Chapter Eight – The Quiet after the Storm
The three of them stood there and stared. It was an easy guess that Khay had never seen the like. For Rick and Evelyn, wrapped in each other's arms, it wasn't the strangest sight they'd ever seen, still they watched with wide-eyed fascination. Watched as the ghostly shape of the mummy emerged from the newly stitched gash in Ardeth's body, rending it open again as it fought the effects of the powerful spells, rotting mouth wide in a silent scream of denial. Watched as the gaping wound then healed itself in a surge of white light and the other scars faded to nothing as the ancient words etched themselves in silver on Ardeth's skin then faded. Watched as Ardeth's body, tight with pain and battle, released itself into unconsciousness.
"My!" Khayriyyah swallowed hard and raised a shaking hand to her throat. "That was something, wasn't it?" Anything else she could have said was forgotten as she was enveloped in Rick O'Connell's strong arms.
"Thank you," he whispered in a hoarse, choked voice. "You saved his life. I can never pay you back for that. Anything you ask, anything you need, ever, it's yours."
Evelyn's arms circled her as well, creating a warm cocoon of strength. "From either of us, Khay. Ardeth means more to us that we can ever say. Thank you."
She raised her face to them, fierce and proud, the light of Ardeth's aura still shimmering in her dark eyes. "Don't you see? I would have done anything, anything, for him. If he had died it would have been . . ." she shrugged, unable to find the words. "He's the Heart of my Soul," she finally said, simply.
Rick stared at her for a moment. "The heart of his soul?" He looked at his wife. "Did I miss something?"
"Khayriyyah is the missing part of Ardeth's soul." The deep voice of Nadhir Alaa' al Din startled them. They'd forgotten Khay's father was even in the room, so wrapped up were they in the task of keeping Ardeth alive.
"The missing part of his soul?" Rick repeated.
"Do remember when Ardeth told you that your being a Med-jai was the missing part of your heart?" Evy reminded him. "That when you embraced it you would complete the empty space inside yourself?" Rick nodded slowly, not sure what she was getting at. "Well, Khay is the missing part of Ardeth's soul." She smiled at him, as if that made perfect sense.
Rick only frowned and looked more confused. "But if she's this heart of the soul thing of his wouldn't she be the missing part of his heart? And not his soul?"
Nadhir laughed lightly. "I will explain it to you, my son, but I think perhaps you might find it makes more sense over a glass of whatever it is you like to drink. Why don't we retire downstairs while the ladies see to things here, and I'll tell the difference between the heart of one's heart and the heart of one's soul."
Rick didn't look convinced. "I think it might take more than one drink," he mused as the two men left the room.
"More than likely, my son!" Alaa' al Din laughed. "More than likely."
For an awkward moment, Khay and Evy said nothing. They simply stood looking at each other. Finally, Evy grinned and opened her arms. Khay gave a laughing sigh and fell into the older woman's embrace. "I couldn't have done it without you, Mrs. O'Connell. Thank you."
Evy hugged her tightly. "Evy. Ardeth is family and since you two seem to be getting together, you're family now too." She pulled away to study her friend. "Oh, my!" she teased. "If you are truly going to marry Ardeth, I think perhaps I'll send along some of those old books when you leave. You'll be doing a lot of cataloging with him for a husband, I can assure you."
It took Khay a moment to remember what she meant, then she, too, laughed. "I imagine he'll be a handful, then?" she asked, her mouth quirked in a tremulous smile.
"I'm afraid so," Evy assured her with a grin. "He's as bad as Rick. Maybe worse. After all, Rick isn't king of the Med-jai."
Khayriyyah paled. "Oh, dear. I'd quite forgotten about that. I can't picture myself as a queen. Oh, Evy! What if I'm a dreadful failure! What if they hate me? I'm an outsider! And they don't know me! And . . . "
"You'll be perfectly fine! They won't hate you. You've saved Ardeth's life, for that alone they'll worship you. And you're not an outsider. You're Med-jai. And regardless of birthplace, Med-jai is Med-jai. Look at Rick. He almost got them all killed. Twice. And they took him in. And I'm the one who raised Imhotep the first time. They didn't toss me out either, thank God. And Alex is Ardeth's heir." She could tell that Khay felt some small comfort in her words so she continued. "Besides, you're sweet and kind and very capable. Just be yourself. You'll be a wonderful queen. And wife. And mother. And I can guarantee you that anything you don't know, Azizah will show you."
"Azizah? Who's that? And don't make me a mother yet! I'm not even married. Well, technically I am but you know what I mean." She was busy looking at Ardeth, imagining what their children might look like and missed Evy's glance.
"You don't know about Azizah?" Evy asked.
"No. Is she someone in the palace?"
"You might say that," Evy mused more to herself than to Khay. Then she took Khay's hand and led her to one of the room's small sofas.
Khay sensed her concern and hesitated. "What? What is it?"
