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Japantown, San Francisco—

Winter sighed in irritation as her cellphone blared its unwelcome signal. She stepped away from the exquisite kimono she’d been studying in the store window and held the phone to her ear, pressing the button to answer. „Hello?"
„Amaterasu’s jewel hangs low in the sky."
Wonderful. *Business*. Winter rolled her eyes, gave an internal
sigh, and responded with the return phrase. „And Susa-no-oh rests in the dragon’s mouth. What is it this time, Orion? I’m on vacation."
„I know," the infuriatingly pleasant male voice replied on the other end of the line. „But this is urgent, Winter. And you know Summer and Autumn are already on assignment, and Spring is pregnant."
Winter grimaced. This was Spring’s second pregnancy, and they’d all learned their lesson with her first - no matter how she insisted she wanted to work, no way was she permitted to do anything magical while carrying a baby. For some reason hormone changes made her power control go straight to hell.
„Yes, I know. All right, but I want compensation for this."
Winter wandered down the street and found herself a bench to sit on, rummaging in her purse for a notebook and pencil.
Orion chuckled. „How does two extra paid days sound, courtesy of Diamond?"
Winter raised an eyebrow, but only drawled, „I suppose that’ll
do." Aware that the time for small talk was over, she settled her little notebook on her leg and pulled her blue jacket closed as a gust of cold wind tried to sneak inside it. She glanced toward the ocean and was unsurprised to see the city’s evening fog rolling in several hours early.  „All right, what’ve you got for me?"
Orion’s voice became crisp and terse. „Not much info. A few sightings, mostly rumor. Wasn’t worth checking out until Lapis got a faceful of some kind of magic she’d never felt before."
Winter stopped taking notes. Something that *Lapis* didn’t know...? Okay, this was interesting. But also potentially dangerous. „Any clues?"
„Unfortunately, yes. The *type* of magic is ancient, according to Lapis - spell technique itself had to be thousands of years old. But the casting was new. She traced it and found a whole heap of residual energy clinging to the Sphinx building - the one that was supposed to house an Egyptian exhibit until it got shut down and turned into a closed-off city landmark."
<Uh oh.> Winter didn’t like where this was heading. „And let me guess - the energy has the Egyptian ‘feel’ to it?"
„You got it," Orion said. „And furthermore, it’s focused on moving objects. Just not living ones."
„Oh, great," Winter sighed in exasperation. „Orion, you know I don’t do mummies! I’m a Japanese specialist, not Egyptian, I don’t even *know* their afterlife system. Give me an oni or a youkai, no problem - but *mummies*?"
Orion sounded sympathetic. „Sorry Winter, you know I haven’t got a choice here. You’re the only one with the power and training to handle this - everyone else is either incapable of handling undead imbued with that much power, on assignment, or dead."
„And ghosts are real bad at dealing with corporeal undead. I know, I know. But I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t grouse. So is that all you have on them?"
„Just about. We think there are four of them - I’d suggest trying to take them out one at a time rather than your usual group attack, since this isn’t your area of expertise. Call if you need backup - we’ll get it to you, somehow. Good luck."
„Thanks," Winter sighed as Orion hung up. She put the cellphone back in her pocket and stood up, looking around. The fog was still surging over the hills, spurred on by the strong wind off of the sea. It was getting rapidly darker. Winter buttoned her jacket closed and headed for the parking garage where she’d left her little Honda.
She really hoped she didn’t have to call for that backup Orion had offered. He was right when he said she was the only one for the job - so if she decided the situation was desperate enough to warrant sending people who were even less suited to hunting down mummies than she was...  Well... she knew her job well enough to know that she most likely wouldn’t live long enough for the backup to actually rescue her.
She tried to shake off that black thought as she reached the green car and keyed off both the physical alarm system and the magical defenses. First things first - it was a good thing the library was open late on Thursdays, because she’d be doing an awful lot of research tonight...
 

The Sphinx

„Hi Rath," Presley said as he entered the scribe’s favorite haunt. The small library of scrolls was in its usual impeccably organized state, and the scribe himself was perched on a ladder, reading what was obviously one of the older ones. He looked up - or rather, down - as Presley entered, a slight smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
„Good evening, O prince. I trust your ‘homework’ is completed?"
The mummies had been determined that no matter how much Presley liked spending time with them rather than staying at his usually empty house (which was all to the good, really, since it was easier to protect him that way), his schoolwork should not suffer for it.
„Yep," Presley said, stretching. „Just finished hitting the books before I came over here."
Rath looked at the prince in puzzlement. „Hitting them? Why, did they offend you in some fashion?"
Presley tried not to laugh. He must not have used that expression in front of Rath yet. „Not *really* hitting them, Rath. It’s another expression."
„Oh." Rath looked somewhat annoyed, as he usually did when Presley pointed out something that probably should have been obvious. He glanced down at the scroll in his hands one more time, then started to carefully roll it up.
„What’re you reading?" Presley asked in curiosity, venturing forward. Rath replaced the scroll on the shelf and descended from the ladder.
„One of the oldest history scrolls in the library," Rath explained. „I was trying to find out more information about the Western Gate."
„What about it?" Presley said. By now he was pretty used to the idea that spirits and gods could unexpectedly pop out of the water underneath the Golden Gate Bridge and wreak havoc. Somehow he didn’t think it was really supposed to work that way, but he’d never actually asked about it before.
Rath looked thoughtful as he paced the library, stroking his chin with one hand. „I was merely trying to understand why the Western Gate was drawn to the supports of the bridge as the best place to anchor itself in the current time. Naturally, it has moved quite a bit from its original location in Egypt."
„Rath, I’d been wondering about the whole Western Gate thing anyway. It leads to the spirit realm, right? The place you go after you die?"
„Basically, yes," Rath said, nodding. „Travel through the Gate is possible, as you have observed - but it takes a mage familiar with the workings of the Gate to open it. Which is why most spirits stay on their side and most living people never see the spirit realm."
„Okay, then why didn’t you guys go there? And what about Rapses - er, me?"
Rath sighed. „The spirit of Rapses had already been blocked from the Gate by Scarab - he was trying to ensure that Rapses’ spirit wouldn’t escape him. And we were bound into your service, so we cannot rest until you do."
„That’s harsh," Presley said unhappily. When Rath looked at him questioningly, Presley continued, „It doesn’t seem fair that even after you’re dead, your duty doesn’t end. I know Ja-Kal misses his wife. He could be with her if it wasn’t for me."
Rath knelt and placed his hands on Presley’s shoulders. „My prince, we all serve you because we wish to. We failed you in life - we all wanted another chance to protect you. Don’t feel that you are a burden to us. You are the reason we are still here, and we will gladly stay until you are safe and our duty is discharged."
Presley looked a little happier. „Thanks, Rath."
„Yes, well." Rath stood up, looking uncomfortable at having to
make such a speech. „At any rate, I suggest we find the others. I’m sure if you want anything to eat tonight, it will take some doing to beat Armon to the food..."
 

