THE PROPHECY OF ANU-RA
Part eleven
Marsden could feel the eyes of Rick O'Connell boring into him, watching his every movement as he stepped up to the bed where the unconscious Med-jai lay. Taking a moment to scrutinize the Egyptian who still lay unmoving, his breathing barely detectable under his black ritual clothing, Percival took a mental note of the glistening sheen of sweat that coated what exposed skin was visible. The Med-jai's sun-bronzed features also seemed to have paled slightly making the ceremonial tattoos that adorned the chieftain's cheeks even more prominent to an observer's eye.
"Well?" O'Connell impatiently inquired from over his shoulder.
"I am a doctor, Mr. O'Connell," Marsden snapped without turning his attention away from his new patient. "I am not God. If you will give me time to examine my patient, I might have a better idea as to what the problem might be. If you and the rest of your family wouldn't mind waiting out..."
"I'm not leaving!"
A startled Evelyn looked up at her husband, recognizing the passion behind his refusal. He would not be moved. She wasn't sure if it was mistrust of Jonathan's new friend that had unsettled Rick or the situation that had brought them back to Egypt, but whatever was bothering him, she knew there was no power on earth that would shift him now.
"As you wish," Marsden sighed, before glancing over to Jonathan and the young boy at his side as they looked on from the still open doorway. "But do you really think this is the place for the boy?"
Alex opened his mouth, wanting to let the stranger know that he wasn't a 'boy', he was more than just a child, but his concern for Ardeth far outweighed his adolescent indignation, so he closed it, without a word.
Trying to understand and control his growing fears for the Med-jai, Rick absent-mindedly rubbed at the leather wrist strap, wondering if somehow the mark it covered could be the cause of not only his, but Ardeth's troubles as well. Dismissing the link for its farfetched improbability, he refocused his concerns for a moment on his son. Though Rick hated to admit it, Marsden was right. If something should happen....
"Do what the professor says please, Alex, wait outside," Rick entreated his son gently.
"But Da...." Again out of habit, Alex found himself about to argue his position, but instead he stopped mid-sentence, realizing that there were more appropriate times to make a stand. Nodding his agreement, he snatched one more glance at his unconscious friend, before sighing and turning to walk out the door.
Concerned as much for her upset son as she was for her oddly behaving husband, Evelyn was torn, "Jonathan, could you, please?" She implored her brother.
"Yes, yes, of course," Jonathan replied, silently relieved to be leaving the room, unsure as he was as to the outcome of Med-jai chieftain's illness. "I just hope that Ardeth is...well, you know," he stammered as he rushed off to find his nephew.
Though a non-practicing physician, Percival always kept his bag of supplies modernized. Traveling through bug-infested, God-forsaken countries, he knew it was best to be prepared for anything.
"Sahir," he commanded with an outstretched hand and a click of his fingers. "My bag."
As servile as always, the manservant stepped forward and passed the bag to the professor, before bowing and stepping back to his place behind his brusque employer.
With his son taken care of, Rick was about to continue his watch over Professor Marsden and his patient, when he felt a slight touch to his arm.
"Rick, please, what is it?" Evelyn asked as she tried in vain to search his face for the answers. "Why are you acting this way?"
"What way?" Rick countered somewhat defensively. "I'm worried about Ardeth, Evy, that's all."
Evelyn wasn't going to be dismissed so easily as she lowered her voice so their conversation would not be over heard. "It's more than that and you know it Richard O'Connell."
Now he knew he was in trouble. Evelyn rarely called by his full name and when she did, he had learned to concede to defeat. But how could explain something to his wife that he couldn't even explain to himself.
His past was something that as a child he had laid awake wondering about. Who his father was? What did his mother looked like? Did they ever know him at all? Did they love him? But as the years went by and there were no answers to his endless questions, he detached himself from his mysterious past and left it in the dark recesses of his dreams, until now.
"Evy, Please," Rick beseeched his wife. "Did you know what it all meant when your dreams lead you to the bracelet of Anubis?"
* Anubis *
Marsden continued his examination, but was more intent to listen more carefully to the couples' conversation than to the heartbeat of his patient. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. The bracelet of Anubis was a legend, a myth. Surely the O'Connells were not alluding to a find of 'that' significance? And what if they were? What if, he suddenly thought to himself as he pondered his patient in a little more detail, this man could lead him to it?
"I didn't understand what you were going through, but I went along with it. I need you to do the same."
Evelyn smiled as she remembered how much they went through because of her dreams of her former life as Princess Nefertiri. "You thought I was crazy."
The tension eased a little as Rick managed to reciprocate the smile. "But such a beautiful kind of crazy," he said as he pulled her into an embrace.
Realizing she had to let her husband do what he felt he had to, Evelyn hugged Rick back before releasing him, "You do what you have to. I'll go and sit with Jonathan and Alex. Let us know how Ardeth is as soon as you know something."
"I will," Rick agreed as he watched his wife go.
Marsden was examining his patient with renewed fervor, when the Med-jai's eyes snapped open and as a groan escaped his pursed and pale lips, he grabbed the professor's wrist. "What.... are....you...doing?"
