Chapter 2: The Dare

 

 

The same three boys who always picked on Olia were following her around the small village taunting her. 

 

“You’ll never be like us,”  Adom said, picking up a rock, and throwing it at her.  It missed her but only by a hair. 

 

“I will be better than you.  When I was at Hamanaptra, I found a way in.  If your so brave, why don’t you meet me there tonight.  I am going in,”  she said, not one bit afraid. Both Adom and Djau looked at one another, knowing that going there meant big trouble.

 

“We will be there,”  Djau said then they left.  Noticing the posision of the sun in the sky, Olia hurried home, and made it just as her momma was putting their food down on the table.  Quickly she washed her hands, then they sat down together.

 

“Momma  who brought the Scorpion King to life?”  she asked as she ate a bite of wild rice.  Like Imhotep, that name sent a chill down Eshe’s spine.  Olia had only been four then, and barily remembered that time.  She had just gotten over a terrible illness, one that had almost taken her life.  Ardeth had devoted his days and nights caring for her in quarantine, and it had been he who pulled her through.  Then he was gone, and only reports came from the progress they had made on finding the child she had helped to bring into the world.

 

“A young boy and his parents found the Bracelet of Anubis.  A boy I brought into the world, before you were born,”  she said reaching out to move an ardent strand of hair away from her daughters soft face.

 

“Was he of this village, or another?” she asked, assuming it had been a Med-jai child.

 

“He and his parents live in England,”  Eshe said.  The rest of dinner was relatively quiet, and after helping her mother with the dishes, she went to her room to get ready for the adventure to Hamunaptra.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

It was cool out on the desert, and Olia was already tired.  She hadn’t used a horse to get herself to Hamunaptra, knowing that she decreased her chance of being found.  When she arrived at the statue, the boys were already there, and not just Adom and Djau, but also Hateef and Ira.

 

“Well look who made it,”  Djau said.  The boys laughed, but Olia ignored them.

 

“Since your the smallest you go in first,”  Ira said. 

 

“Why are you afraid?”  she asked.

 

“No way, but this was your idea,”  Adom pointed out.  They tied a rope around her waist, and when she was ready they hoisted her over the hole, then lowered her in.  It was a long way down, but she finally felt earth on her feet, and after untying the rope she lit the lantern she had.  The boys had other plans, and once she was in they took off leaving her behind. 

 

“Hurry up,”  she yelled, expecting them to be up there.  When she waited all she could, she decided to leave them, and went off exploring.  An excavation of the site had taken place when she was younger, but the sands had blown over that, and the tunnel she was in led her to a room with hieroglyphs.  A man stood there, in the wall painting, with his head lifted up screaming, and on him were blue things.  Olia popped one off, and put it in her little satchel then continued on her journey.

 

~*~*~*~

 

The boys returned a little later, and called out for her, but she didn’t answer.  They managed to lower themselves in the hole, and found her nowhere in site.

 

“OLIA,”  Adom yelled, knowing that if  she got hurt they would all be in very big trouble. 

 

“OLIA,”  Djau yelled.  The boys looked around the small room, then left through the only passage, yelling for her.  They entered the same small room where she had found the blue jewels.  Each of them knew that the blue jewels were not jewels, but the larva form of scarabs, and that made the need for finding Olia ever greater. 

 

~*~*~*~*~

 

A few times, Olia had run in to areas that were caved in, but that did not detour her.  She had her fathers strength, and her own bit of curiosity overweighed any fear she might otherwise have.  Finally she came to a vast chamber full of treasures, and for moments all she could do was look.  Then she screamed when someone grabbed her arm.

 

“By Allah,” Adom said looking at Olia’s find.

 

“Come on we need to get out of here, don’t you remember what Badru said about the curse and the scarabs?” Djau asked.  Ira and Hateef both nodded, and Olia struggled against Adom angered that they had stopped her.

 

“Let go of me,”  she yelled.  While she struggled, she didn’t know that within her pocket a scarab had hatched, then she began to scream, and Adom let go of her.

 

“Help me help me,”  she kept yelling.  She grabbed at her robes, and pulled them off exposing a scarab making its way up her side.

 

“Hold her,”  Ira said.  His father was the Village’s Medicine Man, and all the boys knew that if Olia were to die, they would be exiled or worse.  Ira took out a sharp knife, and cut in to her despite her screams, and got the scarab out, then stabbed it with a knife.  Once it was dead, he wrapped her robes around her and picked her up, then they all ran for the entrance.

 

~*~*~*~*~

 

It was the pounding on her door which woke Eshe, and after slipping into a robe, she ran past her daughters room, to the door, opening it to Ira, who looked white as a ghost.

 

“Olia, she, we journeyed to Hamunaptra, and a scarab got into her.  My father sends for you,”  he said.  At his words, Eshe almost stopped breathing, then she was following him down the street of their village, until she reached the Medicine Mans home.  Ira lead her to the back of their home, where his father emerged from one of the rooms.

 

“Do not worry Eshe, Ira saved her.  Go on to your room,”  he said to his son.  When Ira was gone, Chike led her into his and Chione’s room.  Olia was there on their bed asleep, and Chione looked up.

 

“Thank you,”  Eshe said as they both left her.  Once they were gone she sat down kissing her daughters forehead.

 

“Momma?”  she whispered.

 

“Shhh, rest my Femi,”  she whispered.  Olia remained asleep, and Eshe fell asleep next to her.

