Chapter Fifteen

The Hall of the Afterlife looms over us. It is dark as pitch inside, and silent as a tomb.

"Haw are we to know what the weapon looks like?" Ahk asks.

I give his hand a small squeeze, "We don't. Maybe the powers will help us out."

I close my eyes, willing my vision to expand into the exhibit. Slowly, things come into view. Exhibits detailing the earliest Christian burials, Buddhist funeral pyres, and Mayan sacrificial temples line the walls. At the end of the exhibit is an open Egyptian sarcophagus, and a board explaining the mummification process and the significance of the pyramids. Kahmunrah is lounging on a chaise, cleaning his fingernails. The gesture seems far too conventional, and immediately rouses my suspicion. The powers crackle to life with that itch I can't scratch without hurting someone. I allow myself to probe his mind, waiting for his thoughts to sink into my head. Nothing comes. My head stays silent. What has he done? Has he somehow made himself immune to me?

"Ahk, I - I can't read him. He's closed off. Something's wrong." I whisper.

"We need to go back. I have a bad feeling about this."

"No, I need to do this. Stay here."

"What? No!"

I cast him a glare, and he lowers his voice again, "I'm not letting you deal with him alone."

"He won't hurt me. He needs me alive," I murmur, a plan already forming in my head, "if I come to him alone and pretend to submit to him, he'll let me go. He said so himself."

"Alex, please. I don't want you to get hurt. Let's go back to my parents and-"

I silence him with a kiss. His arms immediately come down around my waist, tugging me against him. His lips are warm and soft. I can't believe I have to do this. I don't want to. But, I must. I pull away. As soon as he opens his eyes, I lock onto them.

"You will stay here, and you will only come when I call for you."

"I will stay here," he repeats dreamily, "and I will come when you call for me."

I kiss him again, squeezing his hand one last time before I let go. Guilt washes over me for manipulating Ahk, but if I hadn't, he would have insisted on coming. If he gets hurt… I don't know what I would do. Probably not something good. Ahk's eyes are glazed, he stares at me without seeing me. A thought hits me. I catch his gaze again.

"If you are in any immediate danger, you get back to Egypt. No matter what, okay?"

"No matter what." he echoes, that vacant look in his eyes unnerving me.

I turn away from him, taking a deep breath and squaring my shoulders. I can do this. I step into the exhibit, my eyes adjusting to the gloom almost instantly. I can see Kahmunrah's form at the end of the hall. He hears my footsteps, and looks up. His face breaks into the smuggest grin I've ever witnessed. I have a very sudden urge to slap it off. But no. Not yet, at least. He stands, suddenly towering over me from the raised pedestal. And yet, I feel larger. The electric current coursing through me is begging to be released.

"A fair warning, the power doesn't like you. Don't make any sudden moves."

"Oh, don't worry about me dearest. I'm well protected."

The weapon. Instantly, my eyes roam his person for a sign of something out of the ordinary. But there is nothing. He has his usual tunic, golden sandals, wicked khopesh, and golden ankh necklace glittering ominously in the dark lighting.

"So," Kahmunrah says, his voice reverberating through the room, "what brings you to me? Did you finally realize who the better brother is?"

I can actually feel my fingers twitch with the urge to hit him, but I hold back. Instead, I lower my head as humbly as I can.

"I - I'm sorry that I didn't see it before. This power needs to be used for all it's worth, not squandered by those afraid of it."

His fingers press beneath my chin, lifting my gaze to his. I want to bite his fingers off. The electricity crackles over my skin in defense of his touch. I expect him to yank his hand away, but instead a smirk spreads over his features. How does this not hurt him? Maybe a high pain tolerance… However, I suspect it's something worse than that. Kahmunrah runs a thumb over my lower lip. I grit my teeth.

"You don't like me very much."

Oh really? How did you know?

"It's not that. The power recognizes an enemy."

Partly true. Only partly.

"And that would also explain the murderous look in your eyes?"

"That's not me. There's nothing I can do until you kindly remove your hand. Contact isn't good for it."

Despite my nicest attempt to get him to take his disgusting fingers away, he slides his hand up my face, pressing his palm against my cheek. Again, that stupid thumb strokes over my cheekbone. I suppress a shudder.

"That's where you're wrong, dearest. Contact is the best thing for it. You'll learn to control yourself. You've been having problems with that, if the crumbled wall is any indication."

"How do you know about that?"

"It wasn't hard to hear."

We sit in silence, his thumb annoyingly continuing to stroke my cheek. He breaks the quiet.

"You're so enchanting. Are you sure you're not Egyptian?"

