Jared Padalecki and the Mystery of the Egyptian Mummy
Title: Jared Padalecki and the Mystery of the Egyptian Mummy
Chapter: Twelve
Author:
hunters_retreat
Pairing: Jared/Jensen
Rating: R
Summary: J2 AU. Jared is a young Egyptologist trying to find a prize. Jensen is an adventurer in need of a mystery. Jared provides him with one. This is the story of the legend they become.
Author's Note: A huge thank you to
insane_songbird for the amazing manip! Previous chapters can be found Here
Chapter Twelve
Breakfast the next morning was a quiet affair. Jared had woken first, scrambling out of the bed so fast he'd fallen to the floor and barely managed to make it out of the room before Jensen woke. At least, he hoped. The looks Jensen gave him over breakfast were questioning though and he still wasn't sure if it was because of this vision induced connection between them, or because of the more personal issues that Jared was having. Jensen looked better than he had though. There was a trace of tension in his eyes, but the medication the doctor had given him seemed to have alleviated the pain. The dark circles under his eyes were less pronounced and Jared hoped that a small measure of that, at least, was due to his care.
"Are you anxious for Akil's word?" Jensen asked as the maid took the last of the breakfast plates away.
Jared shook his head then looked up at Jensen. The other man just stared at him for a minute and Jared smiled. "Yes. It's too early for word just yet, but yes I am. I understand what you said, about the raiders wanting to seal the place up, but just because we left doesn't mean others will. By opening the doors, we let in any other tomb raiders that wanted to stake a claim."
"They won't let that happen Jared, and I’ll tell you now that you had best take a lot of men, because they won't quit. They've dedicated themselves to this task and they will not let their ancestors down."
Jared nodded. "I know."
"And you'll continue anyway."
"Yes." He could see the anger just behind Jensen's eyes and Jared stood up swiftly. "Come on then. While we're waiting the least I can do is show you around the place. Not much really, but I don't need much. The grounds are beautiful though." He grabbed Jensen by the arm and pulled him upright, not allowing him a chance to say no. They only had a few days after all, and they both knew Jensen was right. And if he was, there was a chance that Jared might not make it back.
The afternoon was a bevy of industry. At lunch Akil showed up and told Jared he could have the men ready in three days. Jensen left them to finish lunch and Jared watched him stroll out into the gardens at the back of the property. Akil didn't say anything but Jared dismissed him quickly to get to the business at hand. He had orders to get their supplies restocked for the proper number of men. He also made an inquiry for the whereabouts of one of the linguists he knew. He had hopes that the man would come with them, but he wouldn't know until he spoke with him. He received word that he'd be at the library until late in the evening and Jared decided to stop by after dinner. The other linguist was an American, like himself, and had always had a kind smile for Jared when he'd been fresh to Egypt. He'd never forgotten it and the mentoring role the other man had played had developed into a real friendship. He hoped the bottle he was going to gift him with tonight would be a reminder of that. He hoped when he showed him the translation the promise of working together on such a spectacular find would be enough.
For dinner, Jared arranged to meet with Akil again at a fashionable restaurant close to the museum. Jensen went with him though they spoke little. Akil was agitated as they took their seat in a private booth at the back. Jared waited until their orders had been taken and the drinks arrived before he asked. "Tell me what's upsetting you Akil."
"I went to speak to a few of the men today, to get them ready for the departure. They are talking about the curse Jared. Three of the men have disappeared and before you ask, they are men I have known for years. They would not just leave without telling me and they would certainly not leave without telling their families." He looked down for a moment and Jared read shame into the glance. He looked up to see Jensen regarding Akil, as if he sensed the same thing. "I was told... they are the type of men who might have walked away with something from the tomb though. We were ordered to take nothing and I made sure the orders were given, but they could have hidden something and taken it. The men say the curse has come to call on them for taking from the tomb."
Jared shook his head. "That's ridiculous Akil. There is no such thing as a curse."
"You say that Jared, and I know you believe it, but you are one of the few there who did not feel the weight of a curse in that valley." Akil looked at Jensen who just sighed, rubbing his forehead with his fingers as if the headaches were returning.
"Those men were not raiders Jared. They were on a sacred quest and you want to defy them. I will follow you back there, because I believe in what you see, but I have a great fear for you if you continue."
