UPDATED AS OF November 27, 2007: I first posted this fic a little more than a year ago. In that year my writing style has grown much, much better. I suppose I should leave the first chapter as is so that I may look back and appreciate all my hard work and practice and how it paid off for future chapters… However, there were too many grammatical errors and confusing word play I never noticed before.

So here is a (slightly) less muddled Chapter One of…

BOUND IN BETRAYAL

A/N: This is the result of falling asleep while watching The Mummy and eating chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream before bed:\

Warning: There are boys doing bad things to other boys in here. Does that cover it?

Disclaimer: I absolutely LOATHE this part of the beginning.

Summary: A boy accidentally gets himself mixed up in a supernatural battle ground. He awakens a mummy with a harsh past, and is now bound to him! What's the poor kid going to do now?

Remember:

Thoughts

"Speech"

Emphasis

Time Skip/Scene Change

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Chapter One

There is a story. It is hidden with in the sands of time. This story is almost nonexistent. If I tell it to you, you must remember to keep the tale a secret. It is not meant to be told. But, I believe, it has long since stayed silent. Now, it begins ages ago, when we called the sun by a different name…

The speaking of the sun, the light glittered over holy relics. The lime stone floors shone, and the waters of the Nile were shimmering brightly enough to harm one's eyes. There was the lingering scent of almond oil in the air. A young man stood, straight and proud, as he listened to the winds drift over his sheer robes… robes of the priest of a pharaoh.

But, for as gorgeous as this day was, a dark cloud would hang over it. For all eternity, this place would be tainted for every soul in the Shrine of Ra. The place of the high King of Egypt… Soon to be the final resting place of the Priest.

Present Day Cairo

"I can't believe this…" a teenage blond groaned. His hands were scraped up pretty bad. Sweat poured into the little openings, making it sting. Another teen with pallid colored locks opposite him looked at the cuts and bruises swelling over the filthy digits. He winced and pushed the sight back.

"Ouch, Jou," the snow white teen said, whipping his head about. The blond, apparently called Jou, wiped his hands on the raggedy burgundy shirt as the salt from his sweat began to sting his injuries.

"Is that all you can say Bakura? Ouch?" Jou had asked with a slight scowl. The summer sun reflected on his fair golden hair, but no one on the bustling streets took any notice.

"What do you expect me to do? Nurse you back to health?" the guy now named Bakura inquired sarcastically.

"Well, a little more sympathy would suffice," Jou tried while pointing at his companion, "I was the one stealing from the Ishtar Clan for your little brother."

The Ishtar Clan was almost the Egyptian mafia. It was separated like in the ancient days where the land of the Pharaohs was split by South (upper) and North (lower) based on the flow of the Nile. Malik had control of Lower Egypt and Marik had the upper Egyptian.

But back to the boys hiding in the allies…

Bakura was an orphan, as was Jou. His younger brother was named Ryou. Ryou was a rather sickly boy. The only way for the three of them to survive was to steal. Well, Jou was trying his hardest to find a real job as he was the only one who actually stole. It was incidents like earlier today that made him want to have a cleaner life.

Jou wasn't sure how, but Bakura received information that Malik (the lesser of two evils). The Mafia Leader was trading some very important artifacts. Bakura concluded that if they stole one, they could sell it to the British Museum in Cairo and estimating from the secrecy that Malik wanted to keep, they were dealing with some very big bucks. Maybe even enough that could get Ryou real medical attention.

Therefore, Jou was sent to go and steal a relic. Of course, Jou didn't want to, but he was the only one out of the three that could actually read and speak ancient Egyptian (his mother had taught him before passing on). Being the kind soul he is, Jou could not leave Bakura and Ryou's dreams to die. So he went to go swipe one… and got caught.

Lucky for the blond, they all thought he was simply in the wrong place and time. The goons merely bashed up Jou's hands for being a thief. Pressing onward though, Bakura ended up frowning and kicking the faded clay wall. "What are we gonna do now?" was his pissed question. Jou felt his lips twitch.

