CHAPTER SIX

During the rest of the journey nothing out of the ordinary happened and they arrived at Hamunaptra, which had been the city of the dead, or what was left of it, with the last lights of the day. The two of them dismounted there, while the rest of the men left to set the camp further away from the city. Ardeth walked over to check around it, leaving her alone for the moment. With those intense dusk lights, Hamunaptra looked exquisite. Its columns rose from the sand majestically, carved with delicate flowers that were typical of the ancient Egyptians. It was a sad remainder of the glory of Egypt. She looked out in every direction of the desert and then headed to one of the crumbled walls, and, by impulse, touched it. Ardeth had followed her and saw the look in her eyes as she touched the wall. Then, Jean wavered a bit, and started to fall. Ardeth caught her in his arms.

"Jean?"

She could hear him say her name, but the dizziness hung over her for a few moments. When she finally shook it off, she opened her eyes and was staring directly into Ardeth's soft, caring eyes.

"Jean? Can you hear me?"

"I'm fine…it is a vision..."

"I shouldn't have let you touch that wall," he whispered softly. He bent over a bit and swung an arm under her knees, carrying her in a fireman's hold and lay her in the sand. Her dreams were jumbled and troubled. She saw something come after her; it was not clear what it was. But reminded her of a spirit.

She tried to run from it. Her mind told her to run from it. But she couldn't move. There was a bright light…a bright blue light… it burned her eyes. The spirit was coming after her. RUN! Her mind screamed. RUN! But still, her legs wouldn't move.

There was an intense noise. It hurt her ears. But when she tried to cover them, there was another intense noise, this one louder then the first one. And she felt a great pain. She closed her eyes, tears seeping from the sides. She saw the blood dripping from her arm. The light got brighter, and the noise got louder. It got to the point where she couldn't take it any more. And then it stopped. Everything stopped. There was an eerie silence.

Jean woke up screaming. She screamed and screamed. And screamed until she could not scream anymore. Tears fell from her closed eyes, and she was holding her right arm to her chest.

"Jean…" he reached out to gently stroke her hair. She was staring at her arm.

"This time it hurt more…more than ever. The day is coming and I am in great danger."

He stared at her. "Jean," Ardeth said finally, "I am promising you right now that I will watch over you. I am not going to let these men or Imhotep get you, or kill you. I promise you, as long as you are with the Med-jai, or with me, that you will be safe from whatever can be wanting to harm you." He looked into her eyes. "I promise you."

She couldn't say a word, so she just looked at him, her eyes filled with gratitude. He helped her up and then they went to the camp. He took her to her tent that had just been set up, exactly as it was in the previous camp, and she lay in bed, exhausted. He left her alone for a minute and glanced around the camp one last time to make sure everything was in order, then he entered the tent, got down on the bed next to Jean, pulled the blanket up and over both of them and laid down. Jean's heart pounded as she felt him lie next to her, but the warrior was still. She had just started to relax her tense muscles, when she felt him roll over. Suddenly, one of his strong arms came around her waist.

Ardeth felt her tense as his arm went around her, and he knew exactly what she was thinking.

"I told you, you have nothing to fear from the Medjai, including myself. I will not take a woman who is not given to me willingly. But this is the only way I have to protect you. You told me yourself that you are in danger. So I keep you close to me."

His voice was soft in her ear and she could feel his chest rumble against her back as he spoke. She believed him. He was sincere and she was exhausted from the long day of events and felt secure in his arms.

"I am not afraid of you, Ardeth. Good night."

"Good night."

Long after she was asleep, Ardeth watched her. After living in the desert for so long he had learnt to control himself and for living under a religion in which chastity was to be respected and treasured, he would not take a woman he wasn't married to, unless she threw herself at him or earned a living by selling her body, which was hardly Jean's case. He reached forward and gently stroked her hair. It was soft and silky under his fingertips. He liked the feel of it. He couldn't help himself, and leaned over and kissed her forehead gently. She stirred, but did not wake, and rubbed herself against his body.

"You try my strength and integrity, Little One," he whispered.

Then, he smiled to himself. The American woman was beautiful. Sighing softly, he fell into his shallow sleep.

***

The next morning, when he saw his brother leave Jean's tent, Tarek took the opportunity to grab his arm. "Can I have a talk with you Ardeth?"

"Of course…"

"What's going on with you?"

"What exactly do you mean?"

"I mean are you and Jean…?"

"No! I just stay with her because she has nightmares…and I want to protect her."

"You have fallen for her!"

"Ok, Tarek, you can believe whatever pleases you," he said softly. "But I am not going to let anything happen to her, that is for sure."

"Just remember, Ardeth, she is a beautiful woman, and you are just a man."