The meal came soon after and it was even more quiet than their previous meals, all three men wrapped in the silence of their thoughts. When they were done, Jared convinced Akil to come with them to meet the linguist. The museum was dark as they entered but they could hear whispered words drawing them towards the back. Jared knew the way well, knew that the archives and older manuscripts were kept there, and pulled out only when a scholar asked specifically for them.
He heard the voices more clearly as they approached and he recognized his friend Jim immediately. It was Jensen who pulled a gun and pushed Jared behind him as they rounded the door. "Raider!"
The other man's eyes were wide as he looked up to see the barrel of the gun pointed at him.
"Jared! What do you think you're doing son?" Jim asked, staring between the leader of the raiders who had held a knife to Jared's throat and back to Jensen with his gun held at the ready.
"He tried to kill me!"
"They opened the tomb."
Jim shook his head and looked towards Jensen. "Put your weapon away Green-Eyed. Ain't no one gonna get shot in the museum today."
Jensen looked at Jared and lowered his weapon when he nodded. "Jim. I think I’d like to know what this is about." He said, indicating the other man.
"Jahde is an old friend. We met when I was fresh off the boat from America." He said with a smile for Jared. "Half the things I taught you about fitting into the nomadic lifestyle of the desert people come from Jahde." When Jared's face didn't soften at all, Jim lost his smile.
"He tried to kill me Jim."
"I threatened to kill you. If I had been trying, you would have been dead."
"Threaten him again, and you'll be dead."
Jensen's voice rippled over Jared's skin, like a desert snake preparing to attack. He wanted to laugh at the absurdity of it since Jensen wasn't going to be around to protect him anyway, but he wanted answers more than anything else. "Jim," he said, getting the other men’s attention. "Explain to me why the raider who charged into my find is your friend."
"I should have known you were up to no good when you just up and disappeared with no notice." Jim said, taking a seat behind one of the desks. "You went after the tomb of the general. It's the tomb that these men have sworn to keep hidden."
"Yes, we established that much on our own. I can't walk away from this Jim."
"Why not? You won't win this battle Jared. You'll just get yourself and a lot of men killed."
"Because of a curse?" The question was more of a demanded explanation and Jim looked to Jahde.
"How many men have you lost?" Jahde looked past Jared to ask Akil.
"Three have now gone missing."
"Because they stole something from the tomb. The Pharaoh has arisen and he's collecting what pieces of the General he can. Send word to your men. If they took something from the tomb, they are dead." He looked at Jared then. "We warned you about this."
Jared stood straighter. "There is no reason to believe these men's disappearances were part of some curse," he said with a sigh. "If they were trying to sell the pieces on the market they could have been killed for them, or it could be coincidence, or the men could just have gone away, nothing mysterious at all. You're making assumptions."
Akil looked at Jared and shook his head. "You have visions but you deny the curse."
"Visions?" Jahde looked at him, his anger covered with sudden curiosity.
Jared sighed but Jim knew of it already so he didn't need to worry about his colleague's opinion of him. He'd been the one to help Jared deal with them at the time. "Yes. I sometimes get visions when I touch artifacts."
"And you had visions of this tomb?" Jahde asked. "Tell me."
Jim was watching with interest and Jared sighed. "It's why I can't let this rest. The visions, they want the tomb open. The created a pyramid for this man, a place of beauty and peace for him and they want it to be seen. They want it opened so that the world can know of him." He felt himself pressed into a chair by Jensen. Akil took a seat to one side, but Jensen stayed at his back, a protective, calming presence at his back. He began then, talking about the sarcophagus they'd found with the first scroll and what he'd learned from it. He told them of his journey to the marker and how Jensen had come to their aid. He spoke of his visions then and when he was done he continued on to the tomb and what he'd felt there. He didn't talk about the visions and the way they reacted to Jensen and he didn't mention the way Jensen had been apprehensive to touch the sarcophagus or how the visions had manipulated them into it. He could feel the displeasure rolling off of Jensen but if the other man wanted to mention it, he would.
