Jonathan, Daniels, Jess, and Anu stepped outside to a warm, rosy dawn. Already the streets were beginning to bustle with activity as stalls were set up; traders hastened back and forth, delivery carts rolled past slowly pulled by donkeys, and businessmen clad in robes with their faces partially obscured by the kufiya that hung round their heads. They caught the aroma of spices, perfumes, fresh meats and fish in the air. Down some of the shadier alleyways there was also a mixture of spoiled fruits and neglected sewage and in the richer parts of the marketplace dried flowers and imported fruits hid the stench of salty sweat and donkey and camel faeces.
Daniels thought morbidly that it was like an entirely different city, no longer a shadowy maze of narrow streets and buildings offering numerous hiding places for a monster now it was a labyrinth of trinkets, people and trade ready to sucker in the gullible as women at stalls promised "ancient" treasures for jewellery whilst street urchins raided the pockets of these would be buyers. He shook his head in disgust refusing to be calmed by the tranquillity as Jonathan and Jess were.
As far as the American was concerned the city was hot, smelly, and overcrowded. He was starting to become slick with sweat and it wasn't even noon and there were too many flies buzzing near him for comfort. This was a backward land and he was done with its horrors and bullshit, all he wanted was to get on a ship as soon as possible and head for home.
Jess found herself appreciative of the familiarity of Cairo finally restored in the morning. Though it was not enough to banish the horrors of last night she could at least feel optimistic that they weren't going to encounter any mummies or ghouls on the streets anytime soon. "The others must be so worried," she murmured as she sidestepped a couple of children chasing a cat.
"Not at all," Jonathan retorted brightly, "I sent a messenger to them last night, didn't think it would do to leave my sister fretting that we had all been drained or killed."
"Drained and killed," Daniels retorted coldly as he thought of his friend's all too recent plight. He made a point of shoving his way through a small group of people, ignoring Jonathan's tutting as he did.
"You know I'd like some tea," Jonathan mused, "maybe you would appreciate some coffee Mr. Daniels? I think you're cranky."
Daniels bristled and Jess was quick to interject before Daniels could snap something in response. "That would be a good idea," the dirty fair haired woman commented.
Daniels glanced over his left shoulder at her sternly. "Back at the fort," he said sharply. Not even bothering with subtly he added bluntly, "you needn't think of running off to look for Chamberlain and that bloody book."
"Well why not?" Jess grumbled as she frowned back at the man. "It's daylight, I don't think our friend can travel in the day, if only because people might notice a shambling mummy in the sunshine."
"I don't know he did send some flaming rocks to the fort, I don't think our friend cares about being noticed," Jonathan mused with a thoughtful look. Of the three only he looked alert, Jess and Daniels both had a greyness to their pallor and bags under their bloodshot eyes.
"He didn't send them," Jess pointed out, "they're part of the plagues, which he was cursed to have accompany him upon his resurrection."
"How is that not the same thing?" Jonathan demanded.
"And how do you know that again?" Daniels quipped tiredly. Jess hadn't been there when Dr. Chamberlain had read the curse on the chest and though he couldn't recall the exact words having paid little attention to what he had considered at the time to be ancient scaremongering bullshit he didn't think it had mentioned the ten plagues per say. He recalled vaguely some mentioning of the plagues but it seemed like a lifetime ago and he was too tired to properly remember when or how the plagues had come up in conversation.
"Evelyn told us at the campfire remember?" Jess reminded him. "A victim of the hom-dai, as the mummy was, would be cursed to bring the ten plagues with him should he arise, which is not the same thing as him choosing to curse us with the plagues."
They had reached the centre of the market place now where sacks sat open inviting them to look at colourful spices, colourful rugs were stacked up against walls, noisy birds chirped from wooden cages, perfumes seeped through the air from fancy bottles of coloured glass and bronze, and the jewels in brooches, necklaces and bracelets winked at them under the sun. Jonathan looked at the wares hungrily whilst Jess stopped briefly to breathe in some of the scents. Anu stood beside them impatiently, panting from the heat.
"Myrrh and amber," Jess murmured appreciatively, "I love the smell of myrrh."
"A bit morbid," Jonathan scolded as he gave her an odd look, "it is an embalming oil after all."
"Let's just get to the fort already," Daniels grumbled as he frowned at both of them, "you two aren't swiping anything shiny today."
"The thought never crossed my mind!" Jonathan protested with an appalled look.
"It crossed mine a little," Jess admitted as she looked thoughtfully at a necklace. It was a fine gold chain with a gold ankh as its pendant with a garnet in the centre of the cross at the bottom of the loop.
"Now I know that's morbid," Daniels scorned as he followed her gaze, "that jackal faced creep was holding one of those."
"Anubis Mr. Daniels," Jonathan chirped up merrily, "we'll get you educated on the country you tried to plunder from yet!"
