Duhr
Chapter 10
Ardeth watched as Rick, Evie and the others headed back to Ahm Shere.
"Was there some reason you did not go with them, Ardeth?"
"I am your host for these next three days, High Priest of Ammun, and yet I have no idea how to accomplish taking you back to camp with me." He shook his head. "And someone must see to the weaponry, although I am very tempted to leave Rick's armor for him to get himself."
"I can do that, Medjai. It does me no harm."
"That is good to know." He agreed. Then he turned to look at his rather unlikely guest. "For what it is worth, given that we are without witnesses, and I am only one man among all my tribes, I will say to you here in the waking world, Allah as my witness, thank you Imhotep, for my nephews life."
"Now that, is a very nice thank you indeed." The priest smiled. "You are most welcome, Ardeth. He is a brave boy, the son of warriors and deserves a better end than the capriciousness of fate and Anubis' ill will."
"As you say. No doubt I would have allowed Evelyn to read from the book of the dead just this once, Allah is merciful and will understand."
"The book of the dead belongs to Anubis, Ardeth. Do you truly think as unhappy as he is with your brother as champion he would grant him his son's life back? More than likely he would be happy with the anger and hatred it caused. He did tell me to slit the boy's throat if you recall."
Ardeth closed his eyes against that image and nodded. "As you say. And it is not in any way breaking the commandment AmmunRa gave to him to not harm Rick's family if he simply does not help."
"You begin to think of these oaths and geas like an Egyptian, Medjai. That is good when dealing with the old gods."
"As you say. Then I am thankful beyond words for my nephew's life. It is-- a gift far greater than any I have been given."
"You could thank me by name again." There was a very teasing smile to the words.
He sighed, but he managed a small smile. "You should have bargained better. It was a nice thank you, your name, and I must be a good guest at another banquet. Was that not the wager?"
And that got a surprised laugh. "So it was. Very well then Ardeth. I will expect you for dinner. You may even invite your brother or he will be unmanageable no doubt."
"Probably." Ardeth smiled a bit more. "Right now, however, he is likely to thank you himself."
"He did so. As did the princess. It was quite a surprise. I do not think Nefertiri and I have been that civil to each other since she was a child." A sigh. "We should indeed find a way for you to return to your tribe though, Ardeth. Otherwise no doubt your brother will notice you are not there, and undoubtedly jump to the conclusion that I am going to make you spend the night in my bed as payment for your nephew's life."
"Did it occur to you to ask it?" He asked quietly, not certain if he wanted to know but grasping for some sort of understanding of the way the creature thought.
"There was hardly time to make you bargain was there? But no, it did not. Have I not told you more than once that I will not take you unwilling, Medjai, even if you comply?"
"You have." He agreed.
"As if you have any idea at all what that would involve. Someday no doubt, Medjai you will have an idea at least of what it could have been, then you will be even more thankful than you are. You are too-- intriguing yet, Ardeth, to ruin so completely."
"As you say." He sighed. "I do not understand you yet, priest. But I will accept your word such as it is for now."
"Why do I not think you truly believe that yet, Ardeth?"
"Old habits. Come then, Priest of Ammun, we will go to my people and I will say to them that you are my guest and our ally in the battle to come tomorrow and we shall see if my title yet has the weight I need it to. And if not, I will beseech Horus to bring us back here." He looked over at the various weapons waiting to be gathered up. "I can get the books and Evelyn's mask and knives if you will get that cursed armor."
"Certainly." The priest nodded once.
"I must ask because likely it will drive me mad if I do not. But you did not ask for a kiss today."
"With the Princess here, and then all your tribes mates and the children, truly Ardeth, I desire you, but I have no real yearning to see you humiliated."
"Then I shall be thankful for that as well." He sighed. "And now?"
"Now-- you would let me have one because of Alex. And I think I would be hard pressed then to take the others and have them given with less emotion behind them. So I will not tempt myself so. Desire is a hard thing to have patience with, Ardeth. It is good that I do."
"Today, I believe that." He agreed. "But I do not understand it yet, or you."
"When you next speak to Allah, Medjai. You might thank him for that as well. Shall we go? And are we walking or do you think very much that Alex would mind if I borrowed his horse?"
"She was my horse before I gave her to my nephew so she is part of my hospitality still." He shook his head. And they gathered up the books and weapons and headed toward Ahm Shere.
It was, thanks be to Allah, easy enough to get the cursed armor back to the storage tent without running into anyone. He let his unlikely guest put it back in its crate and then closed it. "Will your brother, the princess and young Alex be in the same tent where you where last time I came to Ahm Shere?"
"I would think so, yes." He agreed. "Why?"
"I can stay to the shadows then, Medjai, and move from here to there. If you will go ahead so that they are not to surprised perhaps we can yet keep this from escalating into disaster."
"It is worth trying. Very well, I will go and you can follow. But if it does not work, will you allow me to try and speak to my fellow Medjai before it comes to violence?"
"Of course. Egypt has need of your warriors, Ardeth. And so at the moment I bear them no ill will at all. Doubtless I can simply summon the winds to carry me back to where the tanks sit and wait for you. That would be easier."
"If we are to be allies in this we will be allies. If I must make them understand that I will. Selim handled it well enough, I have faith in my other commanders that while they may not understand it fully they will do as we must to see Egypt safe."
"I will give you that you believe it." The creature agreed.
"In'sh'allah." Ardeth smiled a bit. But indeed it seemed Allah did because he headed back to the tent he was sharing with Rick, Evelyn, Alex, and Jonathan at the moment and found them all there.
"Where the hell have you been?" Rick asked roughly and he could see the other questions in his friend's eyes.
"Putting our armor away for now and seeing to my rather unlikely guest. No harm done, brother." He smiled and gripped Rick's shoulder tightly. "How is Alex?"
"Sleeping, I was just trying to figure out where the hell you were and go find you." Rick gripped his wrist and squeezed it a bit. "Okay?"
"As you see." Leave me some semblance of dignity in front of my family, brother, please.
"Good." Rick nodded once. "How did you get the armor back here anyway?"
"I did." Came the reply from the tent flap as the creature stepped inside. "We are still at a stalemate on that one, O'Connell."
"Bis’mil’Allah rakhman el rahim." Selim muttered. "Ardeth."
"He is my guest, Selim. I will have no less hospitality shown to him than to any other I would grant that to. Is that understood?" He met his uncle's eyes firmly. "But I more than understand if you wish Azza and Amal to be elsewhere."
"We will take care of Alex." Amal answered firmly. "Unless you order us to go of course, chieftain, husband."
"Far be it from me to do so." Ardeth smiled.
"I know better." Selim grumbled. "If it is your will, Ardeth, I will do it. But Allah has to know this is not as it should be in the world."
"Desperate times sometimes call for desperate measures. And God does grant absolution for those things we do when we have to for his victory and ours." Jonathan spoke up.
"There is wisdom in what you say." Selim agreed.
"I didn't spend four years in the seminary without learning something." Jonathan smiled a bit.
Evelyn sighed. "I don't want to leave him, Ardeth. But we really do need to practice with our weapons don't we? If we have to face the Germans tomorrow that is. It isn't going to help him get well if we lose."
"There is truth to that. Do we go back to the remains of the tanks then and try to practice more?" He looked from Rick to Evelyn and then at his guest.
"I don't think we have a choice."
"We will stay with him, Sitt O'Connell, O'Connell, Ardeth. And we shall send a rider if we need you." Amal put in.
"I'll stay too sis. It really is the least I can do."
