!" grabbing Evelyn's hand and she followed his lead, Angela and Jonathan tagging after. They raced across the corridor, up the stairs, and into the parlor.
As they scurried in, Angela stopped and looked at the river to see if she could see anything. Rick sensed it and he grabbed her hand and pulled her inside, dragging her through the door as he slammed it behind him.
"Ok, now all we have to do is calm down and think of what we're going to do, we're all sitting ducks on this boat and the last thing we want is to let Imhotep know we're here" Rick said as paced around the room.
Evelyn and Jonathan sat on the couch and stared blankly at him and Angela, well, she was looking longingly out the small window...towards the riverbank, sighing about every ten seconds.
"Well, since no one can think of anything I guess I'll have to go look for him, or at least give him the signal as to where I am" Rick said frustratingly. "Then you guys can get away by other means"
Angela closed her eyes and put her hand to her neck, where the Necklace of Isis was safely tucked away under her blouse. "I think I know a way to make the plagues stop" she suddenly said. "Or at least die down a bit".
Suddenly everyone's attention was focused on her, and she felt a sudden chill go down her back.
Jonathan smiled softly and stood up "Well tell us what to do and we'll do it...what's the plan?"
"Um, well, it doesn't involve any of you, it only involves me...you see I also forgot to mention to you guys that at the dig, I uh, found something"
"Damn" O'Connell breathed. "Just when I figured things couldn't get any worse"
Angela took the necklace off and without saying another word she ran out of the parlor.
"Angela! come back here!" Rick shouted as he ran after her, Jonathan and Evelyn took off after him as well, trailing behind as they ran behind him.
Angela was now running on the starboard side of the ship where the walk way along the rail was clogged with bewildered passengers- the blood was still there and so were the hordes of frogs, now jumping everywhere the eye could see.
"Head for the stern" Angela thought as she ran.
"We have to find my sister!" Rick said frantically, as he glanced around.
"Well, Rick, if you haven't noticed we're stuck on a bloody ship!" Jonathan said crossly "There is nowhere to go...and I doubt she'd jump into the blood!"
The way to the stern was not clogged with the mob, instead it was empty. Angela noticed as she made her way to the railing and climbed over it.
Rick looked into the stern's direction and quickly guided Evelyn and Jonathan as he kept his eyes focused on his sister who was standing on the edge of the stern, eyes closed. She was afraid to look down and see the blood flowing under her. Her mind in the meantime was enveloped in a clear, glass like state, serene as the Nile itself. Leaning forward as she held on with one hand to the railing she opened her eyes and stretched her arm out in from of her, the necklace dangling from her fingertips.
"I hope this works" Angela thought anxiously. "Please make it work"
"What is she doing?" Evelyn asked uneasily.
"I have no clue but I'm getting her away from there!" Rick said as he rushed over to her.
Meanwhile Angela focused her mind on the inscription and her eyes slowly scanned the exquisitely rendered hieratic.. lips moving as she read to herself, but wanting to hear the words compelled, somehow to speak them out loud.
"Goddess Isis, evil has spread beyond the regions of the netherworld, at once you vanquish it with the force of millions, Seth has come and you and your son shall prevail...vanquish the evil, vanquish the darkness" she read.
As she spoke the words, Angela heard a loud hissing as if she had awaken a cradle full of snakes. Not liking the sound of that she turned herself around and started to climb over the rail, startled, chilled with fear at the thought of what she had done.
"Oh-damn, what the hell is that?" Rick asked, dazed and stopping in his tracks as he did.
The answer to that question was immediate: the hissing sound filled their ears as all around them a loud wind began to blow, turning into a gust. With the sound like that of an angry siren coming to seek revenge on her enemies.
Angela froze as she felt the boat rock with the force of the wind. A sudden gust though blew through, catching her by surprise, hard enough for her to let go of the railing and topple head first into the blood water. Landing with a screaming splash. The water or was it still blood? was freezing; shocking her, chilling her body to the bone even as her mind wondered how a desert river could be so damn cold. As she surfaced, gasping for air, she looked around her and realized that she was soaked in blood!
"No! god damn it! it didn't work!!" Angela thought, heedless of the blood surrounding her. "It didn't work!!"
As she looked ahead of her though she saw the choppy river slowly turning back to water. A sudden moment of ease went through her and she smiled happily.
"Yes, it worked!! It worked!!" she shouted joyfully as she struggled to stay afloat.
On board Rick and Jonathan had ran up the railing after seeing her fall in as Evelyn had ran to seek help. The two looked down at Angela and felt a feeling of relief go through them.
"Angela! are you OK?" Rick shouted.
"UH, O'Connell take a look at that!" Jonathan said, stunned at the amazing sight of the blood slowly disappearing as well as the frogs who were now hopping back in and vanishing into the river.. leaving everything as if it had never happened.
Rick directed his attention to the part of the river ahead of the boat and suddenly smiled as he saw the river turn back to normal. "Wow she did it!! she really stopped the plagues!" he said happily.
"Uh, hello? you guys? I could use a bit of help right now, if it's not too much trouble!!" Angela called out anxiously. "Please!".
"Ok hold on, sis" Rick said as he took a rope off of a small crate and tied it to the railing.
After tightening it, Rick then tossed the railings down into the water. He slung on his backpack made sure once more if the rope was secure. "Ok Angela, it's ready" he said assuring.
Angela smiled and swam over to the boat, stroking smoothly as she did. Soon she was struggling to climb up the rope, trembling from the cold breeze as she did. Her clothes clung to her skin as she climbed over the railing and stood up, it didn't even occur to her that her every physical attributes was on display...at least not until she saw some men, including a very stunned Jonathan, standing there with their mouths open as they drank and dreamed in the sight of her.
Wringing her clothes out, she strictly said "I suggest you fools get your mind out of the gutter I don't appreciate being the object of your dark fantasies!"
Rick smiled and put his coat on her. "Come on sis, let's go to the parlor....Jonathan! get your self over here...now!" he said softly at first but changing his tone of voice at mid-sentence.
Jonathan slightly jumped at the realization of what he and the other men had just been doing and he quickly regained composure. "Bloody hell! didn't you hear the girl! what's the big idea!". he said commandingly. "Bug off!"
Then turning back around he walked bemusedly after Rick and Angela.
"How did you make the plagues disappear?" Rick asked curiously "I mean, it's impossible for a human to do that, without any supernatural thing involved"
"Well, Rick, it was my Necklace of Isis, that did all the work, but unfortunately I lost it when I fell in to the river, it was so odd the way it worked though...all I did was read the inscription and in a flash everything started to happen! I can't believe I lost it though"
Rick put his arm around her and let her lean on him. "I'm sorry" he said "but at least you stopped the plagues"
"Yeah that's true, oh well, I guess I'll never see it again"
"You'll never see what again?" Jonathan suddenly asked.
Angela turned towards him and smiled softly. "My necklace of Isis"
"Oh this thing?" Jonathan said as he pulled the necklace out of his coat pocket.
"How did you? Oh my god! Jonathan where did you find it!" Angela asked.
"I think you dropped it as you fell in and it happened to land on the edge of the stern.. so I just picked it up". Jonathan responded. "Here you go"
Angela took the necklace, slipped it on and sighed. An excited smile blossomed on her face as Rick and Jonathan, on either side of her, watched her. Continuing on, they entered an area where the corridor widened and turned into the parlor, pausing for a second before walking in.
There they found Evelyn, slumped d in a chair as they made their way inside. Jonathan sat down on a chair next to her as Rick sat on the small sofa.
"I went for help, but I guess from the looks of things, I was a bit late" Evelyn suddenly said.
"Don't worry about it, we really didn't need anyone else" Rick said. "Angela would have made it out by other means...if we couldn't have reached her on time, wouldn't you?"
"Yes, I would have" Angela said softly "So now what do we do?" asking as she sat by the small fireplace that was burning brightly with the warm glow of the fire.
"Well, we're continuing on to Luxor, that's what we're doing" Rick said confidently "and if anything comes up, well let's just say that it's not, we'll beat the hell out of what ever evil it is... because no dead son of a bitch is going to ruin our outing".
Evelyn smiled and stood up "Well I'm going to go downstairs and check it out, the boat seems pretty nice, so I'm going to take a good look at it.. it's best if we stay calm and find something to keep our minds off of this horrid thing"
"I'm going with you" Rick said. "I need to get a bit of air...Angela, will you be all right?"