"I don't know what I am. I've never met my birth parents."

"Mm. Are you going to tell me why you are here now?"

"I told you, I want to learn how to use the power to its fullest extent."

"And that's all?"

"What else would there be?"

"I don't know, maybe a secret plan to murder me and steal the weapon?"

"No, nothing like that. You have my word."

Kahmunrah's eyes darken, "Then prove it."

Before I can react, his hand has darted into my hair and curled into a fist. He yanks, and I'm pulled against him. His mouth covers mine in an instant. I make a startled noise that quickly evolves into a growl. How dare he! His mouth ravages mine, like he's been thirsty for millennia and I'm his oasis. I beat my fists against his chest, but it's like pounding on solid rock. He pries my lips apart with his tongue, darting into my mouth with ferocity. This is nothing like kissing Ahk. Nothing at all. I stomp on his foot. He hardly flinches. His fingers tighten painfully in my hair, the other one drawing me tightly against him. What can I do? What can I do! I can't use the power against him, then he'll never let me back in. And I haven't even found the weapon yet! Before I can think, I'm biting down on his tongue as hard as I can. He cries out and stumbles back, pressing a hand to his mouth. It comes away bloody. His eyes flick to mine, filled with manic rage.

"Tell me what you came here for, or I'll kill you here and now!"

"You wouldn't!"

His eyes narrow, "And what makes you think so?"

"You need me. If I'm dead you can never accomplish your goal."

Kahmunrah chuckles, "If you will not help me willingly, I have other means."

He approaches me, a bit of blood beginning to trickle from the corner of his mouth. I repress the instinct to shrink back, instead drawing force from the power. He can't hurt me. Not without the weapon. His hand raises, finding its way to the ankh necklace. He tugs, the thin rope snapping from around his neck.

"This is your last chance. Tell me why you're here, and I won't hurt you. You don't want me to hurt you, do you?"

The necklace. It's the necklace! A sinking feeling builds in my stomach. Is he going to hurt me? The powers react instantly, my fear propelling a gust of wind to whip through the hall. Vases and other artifacts are thrown from their pedestals and shatter against the ground. Kahmunrah heaves a sigh.

"Well, don't say I didn't warn you."

His fingers close around the charm, and he extends his fist towards me. His expression hardens. At first, nothing happens. I'm about to blow him off his feet when it hits me. A cold, icy fist slowly closes around my throat. So agonizingly slow. He sees my eyes widen in fear, and he smiles. A strangled gasp escapes me, and the fist squeezes tighter. The chill spreads into my lungs, forcing every ounce of air out of me. I raise my hands to my throat in an attempt to pry open the hand, but there is nothing there. My chest is heaving for air I can't give it. My mouth drops open in a silent scream as I claw at my throat, the suffocating ice wrapping around my neck tighter than a snake. My knees go weak. More strange noises escape me as I try to take in air, but nothing. I've been frozen. It's so cold it feels hot. I drop to my hands and knees, palms flat against the tile. My back arches and my head pounds. Dark spots ease into my vision, the choking sensation becoming stronger and stronger until I can't feel anything else.

It disappears.

I collapse to the tiles, inhaling air so quickly it hurts. My breathing is ragged, I sound like some sort of goose. Pressing my hands to my throat, I squeeze my eyes shut and take in breath after breath. Breath after breath. Breath after breath. Finally, my breathing steadies into heavy gasping, and Kahmunrah speaks.

"Are you ready to tell me everything?"

"No." I croak out, my stomach feeling sick.

He chuckles, sounding exasperated, "Dearest, you can't survive this for much longer."

"I'd rather die anyways."

"Then we'll make sure that doesn't happen. Here we go again."

No. Please, no. I wait, curling into a tight ball and squeezing my eyes shut as I wait for the icy fist to tighten again. It doesn't come. A new feeling descends over me, warming me from the inside out. It's a good feeling. A delicious feeling. Opening my eyes, I find myself in a room. I'm laying on obsidian tiles, the walls painted in a rich, dark burgundy. Heavy velvet drapes cover the windows, dark wood and leather furniture littering the room. The thing that draws my attention, however, is the bed. It's massive, a four poster bed with dark silk sheets. My legs uncurl from beneath me, and I slowly get to my feet. Ahk's eyes are warm and lustful, gazing at me from beneath hooded lids. He is standing at the foot of the bed, wearing nothing but a pair of dark silk pajama pants.

"Come here." he purrs, extending a hand towards me.