"Have Arebe send word by falcon then if it is necessary. We can be back in no time if we have to be. In fact, no doubt that is a better way to do this. Will you go and get your armor then, Rick? We put it back in its crate. Then we shall let Horus take us back to where we were."
"Can you do that and not hurt yourself?" Rick asked.
"I think so. It will do us good to know that as well. At least I am not asking you to shoot at me."
"Well, okay, I'll give you that." Rick sighed but he let go of Evelyn. "I'll be right back, sweetheart."
"I'll just sit with him for a bit longer then." She smiled and went over to Alex's side.
"Truly, Princess, I give you my word to AmmunRa himself, he will be well." The creature said in Egyptian.
"He's still my son." She replied softly. "But I will thank you once more for his life."
"You are welcome then."
"Do you think, Ardeth that-- your guest then will be-- amongst us all for a while yet?" Selim asked.
"In'sh'allah, Selim." He answered not knowing any other one to give. "Why?"
"It would be less-- disconcerting to us all I think if he did not look so out of place." Amal said with a sigh. "Selim will not tell me who he is and so I will not ask but..."
"But it would be less disconcerting, yes. Will you do me the courtesy then priest if I find you robes that will fit to wear them?"
"I am to be a courteous guest now, Medjai? And here I thought turn about might just be fair play."
Ardeth did his best to keep calm at that but it was very hard indeed.
The creature only laughed. "We shall discuss this matter of being a courteous guest then next time you come to Thebes, Medjai, but yes, I will do so if you think it will make things less tense."
"Thank you." He said sincerely. "Perhaps if Adham has some robes that will do Selim. Mine will certainly not fit him he is to tall."
"Adham's would fit your brother I think and so should do." Selim agreed.
"I will speak to Leila and get you some then." Azza said quietly.
"Thank you Azza." He found a smile for his aunt.
"It is nothing."
"Okay, now how do we do this really carefully?" Rick asked coming back in with the armor bundled well in its leather tarps.
"Evelyn if you will take my arm?" He offered her his right and slipped the shield into place on his left. "And if you two can hold onto this." He held it out.
Rick took hold of one side and the creature the other. "Think it'll work?"
"It did for Arebe, Sallah, and I." Selim put in. "I will send Sallah back out to you Ardeth with more water and other drinks."
"Thank you Selim. MaSalaama."
"MaSalaama Ardeth." Selim sighed.
"Ai-hetrem-heset-heru." He recited the prayer with a sigh of his own. And then thankfully they were no longer in Ahm Shere. And it did not seem that hard a trip at all.
"You okay?" Rick asked. He nodded, only then realizing Evelyn had switched her grip on his arm to offer support and not just to keep ahold of him.
"I am fine. It did not seem a hard trip at all." He shrugged. "Perhaps it is more distance than the number of people I carry with me."
"Maybe you should see if Horus will talk to you again when we're in Thebes." Rick suggested.
"There is some hope in that." He smiled a little because it still amazed him that the bright god of Vengeance had found any favor in him at all. "So we have some idea of what our weapons do, but as of yet no real knowledge of the spells in these books. Shall we try a few of those, Evelyn and see if they work as we expect them too?"
"It might be a good idea. Do feel free to tell us if we're wrong though, Priest of Ammun."
"I have a rather extensive knowledge of the book of AmmunRa, and a slight knowledge of the book of the Dead. But I have very little idea at all about the other two, Princess. However, I will try. What sort of spells were you considering?"
"Well there is that one out of the book of AmmunRa which summoned those soldier mummies first at Hamanaptura and then later you summoned them at the Museum in London."
"Ah, that one. I do not know how it will work out here, and we might well animate more than we expect, such as the dead Germans."
"Yeah, when the curator was reading the Book of the Dead at the museum to wake you up he woke up every other mummy in the whole building." Rick pointed out.
"Perhaps then it is dependent on language. Or on the spells that were used during mummification, I do not know that one could summon these guards by simply reciting the same spell translated into Arabic for example."
"The gods do not seem to care what language we pray in." Ardeth pointed out.
"The gods are divine, Ardeth. And for the most part benevolent. And they want us to win. Magic is in general far more exact. And we Egyptians were I admit, always extremists when it came to getting every last symbol or word correct. So shall we try to raise the guard of Hamanaptura here? No doubt between us we can keep them contained if we are successful."
"That'll be different. You mean we don't have to chop them to pieces or blow them to bits first?" Rick smiled a bit.
"Never a dull moment." Evelyn smiled back.
"Bis’mil’Allah." Ardeth rolled his eyes, but it made him smile to see his friends a bit happier. "Then let us try. If you will be so kind of course Evelyn?"
"Right." She took the book of AmmunRa from him and then traced her finger down the first line of text and began to recite. The priest of Ammun stood not far away listening intently but only nodded as she finished. They waited for a long moment and then looked around. "Nothing?" She asked in disappointment. "Can you call them. They'd be extremely useful in this."
"If it will do any good to try." The creature agreed, taking the book from her and repeating most of the last lines himself.
Horus came streaking out of the sun and shrilled before circling down to land on his shield. Then he tapped it hard before taping Ardeth's jaw with more gentleness.
That he had to think about for a bit. "Could you perhaps try that again, Priest, but direct it to Ammun specifically?"
"As you say." He did so from the beginning and this time a warm breeze blew from the north and stirred the sands about them.
"GRANTED, BUT THEY COME FROM WHERE THEY LAY AND IT WILL BE A JOURNEY YET." Said a voice that was not a voice. And Ardeth did not stop to think only went to one knee. Rick followed his lead and Evelyn and the High Priest both went to both knees their hands crossed over their chests.
"We are as always thankful oh great Ammun." His high priest said in the ancient tongue. There was no response but after a bit they got to their feet.
"It is rather disconcerting when they do that in the here and now isn't it?" Evelyn sighed.
"It's crazy enough when they do it in Thebes, at least here they don't tend to show up to talk to you." Rick sighed.
"As you say." He agreed. "How long will it take them to get here from Hamanaptura do you think?"
"The way they travel they may well make it in time for the battle tomorrow." The creature replied. "They may indeed be some help."
"We will be grateful for whatever we can gather." He agreed. "Was there anything of use in the book of Sekhmet then Evelyn?"
"Quite a bit, none of which unfortunately I really understand. But perhaps Sekhmet will be kind to me and give me some indication of what it is I am to be doing. I really have gone over everything Anheratu said to me and I can not understand more than I did before."
"Anheratu?" The creature asked in surprise. "When Ammun spoke of your sister I somehow thought he meant you had one now, not her. When did you speak to her then?"
"The night Sekhmet let me know about the weapons she had left for me. It was, not really a dream but not quite like being at Thebes either. I think perhaps we were in Memphis and she was all grown up. I recall her mostly being just a child."
"As do I." He agreed. "She did desire to train for the priesthood though. I thought perhaps she might become the God's Wife at Thebes at some point."
"Mother would have liked that. But I think she must have gone into the priesthood of Sekhmet instead. She was always wanting to know how to fight." Evelyn smiled. "We shall have to take it on faith then that Sekhmet wants me to know how to defeat these enemies of Egypt. Ardeth will you stand on my right? And Rick, love, could you stand on my left? It seems to work best that way."
"Certainly." Ardeth looked at his brother but Rick only shrugged and did as she asked. "Why may I ask do we keep doing this?"
"Because, they keep telling me to stand between darkness and light. That's you two."
"Truly?" He smiled a little. "I suppose we fit." He was dressed in his customary black robes and Rick was in a white shirt and khaki pants. Plus his friend was much fairer than he was which only added to the contrast.
