Chapter 20

Unless the giddy heaven fall,
And earth some new convulsion tear,
And, us to join, the world should all
Be cramped into a planisphere

-Andrew Marvell, The Definition of Love

Promises made in the firelight, the swirl of voices, familiar because of their tone, unfamiliar because of their language were the initial products of their joined hands. In the shadow of the moon, lovers faded into the hazy background, shimmer and then disappear, becoming part of the larger cosmos, where the man and the woman interact freely.

Fragmentary pictures had partially slid into place, and slowly Ardeth was aware of the soft weeping that wafted past his ears, surprised that the tears were only his own.

Sukh'chet huy Mene'wa Het
Nu'uk Ka kat'ankh Ashet
[I will not tear myself away,
My heart is glad beyond all measure]

Once again, the similarity of the vision hit him in the gut, the same vision that he caught when he held the wounded Alexandra. Nefertiri with a Medjai guard who looked like Rick O'Connell, embracing, then shifting to the embrace of another couple, of him and another woman. He knew that this embrace was different, less certain than that of Nefertiri and her Medjai lover; it was tentative in the folds of newfound love, unsure grasps on each other.

I thank you again, Medjai. You have truly great tolerance towards Enheduana.

He heard a voice say, and looking up, saw her, Dr. Alexandra Khalan, who called herself Enheduana-Rai, in clothes that were shockingly beautiful and elaborate, beads over her hair, exhaustion in her face. He saw himself, as the ancient Medjai then, with very short hair and beard, ancient daggers strapped to his loincloth and armour belt, tenderly caressing her.

But it was ugly too; the commotion that happened outside the royal palace, cold and hostile faces that greeted the Medjai, with him and Rick O'Connell, and then the presence of Enheduana-Rai returned to him, a momentary comfort before she bent over him, holding his own dagger in his hand, making slow incisions on his throat, draining his life's blood from him. The shock of the moment stunned him into a cry, his mind raced to recapture the agonizing moment despite the pain it brought.

You killed me then, he heard himself speak aloud in Arabic, repeating the words over and over like a chant, with eyes still closed and hands that refused to let go.

The knife had descended without hesitation, the cuts on his throat hot and painful, the liquid that spilled out filled his nostrils deeply, and all that he was aware of was the slowing of his already erratic heartbeat.

And the vision repeated itself; as long as their hands were joined, as clear as day, as certain as he was susceptible to mortality. The embrace of the woman, and her face that bent over him, and the knife that she brought to his throat, and the blood that seeped out inexorably, deeply imprinted now.

"You killed me," Ardeth rasped out heavily, returning to the realm of the touchable, withdrawing his hand from hers, breaking contact, not knowing how long their hands were joined, but long enough for him to be filled with a loathing he did not feel before. "Enheduana-Rai, you killed me."

Enheduana-Rai, you killed me.

Alex was not unshaken; his words had started a tremble within her that was inexplicable and she scrambled away from him slightly, looking away, not knowing how to react.

The distance between them was respectable enough, she thought sardonically, wondering not for the first time if it was the right decision she had made in journeying to Hamunaptra, or to Egypt for that matter.

"Looks like it is all that we are allowed to see." She ventured shakily, putting her fingers to her head.

"I do not know," He replied tiredly. "The visions run in circles. What I have seen for the past week just gets clearer and clearer, and it repeats itself without mercy."

It took her a long moment to speak calmly.

"Ardeth, there is nothing that I see that has anything remotely to do with killing you."

"Then how do we explain the differences? The time lapse?" He questioned harshly, unable to reprove her for her actions found in a previous incarnation, knowing it was way too preposterous, at least in the present to do so.

"I get the feeling that we only see at best, fragments. What you see, is only the incomplete jigsaw; your visions do not manifest me any more rightly than mine does yours." She stated succinctly, praying that he understood her.

"Tell me more." He commanded gently, thoughtfully.

Alexandra Khalan took a deep breath; she was probably the more skeptical partner in this journey, the one who normally withdrew and assessed, not throwing any caution to the wind, yet knowing that there was something with Ardeth Bay, the mysterious Medjai that she could not ignore. The instincts were screaming loudly, but she did not know what, not recognising that they called her to understand something deeper than she had ever expected.

"I saw,us," she began, "well, you, me, sometimes the O'Connells. There were snippets of conversation, which I did not catch. At least, in the beginning of the mass pictures. We were all dressed elaborately, ancient Egyptian. Then there was me, feeling tired, sitting by a marsh area, washing my hands, kneeling before a stream. I felt someone hauling me up roughly, and it was you, with a knife pointed at my throat. We spoke in a distant tongue, not a pretty exchange." Her recount was delivered in short phrases, as if it caused her much agony. He was strangely drawn by her short gasps, inhaled at each momentary recovery, vagrant moods that were not of her own creation.

"She said, 'I thank you this time, Aretas,'" Alex said.

Ardeth started, reeled, but remained silent, willing her to continue.

"You think that I killed you?" Her voice was rising in hysterical disbelief. "That I was the only one who pointed a blade at you?"