"We go to the Cairo museum, 'Kura." Jou explained. His roughed up and bandaged hands dug into the faded jeans the boy always wore. Little Ryou, who had bandaged poor Jou's hands, tilted his head as he watched the blond pull out a trinket. Bakura's eyes widened tenfold when the boiling heat of the sun reflected off gold.

"By Ra almighty…" the teen whispered in awe. Ryou stood shakily as he covered his mouth in a coughing fit. Jou was grinning like a total moron.

"I snuck it out; covering up what my other hand was doing by screaming like hell," he recounted his story holding out a shiny box about 2 inches wide, 4 inches long, and 3 in depth. The youngest of the brother pair noticed by the odd little shallow patches of shadows that there were glyphs on it. "The thugs missed my hand most of the time because I was stealing it." He said low to Ryou. Ryou's sea colored eyes snapped up at honey orbs.

"You did this for me?" came the shaky question with teary eyes. Jou snorted and whipped his head to the side as if insulted.

"Course I did. Who else would I do it for? Bakura?" he teased. Bakura glowered at the teen for a moment. Ryou carefully took the treasure from the blond and held it up to his brother to inspect. Bakura gave him a rare smile. It was off to Cairo…

In Cairo Museum

Jou sighed as he stood in front of an old painting taken from a grave some where in the desert. All the butterflies fluttering about in his heart kept him from reading the story the painting held. So far Jou had read, "Son of Isis Ruler of Upper Egypt" fourteen times.

"Jou!" Bakura barked. The blond jumped and spun around instantly at the noise. Although Bakura sat calmly in his seat, his hands were furiously clenched, knuckles white under the pressure. "I know you're nervous, but we gotta stay calm," he grit through his teeth. Ryou was idly swinging his legs as the air conditioner wafted over him, ruffling the silver bangs. Jou sighed for maybe the sixth time since they entered the building.

Before Bakura could grab Jou and forcefully sit him down, the Curator's door swung open. The boys leapt up, heads swiveling to see a Japanese man bow and walk out to a figure they couldn't yet detect. The man saw the three boys in the hall and bowed once more. Bakura scoffed and turned his head and Ryou inclined his head shyly while Jou ignored the gesture completely by jamming his hands in his pockets.

Once he felt the cool tip of the box of gold, his tension ease. All three boys had worn the best clothes to impress the museum director. It was natural they felt out of their element. Jou was also praying to whatever religious figure he could that the director would take this harmless little box so maybe, maybe, they could finally get a home.

As the echoing of suede shoes grew dimmer, the figure in the door way stepped into the over illuminated fluorescent lighting of the expansive foyer. The blond openly gaped at a fine featured man in his late thirties to early forties. Half his visage as covered by a veil of storm colored straight hair. The director smiled good-naturedly at them.

"Well," he said in a booming voice. "Why don't you enter? You all look so uncomfortable." The man ushered them in with a gracious sweep of his hands. Jou followed after his friends, a sudden sinking feeling in his gut. The Curator closed the door. That's it, no going back Jou thought.

The man walked to his desk, velvety locks sweeping as he did so. Bakura squinted at the shiny name plaque. "Mr. Pegasus, it is good to finally meet with you." He recited slowly and professionally. Pegasus's visible eye wrinkled in mirth at the teen's actions.

"Yes. It is good indeed," the man agreed. Then with a sudden movement, the air grew stale. All the mirth washed from Pegasus's eyes. "I hear that you boys have a something you think may have value." Ryou's tiny frame shuddered at the stale, cold business like manner and shrunk in his chair. That was when Jou decided he should present the item to the director.

"Yes… I have found something you may want," Jou started cryptically. Pegasus's only thin eyebrow to be seen rose up mockingly. Jou continued as if he had done nothing at all, "We were taking a hike through the desert one day, hoping to find something interesting. Luck was on our side that day." Jou had been reading up as much as he could to study his stolen find. So he knew what to say next to grab the man's attention.

"It appears to be a golden jewelry box. Almost three thousand years old. During the reign of the supposed infamous Pharaoh of Darkness; in fact, it has Pharaoh Yami's cartouche." Jou explained with a small grin, box in hand as he slowly presented it from his cavernous pocket.