"So which one of us is which then?" Rick asked. "Ardeth's got the looks for dark maybe but he's got Horus to champion and I've got Anubis."
"I decided I wasn't going to wonder about that only put one of you on each side." Evelyn shrugged. "And Sekhmet is fondest of the twilight times between both so..."
"Truly it does make some sort of sense does it not?" The creature asked, moving to stand on Ardeth's right. "So what are we trying, Nefertiri?"
"There's a spell in the book of War that speaks of ripping apart the enemies of Egypt like young gazelle at the mouth of the wadi. I thought it might work to damage the weapons they bring as well."
"It is certainly worth trying." Ardeth agreed. "Is there anything we can do?"
"Think about darkness and light I suppose." Evelyn shrugged, but she pulled her mask back into place and then took the book of War and opened it and began to read. He closed his eyes and tried to picture the wonder that was the bright god of Vengeance in his mind. The wind came suddenly fierce and hot from the south, behind them. And there was a great rending sound that made him open his eyes. And huge rents appeared in the sand in front of them as if the desert itself had been raked by claws. And as the sun caught those gashes in the desert he thought for a moment he saw them shimmer with wet blood. And then his eye caught on the shadows he and the others were casting on the sands and Allah have mercy because for that one instant their shadows could have been the carvings on a temple wall. Ram, falcon, lion, and jackal from east to west across the sand. Then it was gone and there were only normal shadows now.
"Nice trick." Rick smiled. "That might take care of a couple of tanks, huh?"
"It might indeed." Ardeth agreed. "Are you all right Evelyn?"
"Reciting these spells has never exhausted me like using the armorments do. I like that one. But I think we'll need a great deal of beer if we ask it of her too often. She gets thirsty."
"Allah forbid." He recalled that once Sekhmet had come close to destroying all mankind before AmmunRa in his wisdom had given her a lake full of beer to drink and calmed her back to the gentler side of her nature as goddess of healing and bright Hathor's shadow.
"I will bring you some from Thebes then. I doubt very much there is beer to be had in your camp, Ardeth. Am I correct?" The high priest of AmmunRa asked.
"As you say." He agreed. "It is not in our way."
"Sekhmet would appreciate it." Evelyn agreed.
"Then of course it shall be done." Was the reply. "I have no desire to anger she who is the wrath of Ammun."
"On that again I will admit I agree with you. Was there another spell or two you wished to try, Evelyn?"
"I've got two for healing, and one that I'm going to invoke tomorrow morning for the whole of the tribes, it's designed from what I can tell to grant the army of Pharaoh great strength and insure victory for them. Since the Medjai were the warriors of Pharaoh as well as the gods in old Egypt I thought it might well apply to them. I hope it works for us."
"In'sh'allah." He agreed.
"It would be nice if it were that easy to make sure we win wouldn't it?" Rick asked.
"Life is never so simple." The priest of Ammun shook his head. "Would that it were."
"Then we do what we can. I will see what the bright god of Vengeance grants me then." He opened his own book and looked for the first spell Sallah had translated for him that might be useful. It took a bit because his knowledge of the old writing was very poor at best. But he found it finally. "Do please tell me if I get this wrong." He looked from Evelyn to the champion of Ammun and then repeated the spell softly, not asking it yet but only trying out the words.
"You have a good memory for things you hear, Ardeth." There was a smile to the thing's voice. "Does that come from repeating the Koran so often?"
"It may well." He agreed, managing not to sigh. If indeed they made it through the next three days with out embarrassing him infront of his whole tribe he would be amazed. Horus fluffed out his feathers and then straightened them again with a chirp. Ardeth smiled just a little. "As you say my friend." For some reason he could almost hear Rick's voice overlaid with that grumble. "Let us do this right then, hmm?" He took a deep breath and the recited the spell. "Great Horus, god of vengeance, grant us this day, thy might against the foes of Egypt, cast once more thy great spear into those who would harm our blessed land and sweep them from her borders into the great waste that lies outside the Duat." Horus gave a sharp cry and launched himself into the sky. Ardeth looked up and then wished he had not as a blinding flash of sunlight came down and streaked over the sands in front of them and the remains of two of the tanks most visible were simply gone. And he had to smile despite having to blink back tears at the brightness. "Thank you."
"Horus is fond of you, Ardeth. Truly, you should be thankful."
"I am so much more than grateful. I trust the bright son of Osiris knows this as well as Allah." He replied. "It is a good spell to know then." He looked over at the high priest of AmmunRa. "Must we have the books with us then and recite from them or will only saying the spell do the same thing?"
"The written word gives the spell its bones, the spoken word its breath, and the grace of the god its flesh. Therefore all three are needed to accomplish what you will. But when you ask the bright god of Vengeance Ardeth it is possible that he will do so without the first for fondness but it requires a great deal more effort from you and from him and so it is better to do it correctly and save what strength we can."
"As you say then. I will have to find a way then to carry the book with me into battle. It weighs a great deal and is not easy to manage while fighting."
"Rucksacks?" Evelyn suggested. "Rick and I have had pretty good luck with those in the past?"
"I will have to carry my shield on my arm then but that is probably best for fighting." He agreed.
"I can't believe I'm asking this, but who's carrying the book of the Dead? It isn't going to do me any good. I can't read it or speak it. And Anubis is not going to help more than he has to I don't think." Rick sighed.
"There aren't a lot of warlike spells in the book of the dead anyway. It's more to do with curses and the raising of the dead and prayers to see that a person is well in the afterlife." Evelyn sighed. "Let's leave it at Ahm Shere unless we really need it. God forbid."
"Is there no spell then for conjuring us some of the warriors of Anubis? Certainly they would be useful against the Germans." Ardeth looked over at her.
"Not that I found. Do you know of any, priest of Ammun?"
"No, but I have limited knowledge of the book of the Dead. There is one in the book of AmmunRa that I would recommend however. It should have much the same effect as the two we have used so far."
"Good. Then we leave the book of the Dead back at camp and you can take the book of AmmunRa, I'll take Sekhmet's, and you can keep Horus' Ardeth. I'd really rather not have to call on Anubis more than we have to anyway. I know he's our ally in this battle but I think I'd even trust you further than I'd trust him, Priest."
"Truly? I am honored of course." The creature smiled. "Anubis is not evil, Nefertiri he only has no concern or understanding of life. It is something like that fatalism your god can inspire Ardeth. If dying is the only means to achieve a goal why should one be leery of it when it leads directly to salvation? Anubis is the god of the dead. Therefore, if death is the result of following him why should one object to it, it means only that you are now part of the land of the faithful?"
"There is logic in that. But it makes me no less concerned. I would lose as few of us yet to death as I must. Truly Paradise is just that, but those left behind are burdened greatly by the loss."
"Keep that in mind will you, Medjai?" There was an odd note to the creature's voice now. "Next time you decided to use your god's grace to travel to far too quickly, hmm?" And then it turned to look across the dunes. "Your tribes mates come with drinks and some news I think."
He shook his head. I will never understand you. "As you say. We can use a rest."
"I don’t like letting you near the book of AmmunRa, Imhotep, but if it brings us victory tomorrow, I’ll let it go. However, I want your word to Ammun that when this battle is done you will give it back to me." Evelyn looked from the great gold book to Ammun’s high priest.
"Why Princess do you truly think my god will grant you a way to destroy me once the battle is over?" The thing smiled.
"No, not really. But if he'll give me one that keeps you in the land of the Tuat and away from our dreams I certainly shall count that as miracle enough."