He shook his head mutely, chastised and contrite.

"Well, I did take a knife back at you for that threat, until you let me go reluctantly, telling me that I was a murderess, of the queen Nefertiri. Then, something else slid in place of that - there was us again, and we -" She could not bring herself to continue, not knowing if it was embarrassment that stopped her, or simply caution, for not revealing all that he wanted to hear.

"Do not hide it from me. You should know by now that you do not face this alone." Ardeth prompted.

"And I found myself running up the stairs, looking backwards briefly, and the cycle starts all over again." She finished simply.

He noticed that she had avoided completing where she had exactly left off, telling him only the last part of what she saw, not pressing her any further.

They sat in silence that was heavy with the uncovered emotions and frayed nerves of the day, hearing the occasional nocturnal reptile pass them, the croak of frogs and toads comforting as they posed no immediate cause for undue alarm.

"The high priest Imhotep lived during the time of Seti I," Ardeth said suddenly. "His illicit love affair with Seti's chosen wife Anck-su-namun led to Seti's murder and he was cursed with the Hom-Dai, to the undead. Evelyn O'Connell resurrected him a decade ago."

She was watching him with curious eyes that widened in shock at that revelation, knuckles between her teeth.

"Nightmarish," Alex murmured.

"He was put back in his grave again, not without leaving destruction in his wake, earthquakes, rumblings, and listen to this -the reawakening of the plagues of Egypt. Imhotep still loved Anck-su-namun, if you did not know, wanting to resurrect her as well, and Evy was his human sacrifice."

"Uncanny! And to think that we are looking at the time of the Exodus..."

"Hamunaptra collapsed," he continued, not noticing her excited interruption, caught aloft in his memories. "And weeks ago, Anck-su-namun's reincarnation started an expedition in the collapsed area of Hamunaptra, with the backing and financial aid of the curator of the British Museum, to unearth the buried Imhotep."

"The return to hell, I see."

"You are quite close, Alexandra," He looked squarely at her, and she could not stop the shiver than ran through her spine, could not stop her enslavement by his intense gaze. "But then he was awakened for a reason. It is the year of the scorpion, according to Egyptian astrological sources. The Scorpion King was to awaken, and those who could battle the scorpion king successfully could either use his army - the supernatural army of Anubis to rule the world, or to use send it back to the Underworld."

"I never knew," Alex pursed her lips, shaking her head slightly at the extraordinariness of it all.

"Imhotep was the only one whose strength could grow as he arose. It was simply a battle of the evils." He told her then, about the kidnapping of young Alex O'Connell, the dream that Evy had had of Nefertiri on the dirigible, her death, and resurrection by her very own son, the subsequent hurried packing to go back to England to forget the chaos, and the sudden change in plan when Evy decided to stay instead, only shipping her brother and son out of trouble.

"But what about you, Ardeth?" She inserted, feeling as if it was only a side of the story that she had heard.

"The twelve tribes of the Medjai were outside Ahm Shere, battling the Army of Anubis." He said flatly, feeling the dulled pain that would not go away.

"You lost your warriors. Many of them." The gravity of his situation sunk in, and she slumped forward, not rebelling against the sudden aging that seemed to take place in her body, wondering what a decade really signified when the journey of three millennia was still being written.

"You said the word 'nightmarish' just now. It is just that. Khaliq and Hussein, my commanders, are doing what they can in my absence."

"And you are here with me? Isn't the chief of the Medjai -"

He held up a hand, which he immediate lowered after abruptly cutting her off to pinch the bridge of his nose.

"I shall not feel guilty about leaving both my capable commanders in charge," he whispered, wanting to convince himself that he did indeed had an explainable reason for wanting to ride to Hamunaptra.

She was bewildered, he knew, only realising the enormity of her actions, her fateful entry as a Bembridge Scholar who wormed her way into their lives as they began the tedious work of reconstruction and healing, caught up once more in a continuing intrigue of three thousand years.

Alex wanted to comfort him, to sling an arm around his shoulders, squeezing it hard in a show of support in the masculine fashion that she knew males like Rick O'Connell were prone and partial to, but the man sat before her now, who bravely confessed his weaknesses and uncertainties, who was not swayed by pressure to execute anything rashly, needed more than the slap in the back. But she also suspected that the pride that ran through him was also strong, and harder than his emotions, a pride that may not receive compassion or pity openly.

"But you are not immune, Ardeth. Not to anything for long." She mused aloud, taking his hand, making both of them gasp aloud, trembling slightly, at the composite images that assailed them once again, as they saw each other in the past and present simultaneously, in the different visions that flew past their eyes and in their minds. They saw each other in the present, sitting peacefully in the middle of the oasis, kindred friends who held each other's hands in comfort, friends who were no longer sure if they were such in ancient times.

"No, none of us are." He agreed, shifting, lying on his back and taking her with him, putting arms around her.

His touch and loose embrace was all too welcome; the man who now held her was far too remarkable to stay by her side, who held so many burdens of his own to add her to his list, she thought regretfully.

"The visions aren't too bad at all, aren't they, once you get used to them?" She said in jest, learning to marvel at the astonishing broil of present and past that swirled around them.