"Yes Rick, I will...don't worry I don't plan on falling off of the boat again or trying to see how far my necklace will fly"
"Ohhhh Angela, I didn't mean that, I just want to know if you'll be ok, feelings wise"
"Yeah, go on.. take a look of the ship, as soon as I get myself dried off I'll try and catch up with you guys"
"Ok, aren't you going to get dressed in some dry clothing? and Jonathan what do you plan on doing?" Rick then asked sternly
Angela shook her head "Listen, I need some time to think...so I'll just let the warmth of the fire dry me off"
Jonathan had just looked up at Rick innocently and smiled "Well, um, I'm going to go with you two, yes! that is what my plan is"
"OK then come on, Jonathan" Evelyn said.
They all started for the door when suddenly Jonathan stopped and turned towards Angela who was at the moment looking at the fire in a hypnotized stare.
"Angela? um, will you be all right alone...in here?" he asked cheeringly "If you want I can stay"
Angela only shook her head not at all looking at him or ever saying a single word. She remained staring at the fire. Jonathan sighed and walked out, shutting the door softly behind his back.
"Well, I'm going to the dining room if you two don't mind" Jonathan said seriously, before turning and walking off.. leaving Rick and Evelyn with surprised looks on their faces.
"Come on Evelyn, let's go, we need to figure out a way to stop Imhotep...permanently" Rick said. "He can't be a tyrant over our lives...we have to find a way to destroy him and his creatures, but how?"
"Wait a second!! didn't Angela say she had a way to stop him?" Evelyn asked .
"Not him exactly...though I wish it did, her necklace basically only stops or weakens the plagues that he causes, now come on I'll explain the entire story downstairs...no matter what, we have to ' keep him from getting near my sister while trying to find the solution...I don't even what to imagine what could happen if he got his hands on her "
"I agree Rick, we must think of plan to stop Imhotep, now let's go...we'll need all the help we can get"
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 10...
*~~1,290 B.C. Thebes, City of the Living~~*
Isiria walked out to the temple gardens, carrying a small dish of milk. One of the cats that lived in the garden had recently had kittens and she visited them often, bringing treats. She had found them nestled away from the main walkways and she sat in the soft grass next to them and watched their cute antics, speaking to them softly and tenderly caressing their little bodies. Isiria loved being here, it was so tranquil and so quiet and it was her secret spot. Nobody ever came this far into the temple gardens that is the reason she loved it. Suddenly though she felt that she wasn't alone, still holding a black kitten she looked up and noticed the tall man leaning against a tree a small distance away, watching her with a little smile on his handsome face. Instantly she recognized him, his face had appeared in front of her eyes every time she had ever closed them, ever since the day they had met in the Temple of Osiris....What was he doing here? Carefully returning the kitten to it's mother's care, she got to her feet.
"Lord Imhotep, what brings you here?" she asked curiously
"They told me I could find you here, I wanted to see you again so we could talk. Your dancing intrigues me....you intrigue me. Isiria, you are unlike any other temple dancer I have ever seen.... and I'd like to get to know you better.....where do you come from?"
She still had not recovered from his sudden appearance in her private world and tried to find words to answer him. And his question was a loaded one "Where did she come from?"
"That my lord is a long story" she finally answered.
His face barely concealed the amusement he felt at her slight discomfort. Unfortunately for Imhotep, she caught that sly, little smile that curved his full lips. Embarrassment gave way to an instant flare of temper, something Isiria was very capable of and everyone in the city of Thebes knew so.
"Does the High Priest of Osiris have nothing better to do than toy with an insignificant temple dancer? Aren't there some affairs of state or of the temple that need attending to?" she snapped hotly,her dark brown eyes flashing sparks. "It is your job to tend to the city!"
For a moment he was stunned. No one had ever spoken to him in that manner. Then he suddenly laughed out loud. "I decided to take a rest" he said with a grin.
Then seeing that did in no way appease her, he continued more seriously. "I am sorry if I insulted you in any way. I really do want to know you better....please"
The thunder clouds on her face slowly disappeared behind a bright smile. "I forgive you" she answered with a bright twinkle in her eyes.
Suddenly she felt at ease with him and enjoyed his company. Then she remembered that he was still waiting for an answer to his question.
"I really don't know exactly where I come from" she said softly.
As he raised a questioning eyebrow, she proceeded to tell him how she was found abandoned at the gates of Thebes as an infant by some soldiers of the Pharaoh. For some reason their general took a liking to the tiny child and took her home to raise her as his daughter, giving her the name 'Isiria' meaning: eternity. He had no other family so she was raised by men, and trained by her father in the martial arts of the times. He loved her like she was his own. When her father was killed in a war when she was sixteen, she found refuge in the temple of Osiris, where she first watched the dancers and then started dancing herself. She became the main dancer and the source of great pride to Thebes. "So here I am now" she concluded "and I'm very happy"
Imhotep was impressed by her story. He found himself relating to her as his equal, not a subordinate, or even a mere female. They sat in the little cove for a long time and he found that he could discuss problems with her and benefit from her comments. By the time he bid his good byes they were close friends, but he wanted to be so much more closer to her than that.
"I will see you again soon" he said in parting "and thank you"
She remained in the cove for a while after that, her mind digesting what had just happened. She had been fascinated with Imhotep after their first meeting. Now she knew the man behind the title, now she knew without a doubt that she felt something for him. Happiness flowed through very inch of her body and she ran back to the temple as fast as she could...it was time for the evening rituals and dances and she knew she would dance like never before...because love gave her the strength to fly.
*~~~Back to 1926, Abandoned Building~~~*
"I can still remember that day, when I fell in love with her and she with me, though I never knew it until it was too late" Imhotep said sadly, longing to be back there on that day with her.
"I am amazed, oh great prince, for I imagined you to be full of hatred towards her since she left you without saying anything"
Imhotep's expression changed from dreamy to that of sudden anger. Whirling around towards the small figure his eyes were flashing sparks.
"How do you know that?!" he asked furiously as he picked up the small figure up by the collar
"From the citizens, they're all talking about how Isiria is back, in fact some were telling the story about how you two and how she left Thebes the same day you killed Seti and was cursed with the Hom-Dai!" the figure said fearfully.
"I never want you to mention that ever again! in fact if you do....I will personally dispose of you!"
"No please! I promise, that I...Beni Gabor, will never mention that again! just please put me down!"
Imhotep glared at him but nonetheless let him go, allowing him to slide down the wall to his feet; the little man sighed in relief as he smoothed out his black cloak.
"I will leave tomorrow and I promise you, oh great one that Isiria will know what you want her to know" Beni said
"Make sure that she does"
*~~~Fort Brydon~~~*
"Well...I'm ready, never in my life have I seen so much blood come out of one person" Jonathan said as he buttoned up his shirt.
"I'm glad you weren't hurt, that's all I'm happy about...if you would have gotten injured or killed I would have never forgiven myself" Angela said uneasily.
"You were really worried about me?"
"Yes I was, I regret telling Lewis that you were my boyfriend, now he'll not only try to take me back to London but he'll kill you as well, I mean, you saw what he did!...why didn't I just go with him! it would have been the best solution to this problem"
"You will never go back with Lewis. I won't let him take you...let him think that I am your new boyfriend it's better that he knows you have people who are willing to defend you, so don't worry"
"I shouldn't have involved you guys, this is a very serious situation and it is one that I have to deal with alone"
"Angela, please listen to me...don't stress over it, what we need to do is take you somewhere... where you can relax, you deserve to be happy.....always. So what would you say if I took you out for a stroll tomorrow?"
"I'll think about it, Jonathan, but in the meantime I'm just going to stay here and repose...I think that will be the best thing to do for now"
"Very well, I'll be going then...and be careful, ok? if you need anything just call my name, I'll be here in a flash" Jonathan said reassuringly.
"Got it, I will try and remember that"
Jonathan smiled and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him. As he walked up to the railing he looked up at sky and smiled, never in his life had he felt something so beautiful as he did for Angela, the feeling was love. Booze, money and women were his weaknesses, but now this sentiment, this feeling was so much more different; somehow he wasn't viewing Angela with the eyes of a rogue, seeking only temporary conquest. No, he was facing the worst danger that could have ever befallen on him: a girl he could love...the only girl that could understand him, the girl of his dreams. Then his eyes lowered to the floor below him where he detected another danger: Lewis Calabar, who seemed to be following along with him as he walked down the corridor, keeping pace.
"Damn, bloody fool, what does he want?" Jonathan murmured to himself.
Walking downstairs, he made his way into the courtyard and looked around but Lewis wasn't there, turning back in the direction he had just came though he found Lewis holding a gun to his head...again.
"Hello Lewis, um, how are you?" Jonathan stuttered "Well, I suppose"
"Cut the crap Jonathan, you're Angela's new boyfriend and to be honest with you...I hate that fact, and when I hate something I get rid of it, permanently...you got that?" Lewis said furiously.
