.:Author's Note:. This is the final update for part one before I leave for Thailand. You won't see an update for another month since I'll be gone, but I'll try to work quickly once I return. I apologize for the shortness, but I could find no way to lengthen it.
-DxH
Discalimer: I do not own the rights to Yugioh.
...
Upon waking up, Akefia found his eyes immediately and warily drawn to the sleeping figure of the boy beside him. He quietly rose and began packing up their belongings and scattering the ashes of the fire. He roughly nudged Marik with his foot and gruffly ordered him up. The boy grumbled but obediently pushed himself upright, rubbing his eyes groggily. Akefia's lip curled as he tried to associate the cruel, cold eyes of the boy from the night before to the half-asleep, ridiculously naïve child that blinked against the rays of the sun like a lazy feline.
"Are we leaving already?" Marik asked. Akefia grunted, tossing him the leather bag of dried fruits, nuts, and meat. Marik took a handful and noisily stuffed it in his mouth, chewing hungrily at the food.
"Is this all we have?" Marik grumbled. "Dried fruits and nuts aren't very filling." Akefia narrowed his eyes dangerously as he folded and stuffed the blankets into the packs.
"Feel lucky I'm even feeding you, you brat," he hissed, "we're lucky we even have food. I've lived off scavenged roots and berries for five weeks before, the only protein derived from the insects I would pick off the dying laurel twigs and palm branches." Marik blanched and hung his head apologetically. Akefia sniffed and threw a pack over his shoulders, throwing the smaller one to Marik.
"Come on, let's get moving before the sun gets too high up."
…
Later in the afternoon, as the sun passed over the side of the canyon and left them in cool shadows, Marik noticed several dark spots lining the opposite side of the canyon. He squinted, unable to make out the shapes. However, as they neared, Marik was astonished and excited to see a herd of goats, sturdy creatures with small horns and cloven hooves which scaled the canyon with surprising ease, followed by a figure draped in loose clothes and holding a tall staff.
Marik glanced at Akefia, wondering if they were supposed to make themselves hidden, but the man continued on, unfazed by the presence of the man.
"Akefia, who is that?" Marik asked. "Why is he following those goats? Is he hunting?"
"It's a shepherd. He owns the goats, and he's just letting them graze." Akefia replied curtly. Marik missed the irritation in his voice and continued, his fascination engulfing his reason.
"That's amazing! Those goats can survive here? They can walk around on the rocks so easily too! What do they eat up here?" Akefia grunted, and Marik quickly took it for a warning and shut his mouth, silently following the thief.
Finally, as the sky began to turn a darker blue, the two emerged from the grip of the rocks, and emerged onto a flat plain of desert, dotted only by occasional palm oasis and villages here and there. Marik groaned in relief as his feet sank into the soft sand instead of hard rock, but quickly retreated when he realized the sand wasn't quite cool yet. Akefia glanced at the sun, only a few feet from the horizon, and then back at the expanse of sand before him, as if debating whether or not to press forward. Finally, he kicked off his shoes and nudged them towards the young tombkeeper.
"Put these on. We're crossing the desert. It's getting cooler, so we'll have better luck doing this now than tomorrow, trust me. We just need to make it on time to avoid the scorpions and snakes." Marik stifled a groan of protest, slipped the shoes on, and followed Akefia into the desert.
It wasn't until the sun was almost entirely hidden below the horizon that Marik noticed they'd even made any progress. The distant oasis before them always seemed to retreat with every step they took, that Marik had begun to believe it was only a hallucination or an illusion of some kind. However, he could now clearly make out the shadows of a few palms against the fading light. After a few minutes Akefia stopped, pulling out a gourd of water, and took a short swig. He passed it to Marik.
"This is the last gourd of water, and we still have a little way to go, so don't drink too much." He said. Marik nodded and took a mouthful of water to moisten his mouth. As much as he desired more, he capped the gourd and handed it back to the thief.
Suddenly, Akefia's eyes snapped open, and before Marik could move, the thief whipped out his knife and flung it at him. Marik released a yelp, staggering back a few steps before stumbling on the ground. He stiffened as he heard a rustle in the sand next to him, and slowly turned his head. Less than a foot away from him wriggled a snake, its head pinned to the sand by Akefia's knife. Marik stared in horror as the snake's body writhed and squirmed, coiling over itself. The thief wordlessly stepped forward, grasping his knife with one hand and pulling the snake up by its neck with the other.
The sand-colored serpent's body twitched one last time before going still and hanging limply in the man's grasp. Akefia regarded the snake with distaste before flinging it into the sand, wiping a few drops of blood off his hand on his coat. Marik shakily rose to his feet, dusting off his tunic with trembling hands.
"This is the second time. Be more alert, kid." Akefia growled. "This kind of snake is poisonous." Marik nodded.
"Um… thanks." He said hoarsely, eyes glued to the ground. Now that the shock had worn off, he felt quite embarrassed to be thanking the thief so much. This was the second time he'd saved his life.
"I told you, you're no use to me dead," was the thief's curt reply. Marik didn't expect more, and so hurried closely behind Akefia as they ventured further into the desert.
Darkness had finally begun to settle in, and the first stars to rise from behind a deep blue veil, when Marik heard a distant thumping from across the desert. He snapped his head up, and realized that the thief was also looking ahead in cautious intent. Akefia stopped, eyes locked up ahead.
"Get behind me, and stay close." He growled, dropping his packs and unsheathing his dagger. Marik nodded and eased up behind the young man, glancing around him at an approaching disturbance at the horizon. Marik soon realized that the reverberating sound was that of several hoof beats. Horses. Marik swallowed, dread draining the color from his face.
