CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Ardeth walked towards the river bank and closed his eyes, willing the sight of Charlotte's terrified face out of his head. His mind was whirling with confusion and pain. How could she have done this to him, she had seemed so genuine, so in love with him. As he was with her, he thought, squeezing his eyes tighter as he felt moisture sting them. In all his years of battle and all those who had betrayed him, none had hurt him like this did.
He jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder, and turned to find Rick standing there. "Are you...I guess it's a stupid question to ask if you're okay?"
Ardeth shook his head. "I do not wish...I cannot...discuss this, O'Connell," he said, his voice low and husky as he fought his ragged emotions.
"I understand, it's okay," Rick said, grimacing. "I just had to let you know that we can't find the Professor. His stuff is all here, but he's nowhere to be found."
Ardeth looked up at him, his eyes dull. "Tell my men, they will send out a search party for him come daylight."
Rick nodded and shuffled uneasily from foot to foot. He didn't know what to say to his friend, or what to do. "I'll leave you alone," he said finally, figuring that was probably what Ardeth needed most at that moment.
Ardeth nodded and relaxed as his long-time friend left him to his misery, closing his eyes once more and withdrawing into himself. He needed no-one to touch him or talk to him at that moment, and his men must have sensed that, because they stayed away.
*******
Khalid stared down at the river from his perch atop a sand dune and he frowned. "He must be in great pain," he said, talking to Rachid who had come to sit by him.
"I should imagine so," the other man said. "I do not like to see it. Ardeth deserves happiness."
"And yet it seems that Allah has other plans for our great leader," Khalid murmured, troubled by the day's events. "We must ride home soon."
Rachid nodded. "Yes, we must begin to rebuild what has been destroyed. And the O'Connells must take their child, both children."
"I have a feeling, though," Khalid said, frowning even more. "This thing that the American calls a 'gut-feeling'? I believe it is what I have now. Something is not right here."
"The English woman betrayed our leader, of course something is not right!"
"No, no. Besides that, something is not right. The professor disappearing, the young girl acting so out of character, from what I could tell...Rachid, we must keep a close watch on everyone, because I believe that this is not yet over."
"You sense something bad?" Rachid asked him, looking serious.
"Yes, and we must be vigilant, you understand?" Khalid asked him, nodding as Rachid agreed. His eyes returned to Ardeth's solitary figure and he tried to decide when to approach his friend. Now was not the time.
********
Jonathan waited until dark and then went off on his own, sitting down in the sand where he had a good view of everything around him and uncorking the bottle of whisky he had brought with him. A damn good drink would do him good right about now, and God knew he needed it to try and help his befuddled mind make sense of what had transpired. He knew instinctively that Charlotte had done nothing wrong, but every time he had tried to talk to the others they had become severely upset and shouted him down. He didn't know how to act or what to do, but he couldn't just let Charlotte die out there in the desert. He had already decided to go out and try and find her, but he needed a little drink first.
So it was that his eyes caught a slight movement in the darkness and he stopped drinking to watch as a robed figure climbed stealthily onto a horse, his identity briefly a mystery until he turned around and stared back at the camp, obviously looking to see if he was watched. Jonathan frowned when he recognised Aslar's face in the small amount of light from the moon. He had never trusted the man for some reason, and now was no exception. Seeing him start moving slowly away from camp, Jonathan decided to follow. Maybe this had something to do with Charlotte, and he could help her in some way. Whatever, he was desperate for answers, and he knew no-one else would be remotely interested in getting them. It was up to him.
He found his horse with ease and checked the water skins hanging from the saddle, pleased that he had the foresight to fill them a few hours earlier, now he was already prepared for a journey. He hoisted himself onto the saddle and set off at a slow walk, following the distant dark figure easily and praying he wouldn't be seen if Aslar should happen to look back again.
Two hours later he looked around him in astonishment. They had been riding away from the Nile and it had just looked like ordinary desert to Jonathan, especially in the dark. But now he had seen several outcrops of rock that reminded him of something, of a previous journey, and he got a faint tingle of fear down his spine as he realised they could very well be heading for Hamunaptra. The moon had risen to its zenith and its light was excellent to travel by, but not so good for hiding. Several times he had pulled back and hidden behind sand dunes or rocks when he had thought Aslar would notice him. He was quite sure the other man would probably gallop back and kill him if he saw him, and so far he had escaped such a fate, so he thought he hadn't been seen. The further they went, the more certain he was of their destination. Aslar had picked up speed after stopping briefly and looking at the sand below him, and Jonathan could see why when he followed his gaze. There were other marks in the sand here and they led off ahead of them, left by other horses. Jonathan felt his heart pick up speed as he realised this could be Charlotte and that other Arab person, and he kicked his horse into a faster walk to match speed with Aslar. He would not let the man out of his sight, not once. Charlotte's life could depend on it.