"Lewis, please, I had no idea she had a fiancé....she never told me! in fact why don't you put the gun down so we can talk in a civilized way....no blood or gore, okay?". Jonathan said nervously.
Lewis stared at him intently and slowly lowered the gun, putting it on the ground in front of him as a sign of agreement.
"Ok, let's talk....I want Angela back, give her to me and I won't do anything to you, in fact I'll pay you twenty thousand dollars, just for handing her over, how's that?"
"Twenty thousand dollars! uh, I, no I'm not giving her back to you, so go and try to bribe someone else because I won't help you"
"Very well Jonathan, you bring this down upon yourself, you and Angela will regret this day... dearly. As well as Evelyn and Angela's brother...be careful where you walk because it may be the last place you set foot on. Now of course thinking it over, Angela will be the last to die...so she can suffer while seeing you die...slowly"
"Leave her alone Lewis, I'm warning you"
"Such nobility! It warms the heart. A bit late, though, Johnny Boy. You're going to lose and I'm going to win it's that simple, and I'll enjoy my triumph when I kill you"
Suddenly the little voice in Jonathan's head screamed "Attack!". Being a cautious little voice, though, it waited until Lewis turned his back. Punching wildly, he rolled around on the floor with Lewis for less than two minutes before the more experienced fighter dealt him an efficient combination of twin blows to the jaw and abdomen, that left Jonathan curled up on the floor in a shrimp-like position, clinging to consciousness, clutching his stomach, and thinking that it simply wasn't fair to be feeling this horrible without the benefit of getting drunk beforehand. Rising to his feet and dusting off his shirt and slacks, Lewis rubbed his chin and contemplated Jonathan. The little wretch had turned out to be something of a surprise....he hated surprises. After Lewis had walked away into the darkness, Jonathan heard footsteps coming towards him.
"Jonathan! oh god in heaven!" someone shouted.
Looking up at the sky he found himself looking into Evelyn's worried eyes. "Oh dear, who did this to you? how many attacked you?"
Jonathan only smiled "I love you Angela! Do you love me?" he said deliriously.
Evelyn's eyes went wide and even more so when she looked behind herself and found Rick looking down on them.
"What did he say?" Rick asked somewhat shocked
"He said 'I love you Angela, do you love me?' "
Rick went cold "Come on let's take him upstairs and get him fixed up" he said as he hoisted Jonathan onto his shoulder. "Both him and Angela are in serious trouble"
"I love you Angela!" Jonathan kept repeating over and over, much to Rick's annoyance.
"Who could have done this?" Evelyn asked uneasily. "He's not drunk and he didn't have any money with him, so it must have been someone he knew"
"Yeah, someone like Lewis Calabar, that son of bitch is going to pay for this, when I see him I'll make sure to take him out, what makes him think he has the right to rule over my sister's life?"
Walking into their quarters they set Jonathan on the bed.
"Rick, please we have to be careful with Lewis, you saw what he did to Angela, and now Jonathan, what makes you think you can beat him?....he has henchmen if you haven't noticed"
"And? I can beat them, I mean come on we fought against the Med-Jai and we won all the fights...what makes you think this will be any different?"
Evelyn didn't answer instead she picked up the book and looked at the drawing of Isiria, she indeed looked like Angela, it was odd, but true. Isiria was indeed beautiful, Evelyn couldn't deny that either, but why had she left Thebes? Could it be that Imhotep was her love and she couldn't stand to see him with Anck-Su-Namun?
"So what are you thinking about?" Rick suddenly asked, breaking her out of her revery.
"I was thinking about Isiria, and how people say that she looks like Angela, it's odd but she does look like Isiria and Imhotep has a love of some sort for her.. it's romantic in an eerie way, yet Angela has no memories of being Isiria"
"That's because she isn't Isiria"
"Part of her must be Isiria, and no matter what we say Rick, Angela is connected in some way at least to her, that is why Imhotep loves her and there is a greater chance that she loves him as well"
"No, she's not Isiria, and there is no way in hell he's getting near my sister"
Suddenly there was low moan coming from the bedroom. Rick and Evelyn looked at each other in shock... Jonathan was in there! Rushing in they found him tossing and turning in the bed muttering something. Walking closer, Rick stood by him and looked down curiously at him.
"Angela, I love you, will you marry me?" Jonathan suddenly said. "Come back don't leave....I love you"
Rick stepped back and glanced over at Evelyn who stared back at him. Pointing at Jonathan, Rick glared.
"and I'm not leaving him and my sister alone in the same room. Jonathan is planning to get Angela to be his girl...he has never taken anyone seriously, so there is positively no way I'm letting them get together...my sister doesn't deserve to suffer more than she already is" Rick said sternly.
"Please Rick, Jonathan is just delirious, he took some serious bashing down there, there is a chance he got hit in the head so maybe he's just seeing imaginary things of a sort, why don't I talk to him later on, ok? then I'll confirm if he in reality is in love with Angela" Evelyn responded softly.
Rick nodded and walked out of the room, Evelyn sat next to Jonathan and gently caressed his head. "Oh Jonathan, wake up, please, wake up soon" she thought.
He stirred a bit then slowly fell back into sleep, much to her dismay. Finally standing up, she walked out of the bedroom and sat down on the small sofa that was in the next room. This time around, things were going to get a whole lot more hectic...even more because this time mind, magic, love, past and understanding combined into one. Mix substances and you are likely to encounter a reaction unlike any you've ever seen.
"God help us all" Evelyn thought as she fell asleep...."God help us all"
The sun was now above the horizon and slowly lowering itself, creating hints of blue, purple and gold. It appeared to be a scene taken out of a Friedrich Painting. The flaming crimson ball that was the setting sun once more threw streaks of red and purple across the city, until the eerie haze of dusk banished the silhouettes from view, the furnace of the day shut off, suddenly and coolness descended, at first crisp then downright cold.
Nights star-studded sapphire shroud now fell upon Cairo, moonlight painting the walls of the fort, a chalky ivory. Rick had been out all afternoon looking for Lewis, but to no avail. It seemed as if the ground had sucked him up...he was hoping it did. It was 8:02pm as he checked his watch. Walking up the stairs, he suddenly noticed Angela sitting on the rail of the hallway, looking up at the stars, from his angle and distance it appeared she was murmuring something or singing, he wasn't quite sure. Walking closer, he saw her eyes closed and she was singing a song, but not in English but in Ancient Egyptian!!! It was a sort of love song, even though he couldn't understand, Rick could tell by the tone of her voice.
It was eerie in a way, she seemed to become a different person. She leaned back and sighed adoringly, softly speaking in a whisper..."Imhotep, my love come back to me, I want to be in your arms once more"
Rick's eyes went wide and acting on instinct turned around and tried to run to get Evelyn, but instead tripped on his own feet and landed on the floor with a slam, knocking a chair down with him. Meanwhile Angela had been torn out of fantasy by the noise and fell off the railing to the floor behind her, landing with a shrieking thud.
Sitting up slowly she found herself sitting across from Rick who was rubbing his head in pain and silently cursing.
"Rick! what the hell were you doing?! good god bro! talk, do please talk when you see me alone...at least that way I won't be scared out of my mind and have a heart attack in the process!" Angela said angrily.
"You were too busy singing to hear me at all...so what were you singing, Angela? perhaps a love song of some sort?" Rick asked sternly, as he stood up and helped Angela to her feet.
"Uh, oh! that song uh, no, it wasn't a love song...it was a uh, lullaby! yes it was an Egyptian lullaby. I was trying to relax a bit and I thought that maybe that, uh, would work"
"Angela, let me get this straight you were singing a lullaby and then you just happen to mention Imhotep after you sang it, and what the hell do you mean by wanting to be in his arms once more? you didn't think of going farther with him did you?" Rick said harshly.
Without warning Angela slapped him twice, hard enough to get the attention of some soldiers down below. They stared at both Angela and Rick who just looked at them with guilty eyes, well Rick at least.
"Everything is all right men, nothing to worry about" Rick said as he rubbed his face "Just some brother/sister arguing that's all"
The soldiers looked at one another then at Rick, and they shrugged and walked away. When Rick turned back, Angela was already storming down the hallway.
"Where do you think you're going!?". Rick shouted as he ran after her... "Come back here!"
Opening the door to her quarters, Angela turned and glared at him saying sarcastically "Yeah, I'm sure!"
"Wait!"
"I'm going to bed!" she shouted and slammed the door just in time for Rick to crash into it with a slam.
"God! what is it with people and shutting the door on me!" he thought as he straightened himself up and walked back to his quarters. "We're definitely talking about this tomorrow!"
