Speak Softly
Fading Into Dusk

1935: Ardeth Bay is resurrected from the dead. He awakens to a world vastly different, to familiar faces changing and to the knowledge that he is Egypt's final hope for freedom.

He also finds out just how far love and despair can take him.

~~~~~~~

This woman was jealous of her and as such, didn't like her one bit. Evelyn, adjusting the silken maroon tresses of her skirt, didn't stand from her chair and pace uncomfortably when the High Priestess of Osiris, caretaker of this palace, approached with a cold expression on her pale face. She merely held her hand out to examine the pretty fabric she was now covered with. Feet with white hose peeked from beneath her long skirt, clad in pretty black shoes. All these fine things made her feel like a queen. They were pretty and Imhotep's seamstress was to be praised for such work. Evelyn was as happy as she could be in such circumstances.

Celestine was a severe woman with light, golden hair that shone brightly against her black velvet robes. There was no depth of compassion in those crystalline eyes and the intentions behind an ill heart tainted her rich voice. The high priestess pulled a chair from the cherry dining table Evy sat at. "So, he takes his whore to be his bride?" she asked plainly, her opinion pouring through her inflections.

Evelyn raised her eyes to meet the other woman's. "I would be careful if I were you, Celestine. He's quite protective of me."

The priestess exhaled and sat back. "Yes, so he is. It should be me he weds, but instead he chooses you." Long fingers rested against her slip of red lips as she looked off in thought. "What to do about this little situation. His heart blinds him…I can't allow that to continue. Any suggestions on how I should end your pitiful little dream of being queen?"

Evy gave the other woman a hard look and considered leaving the room. Should this woman ever attain immortality and couple with Imhotep the world would do well to mourn its inevitable death. Evy had taken to trying to find good things about marrying him and that was one of them. At least he listened to her somewhat and she could keep him from letting the curse totally possess him. But this woman would encourage his cruelty to grow. "I suggest if you have a problem with his decisions that you take it up with him. I'm not his keeper," she retorted, playing with the gold bracelet he had given her from his store of plundered treasures. Queen Elizabeth I had worn this very bracelet.

Crossing her arms, Evelyn ignored the priestess and gazed across the dining room to the priceless works of art hanging on the wall. Imhotep had taken to the idea of having such antique treasures adorn his home and appreciated the works of such artists as Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci. Now statues and paintings of all kinds were scattered through this virtual museum of a palace, safe and sound by the protection of Celestine's magic and the jackals that patrolled. Her eyes fell upon da Vinci's painting of the Last Supper and she thought about how out of place it seemed in the home of a demon. But was Imhotep truly a demon? Less and less she was sure of that.

Celestine's hand found a few of the braids hanging down her shoulder, brushing the soft surface and fraying the perfection. "I could kill you. Make it look like suicide." One of Evy's braids became twined around this frightening woman's finger. "Wouldn't that just kill him? His little whore, his former student, killing herself because the thought of being with him was so terrible? He is a powerful, confident man, but I think he would still need to prove himself able to win a woman's lusts rather than steal them."

Evy pulled her hair from the other's hand and the priestess laughed, adjusting her sleeves. "Kill me and Imhotep will find out. He knows I won't kill myself. I have reasons to live. Who fawns over him every chance she gets? Who once tried to lure him to her bed, only to be turned down like the trash she is?" Evy spat back with slit eyes. "You may call me every shameful name you can, but at least I have the knowledge that I don't act as you say I am."

The priestess laughed, gazing through unreadable crystal eyes. "You're probably right about that. Which leaves me two options. Cunning or waiting until an opportunity presents itself." Pushing her chair back, Celestine bowed her head and smiled prettily. "Enjoy the power while you can, Princess Nefertiri."

Evelyn scowled at her back as she left the room. She was as mean as a snake and just as willing to strike out, but always only at the right time. A time convenient for her goals, when she wouldn't get blamed for her manipulation of circumstances. If she weren't careful Evy might just wind up on the receiving end of one of the priestess's schemes. Celestine certainly hated her enough now. When they entered the palace she had been at the door, waiting to greet her king and Imhotep had chosen that moment to reintroduce Evy, naming her his bride. Celestine had kept her cool, but the looks spared Evelyn had been murderous.

Sitting up, she made ready to retire to her quarters. Thankfully for the time being she was still allowed to sleep in her own rooms—the first night with Imhotep clinging to her in his sleep—but she held little doubt that after the marriage that would change.

And tomorrow night would be her wedding night. That made her stomach muscles clench. What was he expecting? Whether or not she wanted to live fully as his wife and whether or not he forced her to, someday this issue between them would come up. There was peace between them and to keep him appeased she was going to have to maintain it. But it seemed so wrong, like he was winning that way.

Just as she stood the subject of her thoughts entered the room and smiled with beautiful eyes. "You are ever lovely," he complimented her, drawing a blush as he took her hand and brushed his fingers against her palm. "Did you dine well, Nefertiri?"

Evy nodded, finding it hard to speak just now. Those dark eyes reminded her of another set that should be looking into hers. She trembled as he watched her and she searched for anything to say to draw him away from seeing her discomfort. "C-Celestine came," Evelyn said, anything else escaping for the moment. "She's not very happy with this."

Imhotep waved his hand apathetically. "Why should that merit my concern? If she crosses me, she will die. She knows this." He reached out to her, trailing his fingers across her half-clothed shoulder. "Tomorrow will be long. Roosevelt arrives and I shall offer the option to witness our marriage. It shall be a strenuous day. You may retire from the reception early if you wish, for I will likely talk business until late hours."

That sent some relief into her system, but not much. "Thank you," Evy replied softly, truly grateful for at least some time to relax away from the eyes and chatter.

He picked up on her nerves and offered a kiss, soft on her lips, enveloping and touched with the want she knew he was concealing. It was becoming all too natural for him to do these things, but she allowed it to keep the peace. His hand brushed against her hip and squeezed gently as he searched her mouth. He tasted of wine and fair mood. "Relax, my princess." Her husband-to-be stepped away and smiled a quiet smile. "I have things I must attend to. And you have my assurance of your rights. Sleep well, for tomorrow will be long as I said."

"Sleep well?" she repeated ironically, scuffing her shoe against the carpet and crossing her arms. She somehow did not doubt in this instance that was easier said that done. Tomorrow was her wedding day, after all. Weren't all brides nervous the night before?

