The Beauty and The Betrayal

4. Into The City

We drop down, Rick grabbed a torch from his backpack, lighting it and waving it around to clear any spider webs. Evy's eyes light up, "It's the embalmers chamber, do you realize, we are standing inside a room that no one has entered in over four thousand years?"  I looked at her in awe, as my fingers trailed the table. 

 My mind went blank. The smell of Palm wine surrounding my senses. On the table now laid a body, The bandages wrapped tightly around it. A man was gently placing a golden mask over her face.  "melectiel alalem sehtelc." He spoke the words so gently, they echoed in my head. *My queen, the world will mourn for you. * He turned to me, and a girl standing by my side. "(amonet) wa(nefertiti) yatiane yudan amek. huthe acher lahda roha hanna" *Amunet and Nefertiti come, say goodbye to your mother. This is the last moment her soul is here. *  We both reached our hands out, clasping them together before stepping forward.  Nefertiti...My sister. And the man, Pharaoh Seti, was my father. Nefertiti smilled at me, although I am the oldest, she was the calm one. I could feel my tears, while her face held the smallest amount mine pooled down my cheeks. "al-am tahtagna ya akhtah" *Mother needs us sister * She whispered, kissing my cheek.  There were others in the room, Priest who whispered the prayers to the heavens. "al-jamia yeshid palmleka dalila" *All Hail Queen Dalilah" I grasped my father, as I threw myself onto the body. "Ami, Ami..." I welled out. The way I choked it out in sobs, I knew without it translating that I was calling for my mother.

 I was awakened from my trance by Rick shaking my shoulders, "Amerath, are you ok?" I looked up at him with glazed eyes. Evy took the torch and put the torch to my face, as the light illuminated hers, I whispered my sisters name from my vision. "Nefertiti..."  Rick looked at me with concern. "Sorry Amerath..." as he proceeded to poor water from his canteen on me. I could feel my lungs pull in as i gasped. My hand reached up to punch him, but Evy caught it. "No, he had to. He had to Amerath." I looked at her and nodded. I leapt into him, "I was there again Rick... I was back." He gave me a look of warning, his eyes flickering to Evy. "I'm ok now, lets go." We made our way through narrow, cobweb infested labyrinth. While everyone ducked, the warden stood straight up, not grazing the caverns ceilings. I stop, shushing our group and turned to the walls. It sounds like somebody is clawing inside them. I share a look with Rick, and we proceed forward. The sound is getting louder, echoing the small area. It stops, and a new sound replaces it. The warden had just ripped a massive fart. "I think you shit yourself." I told him, holding my nose. Jonathan held his as well, "Agreed." The warden shrugs and laughs, waving his hand in front of his ass spreading the smell.  "Seriously?" Evy yells, as Rick starts laughing. He's the only one not being the fat tub of lard and can't smell a thing.

 We slowly creep -out of the labyrinth and up to the foot of an enormous half-buried statue. Evy identifies it as the lower half of Anubis. We start to hear the scratching again, coming closer now, from the other side of the statue. Rick  pushes Evy and I behind him. The sound inches closer and he jumps in front of the noise. 

Three sweaty faces of the Americans pop up, not realizeing how close they are to death. They each have their guns cocked and aimed. I whipped my knife out, aiming at the white of their eyes. I could blind them before they can pull the trigger.   "Ya scared the bejeezus out of us, O'Connell." Henderson states, looking at me enough time to send a wink. "Likewise." Rick said, but no one made a move to lower their weapons. "This hear is our statue...friend" Daniels states, raising his gun to meet rick eye to barrel. "I don't see your name on it... pal." And that's when Beni, five Diggers and the Egyptologist step out of the shadows, --all holding guns aimed at Rick. "Ten to one, O'Connell, your odds are no-so-good." Beni states, "Actually its ten to two. And I can promise you, we O'Connell's' can split you down the middle quite easily."  "Ha, a woman, take down five men." I glared at the voice, "I don't recall asking for the opinion of a pompous ass who remains unknown." The man glared at me, "Dr. Allen Chamberlain. I'm the leader of this expedition." I rolled my eyes. "I didn't ask for your fucking name." Evy stands between Rick and I, putting her hands gently on our weapons. "Let's be nice, children, if we're going to play together, we must learn to share." She lowers our weapons, and the americans lower theres. As we turn, I left a knife out. Turning to the Doctor, I thew it. It flew past his face, leaving a shallow cut on his cheek, and embedded itself in the wall. I smiled, the men looking at me in shock, looking at Beni I told him, "kin azizak estergea slahi" *Be a dear, retrieve my weapon* His eyes went wide, he nodded handing me my knife back. "Are you crazy? She could have killed me!" The doctor yelled at Beni. "I'm sorry, I could have what?" He glared at me. Oh, what a lovely feeling it is to piss off an ignorant bigot. 

