Flight of Souls

Chapter 11 – Pharaoh's Commands

Ardeth's lips tightened. "I know that you used me and my people to perform your private executions. We do not appreciate being used in such a way." He laid his hand suggestively on his sword hilt. "I should kill you now."

Sir Randolph laughed again. "You cannot." He laughed again as Ardeth pulled his sword from its sheath. Two security guards appeared with guns trained on the tall Arab. Ardeth froze, his eyes flicking from one to the other. "You cannot," Sir Randolph repeated, rising from his chair and approaching Ardeth. "And not just because of my guards. You cannot kill me because of what you are." He thrust his hand in front of Ardeth's face. "Do you see this?"

Ardeth looked at the ostentatious gold ring on the man's finger. It bore the cartouche of Ramses II. "I see the personal emblem of a long dead Pharaoh." Ardeth replied. "What should I see?"

"Long dead?" Sir Randolph replied. "Perhaps. Perhaps not. Do you believe in reincarnation, Lord Ardeth?"

Ardeth stared. In front of his eyes, Sir Randolph almost seemed to change, just for a moment. His eyes seemed to elongate, rimmed with black kohl, the neatly cut goatee seemed to jut aggressively out. The double crown of Egypt seemed to waver in from of Ardeth's eyes, with uraeus, the spitting cobra extended.

Ardeth blinked and shook his head slightly and once again, Sir Randolph, stood before him in a dinner jacket and tie. Sir Randolph smiled, coldly. "You cannot disobey me, Medjai," he said slowly. "It is against everything you know. You've been bred to absolute obedience to Pharaoh."

Ardeth gritted his teeth and tried to control the clenching in his stomach. "There has been no Pharaoh in Egypt since Cleopatra took her own life. I owe no obedience to you."

"Think again, Medjai," Sir Randolph replied. "Did you kill the girl?"

Ardeth opened his mouth to say that he had, but found himself saying "No".

Sir Randolph smirked. "You see? You cannot even lie to me."

Ardeth shrugged. "It seemed a waste to kill her. I have....other uses for her." He permitted a slight leer to appear on his face.

Sir Randolph looked amused. "I'm sure you do. However, I want her disposed of. Take care of it and report back to me."

"Why do you care? She will never return to Cairo. Even if she did, I cannot imagine your son would want her now that she is no longer...untouched."

"I dislike loose ends, Medjai."

"I'm not done with her yet," Ardeth said coldly.

"Then finish with her in a hurry. I expect you back here within two weeks."

Ardeth slammed his sword back into its sheath, spun on his heel and stalked out the door.

Sir Randolph eyed the place where Ardeth had stood speculatively for several minutes. Then he turned to his guards. "When he is away from me he will likely be able to resist the compulsion to obey. Follow him. When he leaves the city, kill him and leave no trace."

One of the guards looked puzzled. "Should we not follow him back to wherever he has the girl?"

"Imbecile," Sir Randolph sneered. "He is a War Commander of the Medjai. You will never be able to trail him all the way to his tribe's encampment without his knowledge. You will be fortunate if you are able to follow him for more than a league into the desert."

Ardeth stalked through the streets of Cairo, his mind in turmoil. Fool! Idiot! He berated himself. Why had he been unable to lie? He stopped and leaned against the side of a building, breathing hard. In that one instant it almost seemed as though an ancient Pharaoh was standing before him. Reincarnation? Could it really be? He knew someone who knew a great deal about that. No doubt about it, he needed some help. Ardeth began walking again. But were they in Egypt? Tierney would be able to tell him what he needed to know.

Two hours later, Ardeth, armed with the information he'd extracted from Dr. Tierney, retrieved his horse and left the city.

Ardeth kept Candle Flame to an easy trot as they followed the Nile southward. He regretted making her continue the journey without at least one night's rest, but he felt unable to wait. There were a few hours of daylight left.

Preoccupied as he was, Ardeth did not fail to notice the two horsemen following behind him. There were frequent travelers on this road, however, horses, camels and automobiles. Still, Ardeth stayed aware of them. When he stopped in a village along the road to water his mare, he noted that the two horsemen continued on. They had their headscarves pulled over their faces, hiding their features. Not altogether unusual, many men traveled this way to keep sand and dust from their faces. Of course there wasn't much wind just at the moment, and the dust wasn't too bad. Ardeth remounted with a slight frown. He scanned the road ahead of him. No sign of the two travelers. Ardeth pushed Flame back into a trot. He'd stay alert.

It happened two miles down the road. Without warning, a sudden shot rang out. Flame stumbled and went to her knees, pitching Ardeth over her head. Instinctively he rolled, pulling out his sword as he came back to his feet. He heard another shot, and small puff of dust appeared near his feet to show where the bullet had hit the ground. Ardeth sprinted for the cover of a rock outcropping, gaining safety just as another bullet hit the rock near his face.

Cautiously he crept along the rock face, stepping carefully to avoid making any noise. He could hear the two men scuffing stones as they moved toward him. A small alcove appeared in the rock, and he slipped inside, listening hard.

"Where the hell is he?" hissed a voice.

"Shut up, he'll hear you," hissed another.

Ardeth allowed himself a tight-lipped smile. Amateurs! This would be easier than he'd thought. When he heard the two men pass the alcove he eased out from behind the stone and stepped out behind the two men. The first died at once as the sword cut down between his neck and shoulder. Ardeth had his sword back into position by the time the second had turned around. Quickly he slapped the gun from the man's hand and flicked the sword across the man's throat.

Ardeth took a deep breath, then wiped his blade on one of the fallen men's clothing and sheathed it. Quickly he ripped the head cloths away and was unsurprised to see Sir Randolph's guards lying before him. He'd thought as much. He pocketed their guns, and dragged the bodies into the alcove.

Absently massaging the shoulder that had taken the brunt of his sudden tumble off his mare, he turned back toward her. Candle Flame was lying in the road, her breathing labored. Ardeth checked her over, but knew there was nothing he could do for her save ease her pain. He stroked her head for a moment, then placed one of the guns against her forehead and carefully pulled the trigger. He sat for a moment, in mingled anger and sorrow, and then began to remove saddle and bridle.

The ambushers' horses were tethered a short distance away. Choosing the better of the two, a dark gray gelding, he replaced the guard's saddle with his own. He then stripped all the tack from the second horse and set it free. It would probably find its way back to the village they'd just passed. He tossed the attacker's belongings into the alcove with the bodies. Hopefully they would remain undiscovered for a few days anyway. He turned the gelding's head southward and kicked it into a canter. The Valley of Kings was at least two days ride away.

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