"Your visions are very clear then. The story they give you is the same as what we have passed down over the generations. I can understand why you wanted to be inside the tomb Jared." Jahde said as he rose. "There are more than a few of us who would like to stand at this man's feet and thank him in the way our ancestors could not. These visions though, they don't consider what else is to come. The Pharaoh's curse is not a joke and it is not something to laugh lightly at. He will kill anyone who stands in the way of him and his general."
"Why?" Jared demanded. "Why was everyone so afraid of what the Pharaoh would do? Why would he put a curse to take his own soul from the afterlife and wrap it around this one man?" He knew it was true, whether he believed in the curse or not, he knew that the Pharaoh had intended to do just that with the curse, but he hadn't been able to translate far enough to find out why. He just kept at it, hoping there would be a reason in the end.
"Love."
Jared snorted. "What you say of the Pharaoh has nothing to do with love."
"No, but the General was loved by most and he was loyal to the Pharaoh. Some said that his devotion to him was bordered on love, but the Pharaoh would never be able to look at him as anything more than a slave who had risen in his ranks. It is said that while the General never openly loved anyone, that in the end, he had given his heart to another. When the Pharaoh found out, he had the other killed and told the General that he was his property and that no other could touch him. He never took another lover for fear of what the Pharaoh would do, but he would not let the Pharaoh touch him after that either, not willingly and it drove the Pharaoh mad. The pyramid that his people built was not a place to honor him, but a place to give him another chance. They did not build it to seal his body, but to allow his soul to be free. The built it so that someday he would find love."
"And yet you want to stop me."
Jahde nodded. "They wanted to give him something more than an Afterlife with the Gods, but they did not understand the depths of the Pharaoh's obsession. After the General died, the Pharaoh had an artifact given to him, to seal the curse to him. When his body was stolen from the City of the Dead, it was taken with him. The curse said that when the sarcophagus was opened that the Pharaoh would rise from his slumber and he would kill all things in his path until the General was before him again. He would not rest and he would give no mercy. When the General was before him again, he would demand his heart, or he would crush it under heel and take his immortal soul into the heavens to be his eternal slave. The makers were trying to give him something better than his life had allowed, but what they did was to give the Pharaoh the chance to steal his soul, for all eternity."
They were all silent for a moment as Jahde's words penetrated. Jared could believe the Pharaoh was capable of it, of trying to control a man who was completely devoted to him but whom he would never love. It wasn't possible though. Having visions of the past was one thing. A creature like that coming through time to avenge anyone he thought stood between himself and the General though? No, he didn't believe in it. The visions were nothing more than a spiritual residue that these people's love and devotion left behind. It was why he didn't feel it with everything he touched. There had to be something strong to embed enough energy into an artifact that he could sense it so many centuries later.
No one spoke but then Jensen was stooping in front of Jared. His eyes looked pained and not just that, he looked scared. Jared reached out instinctively, grabbing Jensen's shoulder. He didn't know how to comfort the other man but he wanted to. He needed to keep him from looking like that. He took something from his pocket and showed it to Jared. It was an elegant necklace, beautiful beading led to intricately carved figures which stood out in relief on the gold face of the pendant. "See what it has to say to you Jared." He took Jared's hand from his shoulder and held it out, placing the necklace there. He took a deep breath and looked up at Jared, his eyes begging forgiveness as he closed Jared's fingers around it.
Jared did the only thing he could. He didn't understand why Jensen had taken something, but he knew he'd taken this from the sarcophagus. He knew that something was driving Jensen to do it because the man had been so adamant about not touching the thing in the first place. He trusted Jensen though, trusted him because he knew that the visions were pushing out in odd ways and that Jensen was becoming connected to it all. He trusted because he had to. He needed Jensen to be close, needed to know that everything they'd been through had been real. He needed to trust the other man and so he did the only thing that would prove to Jensen that he did. He closed his eyes and concentrated on the circular object in his hand, letting the world fall away from him to be replaced with something much older and darker.
