Conclusion…??

Horse and rider galloped over several miles of desert landscape, finally coming to rest near a small outcropping of rocks that faced the city. She pulled her horse to a quick stop, and jumped out of the saddle with the fluid grace that had been bred into her people for thousands of years. She hurried to a small cave nestled in one wall, and ducked inside the cool interior, her vision adjusting to the dimly lit area until she saw Igmi kneeling beside a mound of blankets on the ground.

"I pray that your scouting trip was successful?" Igmi asked without looking up. He peered down at the linen bandage and sighed with relief; the wound was healing slowly but the stitches were still intact.

The blankets moved. "Tell me…how is he?" Muhjah-Aji's weakly asked question prompted Mernissa run to her friend's side.

"Shshsh," Mernissa crooned to her best friend as she bent down and gently smoothed a few errant strands of hair from her face. "You need to rest; we will talk later."

Muhjah-Aji shook her head as Igmi replaced the dressing with a clean one. "My heart will not allow me to rest until I know…" she whispered sadly.

Mernissa sighed and reached for Muhjah-Aji's hand as if to impart some meager comfort. "I saw him, and he is alive and well," she quickly stated. "He was sitting with his brother and…and…"

"They are handsome," Muhjah-Aji finished with a weak smile as she toyed with the frayed edges of the blanket.

Mernissa returned the smile. "They are. Now you must rest and let Igmi finish tending to your wound."

Muhjah-Aji nodded her head and sighed. "He is alive and my heart soars with happiness. We have lost everything but knowing Reyhan is alive will make our transition into a life away from the Hunud much easier."

"What would make my task easier now is for you to rest, little one," Igmi gently reprimanded Muhjah-Aji as he tied the ends of the bandage around her torso. Minutes later he gestured for Mernissa to follow him and they walked outside the cave, facing the city as the sun reached its zenith in the noon hour. "Where will you and Muhjah go, now that you are considered traitors among your people?" he asked quietly.

Mernissa shook her head, the weight of an uncertain future settling heavily on her shoulders. "I do not know. Perhaps if Uthmann-Dunoud's call for reform is heard, and when the political upheaval within the tribe is settled, we could return."

"You are always welcome in my home," Igmi said as he stared out across the landscape. "Muhjah-Aji is like a daughter to me and my heart aches to think of you both forever wandering the sands of the Sahara, friendless and homeless."

Mernissa stiffened from Igmi's offer for a moment, and her pride pushed aside better judgment until the stark reality of her life softened her reply. "You have my thanks, and perhaps one day we will come see you. For now, it is better that we remain in hiding; we have little choice."

"She surrendered so much because she loves him," Igmi said, referring to Muhjah-Aji's sacrifice for Reyhan. "Will you continue to support her in the days to come?"

"She is my friend, and my only family. We have grown tired of the Hunud way of life, and we have always wanted to seek a better alternative," Mernissa sighed. "She is all that I have now in this life."

Igmi placed a comforting hand on Mernissa's shoulder. "Than I shall pray to Allah that you are successful, and that someday soon all that you have dreamed of will come true."

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Prelude for what is to come…

Good Shepherd Orphanage

Town of Minya

Same day, one hour after noon

"Don't move, for the love of God, Sunny, just don't move." Thomas Harwin Payne murmured to his step-sister in a soft chant as he watched the landlord vacate the premises. He clenched his fists with frustration when he heard Sunny's small whimper of distress, a sound he had vowed she would never utter again. The last time Sunny had been this upset was when her husband, Cameron Lafferty, had filed a petition for a divorce, charging that Sonia was unable to perform her wifely duties.

Sonia was unable to bear children and to a man like Cameron, who had greedy visions of building his empire with his sons, this was not acceptable. "No need for reconciliation, my dear," he had cruelly and gleefully informed her the night he moved out. "I've already found a more suitable partner for me, both in and out of the bedroom. Try not to take this to heart; I'm sure you'll find someone who can graciously overlook this simple flaw. Say, someone who doesn't want any children."

Thomas remembered with relish that Sunny threw Cameron out on his ear, and that her dignified husband landed in the gutter along with the other trash. It took a lot to make Sunny lose her temper; usually his sweet step sister had the patience of a saint.

"The blood, Thomas, it's coming out from underneath the bed…" Sonia Elisabeth Lafferty whispered in anguish as she clasped her hands tighter in an effort to stop their shaking. "It's flowing like a small river…oh God."

"Stay strong," Thomas' eyes narrowed as Kasib Mus'ad, landlord and owner of the land that the orphanage was situated on, paused at the front gates. The small rotund man seemed to enjoy tormenting his tenants, and he glanced around the small courtyard as if to procure an estimate of its worth. "The bastard, I'll bet you can't wait until this is all yours, can ya?" he muttered as he pasted a fake cheery smile on his face and waved at the other man. "Wave, my dear girl, and let's hope the son of a…"

"Thomas," Sunny admonished even as she complied with Thomas' wishes. "The children might hear you."