Somewhere in San Francisco—

„Well, here goes," muttered Winter. She stood in the middle of the room and laced her fingers together. She had done all the research she could, but she was still going to have to pretty much wing it and pray. She had the binding spell all set up - but she had to capture them one at a time, so she had tried to „read" the magical sources in the Sphinx building and pick out the easiest one to differentiate from the others. The last time she hadn’t been specific enough, she’d found herself facing a small army of skeletons. She’d undone *that* spell real quick.
Her readings had been very vague on most of the mummies - all but one. Her divinations weren’t of any remotely Egyptian system, which was almost certainly the problem, but even the Tarot had insisted that one source of this energy she was tracking was more „pure" magic than the rest. The cards had consistently described her target with the Magician and the Hierophant. So, although it wasn’t her first choice, she found herself forced to target the mage.
<Naturally, it had to be the mage,> she sighed to herself.
<Always the most dangerous of any group... Well, best to get the hard
part done with quickly, I suppose.>
She started her spell, and waited with suppressed nervousness for the reaction.
Rath stood on the top rung of the ladder, reaching up for one of the highest scrolls. It had been mercifully quiet the last few days, allowing him to actually conduct his research with hardly an interruption to protect the prince from Scarab. He knew that his companions were just as grateful for the breather as he was. It was nice to do something besides fight every now and again. In fact, the others had all accompanied the prince to a movie, but Rath had little interest in watching cities being demolished by giant lizards, and had remained home to see whether the scrolls contained anything useful to their cause. It would certainly be nice to banish Scarab beyond the Western Gate to some obscure part of the spirit realm that would conveniently allow all the spirits and gods he’d cheated to exact their revenge.
Rath was just touching the scroll and pulling it down when  a sudden wrenching sensation made him gasp. He tilted on the ladder and flailed for support, but another sharp yank threw him completely off-balance. His arm swept scrolls from the shelves as he fell, the papyrus raining down around him like huge yellowed flower petals as he crashed to the floor.
For a moment he was too dizzy to focus. Then he blinked and shook his head, and found himself lying on a wooden floor instead of the cool stone of the Sphinx. The sharp smell of ancient papyrus had vanished, replaced by something sweet and smoky. Rath lifted his head, and found himself staring at a woman.
„Well," the woman said, looking down at him. „You’re not quite what I expected."
Rath stiffened, then haughtily pulled himself to his feet. He put on the best front he could, but inside, he was very worried. He had no idea who this woman was or how she had managed to teleport him from the Sphinx like that without warning. She had to be a very accomplished mage.  He briefly thought about transforming, then discarded the idea. She had said herself that she didn’t know exactly what she was dealing with.  Better to be underestimated.
„And what exactly *did* you expect?" he inquired acidly.
She shrugged, turning to pick up a deck of cards. She shuffled
them absently to herself as she replied. „Hard to say. Mummies aren’t my typical style. So, who set off your curse?" she asked with a smirk.
Rath glared at her. „Did you bring me here merely to ask me inane questions?"
The woman lost the smirk. She shook her head, sending black hair fluttering across her pale face with its huge, slanted black eyes. „No. I just wanted to know why you’re in this undead state. There’s always a reason; I wondered if you knew it."
Rath didn’t answer her question, only glared at her. „I don’t have to tell you anything."
„No," she agreed. „You don’t. But it would make things easier for both of us."
Rath snorted. „The only way to make things easier is for me to leave." He turned and walked toward the door to his left, and stopped short after one step as he ran into an invisible wall. Alarmed, he reached out his hands to feel at the air around him, and found himself trapped in a box tall enough to stand in and just wide enough square for him to lie full length. He whirled and stared at the woman in the blue jacket and jeans, who was watching him without any evidence of concern.
„What have you done?" he demanded.
She leaned against a wall and folded her arms. „That’s a cage
spell. Anything living could walk straight through those walls, but that obviously doesn’t include you. You’re not going anywhere."
„You cannot keep me here!" Rath burst out furiously.
She raised an eyebrow. „Sorry, bucko - I can, and I will." She
moved away from the wall and stepped closer. „But don’t worry - it’s only temporary."
„Who *are* you?" Rath hissed.
„You can call me Winter," the woman replied, still completely
calm, as if she trapped people in cages all the time. Ra only knew, maybe she did. „And by the way, I know you’re a mage. That barrier is impervious to your magic. But go ahead and try if you want. It’ll give you something to do while I cast the spell to send you back where you belong."
„Where I belong?" Rath asked uneasily. He had a very bad feeling about this...
„Back to the land of the dead," she said, confirming his fears.
„Whatever that happens to be for you Egyptians."
„You cannot do that!" he protested desperately.
Winter paused, then sat down in a chair, watching him. „Why not?"
Rath hesitated.
Winter frowned. „Listen, Mister Mummy. In case you hadn’t figured
it out, I’m very good at what I do. And that happens to be getting rid of undead, by any means necessary. They break the laws of Nature. I don’t *have* to make this pleasant. But I realize that there are extenuating circumstances sometimes - so if you tell me how you ended up like this, I might be able to let you off with a warning, as it were."
Rath bowed his head. He didn’t want to tell the secret of the prince to this woman he didn’t know, who had done nothing but threaten him - but he didn’t see any other way out of this, for now. He needed time to cast a spell - even if it was only while she turned her back. He had the feeling she could stop him easily otherwise, even if she wasn’t correct about her barrier being impervious to all his spells.
He needed time. And he couldn’t protect the prince anymore if he was trapped beyond the Western Gate.
<Forgive me, my prince.>
He told her.
 