Could it be the guards? Had they found them? But they were coming from the opposite direction of the tomb. Could word have been spread that quickly of their escape. As the figures drew nearer, Marik felt the icy hand of fear begin to claw at his chest. He unconsciously clutched Akefia's robe, drawing a quick glance from the thief but no more. Marik could count several riders, and knew that in a fight, they would be quickly outnumbered. Even Akefia, who had previously proved himself powerful even against several opponents, couldn't ward off the five riders rapidly approaching. The thief was exhausted, and still healing from the arrow wound. He was in no condition to fight.
Finally, the riders reached the pair, surrounding them immediately. Marik pressed closer to Akefia as the beasts pranced and snorted, regarding Marik with dark, restless eyes. The horses were unlike he'd ever seen, not large or intimidating, but graceful and lean, filled with the power of speed and endurance and an intelligence reflected beneath large, dark lashes. The riders were no less mysterious than their rides. Covered in dark robes and simple tunics and each armed with curved daggers and round-barreled pistols that glittered in the moonlight, they carried no similarity to the guards of the tomb. Their faces, hidden by dark hoods or the shadow of dusk, carried no familiarity, only sinister menace. One rider, wearing a long brown coat similar to Akefia's, nudged his horse closer to the boy and the thief.
"Identify yourself at once, before we cut you down where you stand." The man said in a gruff voice. Marik looked up at Akefia fearfully, only to see a small smile at his lips.
"Is that really any way to address your leader, Chigaru?" A murmur went up around the riders, and the man who'd addressed them dismounted, stepping forward.
"Akefia? Is it really you?" He asked tentatively? Akefia grinned.
"Yes you oaf, it's me." Marik looked up, completely befuddled, at the man in front of them. He had difficulty recognizing any features on the man due to the dark, but could detect a look that reflected a mixture of bewilderment, relief, and, perhaps, fear.
"I'm… sorry, my leader." He stuttered, bowing his head. "I didn't recognize you in the dark. And we hadn't heard from you in so long that we weren't expecting you… like this. I apologize."
"Keep your apologies to yourself, Chigaru. You know how much I resent them." The man straightened and, after a brief pause, grinned widely. Akefia held out his hand and they clasped arms.
"Good to see you back, Akefia. You look like you've been through better days though, if you don't mind my saying."
"Not at all." Akefia replied. Suddenly, a horse, larger than the rest, but just as elegant and poised, and jet black with a long, thick mane, snorted and whinnied, pacing forward towards the thief.
Akefia turned towards the mare and placed a gentle hand on her neck, patted her softly.
"Kanika. It's been a while." He whispered. The horse nudged his hand and nickered, shaking its mane. The man named Chigaru chuckled.
"She was acting up all day. I was wondering what was going on with her. Finally, Tsekani noticed you two while on lookout, so we decided to come check it out. I took her along, hoping she would quiet down after a ride, but she seemed more eager than us to get here. Almost left us in the dust."
"She was practically pulling you along, wasn't she." Another rider said, sending a round of chuckled across the ring of men. Chigaru frowned.
"Yafeu isn't that slow, yet." He said, patting his earth-coated horse loyally. "He's still full of youth and energy."
"Jealous of your horse, Chigaru?" Taunted another.
"Maybe you're the one getting slow." Added a brave one. Chigaru growled.
"Want to find out? We'll see whose head is lying severed on the ground at the end of the day, Zaliki." Another round of laughter echoed through the desert, and Marik noticed one of the riders, the one who had spoken last, squirm uncomfortably.
"Speaking of severed heads," Chigaru said, eyes locking on to Marik, "what do we have here?" Marik felt himself shrink against the back of the thief. The eyes were not aggressive, but wary and without warmth.
"For the moment, he's under my protection. The boy holds a use for me, and I intend to keep him alive for the time being." Marik swallowed, trying to ignore the last part of that sentence. Akefia's eyes narrowed and he regarded the rest of the men with menacing eyes.
"Thus," he said warningly, "I expect no harm to come towards Marik. Understand?" The men nodded in understanding, and Marik felt a heavy load come off his chest. At least now he knew he wasn't going to die any time soon.
Akefia mounted his horse, which neighed and pawed the ground impatiently. However, the thief gently tugged on the reins and beckoned Marik closer.
"Give me your hand." He said. Marik cautiously reached up, only to have himself jerked up and, suddenly, thrust into the thief's lap. He readjusted his body clumsily and found himself sitting at the base of the horse's neck, Akefia's arms on either side of his body clutching the reins.
"Hold on." Akefia said. Marik looked around for something to hold on to but found nothing.
"Hold on to wha– ?" before Marik could finish his sentence, Akefia dug his heels into the horse and tugged on his right rein, jerking the horse around and sending them galloping forward. Marik, in shock, grabbed the mane of the horse and pulled himself close, legs desperately clutching at the horse's side.
Once the shock of the ride was over, Marik glanced up. Cool wind whistled through his hair, sending chills of excitement through his body, and he looked down to watch the ground speed by. The horse's powerful hoofs pounded against the sand as they raced against the stars. Behind them, Marik heard the other riders whooping and cheering, urging their horses on. But Kanika charged ahead, true as an arrow, and left the others in the dust.
...
End of Part 1
...
.:Author's Note:. So ends part 1 of A Light in the Darkness. I've uploaded a preview of part 2 but will upload it separately, so be sure to watch!
Part 2 will occur right after this one, without a time gap. It should be relatively short, however, only a few chapters, and followed by Part 3, where a larger time gap will occur, and will allow for some more romantic developments. Also, if case you were wondering, all the names -are- Egyptian. Look them up.
-DxH