Having his sister back was nice, the arguments though had to change, especially because it wasn't everyday you were going to argue with your sister about a three thousand year old high priest of Osiris who was bent on destroying the world and was deeply infatuated with her... yes, things needed to change no matter how drastic the measures were. As night went on everyone went to sleep, and the fort was silent, peace set in and nothing stirred...this was as tranquil as it was ever going to get.
*~~~The Kasbah~~~*
"Bartender! another drink if you please!" David shouted drunkenly.
The bartender immediately served his drink and handed it to David. Although it was later the kasbah remained open. David was alone in the bar drinking himself away...the news of the destruction and loss of the artifacts was too much for him to bare and Angela! where was she?
"Angela must have gone back to London with Lewis and then they'll be married in a few days... what the hell is the worlds problem!?" he shouted loudly "Why doesn't it just end!"
"Oh will you shut up!" a voice shouted back
Quickly turning around David found himself face to face with Lewis! and from the look on his face it appeared that he was completely distraught.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't Lewis Calabar, so what happened? did Angela finally make the right choice and break up with you!" David said sarcastically.
Lewis glared at him, walking towards him as he did and said "Well, David...that's what you would like to hear, now wouldn't you? for your information she hasn't ...I'll take her back to London, you just wait"
"Calabar, you're pathetic, how can you expect Angela to love you if you're always acting like an ass, come on! both of us know, anyway, that she hates you and that she'll gladly put up a fight before she ever goes with you"
"I've thought about that, my men can settle her down"
David suddenly burst out laughing hysterically: "Ha! you're men, you see... you can't even control her yourself... you're so weak...oh and another thing, Lewis, don't think that no one has noticed the fact that you've never loved Angela at all, all you love is her fortune...admit it! you're nothing but a weak, scheming, frightened... bastard"
Without another word Lewis punched him in the jaw, knocking the drunken guy to the floor, where he landed with a loud crash.
"and what are you? nothing but a drunken fool who has another so-called crush on my fiancée!"
"Your ex-fiancée, Lewis....your ex, so where is she? by the way? from the looks of you it seems that you've already found her" David said as he stood up and rubbed his jaw.
"And what if I did? I wouldn't tell you"
"Well, let's see for one I would hate to have to lose the artifacts from the dig which you and your very beautiful ex-fiancée have, you both could be accused of stealing them...or worse you could bring down a curse of some sort upon you both"
Lewis sat down and sighed "What do you mean a curse? what kind of a curse? and you wouldn't dare accuse us of stealing"
"Oh but I would, and as for the curse well let me just say that one of your men or maybe even Angela herself have in their possession the artifacts which I so desire and which everyone in this measly world fears"
"What are they?" Lewis asked inquisitively
"A book and a necklace...those are the things I want"
"Wait a second, is the necklace a gold one that's in the form of a winged Isis and on the back it has sacred writing?"
"Yeah, why? do you know who has it?"
"In fact I do...it's Angela who last had it and I'm sure she kept it, though I'm not sure about any other artifacts that we got back at the dig... I mean I only saw her outside in a garden, I wasn't with her in certain room"
"Tell me where she is at, Lewis, and I promise you that you won't regret it, just tell me where she is and I'll hand her over to you in exchange for what artifacts she has....what do you think?"
Lewis stared at him for a while and stood up. "Very well David, I'll tell you, but be very careful in betraying me, because believe me you will regret it if you ever do"
Shaking hands in partnership, they smiled at one another and once again sat down for another drink.
"Angela is here in the fort somewhere...I found her this afternoon, and she's well accompanied from what I saw....and experienced"
"Well thank you, Lewis, and about the company I'm sure I can deal with them.....Angela won't know what hit her and I assure you tomorrow I'll find her and you'll have her back in your hands once more"
Toasting, they laughed wickedly and drank up their whisky....their laughter echoing throughout the fort like that of two preying hyenas hunting in the dark African savannas for the innocent ethereal prey that lay fast asleep in it's den of tranquility.
Chapter 11...
*~~~Fort Brydon~~~*
As the sun rose up over the pyramids of Giza it cast a large beam of light in the shudders creating a step-like image of hazy, light and dust. Angela awoke to find herself engulfed in the of the room, it was blinding, enough to make her cover her face with her blanket.
"Ah, you're finally awake!" Jonathan said happily "Good Morning!"
"Yes, Jonathan I'm awake, good morning and oh dear god!!! what happened to you?!" Angela said softly but changing her tone of voice to a frantic question.
She got out of bed and walked up to him and examined his face. The bruises on Jonathan's jaw were black, blue and orange, like a rare, exotic, tropical-blossom.
"Think nothing of it, Angela....it was just a fall I had yesterday" Jonathan said cheerfully. "This happens all the time"
"What? so you fell off of the stairs? cause other than that I don't think you'd have bruises on your cheeks and jaw... Jonathan, what really happened? Did one of Lewis' men attack you?"
"No, don't worry about it, ok so I did get attacked, but it wasn't anyone I knew and oh look it's 8:03 I think we should get ready"
"Fine, I can take a hint, if you don't want to talk about it then I'm going outside" Angela said
Jonathan sat down and smiled as he watched her walk over to the balcony and go outside...
"What a beautiful day, Jonathan! come out here and take a look!" she called out.
The day indeed had turned out to be beautiful, not a cloud in the sky, the cool morning breeze rustling the plants and the sound of the swallows chirping up above was utterly relaxing. Down below everyone was walking in and out of the fort, talking, the soldiers were all at their posts and the animals were being fed.
"I'm here, wow it is a nice day, and adding you to the picture makes the day seem dull, you out shine it in every way" Jonathan said softly.
Angela blushed and looked up at the blue sky, smiling to herself then at Jonathan. "Are you always full of flattering comments?" she asked "because I could get use to this".
"Only when I truly care about someone, other than that count me out of the compliment circle"
"Oh really? well thank you for caring about me, I really care about you too...and since you kind of brought it up... what are the plans for today?"
"Hmm, well lets see I'd have to say....anything you want to do, I mean, if Rick and Evie don't already have plans of some sort". Jonathan said. "Oh and uh, I wanted to ask you something, but I need you to promise me that you won't get mad"
"Ok, I promise, just ask"
"Um, well, I wanted to ask you about Imhotep, what do you feel for him? how come you aren't afraid of him? he kills, he destroys, he's evil"
"No Jonathan, he's not evil, he's a kind person, you just have to get to know him...he doesn't kill because he wants to, he kills because of the curse of the Hom-Dai...and also because people make him mad, but that's it, and I, I don't know what I think about him, he's incredibly handsome and has great body...uh not that I would know, but I'm guessing he does....to tell you the truth I don't know what I feel for him" Angela said skittishly.
"You don't know? well I guess you would totally find that out for yourself" Jonathan said softly
"Ya I guess, the things is, Jonathan...that whenever he kissed me I felt this incredible surge of energy inside of me, it was a feeling I've never experienced...I felt like I knew him and I craved his kisses as much as much as he craved mine...our bodies seemed to know each other and I actually enjoyed his company...yet I'm confused at all of this, oh god what am I really feeling...do I love him or not?" Angela said anxiously.
Jonathan looked away holding back tears, he was completely brokenhearted after what he had heard. Each of Angela's words drove a dagger into his heart, until nothing was left but bleeding shreds. He watched the passion and tenderness in her face as she spoke and he hated it. He kept his composure as he stared at her sadly, closing his eyes as if that would help him shut out her words.... Jonathan hadn't felt his heart so heavy since the day his parents had died.
"I'm happy for you, and I'm sure you'll figure out what you feel for him sooner or later" he said, trying to conceal his sadness. "Let's just hope you make the right decision"
"Thank you and I assure you that I will try and make the right choice" Angela said. "Jonathan, why don't you have a girlfriend? frankly I'm amazed...you're such a sweet, humorous guys that I think any girl would like to be your girlfriend"
Jonathan looked away at a pair of swallows that were chirping away, singing their lovely songs and sighed "The girl I want is already taken by someone else...I doubt she'll ever notice me....what good is being humorous and sweet, if the girl you like doesn't love you back" Angela turned him towards her and caressed his cheek gently, causing him to shiver slightly.
"You have to show her how much you love her then, prove to her that you are the one that she's been looking for and most importantly let your heart tell you what to do...that works, I assure you that she'll notice you in no time" she said with a soft smile.
"I will, I'll try...I promise" he said.
With that he hugged her tightly not wanting to let go of her. Resting her head on his shoulder, she sighed and closed her eyes.
"Oh Jonathan, you're the best, sooner or later you'll see, that girl you love will come to you and I bet you that she'll regret not having have noticed you sooner"
"I hope so Angela, I hope so" Jonathan said as he softly ran his hand up and up and down her back.
Parting, Angela smiled at him and looked down at the garden, where she could see Christian reading by himself.
