Chapter Twenty-Two: Journey to the Valley of the Queens
The remainder of the League's journey to Luxor was considerably more serene. Daria swiftly recovered from her ordeal. Her convalescence was overseen by Jekyll, who rarely left her side. As he thought over what had happened, the more Jekyll thought that the whole incident had been- with all due respect to Jason- fishy. The Tau'ka had told him that she couldn't remember anything of what had happened leading up to the accident- her memories were indistinct as a result of hitting her head as she fell. That had been why she had not simply taken gryphon-shape and flown back up- she'd been too dazed by her injury to act.
Skinner hadn't been able to provide any useful information, for he had not been paying attention until Daria had screamed. On the other hand, Sawyer continued to assert that he'd been showing her dolphins. What was stirring Jekyll's suspicions was the fact that Jason had taken him aside and told him there had been no dolphins anywhere near the Nautilus for days. Why would Sawyer lie about what had happened?
Maybe the cult got him, stuck one of their little snake things in his head, Hyde had suggested idly. Jekyll immediately dismissed that idea. Sawyer was too careful to have gotten caught by the cult. And if, in the off-chance that Hyde was right, wouldn't it have been better to try and eliminate Daria- the only one among the League who could sense a Goa'uld and therefore the single greatest threat to the parasite's activities- where there were no witnesses? Surely a Goa'uld was not so rash as to try and kill a League member in plain view of two others?
Even Mina had been unable to shed light on the subject. She had asked Sawyer if there was anything going on with him, and he'd just brushed it off- his explanation being that it was coming up on the anniversary of his friend Huck Finn's death. The vampiress had let it lie after that. She was able to accept that as an answer. Sawyer had made an effort to be more like his usual, cheerful self since then.
But still, Jekyll had vague suspicions, though he hadn't shared them with anyone, not even Daria. In all likelihood, Hyde had just mentioned the possibility of Sawyer being a Goa'uld host to make him sweat a little- it was one of his alter-ego's favorite mind games. Sawyer was a landsman after all. He probably saw something else that day and mistook whatever it was for dolphins- maybe he had even seen part of Jason's Kraken. It was just an accident, and with no further information, Jekyll finally let the subject from his mind. He had other things to worry about.
They made landfall at the port city of Quseir the day after the Nautilus passed through the recently-completed Suez Canal. The city had once been a major site for the export of wheat, though that trade had long since fallen off. Like most of Egypt, it was a hot, arid place.
Traveling overland by camel, the group did not make very good time. It seemed that every time they set out, something conspired to hinder them. If their mounts were not being balky, there would be poor conditions on the road, or people getting in the way, or, during one memorable incident when they reached the Nile River and turned south towards Dendera- a large crocodile in their camp. The reptile had apparently decided that the tent the three younger men were sharing made a good place for a nap. Disaster had only been narrowly diverted by Sawyer's quick action. His bullet caught the crocodile in the tail, and it had changed its mind and undulated back to its river.
The camels had not been fond of the pace the League was setting, and Mina's and Jekyll's in particular did not seem to like them. More than once the lanky doctor found himself dumped onto the sandy ground with a glob of his mount's noxious saliva on his shirt or face. On the other hand, Mina's usually refused to come near her- her vampiric aura made it as wary of her as most humans were. Twice it had tried to bolt from her, forcing the more successful riders- Nemo and Jason- to go after it. The mage had followed Daria's example and made peace with his camel at the beginning of the trip. Doing so had involved multiple heavy bribes and the occasional application of a riding crop. Skinner, for once, kept his mouth shut as they rode. The swaying gait of the camels made him queasy.
Jason redeemed himself in the eyes of Captain Nemo, who was still irritated with the entire Kraken affair, by proving himself extremely useful. He spoke some the local languages and was therefore able to negotiate with shop owners for supplies. This also meant he became quite good at soothing tempers whenever the group stayed overnight in a town and Skinner wandered off for a drink. His magic became another mark in his favor, as he was able to locate springs and other sources of water, then purify the liquid until it was safe for consumption. That alone would have made Jekyll his advocate- the doctor knew only too well what could happen as the result of drinking tainted water. But Nemo had watched Jason cleanse the spring they stopped at on the second day of their journey, nodded once to the younger man, and stopped watching him with suspicion.
