TIGER'S EYE
Ardeth mutely followed Leven outside to her car. He felt awkward and out of place in the clothes she had given him. They were musty smelling and ill fitting. He had to walk fast to keep up with her. She clearly wanted to escape him, but she didn't realize she couldn't. She had no choice. Why couldn't she understand that? Leven approached her car and stabbed her key into the lock. Impatiently, she turned around and glared at him. As he caught up to her and slid inside the alien vehicle, he glanced at her. Actually, he couldn't blame her for feeling so upset. What else did he expect? She was a rational, thinking being, one living in another world so very different. She was so very different than him. But was she? He brought images of his visions back to the surface for only a couple of moments. She wasn't that different and he couldn't continue to lie to himself, but he didn't want to draw her in, didn't want to hurt her. She is completely unreachable. However, he was wrong. His presence was disturbing her greatly. The sad thing was, she actually believed his story, but she couldn't speak to him. She felt his eyes on her, studying her, and she literally ached to gaze into them. They were a warm, dark brown, so open and beautiful. So familiar. Uh uh. No way. Ain't even gonna go there. She cranked the engine, saying a thankful prayer under her breath, and put the car in gear. Beside her, she heard a gurgling noise issuing from the stomach of this Ardeth Bay. She nearly laughed. Poor guy must be starving to death. She had thought of treating his dehydration and exhaustion, but not his hunger. Some angel I am. Before taking the turn that would lead her directly to the shop, she took a pit stop through a fast food drive through window. Curiously, Ardeth watched as Leven spoke into what appeared to be a tall black box before driving forward only a small distance. She stopped long enough to exchange money for a small bag. Interesting. The smell coming from the window was nice. She continued to ignore him as she drove on. Quietly, she pushed the bag toward him.
"This is yours," she said. "I know you must be starving."
He took the bag from her and noticed that she hadn't looked at him when she spoke. "Shukran," he said. ["Thank you."]
She sighed. "I wish you wouldn't do that."
"What," he asked curiously, "Thank you?"
She shook her head, keeping her eyes focused on the wide road ahead of her. "No, not that. Speak that…language."
"Are you saying that you do not wish that I speak my native language?"
Leven was torn two different ways at once. The first, of course, was amusement. While the little interaction between them was occurring, she noticed that he had torn into the bag, glanced curiously at the breakfast sandwich, and began eating it as if he had always eaten them. The second was more complicated. No. She didn't want him speaking his native language. She couldn't explain it, but hearing those words seemed to disturb her, to hurt her. "That's what I'm saying," she said quietly. She thought that if she were ugly with him, she wouldn't be so very damn shaken by his existence.
Ardeth bit into the sandwich, literally demolishing it. It wasn't that appetizing, but it didn't matter to him. As hungry as he was, anything would do. "May I ask why," he asked after polishing off his messy meal.
"You may not," she snapped. If the truth were known, she didn't know why. Or did she? You know why. Don't sit there and lie to yourself. Don't you think he knows that? Wake up Leven, wake up and look at this man. No. Fuck off. Go away. She would not, would not, would not. There were so many questions she wanted to ask, so many things she needed to know, but she couldn't look at him long enough to ask them. Looking at him was worse than hearing him speak. She wasn't prepared to deal with what he had brought to her. It was all incredibly, horridly insane. For a moment, she wondered if he were toying with her as Caldo had. She had believed him, but only because he dug something out of her psyche. Dear Jesus. Why did all the shit have to fall on her shoulders? Stop feeling fucking sorry for yourself, you bitch. She sighed heavily, giving up. "Look, there is a lot going on that I don't understand. I don't mean to snap at you, but I just wish you wouldn't do that. I just don't…don't understand." Shit. What am I saying? Did any of that actually make sense? She finally fixed her eyes on his face and saw that he was watching her carefully, intensely, as only he could. How do I know that? There was a speck of sandwich caught in his mustache. She looked away quickly before she began laughing. "Dig around in that bag and get a napkin. You have leftovers lingering."
