*PB was giving me fits, and I couldn't flip the page to get to some pics. I had to substitute a few, so if they look familiar, that's why.
I'll try and fix tonight.
Ahkman brought Quentin home from Egypt, moving him with Bill, Sookie, and himself. He explained to Quentin that the people from MorcuCorp that were responsible for this father’s death never got what they were looking for – that his father died a hero’s death. But that also meant that Quentin was in danger if they thought he knew his father’s secrets. Rather than being sad at leaving Egypt, Quentin was actually very excited to be coming to America.
Ahkman took care of everything, making sure Bill and Sookie wouldn’t feel saddled with the responsibility of caring for Quentin. Ahkman had one last trip to Egypt, and he would need them to care for Quentin then.
He spoke with them, letting them know that this should be his last trip. Ahkman told them it was to settle affairs with the Resistance, to let them know he was done and he’d be staying in the states to keep Quentin safe. He assured Bill and Sookie that he and Quentin would be getting a place of their own once he got back.
Bill still had his suspicions, but he and Sookie agreed to keep Quentin for as long as Ahkman needed to be gone.
Before the trip, Ahkman got Quentin settled into school, something he didn’t see a lot of back in Egypt. Being an explorer and a single parent, Kafele didn’t give the attention to things like that, saying the boy was getting more education than most by travelling the world with him. While Quentin was fluent in many languages because of this, he saw no need for algebra when he could simply haggle for what he needed.
Ahkman loved Kafele like a brother, but always thought he was raising his son irresponsibly. It would’ve been fine to race around the globe exploring every tomb they could find if the boy still had a mother at home to care for him. But there was no other family at all.
This was the very reason he’d never married Nabila when he had the chance. They both wanted children, and although she did have family to fall back on, Ahkman couldn’t stand the thought of leaving a family without a father. He’d never leave Nabila alone to raise his children, and that was why he hadn’t proposed to her. He thought he had all the time in the world. Would things have been different if he’d asked her to marry him? Would she have been content to wait for him instead of doing what she did?
He couldn’t dwell on those thoughts. Instead of letting his mind go to those dark places, he looked at Quentin and imagined how Nabila would throw herself into the role of mother. He couldn’t change the past, not for Kafele or for Nabila. All he could do was try to make it right.
Every day, he got Quentin up and on the school bus. Quentin was enjoying the newness of being in school, but Ahkman knew the novelty would soon wear off. In the meantime, Ahkman, Sookie, and Bill all made sure to encourage him every chance they got, help him with his homework, and make him feel at home. Ahkman was hoping that it wasn’t too hard for Quentin, being the “new kid” and being foreign as well. He made sure that Quentin knew it was fine to bring friends home, hoping that might make things easier for him. Quentin never complained, but Ahkman thought the boy would believe it disrespectful to say he was having a hard time to the people putting a roof over his head.
Quentin didn’t really have anything worth bringing with him, and Ahkman was more than happy to spend the money for a new American wardrobe for him. Along with that came a new bedroom set for the room that had been built for the Morel’s son when they stayed at the house. It was the first real bed the boy had ever slept in, and Quentin never wanted to leave it!
When he’d first arrived, he spent a lot of time in his room, playing with the mummy bear that Ahkman bought at the airport gift shop on the trip home.
He would often watch Sookie working in her garden, which gave her the idea to draw him out. She turned the sprinklers on, and called him outside. Together they splashed and played late into the night. After that, Quentin felt more a part of the family than an invited quest.
Ahkman played catch with him after his homework was finished every night. Despite his doubts, Bill felt that Ahkman was honestly trying to be a good father to the boy. He and Sookie could see that Quentin clearly hero-worshipped Ahkman, and was trying to make Ahkman proud of him at every turn. They could also see the football was something he was clearly not used to, but Ahkman thought it would help Quentin fit in if he learned to handle one.
Each day, once Quentin was on the bus and Bill and Sookie were busy with their day, Ahkman would go to Edith’s house to work on the Sarcophagus of the Kings. He worked all day until Quentin’s bus was due, then it was back to Bill and Sookie’s. He didn’t tell Edith about Quentin. It wasn’t that he thought she wouldn’t be glad to help with the boy; it was that he didn’t want Quentin involved in what was going to happen there. When he got close to being finished, he would return to Edith’s after Quentin was in bed for the night.
He told Bill and Sookie that he was making arrangements for his trip. He also told Sookie that he was taking her advice and was he was speaking with Nabila’s family to see if he could possibly bring her back with him. He asked the couple to not mention Nabila to Quentin. He told them that Quentin had been very fond of Nabila growing up, and he didn’t want to build his hopes up if Nabila decided not to come. He was so close now, he didn’t need Quentin to mention that everyone thought Nabila dead back in Egypt.
