Flight of Souls
Chapter 30 – Saving Tia
Sir Randolph impatiently opened the door to the secondary burial chamber where some of the children and household members of Ramses II had been laid. A quick glance at the bier where Tia had been laid showed that it was now empty. With a snarl of rage, he strode the length of the room, searching each dark corner to be sure that neither woman was hiding there.
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Evie felt her way along the wall, trying to remember the layout of the tomb. She was out of the small annex and in the main burial chamber. If she continued along the left hand wall, she would reach the doorway into the antechamber. From there, keeping her left hand on the wall, she could feel her way around to the third corridor, which would lead directly to the third stairway. The problem would be in the Chariot Room. The stairway came up through the center of the floor. There would be no wall to guide her at that point. If she could keep her bearings, she could head straight into the second long corridor, provided she could get over the Ritual Shaft without falling in.
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The car had taken them as far as it could. Rick turned off the ignition and the three men climbed out. "How much farther?" Ardeth asked in clipped tones.
"Not much," Rick replied. "Half a mile, more or less." He gestured toward the track. "Another car has been here recently." He smirked humorlessly. "But it had better tires than we did."
They started up the track, but had gone no more than fifty yards when they heard the sound of the gunshot.
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The now infuriated driver dragged Tia out of the small alcove they'd been in. The gun had gone off when the driver had grabbed at her hand, and the shot had done nothing more than chip the rock face near the entrance to the tunnel. Desperately Tia struggled, but she was at a severe disadvantage. Like her sister Nefertari, Tiye had been taught the basics in hand-to-hand fighting, but unlike Nefertari, she'd shown little aptitude for it and had soon abandoned the pursuit. Tiye had preferred music, poetry and caring for small children. They were admirable pursuits, but not particularly helpful at the moment.
Tia tripped over a rock and fell, dragging her captor down with her. His grip on her wrist loosened for a moment, and she wrenched out of his grasp. She managed to get up, but only took one step before he grabbed her ankle and jerked her feet out from under her. She fell heavily onto the ground, her face coming into hard contact with the rocky ground. Pain radiated from her cheekbone and seemed to reverberate through her head. A hard hand grasped her arm and flipped her onto her back. The driver straddled her, one knee on either side of her hips. One of his hands hand went to her throat, the other tore at the bodice of the gold satin gown. She braced her feet on the ground and tried to throw him off, but he took hold of her throat with both hands, lifted and then slammed her back against the ground. Dazed and gasping for air, she clawed feebly at the hands on her throat.
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After a moment's stunned stillness, Ardeth and Rick ran up the track toward the sound of the shot, Robert trailing behind. Ardeth reached the area before the tomb of Ramses the Great first, and saw the man and woman struggling on the ground. As he watched, the man lifted the woman by the throat and slammed her down onto the ground, her blond hair trailing in the dust. A violent wave of rage swept over him, and he was scarcely aware of crossing the ground toward them. The man looked up at the last moment, but hadn't time to do more than flinch before the enraged Medjai grabbed him and flung him to the ground. The dagger seemed to leap into Ardeth's hand of its own accord, and before either man realized it; it was buried to the hilt in the driver's chest.
Tia rolled to her hands and knees, then got shakily to her feet, her hands clutching together the torn scraps of her bodice. She watched Ardeth stand and turn from the man he'd just killed. The face he turned toward her was so full of violent rage that she scarcely recognized him, and she flinched when the black eyes fixed on her.
Another surge of anger ripped through him when he saw her. The skin of her arms and shoulders was scraped and bruised, and there was a large scrape on her cheek that was bleeding sluggishly. The skin around it was already turning purple. Marks from the driver's fingers marred her throat. The golden eyes were wide and terrified. She was attempting to hold together the ruin of her dress, but it was hopeless. The bodice was in too many pieces. Ardeth tugged off his robe and advanced on her, his teeth gritting when she shrank away from him. "Here," he said brusquely, swinging the robe around her. "Cover yourself." He kept his hands on her shoulders and looked into her face. "Are you hurt?" She didn't answer right away and he lifted her chin to look her straight in the eye. "Did he hurt you?"
She tried to smile. "Scrapes and bruises. Nothing serious."
He gave her a tiny shake. "Good. Don't fear me, Tia," he said seriously. "I will never hurt you."
She smiled again, a little more successfully this time. Glancing over Ardeth's shoulder she saw Rick O'Connell. "Evie is in the tomb." She glanced up at Ardeth again. "Sir Randolph is with her. He's gone crazy!"
Rick nodded curtly and picked up a torch from a pile near the tomb entrance. "Is he alone?"
"I don't know. We heard him shouting, but I never saw him."
"Is he armed?"
"Again, I don't know." Tia replied. "I'm sorry Rick. I'm not much help."
"Not to worry." Rick lit the torch and pulled out one of his guns with the other hand. "Come on, Ardeth, let's go."
Ardeth released his grip on Tia, and went back to the dead driver. With one swift movement, he pulled his dagger free and wiped it on the dead man's shirt. "Stay out here where it's safe," he said. "Varne, stay with her." He tightened the sash around his waist and thrust the dagger into its sheath. Like Rick, he picked up a torch and lit it. The two men disappeared into the tomb.
Varne? Bewildered, Tia looked around to see Robert Varne standing not far away, looking indecisive. "Rob?"
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