David Daniels could smell decay in the air. It was an old kind, moist and sticky in the air. He stiffened in his bed, reluctant to open his eyes and face the cause of the odour. He remembered it now, it was the breath of death, once so close to him he had tasted its spoiled flavour on his tongue. It should have taken him from this world into the next but instead Jess had changed the course of fate by taking his place.
Daniels's dark blue eyes snapped open and for a moment took in only darkness. His right hand was reaching for the Colt New Service revolver resting in the holster sitting on the bedside cabinet before he even realised it was. Instinct had led him to go for the weapon first and then take in the situation. He drew the gun out slowly and softly and edged back and upright in the bed at the same time knowing he would lose whatever advantage he might have the moment the hammer of his gun gave a telltale click as he pulled it back.
Daniels's eyes widened as the gloom divided into various shapes of indigo, deep violet and sable and he started to take in what had disturbed his rest. The large cabin that acted as bedroom, living room and lounge for him and two other occupants was a little more crowded that it should be. There were figures shuffling across the wooden floor but their steps made no sound. He tried to take them in but their edges were blurred and their features indistinguishable like shadows. They were clustered about the double bed that Jess occupied almost hiding it from view with their dark forms. The sound of multiple whispers that Daniels could not make out began to fill the room. He tensed at the sound unsure even of what language these strangers were speaking. The whispers grew frantic and fast, filling the room in a chorus of soft voices that bounced off the walls and seemed to fill Daniels's head.
"God damn it shut up!" Daniels shouted before he could help himself.
Immediately every shadowy figure seemed to fall silent and turn in his direction, the blurred black shapes that he took to be heads all cocked in his direction simultaneously.
Daniels regretted his yelling as he swallowed nervously and eyed the figures warily sensing the hostility that oozed from them.
Daniels let out an anxious yelp as the figures suddenly came for him, rushing across the room in a blur of movement. He felt their malevolent intent wash over him as they drew closer and found himself paralysed when he attempted to move to either evade them or defend himself. The room had turned an icy cold but Daniels only became aware of it as his frightened breath misted out before him and he wondered anxiously if it was to be his last breath in the world.
Light suddenly illuminated the room, banishing the shadow figures and the darkness as if they had never been.
Daniels' eyes rolled over to the main door out of the cabin where the switch to the ceiling lights was. Jess was standing there in her pale blue nightdress, one finger pressed into the switch as she stared over at him calmly.
Daniels swallowed hard again and wrinkled his nose, aware now that the stench of death had faded.
"What in the hell is going on?" Henry Henderson piped up crossly.
The blonde cowboy was sitting upright in his bed looking weary rather than alarmed.
"David spoke to the wraiths," Jess retorted in a soft, calm voice.
Daniels was irritated with the manner in which she spoke, surely she knew it was unnerving. Hell this entire journey had been unnerving for Daniels and he was glad they only had one more night after this before it was due to be done.
They had boarded the Lady Catherine almost two weeks ago, a fine steamship that had cost a pretty penny, more so for their first class accommodation. Henderson had said they may as well travel in class since they could and it would be a novelty for all of them and Daniels had consented to it partially because he had naively though money would afford them privacy and because Jess' eyes had lit up at the thought of being on a ship as something more than a commoner. Unfortunately, they had been wrong in their expectations. The other first class passengers had tried to mingle with them, curious about the source of their wealth whilst the crew had pestered them with offers of all the perks they could enjoy. Daniels' brash, hostile personality and Jess' inability to feign the sweet demeanour of a lady had led to them being treated as outsiders. Only Henderson made any attempt to enjoy their rich companions, welcomed by the women for his looks and brave, adventurous persona and admired by the men for tales of his exploits and his natural ability to jest and charm.
"Now David," Henderson scorned lightly as he lay back against his pillows and smirked, "you know you mustn't do that." He wagged a finger in his friend's direction for good measure.
Daniels scowled back at him. "They were making noise," he complained.
Henderson shrugged as he stretched out his legs and crossed one foot over the other. "They'll do that," he murmured dismissively. He glanced over in Jess' direction. "Are you going to man that switch like a lighthouse keeper?" he quipped mockingly. "Or can we have the darkness again?"