Edith watched Ahkman work every day, helping where she could, making sure he stopped for something to eat when she couldn’t. Ahkman took care not to ignore her while focusing on the relic he was assembling in her nectar cellar. He made sure to talk about the relics, and involve her as much as possible. She had learned much about the relics he had stored there by reading his notes and books while he was gone on his last trip, and she was very excited to see what would come of this.
She knew his work was important, and she was glad to be a part of it.
Ahkman was so preoccupied with finishing the sarcophagus, as well as taking care of Quentin, that he found it hard to fit in time to focus on Edith. Her part in this was no small thing. Luckily, she would ask a question every now and then, reminding him of her presence. As he spied her sitting quietly nearby, he stopped working, and went over to her.
“How would you like to see an old-fashioned American 50’s diner?” he asked her.
“Really, Ahkman? We’ve never gone anywhere together before! And a real 50’s diner? This is so exciting!” Edith went to get ready while Ahkman cleaned up.
It was almost midnight by the time they got to the diner, which was open 24 hours. The waiters and waitresses were all dressed in 1950’s fashion and they even did a little song and dance. Edith couldn’t stop smiling by the time they left.
Soon, the Sarcophagus was finished, and it was time to go. He’d made all the arrangements to have his things transported from Egypt. All that was left was to tell Quentin that he had to leave him for a time.
As he waited for school to let out, Ahkman got a phone call. It was from the school, saying Quentin had left after lunch that day and had given them a note saying Ahkman was picking him up for an appointment. Quentin was skipping school? Ahkman wished he could say he didn’t see it coming, but he knew the adventurous boy was only going to sit still in a classroom for so long.
He found Quentin walking downtown, along the same path he had taken him when he was showing him around.
“Do you want to tell me exactly what you’re doing cutting class?” Ahkman asked the boy.
“Do you want to tell me why you are planning a trip and not taking me with you?” answered Quentin.
He should’ve known the bright boy would figure out he was planning to leave soon. “You know it is not safe for you in Egypt right now. I need to finish my business with the Resistance once and for all, then I’ll be right back home.”
“I can take care of myself! School is for children! I am a man now!” Quentin argued.
“You are NOT a man. I am responsible for you, and I will not dishonor your father by allowing you to be harmed! I just lost your father, Quentin. I will not lose you, too.”
Those words calmed Quentin down. He and Ahkman talked all the way home, and Quentin promised he would not skip school again.
To cement the truce between them, Ahkman taught Quentin how to play chess. He explained that to be an adventurer, one had to figure out complex puzzles to trigger the hidden doors and disarm the dangerous traps. He told Quentin that school helped to sharpen one’s powers of logic, and that was why it was important for him to attend. But it wasn’t only schoolwork that would sharpen his mind, as there where many games they could play that would help him learn logic skills that would help him in the future.
They played well into the night, laughing and talking not only of their beloved Egypt, but of the future as well. Finally, it was time for Quentin to go to sleep. Ahkman tucked him in with promises of a trip to China over summer vacation when school let out. Quentin was disappointed that he couldn’t see Ahkman off at the airport, but since it was so late, and his new bed was so comfortable, his disappointment soon faded into soft snoring as he fell asleep with Ahkman’s kiss on his forehead. Once the boy was sleeping soundly, Ahkman left for Edith’s to finish up the Sarcophagus before his plane left.
Edith lay on her bed the next morning, thinking back to the previous evening she had spent with Ahkman. She watched him work furiously to restore the relic to its original form. This was a new relic, not like anything he had shown her before. When she’d asked him about it, he said it was vital – one of the two most important discoveries he would ever make. The other stood incomplete in a corner. Ahkman said he already had all the components for that one, too, but that he needed to go back to Egypt unexpectedly before completing it. He had planned to have them both completed before making this last trip, but circumstances have made that impossible.
“Ahkman, what’s the difference between this relic and the one in the corner?” Edith had been afraid to ask, because of way Ahkman had been acting this evening. Normally, he was happy to talk while he worked, teaching her so many things. Tonight was different. He kept quiet and focused on the task before him.
“There is a very large, important difference.” Ahkman stopped working and faced her. “One was believed to be blessed and one was believed to be cursed. The cursed one is said to have the power to turn anyone who sleeps inside of it into a mummy. The only cure is supposed to be sleeping in the one I have not yet finished. There is no evidence that either does what it claims, which is why I am researching them.” Ahkman told her as he pointed out the subtle differences between the two, especially around their faces.
Ahkman continued to look at his watch, as he continued. “I planned to have both of these finished before I had to take this trip, but tensions in Egypt have risen to the point where if I do not leave now, I may not get the chance for a very long time. They are both vital, but this one,” he said, pointing to the cursed sarcophagus he had almost completed, “this one must be tested first, before the other can.”