********
Charlotte woke up when she felt something light brushing her face and she opened her eyes to see Grayson looming over her, a cold smile on his lips. "Ah, about time. Good morning, my dear. I trust you slept well?"
She started and sat up, looking around her with wide eyes. The last thing she remembered was being tied to a horse and finding out that Grayson was...something else. Then she had passed out. But that had been hours ago and she should have awoken before now. She had been untied and had obviously lain on the sand all night. Her confused eyes went to Grayson's and he smiled again.
"Confused again, are we? That seems to be your constant state. I put a sleep spell on you, to make sure you were good and rested for the day's events," he murmured, grabbing her wrist and hauling her up to her feet roughly. "Recognise this place?"
Charlotte looked around her and gasped, remembering the last time she had been here, when those two men had kidnapped her. "This...this...is Hamunaptra."
"That's right. You remember your companions, Peter Hall and Philip Stewart? They were good friends of mine, although not the most intelligent or the most patient. Had they only waited a little while longer, we would all have had what we needed."
"You knew them?" she whispered, staring at him in shock.
"Of course, I was the one who arranged everything. But they couldn't wait, and so they kidnapped you and your brother. Seems they paid dearly for their haste," he said with a malicious smile. "I, on the other hand, know how to bide my time. I have these now," he said, puling his sleeve up and showing her the three silver bracelets, "which means I have the displacement spell I need, and I also have the blood I need. Imhotep will rise and he will join me, and then everything will change."
"So you're going to murder me?" she asked him, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Oh, I don't think you should call it murder. You're going to be used for a higher purpose than mere murder," he said, grabbing her chin and tilting her face up to his. "A shame you have to be untouched, I would sorely love to try you out. Still, needs must when the devil drives, and all that." He took a length of rope and tied her hands with it, looping it around a nearby broken pillar and tying it tightly. "Just so you don't go anywhere." He looked up suddenly and then turned his head to scan the surrounding desert. "Ah, here comes our good friend Aslar. We can begin the ceremony soon." He released her and she leaned against a nearby chunk of fallen masonry, breathing unsteadily and wishing she had died in the desert as Ardeth had decreed. Tears filled her eyes again at the hopelessness of her situation, and she wondered if she would be able to get away this time. She doubted it. There were no Med-jai to save her, not now. They would as soon run her through with a sword than look at her.
She watched as Aslar joined the professor and the two men started talking in hushed tones, pointing to various different spots in the sand before Aslar took two spades down from his horse and handed one to Grayson.
"Now you stay right there, my dear," Grayson said, pushing her shoulders so she was sitting down again. "We have a lot of work to do if we're to get back in this tomb before dark." He patted her cheek and walked off, the two men soon disappearing from sight.
Charlotte thought of the stories Evy had told her about Imhotep and she knew that he could never be raised again, she knew what it could mean if he was. The only good thing was that Grayson had said something about her having to be untouched for the ceremony, and she only hoped that meant what she thought it did, because she was in no way untouched now. After a couple of hours of wallowing in her own misery, she realised that neither the Professor nor Aslar had reappeared even once. The fact that the two men had gone gave her the freedom to test her bonds, and she tugged at them, managing to move one hand enough to pluck at the rope. Failing to get her hands free she tried the end that was tied to the pillar, giving a relieved sigh when she easily untied it and moved slowly away, keeping watch to see where the two men were. For all his talk, the professor hadn't been intelligent enough to tie her hands behind her instead of in front of her, and it had made her escape easy. Now all she had to do was get away from here and try and raise the alarm. Although, with who, was anyone's guess, because the Med-jai would certainly never listen to a word she said.
****
Khalid and Rachid watched the camp diligently that night, and were aware of the movements of every person there, including Jonathan and Aslar. When they went off into the desert on horseback, one man following the other, Rachid rushed to the horses along with Khalid, following them silently from a great distance, something they were incredibly skilled at. They stayed together only long enough to figure out where they were going, then Khalid muttered an oath. "You know where they are headed, my friend," he said to Rachid, frowning. "Follow them, watch their movements closely and I will rejoin you by first light. I must tell Ardeth of this occurrence."
Rachid nodded and waved his comrade off, continuing to follow the distant figures of Aslar and Jonathan, intent on finding out what it was they thought they were doing. It could not be a coincidence that they were heading for the city of the dead at this time, when betrayal and anger had the whole camp in an uproar.
****getting there....slowly......:-)****