But the smile could not reach his eyes; the troubles of the weeks had perhaps made him sink more than he had expected, made him realise that he was no longer the man who had boundless energy to fulfil all the world had laid on him as chief, or perhaps the most sobering, that no one attained invincibility. The tragedy of the Army of Anubis had called him only deeper into despair, and it seemed that all was powerless to halt this descent, until this woman, this mysterious and additional life-force had appeared, offering something that was elusive but eternal, only when he chased and caught it.

"If this is all that we see, the repetitions of them, then I suppose it is something we could get used to." Ardeth conceded reluctantly. "But for now, we sleep. There are only a few more hours to go before the sun rises. We will ride for Hamunaptra only when we are well rested."

"Hmm."

May Allah cover us in His infinite wisdom, he prayed reverently, a clenched hand touching his lips and his forehead, before moving his lips briefly on her forehead.

"We live two lives each time we touch."

She was lodged in his arms comfortably, barely aware of his warm kiss.

"Sleep well, Alexandra." He said in the most tender of voices, before surrendering himself, following her into sweet oblivion.

The night was still young for the O'Connells, who were comparatively more well-rested.

Rick O'Connell lay still, wanting to shout to the dark and all that was around him, for the woman who had made his life so different from what he thought it might have turned out -

"Honey?" Evy sat up straight from her position of repose on her husband's chest, poking him lightly.

"Yeah?" He placed both palms on her shoulders, gently kneading the knots he found there.

"Mmmm..."

"And you were saying?" He queried, pleased with himself that she could still find herself speechless at his ministrations.

"Mmmmmmm..."

"Evelyn!" The fingers slowed down, before patting themselves on her back, impatient.

"I...well, nothing."

"You do not poke someone in the chest to tell him nothing, eh?" A roguish grin was appearing gradually on his face, making her heart skip a beat, even after all those years of marriage.

She touched his face, where the lips were upturned, beguiled.

"I, just, well, cannot keep Alex and Ardeth out of my mind. Runny, isn't it, I'm more worried for a woman whom I barely know, who carries the same name of our son, who is safe back home"

"Safe?" He snorted. "In the care of Jonathan Carnahan?"

She slapped him lightly.

"Jesting, honey, jesting."

"I did, after all, grow up with my brother when our parents died early. At least I turned out to be someone whom you found appealing." She said directly with laughing eyes, secure in the knowledge that she was well loved.

He groaned at the little piece of indirect self-praise, knowing that he would have gone to the ends of the earth for her had she requested, let alone to stay in Egypt, to continue working in a land that had already heaped so much upon their family.

"Past scenes of childhood through rose-tinted glasses. Of course, honey." He smirked, threading their fingers together.

"Rick, I love you. And I am so grateful that you're in this with me. I can't imagine anyone else." That declaration that came out abruptly surprised him, flooding him with unchartered pangs that he'd never known before he'd known her, finding wings on every wind when her love was with him.

"I would do anything for you, Evy." There was uncharacteristic seriousness in his voice, and she knew that he recalled yet again, the time when Anck-su-namun had stabbed her in front of him.

"I know, honey, I know." Her eyes met his, and their gaze held for the longest time. "But no unhappy thoughts at the moment."

"That is because your mind is busy with the dreaded mass of cursed rubble that lies in the near distance."

"Hamunaptra is a place that is very historically important, Rick, and that dreaded mass of cursed rubble would not have been - well we go to help Ardeth and fulfil the requirements that Bembridge have placed on us. That is all I will say -"

"And all I will say is: as much as I am tempted to spit on the remains of Hamunaptra, Imhotep and his dust soldiers, I will now...uumph -" A hand was placed gently over Rick O'Connell's mouth to shush him.

"Did you hear that?" Evy whispered.

"Hear what?" He matched her volume, senses on alert.

"That sound."

"What sound?"

"That sound!"

"What?"

"Don't be daft, honey. That sound which you are so familiar with."

"What sound are you talking about?"

"Listen!"

"No, I don't -wait, I hear it!"

"What are you waiting for, honey?" Evy grinned at her husband who was already trooping towards the direction of the sound.

"What a rare find!" He said after approximately two minutes of struggle.

"I'd say!"

"May I?"

"My pleasure."

"Will you -"

"Of course."

"Right now, Rick."

"Hand me the -"

The heaviness of the object placed immediately in his hands made him stop in mid-sentence, neither of them talking until the task was skilfully and quickly accomplished.

And so they had their dinner of roasted pigeon, grateful that she had heard their dinner approaching, shameful that they had not packed sufficient food, even after ten long years of desert experience.

They had not minded their dirty hands one bit, nor the unconventional way their dinner had come to them, nor the twist of events that found them riding again towards Hamunaptra, not when their stomachs cried out loudly for sustenance; the trouble that loomed ahead momentarily paused its nagging when they were in each other's company, relishing the unusual circumstances by which they were thrown together, elated by the twist of fate that had allowed the tapestry to be woven in that particular manner that proclaimed them husband and wife throughout time.