I approach without hesitation, slipping my fingers into his soft, strong hand. His fingers close around mine, and he pulls me against him. My fingers splay against his chest, feeling the hard muscle beneath my palm. He places my hand behind his head and I immediately bury my fingers into his dark curls. His eyes are dark, his mouth curled into a smirk that makes a dull ache spark deep inside of my belly. His hands run up and down my sides, provoking chills all over me. I'm not wearing any clothing. Hm. What a shame. His hands slide over my skin, warming me. I tug him closer to me, a burning desire engulfing me. Ahk lowers his lips to meet mine. Slowly, tenderly. He caresses my mouth with his, his hands continuing to roam over me. I tighten my grip on his hair, and he gets the message. His tongue slips into my mouth, dominating me in an instant. His hands drift down to my backside, grabbing and squeezing. He elicits a soft moan from me, which only spurs him on to continue. Electricity rolls over me in waves. I squeeze my eyes shut even tighter. His hands roam to darker places, and my eyes pop open with a sharp gasp. I'm more than prepared to shove him back onto the bed, but the bed has disappeared.

In fact, everything has disappeared. The room is gone, Ahk is gone. And yet, I'm still pressed against someone. His hands tighten on me again, but all the warmth has drained from my body. Kahmunrah's mouth continues to roam my throat and collarbones, biting and kissing. A huge, intense feeling of despair descends on me. Hot tears spring into my eyes, blurring my vision. He just took advantage of me. No, he's still taking advantage of me. But he's so into it, he couldn't have stopped it consciously. I don't feel the ankh pressed against my backside where his hands continue to roam. He must have dropped it! An insane sense of hope surges in my chest. Subtly, I tilt my head to the side. He takes advantage of the newly exposed skin while my eyes roam the floor behind us. There it is. He must have thrown it, it's so far across the room. It's almost near the door. Could I escape with it? Experimentally, I attempt to move in his arms, but I can't budge an inch. His grip is practically iron. I know what I have to do. I swallow once, hard, before conjuring up the image of Ahk to the best of my ability. Taking a deep breath, I place both of my hands on either side of Kahmunrah's face and tug his head up. Before he can see the seething hatred in my eyes I crush my lips against his, sticking my tongue into his mouth as forcefully as I can manage. It's Ahk. It's Ahk. He responds by removing his hands from my backside, thank goodness, and holding the back of my head. His fingers tighten painfully in my hair once more, but I force myself to ignore it as his tongue dances with mine. My skin is positively crawling with disgust, but he did what I wanted him to do. I push us backwards until he drops onto the chaise, letting go of me for a brief instant. I take my chance. He gazes up at me from the chaise. He thinks I'm still under his spell. I flutter my lashes at him, taking my lower lip between my teeth. Once his eyes lock on mine, I capture him. This time, it works.

"I'm going to leave, and you're not going to stop me. You will not come after me, and you will not hurt anyone. Understood?"

"I'm not going to stop you." he says dreamily, eyes fogging up.

But I can't just leave it at that.

"From now on, anytime you get aroused, you will admit it loudly and clearly to everyone in the room. You will then break into the macarena. Once the dance is done, you can leave the room."

"I can leave the room." he repeats.

I turn and walk away, hurrying down the hall. My white dress billows behind me, seeming ironic for what just happened. I feel... dirty. I stoop and pick up the necklace. A feeling of calm descends over me, the electricity inside of me fizzling out. My brain is released from a hold I couldn't feel before, but I can tell that something has happened. For the first time in a long time, I feel human again. The first sob escapes my throat.

hey there! hope you liked it! ugh. why couldn't it have actually been ahk? *cries* anyways, hello and thank you to chien1 (thank you for your review!), denachan91, Sammijoee (thanks for following me!), Viltho, The Silvernote (your review was so sweet thank you), ToriBlock (for following the first my goodness I have no idea how people are still reading it. to be truthful, I think I'm going to delete it so rewriting will be easier. I'll keep ya posted!), LexizAexo (thanks for following me!), TheDevilsDaughter267, ariannapeters18, The Dark Lady55, caleb's babe, ZiioVillo, awesomeadvice, A Rabid Fan (see note to ToriBlock above about the first! also, thanks for following rose as well), danceduck21, aine hathaway, and leeniejs (thanks for your review! don't worry, not giving up on this story haha)! you guys are awesome I feel horrible for my long breaks between updates but I don't want to post something I'm not proud of and that means not forcing myself to write but rather letting it come. thanks for your endless support, and your AWESOME REVIEWS I love reviews seriously please don't hesitate to just leave a little emoji for all i care I just love reviews. so much. let me know how you liked it! if you did, please review, favorite, and follow! until next time you beautiful humans.