Crossovers

The sand brushed by low from the breeze and the noise from beckoning merchants parading their wares made for a pleasant bustle in the market. Not often was she particularly interested in stepping out into society since her time/dimension/probable-death mishap wherein she had been flung through the Veil by a cultist Unspeakable and somehow, someway ended up in a world that didn’t have magic as she had known it but had some strange power to it, she could taste it in some places.

What had not seemed to change, when she arrived, was the muggle history. She says that because she had been dropped into time just as Henry VIII took the throne after his father’s death. From the twenty-first century back to the 1500s she had been thrown. She, naturally, became a hermit, living off of duplicated muggle currency and enough charms to confuse and baffle the muggles she had interaction with. She would not be attempting to partake in the nonsense of the time that was for certain. Two decades thereabouts in, the religious split happened with much controversy abound. She, personally, didn’t care for muggle religion and as such, this change meant very little to her. Another two decades spent trying to find a way home with no luck had Henry VIII die and his adolescent son given the title. That was not what was important; what was, is that many of the creatures and beings she knew of still existed, mostly hidden, from muggle view. Some were odd slightly, but that was to be expected she supposed in a world so different from her own. Veelas were practically feral, as were Beings, likely from the severe segregation from civilized (for the time period) society. They had an interesting hierarchy and social structure nonetheless when they grouped and she had even managed to catch the rather seductive attentions of one of the males on the Veela tribe she had been studying. The vampires, while more educated and civilized, seemed to only have four different classifications she had come across in Europe; some who appeared as simply very pale and antisocial individuals with unusual charm. Those like that one character from the cinema Nosferatu. Savage, mindless predators. And those belonging to an ancient cult who had managed to find a way to infuse their blood with a caught vampire’s, making them into strange half-Vampire hybrids rather than being fully transformed.

The lycanthropes of the time at least seemed the same, just normal people with heightened senses and strength who happened to turn into wild beasts once a month based on the lunar cycle. Out on the coasts, the merfolk were as she knew them to be; selkies and merrows looking less human but still fascinatingly pretty in an exotic, non-human way. She didn’t know about the tropical ones yet.

She had even before encountered yetis! Beautiful, rather feline faced creatures. Huge and hulking as they were of course. But then, that particular trip wasn’t an especially fond memory besides the friendly creatures.

She might not have been a magizoologist but her dear friend Luna and her husband had been and she had more than once been cajoled into joining them on their journeys. Enough that she knew to document what she saw at any rate. For who, she had no idea since she had, for the moment, given up on returning back to her own world and time.

Tracking them down all across Europe and Asia uninhibited had taken another decade or so even with magical means, enough that when she, satisfied and with several creatures behind her, returned to England proper it was under the rule of famous Elizabeth I. It’s around this time period that she peeks out into the muggle world. The clothing of the time didn’t take much to disguise herself in, as uncomfortable as it was and she, for a short time, mingled with humans. Granted, highly religious and mostly uneducated ones but the company was there all the same.

She had even been married for a short time to an unfortunate but rather pretty-faced young man.

He died, sadly, maybe five years into their marriage. But well. He was starting to question her on her unaged looks and had been getting suspicious of the secret pets she kept hidden from him and the ink stained into her when her glamors slipped. It had been more for the novelty of it anyways.

Sometime later, towards the end of the 1500s, boats started ferrying out singing about a new world. She had scoffed and went back to her newly invested stocks at the time, only later realizing it was the beginning of the colonization of what she had known to be the U.S.

She had been there a few times, as an Unspeakable in her own world. Fascinating place at the time on the muggle side and wonderfully lax in government on the magical side. She decides to see how it fares later, after the death of the remarkably long-lived (given the time period, of course) Queen Elizabeth I. England, Ireland and Scotland being forced together under the newly minted King would not be pretty and besides, there was still plenty of unmarked land in the Americas, hidden away.

She spent the entirety of the civil war in the Americas, finding tribes of Native Americans and creatures and beings alike; not all of people and creatures she had found were friendly. Those that were, however, and those that managed to gain her favor she left trinkets and protections for, charming things and trying to shield them from the worst of what she vaguely knew would come from the foreign invaders. She’d never been a fan of either genocide or slavery after all.

She was tempted back, again with a few tagalongs, by what she knew to be the Victorian period. Carnivals and opium abound, absolutely wild. She married again, this time to a moderately wealthy man who made sure she had a steady supply of opium-laced cigarettes and when he was off his rocks on other addictive goodies, didn’t question things like Puffskeins, fairies and the augreys who sometimes swooped down and ate them in their lovely greenhouse. Didn’t bat a lash at golden snidgets, or the horned serpent in the lake with the grindylows and ghostly ashrays, or the glumbumbles who produced the honeys she sometimes sold or mixed into drinks. Only briefly marveled over the magnificent six-winged thunderbird she had coaxed into her company and wondered at the fiery, flame like phoenix she had met and become close to.

He even painted grand scenes of them and as with many of the artists of the time, they were thought to be marvelous hallucinations and wondrous imagination.

She even had a child from him though he, tragically, died. Drowned, really. And his pretty wife supposedly died in a horrible fire in the greenhouse soon after, leaving a young boy in the hands of his paternal aunt.

To be fair, she did leave him a few charmed trinkets to protect him and he did inherit all his father’s wealth. The greenhouse and its fantastical occupants were now in a hidden new home. She wasn’t really mother material after all. The Phoenix, named Ember since it had been her son who named him, did also check on the child every so often.

He’s dead by the forties. 1840s, that is. An explosion, caused by his own errant magic. It hurt a little more than she had expected it to; she had been careful to avoid getting attached to her dalliances after all and decided that she was apparently not good enough at it if she mourned her son. She hadn’t even named the boy, and most certainly never called him by the name his father had given him. Barely saw him while with her husband. He probably hadn’t even known she was his mother until after her supposed death.

She decided to next explore Africa and refused to believe that she was running from her own guilt.

xXx

Which, after a while surviving in an adrenaline-fueled frenzy for a few years in multiple forests whilst gaining a collection of snake fellows, was quite the magical hot-spot. Mostly around what she had known as Egypt of course, though she had decided to explore the rest of the lands before encroaching on its’ borders. By 1920, she lived in Cairo. She had quickly come to enjoy near everything but that might be because she spent well over a decade hiding and mucking around in forests and savannahs. Still, it was in many ways beautiful. Enough that she had yet to explore much outside of it. English wear was popular here as well, and many wore the fashions to match but more wore the traditional wear. Robes and the like.

While many of her companions died over time, or couldn’t be brought with her into Africa for biological reasons, the horned snake had remained at her side, as had the descendants of her original four puffskeins. The thunderbird tended to come around to her every two or three years to see her and spend time with her, but the phoenix had perished soon after her son. Ember had been particularly close to the boy after all, probably couldn’t stand the emotional strain.

Skin turned a pleasant light clay color and hair in a seemingly permanent perm, she pulled out her diligently kept trunk; it was currently the size of a moderate jewelry box but a flick of her wrist had it turning to normal size. She had not much considered herself a hoarder before; in fact, back in her old home her flat and even her portion of the dorm in school had been sparse. Perhaps a remnant of her old Dursley days.

But she had started collecting trinkets and found it simply impossible to throw away clothes. She was sure it would be worth quite a penny nowadays, some of her pieces and even more in the future but she just couldn’t seem to part from them. Preservation charms rested on several of them. Those old things weren’t what she was looking to wear today however. Instead she pulled out a drawer of more modern things. There was a split in the middle of the magically-deep drawer, separating the robes and the more English clothing and she silently debated on which to wear. She planned on going to the museum today, so perhaps it would be best for English wear.

While back in Blighty, she had learned from various imported rags that while cotton stockings were for day use she much preferred the feeling of the embroidered silk ones. The one she’d read that in was dated now anyways. A lovely dark teal scoop-neck chemise over the prettily embroidered brassiere, and one could see her tanned, tattooed arms and the lithe, scrappy muscle she thought was rather pleasant. She was a rather small, gamine woman after all with a pretty elfish face. Very dainty, very petite but well-proportioned for her size, though her hips were slightly wide and her waist shaped a bit smaller, tighter than she had been born with from years and years of wearing corsets of all sorts.

Her trim, fit figure was mostly thanks to her inherit athleticism and general habit of restlessness. And of course, broom flying is really a full-body thing, as tended to be winged horse riding and magic carpet riding. She hummed as she straightened the shift.

There was pretty, delicate inlaid lace on the dress and a few spots of bright turquoise and golden bits. It fell to just below the knees, as these garcon-look dresses tended. She pulled out a snake-skin waistbelt, fixing it neatly to emphasis her hourglass shape. She did rather like the high-waisted look from years past, though it seemed a more formless look was in by the recent batches of pretty young tourists. She huffed to herself. She hadn’t been much for fashions and styles back home either but…Well, it was actually a bit of fun once she got into it. She supposed she understood now why Parvati and Lavender were so absorbed in make-up and fashion rags and the like. She certainly wouldn’t say she was the most stylish woman, or particularly followed fashions either but she wasn’t as disinterested as she used to be.

She pulled a shawl up on her shoulders, securing the fringed lattice thing properly and looked herself over in the mirror. Her shawl was something she’d gotten perhaps only two, maybe three days ago at the market where they sold bright colors and distracting trinkets and jewelry to anyone who would look. This particular one was of a thin material and in a pleasant pale yellow color with little beads in delicate arrangements on the edges. Nodding to herself, she pulled open another drawer. The popularity of overly Egyptian themed things with tourists and their talk of ‘revival’ had spurred scarab or lotus designs, the more picturesque animals being embroidered or shaped in jewelry and on clothing. Some of it was awfully gaudy looking, but there were some pleasant and interesting things as well.

Like the bluish opal drop earrings she was putting on, though that was only really considered revival by the glinting golden looking metal. Oh, and of course the many rings she owned, with colorful gems and stones. She had been getting into putting multiple rings on most of her fingers lately and today was no different. She next pulled out a necklace made of roughly hewn but she thought stunning spessartite strung on a throng of leather. This one she had managed to get from a tribe out in the western portion of Africa. She next pulled on her neat and tidy button canvas-top boots with the French heel. She’d gotten them perhaps a decade ago and they had served her faithfully enough that she had sewn runes on the inside of them. Sturdy, with a feminine heel and shape. Pleased so far, she almost forgot to grab her cloche, tying a ribbon in a matching dark teal on it before cramming it on over her very curly bob and then grabbed her extensively magically warped envelope clutch.

A pale yellow puffskein rolled towards her on the counter in her flat and she paused to pat it gently before leaving. The many snakes she kept in her current home knew better than to go after the friendly, cuddly creatures after all. They also knew well not to go after Silk, her Egyptian Mau who would just as likely strike back. He was incredibly intelligent, and of course as a witch, she could never deny the beauty of having a feline familiar.

She didn’t always dress up like a woman from London proper, but when she did, she really liked to have a bit of flair. And she almost always dressed up when going to the museum, being that she was a rather well liked benefactor.

xXx

“Oh, Evy darling, thank you so much for your assistance.” she said to the young woman brightly. A scholarly young woman who had lost her parents within recent years and now served as a librarian at the Cairo Museum of Antiquities, Evelyn was perhaps one of the few people she had regular contact with outside of a few choice sellers at the market. Her parents had been very well known for their adventuring ways. Famous, really. She might even call the woman her friend. She also tended to be a little more traditional in her dress but that was hardly surprising. She wasn’t typically one for focus on her appearance. She was quite Edwardian nonetheless.

