Chereads / HIGH PRIEST LOVE / Chapter 21 - CHAPTER TWENTY

Chapter 21 - CHAPTER TWENTY

"Evie!" Jonathan stops. "I hear her, Ardeth. I hear her!"

A dusty breeze blows into the chamber as Ardeth and Jonathan back away from the mummy pieces. The floor where they were just standing suddenly starts to move.

Two more mummies slowly dig their way up out of the floor. More mummies starts coming out of the walls and crawling out of the piles of gold. All the mummies head toward them.

Ardeth lift his sword. He swung his swords slayed the shit out of the mummies. They keep on coming. Even more now, Ardeth keep his sword and open fire, pumping and firing as two of the men back away and haul-ass.

The mummies and mummy pieces follow them into the passageway.

"I really hate mummies. They never played it fair!" Jonathan complain. Gun fires, blasting flame and smoke.

Two men race down a passageway, a dozen mummies striding after them.

"This whole place is coming ALIVE!"

They men race around a corner. More mummies. They race around another corner. More mummies.

"I'm out!"

Ardeth throws his gun down, pull his sword back in view and they race into a small chamber. The lower half of the giant statue of Horus stands in the middle of the chamber.

"There he is!"

They run up to the base of the statue. Ardeth looks back at the mummies coming down the passageway. He reaches into his gunny sack and pulls out a stick of dynamite. Ardeth taps Jonathan on the shoulder.

"Move!"

Dynamite and a match, then turns to look at the statue. Ardeth reaches foward and strikes the match of Jonathan stubbly face.

He shocked.

Ardeth lights the dynamite and throws it down the passageway. They all hit the deck. The dynamite explodes, ripping apart the creatures, causing a cave in and sealing the passageway with the rock and dirt.

Now there's only one way out, another dark, creepy passageway.

Ardeth and Jonathan are digging away at the seams of the secret compartment, it starts to give.

And that's when Ardeth spots another group of rotting mummies coming down the dark passageway, heading right for them. Ardeth looks up.

"These creatures just don't quit I tell you now my friend".

Ardeth grabs his sword and runs off towards the mummies. "Keep digging and safe your sister!"

"What are you doing?!"

"Keep digging!"

Jonathan redouble his efforts, pulling harder on the seam, the compartment starts to loosen. About to give.

Ardeth swung his sword at the on coming mummies over at the base of the statue.

Jonathan pull an ornate chest out of the secret compartment. He rips off the lid, reaches inside and pulls out a heavy burlap bag.

Jonathan exchange nervous, excited looks. Then he reaches into the bag and slowly pulls out the solid Gold Book of the Living.

Golden light reflects off their faces as they stare at it in wonder.

"That's why we keep this book away from people who trying to used against it".

Ardeth still swung his sword while talking to Jonathan, into the remaining mummies swinging.

The mummies quickly overwhelm and starts to tear him apart. Ardeth light the last stick of dynamite and throws it against the far wall. He and Jonathan hit the deck.

"That's the last one, we better get lucky".

The wall blows, debris collapses, but now here's a hole for them to get out. Ardeth and Jonathan race out through the hole just as the remaining mummies enter the chamber.

"I hated you!"

Imhotep smirking. "Soon you will be mine. After my fellow friends kill them".

And that's when Ardeth and Jonathan burst in. Imhotep spins around and faces them. Jonathan beams as he holds up the golden Book of the Living.

"I found it, Evie! I found it!"

"Open the book, Jonathan! Open the book! That's the only way to kill him!"

She scream. Imhotep now turns to look at her in anger. "I can't open it! It's locked or something!" Jonathan spots a series of solid gold, four sided locks along the binder.

It hits him like lightning. "We need the key, Evie!"

"Great, great! Where'd should we find the key".

Imhotep grins, then grabs the key hanging from a chain around his neck, rips it off and shoves it into his pocket.

Evelyn see what he doing, then he picks up the sacrificial sword and heads for Jonathan.

"Don't you hurt him!"

She grabs his arm, as he shoves her away.

"What do I do, Evie? What do I do!"

"Read the inscription on the cover!" She told him.

Jonathan quickly starts translating the cover inscription, but his ancient Egyptian is clearly awful.

"Keetash something, naraba something".

He starts to backpedal through the cemetery, cluctching the book, wide eyes as Imhotep moves in on him.

"Ebarra im hatu Kashka ummmmm--?"

Jonathan trips and falls on his ass. Imhotep charges forward. Ardeth grab her arm from behind away from him. Jonathan sits up and quickly looks back at the cover.

"Rasheem Aaaaa ANUBIS!"

Imhotep raises the sacrificial sword, about to kill Jonathan. And that's when the giant statue of Anubis suddenly crashes through the wall.

The god of deaths, horrible, decrepit stone faces stares angrily down. Jonathan stares back.

"Oh boy!"

Ardeth decapitates a mummy and looks up at Anubis with grins. "This just keeps getting, better and better. As your brother read the wrong inscription".

He grit his teeth. Imhotep leaves Jonathan and heads for the giant statue. More priest mummies attack forcing him away.

"Good. Now this time I finished you, Medjai". Imhotep said in Egypt.

Imhotep looks up at Anubis, points to Ardeth, and in ancient egyptian commands him to attack. Anubis moves for Ardeth, stomping over mausoleums and through the detritus moat on his way.

Ardeth quickly backs away forgetting Evelyn for a while.

Evelyn again attempt to hurt Imhotep by her own forced, budge or not she must. "Do something, Jonathan! Kill him!"

"You have got to be joking?"

"Finish the inscription you idiot!"

He did finish read the inscription helped by his sister, the Anubis instantly freezes in it's tracks and petrifies. It's off balance.

Starts to fall. Ardeth slides free if it's talons. Anubis starts to destroyed to each other till dust.

