Chapter Fourteen
Najya awakened slowly to the throbbing pain at the back of her head. At first she could not remember where she was or why she was sitting on the stone floor. Then it hit her. The Sphere! Dear Goddess! Where is it? She had been holding it when she was hit from behind and it was snatched from her hand. Her thoughts suddenly turned to Ardeth, remembering the gun against his temple. She prayed he was alive. She needed to find out, but found she could not move. She had been bound to one of the pillars within the Birth House. The ache in her head intensified as she glanced around the area, but she breathed a sigh of relief when she spotted Ardeth being held at gunpoint just a few feet away. His hands were bound behind his back, but he had not been secured to a pillar as she had been.
"Try anything...anything, and he dies."
Najya looked up at the man who moved into her line of sight. He held the Sphere in his right hand. In his left was a worn out book. "Who are you?"
"That is of little concern to you, my dear," he mocked satisfyingly. "You, however, present a problem. I saw your little trick, and it seems to me you may be more trouble than you are worth." He paced slowly for a moment before stopping again to face her. He could kill her, solving his problem quickly. On the other hand, once he controlled the power of the Sphere, he could bend her to his will. "However, once I possess the power inside this globe, I will have no difficulty in controlling you. Your kind of power will come in handy, I am sure."
"You must not! You cannot control what is inside. It will control you," Najya warned. Her eyes skirted around the man to lock onto Ardeth. Mentally she reached out, loosening his bonds. She noted the slight nod of his head as he acknowledged her deed. He was free and yet hiding it until the right moment.
"He who releases its power, controls its magic. You see..." He held up the book, showing the transcription.
"No," Najya whispered, recognizing the writing. The journal belonged to her mother. "You are mistaken," she warned. It came too late as she watched in horror as he slammed the Sphere against the pillar above her head. Although the crystal seemed somewhat delicate, it was not. Even with the force of the blow, it barely cracked, although the tiny crevice reached though the entire thickness of the glass. "You fool!" she hissed, suddenly remembering more of the story her mother told her as a child. "I released the power from its confines! It is I who will control its magic!"
Ardeth jumped to his feet at the same time the Sphere cracked against the pillar. Surprising the two men who held guns on him, he knocked them out with one blow each. He quickly retrieved his scimitar and moved toward Najya. As she freed herself, he held his blade to the intruder's throat. Intent on relieving the man of the Sphere, Ardeth reached toward it, but something stopped him just short of grasping it in his hand.
"No, do not touch it," Najya cautioned swiftly as the ropes loosened and fell to the ground around her. She stood slowly, reaching out to take the Sphere within her hands. The power it emitted was unbearable and she used all her abilities to resist its pull. She could embrace it and rule those around her, bending them to her will, her way of thinking. It would be so easy. She looked up at Ardeth, gaining the strength to resist the desire to give in. "There is only one way to seal the Sphere. I..."
"If there is a way, it must be done," Ardeth insisted, releasing the man he held. "You are a fool. Power is madness. Take your people and go." When the man stood, motionless, Ardeth returned the point of his blade to the man's throat. "I am giving you the chance to live. Take it. I will not offer twice." His voice held command, one that dared not be challenged.
Bentley nodded. He was defeated. He had chased a dream that would never belong to him. What a waste. He eyed the robed man once more before turning to go.
"The journal. Leave it," Najya ordered abruptly.
Again, Bentley nodded, dropping the book to the ground. He motioned for his men to follow. There was nothing else to be done. He could feel the disturbance in the room when the Sphere cracked. The woman did not lie. From the moment it was released, he felt her control over him. He would do whatever she asked. It was a feeling he did not like at all.
Ardeth followed, making sure that they had all left the area. Once satisfied, he returned to Najya's side. She stood staring at the Sphere and she was visibly shaking. It took him all of two seconds to realize she was sobbing and extremely frightened. "It will be all right, Najya. Calm down."
She shook her head, stammering as she tried to explain. "You...you do not understand. I...I cannot do it."
"What is it you must do?" a familiar voice asked.
Ardeth turned to acknowledge his longtime friend. "Azeem. You have made it."
Azeem nodded as he entered the room, followed by the remainder of Ardeth's men. "Now, what is to be done?"
"The Sphere must be sealed?" Ardeth questioned, gazing at Najya intently. She held the answers, but was not forthcoming with them.
"We must," she agreed. Her voice was barely a whisper. It was time and she was not ready. She could not do it. "The power is great. I cannot resist it much longer."
"Tell us what must be done," he insisted as his hand cupped her chin. The fear was evident in her beautiful sapphire eyes and it tore at his very soul.
