Sands of Home (Book Two of The Medjai Saga)

Chapter Three: Crawl Home To Her

After journeying through the desert all night, enjoying the vast blanket of stars above him, he found Molly's rooms empty and puzzled over where she might have been, most likely with Evy at the market or the museum. He chose to head to the museum first, and if she was at the market, he would surely cross paths with her on the way.

When he reached the museum, he could hear voices from the library, coming from the middle of the room where he knew a large mahogany table sat. approaching it, he saw Evy facing him, but her attention was intent on whatever was in front of her. And almost directly in front of her sat Molly.

Molly.

He smiled at the bundle of loose curls that sat pinned at the back of her head, at the shade of the green shirt she wore; sage.

'Desert Rose.' He spoke, his voice coming more rattled than he expected.

She turned abruptly and a huge smile broke on her lips. She pushed up out of her chair and bounded across the space, practically launching herself at the Medjai Chieftain.

'I missed you.' She murmured against his neck as she wrapped her arms around him.

'As did I.' he replied, his lips in her hair.

They let go of each other and Molly settle fully on her feet again. She looked up at her suitor, into his beautiful dark eyes, and couldn't help the smile that played at her lips. At that, she arched up onto her toes and wrapped her arms around his neck, bringing her mouth to his. She kissed him almost akin to the kiss she had given him in the halls of Hamunaptra. He chuckled and drew away.

'That's quite a welcome.' He said, 'If it's going to be like this every time I return, then I might need to leave more often.'

'Don't you dare.' She giggled, taking his hands in hers, 'How was the village? Did you see any family?'

'It was nice. I only kept the trip short.' He said, 'But at that, I wanted to ask whether you would like to come back to my village with me? I would love to show you where I grew up.'

'I would love that. When would we go?' she asked.

He squeezed her hands. 'Whenever you would like. I am able to spend some time here.'

'Well, I'd like to spend some time with my brother,' she replied, 'You know, without the undead chasing us.'

He nodded, 'That is a very fair request.'

‡

Spending time with Rick consisted of gallivanting around Cairo, mostly to markets and bars, the latter of which Jonathan was keen for. Evy and Molly, who had heard about a new passage being uncovered in one of the great pyramids, were excited to explore the newfound quarters. Even with what had happened at Hamunaptra. Rick seemed a little apprehensive, and Jonathan downright stated his displeasure of the idea.

'Oh, come on, Jonathan.' Evy whined, 'You can't tell me the prospect of a new passage in Khafre. I know it's not Khufu, but I'm sure they'll be plenty to see.'

'Only you would get excited about ancient painted hieroglyphs.' Jonathan replied, 'Plus, I don't relish the idea of another mummy.'

Molly snickered under her breath and looked to her brother, who seemed to somewhat agree with Jonathan. Though Molly knew he would go anywhere Evy went. And whilst dealing with Imhotep and his undead legion had been a horror show, Molly couldn't fight the curiosity that had been in her since she was a child; she loved discovering new things, especially of the Egyptian nature.

'I would like to go.' Ardeth's voice took all of them by surprise.

A smile spread across Molly's lips. Evy bubbled with happiness and took Molly's hand, swinging it between them. Molly chuckled at the way Rick's eyes dipped down to their entwined hand, she didn't realise he could be jealous. But he also didn't know that Molly and Evie had been like this from day one.

'Well, I'm keen to explore.' Molly stated, 'And I suppose three out of five has us decided.'

'I'll stay here.' Jonathan replied, 'I'd much rather a nice lunch and a libation.'

'I have half a mind to stay with him,' Rick said, but then he took Evy's other hand, and jokingly continued, 'But, I gotta keep an eye on you. Don't want you to be accidentally unleashing another curse.'

Evy feigned offence, 'How dare you, Mr O'Connell?'

Molly started laughing and let go of Evy's hand. Molly didn't take any offence, knowing that Evy's sheer excitement and Rick took up a lot of her attention.

Molly turned to Ardeth then, and teasingly said, 'Do you really want to explore Khafre, or are you just wanting to spend more time with me?'

'I always want to spend more time with you, Desert Rose.' He drawled.

She took his hand then and they followed after Rick and Evy, who had begun walking back towards the hotel, to where the car was.

‡

At the Giza Necropolis, the three pyramids stood large and stark against the empty blue sky. The Sphynx stared down at them, almost as if it was watching their every move. The wide-open space was teeming with both archaeologists and those who were just fascinated by all the excitement around the new discovery. Khafre's tomb had been discovered not even two decades before, so new discoveries were coming every day.

'No matter how many times I come here, I am always awestruck.' Molly stated with Evy agreeing.

As they got closer and closer to the site of Khafre's pyramid, they discovered people being turned away. Clearly amateurs and the general public who were just curious about the new passageway. Molly worried about their luck getting into the passageway.

'Do you think they'll let us in to see?' Evy questioned, 'They don't seem to take nicely to women scholars.'

Before they could even speak, to plead their case to the men, they uttered a few words at Ardeth, who replied in the same quick manner. Then, they allowed them through. Molly could feel their eyes on her and Ardeth as he ushered her forward with a hand on the small of her back
'That's awfully useful,' Molly whispered to him, 'I might have to take you more places.'

Ardeth smiled and Molly was sure that her heart was about to leap out of her chest. They bunched together as they entered the passageway and from down in a chamber at the end of the way, Molly could hear the flow of Arabic. She tried to listen close, to hear what they were saying, but couldn't quite make it out.

When they reached the chamber, they stepped into the large space. The walls were stunning, painted in bright, natural hues, full of hieroglyphs and depictions. And around them there were troves of shabtis and statues, gold and jewellery.

'Whoa,' they all gasped

It looked as if it had been untouched for centuries, maybe even since the attempt to destroy the pyramid. Molly took Ardeth's hand as she headed further into the chamber. A sarcophagus sat in the centre, but luckily enough for Rick, it wasn't a human one. It seemed to be that of a cat. They were, after all, revered.
It seemed they had stumbled into the burial chamber for one of Khafre's companions.