"I won't." Kit set her jaw defiantly, halting in fiddling with the belt. She stepped towards Shafek, jabbing a finger at him. "This is my family –"
Shafek laughed hysterically. "Your family? The Medjai killed your true father, cursed him, and turned him into a monster and blight upon the earth! Nefertiri is the one who alerted them to his crime – and is love a crime? Is it? Bring him forth, Amunet. Bring him forth as only the gods can do – or lose your family one by one!"
"Don't listen to him Auntie Kit!" Alex encouraged. "Don't worry about – yai!" Shafek gripped the blade tighter against Alex's skin. Rick pulled at his legs in futility. He had never felt so helpless, even as Evy died in his arms.
Ardeth felt an icy hand clutch at his insides. This could not be – The Creature could not come forth a final time. "Kit, you do not know what he is asking."
"I do." She replied quietly, refraining from averting her gaze away from Alex and his captor. "Shafek told me about Hamunaptra, Ahm Shere, Imhotep, everything. I've known the entire time."
"What is even going on here?" Jonathan gasped. "If you knew the whole time about us killing that wanker and knew you had been his daughter, why did you even come find Rick? Why do you even care?" He seemed as agitated, if not more so, than Rick.
"I wanted my family!" Kit proclaimed, breaking her gaze to look beseechingly at everyone else in the room. "Shafek told me all of this, but Rick – Rick, you're my blood! You're all I have left. And so what, you had killed a man that was my father in a past life? I didn't – I don't care! I wanted to find you. All I've wanted to do for years is to find you, and him telling me about Amunet, about Imhotep, it didn't change anything! It opened a door for me to find you and..." Kit's eyes averted to the ground. "Shafek's price for saving and helping me get to you was the belt. He said you were the only ones who could find it and I was the only one he could trust to wear it for him."
"Wear it for him?" Katrina asked. "What do you mean?"
"Only a woman can control the power of Isis." Shafek growled. "I would be able to do nothing of value with it."
Kit's tongue stumbled as she continued explaining herself. "I didn't think he'd ask me to bring Imhotep back – I thought he'd want unobtainable riches or–"
"I grow weary of talking!" Shafek roared. "Bring Imhotep back, or I will sever this brat's head!"
"No," The woman whispered. She whirled, turning on Shafek, determination etching her features. "You let him go."
Shafek laughed incredulously. "Amunet –"
"Am I wearing the belt or not?" The brunette snapped, raising a poised hand toward the man. "I said let him go, or I will do some severing of my own." Rick's breath caught in his windpipe. Maybe they had a chance.
"I cursed you! You will not turn the tables on me!" Shafek hugged the blade tighter to the boy's throat. "If you think you can start giving orders –"
"I know I can." Kit replied. "Your magic can't touch me if I'm wearing the belt, can it? I won't be punished for disobeying your will as long as I have the power of Isis under control." The ground rumbled beneath their feet and Kit approached the man. "Now let my nephew go or I will splatter you on the temple's ceiling."
Doubt riddled Shafek's features. His fingers relaxed and tightened in agitation on the knife's handle. "You can't wear that belt forever." The man growled. Using his free arm to lift the boy, he slowly raised Alex into the air as he spoke. "You are too weak to wield the power of the gods. I know you, Amunet. You'll collapse, you'll surrender its gifts. And my magic will find you then. At your weakest hour, you'll still be nothing more than a mortal, you pathetic koos!" And with that, Shafek hurled the boy at the woman. Kit's arms stretched forward to catch Alex as he fell, and with Kit focusing on her nephew, Shafek was able to slip behind Kit. "You don't deserve this!" He jutted the blade of his knife between the belt and Kit's body and yanked. One of the golden links snapped, scattering ivory and gold to the sandstone as Kit and Alex hit the ground. A breeze washed over Kit, stealing away her healthy complexion. Pallor slowly began to return to her face.
Shafek sheathed his knife and spread his arms towards the ceiling, foreign words slipping from his mouth in furious rhythm. He brought his hands together as though cupping the air together before hurling them towards the entrance. Aamir, still hovering there, cried out and cringed, expecting to be impacted by Shafek's motions. When nothing happened to him, he sighed only to let out a yelp as the Legionnaire skeletons on either side of the door began reassembling. Sand began filling their rib cages, fleshing fleshing out their bodies before they stood. They exhaled in menacing cloudy hisses upon being reformed.
