*

The morning was breezy and the soft light of dawn was growing brighter as the day approached.  Evelyn was a good cook Meela decided.  After last night's shared dream both women had found sleeping difficult.  Evy had been very insistent that they get up early, have breakfast and leave this place.  Not that Meela minded that.  There was something out here, something very angry.  Of course to the modern world that kind of thinking was irrational sounding, but Meela felt it true all the same.

So after a fitful rest of the night they had gotten up, taken care of morning tasks and left quickly.  Meela looked out over the distance and went over the dream again in her mind.  It had been frightening to say the least, but there was a familiar longing to it that she found startling.  And instinctively whatever beast or apparition had tormented their dreams she felt cold towards.  "Evelyn," she ventured, curious to know what her friend thought, "what do you supposed was haunting our dreams?"

Evelyn looked a little surprised that she asked, then her eyes took on a guarded fear.  The fair skinned woman swallowed and looked away.  "I don't know."  She was lying.

She could tell instantly that the woman beside her was not being honest.  That made Meela wonder.  What exactly was Evelyn afraid to tell her?  Of course Meela knew there was more going on here than what seemed to be, but she had assumed that was all on her part.  Perhaps this little scholar had her own secrets to keep.  She gave Evy a sidelong glance and smiled softly.  "What secrets do you keep?"

Evy turned her head back quickly, her eyes a little wide and searching to see if Meela were serious.  Seeing the question was genuine made her look down.  She remained silent, evading Meela by pointing forward.  "Look there.  I'll bet that's the area the archaeologist was talking about."  She then smiled.  "All we have to do is find the entrance."

Meela returned her smile and nodded.  Her black eyes looked over the tall rock formations that stood ahead.  They were very close to whatever it was that was calling her.  She could sense something there, a presence.  Something was very anxious to be answered.  "Some of those rocks look sharp.  Perhaps we should leave the horses on the sand."

"You're probably right," Evelyn agreed, picking up the pace.  The woman now seemed to have forgotten their strange conversation and was excited that their adventure was finally leading them somewhere.  Meela would not forget, however.  Not that it mattered, she supposed, but if Evy were hiding something important she would make it her business to find out exactly what it was.

They came to the edge of where the stone formations began.  Small, sometimes jagged rock jutted up from the earth's surface as a welcome mat that lead up through the taller formations.  Meela and Evy dismounted and led their horses to a thin stone pillar and tied them there.  The two women removed their packs from the horses and shared a look before slowly making their way into the rock that littered the desert floor.

All was quiet around them.  It seemed they were the only two in the world at that moment.  Meela lead the way, carefully avoiding the stones that could so easily cause them harm if stepped on.  She wondered where their 'friends' were.  There seemed to be no trace of them now.  Part of her was glad for that, but after last night's dreams she didn't think a little protection would hurt.  Her dark eyes scanned the desert floor before her and she stopped, nearly stepping on a sharp rock.  She stood for a moment and pressed down with her foot lightly.  The rock crumbled to the sand.

Furrowing her brow, she looked up at Evy.  This place gave off an odd feel.  "Let's keep moving," she suggested, motioning forward.  So they moved on, the rocks getting higher and higher.  They soon couldn't see anything but the sky above.  "Do you have any clue what to look for?"

Evelyn shrugged, her expression thoughtful.  "It would likely be a simple opening in the rock face, like the opening of a cave.  Essentially that's what we're looking for."  The scholar pressed onward and warily turned when the path veered off to the left.  "Someone's had to have made this pathway," she murmured to herself.

Meela crept up behind her, ever wary of the sharp rocks on either side if her.  They were getting closer.  She could feel that with everything in her.  Something was beckoning her forward.  They rounded a corner and Meela pointed over Evy's shoulder.  "Look," she breathed.

The opening wasn't very large, but it was there sure enough.  A hole cut into the rock that would fit one person at a time was waiting for their entrance.  Evy stepped forward and examined it.  "Look at this paint," Evy said with excitement in her voice.  A blue aura framed the doorway, from the sand all the way to the top.  There they spotted something else.  An eye drawn in black paint stood guard over the entrance.  "An eye of Horus," the scholar identified.

Meela frowned at the symbol absently and reached into her pack, drawing out large sticks wrapped in cloth on the end.  Lighting them both, she handed one to her companion and took the lead while Evy stayed, looking with wonder at the paintings that began inside the threshold of the opening.  "I'm going to do a little exploring," Meela informed her, stepping into the darkness that poured out from the ancient place.