Najya balanced the Sphere in one hand and reached out with the other. She heard a gasp emit from Azeem when he felt the dagger sheathed at this side leave him to fly across the room into her hand. "The prophecy dictates that as the words of Isis are spoken, the lifeblood of the chosen Med-jai chieftain must envelop the Sphere, healing it and sending it to the plane of existence in which Isis resides."
Ardeth eyed the dagger she held loosely in her hand. He understood her behavior now. Somewhere during the time they had made love and he had awakened to her sobbing in his arms, she had been delivered this news. That was the whole truth she could not bring herself to tell him. The other things she had said, however true they might be, were not really a factor at all. He was not frightened of death. He had faced it many times. The only thought that pained him was that he would never feel her love again.
"I will not do it," she insisted, dropping the dagger to the floor. "There must be another way." She had wished, hoped, and prayed, but no other solution had been sent to her. She knew what had to be done, but she did not want to see it through. Was it the Sphere keeping her from ending it, or was it the knowledge that she would be sending her love to his death? Whatever the case, she knew she could not be the instrument of his demise.
A hushed voice sounded within the chamber, as two separate entities made their entrance, but was heard by only two people within its walls. "It is as it must be, daughter."
Ardeth bent and retrieved the dagger from the floor. "Say the words, MaHabbi." His eyes locked onto hers and he nearly faltered. The last thing he wanted to do was leave her. Not now, not after just finding her. However, he knew what had to be done and he would see to it. He would not cause her the grief of ending his life. That would come at his own hands.
Tears flowed freely from her eyes as she watched him point the dagger at his chest. "No," she begged, her voice choked with sobs. "Please...do not do it."
"There is no other way," he said solemnly, reaching out to caress her cheek softly. "I love you. We shall meet again someday in the afterlife. But we both have a duty to fulfill. We cannot ignore it."
Najya nodded slowly, noting that Azeem and his men circled them. They were confused and unsure what to do. Seeing this, Ardeth addressed them. "Do not retaliate. This is as it must be." When he was sure they understood, he spoke again. "Najya...speak the words. Now."
Zariah watched in horror as her daughter began the prayer. She felt Isis all around her, a swirling haze of energy that permeated the entire chamber. "If there is any other way..." There was no response. Zariah had her answer.
Najya recited the words, her eyes held steadily by Ardeth's. "An offering of life, so true and given freely to thee, Oh, Goddess Mother. As it covers the world, so shall it heal its open wound." She cried out, a ghostly scream that echoed throughout the chamber, when Ardeth sank the dagger deep into his heart.
"Finish it." He had to force the words out as he felt the life within him slowing to a halt. He dropped to his knees; there was no strength left in his body. He felt his life slipping through his fingers as his blood flowed freely from the lethal wound of the dagger.
Could there be a worse fate than watching the one you love die before your eyes? Zariah wept invisible tears for the horrible veracity her daughter faced. It was a reality forced on her as a birthright and Zariah cursed her Goddess silently, uncaring of the repercussions. Her daughter lived through more heartache than any one person should ever endure and now she was the focal player in the death of her only love. It was an abhorrent sight.
Najya dropped to her knees in front of him, pulling the dagger from his chest. Her body wracked with sobs as she continued the ritual, silently damning herself for her actions as she watched his life slip away. Holding the Sphere to his heart, she allowed his life's blood to wash over it. She turned it until it was completely covered. Once done, she watched with horror as Ardeth collapsed to the floor. She wanted to stop, to take it all back. Better to live in a world consumed by chaos than live without him. As he drew his last breath and whispered again of his love for her, she spoke the remainder of the prayer. "Take all back unto thee, great Mother. Protect that which you created; never for it to be disturbed again."
While she sobbed uncontrollably, she held the Sphere at arm's length and felt the surge of energy surround her. She, and those alive within the chamber, watched as the Sphere rose into the air, folding in upon itself until it disappeared into nothingness.
Najya collapsed to the floor alongside her dead lover. She no longer felt the power from the Sphere. Its enticing pull was gone and she was free of it. She felt the weight of the dagger in her hand and looked down at it. She wept and wept, for it was covered in blood. His blood. It covered her hands, her arms. She screamed and screamed until she could scream no more. She clutched the hilt of the dagger firmly in both hands. She would not, could not leave this place without him. As she had thought back on the riverboat, she had only one option. She turned the blade toward herself and with one last glance at Ardeth's face, sleeping eternal, she drove it into her chest. As her life ebbed from her body, she collapsed alongside him. With her last ounce of strength, she reached over and slipped her hand into his. They would be together forever.
Azeem stood over the body of his Chief. He could not believe Ardeth was gone. Although every rule of society deemed that a man's tears showed weakness, he did not care. He wept for the loss of his Chief, his friend.
***
Epilogue to follow...