"Hey didn't you say you were going to take me out for a stroll?"
"Yes Angela, and now I suggest you get ready, I'll wait here"
As she turned to walk inside she found Rick standing in the doorway of the balcony, stern look on his face that caused her to jump abruptly.
"So you two are going out for a stroll? well would you mind if Evelyn and I went along with you?" Rick asked. "I couldn't help but hear your conversation"
Before Jonathan could answer, Angela nodded. "Of course you can come with us, the more the merrier! We'd be delighted! wouldn't we Jonathan?"
She looked at Jonathan who seemed distant as he looked at Rick. Rick on the other hand smiled at him and Angela brightly.
"Well, Jonathan, is it ok with you?" Rick asked insistently.
"Uh yes, yes it's okay, the more the merrier" Jonathan said uneasily.
"Well, if you'll excuse me, I'll leave you two alone to talk...I'll be right back" Angela said as she hugged Rick and walked back inside.
Rick watched her go and when he saw her shut the bedroom door, he turned towards Jonathan with a grim look on his face.
"So where were you planning on taking her?" Rick asked. "Any place I know"
"On a boat trip down the Nile...then to Luxor...why?" Jonathan asked..."It's not bad, is it?"
"Well, it sounds fun, but what else? were you planning on telling her that you're in love with her?" Rick asked suddenly, catching Jonathan off guard.
"Uh, what!, no, no I wasn't planning such a crazy thing like that! why would I do such a thing! I mean what makes you think I love Angela?!" Jonathan stuttered nervously.
"Hmm? Let me think, perhaps it was yesterday after Lewis beat the living daylights out of you! don't deny it Jonathan, you're in love with my sister"
Jonathan stared at him with wide eyes and shook his head. "I don't know what you're talking about, O'Connell"
"You know perfectly well what I'm talking about"
"Okay O'Connell, if it'll make you feel any better I do! I do love your sister with all my heart! and I would do anything possible to make her happy... I would go to the darkest regions of hell if I had to help her out...because I love her!"
"I'm not leaving you one second alone with her"
"But O'Connell! why are you acting like this!"
"First of all I care a lot about my sister and I don't want to see her suffer because of you, and Secondly you haven't changed at bit...and that's the main factor, lastly, well...I can't think of that right now, but I will and I'll tell you when I do"
"O'Connell, I've changed! I haven't had one drink since she's arrived! ok, so it's only been four days, but I plan on not drinking any more...as for poker, gambling and lying...I swear I haven't done any of it! and frankly I've done it all for her!"
"You've done what for who?" Angela suddenly appeared, causing Jonathan to jump.
"Uh, I've uh always stood up for Evie, even if I'm not the best at fighting" Jonathan smiled slightly.
"Oh, well that's good, you're a good brother, Jonathan" she said kindly.."So if we have nothing left to do then let's get going"
"Why don't you go and get Evelyn and we'll meet you down at the car" Rick said."Jonathan and I have a bit of conversing to do anyway"
"OK, see you down there" she said as she turned and walked out of the quarters into the hallway.
"Now you and I are going to talk" Rick said seriously to Jonathan, who only looked at him uneasily.
Down the hallway Angela was knocking on Evelyn's door. "Evelyn! Hey Evelyn are you there?" she called out. "Are you OK in there?"
No answer ..."Hmmmm? I wonder where she could be?" she thought, pausing for a moment, "If I were Evelyn.. where would I be? Oh wait!!! I'd be in a library!"
Running downstairs she grabbed an apple off of a fruit tray that a soldier was carrying and she ran into the fort library. Sure enough Evelyn was there reading and doing some kind of research. Always in the books, never into looks... Angela thought as she took a bite of her apple and walked closer to her.
"Hey Evelyn, don't want to bother you but, Rick says that we're going now...oh!!! what are you doing?"
Evelyn looked up and signaled her to sit down. "Angela, how many times have you seen Imhotep?" she asked "It's important that you tell me the truth"
"Uh ok, um I've seen him uh, three times" Angela replied as she looked away.
"OK, so then that leaves seven plagues left to go" Evelyn murmured.
"Come on Evelyn, we can't be late" Angela said suddenly, as she yanked Evelyn off of the couch and out the door. "We can talk about this later"
"But we need to-" Evelyn tried to say.
"What we need to do is have fun and today we are doing so...if something comes up then we can start researching and stuff, now hurry up!!! we don't have all day!"
*~~~Small Cafe, El-Sayed...a block from Hotel~~~*
"So what's the plan?" Vinnie asked curiously as he took a drink of his hot English tea.
"The plan ,Vinnie is to go to Fort Brydon and get Angela, but you and I aren't going to even try because of various reasons but David can go, he's the only one that has absolutely no problems with The Carnarvons and Angela's brother"
"I see, so David goes and tries to gain Angela's trust and friendship and when she least expects it, we'll strike" Vinnie said
"Exactly, David is on his way there as we speak, Step one is put into place and I guarantee it will work...Angela's fortune will be mine"
"Granted Angela doesn't find out what his intentions really are, we're done for if she finds out"
"She won't, Vinnie, Angela is a sucker for nice guys.. she'll fall into our trap quicker than you'll realize"
"In the meantime though, what do we do?"
"I'm curious about those artifacts that Angela has in her possession. Why don't we pay that curator, Hanan...a visit I'm sure he'll tell us what they are and what's so special about them"
"Fine with me, Lewis...why don't we go now"
"Let's do so, if they are of any value I won't give them to David... lets just say that this will be a two for one deal, I'll be twice as wealthy and have a beautiful woman by my side...ah David won't know what hit him"
With that they shared grins and toasted to a bright and happy future...a bright, happy, and very uncertain future.
*~~~Fort Brydon~~~*
"OK we're here, so where to?" Angela asked as she looked around anxiously.
"How about we go to Giza Port and catch a boat, the weather is perfect for a fun trip down the Nile". Evelyn replied
"Well then Giza Port it is" Rick said "Ok Jonathan, you drive...we're off to Giza Port"
Within seconds they were speeding down the streets of Cairo in the Dusenberg Convertible, Jonathan behind the wheel, honking the horn to clear the path of slow traffic. Angela sat in the back seat, while Evelyn sat in front somewhat squeezed between Rick and Jonathan. Closing her eyes Angela sighed and slowly fell into dreamland , the sounds of the world fading away in the distance of her mind. Suddenly the car braked, causing her to open her eyes, where she found herself looking at a bazaar, full of people trading and arguing about how much some thing cost.
"Uh, where are we?" she asked curiously.
"O'Connell and Evie decided to get a few things for the trip, you know the basic stuff, like food and other supplies you may need for a picnic" Jonathan replied as he looked around at the tumultuous chaos of people.
"Oh ok, well while they're doing that...I'm going to explore a bit" she said..."I won't take long"
Hopping out of the car, she walked across the narrow street to where more merchants were selling trinkets, figs, dates and many other exotic spices. While looking at some of the trinkets, she felt a slight tug at her dress. As she looked down she saw a young boy of about 10 looking up at her innocently.
"Oh!! where did you come from?" she asked in Hebrew. "How can I help you?"
"Please, I must quickly tell you that a man wishes to speak with you...he is around that corner and he says that it is very urgent that he have a word with you" the boy replied uneasily, in the same language.
"Who is he?"
"I do not know, miss, he did not show his face, he is all covered up" the boy answered. "and now I must go"
"No wait!!" Angela called out, but it was too late...the boy was gone in a flash.
Returning her attention to the alleyway the boy had pointed out to her, she slowly walked towards it, stopping suddenly wondering if it indeed was the right thing to do. Curiosity always got the best of her and she continued towards it. As she got close though, a hand reached out from behind the wall and grabbed her, covering her mouth in the process.
"Where is Angela?" Rick asked, as he put some small baskets of fruit and bread into the trunk of the car.
"She said she was going to take a look around". Jonathan replied
"Oh Rick, don't worry, I'm sure she got caught up in the hustle and bustle of the trade bazaar or something, she'll be here any moment now" Evelyn said reassuringly.
At that very moment Angela found herself looking into the eyes of her worst nightmare...a corpse, skin sickly gray, but clearly with the strength to hold her tightly against the wall. To her it was as if hell had sent one of it's best soldiers to wage war and chaos in the world of the living.
"You must be Isiria" the figure said slyly.
Angela only stared at him in horror, unable to move an inch.
"My master told me so much about you"
Angela tried to calm down and speak but could only mumble under the decaying hand. The corpse removed it's hand from her mouth and let her speak.
"You speak English?" the shocked young woman asked
"Yes" replied the corpse "I speak English"
He looked her up and down and smiled (and Angela never recalled seeing such a nasty smile)
"Who are you?" she asked, horrified at the sight.
