A/N. - wow, ok so posting fortnightly is hard, but unfortunately it must continue. (sniff, sniff)
Quick hello's, to new and old reviewers alike:
Dr Nat; I'm glad your enjoying.-Toni Isis; oh you flatter me, (blushes) -hypercaz; my poor heart you scared the … out of me with the first line of your review. Lol.-lilylnn;I got chills from reading your review, you flatterer. -Orlando crazy; I will, I will.-addle; close to Jonathan ah, hmm u might be surprised.-rosie-bec; burning as you type. Oh oh yes incense, well I hope that's what you mean and not the book. Lol.-Viresse: well I hope my story wont disappoint you.-Eris; I fear you may be right.-lucky fannah; with Adele huh? Ahh you ganging upon me? Lol. Let Jon live? Hmm where see. (evil laugh)-wrenn8811; Ardeth's soul mate, hmm interesting.-lizzie; yeah Rick and Evie sweetness you cant beat it.-Poppylena; hey that's ok I'm like that too, especially in the mornings. Hehe.-Mandi-solo; Okay okay.-Jax I know your hiding there somewhere.
Because all you lovely people have broken my reviews record again (claps) I have a treat for you. On my bio you will find the lovely Menka in all his glory. don't ask how I managed to source a picture all the way from ancient Egypt, Lol. but lets just say it took many, many hours. So please let me know what you think.
Anyway onwards…
Chapter ten. - Water and sand.
The boat he sat in slid through the dark night, silently cutting through the waves. Although confused, Rick could do nothing except watch as they travelled along the Nile.
As Nefertiri felt Menka's eyes on her she smiled shyly, and looked up. "Thank you," she whispered quietly.
"I will follow you anywhere," he whispered back, as he pulled on the oars in his hands.
Behind Nefertiri sat her two bodyguards, each manoeuvring their own pair of oars in time with Menka. The water lapped and rocked the small papyrus boat, and the muscles in Rick's arms burnt with exhaustion as he was forced to pull on the heavy oars once again to keep them on course. From his tiredness, Rick guessed that they had been travelling for some time.
"We are doing the right thing," Nefertiri spoke as she returned her eyes from the full moon after a few minutes. "I must see that fiend punished for what he did to my father."
Menka lowered his eyes. There was a unhappy pain in his chest, but at least Rick now knew where they were going; Hamunaptra.
"You will be forgiven," Nefertiri continued, knowing the reason why her Medjai acted so. "I will make sure of it."
Menka shook his head. "My own wish is for you're safety. The commanders will do with me as they see fit."
XXX
"Riick!" Evelyn's voice screamed across the water as she turned to look at him and saw his arms lying limp across the wheel, his face blank as his eyes stared into the middle distance. Without pausing she scrambled towards him. Spinning at the same time as Evelyn, Ardeth also began towards the wheel house. The boat now substantially off course grounded loudly, and a shudder ran through the hull as it scraped against the sand. The movement knocked Evelyn from her feet and she landed heavily on her backside.
"Ooof!" she cried as the breath was forced from her lungs.
Checking she was ok with a quick look, Ardeth continued forward and, grabbing the wheel from Rick's limp hands, hurriedly turning it.
The boat tilted as, under Ardeth's control, it began to grind across the sandbank it had become stuck on.
Finally getting to her feet, Evelyn moved as fast as she could down the sloping deck to where Rick was stumbling backwards, his eyes still glazed over.
"Rick!" Evelyn cried, seeing what was about to happen. She reached out for him but she was too late; the backs of his legs hit the side of the boat and he tumbled over the edge and into the cold water.
Although still too far away to see, Evelyn winced as her husband's body splashed heavily into the water.
XXX
As the camel plodded on one foot after the other across the desert sand, the man seated on its back groaned throatily. The uneasy rhythm was playing havoc with his injuries, and he was forced to listen to the speech of the men around him in an effort to keep conscious.
Jonathan had been most surprised when this morning he had been thrown into his saddle. Sluggishly he began to take in his surroundings; he was at the back of a small caravan led by Djeser-si. Holding the reins loosely in his grip, he became suddenly aware of how little attention was being paid to him. Realising that this was the perfect time to make his escape, he shook his head to clear his mind, and looked around again with fresh vigour. The small valley that they were currently travelling through was high on each side but straight and true through the middle. Up ahead, Jonathan's sharp eyes picked out a small track that cut through the rock. With a plan forming, he began to slow his camel to increase the distance between him and the guard in front. At the speed they had been travelling the gap became just sizable as they reached the opening. Smiling as his plan worked, he turned, his heart racing as he suddenly kicked his camel into full speed down his escape route. Not entirely to his surprise, shouts were soon heard- as was the thundering of hooves as the guards, finally noticing his disappearance, gave chase.
Ducking to his left and right to avoid the bullets flying around him, Jonathan rode his camel harder- the pass was coming to an end, and he knew he would have a better chance of escape in the open. One particularly skilled rider caught up with him, however, and began to swipe viciously at his face. Reaching across, Jonathan swung at the man with a powerful right hook, and caught him hard in the jaw. Reeling backwards the guard fell from his camel and into the path of his friend, who had been fast catching up, taking him down into the sand as well.
Smiling, Jonathan rode on, his head held high and the wind in his hair. At that moment he felt as though he could do anything. That was until a heavy hand suddenly landed on his shoulder, making him jump in surprise.
XXX
The boat continued to shudder as Ardeth griped the wheel tightly, the muscles in his upper arms rippling as they strained to keep it steady. He turned away quickly, however, as he had heard the splash and Evelyn's resulting scream. Realising what had happened, immediately he went to leave the wheel just as a loud crack emanated from the bottom of the boat. Ardeth could feel the hull straining beneath his feet.