„Wasn’t that a great movie, guys?" Presley asked, dancing through the doors of the Sphinx ahead of his three guardians. „Godzilla rules!"
Ja-Kal smiled tolerantly as he followed the young prince through the entrance. In truth, he had understood little of the movie, but that wasn’t what mattered. It was more important that Presley had enjoyed himself.
„Come on, a giant lizard eating cities? How realistic is that?"
Nefer-tina laughed.
„He must have just been really hungry," Armon defended the movie’s star.
„I can’t wait to tell Rath what he missed," Presley said eagerly, and went for the library. „Rath, you should have come with us... Rath...?"
Ja-Kal’s head snapped up as Presley’s voice trailed off uncertainly. Quickly he moved forward. „My prince?"
„Ja-Kal..." Presley said, standing in the library and staring through the door. He looked at Ja-Kal and pointed into the library.  „Rath’s... not here."
Ja-Kal looked inside, and was stunned by the piles of scrolls strewn carelessly across the floor, as if a giant wind had torn them from their places on the shelves. Rath would never have left the library in such a state... at least, not willingly.
„Something’s wrong," Presley said, echoing Ja-Kal’s thoughts perfectly.
 

Winter looked thoughtful as Rath completed his explanation of Scarab’s desire to gain immortality and power from the soul of Rapses.  For a moment, he dared to hope that he might actually have convinced her of the necessity of Rapses’ guardians remaining in this time until the prince was safe. He waited, trying not to let his anxiety show as Winter regarded him with narrowed eyes.
„All right," she said at last. „You’ve at least convinced me to look into this matter further. I won’t send you beyond the Western Gate, as you put it, if I find out you’ve been straight with me."
Rath gave a sigh of relief. „Thank Ra. Now let me out of here and we can talk to the others."
Winter shook her head. „Sorry, no can do."
„What?" Rath demanded.
She gave him a crooked smile. „I’m not stupid, scribe. You’re
still too dangerous for me to let you out of there. I’ll find the answers I need on my own. Besides, that way you can’t forge any evidence to persuade me."
„I had no intention--!" Rath protested indignantly, but Winter turned away.
„Make yourself comfortable," she tossed over her shoulder. „I’ll be back in a few hours."
Rath seethed silently as Winter left the apartment. He really *hadn’t* had any intention of turning on her... not that the thought wasn’t tempting. But it was obvious she was just doing her job. The fact remained, however, that he could not just allow himself to remain a prisoner while Scarab might be able to take advantage of his absence. He had to get out of here.
He waited until he heard the noise of her chariot leaving, and then he turned his attention to the invisible walls around him. It was time to see if they were really as impervious to his magic as Winter had claimed...
 

It had taken a little time to convince Nefer-tina and Armon that there was no possibility that this was a joke on Rath’s part („He doesn’t *have* a sense of humor!" Presley had pointed out), and a little longer to search the Sphinx and the surrounding area and make sure that Rath was nowhere nearby. That left very little in the way of conclusions to leap to.
„Scarab," Ja-Kal said angrily. „He must have found where we live and taken Rath prisoner when he found that the prince wasn’t here. He must mean to lure us into a trap."
„But why wouldn’t he have left a note or something?" Presley asked in confusion. „It doesn’t make sense. Or why not just leave Shabties here and ambush us when we got back?"
Ja-Kal shook his head. „I don’t understand it either, my prince.
But who else would kidnap Rath? No one else knows we exist!"
„Not entirely true," came a ghostly voice.
They all whirled, searching for the source of the voice. They
were rewarded by the sight of a transparent woman, insubstantial like smoke as she stood and regarded them all with folded arms. Nefer-tina immediately placed herself in front of Presley as Ja-Kal and Armon moved into the front line of defense.
„Who are you?" Ja-Kal asked tightly.
The woman raised an eyebrow. „The name’s Winter. You’re obviously
the guardians, and judging from your behavior, I’d assume that’s the famous Prince Rapses."
Presley gasped. Nefer-tina glared at Winter. „How did you find out?" she asked dangerously.
Winter shrugged. „I’ve been having a chat with your scribe."
„Where is he?" Ja-Kal demanded instantly.
Winter looked at him steadily. „He’s just fine," she said. „But I
can’t keep up this projection for long, and I would like to talk to you all in person. So if you’d kindly follow the directions on this sheet of paper, we can get this over with as quickly as possible." She dropped the paper on the floor and vanished.
„Wait--!" Ja-Kal started uselessly, and then dropped from his defensive position. He picked up the paper warily, as if it might bite him. He sighed, and handed it to Presley. „The location is unfamiliar to me. Do you know where it is?"
Presley frowned. „Yeah," he said. „That’s near Fisherman’s Wharf, where all the piers are. I don’t get it... why does she want us to go there?"
„Regardless, it seems we have little choice in the matter," Ja-Kal said. He glanced at Nefer-tina, who nodded and ran for the chariot to warm it up as Ja-Kal and Armon followed at a pace Presley could match.  There was no question of leaving him behind; that could be part of the woman’s plan. The prince would remain with his guardians, so they could protect him as they had failed to do once before.
Winter observed the mummies’ race to the wharf with interest. She hadn’t really been telling the truth about the projection - it was just a way of making them believe she was gone when her mental eyes and ears were still trained on them. She „rode" in the back of their strange, almost futuristic car as the female mummy drove it recklessly through the streets. By now, if Rath’s story was all a fake, she would have expected them to say something that contradicted it - that was why she was eavesdropping in the first place, to see if they tried to come up with a „cover story" while they thought they were alone.
But nothing like that had happened. In fact, they’d warned the boy that this all still might be some scheme of Scarab’s, and he should make sure to stay behind them and keep out of danger. Winter was actually tempted to believe that Rath had been telling the truth. If so, of course that changed things a bit... with the one problem that she still had no proof that this „Scarab" existed.
Well, time enough to burn that bridge when she came to it. She was going to have enough problems dealing with three upset mummies as it was.
She watched and waited as they hid the car as best they could behind the long, narrow and very empty warehouse she’d picked for this meeting, and then cautiously entered with their prince in tow.
 