* * *
Leven parked her car behind the building. She let out a relieved sigh when she didn't see the boss' car parked there. If he had come in, her ass would be pounding the pavement. She ripped out of the car and ran toward the front of the building. Startled, Ardeth followed her lead, not quite running, but trying to catch up. Once he had rounded the corner, he saw her unlocking a barred security gate before unlocking the door. He gazed up at the sign: Roube's. She opened the door and the annoying door alarm kicked on. She held the door open and waited patiently for Ardeth to enter. He stepped into the room and glanced around. There were dozens of things scattered about that he did not recognize. What were these strange things? Why did this building seem to have a massive amount of them? Amazing. He was afraid to touch anything, because he had no idea what would happen if he did. Leven turned and glanced at Ardeth. Somehow, the way he was standing in the middle of the room looking about struck her. She watched his upturned face with its startled expression. She stood and gazed at him for several minutes, even after he began to move around. He didn't touch anything, but he looked at everything he passed. The funky looking sword caught his attention above all else. He seemed fixated on it, longing to touch it, as if he were familiar with it. She tore her eyes off the handsome stranger and focused them elsewhere. They landed on the display case where the daggers were kept. At that moment, an image came to her so very clear that it nearly knocked her off her feet. She saw her body splayed out on top of the display case with this man hovering over her. She could almost feel the touch of his hands, the taste of his lips. Leven Medlem stood no more than two feet away from the lover in her dreams.
The touch of Leven's hand brought Ardeth out of his daze. He didn't realize he had been staring at the scimitar so intensely. When he turned toward her, he barely had time to breathe before Leven's lips were on his. She had to kiss him, she had to know. If she tasted his lips, it would answer the question she needed answered. Startled, Ardeth tried to pull away, but it no use. The moment he tasted her kiss, he knew. When he saw the photograph, he had been shown certain truths, but nothing brought his visions to full swing more than her hungry, yet so surprising kiss. He had kissed her before, many, many times. He was intoxicated by it, by her, his senses reeled, and his head began to spin. As the kiss deepened and he slipped his tongue between her awaiting lips, Leven's arms went around his neck as Ardeth's large hands went to each side of her waist, pulling her even closer [if that was even possible]. He was it. He was il wâHid [the one]. She wanted to go further, to make her dream a reality, but her wits were stronger than her desire [at least for that moment]. Breathing heavily, she broke the kiss and pulled back. She moved away slowly, trying to pretend as if nothing had happened. He was fine with allowing her to do that, because he couldn't quite deal with it himself. His mind kept telling him it was wrong when his heart was screaming that it was right. He wasn't here to seduce this woman. He was here to end a curse before it ended them. She had gone to stand behind the expansive counter, her back facing him. He tore his eyes off her long enough to fix them again on the scimitar. It was different than his. It was older, perhaps used the generation before he began his sacred duty.
"What is this place," he asked suddenly, breaking the thick, tense silence. He couldn't stay quiet any longer. His lips burned from her kiss and he longed to taste it again. If he didn't speak, didn't draw his attention away from it, he would go to her.
His voice startled her. It slit through the fog in the room like a sharp knife. Could she look at him? Could she gaze into his eyes after kissing him? What the hell had she gotten herself into? "It's a pawnshop," she said. "People bring us their things and we give them money for it. We give them their things back once they repay the money."
Pawnshop? Absently, he dug into the uncomfortable denim pants for his list. Another piece of the puzzle had fallen into its perfect slot. He completely understood why he had come to her. He unfolded the paper and looked at it. This shop was on his list. Fate had wrung its hands once again. "I was told to come to a shop like this to find my amulet. Could it be here?"
She turned toward him and noticed he was staring at a piece of paper. "What does it look like?"
"It is silver and shaped in the form of a goddess, Isis. Where her wings join, there is a circle, but it is filled with a tiger's eye quartz. Has anyone bartered with you for something like that?"
Tiger's eye quartz. Where had she seen a stone like that? Suddenly, it came to her. Caldo. "I've not seen an amulet with that type of stone, not yet. But there was a dagger here with one in the handle. A man came to buy it. He…he looked a little like you, without the tattoos and the facial hair. His name was Caldo. I know he's back in town, because he's made contact with me."
Ardeth pursed his lips thoughtfully. "This was no mortal man. He was a minion, a slave sent to do Set's bidding. He is also searching for this amulet. If he finds it before I, Set will control the portal between the past and the present. I must find it." He started toward the door, intent on making yet another journey on foot.
"Ardeth, wait," she called. "I have an easier way." He stopped and turned to face her again. "Give me your list and I'll call them for you. If someone else is out there, won't they know you're here? Doesn't that mean you're in danger? You're defenseless."