"Son…son of a pig trips and falls on his way out," Thomas' eyes darted over to Sunny. "If he happens to break his neck, all of our problems would be solved. No more ridiculous high rent payments to make, no more of him leering at you as he rubs himself. Hell Sunny, he said he would waive a month's payment if you go to dinner with him. The bastard."

Sunny shook her head and quelled the urge to glance back at the bed, the small narrow bed that had miraculously become too small for the man they had found half dead in the barn four days ago. "I will not wish any misfortune on another human being, Thomas. No matter how vile they are," she murmured as she recalled how the class had been interrupted that day by a few students who had found the man. The children literally flew out of their seats when one of the boys took great care in describing the strange dark tribal tattoos that covered the man's face; they wanted to see him and raced outside. Dignity and decorum were a rarity at the orphanage and no amount of hand clapping or whistling from Sunny could have brought them back.

She had lingered for only a moment in the empty classroom before Umayma's abrupt appearance in the doorway propelled her into action. "You must come, missy," the older woman gasped as she tried to catch her breath from running. "Roshi is with him."

Roshi. Sunny's special little boy, a youngster with sad, dark eyes who had witnessed far too much in his seven years of life. A sensitive mute child who had seen the violent death of his parents, and still had nightmares from it. Sunny had raced from the classroom and in doing so, had unwittingly changed her life forever.

"He's gone. Finally!" Thomas exclaimed and whirled around. Along with Sunny, they dove for the bed and flattened themselves on the ground, peering underneath it.

"I don't know how he did it," Sunny said as her hand frantically swept back and forth, trying to snag a pant leg. "I knew he had heard Kasib coming, but I would have never though he had enough strength to get out of bed, let alone crawl underneath it. Can you see him?"

Thomas ignored Sunny's question as he pushed himself further under the bed, squinting his eyes to adjust to the dark corners. "C'mon big guy, wake up just a little and give me some help here. You're too darn big to move on my own."

"Must…not…be seen," a deep rumbling voice came from in front of Thomas. With a groan the warrior pushed himself towards the two unlikely people who were his salvation; he grabbed Thomas' hand and held on.

"Berin," Thomas sighed in relief.

"You must have torn your stitches open," Sunny said as she crawled closer to Thomas. "Why did you move, Berin? You're still not completely well and your shoulder has yet to heal."

"It is…imperative…that my…presence here remains…undetected," Berin panted as he was helped out from under the bed; the process was slow and methodical as it drained the last reservoirs of his strength. "Mus'ad is…greedy and ambitious…would…use me."

Thomas exchanged worried glances with Sunny once they had Berin free from the bed; unable to lift him they decided to keep him on the floor for the moment and he gestured for her to place her hands over his shoulder wound as he stood up. "You're talking in riddles again," he said to the warrior. "But that's okay with me; I'm more concerned about that hole that refuses to close up. I'll be back with my bag."

"What do you mean 'use' you?" Sunny asked as she stayed over Berin, applying a small amount of pressure to his shoulder while Thomas ran from the room. She nervously chewed her lower lip as her violet colored eyes danced with worry. "And don't tell me it's not my concern; you're in my orphanage, mister. If you've brought trouble here and any of my children get hurt, I will take matters into my own hands."

Berin smiled weakly at the woman hovering above him, a reaction in itself a rarity since he infrequently found anything humorous. Only those closest to him saw the occasional bouts of mirth since Khalee's death had all but taken the light from his soul. "Are…you…threatening me?" he whispered in disbelief as the edges of darkness closed in.

Sunny's heart clenched in fear when she saw Berin's eyes flutter shut. She leaned down as she applied more pressure to stop the bleeding. "Stay awake and find out," she challenged.

"I…I know…where the riches…of Egypt…are buried," Berin sighed and lost consciousness moments later.

"Berin...Berin!" Sunny called out to him, afraid that this wonderfully mysterious man had finally succumbed to his wound.

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A/N well what can I say? This has been a wonderful ride, one that I've been reluctant to end, but nevertheless end it must. Sorry for the long lapse in the update but RL has turned upside down with the remodeling that's been going on…plus I've tweaked my site, added a few things on, and oh yes…I've started "The Other Side", sequel to "Somewhere In Time."

I could go into a long and lengthy shout-out but you know who you are, the ones who faithfully kept reading, the ones who've appreciated my tales of Ardeth and his warrior's adventures. Your feedback often inspired, if not made my day and for that you have my immense gratitude.

Dare I hope that you'll continue reading the next story and the one after that as well? Raphael's tale needs to be told next, and things aren't looking too good for Ardeth…you know me, does a story really ever end? LOL Many many thanks to my beta, Serena and to Tori who started to beta this in the beginning.

Most of all, many many thanks to you, the reader…shukran. Stay tuned…Berin's tale will be coming after "The Other Side", I promise.