Chapter 18


Ravena quickly wiped away any remaining tears from her face, hoping that her eyes weren’t red. She placed the amulet over her neck, and stopped suddenly when she heard the scurrying of something that sounded like bugs. Scarabs. She clutched onto Ardeth’s arm and stared into his handsome face, terrified. Ardeth looked around, as if sensing the air.

“They’re not here, but they are getting closer. Come, we must hurry. We must run.”

He grabbed Ravena’s hand, and they both quickened their pace. Before they knew it, they were running. They could hear the sound of scarabs getting louder behind them. This of course encouraged them to go faster. They sprinted through the corridors, trying to find signs of Evelyn, Rick, or the other Medjai. But with no avail. The scarabs were getting closer. They reached the room in which they all split up, thankful for what they saw. Everyone else was there, looking at them with hopeful glances. Evelyn’s head snapped up.

“Well, did you find it? We tried, but we never discovered anything. What is that god-awful sound coming from behind you? It sounds like...”

Her head paused suddenly, fear replacing curiosity. She recognized the sound; she looked at Rick with awful memories running through her head.

“Oh dear.”

They all gazed in horror as they saw a mount from the ground slowly rise up. It suddenly broke through and scarabs raced out of it. Ardeth and the other men threw their torches at them. They grabbed onto the women and they all raced to the rope. One by one, they quickly climbed up it, trying to ignore the sounds from the scarabs. Ravena didn’t have time to register the brightness of the Egyptian sun because she was too busy trying to help Evelyn get out. It went on, until they tried to get the last Medjai out. But it was too late; the scarabs sucked him up, fear ripping through his face. His eyes were wide and his arms tried to reach for them. That image, she knew, would haunt Ravena for a long time to come. Everyone by now were sitting exhausted on the desert floor, looking down mournfully into the pit, the scarabs scattering never ceasing. After awhile, Evelyn looked up.

“Damn. We failed, and there’s not a chance in hell I’m going back down there.

Ravena and Ardeth shared a look.

“Not necessarily.”

With that the beautiful Italian lifted the amulet from her neck, grateful to relieve the burden off her neck. She handed it carefully over to Evelyn, who touched it with amazement.

“This is it, this is really it? It’s magnificent. My God, it is truly beautiful. I guess we didn’t fail.”




Dusk had finally set in. Dark clouds were rolling in the setting sky. Once again the amulet was placed on Ravena’s neck. They were just outside the Nazi camp, the soldiers were still trying to dig up the Star of the Hephealiates. Ravena, Ardeth, and about 50 Medjai were lying on their stomachs on top of a small dune overlooking the campsite. Ardeth had no choice but to bring Ravena along, because she was the only person alive to know how to retrieve the Star from it’s tomb, and she knew the ritual of how and where the amulet would be placed. The handsome leader was only going to bring 8 of his Medjai, as too not attract too much attention to themselves, and they were going to be the diggers. Ardeth was not happy in the least bit about bringing Ravena along. If something ever happened to her, he would never forgive himself. The first time he saw the fading bruises on her body that had a distinct shape of a fist, all he wanted to do was kill every Nazi on the face of this planet. He knew he would protect her with every ounce of strength in him, there was no doubt about that.

“Come,” he whispered to his 8 Medjai and Ravena, “We must go.”

They crept behind the dunes, trying to avoid the lights that sprung occasionally from the Nazi camp. Ravena was right beside Ardeth, his hand a death grip on her arm. Night had fully arrived, and he could only rely on the moon and his own sharp, keen senses of the night to find his way. Ardeth turned his head to look at Ravena, and whispered to her.

“Where is it?”

His love looked at him for a moment, then looked ahead of her.

“There it is, my father had told me it was shaped like a crescent moon.”

Ardeth turned his head, confused. But when he saw what Ravena was looking at, he understood what she meant. On top of a nearby small dune stood some rocks. It was eerily shaped like a crescent moon, only if you looked at it closely. At first glance, one might think it would a normal pile of rocks that were for some reason in the middle of the desert, but if one had strong knowledge of such things, it would be worth taking a closer look. Ardeth nodded his head in understanding, and with a swift motion of his head, the other Medjai followed him to this dune. He was thankful there was another hill covering the site, so the Nazis might not discover them. But Ardeth had no worries. The other 50 Medjai were keeping watch on the campsite.

When they arrived to the dune, Ardeth pulled Ravena away to the side.

“I want you to stay here, if you sense trouble, click your tongue.”

With that, out of view from the other Medjai, he placed a deep kiss on her, leaving her breathless. Ardeth turned sharply away, and grabbed a shovel, as did his men.

“Lets start digging.”

With that he pushed the shovel into the ground. His men followed into the same routine.
They dug for hours. All the Medjai were sweating except for Ardeth. His was cool, calm, and collected. He surprisingly held onto his stoic expression, with only one main goal. It seemed like nothing was going to turn up, and Ravena herself had started to nod off. The Medjai were about to quit, when suddenly a sharp metal sound pierced the air. That woke Ravena up. They all stood there for a moment, registering everything in their minds, when they all fell onto their knees and pushed away the sand from what they discovered. It seemed to be like a doorway underground. It even had a handle. Ardeth looked around.

“Well, here goes.”