“You can’t mean…” Edith started.
Ahkman cut her off, saying he didn’t have time to discuss it further. He finished the sarcophagus, kissed her goodbye, and left with a heavy heart.
Edith stayed awake for a long time after he’d gone, thinking about how conflicted he’d seemed. She never remembered seeing the bold adventurer so worried before, so troubled. Could it be that he was planning on putting himself in the sarcophagus to test it? That was crazy! She thought back to all his talk of magic; the magical gnomes that roamed her garden that proved that magic was real. What if it worked? And what if he were unable to complete the Blessed Sarcophagus in his mummy state?
As the sun rose over Riverview, she got out of bed and went to the nectar cellar. She looked over the Sarcophagus that Ahkman had been working on, running her hands over its golden surface. Intrigued, she went to his books and began to read everything she could find on the Cursed Sarcophagus of the Kings.
Ahkman’s plane touched down with the bright daylight reflecting off the sand. He could see the pyramids in the distance, but their call did not affect him today. He had been planning this moment for so long, and now that it was upon him, he was filled with doubts. What if Edith didn’t do what he was expecting her to do? What if she did but it didn’t work? What if he went through all of this for nothing? It was good that Nabila’s family believed she was dead, resting in the same cemetery as his friend Naima. She did indeed rest there, but not as they believed.
He would have to wait until night fell to do what he needed to, so until then, he decided to check in with the Resistance. Maybe they made some progress finding Kafele’s killers, or at least finding out what they were after that they thought he had.
As he assumed, they already knew he was in Egypt. They tried talking him into taking on another mission, but Ahkman wasn’t having it. He had devoted his entire life to the Resistance, and it had cost him the woman he loved. He loved Egypt, and he felt he had done his fair share in fighting MorcuCorp on its behalf. Now it was time to prove his devotion to Nabila.
Before he ended the call, he did find out what the killers were after. It seemed they believed that Kafele held the last fragment of the Cursed Sarcophagus of the Kings. Ahkman hid his emotions, as he’d been trained to do, and disconnected. Had he caused his friend’s death? Is Quentin an orphan because Ahkman had been collecting the fragments they believed Kafele had?
Ahkman walked the market square, waiting for darkness to blanket the land. He stopped to see his good friend Dalinda the relic merchant, checking to see if she had anything new.
She smiled like the cat that ate the canary, and produced a set of canopic jars. “I understand you may have need of these.” She said with her voice lowered.
“What would make you say that?” Ahkman tried to be casual, but his heart was pounding. ‘Could she know?’ he wondered.
“It seems someone has been stockpiling relic fragments, and now that Kafele is dead, I could think of no one who would be able to get away with it beside you. You can tell me. You’ve known me since we were young; you know I can be trusted.”
Ahkman did know her, or thought he did. However, no one knew of Kafele’s death yet, outside of the Resistance. Ahkman knew the Resistance fighters, and Dalinda was not one. He couldn’t believe that this woman he had thought of as a friend had a hand in Kafele’s death. She took care of Quentin just as much as anyone else while Kafele was in the tombs.
‘That’s it – that’s how she knew where he was. Through Quentin. Stay calm, Ahkman. Throw her off the trail.’ “Well, since it’s you, I will tell you, but this must never leave your lips. I have lately become very interested in these fragments. I have inside information that there is a fragment buried in the tombs under the Sphinx, and I’m headed there tonight. Hopefully, I’ll get there before anyone else gets wind of this.” Ahkman winked at Dalinda, showing her his trust. As he bought a few items, he laughed with her over old memories, and said his good-byes.
Once he was out of site, he doubled back, coming around to the back of the building. He heard Dalinda make the phone call he knew she would be making. She was sending MorcuCorp to the Sphinx tonight. She was as good as dead. He would make sure she paid for her acts someday, but for tonight, it was enough to have everyone out of his way so he could do his work at the cemetery. He headed that way now, calling in the fake museum moving vans he arranged to meet him there. Anything could be bought for the right price, and in the circles he travelled, he knew what that price was. A few meager relics that meant nothing to him were hardly a price at all.
Back in the States, Edith put the books and notes down, walking back over to the sarcophagus. Everything she had learned about the ancient mummies had fascinated her. If this was true, if these relics could really bring a mummy back to life, the things that could be learned from them would be invaluable. Priceless. But , if Ahkman put himself in the Cursed Sarcophagus and couldn’t finish the Blessed one in that state, all his research would be lost.
If she put herself in, however, Ahkman would be able to work on the Blessed one and bring her back. When they knew it worked, they could put an ancient mummy inside the Blessed Sarcophagus and learn its ancient secrets. Together, they would change the world with their knowledge. She would be important. She would finally matter. Before she had time to change her mind, Edith got into the sarcophagus, closing the door behind her.