The room was dark and he could feel the sense of foreboding around him. Everything happened in images too fast to take it all in and yet each burned its way into his mind, details easy to recall but only when he thought of them; battles and war rooms, darkened tents and palace luxuries. The Pharaoh never denied him anything once his worth was understood, but his love was never something he would give a slave. He paid for his devotion in other ways and the General followed his lead, taking what he was given with the humility and grace that had won him the hearts of so many. Images slowed then, images of a whispered rendezvous, of a secret lover and the Pharaoh's temper soared. The General was his in every way and he would not allow anyone else to touch or take what was his. Anger and betrayal wrapped around him until he had killed everyone the General could possibly have cared for. There was no one man, but simple vengeance on anyone that it might have been. He watched as the General confessed his heart, his love for the Pharaoh and that he had never betrayed him, begged for the lives of the people that loved him, but the Pharaoh was too far taken by his rage to see the truth in the slave's eyes. After that, the General let no one close, let no true emotion show as he worked with others, keeping to the Pharaoh's side whenever it was possible. For years he lived like that, never swerving in his devotion, but his heart grew colder. In time, the Pharaoh demanded his love. The General laughed, then told the Pharaoh he would never willingly give himself over to the other man. He had no wish to give his heart to someone who could not understand such a gift.
The last vision slowed completely and Jared stood in the City of the Dead, watching as the Pharaoh and his wise men worked the curse into the metal and beads, watched as they condemned the General to an eternal servitude. Time slipped past and he knew that while it was still his vision, it was no longer in the past. Something dark hunted the passageways of the tomb, hunting for its prey. He felt the darkness seeping away, moving to the city of Cairo and looking for the artifacts that might lead to the right place, but it was hidden, whatever they were looking for. He felt the jolt of hunger as the darkness looked at him, felt the anger and rage and staggered back from the vision of the General that seared into his mind.
He felt his body rising from its chair as he stumbled away from the thing in his vision. He felt himself falling and Jared pushed away from the hands that were trying to help him. The vision cleared but he couldn't be touched just then, couldn't breath with the other four men so close. He fell backwards and continued to scramble until he gained his feet, holding his hands up to keep them at bay. He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself but he didn't think anything sort of a bottle of brandy would do that. When he had his voice he simply looked at the other men, all standing in a rough semi-circle before him. "It's coming." He said softly.
He couldn’t look Jensen in the eye just yet, but he took a deep breath, trying to calm his racing heart because he knew the truth now and he had to stop the curse he had inadvertently set free. He looked up at Jahde, watching the way his jaw clenched underneath his black and silver beard. "I think I know how to stop him."
On to Chapter Thirteen
Chapter: Twelve
Author:
hunters_retreat
Pairing: Jared/Jensen
Rating: R
Summary: J2 AU. Jared is a young Egyptologist trying to find a prize. Jensen is an adventurer in need of a mystery. Jared provides him with one. This is the story of the legend they become.
Author's Note: A huge thank you to
insane_songbird for the amazing manip! Previous chapters can be found Here
Chapter Twelve
Breakfast the next morning was a quiet affair. Jared had woken first, scrambling out of the bed so fast he'd fallen to the floor and barely managed to make it out of the room before Jensen woke. At least, he hoped. The looks Jensen gave him over breakfast were questioning though and he still wasn't sure if it was because of this vision induced connection between them, or because of the more personal issues that Jared was having. Jensen looked better than he had though. There was a trace of tension in his eyes, but the medication the doctor had given him seemed to have alleviated the pain. The dark circles under his eyes were less pronounced and Jared hoped that a small measure of that, at least, was due to his care.
"Are you anxious for Akil's word?" Jensen asked as the maid took the last of the breakfast plates away.
Jared shook his head then looked up at Jensen. The other man just stared at him for a minute and Jared smiled. "Yes. It's too early for word just yet, but yes I am. I understand what you said, about the raiders wanting to seal the place up, but just because we left doesn't mean others will. By opening the doors, we let in any other tomb raiders that wanted to stake a claim."
"They won't let that happen Jared, and I’ll tell you now that you had best take a lot of men, because they won't quit. They've dedicated themselves to this task and they will not let their ancestors down."
Jared nodded. "I know."
"And you'll continue anyway."
"Yes." He could see the anger just behind Jensen's eyes and Jared stood up swiftly. "Come on then. While we're waiting the least I can do is show you around the place. Not much really, but I don't need much. The grounds are beautiful though." He grabbed Jensen by the arm and pulled him upright, not allowing him a chance to say no. They only had a few days after all, and they both knew Jensen was right. And if he was, there was a chance that Jared might not make it back.
