Bernard Burns wasn't sure what to think when he heard the door knocking and Beni's voice call out. He hadn't even thought once about their one time guide since they had lost him in Hamunaptra, having much more pressing issues to consider. Now he had to wonder where the man had been and how he had managed to get himself safely back to Cairo. He supposed the Hungarian did seem to be the kind of lowlife with a knack for surviving against the odds; he was after all one of only two survivors from the legion's misfortunate adventure to Hamunaptra.
The American tensed slightly upon hearing the door handle twist and finally click open, he had been certain Daniels had locked it but of course Beni was probably the type to know how to deal with flimsy locks. Nervous, he became very conscious as to how vulnerable he was now; once he had considered his poor sight a weakness, now he wanted to cry at the irony of that, better a tainted sight than none at all. How could it be that in a handful of days he had gone from a brave treasure hunter to a pathetic shell of a man vulnerable even to the likes of this weasel?
"Can I help you?" He tried to sound bold as he turned his head searchingly but his words came out as a barely audible mouthful of drool stricken slurs. He wore a clean linen blindfold, Daniels had applied it, murmuring something about protecting him from infection but Burns knew it was simply because he and Henderson found it hard to stomach the sight of their friend's deformities. He wondered now if he was better or worse for it before Beni, it was an obvious sign of his weakness after all but at least with the blindfold the Hungarian couldn't know how permanent the man's blindness was.
"My dear Mr. Burns," Beni chirped up warmly, "I apologise for this disturbance but it could not wait. You see," he continued as excitement grew in his voice, "I do not come alone."
Burns had already realised that upon hearing a soft set of footsteps following Beni's and something akin to robes rustling faintly in the dead air. He didn't know what to say to this, the obvious questions formed in his mind, 'who' and 'why' but he realised morbidly that he didn't really care. Day and night since leaving that cursed city of the dead he had suffered nothing but pain and fear, an endless darkness, and exhaustion thanks to a sleep broken up with agony and nightmares, all he wanted was an end to it.
"I learned of your misfortune," Beni continued brightly as he came to stand at Burns' left side, putting the American in his shadow, "such a tragedy. Well my friend here learned of it too and he wants to help."
"Help?" Burns croaked it out sardonically wondering if Beni and his companion had only learned a skewed version of Burns' suffering, they couldn't possibly know the depth of it or they would not be here now. 'Who could help this?' he thought bitterly. Jess had made a few implications about there being hope for the man yet but he had dismissed that as niceties born of a young woman's pity and misguided guilt. Just as he sensed the disgust in Daniels' voice and the fear in Henderson's so he detected the guilt in Jess', and despite his attempts to assure her that this was not her fault he couldn't sway her. If it was anyone's fault it was his own, alright so the Carnahan woman had her share of responsibility thanks to reading from that wretched book but Burns bore her no ill will either, he, Daniels and Henderson had heard the curse upon the chest and dismissed it with barely a thought.
"Yes good sir," Beni said, his devious smirk unseen by the unfortunate man, "my friend, you see, is a prince, Prince Imhotep to be precise, and he has hopes of offering some wealth to aid with your plight, coin for your treasure from Hamunaptra." His beady eyes slid over to the tall, shadowy figure who moved to take a seat opposite Burns, teal eyes glinting from behind a cold, emotionless mask of gold. Beni resisted the urge to shudder at the form, surprised that anyone could believe it to be human, even with the robes and mask to conceal the horrors underneath there was still something off about the figure, something unnatural and frightening.
"Coin?" Burns croaked, the first sliver of hope in a long time creeping into his voice as he turned his head in every direction attempting to seek out the prince.
Beni nodded pointlessly as he clasped his palms together. "Indeed, your treasure is only a reminder of your bad experiences, no? You would be relieved to be rid of it my friend. I'm sure Prince Imhotep," he paused, seeing how the man dumbly searched for the 'prince', "he sits opposite you now," he added hastily feeling just a prickle of pity for the man, "would pay handsomely for such a treasure."
Burns, finally realising he had let his manners slide in his confusion and sorrow, held out a hand across the table and said with a faint smile, "pleashed to meet...ou..."
"Prince Imhotep does not like to be touched," Beni said hastily, "a silly Eastern superstition." His grin widened at this as he thought, 'ignorant American is liable to believe all foreigners are silly with ridiculous beliefs. Still, a shame it's this one, he's the least hateful of the three and quite pathetic as it is. It would have been a joy to see that asshole Daniels with his eyes plucked out, oh well, they're all insufferable.'
