Author Note: I thank everyone that praticipated in the character contest. I was happy to see the number of entries, though I would have prepered if most of them had come as a Personal Message instead of a review. Still, there is no changing the past. Now, I am proud to announce that there are four winners. Who are they, well you will just have to read and find out. I will, however, name the creators of the winning charators. They are Darkdragon567, Mr. Thumbsup, EviLAngeLOfDarkness, and Mars Star. Unfortunatly, only two of the four characters can come in at this time. The others, I have decided, will have their own portion of the story. Now, on to the story.
Chapter 11
On the Banks of the Nile
A week later Sly and the gang had set up their safe house in Cairo, Egypt. They had taken an old, abandoned, house that was on the outskirts of the city. The reason they had come to the lands of mummies and pharaohs was the fourth piece of Carmelita's soul, her medallion of conscience. With Bentley's amazing hacking and research abilities, they had also found out exactly who held the medallion. It was an Egyptian Mau named Nephthys. The Egyptian Mau is a type of feline, and the cat pictured in many of the Egyptian Hieroglyphics.
Bentley found out the Nephthys was born into a second class family, and that she was never really happy with her life as a commoner. With the name of an Egyptian goddess, she holds herself high above even the richest of people. She believes she is the reincarnations of the goddess of death. In her youth, she researched and practiced all the forms of Egyptian magic. She took a special interest in the famous curses, hexes, and other spells terrible spells. When she was just eighteen she murdered her entire family, trying to cut any ties she had with the mediocrity. Now, she is versed in multiple forms of magic, but still relies heavily on her Egyptian curses. She has a large cult, all of its members believing that she is truly the goddess of death, reborn on the earth for some unknown reason. The code of the cult was simple, "Worship our leader, helper achieve the immortality she had lost, and kill any that goes against her will."
Nephthys had set up the headquarters for her cult in some Egyptian ruins that were two hours away from Cairo. Still, Bentley had instead they set up the safe house in the capitol city. He wanted to make sure they could get food and other necessities easily, and he felt it would be best to keep as far away from Nephthys as possible. Bentley had run across the disturbing fact of how Nephthys had killed her parents. They had been reduced to a red goo, a pile of sludge. That was all that was left when Nephthys was finished with them.
Blain was also on pins and needles for the first few days. He had sensed Nephthys power, but that was not the problem. He could also sense another sorcerer, another weaver of spells and cures. They were somewhere in Cairo, and the whole feel of the magic was all too familiar. He couldn't but his finger on it, but the magic still made his hair stand on end.
Still, the operation continued as usual. After getting their safe house set up, and all their equipment was put in its place, they began to load up the good old team van. Murray had modified the old van to withstand the dry heat of the desert, and soon they were careening over sand dunes and jumping the van as they made their way to Nephthys headquarters.
When the sun was beginning to set, and the world was bathed in the warm red light, the ruins came into view. From Bentley's guess, it had once been a large temple complex. Sitting in the middle was a huge temple, and that was surrounded by several small buildings. Bentley explained that the temples required a lot of care, and many of the caretakers would build there houses as close to the temple as possible. Sly just looked up at the temple from the van, wondering what it had looked like back in the day.
While Sadie, Murray, and Bentley waited back in the van, Blain and Sly began to do the necessary recon. Blain and Sly crept silently through the streets. There were several guards walking about. All of them were dressed in black robes, each carrying a staff that bore an Egyptian symbol. The symbols varied widely, and Blain could not determine there use. Egyptian magic was not his strongest field. He could not predict the spells before they were cast. After the magic was actually in effect, then he would be able to counteract it. Still, it wasn't until the magic had been actually cast that he could do anything to stop it.
Blain and Sly finally made it to the center temple. They got up onto the roof, and then found an old light shaft that wasn't being guarded. They got down to the temples floor, and hid behind a few columns as Sly began to take some recon pictures. The temple was huge, and had many rooms. Most of them seemed to be filled with gold, jewels, and other luxurious items. As Sly and Blain made their way through the temple, they also found several rooms that appeared to have someone living in them. There was a bed chamber, a bath chamber, and several others.
Even through all those rooms, they had yet to find Carmelita's medallion of conscience. Then, they found the temples main hall. The chamber was actually the first room you would see if you came in through the front door. It was very large, with stone columns lining the left and right side. In the middle was a long, deep red carpet that lead up to where the temples alter should have been. Still, the alter had been taken out and replaced with a throne, and sitting on that throne was Nephthys.
