Isis

Chapter Five: Who Is Isis?

Author's Note: I just...want to apologize for this chapter. Please remember, I was young and stupid, and the writing gets better.

The candlelight reflected off of the fine china. The china was set for two people on a small, round table with a white tablecloth, two tall white candles, and a vase with roses in it. In beautiful glasses was fine red wine, which was almost purple-black in the darkness. In each of the two high-backed chairs sat a person. One was Rick O'Connell, dressed in a nice suit (though with no tie and the top couple buttons of his dress shirt undone), and in the other was Evelyn O'Connell, dressed in a gold cocktail dress. Their left hands were clasped together on top of the table, their right hands raising their glasses.

"To us," Evelyn announced the toast.

"To time alone," added Rick.

Evy smiled. "Amen to that."

As they pressed the rims of the glasses to their lips, the hotel door swung open.

"Oh, good," came Jonathan's voice. Rick and Evy looked over to him in time to see him pull the wine bottle out of the ice bucket on their table. He walked over to the couch and collapsed on it, beginning to drink directly from the bottle.

"Jonathan?" asked Evy in surprise. "What are you doing back so early? Where are-"

And in came Alex and Paige. Paige flipped on the light so that the couple could see the kids tracking in dirt and mud across the beige carpet.

"Careful!" exclaimed Evy, standing up and leaving her cloth napkin on the table over her fish.

"We're going to have to pay for that now," grumbled Rick, running his fingers through his hair. "Okay, why are you back so early?"

Paige looked sheepishly at Alex.

"Well, um-" Alex began, but then another figure walked in through the door.

Ardeth Bey.

"Oh, great," sighed Rick. "This isn't going to be good."

Ardeth looked solemn. "Miss Woods-"

"Paige," she corrected automatically. "Miss Woods is my sister."

"...has brought the Creature back from the grave."

"It was an accident!" she insisted, putting her hands on her hips. "I didn't mean to!"

"How did this happen?" Evy wanted to know.

"Perhaps we should sit..." suggested Ardeth, motioning to the couch where Jonathan was setting aside the empty bottle.

"...wasn't that full just a moment ago?" asked Rick.

Evy sighed and headed for the couch.

They all managed to, relatively calmly, take a seat in the living room to hear Paige repeat her story of what had happened. Alex chimed in now and then to state what he'd seen her do, heard her say, or to speak from the perspective of someone who had seen Imhotep before, so he could point out everything unusual.

"So, let me get this straight," said Rick from his place on the couch, "Paige – without knowing how to read ancient Egyptian, I might add – read a new little...spell, or whatever...off one of the walls in the City of the Dead and brought back Imhotep? Is that true?"

"That is correct," confirmed Ardeth.

"Great," said Rick, smirking. "Question. If Imhotep is supposed to have his soul eaten in the Egyptian underworld, why is he able to come hang around earth?"