"My apologshies," Burns babbled awkwardly as he pulled his hand back. "Tea?" He gestured to the silver teapot and porcelain cups on the table before them. He fumbled across the table for a moment before finding the handle of his own cup and lifting it up. The canopic jar with the human head was sitting just beside it, Burns had come to despise it and yet he couldn't part with it, often obsessively running his hand along it in an attempt to find some meaning behind his suffering. It seemed so worthless now when once it had seemed so precious, an artefact of gold and jewels that would be worth a small fortune to some collector, but in comparison to his tongue and his eyes it was nothing. Now though, perhaps with this prince, he might yet get that fortune and it could pay for his care back home. That would be something; maybe he could yet salvage some life for himself if he had the coin.
Beni almost laughed when the American spilt his tea down himself as he struggled to swallow it with his absent tongue. "Oh dear," he remarked sarcastically, his brief pity gone as quickly as it had appeared. He remembered Burns buying him a drink on the boat along the Nile but he equally remembered him laughing along with that brute Henderson when Daniels had made snide remarks about Beni's questionable origins. Though Beni followed Imhotep for self-preservation and gold, there was definitely a strong part of him that had come to see the Americans punished too, he could think of no men, save O'Connell, who deserved to suffer more. There was the girl too, the rotten jackal, she was an irritation but he didn't think she was so hateful as to deserve the fate of the Yankees but that wasn't up to him, she was a thief, she had to expect some comeuppance for it, and for gold he would deliver her and the Egyptologist as easily as he planned to deliver Henderson and Daniels to Imhotep even if he had no personal grudge towards her or Dr. Chamberlain.
Imhotep plucked off the gold mask at last exposing the horror, an undead face with ill-suited teal eyes sitting amongst the rot, the only visible part of the face that wasn't decayed. Realising it was time, Beni let out a sigh before addressing the American calmly. "Mr. Burns, Prince Imhotep wishes to thank you for your hospitality, and for your eyes, and your tongue," he added snidely.
Mr. Burns let out a croak of confusion. "Wha..." The word died on his lips as the horror began to race through him.
"But so much more is needed," Beni continued, still calm, "the prince must finish the job and consummate the curse-"
"No!" Burns interrupted with a shriek as he shrank back against the couch. It was so strange, he had been longing for death as an end to his pain but now the thought of his life ending at the hands of this monster was more than he could bear. "No! Pleash!" he choked out as he shuddered.
"Which you and your friends have brought down upon yourselves," Beni concluded pointedly.
Imhotep rose from the couch, leaning over the table slightly and putting Burns in his shadow. Burns felt his bladder weaken then and his legs turn warm and damp as he let out a bloodcurdling scream. 'Not like this! Not like this!' he thought over and over again as he began to turn hysterical. He didn't even have a gun, not that it would matter much but at least with a gun he could attempt to go out like a man and not a feeble coward.
Imhotep's jaw seemed to dislocate, dropping down to reveal a wide, gaping maw. He started sucking then, pulling Burns' very life force into him as he did. Burns felt himself weaken rapidly by the second as pain flooded through every fibre of his being.
There was a loud bang as the door was kicked inwards and hit off the wall with the force. BANG! BANG! Daniels barely took in the scene before he started shooting at the mummy, both guns drawn and aimed despite the agony that surged through his left arm. The mummy turned to Daniels with a look of fury and let out a roar, he made to swing his hand but paused when Anu started barking at him frantically. Burns' teal eyes widened in the mummy's rotting skull at the sight of the Pharaoh Hound and he uttered in his ancient language, "ward of Anubis! I have unfinished business here!"
Jess darted forward then, sickle out and at the ready, she jumped onto the coffee table and slashed down at the creature. The blade embedded itself into its brow, sinking through the rotted bandages and squelchy flesh. The mummy jerked back with a shriek of pain, wrenching the handle from Jess' hands as it did. "Curse of Set! She took from me! She is mine to curse!" he yelled in his old, almost forgotten language as a sticky, black liquid seeped out of the wound created by the sickle.
"Stupid jackal!" Beni snapped at the girl as he stared up at her angrily.
Jess turned to the man with a glower. "Fuck you snake!" she cursed at him hatefully before bending down to pick up the teapot and hurl it at him.