"I know, brother. I won't tell you I have no feelings for her at all, but she will not stay here. She has a life back in America. And besides…I can control my own feelings…"

"For the moment…"

"We shall see. I am leaving now"

"Where will you go?"

"I will just explore the surroundings. When Jean awakens, you and Ahmad shall take care of her. Do not, under any circumstance, allow her to touch anything from the city of the dead. I trust you, Tarek"

"I will be proven trustworthy. Go in peace, my brother."

***

He sat on his horse, Quicksand, on top of the sandy dune, a solitary figure; the wind playing with his black robes and hair as he contemplated the vastness that surrounded him. The Sahara stretched out before him in endless miles of dunes and valleys, shaped over time by the mighty winds that blew across the desert. The heat rose up to meet the pale blue sky in the quiet morning.

Ardeth Bay gazed upon the stretch of desert as he thought about the future. His people's future. If Jean was right, someone was going to awaken the creature. He frowned as he thought about that. They had guarded against the evil for so many centuries that they had had little else to think about. Now that the moment of the test was coming, what would they do? They looked to him for leadership, young as he was, for he had taken over when his father had died in an attack. But now their oath was about to be proven with the resurrection of Imhotep. Where they ready to fight? He found no answers as he looked out over the desert and, in frustration, he wheeled his horse around and rode towards the camp.

The warrior needed no landmarks to guide him back, for he knew the desert well. Half an hour later he arrived. He swung his long leg over the back of the horse and climbed down, handing the reigns to one of the men.

"Give him a good rub down, I rode him hard today." The man bowed and walked into the corral with the horse. Ardeth surveyed the camp, noting everyone at their tasks and then entered his tent. He had only taken a few steps inside, when he heard a familiar voice come from the corner.

"It took you long this time to come back to us."

Ardeth whipped around and saw his grandfather; the sparkle in his eyes could be seen in the darkened tent.

"You delight in my torment, old one, for if I die at a young age, it will be from you giving me heart failure," said Ardeth as he removed his scimitars.

The old warrior chuckled at his grandson in amusement. "Is that any way to greet your kin?" He asked with a smile.

Ardeth sighed as he removed his turban from his head. "Good morning, grandfather."

"Such a heavy sigh from one so young. Are the responsibilities of our people too much for you?"

Ardeth ran a hand through his hair as he sat down on a carpet, and proceeded to lean back against a large pillow. He couldn't disguise the frustration in his voice as he answered. "No grandfather."

"Then what?"

Ardeth put his hands behind his head and closed his eyes, trying to put his feelings into words that his grandfather could understand. "I fear we will not be able to defeat Imhotep if he is resurrected..." he frowned, unable to continue.

"Ardeth, the oath of the Medjai is an ancient responsibility for our people that weighs our tribe down. But you, as their leader, will be able to vanquish the monster."

Ardeth looked at his grandfather fondly. "I hope so," he said vehemently.

The old warrior looked at his flesh and blood with pride and affection, noting the stubborn tilt of the chin and the sparkle of defiance from his eyes. He was so much like his father, he mused.

"Have you seen Jean today?"

"Yes, she went to the Nile to…I think you better go see it for yourself"

Ardeth left the tent and headed towards the river, where he found Jean washing a pile of clothes, with Tarek and Ahmad staring at her, their mouths wide opened.

"Jean Marquet, what the hell you think you are doing?" His friends jumped in surprise and didn't dare to look at him in his eyes. But Jean remained calm as she turned to face him.

"Well good morning, sunshine"

"I repeat: what do you think you are doing?"

"Geez, someone got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning…I am just doing some washing…"

"Are those your clothes?"

"Nope."

"Then I do not understand…"

"I just found out that many of your men didn't have enough clothes to wear because most of them were dirty, so I washed them…"

"You what?????????? Ahmad, Tarek, how come you didn't stop her?"

"We tried, Master," said the first one, humbly. "But she got away with it."

"She is as stubborn as you are," added the second.

"It's not their fault, Ardeth, I am simply too strong-willed."

"You are risking your health. I forbid you to go on with this."

Ahmad and Tarek felt she was about to explode, so they took a few steps away, leaving Ardeth facing a very displeased Jean Marquet.

"You are FORBIDING me to wash your men's clothes because I am risking my health? Well allow me to tell you something, mister I-think-I'm-too-fucking-good-to-be-true, I am doing this because it makes me feel useful and I'll be damned if I stop doing it just because you FORBID me to!"

"Jean, I…"

"And one more thing, you omnipotent desert man, I am not made of fucking porcelain, so stop treating me as if I was about to break! Got it, my Lord? So if you excuse me, I have to go get another load of clothes." Jean left Ardeth speechless.

"She is a spirited one", adventured Ahmad.

"Tell me about it." said Ardeth.