Chapter 9-


Ardeth held her in his arms as he gently lifted her onto his horse. He positioned her legs over the side of the horse. He let his hands linger on them for a moment. He remembered how quickly he had killed the guard and how he had looked down upon Ravena. He was scared. He had never been scared in his life, but he was scared. He didn’t know why. The passion that he caught in himself was probably just a mirage. He did his best to control the bleeding, thankful it didn’t go deep in her. He motioned for one of his men to grab her bag of clothes and personals, and then he hoisted himself up on the horse behind her. Ardeth positioned her body so that her head was resting against his chest. He felt her gentle breathing mimic his own. With a simple click of his tongue, his horse trotted out of the ruined campsite, towards his Medjai village where others could tend to her wound. Unfortunately, Ardeth couldn’t find Mr. Steinburger or his second in command, Max Schneider. They had disappeared. Rick was going to arrive in the morning and he sure the hell wasn’t going to be happy to hear that his cousin had been injured. He felt the silk on his skin and thought how daring this woman was.

Rick, Jonathan, and Evelyn (carrying 6 yr. old Alex of course) pushed their way through the tremendously busy airport in Cairo. They looked around for any huge men in black robes, but with no avail. Alex was getting hungry. They were getting desperate and Rick was getting angry. But, luckily, they saw one young man towering over everyone else who looked like he was definitely a Medjai, despite the fact that he looked like a teenager. They somehow reached over to where he stood, and the man said

“Are you the O'Connell's?”

They nodded mutely,

“I am Sati, Ardeth’s Bey second in command”, and then he turned around, indicating them to follow him.

Rick caught up with him.

“Have you seen my cousin, is she all right?”.

Sati breathed slowly. He knew how dangerous Rick could be with his fists, as some other Medjai recollected from 7 yrs. ago, and didn’t know how to reply to that.

“Well, you see Mr. O’Connell, we have saved your cousin’s life, but unfortunately, one of the Nazis cut her with a scimitar, and she is being treated by the woman elders right now.”

He tried to ignore the fury on Rick’s face.

“Why the hell couldn’t you guys save her?! Is she all right? Is she badly hurt?!”

Sati looked at him seriously before replying,

“She is unconscious, but alive. She WILL live.”

With that he jumped into the front of a nearby car and started the engine.

“When we get to the marketplace, there will be horses waiting for us.”

The not-so-happy family got in the car as well, and it roared to life.


Ravena could hear voices but didn’t know where it was coming from. She tried to open her eyes, but couldn’t find the energy to do so. She only opened them a slit, and could see blurry images all around her. She felt weak and exhausted. She widened her eyes, trying to figure out what happened to her. She could hear a familiar voice in the background say,

“Look, she’s awake.”

A woman’s head appeared over her face, her black hair tumbling down her. She was mouthing her name, Ravena, over and over again. She remembered suddenly everything that happened. She even remembered who this woman was. Evelyn. She sat up suddenly, but gasped in pain as the throbbing of her wound hit her full force. She lay down again and looked around the room in confusion. She was in a large tent, and Rick and Evy were standing over her. Ardeth Bey was sitting in a corner of the tent, while three elderly woman in black robes tended to her once-again-bleeding injury. She could only mouth out the words,

“What happened?”, before letting the darkness of sleep overtake her.


When Ravena woke up for the second time, there was nothing but silence. It was dark outside, but someone left a lamp in the tent. When she turned her head, she saw her cousin, Rick, lying down in a corner. She smiled at how boyish he looked. She started to whistle the famous French song she learned in Montreal, it was called Allouette. She saw how his eyes fluttered opened, and smiled when their eyes met. He sat up and looked up at her.

“How are you feeling, Ravena?”, he said quietly.

She smiled and said jokingly,

“Like I’ve been stabbed.”.

Rick’s smile disappeared, and then, seriously, he placed a hand into his pocket, and pulled out a picture.

“Someone dropped this during the attack.”

He handed it to her and she winced when she saw it. It was the proof of life. Her daughter was there, looking terrorized, holding the daily newspaper. She held back a sob, but not for long. Her body shuddered with unwept tears. She racked with painful sobs.

“I’m an awful mother. How could I of let this happen to my own flesh and blood?”.

Rick clambered up to her and held her in his arms.

“You’re a wonderful mother, Ravena. You love your daughter so much that you would be willing to give up you life for her. You’re an amazing mom”.

They sat there for awhile, more like brother and sister then cousins, and cried with each other. Soon, Ravena looked up at Rick.

“I’m getting her back, Rick. I’m going to kill that son of a bitch Rafe. He is going to pay for making our lives a living hell.”

With that, her head rolled back in sleep. Rick lowered her down and kissed her forehead.

“Of course we will, cousin.”