TBC
Part eleven
Marsden could feel the eyes of Rick O'Connell boring into him, watching his every movement as he stepped up to the bed where the unconscious Med-jai lay. Taking a moment to scrutinize the Egyptian who still lay unmoving, his breathing barely detectable under his black ritual clothing, Percival took a mental note of the glistening sheen of sweat that coated what exposed skin was visible. The Med-jai's sun-bronzed features also seemed to have paled slightly making the ceremonial tattoos that adorned the chieftain's cheeks even more prominent to an observer's eye.
"Well?" O'Connell impatiently inquired from over his shoulder.
"I am a doctor, Mr. O'Connell," Marsden snapped without turning his attention away from his new patient. "I am not God. If you will give me time to examine my patient, I might have a better idea as to what the problem might be. If you and the rest of your family wouldn't mind waiting out..."
"I'm not leaving!"
A startled Evelyn looked up at her husband, recognizing the passion behind his refusal. He would not be moved. She wasn't sure if it was mistrust of Jonathan's new friend that had unsettled Rick or the situation that had brought them back to Egypt, but whatever was bothering him, she knew there was no power on earth that would shift him now.
"As you wish," Marsden sighed, before glancing over to Jonathan and the young boy at his side as they looked on from the still open doorway. "But do you really think this is the place for the boy?"
Alex opened his mouth, wanting to let the stranger know that he wasn't a 'boy', he was more than just a child, but his concern for Ardeth far outweighed his adolescent indignation, so he closed it, without a word.
Trying to understand and control his growing fears for the Med-jai, Rick absent-mindedly rubbed at the leather wrist strap, wondering if somehow the mark it covered could be the cause of not only his, but Ardeth's troubles as well. Dismissing the link for its farfetched improbability, he refocused his concerns for a moment on his son. Though Rick hated to admit it, Marsden was right. If something should happen....
"Do what the professor says please, Alex, wait outside," Rick entreated his son gently.
"But Da...." Again out of habit, Alex found himself about to argue his position, but instead he stopped mid-sentence, realizing that there were more appropriate times to make a stand. Nodding his agreement, he snatched one more glance at his unconscious friend, before sighing and turning to walk out the door.
Concerned as much for her upset son as she was for her oddly behaving husband, Evelyn was torn, "Jonathan, could you, please?" She implored her brother.
"Yes, yes, of course," Jonathan replied, silently relieved to be leaving the room, unsure as he was as to the outcome of Med-jai chieftain's illness. "I just hope that Ardeth is...well, you know," he stammered as he rushed off to find his nephew.
Though a non-practicing physician, Percival always kept his bag of supplies modernized. Traveling through bug-infested, God-forsaken countries, he knew it was best to be prepared for anything.
"Sahir," he commanded with an outstretched hand and a click of his fingers. "My bag."
As servile as always, the manservant stepped forward and passed the bag to the professor, before bowing and stepping back to his place behind his brusque employer.
With his son taken care of, Rick was about to continue his watch over Professor Marsden and his patient, when he felt a slight touch to his arm.
"Rick, please, what is it?" Evelyn asked as she tried in vain to search his face for the answers. "Why are you acting this way?"
"What way?" Rick countered somewhat defensively. "I'm worried about Ardeth, Evy, that's all."
Evelyn wasn't going to be dismissed so easily as she lowered her voice so their conversation would not be over heard. "It's more than that and you know it Richard O'Connell."
Now he knew he was in trouble. Evelyn rarely called by his full name and when she did, he had learned to concede to defeat. But how could explain something to his wife that he couldn't even explain to himself.
His past was something that as a child he had laid awake wondering about. Who his father was? What did his mother looked like? Did they ever know him at all? Did they love him? But as the years went by and there were no answers to his endless questions, he detached himself from his mysterious past and left it in the dark recesses of his dreams, until now.
"Evy, Please," Rick beseeched his wife. "Did you know what it all meant when your dreams lead you to the bracelet of Anubis?"
* Anubis *
Marsden continued his examination, but was more intent to listen more carefully to the couples' conversation than to the heartbeat of his patient. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. The bracelet of Anubis was a legend, a myth. Surely the O'Connells were not alluding to a find of 'that' significance? And what if they were? What if, he suddenly thought to himself as he pondered his patient in a little more detail, this man could lead him to it?
"I didn't understand what you were going through, but I went along with it. I need you to do the same."
Evelyn smiled as she remembered how much they went through because of her dreams of her former life as Princess Nefertiri. "You thought I was crazy."
The tension eased a little as Rick managed to reciprocate the smile. "But such a beautiful kind of crazy," he said as he pulled her into an embrace.
Realizing she had to let her husband do what he felt he had to, Evelyn hugged Rick back before releasing him, "You do what you have to. I'll go and sit with Jonathan and Alex. Let us know how Ardeth is as soon as you know something."
"I will," Rick agreed as he watched his wife go.
Marsden was examining his patient with renewed fervor, when the Med-jai's eyes snapped open and as a groan escaped his pursed and pale lips, he grabbed the professor's wrist. "What.... are....you...doing?"
TBC