"Now where would be the reward in that?" The thing chuckled.
"You aren't damned back to everlasting torment to await being woken by some other silly archeologist with more knowledge than sense?" She smiled.
"For that, I will be thankful myself." The thing agreed.
"If we aren't going to be working with the armor right now. I think I'll go bundle this stuff back up. Just to be safe." Rick sighed.
"There is logic to that." Ardeth agreed. He waited until his friend was out of easy hearing. "Why do you not join him Evelyn? Using the gifts of Anubis bothers him more than he says." He put it in English.
"I know it does. And he's still kicking himself for what happened to Alex. Can you give us a few minutes alone, brother of ours?"
"Of course. I will go see Sallah." He agreed. Evelyn smiled and then leaned up and kissed his cheek. "Evelyn."
"I know I know, it isn't proper. No disrespect meant brother of mine. Silly custom anyway. I kiss Jonathan's cheek all the time." She headed after Rick.
His guest waited until she was gone to chuckle. "Why so embarrassed, Ardeth? Her husband certainly has kissed you far more intimately than that."
It was very hard not to flush at that. "Allah does not approve of a man being too familiar with the wife of another."
"Ah." The thing chuckled again. "No such prohibition against her husband though?"
"Not that I am aware of no." He shrugged. "If I am mistaken of course, Allah will have mercy on me for my ignorance."
"I would hope so. I find your-- naivete rather enjoyable myself."
He took a deep breath. "I suppose it was too much to hope for that you would leave me be all day."
"Have I said a word about how much I desire you Abah where anyone else might overhear?"
"No. I will give you that. Thank you then. I can deal with it well enough if it is only us."
"Or your brother."
"As you say." He agreed. "Will you do me the courtesy of coming with me then? I would leave them alone for a while. They nearly lost their son, no doubt they are still shaken despite what they do."
"There is truth to that." The priest of Ammun agreed and so they walked over to meet Selim, Sallah, and surprisingly enough, Adham.
"Salaama wa alakhum, Selim, Adham, Sallah. I was not expecting you all."
"No doubt." Selim smiled a little. "Amal and Azza sent me with word that Alex is feeling better. He woke and ate and then took a bath and is now sleeping again."
"That is good news. I will tell Rick and Evelyn." He smiled.
"And I had to come and see who it was that you wished to borrow robes for. Since I could not see your brother needing them and he is the only one tall enough I thought. But I see now that I was wrong. And no wonder Azza did not know the name of your-- guest."
Ardeth met his fellow leader's gaze and nodded once. "So you see. We face a great battle tomorrow Adham el Galal, and I will do what I must, and Allah wills, to ensure that we succeed. The High Priest of AmmunRa at Thebes that was, is my guest. I have offered him my hospitality."
"Have you?" Adham slid from his horse and walked toward them. "When your father and his father and all your ancestors before them back beyond the Prophet himself, peace be upon him, gave their lives to keep the damned thing in the ground?"
"As Egypt requires, Adham I can do no less." He pulled his rank and standing about him and faced the taller man squarely. "If you can not find it in your heart to understand that, you can consider it a command."
The one dark eye blinked. "You have never once made any command of me, Ardeth Bay."
"It was never necessary before." He replied. "Speak plainly leader of the ninth tribe of the Medjai. Will you do so or do we argue it some more?"
"Your father, my mother's brother, would knock you to the ground for this."
"My father, may he find peace in Paradise, would do as I do and see to the safety of Egypt." He disagreed. "Are you questioning my right to lead, Adham?"
"And if I am?"
He took a step to his left away from his guest and slid the shield from his back to the ground. "Then we will settle it." He took a deep breath and prayed quickly to Allah for strength and mercy. "And all our tribes will suffer for our lack of trust and perhaps Egypt herself will fall for our folly." But he found the strength to put his hand on his sword hilt none the less.
Adham nodded once and then smiled. "You are indeed your father's son, Ardeth Bay. I will follow you onto Paradise, cousin. But I think you may be mad none the less."
"You may yet be right." He agreed, but he smiled back.
"You have never stood so in direct opposition to one of the leaders of the tribes, Ardeth." Adham pointed out.
"It was never necessary before." He shrugged. "Are you so unhappy with my decision, Adham?"
"Unhappy? No. Do I wonder at the logic of it? Yes. Will I grant that you have the right to do so? Yes. But I will see that my tribe abides by it, chieftain."
"Thank you." He picked up his shield. "For a moment there I truly thought you would challenge me Adham."
"If I thought it would do the tribes more good to do so, I would have. But it would have torn my heart, cousin. It is good to know you have the bravery to stand by your decisions though."
"Did you doubt it?" He had to ask.
"Not really. But this is a different sort of battle to face, Ardeth. And I will be happier knowing you are indeed the man I have always thought you to be."
"Are you two done being foolish and causing an old man no end of grief?" Selim grumbled.
"I think so." Ardeth replied with a smile. "Allah grant us all the strength do get through this."
"In'sh'allah." Adham agreed.
"Your offer of hospitality is appreciated, Medjai, but we face a great enemy tomorrow and if truly it causes this much turmoil within your tribes I will keep to Thebes except for the fighting." The High Priest of AmmunRa spoke quietly in Egyptian.
Ardeth turned to look at him and then shook his head. "Not after making me nearly have to kill my cousin you will not. You are my guest now, Priest. Accustom yourself to that will you?"
And that only made the creature laugh. "You are going to be as damnable a host as you are a guest are you not, Medjai?"
"If I must." He agreed. "This is Adham, leader of the seventh tribe of the Medjai." He switched back to Arabic.
Adham looked from him to the priest of Ammun and back. Then he sighed and held out his arms, palms up in the traditional ancient Egyptian greeting.
"My chieftain, and cousin, grants you hospitality, I can do no less. Salaam wa alakhum then, Priest of AmmunRa at Thebes that was."
The creature paused for a moment and then smiled and took the offered grip. "Wa alakhum salaam. Though no doubt I am better served by wishing you Ammun's peace in return."
"If you think so." Adham replied. "Ardeth has asked me to give you something to wear while you are amongst us. So I brought them." His cousin let go of the creature's arms with a smile. No doubt they had both tested each other's strength with the grip. He smiled just a bit, because Adham could probably lift Rick off the ground and undead or not he had to think that strength made an impression on the priest of Ammun.
"Do I want to know what's been going on while we were gone?" Rick asked, coming up to stand beside him, Evelyn at his side with her arm around his waist.
"Nothing that turned out to be of to much consequence." He replied.
"I would not say that." His guest replied.
"Neither would I." Adham agreed. "But it is a good end." He went over to his horse and pulled a set of robes from his saddle bag. "Here. I think they will fit."
"Likely they will be to big." The Priest of Ammun smiled. "And that is surprising enough." But he took them with a nod. "Are you not hot in wearing so much in the desert though?"
"It is actually no more hot than wearing less." Selim answered. "We have tried many different variations over the years and found that if it is loose and breathes but keeps the sun off the skin it is more comfortable than bearing the sun and wearing less."
"Truly?" That seemed to surprise him. "Do you find it so, Nefertiri?"
"I can't say I remember being any more comfortable at Memphis than I am in Cairo no." Evelyn agreed.
"Hmm." The creature shrugged. "Very well."
"Do me the modern courtesy of changing elsewhere though, would you, priest of Ammun?" She smiled a bit.
"What is this odd new idea of being ashamed of how one looks without clothing?"
"Modesty is a virtue Allah approves of." Ardeth replied with a sigh.