~~~~~~~

Awakening came hard to one coated in such warm feelings as he. His rest had been sweet and watched over, temptingly bittersweet. But all that was gone now. He could sense that as he opened his eyes to the blackness that surrounded, as he sat up. They wanted him awake, perhaps to entertain them with his attempts to leave or to simply watch him live. Now that Necromancer's spell was gone he could actually think straight enough to wonder about these beings. "Who are you?" he called into the dark, answered by only the resonance of his deep voice. His sigh echoed through the chambers.

Ardeth pushed himself off the hard floor, testing how far they would allow him to go. They were still present, he did not doubt, feeling their curiousity. Or maybe that was his imagination tricking him, adding false hope that he could leave this place if he so chose. The bottom of his boots were loud against the slate floors, scraping with his slow, tentative steps towards a direction he chose at random, his hands stretched out to prevent him from hitting a wall. Whatever their want of him last night, they seemed well enough to let him walk without trouble now. Was this because they knew he could not leave or because they did not care?

Suddenly it came upon him and he stilled, listening to what he thought he heard. The sounds of wind, perhaps? Breathing? A whisper. A question. "Why did you spare that boy?"

The question surprised him and he considered his answer carefully. "Because he seemed innocent." The very walls seemed to cry at that statement and Ardeth waited for more, for an explanation to this madness.

They seemed so sad, so hopeless, bleeding their emotions into him without care. "We are the innocent," several whispers sounded, echoing and shifting position. "We are the ones Imhotep has enslaved. He kept us from passing over. We feel his terrible touch even still. Even on you, Chosen. You will die and be no different than us."