Daniels tensed at Henderson's question, it was an odd way to ask someone to turn off the light and just another sign as to how Henderson wasn't fully himself.
"They could come back," Jess said. Her voice was louder this time and pragmatic rather than fearful.
"Well David won't talk to them if they do, will you David?" Henderson glanced over at Daniels questioningly.
Daniels continued to scowl. This wasn't the first night of wraiths or ghouls or whatever the hell it was but it wasn't something he was getting used to anytime soon. It stemmed from Set's curse, which had haunted Jess from her troubled childhood when her father had unwittingly brought it home to her family from Egypt.
The curse of the chaos god had led to Jess' father going mad and slowly torturing and killing every member of the household except Jess. How she had survived Daniels still wasn't quite sure and he had never built up the courage to ask her. What little she had revealed of that terrible time had been enough for him. Since then Set had seen fit to plague her with images of her deceased family, a curse that reached out to any Jess grew close with it seemed as in Egypt Daniels had been subjected to images of his murdered fiancee Bethany and even figures that had taken on the guise of Jess, Henderson and Bernard Burns after the mummy of Imhotep had killed them. The curse of Set had ended briefly when Daniels had escaped Egypt only to start again when he had returned following the news of Jess and Henderson's mysterious resurrection. Jess had returned with the curse of Set it seemed.
Daniels became aware of Jess staring at him apologetically as she awaited his response.
"Turn the light off," he snapped.
There was a click and then darkness once more. The gentle tread of Jess' bare feet on the wooden floor followed then the gentle rustle of her bedsheets as she climbed back into bed.
Daniels realised the chill still lingered in the room as he pulled his own blanket closer and wondered how it was that Henderson was lying on top of his bedsheets exposed to the icy air. Did he not feel it? Daniels wondered if Jess felt it or if she only pulled the covers over herself out of habit or perhaps a need to feel safe. Was she afraid? Daniels gritted his teeth as he realised he was the one who was afraid, he was still clutching his revolver after all.
Daniels forced himself to return the revolver to its holster before slumping back down into the bed. He closed his eyes and let his hand hang out from the blankets just in case he needed to snatch up the gun again. He became aware of the sounds of the ship as it sped them steadily through the deep Atlantic waters to England and let the noise soothe him back to slumber.
Feeling a small, smooth skinned hand slip into his, Daniels realised perhaps Jess was afraid and simply too proud to confess it before Henderson. So she had crept out of bed to come climb into his, well alright it was improper but far from the first time Daniels had had to coax her back to sleep in bed. Even before her encounter with the mummy the young woman had suffered the most troubling nightmares, visions of her brothers' demises replayed over and over in her mind. Add the memories of her own murder at the hands of an undead monster from the netherworld and one couldn't blame Jess for having trouble sleeping.
Daniels gave the hand a reassuring squeeze before he moved over slightly and with his free hand tugged back the corner of the blanket so she would know she could climb in.
Daniels was surprised by the cold he felt from the body that slipped in beside him, it was like ice as it pressed against him robbing him of his own heat. He opened his indigo eyes to try to spy out the woman through the gloom.
A stoic pale face peered back at Daniels, grey in the forgiving darkness as the blackness of the room hid any telltale features from sight.
"David I'm so cold," the pleading voice of Bethany called to him.
Daniels sprung back from the bed yelling like he had been struck. His curses continued as he stumbled back on the wooden floor loudly, flailing and yelling as he didn't know what else to do.
The light was back on, illuminating the room as the roaring beats of his panicked heart flooded Daniels' ears. He stared at the bed with wide eyes, eyeballing the wrinkled sheets looking for the hint of a body lying there. Horrified and full of disbelief, he started to heave out fast, sharp breaths.
"What's happened now?" Henderson queried heatedly. He was still lying down appearing annoyed rather than alarmed.
Daniels gaped over at his friend, turning cross as he saw his relaxed appearance. He gestured to his bed with one hand as he heaved out another breath. He knew he was breathing too fast. "A damn ghost that's what!" he spat out angrily.