"That is not important, I came looking for you because my master Imhotep had sent me to find you and to tell you that he loves you and that he wishes to see you again, but this time without any interruptions"
"Uh,ok...anything else?" Angela asked nervously.
"Oh! and he wanted me to give you this" the corpse said, taking out a ring with an emerald scarab on it. "He says that with time you shall remember and recognize what it means"
Cautiously, Angela took it out of his hand and slipped it on...wow it was beautiful indeed.
"Now I must go, but remember to meet him...he will be waiting for you in the same place as always"
"Where?"
"Where else? your quarters at Fort Brydon"
Angela quickly turned and walked out of the alleyway suddenly realizing that Rick and the rest of the gang was waiting for her. Sure enough as she looked in their direction across the street...she saw all three waiting in the car.
"Angela! come on or we'll miss the boat!!" Rick called out to her.
"Coming, Rick!!!" Angela called back..."Hold on a sec!"
She ran across the street and jumped into the backseat. "Sorry I took so long, something got my attention"
"Well, what kept you?" Rick asked
"Um, well I was trying to do a bit of shopping back at the bazaar, you know how it gets there, all crowded and stuff...once you buy something from someone, everyone literally ambushes you with more stuff asking you to buy it as well!!"
"Well, from the looks of it, it seems that you bought something" Rick said, pointing to the ring on her right index finger.
"Oh this! yes I did buy this there I fell in love with it when I first saw it on the stand...isn't it beautiful"
"My god this must have cost you a fortune, being an emerald and all, plus it's pure gold!! how did you afford it!"
"Uh, well you see I had a bit of cash stashed up and I decided to buy myself something"
"Hey Angela, you told me you didn't have any money" Jonathan said suddenly.
"I know, but at that time I hardly knew you...so I wasn't about to tell that I had money" Angela said.
"OK, OK enough arguing let's go" Rick said carelessly.
Jonathan shrugged and stepped on the gas pedal, sending the car into the street.. saying as he did... "Giza Port here we come!!"
"So that girl knows Rick I can't believe this...it's perfect, Rick and his friends all here.. and oh how they'll pay for leaving me in Hamunaptra" Beni said to himself, as he peered out from the alleyway. "Because of them I ended up like this...they will pay...though I still wonder what is she doing with them?.. I wonder"
Without another thought he slowly disintegrated himself into nothing but sand letting the wind carry him away.
*~~~Fort Brydon~~~*
"What!!!! so you're telling me that they left early this morning!" David shouted angrily.
"Yes sir, the Carnarvons and the O'Connells have left for today...I don't know where but I saw them leave in the Dusenberg" a young cadet said... "about an hour or so ago"
"When they come, please notify me, OK? I would very much appreciate it" David said giving the cadet his card and the hotel phone number.
"OK sir, I will try to notify you as soon as possible"
"See that you do" David said
Without another word he shook hands with the cadet and walked out of the fort, pausing only a moment.
"Where could they have gone to?" he thought.
*~~~Giza Port~~~*
The Nile with it's two, large branches: the Blue and the White...was the longest river in the world and the only one that the group had ever heard of that flowed up north. Under the hot, dry midday sun, the Nile lay like a bolt of shimmering silk a few shades deeper than the nearby cloudless sky, spiked by he pyramids across the sky. On the rivers placid surface, graceful little boats glided, carrying passengers and cargo, sails spread like the white wings of a dove. The peacefulness of this view was negated by the bustle of the two adjoining docks of the all busy, yet interesting Giza Port, where both tourist and explorers were pushing through the multitude of turbaned men and women in their shawls and nightshirt-like robes, hawkers peddling King Tut stuff and beggars asking people to give them what they could spare.
Getting out of the car, Rick and Jonathan carried the baskets out of the trunk and put them down on the floor by the car.
"Wow this is so interesting!!..just imagine, I can't believe this! I'm actually here.. in Giza Port!" Angela said happily.
"Nothing to be excited about here sis, believe me the fun is on the boat, just wait" Rick said.
"I know, but I mean, I've never been here and this is all like a dream" she replied.
"I understand" Rick answered. Hearing the horn blow on the steamer he picked the baskets and said "OK, well that's our signal, we better get on or they'll leave without us"
Jonathan picked up the rest of the small supply bags and walked to the steamer with Rick and Angela. Evelyn slowly walked behind them, her mind still seeing the image of Angela's ring...it was very pretty yet something about it wasn't right, a ring such as that was priceless and was never sold to any one, which made her wonder more about it.
The steamer had a glorified passenger barge with two decks, the lower one having a bar, thirty cabins and a parlor, the upper one was an open area arranged with chairs and small tables under the sun so passengers could watch the green and tan scenery glide by. The ship slowly pulled out after everyone had gotten on board.
Angela sat down and looked at the river just as Jonathan set his stuff down by her.
"Isn't it beautiful" she asked.
"Very" Jonathan said, suddenly catching the attention of Rick who managed to see him staring at Angela.
O'Connell stood at the rail about five feet from Jonathan and watched the sun stare back at itself from the surface of the iridescent Nile, the desert on either bank, a smooth tan. Moments like these reminded him why he had left his aunt's house in New York and especially his home in Chicago and gone looking for adventure and thrill. They also reminded him about how much he had missed his sister and fought to stay by her side.
"Rick, what are you thinking about?" Angela finally asked, breaking him out of concentration.
Rick turned to face her and smiled "Just thinking how great it is to have you back, that's all"
Angela smiled slightly and stood up, walking over to him. As she put her arm around his shoulder she leaned on him.
"I'm glad to have you back too" she said..."I love you"
"Um, sorry for the interruption, but where's Evie?" Jonathan asked.
Everyone looked at each other questionably, as if asking each other only with their eyes.. Where was Evelyn?.
"I'm sure she must be taking a good look at the ship, and if there is a library on board then I'm sure she's there" Angela said, pausing for a moment..."Isn't she?"
"Well, I'll go look for her" Jonathan said anxiously. "Maybe she felt sick or something"
"All right, catch you later!" Angela called out as Jonathan walked away.
"OK Angela! catch you later!"..Jonathan called out as rounded the corner.
Angela turned to face the railing by Rick and asked "So where do you think Evelyn can be? I mean she couldn't have gone far.. what do you think?"
"I don't know. I just hope nothing is wrong"
"Yeah, me too...well we'll know as soon as Jonathan comes back"
The desert breeze wasn't just warm, but hot, which made it for a typical day in Egypt and Jonathan discovered that Evelyn had the lower deck to herself. The sun was so bright and Evie was sitting beside a wicker table where her cup of water rested, she was lost in thought. He tapped her shoulder and she jumped, startled.
He sat down at a chair across from her. "Sorry, I didn't mean to bother you"
"Don't worry about it" Evelyn responded.
"So what were you thinking about?"
"Well Jonathan, I was thinking about that ring Angela has...it is a beautiful piece of jewelry and all but there is no way that she could have gotten that at the bazaar and for only a couple hundred dollars"
"Well, where do you think she got it from?" Jonathan asked curiously.
"I don't know but I have a big feeling that it wasn't from the bazaar"
"Oh Evelyn it's only your mind playing games with you, you're still paranoid over Imhotep and Hamunaptra...there is no way that Angela has ties with them...ok other than me seeing him with her, but maybe he was trying to hurt her! so the ring can't be anything bad"
"No, something honestly tells me that Angela is hiding something from us".
Arching an eyebrow, peering over his shoulder to make sure no one was around, Jonathan asked.... "So what do you think she's hiding?"
"I'm not sure, but whenever I speak about Imhotep or the plagues she gets restive, ever since the day I showed her the picture of Isiria"
"Well maybe she fears him and prefers not to talk about something she's afraid of...but I suppose certain precautions are necessary"
"We have to find out what is wrong with her and we must solve this problem with Imhotep once and for all...we can't just have him running around killing innocent people and developing infatuations with every woman that he sees"
"Yes you're right, dear sis....you're right"
*~~~Cairo Museum of Antiquities~~~*
Seated behind his desk in his neatly organized cubbyhole office, Hanan, was using a jewelers eyepiece as he examined a small bracelet dated back to the New Kingdom, sighing he put it down and leaned back in his chair.
All of a sudden the door swung open and in stepped Vinnie and another young man that Hanan had never seen before. Closing the door behind him, Vinnie smiled and sat down on a small couch and said....."My friend would like to have a word with you, if you don't mind"
"Not at all, please sit down" Hanan said as he signaled Lewis to sit.
"Mr. Dmoen, my name is Lewis Calabar and well, I'm here to speak to you about the artifacts that my fiancée, Angela O'Connell, has in her possession, a person has informed me that they are things that can cause end of the world if ever used unwisely, what are they? If I may know" Lewis asked inquisitively.
