[◈] Curse of the High Priestess

1 | 18 ⌋ Sibling Rivalry

It's hard to decipher which voices were true as Ardeth advanced through the tunnels, hushed tones echoing against the rock walls; a heavy huff would echo from behind him, but his eyes remained forward. 

"Ardeth." Beads of sweat fell upon the ancient sands as a dim light appeared at the end of the tunnel, beckoning the lost souls to it. Ardeth didn't believe in ghosts, but after seeing the mummy come to life, he's willing to take a step of faith. A gun held tightly, the commander took agile steps until he reached the end of the wall. 

"ARDETH!" The gun went off; the bullet ricocheted into the ground beside Malik, who also shot the wall behind Ardeth in a quick response. Ashur and Aamir took a step back for security purposes. "Why the hell would you shoot?"

"Don't blame this on me! You decided to come around the corner quietly..," Ardeth looked around, taking count of his brethren, "Wait, how are you here?"

"The horses," Aamir responded, |the plague wiped out most of the animals that we have. In truth, only us and Nadia reached Hamunaptra in one piece." Ashur nodded, praying for a source of water or something to appear from the sky. "You should've seen how fast-"

"Where's Nadia?" Ardeth felt the heaviness returns around him. 

"She went to find Hasina."  

Ardeth wasted no time, almost knocking Malik to the ground as he ran through the catacombs, praying his sisters were still alive. The others followed suit, drawing their weapons for surprising interferences. 

›» «‹

Imhotep stood with a smile as the dead priests released his sibling. She stood elegantly, even in modern clothing as she took in her surroundings. Her dark blue eyes stared into brown ones with an anger that could challenge the gods. Her brother bowed to her, welcoming her back. Beni had other ideas; he bowed to Imhotep, took a sack, and ran towards the gold-filled room. 

The room still cherished the dark shadows as mortals fought for their lives. Her eyes watched Anck-su-namun desperately fight for a new lifeline while Ramesses ran from those who once protected him. On the ground, Jabari struggled to catch his breath while staring at her. The blood on his face shook her, reminding her of the dark times.  

"What have you done, brother?" Hasina - or High Priestess Nabila screamed, causing the fires around them to rise high. Everyone paused at the sudden show of power, but Imhotep smiled at his sister. "Why am I here?"

"I promised you the world, little sister." Imhotep held his sister's hands and went to kiss them when Nabila jerked her hands away. The sight of her brother - alive and breathing - angered her. The darkness she had submitted in her past life was hard to forget. "We can rule this world - our world. - together."

"It's not our world, Imhotep." Nabila looked at Rick, "This is not our world." 

‹« »›

Nadia leaned against the cool tunnel wall, catching her breath. The city's stillness felt familiar, but she couldn't place her finger on it. Either way, she wanted to get this over with. "Damn it, Hasina, where are you?"

The young Bey child gathered her wits and resumed her journey to find her sister and brother. As she turned the corner, a figure ran up from behind. Nadia turned around and came face to face with a white light.

‹« »›

"We could have anything we want, sister - all of this at the palm of our hands." Imhotep looked at the chaos around him with adoration while Nabila felt her heart stop. She didn't realize Imhotep walked behind her, placing a heavy hand on her shoulder. His touch turned her to ice as he whispered, "I'll even let you be with him."