Aamir pulled the javelin from the ground beside one of the skeletons before it could be grabbed and backed away, brandishing the spear in front of him to ward off the creatures. "Get behind me, you ass!" He yelled to Jonathan, grabbing the man prostrated against the wall and shoving him backwards.
"Anything you say!" Jonathan gasped. "Katrina, get behind Aamir!"
"Don't think so." Katrina rebutted, grabbing a hammer abandoned by the diggers and arming herself with it. She fell into step next to Aamir, her lip curled in a silent snarl.
The two Legionnaires entered the temple's chamber, one whirling his javelin and the other baring his sandy fists. The weaponless one went after Aamir and Katrina while the other rounded on Evy. Rick lurched forward, expecting to find himself still frozen, but to his delight his feet moved. He launched himself over to his wife, defending her body by placing his right in the Legionnaire's path. The Legionnaire chopped at Rick with his spear only for the blow to be blocked when the adventurer snatched ed up a fallen support beam to use against the sand abomination.
"Alex, get back!" Kit pushed her nephew behind her before she hurled herself at the man in red. Kit and Shafek clashed, the woman grabbing the Shafek's wrist just as he went for his knife. He grabbed her hair and wrenched her head back with his free hand. "I should have gutted you in that alley! I should have never saved you!" He snarled. The pieces of the belt were kicked in all directions as the pair tread over them, Shafek finally loosing his knife and struggling to inch it toward Kit's naked throat. A collision unexpectedly knocked both of them to the ground, sending the knife flying when Ardeth tackled the red robed man. Pinned to the floor, Shafek spoke words that became a roar. His mouth opened and sand barreled out of it, blinding and choking Ardeth. The Medjai wheeled backward, hacking and rubbing at his eyes as Shafek scrambled to retrieve his knife.
The weaponless Legionnaire swiped at Aamir with a sandy fist. The chief digger parried his blows with the javelin, jerking backwards and knocking into Jonathan. The pair fell in a tangle of limbs, and Aamir screamed, "Complete jackass –" as the javelin was pulled from his grip by the sand soldier. The creature made a funny hissing nose that could have been taken as chuckling, but its glee was cut short Katrina grabbed one of the still-burning lanterns and clobbered the undead over the head with it. Oil caught fire as the tank and glass splintered, igniting the Legionnaire. Jonathan screamed as Aamir gave the undead a well-placed kick in its pelvis. The skeleton reeled backwards in time for Katrina to smash the Legionnaire's head with a swing of her hammer. Pieces of bone and clouds of sand exploded into the air, but the skeletal system collapsed, sand leaking from it as though blood. "What the hell was that, Jonathan?!" Katrina demanded, throwing the hammer at the man.
Jonathan dodged the tool. "I panicked!"
"Rick, stop trying to protect me and help me take this thing down!" Evy cried, shoving her husband out of the way as the Legionnaire bore down on the man.
"Yeah, but –" Rick objected, almost staggering to the floor from his wife's shove.
"No buts!" The undead swiped at the woman with the javelin. She ducked the spearhead and backhanded the Legionnaire, making the sand creature stagger. The Legionnaire regained his footing as Rick lunged, beam in hand. Their shafts clashed several times until Rick knocked the spear from the skeleton's hands. The sand-filled abomination rushed Rick and the two tangled, falling to the ground. Coarse hands clutched at the man's throat, the skeleton screaming in his face as it attempted to squeeze Rick's life from him. The man's hands slapped down on the skeleton's forearms to no avail. Evy kicked at the skeleton, nearly planting her foot in her husband's ribs instead. Rick's eyes peered upward just as the Legionnaire's dropped spear sailed through the air, gouging cleanly through the Legionnaire's skull. The sand puffed from the skeleton, the bone structure collapsing as the abomination went limp. Rubbing his chafed neck, Rick turned to see it was Alex that threw the weapon. "What if you missed?" He demanded doubtfully.