Hanan seemed rather shaken all of a sudden by Lewis' statement, but only for a moment. He smiled and laughed, shaking his head.
"My dear boy, whoever told you such a thing?" Hanan asked. "I'm surprised at you, you seem like a very intelligent, young man, What ever they told you were lies and myths...normally stories here in Cairo are just told by people to amuse Greek and Roman tourists"
"Lets not confuse the myth of Hamunaptra, doctor, after all it turned out to be real, I should know...I was there".
"OK fine, from what your friend has told me, so was your fiancée, it appears she has a few things we want back" Hanan said sternly.
"We? As in who?" Vinnie suddenly asked.
"The people at the museum of course and my good friend, Ardeth Bay" Hanan answered.
"I want to know what they are, you see, I do not want to be responsible for the end of the civilization, in fact all I want is my fiancée, so we can finally be married...that's all"
"Your fiancée has the Book of the Dead and the key which opens it, so far we know that, that is all she has in her possession. She has released a demon from the depths of hell that will destroy us all in a matter of time if not stopped....the book contains all the spells of the Old Kingdom, that is why we want it back...so that it does not fall once again into the wrong hands"
Lewis smiled slightly and turned towards Vinnie..."So then what you said was true?" he asked.
"Yes, everything" Vinnie answered.
Turning back towards Hanan, Lewis said calmly "Well then I'm willing to help you, I know where she is and I have sent someone she trusts to see her, I am sure she will gladly hand over the artifacts without hesitance"
"Well, Mr. Calabar don't be too confident, you see she's already proven twice that she does not want to have anything to do with us...which in turn may mean that she isn't willing to give us those things without a fight" Hanan answered earnestly.
"Hanan, we guarantee you'll have the book here on your desk sooner than you expect" Vinnie said confidently.
"Let us hope so because if we don't get the book here and the creature gets possession of it we are all doomed to a fiery and very painful death...if he doesn't and your fiancée is unwilling to give to us still we will have no choice but to get rid of her"
"Well with that said we must be going now" Lewis said, standing up as he did. "and thank you once again, without that information we may have never known how dangerous those things are, good bye"
"Good bye Mr. Calabar, and may Allah watch over you both...you will need his guidance" Hanan said, his voice trailing off at mid-sentence.
Lewis nodded and both he and Vinnie walked out of his office, shutting the door softly as they did.
"So do you think that those things are worthless now, Lewis?". Vinnie asked.
"No, in fact a thought just sprung into my head...David wants to be an all powerful tyrant, he'll get that power if the book is in his hands, he'll kill any who try to stop him in the process and get Angela as well....damn bastard"
"What do you plan on doing?"
"I'm not giving him the book, like I said...as soon as Angela is in my possession I shall take the Book to a dealer and get a good amount of money for it, that's all, now lets go and whatever you do don't mention any of this to David"
"Don't worry Lewis, I won't say anything"
They put their coats on and walked out of the museum...suddenly fear was something common in their minds....and that led to much more dangerous things.
Chapter 12...
*~~~The steamer, Tigris~~~*
"How long until we arrive in Luxor?" Angela asked.
"We'll be there in another day in a half or so, god Jonathan is taking awhile in finding Evelyn, I wonder what's the matter with her" Rick said uneasily.
"Rick, Jonathan just must be talking to her somewhere, who know? I'm sure he'll show up with her sooner or later"
"Yeah, well I guess we should just wait a little longer"
"Well, while we're at it, why don't we see if we can throw these pebbles far enough like we use to back in Lake Michigan? It'll bring back old memories" Angela said, as she took out a handful of small pebbles that she had in her pocket.
"Where did you get those?" Rick asked curiously.
"Funny you should ask....I got them back in London, I would usually use them to aim at Lewis' head whenever he got on my nerves....these are what I had left"
"Well then, hand some of those over...you know I can beat you at this"
"Oh really!! lets see you try then, Rick"
Rick took a pebble and threw it as far away as he could, it landed about half way between the boat and the river bank. He turned back to face Angela and smiled confidently.
"Let's see you throw it farther" he said mockingly.
"Ok here goes" Angela said as she backed up. Thrusting forward, the pebble went flying out landing with a small splash just ahead of where Rick's had landed.
"So who's the good one now" she asked with a grin.
"Ok big shot, two more rounds and we'll see who wins"
"Fine but you know I'm going to beat you"
"Oh yeah I'm sure, Angela....keep dreaming"
"Well here then let's see you throw it"
"Ok, you're on"
As wound up for the throw he noticed suddenly that Angela was staring out into the river with a look of astonishment on her face...or was it fear?
"Uh Angela, I haven't thrown it yet" he said
"I know, Rick come here, take a look at this"
Rick slipped the pebble in his pocket and walked over to the railing where Angela was standing and he paused to look at her.
"What is it" he asked "What has you so damn spooked"
Angela stared out and didn't answer she only pointed to the edge of the river. Rick looked in the direction of the river and stared out, suddenly staggering back as he held on to Angela's arm. The river was slowly turning to blood, the blood appeared to be seeping slowly as it drifted all throughout the river...filling it in a matter of minutes. A sick feeling clenched Rick's stomach, not nausea of the sight of blood all around the water, but the realization that if one those plagues was here then...
"He's gotta be here"
"Who?" Angela asked in shock.
"Your three thousand year old buddy, that's who"
"Then that's honestly....blood"
"Yes, oh my god...it can't be"
"The rivers and waters of Egypt ran red.... and were as...blood" Angela said solemnly
"Damn it!!!!" Rick growled as he backed away. "We have to find Evelyn and Jonathan before that damn mummy does"
As they ran down the corridor into what was a sunny afternoon, they found people standing on the rails, gathering in bunches, murmuring in wonder at this sudden change in the color of the river. Running down the stair case leading to the cabins they both spotted a spooked Evelyn walking towards them with her purse in one hand and a book in the other, Jonathan tagging along, staying as close as possible.
"Rick, what is going on?" Evelyn asked "Has anyone been killed? Is Imhotep around?"
"I don't know where he is!!! but what I do know is that if we don't get out of sight we're all in grave danger" Rick answered.
"Uh, hate to add another gram to the already unbalanced scale but what the hell are those horrible things?!!!" Angela asked frantically.
Looking at the river, all four watched in horror as out of the red river, small jumping creatures came ribeting as they came popped out. Hordes and hordes of slimy awful frogs came onto the boat, where a sudden burst of chaos began.
"Two plagues!!! in five minutes!!!!" Angela said, doing her best to regain composure. "That doesn't make any sense!!"
Everyone suddenly stared at her as if she had all of a sudden struck a brass plate in their face.
"She has a point, there can only be one plague at a time because it's only one guy doing all of this and not even Imhotep has the power to do a double whammy" Rick said in agreement. "Plus he would have to have killed a few people in order to do so"
"Unless there's two, but it can't be possible" Evelyn responded a bit confounded.
"Well, lets figure this out inside the parlor, shall we?" Jonathan said urgently as he kicked frogs away from himself.
O'Connell nodded and said "Come on!!!" grabbing Evelyn's hand and she followed his lead, Angela and Jonathan tagging after. They raced across the corridor, up the stairs, and into the parlor.
As they scurried in, Angela stopped and looked at the river to see if she could see anything. Rick sensed it and he grabbed her hand and pulled her inside, dragging her through the door as he slammed it behind him.
"Ok, now all we have to do is calm down and think of what we're going to do, we're all sitting ducks on this boat and the last thing we want is to let Imhotep know we're here" Rick said as paced around the room.
Evelyn and Jonathan sat on the couch and stared blankly at him and Angela, well, she was looking longingly out the small window...towards the riverbank, sighing about every ten seconds.
"Well, since no one can think of anything I guess I'll have to go look for him, or at least give him the signal as to where I am" Rick said frustratingly. "Then you guys can get away by other means"
Angela closed her eyes and put her hand to her neck, where the Necklace of Isis was safely tucked away under her blouse. "I think I know a way to make the plagues stop" she suddenly said. "Or at least die down a bit".
Suddenly everyone's attention was focused on her, and she felt a sudden chill go down her back.
Jonathan smiled softly and stood up "Well tell us what to do and we'll do it...what's the plan?"
"Um, well, it doesn't involve any of you, it only involves me...you see I also forgot to mention to you guys that at the dig, I uh, found something"
"Damn" O'Connell breathed. "Just when I figured things couldn't get any worse"
Angela took the necklace off and without saying another word she ran out of the parlor.
"Angela! come back here!" Rick shouted as he ran after her, Jonathan and Evelyn took off after him as well, trailing behind as they ran behind him.
