Chapter Four
The train moved through a terrain thick with hills of sand on one side and the long and winding Nile on the other, set against a sky as wide and blue as an ocean, dotted by several stray clouds. Amanda sat near the window facing Landers and Maxwell, dressed in khaki slacks, knee high boots, and a large coat that perfectly fit over the shoulder strap and hip hostler which contained several handguns. A rifle and shotgun were shoved inside of her duffle bag, while she'd stuffed the ammunition in her back pack. She wore a hat low over her head and looked so manly, or so she thought, that William Landers had not spoken to her once since meeting her outside of the hotel with his assistant. Nor had he spoken on the way to the train station, either upon boarding and finding their seats, or during the last half hour.
Maxwell seemed content to do whatever Landers wanted of him, which at that moment consisted of studying an ancient text that no one had bothered to inform Amanda as to the contents. Landers studied several maps of the excavation, but made no attempt to share them with Amanda or discuss where he believed the Orb was waiting to be found. Eventually, feeling snubbed and rather bored, she got up to stretch her legs and walked out to the landing between cars.
A man with a dark tan and lank black hair was smoking on the landing and offered her one. She took it, let him light it and thanked him, tensing when he was reply was in French, but smiled back at him all the same. He smiled at her, then dropped his cigarette without stamping it out, and walked off. She stubbed out the cigarette with the toe of her boot and finished her own while leaning over a railing, watching the rails underfoot rush past when she suddenly noticed a pair of dirty shoes appear beside her own.
Turning her head to the side, she found herself standing next to two scruffy men who appeared as though they came straight from the desert. They reminded her of tomb raiders. One looked Egyptian, but the other, despite his dark tan and the many wrinkles on his face, was clearly American.
"You are Professor Shaw?" asked the American, in a thick Boston accent.
"I don't do interviews," she replied, pushing past the two men. She felt a hand on her arm and jerked it off, turning, a hostile expression on her face. "No touching, fellas."
"We just want to know your name."
"You know it already. What else do you want?"
"The two men you are traveling with....."
"Are single. Go ahead and sit down. I'm sure you all have a lot in common."
The two men glanced at one another, confused, blinked, then turned back to her. The largest of the men was Arabic and as he came up behind Amanda, she knew what he was about to do and kicked behind her, connecting with his knee right as he grabbed her arms. He released her and stumbled forwards, holding onto his knee cap, moaning. She clubbed him behind the neck, sending him crashing to his knees which only caused him to moan louder, and suddenly found herself being pushed up against the door to the passenger car, a knife at her throat.
"You shouldn't have hurt my friend." The man with the Boston accent laughed. "I have the knife. What are you going to do now, pretty lady?"
"Wait for you to tell me what you want."
He dropped his mouth open. "Oh."
"Well, what is it? Do you want money or my phone number?"
"We want the Orb of Osiris."
"Another interested party. Well," said Amanda smiling broadly, "I don't happen to have it. I don't know where it is. And if I did have it, whatever it is, I wouldn't give it to you two ugly sons-of-bitches." She drew her own knife and pressed it to his balls. He felt the contact and his own blade at her throat wavered. "If you can feel the tip, then you know what I'm about to do, and trust me, if you don't want to be castrated, I suggest you back off, pal."
The man lowered his knife. She started for the door, but he jumped in her path and the blade flashed in the partial sunlight between the two train cars. Spinning on her heel, she moved away from the man still laying on the platform and avoided the knife cutting through the air. She shifted weight on the balls of her heels and engaged the man from Boston, surprising him with several quick slashes of her own blade that left the front of his shirt in tatters. When he noticed what she'd done, he snarled and dropped his knife, pulling out a gun. He laughed loudly.
"Oh, shut up!"
Amanda punched him right in the face, then rushed to the ladder going up the side of the car and commended to climb to the roof. She heard the men following after her, but she reached the top of the train car first, the wind howling in her hair, and slowly pulled herself up to her feet. She proceeded to walk across the roof as the train sped along on the track, right over where Landers and Maxwell were comfortably seated inside the passenger car, making her way along slowly, until she heard a commotion behind her and turned to see the two men coming up the ladder behind her. A loud laugh drew her attention back to the direction she'd intended to go, only to find the same Frenchman who'd offered her a cigarette appear, blocking her escape.
"Professor Shaw, we want a word with you," shouted the American.
"This isn't the time for it," Amanda snapped, reaching for a gun. While she faced the American and Egyptian, behind her the Frenchman rolled out a whip and with a snap, sent the gun flying from her hand. "Hey, that cost me a lot of money?"
"So sorry," laughed the Frenchman. He struck her in the thigh with the whip, then again, this time managing to lock the rope around her wrist. With a yank, he jerked Amanda to her knees. She fell to her face, but remained in motion, kicking out with her legs to connect with the knees of the fat Egyptian as he attempted to grab her from behind. She sent him toppling over onto his side where he scrambled to hold onto something on the metal roof to keep from falling.