The heat that plagued them throughout their travels was everywhere, only vanishing at night. By consensus, they agreed to travel only during the cooler hours, stopping about midmorning at whatever source of water- and therefore shade- that Jason found for them. The fairer-skinned members of the group- Jekyll, Sawyer, and the mage- gladly utilized the sun-salve Daria had managed to make up for them. Even so, the sun scorched all three, turning their hands, necks, and faces painfully red. The dark-skinned Nemo fared better than them, and while Skinner did not visibly suffer, he complained about feeling 'a bit crispy' when they stopped. Mina, as usual, made no sign that she even noticed the weather. Heat or cold, sun or snow, none seemed to ruffle the pale vampiress. Daria alone was truly at ease with their environment, which was very much like Verris. After the damp chill of England in December, she soaked up Egypt's dry heat like a sponge.
"I'm finally properly warm," she said happily when they stopped to make camp one morning.
Jekyll touched the tip of his reddened nose and winced- his skin was starting to peel, and it hurt. "I, for one, will be very happy to go home," he said. It was odd to think that he might miss London's rains and thick fogs, but he did. He'd felt the same when he'd been forced to live in Paris, after Sherlock Holmes had convinced Hyde to leave London.
Daria smiled gently. "Put some of that aloe Jason found for us on that nose of yours," she said. "Sawyer's got some in his packs, I think."
He nodded and went to the tent that the American was sharing with Skinner and Jason. As Sawyer had first watch and the mage was cleansing the oasis with Nemo to keep an eye on him, the tent's only occupant was Skinner, who was visible only by the hat that hung several inches above the pillow on his cot. Jekyll knelt next to the pack at the foot of Sawyer's cot and began looking through it for the packet of aloe leaves.
He found the packet, but his hand brushed against something that made him pause. The tall doctor frowned and pulled it out- a small black case, of a type he recognized as one used to hold hypodermic needles. He himself had several similar cases, tucked into his medical kit.
Well, Hyde said. What do we have here? What sort of secrets is Sawyer hiding from us?
Jekyll's frown deepened. He didn't really want to get caught rummaging through their leader's personal effects, but if Sawyer had some sort of a drug problem, he ought to know about it, shouldn't he?
Open it! Hyde urged Let's see what our 'glorious leader' is getting himself into!
He glanced at the cot, reassuring himself that Skinner was still asleep. The Cockney was, snoring gently. Jekyll bit his lip nervously and opened the case.
There was indeed a syringe inside, as he'd expected. In addition, several slots along the inside of the case held small ampoules of a translucent, slightly silvery fluid, three of which were empty.
"What on Earth?" Jekyll muttered. He pried one of the small vials out and studied it more closely. It wasn't any drug solution he was familiar with. It was labeled, but the writing on it was so cramped and tiny he couldn't be entirely certain it was English.
There were two other ampoules in the case, larger than the rest. Jekyll replaced the one he'd removed and took out one of the larger ones. This one contained a pale pink fluid and was also labeled. The writing on this was larger, and definitely not in a language he recognized.
No, he realized as he looked more closely at the vial. He did recognize some of the symbols. They were the same ones Daria used when she wrote personal notes- Goa'uld symbols.
Jekyll swallowed hard. What was Sawyer doing with a syringe and vials labeled in Goa'uld? He checked the small silvery vials again- indeed, they too were labeled in the alien language.
What the hell is all this? Hyde wanted to know.
"I wish I knew," his other half muttered. Carefully, he returned the vials to their slots, closed the case, and tucked it back into the bag. Then he took one of the plump aloe leaves from the packet and put the packet in the bag as well.
No sooner had he finished rubbing aloe sap onto his burned face and nose then he heard shouts from outside.
The hat fell off the cot next to him. "Wuzza'?" Skinner's voice said in confusion as the sound of Daria's falcon-scream reached them. "Wha's goin' on? What are you doin' in 'ere, Doc?"
"Never mind that," Jekyll said, cautiously peering out of the tent flap even though his natural inclination was to go find a corner somewhere and cower. A moment later, he wished he hadn't as the body of an Egyptian man was thrown to the sand a few feet in front of him, throat entirely torn out.
Mina's having fun, Hyde observed. Let me have some too!
