The Adventures of Lazarus Gray (17 page)

"Who?" Gray asked, though
he knew the answer. He still had to hear it.

"Femi. She lives
again."

Chapter IV

Past Lives

The Sovereign Museum of
Natural History was a sprawling structure, standing in the heart of
downtown. Comprised of twelve interconnected buildings, the Museum
housed well over a million specimens, only a relative few of which
were on active display. With a scientific staff of over a hundred,
the Museum funded nearly four-dozen scientific expeditions each
year, sending explorers out all over the globe. The Museum was
divided up into numerous displays but the most popular was the
ever-present Start of Sovereign Hall, where the origins of the city
were examined. To access this, visitors had to stride through the
huge entranceway, where they could stare up at a full-size model of
a Blue Whale which hung from the ceiling. It was an awesome view
but none of The Undying cared for it, especially not their leader,
the Princess Femi.

She led her followers past
an old man in a security guard’s uniform. He had been foolish
enough to try and stop the group from entering the museum after
hours.

Night had fallen in
Sovereign and the streets were alive with activity: the frightened
footfalls of the innocent and the stealthy movements of those for
whom sin was second nature. No one had dared say a word to the
beautiful woman encased in cloth rags or the mysterious hooded men
who followed in her wake.

The group paused at the
entrance to the Henry Jones Exhibition Hall. A sarcophagus stood in
the doorway, next to a sign that read:

NOW ON DISPLAY!

THE TREASURES OF ANCIENT
EGYPT

MUMMIES, ARTIFACTS AND
MORE

LIMITED TIME ONLY

Femi traced the letters
with her fingertips. The words slowly came into focus, just as the
English language had done. She was no longer mortal and her brain
was attuned to strange things. Language was not a true barrier any
longer. She communicated with things on a primal level now: life
and death were her constant companions.

"I need suitable clothing,"
Femi had said, which had inspired Achmed to lead her to this place.
He’d visited the exhibit, feeling a sense of pride intermingled
with disgust as he’d toured the museum. Here were the remnants of a
great and mighty empire that he adored, put on display for the
masses to gawk at.

They found the display room
quite gaudy in its appearance. Artwork and styles of clothing from
various ages of Egypt were lumped together into a mishmash of false
history and the hieroglyphs on the wall were meaningless. Femi took
note of the four mummies placed on display and sniffed
disapprovingly. All were servants who had been buried with their
masters so they could assist them in the afterlife.

A set of mannequins showed
a Pharaoh and his bride in full regalia and it was to these that
Femi strode. She smiled broadly, quickly divesting herself of the
cloth rags that covered her ample beauty. When she was naked, she
glanced over at Achmed, whose eyes were like burning coals. He
drank her in and his frequent swallowing made it clear that he
hungered for her.

"I will finally look like
the Queen I always should have been," she purred.

"Nothing can improve upon
the loveliness you already possess."

Femi laughed and began to
remove the royal garments from the mannequin. She draped them
across herself, noting that they fit perfectly, as if they had been
meant for her. The dress featured a jeweled collar and it matched
the elaborate nature of the rest of her attire. Rings, anklets and
bracelets, along with a pair of glittering gold earrings, were all
part of the mannequin’s apparel and Femi felt like she were a
goddess herself once she was finished donning them all.

She turned to face her
followers and they fell to their knees, bowing before her. "You
will be my priests and royal guard," she pronounced. "But you will
not be enough. The men of this time are strong and their weapons
are potent. If I am to rule, as I should, we will need assistance.
Let our dead brothers rise again so that they may
serve!"

Femi raised both hands and
a strange silence filled the room. Not even the breathing of The
Undying could be heard. And then, ever so faintly, came a stirring.
It became louder until it sounded like a stuck door being forced
open. A foul stench filled the air and Achmed wrinkled his nose. It
was like being in a charnel house and his eyes began to water in
response.