"Evelyn!" he cried as he saw her move closer to the edge.
"I cant see him!" she cried back in a state of shock. "I cant…" she didn't finish her sentence as she began to slip her shoes off.
"Evelyn no!" Ardeth cried loudly as he realised her intentions. If Rick was unconscious in the water he knew there was no way she would be strong enough to pull him out.
"Evelyn come take the wheel," he commanded urgently as he watched her slip the cardigan from her shoulders. Continuing to ignore him completely, she moved as if to jump. "Allah Yilanik!" he cursed her at full volume, his fear overriding his normally calm nature, "COME HERE!"
The loud command snapped Evelyn from her tunnel vision, and she turned quickly to the Medjai, surprised by his tone. Bare foot, she raced to him and took the wheel as commanded from his hands. Praying to every god she could think of for her husbands safety, she watched Ardeth run to the side.
XXX
"Wake up, wake up little man," the guard tapping on jonathans shoulder was chatting in his ear. "Come on, come on. You wake up."
Jonathan groaned as he opened his eyes and looked around. It was bad enough that his escape had been a dream, but he realised the position he was in wasn't.
Traipsing through the dessert on the back of a camel tied to the one in front of it wasn't exactly the rest and recuperation Jonathan's injuries demanded.
"I think you'll find my eyes are open," Jonathan snapped as the little guard to his left continued to shake him.
"That is good," Osahar answered with a smile. "You know when my brother sleeps he…"
The Onuris member in front of Jonathan turned as he heard Osahar begin speaking. Quietly he laughed to himself. Osahar had only been assigned to keep an eye on the prisoner so the rest of the Onuris could have a rest from his incessant talking. Truth be told, he almost felt sorry for the prisoner. Quickly he turned his attention away from them and back to Shu-nah, who was dropping back from his position in front.
Shu-nah had been listening intently to Djeser-si, who rather worryingly appeared to be arguing with himself.
"I think," Shu-nah began as he reached his deputy's side, "that we should keep a close eye on our new leader. We do not want another incident like the one at the house."
XXX
Pausing in his own rambling monologue to look over his shoulder, Djeser-si did not fail to notice Shu-nah and his deputy in conversation.
"He does not trust me," Djeser-si thought, unaware that he was muttering animatedly. "Anubis curse this body," he swore. "I must keep a tighter control over that Medjai mind that inhabits this pitiful skin. For him to return even for a second was a mistake, let alone to let him kill two of my men. That should have taught those blasted Onuris a lesson though," he continued. "They should be on their guard at all times."
He looked over his shoulder at the two men in conversation again, suspicious of what they were saying.
"If only they knew the truth about their founder- that Onuris was a wretched coward," he muttered. "If it hadn't been for him, my master would have reigned long over this land. I knew he wasn't listening when I explained the power of the chain- if he had left it on me, my body would have been healed, and I could have returned straight away, instead of having to wait all these accursed years." looking up his eyes surveyed the horizon, despite the years that had passed the desert it seemed was ageless. All the signs that his master had shown him all those years ago seem clear. With everything else in this world so new to him it was reassuring to be on the way to Hamanaptra. He smiled uneasily, soon everything would be set right.
XXX
"So, O'Connell," Osahar gushed- he was still talking. "Have you been to the city before? I haven't. It's so exciting! I cant wait to see Imhotep."
Jonathan rolled his eyes at his guards enthusiasm, depressed by the fact that his heroic escape had been all of his imagination's own concoction. That, coupled with the pain he was still in, meant he was feeling particularly unsociable. "Look, I've told you my name is Jonathan, Jonathan Carnahan!"
"O'Connell!" Osahar poked him again.
"Jon...athan" he tried again. "Jonathan Carnahan."
"I wonder what he will be like?" Osahar continued, not listening. "O'Connell, have you seen him? He has lots of powers, yes?"
Jonathan sighed. The man obviously wasn't listening to him. "Yes, yes, please let me sleep now."
"No, no sleep. We talk." Osahar smiled.
Jonathan sighed again. "Oh, alright," he gave in. "I don't suppose you know how to play 'I spy', do you?"
XXX
The coldness of the water eventually brought Rick back to his senses. Looking through the dank water made his eyes sting as he kicked for the surface, his lungs beginning to burn. Gasping for breath his head broke through the water; he didn't know how long he had been under but he could hardly see straight. The moment he hit the surface he could feel strong hands grabbing at him, and hoping that they were of a friendly nature he gripped on. Quickly he felt himself being pulled out of the water, and with a final kick he was dragged over the side and landed in a soggy heap on top of Ardeth.
From her position by the wheel, Evelyn let out the breath she had been holding, and allowed a small smile to creep across her ivory face as relief upon seeing her husband safe flooded her veins. Although she had been practically shaking with fear, the comedy value suddenly became undeniable as she watched the drenched pair untangling themselves and helping each other to their feet.
"Are…are you ok?" she asked through stilted laughter.
Bent double, Rick coughed the last of the water from his sore lungs as he looked up. "You- you think this is funny?" he asked breathlessly, and began to cross to her.
"No," she lied with a big smile. "No I was really worried," she continued, "but you looked so…so…" she finally gave in to her giggles.
With his arms open Rick closed in on her.
"No, no!" Evelyn warned, finding her voice.
"What?" Rick asked innocently, as he enveloped his giggling wife in his soaking wet embrace.
A/N. hey guys, something you want to say? comment on? Suggest ? Then drop me a line andreview. Even if for no other reason than to make me smile. ;o)
oh and don't forget to check out the gorgeous Menka.
Until next time. PP xxxx