Rath pounded a fist against the barrier in frustration, then leaned his back against the other wall and allowed himself to slide down it into an exhausted heap. He’d tried every spell he could think of, and none of them had worked. He’d even targeted the floor, but discovered upon further investigation that he was actually standing an inch above it - the box had a bottom as well as top and sides. Despite all his efforts, he was still trapped.
It seemed that the only way to get out of here was if Winter found enough evidence to satisfy her that he was still needed, and set him free. It was driving him crazy with frustration, but he was helpless.  Winter certainly knew her magic. Rath rested his head in his hands and glared at the invisible walls.
<There has to be some way to outthink her,> he urged himself
mentally. <There has to be something she’s overlooked! Think!>
But nothing came to mind. Rath groaned in defeat and frustration, and began running through every magical logistic he could think of, every technique he’d ever learned or taught for breaking barriers or canceling spells. There had to be something he hadn’t tried. Something that would set him free.
Something.
Anything.
 

The mummies enclosed their prince in a loose triangle as they entered the empty area, trying to protect him from all sides. The fluorescent lights gave no color or life to the gray walls and the occasional small pile of crates or debris. The mummies looked around warily, waiting for the woman to make her appearance.
It didn’t take long. Winter stepped out of a patch of shadow and stopped at a comfortable distance from the mummies, regarding them without expression. Ja-Kal looked at her grimly, ready to move in an instant.
„Where is Rath?" he asked calmly.
„Enjoying my hospitality, at the moment," she said. „He’s in no
danger, and neither are the rest of you, prince included, if you just tell me the truth. That’s all I want."
Armon growled. „You can’t play games with us like this! We want our friend back!"
„Armon, wait—„ Ja-Kal started, but Armon had already grabbed his amulet with his one hand.
„WITH THE STRENGTH OF RA!!"
Winter dropped back, looking surprised as with a flare of yellow light Armon’s armor solidified around him, his great golden arm drawn back to punch her as he ran forward. Obviously Rath hadn’t told her everything about them, Presley thought as he watched Winter scramble out of the way with a grin. Maybe this would teach her some manners.
Winter growled as she dodged out of Armon’s way. „All right, fine, if you want to play it that way..." She pointed at Armon and yelled something, and to Presley’s shock, the big mummy simply fell into an unmoving heap. His body trembled as if he were fighting with all his strength to rise, his golden arm making tiny clangs as it vibrated against the floor.
„You can’t do that to Armon!" Nefer-tina shouted, and she and Ja-Kal grabbed their amulets simultaneously.
„WITH THE STRENGTH OF RA!!"
„Oh great," Winter muttered, dropping back another few paces as the other two mummies transformed.
Ja-Kal immediately extended his wings and took to the air, calling out to Nefer-tina. „Protect the prince!"
Realizing that his bow and aerial advantage made him better suited to taking the offensive, Nefer-tina didn’t argue but fell back to a position just in front of Presley. She coiled her whip in her hand, ready to lash out if Winter should make the mistake of coming close.
Ja-Kal nocked an arrow, the point bursting into flame as he pointed it at Winter. „Whatever you have done to Armon, undo it at once!" he demanded, gliding closer to their opponent.
„And let him try and kill me again?" she retorted. „Not likely!"
She flung out her hands and shouted another strange word. Ja-Kal suddenly struck a wall of invisible force that erupted with blue lightning as he touched it. Ja-Kal screamed, his body convulsing with the power running through it before he finally jerked free of the field and crumpled into a smoking heap on the floor, curled into a tight, shivering ball of agony.
„*Ja-Kal*!!" Presley shouted, horrified.
Ja-Kal lifted his head weakly, his eyes shadowed by the golden beak of the falcon mask. His mouth moved as if he was trying to speak, but Presley couldn’t hear him. Then Ja-Kal’s head dropped back to the floor and his curled, tense body went limp.
„What did you do to him?" Nefer-tina cried, starting forward involuntarily, her hand outstretched.
„I wouldn’t," Winter said warningly, her arms folded. „The field has very nasty effects on anything dead that touches it, as you may have noticed - and it surrounds him in a circle. He’s not going anywhere."
Nefer-tina snapped her whip angrily, like a furious cat lashing its tail. „Come here and fight me fair, witch!"
Winter shook her head. „Stubborn mummies," she muttered. „This wasn’t supposed to be in my job description..." She waved at Nefer-tina and said another of those unknown words, and Nefer-tina looked down at a strange sensation on her legs to find them immobilized by tendrils of energy, like a plant that was growing around her body at incredible speed. She tried to slash her claws through the stuff to free herself, but the energy simply splattered around her claws, flinging little droplets onto the floor like glowing water. Before she could try again, the greenish light had wrapped around her arms and torso, and held her still.
Nefer-tina tried to twist her neck to look back over her shoulder. „Run, my prince," she called desperately, the sight of Presley pressing fearfully against the wall driving knives into her spirit.  They’d failed him again. „Run," she cried to him, but still he didn’t move.
Winter sighed and walked forward, past Armon and Ja-Kal where they lay on the floor. She stopped a few feet in front of Nefer-tina. „I told you, I don’t want him," she said.
Nefer-tina glared at her hatefully. „Why didn’t you just blast me or freeze me like you did to them?"
„They can’t talk, can they?" Winter pointed out, still infuriatingly calm. „All I want is answers - I told you that. All this could have been avoided if you’d just listened to me."
Nefer-tina bit her lip. Armon was frozen, Ja-Kal was unconscious, and the prince was still in harm’s way. She had to at least try to keep the witch occupied so that Presley could escape. „All right, fine," she said sourly. „What do you want to know?"
„Finally," Winter sighed, rolling her eyes. „Someone with sense.
Now, about this evil wizard you’re supposedly fighting—„
„Evil?" a smooth voice asked mildly. „Why, my ears are burning.
There’s no need to resort to name-calling." Winter whirled, and Nefer-tina gasped as Scarab walked right through the door, accompanied by a dozen Shabties. The wizard grinned, the expression hideous on his withered face.
„It was a trap!" Nefer-tina cried in mingled horror and anger.
„You were in league with him all the time!"
„Not a chance," Winter said, and looked at the wizard’s robes.
„Well, obviously you’re Scarab. In case you hadn’t noticed, we’re a little busy. Why don’t you come back next week?"
Scarab shook his head reproachfully. „My dear Winter - yes, I know all about you and your organization," he added as Winter started in surprise. „I’ve been keeping tabs on you for quite some time. It was really quite ridiculously easy to follow you once you started to track my favorite prey." He grinned again. „And since you’ve been so obliging as to remove the guardians from the picture, the spirit of Prince Rapses is now mine at last."
The Shabties moved forward, staffs pointed at her. Scarab raised his arms and summoned insectlike purple armor with a crack of lightning.  Winter backed up, decided she was out of her depth, and pointed at Nefer-tina. „Nefer-tina, you’re free—„ Her voice cut off with a cry as Scarab blasted her, sending her flying back into the wall. She crumpled in a heap and lay still.
Nefer-tina found herself free to move, just as Winter had said.
She cracked her whip, calling back to Presley. „My prince, get out of here!"
„I can’t!" Presley’s voice came from behind her. „They’re blocking the door!"
It was true, Nefer-tina realized - there were too many Shabties, and they were ready to intercept him. She’d just have to play distraction, although she didn’t think she’d be able to keep them all occupied...
Ja-Kal groaned, stirring. Scarab looked down, and chuckled.
„Ah... perfect."
 