“Oh Honey, you know it’s never any trouble.” she smiled at her pleasantly. “You know, I was wondering if perhaps you might like to get lunch later?” she offered hopefully and really, Honey had no other plans.

“Oh, wonderful!”

“Ms. Blackwell.” came the call and both women turned to see the curator. Honeysuckle had taken many surnames over the years, and had a tendency to cycle her favorites. Blackwell was a personal favorite when she was being wealthy. It made her feel snobby and affluent, as childish as it sounded. It also rolled off the tongue pleasantly enough and it sounded wealthy to other people, which helped when people looked at her many tattoos. By now her entire left arm and shoulder were covered in ink, some on her hand as well. She had more on her back and hidden in the colorful (and magically preserved no less) imagery were runes. It had been a little bit of a fad down with the Unspeakables. At least with the ones she used to have lunch with.

“Ah, Terence!” she cheered, greeting him with open arms and a cursory peck on the cheeks. “You’ve been doing well since my last visit?”

“It has only been a week, Ms. Blackwell.” he smiled. “What brings you to our humble museum today?”

“Oh, more Middle Egyptian learning. It’s a beautiful written language.”

“I suppose the hieratic and cursive hieroglyph, the late Egyptian, the written and spoken Demotic and Coptic wasn’t enough?”

“What can I say Terence, I’m an ambitious woman when it comes to educating myself by now and especially when it comes to languages, be they old, rare or even dead.”

Never knew when one might stumble upon something interesting after all. She’d learned a great many languages, written or otherwise and the only way she managed to keep them all was through rigorous mind magic and a fancy little ritual that had been cooked up back when she was still an Unspeakable that allowed their minds to be enhanced in several very helpful ways.

“Your retention for language is truly astounding, Ms. Blackwell.” his eyes crinkled with his smile and she scoffed at him.

“Such a charmer, Terence!” she accused playfully.

“Ah, then perhaps I could persuade you to help fund a new expedition? If you’ll come to my office…” he steered her away and she smiled and waved over her shoulder at Evy before going with the man.

xXx

She snorted into her salad. “You managed to knock all of the big bookshelves down?”

“Please don’t laugh, Honey.” the brunette frowned anxiously. “But that’s not what’s important!” she pulled out the strange bauble to set before her. She pressed it and Honey watched as it clicked out in what vaguely looked like an interpretation of the sun. She peered at it curiously. Ancient Egyptians, she thought to herself, had the most marvelous, strange things. “Inside of this was a map that I suspect leads to Hamunaptra!”

“Was a map?”

“It…Well, the part that pertained to Hamunaptra had been…Unfortunately burnt off.”

“My, what magnificent luck you seem to be having today.” she sniggered and her maybe-friend sent her a flat look in response.

“Yes, very funny Honey. But Jon says he knows someone who will be able to help!” she brightened up and Honey cocked her head to the side. Jon, while he seemed like a goof most of the time, was someone she knew as slimy, greedy and a conman. She suspected that Evy was blissfully unaware of some of his exploits or at least, not entirely aware of just how sticky his fingers really were despite knowing that he wasn’t much an honest man. He was also an intolerable flirt the few times they had met face to face, which only became worse when he found out about her abundant wealth. Even Evy’s stern looks hadn’t made him stop.

“Now you know I say this with the least intent for offense but your brother…”

“He wouldn’t mess about with this, and he said it was from where he’d even gotten it!” she was quick to speak up, maybe not in defense of her brother so much as whomever had the gotten the strange bit in the first place. Honey hummed, poking a manicured hand forward and shuddering for a second as her skin touched it, pulling back sharply. Evelyn, in her enthusiasm, didn’t notice and Honey eyed the thing curiously. It wasn’t quite magic, not her own magic anyways but it seemed to have a residue of some sort. She had come across such things before in her travels; this weird old magic. Myths and religions were made, lore coming up about them and she thought that maybe, the magical history was there but something had perhaps happened? Maybe the magicals really had been wiped out before she had landed.

“Perhaps I’ll go with you.”

“Huh?” came the ineloquent response and she smiled at the other woman charmingly. “Oh, not that I- not that I would mind terribly but…”

“Oh come now, it’s always better to have a wealthy woman on hand for these sorts of things anyways right?”

“Honey, I…I hope you know I would never ask you to do something like that.” Evy frowned at her solemnly, her hazel eyes resolute. Honey sighed softly, sliding her hand on top of the other woman’s.

“Of course I know that but throwing my weight around could still help and you are my friend Evy. Besides. This little thing is certainly intriguing.”

“Oh, isn’t it just?” Evy gushed and the matter was settled.

xXx

She slid the thin blouse on, tucking it into high-waisted mocha colored trousers that clung to her strong thighs pleasantly, bending over to pull on her trusty boots over it. Nodding to herself, she pulled on large pearl earrings to match the choker-style set of pearls wrapping around her neck. They had a pleasant viridescent sheen to them that she liked. Her fingers were again adorned in various rings she had been collecting over the years. This done well enough she pulled Teacup, a beautiful Sri Lankan viper, up and listened to her curious hisses before promptly settling her in her canvas satchel. Would be strange, after all, if she could pull out huge amounts of money or gems, or whatever she might need to bribe people with out of her little envelope clutch. She checked her reflection, saw her perfectly winged kohl-liner and the pleasant reddish tint of lipwax and nodded to herself. Not a lot of use for heavy make-up in a sandy, hot place like this. She pulled her satchel onto her shoulder, snagged her wide brimmed hat with the bits of flora and feather on it before opening her door to grin at Evy who had been just about to knock.

“How do you always know?”

‘A charm, not that I’d tell you.’ she thought to herself with a mysterious smile. “Luck, I suppose.”

“Well either way, Jon is waiting just downstairs.” she said, then paused and stared at her. “Are you…Honey, are you wearing trousers?”

“You see locals wearing trousers all the time.”

“Well yes, I suppose that’s true,” she sputtered. “But I’ve never seen you wear them! And they’re so…So snug looking!”

“Why Ms. Carnahan, how appalling it must be!” she tittered at her. “They’re quite comfortable, you really should try them sometime.”

“I am quite fine in skirts, thank you.” she answered primly. “Well, then. Shall we?”

“Oh we shall, my good lady.” she grinned, looping her arm through the brunette’s.

Which was how, not awfully long later, she found herself with her arm being near crushed by Evy’s as she hissed an argument with her brother as the Warden preceded them. She watched the men and the guards idly. It could do with a few repairs, perhaps but it looked like it kept well enough. She’d never heard of anyone escaping at any rate. She was swung around abruptly as Jon tried to hush her about how exactly he’d gotten the box-thing, but the headstrong woman was already calling up as the Warden cheerily went up to one of the cages where a door was from, presumably, the cell. It was an interesting set-up actually.

“Now what exactly is this man in prison for?” she demanded, an expectant gaze landing over.

“Well,” he began, “This I did not know. But when I heard you were coming, I asked him just before you came!” he grinned at them, showing off slightly green looking teeth. Cheerful fellow, this one seemed. Terrible hygiene.

“And what did he tell you?” Evy asked, her hand settling more securely as she looked over to the door.

“He said,” the man’s finger came up, “He was just looking for a good time!” he again grinned at them. As soon as he finished saying that, the door opened and two guards ushered a muzzy, light brown haired man with, she noted, very very white teeth. He was pressed to the bars of the cage as he stared at them. He was hit harshly, forcing him to his knees as the warden stepped back, eyeing the man appraisingly.

“This is-” Evy’s arm freed itself from hers to point, “This is the man you stole it from?”

“Yes, exactly, so why don’t we just go sniff out a spot of-”

“Who’re you?” an American accent called and they looked back to the man. He was golden-tan, and rather alright looking as blokes went when he smiled. She had always been a fan of the stubble look, though neither of her husbands had sported it. Quite a number of her lovers had. He had a rather nice jaw as well. “And who’re the dames?” he asked pleasantly, eyes flicking between Evy and her, not seeming nearly so harsh as when he’d been shoved out.

“Dame?” Evy drawled in disdain but her brother was quick to speak up. Evy had always handled objectification with the same classy disdain as a noblewoman being catcalled by a peasant and it had never failed to entertain Honey. She sniggered as Jonathan babbled out lies, getting closer and she thought to herself, what kind of idiot would get closer to a man trapped in a cell in Cairo?

“But, th-this is my sister, Evy and of course her very dear lady-friend, Honey.” he pulled his sister forward with a winsome smile.

“How d’you do?” she added in stiffly and Honey nodded politely from where she was peeking over Evy’s shoulder. The man looked at them quietly, first eyeing her, and then Evy.

“Ah well…Guess she’s not a total loss.” he said of the other woman dismissively before turning his eyes onto her. “She’s a bit boyish looking but not the worst too.”

“I beg your pardon?” Evy’s outraged expression, furious on both of their behalves, only slightly tempered her own annoyance. She was damn gorgeous and Evy was quite pretty and this man was just being rude. It wasn’t like she’d never been insulted like that, but to have both she and her maybe-friend insulted by a man stuck behind bars was just plain aggravating. It was about this time that the warden started shouting back at his guard to hold the prisoner for the moment and that he would join him before he turned to them.

“I’ll be back in a moment.” he said irritably, his eyes elsewhere as he strode off.

“Lashings.” Honey nodded, her own head turned back to see as Jon and Evy started speaking with the prisoner. She was more interested in the coming beat-down to be honest and turned the rest of her body around, watching the warden take the long thin leather strip as the unlucky bastard was forced to his knees, crouched to bare the entirely of his back. She jumped when she heard a grunt of pain and clank of chains, turning to see Jon rolling on the floor and clutching at his nose. She let out a surprised bark of laughter, unable to help herself and slapped her hand over her mouth, looking at Evy apologetically as the man in the cell was hit for his violence. She was justified that only an idiot would get so close. At least until Evy stepped over her brother, getting close and she sighed as she pulled Jon over and he stumbled, almost falling again.

“Oh, thank you Honey,” he smiled at her weakly through the pain and she narrowed her eyes at him, unimpressed.

“Honeysuckle to you, Jonathan.” she scoffed, dropping his arm but then freezing as she noticed Evy crouching down close to the prisoner. He watched her friend’s form jolt before the man said in a gruff voice,

“Then get me the hell out of here!” before he was again hit but in a blunt movement, dropped one of the guards, shouting something unintelligible and now pulled back and away, being yanked back through the door. Evy kept crouched for a second before practically falling over as she righted herself.

“Wh-where are they taking him?” she asked, a few octaves higher than normal.

“To be hanged. Apparently, he had a very good time.” the warden said, eyebrows raising at the woman. So he had seen it too then?

“He was a deserter yes? The French Legion has no legal place in Egypt.” Jon sniffled, prodding gently at his nose. He had a surprisingly good tolerance for pain despite being as lanky and crybaby-looking as he did.

“Ah, we are paid fifty pounds per soldier to take care of their deserters though.”

“Can I attend?” Evy interrupted them and both men turned to her with a frown.

“Not permitted in my country, women viewing such things.”

“I’m not from your country though, I’m an Englishwoman.” she hurriedly argued, all bright gleaming eyes and determined stance. The man frowned, eyeing her and Honey warily.

“Come, we may witness it.” he bade them with. She followed alongside an anxious Evy, finding themselves at a sort of arena, only with a section for gallows at its center amidst the cheering prisoners below.

“Oh wow. Is this method used often?”

“Depending on the crime, if it is seen as a reasonable verdict.” the squat warden grinned at her. She sat between he and Evy, who was squirming in her chair. “You know, a woman sitting at the warden’s viewing spot with no veil…She might as well be bared.” he said after another moment, frowning again.