Pegasus's eyes enlarged at the glimmering object in the pale hand. The Pharaoh's seal was showing proudly in harsh overhead bulb on the metal desk. Bakura was leaning back with his arms crossed triumphantly and Ryou was excitedly bouncing in his seat. The director stood up to stagger over to Jou's side and examined the thing carefully.

"Oh my…" he breathed. His fingers were tremulous as he traced the hieroglyphs. "I have to call in a team of experts to translate this right away." He mumbled to himself. Then quickly, the man straightened and stalked back to his phone. Jou nervously snicker and waved his hand.

"No need. I already translated it," he admitted to the director. Pegasus unabashedly stared at him. Ryou piped up in his seat.

"Trust him. He's an expert. His mom taught him," he chirped. Jou cast a furtive look to Ryou. Ryou ducked his head in apology. Pegasus put down his phone, operator calling out to see who was there.

"What does it say?" he inquired urgently. Jou unconsciously fingered the corner of the box.

"Well…" he began unsure of the glint in the director's eyes. "It has a curse on it. Something is locked inside it, a map I gather. It will lead you to The Valley of the Damned." Jou felt his stomach sink lower when Pegasus face split in a grin. Bakura and Ryou glanced over at the two confused however before they could question Jou the Curator hung up the phone with a loud click.

"Really now? Then this was just as I thought…" the man said aloud to himself, voice fading. The white haired teen threw Jou a look, Jou threw it back. A long bony finger pressed the intercom button. "Tristan, Duke, if you would please come in…" A side door none of the boys noticed opened in a creak. The teens looked over startled causing Jou and Bakura gasped. They rose in their seats and pointed at the intruders.

"YOU!" they exclaimed in chorus. Jou blinked and turned to Bakura, who was pointing to a man in a tux with a dice earring dangling off his lobe. He glanced over at Jou, finger stretched out to the other man in similar clothing with spiked brown hair.

"Who the hell are you pointing at?" Bakura questioned, arm still up in the air.

"The guy who crushed my hand. Who are pointing at?" Jou answered with a question. The blond's arm fell to his side slowly as he suddenly realized it was now rude.

"This is the jerk that tipped me off about the sale," He seethed; eye's never leaving the dice dude. Jou stared at the profile of Pegasus, the only visible part of his face clearly amused.

"What is going on?" he growled. Pegasus stood leisurely against his desk. It made Jou tense up once more.

"Silly children." The director tsked, "Didn't you now the Ishtar Clan keeps people like me from exploiting the treasures of Egypt?" Pegasus leaned against the steel edge of the desk, fondling his curtain of gray at the ends.

"So you used us?" Jou demanded more than asked. His eyes darted around the room for anything useful. It seemed their luck had run out. Pegasus let out a fluid chuckle.

"Of course! I had seen you before and knew you were the perfect person to grab some treasure," he explained, tossing back his hair, revealing a fake golden eye. The blond stumbled back, recognizing that gleaming socket from many years ago…

Ryou gasped and jolted up, coughing in shock. For a split second Bakura's eyes peered behind him to his brother, Duke took the chance to hit him over the head with the butt of a shiny gray pistol. Jou shouted out too late as the snow haired teen fell into his younger brother's arms. Jou's gaze snapped back to the enemy at hand. Pegasus simply smiled.

"Yet it seems, I have gained much more than just a trinket…" the director mused. Too quick for the panicked Jou to spot, claw like fingers launched forward and traced the younger man's jaw. The teen felt his hair rise in a cold fear. He gulped it back down, charging at Pegasus's form.

Out of the blue a sharp pain across his crown sent him rearing back. He moaned and clutched at his head, knowing the force must have been the body guard. He glanced up as he saw the Tristan character cracking his knuckles, the bones making a popping noise. Jou grimaced at the sound as he stood on his feet.

"God damn it! Let us go!" Jou shouted. The man shook his head, dreary hair swaying with the motion.