The afternoon was a bevy of industry. At lunch Akil showed up and told Jared he could have the men ready in three days. Jensen left them to finish lunch and Jared watched him stroll out into the gardens at the back of the property. Akil didn't say anything but Jared dismissed him quickly to get to the business at hand. He had orders to get their supplies restocked for the proper number of men. He also made an inquiry for the whereabouts of one of the linguists he knew. He had hopes that the man would come with them, but he wouldn't know until he spoke with him. He received word that he'd be at the library until late in the evening and Jared decided to stop by after dinner. The other linguist was an American, like himself, and had always had a kind smile for Jared when he'd been fresh to Egypt. He'd never forgotten it and the mentoring role the other man had played had developed into a real friendship. He hoped the bottle he was going to gift him with tonight would be a reminder of that. He hoped when he showed him the translation the promise of working together on such a spectacular find would be enough.
For dinner, Jared arranged to meet with Akil again at a fashionable restaurant close to the museum. Jensen went with him though they spoke little. Akil was agitated as they took their seat in a private booth at the back. Jared waited until their orders had been taken and the drinks arrived before he asked. "Tell me what's upsetting you Akil."
"I went to speak to a few of the men today, to get them ready for the departure. They are talking about the curse Jared. Three of the men have disappeared and before you ask, they are men I have known for years. They would not just leave without telling me and they would certainly not leave without telling their families." He looked down for a moment and Jared read shame into the glance. He looked up to see Jensen regarding Akil, as if he sensed the same thing. "I was told... they are the type of men who might have walked away with something from the tomb though. We were ordered to take nothing and I made sure the orders were given, but they could have hidden something and taken it. The men say the curse has come to call on them for taking from the tomb."
Jared shook his head. "That's ridiculous Akil. There is no such thing as a curse."
"You say that Jared, and I know you believe it, but you are one of the few there who did not feel the weight of a curse in that valley." Akil looked at Jensen who just sighed, rubbing his forehead with his fingers as if the headaches were returning.
"Those men were not raiders Jared. They were on a sacred quest and you want to defy them. I will follow you back there, because I believe in what you see, but I have a great fear for you if you continue."
The meal came soon after and it was even more quiet than their previous meals, all three men wrapped in the silence of their thoughts. When they were done, Jared convinced Akil to come with them to meet the linguist. The museum was dark as they entered but they could hear whispered words drawing them towards the back. Jared knew the way well, knew that the archives and older manuscripts were kept there, and pulled out only when a scholar asked specifically for them.
He heard the voices more clearly as they approached and he recognized his friend Jim immediately. It was Jensen who pulled a gun and pushed Jared behind him as they rounded the door. "Raider!"
The other man's eyes were wide as he looked up to see the barrel of the gun pointed at him.
"Jared! What do you think you're doing son?" Jim asked, staring between the leader of the raiders who had held a knife to Jared's throat and back to Jensen with his gun held at the ready.
"He tried to kill me!"
"They opened the tomb."
Jim shook his head and looked towards Jensen. "Put your weapon away Green-Eyed. Ain't no one gonna get shot in the museum today."
Jensen looked at Jared and lowered his weapon when he nodded. "Jim. I think I’d like to know what this is about." He said, indicating the other man.
"Jahde is an old friend. We met when I was fresh off the boat from America." He said with a smile for Jared. "Half the things I taught you about fitting into the nomadic lifestyle of the desert people come from Jahde." When Jared's face didn't soften at all, Jim lost his smile.
"He tried to kill me Jim."
"I threatened to kill you. If I had been trying, you would have been dead."
"Threaten him again, and you'll be dead."
Jensen's voice rippled over Jared's skin, like a desert snake preparing to attack. He wanted to laugh at the absurdity of it since Jensen wasn't going to be around to protect him anyway, but he wanted answers more than anything else. "Jim," he said, getting the other men’s attention. "Explain to me why the raider who charged into my find is your friend."
"I should have known you were up to no good when you just up and disappeared with no notice." Jim said, taking a seat behind one of the desks. "You went after the tomb of the general. It's the tomb that these men have sworn to keep hidden."
"Yes, we established that much on our own. I can't walk away from this Jim."
"Why not? You won't win this battle Jared. You'll just get yourself and a lot of men killed."