Edith felt the changes coursing through her veins almost immediately. Instead of feeling weak, she felt stronger, better. She slept, and dreamt of pyramids and temples. For two whole days, Edith slept while the magic of ancient Egypt wrapped itself around her. When she emerged, she was slightly disoriented, not recognizing her nectar cellar. Slowly, her eyes focused on the other relics that Ahkman had been storing there, and recognition began to dawn on her. Edith smiled, left the cellar and headed back towards the main house.
Finally the cover of darkness that Ahkman had been waiting for was his. He opened the crypt where his beloved Nabila slept, triggered the hidden stairs and descended. He got to the level where he had covered Nabila’s beautiful jade sarcophagus with sand and dust to hide its value from anyone clever enough to find it. Anyone who stumbled across it would’ve thought it an old, empty sarcophagus with no value. Ahkman didn’t have to worry that someone might’ve disturbed Nabila, because it was clear that the tomb had remained untouched after all these years. The dirt floor showed no footprints other than his own.
All the years it had taken him to find all the fragments, all the research, all the time he spent away from her resting place to make sure no one discovered the location. It would all be worth it if everything worked as it should. If he did everything right, Edith was back home, prepared to let him turn her into a mummy. Then he can finish the Blessed Sarcophagus to see if it will restore her to her natural state with no damage. He would not risk Nabila’s safety or sanity on an untried procedure.
Ahkman chose Edith because she would not be missed if something went wrong. Coming from a foreign country, no one would come by unexpectedly to find her changed. He tried to have Sookie’s friend Lin in place as a back-up, but that plan failed miserably. That mistake almost alerted Sookie to his plan, and nothing was going to stand in the way of his resurrecting Nabila if it could be done.
Ahkman stopped reflecting on how he got to this place in his life, and directed the men he had paid to pose as museum employees to move the jade sarcophagus into their truck and head for the airport. He had a few other things to take care of here before he met them on the plane.
Back in America, Sookie sat at her laptop, checking her email one more time.
“Will you put that down and come to bed already?” Bill asked for the third time that evening.
“I don’t understand why I can’t get a hold of Edith. She hasn’t answered any of my emails, and all my phone calls go into voice mail.” Sookie gave a frustrated sigh. “I know I haven’t really been around for her because of all our travelling, but I can’t believe she would just ignore me like this.”
“Maybe she wants to be alone.” Bill suggested. “Unlike me. I don’t want to be alone. In this big, old bed. By myself. Alone.”
Sookie had to laugh at Bill’s attempts to cheer her up. She closed her laptop and crawled into bed. “OK, I’ll give it a rest for tonight, but tomorrow, I’m going over there.” Sookie tried to sound stern, but broke into giggles as Bill pulled her near and began to nibble her neck.
The next morning, Sookie still had no response to the emails, so she tried one more phone call. When she got no answer, she made her decision. She was going to go to Edith’s house. If she didn’t want to be friends, that was fine, but Sookie had a bad feeling that something was very, very wrong. She’d heard that Edith was alone now, and she felt a responsibility to make sure she was O.K.
Sookie headed to Edith’s house and found everything dark inside, as though no one were home. She knocked anyway, but just as she thought, there was no response. She checked the garage and loft first. Not finding anything there, she moved back to the house. Getting up on the wrap-around porch, she ducked low, carefully checking the windows for some sign of Edith. Just as she was about to give up, she heard a crash coming from upstairs.
Sookie found an open window, and climbed inside, trying to be quiet. If there was an intruder here, she wanted to surprise him. Slowly, she crept towards the steps, but stopped when she heard someone getting ready to come down. Ducking into the kitchen, she waited.
First she saw legs, draped in bandages. Thinking Edith had been in some kind of accident, she forgot all about safety and ran out from her hiding spot. “Edith! My God what happened to-“
Sookie’s words were cut off when the rest of the stairs came into view. Her mind tried to make sense of what she was seeing, but what she was seeing was impossible. It had to be impossible. ‘A mummy? A wide-awake, walking mummy?’ Sookie’s thoughts seemed far away, as she watched the mummy descend the stairs and come closer to where she was standing. Finally, they were on the same level.
Just as Sookie accepted what she was seeing and started to back pedal towards the door, the mummy spoke. “Sookie! What a lovely surprise! Would you like some nectar?”
Sookie’s world started to get dark around the edges, and all her focus went to keeping her feet beneath her. When she felt steadier, she looked back at the creature. “Edith?”
“Come, sit! We have much to discuss.” Edith said, falling to the sofa and patting the seat next to her.
Two great stories to look forward too, we are all spoiled on DD's! 
;D 