“I will give you one hundred pounds to save this man’s life!” she burst and the warden leaned forward to see her over Honey, eyebrows pulling up.

“Madam.” he said calmly. “I would pay one hundred pounds just to see him hang.”

She really couldn’t help when she snorted in laughter.

“T-two! Two hundred pounds!”

“Proceed!” he hollered down to the men at the gallows.

“Warden, how about five hundred pounds?” Honey asked idly and the man’s head whipped to face her after telling off one of the guards. She gave a toothy grin. The warden gestured for his men to wait as he turned to her, eyes flicking down her body.

“And what else?” he asked gruffly, hand reaching to squeeze just above her thigh. “I’m a very lonely man.”

“Excuse you!” Evy squawked on her behalf, using the journal in her hands to swat at the man’s hand. He reared back with a frown at the intense glare Evy was shooting him. Prisoners laughed in a white noise at the put-down before harshly directing his men and Evy howled “No!” as the lever was pulled and the man fell, though he continued to struggle and beside her, the warden laughed in incredulity.

“His neck did not break!” he scoffed. Evy fell back down in her chair, watching the hanging, struggling man as prisoners moved in a wave, the guards only just holding them back. “Oh I’m so sorry,” he told the brunette sarcastically. “Now we must watch him strangle to death then.”

The chants of the prisoners rounded around in a vicious cheer and her lips twitched. He would not be strangling to death. She thought as she made sure he got air into his lungs and keeping a slight feather light on him. Enough that he would still have a hard time but not so much that he would die. She opened her mouth to bribe the warden with a greater amount of money but Evy seemed to have her own idea.

“He knows the location to Hamunaptra.” she turned, leaning over Honey who obligingly leaned back enough to make room for her friend.

“You lie.” he dismissed and she saw Evy bristle at the insult.

“I would never!” she balked and the warden did a double take.

“Are you telling me this filthy, godless son of a pig knows where to find the city of the dead?” he spluttered, also leaning a little closer so they both practically hovered near her breasts. What an interesting day this was turning out to be, she thought to herself.

“Yes!” Evy’s eyes sparkled from what she could see of them beneath her sun hat.

“Truly?” he demanded in a quick voice.

“Yes! And if you cut him down, we will give you…” her face turned towards where the prisoner still struggled, much to the impressed bafflement of the guards who looked down at him through the trap door. “Ten percent.”

“Fifty percent!”

“Twenty,” her friend haggled.

“Forty.” he argued.

“Thirty.” she shot back just as quick, their staring match over her lap amusing her. Just a little. A man potentially strangling to death or permanently damaging his throat and here they were discussing profits. Wasn’t the first time she’d been involved in something like this but having her dear, softer hearted Evy doing the haggling tickled her a bit. It appears that her brother had managed to rub off a few tips and tricks.

“Twenty-five,” he blurted then paused as Evy lit up.

“Ah!” her eyes glittered as she sat up. “Deal.” she said smugly and the man cursed under his breath, shooting her a glare as he commanded his men to cut the prisoner down.

“As a gift, warden, I’ll give you the five hundred pounds anyways for your generosity.” Honey sniggered quietly to the disgruntled man as Evy stood, beaming down, pleased with herself at the man in the courtyard. “And at least twenty-five percent is still a long way, given it is Hamunaptra. Evy here will probably donate what she gets to a museum anyways.”

xXx

Not two days later saw them at Giza Port, their luggage mostly packed onto the ship with the exception of handbags or, in Evy’s case, a luggage case. She herself kept her shrunken trunk hidden in a moke-skin bag attached to a bit of leather around her neck but did have her satchel on her shoulder. Teacup was hidden in the thin, pretty scarves wrapped around her head, neck and shoulders. She wore a loose tunic with a back that scooped down low and showing off her tattooed back, a fetching flowing long skirt beneath it alongside her boots and quite a number of accessories, including her snake-skin waist belt, numerous rings, chunky earrings and a choker of shiny, gleaming teal gems. She also had arm bands wrapped about her biceps and she wore a wide brimmed sun hat with exotic, pleasant smelling flowers woven into a flower crown.

“You don’t have to come, it could be dangerous,” Evy was telling her worriedly but she waved the woman off.

“Evy dear, I’m your friend and if you’re so excited about this place I want to be right there beside you. Besides, I don’t think I saw many other women board that ship.” she crossed her arms, the scrappy lithe muscle flexing. Evy smiled at her fondly. “Sides, who knows? Might meet a cute bloke on the way.” she teased and Evy rolled her eyes, smile getting a bit more relaxed.

“Ah, there you are!” Jon called brightly, settling between them to wrap his arms around their shoulders and just barely missing landing on Teacup. Evy’s smile turned into a scowl.

“Do you really expect that he’ll show up?” came the immediate demand.

“What a way to greet your poor old brother.” he simpered. “Knowing my luck, of course I believe he will. Don’t worry so much, I know his cowboy type. His word is his word. He’ll keep it.” he assured before turning a more lecherous blue stare onto her. “You are looking as ravishing as ever, Honeysuckle.” he crooned.

“And you, as sleazy.” she rolled her eyes, shrugging off his hand.

“You wound me, truly.” he sighed before turning back to his sister. “Fret not, little sister, he’ll be here.”

“I don’t like him. Personally I think he’s filthy. Rude. A complete scoundrel, I don’t like him one bit.” she huffed.

“Anyone I know?” came the drawl and they turned. He looked like an entirely different man, she mused to herself. A shame that his stubble was gone, but he did clean up rather nice. She peeked at Evy from the corner of her eye, smiling when she saw the woman’s jaw work for a moment. He raised his eyebrows at her expectantly.

“…Oh…” she breathed, setting down her luggage as her eyes skipped down his body and then back up, “Um…Hello.” she greeted and Honey quickly settled her hand over her mouth to stop herself from laughing. Jon laughed nervously.

“Haha, smashing day for the start of an adventure eh, O’Connell?” he patted the man’s chest before taking his hand to pump in an awkward, vigorous motion.

“Yeah.” he agreed blandly. “Yeah, smashing.” he scoffed as he checked his inner pocket for his wallet. Jon was quite deft with his thieves’ hands after all, a man capable of astounding sleights of hand.

“Oh no, no. I’d never steal from a…Partner, partner.” Jon smiled winningly at the taller man as he threw a friendly punch at his broad shoulder. Not until it was time to part ways he wouldn’t, she thought to herself. The man, O’Connell smiled in return.

“That reminds me, there’s no hard feelings about the uh,” his arm swung in an idle way to gesticulate what he meant. Jon moved slightly automatically.

“Oh no, no no.” he assured casually. “Happens all the time.”

“Mr. O’Connell, can you look me in the eye and guarantee me this isn’t all some kind of flim-flam because if it is, I am warning you, I will-” Evy had caught his attention but was interrupted from the froth she was working herself into.

“You’re warning me?” the man grinned, mirth in his eyes. “Lady. Lemme put it this way; my whole damn garrison believed in it so much, that without orders they marched halfway across Libya and Egypt to find that city.” he said with a sharp, warning smile. “And when we got there, all we found…Was sand and blood.” He searched her friend’s eyes, keeping them connected as he tried to imprint upon her the gravity of his last apparent trip. “Lemme get your bags.” he leaned down to grab the two luggage cases after a few quiet moments as he let his words sink in and walked off, easily supporting the weight.

“Yes yes, you’re right. Filthy, rude, complete scoundrel. Nothing to like there at all.” Jon said benevolently as they watched him go and Evy shot him a look.

“Bright good morning to all.” came the familiar voice and tone as Warden Gad Hassan caught up to them, dressed for traveling.

“Oh no,” Evy didn’t try even in the slightest to contain her dismay and Honey sniggered into her fist. “What are you doing here?” she confronted him bluntly. Honey wasn’t too surprised; being promised treasures from Hamunaptra could easily entice a greedy little man like Hassan after all regardless of potential perils. What she was curious about…

“Will the prison be alright without you there?” she inquired. He grinned.

“I have set a small council of the highest ranking guards and hired several soldiers. Most of the workers know well by now how everything works.” he assured her, pleased with and confident in the efficiency of his men. “As for you, Ms. Carnahan, I am here to protect my investment. Thank you, very much.” he said as he climbed up into their designated boat proper.

“You know I doubt he’s ever left Cairo? I wonder how he’ll fare.” she mused aloud. Jon’s hand slid up her arm.

“One can only guess at this point, though I’m sure we’re due to find out.” he grinned at her charmingly. She neatly grabbed his hand and flipped him face-first onto the ground at her feet before daintily holding her skirt to step over him to board the boat.

“I’m sure we will. For now we really should get on before they try and leave without us right?”

xXx

She hummed as she fiddled with the strange box a bit more. She would be the one allowed to hold onto it, since Evy didn’t quite trust either men to and she was already worrying over the map. She shrugged to herself and carefully wrapped it in magically enhanced velvet to protect her other things from it and the strange energies it emitted before letting it drop into her mokeskin bag and getting up from the room she and Evy would share to go wander about to find the woman. She paused when she spied her and O’Connell sitting together in a secluded little corner, snorted to herself and smoothed her skirt as she went out to the front where the tables and people were. She smoothed her dress again, a longer one and fitted only to flare slightly at her calves and it sat high on her waist. It was a deep teal color and glorious velvet. She wore a neatly fitted black blouse with elbow-length bat-wing sleeves. Her shawl, pretty and in sheer black with gold and teal accents, only partially hid where Teacup had secured herself on her arm.

“Ah, Honeysuckle!” she heard Jon call jovially and she hummed as she went over to the table he was at, four men around him. Three were rather handsome, and the fourth looked like a textbook representation of a scholar of the time. “Would you care to place a bet as well?”

“Now hold on there, tryin’ to coax a lady to gamble.” the one with dirty blonde hair (and quite a set of dimples to compliment his jawline) smiled at her.

“Oh I assure you gentlemen, Ms. Blackwell here can play with the best of them. Care to join us?” he grinned up at her winningly. She hummed, gesturing for a chair that was hastily brought over to sit between the handsomely stubbled man and Jon.

“I do believe I will if you’ve just started.” she pulled a stack of money from her clutch to set down.

“Whoa there. That’s quite the pretty penny there darlin’.”

“Ms. Blackwell is inordinately wealthy. So much she’s not even interested in the treasure, only in the site itself!” Jon blabbed cheerfully enough. “Ah, Honeysuckle, these men are also going to be looking for Hamunaptra!”

“Really? Will they be going the same path as us?” she glanced around at them.

“No ma’am.” the man with round rimmed glasses smiled at her bashfully, cutting the deck for their next game. “Sure wish we were though, to travel with a lady pretty as you.”

“Honestly.” the older man of them scoffed. “Acting like schoolboys at one pretty face. Excuse their manners, Ms. Blackwell was it?”

“Indeed. Honeysuckle Blackwell but really most call me Honey. A pleasure to make your acquaintances.”

“Yes, I have heard of you once or twice I’m sure.” the man in the monocle drawled. “Dr. Allen Chamberlain, Egyptologist.”

“I’ll be David Daniels but, you can call me Dave.” a man with cropped black hair grinned at her. She supposed he was handsome enough but really, the one to her side and even the man in the glasses were more her preferred types. Well, with the one in spectacles, it was more about what she could see of his frame; the slightly bookworm-ish look was off-put by enticingly broad shoulders and a fairly pretty face. Even sitting he seemed quite tall, as did the blond at her side. Speaking of the blond-

“Isaac Henderson.” he grinned at her again, showing off his dimples now as he dipped his head. “Ol’ four-eyes over there is Bernie.”

