Chapter 44 – Lost Among The Dunes
~~~~Egypt, 1918~~~~
One year.
It had been one entire year since their arrival to this desert.
What had started out as an adventure had quickly turned into a tedious and rather sandy endeavor with hardly any results to show for it. Once Nikola and Helen had reached Asyut and met Helen's contact, who provided all the necessary supplies and equipment, it had been smooth sailing, so to speak.
Aside from a few mishaps with the workers and a sandstorm that lasted a day and a half, nothing, absolutely nothing had happened since their rather riveting arrival…and Nikola was bored.
He hated archeology, he hated sand, he hated the sun, he hated drinking water out of a cantina, he hated having to reposition his tent every week or so, he hated running out of hair slick, he hated bugs, he hated having nothing to do, he hated modifying the vehicle's engine for the fifteenth time, he hated how many designs he had drawn in the sand that someone carelessly stepped on, he hated not having any paper, he hated not having a desk, even if he did he would hate it. He hated this whole thing…except her.
She stood at the edge of the open tent, reveling in the cool evening air. Her hair was done up tightly to keep it off her face and neck, and she wore a pair of beige trousers, brown knee-high boots, a light and a dark vest; still managing to look like a lady despite her gentlemanly garb.
She was watching the workers as the lights surrounding the camp began to flicker to life, allowing them to work well into the night for this goddess; and all of them would.
Helen Magnus had this unmistakable power to charm people into doing things they didn't want to do…mostly him.
Nikola sat on his chair just inside the tent, cradling a glass of wine; his ration for the evening.
His jacket was draped over the arm and his vest was unbuttoned, allowing the cooling air to lower his body temperature to a more tolerable level.
A gramophone drawled in the back of the tent, creating a rustic, yet comfortable atmosphere.
"Helen, will you sit down and drink your tea before it grows cold and sprouts legs," he teased, taking a small sip from his wine glass.
"Just admiring the view Nikola. I have a feeling that we're close…"
"Close to what? A mine? To winter? A five-star restaurant?" he joked, leaning back in his chair a ways.
"To something important," Helen clarified. "Something that will change the tides in our favor."
"Helen, Carter is in the west practically developing his own colony, with the Horacians directly to the North, and lord knows who else is on the search in the other directions. We've all been searching for the same thing for the same amount of time, some longer, what makes you think that we, out of all that, are standing atop the Holy Grail of Egyptian mummies."
"I never said the tomb was here, but something that could lead us to the tomb…"
"Yes, the much fabled tablet that had disclosed the locations of Tut's tomb whatever thousand years ago he died, but does it actually exist?" Nikola looked at her skeptically. She knew he was just making conversation, he would follow her down the Nile and back again in a canoe of she asked, but that didn't stop him from asking questions.
"Many scrolls and ancient texts have depicted it, several also claiming that this tablet was stolen and lost around this area…that's our advantage," Helen turned to him and smiled widely.
"What? That we got here first?" Nikola asked.
"No, we are the only ones on the search for the tablet. Carter is searching for the tomb, directly going off evidence from other texts, the Horacians would rather bully their way to find it than do any searching of their own, and anyone else who knows about the tablet either doesn't believe it exists or doesn't know where to find it, hence: the advantage!"
Nikola shook his head.
"Alright," he shrugged. "I still doubt we'll find anything of use in this vast wasteland, but as long as we keep receiving wine with our weekly supplies I wont complain."
Helen scoffed.
Nikola ignored it.
"We still don't know if we're going to find the tomb though," he added before taking a generous sip of wine.
"I have a feeling…a good feeling." Helen sighed.
"Are you sure it's not just the sun…or my intoxicating presence?" he teased with a devious grin. Helen laughed and rolled her eyes at him.
"Please, you've barely lifted a finger during this excavation," she finally sat down beside him, taking her now cold tea off the small table between them and sipped it.
"I have been working! Who do you think has been powering this place?" he said indignantly, gesturing to the lit camp before them.
"That's hardly what I meant and you know that," she scowled at him.
"I'm not an archeologist and you know that, I am here for technical support, and if need be to assist…so far, you haven't required my assistance in the ditch digging process, "I'm more or less here to keep you company."
Helen laughed.
"Well you are doing an excellent job," she leaned over and pecked his cheek.
"That's all I want is a little gratitude," he mumbled.
"I know," she teased him.