"Because of a curse?" The question was more of a demanded explanation and Jim looked to Jahde.
"How many men have you lost?" Jahde looked past Jared to ask Akil.
"Three have now gone missing."
"Because they stole something from the tomb. The Pharaoh has arisen and he's collecting what pieces of the General he can. Send word to your men. If they took something from the tomb, they are dead." He looked at Jared then. "We warned you about this."
Jared stood straighter. "There is no reason to believe these men's disappearances were part of some curse," he said with a sigh. "If they were trying to sell the pieces on the market they could have been killed for them, or it could be coincidence, or the men could just have gone away, nothing mysterious at all. You're making assumptions."
Akil looked at Jared and shook his head. "You have visions but you deny the curse."
"Visions?" Jahde looked at him, his anger covered with sudden curiosity.
Jared sighed but Jim knew of it already so he didn't need to worry about his colleague's opinion of him. He'd been the one to help Jared deal with them at the time. "Yes. I sometimes get visions when I touch artifacts."
"And you had visions of this tomb?" Jahde asked. "Tell me."
Jim was watching with interest and Jared sighed. "It's why I can't let this rest. The visions, they want the tomb open. The created a pyramid for this man, a place of beauty and peace for him and they want it to be seen. They want it opened so that the world can know of him." He felt himself pressed into a chair by Jensen. Akil took a seat to one side, but Jensen stayed at his back, a protective, calming presence at his back. He began then, talking about the sarcophagus they'd found with the first scroll and what he'd learned from it. He told them of his journey to the marker and how Jensen had come to their aid. He spoke of his visions then and when he was done he continued on to the tomb and what he'd felt there. He didn't talk about the visions and the way they reacted to Jensen and he didn't mention the way Jensen had been apprehensive to touch the sarcophagus or how the visions had manipulated them into it. He could feel the displeasure rolling off of Jensen but if the other man wanted to mention it, he would.
"Your visions are very clear then. The story they give you is the same as what we have passed down over the generations. I can understand why you wanted to be inside the tomb Jared." Jahde said as he rose. "There are more than a few of us who would like to stand at this man's feet and thank him in the way our ancestors could not. These visions though, they don't consider what else is to come. The Pharaoh's curse is not a joke and it is not something to laugh lightly at. He will kill anyone who stands in the way of him and his general."
"Why?" Jared demanded. "Why was everyone so afraid of what the Pharaoh would do? Why would he put a curse to take his own soul from the afterlife and wrap it around this one man?" He knew it was true, whether he believed in the curse or not, he knew that the Pharaoh had intended to do just that with the curse, but he hadn't been able to translate far enough to find out why. He just kept at it, hoping there would be a reason in the end.
"Love."
Jared snorted. "What you say of the Pharaoh has nothing to do with love."
"No, but the General was loved by most and he was loyal to the Pharaoh. Some said that his devotion to him was bordered on love, but the Pharaoh would never be able to look at him as anything more than a slave who had risen in his ranks. It is said that while the General never openly loved anyone, that in the end, he had given his heart to another. When the Pharaoh found out, he had the other killed and told the General that he was his property and that no other could touch him. He never took another lover for fear of what the Pharaoh would do, but he would not let the Pharaoh touch him after that either, not willingly and it drove the Pharaoh mad. The pyramid that his people built was not a place to honor him, but a place to give him another chance. They did not build it to seal his body, but to allow his soul to be free. The built it so that someday he would find love."
"And yet you want to stop me."
Jahde nodded. "They wanted to give him something more than an Afterlife with the Gods, but they did not understand the depths of the Pharaoh's obsession. After the General died, the Pharaoh had an artifact given to him, to seal the curse to him. When his body was stolen from the City of the Dead, it was taken with him. The curse said that when the sarcophagus was opened that the Pharaoh would rise from his slumber and he would kill all things in his path until the General was before him again. He would not rest and he would give no mercy. When the General was before him again, he would demand his heart, or he would crush it under heel and take his immortal soul into the heavens to be his eternal slave. The makers were trying to give him something better than his life had allowed, but what they did was to give the Pharaoh the chance to steal his soul, for all eternity."