“Bernard Burns.” he corrected quickly. “But…Yes, people do tend to just call me Bernie if not Burns.”

She only bothered to stay for one round, but smugly collected her winnings, leaving a bit for them with a wink as she bid the men a good night. She met Evy in their room, snorting at her distracted mumbles as she switched to a flimsy, thin white chemise. Unlike some of the popular sleepwear she’d seen in the more western-style clothing shops, she wasn’t a fan of the flattening, washboard look. She had breasts, dammit, rather nice ones at that. Either way, it drifted only perhaps an inch or two down her thighs, quite short and airy. More of a babydoll style than anything she thought as she rolled off her stockings and pulled on slippers. Her boots, her clothing, all of it were crammed into her charmed trunk, shrunk and once more hidden on her person. She sure as hell didn’t trust the locks on the door of this boat, or the people on the boat to let her possessions sit while she slept after all.

She mumbled, slipping into the little loo area to switch the uncomfortable knickers for a much more forgiving pair of just as thin, white chiffon bloomers. They were much shorter than what she knew Evy wore, and didn’t peek out from her short sleep slip. She jumped, startled when she heard Evy make an odd noise, and then a low murmur of what seemed to be a man’s voice. Her eyes flared in indignation; had a man just waltzed into their room?

She certainly hadn’t slammed the door open expecting to see a man clothed in all black with a strange hook-hand/glove thing holding Evy in place, nor for O’Connell to then burst in or the short scuffle. This little expedition was already more exciting than she had initially considered! When they managed to slip out (Evy stabbed a man’s eye with a candle), Evy had, for a moment, tried to go back. Into the room with the fire.

But then suddenly it seemed like everything was going up in literal flames because before she knew it people were jumping down into the river to get away. There were more men in the black robes and wraps, most of them with symbols on their faces that she was a little too preoccupied to really get a good look at. Seeing the amount of fire going on, she decided that putting out the flames now would be of no use and simply snuck along, taking the heavy duffel bag/wrap thing from Evy as she yanked O’Connell from where a bullet slammed through the wall behind him. When they got to the edge and Evy obviously didn’t quite catch on fast enough when he asked if she could swim, Honey watched her flail and cry out as she was hefted over. He turned to her and she raised her brows, hopping up to sit on the ledge, hugging the bag to her chest and falling backwards into the water after the other woman.

She swam after where she saw Evy bobbing up to the shore, shaking her head as Teacup angrily protested the entire event, squeezed around bicep tightly. She listened to Evy grouse about losing their things as she handed off the bag to O’Connell and starting to wring out the thin fabric of her sleepwear. Her things were all perfectly okay of course, having been in her mokeskin bag and she sneakily pulled the velvet-wrapped box to fiddle with again.

“-my clothes,” she bemoaned. From the other side, a man shouted out to their guide, bragging about having horses and equipment and the like. O’Connell’s short response of,

“Hey Beni! Looks to me like you’re on the wrong side of the river!”

Made her grin to herself, setting a fist on her hip. From her side, Jon coughed slightly, handing her his jacket. She blinked, taking it to hold around herself.

“Thank you, Jon. That’s surprisingly sweet of you.” she praised him and he grinned. Even in the dark she could see his face, ears and neck were red.

“H-H-Honey, I- I don’t mean to alarm you,” Evy stuttered and she looked to her friend questioningly. She pointed and Honey looked, only to roll her eyes as Teacup slithered up around her neck to escape the wet clothes.

“Oh, don’t worry, that’s just Teacup.” she assured her friend.

“Teacup? You brought your pet viper with you?” she shrilled in response. “Your venomous viper?!”

“No need to shout, Evy dear, I am right here.” she grumbled. “Teacup besides, what do we do now?”

“Head for the nearest town.” O’Connell grunted, offering his own jacket to Evy who hastily took it.

“O’Connell!” came the aggrieved shout and they turned again to see Hassan slosh up angrily. “’Wait here’? ‘Wait here’?!”

O’Connell smiled innocently.

xXx

Nude colored underthings, sheer black on top of it, tight fitting and flattering. Tall black boots meant to keep out the sand. A sheer veil, and head scarf- Evy wore hers with her hair out but Honey kept her hair pinned back and hidden beneath the thin material. She paid generously for their new attire and went off a bit more to get a few new sets of jewelry and to buy a few provisions for the journey. Snacks, mostly, since she had carved a few handy runes into the waterskin she had gotten when they got into the village proper. By the time they left, the sun left the desert orange and frankly, quite beautiful.

She wasn’t sure when she quite dozed off, but she opened her eyes to see O’Connell delicately prop Evy back up on her own camel and she smiled sleepily. Cute. She yawned wide, listening over her shoulder to Hassan still snoring and glanced back to check on them. She was just in time to see Jon wake up, glare groggily at Hassan, and hit him in the face to wake him up and stop the racket. She sniggered, turning back to face front and pulling her scarf down to sit around her neck. Teacup grumbled tiredly, shifting and then going back to sleep. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes, leaning over to grab something to nibble on for the moment. She watched O’Connell’s head turn and followed his gaze over to a group of people. She squinted into the distance, frowning. Were they from the group that had burnt down that steamboat? Her head cocked to the side as she observed them. They weren’t moving along, just seemed stationed up on a cliff, watching them. She sighed to herself, cast a quick little protection bubble at Evy, then another at Jon after a moment of consideration and closed her eyes to nod off again.

She startled awake at shouting and blinked rapidly to peer across the way at another group. The man from the other side of the river was shouting to O’Connell again. The much larger group met them and the hasty Americans got a bit antsy as they stopped to wait. She huffed, tugging down her veil and ignoring the ribbing from the other side as she blinked, squinting and focusing her magic in her eyes. There was an odd sort of bubble around and she peered into it. How…Peculiar. When the sun came up, Hamunaptra appeared before them. That was when the supposed race began and she rolled her eyes as she urged her camel alongside them. She kept a close eye on Evy; the girl was a bit ambitious sometimes and listened to Jon’s whoops of encouragement.

“That’s not gonna end well,” she breathed, bumping along her own camel. She curled up her legs and muttered spells under her breath to try and smooth some of the way. Evy wasn’t a particularly graceful person, much as she looked it and she had the feeling her inherent clumsiness would show up soon enough. She was proven right when she was sent sprawling into a dune just a little after getting into Hamunaptra properly. She snorted, slowing her camel down to a light trot and cooing praises at it as she slipped down.

“Alright, Evy?” she called as she led it closer to where O’Connell was stifling his laughter as he helped her up. Evy grinned at her breathlessly.

“Oh I can’t remember when I last had so much fun!” she laughed and Honey grinned back happily, trying to ignore the crawling sensation of magic nearby. It wasn’t familiar to her, but she recognized it as near the same as the one that the little box was permeated in. She felt a cold shiver caress up her spine.

“Yeah yeah, alright alright, c’mon. Up you go.” O’Connell grunted, easily pulling her to her feet. Honey took hold of the harness for Evy’s camel, then O’Connell’s as well as she pulled them to the side to set them down and get them water and something to snack on as Jon and Hassan finally caught up.

It wasn’t too much longer into the day that everywhere one could see tents set up and people, hired crew, bustling here to there. She fluffed her hair, standing off a bit to look around and then crouching. She started calling out for snakes nearby, sending out pulses of energy with it. It felt odd that she hadn’t seen any bugs or snakes or creatures of any sort in this Hamunaptra place, none at all. Even out in the desert beyond there were some lizards, some insects about.

“(This place is hidden,)” Teacup told her. She sighed and stood back up, wandering back over to her travel companions by the submerged statue. She felt a static charge hit her as she got closer and paused a bit away. That…Didn’t feel too good. She’d been to plenty of places, all across Europe and Asia (which included India), and had skimmed by places with thick ancient magic before of course. She had just never gotten too close to them before since sometimes they set off little alarms in her head. She watched for a moment as O’Connell fidgeted and mumbled to Evy as she and her brother were fiddling with mirrors, giggling slightly as she handed him something. She shook her head and got closer, ignoring the gooseflesh coming up. It didn’t take long for them to be dropping down in a hole in the ground and she looked around curiously as Evy pulled up a light and setting off more mirrors. How handy, she thought to herself. They wandered in further, torches in hand and she cast bubbleheads around them in case. Since, well, this was an ancient area and all and she didn’t quite trust the air quality all things considered. She wavered, wobbling on her feet in the room that Evy said had the secret compartment, eyes fluttering closed as she listened. It was an old tongue, but some of the sounds were familiar to languages she had been learning or already learnt. Ancient languages, she thought. Always good to know them when wandering around ancient magical sites. She jumped when she was pulled over against the dais the Anubis statue was on, blinking lethargically before the other group and theirs met head on, guns drawn.

She sighed irritably, the old magic in the air tickling at her senses. Guns were drawn again and hostility only made her mood go more sour. She had half a mind to simply knock them all out. The other team that is but before she could seriously contemplate it for too long, Evy stepped between the men and she followed her, smiling at them men sweetly. Arms wavered.

“For goodness’s sake. Let’s be nice children.” she said soothingly and Honey wondered what she found to have her be so placating. “If we’re going to play together, we must learn to share.” she easily pushed down the guns and they went down. Evy turned serious eyes to O’Connell. “There are other places to dig.” she said meaningfully.

“Plenty of room down here for us all I think.” Honey agreed. Evy smiled at her, setting her arm on O’Connell’s and turning her look back to him. It didn’t take them long after that to find their way just under the room they had been in as the Carnahan siblings ranted about beastly Americans and yanks (excluding of course, O’Connell) and she watched Hassan sneak off on his own. Not that she much cared- were it not for the bubblehead charm, she was sure she’d have at least gagged once or twice. She’s been through some stenches in her time but down here where he was sweaty and had not one care for hygiene, she didn’t think she could take it.

She plopped herself down, looking around and then, after a moment’s consideration, tagging the three with her with tracking charms. Didn’t want to lose them after all. And then adding the same little protection spells to O’Connell as she had to Evy and Jon and refreshing theirs while she was at it. She decided to nap a little while they seemed busy and woke only when something heavy smashed down towards them. She snorted as she woke, blinking at the thing that had landed just before where Evy and O’Connell sat. She got up, dusting herself off to wander closer to the sarcophagus as Evy explained what the sarcophagus being there meant. Well wasn’t that reassuring to know? Knowing her luck, it would be the ‘very naughty’ option wouldn’t it. She stayed a few steps away, shuddering at the magic bound in the thing for a second before taking a deep breath and stepping closer.

“He who…Shall not be named.” Evy murmured.

Right. Fucking wonderful. Isn’t that just peachy?

“Weren’t you looking for a book Evy?” she asked her friend pointedly. And was just as easily ignored as Evy got into a flutter as they talked about keys. “Evy…”

“The key, Honey, you still have it!” Evy’s eyes sparkled. “The book, it might have been buried with whomever is in this sarcophagus!”

Reluctantly, she pulled the box out, thinking for a second before duplicating it, shuddering as rather than just make a plain copy, it also copied that strange old magic in it. She handed it over warily but luckily for her, she didn’t actually turn it and potentially unlock this…Thing. Screaming grabbed their attention and she watched Jon snatch up the key part of the copy anyhow. They scrambled into the hallway where they saw Hassan who barged past them, running off past and smacking hard enough into a wall to make her wince. That…Definitely killed him didn’t it?

