This is a pretty short chapter. Sorry about that. But I figured I should go ahead and get in while I finish up with the rest of the story.
Faerie of Egypt: A romance between Ardeth and Elizabeth? Sorry, he's old enough to be her father. No smoochies in this fic for Elizabeth, but that's not out of the picture for the future. I am contemplating writing more little stories incorporating the O'Connell family and the world of the Slayer. What do you think?
immortalwizardpirateelf-fan: Nah, I won't have Elizabeth fight Anck-Sunamun because it would be far too easy though I'm sure she'll want to do some rather violent things to her. But Elizabeth is too powerful for the likes of Anck-Sunuman and there would be nothing left for Evy to fight. I have other things in store for this lil' slayer. But you may be on to something on the race against the sun.
Saxifrage: Duly noted, but I was way ahead of you there. You didn't think I would write a story with a slayer in it without some baddies from the slayer-universe? Not vampires, but there sure will be demons. And any original characters I make are not off limits to anything, in fact I'm more prone to kill off my own characters than the canon characters. But I kind of wanted to expand on the O'Connell slayer so the chances of her dying in this fic are slim to none. Thanks for the extra loofas lol.
Thanks also to Lilylynn for reviewing.
Chapter Seven Title: Bread Crumbs
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The stupid chain on Alex's ankle was extremely chafing as he walked round and round in a circle out of boredom in the interior of the temple of Karnak. Since his last escape attempt everyone seemed to wise up and now he was chained to a stake driven into the rocky floor of the temple. Perfect.
Lock-Nah came storming towards the boy in a frenzy of fury and humiliation. Alex gasped and lifted up the wrist with the bracelet saying, "Hold it, partner."
Lock-Nah growled to the boy, "When the time comes, I shall truly enjoy killing you."
Alex smiled defiantly and patted the man. "But until then, you had better be nice to me. Now, where's my water?" With a pang he thought of how proud his sister would be of his impertinence.
The tall, dark-skinned man almost went from dark brown in color to purple as anger and indignation flew through his veins. He shoved the cup of water into Alex's waiting hands and prepared to stalk off when the boy joked, "What, no ice?"
Snarling he left the room in a huff leaving Alex alone and formulating a plan. He drank a bit of the water letting it soothe his parched lips and throat and even rubbed some on his face and golden blonde hair. He then kneeled to the sandy floor and poured the water onto the floor. He began to mold the sand into some very distinct shapes.
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Their bodies tense and their voices quieted, Ardeth Bay, Rick, and Elizabeth crept to the train cars standing at the end of the tracks. Elizabeth could sense no life here save their own, but she didn't want to believe it. She didn't want to believe that they had missed their chance at rescuing her brother.
They jumped onto the train and burst into the parlor car only to find it abandoned. Elizabeth's heart sank as what she already had known became grim reality. They had missed them and they didn't know where to go next.
"They've gone! We missed them," Ardeth Bay spat in disgust.
Meanwhile, Evelyn strolled through the Karnak temple looking desperately for any sign of her son. She saw the telltale signs of brief habitation from overturned cups, food, tent pitches, and fire pits. Her dark blue eyes caught on something very familiar. She raced towards the object recognizing it as her son's little tie lying beside a pile of sand—no that wasn't a pile of sand.
"Rick! Lizzie!" she called out in excitement.
Rick, Elizabeth, and Ardeth Bay came racing in to see what the problem was. They stopped short at what they saw on the ground.
"Alex left us his tie. And," she dusted some sand off the "sand castle", "he built us a sand castle. It's the Temple Island of Philae. They've gone to Philae!"
"Wow. Good going, Alex," Elizabeth murmured, feeling an elating sense of hope emerge once more out of the gloomy despair that withheld it. Hope was born again on a simple thing like a sand castle.
"Atta boy, Alex! Let's go!" Rick exclaimed joyfully.
Ardeth Bay relayed the message to his brethren using Horus that they were to go to the Temple Island of Philae.
When the rescue party reached Philae, Imhotep and his followers had already left, but Alex again left a bread crumb behind. His jacket lay over top a sand castle in the shape of the temple at Abu Simbel.
"The great temple at Abu Simbel!" Evelyn informed them eagerly.
Again, Ardeth Bay sent Horus off with the vital information to the Medjai army awaiting their instructions. Yet, someone was noticing a falcon flying back and forth across the sky. Riding through the desert atop a camel Lock-Nah frowned at the bird. Something was not right.