"Come on Dad, I didn't." Alex grumbled. "That was good though, wasn't it?"
Shafek pulled himself to his feet, the knife glinting in his hand as he rounded on Ardeth, who was still recovering from the blast of sand. Kit flung herself on the red-clad man's back and he staggered to his knees. "Stop fighting! You are mine Amunet –"
"My name is Kit!" The woman screamed, clamping a hand down on Shafek's throat. He whipped his blade up, cleanly slicing along Kit's forearms. She refused to release him even blood dripped from as her arms, so Shafek flung his head backward, connecting with Kit's nose. There was an audible crunch as her arms loosened and she fell to the ground, blood spurting from her nose and blotting the white linen she wore. Shafek turned to plant a good kick in her abdomen.
"You're going to pay for this slowly and painfully! A natural death will be only a sweet dream when you have my permission to die!" Shafek turned back to Ardeth as the Medjai staggered to his feet. He put up his fists, but Shafek simply leered with a confident grin. He lunged at the Medjai only to be rebuffed with a forearm smashing into his face. Drooling his own blood, Shafek staggered back a few feet and murmured something in Latin. The ground at Ardeth's feet became quicksand, sucking the man into the earth. "You should have died hours ago!" Shafek cried, taking his knife by the blade and aiming it for Ardeth's breast. "Better late than never." He pulled back and hurled the knife at the Medjai, who could do little more than put his arms up in hopes to block the blade.
Shafek had not noticed Kit struggling to her feet as he prepared to throw. She was already loping to help Ardeth when Shafek released the blade. The knife glinted as it flew, and Kit thought of nothing else to do. She leaped in front of Ardeth, embracing him as the blade sank into her back. Every muscle went rigid in the woman and a great exhale was released. The Medjai and woman toppled backward, Ardeth's feet sucking out of the mire when he fell.
"Kit!" Ardeth pulled her away from him to look her in the face. She was a sore sight with blood beading down her face, a stark contrast to the deathly pallor her complexion had become.
The woman was wheezing as her lips moved, no words escaping. Crying as she reached over her shoulder, Kit pulled the blade from her body with a yelp. She pulled in a ragged breath as she pressed the knife, slick with her own blood, into Ardeth's fingers. "Get him." It was only the breath of a whisper, but every syllable contained the ferocity of a roar.
Kit rolled to the ground and the Medjai pulled himself to his feet, his fingers sticky with Kit's blood as they curled around the knife's handle. "How does it feel to have blood on your hands, Medjai?" Shafek taunted. "Feel familiar?"
Ardeth would not play his game of words. Instead, he ran for the man, the knife poised and ready. Shafek spoke in Latin, sending sand exploding from the ground upwards, blinding and suffocating Ardeth as he ran – but sand wasn't going to stop him now. Nothing was going to stop him. The Medjai plowed through the cloud of grit and collided with Shafek. The man in red shot his hands up to Ardeth's face, his fingers aiming for the eyes, but Ardeth let out a primal yell, thrusting the knife into Shafek's side and twisting.
The blade sank with ease. Shafek cried, his back arching and legs twitching. The exploding sand halted as the man threw his head back, screaming as Ardeth yanked the blade out and stabbed Shafek again, this time through the chest. Shafek's fingers clutched at Ardeth's robes, his eyes staring at the ceiling when he unexpectedly chuckled, bubbles of blood making their way from his lungs to his lips. They popped as he spoke. "I still... win. She's mine." Shafek laughed once more before convulsing – and then he was still. Ardeth released the man, letting him hit the sandstone. The inside of the temple chamber was silent as fingers of blood crawled from beneath the body. The storm outside had quieted and an eerie peace settled on the place.
"Oh God, Kit –" In his fighting, Rick hadn't seen his sister fall. Abandoning his support beam, Rick skidded to his sister's side. She wheezed on the sandstone floor, blood dripping down her cheeks from her nose. Her fingers grasped for Rick's hands, and he accepted them. She had fought, she had chosen – chosen what? Herself? Her family? Rick's feeling were somewhat mixed, but right now – damn it, right now he wanted her to live so they could settle whatever had happened here. So she could apologize for what she'd done, make amends, leave their relationship at something better and give it a better ending than this.