They went back up quietly for the night, though she lingered a moment more, staring at the body. She was tempted to see what had him in such a mad dash in the first place but when Evy called for her, she took one last glance before darting after the others.

(If she came back a few hours later and collected some new jewelry hidden by summoning it, then who was ever to know?)

The sound of a commotion drew their attention later that night and despite being told to stay, Evy quickly followed after O’Connell and with her, Honey and Jon followed. The men in black had returned then had they?

She crouched around a pillar, watching and shooting off discrete spells to thin out the numbers around and at some point someone called a stop to it. She peeked around to watch. They were given a day to leave, and then just…Left as easy as they came. What the hell? Confused, she slunk out from behind the pillar, creeping back over to the others.

“Does anyone know what all that was about? They just…Rode in, attacked and then decided what, murder a few people and then leave?” she scoffed. The man with spectacles stepped over after O’Connell refuted the one man’s claim that there must be treasure. Honey was sure there was indeed treasure but that wasn’t why those men had been protecting it.

“You know, maybe just at night we could, ah…Combine forces. Hm?” he offered, face still half covered with shaving cream. She peeked over from Evy’s other side at him.

xXx

She grumbled, cuddling closer to the warmth she was pressed against.

“Ah, Ms. Blackwell,” came the gentle voice, maybe a hint cautious. “Ms. Blackwell, I do believe it’s time to get up.”

She let out a string of parseltongue curses at whomever was trying to interrupt her sleep, wrapping wiry, unusually strong arms around her comfortable pillow. Makeshift pillow, she corrected herself sleepily. She’d been up quite late last night giggling over Evy’s drunkenness and the almost kiss after all. O’Connell was a little less impressed, sulking for a good while after.

“Can’t rouse her?” she heard Evy murmur.

“I’m afraid if I wake her too abruptly I’ll be hit most unpleasantly and she’ll be upset with me the whole day. And she is rather quite a lot stronger than she looks.”

“I’m aware. Honey? Honey dear, stop using my brother as a bed, we’ve got plenty to do today.” her shoulder was shaken and she hissed again, burying her face into dusty fabric before turning her head to glare tiredly over her shoulder at Evy. “Oh, don’t make that face, I’ve quite a hangover as well. Come, drink some water.”

Muttering under her breath, she uncurled her arms, sitting up and then getting up properly. From beneath her, Jon sighed in relief, the back of his neck red not from sunburn (as he tended to tan quite well, probably thanks to his mum’s side) but probably from where she had been pressed close to his back, on top of him, the entire night. It didn’t take long for the splitting headache to go away and she sneakily helped clear the heads of her companions before they went down into the dig site proper.

The sarcophagus was propped to stand, and she stepped back and away to lean against a pillar until it popped open and Evy shrieked a little as the corpse bobbed forward. She eyed it in interest. Definitely magical residue coating it, but not inherently magical.

“God, I hate it when they do that!”

“Is it supposed to look like that?”

“Most assuredly not. He’s been here for at least three thousand years- it appears that besides cursing him in the afterlife, they also didn’t give him the standard burial.” Honey scoffed from where she stood, green eyes sharp and glinting. “Maybe even…Buried while alive? But I wonder what kept him looking so…”

“Juicy.” the two men echoed.

“Not quite the word I was looking for, but that works.” she mumbled.

“I’ve never seen a mummy look like this before.” Evy breathed, looking at the figure closely. “Why, it even looks as though he’s still…Decomposing…”

“I wonder if it’s a punishment.” Honey mused, more to herself than anything. Ancient civilizations were ripe with scandalous things that could result in terrible punishments for seemingly small things like stealing a fruit, or even looking at certain people or the like. She wondered what this man would have done to have incurred this much wrath.

“Hey, look at that.” O’Connell directed their attention to the lid of the sarcophagus and she stepped a little closer, glancing again at the mummy before raising her eyebrows at the gouges seen.

“Looks like you thought right, Honey.” Evy breathed in amazement. “This man had been buried alive. And he left a message.”

Death is only the beginning.

“Death is only the beginning.” Evy said aloud. Why, Honey wondered, did people have to fuss around with mortality and the like anyhow? Some inherent need or curiosity or greed, something that had them refuting what made them human. Immortality had never much done her any favors, and never had the people who sought it either. But perhaps she was getting ahead of herself. Maybe it was part of this man’s punishment? He seemed to believe in death, rather than trying to escape it. Well, besides being buried alive that is. She eyed the corpse again.

“So? Should we explore a bit more?” she asked and the three looked to her before looking at eachother.

“Right- yes, of course.”

“And are we…Just gonna leave him here like this? I mean, he’s…Er, pretty well preserved all things considered, should he be left to open air like this?”

“I think he’ll be fine where he is.” Evy asserted, looking over the body with a scrunched up analyzing stare.

Later when night fell, she plopped herself down with the boys, looking in idle interest at the canopic jars those Americans held so covetously. The thin man who was apparently friends or something with O’Connell moved when Evy called over.

“Scarab skeletons!” she grinned at them and Honey leaned forward. “Flesh eaters.”

“Really? Let me see,” she stood, stepping over to her friend as Evy turned her hands towards her, showing her the pretty little things. “Oh my. That’s quite incredible isn’t it? Think it might have been part of a trap?” she asked her friend.

“It very well might have!” she grinned. “But I found them inside our friend’s coffin. They can stay alive for years, feasting on the flesh of a corpse. Unfortunately for our friend, he was still alive when they started eating him.” Evy sat between the boys and Jon scooted to the side so Honey could sit beside her.

“What a way to go.” Honey whistled. “That certainly does explain the claw marks. I imagine having one’s flesh being eaten as they’re buried alive is just awful. I wonder if towards the end he was just numb enough to write that little final word in there.”

“So somebody threw these in with our guy and then they slowly ate him alive?” O’Connell asked, holding one of them aloft.

“Very slowly.” she nodded.

“Well he certainly wasn’t a popular fellow when they planted him was he?” Jon sighed.

“Well, probably got a little too frisky with the pharaoh’s daughter.” O’Connell said teasingly and Evy huffed out a little laugh.

“Hm, well according to my readings, our friend suffered the Hom-Dai. The worst of all ancient Egyptian curses, one reserved for only the most evil of blasphemers.” Evy told him. “In all of my research I’ve never heard of this curse actually being performed.” she stressed.

“That bad huh?”

“Well yes, they- they never used because they feared it so. It’s written that if a victim of the Hom-Dai should ever arise, he would bring with him the Ten Plagues of Egypt.” she shared.

xXx

“You’re going to go grab it?”

“Well yes, that is my intention.”

“Why not let me, Evy?” she coaxed and Evy frowned at her. “If he perhaps wakes, or someone comes upon me I could always say something along the lines of being interested in what the good Dr. thought of the thing. You, however, are our guide and terrible at lying might I also add.”

“Oh…Alright, alright. Just…Hurry back would you?”

“Of course Evy.” which was how, not ten minutes later, Evy was gently setting the book down.

“That’s called stealing, y’know?” O’Connell said, eyes still closed and she watched the way Evy jumped a little, startled.

“And I wonder what it must be to grab it from an ancient tomb to keep for oneself?” Honey returned easily, eyeing the book. It had the same key-lock mechanism as the sarcophagus and she watched Evy grab the copy of the key. She still had the original box after all.

“Tch. I thought the book of Amun-Ra was made out of gold.” O’Connell questioned, sliding up on Evy’s free side.

“It is made out of gold.” Evy told him, fiddling with the copy box. “This isn’t the book of Amun-Ra. This, is something else. I think this may be the Book of the Dead.” she clicked open the key.

“The Book of the Dead? You sure you wanna be playing around with this thing?”

“I agree with O’Connell. This isn’t meant for our eyes.” Honey added her own input.

“It’s just a book.” the other woman brushed off. Honey would beg to differ. That thing was dripping in magic. There was another book somewhere around the dig site she could feel too. “No harm ever came from reading a book.” it unlocked and unlatched. She opened it and a harsh wind flew by, a slight keening noise in it.

“That happens a lot around here.” O’Connell noted, slightly perturbed looking. That was when Evy started reading aloud and Honey immediately clamped her hand over the woman’s mouth. Even the words…It didn’t need someone with magic to say it, it just needed to be said to activate the magic. She had felt it coil around the second the first word left her mouth.

“What are you doing?” she hissed at her friend. Surprised at her small, usually docile friend’s sudden vehemence, Evy only blinked dumbly before removing her hand. “Do you have any idea how dangerous spoken incantations can be?!”

“I- I’m sorry? Honey, this is just a book, an ancient and no doubt precious one but it’s just a book-” Evy started, a little defensive now.

“Do. Not. Read. From. The. Book.” Honey growled through grit teeth. “If I’ve ever asked you for anything, this is it- do not read from the book!”

“Why don’t you, uh…Go get a drink. Walk around a little, calm down.” O’Connell suggested after a moment. Honey breathed in and then out slowly. She hadn’t had to resort to pranayama in a long while.

“Yeah. Yeah. Just…Don’t read from the book.”

She should have known O’Connell wouldn’t stop her.

Not even five minutes. Five minutes.

“EVY!” she roared as she leapt over things to get to her friend, ripping mad as she felt the magic burst and Dr. Chamberlain cry out, also scrambling towards the woman who flinched, hunching slightly with the book still open in front of her and a guilty deer-in-headlights look to her.

“You must not read from the book!” Dr. Chamberlain shouted, panic igniting in his features.

“Too late!” Honey thundered, glaring at her friend venomously. “It’s starting!”

Unrest piled up, the steeds made noises of distress as the others woke and she glared out as a swarm rose up just outside of the city.

“RUN!”

xXx

“One thing,” she hissed as they wandered down the corridor. “I tell you not to do one thing and what do you do? Disregard what I say completely!”

“Now isn’t the time for this-” O’Connell threw over his shoulder.

“Oh yes of course, silly me, it’s only the onset of the Ten Plagues that we could have easily avoided by just not reading from the fucking book I told you not to read from, what the hell was I thinking?” the corridor rocked around them and Honey snarled. “Bleeding, buggering, fucking-”

Then in front of them, from a sudden mound spouted what must have been thousands of-

“Scarabs!” Evy cried and they turned and ran down the corridor. Honey muttering a trail of protection charms and spells to weave around her and her friends. She might be ticked off at Evy but the woman was still her friend after all.

In all of the hullabaloo, Evy somehow managed to get taken by a trap door and she considered just blasting through the damn thing but Jon was soon yanking her along as the Americans raced in, encouraging them to run and soon followed by the scarabs again. Couldn’t they have just hopped to those platforms they had just earlier? She concentrated on the tracking charm she still had and hissed as she yanked on O’Connell’s sleeve, to mutter a direction before the man nodded and took off down another route.

“Wait- where are you goi-” Jon started to follow and she turned as well, going after the man. It didn’t take them overly long to find them and she skittered into Jon’s back as he backpedalled suddenly. She stepped off to the side, freezing at the sight of an animated mummy.

“One thing.” she whispered under her breath. Henderson and Daniels slid to a stop, staring in horror before the mummy growled and then spewed out a raspy, loud noise.

O’Connell shouted unintelligibly back, cocking his gun. Fat lot of good, she thought to herself, that would do. Slow him down at least and that’s what it did as they ran past and then out of the tomb, only to be held then at gunpoint by the men in black. One pulled his mask down.

“I told you to leave or die.” he said. “You refused.” he looked around at them. “Now you may have killed us all.”

She shot a dark look at Evy.