"It's an ankh," Jess explained as she smiled even as Daniels glowered at Jonathan threateningly, "and even though Anubis is a god associated with death, being the god of embalming and judgement, the ankh is a symbol of life."
Daniels shrugged. "Well I shouldn't expect a religion based around animal headed gods to make any damn sense, heathen bastards," he scorned. "A god associated with death, I knew he looked like a creepy bastard."
"He's not an evil god," Jess chided him.
"Well those jackals trying to break into the tent seemed pretty damn evil," Daniels grumbled.
"I don't know," Jess admitted quietly, "sometimes, thinking back, I wonder if they were trying to ward us off. Scare us away before we could do something stupid."
Daniels rolled his indigo eyes and muttered dryly, "or maybe they were just a bunch of rabid jackals."
They started walking again, Daniels herding Jess and Jonathan on, giving several curses each time they wavered at the sight of shiny trinkets on display. At one point he lost all patience and simply started shoving the pair on while grumbling, 'you don't need it and you can't bloody have it.'
Jess sighed moodily as she realised Daniels wasn't going to easily let her out of his sight and knew she had to admit defeat when the fort loomed into view. 'Why do I even care?' she thought angrily. 'I could give them both the slip in these crowds, and why shouldn't I? I need that book!' She knew the answer though, a selfish part of it was fear for her own safety and the security of numbers but a greater part of it was worry for the others and knowing she would be distracted by concern for them if she left for the book. She had to at least know that Henderson, Evelyn and Rick had survived the night and were okay.
They found Rick, Evelyn and Henderson in the courtyard of the fort, resting at a round, mosaic decorated table under the shade of a cream coloured parasol. Evelyn was sipping at a cup of tea whilst Rick and Henderson were reluctantly drinking water knowing it was a little too early for drinks even if the situation did warrant it. In the middle of the table was a largely untouched meagre breakfast of toast and porridge. The three looked mildly worried but rested at least.
Spying the arriving party, Evelyn was quick to narrow her hazel eyes, stand and hasten over to them. She was back in a more familiar attire wearing a long, brown skirt, light, white shirt and a long, thin, black cardigan and looked once more like the English scholar she was determined to be. The comfort of her own clothes gave Evelyn a certain rush of confidence this was who she was as she drunkenly proclaimed to O'Connell one night by the fire, she was a librarian damn it, an intelligent woman who could easily outwit any of these men and she was not going to be run down by their rough charm or inflated egos.
SLAP!
Daniels was not expecting the sudden blow of Evelyn's palm and as a result he felt the full force of it across his right cheek and found himself recoiling as much in shock as in pain. Jonathan and Jess froze to gape at the woman in surprise as they wondered if she had gone mad. Anu narrowed his ears and growled at the woman.
"What in the hell was that for!?" Daniels roared as Henderson shook his head and Rick gave a smile before they both finally stood up from the table. "Have you gone nuts?!"
"You should know very well what that was for Mr. Daniels," Evelyn informed him haughtily as she lowered her hand. She frowned as her eyes went wide at the scarlet mark on his cheek; she had surprised herself with the force of the blow.
"I damn well don't you crazy bitch!"
"Now Daniels no need for the language," Rick scorned with a warning look as he arrived to stand beside Evelyn.
"You took advantage of Miss Thorn er...Jess," Evelyn scorned him with a glower, "and under my roof! Honestly, I always thought you were a bit of a brute but given the circumstances you could have contained yourself!" She folded her arms and continued to glare up at the outraged, red faced American.
"Um what?" Jess piped up in confusion as her cheeks turned a faint pink.
"You had no right to treat Jess so shamelessly!" Evelyn continued to scold.
"Evie what exactly are you talking about?" Jonathan questioned as he glanced from Daniels to her in confusion. He was purposely standing back, keeping a healthy distance from his fuming sister.
"Oh Jonathan you know, you sent the messenger!" Evelyn exclaimed as she threw her hands out at him in frustration.
"Yes," Henderson remarked as he folded his arms and looked to Jonathan crossly, "not really the kind of news to send by messenger Johnny boy." His moody blue stare then fell on Daniels and gave his friend a disapproving frown. Daniels looked back at first in puzzlement and then in annoyance.
"I think something got lost in translation," Jonathan retorted with a nervous laugh.
"What in the hell did you tell that messenger to say?" Daniels demanded as he turned to the Englishman with a scowl.
"That you and Jess had gone to sleep together so we would be back in the morning...oh." Jonathan paused as his eyes filled with recognition. "Ahem, I meant that they had fallen asleep on the couch Evie," he explained as he gave his sister a sheepish smile. "Although we all moved to the bed didn't we?" he continued quietly with a thoughtful look.
"Jonathan!" Evelyn squealed with a revolted look.
"Really?" Rick queried as he looked to the now crimson Jess. "Both of them? You're wilder than I thought, you planning that honeymoon with Jonathan for real?"