The man let out a howl of pain as he was struck in the face by hot metal and hot tea sprayed all over his face and neck. He rubbed at his eyes frantically with one hand before bolting for the door. Daniels let out a curse when Beni shoved him out of the way and fled into the corridor.
It was as Beni fled down the stairs that he almost collided with O'Connell and Evelyn. "Beni you little stinkweed, where've you been?" Rick called after him as he pushed past them and kept running. Knowing if Beni was near it couldn't be good, Rick picked up the pace, practically dragging Evelyn with him as he did.
The pair entered Burns' room with Henderson and Jonathan close behind, just in time to see Jess being grabbed by her throat by the rotting hand of the mummy.
"We are in serious trouble!" Rick cried out as Daniels started shooting in vain.
Jess let out a gasp for air as she struggled against the surprisingly tight grasp before her eyes rolled up to the sickle. In one quick movement, she reached out for the handle, yanked the sickle out and sliced down at the hand. It had the desired effect, the sickle once again became embedded in ancient mummy flesh but she was released to fall hard on the table.
The mummy turned towards the men and Evelyn, shaking its hand frantically with a scowl before Burns' teal eyes locked on Evelyn. Gunfire broke out at once as Daniels, Henderson, Jonathan and Rick all started shooting at the mummy in unison.
Jess let out a groan of pain before rolling over on the table to face Burns who was cowering on the couch with a whimper. "It's alright Mr. Burns," she addressed him as she swallowed down a grunt of pain, "we're all here and in this together."
In a moment of heroics or, more likely, madness, Rick holstered his guns and rushed at the mummy, punching it hard in the face. The creature didn't even flinch at the blow; instead it grabbed Rick by his braces, lifted him into the air effortlessly and threw him back. He hit Jonathan, Daniels and Henderson hard, sending them crashing to the ground like a set of bowls pins.
The mummy turned then back to its original prey and its jaw dropped down once again. Evelyn let out a scream as Burns started to howl in pain as his life force once more began to be drawn out of him.
"No!" Jess screamed as she jumped at the fiend.
The creature roared in annoyance as the young woman slammed into it and sent it stumbling back. It grabbed her by both shoulders and turned to throw her. It caught Evelyn's frightened stare and froze for a moment before turning Burns' teal eyes down on Jess.
Anu came forward then with a fierce growl before he dared to bite down hard on the mummy's right leg.
The mummy hissed in pain before shaking the dog off and glowering at Jess once more. "Your turn will come!" it promised before throwing her hard.
Jess slammed against a wall before slumping to the ground with a groan of pain as her vision flashed red and then black.
Evelyn looked at her fallen friends in horror before turning her wide stare back to the creature that was now facing Burns again. When Burns started to scream as his life was ripped from him, tearing through his skin as if it were a physical thing, Evelyn stepped forward. "Over here!" she cried out dramatically in the mummy's ancient language. It was to no avail, the mummy paused for only the briefest of seconds before continuing with its gruesome murder of the American, sucking the very life out of him.
Henderson fumbled to right himself anxiously, cursing and crying out as he did. "No, fuck no!" he yelled as he heard his friend's bloodcurdling wails of pain and horror.
When Burns finally fell silent, now no more than a dried up husk, the mummy turned to Evelyn before walking towards her, its uninjured, decayed hand stretched out to her. Evelyn winced at the sight of greyed, moist bandages peeling off its open palm. The mummy looked a little more humane, it shouldn't have been possible but there was flesh over the bones now, though it was thin and grey.
"You saved me from the undead, princess, you shall be immortal. Anucksunamun." Though its tongue was that of old Egyptian Evelyn understood it perfectly and it made her blood run cold.
The Englishwoman stepped backwards and let out a soft gasp as her back hit the wall and she realised she had nowhere to run. The decayed face was leaning towards her now and she filled with terror, dreading what its next move would be.
Suddenly the jarring sound of an out tune piano's keys rang out, surprising everyone.
The mummy turned to face the culprit and let out a roar of horror as Evelyn's white cat Cleo looked at it and hissed. In a whirlwind of sand and air that sent the cushions and cups into the walls the mummy departed from the room, leaving the group to exchange a bewildered look before attempting to right themselves.