"I mean I've been on my best behavior," he whimpered into his wine glass and Helen laughed.
"Yes you have. I just forget how sensitive you are sometimes," she teased.
"I'm not sensitive, I just like to know that my work is appreciated sometimes you know," he shrugged.
Helen rolled her eyes.
"Stop your whining," she groaned.
"I still don't see why you enjoy this so much," he looked up at her.
"It's discovery, it's uncovering something no one has seen in thousands of years and being the first to find it. You very well understand my excitement, you just don't share it for artifacts and tombs," she looked back at him
"Yes, because tombs are stupid. If I ever expire on this earth I plan to be cremated and my ashes poured into my Nobel Prize," he joked.
"No seriously, what would you really want done with your body?" she looked at him earnestly.
"As long as I'm with you I'll rest in peace," he looked back at her with a wide grin.
"I mean it!" she smacked him, trying not to laugh. "Your ashes, where do you want them?"
"Seriously?"
She nodded.
"Remember that spot in the park near Oxford University, with the pond and the willow tree?" he looked at her honestly.
"Yes," she smiled softly. "It's where we first met."
"There, under the willow by the pond. If I'm ever to have a final resting place that's where'd I'd like to be," he finished off his glass of wine and looked back outside of the tent.
"May I ask why?" Helen watched him carefully.
"A lot of my happy memories were spent under that tree," he shrugged simply. "I really can't think of a better place."
He turned and smiled at her, one of his few honest smiles. Helen smiled softly in return.
"Do you want to dance?" she asked randomly.
The question took him off-guard.
"What? You, uh, want to dance?" he looked at her a bit baffled.
"Yes, that night sky is just asking for it," she grinned, grabbing his hand and pulling him to his feet before running to the gramophone and switching it to something more danceable.
She went back to him and soon they were dancing a slow waltz to the music, his hand just resting on her small of her back, and her head resting on his shoulder.
"This is weird," he chuckled.
"How so?" Helen asked.
"I've never danced with a person wearing trousers," he chuckled some more. Helen joined him.
"Is it too new age for you?" she teased.
"No, no, I like it…it's just different," he smirked. "I can get used to it though."
"How long will that taaa!" her thought was cut off by him dipping her dramatically to the song. His hand came to grasp her leg for support.
"I'm used to it now," he chuckled.
"You cad," she giggled. Looking up into his grey-blue eyes.
He brought her back up. She felt even closer to him as they continued to sway to the music.
He spun her and she ended up with her back pressed up against chest, still moving with him.
"You always were an excellent dancer," she sighed.
"My first crush taught me," he chuckled.
"Really? Who was it?" she asked.
"A much older woman," he answered.
"It wasn't your mom, was it?" she joked.
"No, it wasn't my mom. My father was an orthodox priest; even sneezing was considered a sin. Dancing was taboo in our household, not like it stopped my sisters," he chuckled. "But no, my first crush, I was 8. She was an old woman my father sent me to look after, her name was Nada, she was about 82."
Helen giggled.
"You had a crush on an old woman?"
"Sort of. I was more or less fascinated by her as a human being. She told fantastic stories and was such a free spirit despite her age. She used to play music on the gramophone and just dance around the house. I watched her from the little footstool that I used as a chair."
Nikola spun her the right way around to face him and continued.
"One day she asked me to dance with her. I shook my head because of my father's pious instruction. She just laughed, she had a great laugh, and grabbed me by the hand and said that God wasn't going to condemn me for dancing with an old lady," he chuckled. "I visited her many times and she gave me secret dance lessons till she came down with bronchitis and was bedridden."
"You sound like you were the cutest child," Helen commented.
"I was very cute, thank you very much," he dipped her again.
"Did Nada die?" asked Helen.
"Yes, but she hung on for quite a long time. I was about eleven when she finally passed. Very special woman, I was glad to have met her," he smiled softly.
"Were you the perfect student?" Helen teased.
"She said I had perfect hips for dancing," Nikola chuckled.
"How precious," Helen giggled some more.
"I bet your first crush was interesting," he switched it on her and she was baffled for a moment.
"Well he didn't teach me to dance, so I don't know," she chuckled.
"Try me, who was it?" he prodded.
"It was my father's medical assistant. I was twelve, he was twenty-two. He called me Little Miss and always brought me a single daisy. I learned later that he had done that because my father suggested that I might like it, kind of disappointing really," she chuckled. "I never knew his actual name. I called him Mr. Bailey and that's it."