"No!" Jess stammered out with her own look of revulsion. "We sat on the end of the bed awake! Only Jonathan fell asleep upstairs! Anyway, don't we have more important things to worry about? I don't think that mummy thing's sorting itself out."
"Even if we did do something why in the hell should I get slapped for it?" Daniels complained as his fiery stare returned to Evelyn. "And what business would it be of yours?"
"Well it was in my house for a start Mr. Daniels!" Evelyn retorted heatedly as she made of a point of holding his glare and standing as tall as she could. "And Miss Jess is young and alone, someone should watch out for her interests and protect her from men like you!"
"Men like me? What in the hell is that supposed to mean?" Daniels shouted back in annoyance.
Neither the American nor the Englishwoman seemed prepared to back down, nor did they care about the attention their raised voices was gathering. Daniels abandoned what sliver of respect he had left for Evelyn, due to her being of the fairer sex, and leaned close enough to put her face in the shade of his hat.
Henderson cracked a small, bitter smile at Daniels' retort whilst Rick chuckled. "She means uneducated cads who run with fast women," Rick explained as he took another step forward, "at least that's how she explained it earlier." Whilst the dashing Chicago native wanted to calmly remind Daniels of boundaries he wasn't quite willing to risk Evelyn's wrath, certain she would reprimand him for helping.
"You're all the same," Evelyn grumbled as she turned to Rick with an accusing stare, "hot blooded Americans who think women should just fall at your feet because you're adventurous and can shoot well!"
"I'm twenty-five," Jess remarked defensively, seizing a chance to speak between the yells, "and I'm not stupid."
"No, of course not," Evelyn said quickly with a kind look, "and I didn't mean to imply that, it's just...well..." She tailed off with an embarrassed smile.
"What?" Daniels demanded angrily as he arched his dark eyebrows and glared fiercely at her.
"Miss Jess gives you the same dopey look Miss Carnahan gives O'Connell," Henderson remarked moodily with a look of impatience, "that's what David." The blonde had now tired of the childish shouting match between his friend and Evelyn. He was already fed up thanks to a mostly sleepless night, his unending guilt and grief over the horrible death of his friend, and the sticky, almost suffocating heat of the afternoon.
"I do not!" both women protested in unison.
Henderson rested his hands on his hips and let out a heavy sigh as he shook his head. "I wasn't gonna say nothin'," he confessed, "but Bernie noticed it too, he was going to say something to you Dave but he never got the chance," he added sombrely as he looked at Daniels.
Daniels' face turned to disbelief as his indigo eyes flickered over to Henderson and he muttered, "it ain't like that."
Evelyn looked to the blonde too in protest whilst Jess took the opportunity to hasten off. She didn't quite run, refusing to be so dramatic, but she was nimble enough on her feet to cross half the courtyard in seconds.
"You bloody men!" Evelyn cursed at all of them before she turned and hurried after Jess, her black court shoes echoing loudly on the hard tiles.
"Tactful Henderson," Rick scolded the blonde as he folded his arms and frowned, "even if she does like Daniels for no reason I can understand given he's as sociable as a rock and as pleasant as a hornet sting in the ass you didn't have to say it in front of us."
"Fuck you O'Connell," Daniels cursed at the man as he tugged off his hat and ran his right hand through his raven black hair.
Henderson shrugged carelessly before wiping at his sweat glistening brow with the back of his right hand. "Given Evelyn's outburst I figured the time for tact had passed," he grumbled. "Anyway, it's hot out here; let's go sit in the shade again."
"Um shouldn't we go after them?" Jonathan pointed out as he turned about with a perplexed look trying to spy where the women had gone to.
"Nah," Rick answered, "Jess is embarrassed now, which is mainly your fault Jonathan, let some time pass so she can assume we've changed topic, Evie can calm her down and both of them can cool off and stop being mad at us, and then we can get going."
"How is it my fault?" Jonathan queried with a slight frown. "I'm not a hot headed American." He forced a sheepish smile to his face when three sets of eyes turned his way, all of them burning with hostility.
"You got that right son," Daniels grumbled at him.
Anu let out a low whine and looked up at Daniels expectantly. The Texan frowned down at the dog and snapped, "what? Run along mutt," he dismissed the dog before following Henderson and O'Connell to the table with Jonathan close behind.
Evelyn cornered Jess in the reception area of the fort before the young blonde could give her the slip. Evelyn thought Jess had merely left to escape humiliation, not guessing that she had in fact designs to abandon the fort and find Chamberlain and the book now that she was satisfied that everyone was safe.
Jess turned to Evelyn with annoyance when the brunette grabbed her left arm gently to halt her as she passed the reception desk. Seeing the sympathy and guilt in the woman's hazel eyes made Jess soften her own gaze as she realised Evelyn was genuinely concerned for her.
