Chapter 20-

Ardeth was the only one who didn’t even cough. Blue mist swayed in the opening in the ground from when the Medjai leader had opened it. Musty substances consumed them as they peered into the dark, endless pit. Ravena herself suppressed a cough as she tried to look over the shoulders of the huge Medjai, but to no avail. With a stoic expression, Ardeth lit a match and reached his hand into the pit. Inside revealed a large corridor. He registered this information in a split-second before turning his head to look at Ravena, still behind the huge men. He barked a word, and his warriors silently moved away. Ravena gave them a short glare before returning he gaze at Ardeth. His hand was outstretched towards her, and he nodded his head towards the opening.

“Let’s go.”

Ravena gave a barely visible gulp and placed her slender hands in his palm. He tightened his grip around her and gently tugged her along side of him. The Medjai warriors did no fail to notice the tender exchange. They all smiled inside. Sati shook his head in amusement and threw in a long, coiled rope. He kept adding more in until he heard a small and distant thump. Ardeth placed his hands around it and swung into the pit as if he had done it many times before, not counting the time at Hamunaptra. He ventured down until he reached the bottom. He looked up at Ravena, an anxious look creasing against her face.

“Come. Don’t worry, if you fall I will be here to catch you.”

She gave a silent prayer before swinging in. Ravena pulled herself along the thick rope until it reached the end. But suddenly her grasp slipped and before she could even give a little shriek she fell into the open arms of Ardeth. She shook her head, delighted to find out that she had curved in perfectly into his arms. A smile twitched at the corners of his mouth, as if he wished this moment of her being in his arms would never end. Ravena gave a timid grin and slid out of his grasp.

“Thank you.” She whispered.

Ardeth acknowledged this with just a simple nod of his head and looked around the corridor as the other men came clambering down the rope. It looked similar to the ones at the City of the Dead, but with a wider opening and more intricate paintings on the wall, at least from what they could see despite a blanketed silhouette with the help of the consuming light of the moon. Ardeth lit up a torch and lifted it just barely above his head. He turned to Ravena and spoke low and gruffly, so his men wouldn’t hear him.

“Stay close to me, understand? I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

Numbly, Ravena just shook her head in understanding. Once Ardeth saw that she had understood, he looked up at the faced of his warriors, who were grinning like Cheshire cats. His tender eyes turned into a glare.

“C’mon! Let’s go.” He barked with a warning glance.

His men, who were trying to suppress laughs considering they had never seen their leader act so passionately before, lowered their heads and looked at their provisions. With a shake of two of his fingers, Ardeth motioned for everyone to go. They walked cautiously into the corridor, guided by only the light of the torch. Their leader walked up front, obviously not scared in the least bit. His eyes scanned all his surroundings, missing nothing, noticing nothing to link them to the Star. The blue mist radiated around them like a soft, pulsing light. They walked on and on. Soon, they came to a dead end. A huge wall was placed in front of them. They all stared at it for a moment, before turning their heads towards Ravena. She looked at them for a moment, looked at the wall, and studied it for a moment.

“Well, doesn’t this dampen the excitement.” She said with a small smile.

Before any of the Medjai could react, she lifted the amulet from her neck. Ravena walked back and forth, as if studying the walls. The men all looked at each other. Ardeth reached for her elbow.

“Um, Ravena, what are you doing?” He said gently.

She placed her fingertips on the painted walls.

“I’m just looking for clues. Aha!”

The amulet started to glow when it was directed in one place. Ravena placed her fingertips in three small, rounded, smooth holes, (where the amulet was shining towards) and pushed. A loud groan immersed from the side wall. Instinctively Ardeth grabbed Ravena and pulled her to his chest, meanwhile grabbing his scimitar and pointing it at the source of the sound, as did his men. The woman just smiled in satisfaction.

“I remember my father telling me about a wall like this.”

Their eyes were still fixed on the wall, growing wider as it seemed to disappear into the ground with each passing second. It screeched with the grinding of stone, and everyone placed their hands on their ears, wincing. Soon, the wall wasn’t even there anymore, leaving a barely visible doorway. Everyone except for Ravena stood there in shock. The woman just walked ahead of them, turned around, smiled, and gave a small shrug. Ardeth returned to his senses and pulled her behind him as he stuck one head into the doorway. He threw the torch in, and gasped at what he saw.