Roma was on edge, always looking over her shoulder as if a mysterious presence might be lurking behind her. She wanted to leave, to escape the horror they now found themselves in. She was sorry that she had told Evie about the tomb, sorrier still that she had allowed herself to be talking into returning here. Her regrets did her now good, it was too late now, she told herself, they would have to see the ordeal through.
Evie improved by the day, but there was something that was not quite right about her and it made Roma uneasy. On the outside, she seemed to be Evie, but as polite and cooperative regarding her recuperation as she was, something was definitely off.
She seemed to be Evie, but sometimes when Roma looked at her she could swear that a stranger was staring out of her eyes. She was polite and cooperative, too much so, Roma thought. She ate when she was told and rested when told she needed to, but Rick had told her that at night Evie would lay awake for hours. And, when he woke, it seemed that she was staring at something he could not see and he doubted if she had been asleep at all.
Rick dealt with his frustration at Evie's condition by being mostly absent, instead devoting his time to the preparation of the tomb for its detonation. When she could bring herself to, she would enter the tomb to observe Rick's progress.
He was ruthless in his labors, not sparing the beautiful carvings that must be three thousand years old. The walls had been drilled into and sticks of dynamite inserted into the holes. The results were eerily beautiful. The dynamite sticks and fuses covered the walls in a pattern that reminded Roma of a lacy spider's web but never had a web been so deadly, not even to an unsuspecting fly.
If Roma regretted what they were doing, all she had to do was look at the blank stare come over Evie's face. When Evie gave her that look, Roma could only hope that Rick would be finished soon so they could blow the damn tomb to kingdom come and make their escape.
Often she would find herself retreating to the pavilion where she would fix herself a gin and water, being careful to make sure there was more water than gin. She did not like to get drunk and had no use for drunkards, but for some reason, she was finding the gin comforting. Sometimes she felt tempted to ask one of the workmen if he could find some hashish or opium, but no, she would not go that far. She would not ask though she was finding the gin unsatisfactory and the thought of opium tempted her as much as she wished to avoid it.
Ardeth came into the pavilion, picked up her glass, and smelled the contents. "Is this the first you've had today?" he asked, his tone making it clear he did not approve. He sat and poured himself a glass of water, then looked at her, demanding an answer.
She could have been angry, but she knew it was the tension in the air. She had thought with the return, no release, of Evie, things would be all right. That was what she had thought, get Evie back then all would be well with the world.
She sighed and shook her head. "It's the first today, you know me, Ardeth, I would not let myself become dependent on anything. Except maybe you." She made a feeble attempt at a smile.
He took her hand and squeezed it to reassure her. "I know, but these are not normal times. O'Connell has told me he is almost done placing the dynamite. He is eager to be finished but he will take no shortcuts."
"I just want all this to be finished. I know that when the last link to the tomb is destroyed, Evie will be her old self." I hope she will, anyway, she thought. "I had not thought her to be so vulnerable, she is so strong, so brave, even to the point of recklessness."
"And maybe that was the problem," Ardeth said, his voice solemn, "We should never have taken shelter in this devil-cursed cave in the first place, but what could we do? The sandstorm must have been a creation of the devil, it should not have lasted as long as it did."
"And it was a month early, I have lived in Egypt most of my life and I cannot remember one that came so early. And we were so close to the tomb though we did not know it. It is almost as if we were driven towards it."
It was too late to change anything and they all knew it. They had chosen their actions and now must live with them. It just seemed unfair that Evie had suffered the worst of it.
It was one day later, at the end of a hard workday, that Rick announced that the preparations had been completed, and the tomb was ready to be destroyed. The dynamite, the fuses, and the detonators were all in place and tomorrow the workmen must clear and pack the equipment, for Rick intended to blow up the tomb that evening, no matter how late the hour.
Evie walked in, unexpected. She had made it a habit of sticking close to her bed in the tent she shared with Rick. Since her ordeal, he had made it a point of remaining in the tomb and waiting for the others to comb to tend to her needs.
She stood shivering in the cool night air, wearing only her linen nightgown. No warm robe or shawl was wrapped around her to stave off the cold night air. And she looked disheveled and thin, too thin. She had lost her curves and her face was gaunt and hollow.