"Was he handsome?" Nikola asked.
"Quite, well, to an impressionable twelve year-old," she chuckled.
"Did you love him?" asked Nikola.
"Oh no. He wasn't around long enough for that. He was just an intern. It was a two-week long crush," Helen shrugged.
"Who was your first love?" Nikola grinned.
Helen looked up at him, remembering the young man feeding pigeons at the pond in the park by Oxford University. If she was completely honest with herself, Nikola had been the first man to make her want something more, no man before that had done that to her. She had loved him, however briefly.
"It was…" she said nervously, unsure what to say.
"Oh," he stopped. "It was John, wasn't it?"
Helen bit her lip.
"No, it wasn't…it was just some boy I met in school when I was young," she said cryptically. "It was long before I met John."
"Oh," he looked down, feeling embarrassed for jumping to conclusions.
Helen put a hand on his shoulder.
"Nikola, it…" he looked up at her.
"Yes," his eyes met hers, and she saw him, the young man in that park that had become her companion and fellow troublemaker. Still there after all these years.
"It was…" she felt he was getting closer, or maybe she was.
"Yes," his voice was barely a shudder.
She could smell him, the wine off his breath, and she could feel the small tingle of electricity he always seemed to carry.
Their lips just barely touched, when a shout from the pit dragged Helen's attention away. She backed away from him and looked to the source of the cry.
"They found something!" she cried.
She turned back at him.
He looked a little lost at the sudden turn of events.
"They found something!" she jumped more excitedly. Grabbing her work gloves from off the desk and rushing towards the pit. "Come on, Nikola!"
Nikola let out a huff and followed.
He was so close.
Helen scampered down the ladder to the middle of the pit where all the commotion was happening.
The workers were shouting in Arabic, "We found it, we found it!"
Nikola's base understanding of the language made him able to translate that much.
Helen rushed over to where they were still carefully trying to extract it from the ground. Her kit was slung over her shoulder and Nikola followed suit.
"Déplacer, s'il vous plait," she said to them to get through to the artifact. Speaking French as most of the workers understood it.
She kneeled in the sand and spread out her kit next to her. The object was wrapped in an ancient cloth, protecting it from the wear of the sand.
Nikola kneeled beside her and watched her work quietly.
She put on her gloves and over turned the delicate item to unwrap it.
"It's perfectly preserved," Helen said, awestruck.
"Lucky for us," Nikola muttered.
She gently placed the artifact right side up on top of the cloth. The words engraved on it surface clear and readable.
"It's magnificent," she gasped.
"What's it say?" he asked.
Helen read over the ancient text quietly and quickly.
"This is it! Nikola! This is it! We've found it!" she cried triumphantly, throwing her arms around him excitedly.
Nikola was taken aback by the sudden embrace but gladly returned it.
"Whose crazy now!" she teased and he laughed.
"You're right…I'll never doubt you again," he chuckled.
She hugged him again more excitedly.
"We found it! Nikola! I knew we could!" she jumped to her feet, nearly dragging him with her and leapt into his arms.
"This calls for a celebration," he muttered looking up at her.
He laughed seeing her so excited. Hugging him wildly.
"Yes! Drinks for everyone!"
All the workers around them cheered loudly in response, as they carried the delicate artifact topside.
~~~~Later~~~~
Helen switched the song on the gramophone to something livelier and had looped Nikola in a much faster, less skilled dance. It was more about celebratory dancing than anything. Nikola laughed as she was acting quite drunk and had only had about half a gulp of the champagne they were currently enjoying.
He hadn't seen her this excited in a long time.
He liked seeing her this happy.
"I knew this past year would be worth it!" she grinned, looking over to the tablet now carefully placed on her desk.
"It isn't worth it until that tablet proves its usefulness," he corrected.
"Can't you just enjoy the success with me, Nikola," she laughed. "You're always so specific."
"I am," he sighed.
"That's good," she smiled.
"But it's because it's hard not to when you're like this," he teased. "That and who can't celebrate when champagne is involved."
"Good point," she took another sip from her glass.
"I'm just happy that you're happy," he smiled at her, putting his glass down, before grabbing her hand and spinning her towards him. "That and I like dancing with you."
He grinned cheekily.
Helen laughed.
"Well, it's the closest you're going to get so enjoy it," she joked before using her finger to push him away; he grabbed the finger and pulled her back to him.