"I don't think so," Jekyll replied, looking around the campsite with wide, fearful eyes. It was being assaulted by nearly two dozen armed locals, who were being fended off at the moment by the League's two female members. Despite the twelve-to-one odds, Mina and Daria were doing remarkably well. The vampiress moved in a flurry of skirts and daggers as she pounced on another attacker and calmly bit deep into his neck. "We're staying right here."
Skinner pushed Jekyll out of the way so he could take a look.
"I think we oughta stay in 'ere," the thief said. "Looks like the ladies are 'andlin' it."
"There's too many-" the doctor protested as an attacker tried to sneak up on an otherwise occupied Daria. He opened his mouth to shout a warning, but Mina was already there. She stabbed the man in the chest and flung his body aside. The Tau'ka nodded her thanks and delivered a sharp kick to her enemy's chin.
Two shots rang out, picking off a pair of men that were heading for the nearest tent. They staggered and collapsed as Sawyer scrambled over the hillock that sheltered their camp.
"What took you?" Mina shouted.
"There were a couple more comin' round the other way!" The American whirled and fired again, hours of practice proving their worth as the man who had been trying to follow him fell to the sand.
One of the Egyptians turned and spotted Sawyer. He pointed at the young man and shouted something incomprehensible. Sawyer jumped a little in surprise and hastily fired his other pistol at the man. He went down, a bullet in his throat.
Mina whirled on a man who was trying to sneak up on her and brought him down with feral ease. She lashed at his face with her extended claws, making him howl with pain, then bent her head and bit into his neck. She was feeding well today- while she could live on rare meat, nothing supported her vampiric powers like fresh blood. This was the first opportunity she'd had in a while to hunt, and she planned on making the most of it while she could.
Something thudded into her back- a thrown knife. Eyes gleaming demonic red, she reached up and pulled it out, ignoring the sharp stab of pain. She'd heal soon enough- she could feel the wound closing already. Casually, she threw the knife at a new attacker.
The remaining twelve assailants fell back as one of their number shouted a command. Three of them pulled out pistols- somewhat outdated ones to be sure, but still deadly nonetheless. The nearest gunman ducked behind a date palm and aimed for the tent where Jekyll and Skinner were hiding.
Jekyll flattened himself to the ground, shoving the thief down as well, but no shot came. There was only a wet splashing sound and a choked gurgle. He looked up nervously to see what looked for all the world like a sphere of water that had decided to wrap itself around the man's upper body. The man struggled to reach air, but the globe reformed itself away from his flailing limbs, keeping him firmly in the center. His thrashings slowly ceased as he inhaled water. The man gave one convulsive spasm, then collapsed. The globe that had surrounded him shuddered and fell to the ground with a splash.
Nemo charged from a stand of trees, sword upraised. He lunged for the nearest man, cutting him open as another one of Jason's water globes formed around a second attacker.
"Keep that one alive!" the captain ordered. Jekyll watched as the mage nodded and made a few complicated gestures. The globe reformed away from his captive's head, flowed down his torso, and solidified around the outside into a layer of ice, like a frozen bubble containing water and shrieking Egyptian.
Daria kicked the final man in the stomach and ran him through, breathing hard as she wrenched her sword free. The knife in her other hand was red with the blood of a previous victim.
"That's all of 'em," Sawyer said.
Jekyll left the tent and went over to the Tau'ka. "Are you alright-?" he began, touching her gently on the shoulder.
The next thing he knew, he was looking up at the sky, feeling hot sand under his back and a stinging line across his chest.
There was dead silence for a moment, then the clatter of weapons falling to the ground. Daria was suddenly beside him, helping him to sit up and babbling apologies.
"Henry, I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed. "I wasn't thinking- I thought you knew not to come up on me like that-"
"I'm- fine," Jekyll managed as he searched his pockets for a handkerchief. "W-what happened?"
She knocked you flat on your arse, Hyde chuckled. It was brilliant.
Daria took Jekyll's handkerchief from him and pressed the cloth to the cut on his chest. She shuddered- it wasn't deep and would heal soon, but it had been her that had inflicted the wound on him. If she hadn't realized what she was doing at the last possible moment, he probably would have been seriously hurt at best, dead at worst. "I'm sorry," she said again.
"You alright there, mate?" Skinner asked. The other League members came up behind him, staring at the Tau'ka.