"All right," Evy mumbled, bending down to look at something.  "Don't go too far."

Taking a breath, Meela pursed her lips and descended into the caves.  The walls around her were cut and chiseled with an admirable perfection and lovely murals decorated every foot.  Yet none of these things entered her mind.  Something else held her attention--held her entranced.  The deeper she got, the stronger the calling was.

But something else within her was trying to warn her.  She paused and looked around, for the first time worried that whatever she was seeking might not be safe.  Then within the darkness ahead she could see something making itself apparent.  A shadow crept forward, entering the torch light.  With the voice of an angel it beckoned her sweetly, "Come Ancksunamun.  Come with me."

Meela shook her head and swallowed, squinting to see into the darkness.  "Who are you?" she asked, forgetting all about Evy.

She could hear a breeze traveling the hallway and her torch flickered.  "Come to me, Ancksunamun," the voice pleaded, then trailed off.  It followed the wind deeper into the shadows.  Suddenly there was a light down the hall.  Meela crept forward slowly, her curiosity greater than any fear that might have stopped her.

The light filled another corridor, trailing off from the main hall.  Meela didn't even think to look back as she entered the hallway, didn't see the light behind her darken and die, hiding her trail from her companion.  All that was present was the constant pull on her mind to find whatever it was that was calling to her.

The lights led her deeper into the hidden temple.  She passed many darkened rooms that had been unseen for centuries, was led through some of them even, but her mind took no noticed of the beautiful ancient things that surrounded her.  And then she came to a dead end.  She found herself suddenly aware again, left in a room lit only by her torch now.  It appeared to be some sort of ritual room, judging by the stone seating and decorum.  Dozens of incantations were written on the walls, each proclaiming the glory of Horus.  The room made her feel strangely unsettled.

Then she caught something with her keen eyes.  Off in an unassuming corner of the back of the room was a large painted black eye.  Another eye of Horus stared out.  Around it were drawn runes of protection and warding, but what immediately held her attention was the crack across the iris of the eye.  It would never have been seen but for the light shining behind it.  Meela walked past the stone slabs in the room and to the drawing.

Her fingers delicately the surface of the wall near the crack and it crumbled a little.  "The eye serves as a seal," she whispered, not sure how that knowledge came to her lips or if it were even true.  She leaned forward and looked into the crack, but was unable to make out anything but light.

The otherworldly voice again cried out to her, urgent and firm.  "Break the seal."  The voice was behind the wall.

Meela bit her lip and stepped back, her heart pounding a little.  "Break the seal," she repeated, frightened and curious.  She could stand Evy's presence right about now.  She looked back at the door.

A cold breeze rushed from the crack and over Meela, accompanied by the angelic voice, now commanding and strong.  "Break the seal."  The wind softened then and the light grew brighter, almost begging.  "Take the rod and break the seal."

Furrowing her brow, Meela gazed around her.  On the floor nearby lay a metal rod, a fire poker once used to tend the fireplace at the head of the room.  She knelt down and took it into her hand.  The warning bells in her mind were now screaming at her to not do this thing which she had no knowledge of, but even as she decided against breaking the seal her torch hit the floor and her arms swung against the wall.  The crack widened and the pull grew stronger.  Again and again Meela struck at the eye, breaking every stone that formed the picture, every bit of the wards and runes that surrounded.

The light within was now gone, but in the torch light Meela could see what her work had uncovered.  A small room, no bigger than the sarcophagus it held.  On it's walls were drawn more eyes of Horus and more runes and spells.  She licked her lips and reclaimed the fallen torch, bringing it forward to examine the tiny room.  There were no sign of life, no strange light.  Only a feeling of anger and agony.  It reminded Meela of her dream and she backed away.

The sarcophagus that lay before her was ornately decorated.  It spoke of the blessings of the dark god Set and Meela frowned.  Set was historically the enemy of Horus.  Why would a tomb blessed by spells of the dark god be hidden away in a temple dedicated to the followers of Horus?

Meela set that aside for the moment and peered at the coffin's cover.  On it's painted golden surface a spell was chiseled where the face of it's owner might have been depicted.  The words came unbidden to her mouth.

*

Evy frowned, edging down the dark halls.  She wondered idly where Meela was, but was too wrapped up in what she was looking at to really do anything constructive about her curiosity.  The hallways rang out with praises to Horus, with stories and songs and blessings.  It was all and all an excellent find and Evy was very excited about it.