"I am very sorry for all that," Evelyn apologised sincerely, "and I did not mean to apply any fault with you. You and I are friends," she insisted, "and, well I know you can take care of yourself, quite admirably in fact, but you shouldn't have to, at least not all the time. I just thought Mr. Daniels," she paused as she struggled to find the right way to express herself. "Well these Americans seem to think they can just go around kissing women and it doesn't have to mean anything," she grumbled crossly with a frown.
"But he didn't kiss me," Jess pointed out quietly. She thought that they had reached the heart of Evelyn's misplaced anger at last. She raised her eyebrows slightly as she looked at Evelyn inquisitively, her smile widening as the woman flustered and blushed slightly before her.
"Right, right," Evelyn dismissed as she finally released Jess' arm, "a misunderstanding Jonathan caused, no surprise there. I just, I know we have all come together through some strange and terrible events but even when it's done I want us to remain friends." Evelyn knew she didn't sound right, she couldn't say what she really wanted to, that she feared Daniels and Henderson remained with them out of necessity, not desire and that when this nightmare ended they would hop on a boat for the States not caring if Jess remained a beggar in the streets of Cario. 'And will Rick be on that boat with them?' she pondered bitterly. 'Surely he misses his homeland.'
"Well if we all survive this you shall have my friendship forever," Jess assured her cheerfully.
Evelyn grimaced slightly at the woman's wording before shaking her head. "On that note, I know someone who might give us some answers."
"Oh?" Jess looked curious though she had her doubts about this.
Evelyn nodded confidently. "We should return to the men, we had plans to go to the Museum of Antiquities as soon as you returned. I work there you see and I am hopeful that the curator, Mr. Bey, might be able to give us some help with our er...mummy problem."
"Alright."
Jess allowed Evelyn to lead the way back to the courtyard, once again setting aside her plan to find Chamberlain. She considered that she did not know where exactly in Cairo the man might be after all and if she waited around she could maybe get the answer out of Henderson as she doubted Daniels would share, if he even knew. Perhaps they would even realise that finding him and the book was the best option and she could simply tag along and seize the book at the right opportunity.
Daniels purposely avoided looking at Jess as she arrived with Evelyn, instead he kept his head tilted down and hidden beneath the brow of his hat. Henderson had grumbled at him moodily for leaving him alone all night so soon after Burns' demise and, intentional or not, the blonde was taking Daniels' abandonment of him and the fort personally.
"Shall we go then?" Evelyn queried calmly as she gave them all a frosty stare.
Henderson shrugged before standing and placing on his brown cowboy hat. "May as well try something," he muttered though it was clear in his blue eyes that he was starting to lose any hope of survival.
"Jonathan did you at least bring the car?" Evelyn queried.
Jonathan gave an awkward chuckle at that as he felt Daniels' indigo eyes boring into him. "You mean we didn't have to walk in that heat past all those damn stalls over those dirty streets?" the American snapped.
"Well we did," Jonathan muttered, "funny thing about a car, it costs money to run it."
"Oh for God's sake," Evelyn lamented, "I'd have given you money Jonathan!"
Rick tugged a coin purse out of his own trouser pocket and threw it across the table to the Englishman. "How about you go sort out the car and we'll meet you down there?" he suggested.
Jonathan snatched up the coin purse eagerly before glancing nervously up at the sky. "Well the sun's still pretty high," he remarked aloud, "shouldn't be so bad, no mummies or ghouls in the sunshine, right?" He looked up at Jess for confirmation.
"Ghouls?" Rick echoed as he glanced from Jonathan to Jess suspiciously.
"You'll be safe from the undead," Jess assured Jonathan, "but in your case isn't it the living that usually causes you problems?"
"Good point," Jonathan mused even as he stood. "Alright chaps, I'll see you soon." He turned and scurried off.
The rest of them headed to the museum on foot, walking as briskly as they could, which wasn't easy given the heat of the afternoon and the crowds of Cario. Henderson matched pace with Daniels at the back of the group, his hands itching towards his pistols every couple of feet whilst he kept his gaze steadily on Rick.
"Even the dog's taken with you now," Henderson grumbled sardonically as Anu walked at Daniels' left side and Jess', wavering between the two.
"I gave him chicken," Daniels murmured back dryly, "dogs like chicken, Henry."
"Well I'm glad you had a good night playing dog whisperer David," Henderson shot back angrily.
Daniels' gaze flickered across to his companion sharply. "Stop being sore cause I got out of the fort and you didn't, you coulda come too and I didn't intend for it to be all night."
"Bernie's barely cold, we should be sticking together David," Henderson scolded him.
"Sticking together for what?" Daniels retorted heatedly. "Getting our innards sucked out?" It was bad enough walking once more over dirty streets and through tight packed crowds in sweltering heat but dealing with Henderson's moodiness was just adding to Daniels' already short temper.
"Always the optimist, right? Why are you even coming to this museum if you're so set on death then?" Henderson replied angrily.