"You god is not a very happy one, Ardeth Bay. But I will abide by his unhappiness while I am here." And with that he walked away and behind a dune or two.
"Bis’mil’Allah rakhman el rahim." Ardeth looked eastward in honest prayer. "The damned thing will drive me mad before the Germans arrive."
"Hey it hasn't conjured up any plages or crocodiles or worse right?" Rick pointed out.
"There is truth in that. Allah knows I do not question his will but I would do much better at this if AmmunRa would find another champion to aid us in this."
"He isn't a comfortable ally, no. But he does have the power to stop those tanks and that's really what's important isn't it?" Evelyn pointed out.
"As you say. I will-- try to find more comfort in the will of Allah then." He recalled suddenly what Horus had said to him in Thebes. When the time comes and you know why I and my father's father and even your god have forced you to bear the constant reheating of the blade we would wield against the foes of Egypt you will know that you have more courage than most and strength and honor to bear the weight you must carry. Some lessons, no matter how painful must be learned to be borne, he is not a teacher you would wish, but he is not as unkind as he could be Ardeth nor will I allow him to be cruel. He would take that on faith as well. Please bright god of Vengeance, will you see that he does not humiliate me in front of my people? At least not until this battle is won. I need their belief in me if I am to lead them and they will think I am mad enough for only allowing him to walk among us. If they knew the whole game of desire it plays with me they would never follow me at all. Surely you can understand that? He recalled that Isis and Thoth and Anubis even had kept from the council of gods that Set had forced himself on his nephew because they worried that the other gods would then not let Horus rule in his father's place.
And it was answer enough that Horus came wining his way out of the sun to perch once more on Ardeth's shield and then tucked his head under his chin and began to smooth his hair with his beak. "Thank you." He whispered both to his friend and to his namesake.
It was only a few minutes later than the champion of Ammun came back, dressed now in the robes Adham had given him. And it was odd, in how much more human it made him seem. Other than the lack of tattoos he could have been one of the tribes. Ardeth shook his head a little.
"They are very odd, Medjai, I shall have to remember not to expect as much freedom of movement as I am accustomed too. But they are not as uncomfortable as I thought them to be."
"You look like an Arab now." Evelyn smiled a little.
"As you say, Princess. It will take accustoming myself to them but if it will aid us in finding that path you spoke of between enmity and being allies, Ardeth. I will consider it worth the annoyance."
He smiled just a bit, and truly had to bite back wanting to ask how it felt to be the one not minding the price of compliance for a change but he swallowed it down. "Were there more spells we were going to try?" He asked instead.
"I would see if I recall the spell to Ammun correctly, Medjai. Other than that I am content with what I know I can do."
"If we exhaust ourselves too much we won't be as good tomorrow as we need to be." Rick put in.
"There is that. Did you find anything more in the books than I did, Sallah?" Evelyn asked.
"There are a few spells that might indeed be useful but it will be very hard to know for certain until we have real battles to try them in. And that is risky."
"As you say, perhaps we can try them either toward the end or at the very beginning. Shall we try your spell then, Priest of Ammun and then I will see to how the others of my tribe are training with their more conventional weapons."
"Very well. I give you my word Evelyn I will give you back the book of AmmunRa when the battle is over. I swear it to Ammun himself, he who is lord of all Egypt."
"Fine." She handed him the golden book. "It weighs a great deal."
"As it should." He took it and then opened it to the page he was obviously looking for and nodded. "Let us see if it works as I think it shall then." He looked back toward the remains of the German tanks. "O great god; AmmunRa, lord of the scimitar that protects his army; O lord of might who can fight hundreds of thousands, who unites by might and crushes his enemies who are upon the hills so they pour back to their home valleys like the sons of cowards; may you make slaughter amongst them as thou does every night to the seventy time seventy who follow Set."
There was a crash like that of a thousand hooves, or the horrible thunder he had heard long ago in London and then the earth itself seemed to shiver and a shimmering wave of something that was too solid for sunlight poured over them and out into the battlefield and then was gone.
"Well it didn't seem to harm the tanks any, but it might be more to do with the men than..." Evelyn stopped as the four tanks nearest them that they could see bit of through the sand simply dissolved into something that flowed into the sands. "Oh my."
"Thank your son for me when you see him again, Princess. He reminded me of that by asking me if I could not simply wash them back to their homeland."
"Alex is a bright boy." Ardeth agreed with a smile. "Come then, we will go back to camp and I will see to my tribes and you can see to your son, my friends."
"As much as I appreciate your hospitality, Ardeth. It is close to sundown in Thebes and I must see to my god. I will return after you have prayed to Allah tomorrow morning. But I would see if Ammun will tell to me at what time tomorrow we are to expect the Germans and so we will know when the battle will be."
"There is logic in that." He agreed. And it was a relief not to wonder how they were going to arrange accommodations for his very unusual guest.
"I had some of the others put up another tent, Ardeth, next to yours, in case it was to be needed." Selim put in. "Perhaps it is best if we meet there in the morning. If that is possible of course."
"Certainly." The priest of Ammun smiled. "I shall join you there when I have seen to my god and you have prayed to yours, warriors." He looked at Ardeth and then over to Rick. "What Ammun is kind enough to tell me I will tell to you both in Thebes. How is it you say it, Medjai? MaSalaama?"
He found a smile of his own. "MaSalaama indeed." He shook his head. And then where the priest of Thebes had stood there was only another shimmer of light that was almost solid and he was gone.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Bis’mil’Allah rakhman el rahim." Selim muttered.
Ardeth smiled just a bit at the honest relief in his uncle's voice. "As you say, Selim. Truly, I wonder at the enemy we face if Allah wills us to side with He who shall not be named in order to protect Egypt."
"Given what we know the creature capable of perhaps all in all I can see the wisdom of using it to fight for Egypt." Adham put in. "But it is still...unnerving Ardeth."
"As you say." He agreed. On that, cousin, you are far more right than you would imagine.
"Unnerving isn't the word I'd use, but I suppose it could do." Rick sighed. "Let's head back to camp then, Ardeth. I'd like to check on Alex, and get this damned stuff put away for tomorrow."
"Did you bring us horses, uncle?"
Selim looked startled and then shook his head. "No, Ardeth. It did not even occur to me."
"Then we will go back the way we arrived, Horus and Allah willing of course." He shrugged. "We will gather our armorments and join you back at Ahm Shere."
"Do you want to try and explain to the rest of the tribe leaders our unlikely ally?" Adham asked. "Or do we as of yet leave it unsaid?"
"It will need to be said tonight. Tomorrow we face the Germans and we will all need to know who the enemy is before we start. We do not have the luxury of fighting each other while fighting the Germans as well."
"As you say." Adham agreed. "My horse and my sword are yours, Ardeth, onto Paradise."
"I could hardly ask for more, Adham." He smiled a bit. "I will see you in Ahm Shere."
"I would add my voice to Adham's. I do not understand what Allah has willed us, chieftain but I will follow. My sword and my horse are yours, unto Paradise."
"I trust you know how much that means to me, Selim, but I will give thanks to Allah none the less." He nodded.
"Then I will see you in Ahm Shere as well." Selim agreed and turned his horse back toward the east. Adham and Sallah rode after him.
"Your tribes are truly amazing, Ardeth." Evelyn smiled.
"In'sh'allah." He agreed but it made him proud none the less.
Rick came back over with the armor of Anubis carefully wrapped back in the leather tarps. "Are we set to go then?"
