Nassir had not spoken another new word for the next hour. Every inquiry Rick and Jonathan gave was only met with the same statement; "You must wait three days."
Rick could barely fight the anger inside him that told him to beat Nassir until he gave away his master's position. Nassir's assurance that harm done to the slave would only cause harm to Evie and Alex and so Rick had to walk away. Jonathan knew well enough not to follow with Rick's mood as it was.
Sitting in the study, Rick put his head in his hands. Exhausted and frustrated, he saw no way to move Nassir's timeline along. His chest ached when he thought of his wife and son in the clutches of the evil and highly deadly Scorpion King. Why had he taken them? What did he want? But the question that stuck out most of all was why hadn't they killed he and Jonathan when they had the chance? Unconscious and at their feet, Rick and Jonathan had been at their mercy.
Rubbing his neck, Rick's mind went to something Ardeth had said once.
"You're a Medjai…if you accept it, if you embrace it, you can do anything."
Anything? Thought Rick. Anything but find the Scorpion King. Sighing, he concentrated on it anyway. He tried to think of the desert, Egypt, and focus in on The Scorpion King. Rick had faced him, sent him to hell, and stared him down in his death throws. It was the clear reason why he would come back to haunt them. But, still, it was no explanation why he took his family and let Rick live.
The thought made him think of Alex and his chest ached. His son had just gone through a terrible ordeal and he had lost him again. Evelyn entered his thoughts now and his throat closed up. How could he have failed them so completely? A burning sensation overtook him. Determination filled him. If he had to be a Medjai in order to rescue his family, then he would.
Feeling silly, he let his thoughts fall on the Medjai and what he knew of them. Concentrating, he fought to find something, anything in the powers Ardeth spoke of.
In a large campsite, many tents were set around several fires. A few men on horseback looked over the site, guarding it silently in the dark, their robes billowing in the sandy wind. A few horses knickered softly and the fires crackled, but otherwise all was at peace. Deeper in the camp, a few individual tents lay for the commanders of this army. Ardeth Bay was among them, dreamlessly sleeping.
Suddenly, his peaceful night ended and his dreams were filled with disturbing visions. He stirred. Alex and Evelyn O'Connell cowered before a dark shadow. They were frightened and in pain. The vision passed over to Rick O'Connell, who stood by, distressed but seemingly helpless to save his family. With great sadness in his face, he knelt down as the shadow passed him and died. Evelyn stood now, protecting her son, but the shadow passed over her, claiming her life as well.
However, when the shadow reached Alex O'Connell, the boy was spared. Ardeth woke with a start. He did not completely understand the dream, but he knew it meant that the O'Connells needed his help.
