~Begin Chapter~
Seth enjoyed more than ever in causing all the mayhem and destruction. It pleased him more than anything could please a person. He had fun to cause fires and to kill people, it was all so much fun! But soon, he found himself bored; bored of having so much power and no one to fight against that would truly stand a chance.
One night Seth looked up at the sky, the cloudy dark sky and yelled, "Horus! You falcon headed freak, show yourself!! I'm tired of this nonsense!! No one has become as strong as me! FIGHT ME!"
"I cannot!" Horus replied, his voice only no sign of his being anywhere. "This isn't my world to protect, I have to let Earth defend itself."
"COWARD!!" Seth yelled raising his power beyond what he had usually shown. Lightning sparked and flashed all over and came from him. The dust blew up in a destructive sand storm. The sky only blackened more for five minutes then all was calm. Seth looked up at the sky again, "Alright, fine, I'll look for a good competitor!"
~~In London Docks~~
A large heavy crate was being hauled off a large ship. The men carrying it grunted and complained, "What's in here? A car?!"
"No, cars are lighter," the other, said. "I'm betting it's just some shipment of tea."
"Eh, sounds right," the other said as they threw it over to the side with all their strength. The crate hit a wall. The two men walked off, not noticing the cracks in the crate.
Plunk, plunk, plunk! Crack! A sword blade showed through the wood of the crate then was withdrawn and a mouth took its place. The person inside the crate gasped for the air, enjoying the fresh air, well as fresh air is on a crowded dock. Out from the crate came the tall dark figure we met back in Egypt. He had somehow escaped the terrible sieges of small Egyptian towns and made it out of Cairo just before Seth set his evil armies their way.
"For the love of Ra! This is a cold place!" He said shivering. "Ra! Make it more warm please!"
But his cries were not heard, the figure walked along past the rest of the lines of men checking in and out of work. No one bothered to stop him, even in his mere loincloth and dark skin and no shoes or even a cap. Walking the streets was a totally different story though! The woman gasped, their husbands/fathers covering their eyes and cursing at the boy. An officer approached him
"You there! Get some clothes on! Have you no respect for the ladies?!" the officer asked in a hard tone. "Go to the shop and get clothes!"
"I have no money, sir," he replied in a gentle tone.
"Here then," the officer gave him money.
"Thank you," he said and walked off. All of a sudden, after he had entered the store the officer gasped and looked around yelling "Where's my money?!"
The man got him self a pair of pants and a button up shirt and some sandals in the cheap store, not having enough to cover it all, but for some reason he let it slide. He thanked the store clerk and left.
He walked up the streets, not exactly knowing where he was to go, just letting his feet lead him. He knew he was to be here, and just didn't know where to go. Finally, he walked by a large iron gate. He looked through the pickets of the gate and saw a path leading up to a large manor on the hill. He looked at the address, The O'Connell Manor. He looked around at the lawn with its grass so tall. He instantly thought, this is the place.
He jiggled at the gates, pushing and pulling rapidly not even able to budge it. He looked around to see if he could find a hole or someplace to crawl over. He looked over at the vine covered stonewall, then the plan struck up. He walked over to it and used the vine branches as foot holders and holding onto the gate using it to hold him steady as he put one foot over the other. He jumped over to the other side as soon as he got high enough.
"Oof! That road is harder than it looks," he said to himself as he dusted him self off. He straigtened out his pants and shirt and tried hard to make his hair look a little tame. He took a breath and walked on to the manor. He knocked on the elaborately carved door. He knocked quite a few times before someone answered.
"hello-Rick?!" Jonathan gasped. The figure chuckled and shook his head.
"No, I am not who you think I am, but I am here to help," he said calmly. Jonathan gave him a puzzled look and closed the door a little.
"And who are you, sir?" Jonathan asked. The figure smiled, as he did everything seemed to be calm and at peace.
"I am just a friend," he said.
"Well, friend, what is your name?"
"For now, you may call me Russ," he said.