Ardeth leaned against a nearby sarcophagus on the floor and crossed his arms, wondering if these things would torment him now. "Why have you awakened me? Do you mean to keep me here?"

They paused as if considering, a tense moment that caused him unease. Who were they that could so dominate his emotions? Could he fight if these beings decided to keep him? He could sense their reluctance as they replied, "We want you here. You feed us. You quicken us. But you spared one of ours without care that he may be your death. Goodness should be repaid in kind. But you are so beautiful. So true. We want you."

Compared to the innocence in this room he did not feel so beautiful. Ardeth brushed his hair back, exhaling softly, thinking the sound too harsh for these souls to bear. Outside this solemn place he had the weight of the world on his shoulders and he was beginning to feel it become too burdensome. He had already been through so much pain and misery in so short a time. So much failure. "We have saddened you too far," they breathed contently, whispering those gentle, intangible fingers across his hair and shoulders. "There may be hope."

"Hope?" Ardeth retorted in a thick voice. Yes, they had gone too far, but how much of the grief was his? The Staff was gone. The Book of Amun Ra hidden. Evelyn suffered still and with the promise of betrayal still waiting to be written between them. Even now Imhotep took delight in her simple pleasure of wearing the gown of a lady instead of the clothes of a slave. The priest took hope in her treatment of him, for presently she was allowing him to be close, to enter into her thoughts as less than a murdering beast. "Imhotep can change the weather, defeat the world and keep spirits from passing on. How can I fight this?"

The emotions clouding these halls drew back from him. He could feel them watching in the dark, judging him perhaps? Or was it he that judged himself? "Will you do what is required of you?" they asked, just as he questioned himself whether or not he could.

Whether or not he could would remain to be seen. They wanted to know if he would risk trying and to that there could be only one answer despite his fears. He would do as he always had. He would harden himself to what lay ahead and perform. "Yes, I will." His heart would not allow him to take any other road, even those leading to life and joy.

"Then there may be hope." That hope reflected through them to him, tempting him from the sorrow of this place. "With your promise to free us, we will let you depart. We may not have if you had killed that boy, so be thankful you have such a true heart. This will be your salvation. But time grows short. Speak what you will to us."

He knew his first question even before he spoke it. "What are you?" he asked them, wanting to know more of these strange beings.

"We were innocent once until Imhotep seduced us with his power," they began in quiet, reminiscent voices. They took on a distinctly bitter edge. "Taken by his beauty and promises we became his servants, spellbound and helpless. He sacrificed us for his betterment and placed us here, binding us to this earth so that he could use our grace to strengthen himself. If you would know anything of us, know that we feed his magic. We can never pass to the afterworld."

Such was the source of their despair. To be bound on this planet without death or life, to wander without purpose and without peace. Imhotep had done this to these spirits, bound them to a fate worse than even his curse. He had stepped beyond revenge. Ardeth closed his eyes and flexed his right arm and fingers. "How can such evil wander this land?" he thought aloud, not expecting a reply, but it stirred a firm answer.

"You have been given a gift, Chosen. To understand him. Trust your heart when it comes to him and do not let your pride stand in the way. He is Master of the Dead—a neutral position. His innocence paid for that and your gift has brought him balance."

"Innocence? He killed a man for that position and yet you call him innocent?"

The sadness deepened and crept back into his veins. "You do not know his life and therefore cannot judge what came before. The murder committed by his hand was a grave sin, but is one sin worse than another against time? Do you know his heart after the king was slain? Do you know the difference between what he was then and what the curse has made him?" There was no rebuke in those statements, only the desire for him to understand just how unworthy any man is to judge. Heavenly wisdom.

Yet Imhotep had done his fair share of evil. Whether or not he had been innocent then was irrelevant. "Will I defeat him?"

"That we cannot tell. Only the Highest has that level of knowledge and can choose when to reveal it and to whom. Understanding will come. Do not forget us. It is urgent you remember."