"I will," he grinned and twirled her again, making her laugh.
"I think the champagne is going straight to my head, I need to sit down," she moved out of his arms and collapsed in her chair.
"I could've told you that," he teased, and sat in his chair beside her.
Helen sighed and looked out among the now fully alive camp.
"Now I understand what kept him away all those years," she sighed.
"Your father?" Nikola looked at her.
"England was way too small for my father…it was too small for all of us," she looked at him. "I understand that now."
Nikola smiled slightly.
"Those boys are missing out on quite the adventure," he said.
"Well, James has an aversion to too much excitement, and someone needed to look after the Sanctuary."
"James doesn't have an aversion, he just doesn't like sand in his trousers," joked Nikola.
"That's true, give him a rainforest or a cavern he's all for it, but give him sand…it gets inside the machinery, causes a lot of problems for him," she sighed.
"Yes, the whole bionic heart thing," Nikola looked down sadly.
"It's not bionic, it's a condition and he's convinced that if he can keep his heart pumping he can prolong his life…I can't risk injecting him with my blood in his state," she sighed.
"And Nigel?" asked Nikola.
"Nigel is…somewhere," she sighed. "Keeping below radar at the moment."
Nikola nodded.
"And we haven't seen John since that whole Worth Affair," she added.
"And then there's me," Nikola looked up at her.
Helen met his gaze.
"There is you," she agreed.
"Before we were interrupted you were about to say something," he looked at her seriously. "What was it?"
Helen bit her lip.
"It's nothing, I can't remember," she shook it off but Nikola didn't buy it for a second.
"Yes you do, Helen please…tell me," he placed a hand on her shoulder.
"It's just…all I was going to say that it's been nice having you here…I couldn't have done this by myself," she patted his hand.
He nodded his head.
"Oh," he retracted his hand. "Helen, you and I both know that you can do whatever you put that beautiful mind to."
Helen chuckled.
"Thank you," she smiled at him.
"Do you want to know who my first love was?" he grinned at her.
"What?" she blinked, confused by the sudden topic change.
"It's only fair, you told me who yours was," he shrugged.
"Alright," she shrugged back.
He looked into her eyes and stared into them deeply.
"It was…yo-"
Suddenly three cars suddenly screeched into the camp disrupting the party.
Gunfire sounded, and the workers scrambled to get away.
Nikola and Helen both stood up.
"Looks like our party is being crashed," Nikola sighed.
"They know about the tablet!" she growled. "Quick Nikola, hide it!"
He nodded and dashed inside the tent as Helen ran to the other side and grabbed her shotgun from its case.
"Helen!" Nikola barked.
"Just put it in a safe place! I will not let them destroy my camp!" she cried, cocking the weapon and stepping out of the tent and shooting at the black automobiles.
Nikola growled, picking up the tablet.
Suddenly he had an idea.
~~~~Elsewhere~~~~
The main automobile stopped and a large man in a well-tailored suit stepped out of it.
"You must be Helen Carter," his voice was gravelly but smug as Helen approached the car. "Or should I call you Magnus…I've forgotten."
He turned to her, not surprised with the gun barrel in his face.
"You must be Horace," she growled.
"My crew's reputation precedes me," he chuckled.
"Leave my camp!" Helen cocked her weapon again. "Or I will not hesitate in shooting you!"
"Oh I will leave…as soon as you hand over the tablet," he said sternly.
"Never," she snarled.
"Then I'll have to continue to shoot at your crew till you comply," he shrugged.
"They are unarmed, you'll be slaughtering them!" she cried.
"So better you make up your mind sooner rather than later," he signaled his men to continue shooting at the workers they had trapped.
"Stop!" cried Helen.
"You think I'm going to back off with your gun in my face…when you have three pointed at the back of your head," he chuckled.
Helen growled and dropped her weapon in surrender.
"That's better, Helen my dear," he grinned.
"It's Doctor to you!" she barked.
"Hand over the tablet and they can all walk away from this," he bartered.
"I'd rather die than let the tablet fall into your greedy hands!" she bit back defiantly.
"That can be arranged," he pulled out his small pistol from his jacket and aimed it at her head.
"No!" boomed Nikola's voice.
"Ah, this must be the fiancé," Horace laughed. "Shooting you will more than make up for the damage done to my boat."