The museum would have to give her a better position for this!  But aside from that, there was a sense of personal satisfaction.  Evelyn Carnahan wasn't just about getting a glorified career.  She genuinely was interested in her find and excited to learn.  The paint was exquisite and ornate, hardly chipped away.  This was an explorers dream come true and she was living it.

She smiled and looked around her, feeling totally at home and at ease.  Ducking into a small room at the side, she looked around.  It looked like some sort of preparation room for meals.  She guessed that the priests of Horus stayed here most of the time, welcoming worshippers and giving them shelter.  Evy knelt down and picked up a clay bowl from the floor.  She found it odd that it was carelessly dropped and left.  Whatever had happened, the keepers of this hidden temple must have had to leave in a hurry.

Evy froze.  She listened intently and was greeted by nothing.  Standing up, she crept towards the door slowly, having thought she heard a footstep.  "Meela?" she called, cocking her head and trying to see around the door.  She frowned.  "You'd better not be playing some sort of joke."

Stepping beside the door, she peered around it quickly and gasped.  Out of the shadows a figure stepped up, his hands held in a forestalling manner.  "I did not mean to startle you," he said calmly.

Rubbing her hand over her heart, Evy exhaled and then turned her miffed gaze on the man.  "Ardeth Bay!  What are you doing here, scaring me like that?"

Ardeth Bay smiled a quiet smile and lowered his hands.  Despite the friendly expression, however, his eyes were quite serious.  "I came to see what you were doing here."  He shook his head.  "You should not be here."

Evelyn inhaled and began to examine the room again, ignoring for the moment his obvious wish to get her and Meela out of here.  "I came to explore, Mr. Bay.  Nothing more."

He was silent a moment, watching her with weighing eyes.  Ardeth touched her shoulder gently, drawing her to look at him.  His eyes were serious and cautious.  "Where is your friend?  I saw you come with another woman."

"She's off exploring," Evy answered, a little bothered by Ardeth's strange behavior.  She brushed aside the thrill of discovery a moment.  "Ardeth, what's wrong?"

Ardeth looked out the door and into the hallway.  "Evy, there is a danger here unlike He Who Shall Not Be Named.  It would have been better had you taken her to Hamunaptra and awakened him once more."

She definitely was not liking the urgency in his tone, nor the fear in those fearless eyes of his.  "What's here?  Ardeth, I'm not the only one that knows about this place.  Some people at the British Museum in London were talking about it."

He widened his eyes a little and looked at her.  "You are certain they know the location?"

Evy nodded her head.  "That's how I knew where to find it."

Without another word, he entered the hall and beckoned her forward.  "We've got to find your friend.  I must warn my people that the secret of this place is no more."  He walked quickly.

Following close behind, Evelyn swallowed.  Just what was he so afraid of?  And why in the world were the ancients always leaving around these evil dangers, anyway?  She frowned.  "Would you mind explaining all of this?"

He didn't slow his quick pace or turn around when he said, "There is a being within these walls that cannot be stopped by the same spell that made the priest of Osiris mortal.  The Med-Jai don't even know what could stop her, should she awaken."

"You're scaring me," Evy noted thoughtfully.

He nodded his head and turned down a hallway, seemingly at random, though Evy knew better.  "The spells used here weren't open to royal scrutiny, unfortunately.  The priests of Horus and Osiris saw a problem and handled it.  They didn't see fit to share the process with the Med-Jai of that time."

Evelyn rolled her eyes at that.  "Naturally.  How do you know this 'problem' can even be awakened?"

He entered a room quickly, running past it's treasures without so much as a glance and exited through a door on the other side.  "To every spell there is laid upon a person, there always must be a way to counter it.  This must be so to maintain balance.  If a good man were imprisoned by a curse, then balance would have to be maintained by creating a way for him to escape.  Unfortunately it is this way with the evil ones of this world.  It was the custom of Egypt and anything that couldn't be undone was forbidden."

"That's helpful," she remarked dryly as they rushed.

Suddenly there was a scream.  Ardeth broke into a run and Evy found it hard to keep his pace.  She almost got lost a few times as he entered rooms and halls before she could catch up, but suddenly she no longer needed his guidance.  A great light at the end of a hallway told her that his destination could be nowhere else.

She slowed, coming to the entrance of the brightly lit room.  "Ardeth?" she called breathlessly.  Evy stopped at the door and peered inside, catching a brief glimpse of strange blue fire.  Ardeth pushed her from the room and took her hand tightly, dragging her as he ran.  "You're hurting me!" she shouted as he pulled her faster than she could go.  She grabbed at his hand, but couldn't get loose.