The conversation was drawing to a close. He could sense them losing the will to allow his departure, and so he pushed himself up from the chilled stone and held out a hand, praying for guidance. When a hand clasped he was grateful for a break in the storm of fighting he had been so immersed in. It was refreshing to have help instead of grief.

The path was long and as he walked he found his saturated feelings were dimming, allowing his mind and heart to rest. They offered him no words of hope, no promises that all would work out in the end, nothing more than simple rest from having to feel it so desperately. It would come back, he knew, or perhaps they were telling him this. There was no denying what he was and would be until the day death found him at last. The mark of Heaven could not be undone. But for the moment all was quiet inside. Beautiful, blessed light assaulted the darkness of this mausoleum when they finally drew close to the exit and the time for quiet was ripped away.

The door stood wide open and he saw the body of the priest whose wrist Sajul had crushed. But all that blood could not have come from him. The spirits fled completely, leaving him to his own emotions and outside the door what he saw made him sick as he passed the threshold. Sajul had done this.

On the floor lay more than one priest, on the floor, on the walls, on the candle stands and benches. Ardeth stepped into a river of blood and had to cover his face from the horrid stench of burnt flesh. Spots within the bloodflow were dry and black, blood boiled into the surface of the floor with whole limbs leading from darkened spots as if the fire had not touched them.

The temple was deathly hushed, as silent as his mind right now. There were no words, mental or spoken, for this. And as he traversed the hall back towards the outer chamber, it only got worse. Blood wept down the walls mingled with flesh pieces and fabric and hair, causing Ardeth to swallow in sheer disgust of the power that had done this. Across the link between them Imhotep could sense his shock and wondered what was happening. Ardeth freely willing the images of this disgrace to the priest, but looked for no reaction. He was too enveloped in these visions before him, too terrible to look at or away from.

When he reached the outer chamber he heard a sound and froze, fearing Necromancer's power could now kill him if before it could not. But it wasn't his former-friend that made the sound, the retching and whimpering that came from the corner. Ardeth turned his head and sought through the stray bodies and parts until his eyes landed upon one single life, one person left intact and unmolested. The young boy he had let live.

The young priest's wide, terrorized eyes caught him looking and he whimpered, backing against the wall as far away as he could. "What happened?" Bay asked, not really needing an answer. Perhaps it was a need to affirm reality that made him speak.

"He came," the boy said in low, frightened tones. "He came and he used such dark powers. The Staff of Osiris. I've never…and the screams. The screams filled the halls, the rooms, everything." He issued a laugh on the verge of hysteria. "I can still hear them screaming. Can't you?" He needed air and Ardeth began towards him with the intent to help, but the kid only jerked away and laughed again. "He gave me a message for you. For Imhotep's Fear. He said to tell you Nefertiri is going to die."

So he had known all along the spirits would free him. Confusion spread through him, but fear for Evelyn's life burned like a wildfire. He had to get back to the palace and learn where she was. Necromancer was already ahead of him and there was no time to spare. "Come with me," he told the boy, but the priest refused to get up.

"No! I'm not going anywhere with you!" The priest buried his face in his hands, wiping desperately at his fresh tears. "I'm gonna be sick."

Ardeth took advantage of his distraction to approach and crouch by him. Laying a hand on the boy won a startled cry, but the Med-Jai didn't let him go. "I'm not going to hurt you. I'm going to hunt the thing that did this. You cannot stay in here. Come outside with me." He gave him little leave to disagree, yanking him to his feet and urging him towards the door.

Outside the night air hit them like a thousand blessings and Ardeth let him go, allowing him to sink to his knees and gasp for fresh air. "What am I going to do?" he lamented in a shaken tone as he rubbed his temples. The priest gave Ardeth a sidelong glance. "Are you going to kill me?"

The Med-Jai shook his head. "If I were going to kill you, would I have taken the trouble to bring you out here?" He sniffed and looked out across the night-splashed desert. "As to what you will do, I suggest you find a small town and take some rest. Try to forget what you have seen and make a new life."