"Alright, and why are you here?" Jonathan asked politely.
"I am here to help the man of the house."
"He is not well, he cannot take visitors."
"I am not just a visitor, but someone to help," he said.
For some reason, Jonathan couldn't help but believe him and nodded, "Alright, alright, come in."
Jonathan opened the door wider and let him in. The figure walked down the hall up the stairs and down another hall and into a room. He looked around and saw Evy sitting in a chair, thin and pale with grief, looking down at a man who looked like himself. He was immobile and looked dead.
"Hey, how did you know where this room was?" Jonathan asked, just now entering after catching up with Russ.
"I let the gods and goddesses lead me," he said. He looked down at Rick. "He looks so much like me."
"Yes he does," Evy said just now waking up. Russ looked at her his eyes so sad and full of pity for her. "I just woke up, I almost mistook you for my husband."
Russ walked over to her, "You're so weak and pale. You should get something to eat."
"I've told her that many times, but she hasn't eaten much," Jonathan said. Russ looked at him.
"You're her brother right?" Russ asked. Jonathan nodded. "Well, you are certainly a protective brother. It is a good characteristic in a person, even if one is a bumbling ne'er do well that gambles a lot."
Jonathan looked a little indignant at him, "I beg your pardon?"
"My apologies if I've offended you," he said. He looked up out the hall window suddenly as if sensing something bad. "I think we should leave. We have to leave London immediately."
"Where would we go?" Evelyn asked.
"We will leave on a ship, to France and trek south from there. We will carry your husband," Russ said. "We will need more than just three to do this. Is there anymore in the household?"
"Yes, Ardeth Bay is staying with us and there is my son," Evelyn said getting up but sat back down quickly in dizziness. Russ patted the air around her.
"Stay down," he said. "Get more food in your system first. You'll have to have much energy for our journey. I'll get the others, Jonathan, get your sister some food and water."
Russ got up and left, leaving Jonathan a little dumbstruck.
He asked a little too late, "How did you know my name?"
Russ walked down the hall up another flight of stairs and down a hall and listened. He could hear some faint mumbling and sobs. He walked down the hall to the end room. He knocked on the door.
"Who is it?" came the reply of a young kid.
"I am here to help you and your father, you can call me Russ, young O'Connell," Russ said. Alex got up and opened the door.
"Da-"
"No, I am not your father," he said. "I know I look like him. But the Gods sent me to help you and your family. Help me find Ardeth Bay, we need his help as well."
"For what?" Alex asked.
"We are leaving London, we must hide for a while.
"Alright," Alex said darting out the door and walked down the hall, Russ following closely.
In a few minutes they were all gathered in the infirmary. Ardeth looked at Russ strangely, something seemed eerily familiar about him but he couldn't put his finger on it.
"Alright, we have to leave London, evil is coming our way, and letting it come to London would cause a world wide chaos. We should lead the evil to a more remote place a place where no one will know what is going on," Russ said.
"Where would we go?" Alex asked.
"We'll go to somewhere in France, or even in the Mediterranean if possible," Russ replied.
"How could we fight in the sea?" Evelyn asked.
"I don't know, the Gods are just telling me what to do," he said. "Our fate is in their hands."
"Yes, it is," Jonathan said. "Well, when should we leave?"
"Now," Russ said. And so they did, Jonathan and Ardeth carried Rick, Alex helped his mother as since she was still a little weak and they followed Russ.
~In Egypt~
Seth just came out his meditation; he looked up at Imhotep and Mathyus who were towering over him expectantly. Seth smirked, "They've gone. A Medjai leads them. Strangely enough, this Medjai should be dead."
"What? A dead Medjai leads them?" Imhotep asked confused.
"There's something up with him," Seth said. "I will figure it out soon enough."
"What are we to do?" Mathyus asked.
"We will wait here. Send half the army into the south and have tem conquer lands. I want to have the beginnings of an empire when they get here," Seth said. "MOVE!"
~~End Chapter~~