Daniels shrugged. "Maybe I want to see some real fucking treasure before I die," he retorted, his voice rising slightly as he did, "because there was damn all in that desert worth dying for. Least if I can go out having seen some gold that might be something!"
"It's just some statues and pottery here," Jess interrupted them calmly as she glanced over her shoulder at the pair with a faint smile, "you'll have to go to Alexandria for the treasure."
"Too bad the boat got cancelled," Daniels murmured as he finally looked at her. He had learned from Henderson and O'Connell that due to the odd weather yesterday the boat to Alexandria had not docked in Cairo and they were now effectively trapped in the city.
"Well we'll get the next one," Jess replied cheerfully, "and I'll show you both Cleopatra's pearls and Ramses' coins."
"That'd be nice," Henderson forced himself to answer, making an effort to sound vaguely happy. "We'll do that while waiting for the ship home, right David?" He glanced at his friend with a spark of desperation in his cerulean eyes.
Daniels met his friend's stare and realised that Henderson needed to hear him say the words so that he could claw back some of his lost hope for seeing home again. "Right Henry," he answered stiffly though he couldn't force any optimism into his own voice.
They turned round a corner and up a side street before emerging before the Museum of Antiquities. Two identical polished statues of Egyptian men, made from a smooth alabaster turned golden peach in the light of the sun, stood guard on either side of the entrance. The sign for the building was in a plain, black font in English and Egyptian, it sat in a square above the equally unimpressive wooden shutter styled doors that opened into the building.
Jonathan greeted them at the entrance with a smile before allowing Evelyn to lead them in hastily. They passed glass cases containing ancient relics and worn scrolls, half-crumbled tablets, broken spear heads, and rusting scimitars, statues of marble, bronze and clay, and creepy looking sarcophagi that had taken on a now sinister appearance in light of recent events.
Jonathan shuddered slightly at a wall displaying painted images and hieroglyphs depicting the life of Seti I. Once appearing to the Englishman as a pharaoh of promising riches, now Jonathan viewed him as a man of mysteries best left alone.
They finally entered the main chamber of the museum to be greeted with surprise by the curator and a familiar companion. Rick, Jonathan, Daniels and Henderson yanked out their guns immediately as everyone shouted, "you!"
The bearded curator's companion was none other than Ardeth Bay, the nomad leader, now without his cowl about his face and regarding them with an unimpressed, brown gaze.
"Miss Carnahan, gentlemen," the curator greeted them wearily with a nod.
"What is he doing here?!" Evelyn spluttered out as she continued staring at Ardeth.
"Do you truly wish to know?" the curator quipped sardonically. "Or would you prefer to just shoot us?" He was a smartly dressed man; wearing neat, black robes akin to Ardeth's only a white shirt collar and the start of a black tie were visible beneath his. He also wore a red fez like the one both Beni and Dr. Chamberlain favoured, this coupled with his stern expression and air of smug authority put Jess in mind of the missing Egyptologist.
Rick sighed before raising his gun and clicking the safety on. "After what I've witnessed I'm willing to go on a little faith," he remarked calmly.
The curator looked at Daniels and Henderson who pointedly refused to raise their guns whilst Ardeth's disapproving gaze fell on Jess. "Perhaps we should move to a less hostile position?" the curator suggested as he stepped back to welcome them into the chamber.
The chamber was decorated lavishly with gilded and beautifully painted chairs, old wooden chests coated in imagery of jackals and birds, and trinkets beneath glass all resting on black tiles behind red velvet ropes linked to gold posts. On a stand behind them was the impressive reconstruction of Seti in an authentic Egyptian chariot, a real bow and arrows at his back whilst two black horses were at the front of the chariot, forever running and yet forever still. To the right was a wooden boat, its green, blue and red paintwork still bold despite its age, though its oars were now replicas, the origins long rotted away.
Jonathan immediately took up position on the chariot like a naughty schoolboy, Rick sat on a gilded seat and rested his dirty brown boots on a wooden chest before him, and Henderson and Daniels sat opposite him with equal carelessness. Evelyn, the curator, and Ardeth Bay all stood in the centre. Evelyn eyed each of the men with fresh disapproval before shaking her head.
Jess and Anu hung back, Jess eyeing the black slabs on the wall with carefully engraved heliographs on them, each picture painted with melted gold. Her eyes darted from each one before flickering to the palm trees and the bronze torches and then the chariot. She looked to the small gathering then, finding it mildly amusing to see them all behind the red rope like they were the exhibition.
"We are part of an ancient secret society," the curator started to address them sombrely. "For over 3,000 years we have guarded the City of the Dead. We are sworn at manhood to do any and all in our power to stop the High Priest Imhotep from being reborn into this world."
"Because of you, we have failed," Ardeth added frostily.
"Imhotep?" Jess echoed curiously as she stepped up to the chariot nimbly.
