Chapter 14-


Ardeth, emotionless, placed the saddle over his horse’s bare back, meanwhile pondering the events of the previous day. When he had seen Ravena and Alex trapped, his heart had stopped. He didn’t even think before he ran ahead to save them. His thoughts turned again to Ravena. He shouldn't have kissed her, especially when she was going through so much pain. She was to perfect for him, why would she ever of wanted a desert man.
He had seen the way his men stared at her, lusting for her. Every time one of them sets his sights on her, Ardeth always barks an order at them. He knew if one of them ever fell in love with her, he would probably cut their tongues out. He steadied his mind to focus on reality. They were going to Cairo today, hoping to possibly find Imhotep. He had sent Evelyn and Jonathan (with Alex of course) back to Cairo earlier, to the museum of antiquities. Ravena had also gone with them, probably to avoid him. They wouldn’t be able to use the golden book anymore, because one can only use that book when the black book is involved. This wasn’t the case. Ardeth hoped Evelyn would find a way to kill him again at the museum. They didn’t have much time. It looked like he was fully regenerated. Evelyn had been gone for two days now, and the sky was darkened with the absence of sunlight. He knew she was doing the best she could, but he prayed to Allah that somehow she could hurry.

With that he leapt up upon his horse and with a click of his tongue, the horse trotted towards his men, who were also preparing to go back to the city. Only about 5-10 Medjai warriors were going (with Rick obviously), while thousands of his men were going to be guarding Hamunaptra, which included Imhotep’s lover, Anaksunamun (obviously in case he tried to raise her again). Once his men were ready, they headed towards the continuous desert, hurrying in anticipation.




Ravena exhaled a huge breath and dug her fingers through her hair. Two days of searching, and so far, nothing. She gazed incredulously at the endless mountains of books that they had already searched through. She had sneezed about four million times already due to the dust of this obviously musty museum. The building had been abandoned for weeks now, and Evelyn only wanted a couple of lamps on so they wouldn’t attract any attention in case any of the villagers turned into “zombies”, as she called them. Ravena, Evelyn, and Jonathan were in more of a hurry because they knew the Medjai were coming. Ravena prepared to pick up, unfortunately, another stack of books waiting to be looked at, when all of a sudden, she heard Evy’s voice cry out.

“I’ve got it! I’ve figured it out!”

Ravena and Jonathan rushed over to where Evy was sitting and cried out in unison...

“What! What is it?”

“Well, it says here that all we have to do is get the.......... oh dear.”

Evelyn looked up regretfully at Ravena, and shook her head in despair. With a sigh, she lifted up the book in which held the answer, and Ravena’s heart stopped. There was one picture, the amulet. Ravena’s amulet. She sat down a chair in disbelief. How could this be? The Star of Hephaeliates was from a totally different culture. Evelyn’s voice broke through her thoughts.

“I’m sorry Ravena, it’s the only way. The don’t show the actual Star in this book, just the key. I guess no one has really seen it. Do you still have the amulet?”

She shook her head incredulously.

“No, Rafe Steinburger has it. He brought it along with him when we went to Hamunaptra. If I know Rafe at all, he will still be there, looking for the treasure.”

Evelyn gulped and nodded.

“So what will we do, then?”

Ravena looked at her smiled, and said,

“Well, lets get it back.”


It was almost evening when the Medjai warriors arrived. Evelyn rushed to meet Rick and they kissed passionately. Everyone else just rolled their eyes. As everyone greeted the men, Ravena leaned against the doorway, smiling to herself. Ardeth quickly glanced at her, but then riveted his gaze back to his horse. He leaped over it and tied the horse to a nearby post. He shifted his mind away from the beautiful woman at the doorway, and then he walked briskly towards Evelyn.

“Have you found anything?”

With that, Evy gave him with the biggest smile anyone could ever muster, which made Ardeth feel EXTREMELY relieved.

“Well, you know me, I ALWAYS find an answer to everything. Come inside, I’ll tell you all about it.”

With her hand in Rick’s hand, they all walked back into the museum. It looked like Evelyn felt like she was riding on the crest of an enormous wave, a wave that a surfer would be proud of. She was obviously happy to be the centre of attention. In the curator‘s office, Evy told them everything. Including how Ravena was the owner of the key and knew where the Star was. When her name was mentioned, 10 heads snapped in her direction. Embarrassed, Ravena slipped away unnoticed into the library.

20 minutes went by with Ravena still alone in the library, engrossed in a book. She didn’t notice the shadow move into the doorway. After awhile, she could feel dark eyes burning into her cheek. Her head slowly lifted up, and she held a sigh when she saw Ardeth standing in the shadows, watching her.

“Good God, Ardeth, you frightened me!”

A smile twitched in the corner of his mouth, and he shrugged.

“I apologize deeply. How is your book coming along, it looks like you’re quite caught up in it.”

It was Ravena’s turn to shrug.

“It’s alright, not the greatest book in the world.”

Suddenly, Ardeth got up and walked sharply over to her.

“Why didn’t you tell me about the amulet?”

Ravena stared at him for a moment before replying.

“I didn’t think it was important anymore. I just wanted to forget what happened. I can still feel the burning of the amulet in my chest. Besides, you never asked.”

With that Ravena stood up and walked into a small corridor of books, and placed the one she was reading back into it’s position. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Ardeth start to walk towards her.

“You want me, don’t you?”

The beautiful woman looked at him with a shocked expression.

“Why you cocky... How dare you. You should really work on your ego, Ardeth, it’s making you less attractive.”

He was slowly advancing, and with each step he took toward her, she took a step back.

“I want you, Ravena, and I know you want me to. For once just follow your heart.”

Ravena laughed with disbelief.

“You don’t know what I want. Seriously, Ardeth, lets get back to your egoistic tendencies.”

Suddenly, he caught her around the waist as she was backing against the corner of the library. She was laughing as he pulled her up against him. His chest was like a warm brick wall. He leaned down until his mouth hovered just an inch or two above hers.

“Want me to tell you why you want me?”

“I’m waiting in breathless anticipation,” she replied sarcastically, but sensually.

“Because you need me, as I need you.”

With that Ardeth took hold of her hand, but his grip was light. She could have easily pulled away if she wanted to, but she didn’t. In fact, she held tight. Then he tugged her into the far end of the library, where no one ever goes. But first he locked the door to the library, then backed her against the wall, and pinned her there with his arms on either side of his face. His skin scorched through the thin fabric of her pale blue dress. He kissed an extremely sensitive spot beneath her ear, as if begging her. She was a goner and she knew it. His mouth covered hers in a long, hot, passionate kiss that let her know how much he wanted her. Her lips parted, and she felt a jolt of pleasure when his tongue went in search of hers. The kiss went on until she was gripping his shoulders and shaking with desire. Oh, how she loved him. They were both panting when he lifted his head. He saw the tears glistening in her eyes and went completely still.

“Do you want me to stop, Ravena?”

She shook her head no, and they fell down in the throes of passion.