Imhotep turns and angrily. "She's mine! I marked her since she BORN!"

"Through me first if you want her. This place doesn't belongs to you anymore and now is time you've gone for good".

Imhotep wide smirked. "So be it."

He is already striding towards him. Jonathan lifts up his hand and he has the key back. He smiles to Evelyn.

"I got it!"

Evelyn runs for Jonathan.

Ardeth fight for his life swings his sword and cleaves a big chunk of molten flesh rot out of Imhotep's stomach.

On the outside, Imhotep looks human, but on the inside he is still rotten old mummy. Imhotep backhands Ardeth. Knocks him twenty feet back. Ardeth staggers to his feet. Imhotep is right there.

Jonathan lifts up the heavy gold book, then start furiously working the key into the series of locks, unlocking each of them.

No matter, Imhotep rips the sword away from Ardeth and casually flings it away. The golden Book of the Living opens.

Jonathan holds it right as Evelyn quickly turns the heavy gold pages looking for something. Ardeth turns to run, but Imhotep grabs him by the throat and lifts him off his feet.

Ardeth hangs there, a dazed mess.

Imhotep grins, says something in Ancient words, then starts to strangle Ardeth.

Ardeth chokes about to die hoping the sibling finding something could helped him now. Evelyn turns and faces Imhotep and reads an inscription.

She turn to look at Imhotep with proud. Imhotep turn to her as she read this _

"Kadeesh mal! Kadeesh mal! Pared oos! Pared oos!"

Imhotep pivots and looks at Evelyn, a look of sheer terror on his face. Then he looks over at the detritus bog. Which starts to bubble and shift. The swirling hole begins to open. And then suddenly the spirits of the Egyptian gods waft out of the black bog and swirl around the priest and tge the mummies.

The mummies all collapse and turn to dust. And then the spirits attack Imhotep. Lifting him and Ardeth up into the air. Imhotep let go of him who falls to the ground.

Evelyn and Jonathan fearfully stumble away from the spirits, ten feet off the ground, the spirits swirl around Imhotep's body.

Twisting it and turning it and slowly shriveling it, accompanied by the same strange flashing light, one last huge flash, accompanied by a blast of wind, and Imhotep staggers to his feet. He looks perfectly normal. His body is completely intact.

"Thought that thing is killing him!"

Imhotep again attempt to attack Ardeth with swings his sword in his stomach. Imhotep gasping in shocked amazed and horrified.

He's mortal.

Imhotep stumbles back and falls into the detritus bog. The sibling run up next to Ardeth. They watch as Imhotep gently sinks into the fetid swamp, slowly dying.

And then, just before his head goes under, Imhotep looks up at them, grins broadly and says something to Evelyn but in ancient Egyptian word knowing by her only.

Imhotep's grinning face vanishes under the black bile.

Evelyn give the fake translates. Death is only the beginning.

Ardeth, Evelyn and Jonathan look around as all the walls starts to descend. Ardeth grabs Evelyn's hand.

"C'mon!"

He pulls her foward and all three of them race past sinking pillars. They duck as they run into a descending doorway, they crouch run into the treasure chamber.

Evelyn skids to a stop. Look in wonder at all the treasure.

"No".

Sand rains down on them, Ardeth grabs her again and quickly pulls her through the mounds of treasure towards a sinking doorway on the far side of the room.

The sound of the sinking walls is deafening. They run up a stairscase, heading for a descending doorway, which is already half gone. Jonathan dives through the narrow gap.

Then Ardeth dives through, he spins around. Evelyn dives, but gets stuck in the middle, about to get cut in half. He grabs her arm and yanks her through in the nick of time.

The temple collapses as they pack of stray camels race through the ruins. A sinking crevice drops out right behind them, chasing them out through the front gates.

The whole place rumbles ominously. They make it down the ramp as more ruins crash down behind them. A massive cloud of sand and dust billows out over the wall and into the air.

Ardeth, Evelyn and Jonathan all the stray camels race out into the desert, stand in the middle of the plateau, surround by stray camels.

They stare off at the sandy, dusty, volcano as it continue to rumble ominously.

"Well, I guess we go home empty handed".

Ardeth look at him. "I guess and hoped no one ever resurrect that creature anymore. I keep warning your, Evelyn. We almost died and MacGowen..."

A bandaged hand took Jonathan's shoulder, surprising them all. The hand was MacGowen, atop a camel.

"What? You think I'm dead?"

"Probably". said Jonathan. "I can't believe you alive".

"Bunch an idiot mummies couldn't kill me that easily. Pretty amazing to see the view with the temples collapses and you'll three running from it, is like I watch in a movie on tv. Pretty good."

He look at Evelyn. "You must be the sister they talked about".

"Evelyn Carnahan. Nice to meet you..?"

"Arthur MacGowen".

Evelyn blushed. "Your the pilot?"

"I'am". He smile. "We're going home aren't we?"

Evelyn nod yes. She turn to Ardeth. "Thank you for everything, Ardeth. You done so much for us. Risking your life to rescue me even, you know how hard to defeat the creature".

Ardeth explained that because they had killed Imhotep, they were blessed with the gratitude and respect. With that, Ardeth blessed them in Allah's name.

"Dr. Bey can't waited to see you back to his Library and please do not ever, never trying to figured it out anything wasn't your capable. Not anymore".

She smile. She leaned closer to Ardeth and kiss him on cheek. He look down at her.

"What was that for?" He ask her.

"A thankful kiss".

Ardeth nod understand. He drag one of the camel and ride on the back and left towards the sunset on his camel.

As for Evelyn, Jonathan and MacGowen. They left the place and back to Cairo. Since that, it was the last thing Evelyn saw Ardeth before she move back in London.

Again.