Roma jumped up and wrapped her sweater around Evie's thin shoulders. "Evie, what are you doing up, you will catch your death of cold in the night air."
Evie accepted the sweater but pulled away from Roma's embrace. "What were you saying about the tomb, what do you plan to do with it?" Her tones were unfriendly, even hostile as if destroying the tomb was anathema. Clearly, she had not anticipated their actions.
"We're blowing up the tomb, Evie," Rick answered as gently as he could, "It has to be destroyed so that its powers will no longer have any effect. I do this gladly as I cannot forget what happened to you.
"No," she said, a look of horror on her face, and she turned left the pavilion, running in the direction of the tomb. The others followed after her, not knowing what actions she intended to take, but fearing the worst. They ran after her but had trouble keeping up, something had given her speed that did not suit the frailty of her body.
Soon, she was in the tomb, pulling on the dynamite fuses, but her weakness and frailty, the result of her captivity, had little effect and she fell, exhausted, to the tomb floor.
They caught up with her and saw her lying in the cool sand in front of the carving of the goddess Isis. She had managed to loosen a few of the dynamite sticks, but for the most part, she had been unable to damage Rick's work.
He stooped down and picked her up. "We will have to do it tonight," he told Roma and Ardeth, "Lord only knows what could happen if she gains any of her strength back. Tell the workmen to clear as much of the equipment as possible. I think that the tents are far enough away and our camp will be safe. I will not rest easy until I get this done."
"Do you want me to take her?" Ardeth asked, but Rick shook his head.
"I will take her to the tent, but someone must watch her, someone who can restrain her if she tries to move."
"I will sit with her, and have Abdul wait outside for me in case there is trouble. It's not much but it's the least I can do." Roma unexpectedly burst into sobs and Ardeth took her in his arms to comfort her.
"This will be over soon," he soothed her, stroking her blond curls, "You have had to bear so much, more than you deserve. You have been brave and have not wavered. Father always told me you should have been a boy but only Allah knows his purpose." He let her go and he and Rick left the tent.
She watched the sky darken, her faithful Abdul not leaving his post. The first stars had begun to prick the sky when Mustafa came to them the news.
"It is ready, miss, Mr. O'Connell is ready to blow the tomb up. He says to stay here, but you will be able to see it."
"No!" cried Evie from her bed and she jumped out and tried to run to the tomb as if she could prevent what was about to happen. Roma and the two men held onto her as the sudden noise of the explosion split the night and where there had once been a cliff that held a tomb, there was now nothing but rubble and dust.
Evie fainted, and they returned her to her bed, carefully pulling the covers up over her. She felt her pulse, it was stronger and steadier than it had been since she had been freed from the spell that Pentaweret had used to imprison her.
"Go see it, miss," said Mustafa, "Even the ending of the earth could not be more amazing. O'Connell is a genius, I do not know of anyone else who could have accomplished this feat. I will watch over Miss Evie."
Roma stumbled out of the tent, her ears ringing from the blast. As she grew closer to where the tomb had been she saw nothing now but dust and rubble. It was as if some giant had taken a bite out of the cliff, leaving the remainder behind.
Ardeth was waiting for her. He put his arm around her, saying, "See, it is done. Everything associated with the tomb is gone along with it. The mummies, the bones, the coffin, and the shawabtis were blown up with it. The shaft is filled with rubble now, the damage is too great for anyone to ever even suppose there was a tomb here once."
"I wish I could steal Pentaweret's mummy, but if it became known that would mean an end to my career as an archaeologist. All I can hope is that he found her, and they are together now. I hope Tiye was burnt at the stake and her soul destroyed forever, then maybe these two can rest in peace forever." She sagged in Ardeth's arms, "I am so tired, I have never been this weary in my life. Can we spend the night here, or must we leave?"
"O'Connell has said it is safe for us to spend one last night here, but we must depart in the morning. I am sorry you will have nothing to show for all your work, you worked so hard, my love."
"I do not think I mind, Ardeth, not this time. We found something that no one knew existed and now we have returned it to the earth. It is a shame that we had to destroy the tomb, but I would do it again gladly. Let us get what sleep we can, tomorrow we must begin the journey back to Luxor."