They were all silent for a moment as Jahde's words penetrated. Jared could believe the Pharaoh was capable of it, of trying to control a man who was completely devoted to him but whom he would never love. It wasn't possible though. Having visions of the past was one thing. A creature like that coming through time to avenge anyone he thought stood between himself and the General though? No, he didn't believe in it. The visions were nothing more than a spiritual residue that these people's love and devotion left behind. It was why he didn't feel it with everything he touched. There had to be something strong to embed enough energy into an artifact that he could sense it so many centuries later.
No one spoke but then Jensen was stooping in front of Jared. His eyes looked pained and not just that, he looked scared. Jared reached out instinctively, grabbing Jensen's shoulder. He didn't know how to comfort the other man but he wanted to. He needed to keep him from looking like that. He took something from his pocket and showed it to Jared. It was an elegant necklace, beautiful beading led to intricately carved figures which stood out in relief on the gold face of the pendant. "See what it has to say to you Jared." He took Jared's hand from his shoulder and held it out, placing the necklace there. He took a deep breath and looked up at Jared, his eyes begging forgiveness as he closed Jared's fingers around it.
Jared did the only thing he could. He didn't understand why Jensen had taken something, but he knew he'd taken this from the sarcophagus. He knew that something was driving Jensen to do it because the man had been so adamant about not touching the thing in the first place. He trusted Jensen though, trusted him because he knew that the visions were pushing out in odd ways and that Jensen was becoming connected to it all. He trusted because he had to. He needed Jensen to be close, needed to know that everything they'd been through had been real. He needed to trust the other man and so he did the only thing that would prove to Jensen that he did. He closed his eyes and concentrated on the circular object in his hand, letting the world fall away from him to be replaced with something much older and darker.
The room was dark and he could feel the sense of foreboding around him. Everything happened in images too fast to take it all in and yet each burned its way into his mind, details easy to recall but only when he thought of them; battles and war rooms, darkened tents and palace luxuries. The Pharaoh never denied him anything once his worth was understood, but his love was never something he would give a slave. He paid for his devotion in other ways and the General followed his lead, taking what he was given with the humility and grace that had won him the hearts of so many. Images slowed then, images of a whispered rendezvous, of a secret lover and the Pharaoh's temper soared. The General was his in every way and he would not allow anyone else to touch or take what was his. Anger and betrayal wrapped around him until he had killed everyone the General could possibly have cared for. There was no one man, but simple vengeance on anyone that it might have been. He watched as the General confessed his heart, his love for the Pharaoh and that he had never betrayed him, begged for the lives of the people that loved him, but the Pharaoh was too far taken by his rage to see the truth in the slave's eyes. After that, the General let no one close, let no true emotion show as he worked with others, keeping to the Pharaoh's side whenever it was possible. For years he lived like that, never swerving in his devotion, but his heart grew colder. In time, the Pharaoh demanded his love. The General laughed, then told the Pharaoh he would never willingly give himself over to the other man. He had no wish to give his heart to someone who could not understand such a gift.
The last vision slowed completely and Jared stood in the City of the Dead, watching as the Pharaoh and his wise men worked the curse into the metal and beads, watched as they condemned the General to an eternal servitude. Time slipped past and he knew that while it was still his vision, it was no longer in the past. Something dark hunted the passageways of the tomb, hunting for its prey. He felt the darkness seeping away, moving to the city of Cairo and looking for the artifacts that might lead to the right place, but it was hidden, whatever they were looking for. He felt the jolt of hunger as the darkness looked at him, felt the anger and rage and staggered back from the vision of the General that seared into his mind.
He felt his body rising from its chair as he stumbled away from the thing in his vision. He felt himself falling and Jared pushed away from the hands that were trying to help him. The vision cleared but he couldn't be touched just then, couldn't breath with the other four men so close. He fell backwards and continued to scramble until he gained his feet, holding his hands up to keep them at bay. He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself but he didn't think anything sort of a bottle of brandy would do that. When he had his voice he simply looked at the other men, all standing in a rough semi-circle before him. "It's coming." He said softly.
He couldn’t look Jensen in the eye just yet, but he took a deep breath, trying to calm his racing heart because he knew the truth now and he had to stop the curse he had inadvertently set free. He looked up at Jahde, watching the way his jaw clenched underneath his black and silver beard. "I think I know how to stop him."
On to Chapter Thirteen