Henderson, up first, ran towards Burns and reached to grasp his deceased friend with a sob. He clutched at his friend's shrivelled right hand in disbelief and shook his head as he rubbed at his budding tears with his free hand. "The curse," Henderson choked out sombrely with a dejected look as he flickered a nervous gaze over to Daniels. "The curse," he mumbled again as his blue eyes filled with fear.
Daniels stood in silent shock, staring at Burns corpse stoically as if he did not quite believe it was there.
"Are you alright?" Jonathan demanded anxiously as he hurried to Jess and took in her bloodstained appearance. "God where are you injured?"
"I had a bath, that's all," she replied faintly as she tried to shrug off her dizziness. For a brief moment she had blacked out upon hitting the wall and despite hearing Burns' wails she had yet to realise the finality of the mummy's attack.
Jonathan looked puzzled for a moment before his eyes went wide and he exclaimed, "oh!"
"That must have been fun," Rick commented sarcastically as he met Evelyn's pale face and then quipped, "are you alright Evelyn?"
Evelyn's hazel eyes remained on Burns' dried up form, she had failed to save him, they had all failed to save him. "He...he said he was going to make me immortal," she whispered. What could that entail? Living as a shambling ancient mummy, not alive but not dead either? She shuddered at the thought and turned away from Burns at last.
"Lucky you," Daniels remarked sarcastically as he joined Henderson, "he wants our organs." He looked to his fallen friend and immediately regretted his words.
Jonathan continued looking to Jess with concern and quipped. "What did he say to you?"
Jess shrugged. "I don't speak the language," she retorted coolly.
"He said, your turn will come," Evelyn answered numbly.
"Good for me, it wouldn't be right if I got left out," came the sardonic retort as the woman let out a wince before pushing back against the wall to stand. It was then that she finally spied Burns.
The others were surprised by the sudden scream of anguish that erupted from Jess as she grasped at her tangled blonde hair with both hands and yanked it hard before stumbling past Jonathan as if to make for the fallen American. She halted a couple of feet from him, staring between Daniels and Henderson to their deceased friend in disbelief as her golden-brown stare filled with guilt and grief. "No," she choked out angrily as tears started to burn down her cheeks, "not another one, no, God damn it we were right here! Right here and it still bloody happened!"
Daniels' lip curled slightly in revulsion as the truth of her words sank in. Rick and Jonathan frowned as they looked to the body with pity whilst Henderson cursed and continued to babble about the curse.
It was sunset before the group finally attempted to discuss their next move. Several hours had passed during which they had spent a couple of hours trying to compose themselves, and debating and arguing over where to go and what to do, and what do about Burns. Henderson and Daniels had almost come to blows over the matter, Daniels had cursed that it was a husk lying there, not their friend and he simply wanted rid of it, the blonde had argued that their friend deserved better and demanded a burial. In the end, Rick had calmed the situation by reminding the Americans of the seriousness of their situation and remarking that there was no time for mourning as they had to deal with the mummy now before someone else died. Daniels had punched Rick at that remark, right in the nose before Jonathan had pulled him off and Evelyn had shouted at him. After some more heated words, Evelyn and Jonathan had finally promised to get assistance for Burns in the city.
It had taken an hour, a lot of coin no one really had to spare, exploiting some former contacts and making use of Winston, but in the end Jonathan had persuaded some trustworthy acquaintances to dispose of Burns' remains in a tasteful and subtle manner that would not lead to an investigation by the authorities. Evelyn had then made assurances to Henderson that her acquaintances would ensure a decent burial and a marker for the men to visit, though they all had their doubts about that. Henderson had conceded grudgingly whilst Daniels had asked bitingly if she thought they could spare two more markers in time.
After that they had settled into an uneasy and angry silence. Henderson seemed to collapse in on himself, sitting on the couch and staring blankly ahead as tears ran down his cheeks quietly. Daniels, to no one's surprise, submerged himself in glasses of whiskey.
In the end, Jess, who had spent the time sitting on the floor with her knees raised, silent while everyone else had argued, announced her plans to depart and find a place to wash and change, surmising that the water appeared relatively normal again.
"You can't go out there," Henderson protested as he looked to the woman as if she had gone mad.
She looked to him in surprise, having assumed he wasn't even paying attention anymore, folded her arms and retorted, "why not? This place isn't exactly safe."
"She has a point," Jonathan mused. The Englishman was sitting at a round table drinking a tea and regretting turning down Daniels' offer of a drink. They had moved back and forth between the Americans' quarters and the Carnahans' for three hours now, no one feeling safe enough to settle in one particular area or sure enough to depart. Jonathan was now thoroughly fed up and eager to escape the stifling quarters and heavy feeling of doom. It didn't help that there was still a stale odour of death in the hot, sticky air.
