Catch-up time!

Previously in the Pyrrah Ananka series:

- In Facing Fearful Odds, the Book of the Dead was stolen from the Medjai by the Cult of Imhotep, who massacred most of them in the process. They were also searching for the Sacred Scrolls of Thebes, which would have led them to the Bracelet of Anubis. Perry destroyed the scrolls, and thus the bracelet remained hidden – until Alex O'Connell found it 5 years later and was therefore kidnapped by the cult.

- At the end of Facing Fearful Odds, the Medjai blamed Perry (who was set to marry Ardeth) for these losses and she left their tribe to hide in Alexandria. She went to England to visit Jonathan but discovered she was pregnant on the way, and so she never left. Her son, Faruq "Freddie" Ananka, is 5 years old.

- Ardeth married 3 women: the beautiful Laila Halawani; Shasta Naunet, the first female Medjai warrior; and Yasmin al-Dossari, Perry's half sister.

- The Cult of Imhotep knew where to find the Medjai because Beni Gabor, Perry's supposed ally at the time, betrayed them in exchange for survival. He lived and has been hiding in Cairo ever since.

So far in Seeking That Which is Lost:

- Alex O'Connell has been kidnapped by the Cult of Imhotep, who just used the Book of the Dead to revive Imhotep himself.

- The O'Connell-Carnahan crew, Perry, Ardeth and Freddie arrived in Egypt in pursuit of Alex and the Bracelet of Anubis. They have crossed paths with Beni Gabor and taken him hostage, as he knows valuable information about the cult.

- Ardeth and Perry must travel into the desert and leave Freddie in the care of Ardeth's tribe before they meet Rick's transportation contact, Izzy Buttons.

Translations:

Marhaban – Hello

Baba – Dad

Allahu ma'ana - God is with us

Chapter 9

The Saharan winds whipped Perry's hair clear of her face as they raced horseback across the sands. The way she involuntarily cracked a smile as her eyes stung and watered brought her back to when she was a young twenty-something, when adventure and danger and hope fueled every spitfire decision she made.

The ever-present thought of impending doom upon the world as they knew it almost disappeared for a brief while, as it seemed Egypt was desperately trying to breathe new life into her lungs.

The speckled grey steed she had purchased before their departure could not keep up with Ardeth's jet black Arabian, of course, so she followed him as closely as she could all the way to their destination.

It took around two hours of keeping a steady pace, but finally a smattering of tents appeared on the horizon. Anxiety swelled up in Perry's chest but she ignored it. She really, really didn't have time to worry about meeting with the Medjai today.

"Ardeth. Marhaban," came the greeting from the chieftain's right-hand man, who met them at the tent town's border where they dismounted their horses. "You bring company?"

Perry recognized the man, and strained her memory to remember his name. He was married to Ardeth's oldest sister, that she knew. The man squinted at she, perhaps recognizing her in turn, and then watched in curiosity as Ardeth lifted Freddie down from his own horse.

"Yes. Hamal, are you departing with me today?"

"Yes."

"Good. Are twelve commanders here?"

"All of them."

"Excellent," Ardeth said, and cast his focused gaze across the homes of his people. "We must visit my family and then depart as soon as possible."

He took Freddie's hand and then clearly had a second thought. Knowing what he was thinking, Perry stepped up and took the boy's hand instead. Mother and son followed the two Medjai men as they strode towards the tent in the center of the village.

"Ardeth!"

There came multiple exclamations of his name all at once by many women when he stepped through the door into the darkness of the big tent, like he was some kind of motion picture star.

Still sunblind as she followed him into the shade, Perry blinked away blotches of pink and green and squeezed her son's hand reassuringly. There was chatter all around, and underfoot she could feel thick carpet instead of sand.

Ardeth spoke calmly in their language, giving Hamal some further instructions, and just as Perry's sight adjusted the chatter in the tent died down dramatically.

She looked around. Sitting and standing between toffets and pots were the family of Ardeth Bay. His small, elderly mother in the center of the room, flanked by her four daughters; his young nephews and nieces, settled around their mothers; the husbands of his sisters, all Medjai warriors awaiting their due commands; Rahim, his younger brother, who Perry had known as a teenage boy, know bearded and standing in full garb by the other warriors.

And then there were his wives.

Perry spotted Yasmin, her half-sister, sitting quietly with a little girl on her lap. Yasmin looked how Perry would have looked were it not for the hardships of her recent life, boasting glowing, dark skin, a nourished body and crisp robes of simple linen. Her striking green eyes met Perry's dark ones, wide with surprise, and it didn't take a second longer for Pyrrah to realize the girl on her lap with those same green eyes was the child of she and Ardeth.

"Baba!" cried the girl, and shot out of Yasmin's embrace. She rushed giddily across the room and flung her tiny self at the Medjai chieftain, a flurry of black curls and small robes the color of marigolds.

