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*****
In the deepest chambers of Hamunaptra, the air felt thickâheavy with old magic and the smell of dust that had never once touched the sun.
Evelyn lay strapped to a stone sacrifice table, her wrists and ankles bound in ancient wrappings. Just beside her was another slabâthis one holding the preserved, regal corpse of Anck-su-Namun.
Cold. Beautiful. Perfectly still.
Evelyn's heart hammered painfully.
Her breath hitched when Imhotep stepped into view.
Almost human nowâskin covering most of his bodyâbut patches of muscle, bone, and decayed flesh still showed through like a grotesque mosaic.
His jaw was still slightly skeletal, his cheekbones too sharp, eyes glowing faintly gold.
He leaned over her, close enough for Evelyn to see sand shifting under his skin.
"កa fÄn?" he growled in Ancient Egyptian. "Sefet-en? ê€nwty?"
'Where⊠is the Black Book⊠and the Key?'
Evelyn squeezed her eyes shut and turned her head away, trembling.
"IâI don't know!" she cried. "I don't know where they are!"
Imhotep's face twisted, a mixture of frustration and something disturbingly close to affection.
He reached out and brushed her cheek with fingers that were partly bone.
"D-DON'T touch me!" she screamed. "Oh Godâyour handâ!"
He ignored her fear.
"Djed⊠satyu!" he hissed. 'You will speak the truth.'
"I AM!" Evelyn shrieked. Her voice cracked. "Even if I did know, I wouldn't tell you!"
Imhotep's distorted face shiftedâneither a smile nor a frown, something in-between, something inhuman.
Then he raised his hand, and the ground rumbled.
A swirling vortex of sand erupted from the chamber floorâspilling upward like a reversed waterfall.
Jackal-headed warriors.
They emerged silently, one after another, filling the chamber with the heavy stench of ancient magic and death.
Evelyn recoiled in horror.
"Not againâno, noâ"
Imhotep extended his arm toward the darkness above.
"Shedi!" he commanded in Ancient Egyptian.
"Tjaw nī⊠nefÄr en sáž„a."
'Find them. Capture them. One of them holds the Book⊠I need.'
The jackal-soldiers slammed their fists to the ground in unisonâTHOOMâa gesture of obedience.
Then, without a word, they turned and disappeared.
Imhotep's ability to command even a fragment of the Underworld Army came from a deal he never expected to make.
About a month ago, Anubis himself appearedâsilent, towering, and far too calmâand demanded Imhotep's soul. No explanations, no divine speeches. Just a simple trade.
In return, the Death God granted him resurrection⊠and limited control over the jackal warriors of the underworld.
Imhotep still didn't know why Anubis wanted his soul so badly, but he wasn't about to complain. A deal with a god was still a shortcut to power, and he had waited centuries for any advantage he could get.
So he lay dormant, waiting for fools to open the cursed chest and consume then to increase his strength.
And today, they finally did.
His power was returning, his lover was within reach, and only two humans remained for him to consume.
Once he completed that, he would be immortalâbeyond death, beyond gods, and far beyond the price Anubis expected him to pay.
***
On Daniel's side
They were standing inside the Treasury Chamber â a cavernous hall stacked wall-to-wall with ancient wealth. Gold gleamed from every surface, bouncing torchlight in blinding waves like a thousand tiny suns.
Everyone stood frozen.
"WhoaaaâŠ" Jonathan breathed, jaw dropping so wide Daniel was fairly certain a whole wine bottle could fit inside. His eyes shimmered with pure, childlike greed.
ThenâCLINK.
Jonathan nearly levitated as his hand landed on a goblet overflowing with gold coins. He cradled it carefully, reverently, lifting it like it was a newborn child sent straight from the heavens.
And then it appeared â
that smile.
That greedy, sparkling, utterly Jonathan smile.
He grinned so wide it looked like his face might split.
"Ohhh, would you look at this beauty!"
O'Connell raised a brow, sweeping his gaze across the shimmering mountains. "So all those legends were true⊠Hamunaptra really was the City of Gold."
Daniel had seen valuable things before, but never anything remotely close to this. This wasn't treasure â this was the kind of wealth that toppled kingdoms and built new ones. It could make any man the richest in the world.
'Easily,' he thought.
But now wasn't the time.
"Jonathan," Daniel said, turning to him with an unimpressed stare, "if Evy finds out you paused to romance the gold instead of focusing on saving her, she's going to strangle you. Lovingly. But still strangle you."
Jonathan scoffed, not even looking up as he stacked bracelets up both arms, layering them like he was trying to achieve maximum shine.
"Who said I'm not saving my sister?" he said defensively. "I'm simply appreciating the craftsmanship. A man can multitask!"
Daniel shot him a deadpan look. "Your actions do not match your words. And you do realizeâ" he pointed toward Ardeth, "âthis man is the sworn protector of Hamunaptra. Is it really wise to loot sacred treasure in front of them?"
Ardeth Bay stood still and stoic, gaze fixed ahead. The Medjai didn't even glance at the mountains of gold surrounding them.
"We do not care for gold," Ardeth said firmly. "Our duty is only to guard humanity from the evils sealed here."
Daniel let out a low whistle. "Damn. You guys really are role models."
Because unlike themâŠ
Daniel definitely wanted the gold.