“For you have unleashed a creature we have feared for more than three thousand years.”

“Relax, I got him.”

“He was already dead, you idiot,” Honey hissed at him. “What do you think shooting a dead man will do?!”

“She is right- no mortal weapon can kill this creature.”

Would fiendfyre?

“He’s not of this world.”

That made two of them then. He moved aside for the two men to bring forth Burns and she stared. His…Eyes were gone. There was nothing in the sockets. He gave a pitiful groan and was laid with his two buddies.

“You…Bastards.”

“What did you do to him?!”

“We? We saved him.” what she could only assume was the leader responded harshly. “Saved him before the creature could finish his work. You must leave, all of you, quickly before he finishes you all.” he turned his attention to his men, a command having them trot forward. “We must now go on the hunt.” he said to them. She wondered what they thought they could do? “And try and find a way to kill him.”

“I already told you that I got him.”

The man turned to face O’Connell.

“Know this.” he said, a serious, severe look in his dark eyes. “This creature is the bringer of death. He will never eat. He will never sleep. He will never stop.”

“…Well.” Honey murmured as they slipped away. “Mr. Pretty-Lips told us to leave. I, for one, agree. I’m not planning on skulking around while juicy-mummy man is afoot.”

“I concur,” Jon quickly agreed, pale under his tan.

xXx

The entirety of the trek home was solemn and quiet for the most part. Back home, with all of her things, documents, baubles, companions and the like packed up as might be needed if she needed to skip town and shrunken to keep with her, a purring Silk sitting in her lap.

“What are the chances,” she mused aloud, “That Evy and them could stop this thing from spreading too much?”

A pleased yawn and stretch was her answer.

“Yes, I feared as much. Come then, let’s be off to meet with Evy.”

She stood, gently displacing her cat as she smoothed down her pale skintight khaki trousers. They led down and tucked into her trusty boots, and she wore a silk black blouse with a tidy green ascot. Rings lined her fingers, though these ones had runes etched into their bands. Protective things, all of them. The same went for her delicate shark-tooth earrings and the golden choker wrapping about her throat. Her belongings, all of them, were hidden in a tiny bag disguised as a charm on a bracelet that couldn’t be taken off.

xXx

Aside from fire raining down, and the pandemonium happening because of it, she reached the hotel Evy lived out of fairly quickly and followed the still-present tracking charm up only to hear gunshots and Evy’s shocked cry, and then Jon and the two Americans rushing towards a room. She raised her brows and ran too, Silk staying perched on her shoulders all the while, getting to the door in time to see O’Connell being thrown into Jon and them and hear the piano being stepped on by Evy’s cat Duchess.

Duchess seemed to terrify the mummy since he spun in place, turned into a sandstorm and fled.

“We have a very. Serious. Problem.” O’Connell muttered.

“You think?”

“Honey!” Evy cried.

“In the flesh. So? What now, gents, Evy?”

xXx

It somehow led them straight to the Museum of Antiquities and surprise of all surprises, her darling Terence was there speaking with Mr. Pretty-Lips! Well, she thought to herself, what a coincidence.

“You!” Evy cried and soon men had their guns out.

“Terence! You know the Hamunaptra knight?” she asked, setting her hand on Jon’s arm to forcibly lower it and the gun he held. She turned to the other man. “Have you been able to find a solution yet?”

“We have not.” he said warily.

“Ms. Blackwell.” Terence greeted her solemnly.

“What is he doing here?” Evy hissed.

“Do you really want to know,” his gaze flicked across the men disdainfully. “Or would you prefer to just shoot us?”

“Quite right, Terence.” Honey nodded, stepping to the side and then over to them to face Evy and them with her hands on her hips. “I very much doubt more senseless violence is going to help us now.” she jerked her head back towards the robed man. “He and his were apparently the guards of Hamunaptra, I really don’t think they have the time now to come after us. Speaking of which, if you’ll remember why we came here?” she asked imperiously, nose tilted up to look down her nose at them. Slowly, the guns were set away. She nodded and turned to them. “I daresay you might guess what we mean by coming here.”

xXx

While they were busy having their discussion, she was carefully puttering about the museum, keeping half an ear on them. Three thousand years, blah blah blah, keeping the creature contained, blah blah blah, cats are keepers of the underworld, blah blah blah.

Evy being confused for the mummy’s long lost love, blah blah blah. “C’mon Silk, keeper of the underworld.” she cooed. “Let’s see how our friends are faring.” She turned and crept back to stealthily slide onto the fake horse, Silk hopping up beside her.

“-but what has that got to do with me?”

“He might once again try to raise her from the dead!”

“Which is to say, he thinks you are his lover’s reincarnated soul and that he’s going to try to, most likely, use you in a ritual to bring her back. Which, might I add, would kill you in the process.” Honey said delicately, legs crossed from her perch. “You’re going to be the human sacrifice.”

“What?” Evy gasped.

“Bad luck, old mum.” Jon sighed.

“On the contrary. It may just give us the time we need to kill the creature.” Terence murmured, getting up to eye them speculatively.

“We will need all the help we can get.” the Hamunaptra man said, eyes tilted up and she frowned, following his gaze. “His powers are growing.”

“…And he stretched forth his hands to the heavens, and there was darkness throughout the land of Egypt.” Jon murmured as a shadow quickly filled everywhere, the sun blotting out.

“Hope no one’s afraid of the dark.” she muttered.

xXx

She stroked along Silk, watching idly as O’Connell scooped Evy up, tossed her in the room and came out to shut the doors presumably in Evy’s face before locking them. He grabbed the balding black haired man.

“This door doesn’t open. She doesn’t come out and no one goes in. Right?”

“Right,” the shorter man agreed quickly.

“Right?” O’Connell turned to the blond.

“Right.” he was also quick to agree and Honey sat up with a frown.

“Now hold on just a moment here, you’re planning on leaving three of Imhotep’s targets all nicely bundled in one place? You sure that’s wise O’Connell?”

He gave her a sharp look. She raised her hands with a sigh.

“Jonothan. Blackwell. C’mon.”

“Actually I thought I might just-”

“You just want me for my cat don’t you?” she mused.

“Now!”

“Right yes, well. Off to save the uh…Egyptologist.” Jon muttered and she heaved a sigh as she got up to follow the men.

xXx

After a bit of a goose chase with O’Connell’s little friend (remarkably good self-preservation skills, from what she’d heard he probably should have been dead a dozen times over), as soon as she heard him mutter about Evy she was chasing out of the door, ignoring the screams from the road behind the building and tearing her way back to their room. She considered apparating for a moment but quickly discarded that idea. The ambient, funky magic coating the place might make her splinch herself and she would be no good to anyone missing a few limbs. She couldn’t afford a few days to heal from it right now.

She was knocked back by scrambling locals and hauled up by O’Connell as they darted back to the hotel, smashing into the room, then into the bedroom Evy had been locked in. Honey had paused to eye the dried carcass as they confronted Imhotep and scared him off via Duchess. This led them again to going to the Museum and she huffed as she read over Evy’s shoulder, faster than the younger woman and narrowed her gaze.

Horus had the book.

She mumbled something about the loo before slipping off in the harried confusion. She had a book to find.

xXx

“Well it’s about time.” she scoffed, the golden book in her arms as Jon, O’Connell and the other man ran in. She’d already ransacked a good chunk of the treasures and golds- not so much for greed so much as why not? She felt like a dragon sometimes, the way she hoarded. She frowned as she didn’t see the rest of the coterie. “Where are the others? The American, Terence and Evy?”

“Where the hell have you been?!”

“Where do you think?! Managing to squirrel out the book!” she snapped back and turned to stare. Disjointed, lumbering movements, for all their speed. Honest to Death mummies. “What in blazes-”

“Shit! Go!”

xXx

She shuddered, a wonky feeling curling through her. “Honey, what are you-” Jon gasped and she thrust the book at him.

“Go, take the book, go, now!” she snarled, three different voices chiming in her voice and she snarled as she felt her own magic curl and tremble. She let her eyes roll back and disperse into black fog, thick and roiling as she slid through the mazes of the pyramid to find the source of the ripples. Death magic, soul magic, stealing something from the Rift. Rather, stealing someone. To have such magics performed while she was so close to them set off her alarm bells.

She swore, if it was some old god or something trying to possess her body like had happened out closer to the Basin-

No, not possessing, guiding her to the source of the disturbance.

Unfortunately for them both, she could do next to nothing in this form.

The- whomever it was that had influenced her to this form change seemed to refuse to let her out of it and she snarled and warped, coiling to swarm around until this damned thing let her go or she wrestled up enough of herself to throw the influence off.

There was a reason she stayed away from the places that tasted like old magic.

The summoning, she needed them to say what was in the golden book- godsdammit, if she hadn’t have touched the fucking golden book in the first place-

And then finally the words were said-

Her black fog turned into silvery bluish purple, like the ghosts of her old world and into forms that took away his immortal soul. She had to first place it back into the Rift before she could return and she hastened herself. Not much time to lose, she thought.

xXx

She huffed to herself, reading the letter and then settling it back in its enfoldment to put with all of Evy’s other letters. She was in India again, having finally left her home in Cairo. She would have had to soon anyways- she and her unaging body. Not that where she was meant that much in regards to Evy- the woman had been seduced away back to Blighty, and with a baby nonetheless. Feeling restless, she considered a nice, pleasant little vacation. She had heard rumors of yetis again in Tibet. Perhaps a good old fashioned creature-oriented journey would lift her spirits?

Nearly being killed wasn’t on her to-do list but then, even if she were fatally wounded, it’s not like much would happen to her anyways. She’d pass out, and then wake up as though it had never happened besides the memory. Very rare was it anymore that she gained scars, and those she did have were either so faded one might barely see them or covered in her tattoos. She did however, manage to befriend a yeti or two and even manage to form a crude understanding of their language. Animals, creatures and the like always seemed to know better than to try and kill her- unlike humans. Even if they weren’t mortal, she thought to herself shrewdly, eyeing the woman in the fur coat who had tried killing her a week ago. She had since hidden her presence and regardless of her vaguely magical mother, it was hardly enough to try to outdo her own power.

By the time she went back to Munnar, she had a few letters- Evy’s boy was already a young lad and had apparently managed to be kidnapped or something and Imhotep was resurrected again, and the Scorpion King was also apparently woken but everything was tidied up. That boy, she reflected, will have as bad as luck as she did as a youth, she was sure. In the meantime, she sent several cards and gifts and a few letters herself to assure the woman of her health and whatnot.

She resolved to pay more attention to time, since she had already resigned herself to becoming attached to Evy, Jon and even O’Connell to a degree.

xXx

She hummed, dressed in a slinky, attractive emerald green dress, several shades darker than her luminous pale green eyes. Jon invites her, quite often, to his night club in Shanghai and well, she did like coming to Imhotep and reminiscing over that awful adventure with him and listening to whatever embellished tales he felt like regaling her with.

(And divesting him of his good booze of course.)

Her curly hair was pinned in gorgeous curly place- it was a bit longer now than she usually preferred but it was a pretty enough style for the New Year she supposed and she hummed to herself. Teacup III hissed at her in complaint under her delicate sheer shawl, only barely keeping hidden in the dim lighting. Suddenly she heard, from a few seats down where he’d briefly come up (she hadn’t even greeted him yet!), in quite a snazzy blue outfit, she heard Jon call out for someone. ‘Alex’ and she perked up a little, leaning back in her seat to take in the young man. Surely not Evy’s boy? He was yet in college wasn’t he? She had been keeping diligent attention to the letters, and she was sure in the last one Evy had been whinging about her boy not replying to her letters. She watched the young man go past, chasing after the young woman with the lovely fur stole before trotting over to Jon, only to perk up yet again!