"I think so." He tallied all the weapons in his head and then nodded. "If you will hold onto this?" He held out his shield again. "Evelyn?" He offered her his arm and she smiled a bit as she took it.
"Thank you Ardeth."
"Ai-hetrem-heset-heru." He repeated the prayer one more time and they were gone from the battlefield and once more in Ahm Shere. It took little time to get the armor of the scorpion king put back in its crate and then they went to check on Alex. Azza was sitting with him when they arrived, reading. But she put the book aside as they came in.
"He has been sleeping well since he ate and bathed. He seems only tired now." She offered with a smile.
Evelyn moved over to kneel beside him and brushed the blond hair off his forehead. "Thank you so much for staying with him Azza."
"It is no hardship." She smiled a bit more. "He is family now, Evelyn as are you." And she reached over to squeeze Evelyn's hand. "I am only so very thankful that he is well."
Ardeth closed his eyes at that, because Daoud had not been so fortunate and that pain had to be sharp in Azza's heart right now.
And the same thought must have occurred to Evelyn because she only hugged the older woman tightly. "I...can't be that brave, Azza. I just can't."
"Shhh.."
"Let's leave them be for a few moments, huh?" Rick whispered and he nodded and walked back out with his brother to leave the women alone.
"It will do Azza well to have Alex to worry and care for, and Evelyn to turn to I think." He said quietly.
"Yeah." Rick sighed. "I...didn't even think about that, Ardeth, when they offered to take care of him while we went to work on this stuff."
"Neither did I. I must ask my uncle's forgiveness on that." He agreed. "I am so very glad that Alex is well, Rick. Truly." He squeezed his brother's shoulder.
"Me too." Rick agreed. "Let's go walk?"
Ardeth smiled just a bit. "If you wish." He could almost hear the unvoiced question already. "But I can say right now that there was no bargain made."
Rick looked surprised for a moment and then smiled. "That's good. And yeah I was going to ask."
"I would have been surprised if you were not." He squeezed Rick's shoulder tighter for a moment. "But let us walk as you said. I would do this without so much concern. Did you want to tell Evelyn?"
Rick considered that for a moment. "Nah, she'll notice we're both gone. And I wouldn't want to embarrass Azza by going back in right now. I bet Evie's not the one doing the crying."
"As you say." He agreed. They walked to the far side of the part of camp they were staying in, where the horses were tethered, so they could talk without worry and also keep watch for Selim, Adham, and Sallah so they did not walk in on Evelyn and Azza unaware.
"You doing okay today?" Rick asked after a bit.
"I am fine. Truly, my friend, he was a very courteous guest. I think only once did he even mention his...interest in me and that when there was no one about at all to hear."
"Good. I was afraid he was going to embarrass the hell out of you."
He shook his head. "He is mad, of that I have little doubt, but he knows as we do that the only chance Egypt has if for us all to face the Germans together. And if he disgraces me in front of my tribes mates I can not lead the Medjai to war. And Ammun would not be happy with that."
"Yeah there is that." Rick agreed. "Did he bother you while we were getting Alex back here safe?"
"No." Ardeth smiled a bit. "Undoubtedly because I expected him to. Truly I think he delights in doing just what I am not expecting because he knows it annoys me."
Rick snorted. "Probably." He agreed. "No kisses today?"
"No, thanks be to Allah." And he meant it. "I would have given him one willingly, I think, for saving Alex you know."
"That's kinda what I was afraid of, yeah."
He gripped his brother's shoulder. "He did not even ask for that, Rick. There was no bargain made and no price demanded after the fact. I swear it to Allah."
"Good." Rick relaxed a little. "I'm not sure I know how to be glad the damned thing was around, Ardeth. Not when I really hate what he puts you through but..." Rick squeezed his hand.
"But your son is alive and well because of his being here. Yes, I know." He nodded and then shrugged. "We shall have to have faith, Rick. What else can we do? Truly he drives me half mad with teasing. And I am at times hard pressed to find my compliance for the bargain we made for my tribes, but I am thankful beyond words myself that he has been here both to save my people and to save your son. It is not so bad as it could be. I must have faith in Allah and the bright son of Osiris that they will not let it become so. I can bear the rest."
"You really are the bravest man I know, Ardeth. I mean that."
He flushed just a bit. "It is kind of you to think so, Rick." He met his brother's eyes and then regretted it because for the first time in the waking world he wanted nothing more than to pull his brother close and kiss him. But he was more embarrassed by the fact that it was far more than kisses that he was finding himself desiring. "I will take a bit to go and pray to Allah, my friend, for I will need his guidance and support when I face the leaders of the tribes and try to explain to them our unlikely ally. Will you do me the favor of telling Selim and Adham where I have gone and have them pass word to the others that we must have a council of war tonight?"
"Sure." Rick agreed and then clasped his shoulder tightly. "For what it's worth, Ardeth. I'm with Selim and Adham you know. I'd follow you to Paradise or hell."
"Truly, I could not ask for a better man to fight beside me, Rick. Not from all my tribes, all of Egypt, or all the worlds for that matter."
"How'd you put it? It's nice of you to think so?" But his brother looked embarrassedly at the ground.
"I do." He promised and squeezed Rick's hand before letting go to find a quiet spot to sit and think and pray to Allah. He had no doubt that several of his tribal leaders where going to be unhappy at best with their allying themselves with the very creature they had sworn to keep in its grave but what had to be done for the safety of Egypt would be done. He bowed and faced Mecca as the sun set and prayed sincerely to Allah for his guidance and his strength and for his mercy on the men he would lead into battle tomorrow. Then he rose to his feet and went back to his tribes.
Selim and Adham had indeed gathered the other leaders together and they were all sitting with a few of the riding band leaders as well around Selim's main hearth fire when he returned. Rick was there as well, talking to Selim and Sallah. "We are all here, Ardeth. Will you tell us now what it is we know of the battle to come tomorrow?" Selim asked.
"The falcon arrived from Aswan, Ardeth. Izzy says that there are at least forty of those tanks to be faced tomorrow. He could not get any closer as they started to fire upon him but that number he was certain of." Arebe put in.
"Bis’mil’Allah." He took a deep breath. "It will indeed be a hard fight to win. Ten of those tanks took out all of Ahmer's tribe without any damage to them at all."
"While I was in Marakesh and people were talking about this foray into the Sahara, there were rumored to be about a hundred of the things, plus other autos and transport for the troops." Jonathan put in.
"So we face perhaps a hundred but at least forty and all the other troops as well." He agreed. "Rick, Evelyn and I have spent this day working with the gifts of old Egypt and truly I think perhaps we can defeat forty. But it will not be easy."
"When He who shall not be named destroyed the ten who came here after the destruction of the eighth tribe I was uncertain as to the reason Allah wished the creature to be free to aid us. Now I see that it was badly needed aid indeed." Abdul sighed. "Truly we walk in a time of miracles, my friends."
"There is far too much truth to that, Abdul." Ardeth agreed. "We have been given great weapons to fight the Germans, my friends, an no leader of the tribes has ever had better men to face battle with than Allah has granted me." He looked around the group of Medjai and then to his brother. "But we have all sworn to protect Egypt from all foes. It is the second pillar of our oath. And so in that, I have agreed to abide by the will of Allah and accept these gifts and allies from the Egypt that was. And that includes He who shall not be named."
"Do you think the creature will return for the battle?" Pasha asked.
"I know so." He replied.
"And you would have us fight with it?" Sura exclaimed.
"I would." He agreed. "I expect no less."