Angela was now running on the starboard side of the ship where the walk way along the rail was clogged with bewildered passengers- the blood was still there and so were the hordes of frogs, now jumping everywhere the eye could see.
"Head for the stern" Angela thought as she ran.
"We have to find my sister!" Rick said frantically, as he glanced around.
"Well, Rick, if you haven't noticed we're stuck on a bloody ship!" Jonathan said crossly "There is nowhere to go...and I doubt she'd jump into the blood!"
The way to the stern was not clogged with the mob, instead it was empty. Angela noticed as she made her way to the railing and climbed over it.
Rick looked into the stern's direction and quickly guided Evelyn and Jonathan as he kept his eyes focused on his sister who was standing on the edge of the stern, eyes closed. She was afraid to look down and see the blood flowing under her. Her mind in the meantime was enveloped in a clear, glass like state, serene as the Nile itself. Leaning forward as she held on with one hand to the railing she opened her eyes and stretched her arm out in from of her, the necklace dangling from her fingertips.
"I hope this works" Angela thought anxiously. "Please make it work"
"What is she doing?" Evelyn asked uneasily.
"I have no clue but I'm getting her away from there!" Rick said as he rushed over to her.
Meanwhile Angela focused her mind on the inscription and her eyes slowly scanned the exquisitely rendered hieratic.. lips moving as she read to herself, but wanting to hear the words compelled, somehow to speak them out loud.
"Goddess Isis, evil has spread beyond the regions of the netherworld, at once you vanquish it with the force of millions, Seth has come and you and your son shall prevail...vanquish the evil, vanquish the darkness" she read.
As she spoke the words, Angela heard a loud hissing as if she had awaken a cradle full of snakes. Not liking the sound of that she turned herself around and started to climb over the rail, startled, chilled with fear at the thought of what she had done.
"Oh-damn, what the hell is that?" Rick asked, dazed and stopping in his tracks as he did.
The answer to that question was immediate: the hissing sound filled their ears as all around them a loud wind began to blow, turning into a gust. With the sound like that of an angry siren coming to seek revenge on her enemies.
Angela froze as she felt the boat rock with the force of the wind. A sudden gust though blew through, catching her by surprise, hard enough for her to let go of the railing and topple head first into the blood water. Landing with a screaming splash. The water or was it still blood? was freezing; shocking her, chilling her body to the bone even as her mind wondered how a desert river could be so damn cold. As she surfaced, gasping for air, she looked around her and realized that she was soaked in blood!
"No! god damn it! it didn't work!!" Angela thought, heedless of the blood surrounding her. "It didn't work!!"
As she looked ahead of her though she saw the choppy river slowly turning back to water. A sudden moment of ease went through her and she smiled happily.
"Yes, it worked!! It worked!!" she shouted joyfully as she struggled to stay afloat.
On board Rick and Jonathan had ran up the railing after seeing her fall in as Evelyn had ran to seek help. The two looked down at Angela and felt a feeling of relief go through them.
"Angela! are you OK?" Rick shouted.
"UH, O'Connell take a look at that!" Jonathan said, stunned at the amazing sight of the blood slowly disappearing as well as the frogs who were now hopping back in and vanishing into the river.. leaving everything as if it had never happened.
Rick directed his attention to the part of the river ahead of the boat and suddenly smiled as he saw the river turn back to normal. "Wow she did it!! she really stopped the plagues!" he said happily.
"Uh, hello? you guys? I could use a bit of help right now, if it's not too much trouble!!" Angela called out anxiously. "Please!".
"Ok hold on, sis" Rick said as he took a rope off of a small crate and tied it to the railing.
After tightening it, Rick then tossed the railings down into the water. He slung on his backpack made sure once more if the rope was secure. "Ok Angela, it's ready" he said assuring.
Angela smiled and swam over to the boat, stroking smoothly as she did. Soon she was struggling to climb up the rope, trembling from the cold breeze as she did. Her clothes clung to her skin as she climbed over the railing and stood up, it didn't even occur to her that her every physical attributes was on display...at least not until she saw some men, including a very stunned Jonathan, standing there with their mouths open as they drank and dreamed in the sight of her.
Wringing her clothes out, she strictly said "I suggest you fools get your mind out of the gutter I don't appreciate being the object of your dark fantasies!"
Rick smiled and put his coat on her. "Come on sis, let's go to the parlor....Jonathan! get your self over here...now!" he said softly at first but changing his tone of voice at mid-sentence.
Jonathan slightly jumped at the realization of what he and the other men had just been doing and he quickly regained composure. "Bloody hell! didn't you hear the girl! what's the big idea!". he said commandingly. "Bug off!"
Then turning back around he walked bemusedly after Rick and Angela.
"How did you make the plagues disappear?" Rick asked curiously "I mean, it's impossible for a human to do that, without any supernatural thing involved"
"Well, Rick, it was my Necklace of Isis, that did all the work, but unfortunately I lost it when I fell in to the river, it was so odd the way it worked though...all I did was read the inscription and in a flash everything started to happen! I can't believe I lost it though"
Rick put his arm around her and let her lean on him. "I'm sorry" he said "but at least you stopped the plagues"
"Yeah that's true, oh well, I guess I'll never see it again"
"You'll never see what again?" Jonathan suddenly asked.
Angela turned towards him and smiled softly. "My necklace of Isis"
"Oh this thing?" Jonathan said as he pulled the necklace out of his coat pocket.
"How did you? Oh my god! Jonathan where did you find it!" Angela asked.
"I think you dropped it as you fell in and it happened to land on the edge of the stern.. so I just picked it up". Jonathan responded. "Here you go"
Angela took the necklace, slipped it on and sighed. An excited smile blossomed on her face as Rick and Jonathan, on either side of her, watched her. Continuing on, they entered an area where the corridor widened and turned into the parlor, pausing for a second before walking in.
There they found Evelyn, slumped d in a chair as they made their way inside. Jonathan sat down on a chair next to her as Rick sat on the small sofa.
"I went for help, but I guess from the looks of things, I was a bit late" Evelyn suddenly said.
"Don't worry about it, we really didn't need anyone else" Rick said. "Angela would have made it out by other means...if we couldn't have reached her on time, wouldn't you?"
"Yes, I would have" Angela said softly "So now what do we do?" asking as she sat by the small fireplace that was burning brightly with the warm glow of the fire.
"Well, we're continuing on to Luxor, that's what we're doing" Rick said confidently "and if anything comes up, well let's just say that it's not, we'll beat the hell out of what ever evil it is... because no dead son of a bitch is going to ruin our outing".
Evelyn smiled and stood up "Well I'm going to go downstairs and check it out, the boat seems pretty nice, so I'm going to take a good look at it.. it's best if we stay calm and find something to keep our minds off of this horrid thing"
"I'm going with you" Rick said. "I need to get a bit of air...Angela, will you be all right?"
"Yes Rick, I will...don't worry I don't plan on falling off of the boat again or trying to see how far my necklace will fly"
"Ohhhh Angela, I didn't mean that, I just want to know if you'll be ok, feelings wise"
"Yeah, go on.. take a look of the ship, as soon as I get myself dried off I'll try and catch up with you guys"
"Ok, aren't you going to get dressed in some dry clothing? and Jonathan what do you plan on doing?" Rick then asked sternly
Angela shook her head "Listen, I need some time to think...so I'll just let the warmth of the fire dry me off"
Jonathan had just looked up at Rick innocently and smiled "Well, um, I'm going to go with you two, yes! that is what my plan is"
"OK then come on, Jonathan" Evelyn said.
They all started for the door when suddenly Jonathan stopped and turned towards Angela who was at the moment looking at the fire in a hypnotized stare.
"Angela? um, will you be all right alone...in here?" he asked cheeringly "If you want I can stay"
Angela only shook her head not at all looking at him or ever saying a single word. She remained staring at the fire. Jonathan sighed and walked out, shutting the door softly behind his back.
"Well, I'm going to the dining room if you two don't mind" Jonathan said seriously, before turning and walking off.. leaving Rick and Evelyn with surprised looks on their faces.
"Come on Evelyn, let's go, we need to figure out a way to stop Imhotep...permanently" Rick said. "He can't be a tyrant over our lives...we have to find a way to destroy him and his creatures, but how?"
"Wait a second!! didn't Angela say she had a way to stop him?" Evelyn asked .
"Not him exactly...though I wish it did, her necklace basically only stops or weakens the plagues that he causes, now come on I'll explain the entire story downstairs...no matter what, we have to ' keep him from getting near my sister while trying to find the solution...I don't even what to imagine what could happen if he got his hands on her "
"I agree Rick, we must think of plan to stop Imhotep, now let's go...we'll need all the help we can get"