Ardeth ceased his sternness at once and lifted the little girl up into his embrace. She giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck.

Yasmin got to her feet but just stood still and stared at Perry.

"Baba! Baba!"

Ardeth tried to simultaneously stifle a groan of pain and lower his daughter back to the ground safely, as two more children rammed themselves into his body at considerable speed. A boy, about Freddie's size, who pushed his sisters aside mercilessly to be able to grasp at his father's robes, and a girl clad in a pink gown, who was chattering wildly in their language in order to get his attention and perhaps begin filling him in on anything and everything her father had missed in his absence.

"Zahir, come here."

Perry looked over and saw, emerging from the back of the tent, Ardeth's second wife of the three. Shasta, donning robes of black and facial tattoos that almost matched her husband's, snapped coldly at the boy, clearly her son.

Ardeth patted him on his head and the boy reluctantly traipsed back over to his mother. As he went, Ardeth met Shasta's eyes and Perry was sure she clocked a look of resentment flickering between them.

"You too. To your mothers," he whispered, turning his attention to the little girls at his side. The one in pink moaned and complained but they both did as they were told.

Yasmin's daughter returned to her side and the other girl was met by her mother halfway. Laila, the final wife, was a vision in robes of scarlet silk and golden trim. Her kohl-rimmed eyes, Perry knew when she met her gaze, had been on her since the second she stepped in the tent.

This woman was nicknamed the woman of a thousand tears: a thousand tears wept by men that could not have her, and a thousand wept by the gods who let her fall to earth.

"Marhaban," Ardeth said, his firm voice cutting straight through the newfound tension in the tent. "I trust you have all been informed of the situation at hand."

"We have, my son," said his mother. "We are set to move west at nightfall."

"Good." Ardeth looked to the Medjai men. "You will escort them until instructed otherwise by the commanders, who will be following me south in preparation for what is to come."

The room was silent. All eyes seemed to glance between Ardeth, Perry, and the young boy at Perry's side.

"We as a people are about to face a most trying time. There are many hardships heading our way, and possibly innumerable losses, more than we may have ever faced in this difficult lifetime," Ardeth announced to all. "But we must remember who we are. We are the Medjai, and the gods have chosen us to protect this wonderful world and its inhabitants from terrors inconceivable to most. We are a strong people, a sacred people, and our ancestors before us have prepared us for this time. They watch today from Janaah as our warriors go forth and do what we were destined to do."

The young children in the tent sat quietly and listened, likely uncertain of what exactly he was referring to. Their mothers, however, were all too aware of the gravity of the situation. Many of them were crying silently by now, including Yasmin, who gracefully wiped away a tear that spilled from one of her glassy eyes.

"Now, more than ever, it is vital that we stand in unison as a family," Ardeth said.

He looked over his shoulder at Perry, who felt her face flush with heat. He reached out a hand and gestured for Freddie to step to his side.

Perry gave her son a nudge, and gingerly he went forth.

"You all remember Pyrrah," Ardeth declared. "This is her son, Faruq. He will be staying with you as you head west, and I trust that you will all care for him as one of your own."

"Is she staying with us?" Shasta asked, suddenly and coldly.

"No. Pyrrah will be assisting in the retrieval of the Bracelet of the Anubis and thus our victory in this war." Ardeth replied, his hands planted on Freddie's shoulders.

Shasta's jaw visibly tightened and she sucked in a breath. In one furious motion she turned and swept out the back of the tent, leaving her son behind. Ardeth's sister waved the boy over to their central huddle and he complied, with nobody seeming surprised by the woman's sudden exit.

"We must all say our goodbyes," Ardeth said, softer now. "Allahu ma'ana."

"Allahu ma'ana," everybody replied in unison.

The sun sunk below the great sand dunes as everybody said their farewells.

Perry took Freddie outside and she sat with him on her lap, wrapped in her embrace, and they watched the sky turn red.

"You be good, my boy," she said. "These people will take care of you until I get back.'

"When will you get back?" He asked.

She sighed and kissed the top of his head, taking the moment to inhale the scent of his hair. She closed her eyes. Her baby boy. She had never left him before.

"Soon, my love," she whispered, trying desperately not to lose her composure. She couldn't let him see her cry.

They sat for a while longer, and then Pyrrah made a decision. As hard as she'd expected this moment to be, it came to her easily and without the need for much contemplation at all.

"Freddie, I have something to tell you," she said, and moved the boy off her lap. They sat facing one another and he pushed his dark fringe off of his forehead with his small hands. She watched dimpled knuckles and said a silent prayer that she would return to see those tiny hands grow into those of a man. "But you can't tell anyone yet. Okay?"

"Okay."

She took a breath, leaned close to him and smiled.

"Ardeth Bay is your father."