Amanda was immediately up on her feet, as with a dug, the Frenchman started to pull the whip toward him, making her take several steps in his direction. The American was coming up close behind her, but as he reached out and grabbed a fist full of her hair, he suddenly shouted out in alarm. Achmed appeared right behind the American and struck him several times in the face, before the two men rushed at one another, grappling on the roof top, while Amanda was dragged toward the Frenchman.
Leaving Achmed to fight his opponent, Amanda drew her knife and cut the whip. The Frenchman stagged back, stumbled and collapsed to one knee. She moved forward with little dance steps on the tin roof, came close, then kicked him in the face. He fell onto his haunches, but swept his own leg across the roof and sent Amanda to her backside, hard. Her knife fell out of her hand and went over the side of the train.
"Looks like you're out of luck," said the Frenchman.
"And you're out of your league, Frogman."
The Frenchman was on her at once, tackling her to the roof, and while the two rolled back and forth close to the edge, Achmed and the American broke free from one another, drew daggers and engaged once more in a fierce battle. The knives connected, making a strange music of metal on metal, as the two men fought one another, now and then cutting into flesh.
Amanda could offer Achmed no assistance as the Frenchman managed to get on top of her and commence to bang her head against the roof. Up came her knee, slamming hard into the back, sending him toppling off of her and onto his face. She jumped onto his back and drove his head into the roof several times, causing a loud bang echo within the inside of the passenger car, but paused as Achmed and the American started to back right into where she was engaged with her opponent. She crawled off of the Frenchman and moved to the side, trying not to be swept off the roof by the wind, then watched as the American stepped over his own companion, then Achmed. The Frenchman let out a loud moan each time he was stepped on, but as soon as he was out of danger, he scrambled to his feet and headed toward Amanda.
Out from the sides of her eyes, she could see the Nile and a number of small villages that they passed. Steam from the engine billowed above them overhead, black and sooty.
"I'm done playing," she snarled. She waited for the Frenchman to get close enough, then she dropped to her backside, using her hands for support and swung both her legs upwards, connecting with his stomach. The man fell onto his back. She was up and grabbing his feet before he could get his balance, and with all her might, she pulled him to the side of the train and simply pushed him over the edge. She heard him hit below and turned back to assist Achmed.
The young man had suffered a gash along his cheek, but was obviously getting the better of his adversary. With several flashy moves, he disarmed the rogue and sent him flying over the side of the train, where he hit the sand and rolled toward the edge of the waterline, vanishing in the reeds.
"You fight well," said Achmed, walking over to her and pushing his hair from his face, "daughter of Jonathan Carnahan." He put his hand on her shoulder, while she took a kerchief and held it to his cut cheek. He was touched by her concern.
"Did you know those men?" Amanda asked, out of breath.
"I have never seen them before."
Holding onto one another for support, they walked back to the edge of the back of the passenger car, and while Achmed waited, Amanda climbed down the ladder, then waited for him to join her on the connecting platform. He handed her back the kerchief, but she shook her head.
"Keep it."
"My companions are with me," said Achmed, holding the cloth to his cheek. "More will meet us at Karnak, including your cousin, Alex O'Connell." He looked away as several women came walking by, leaving one carriage and entering the other, then took Amanda by the arm. "Be careful of Landers. Please."
"Don't worry. I will, Achmed."
The young man then tipped his fingers against his forehead in a mock salute, grinned at her, then disappeared in the car where the women had gone. Amanda straightened her clothes, smoothed her hair, thought of a lie in case she was asked why she looked flushed or dirty, then returned to her seat. She found Maxwell missing, however, Landers watched her sit down from under partially closed eyelids. She sat down heavily, hoping he'd address her and when he continued to pretend to sleep, she reached across and picked up the manuscript which Maxwell had been reading and suddenly shivered despite her overheated condition.
"The Book of the Dead? You have the Book of the Dead?"
Landers opened his eyes. He seized the book from her hand and placed it onto his lap. "It was found in the desert a few years ago by an associated. He presented it to the museum, as a gift, however, knowing its value, I have kept it safe with me."
"You stole it," Amanda corrected him.
"I am guarding it, that is all, Professor Shaw."
Amanda reached into her back pack and pulled out a canteen. She drank in big gulps, then handed it over to Landers. He picked up a thermos at his side and shook his head.
"Tea," he explained. "You didn't happen to see Maxwell while you were stretching your legs and getting a breath of fresh air?"
"No. I didn't see anyone."
"No one?" Landers eyed her sternly. He knew otherwise.
"Maybe a couple of people passed by."
"You look exhausted. Did something happen?"
"No. Nothing happened."