Nephthys was a tall, slender woman with white fur. Her fur was covered in black spots with a few stripes mixed in. She had long black hair which she wore straight, and kept out of her face with a golden band she had around her head. Her golden-yellow eyes stood out brightly against her face, especially with the deep black eyeliner that surrounded her eyes in the Ancient Egyptian fashion. She was dressed long, black and gold, form fitting robes that would have suited royalty back in the days of the pharaoh. The most important thing, however, was what hung around her neck. A white pendent with just a hint of black around the edges hung from a golden chain. It was Carmelita's medallion of conscience.
Nephthys was sitting with her head resting on her left hand, the finger on her right tapping gently on the armrest of her throne. In front of her, among the black robed minions of her cult, was a young lioness. As Blain looked at the lioness, he couldn't help but think he had seen her before. He could not, however, remember who she was or where he had seen her. It was like a sense of déjà vu. He knew her, but it was a memory lost to the tides of time.
As Sly and Blain looked on, Nephthys glared down at the lioness and said, "You are pathetic. You truly think your weak magic stands against me, an Egyptian goddess."
The lioness glared up at Nephthys. Her fur was a golden ground, while her hair was an amber brown. Most of her hair was cut short except for one piece. That piece hung to the side of her face, and was bound together with beads. The beads were in a very colorful design, and accented her emerald eyes. The lioness also had a crescent shaped scar on her right cheek. The top tip of the crescent was just above her right eye. The moon shape then slowly moved down, going towards her ear and then followed the line of her jaw. The other end of the crescent shape then met with the tip of her mouth. Sly guessed that the strand of hair wrapped in beads was supposed to draw attention away from the scar.
Nephthys smiled a bit, "What, no comebacks. No insults. Has my beauty and power just overcome you? Has it left you speechless?"
The lioness shook her head, "No, what has left me speechless is your absolute stupidity. You are not a god. You are just an arrogant alley cat."
Nephthys eyes flashed with rage, "You insolent, impudent, disrespectful wretch. I think it's high time I taught you a lesson, one you won't live to regret." Nephthys slowly stood up from her throne. She reached to the table that stood beside her throne, picking up a small dagger. She held the dagger up to her face, admiring her reflection in the blade. She then dipped the blade in a dark green potion that also sat on the table. The potion dripped like blood from the blade. Nephthys then touched her finger to the blade, and the potion began to turn the blade black.
Nephthys looked away from the blade, and to the lioness. The cult members pushed the lioness to the floor, pulling her head up. Nephthys slowly locked her gaze on the lioness's neck, the place she planed to drive the dagger. From behind the columns, Sly and Blain were tense. Both wished to do something, to stop what ever Nephthys was planning to do. Still, if they did it would make the task of getting the piece of Carmelita's soul much harder.
Sly looked over at Blain and asked, "What is she doing to that dagger?"
Blain stared coldly at the dagger, his eyes fixing on the black blade. He then began to frown, "That is a very powerful curse. It's both a form of torture, and it can kill in just a few minutes."
Sly glanced to the lioness that had been pushed to the floor, and then back to Blain, "What can you do without getting us caught."
Blain scratched his head, and then snapped his fingers. He quickly reached into his pocket, and pulled out a pen. He also pulled out a piece of paper, and began to quickly sketch a design. Sly watched Blain draw for a few seconds before he looked back at Nephthys. She was pulling back her arm, and preparing to throw the deadly dagger. Just then, Blain finished his drawing and set it down on the floor. He then set his hand over it, and began to whisper a spell.
At the same time Nephthys threw the dagger. Time seemed to slow down as the dagger flew through the air at the lioness's neck. Just when the dagger was about to strike flesh, the sound of metal striking something hard rang out through the room. The dagger ricocheted off of something, and stuck in a column on the others side of the room. The room fell silent as Nephthys's eyes narrowed. She began to look slowly around the room, searching for whoever had just saved the lioness's life.
Nephthys growled, her voice filling with hatred, "Who has dares to defy my will?"
Blain and Sly just smiled at each other a second as Blain quickly prepared a second spell. While Nephthys was still looking about the room, Blain cast a second spell. In an instant Sly, Blain, and the lioness disappeared from the room, only puffs of smoke left to mark there passing. Nephthys eyes widened, her servants looking around the room madly. She then burst out in anger, pointing to the temple's doors as she shouted, "Find her, and find whoever has saved her. No one defies me. I am Nephthys, the god of death, an immortal on earth. No one can cross me and live to tell the tale."
While Nephthys let her rage run rampant below, three figures appeared on the temples roof. Sly and Blain looked around for a few seconds before they moved over to the lioness and helped her up. While Sly checked to see what was happening in the streets below, Blain made sure that the lioness was all right.
The lioness held her throat, coughing a bit as she stood up. Blain looked over the lioness. She was just a little over six feet in height, the top of her head just a hair below his own. She was dressed in clothes that were befitting a shaman from one of the native tribes on the other side of the continent. The clothes were black consisted of a long dress, sandals, and a short sleeve shirt. The shirt completely covered her midriff, but showed off her long, thin arms. She wore a variety of bracelets on her arm, and around her neck hung a silver chain with a diamond increased, moon pendent.