Jonathan stepped closer to the front to welcome the woman as he gave her a small grin of welcoming.
The curator gave the Pharaoh Hound a look of displeasure. "Yes, Imhotep, that is the creature's name."
Jess gave a careless shrug. "He That Shall Not Be Named is a little more impressive."
"Well it's always nice to have a name for the nightmares," Jonathan jested lamely as he leaned over the edge of the chariot, slinging both his arms over its chipped paintwork in a cavalier fashion.
"And you think this justifies killing innocent people?!" Evelyn snapped as she looked at the curator angrily. "You set fire to that map on purpose didn't you?!"
"To stop this creature?" the curator quipped sardonically. "Let me think, yes!" he snapped without a pause. "A thousand times yes!"
"And you told them we were going on the boat!" she accused as she gestured to Ardeth with one hand.
"Again yes," the curator snapped.
"Why doesn't he like cats?" Rick queried as he looked up at the man curiously. There was no anger to his voice or gaze; frankly he thought the man had a point.
"They are considered the guardians of the underworld," the curator explained.
"Why doesn't he like the dog?" Daniels demanded with a nod in Anu's direction.
Anu let out a moody growl.
"He has a name you know," Jess scolded, "honestly David you can't have forgotten it already."
"David?" Rick queried mockingly as he raised a brown eyebrow and smirked across at the now scowling Daniels. "Is that your name then? And there I was beginning to think you didn't have a first name."
"You know it's my name you ass," Daniels replied sharply.
"Don't call him Dave though," Jonathan perked up cheerfully, "he doesn't like it much."
"Pharaoh Hounds bear a resemblance to Anubis, a god associated with the dead," Ardeth explained, "it stands to reason the creature sees them as guardians of the dead as well, servants to a god who would desire him back in the realm of the dead."
"Hmm, maybe you ain't so bad mutt," Daniels mused, earning another growl in answer.
"He will fear them until he is fully regenerated," the curator continued, "and then he will fear nothing."
Daniels jumped up crossly then and glowered at the curator, despising the man then for belittling their fate so easily. "Right! And ya know how he gets fully regenerated?!" he exclaimed as he paled. "By killing everybody who opened that chest and sucking us dry! That's how!" He trembled slightly in his rage as Burns' death wails repeated through his head.
Henderson remained calm, gun in one hand and pointed up as his gaze flickered from the curator to O'Connell. Rick nodded pointedly at Henderson, his blue eyes darting up to the panic stricken Daniels.
"David sit down, no point yelling," Henderson tried to calm his friend but Daniels just ignored him and remained standing.
"When I saw him in Hamunaptra he called me Anck-su-namun," Evelyn confessed. Her expression tightened as Ardeth and the curator both looked to her in horror, "and then...well then in the fort he tried to kiss me. Who is Anck-su-namun?"
"It is because of his love for Anck-sun-namun that he was cursed," the curator explained. "She was the pharaoh's wife, and apparently, even after three thousand years, he is still in love with her."
"And what has that got to do with me?" Evelyn queried quietly as she feared the answer to her own question. Suddenly the bravado of the scholar was failing her.
The curator and Ardeth exchanged a dark look before the curator replied. "Perhaps he plans to resurrect her too, if so it appears he has already chosen his human sacrifice."
"Bad luck old mum," Jonathan remarked faintly with a shake of his head. He winced when Jess elbowed him in a scolding manner.
"On the contrary," Ardeth spoke up, "it may just give us the time we need to kill the creature."
They all suddenly tensed as the room started to grow dark without warning. Rick, who had been just about to scold Ardeth, and Henderson, both jumped out of their chairs to stand with the others. All their eyes rolled up to the skylight above them to witness the sun turning black as the moon moved across it.
"'And he stretched forth his hands towards the heavens, and there was darkness throughout the land of Egypt.'" It was Jonathan who quoted the verse sombrely.
"He's close," Henderson murmured worriedly as he felt goose bumps bud on his tanned arms as the room seemed to turn cold almost instantaneously.
"Time to get back to the fort," Rick remarked with a brittle calm as he glanced at Evelyn.
"What are you doing? Put that down!" the curator snapped as he drew his stare from the vanishing sun in time to see Jess slinging Seti's quiver over her right shoulder.
"Or what?" she retorted testily as she lifted the bow and started to adjust the string.
"That's ancient!" the curator hissed with a look of horror.
"Still works," she replied happily as she twanged it.
"It belonged to the pharaoh, for the love of Allah, haven't you people learned not to touch ancient property!" he shrieked at her in outrage.
"Oh it did not," Jess sneered as she hopped off the chariot. "A pharaoh's bow would have had some bronze or copper on it and the arrowheads would be a better quality, at best it was a pharaoh's guard but I think more likely it was a hunter's."
"Who are you again?" the curator demanded with an exasperated look.
"She is the curse of Set," Ardeth answered coolly as he looked at the girl calmly.