Amanda glanced at her hands and was horrified to see they were covered with soot and several of her knuckles here swollen and bleeding. He handed her a kerchief from out of his pocket, dampened it with tea, then handed it over to her. She thanked him and cleaned herself up.
"You know, William, you could try to trust me. Confide in me and tell me what is really going on. I have a right to know why people are trying to kill me." When he said nothing and seemed unimpressed by her announcement, she lost her temper. "Fine! If you won't explain it, then I'm sure Alex can. He'll be meeting us in Karnak. It appears your excavation is far more important that you let on. I'm sure my cousin is already there, waiting."
"Alex O'Connell," said Landers with a throaty sigh. His hazel eyes clouded and became unreadable. A sly smile spread across his handsome face and he thumbed his upper lip, smoothing down his thick moustache. "So, he is coming after all? This is an unexpected surprise." He suddenly remembered Amanda was next to him and smiled more pleasantly. "Why did you ask Alex to come? He wouldn't come for money, but he would come when you asked him to. It seems you are far closer to your family than you let on."
"I never said I wasn't close to my family, I merely avoid them whenever possible." Amanda tried to shrug it off, but she was convinced Landers didn't want Alex there, which was all the more reason she was glad her cousin had the foresight to come to Karnak. "I thought we might need Alex. He's as brave and brilliant as his father, and trust me, no one knows better how to handle the forces of the undead than my Uncle Rick."
"You are anticipating trouble?"
"I think having a knife thrown through your bedroom window and three men trying to toss you off a train is probably cause for concern." Amanda wanted to shout when he stared blankly at her. "William? We are in danger, don't you see that? Why must you pretend you have everything under control? There are forces at work here that you have no way of controlling. You are only a mortal man, after all."
Again the sly smile spread his lips into a long upturned lined. Landers reached out and placed his large hand over his knees. He squeezed hard. "I am in charge and I am in control of the situation, Amanda. I suggest you stop talking to strangers and telling them about our business. It's not a good idea to talk about the Orb, or the Book, and what you say could not only get you killed, but all of us. Especially the further we go from Cairo." He looked surprised when she placed her hand over his and smiled at him in a flirtatious manner. "These sudden mood swings of yours are most disturbing. Control yourself, Amanda. People are watching."
"It's hard to when you are so obtuse. If it wasn't for the Brotherhood, I would be dead. Is that what you want? I thought you wanted the Orb?"
"My purpose is not to anger you, but to caution you against foolish actions. You cannot trust the Brotherhood. They are a cult and fanatical about their god of the undead."
"I beginning to think I can't trust anyone."
Her blue eyes grew misty and with a wipe across her cheek to remove a tear, she turned to the window, wishing she could melt in the landscape and slip away from Landers before she fell completely under his spell. She suddenly felt like a child in his presence and sorely wished her father and uncle were present for much needed emotional support. She thought about Alex, picturing him as a blonde version of his father, twice as stubborn and reckless, but no matter the situation or problem at hand, she could count on her cousin to help her.
"At our next stop," said Landers, changing the subject back, "we will be met by a caravan that will take us to the excavation site, so I'm afraid we won't be meeting Alex directly at Karnak. He'll have to find us." His foot went out and lightly kicked her in the leg. "Until we arrive at our final destination, you are to speak to no one else, nor leave my side for any reason."
Amanda nodded, feeling trapped when suddenly Gregory Maxwell returned with a newspaper he'd procured from someone. There was something about him that she didn't like. He gave her a strange feeling deep in the pit of her stomach. She wanted nothing to do with him. As he prepared to sit down next to Landers, Amanda quickly got up and sat down in his place, motioning for Maxwell to take her seat instead. Sitting next to the lesser of two evils somehow seems logical, she thought, watching Maxwell glance at Landers for approval and receive a nod. Maxwell sat down and practically leered at her. Feeling threatened, she sat a little closer to her boss, so close that the side of their legs were pressed together. Maxwell noticed their intimacy but said nothing. He merely smiled slyly.
"I'd like to face the direction in which we are going," said Amanda, firmly. Landers handed her a cup of tea. She downed it and handed it back to him. The after taste was bitter. She glanced at Landers, suspiciously, but his eyes were unreadable.
Maxwell pushed back a lank strand of blond hair from his unusual grey eyes. "How are you feeling, Amanda? You look a bit flushed. Is there anything wrong?"
"I was wondering. About Osiris," said Amanda, feeling the heat rising between herself and Landers and a sudden dryness in her throat that made it nearly impossible to speak. She watched Landers' hand light upon his own thigh and his fingers spread outward, tan and long, then glanced to the side and found him studying her thoughtfully. "Those men who came to my room last night, they said they were from the Brotherhood of Osiris. I wasn't aware there was such a cult, at least not one in modern times. They are connected to the Medjai. Another sect, formed to protect the Temple of Osiris, much as they were sworn to protect the City of the Dead at Hamanuptra."
