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In the name of Sekmet	By : darkangel985 Category: M through R > Mummy, The (All) > Mummy, The (All) Views: 8291 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own The Mummy movie series, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 12
- 13
- 14
This chapter was
inspired by the short story “The pit and the pendulum” by
E. A. Poe.

Chapter 13 – Trust

As soon as the bright
light vanished Rick opened his eyes again, finding himself in an
extremely small, circular chamber with a single roughly made
door. He had hoped that Evy was the last part of his task and that he
would see Ardeth again, but obviously
Sekmet still wasn't finished with him.

He didn't have the
slightest idea what else the goddess might have planned for him, but
whatever it was he had to get through it. Not only for Ardeth, but
also for himself. Rick felt the guilt burn in the back of his mind,
while he tried to ignore the small voice that insisted he had
betrayed Ardeth by kissing Evy. Maybe he had, but that didn't matter
now anymore.

The only thing that
mattered was that in the end he had stood true to Ardeth, just like
he had at Osiris' temple. He had also wavered there, but his decision
had been the very same he had made this time. Now he could only hope
that when Sekmet was through with them and the threat of the Lok-tai
had passed he would still have a lover left.

Ardeth was strong, so
much he knew, but even the strongest warrior could fail. Pushing away
the dread that this thought caused to bloom in his stomach Rick
focused back on the situation he was
currently in, taking a cautious first step
towards the doorway.

He had barely moved
when a voice resounded out of the shadows. “You did well
western warrior as did your Med-jai lover. You proved that you are
loyal to him and willing to stay by his side, even if there are
easier choices available. An admirable quality in a warrior, but the
trials have not ended yet.”

The dark figure stepped
out of the hallway, revealing a lioness' face and a long elegant
linen dress. A plaited wig hid her ears and
in her hands she held a sword and spear, identifying her as the
warrior goddess she was in ancient times.
She stepped closer to Rick, while he used all his willpower to not
ask her if Ardeth was alright. He had completed his task and that
probably meant that he was still alive, but it didn't mean that he
wasn't injured in some way. Pushing the worry to the back of his mind
since it wasn't going to do him any good at the moment Rick listened
as she continued to speak.

“The next task can only be
mastered if both you and the Med-jai warrior fulfill
your parts. You will stay here in this room and wait for your lover
to come for you.”

This sounded too damn
ridiculously easy. There had to be some
sort of catch. Rick had barely thought that, when the goddess
continued to speak. “Look up.” Doing as he was told Rick
turned his head upwards, suddenly finding the ceiling of the room
gone. Now it looked more like a deep pit, but that still only
complicated things a little. There had to be something else.

Rick's attention was
suddenly drawn to a movement he had seen out of the corner of his
eye. Had the wall just moved a bit? “You are right, my chosen
one. The walls will close in on you and it depends on your bravery
and the faith you can place in your lover whether
or not the task can be won. The walls will never stop and if the
Med-jai isn't fast enough you will be squashed like the shell of a
scarab beetle under the hoof of a horse. There would be a way to
escape this fate, but if you choose it you have failed the task.”

With a motion of her
hand she directed Rick's attention over to the doorway, that was now
blocked by a heavy-looking stone plate. “If you begin to loose
faith in your lover it will open, but only when you step through will
the task be lost.”

Her head held high in a
most regal pose the lioness vanished into thin air, leaving Rick
alone in the small chamber, dread settling
in his stomach.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When the bright light receded Ardeth
found himself in a huge rectangular stone chamber. There was a
doorway in each of the four walls, every one of them shaped like a
lion's opened mouth. The Med-jai had expected to see Rick again, now
that his task had been completed, his lover's absence causing dread
to settle in his stomach.

What if Rick hadn't completed his task or had been injured? He
didn't want to think about it, the prospect of his lover being hurt
causing his heart to ache. Yes, he loved his tribe, but Ardeth hated
that to save them he had to put the thing he treasured most in the
line of danger.

He was shaken out of his thoughts as a lioness stepped out of the
doorway in front of him, her regal figure once again clad in typical
Egyptian clothing. Her stance was proud as she stepped towards the
Med-jai warrior and her booming voice echoed in the stone room.

“Med-jai, you have completed your task and defeated one of
my warriors. So has the western warrior, although he was close to
failing more than just once. But the trials have not ended yet and
the next task has to be mastered by both you and him.”

Gesturing towards the doorways she continued: “Each of these
paths lead into a labyrinth that you have to master to find your
lover. But hurry, only if you reach him in time will you be able to
save his life and continue on.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ardeth ran on, time seemingly stretching into eternity as he
hurried through the labyrinth, fear for Rick the only thought
residing in his mind. He ignored the bursts of pain his cracked ribs
sent through his body every time he breathed, his will to save his
lover driving him on.

Another dead end. Ardeth had lost count of how many of them he had
already hit, but with each of them the fear for his lover increased.
He couldn't help but wonder what Sekmet would do to Rick if he
failed, different scenarios of horrible
deaths flitting through his mind. Trying to push these thoughts away
he ran even faster, his breath coming in short, heavy pants as he
pressed onwards.

But suddenly he stopped. The walls of the labyrinth had been
brightly painted with lions and scenes of Egyptian life and Ardeth
now faced one of these murals, a sliver of despair settling in his
heart. He had already seen this before and unless the goddess
was playing a cruel game with him, he was no closer to saving Rick
than he had been the last time he had come along this way.

If he had known that no way in the labyrinth led to Rick, he might
have stopped and given up, but he didn't know. So he ran on,
following the twists and turns of the labyrinth and trying to
remember which ways he had already taken. It didn't matter that his
legs were burning, his shoulder ached and his lungs complained with
exertion, he had to go on and he would, as long as it took to find
Rick.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Slowly but surely Rick was feeling really crowded by the walls,
which now were so close to him that he couldn't stand between them
sideways without his shoulders touching the
cool stone. But the door hadn't opened yet. It was high time for
Ardeth to rescue him, since he had no idea how long he had left
before the walls squeezed him to a pulp. Hopefully it would be
enough.

The whole time he had looked up to the hole above him, waiting for
his lover's beautiful face to appear and signal his rescue. But he
hadn't. What if Ardeth hadn't made it through the task that Sekmet
had given to him, before he could come to his rescue?

He had barely finished the thought, when a rumbling sound filled
the room as the door slowly slid into the wall, revealing a dark
hallway. His way out. At the same time the walls came a little
closer, forcing Rick to face the door if he wanted to stay
comfortable.

He was fairly certain that the goddess
had arranged this deliberately, trying to
tempt him with the way out. And he was tempted. But the walls were
still far away enough to not pose a danger and Ardeth had still time
to rescue him. He only had to have faith in his Med-jai warrior.

But as the walls came another bit closer, now almost touching both
his back and his chest, the doubts increased. He had decided that he
was willing to risk both his son's and Jonathan's life for his lover,
but was he also willing to risk his own? If Ardeth had asked him
before this task he would have said 'yes' with absolute conviction,
but as the walls came closer and closer this decision
became harder to maintain.

Another movement and the walls were touching his back and his
chest. He had to make his choice now or he
would never make it to the door. Was Ardeth, his tribe worth dying
for? The decision clear in his mind Rick
made his move.

TBC...
- 12
- 13
- 14
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In the name of Sekmet