Blain stepped back a bit and asked, "Are you all right?"
The lioness nodded her head, "Yes. Thank you for saving me."
Sly walked back from the side of the roof, a broad smile on his face, "It was nothing, especially for a beauty like you."
The lioness blinked a few times, and then blushed. That was a common effect Sly's suave tongue had women. Still, Blain elbowed Sly in the ribs and said, "You better watch yourself. I can think of a certain inspector who won't be happy to hear you were flirting with someone else."
Sly shook his head, patting Blain on the back, "You're probably right. Still, what might be your name Miss…?"
The lioness looked up at Sly and Blain, pausing a second before she said, "My name is Rachel Leo Blitz."
Blain froze, his eyes narrowing, "What is your name again?"
The lioness lifted an eyebrow, "Leo Blitz, Why?"
Blain's eyes flashed, stepping back as he said, "Well, I can say mine is Blain Shadow Walker. That should be enough of an explanation." Rachel eyes narrowed, and she began to step backwards. Soon, each stood at the very end of the roof. Sly looked at both of them with a confused look, wondering what was going on. Blain glared at Rachel, his eyes becoming cold and heartless, "So, how do you want to do this?"
Rachel bared her teeth a bit as she lifted her hand up. She held her hand in front of her face for a few seconds before she swung it down. As her hand moved through the air, a dark energy began to form. When her hand reached her side, she was carrying a large black sword with a dark blue jewel embedded in the hilt.
Blain smiled, holding his own hand in front of him as he said, "So, you choose to have a battle of mystic swords. Well, I can respect that. Still, you are choosing to use a sword like Oblivion. That is a true testament to the kind of sorceress and shaman the Blitzs are. Now for me, an honorable Shadow Walker, I feel that Oathkeeper is a more appropriate weapon." In a bright flash of light, a sword with a pure white blade appeared in Blain's hand. The sword had the images of stars carved all over the blade, and the handle had a star shaped diamond imbedded its base.
Blain and Rachel stared at each other for a few more minutes before they each charged forward. As they neared the center they leapt up into the air, and their swords clashed. There, floating in mid air, the pair began to have a sword fight. They both slowly floated to the ground. There attacks were coming so fast it was hard for Sly to keep track of what was happening. When the two of them finally touched down on the temple roof, they locked there blades and began a pushing fight.
Each sword began to glow as Blain and Rachel pushed more and more of their magic into the blades. The energy was about to reach a critical overload point when the shouts and yells of the guards below diverted Blain's attention. He glanced at Sly, and then back at Rachel, "I am afraid we will have to finish this another time. It seems that Nephthys's worshipers have discovered us."
Rachel growled, but nodded her head, "Fine, we will end this later Shadow Walker. You can count on it." With that Blain and Rachel jumped back from each other Blain stood, letting the sword disappear from his hand as his weary eyes watch Rachel. Rachel held her sword for a few seconds, but did not attack. She instead reached into a pouch that hung on her waist, and pulled out a small glass sphere. She threw the sphere down onto the ground, causing an explosion of smoke. The smoke then swirled, forming a small tornado before disappearing into the night air. When the smoke cleared, Rachel was gone.
Sly walked up to Blain and asked, "What was that all about?"
Blain kept his eyes focused ahead, but still answered, "I will explain when we get back to the safe house. This is neither the time nor the place for long stories." With that Blain turned to Sly and motioned towards the edge of the temple's roof. Sly nodded, and the pair began to make their way back through the city were the others waited in the team van. From the distance, Rachel watched them with a frigged stare. Her father had always said she couldn't trust a Shadow Walker. Still, there were few mystics that could summon Oathkeeper.
Rachel looked up at the moon. She and Blain had just had a battle of the mystic swords. It was an ancient form of duel that could only beheld between two masters of magic. Each would summon a sword, usually one they had crafted themselves.
Still, there were a few who could summon the legendary swords. These were weapons of nature, swords that had been forged long ago by the greatest mystics to ever grace the earth. Oblivion and Oathkeeper were two of those swords. Oblivion could only be summoned by someone with a deep desire for death or revenge. Oathkeeper, on the other hand, required someone who held a great amount of personal control. They knew when to attack, when to defend, and when to run. Oathkeeper and Oblivion were equaled in strength, but there were also considered polar opposites. They were like good and evil, destined to fight for all eternity.
Rachel chuckled to herself. It was just like the Shadow Walkers and Leo Blitzs. They were rival families, and would be destined to despise and hate each other until one of them died out. Until one of the family lines was brought to an end.