Nefer-tina, paying more attention to the Shabties than Scarab, was just about to charge them when a taunting call from the wizard brought her up short. She looked in his direction and gasped.
Scarab pushed his hand straight through the barrier, the claws of his armor clamping tight around Ja-Kal’s neck. Scarab hauled the falcon guardian upright and clear off the floor, his feet dangling above the ground. Ja-Kal pried weakly at the claw holding him up by the throat, gasping.
<What is he...> Nefer-tina thought for an instant, before she
realized. <Oh, no!>
„Surrender, Rapses," Scarab demanded. „Give me your soul!"
„No!" Nefer-tina shouted, and charged. The Shabties blocked her
way to Scarab, placing themselves in front of their master with magic staffs blazing bolts at her. She ducked and dodged the sizzling magic blasts and hurled herself at the front row of Shabties, tearing at them with her claws.
„Surrender or I will simply destroy him!" Scarab shouted, and yanked his hand back, pulling Ja-Kal into contact with the barrier. The blue lightning exploded around Ja-Kal and he screamed hoarsely, struggling uselessly to pull away from the terrible energy.
„Stop it!" Presley cried desperately.
Scarab finally moved his hand forward again, and Ja-Kal went limp
in his grasp, giving a tiny involuntary whimper as his armor and bandages smoldered, charred black where the lightning had touched.
„Surrender!" Scarab demanded again.
„No, my prince!" Nefer-tina cried, fighting wildly against the
Shabties that were slowly overpowering her by sheer force of numbers.
„You can’t give yourself to him! No matter what happens!"
Presley cowered against the wall, his green eyes huge and horrified as he stared at Ja-Kal and Scarab. „No... Ja-Kal... I..."
„Do you need more persuasion?" Scarab hissed, drawing Ja-Kal towards him an inch. Ja-Kal flinched involuntarily from the barrier, not quite touching it. Presley tried to say that he’d do what Scarab wanted, unable to bear the thought of hearing Ja-Kal scream like that again, but the words stuck in his throat and wouldn’t come out. No matter what happened, if he surrendered or not, it would all come out the same...
Ja-Kal turned his head to look at him, as if he’d heard the thought. „No, my prince," he said, and Presley could somehow hear him despite the cracking of Shabties and Nefer-tina’s howls of rage and anguish as she fought a losing battle against them. „You must escape. It is we who die for you... not the other way around. Don’t sacrifice yourself for me."
„Pathetic sentiment," Scarab proclaimed, and slammed Ja-Kal forward into the barrier again.
Presley hid his head in his hands, clamping his eyes shut. Ja-Kal made no sound this time, all that could be heard was the wild crackling of the barrier and the sounds of Nefer-tina’s battle. But Presley knew what was happening. Tears escaped from his tightly closed lids and trickled down his cheeks. There was nowhere he could run, nowhere to hide. There was no one to help him. Winter was out cold and couldn’t cancel her own spells, Nefer-tina was overwhelmed, Armon was paralyzed and Ja-Kal was...
„rath," Presley whispered in a tiny voice, not knowing why. He had no hope that the scribe would be able to suddenly appear and save them, but the words kept coming anyway, stronger and louder until his own voice drowned out the sounds of war. „RATH! HELP US!"
 