“Jonothan! And…Honey as well!”

“Evy- wait, Honey?” Jon turned to her with wide eyes. Aging, all of them, she noticed. “Honey! I didn’t even know you were here! And Evy! Rick! You’re here!” his eyes darted over to where Alex had snuck off to, “In China!”

“Brother,” Evy hugged the man close before moving onto her. “Oh, I swear you’ve not aged a day since I last saw you!”

“Weird magics, weird genetics I suppose. What I get for fussing about in tombs.” she grinned. “I’ve read your latest book and I say, Evy, you’ve outdone yourself again!” she cheered the woman. She glanced to Jon. “And I only got here maybe twenty minutes ago. I was waiting for you to find me rather, I always come up to the bar, you know.”

“Yes yes, of course Honey!” he grinned at her, taking her gloved hands in his before turning back to his sister and brother-in-law. “You know, I had no idea he was here.” Jon said nervously and Rick grinned, teeth as white as ever.

“Who was here?”

“Who?” Jon echoed, realizing what he’d just done and she turned as a sudden commotion drew her eye. Well, drew everyone’s eye.

“Alex?” Rick turned, a serious frown taking the place of his smile.

“Oh- oh dear.” Honey murmured as she held arms with Evy. So it was Evy’s Alex then. And then it turned out O’Connell knew the man who was, supposedly, the pretty young woman’s father or something. Or boyfriend? Something or other. Evy rushed forward to her son and Jon corralled the club goers back into sticking around. Well, of course they would stay, given the reservations they had to pay for. She stayed by the bar, letting Evy and O’Connell handle things as they would.

It ended with the boy storming off and away and she raised her brows, slinking over to Jon again.

“Well I certainly didn’t expect a full and up reunion and with a good dash of rebellious son as well!” she told him and he turned a tired grin on her. “A bit of damage there, aye?” she eyed the area with the broken bits where workers were cleaning, then winked at him. “Why not let an old friend help you out with that?”

“Oh Honey, you know you don’t need to-”

“I insist- it’s been ages since I last saw everyone.” she grinned at him again. “And frankly, I’ve got even more money now than I did then!” she huffed. “What’s a little old woman like me supposed to do with it all?” she grinned at him again and he smiled, patting her arm.

The next night, she and the O’Connells, plus errant son, were crammed into a car and she giggled, leaning out of the window to watch the celebrations, leaning over Evy’s lap to do so. There had only been a brief introduction to Alex, a casual thing as though he should know who she was on sight (which of course was ridiculous- she’d never seen the boy face to face before, though she sent plenty of presents and cards for him) and she near snorted at the look of interest he gave her. Little disobedient boys weren’t something she found herself particularly interested in.

“Might be faster if we took a rickshaw.” O’Connell complained and Jon scoffed, back in good spirits.

“Oh, c’mon, it’s Chinese New Year!” he cheered and she leaned back in for a moment, her pearl earrings swinging and eyes alight. Her earrings, of course, matched the pearl necklaces she had wrapped tight around her throat. Her rings were turquoise, garnet and topaz embedded in them, all over her long silk opera gloves.

“Quite right, only happens once a year! And what a marvelous time to be had!” she laughed in delight, leaning out again.

“I swear you’ve become more child-like in your time away.”

“Away? I’ve been traveling, dear Evy, not living as a hermit under a rock. Or rather, hermit in a mansion perhaps.” she teased and had her thigh swatted in reprimand. Teacup III hissed, rearing out at the woman who used her gloved hand to casually wave it off. Her son however…

“Whoa! What the hell is that-”

“Oh, I must have told you about Honey’s penchant for snakes a hundred times growing up Alex, whatever are you making that fuss for? They’re perfectly harmless.”

“Harmless? Harmless? That’s a viper!”

“Teacup III means no harm, my dear.” she leaned back in, sitting on her heels, closer now to his face and she watched his ears go red at the proximity. Were it not for his mother, she was sure he’d be blatantly staring at her arse, well outlined in her silk dress. She had a soft, delicate stole, just like Evy herself had. Her own dress was in dark green, with a few designs of peonies towards the end and a long delectable slit up the side.

“Don’t you just love this country?” Jon sighed happily and Honey grinned, once more leaning forward over Evy to stare out at the festivities. “So many extra little holidays, and of course drinking is mandatory!”

“I can’t believe we get to see your first big discovery!” Evy cooed at her son, unable to coddle him as she might if Honey weren’t creating a sliver of barrier between.

“Ah! Yes, Emperor Han. The one who, under his reign, had the Great Wall built. United China under one firm ruler, the first Emperor. Truly, an astounding, once-in-a-lifetime discovery! And congratulations on that, young Alex.” she turned her head to look at him over her shoulder. She watched his eyes slink from her arse up her back to meet her amused eyes. He cleared his throat and looked away, muttering a thanks under his breath.

She couldn’t entirely blame him- she looked no older than he did, no wonder the poor child was confused.

xXx

“I stop by the loo for only a moment and suddenly, you’ve gotten yourselves into such a mess.” Honey sighed, arms crossed. She had come just in time to watch Alex and a young woman swing down to kick off a man in military attire who’d been holding something delicate looking. She hissed under her breath, living little golden snakes darting to her and climbing up her delicate heels to wrap about her dainty ankles. They were quite pretty, she thought, observing them for a moment before launching herself on the woman in military attire, latching onto her back for Evy to land a stunning blow to the woman’s chest. Teacup III reared up again and she had to take a second to calm her down as she forcibly pulled her weight back to yank the woman along. No need to kill her.

She climbed higher on the woman, twisting sharply and squeezing her neck with her thighs, just enough to make the woman pass out.

“It’s a eunuch, it’s a decoy!” the young rope-swinging woman cried.

“Where the hell’s the Emperor?”

“Er…I do believe he is the one holding the leads.” Honey said slowly as chinking noises started up. Then the horses started moving. “Oh, how curious.” she murmured, trotting over to examine. Evy quickly grabbed her arm, hissing warnings under her breath. Then the terracotta burst and she gasped in delight. Oh, she’s been a little bored lately anyhow. What’s another magical mystery under her belt? O’Connell and Evy had become shoot first, ask later types, she couldn’t help but notice and she watched, spellbound as some of the terracotta was shot off- and then the man (if he could be called as such) was breathingfire. She felt a thrill of delight run through her, making gooseflesh appear. She laughed a little bit and slipped onto the chariot, hidden with adrenaline coursing through her veins. It’s been so long since she’s had a good heart thumping adventure! She crept up to ride in the sarcophagus, giggling just quietly enough to avoid being heard as the leads were whipped and they were sent careening out of the building after the older man was decapitated.

She looked back after a little while, only to see Evy driving and a huge firework being aimed. She hissed in a breath, grin still wide on her face and ducked, watching then with wide eyes as the terracotta Emperor managed to kick it aside like it was nothing and it took her breath away. This, this was no weak, crumbling mummy!

She popped back up, watching in awe as an entire bus went airborne for a moment before they were quickly passing it by.

And then somehow the truck Evy was driving careened in front of them and she watched O’Connell leap back, almost fall and then wrangle himself a horse. She hurriedly ducked before she could be spotted, though she peeked, only to blink as Alex and his lady-friend were hanging off of the back of the chariot. He shouted for his son to get on the horse, Alex refused and then the Emperor did something or other to the horse because it went a little wild, throwing O’Connell off the trail and diverging. Evy’s truck slid back a little and then the Emperor set fire to a crate of fireworks.

“I’ll go after the Emperor-” she heard the woman.

“Trust me, I’ve got a little more experience with mummies!” Alex argued and she popped her head over the back again.

“Well I’ve got the only weapon able to kill him!”

“I’m not sure now is the best time to try to off him to be honest, since he’s the one driving this thing!”

“Honeysuckle!” Alex almost let go, she managed to startle him so badly.

“Good evening,” she grinned wild and broad, eyes glittering in the dark. “Or rather, exhilarating evening!” she laughed.

“Have you been hiding there this entire time?!”

“Since we left the building, yes. And where have you two been hiding?”

“We were hanging on the bottom!” Alex scoffed and she raised her eyebrows. Then he clambered up a bit more, gun cocked. “C’mon Lin, I’ll cover you!”

The girl leapt up, twisting in the air and Honey frowned and ducked down again to avoid being spotted since these two were going the full-frontal. The girl was flung back, shot, and the Emperor had detached a piece of his facial terracotta to try to knock Alex off. The girl grunted on top of her, having been flung down on her and Honey wriggled, the old bones of the decoy digging in uncomfortably. The girl flipped herself back with Alex again and Honey huffed. She was sure that if Alex hadn’t made all that noise with the gun the girl would have been able to sneak up with her specialized weapon, but she kept that to herself. She kept low for the moment. Unfortunately, they were unhooked from the chariot and the sudden push threw both the girl and Alex into the sarcophagus and she wheezed for a minute under the weight.

If they hadn’t have shown their hand so early, she could have followed them all the way to wherever they had been going! And now she couldn’t even aim a tracking spell on them since she was caught under the two bumbling dolts!

They all managed to sit up and it led them on a truly extraordinary ride and eventually through a wall where a headless terracotta (or jade maybe?) horse leapt over them, O’Connell hanging onto a banner as they skid to a, eventually, safe stop. At some point they finally managed to meet up with Evy and Jon and all of them squeezed themselves into a car. She sat on Evy’s lap, grumbling as they made it back to Imhotep and eventually stumbled out as she paid the cab that drove them. She brushed off her dress- the protective charms worked well, and she readjusted her stole properly as she looked the others over. Her hair had come out of the pretty braided bun she’d had it in, hanging low towards the bottom of her ribcage in a wild mess of silky curls. Otherwise, she looked near pristine- not a smudge or scratch on her, not even a tear in her delicate dress.

“So.” she drawled as Jon poured more drinks. “Emperor Han can breathe fire, regrow his terracotta shell, control other terracotta creatures, can summon ice…I could have sworn Evy had said you were retired.”

“Were. Had one last assignment.” O’Connell grunted, holding ice to his crotch. Well, after riding a terracotta horse, she couldn’t really say she blamed him.

“You know, I would have killed the Emperor if you two hadn’t blown my cover.” Alex growled, stalking over to his father and Honey snorted where she nursed a bottle of something acid-green and sweet tasting. “I had everything under control.”

“Perhaps your lovely lady-friend might have but you pelting him with bullets did nothing but vex him.” she turned her head to eye the woman. “And of course, alert him that you were both there, sneaking up on him from behind. So the take-away from this first attempt at terracotta-mummy extermination is that normal bullets do nothing. And that despite being living terracotta, he’s quite adept in martial arts. Which means, we need to find the mystical means with which to destroy him, and also preferably make a back-up plan as well. He seems far more capable than Imhotep and I don’t think we should go about this recklessly.”

“Well if they wouldn’t have-”

“Doesn’t matter now, it happened and we need to deal with it.” she cut off. “Finger pointing will get us nowhere fast, even if someone read from the book after I told her not to.” she said with a sly glance at Evy who grinned and rolled her eyes.

“This never would have happened if-” Alex started again.

“Ifs aren’t helping right now.” she chimed in next. “Keep your angst in your pants, Alex. We’ve got bigger problems than he-did-it-she-did-it. As I was saying- a plan. And a backup plan.”

“Tch. He’s got control over fire, water, metal and who knows what else.” the young man grunted.

