Warrior's Queen

Chapter - 11

The cold water woke Jasmine up just fine but now Jasmine struggled to climb out of the debris.

Her dress was drenched and heavy, preventing her from moving easily, and she jumped as a bout of steam-exploded from a few inches away. Unfortunately, the sudden movement made her even more entangled in the mess.

Elsewhere, Izzy was complaining about how he could fix the dirigible without gas to Rick. They were all too preoccupied to stop and help her out, not that they would be able to hear her anyway with all their arguing. Her eyes skimmed their surroundings, noting the lush forest that laid ahead of them and the bright yet harsh sun that shone from above. They had definitely arrived at the oasis.

"Are you going to stand there all day, Mini, or do you plan on getting out?" Rick's irritated voice sounded from next to her. In her daze, she hadn't noticed that they had finished talking and were now passing whatever items that had survived the crash into safer territory.

"I'm trying," she said through gritted teeth still not very stable from using her powers . She knew they were all on edge because of the earlier incident, but that didn't mean Rick could take out his anger on her and expect her to just accept it. With a firm tug, she finally broke free - albeit ripping her favourite dress - and half stumbled, half fell onto the ground only to be caught by Ardeth in his arms as he carefully helps her off.  Letting out a huff of annoyance, she made a mental note to never wear dresses whenever her brother showed up with an ancient artefact ever again and mentally scolding herself for the choice of her attire.

Rick sighed, watching Jasmine's clumsy behaviour disapprovingly. "Maybe you should stick with Izzy."

"No way! I have some unfinished business with that stupid undead mummy!" Jasmine shook her head vehemently.

Izzy winked at her. "She's just worried that she'll get shot if she's with me."

"He's...got a point," Rick said finally, giving the signal for them to head out into the forest. None of them had noticed that Jonathan had stolen his stick back from the dirigible pilot during the commotion.

"So, Rick. What's the plan?" Jonathan asked cheerfully, having his prize back in his possession at last.

"Let's find some higher ground," he decided, gesturing at the thick forest that loomed ahead. It was dark and unknown with a sense of forbidding. Jasmine didn't dare think what could be hiding in its depths, waiting to pounce at the first opportunity.

The group had barely proceeded further when a loud gunshot echoed through the trees, eery and sudden. And there was only one explanation as to what was being shot at. Ardeth whipped around, panic in his eyes. "Horus!" he called, desperately clinging to the last bit of hope that the bird might have gotten away, that the shooter might have missed by a centimetre...

There was no answer.

Jasmine's heart clenched in pain for him. Ardeth had told them that Horus was his best friend, and yet now he was gone. How many others must die for their sake before Imhotep could be stopped? Her eyes watered, and she was only vaguely aware of him turning back to Rick and urgently telling him that he needed to leave.

"I need you to help me find my son," Rick insisted, then paused before adding in a lower, gentler voice, "And I can see that you need her. She needs you, too."

Jasmine let out her breath when she saw him nod in response. "And first I shall help you."

Ardeth fell in step beside her as they continued onward, deeper into the maze. She didn't think they would be able to get out at the pace they were going, but what mattered was that they would be able to find Alex.