𝑫𝑹𝑨𝑷𝑬𝑻𝑶𝑴𝑨𝑵𝑰𝑨 - Ardeth Bay

TWENTY FOUR

24|FINDING ALEX

Night had fallen quickly over the desert, the bright moon beaming down on the small group. The cold night air pinched at her skin, urging her body closer to his, searching desperately for warm. Her tired eyes barely open, fighting off the sleep that threatened to consume her.

"O'Connell does not want to believe, but he flies like Horus towards his destiny." Ardeth told Jonathan as the two men sat near each other beside the fire.

"Yes, yes, very interesting." Jonathan dusted away the compliments his brother-in-law was receiving. "Tell me some more about this gold pyramid."

"Well, it is written that since the time of ybe Scorpion King, no man who has laid eyes upon it has ever returned to tell the tale." Ardeth began to tell the tale of the Scorpion King as Tiye and Jonathan listened closely.

"Where is all this stuff written?" Jonathan asked while stealing back his gold stick. "Pretty nice, huh. This is all I have left in the world. The rest of my fortune was lost to some rather unscrupulous characters, actually."

"But if the curator reacted to it the way you say, it must be important." The Chieftain informed the man. "If I were you, I would keep it close."

"My friend, the Gods couldn't take this away from me." Jonathan waved the stick around.

"Hey! That's mine!" Izzy reached down and grabbed it.

"No, it's not!" Jonathan kept a tight hold on it causing a tug of war.

"Keep your hands off it." Izzy warned after he won the war.

"I am going to go sleep, do not disturb me or I will rip your jaw off." Tiye warned before finally dozing off in Ardeths arms like always.

Finally the sun began to rise and Tiye woke up alone in a corner of the ship, blankets covering her to protect her from the cold nights of Egypt.

"If a man does not embrace his past, he has no future." Her ears perked up as she heard his voice, curious of who he was speaking to. She peaked her head up, noticing Ardeth and Rick talking quietly beside her.

"Look, even if I was some sort of sacred Medjai, what good does that do me now?" Rick responded. Tiye stood up from her pile of blankets and approached the two men.

"It is the missing piece of your heart." Tiye stated softly, placing her hand on his shoulder before moving to sit beside her husband.

"If you embrace it, if you accept it, you can do anything." Ardeth continued.

"Sounds great. Listen. What can we expect from our old friend Imhotep?" Rick asked while playing with his knife.

"His powers are returning quickly. By the time he reaches Ahm Shere, even the Scorpion King won't be able to stop him." Ardeth explained the dangers causing Rick to sigh in annoyance.

Suddenly Evelyn began to scream and fell forwards, falling over the side of the ship. Rick ran after her and jumped over, grabbing her in time before she fell to her death. Jonathan, Ardeth and Tiye did their best to lift Rick and Evy back over to safety.

"Evy, I know you haven't exactly been yourself lately with all these dreams and visions." Rick said to his wife once they were a safely on the ship and sat around the fire.

"No, no, they're memories from my previous life." Evelyn stopped her husband and informed him of her strangeness. "Honestly, I'm not losing my mind. It all makes perfect sense now."

"And that's the reason why we found the bracelet?" Rick asked.

"Exactly, I was its protector." Evy agreed with him while the other listened carefully.

"Now do you believe me, my friend?" Ardeth looked at Rick knowingly. "Clearly, you were destined to protect this woman."

"Right. She's a reincarnated princess, and I'm a warrior of God." Rick said mockingly.

"And your son leads the way to Ahm Shere. Three sides of the pyramid." The Chieftain gave him a pointed look. "This was all preordained thousands of years ago."

"And how does the story end?" Evelyn questioned cautiously.

"Only the journeys written, not the destination." Tiyr spoke up. "My father raised me on tales, prophecies and myths. They are all true."

"How else do you explain Evy's visions?" Ardeth rhetorically asked. "That it is your son who wears the bracelet? How do you explain your mark?"

"Coincidence." Rick said causing Tiye to burst into laughter.

"My friend, there is a fine line between coincidence and fate." Ardeth smiled at the man.

"Why do you think I was arranged to marry Ardeth?" Tiye grinned at her husband. "An old prophecy states a reincarnated pharaoh will finally remeet the man she loves, a Cheiftain of the Medjai, protectors of her family. After being forced to part the Gods promised they would meet again in another life. Or something like that."

"You were a pharaoh?" Jonathan asked in shock. Tiye simply nodded her head, too busy staring at the love of her life.

Finally they landed in Karnak, the train was parked and seemed empty. Rick and Evelyn rushed into the temple while Tiye and Ardeth investigated the train.

"Its empty." Tiye said slowly and quietly as they looked around the train, weapons raised.

"They've gone. We lost them." Ardeth called out to Rick who had gone to check the other end of the train.

"Rick!" They heard Evy scream. They rushed into the temple, searching for the woman.

"Alex left us his tie, and he made us a little sand castle." Evelyn revealed as they gathered around to figure out where to next. "Its the Temple Island of Philae. They've gone to Philae."

"That a boy, Alex." Rick praised his son. "Come on!"

Upon reaching the temple they found Alex's jacket and a sand drawing of The Great Temple of Abu Simbel.