Helen looked over wearily at Nikola as she saw the tablet wrapped in its cloth in his hands.
"Nikola no!" she cried.
"Take it and go, we want no trouble," he stepped in front of her. "This is what you want."
"It seems he is a more honorable man than you give him credit my dear," Horace chuckled evilly, taking the tablet and gently handing it over to his henchmen. "Unfortunately, I'm not."
He fired off his weapon, shooting Nikola in the head.
"Nikola!" she cried as he fell to the ground. "You said you wouldn't hurt anybody once you had the tablet."
"I said I wouldn't harm them…him, I had a bone to pick," he signaled to his henchmen to return to the automobiles and drive away. "I'd mourn him quickly. Seems like the weather is not favorable for a funeral."
He gestured to the east at a rising and emerging sandstorm that was heading their way.
He got into his car with an evil smirk and drove away.
As soon as he was gone Helen took little time in prying the small caliber bullet from his head.
He gasped.
"Oh that bastard!" he cried. "I oughtta kill him!"
"He's gone, Nikola…and there's no time…sand's coming," she looked at the retreating forms of the workers. This was too dangerous for them now. She'd have to leave them when this storm passed and let them get picked up by her contact to be taken home.
"Lets go before someone sees you being raised from the dead," she pulled him to his feet and they ran as fast as they could to beat the storm. Helen grabbed a blanket from her tent, Nikola grabbed a bottle of wine and a few cantinas of water they made for the car and drove off the camp.
~~~~A Hours Later~~~~
The storm passed relatively quickly.
Helen pushed the tarp off her and Nikola and shook the sand out of her hair.
Nikola grumbled, his whole head shaking with sand.
"Have I mentioned that I hate those," he grumbled, popping open the wine bottle and taking a long swig from it.
"Several times," she sighed.
"I hate the desert," he shook the sand from his head some more. "I don't like dirt!"
Helen groaned.
"This is a bloody mess!" she dropped her head into her hands.
Nikola spat out some sand.
"Our camp is scattered, you were shot…now Horace has the tablet…" she groaned.
"Don't be so sure of that," Nikola drank another swig from the bottle.
"Nikola you gave it to him, I saw you give it to him!" she cried.
"No, you saw me give him something that looked like the tablet," he smirked and unbuttoned his vest and pulled out the tablet. "What he's got is a slab of sand rock with some scratches on it, it'll disintegrate before he reaches the Nile."
Helen cried with triumph.
"You brilliant, brilliant man!" she cried, throwing her arms around him and kissing him strong and chaste. The kiss took him by surprise and nearly knocked the wind out of him as she released him and snatched the tablet from him.
"If I knew you were going to do that…"
"Horace won't know what hit him," she chuckled, staring at it admiringly.
"So what do we do now?" he asked. "I mean, instead of sitting here…lost among the sand dunes."
"It'll have to be just the two of us, we'll have to make our way back to the camp, collect supplies then move on from there…I won't have anymore innocent men be used as fodder for Horace's attacks."
She stood up and swiped her pants.
"It should be no more than a half a day's walk," she sighed.
"Or we could drive," Nikola gestured to the jeep.
"You think it still works?" she asked.
"Helen, I've been mostly bored out here while you've been playing archeologist, how do you think I've been spending my time?" he asked.
"Whining," she teased.
"Yes, and playing with the only advanced piece of technology around for miles, she'll run, I've modified her to be impervious to sand," he said smugly, getting up and heading over to the vehicle.
"I knew I brought you for a reason," she teased.
"And here I thought it was because of my devilish good looks and charm," he teased back.
They hopped into the vehicle and the engine turned on without a second thought. He smirked over at her.
"Do you love me or do you love me?" he grinned triumphantly.
"Obviously not as much as you love yourself," she teased.
"Joke all you want Helen, I was the hero this round!" he put the car into gear and began driving.
"Nikola," Helen sighed.
"What is it?" he looked over at her.
"You're driving the wrong way."
"Oh, I knew that."
He turned the car around.
"The camp is that way," Helen pointed.
"I was getting there."
"Do you want me to drive?"
"No."
"Cause it seems like you're lost."
"Is it my fault that every dune in this desert looks the same?
~~~~Author's Notes~~~~
A new chappie to hopefully satisfy your Teslen need...my week long break is almost over...life is about to be swamped. AH!
Did a little edit, hopefully i fixed all those dreaded mistakes :P