Rath was trying to remember all the words of a truly obscure spell, something that had been ancient even when he was young. He seemed to recall something about dissolving barriers like a sand dune in a windstorm, but not much else. If he could remember the entire spell, he didn’t think Winter could possibly have blocked something so old - but first he had to remember it correctly...
He jerked in shock as Presley’s voice suddenly echoed from his amulet, a high desperate scream.
„RATH! HELP US!"
Rath bolted to his feet. „Young prince," he gasped, and clutched the amulet in both hands.
„WITH THE STRENGTH OF RA!!"
He barely waited for his armor to appear around him before hurling himself at the barrier, ramming it with his shoulder. Somewhere underneath his desperate fear for the prince’s safety, a logical corner of his mind thought sarcastically that since brains had failed, maybe brawn would do better.
The barrier didn’t give. Rath slashed his sword at it, but the blade bounced off. Rath resorted once more to slamming his full weight against it, again and again and again.
 

Winter opened her eyes blearily and saw fireworks.
<Oh, no. This is *not* good.>
She cringed inwardly as the wizard moved his hand further through the barrier again, allowing his prisoner to go limp in his armored grip.  Obviously Scarab wasn’t dead, or the field would have torched him - but it had been quite effective on the mummy. He looked terrible, his armor cracking and burned, his bandages charred. By now he should have been completely annihilated by the barrier - Winter had no idea what kind of energy sustained these mummies, but even it had to have limits.
Winter closed her eyes again, pretending she was still unconscious. She was only going to get one chance before Scarab noticed her interference - she had to choose. Dropping the barrier would be the kindest thing to do, but she knew that there was no way that blue mummy could fight back; it had to be the big one.
Or - maybe there was a way to get two chances for the price of one...
She hoped fervently that Scarab didn’t have any way of detecting
what she was doing at long-range as she deactivated certain spells and activated others with a whisper.
 

Rath was beyond frantic. The barrier wasn’t giving, and hitting it repeatedly was only making his shoulder hurt. But he kept at it, unable to stop and sit still in the face of the danger the prince had to be in. From the panic in his voice, and just the fact that he’d called for Rath instead of Ja-Kal... something terrible was happening. Rath flung himself at the barrier again, desperately pleading under his breath for it to give way and let him out, he had to get to the prince and help him!
The air in front of him shattered into a storm of glittering fragments. Caught off-guard, Rath yelped in surprise just before everything vanished into a shimmering mist that just as suddenly cleared from his vision.
He found himself standing in a large building, positioned between Scarab and his Shabties and the prince against the wall. Nefer-tina was pinned to the floor by the Shabties, flailing and hissing like a wildcat.  Scarab had... Ja-Kal...
Rath felt his mouth dropping open, shocked and horrified by the condition his friend and leader was in. But in the next moment he forced himself to regain control, taking out his sword and assuming a defensive position. The Shabties were too busy holding Nefer-tina to advance on him. Rath set himself grimly and wondered if he had any magical power left to fight Scarab with.
„So, scribe," Scarab said in an amused tone. „You find your way here at last. Not that it matters - the boy is mine."
„You won’t take him, Scarab," Rath said defiantly, his tail lashing furiously around his ankles. He barely noticed the slip in control. His hands trembled, and the point of his sword wavered. He had drained himself flinging useless spells against Winter’s barrier - there was almost nothing left of him now but his anger and his will. He forced himself to concentrate on the wizard in front of him, letting the rest of the scene stay focused only in peripheral vision. He had to be ready to counter anything that Scarab would try against the prince.
He realized that he’d forgotten that Scarab might not try a direct assault as Scarab only grinned and drew his hand back, pulling Ja-Kal into contact with some kind of energy field that crackled and seared around him. Ja-Kal’s armor shattered, stressed beyond endurance, dissolving into tiny gold and sapphire stars that winked out as they fell, like the embers of a dying fire. Scarab dropped Ja-Kal’s motionless, limp form carelessly onto the floor, where he lay in a lifeless, smoking heap.
„Ja-Kal..." Presley whimpered from behind Rath. He knew... he’d seen... it was all happening again, the prince forced to watch as his guardians died for him...
Rage suddenly welled up inside Rath and ignited like oil touched by a torch. He wouldn’t let it end like this - not for himself, his teammates or the prince! Raising his sword he rushed forward, aiming straight for Scarab. The wizard only smiled and raised his hand to fire a blast of magic directly into Rath’s chest.
„Oh no you don’t," a deep voice said from behind Scarab, and Armon’s huge arms wrapped around the wizard and pinned his arms to his sides.
„What?! YOU!" Scarab roared, staring at Winter where she was propping herself against the wall.
„What," she coughed, „You thought I’d let you get away with this?"
Scarab snarled and threw Armon off just in time to block Rath’s
lunge, throwing him aside into the pack of Shabties. Most of them were crushed by the impact, and Nefer-tina scrambled to her feet, freed from their weight.
„You won’t live to regret interfering with me," Scarab said with a growl, pointing his hand at Winter, glowing with sorcerous power. „It’s a pity for you that your magic only affects *dead* things."
„Yes," she said with a smirk. „Isn’t it though?" And as Scarab fired, his Shabties lunged directly into the path of the blast.
Scarab stared as his minions destroyed themselves. Left with no backup against three angry mummies, he took the only option left to him and fled, using his armor to fly right through the roof of the warehouse, escaping into the night sky.
 

