Ch. 14~ To Battle

The sun hadn't even begun to rise the next morning when Hessan came to wake her. He brought her back to Basal's tent, where her meal waited. Then men explained what they were planning, which was pretty much the same thing as what she'd told them to do the night before. Then, once they were done, Hessan brought a bowl and brush from the next room. Kneeling in front of her, he set it down.

"Now, child, it is time. You claim to be the Warrior, a Madji. However, you never went through the rites of passage, never took the sacred oaths. These must be hurried before we leave." He swirled the brush in what she now realized was black paint. "Do you swear to answer the call of your commander and chieftain when the time comes for battle?"

"I do."

"And will you fight alongside out brothers to defend mankind, to defeat out ancient enemies, halat ba, 'til death?"

"I will."

He set to work, painting the backs of her hands first, up her arms, then moving to her cheeks, and finally, her forehead. When he was finished, Basal handed her a mirror. Her arms bore the three spiked lines, her cheeks the weird lightening bolts. On her forehead, the hieroglyphics were, of course, foreign to her.

"Now you are truly one of the Madji."

"Thank you." She looked at the markings again. "What do these symbols mean?"

"They name you as the Warrior of Sekmet, that you belong to Ardeth Bay's tribe." The uncle and nephew shared a look, like two naughty children hiding a secret. "Well, there is only one thing left…your mode of transportation. Unfortunately, we have no extra horses, and letting you ride with one of the men is dangerous."

"Do you have any camels?"

"Yes…but they are pack animals."

"And? Would you rather let me ride a mule?"

"Of course not. Uncle, see if we can spare one of the camels."

Sure enough, there was one for her to use. He was a beautiful light animal with a loving demeanor. Ra, they called him, and it fit. He knelt down for her as soon as she clicked her tongue at him. In the predawn light, they began their long march to Ahm Shere. Jeweli traveled at the head of the company, all the Commanders and their seconds following, then the rest of the men. By the time they made it to the area surrounding the oasis, the sun had climbed high into the sky. They stopped and waited. The woman had long since pulled her hood and veil up to shield her form the harsh sun, and to keep her from sweating and causing the paint to run. After a short while, there was a commotion behind her. She turned to see Ardeth coming through the ranks, off towards her right to speak with Hessan and Basal. His brother said something that seemed to cause him alarm, and his uncle pointed towards her. When he found her, he said something to the other men, then turned his horse around and made his way to her.

"I did not mean for you to fight."

"I know you didn't, but I'm an O'Connell. We don't just sit back and let everyone else have all the fun."

He shook his head and pulled her hand towards him, kissing her knuckles. Then he noticed the markings. "What is this?"

"They," she nodded to his family, "would only let me fight if I took the oath of the Madji. Don't worry, it's just paint. A little water and soap and it'll come right off." She pulled her veil down and showed him the ones on her cheeks. He looked as though he'd like nothing more than to touch her face.

"After this is over, I am not going to let you go."

"You might have to fight Rick about that." Jeweli looked back to the horizon, where a huge dark mass was now moving along the ground.

"So, a camel?"

"Yep."

"You do know horses are faster."

"Maybe. But, camels are smarter." Ra leaned his head back for her to rub. "And taller," she motioned to the dark sand that was now settling before them.

"Leth li kahot dya.*" His grip tightened, and he looked at her. "Whatever happens," his Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed, "I love you."

Jeweli's mouth turned up a bit involuntarily. She leaned down and took told of his chin gently. "And I love you. Now, let's go kill these undead bastards."

"Stay close to me." Ardeth turned back to the army growing in front of them.

The Army of Anubis was truly frightening. They were huge jackal men with weapons straight from ancient paintings. Their black skin rippled over grotesquely huge muscles, their teeth bared at the men and woman waiting to stop them. Ardeth pulled out his sword, and the others followed suit, waiting for his command. He started a battle cry, which Jeweli took up quickly, the rest of the men mimicked. Across the field, the Commander of Anubis roared, his soldiers making more racket in their larger numbers. Ardeth charged, then so did the enemy. Jeweli's mount easily kept up with her chieftain, she twirled her sword and prepared to slip her some ugly-ass throats.