“And you dug him up anyways.” O’Connell scoffed but Alex shot him a dark look.

“Hey, you’re not gonna pin this one on me, you guys woke another mummy-”

“Now stop it, all of you.” Evy huffed, tearing falsies from her lids. “No one here’s to blame anyways. Wilson manipulated all of us.” she sashayed back over to them.

“Yes, whoever that guy is, sure.” Honey snorted, emptying her bottle to set back down, resting her chin in her hand.

“Yeah, that’s true.” O’Connell practically deflated.

“I apologize for my parents.” Alex told the quiet young woman. “But I thought we worked really well together.”

Oh boy. She sniggered into her hand, gaze flicking over to Evy who had her brows furrowed. Honey slid a few seats over to whisper to O’Connell.

“Your son seems to be quite a flirt.”

“Yeah.” he responded dryly. “I noticed.” he glanced at her. “I saw him checking out your ass at least three times.”

“I think he’s got his eye now on a new target.” she glanced over amusedly.

“Except we failed.” the woman, Lin pointed out. Evy was already creeping close.

“I’m sorry,” she said pleasantly, “We haven’t been properly introduced.”

She and O’Connell shared a glance as she turned in her seat to watch with an amused grin.

“Who are you exactly?”

“My name is Lin.” she said easily. “My family has watched over the Emperor’s tomb for centuries.”

“Ah, like the Hamunaptra knights.” Honey hummed to herself.

“The Emperor cannot be killed unless he is stabbed through the heart with this.” Lin produced the long dagger she had handled before. Honey hoped it had some sort of call-back feature, if it was the only weapon with the power to kill Emperor Han. “My mother put a curse on it long ago.”

“Your mother put a…Curse on it?” Honey mumbled under her breath, frowning a little bit. There were…Very, very few people or creatures Honey had met with the ability to enchant over the years.

“Mm-hm.” was Evy’s encouraging response. “Well. A quick family meeting, Alex?” she said, pushing him over. “Sit.”

“Down.” her husband finished for her. Honey sniggered, turning in her seat to saunter over to the young woman and offering her some of her own drink.

“Pleased you meet you, Ms. Lin, regardless of the circumstances.” she said pleasantly.

“Ah, yes…Pleased to meet you.” she said, somewhat awkwardly. “You- you had managed to sneak along with the Emperor.”

“Indeed I had, indeed I had. You say you’ve been guarding the tomb?”

“Y-yes.”

“Mm. I’m not sure if you do or not, but if you’re feeling any amount of responsibility for his awakening, I wouldn’t worry about it. The O’Connells, it seems, just have the strangest habits of bringing the ancient dead back to life and endangering the world as we know it. This is the third time now, as I recall.”

“This- things like this have happened before?” the girl asked, slightly appalled.

“Oh yes. Egypt twice. The first time was a scorned priest. The second was the scorned priest, his reincarnated lover, and a deity blessed scorpion king. Honestly I’m afraid if they decide to go on a family vacation somewhere for their terrible habit of mucking about with the mystical side of things.” she sipped at her drink. She turned to the trio and Jon. “So?” she called over. “Any plans? Please tell me that’s what you were doing over there?”

Seemingly jolted back to reality, Lin quickly strode closer.

“If the Emperor reaches Shangri-La and drinks from the pool of eternal life,”

How creative, Honey thought.

“He will raise his army and no one will be safe.” Lin said seriously, trying to impart the gravity of the situation appropriately.

“An undead terracotta army. Lovely. Right, so, plans?” Honey looked to them expectantly. Jon huffed.

“Much as I’d like to stay this boyishly handsome forever, Shangri-La is a crock.”

“Just like Hamunaptra was?” Honey snorted in response. “Honestly Jon, have you learned nothing? Where’s your sense of adventure, hm?”

“I’ve had quite enough adventure, thank you.” he snorted. “And why would you need it anyways, Honey, you haven’t aged at all since I’ve met you back in ’25.”

Lin startled a little, turning to her sharply. Alex blinked a few times, looking her over.

“Need it? I don’t but I am, unfortunately, not prone to letting undead terracotta Emperors potentially revive a near impossible to kill army of terracotta warriors. I can only handle so many undead at a time you know.”

“You- you haven’t aged?” Alex stuttered. “How old are you?”

“Never ask a lady her age, Alex.” she grinned. He turned to his parents.

“And you knew about this?” he demanded.

“Well. Yes?”

“We always assumed it was something weird that happened with the Book of Life, after that…’Turned into black mist’ thing.” Jon shrugged. “I still have dreams about that you know.”

“I certainly hadn’t meant to turn into it. Probably should have known better, especially after what happened with the Book of the Dead. You know. The one I told Evy not to read from and she did anyways.”

“Will you ever let that go?”

“Of course not Evy, I would never.” she smiled sweetly. “Now. Plans?”

“The Gateway to Shangri-La lies in a mountain pass high in the Himalayas.”

“Wait- wait wait. Are there yetis there?”

“What?” O’Connell turned to her incredulously. She had her eyes on Lin whose brow furrowed in wary confusion.

“Big, white, kitty-faced yetis? Big blue eyes?”

“I- yes.”

Honey’s hand slammed on the bar. “Godsdammit, I knew it! And let me guess, someone guards the Gateway?” she leaned towards the girl who leaned back a little.

“Y-yes…”

“Fucking hell!” she threw her hands up.

“Honey?”

“I was fucking shot in the chest by an arrow last two times I went up there to see the yetis! At least now I have a reason for it.” she grumbled, rubbing at the spot where the arrow had gone through her chest. “It’s such a shame too, those yetis can be so sweet.”

“You were shot in the chest?”

“Like you’ve lived the safest life, I know you have bullet scars of your own.” she rolled her eyes at her old friend. “Anyways, Himalayas. Let me guess- big golden tower?”

“…Yes. The diamond, placed on top, will show the way to Shangri-La. Yang still has the diamond.” Lin sent her a short, wary look.

“Ah, yes…These little fellows have been talking about a diamond for some time now.” she pulled up the end of her dress to show off the small writhing golden snakes around her ankles. “Mm, so, Himalayas. How are we getting there?”

“We’ll need a plane.” Evy said with a slowly growing smile.

“Well. I know just the Mad Dog for the job.” O’Connell grinned back.

xXx

Bundled up in an enchanted heavy coat with the most luxurious fur lining and humming under her breath as she put clips in her hair to keep it out of her face, her heeled boots with the sturdy soles to keep the snow from bothering her. Runes etched on the sides for warmth, and to keep dry and for sturdy footing. Beneath her long thick coat, she wore a long thin cashmere dress and delicate floral thigh-highs. Her tattoos were very visible on her arms and shoulders, as it had no sleeves and a turtleneck.

(She very much enjoyed the feel of the silky warm fur lining against her skin and it kept her plenty warm enough.)

Strapped to her thigh, she had magically duplicated the oh-so special dagger, feeling the weak but steady buzz of the spell the girl’s mother must have infused in it.

Her thin black ‘leather’ gloves were much more deft than the thick mittens of her companions. She sighed to herself, nuzzling against the thick soft black fur. She jumped a little, barely paying attention as her companions started shouting and screaming as the plane started to sputter and their pilot flew down in a dangerous way, smacking off the side of a cliff-face and forcing them into a rocky run of it, eventually almost tipping them off a cliff. She cast a hurried, very strong cleaning spell back towards Jon and the yak, another spell to clear the disgusting air after they landed properly back on the ground.

“Everyone alright?” she asked, again stuck in Evy’s lap, her arms wrapped tightly around to keep her from shooting out of the seat in the commotion.

“Looks like it.”

“I- the yak…” Jon muttered and Honey hummed.

xXx

“Isn’t this delightful?” she called back to them as they trekked up the mountain.

“Are you out of your mind?! Not all of us have such youthful stamina!”

“Careful Jon, your age is showing!” she laughed back at him. At some point, their pilot had called in and they booked it a bit more before O’Connell stopped them all for a much needed break. They were no doubt far ahead anyways, thanks to their reckless pilot.

She grinned at the cold, thin air around them. She loved the feeling of being in high altitudes, even when she wasn’t flying. “Do you think we’ll see the yetis? It’s been some time since I’ve last seen them.”

“Are there really yetis?” Jon huffed.

“Oh yes. They’re so very soft, and incredibly warm- if you sleep in one of their piles it feels like sleeping in a fire pit. Cuddly.” she sighed happily. “As big as they are, they can be quite gentle when they’ve a mind to be.”

“As…How big are they anyways?” Evy glanced at her, shaking the freezing snow from her fur collar.

“Mm…Well, they’re mostly muscle and fur so they’re rather burly and…Well over a human’s height.” she hummed thoughtfully before pulling out her thermos to take sips of. The chai she’d brought really did help her feel even cozier despite the temperature. “Here Jon, try some of this,” she encouraged the shivering man. He grunted, taking a quick sip. His nose scrunched a little but he still made a small noise of appreciation.

“Not what I was expecting but not bad,” he offered. “Wouldn’t mind something stronger out in this cold.” he grumbled.

“Knowing your luck you’d end up tumbling off a cliff.” she teased, bumping into his side. His quirked half-smile had more lines around it but she supposed it was to be expected. The gray at his temples and while he was still quite agile and spry, not quite as limber as he used to be. But then, having a cushy successful bar to own might have influenced that as well.

“Oh you’d save me wouldn’t you Honey?” he scoffed in return, nudging at her with his shoulder before sighing. “You know, much as I missed all the adventuring and rascally running around, even some of the danger, I’m sure I’m getting to be far too old for it.” he gave a gusty dramatic sigh.

“You’re never too old for adventure, Jon.” she cooed, patting his head.

“Well I suppose one thing that’s better is that you’re a lot nicer to me now than you were back in Egypt.” he groused.

“Well you were constantly trying to dip your sticky grubby fingers into my money, don’t forget. And in my bed too.”

“Ah, if only I were so youthful again.” he said dreamily.

“There there, you’ve got a more distinguished look now.” she snorted into her drink.

“Well of course I’ve maintained my dashing looks.” he scoffed. “Maybe not quite the same way as you have, now but still.” he sniffed pompously.

“Are you still flirting with Honey?” Evy cut in, amused and exasperated in one. “I swear, you’ve been trying since-”

“Now now, what’s a little harmless banter between friends?” Jon soothed.

“We all know Jon just can’t help himself when it comes to a pretty woman. Actually, that’s probably where your son got it.” she sniggered. Evy shook her head but she was still smiling as she scooted in close to them. Honey handed over her thermos and she hummed in pleasure.

“Oh now that’s just lovely.”

“Isn’t it?” she preened. “Say, once this is all over and done with, I think maybe we should have more regular reunions. You know this whole catastrophe is the first time I’ve seen your son in person?”

“Oh I know, I can’t believe how the years have gone by! Letters just aren’t the same.” she sighed. “Why don’t you come back to our home when we’re done here? We could spend some time just catching up, going shopping maybe…Perhaps a little adventure on the side…” she added slyly, a cheeky flick to her smirk.

“I have been pretty bored the past few years,” she grinned back. “Nothing quite like the excitement back then you know? And, hm, you know the Amazon is beautiful when you get just the right time of year?” her eyes gleamed. “And you know, tales of Amazonian women and snake goddesses of course…”

“You don’t say?”

“Shouldn’t we be focusing on one extremely powerful mystical figure before planning to go disturb another?” Jon interrupted despairingly.

“Oh, you’re such a spoilsport Jon!” Honey and Evy laughed, perhaps a bit breathlessly with the altitude.