"You need not worry about them," snapped Maxwell. "The Medjai are not involved in our affairs, and if one has presented himself to you, then I can only think that someone is having a bit of sport with you. I'm sure it is nothing, Amanda."
"It isn't nothing when you have the Book of the Dead out and are reading the cursed thing right in public. What were you memorizing, Maxwell? Are you afraid someone is going to steal the book out from under you? What does the Book have to do with the Orb anyway?"
"Ask your cousin," replied Landers, his voice booming softly.
"O'Connell?" Maxwell lurched forward. "Rick O'Connell is coming here?"
"No," Landers said. "It is his son. Alex O'Connell."
With a move that was swift and decisive, Maxwell leaned forward and removed the Book of the Dead off of Landers lap, putting it away into his own back pack which he shoved beneath his seat and then faced them once more with arms crossed over his chest. Landers suddenly seemed nervous, causing Amanda no small amount of suspicion as the two men looked at one another. She caught her breath as she spotted a gleam in Maxwell's eyes that suggested he was hiding something from her. Further, he seemed to have a certain mysterious hold over Landers which made her think he was the one in control, not the man she was starting to both adore and doubt. She carefully watched both of their movements, catching Maxwell lower his hand to his side and signal to Landers, as though giving him permission to answer Amanda's question. She decided right then that the moment she had a chance, she would rifle through Maxwell's backpack and learn for herself what the two men were conspiring to do once they reached the excavation site.
"Up to the present, no evidence has been derived from the hieroglyphic texts which would allow us to say precisely when Osiris began to be worshiped, or in what city or town his cult was first established, but the general information that we do have on this subject would indicate that Osiris was worshiped and loved as the great god of the dead by the dynastic Egyptians from first to last. The earliest dynastic centers of his worship were situated at Abydos in the South and at Tettu in the North. However, in the last twenty years, we uncovered the Temple of Osiris outside of Karnak quite by accident. We have already excavated a number of chambers and found many artifacts, including the Book of the Dead, which apparently was rewritten during the reign of the fifth king of the 1st Dynasty and stored at the temple."
Amanda suddenly slowly drew in her breath, words and images and a forgotten language all colliding in her mind, bringing back childhood memories and igniting the dormant side of her brain where she'd stored away for another time on her learned knowledge on Egypt. She heard herself speak before she was aware she knew what Landers was talking about. "I am Yesterday and I am Today, and I have the power to be born a second time. I, the hidden Soul, create the gods, and I am lord and master of the divine beings in Amenti and in heaven."
"Silence," snapped Maxwell. He motioned toward the aisle as none other than Achmed Bay came walking by, followed by his small entourage. The young man walked by without glancing their way. Maxwell peered intently at Amanda. "Every word spoken from the Book of the Dead is a spell, and as you are not trained in the customs and ways of the ancient Egyptians, but instead merely study and research Native Americans in the United States, I strongly urge you to let the experts handle the more important matters."
"Like what, Max? You bringing back a pharaoh from the dead or are you going to give yourself eternal life?" Amanda glanced at Landers. "It's about you, isn't it? You are intending to place the Ka of Imhotep into your body. You do know you have to kill yourself in order to allow the soul of another to possess you, William?" She gasped as he leaned toward her and placed his large hand over her mouth, while Maxwell leaned toward her, an angry look on his face.
"What did I just tell you, Professor Shaw? I believe I told you to be silent."
Landers met Amanda's eyes. While Maxwell's grey eyes were filled with anger, she found compassion in the depths of Lander's eyes. The pressure of his hand against her mouth lessened, then he removed it, only to place his arm around her shoulders and hold her close against his body. His tight was fierce and she momentarily deluded herself into thinking that he was protecting her from Gregory, so she allowed herself a moment's delight and pressed against his muscular body. She soon found both of her wrists clasped together by one of William's hands, left to rest on his thigh, while she watched in growing horror as Maxwell removed a dagger from out of a pocket within the lining of his jacket and reach forward to slice into her thumb. She opened her mouth to scream but no sound came forth. She tried again as Maxwell pinched her thumb, making the blood bubble to the surface, before grabbing a small vial of blue glass from out of his pocket and filling it to the top.
She finally realized what was happening and started to struggle against Lander's strong hold on her, but Maxwell was ready and reached into his breast pocket, producing a perfumed white powder which he promptly blew right into her face. The moment she inhaled the powder through her nose, she felt a mild burning sensation in her nasal cavities, that spread down the back of her throat, numbing her as it was absorbed into her blood stream.
Feeling as weak as a new born kitten, she managed to look up at Landers, tears streaming down her cheeks and opened her mouth to speak, but no words would come out. His eyes seemed once soft, hardened and he leered at her as blackness absorbed descended upon her, robbing her of all her senses.