There's A Fine Line Between Coincidence & Fate ✓

Chapter 18

I felt this searing pain in my chest, a warning from Sekhmet that if I didn't intervene, he would be lost. I turned to Rick and Jonathan. "You need to go save Evy and stop Imhotep from bringing his bitch back." I told them, before grabbing my rifle and making my way towards the corridor that Ardeth had gone down.

"If you go in after him, you'll die." Rick warned me.

"And if I don't go in after him, his people will die. This is something I have to do Rick. This is what I was chosen for. This is my purpose." I told him before instinct took over and I grabbed my sword from its spot on the ground. Allowing Sekhmet to guide my actions, I took off into the tunnel after Ardeth, slashing my way through the mummies as I went. I turned the corner and saw three of them taking him on. I came up behind as quietly as I could and brought my hands up around one of their necks, twisting it sharply, breaking it. I watched as it crumbled to the floor at my feet. I managed to push another one off of Ardeth before slicing its head off.

Now that he had the opportunity, Ardeth was able to take care of the last one before the hallway was empty, the remaining priests had disappeared to God knows where. "What did you think you were doing?" I asked angrily. "Did you really think I was going to let you sacrifice yourself like that? Of all the stupid, stubborn decisions I've seen from the men on this trip so far this has got to be..." But before I could finish, Ardeth cut me off, pulling me into his arms and kissing me soundly. I recovered from my surprise quickly, and put my arms around his neck, pulling him closer to me. He licked my bottom lip, silently asking for entrance, which I was all too eager to provide. His tongue explored my mouth before starting a battle with mine for dominance. I could've stayed like that forever, however, the need to breathe was soon too difficult to ignore and we broke apart, chests heaving, trying to catch our breaths.

Ardeth placed his forehead on my own, as his breathing evened out. I looked into his eyes, hoping he could see everything that I was feeling because I wasn't too certain that I could put it into words at that moment. He nodded his head and we started to follow the tunnel, hoping that it would lead us out of the ruins. I was just able to make out daylight coming from an opening at the end of the tunnel when the whole place started to shake. I turned to Ardeth; terror evident on my face. "This whole place is rigged with a switch that can send it back into the sands if tripped. We need to get out of here!" he told me before grabbing my hand and dragging me back out into the desert heat. We grabbed a camel and ran until we were far enough out of the city that we didn't need to worry.

I took this time to check him for injuries. Besides some bruises and some minor cuts, he wasn't in too bad of shape. He brought his hand up to the side of my head and I winced. Pulling his hand back and into my line of vision, I saw there was blood on it. He ripped some of the bottom of his robe off and took some water out of his canteen, getting it wet. He gently dabbed it against my cut, cleaning it out. We both turned when the sounds of the city sinking were too loud to ignore. It was almost completely gone by this point.

"But where are Evy, Rick and Jonathan?" I asked, scanning the horizon. I couldn't see them, and I was getting worried. I made to go back when Ardeth grabbed my arm, stopping me. I turned to yell at him when I saw him pointing towards the pack of camels that had migrated to the cliff side, seeking some shade. I saw three people amongst them, also watching the city sink beneath the sand.

Ardeth helped me onto the camel before getting on behind me and urging it to walk over to where the others were. Everything calmed down and things were quiet until Ardeth reached over and touched Jonathan's shoulder, causing him to jump and them all to shout in fright. "Argh! Thank you. Thank you very much." Jonathan cried, clutching his heart. Ardeth smiled.

"You have earned the respect and gratitude of me and my people."

"Yes, well, it was nothing." Jonathan assured him.

"May Allah smile upon you always." Ardeth said, before bringing his hand to his lips then his forehead, bidding them farewell.

"And yourself." Jonathan replied, attempting, and failing, to replicate the gesture. I laughed at that.

"I'll hopefully meet up with you in Cairo." I told them, waving as Ardeth turned our camel around and started heading away from the city.