"The you are mad." Gamal said quietly. "We are Medjai Ardeth el Mohamed. We do not fight with the damned or the creature we are sworn to put in its grave." Ardeth did not miss that Gamal gave him his name and not his title.
"Gamal is right." Husan nodded.
"We do what we must, when we must to see to the safety of Egypt." Ardeth said firmly. "If that means we fight beside the creature for now then that is what we shall do."
"I will not." Gamal rose to his feet.
"You will." He said, not raising his voice or getting to his feet yet. "And you will tell your tribe to do the same. We do not have the luxury of doing otherwise."
"You will lead us all into damnation." Husan put in.
"If that is what we face then face it like men." Pasha growled. "If we do not stop the Germans they will take Ahm Shere. Have you not seen what wonders and horrors lie beneath these sands? Do we risk that they may wake again the army of the Scorpion King? No. We shall fight and we shall die. And we shall find Paradise or Hell but we will not lose."
"I do not fear death but I will not follow a madman or the damned." Sura shook his head.
"I am neither, praise be to Allah." Ardeth said. "But I am your chieftain. And I will lead as I can and as Allah wills. And if Allah in his infinite wisdom gives us the damned as an ally I will not gainsay him. Victory for Egypt first, Gamal, Husan, Sura. It is the second point of the oath you swore at manhood. First we vow to be onto death a warrior of God. Then we vow onto worse than death to protect Egypt from those who would plunder her secrets and unleash the ancient evils buried in her sands. That must come first, Medjai. Or we are truly damned."
"You let outsiders leave Hamanaptura alive. You fail to keep He who shall not be named in his grave. Twice. You lead us to this cursed place and nearly kill us all and now you want me to fight beside the damned and follow you to hell. No."
He rose to his feet and met Gamal's eyes with a glare. "You will note, Gamal el Husain, that the man I allowed to leave Hamanaptura is here with us now to face this battle. You will note that both time the creature escaped its grave it was defeated. And you will note that your fellow Medjai do not whine like children about the battles we face. You will do as I tell you to do or you may draw your sword. We are Medjai for the love of Allah, Gamal. Victory has always come before all else. You know that."
"Ardeth is right. Tomorrow we fight the Germans, then we worry about re-burying the cursed priest." Arebe spoke up.
"I will stand with you Ardeth, you know that." Selim agreed.
"And I." Adham spoke quietly.
"As I said when I arrived, Ardeth. My sword is yours." Pasha added.
"As is mine."Abdul's voice was quiet but intense.
"Well Gamal?" Ardeth asked, but he did as he had done earlier that day and put his hand on his sword hilt.
"You would kill me for arguing with you?"
"No. You are certainly free to argue. You might even persuade me to change my mind. But I am chieftain of the Medjai, as was my father and his father and all my ancestors back to before the Prophet, peace be upon him. And you will do as I order you too come the battle tomorrow and that includes fighting beside He who shall not be named. And you will tell all your tribe to do the same. And if you do not I will assume it is because you wish my position and not yours. And for that Gamal el Husain yes I will kill you if I must."
"Surely if Allah did not want us to fight beside the damned thing he would not have sent it to keep us alive the other day. And he would not let you lead us if you were mad." Jalil spoke up finally. "Leave off, Gamal, he is chieftain and we have a war to face tomorrow."
"You will get us all killed." Sura argued. "What if the creature turns on us during the fight?"
"It is already free, Sura. We have no way to re-entomb it at the moment when the very spells we would use are at its command to slay the Germans instead. If it wished to side with the Germans we would be dead by the thousands and with Ahmer and Allah in Paradise. I do not do this lightly, leaders of the tribes of the Med-Jai, Allah knows this. Nor do I expect it to be easy for you to do. But it is necessary. Truly, if I could only take myself and the creature to face the tanks Germany sends and know it would be enough I would do so and spare you this. But I can not. And Egypt and the world do not have the luxury of our worries for survival or even salvation."
"Like hell you're going alone." Rick muttered.
"On that I agree, O'Connell." Adham nodded.
"So Sura, Gamal, Husan, do we fight or do we argue or do we do as we should and must for the good of Egypt and our tribes and concern ourselves with the battle to come tomorrow?" He asked.
"I am concerned about your sanity. I am concerned about our souls, and I am concerned about the damned creature. But I will agree that our first oath is to Egypt. And if Allah wills that we fight with the damned thing this once instead of against it. I will do so." Husan sighed. "But after the battle, Ardeth, we shall speak again."
"With certainty, Husan. Allah willing we are not in Paradise to do so."
"In'sh'allah." Husan snorted.
"I share Husan's concerns Ardeth, but I will not raise my sword in challenge to your right to lead us, chieftain." Sura nodded finally. "But I will kill you myself if it brings us destruction, and the foes of Egypt victory."
"As you well should." He agreed. "Gamal?"
"Gamal should not be your concern." Kashim spoke quietly as he got to his feet. "For we all know that unless Allah truly wishes for him to take your place he has no hope of defeating you in battle, Ardeth."
"And you Kashim?" Ardeth asked, because his fellow warrior was at least as good with a sword as he was. "Do you challenge me then?" He cast a quick prayer to Allah because if he won against Kashim the fight would leave him vulnerable to Gamal, and if he won against Gamal he would be to exhausted to take Kashim as well. And then where would Egypt be?
"I think you are likely mad. But if so then you have the protection of Allah and that is problematic. I think that you are as always more concerned with the greater picture than the small and the small at this point is all the Medjai and that worries me even more. And I think that you are willing to sacrifice us all to death and even damnation if that is what it takes to win this war. And I have no desire to go to hell. But, no one has ever accused you of being a coward or of not being willing to die or worse right along beside us. And so, no, chieftain I will not fight you tonight. But if it happens as Sura fears, I will make you regret it if I must sacrifice my own soul to do it. Do we understand each other, Ardeth Bay?"
"We do." He agreed. "If it means anything, Kashim, I would thank you for your loyalty to the tribes. Truly the eleventh tribe is blessed to have you for their leader."
"As Allah wills." Kashim agreed.
"Stand down, Gamal. We fight tomorrow. We do not need to be slaughtering each other tonight." Husan sighed.
Gamal was silent for a long moment. "For my fellow Medjai then." He agreed.
"Thanks be to God." Ardeth sighed. "Your oath, Gamal. To Allah. I would know I can turn my back on you while I am fighting the Germans."
Silence for a long moment. "My oath to Allah, Ardeth Bay, I will follow your orders and fight beside you and those you take as our allies for the battle tomorrow. Then we shall see."
"For now I will accept it. I will have the same oath from each of you. I do not have the luxury of doing otherwise."
And each man in turn gave his oath. Sura, Kashim, and Husan all hedging them with they would see after tomorrow. The others made no such qualifiers. It was not what he would have wished for but it would have to suffice.
"Then we will turn our minds and our concerns to the battle to come tomorrow. Adham how did the training with the grenade launchers go?"
"Well. I have found myself ten men in the tribes who are well versed in the use of such things and two who grasped it quickly. We shall set them up at dawn. Did Izzy give you some idea as to the direction the Germans travel in, Arebe?"
"They come from the north west." Arebe nodded.
"Then we will set up facing west and north for they will have to go around the great ridge of mountains to the north and that should put them coming mostly from the west."
"That is the direction the scouting party came from." He agreed. "Did the rest of you see that your men where armed with the new guns?"
"Truly these rapid repeating rifles are a wonderful thing." Ahmed put in.
"Good." He sat down with a sigh. "Asyd did you find us horses to pull Husan's cannons?"