Daniels tensed and whirled round with alarm as he felt a hand reach at his again. With eyes as wide as saucers he stared down at the slightly startled Jess. He shook his head angrily, hating himself for being so jumpy.
"I need out of here," he grumbled.
He stepped back from Jess and turned away from her concern as he reached for the clothes he had abandoned in a heap on a chair near his bed. He dressed hastily, having little concern for who might see him sloppily clothed at two in the morning. He reached for his grey-brown fedora and placed it on, tugging it down slightly so that he could evade the face of any curious person he might come across. He certainly didn't want to be engaged in conversation with anyone right now.
As he turned to leave, Daniels was surprised to see Jess still standing only now she was wearing in her brown boots and Daniels' long, grey jacket which just about concealed her nightdress from view but as it exposed her bare legs it gave the impression that she had nothing underneath.
Daniels raised his hands to his hips as he stared down at her, his mouth in a stern line as he readied himself to order her to stay.
"I'm going with you," Jess said the words stubbornly making it clear that it was not a request.
"You don't have to," Daniels muttered angrily, determined that he wouldn't give into her without a little quarrel at least.
"No one said I did," she retorted with a small smile as her golden-brown eyes sparkled with a suggestion of amusement.
"You ain't dressed for walking on deck," he replied hotly.
"Neither are you but I didn't see that there was a dress code for two a.m. wanderings anyway," she added sardonically.
"Would you both just get already!" Henderson snapped. "I would like to sleep even if you two don't or won't or can't or whichever hell way it is. And turn that bloody light off when you leave!" he added grouchily.
Daniels and Jess both glanced the blonde's way.
"Alright Henderson, suppose you need your beauty sleep," Daniels murmured bitingly as he headed for the door.
"You're the one who's going grey," Henderson retaliated sleepily before he rolled over.
"Ain't grey," Daniels snarled, "it's just a lighter black is all."
Henderson let out a mocking snort at that but didn't bother with a retort.
Daniels opened the door and gestured for Jess to head out first. She slipped out to the narrow corridor with ease.
Daniels followed, closing the door behind him before tensing slightly. He recalled the corridor of a hotel they had stayed in, in Egypt and a moment there when the lights had flickered out in it giving wraiths a chance to appear. His dark blue gaze was down on Jess's tawny hair as he wondered if she recalled that time. It had been the same night Henry had perished when the mummy had come upon him guarding Evelyn Carnahan. Daniels realised it had also been the night he had first kissed Jess, a very brief kiss snatched at the bar after several shots of whiskey, driven out of fear that he might never get another chance and also curiosity as Henry had kept teasing that Jess had a 'dopey look for Daniels'.
Jess walked down the corridor with ease and to Daniels' relief the lights stayed on without the slightest flicker and only a very low hum that came from the power travelling through them.
It was a short journey up to the deck made all the easier by the lack of people. Daniels wasn't surprised to find the top of the steamship ice cold as it was mostly exposed to the unforgiving night air of the open sea. He didn't mind however as he found the salty ocean air a welcome distraction from the musty odour of death that had awoken him.
They paced the deck slowly, meeting only one crew member on their walk. He took them in with surprise and wide eyes before dismissing them as eccentrics and hurrying on his way.
Realising he had no real plan but no desire to return below, Daniels opted to sit on one of the waiting deck chairs. Jess took up a seat beside him, silent as she tried to give him a sense of space.
The American rooted through his trouser pockets for his cigarette box and matches and felt relief when he found them both. He plucked out a cigarette before holding out the box to Jess and was unsurprised when she waved it off. Sometimes she'd take a cigar but it was only because she liked to waver it around and feign an air of importance with it and sometimes she'd steal his cigarette box simply to ensure her skills of theft didn't get rusty.
Daniels lit the cigarette before returning the box and the matches to his pocket. He took in a deep draught and exhaled with relief. He felt calmer already.
"What happened?" Jess queried quietly.
"I felt a hand take mine," Daniels explained calmly as he stared up at the sky. The clouds were broken up like a never ending jigsaw puzzle, revealing glimpses of starlight between the gaps of misty white.