"Now that's a nice title," Jonathan remarked brightly as he finally stepped off the chariot, "the Curse of Set."
"You can put on my grave," Jess replied dryly as she rolled her eyes in exasperation at the Englishman. "Look, I'm not good with a gun and I'm not staying unarmed, these arrows might not kill our friend but maybe they'll slow him down, either way I feel better."
"And you're good with arrows are you Pocahontas?" Rick queried sarcastically.
"My brother was a prize winning archer," Jess answered proudly, "and he taught me well."
"I suppose you guys have no advice for Set either?" Rick asked as he looked from the curator to Ardeth.
"He will see his will carried out no matter the cost," Ardeth retorted coldly.
"Of course," Rick murmured with a sigh. "Alright, let's go then."
"Well the mummy's quicker acting with his curse," Jonathan commented, "so we probably won't have to worry too much about Set, excepting the ghoul things."
"Ghoul things?" Evelyn quipped as she looked to her brother as if he had gone mad.
"Oh really Jonathan it's not a competition," Jess remarked blithely before Jonathan could reply, "Set might be slow but maybe he's just building to something."
"Really? What's worse than plagues?" Jonathan queried sarcastically.
Rick pointed at him sharply, pressing his fingertip against the Englishman's nose. "Jonathan haven't you learnt not to ask questions like those?" he demanded.
"Yeah Johnny, don't ever ask what's worse," Henderson grumbled. "Now let's get outta here already."
It was hard to tell the time when the group resettled in the fort, once again in the Americans' large quarters with tea and a fruit bowl to satiate their temporarily forgotten needs for provision. The day had turned to night and everyone was on edge. There were more soldiers stationed at the fort, constantly moving to and fro whilst people gossiped of the eclipse, trying to reassure themselves that it was a natural occurrence and not the end of days.
Evelyn paced back and forth with an apple clutched tightly in both hands whilst Henderson chewed nosily on grapes, pausing to pluck seeds from his mouth. Jonathan, who was seated beside Daniels, tugged out a silver hipflask. Feeling Daniels' dark eyes on him once more, the Englishman reluctantly offered the American a sip. Daniels was swift to take a deep gulp before passing it back.
"We must stop him from regenerating," Evelyn muttered as she paced. She looked frustrated but not fearful yet, confident that despite everything that had happened she would find an answer.
"No shit," Daniels grumbled. His brow was wrinkled with worry lines, gloom filled his indigo eyes and a frown tugged at his lips.
"Who opened that chest?" she demanded as she stopped walking to look at him crossly, deliberately reminding him with her query that he was as much to blame for their predicament as she.
"There was me and Daniels here," Henderson chose to answer her before Daniels could sneer something, "and Burns of course." He sighed and both Americans bowed their heads in a shared moment of grief. "And that Egyptologist fellow," Henderson added quietly as he finally recalled their fled companion.
"What about my buddy Beni?" Rick queried as he entered from the bathroom and walked up to the table Daniels and Jonathan were sitting at.
"No," Daniels answered bluntly as he frowned up at Rick, "he scrammed outta there 'fore we opened the thing." He had the chair turned backwards into the table and was resting with his good arm leaning on the top of the chair's back. His injured arm remained out of his grey jacket's sleeve, limp and still sore against his side.
"Yeah, he was the smart one," Henderson muttered with a shake of his head. He stood behind Daniels, mimicking Evelyn for a moment as he clutched a handful of grapes in both hands. He welcomed the distraction of food, gulping down the fruit as he was afraid that if he stopped eating he might have to consider the mummy hungry for his organs.
"Sounds like Beni," Rick retorted brightly.
"And Jess," Henderson spoke up as he looked suddenly to the woman who was seated on the floor beside her dog, fondly scratching his ears. "You were there when we opened it," he remarked quietly, his voice hoarse with sorrow as he gave her a look of horror mixed with pity.
Evelyn looked to the woman aghast, her sudden worry for Jess clear on her face. "You were there?" she asked in shock.
"Really?" Jonathan marvelled as he looked at Daniels. "You let a thief open the chest with you? You wouldn't even let me deal the cards on the boat!"
Daniels' frown deepened as he shook his head at the Englishman. "You were tryin' to cheat Jonathan, badly," he reminded him frostily.
"She's a thief!" Jonathan complained as he gestured to Jess with one hand. "Honestly Dav...er Daniels, um..." Jonathan swallowed hard as Daniels' eyes seemed to burn through him. "Mr. Daniels," he finally corrected himself, "I...well I'm starting to think you Yankees do have a weakness for Jess." He smiled, proud to have finally finished his accusation.
Henderson let out a mocking snort at this. "She was injured in the cave," he explained, "Burns heard her and insisted on finding her. If it's any defence for Daniels he probably would have left her."
"He should have," Rick murmured sarcastically before he looked to Jess, "and I bet you took from the chest too, didn't you?"
