Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Author Note: Set after 'The Mummy Returns.' Warning: Dom/sub undertones, slave-auction scene, character getting slapped, character wears a collar.

SPARKS TO TINDER

The small dank building was incredibly noisy, but Ardeth Bay was silent. Nobody noticed him; he was as a shadow thanks to his black robes and noiseless movement. And everybody else was louder and a lot more pungent.

This den of thieves and criminals was not the kind of a place that Ardeth usually frequented. But he had been asked there by a friend and asked for a very good reason. The friend was Evelyn O'Connell and the reason was current kneeling on a squat but serviceable platform at the front of the very full room.

Jonathan Carnahan was truly gifted at finding trouble.

Currently, there was a thick metal collar bolted around his neck, his hands and feet were tightly bound, and this mouth was effectively muffled by a gag. Clearly somebody had already had enough of his chatter. Ardeth did not allow his expression to show any glimmer of his anger at Jonathan's treatment or his relief at finding Jonathan still breathing. His gaze did linger on the Englishman though, drinking in the sight of the one who made his heart glad.

Jonathan had not noticed him yet. Ardeth watched as a man with a cruel set to his mouth explained that Jonathan needed to be broken. Jonathan made a great deal of protesting noises, Ardeth appeared coolly interested. He had exactly what Jonathan's captors were looking for.

When he had heard from his eyes and ears in Cairo that the O'Connell and Carnathan family were back, Ardeth had immediately set out for the city, looking forward to seeing his friends again. But before he had reached Cairo, he had received word that Jonathan had been taken and that the O'Connells had secreted themselves somewhere in the city because the men who had Jonathan were now looking for them.

Ardeth had quickened towards Cairo and had been only a day into his search for the O'Connells when a woman had bodily bumped into him in a marketplace. The belongings in the woman's hands had scattered everywhere. She had babbled apologies in an accented voice that Ardeth had immediately recognised but Evelyn, bundled up in impenetrable robes and veils had shaken her head as she'd continued speaking. She had clearly been afraid and Ardeth had respected her wishes, helping her to gather up her belongings as though he hadn't recognised her. Amongst the confusion, he had felt her slip something heavy into his robes. He had easily grasped it and had watched as Evelyn had hurried away.

Ardeth had then retreated to the nearby stables and had discovered that Evelyn had passed him a sizeable bag of coins and jewellery as well as a hastily-written letter. In it, she had explained that Jonathan was in terrible trouble. He had been caught cheating when gambling with some very dangerous men – he had been drinking of course which had made him even more reckless than usual – and, according to Jonathan, he had not entirely understood the stakes when the men had goaded him into another round of cards. During that game, they had cheated and won. Their prize? Jonathan.

The men were going to sell Jonathan at an auction but they also wanted the money and jewellery back that Jonathan had cheated them out of. When O'Connell had tried giving them their winnings back in exchange for Jonathan, they'd tried to kidnap O'Connell. Too soon after that they had almost succeeded in snatching Alex.

Evelyn had finished the letter by saying that she and her husband were safe and in hiding with Alex. They had tried to rescue Jonathan several times but all of their attempts had failed. The men were no doubt hoping to grab Jonathan's family to get back what they had lost and punish Jonathan by both hurting and likely selling those that he cared about. Evelyn had said that she did not dare risk approaching the men personally or trying another rescue attempt; the last one had nearly cost her both her husband and her son. She had been trying to locate a member of the Medjai in Cairo so that she could contact Ardeth, then she had spied him in the city and so had planned to give him all he'd need to rescue Jonathan. She trusted Ardeth to do that.

She had asked that Ardeth send a message to a certain location if all went well. She had asked that he take care of her brother, she trusted him to do that too.

So here Ardeth was, waiting and watching as Jonathan looked terrified and angry. Ardeth watched him intently, like a buyer perhaps. But under that, he was memorising all that he could of the man. It was something he always did when in the presence of Jonathan Carnahan, for only the gods knew when he would next see the Englishman. Now though there was more; his skin was prickling pleasurably at seeing Jonathan kneeling and wearing a collar.

His thoughts were disturbed by the man beside Jonathan, the seller who began calling for offers. Several people called out amounts, the man receiving them looking pleased and greedy in response. His friends were crowded beside the platform; all of them were armed and eager to see Jonathan suffer. Ardeth could provide what they were looking for. Taking a last look at Jonathan, he stepped forward and threw the bag of money and jewellery at the man's feet.

Jonathan's eyes widened and he became louder, causing the auctioneer to slap him sharply. Ardeth's jaw tightened, but he did not say a word against the man's actions.

The auctioneer scooped up the bag, showed it to his friends who muttered angrily, and turned to Ardeth. "Where did you get this, Medjai?"

Ardeth's face was a mask of carefully-controlled fury. "His family. I have dealt with them, now I come to deal with him."

The auctioneer smiled, pleased by this turn of events. "And what fight does a Medjai have with this worm?"

Ardeth rested a hand on the handle of his sword and glared at Jonathan. "He and his family once brought chaos and ruin to both my people and our calling. I am here to see him pay for that in abundance."

The auctioneer kicked at Jonathan gleefully. "You hear that, Englishman? You make friends so well."

He turned to Ardeth with a gleam in his eye. "You guarantee him suffering and agony?"

Ardeth's smile was cruel. "There is little for Jonathan Carnahan to enjoy in the desert."

The auctioneer laughed and signalled for Jonathan to be hauled to his feet. "Ah yes, no drink, no money, no cards. Such agony for him. My thanks for returning my property. Perhaps I will find his family now and see that they suffer also, they have caused me much grief lately. Where did you leave them?"

"I doubt you will recover much to sell." Ardeth said dismissively, looking Jonathan up and down as though assessing his purchase.