The four mummies in the
room jerked to life, the sunken pits where their eyes had once been
now glowing with a yellow light. With shambling feet and jerking
movements, they pushed their way out of the caskets in which they
had been propped, moving to stand before Femi. The Undying, stout
men all, looked upon them fearfully, awed by the power of their
resurrected Princess.

Femi looked around until
she saw a replica of an Egyptian throne in the corner of the room.
Mannequin slaves stood on either side of the throne, holding large
fronds with which to fan the Pharaoh or his Queen. Femi marched
toward it and sat down, enjoying the moment. After so long in her
twilight sleep, she was breathing the air again and being doted
upon by her followers. This was the ultimate proof of her victory
over the old gods, as well. They had sought to punish her for
heresy but here she sat, resplendent in victory.

With triumphant malice in
her voice, Femi declared once more, "God is dead."

***

"Shouldn’t we call the
police?" Eun asked, taking the museum steps two at a time in order
to keep pace with Lazarus Gray. Samantha lagged slightly behind,
though she herself was moving far quicker than most men could
manage.

"All that would do is put
more innocent lives at risk," Gray replied. Eun started to point
out that with all the corruption in the ranks of the Sovereign PD,
there probably wouldn’t be all that many innocents involved. He
held his tongue, however, and instead followed his employer into
the cavernous entrance of the museum. They spotted the dead night
watchmen immediately and after checking in the vain hope that he
might still be alive, the three of them began to look about with
caution.

Samantha Grace felt nervous
as a cat on a hot tin roof. She’d hated to leave Morgan alone at
the hospital but she also couldn’t stand the thought of missing out
on the showdown with Femi. When all this was done, she was planning
on mending fences with Morgan. Perhaps she’d ask him out to coffee,
assuming she could make it clear that she didn’t think romance was
– or should be – in the cards.

"We should have called
ahead," Eun said. "We might have saved this man’s life."

Gray impassively looked at
the younger man. "I’m convinced that such a thing would have only
led to more deaths. We came as quickly as we could. We can debate
this later."

Eun nodded, knowing his
employer was right. Gray allowed his aides to question his
decisions to a certain extent but ultimately he was the man behind
Assistance Unlimited.

"Chief," Samantha
whispered. "Look at that."

Gray spotted it
immediately: the sign that led into the Egyptian exhibit. It seemed
too perfect that a resurrected mummy would seek out the familiar in
a museum. "Single file," Gray commanded. "I’ll be in the front,
Samantha in the middle, Eun at the rear."

Down the corridor they
crept, hearing voices up ahead. There was also a terrible stench
that forced Samantha to pull a tissue from her pocket. She held it
over her nose but it did little to help.

When they came round the
corner, all three of them froze in place at the bizarre sight
before them. Femi sat on her throne, looking like the Cheshire cat,
with a grin that spread from ear to ear. The Undying cultists stood
before her, talking softly to each other. The four mummies shuffled
their feet, making hoarse groaning sounds in the back of their
throats.

Femi spotted the newcomers
and stood up, alerting The Undying in the process. Achmed clenched
his hands into fists but remained silent, allowing Femi to
determine how this should proceed.

"Who are you?" she
demanded, using an imperious tone of voice.

Lazarus stepped forward,
displaying no fear of the mummies who hovered nearby. "My name is
Lazarus Gray and these are two of my assistants. Earlier this
evening, you killed a woman who had hired us and left another of my
aides near death. I’ve come seeking retribution."

"You address me as if you
were an equal," Femi replied. "I do not like that."

"You might have been
royalty at some point in the past," Gray countered. "But that was
long ago. The world has changed."

"Then I shall change it
back."

Gray took a deep breath
before answering in the negative. "That won’t happen. Surrender now
and I’ll see that your return to the grave will happen quickly and
peacefully. Resist and I’ll send you to hell with a scream on your
lips."

Samantha blinked. Gray
didn’t usually use such strong language and very rarely did he go
into a combat with death as his goal. She didn’t know if it was
something related to the woman from his past or just simply a
recognition of the danger posed by Femi, but it was obvious that he
wasn’t playing around tonight.