Evy looked away for a moment. "I must tell you about Azizah. You need to know. I can't believe they didn't tell you already."
A horrible thought struck through Khayriyyah. "Oh, no! He's got a wife already! I knew his first wife had died but I didn't realize he'd remarried. No one told me!"
"No! Not that!" Evy pulled at her hand and forced her to sit. "Azizah is not Ardeth's wife. She is his daughter."
It took a moment for Khay to adjust her thoughts from wife to daughter. "A daughter? Ardeth has a daughter? But his son was killed when his wife was. No one said anything about a daughter."
Evy told Khay about the circumstances of Azizah's birth. "How terrible!" Khay exclaimed, tears shining in her midnight eyes.
"So you see, Azizah is very special. The tribe doesn't want anyone on the outside to know she exists. They feel it is safer for her."
The younger woman was thoughtful for a moment. "What is she like? Is she here?"
Evy nodded. "Rick and I adore her and I expect you'll be meeting her tomorrow. Now, I should go and make sure that your father doesn't get my husband too drunk. Although, after what we've been through tonight, maybe I'll join him. At any rate, I'll bring in a dressing gown and some toiletries for you as I expect you'll be staying for the night."
Khay nodded. "Thank you."
"Try and get some sleep, if you can. I'll be up in a while." Evy closed the door softly behind her and left Khayriyyah alone with Ardeth for the first time. She walked slowly over the bed and looked down at the man who was to be her husband, the man for whom she'd searched over many lifetimes.
She reached out a tentative hand and rubbed a strand of his midnight hair between her fingers.
"So soft!" she whispered.
Her eyes traveled down over the tattooed chest and lean torso accentuated by hard muscle. A smear of blood in the distinct shape of a skeletal hand marred his stomach and the sight of it brought a frown to her face. Khay reached for a cloth from the table and wiped away all traces of the night's work. She also noticed that a faint silver sheen still wavered about the now almost invisible scars.
"These marks nearly took your life twice," she said quietly to the sleeping man, "but I am grateful for them. For if it had not been for the mummy's curse, I would not have met you, my Heart." Tears slipped down her cheeks as the enormity of the past few hours settled on her shoulders. "I could have lost you after having only just found you." She knew that somewhere in the depth of his consciousness, Ardeth heard her. "To lose you would have been death for us both. For I could not have gone on knowing that the Heart of my Soul was lost to me for another lifetime."
Ardeth stirred, and Khay stroked his hair, calming him back into restfulness. "I'm here, my Heart. I'm here," she whispered. "And here I will stay."
The three of them stood there and stared. It was an easy guess that Khay had never seen the like. For Rick and Evelyn, wrapped in each other's arms, it wasn't the strangest sight they'd ever seen, still they watched with wide-eyed fascination. Watched as the ghostly shape of the mummy emerged from the newly stitched gash in Ardeth's body, rending it open again as it fought the effects of the powerful spells, rotting mouth wide in a silent scream of denial. Watched as the gaping wound then healed itself in a surge of white light and the other scars faded to nothing as the ancient words etched themselves in silver on Ardeth's skin then faded. Watched as Ardeth's body, tight with pain and battle, released itself into unconsciousness.
"My!" Khayriyyah swallowed hard and raised a shaking hand to her throat. "That was something, wasn't it?" Anything else she could have said was forgotten as she was enveloped in Rick O'Connell's strong arms.
"Thank you," he whispered in a hoarse, choked voice. "You saved his life. I can never pay you back for that. Anything you ask, anything you need, ever, it's yours."
Evelyn's arms circled her as well, creating a warm cocoon of strength. "From either of us, Khay. Ardeth means more to us that we can ever say. Thank you."
She raised her face to them, fierce and proud, the light of Ardeth's aura still shimmering in her dark eyes. "Don't you see? I would have done anything, anything, for him. If he had died it would have been . . ." she shrugged, unable to find the words. "He's the Heart of my Soul," she finally said, simply.
Rick stared at her for a moment. "The heart of his soul?" He looked at his wife. "Did I miss something?"
"Khayriyyah is the missing part of Ardeth's soul." The deep voice of Nadhir Alaa' al Din startled them. They'd forgotten Khay's father was even in the room, so wrapped up were they in the task of keeping Ardeth alive.
"The missing part of his soul?" Rick repeated.
"Do remember when Ardeth told you that your being a Med-jai was the missing part of your heart?" Evy reminded him. "That when you embraced it you would complete the empty space inside yourself?" Rick nodded slowly, not sure what she was getting at. "Well, Khay is the missing part of Ardeth's soul." She smiled at him, as if that made perfect sense.
Rick only frowned and looked more confused. "But if she's this heart of the soul thing of his wouldn't she be the missing part of his heart? And not his soul?"
Nadhir laughed lightly. "I will explain it to you, my son, but I think perhaps you might find it makes more sense over a glass of whatever it is you like to drink. Why don't we retire downstairs while the ladies see to things here, and I'll tell the difference between the heart of one's heart and the heart of one's soul."