He approached the counter and gave her his list. "I am not completely defenseless." He pointed toward the funky sword. "If you'll permit me, I need the scimitar."
"Scimitar? That banana looking thing on the wall? Is that what it is? I can't, Ardeth. If my boss sees his treasure in your hands, he'll strangle me."
"I will not let him," he said, gazing into her eyes intensely.
"Before I risk my job, let me call around first. It might not be necessary."
* * *
As Ardeth stood by, Leven called every name on the list and then called them twice. She then went to the phone book and called the ones not on his list. She shook her head and watched as deep disappointment filled his beautiful eyes. She couldn't stand to see him in such a state. If he didn't find the amulet, everything would be destroyed. The entire weight of the world was resting on his shoulders, and he had never felt like such a failure before. Defeated, but not desolate, he rebounded quickly. If he couldn't immediately find the amulet, then he would search for the minion of Set and cast him away before the key fell into the wrong hands. Sensing his anger, seeing the discord eating away at him, Leven felt a bit helpless herself. There was nothing else she could do to help him.
"I shall go now," he announced suddenly, "and find the minion."
He turned and began walking toward the door. Part of Leven's heart told her to let him go, to let him go about whatever mission he had, and then fade out of her life forever. The other pushed her to go after him, to pull him back. He knew nothing of Memphis. Regardless of who or what he was in his time, this was a completely new battleground for him. She underestimated him, thinking that he didn't stand a chance. Of course, she had a lot to learn. She came out from behind the counter and took after him. She grabbed his arm and pulled him back.
"You can't just go out there," she said, gazing up at him. "You don't know this place, this world. Caldo might not even know you're here. He called for me and I know where he's staying. I can help you find him. We have to plan it out, though. Don't go out there unprepared."
He took hold of her forearm with his free hand. She was still holding tightly onto his other arm. "Leven, I will never forget your kindness, but this is something I must do alone." He swallowed hard, preparing to tell her a gigantic mistruth. "You are not part of this. If anyone is in danger, it is you. These events are those that you have never had to deal with, and you are risking far more than you think."
"I may have not been chosen originally to do this, but since I picked you up last night, I'm in it whether you want me to be or not. You said it yourself, didn't you? You came to me because you needed my help. Listen to me, okay? I'm in it." She stepped away from him before the temptation to kiss him again couldn't be ignored. She went back around to the counter and watched as Ardeth approached the glass door. Absently, he began to stare out of it, searching, scanning. She needed to distract him, to keep his mind off his obsessive brooding. "Those tats on your face and hands. Did you do that on purpose?"
Her question threw him a little. He thought it a bit bizarre, but then remembered she wasn't a person from his time. He glanced at her over his shoulder with the slightest hint of a grin on his full lips. "My people call them the sacred marks of the Medjai. Boys destined for duty in his bloodline earn them at the age of his rite. I earned mine at fifteen. They delineate one's status among the tribe. For generations upon generations, the Medjai have protected the Pharaohs of Egypt. Now, we continue that sacred duty and also ensure that ancient curses do not come to pass."
She noticed that he had begun to stare out the door again as if he were distracted. "What status do you have?"
"I am Chieftain of my tribe."
Leven leaned over the counter, propping her chin into her hands. She watched him for a few moments. He seemed transfixed on the activity outside. She was tempted to approach him and plunge her hands into his silky looking black hair. While she kissed him, it had fanned over her hands in a soft cascade. She sighed heavily. She had to stop doing this to him and to herself. Jesus. She had barely known him a day and she already wanted to rip him out of his clothes. "A Chieftain? Isn't that like the boss? The main man?" He nodded absently. "What's it like? Where you're from?"
"Sand, beautiful ancient pyramids, dry desert heat, and an occasional oasis. That is only in the desert, of course, but I spend most of my time there. My world is quite different than yours."
Another image assaulted her. She saw this beautiful man sitting atop a black horse, looking down at her [but not her]. Her curiosity about his world began to change to one regarding other matters. She longed to understand everything. "Ardeth? Did you…did you know a pregnant woman with dark flowing hair?" She noticed an immediate change in his demeanor. His body stiffened just the slightest bit.