Jekyll nodded. "I startled her, that's all. I'm alright." He couldn't be angry- she hadn't meant to do it, but the speed with which she'd moved- it had been frightening, to say the least.
"You shouldn't have startled me like that," Daria said. "I'm liable to attack anything that moves wrong if I don't calm down right after a fight- Chaos and Fortune, I'm so sorry!" She was still shaking. That had been too close for comfort. Tau'ka were warriors, and their reflexes were designed around staying alive in battle. Hence, the 'kill something sneaking up on you before it kills you' reaction.
He put his hand over hers, fear and surprise giving away to reassurance. "Daria, I'm fine. It's just a scratch. And now I'll know to wait a bit after you've been in battle." He smiled, trying to relieve the fear in her eyes. "I am a doctor, after all."
That got a weak laugh from her as he climbed to his feet, glancing down to check his injury. It was just a shallow cut across his chest- he doubted it would even need stitching.
Oh look, an honorable war wound. Grand. Hyde's tone was fairly dripping with sarcasm.
"Is anyone else injured?" Jekyll asked, ignoring his alter ego as looked around at his companions. He was met with a flurry of head-shakes. The doctor frowned. "Is anyone injured and does not wish to admit it?"
Sawyer shrugged sheepishly and held up his hand.
The gash on Sawyer's arm was the worst injury. Daria and Nemo both sported a collection of small scratches and bruises, and Mina's stab wound was only a memory now. Nemo and the Tau'ka volunteered to ensure that the slain attackers were taken care of. They tied the bodies to the camels and hauled them out into the desert.
The others, meanwhile, turned their attention to the sole survivor Jason had ensnared in his magical ice-bubble. The man was shivering with fear and the coldness of the water around him. He struggled furiously to escape.
"Why did you attack us?" Sawyer asked him. Jason translated this into the most common dialect of the area and listened to the babbled reply. The mage frowned.
"He says that Nebthet sent him and his companions to stop us," he related. "Apparently, she used her all-comprehending knowledge to see into the future and found us coming to destroy her sacred temple."
"N-not her?" Jekyll said nervously.
"They think she is a goddess," Mina pointed out. "She couldn't reveal to her followers that she is vulnerable to harm. That would make them lose faith in her."
"Oh."
"Ask him how she knew we were coming," Sawyer said. The mage did so.
"Nebthet apparently looked into her great Pearl of Truth and saw it," Jason said, interpreting that from the cultist's worshipful babble." Sawyer frowned.
"Did he happen to see this 'pearl?"
"Yes." Jason asked the man something else in his native tongue and listened to the reply. "He says the Pearl is about the size of a goat's eye, and silver. When Nebthet whishes to see, it shows her an image of someone who speaks to her in the language of the gods. He says the creature in the Pearl is a demon in human form, and that his name is Kheti, first servant of Nebthet."
The League members exchanged worried looks.
"A long-range communication device," Jekyll said after a moment. "Like the one Daria gave to me."
"You know where yours is?" Skinner asked. The doctor gulped and shook his head.
"I can't find it," he replied. "I think I lost it while we were transferring over to the Nautilus."
"If he saw Kheti's host," Mina said, "Can he describe him to us?"
Jason turned back to the prisoner to ask, but stopped in mid-word as he saw a trickle of foam slide out of the man's mouth. He began to shake violently.
"Poison!" Jekyll exclaimed, pushing forward. Sawyer grabbed him by the arm and held him back.
"How can you help?" the American said. "You don't even know what it is!"
Jekyll turned to him, his pale blue eyes wide. "But- I- there has to be-"
Mina shook her head. She had placed one slender hand on the dying man's neck, feeling for a pulse. "I'm afraid not," she said. "He's already dead." She pulled her hand away as the body went limp, frowning as she say a tiny trace of dried blood on one finger. The vampiress looked at the man's neck, her sharp eyes spotting a tiny wound, no bigger than a pinprick, on the jugular vein. He had been injected with whatever poison had killed him, she realized. She smelled the blood on her finger, trying to determine how old it was. No good- it was tainted with the bitter odor of the poison, making her unable to distinguish how long it had been outside its body.
"I guess we don't need to hold him anymore," Jason said. He gestured, making his ice-bubble dissolve in response. The cultist's body fell to the sand with a very final-sounding thud.