"I figured it was yours," he admitted. "Then someone climbed into the bed, ice cold, thought maybe you'd gotten scared but then I heard Bethany's voice." He fell silent at this and took another puff from his cigarette.
Jess nodded and Daniels tensed again as her hand slipped into his free one. She squeezed it tightly. "This is what my hand feels like," she said quietly.
Daniels cocked his head to her with a curious stare before he pulled his hand free. He reached it to extend it about her shoulders and tug her close. She was small under his jacket but she had always been a lean thing, a hungry scavenger taking only what she needed to survive. His hand crept up to brush against her cheek, pausing as he felt a chill once more. Well it was cold out here, no surprise that she was vulnerable to it. Telling himself that it wasn't the cold of the dead, Daniels moved his hand away anyway to stroke her hair instead.
Daniels continued to smoke in silence and stare at the stars as he wondered if O'Connell and the Carnahans could or would help them. They would have little reason to say yes except perhaps a morbid curiosity to find out how and why Henderson and Jess were walking the earth again. Daniels realised morbidly that he needed them to say yes not just because, though he would never state it aloud, he needed their knowledge but also because he needed someone else who knew about Egypt and the mummy and that raising the dead was a very real thing to see Jess and Henderson walking and talking and know how disturbing and yet plausible it was. Daniels needed someone else to feel like him, to share his horror and his surprise, and to help him when Jess had a moment of madness or Henderson murmured morbidly about death and dying as if it were a normal conversation to have over the breakfast table. Daniels just needed someone else to help with the burden because God help him it was a burden.
"Thank you for coming David," Jess said sincerely.
Daniels stubbed out his cigarette on the arm of the seat before flicking it away carelessly.
"Thank you for coming onto the deck jackal," he retorted with a dry humour.
The damp smell of home cam on a misty air bringing with it a faint odour of pine and oak, a reminder of the wilderness that kept the island green, eternally unconquered despite man's best interests. Although the city had not been hers, Jess still felt a wash of nostalgia as she stepped out of the motorcar and breathed in the countryside air. She had lived in isolation, her mother's slice of heaven to escape from the city where her father made their money. It had been an isolation they had paid dearly for, there had been no close neighbours to hear their screams or pleas for help, no social callers until it was far too late. Isolation had come steep.
Henderson let out a low whistle as he surveyed the O'Connell mansion. It had taken a while for them to track down the residence of Evelyn and Rick and even though Evelyn had changed from a Carnahan to an O'Connell it had been her name that had gotten them results. Evelyn was widely known and respected amongst her studious peers in the museum. It had been Daniels who had figured he'd find information on her in a 'learning place'.
Henderson tugged off his cowboy hat momentarily and glanced to Daniels with a smirk. "Well we definitely look like outsiders, suppose they've security might mistake us for bandits?" he quipped mockingly.
Daniels eyed the building with a mixture of awe and apprehension. It seemed too grand for just two people, an impressive brownstone structure three storeys taller and wider than it was high. He wondered what in the hell they were keeping in it. Daniels knew how they had come by it, they had divided the ill-gotten gold from Seti's tomb in Egypt before parting ways but whilst Daniels was shrewd with his and had gifted Henderson his generous share from it as well evidently Evelyn and Rick had decided to put theirs to good use.
"Well," Jess said confidently, "let's see who's home."
Their car had been able to take them right to the door but whether the iron gates at the bottom of the long driveway had been left open by design or accident it was hard to tell. Daniels wouldn't put it past Evelyn to be careless or Ricky to be cocky and it irritated him to think that even after all they had been through the two weren't interested in just a little security for their obvious wealth. He bristled thinking of how easy it was to lose such things to mortal foes never mind the immortal ones. If Rick didn't care for his treasure and Daniels suspected he didn't, surely he had a care to protect the only thing truly worth guarding- his wife. There wasn't a day that didn't go by that Daniels didn't regret not doing better for Bethany. Feeling a fresh chill pick up in the air, he started striding forward through the gravel to the door.
Jess hurried forward first and pressed the doorbell eagerly. She didn't want to linger in the shadows, weary of being swallowed up by the darkness that seeped from the trees guarding the property.