The auctioneer slapped Ardeth on the back, Ardeth did not flinch. "You Medjai, perhaps we can do business together in the future."

"Perhaps."

Ardeth kept his attention on Jonathan now who was doing a very impressive job of looking both furtive and fuming, though his fear was also very vivid. The auctioneer gestured to two of his men who bodily picked Jonathan up and followed Ardeth out of the building.

Ardeth gestured for them to throw Jonathan over his horse before the saddle and then swung himself up onto his steed. He rode away without a word, aware that he was most likely being followed. He lifted a hand to his eyes, as though he needed such help against the sun, it was a signal that a waiting hidden Medjai would understand. A message would be delivered to the hidden O'Connells, saying that Jonathan had been retrieved and that Ardeth was taking him to his people's desert encampment and that if the O'Connells needed to contact Ardeth, then the Medjai delivering the message would do so for them. Ardeth would care for Jonathan as Evelyn had asked.

Jonathan cursed and writhed, clearly not enjoying his current position. Ardeth rode relentlessly beyond the city's boundaries and towards where he called home. When he was sure that they had lost all pursuers and he had received no signal to warn him of imminent trouble, he slowed his steed down and tore the gag from Jonathan's mouth. The man's chatter immediately began flowing; it was good to hear his voice again.

"I don't know what you think you were doing, giving my rightful winnings away like that. That was entirely uncalled for. You were-."

"Saving your life," Ardeth put in pointedly.

His horse came to a stop and Jonathan slithered quickly down to the sand. Ardeth gracefully dismounted and sliced through Jonathan's foot and hand bindings. He offered the Englishman a waterskin.

Jonathan grabbed it eagerly and drained it quickly, making noises that caused Ardeth's eyes to darken. Perhaps he made a noise of his own too, because Jonathan's gaze skittered over to him several times. It was a very appreciative gaze. Ardeth's expression twitched in response.

Jonathan was tugging at the metal still clamped around his neck. "I don't suppose you could lop this off as well, old man?"

Ardeth shook his head, not as regretful as he portrayed himself to be. "That will have to wait until we return to my people where the tools for such a task are ample."

"Wait a moment, your people? Why aren't we heading for a port? You know, I'm sure Evy has our passage home booked by now..."

"Your sister, brother-in-law, and nephew remain in Cairo, safe but hidden. Your friends had many plans for them, so for now they are dead."

"Oh well, that's marvellous! We can't play dead forever!"

Ardeth let his amusement show. "When your friends find no trace of the O'Connells, they will concentrate once more on gaining all that they can from those who are unaware of the truth of their games. And then with the correct planning, you will have your passage home again."

"Oh, and exactly how long will that take?"

Ardeth turned to his horse, to tuck the waterskin away. "Days, perhaps weeks."

"Weeks!? Please tell me your people believe in decent drinks, bourbon or..." Jonathan let out a despairing noise at Ardeth's expression. "I don't think I'll survive this, in fact I don't think I want to."

"I was unaware my company was such a trial to you."

Ardeth's voice was somewhat clipped, he had meant the words as an amused provocation – if Jonathan was overflowing with his usual complaints, then he wasn't trying to return to Cairo or attempting anything else equally foolish. But something sharper had escaped into Ardeth's speech. Perhaps Ardeth was somewhat rawer than usual. He was always aware of his feelings for Jonathan Carnahan and could usually set them aside through prayer and his dedication to duty. Not today though, not with Jonathan so close after a brush with such danger.

Jonathan's complaining had paused and when Ardeth finally turned his gaze to him, Jonathan was looking at him with bewildered worry on his expressive face.

"I don't…you're…well, you always seem to know what you're doing and I'm sure it could be worse, somehow…"

Jonathan's words faltered and Ardeth's lips flickered into a smile. So often Jonathan tumbled over with a great many words, but so few of them revealed the actual truth of him. And Jonathan was moving closer now, his face still worried and confused. His hand reached out to touch Ardeth's shoulder, a soft movement that Ardeth had seen from the Englishman before. It spoke volumes.

For a moment, Jonathan touched Ardeth's shoulder and truly met his gaze, then he began tugging fruitlessly at his metal collar. Ardeth watched him silently; he had seen the banked hungry heat in Jonathan's gaze that Jonathan no doubt assumed he had hidden and he had felt the same heat in Jonathan's brief touch. Combined with Ardeth's eruption of worry and frustration, the gesture had felt like a spark to tinder, like an answer to prayer, like a vital step forward.

Ardeth had seen himself reflected in Jonathan's eyes. Perhaps now was the time for a fire.

Jonathan frowned down at the collar as best he could. "Are you sure you can't get this thing off me now? You must have something that could-."

It was Ardeth's turn to move closer, the heat within him igniting. He voiced the thought that he had been resolutely ignoring since setting eyes on Jonathan at the auction. "It suits you."

That stopped Jonathan cold. The arousal in his expression was incredible and Jonathan cleared his throat, apparently very aware of Ardeth's close proximity, he did not move away. If anything, his body swayed towards Ardeth. Ardeth's smile was slow and hungry.

"I…That's as maybe, old chap, but if you think I'm going to kneel at your feet then you're very much mistaken."

Ardeth hooked a couple of fingers into the metal collar and pulled Jonathan close without any warning. Jonathan squawked but didn't protest or try to get away. If anything, his hands settled on Ardeth in an equally hungry manner. It was very pleasing.

"Am I?"

Ardeth leaned in so that his breath caressed Jonathan's cheek as he spoke. Jonathan swallowed and didn't say another word. He did moan though when Ardeth drew him into a searing claiming kiss.

Eventually, Ardeth did unfasten the collar and Jonathan did kneel at his feet.

-the end