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| There was Jonathan toeing off his shoes and climbing onto the bed and then the end table. Rick was standing up now, evidently, and Jonathan needed a better vantage point to hear him. In his sock feet Jonathan balanced on the end table being careful not to send the lamp crashing to the floor. He pressed the glass up to the wall again and stood there with his ear glued to it wearing a satisfied smile. �Ah! Oh no, poor boy. The lad has had a rough go, I'll say." Jon said with a frown. Then Alex stood from where he was squatting listening just like his uncle, when he bumped into the end table sending Jonathan and the lamp tumbling to the floor! �Uncle Jon! Look out�.!� �Arrgh!� There sat Jon sprawled out on his backside with the lampshade sitting on top of his head, the fringe swinging back and forth from the movement. �Bloody hell, Alex! Can�t you look where you are going?� �Well you shouldn�t have been up there in the first place!� Alex giggled, holding his hand over his mouth. Then he pointed to his uncle. �You should see yourself, it�s hilarious!� �Don�t just stand there, I COULD USE SOME HELP IF IT�S NOT TOO MUCH TROUBLE!� Suddenly, the door to Jon�s cabin swung open wide. There was Evie standing with her hands on her hips and �The Look� in her eyes. Her eyes shot to the floor where she saw the lamp laying in several pieces. �Jonathan? Alex? What have you managed to destroy THIS time?� Then, without missing a beat, Jon pointed to Alex and Alex pointed to Jon and they both said at the same time, �HE did it!� An hour passed and Evie went to the pilothouse to check on Ardeth who had been steering the boat for them during all of the commotion. She plopped herself right down on the sofa up against the wall and looked up at Ardeth. �So, how much further do we have?� Ardeth shifted uneasily on his feet. Then he began to fumble with some charts and maps. �Yes, well, I have been looking over these maps and charts and � well, I� um you see�. Evelyn, I do not know where in Allah's name we are! I think we are off course.� Ardeth blushed and Evie had to smile. �Oh, that�s alright Ardeth, I guess you know very little of navigating on the water, so please, don�t worry. I�ll go get Jonathan and he will figure out where we are and get us back on course in no time.� Evie forced a smile and turned around to walk out of the pilothouse. Then it hit her. She turned back around and walked right up to poor Ardeth again and said in a matter of fact way, her tone not too harsh, �You know, this trip to Egypt hasn�t even BEGUN and we already have a CHILD stowaway being held captive until he tells the interrogator everything he knows, two MORE CHILDREN in the galley doing dishes and mopping for breaking a lamp, AND, now, Ardeth my dear, we are LOST!� �And who said no harm ever came from bringing your family and a smart-mouthed stowaway all the way to Egypt?� Heidi Rittner ([email protected]) January 14, 2003 Skarzinski had been riding closely behind the leader and another of the men in the long black robes. He had been listening intently to their exchanges during their journey through the desert. The sun was beginning it�s decent and would set within an hour. The leader held up his hand, and the caravan came to a stop. He addressed the group in his ancient language. �We will stop here for the night and wake before the rising of the sun to begin our journey once again.� SHIT! Skarzinski scowled. He was hoping to put more distance between himself and Cairo. He dared not argue for fear of causing suspicion. He followed suit with the others, dismounting and gathering what was needed. Within no time, they had a camp set up and everyone had settled down. He had deliberately set up his small tent apart from the others with the opening facing the valley wall, and now stood outside of it, watching the group. One of the tattooed men approached him and offered him a makeshift plate with what looked to have once been the head of a snake. �Niy,� Skarzinski help up a hand refusing the offer. The tattooed man shrugged his shoulders and headed back to camp leaving him alone in the shadows of the valley. He watched the men eat and laugh with one another not seeming aware that he was out there. The dark thoughts were beginning to overcome him once again. His hunger was becoming unbearable. It was a hunger that had nothing to do with the fact that he hadn�t eaten since the early morning. No. He hungered for shed blood. He needed to kill something soon; preferably someone. But he couldn�t kill one of these men. The group was too big and he would be stopped before he could even get started. The craving was getting worse. The power he felt when his victims were screaming and begging for their lives was unlike any he�d experienced. He grabbed his bottle of liquor and began walking alongside the wall of the valley in hopes to calm himself before he did something stupid. His first two kills were merely out of greed. Robert and Adinah Carnahan, friends of his that he�d met at several archeological functions, were hot on the trail of what he�d dedicated his life to finding. He�d spent years searching, and he had heard that they stumbled upon some clues. They had accepted him into the expedition without telling him or anyone else what exact clues they found, but it wasn�t enough. He wanted the whole of it, but they refused to share any information, explaining that even the smallest hint leaked could cause great chaos if it was found and put into the wrong hands. They only told him that when they finally found what they were looking for, they would immediately destroy it. Destroy it? They were insane! After seeing his stunned expression, they took turns explained to him what they had found out from some ancient scrolls. �The Scepter of Seth is said to have been created and used by Seth himself. It is recorded in the ancient scrolls as one of the most powerful objects to ever exist, but it�s only great power is to fuel evil. It is said that upon Seth�s destruction, his body turned to dust, but his black soul escaped in a wild hurricane wind that temporarily blocked out the light of the sun. The Scepter, which lay on it�s side where it had been discarded, began to rise as if it possessed a life of it�s own. The top opened as if there had been a seamless compartment and the soul of Seth began to funnel into it. Slowly at first, then ending at an alarming rate. Within the blink of an eye, the compartment slammed shut and the ground shook furiously as it opened and swallowed the Scepter. Seth had been prepared for anything; including the possibility of his destruction. But it appears Seth had more in his plans. For centuries, no one was able to find even a hint or clue of this ancient legend. It appears as if he was waiting for someone worthy enough to be his successor. Then we came upon another piece of information. This one seemed to have stated that due to a counter-curse, there were now two types of man who the Scepter would appear to: If he who finds the Scepter possesses a black heart, the soul of Seth will be released and merge with his giving him the power of Seth. The counter-curse stated the following: If he who finds the Scepter possesses a heart that is good and pure, he will be given the power to infinitely destroy the Scepter.� Adinah continued. �We have yet to find any documentation on how one with a good heart would go about destroying the Scepter of Seth. I have all of our clues, thoughts, and findings logged in a journal and I have poured over them dozens of times, and I feel as if there�s something I�m missing or reading over.� Skarzinski had asked to have a look at the journal, but his request had been refused, once again due to taking precautions. The weeks went by and he watched as Adinah and Robert unearthed more clues and wrote more and more frequently in their journal. The thought of such a priceless treasure being destroyed because of some damned old story infuriated him. He had to have the Scepter of Seth. Slowly, his greed had begun to consume him and he was filled with hatred for the |