Chapter 19- Fighting

They had walked for much of the day, heading into the desert. Eventually huge rock formations, which hadn't been there when they started, seemed to rise from the sand. Nessert seemed to be heading there, but why? There was no sign of water, a necessity in the desert. No food. Nothing. Just some big rocks.

"Why would she live in the desert, 'Kura? There's nothing out here."

"You'd be surprised. I used to hide in the desert. Only fools try to find you out here."

The girl had stopped at the base of the stones and began to feel its surface, tapping and listening. A bolder slid outward to reveil the tanned face of a young man, about the same age as the thief.

"Greetings, G'reh."

"Sekhmet-hekau! I was worried!"

The girl looked over her shoulder, back into the desert. Seeing nothing she crawled into the space and, using robes bound to the back of the rock, pulled it back into place. Ryou walked over and looked at the stone.

"How do we get in?"

The tomb-robber simply put his hand through the stone, showing that not only were they invisible to the people here, but that solid items didn't stop them ether.

"We just go through, Yadonushi."

Inside the stones was a sphere-shaped hallowed area, roughly 20 feet wide and 30 feet tall. Wooden scaffolding gave the space an extra story worth of living space. On the ground floor, sitting in a circle, was a small group of people.

"Why did you go after them, Thief? You said yourself that we need to keep a low profile."

The man who spoke was identical the man who had driven the chariot. Small statured and of lean build, his strange hair was an attention grabber. The red hair in the back stuck up, swept backwards, at such a strange angle that it seemed to defy the laws of physics while the light bangs framed his face, also swept backwards.

"That looks like the pharaoh!"

Bakura nodded.

"Probably an ancestor of Atem. I'm amazed that hair is hereditary."

The young young man, whose deep-blue (think Russian Blue cat fur) hair was cropped short in back with longer bangs, frowned.

"I agree with Nefer. You could have been killed! THEN what would happen?"

The girl shrugged the comment off.

"In case you haven't noticed, they can't catch me. Hell, YOU couldn't catch me."

The final man, the younger Tait, gave her a quick blow to the head.

"THAT'S WHAT LORD APEPI SAID AND LOOK WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM! WE CANNOT AFFORD TO LOSE ANY MORE ALLIES!"

"OW! Damnit, why'd you do that?"

"You were asking for it, Thief."

"YOU'RE ASKING FOR IT PHARAOH!"

"Calm down, if you kill each other now Egypt will never be free."

The old man leaned over to where a clay pot lay suspended over a cooking fire and, retrieving four small dishes from a basket next to it, poured some thick, grey, slimy substance into them.

"Here, food will make you feel better."

The Pharaoh wrinkled his nose at it.

"Ugh, this looks like something you found at the embalmers! I swear I'll cook if it means we don't have to eat crap like this."

"Now Pharaoh, we should be THANKFULL for food of any kind. When G'reh and I were on our own we used to scavenge from lion kills, anything for a meal a day."

"Well, that SUITS you, Thief. I'm used to REAL food, not some sludge…"

Tait flicked in the forehead.

"The thief is right for once, you need to be thankful. This is the food of soldiers! You are sharing experience with those who guard our land!"

"Well, they aren't doing a good job now."

Tait hit him again.

"Too many have deserted to the side of the false Pharaoh. Those left are aiding us the best they can. We must stay strong."

"Whatever."

Bakura shook his head sadly.

"A noble thief working side by side with the PHARAOH. What ever happened to staying on your own side?"

Ryou sighed. 'Kura never changed.