Femi stared at Lazarus in
evident disbelief. With a sneer, she raised her chin toward the
four mummies who stood in the room, each of them smelling like an
open grave. "My undead warriors… kill these intruders."

The mummies hissed, their
bodies suddenly flooded by a devilish desire to murder. They
shambled toward the three members of Assistance Unlimited while The
Undying backed away, eager to watch the carnage. The first of the
undead creatures reached Gray, who discharged three shells from his
Hand Ejector II. The bullets ripped through the cloth and skin of
the mummy but did nothing more than stagger it. It grabbed hold of
Gray’s wrist and bent it cruelly to the side, squeezing so hard
that he was forced to drop his gun.

Eun sprang forward,
attempting to distract two of the monsters before they could gang
up on Samantha. He kicked one of them in the chest and sent it
toppling backward, where it finally smacked into the wall. He then
drove a karate chop into another’s neck but the impact sent a
shockwave of pain up his arm. Hitting the mummy felt like striking
a sack of potatoes. The mummy shot out both hands and grabbed the
young Korean around the neck, applying enough pressure that Eun
quickly saw stars.

Having witnessed the
futility of Gray’s attempts at shooting his opponent, Samantha
quickly hiked up her skirt and placed her own pistol back in her
garter. She then allowed the fourth and final mummy to lunge for
her. She grabbed hold of its arm and twisted, tossing it over her
shoulder in a classic jujitsu maneuver. The mummy landed with a
thud on the floor and Samantha drew back before diving down with
knee extended. Her knee struck the mummy in the face, crushing its
nose. The mummy made a wheezing sound as Samantha stood up again
and began kicking its head, finally reducing its dried skull to a
pile of dust.

The pretty blonde whirled
about and realized that her two male companions were not faring
nearly as well. Both Gray and Eun were grappling with their
enemies, which left one mummy free. This creature was now lumbering
toward her with malice in its glowing eyes. Samantha glanced up to
see Femi had taken her place on the throne again and was watching
the battle with obvious bloodlust.

Samantha knew that her same
judo flip would probably not work on a second mummy so she elected
to take the offensive. Now that she knew that the creatures might
have tough flesh and be resistant to pain but that their insides
were quiet brittle, she pulled her gun back out and rushed toward
her foe. She jumped into the air, wrapping her legs around the
mummy and jamming the barrel of her gun right down its gullet. She
unloaded four rounds into the beast, completely blowing out the
back of its head. It staggered before toppling over and Samantha
rolled out of the way before she could be trapped beneath
it.

Eun was close to passing
out and his attempts at breaking the mummy’s hold on his throat
were growing feebler. He thought he saw the ghost of his father
over the undead monster’s shoulder, smiling to him. In Korean, his
father seemed to be saying, "Do not give up. We will see you
eventually… but now is not your time to die."

Drawing strength from the
vision, Eun raised his hands to the mummy’s face, digging his
fingers into the toothless mouth. He focused all his strength on
pulling the thing’s maw open wider, hoping that the brittleness of
the creature’s bones would help him. The thing had dense flesh that
felt like it was padded with some thick material but it was still
an ancient thing and the bones had grown soft. Eun cried out as the
mummy’s skull cracked and the top half of its head gave way,
splitting along the seam of its mouth. The top half of the skull
flew into the air, smashing against a nearby wall and falling to
the floor in shards of dust and bone.

By this point, Achmed was
growing concerned. He looked desperately at Femi but the Princess
merely held up a hand, obviously telling him to be patient. She was
studying Lazarus Gray closely, her pink tongue darting out to
moisten her lips. Achmed felt a surge of jealousy and turned his
attentions back to the battle. He had hoped to become a consort to
Femi – after all, it was he who had restored her to life. But now
he recognized the signs of physical interest she had in Gray. If
necessary, he swore that he’d kill Lazarus himself to ensure that
no one came between him and his princess.