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Izzy's blimp winded around the canyons as they followed the trail of the Nile. It had been six days since Alex had put on the bracelet. Tomorrow, the Scorpion King would arise. They did not yet know of the peril that faced Alex if he should not reach the golden pyramid by dawn tomorrow.
"This far up the Nile we're out of Egypt by now, aren't we?" Elizabeth asked, distressed at the thought.
Her mother put a reassuring arm on her shoulder. "Don't worry, dear. In ancient times this was all still apart of the Upper Kingdom."
Elizabeth's worries were slightly alleviated at that, but something still bothered her. How was Alex supposed to leave them a sign in this maze of rock?
"How can we see any sign Alex makes us here? What if he can't make a sign?" Elizabeth asked her parents.
Rick frowned, but put a brave face on the matter. "Don't worry girls. Alex is a smart kid, he'll leave us another sign somehow."
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Alex was indeed making another sign to lead his family to him, but a large foot stomped on his work. Lock-Nah snarled in anger and lifted Alex in the air, shaking him.
"Leaving bread crumbs, are we?!"
"Lock-Nah, put the boy down," Imhotep called from his place in the river.
The water was up to his waist and Alex was beginning to sweat. What was he planning? Lock-Nah reluctantly lowered the boy and kept his eyes trained in wonder on his lord.
Imhotep looked at Alex and sneered, "I hope your family enjoyed their journey."
The mummy raised his arms and made a bellowing sound as a giant wall of water rose up and crashed through the canyon.
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Elizabeth wrinkled her brow when she heard a rumbling sound and walked to where Izzy was steering the blimp. The sound was coming from behind them. She stood at the stern of the ship listening carefully. What she heard was the sound of crashing waves like those one would hear at the cliffs of Dover, but that sound didn't belong here in the desert. She tightened her hold on the railing of the ship as her senses went off in alarm. Memories of being trapped in rising water in the catacombs of the temple where they had found the Bracelet of Anubis surfaced.
"Oh no. Oh god no," she murmured, racing to the bow of the ship. "Something's coming. Something real big!"
It was then that Izzy too heard the rumbling sound of water and his eyes widened in fear. Everyone turned to see a massive wall of water coming through the canyon towards them.
"Oh, for the love of Pete!" Izzy cried.
"Izzy! Go right! Starboard! Starboard!" Rick yelled, holding onto his wife and daughter.
Izzy obeyed and the ship shot off towards the right while a face formed in the water. Rick grimaced as he remembered the last time Imhotep pulled off a trick like that. Jonathan and Ardeth Bay remembered it as well.
"Horus, fly!" Ardeth Bay cried. The falcon shot through the canyon and out of harm's way.
Izzy pulled a lever causing booster rockets to ignite and propelling the blimp at an incredible speed forward into the canyon. The wall of water did not follow.
Everyone regained their bearings after having been juggled around on the ship. When they heard the wall of water recede into another canyon everyone breathed collective sighs of relief.
"Uh...people?" Jonathan spoke up at seeing what lie before them.
Everyone turned and gasps of awe sounded. They had entered a ravine where the canyon had dipped down and was filled with a jungle. A big jungle. It was an oasis—a speck of life in the middle of a near-barren desert. It was Ahm Shere.
"Ahm Shere," Ardeth Bay murmured in disbelief.
Rick pulled out a telescope and peered out at the oasis. He saw the golden pyramid with a diamond winking in the sun on top of it. "Right."
Elizabeth, still breathing heavily, walked slowly to the bow while staring at their final destination. It was here that the final showdown would take place. It was here that she along with her family would face Imhotep and the Scorpion King. More importantly, it was where they would get Alex back. Her blood froze when she felt and heard the rumbling of the water again.
Seconds later everyone else felt it. "Oh no! He's back!" Izzy cried.
The wall of water with Imhotep's face came into view to swallow them. Izzy pulled another lever and the blimp shot forward over the edge of the oasis. "Hold on!"
Unfortunately, it was then that their luck ran out. A sputtering sound was made as the boosters died. The seconds that followed consisted of Rick pressing Evelyn and Elizabeth closer to him as they, Ardeth Bay, and Jonathan held onto the railing of the ship and Izzy saying, "Well, that's not good."
Then thousands of tons of water engulfed them and sent the blimp careening to the ground of the oasis.
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Alex bit back the tears that wanted to fall as Imhotep walked out of the now drained area of river. He sniffled and whispered, "Mum? Dad? Lizzie?"
Imhotep walked past the boy and ruffled his hair. Alex slapped his hand away angrily feeling sorrow and despair engulf him. The eight-year-old had never felt so alone in his life.