"I need to wash," Jess grumbled, "the smell of blood is sickening and red isn't really my colour."
"You can wash here," Henderson argued as he gestured with one hand towards the hall that led to the bathroom.
"I need to get clothes too," Jess pointed out.
"I can lend you some of mine," Evelyn offered quietly as she looked to the woman with worry. She was sitting on a couch beside Rick, nestled under his arm. She was exhausted and feeling a mixture of sorrow and fear. Worse was the uncertainty, for all her intelligence she really didn't what they should or could do.
"Okay you know what," Jess snapped angrily as she pushed herself off the wall she had been leaning against, "maybe I just want some time away from all the crazy. Plus I have my own curse so you know; perhaps I should take it with me?"
"Don't be like that," Henderson grumbled at her crossly, "you started out alone, you're not continuing that way."
"And who made you in charge?" Jess replied hotly.
The blonde was surprised by her tone and scowled back at her. He had always tried to be nice to her, it wasn't just that he felt sorry for her, she was a nice woman and he wanted to see her safe, and happy he supposed, it was unfair for her to have such a bad run of luck in life. He couldn't understand why she was suddenly being hostile towards him and acting like his kindness was something bad.
"It's not going to make a damn bit of difference you scarpering now," Daniels commented coldly as he gave the woman a serious stare from beneath the shadows of his hat, "Burns is dead and it wasn't Set that did it." He had guessed, correctly, that Jess felt responsible for their friend's death.
"Enough," Rick interrupted as he stood up and stepped across the floor so that he was between Jess and Henderson with a raised hand. "Jess stop being suicidal, we are all in this together and we know it, although admittedly I was against all of it from the start and did try to warn you."
"No one likes Mr. Hindsight Guy," Jess retorted dryly as she frowned at him.
"How about guy with experience of creepy, undead, cursed city?" Rick retorted sarcastically. "You know what, never mind," he added hastily as he saw the annoyance burning in the woman's eyes and felt Evelyn's own angry glower. "I'll do the whole gloating I told you so bit after our guy's back in his grave. Now, you want to go get washed and whatever, fine, you do stink, but none of us are going to be left alone anymore," he added seriously.
"I'll go with her," Daniels offered coolly before Jonathan or Evelyn could. "I'd like some time away from this stuffy shit hole too," he explained. He had been staring down at his jackal canopic jar silently wondering the same thing Burns had been just moments before his death, was it worth it?
"Well wouldn't we all," Jonathan grumbled.
"And what about our undead pal?" Henderson demanded. "Do the rest of us just sit here waiting for him to come back and pick us off? Shit he didn't even flinch at the bullets."
"No but he didn't like the cat," Rick mused.
"So let's get a group of cats then," Jonathan chirped up.
"He didn't like the dog either," Daniels murmured. He glowered at Anu when the dog growled at him angrily. "And I don't blame him," he added.
"So the guy doesn't like pets," Jonathan summarised sardonically. "Maybe we should hide in a pet shop."
"No," Evelyn remarked, "that's not it." She leaned forward slightly, energised as the scholar inside her began to piece together the clues. "Cats are the guardians of the Underworld, sacred to Egyptians, and Pharaoh Hounds are sacred to Anubis, god of the dead. Perhaps our mummy fears some sort of retribution for escaping the Underworld?" She shrugged, suddenly unsure of things again.
"Jackals," Daniels grumbled as he glared at Anu, "that's what it is; you're like a bloody jackal."
"Well I'm hungry," Rick announced, "I suggest food, rest, and then a plan.
"What plan," Henderson grumbled with a look of despair before placing a wad of tobacco between his teeth.
"On that note wish me luck," Jess piped up cheerfully, "because I'm instigating my plan to get this blood off me."
Daniels sighed and murmured, "give me a minute to reload my gun."
"You don't have to come," she retorted calmly.
Daniels gave her an annoyed stare and answered, "if I don't get out of here I'm going to go nuts. Consider yourself a necessary chore."
"How kind," she replied sarcastically.
"I'm coming too," Jonathan announced as he stood up, lifting his pith hat as he did and placing it on his head. "What?" he queried when several pairs of eyes looked his way. "I need the fresh air," he retorted calmly. "Anyway, where exactly do you plan to bathe? Do you have a home in the city?" He turned his curious blue stare on Jess.