"Alright Evie I'm going to the gate now! Who on earth would be-oh gosh there's the door!"
The door opened and the curious face of Jonathan Carnahan peered out.
"Evening," Jess greeted with a small smile. Her face lit up with the first sign of true joy she had shown since returning from Egypt. When she thought of Jonathan it had been with fondness and amusement, he had always managed to keep their spirits up in Egypt even when things seemed at the first.
Jonathan stared down at the young woman and his face turned ashen.
"Oh dear, you look like you've seen a ghost," Jess piped up apologetically.
"Or two," Henderson mocked as he stood behind Jess with a smirk.
"Um...Ev...EVIE!" Jonathan shrieked out his sister's name as he staggered back from the door.
The tall Englishman turned from the trio and fled across an extensive, well lit lobby.
"Jonathan what is all that racket?" the voice of Evelyn Carnahan called irately.
The Englishwoman appeared at the top of the grand staircase, a vision of loveliness even as her fair face filled with confusion. She was dressed for a quiet evening in a loose, dark nightdress, her biscuit brown, umber streaked curls down and framing her delicate features. Evelyn's toughness was in her dark Egyptian eyes and her dominant, confident persona. What she lacked in physical strength she more than made up for with her quick mind. Even now as she tried to digest her shock it was clear she was trying to solve the mystery before her.
Jonathan was now trying to mount the staircase but stumbling in his panic and his pauses for dramatic screams.
"Jonathan did you see another beetle?" Rick's voice queried tauntingly. "I've told you before, just stamp them a few times!"
Rick joined Evelyn on the staircase and paused as he stared down in surprise. He couldn't quite make out the features of their guests from his vantage point but their stances and clothes were a little too familiar. A blonde cowboy in tan and cream attire looking like he belonged in a Western, a shorter male in grey with a hostile stance and his features purposely hidden beneath a fedora that he'd always shown an amusing attachment to, and a woman, attractive in a wild sort of way with the stare of a feral jackal, almost passing for a male in a loose fitting shirt and golden-brown trousers with boots for trekking on rough terrain rather than people's wooden floors.
"Evie you told me you left that book in Egypt," Rick said accusingly.
"I did!" Evelyn protested.
Rick gestured downstairs with one hand. "Right, then why are there two dead people standing in our house?"
Jonathan finally reached the top of the staircase and grasped out to Rick's right leg with a pant and a whimper. "Ghosts or wraiths or whatever they are!" he exclaimed hysterical. "Oh it's just like Hamunaptra all over again with those things that looked like them!"
"But Mr. Daniels is still alive, isn't he?" Evelyn queried curiously. "And he seems quite unharmed."
"Yes but he is a thousand miles away from home so let's not rule out insanity," Rick murmured, "or brainwashing."
Daniels let out a snort at this comment. "You're not far off O'Connell," he called up the stairs.
"It's speaking!" Jonathan shrieked. "Don't listen, that's how they'll turn us into brain dead zombies!"
"I thought we were ghosts?" Henderson quipped as he folded his arms and glanced to Jess out of the corner of his eye with a grin.
"When did I become an it?!" Daniels snapped angrily.
Jess smiled up the staircase sympathetically. "We really didn't mean to frighten you Jonathan," she called. "You see we're not really one way or the other anymore, it's why we're here."
"Right, so you are dead then?" Rick queried as he raised his light brown eyebrows and eyed them warily.
"Yes but not in the market of organ eating," Henderson assured.
Jess winced at the reminder and her stare became mournful. "No, we're the restless dead, the ones who wander but do not live."
Daniels frowned too, upset for Jess at her words. He sighed and tugged off his fedora. "Look, it's complicated, obviously," he added dryly as he clutched the hat in his right hand and stare up at the O'Connells and Jonathan. "Hell I'm just glad someone else is looking at them knowing they ain't right being this way," he added bluntly. "Thing is they keep talking about Egypt, it's driving them mad and me but if I have to go back to that hellhole it's not gonna be well..." He flustered as he struggled to ask for help. "Well without people who know something about it."