"Yeah right," the boy muttered. "I'll be seeing that in my dreams until the day I die. Are you really the mythical 'Imhotep's Fear'? What the hell was that…what was he?"

"He is someone I'm going to have to kill. I must leave now, in fact. Is there any transportation here?" He looked down at the shivering, ever-distrusting boy. He may very well be in danger by this one, if he followed him to the palace and exposed him.

But whatever might have been hidden in his dark eyes faded. He pointed to the left of the temple stairs. "Around to the side there's horses, if that beast didn't kill them all. There's also a car. The Overseer has the key in his office." The priest shuddered and swallowed back in memory of the horror.

Ardeth looked back into the temple and inhaled deeply. Though he was loathe to return to the vision of mayhem inside, he had to concede a car would make this desperate trip go faster. Necromancer was full of half-truths, but with Evelyn he would take no chances.

~~~~~~~

Disclaimer: No infringement intended. Ahamad, Nashean, Mayadeh, Sajul/Necromancer, Arya, Layla, Sania and Reyhanen (and a few less significant originals) belong to me.

A/N: Gross, huh? :-O

To Reviewers:

Marxbros – Thank you! I thought the spirits might come off as hokey, so I'm happy to hear that some thought it was cool. :-D I think I've been at this story too long! And thanks for compliments on Rick and Rey. :-) Original characters are always something I'm iffy on doing, but what people say gives me confidence to bring them into play. Now to post my many Ardeth/Angela MarySues! ;-) Ha. Not really, no. Anyways, thanks a bunch, my friend! A birdie is telling you now that she looks forward to more Hereafter when time allows. ;-)

Mommints – I'll be setting up you and Neccy's marriage in the Ardeth's Wives fic…I hadn't thought of that. ;-) Lol. Thanks for the feedback!! It means a bunch! And email about my site…the only email I got around that time was the email with the link to Dr. Hawass's site…I could swear I replied to that. :-O Hmm…maybe I planned on it and had to leave the computer. Doh! Sorry about that…I'll fish through my cluttered inbox and see what I can't turn up. :-) And as for writing/time, well, the trick is to write a bunch beforehand and during the weeks between posting, instead of having to think up plot, just fine-tune what you have and make it fall in with other ideas you've added to the story since your "rough draft". So far I've only done that with this fic, for which I'm grateful now…which is why my other stories, IE: Mummy/LOTR, take weeks to post. ;-)

Lula – Hehehe, yes, I know I would be horrified. :-D But these things I love doing to Ardeth. ;-) Rick might take a liking to her perhaps. He's darn cute when he's flirty. ;-) Thanks, Lu! I'm glad you thought that section on Rick's studliness was funny. ;-) I wouldn't mind a ride on the O'Connell express myself. :-O Er that wasn't out loud, was it? ;-) Thanks for the compliments! :-D

Jessie C – Thanks! And thanks for the updates on your stories and sharing your ideas with me. :-) I hope you update Terror again soon!

Dead-Girls-Watch – Thanks! It's nice to hear someone else getting inspired and using their imaginations…now if only we could somehow hook our imaginations to some sort of Matrix and all of us have an Ardeth. ;-) Ah, that would be the life. Thank you for letting me know what you thought of the spirits. As I said to Marx, that's something I was iffy about. :-D

Marcher – Hehe…I had to put poor Ardeth through some more…he was up for a dose. But see, it turned out okay, huh? :-D Thanks…I'm very pleased to hear people thought it was creepy and not dumb. And thanks also for feedback on Rick and Rey…I usually ignore his love life when putting Evy with someone else, so I thought this time around I'd at least give him a foot in the door. ;-) Thanks, my friend!

Deana – Thanks as always for your feedback as well! I'm glad you approve of the nasty, terrible things I'm doing to Ardeth. ;-D Maybe someday he'll get a little break from all this insanity. :-D Thanks!