„About time you got here," Nefer-tina said dully to Rath, offering a hand as Rath wearily shook off the crumbled remains of the Shabties he’d crashed into.
„Well, don’t thank me or anything," he muttered out of habit as he picked himself up, a little unsteady on his feet. He had almost nothing left... But he couldn’t worry about that, not now.
„Ja-Kal!" Presley was shouting, running across the floor to where the falcon guardian lay. Rath made his tired feet carry him forward, joining the other mummies and their prince around the fallen leader.  Winter hovered behind his shoulder. Rath ignored her.
„Ja-Kal, wake up," Presley moaned, shaking Ja-Kal’s shoulder. The charred wrappings dissolved into soot in his hands, and he yanked his fingers away with a gasp, afraid he’d done more damage.
Rath frowned deeply as they rolled Ja-Kal onto his back. The bandages were blackened and burned, but the gray skin underneath seemed untouched, from what he could see...
„The barrier specifically targeted the power that holds you together," Winter said quietly from behind Rath. „I assume that energy resides within the bandages."
„How could you do such a horrible thing?!" Nefer-tina almost screamed at the woman, shuddering with repressed sobs. „We never did anything to you...!"
Winter looked guiltily at the floor. „It wasn’t supposed to be like this," she said unhappily, rubbing her head with a wince. „I knew I should never have taken this job..."
Armon just looked up at her. „Can’t you undo what your magic did?"
Rath looked up at Winter as she remained silent. „You can’t, can
you," he said, not asking a question.
Winter shook her head. „No. Not this. It was a barrier... not a *spell*..." She waved her hand helplessly. „It’s complicated."
„Wait... wait," Presley said, obviously trying to hold himself together and think. „You said it targeted the energy... so if we give him energy, it should heal him, shouldn’t it?" He looked at Rath for confirmation.
Rath blinked, feeling as if his thoughts were slowed down by his exhaustion, like fighting through mud. But he couldn’t see any flaw in the logic... He nodded without thinking.
„Good," Presley said, and grabbed his amulet with one hand, reaching for Ja-Kal’s with the other.
Rath’s hand shot out and grabbed Presley’s wrist, stopping him from completing the movement.
Presley looked at him, a shocked and betrayed expression on his face. „Rath, what are you doing?!"
Rath forced himself to remain impassive. „I cannot allow you to do this, my prince," he said. „The danger to you is too great."
„But I did it before!" Presley countered.
Rath remained unmoved, though he hated himself for it. Callously
he rebutted the prince’s argument. „You were in greater danger then. But you cannot drain much power from your spirit - it doesn’t recharge as we do. It’s too dangerous for you. I cannot allow it."
Presley stared at him, open-mouthed in shock. Nefer-tina put a hand on his shoulder. „He’s right," she said, although it sounded as if she were choking on the words.
Armon nodded solemnly.
„You... can’t be serious..." Presley stammered in denial.
Ja-Kal made a small sound. As they looked down at him, his eyes
opened. He looked up at Presley and smiled weakly. „You are... safe," he whispered gladly.
„Ja-Kal," Presley gasped, tearing his hand free of Rath’s grip.
This time it was Armon who stopped him from grabbing Ja-Kal’s amulet to transfer energy.
Ja-Kal figured out quickly what he’d been trying. „No, my prince," he breathed. „We’ve been through this before." His eyes closed briefly, then opened again. „Our safety is nothing... only you are important."
„You can’t go!" Presley cried. „I won’t let you! We need you, Ja-Kal! *I* need you!" He was crying freely now, tears running down his face. He tried unsuccessfully to pull his hand free of Armon’s grip. „You can’t go..." he repeated in a pathetic voice, forcing the words out between sobs.
„Scribe," Winter said.
Rath looked up at her, turning away from his fading friend.
Ja-Kal’s second „life" was ending, and he couldn’t do anything to prevent it. He didn’t want to look, but somehow he felt guilty for not watching every moment. „What do you want? To apologize again?" he spat bitterly.
But her face was intent. „Can you all do that?"
Rath was surprised. „Do what?"
„That energy transfer thing."
Rath blinked. „I don’t know." They had never tried it before. The
strength they had was nothing compared to the soul of Rapses - but it just might be enough to get Ja-Kal back to the Sphinx...
Suddenly excited, he turned back, reaching out. Winter’s hand on his shoulder stopped him.
„Not you," she said. Rath bristled at her, but she stared him down. „Look at yourself, you don’t have any power to spare!"
Rath looked at his own trembling hands and was forced to admit that she was right. The others were looking at them in varying degrees of confusion. Ja-Kal’s gaze was dull, unfocused. Rath doubted he could understand much of what was going on around him.
Rath controlled himself with an effort. „Armon, Nefer-tina...  change back," he said, banishing his own armor as he spoke. They looked at him curiously but obeyed, watching as he gripped his amulet. Suddenly understanding, they touched their own amulets.
„Will it work?" Nefer-tina asked dubiously.
„I hope so," Rath said.
Armon looked down. His face crumpled. „But, I can’t..."
He couldn’t hold his and Ja-Kal’s amulets at once with one hand.
Rath could have kicked himself.
But then Winter was there, wrapping Armon’s huge fingers around her own hand, tiny by comparison. „Then let me," she said, and held Armon’s amulet in both their hands. Her other hand went around Ja-Kal’s amulet. If he noticed, he gave no sign; his eyes were closed and he seemed to be collapsing in on himself slowly, falling into stillness and silence. „Hurry," Winter urged, looking at Nefer-tina.
Nefer-tina scowled in still-present anger at Winter and worry for her friend. „This had better work," she growled, and wrapped her hand around Ja-Kal’s amulet, on top of Winter’s.
„Concentrate," Winter said, and then went rigid, her mouth closing with a snap as a dull yellow glow sprang up around her hand, spreading across her body like a growing, distant wildfire. A blue aura flowed down Nefer-tina’s arms. Unable to keep still, Rath put his own hand over theirs and summoned up all the energy he could. A few flickering green sparks traveled down his arm, then a stronger burst. His vision grayed out and he almost collapsed, but Presley was there to catch him. He leaned heavily against the prince as the boy yanked his guardian’s hand back. Rath didn’t resist. He didn’t have the strength.
„And who was it who was saying this was dangerous?" the prince growled protectively at him. Rath only shook his head with a small, rueful smile.
„I am sorry, my prince," he sighed, and then pointed at Ja-Kal in astonishment. „Look..."
As they watched, the burned wrappings slowly regenerated themselves, the small pieces that had been eaten away to ash slowly covering the exposed gray skin again. The charring faded to a few black marks and a darker gray shading of weakened cloth.
„We did it," Nefer-tina gasped in joy.
Ja-Kal stirred, mumbling something. Armon clapped Winter on the
shoulder, so hard that she staggered under his weight. The big mummy had a huge grin on his face.
„Thank you, sorceress," he said happily.
„Wait a minute, Armon. You’re just going to forgive her?"
Nefer-tina snapped, when Rath gestured tiredly at the charioteer.
„Nefer-tina, please. There’s no time for this. We’ve only bought ourselves an hour at most, we need to get... back to..." His voice trailed off as he sagged. Presley had to catch him again, and this time Winter joined him in helping to hold up the scribe.
„Stubborn fool," she muttered to herself. „I told you that you didn’t have the strength for this!"
„Hurry," Presley urged. Nefer-tina got up, and discovered that even she was a bit woozy as she wavered on her feet before regaining her balance. She forced herself to ignore her weariness and ran for the door to get the chariot warmed up. Armon looked down at Ja-Kal. Winter and Presley were both supporting Rath. Armon shook his head. Only one thing to do, then.
„With the strength of Ra," he said softly, hoping he still had enough power left.
The welcome feeling of his armor encasing his body gave him more confidence. Hurriedly he bent down and lifted Ja-Kal into his arms, starting for the door as Winter and Presley followed, half-dragging and half-carrying the barely-conscious Rath between them. Armon tried to quicken his steps as he felt his strength ebbing. Ja-Kal’s weight in his arms should have been nothing, but it felt as if he was trying to carry a mountain.
He made it to the car with a sigh of relief, climbing into the back seat with his precious cargo as the last dregs of his armor’s power faded and his golden arm vanished with the rest of his armor. He propped Ja-Kal against him with his one hand, listening in concern as Ja-Kal mumbled incoherently to himself, as if he was dreaming.
„You must stay here, Ja-Kal," Armon told him quietly as the others arrived and Nefer-tina started the engine. „The prince is not yet safe... we still have our duty."
To his surprise, Ja-Kal responded with a sigh. „I know, Armon," he whispered. The others didn’t notice, too busy trying to fit Winter into a nonexistent space as Nefer-tina drove at her usual reckless pace through the streets. Ja-Kal’s eyes opened again, but he was looking at something very far away.
„Wait for me, Tia... just a little longer."
 