"Rick…" The words were mostly mouthed and barely spoken. "Can't breathe." The pallor she possessed upon entering the temple had returned and her forehead was misted with perspiration. "Never meant for any of this to happen – I just wanted to find you." Tears trailed from her eyes, soaking into the hair behind her ears.
"You can apologize later, we gotta – We gotta get you out of here." Rick replied, kneeling next to her. He looked to Ardeth. "Ardeth, do you have a doctor or – anything at your camp?" Ardeth's shoulders slumped, grimly shaking his head.
Kit shook her head. "A doctor can't help me." Her chest rose and fell laboriously, but the gurgling that came as she breathed was a sure sign the knife had pierced a lung, filling it with blood. "Shafek saved my life with magic; in return I had to obey. Follow orders... I must… keep to the accord. I'll die of malaria if not from the knife. But I think the knife will..." Kit struggled to breathe. "So sorry. I should have never – never –" She gurgled and Kit was still.
"No… No!" Rick stuttered. His hands tightened around Kit's still and bloody fingers. "Kit… damn it." His voice broke and Rick brought both hands to cover his face, his shoulders shaking with emotion. Ardeth, his features plaintive, murmured something in Arabic, touching his forehead before gesturing to the air. Alex buried his head against his mother's stomach as she tried to choke back tears.
Katrina was the only one who moved as she solemnly approached the altar. Lying in the sand was the belt, useless and broken. Gingerly, she gathered the pieces. "Evy… This belt's supposed to let the wearer do anything, right?" Evy nodded vacantly, her eyes not moving from her bloodied sister-in-law. Katrina wrapped what was left of the belt around her wrist. "Think it has enough juice in it for one last go?"
"But it's broken –" Jonathan lamented. "Can it work broken?"
"She must try." Aamir insisted. "A camel –"
"Yes, we know your love of camels." Jonathan grumbled.
Katrina clutched the broken pieces in her hands as she approached Kit's body. Placing the hand entwined with the remnants of the belt over Kit's heart, Katrina clutched the separate bits ivory and gold in her other hand. "I don't know how... But here goes." Katrina closed her emerald eyes, exhaling as she did so. The temple was ominously silent as they all waited, breaths baited. For moments, nothing happened. "Come on... Come on!" The woman pleaded, her eyes squeezing shut even tighter. "Work. Work damn you, work!"
Perhaps it was Katrina's urging or it just took an extra moment, but as if on command, the pieces of the belt began vibrating, glowing as they did. Katrina's eyes opened, her mouth gaping in pure surprise as the belt pieces glowed, brighter, washing over Kit's body and growing in illumination until they were blinding. A breeze ruffled everyone's clothes and the light was vanquished. Kit sharply drew in a breath. Her eyes flickered and opened, perplexed. She shakily sat up. "Am I –?"
"Auntie Kit!" Alex bowled over his father, throwing his arms around his aunt's neck. She timidly embraced her nephew, pressing her face into his shoulder. Alex pulled away to look his aunt in the face before pulling away. "First Mum, then you! Cor, I'm too young for this!" Alex threw up his hands to beseech the heavens for a moment before pulling his aunt into another embrace. "I'll let it slide. This time."
Kit was lost for words, doing nothing for the moment but holding her nephew. Still embracing her nephew, she looked at Rick. "I swear, I'll tell you everything. I should have from the beginning but I... I'm stupid."
"We'll discuss your stupidity later." He looked to Shafek's lifeless body and the rest of the group. "First, let's get the hell out of this place." Alex released his aunt and Rick offered his sister his hand, which she accepted. Once she was pulled to her feet, Rick looked to the chief digger.
"You still with us, Aamir?"
"Against my will, of course. But that can be fixed after we negotiate my new adjusted rates." The chief digger smiled and nodded. "After all, your expert over there –"
"Killed the bad guy." Ardeth interrupted, scowling.
"Yes, but my men and I did all the digging, checked for all of the booby traps. And –" The chief digger looked around the empty chamber. "I appear to be the only one who has endured. We'll talk price on the way back to Cairo."
"Looking forward to it." Rick muttered.