Ardeth closed his eyes against the memories. She was speaking of Sharîk. He had thought Leven had a tie to her when he saw the photograph, but her kiss had totally convinced him. Her kiss was as sweet as Sharîk's. She was like her, but not her. Had he not had the same thoughts racing through him before? "I did," he said.
"She wasn't your wife," she asked.
"No. She was my best friend's wife."
Although it was obvious that he'd rather not talk about this woman, she continued to press him. "But you loved her? She loved you? She died, didn't she? I think…I think I was inside her. I've been having dreams, Ardeth, very strange dreams. Some of them are disturbing, but most have been…different."
He nodded, as if understanding. "So have I. You are right, Leven. This woman you have dreamed of was someone whom I loved all my life, but she was promised to another. It is a custom that my people have followed from the beginning of the clan."
She had sensed that and he confirmed it. "Do you have a wife?"
"No." Staring, staring, staring. "No one has touched my heart thoroughly enough until-" He stopped speaking abruptly. He had almost supplied the word 'now' at the end of his sentence. He had nearly stepped into a situation that wouldn't be easy to back away from. There was nothing to this, nothing to this woman behind him other than her role as guide. Nothing more. He wanted to steer their words away from this. "What about you? Who are you?"
She almost laughed. He was one of the first few men she had ever met who actually wanted to know something about her that didn't have anything to do with spitting or swallowing. "Who am I? I'm nobody."
Her answer finally brought him out of his daze. He turned toward her. "You think you are nobody?
She shrugged. "Do I think it? No. I know it."
After lingering at the door so long, he slowly approached the counter where she was leaning. "That is not true at all. You are my malak [angel]. You cared for me when everyone else was afraid. I may have died last night if it wasn't for you."
She straightened up as he approached. She didn't want to be any closer than she had to. "I saw someone in need, Ardeth. I'm no angel. Once you're around me for a day or two, you'll see that."
He shook his head. "You may think you are nobody, but you are someone to me."
His eyes gazed into hers intensely. Damn, why was he doing this to her? She couldn't look in them without melting. Again, she reminded herself that she had only known him for one day. One day, Leven. Remember Caldo? Yet, Caldo wasn't Caldo. She couldn't get this shit straight anymore. It was all so unbelievable. Everything. All of it. He stood right against the counter, his thighs likely touching the glass. She wanted to back away even further; to retreat into the boss' office, but his gaze held her captive. Without understanding why she was doing it, she boosted herself up on the counter and slid across it to sit directly before Ardeth. She first thought she done this to make her escape, but that simply wasn't true. Why was she trying to kid herself? Struggling mightily, he didn't reach out to touch her. However, it was one of a few battles he eventually lost. His hands came up and gently cupped her face. Drifting toward her inch by painstaking inch, it seemingly took five lifetimes for his lips to reach their destination. At first, his kiss was soft and tentative, but when she didn't fight him away, he pressed forward, gently tracing his tongue over her slightly parted lips. Her tongue touched his, inviting him to come inside, and he willingly obliged. She finally had her chance to plunge her hands into his hair, luxuriating in its thick silkiness. She sighed against his lips, knowing this was more than right, more than meant to be, but her mind was so realistic and callous. It ruled her, demanding that she stop kissing this beautiful stranger. However, she ignored the messages for the briefest of moments as his hands settled on her knees, pulling her legs apart so that he could insert his body between them. Her legs encircled his waist as the kiss went on and on. His hands moved from her waist upward and the instant his large hands cupped her breasts through her shirt, she moaned against his mouth and leaned into him. At that moment, she wanted him so badly that she ached. One day, Leven. One day. Wake up! One day!!!! He finally broke the kiss but allowed his lips to slide down to her throat.
"Oh God," she sighed. What would she do? She wanted him. He wanted her. It was obvious. One day, Leven. ONE DAY!!!! Hadn't she vowed that after Caldo she wouldn't do that fuck and run stuff anymore? "Ardeth, please. No. Please stop," she pleaded softly.
The trembling quality about her voice broke his spell. She dropped her legs to allow him to back away. He was confused. What had just happened? What was he doing? Dear Allâh. "Leven, I…"
She shook her head. "No, don't."
He backed away even further and resumed his post at the door. Leven's body continually quaked. She had to get rid of this man before she ruined his life as well as hers. As she gazed at him, she wasn't sure she could send him away. She brought her hand up and traced a delicate line over her lips. He had possessed her and he was one spirit that could not be exorcised.