 

~*~*~*~*~

 

The Journey to Ahm-Shere lasted two days, and upon Ardeth’s arrival, he received a message from Eshe that Olia had been in Hamunaptra, and that she had been hurt by a scarab.  After reading through the letter, he left Darius behind with a few of his other men to meet with the elders of the Ahm-Shere tribe, and road like the wind to be with his family.  At first his anger for his daughter was great, but as he road, and as the day turned into night his anger subsided.  Now as he sat in the darkness, his only light a fire, he remembered his childhood, and the time he had found access to the city, a time more dangerous than what Olia faced.

 

 

Young Ardeth was faced with leading his people one day, but at the present his world consisted of friends and fun.  Badru and Chike had more or less gone along with his plan to go into Hamunaptra, and they had found nothing but darkness and evil there.  Something had whispered in his ear that day, something that he had not forgotten, ‘One day I shall seek my powers against you,’  the haunting voice had whispered.  That time of coarse had passed twice, once at Hamunaptra itself, and once at Ahm-Shere, but still Ardeth’s heart rested uneasy, as if the creature had one last plan.

 

 

The Crackle of the fire drew him out of thought, and after a little rest, the Med-jai warrior packed up his small camp, and road on undetected, and safe.

 

~*~*~*~*~

 

By morning Olia was better.  Eshe had taken her home, and now was putting the special herbs on the wounds, both the entry wound, and the wound Ira had inflicted upon her to save her life.

 

“Momma, what is Homdei?” Olia asked as Eshe finished.  Just as Olia had said that, Eshe had gotten up to go put the medicines away, and nearly dropped the bowl she had in her hands.  She set it on Olia’s dresser, then sat beside her.

 

“Do not worry, close your eyes,”  Eshe said.  Olia sighed and did as she was told, and was soon asleep, though it was not a restful sleep.  In her dreams the Shadow creature came to her, telling her his plans, telling her she was the key.  Olia tried to run, but she could not, she tried to scream but she could not.  The pain she had felt with the one scarab in her was nothing compared to the pain of hundreds in her body eating her flesh slowly.  The voice got louder, telling her ‘You will be mine’ over and over.  Finally she broke free, screaming as loud as she could, then she awoke in her own bed.  Her father ran in.

 

“Father he was there,”  she said as Ardeth held her.  Carefully he lifted her from her bed, and carried her to the rocking chair settling there.  In a few moments she calmed down, though she had not relinquished her hold around his waist.

 

“Olia, will you tell me what you saw in your dream?”  Just a moment ago it had been as clear as the waters found in the  natural springs found just outside their village, but now she could not remember, and that frustrated her.

 

“I don’t remember,”  she said starting to cry again.  It took the great leader time, but he did manage to calm her, then they had a long talk about never going back to Hamunaptra, something Olia agreed to.

 

~*~*~

 

The fires of the underworld brought pain to all those who were trapped there, and it was no different for Imhotep, though he reveled now in that pain.  His one true love had betreyed him, though in retrospect that had only been her reincarnation.  His time there had given him the chance to think about what he wanted if freed again, and when he went in to his trance state, he had found a child, the very child who would serve him, the very child who would make all those who had betrayed him thousands of years ago, and most recently bow before him, her name rolled off his tongue,

 

“Olia Bey,”  he said, then closed his eyes focusing on her, though not getting to her because she was awake.  Very soon he would use her for his master plan, very soon he would have what he wanted.

 

~*~*~

 

Once Olia was on the mend, Ardeth summoned the four boys who had gone with her to Hamunaptra, four boys who were old enough to know better, who now sat around him faces down.

 

“If you are to become warriors, then you must respect the grounds of Hamunaptra.  Even though Imhotep is gone from his resting place, that fact does not make it any less dangerous.  Our duty still remains, and that is to protect it from anyone who may want to use its powers for evil.  Olia is young, and high spirited, you are all old enough to know better than to taunt her as you do.  You will go unpunished this one time, but the next you will be exiled for a month.  You may go now,”  he said.  The boys ran out, and Ardeth sighed.  It was times like these, when he felt the weight of the world upon his shoulders. 

 

“Perhaps they will listen now that you have spoken to them,”  Badru said as he entered the meeting room.  Ardeth looked up, and gave his friend a smile, though Badru saw the troubled look on his face.

 

“Tell me friend, what is it that weighs heavy on your mind,”  he said settling beside him.

 

“Olia sees a shadow creature in her dreams.  She never remembers what she is told, but I think it has meaning,”  he said.

 

“Imhotep?”  he asked.  Ardeth nodded.

 

“I have to get her away from here Badru, away from Egypt where he can’t find her, where his followers won’t think of looking,”  he said.  With that he got up, then left to go talk to Eshe.

 

~*~*~

 

As he had expected Eshe was not happy with what he had told her.  Fortunately for both of them Olia was with Aine, which gave them the time to speak in private.

 

“You will not send her away,”  Eshe said walking away from him. 

 

“Eshe, do you think I want to do that?  Her dreams have meaning, and the shadow creature she speaks of is Imhotep,”  he said.  She turned and came into his arms.

 

“Why would he want her?”  she asked finally facing what her husband was so desperately trying to get her to see.  He didn’t know the answer, and prayed they would never find out.

 

“I’m not sure why, but he does, and we need to send her where they would not think to look,”  he said.  Reluctantly Eshe agreed with him, and very quickly the arrangements were set into motion.