"There is no time," he replied, not slowing at all.  "She is free."

Evy winced at the pain in her arm and tried to keep up as best as she could.  She could feel something behind them, the sensation of being chased.  Her back felt hot.  The it hit her.  "Meela!" she cried, pulling back as hard as she could.

Ardeth was knocked off balance momentarily, but wasted no time in grabbing her and throwing her over his shoulder.  He again began to run and now Evy could see why.  Behind them was a horror that wasn't comparable to what Imhotep had been.  Pure evil blazed through the fierce eyes of the wraith being as it gave chase.  It screamed at them in ancient Egyptian, the voice otherworldly and frightening.  Evy buried her face in the Med-Jai's shoulder and covered her ears, trying to block out the terrible sound.

Suddenly Ardeth stopped.  Evelyn raised her head and yelled, "What are you doing?"

Bay put her down, his eyes frightened.  He shoved Evy behind him and drew his scimitar.  Evy peered around the warrior before her and gasped.  Meela stood, blocking their way with a large dagger.  Ardeth advanced on her quickly, the monster behind them not forgotten.  Remembering, Evy whirled around.  Nothing was there.  "Ardeth," she said, keeping watch.

He didn't answer.  He was locked in battle with Meela, who fought with a speed and accuracy that made Evy worry.  "Meela, why are you doing this?  We've got to get out of here!"

"I'm sorry, Evelyn," the girl replied, fighting Ardeth with the obvious intent to kill.  "But I must serve my master."

"Your master is that wraith?" Ardeth hissed, thrusting his scimitar forward.

Meela dodged easily and retaliated.  Her eyes were different now, Evy noticed.  Fierce and filled with an angry confidence, she said, "My master is Set."

"Enough!" boomed the rich voice of a woman.  Both Evy and Ardeth turned back towards the commanding tone.  Before them was a beautiful Egyptian woman with tan skin, dark hair and ancient looking robes.  Her cheeks were scarred with a rune Evy couldn't recognize, but at the moment she gave little thought to what it might mean.  The woman's intense blue eyes entrapped her gaze as if she were peering into Evy's soul.

Meela joined her mistress and bowed in a ritualistic sign of deference.  Then she arose with a triumphant smile and said, "Behold your master.  Asenath, High Priestess of the dread god Set."  Meela stretched her hand forth and her eyes glinted.  "I give you a gift, High Priestess."

Asenath looked them over lingeringly, her face thoughtful and pleased.  "You have done well, my child.  Our god will be pleased and give you the gifts you were meant for so long ago."  Her eyes then rested solely on Ardeth, cold and calculating.  "Where are the seals?"

"I will never tell you," Ardeth replied, his voice equally cold.  His eyes bore a strong resolve for defiance.  "You will not succeed!"

The priestess laughed at that and looked to her servant.  "He will need to be convinced."

Evy swallowed at the hungry expression Meela wore at that.  She stepped back as Asenath grabbed for her and struggled as she began pulling her back down the halls, but couldn't escape.  This definitely wasn't what Evy had had in mind when she set out on this journey.

*

Omar stood before the rock formations that kept the temple of Horus hidden away from all eyes.  Something was not right.  He could feel it.  Ardeth had been gone too long.  Yet the urge to wait longer was with him.  Perhaps he had to search for them.  Perhaps they weren't obeying his command.  Whatever the case, time was passing quickly.

The Med-Jai licked his lips, his eyes trained on the path that Ardeth had taken.  The thought briefly entered his mind to go and see about his friend, but if the unthinkable had happened, that wouldn't be wise.  Someone would have to warn the Med-Jai about this, but what would he be warning them of?  Omar hated not knowing what was going on.  He worried for Ardeth's safety, but the tactical choice would be to remain here or leave and warn his people.

Something wasn't right.  More and more he became convinced of that fact.  Ardeth surely would have knocked them out if need be to get them out of there.  Something should have happened by now.

Omar mounted his horse and looked once more at the path, seeing nothing.  It was time he left and warned someone, but something stopped him from going.  A young woman came down the path in a hurry and stopped.  "Help!" she cried out, her face worried.  "Your friend was caught under a part of the ceiling that collapsed.  He's injured!"

Without questioning the girl, Omar jumped down from the horse and joined her.  By the time he saw the wraith it was too late.  He had failed.