Rick didn't look convinced. "I think it might take more than one drink," he mused as the two men left the room.
"More than likely, my son!" Alaa' al Din laughed. "More than likely."
For an awkward moment, Khay and Evy said nothing. They simply stood looking at each other. Finally, Evy grinned and opened her arms. Khay gave a laughing sigh and fell into the older woman's embrace. "I couldn't have done it without you, Mrs. O'Connell. Thank you."
Evy hugged her tightly. "Evy. Ardeth is family and since you two seem to be getting together, you're family now too." She pulled away to study her friend. "Oh, my!" she teased. "If you are truly going to marry Ardeth, I think perhaps I'll send along some of those old books when you leave. You'll be doing a lot of cataloging with him for a husband, I can assure you."
It took Khay a moment to remember what she meant, then she, too, laughed. "I imagine he'll be a handful, then?" she asked, her mouth quirked in a tremulous smile.
"I'm afraid so," Evy assured her with a grin. "He's as bad as Rick. Maybe worse. After all, Rick isn't king of the Med-jai."
Khayriyyah paled. "Oh, dear. I'd quite forgotten about that. I can't picture myself as a queen. Oh, Evy! What if I'm a dreadful failure! What if they hate me? I'm an outsider! And they don't know me! And . . . "
"You'll be perfectly fine! They won't hate you. You've saved Ardeth's life, for that alone they'll worship you. And you're not an outsider. You're Med-jai. And regardless of birthplace, Med-jai is Med-jai. Look at Rick. He almost got them all killed. Twice. And they took him in. And I'm the one who raised Imhotep the first time. They didn't toss me out either, thank God. And Alex is Ardeth's heir." She could tell that Khay felt some small comfort in her words so she continued. "Besides, you're sweet and kind and very capable. Just be yourself. You'll be a wonderful queen. And wife. And mother. And I can guarantee you that anything you don't know, Azizah will show you."
"Azizah? Who's that? And don't make me a mother yet! I'm not even married. Well, technically I am but you know what I mean." She was busy looking at Ardeth, imagining what their children might look like and missed Evy's glance.
"You don't know about Azizah?" Evy asked.
"No. Is she someone in the palace?"
"You might say that," Evy mused more to herself than to Khay. Then she took Khay's hand and led her to one of the room's small sofas.
Khay sensed her concern and hesitated. "What? What is it?"
Evy looked away for a moment. "I must tell you about Azizah. You need to know. I can't believe they didn't tell you already."
A horrible thought struck through Khayriyyah. "Oh, no! He's got a wife already! I knew his first wife had died but I didn't realize he'd remarried. No one told me!"
"No! Not that!" Evy pulled at her hand and forced her to sit. "Azizah is not Ardeth's wife. She is his daughter."
It took a moment for Khay to adjust her thoughts from wife to daughter. "A daughter? Ardeth has a daughter? But his son was killed when his wife was. No one said anything about a daughter."
Evy told Khay about the circumstances of Azizah's birth. "How terrible!" Khay exclaimed, tears shining in her midnight eyes.
"So you see, Azizah is very special. The tribe doesn't want anyone on the outside to know she exists. They feel it is safer for her."
The younger woman was thoughtful for a moment. "What is she like? Is she here?"
Evy nodded. "Rick and I adore her and I expect you'll be meeting her tomorrow. Now, I should go and make sure that your father doesn't get my husband too drunk. Although, after what we've been through tonight, maybe I'll join him. At any rate, I'll bring in a dressing gown and some toiletries for you as I expect you'll be staying for the night."
Khay nodded. "Thank you."
"Try and get some sleep, if you can. I'll be up in a while." Evy closed the door softly behind her and left Khayriyyah alone with Ardeth for the first time. She walked slowly over the bed and looked down at the man who was to be her husband, the man for whom she'd searched over many lifetimes.
She reached out a tentative hand and rubbed a strand of his midnight hair between her fingers.
"So soft!" she whispered.
Her eyes traveled down over the tattooed chest and lean torso accentuated by hard muscle. A smear of blood in the distinct shape of a skeletal hand marred his stomach and the sight of it brought a frown to her face. Khay reached for a cloth from the table and wiped away all traces of the night's work. She also noticed that a faint silver sheen still wavered about the now almost invisible scars.
"These marks nearly took your life twice," she said quietly to the sleeping man, "but I am grateful for them. For if it had not been for the mummy's curse, I would not have met you, my Heart." Tears slipped down her cheeks as the enormity of the past few hours settled on her shoulders. "I could have lost you after having only just found you." She knew that somewhere in the depth of his consciousness, Ardeth heard her. "To lose you would have been death for us both. For I could not have gone on knowing that the Heart of my Soul was lost to me for another lifetime."
Ardeth stirred, and Khay stroked his hair, calming him back into restfulness. "I'm here, my Heart. I'm here," she whispered. "And here I will stay."