She flustered slightly at the question and scowled. "Well no, not exactly," she grumbled.
"So you were planning the crime of breaking, entering and bathing?" Daniels queried sarcastically.
"We can go to my house," Jonathan offered. When Evelyn let out a 'ahem' sound he added hastily, "our house."
"And we'll try to come up with a plan in the meantime," Evelyn murmured, "there might be someone we can go to." She trailed off thinking of her superior in the museum, if anyone could know anything about this curse it should be him. She recalled how he had tried to burn their map of Hamunaptra, dismissing it as myth and her eyes narrowed in suspicion.
Once Daniels had reloaded his guns the trio departed hastily from the fort. They emerged to a city somehow still functioning despite the earlier storm. To look it was evident that the fireballs seemed aimed around a particular spot, the courtyard of the fort was in ruination and one of its walls had crumbled. People still flustered about the fort, trying to undo the destruction and aid the wounded. It was clear though from the lack of concern from the city itself that the natives were not troubled by the turmoil of their former overlords.
The sky overhead was still dark and heavy with clouds and there were a few faint rumbles as if to remind them all that the danger was very much still out there. They allowed Jonathan to lead the way down numerous alleyways, past bazaars and stalls. Twice Daniels had to push both the Englishman on when a merchant's glittering wares caught his gaze. He smoked as they walked, puffing heavily and hastily on his cigarette as he did.
It took half an hour of traipsing over dust, dirt and sand, looking over their shoulders, and peering down alleyways apprehensively before they finally made it to the humble Carnahan quarters. "It's not much but it's home," Jonathan remarked cheerfully as he unlocked the wooden door to grant them entry.
"It's nice," Jess enthused sincerely as she stepped into it. It was a townhouse, two floors, and sandwiched between several other homes of clay and stone, modest but cosy. It was instantly inviting as it opened into a living room with quaint furniture and some ornaments and trinkets that evoked the beauty and mystery of the land they dwelled in.
Daniels eyed a few kneeling camels of ebony with scorn and made a face at the replica of a funerary mummy mask that sat on a corner table beside a black and white photograph of two beaming individuals, one clearly an Englishman with a black moustache and a handsome face very similar to Jonathan's, and the other an Egyptian beauty with Evelyn's exotic appeal and sweet, endearing stare.
"This way," Jonathan said with a look to Jess as he started to head down the left hallway, "Mr. Daniels the kitchen is just to right," he added with a glance back to the American. "If you're hungry that is."
Daniels headed to the kitchen, his mouth dry as sweat laced down his brow. He paused and frowned down at the dog that followed after him. "Suppose you want something?" he quipped dryly before he hunted through the cupboards and produced a bowl. He found also a jug of water, stale but mercifully clear, he poured it into the bowl and offered it down to Anu before hunting for something stronger for himself.
Jonathan rejoined the American and the dog, both now seated in the small living room, Daniels predictably drinking at a glass of whiskey, his dirty boots resting on the dented coffee table beside his battered fedora. He held the glass in one hand and a lit cigarette in the other, his fourth, his brow was smudged with dirt and sweat and his indigo stare looked troubled.
Jonathan rolled his eyes at the man's outstretched legs and remarked as he headed to the kitchen to fetch himself a drink, "Evie won't like you dirtying her table."
"Miss Carnahan summoned a mummy to come after my organs, I think my dirtying her table with my boots is a modest payback at best," Daniels grunted back sarcastically.
"Well when you put it like that," Jonathan remarked merrily as he returned, drink in hand. He sat opposite Daniels before tugging off his own hat and resting it on the table. He frowned again when he saw that the Pharaoh Hound was helping himself to a generous portion of cooked chicken. "Did you have to give him that?"
Daniels took a deep draw of his cigarette and shrugged. "He bit that creature, he earned it."
"I am sorry about your friend," Jonathan said sincerely.
Daniels tensed and purposely did not reply.
For a moment the pair were silent as they drank before Jonathan spoke up again. "Do you really think you will be safe from an ancient curse in Alexandria?"
"I don't know," Daniels murmured angrily.