Jess frowned as she stopping scratching Anu to lean onto her knees. "Does it matter now?" she queried frostily. "So I'm part of the organ donation, lucky me. I just need time..." She trailed off with a frown as her eyes shone a little brighter than usual in the candlelight.
"For what?" Rick demanded.
"For the book," Jonathan answered, wilting at the look Jess gave him. "Well it's all out now isn't it?" he remarked gently.
"The Book of the Dead?" Evelyn murmured curiously. "Dr. Chamberlain has it now, doesn't he? We must find him and bring him back to the safety of the fort before the creature can get him!"
"Yeah because it was so safe here for Burns," Daniels grumbled.
"Right, we'll find your Egyptologist friend but she stays here," Rick said as he pointed at Evelyn. "You two come with me," he ordered the Americans. "Jonathan, you can watch your sister."
"You can't leave me behind like some old carpetbag!" Evelyn snapped as she charged over to Rick, glaring furiously as she did. "I'm coming too!" She let out a yell of protest when Rick grabbed her suddenly with both hands and flung her over his right shoulder. "Jonathan help me!" she snapped. "Honestly this is the 1920s you Neanderthal you can't just pick women up like this!"
"Is that an American thing?" Jess quipped dryly as she looked at Daniels pointedly, recalling out he had plucked her up on the boat in a similar fashion just to throw her overboard.
"Is it a woman thing to be difficult?" Daniels retorted moodily.
Rick carried Evelyn kicking and screaming into Burns' former bedroom and deposited her there on top of the bed like an old coat before hastening out of the room, pulling the doors closed behind him as he did. As he did he rolled his eyes as Evelyn chased after him with several curses.
"Jonathan!" Evelyn yelled as she failed to reach the doors in time.
"Sorry Evie!" Jonathan retorted cheerfully. "He's er...well a little too tall for me."
"Traitor! Coward!" she snapped as her fists pounded against the double doors as Rick locked them.
"The hell with your plan!" Henderson snapped to Rick as he gestured to the door. "I ain't going out there to face that thing!"
"No concern for your former friend then?" Rick queried tauntingly.
"He ain't no friend of mine and he made his choice to leave," Henderson snapped, almost hysterically. "I ain't going after him, I ain't doing it!"
Daniels, who had stood in the commotion, rising at the same time as Jess, moved towards the blonde woman and gave her a stern look. "Neither are we," he said firmly.
"Do you speak for me now?" Jess retorted hotly as she folded her arms and glared up at him.
"You just want that book," he answered as his scowl deepened.
"And? What does it matter if it gets Chamberlain here safely?"
"No point locking her up," Rick pointed out, "she'll just pick the lock." He gave her a sweet smile when she frowned over at him.
"Yes locking up Evelyn was most charming of you," Jess retorted dryly.
"It's for her own good," he replied heatedly.
Jess flinched when Daniels grabbed her right wrist suddenly in a tight grip, pulling it free from her other arm. "I can't lock you up," he muttered, "but I can keep a hold of you until they come back with that stupid Chamberlain." He nodded at Jonathan and Rick.
"They?" Jonathan echoed nervously. "Er...I thought I was the one who was staying?"
"Look I'll tell you where to go," Henderson offered, "he's got an office in town, it's above a glassmaker's shop to the right of the bazaar but that's all I know, man made his choice, we all made our choice," he added with a look of woe. The blonde remained back against the wall as if fearful of being dragged out the door.
"You can't seriously think you're going to just hold me here!" Jess snapped with an incredulous look.
"If you're going to be an idiot then yeah, I can and will, and Henry will help me keep an eye on you," Daniels answered sternly, raising his voice to be audible over Evelyn's yells.
"I will," Henderson agreed as he looked at Jess pleadingly, "it ain't safe out there Miss Jess, it ain't safe here either but it's better than out there, and you're marked just like us, better we're together."
"Fine," Jess gave in to the blonde's concerned stare, "but let go of my arm."
Daniels complied and the woman stepped away from him with a glower. It gave Rick the chance to move in and seize Daniels by his collar without warning. Rick leaned close to the startled man and pointed to the doors Evelyn was banging at. "Those doors don't open, she doesn't come out and no one goes in, right?"
"Right," Daniels answered weakly as Rick put pressure on his windpipe.
Rick turned to face Henderson, his grip still tight on Daniels. "Right?" he repeated in a dangerous tone.
"Right," Henderson answered as his gaze flickered from Daniels to Rick.
Rick released Daniels at last. "Come on then Jonathan," he said chirpily as he strode towards the doors.
"O'Connell!" Evelyn yelled. "Let me out!"
"I thought I could just stay at the fort," Jonathan babbled with a nervous smile, "and uh...reconnoitre."
"Now!" Rick snapped as he swung open the door and walked out.
"Right," Jonathan mumbled, "rescue the Egyptologist."