Ricks P.O.V

Sneaky Evy, she led us right where we needed to be. " According to my calculations, we should be right under the statue. We'll come up right between his legs...Oh My!" She blushed deeply; the plan was to steal the book out from under Anubis. She's interested in treasure, adventures, she's gorgeous and witty... If I get out of this alive... well, I don't know, but still, she's amazing.  That way the Americans wouldn't know, and we'd achieve Evy's main goal. To obtain the book of the living. They glanced around, noticing that Amerath hadn't spoken up, and neither had the warden.  Rick walked down a bit, Seeing Amerath staring at the hieroglyphics on the wall. She was tracing them, looking intently at them. "Amerath's down the hall, I'm not sure about the warden." "I say, what's our smelly little friend got himself up to?" Jonathan voiced out loud.

While the group stuck together and dug at the foot of Anubis, The Warden crawls into a dark, musty chamber and lights a torch. A mural wall comes alive. Embedded into it are dozens of black amethysts scarabs, glittering images of the sacred beetles. Awestruck, the Warden pulls out a pocketknife and starts prying away at one of the precious bugs. Meanwhile, Beni and the Americans hover around the Egyptologist, who's found the secret compartment inside Anubis. The Egyptologist brushes sand away from the seam. Henderson steps forward and grabs the seam, --the Egyptologist quickly stops him. "Seti was no fool." He states, motioning towards the hired diggers. "We'll let him open it. "The Egyptologist nods, then yells at the Diggers. The Diggers hesitate, filled with fear. Daniels pulls out his gun, aims it at three of the Diggers. The three Diggers hesitantly step forward with crowbars and stick them into the seams. The other Diggers back away, scared shitless. Beni and the Americans exchange looks, and then they back away as well.

Amerath's P.O.V

I couldn't pay attention to the people around me; I couldn't explain how i spoke Egyptian, I couldn't explain how i remembered how to read hieroglyphics... I couldn't remember anything about this place. The flashback felt like mine, it made my heart feel whole, however something was missing. there was something not right.  When I pulled myself away from the group, Evy was explaining how they prepped mummies for the afterlife. "Lemme get this straight, they stuck a sharp, red-hot poker up your nose, cut your brain into small pieces, then ripped it all out through your nostrils?" Rick replied back, I couldn't hear Evy or Jonathan, but Rick has always been loud. I was still some distance away when I heard a crash that made my heart lurch. Their standing in the mess of the ceiling, where all three of them unharmed. A sarcophagus laid at their feet. 

Third Person's P.O.V

The Americans where having their own luck.  "FENI!" The Egyptologist yells, as the three Diggers pull as hard as they can. The ancient seams start to give, The Egyptologist yells again. The Diggers try to pull harder. The compartment starts to loosen. Again he screams to pull harder . The Diggers give one final pull and--Acid sprays from the seams drenching the diggers. It melts their skin, leaving it in a pile of ooze on the floor. 

Amerath's P.O.V

Something was happening, their was a minor disturbance in her soul.  Her mind went back, back into the tunnels before they were discarded and destroyed. 

I stood beside Pharoh Seti, while he took a washcloth to the statue of Anubis. " abelle lamada tafal hudhall?" *Father, why do you do this? *  "lazhar laalha anni hetti ayha al-farrouh la atakad anni fogham." *To show the gods that even I, The Pharoh, do not think I'm above them. *  I nodded, taking the cloth from him and helping him clean the god's feet. " tham sov tadhar laham anna list fogham le." *Then I will show them I am not above them to. *  He nodded, smiling at me. A kiss to my forehead was all I needed from him. I could not tell you how old I was, I believe I was 12 or 13. I can feel the sorrow in my heart, this feeling told me it was after my Mother had passed . A guard came runing, " faraoun,faraoun! al-amira nefertiti ahraqat nevsha balhamad!" * Pharoh, Pharoh Princess Nefertiti has burned herself with the acid! * My father and I dropped the cloth, running to my sisters' chambers. There on her right hand, was a hole that seeped through. The acid to prevent tomb raiders was so strong, it would forever leave its mark.

I snapped out of it, glancing at the sarcophagus on the floor. "Oh my god, ...it looks like,it looks like a sarcophagus." Evy stated, nudging it with her foot. "Why would they bury somebody in the ceiling?" Rick asked, this seemed like a two-way conversation for them."They didn't, they buried him at the foot of Anubis. He was either someone of great importance.or he did something very naughty." She replied, before leaning down to read the inscription.