The men tensed and looked to the hall at the sound of steps, relaxing when Jess appeared. She was now clean, her dirty fair locks dark with damp and bound in a plait that hung over her right shoulder. She was dressed in Evelyn's clothes, though she had made a few adjustments to them. She wore a cream, gossamer shirt, pale gold trousers, tan ankle boots and an open, linen jacket.
"You look lovely Miss Jess," Jonathan was quick to praise. "You know Evie has a few scarves that would do well with that outfit, I'm sure she wouldn't mind."
Jess shrugged airily at that. "A means to strangle me with hmm, I think I'd prefer to be unfashionable." She turned to face Daniels whose face was hidden beneath the brow of his fedora; he was facing the table, flicking ash onto it carelessly. "I'm sorry about Mr. Burns," she remarked sincerely.
"Isn't everyone?" Daniels grumbled back moodily without looking her way.
Jess frowned before stepping forward and taking a seat beside him. "Do you want to say something about him?"
Daniels glanced at her out of the corner of his indigo eye, more in shock than annoyance. "What?" he snapped frostily.
"Maybe another time," Jonathan murmured hastily. He stood up and queried, "drink Miss Jess?"
"Wouldn't mind another Jonathan," Daniels answered, his voice still icy.
"Yes, please," Jess retorted as she gave Daniels a look of irritation before her gaze flickered over to Jonathan. "Something strong," she added.
Jonathan nodded before hastening from the room.
"You need to say something," Jess insisted.
Daniels, just wishing Jess would shut up now, turned to face her at last, his face almost grey and his dark eyes burning with rage. "Why in the fuck would I need to say something?" he snapped.
Jess, unflinching despite his cursing, looked back at him calmly and said gently, "because you need to make it real. You need to accept that this isn't a nightmare, that it's really happened and you need to do it for him. I know it's sudden, I'm still in shock too but there's no time for a proper burial with his friends around so you need to say something now. We're the only ones suffering now, he's not, so..." She trailed off as tears started to run down her cheeks again. "Look, just say something alright! It festers when you don't and they don't rest!"
"Christ," Daniels cursed. "What the hell do you want me to say? He's dead, right in front of us, we couldn't do a damn thing about it." He shook his head angrily, flinching when Jess hand reached to his own.
"I'm sorry," she murmured, "I'm so, so sorry. He was a good man, kind and brave, a little shy too but it was endearing. I didn't think I'd lose anyone else to this place, I should've..."
"Should've what? This wasn't Set, alright?" He looked her square in the eye with a stern look. "You tried to help him, you did all you could."
"But I knew," she said quietly, "I knew how bad things could get when it comes to Egypt, I lost all my brothers, I-"
"Couldn't have known about a goddamn mummy," Daniels interrupted her, "nor would we have believed you if you had. And you didn't know because you wouldn't have taken from the chest if you had."
Jess froze, her eyes widening slightly as she was unable to hide her horror from her face. "You..."
Daniels nodded with a weary look. "You took the broken jar, the tiger or lion, whatever the hell it was, yeah I know. Frigging left it for you, didn't we?" He saw the fear fill in her eyes and felt a tiny prickle of guilt. He had known the day they had opened that chest, he had thought of it when they had abandoned the broken jar and he had known, there was no way a thief could have resisted it. He had thought of asking her about it, even demanding it off her but then all hell had broken loose of course.
"Oh dear," Jonathan remarked faintly. He had entered at Daniels' words, two glasses of whiskey in hand.
Jess turned to face the Englishman, her hand still grasping Daniels'. "I think I need that drink now," she murmured weakly. "Maybe I'll wreck my liver before he can." She bowed her head in defeat, unable to perk herself up with her humour this time. "Oh God," she choked out. "I just wanted a way to help them, to bring them back or see them finally at peace, that's all I wanted. For people to know my father wasn't a bad man. God I won't get the chance now."
"You will," Daniels murmured in a rare show of optimism, "we'll get to Alexandria and then we'll get the hell outta Egypt. No mummy is gonna board a boat for Christ's sake."
Jess glanced up at the American as Jonathan finally set the drinks on the table and sat opposite them. "Hope Mr. Daniels? How unlike you."
I thought about letting Burns' live or at least delaying his death but honestly for me it adds more drama and a sense of finality and I really wanted to write the scene, especially to show Daniels and Henderson's reactions. I am still doing my own thing with the story and have the idea of Jess' presence leading to a plausible butterfly effect i.e because she's around things have the potential to happen differently but I just couldn't resist still leaving Burns' fate the same, so far...