"I did. There are forty of them staked at your holding area Husan. And Arebe has seen to the construction of those sleds."
"Then I too shall have them and the men to fire them set up at dawn, Ardeth."
"Work with Adham on that so that we do not have you covering the same area. We will need all the firepower we have I fear."
"As you say." There was less tension to Husan's voice now.
"And did you find me men who can throw those grenades, Asyd?"
"I chose the five best riders of each tribe Ardeth. We will not miss." Asyd assured him.
"Good. But I have another request. Pull me the best of each and give them torches. The weapons Rick, Evelyn, and I have been given are good for piercing through the steel of these tanks. We shall aim for the fuel storage and then if a rider could follow with a torch we will let their fuel do the exploding and save our cannon and grenades for the other autos they bring."
"There is sense to that. Very well." Asyd smiled. "I will enjoy lighting a few of them."
"In'sh'allah." He agreed. "It is very likely my friends that no matter how well we fight or the great gifts we have been given by old Egypt that not all of us will be gathered back here tomorrow night. So I leave you to see to your tribes and your families. If Allah has mercy it will be for naught and we can look back on this night of concern with smiles."
"You would do better to pray for rain in Aswan, Ardeth. But we all appreciate the thought." Pasha answered. "Allah hamdas aha, Medjai."
"Allah hamdas aha." They chorused together.
"We gather back here after dawn prayers and then we go to war." Ardeth said firmly. "Ma Salaama to us all."
And the men headed off into the shadows, although most of them came over to quietly assure him of their faith and their allegiance. Even a few of the band leaders from Gamal, Sura, and Husan's tribes which eased his mind some. He did not look forward to worrying about his back while fighting the Germans.
"That was tense." Rick said and squeezed his shoulder tightly.
"It was." He agreed. "But it did not come to as bad an end as I was afraid of." He relaxed. "They will not be happy with the damned thing being here in the morning but I have their oaths for the day. Come night fall though it will be different. You may wish to...have Evelyn, Alex, and Jonathan ready to leave quickly."
"Leave you to get cut down for saving all of Egypt? Come on Ardeth you know me better than that."
"Allah forbid." Selim's voice was sharp. "Truly, Ardeth, I will offer your brother and his family my hospitality so that you have one less thing to worry about."
"And I." Adham agreed.
He smiled. "What is a man to do with such friends?"
"I keep telling you, when this is all over and we've beaten the Germans and the damned thing is locked back in its grave then you throw us a party." Rick squeezed his shoulder again.
"So you have. Does that sound good to you Selim, Adham?"
"Why certainly." Adham chuckled. "And we have the birth of Rihana's child to celebrate soon as well."
"In'sh'allah." He agreed. But he could not keep from wondering if it would fall to that as yet unborn child to lead his tribes someday. He would find a moment to speak to Adham about just that. "You should meet my sister, Rick."
"I look forward to it." Rick nodded. "Evie's a bit annoyed at being left out of this council of war you know. But I can see why you wanted it to be as normal as it could be. I'll go tell her what's up and check on Alex and see if he's up for diner."
"Thank you, my friend." He gripped Rick's wrist as his friend squeezed his shoulder once more. Rick only smiled and then left. Ardeth waited a long moment before speaking again. "Adham, Selim, will you both wait for me a moment? I must speak to you of family things before we take up our roles as leaders."
"Certainly." Selim nodded.
"Of course." Adham agreed.
He went over to where Jonathan had been sitting just outside the circle of leaders. "It was good of you to stay with us, Jonathan."
That seemed to surprise the Englishman. "I'm not certain what help I'll be, Ardeth. But I'll do my best."
"You have a great skill with that." He indicated the rifle sitting beside the slighter man.
And that made Jonathan smile. "Good of you to notice finally."
He chuckled. "You saved my life here before. I have never forgotten that. Now I must ask you for two favors."
"Me?" That was obviously even more of a surprise.
"Indeed. One is simple enough. Selim was kind enough to set up another tent beside the one we have been using. It came to my mind that we should be courteous brothers and leave your sister and my brother alone for the night, considering there is always the chance we will not all survive tomorrow."
"There is that. Not a problem then, Ardeth. I didn't really bring much in the way of luggage to move."
He chuckled again. "I noticed. Truly some times I forget that you and your sister are aristocracy in England when you show so little of it here."
"Seems a bit silly out here really." Jonathan replied.
"Still, your father would be proud of you both no doubt. And that brings me to my second favor. Rick is a good friend, the best man to have beside me in a fight I do not doubt, but he does not always think of things ahead. And so I will ask of you. Make certain Alex and Evelyn are safe when this is over, if I am not here to do so?"
Very serious blue eyes met his. "You can count on it."
He smiled and gripped the man's shoulder. "I know that. I already am." He nodded. "Thank you, my friend."
"Don't make me keep it though, all right?" Jonathan smiled a bit.
"In'sh'allah." He squeezed the Englishman's shoulder again and then went to speak to his uncle and his cousin. "Selim, I would ask first for your forgiveness, never once today when you and your wives were being so kind to my nephew did it occur to me how much that would pain you all. For that I am truly sorry."
Selim snorted. "Do not be foolish now." He rolled his eyes a bit. "It is certainly no disrespect to Daoud to care for young Alex just because what killed my son did not kill him, praise be to Allah."
"As you say. I am thankful none the less. Would you then do me the kindness of seeing if Amal or Azza would stay with him tonight? I would have him share the tent with Jonathan and I and leave Rick and Evelyn alone."
His uncle smiled. "When did you start to think about allowing your tribes mates time with their wives before battle, Ardeth?"
He shrugged. "When have we gone to battle with our women here so close at hand?" He offered in return. "I would like to think my father, may he rest in peace with Allah, would have thought of it."
"No doubt he would be spending it with your mother." Adham chuckled. "So which of your wives do we deprive you of tonight, Selim?"
Ardeth managed not to flush at that because it was not a question he had thought of a polite way to ask.
"Amal will stay with Alex. Azza and I have just lost our son." He answered.
"Ah, as it should be then." Adham gripped his shoulder. "And what did you wish to ask of me, Ardeth?"
"Of you both I am afraid." He sighed. "There is of course the chance that none of us will survive this battle to come, but if we are fortunate enough that one of us does I will ask you to see to Rihana and her son should she be fortunate enough to bear one. And if not, Adham, then you know as well as I that it falls to your sons instead."
"Be of better faith that Allah will let you live long enough to father your own, cousin." Adham shook his head.
"In'sh'allah of course but we must be prepared for the fact that what we would wish is not what Allah wills."
Both the older men were silent for a long moment. "Then I will do as you ask. Do you then have a preference as to which of my sons I leave this great responsibility to cousin?"
"Mohamed is older, but he should see to your tribe as he expects to. I will then think it would be best to raise Ismail to expect the burden if it is necessary. He is young enough yet that he will not be too bitter at what he must give up to do so."
"As you say, Ardeth. Truly, I would not have thought you would have considered this so completely."
"It is part of the responsibility cousin." He shrugged. "Selim, if neither Adham or I survive tomorrow, will you see that this is done?"
"I will. But I will pray with all my heart son of my sister that it will not be a task Allah wills me."
"On that, uncle, I would agree. Go see to your tribes and your families then. And know that I am truly thankful for you both. Ma Salaama."
"And to you, Ardeth." Selim replied. Adham only took him by his shoulders and then kissed each of this cheeks and hugged him tightly.
He said nothing as his cousin and uncle walked off. But it was some relief to know it would be done as he wished if it came to it.
Duhr:ToC