They clashed, she managed to kill a few of the jackals before one grabbed her robe and hauled her off her camel. The poor animal ran off somewhere safe. Jeweli rolled a bit, then got up to face the asshole who yanked her down. Her good had fallen down, and the soldier stopped and looked at her oddly. Then he laughed.

"Oh, yeah, buddy. Keep laughing, 'cause you're about to get your ass kick by a girl." She knocked his weapon away, causing him to stop laughing, then growl as he jumped at her. She dodged his attack, and hacked his head from his shoulders. "What now, you son of a bitch." Oh, the irony.

The battle raged on with the high sun beating down on them. Somehow, they managed to kill every last one of the Anubis warriors. By this time, Jeweli was breathing hard, every muscle aching from exertion. All around her, the men began cheering and she joined in. Until she saw Ardeth race by, that is. Confused, she listened as everyone else seemed to realize something was wrong. There was a rumbling coming from over the dunes. Jeweli ran after the Madji, slowing behind him as she saw the cause of the noise. There were twice as many Anubis Warriors running towards them.

Ardeth

"Allah ahaphet,**" he prayed. Jeweli moved forward and put her hand on his back. He looked down at her. For the first time since he'd met this strange woman, her eyes held fear. Pure, untainted fear. Knowing she needed comfort, he put his arm around her, pulling her to his side, idly noticing that she had more marks on her forehead. He looked around, seeing the same fear and exhaustion in his men as in his woman… and in himself. Ardeth looked back to the Army closing in fast, and raised his sword. "Halat Ba!" The sacred Madji oath. Behind him, the others answered in kind. Beside him, Jeweli pulled away and shouted.

""Til Death!"

They braced themselves for another wave of fighting. His breath hitched, at least God had let him hold him woman one last time. Ardeth's whole body tensed, anticipating the impact of flesh and metal. Just as the Army was closing the last little bit of distance, just as they were about to hit the Madji, they all turned back to sand. Everyone covered their faces. Once it was over, the Chieftain stood up, looking around him. Not a single Warrior left. O'Connell did it. He killed the Scorpion King. He sent up a cry of victory, which was answered with great enthusiasm. Ardeth turned to see Jeweli, sword raised and disheveled from fighting, with the paint beginning to run. He dropped his weapon in the sand and grabbed her, spinning her around as his kissed her right in front of his men, not caring what any of them thought.

As he set her down, he could finally read the marks on her forehead. "What is this?!"

"Uh," she was still a little dizzy from the kiss. "Hessan said they labeled me as the Warrio…and part of your tribe, I think. Neat, hu?"

"Yes…yes, it is." Oh, he was going to have a great many words for his uncle when they got back to the camp. And not all of them were going to be those of goodwill. How dare he?

"Hey, what's wrong?"

"Hm? Nothing, my love. Nothing at all," he smoothed her hair from her face.

Jeweli smiled and nuzzled his hand. When she looked back up, her eyes focused on something behind him. "Oh, my God." The ground shook, nearly making them fall.

Above the temple of Ahm Shere, a huge cloud of black sand rose. Within it, he could see a face screaming in pain. Then it was gone, and so, too, was the oasis they had searched for, for over five thousand years. He pulled Jeweli closer, just to hold her. "It is over. We are safe."

"What about Rick and the others?"

"I will find them. Basal!" he called. His brother came running towards them. "*Take Jeweli back to the camp. I have to find the O'Connells.*"

"*Of course, brother.*"

Ardeth turned back to the small woman clinging to him. "Basal will take you back, have your wounds tended. I will be back with your family."

"Ok." She pressed her face against his chest, squeezing him once more before letting go and moving towards the other man. "Make sure they're ok."

"I will, now go."

He mounted up after they had left and rode towards Ahm Shere. When he got there, the airship was floating away. "Yallah, salam ayavei.***" He saluted Rick, who was looking over the side at him. Then he waited.

Rick

He turned away from the Madji on the ground and kissed his wife. They were turning north, towards Cairo.

"Uh, Dad?" Alex tugged at his shirt.

"Yeah?"

"Where's Aunt Jeweli?"

"Aunt Jeweli?" he thought for a moment. Oh, shit! "Izzy! Turn around!"

*= So it begins.

**= God help us.

***= I don't know what this one meant, but I'm sure it's something along the lines of "God bless you, my friend."