The interior of the Sphinx had never been a more welcome sight.
Since Ja-Kal and Rath were the worst off, the others helped them
out of the car. Ja-Kal flinched in pain with every movement, although he tried hard to pretend that he wasn’t as badly off as he really was. Rath was just about dead weight, so drained that he couldn’t even put one foot in front of the other. Once both of them were safely inside their sarcophagi, Nefer-tina and Armon turned to Winter.
„I suppose I can forgive you for what you did," Nefer-tina said.
„I don’t really think you were in league with Scarab. But I still want to know why."
Winter shook her head unhappily. There had really been no choice about bringing her along when the mummies went home - although she could tell that they were less than thrilled about her knowing where they lived. But having them trust her further was out of the question, and they all knew it. After all, she was an „Undead Hunter." Winter snorted to herself at the title.
„It was my job," she explained. „I was supposed to send you mummies back to the land of the dead."
„You can’t do that!" Presley said angrily, as Armon just stared at her with a hurt expression, like a kicked puppy. She felt even guiltier with those big brown eyes on her.
She waved her hand tiredly. „At the time, we didn’t know about this wizard problem of yours. We do make exceptions due to unusual circumstances. Rath said you’ll move on when your duty is fulfilled - so *we* don’t need to worry about it, do we? I promise, you won’t be bothered by anyone from my organization again."
Nefer-tina looked somewhat mollified, folding her arms. „Well...  you did help save Ja-Kal. And the young prince. So we’ll forget all about this if you’ll just keep your word and leave us alone." She looked down at the floor, radiating weariness. „We’ve got enough problems."
„I understand," Winter said solemnly, and bowed, although she doubted they’d understand the gesture. She turned and walked toward the exit, listening to the boy scolding the mummies to get in their sarcophagi and get some rest before they fell over. She smiled at the protective tone in his voice, feeling an odd pang of loneliness.
She sighed, pushing through the glass doors to stand in front of the Sphinx, the pale moonlight overhead nearly drowned out by the city lights. The Bay sparkled with reflections in the unusually clear night, tiny lights moving across the Golden Gate Bridge.
„We both have our lonely roads to walk on," she murmured to herself, and stretched, starting the long walk home.
Inside the Sphinx, a boy curled up with his cat on the couch, fast asleep.

The End—

Author’s Notes: Whoa! I finished something! And in less than... <counts> FIVE DAYS??? That’s impossible!! Obviously I’m an evil clone of the real Shi-chan or something... :P Fittingly, I finished this story on Halloween night (what better time to write about mummies? <g>). It’s a little darker than the MA eps I’ve seen, but I attribute that to having a REALLY rotten day during the writing of this. ^^;; And somehow Rath turned into the Hero of the Story, although Ja-Kal is obviously my favorite character (you can always tell with me... ^^;;). I haven’t seen all the MA episodes yet, so I’m sure I’ve got some details wrong, but hey, it’s fanfic, right? ^^;; Hope you liked it... :)