"I don't think so. I can't be too sure you won't tell anyone, now can I?" he inquired. The blond felt another growl deep in his throat. He knew that as soon as he and the brothers got out of there, they would go straight to Malik with this information. It looks like Pegasus knew that too.

"Then what do you want with us?" he managed to choke out through clenched molars. At this, the Curator gave him another eerie smile.

"More like, what I want with you," the older male corrected. Jou scoffed and folded his arms over his chest. The air was rather humid as the boy did so.

"What makes you think, I'd even help you?" the boy sneered. Pegasus nodded to the other two gentlemen in the room. Duke pulled out a gun and aimed it straight at Ryou.

Jou's eyes widened. His arms dropped and dangled at his sides. Ryou squeaked as the safety was pulled back. The younger one wrapped his arms tight around Bakura. Jou looked from them to Pegasus. "You wouldn't…" Jou's voice came out unevenly.

"They wait for my signal so I wouldn't push it," He countered nonchalantly. Jou bit his lip and looked to Ryou. The boy's breathing came in raspy, obviously terrified. Could I really risk this? With one look at the bored face Pegasus had on, Jou knew he couldn't. The blond stared solidly at the puke green tiles.

"I'll help you. Just don't harm them," he begged. Pegasus smirked and wiped his nails on his coat absently.

"Alright boys, put 'em away," the bastard ordered. Jou bit his lip as he heard the safety click back on. Duke gave a small sigh of disappointment and shoved the thing in his pocket. Pegasus bent his head down and reached for his artificial eye. Jou felt his insides twist up again. What have I gotten into?

"What exactly do you want from me, Pegasus?" Jou inquired as he heard the wince and pop come from the man's eye socket. Pegasus ignored him for the moment. He took the pure gold container and held it, rotating it around once. Then with an "Aha!" he picked up the golden eye, placing it carefully on the top of the box.

A small, orange light emitted from the eye. Jou's orbs took in the light as it melted into a white flash. His bandaged hand flew up to cover the brightness. The teen blinked seeing stars for a second. "You," Pegasus commanded, "Will take me here." Jou dazedly looked up to see an old papyrus scroll. The wording on it read…

Valley of the Damned.

Some Time Later

Jou was grumbling to himself as the camel lurched forward. His eyes scanned over the scroll one more time. "Alright! Stop your camels here!" he called to Pegasus. The director eyed him, before painfully stopping his camel. It made a grunt and paused where it stood. Jou turned to see Tristan and Duke roughly pull at the ropes Bakura and Ryou were tied to.

Jou gave a growl at them and sent his friends an apologetic look. Ryou gave him a small smile; Bakura just whispered insults under his breath. Then Ryou came into another coughing fit. Jou flinched away at the pathetic sight. "There better be a solid gold necklace for us Pegasus," Jou threatened. Pegasus merely flipped his long hair over his shoulder.

"And the Valley had better be here," the man warned. Tristan chortled and gripped on to Bakura's rope. Jou felt his blood boil despite the cold air around him. He huffed and turned his head to face the canyon the dried desert crests completed. The stars began to fade as the pink glow kept up from behind the sands. Inch by inch the ball of gasses and fire rose behind them. The sand was going from dusty brown to a bright bronze.

"Here it comes!" Duke narrated with a high voice. Ryou looked around unsure. Jou trained his eyes on the point ahead of him. Dawn flooded over him and then… The camels began baying and rocking backward. Pegasus made a noise and clung on to his animal.

Jou shushed his camel, noticing the sands parting at their feet. He gasped and eyes flew up to the Valley. Before their very gazes, pillars erupted from the earth and into the sky. Statues of the Gods crawled after them. One by one, the buildings of the shrines climbed out. Last, the tombs of Damned stood lingering over them all. The blonde's camel soon subsided.

"Amazing…" Pegasus gaped. Jou could merely find the strength to nod. Then defiance struck him hard in the chest as Pegasus eyed him intensely for a moment.

"Welcome," the boy accosted, "To the Valley of the Damned." Jou kicked his camel into action, hoping to get far away from that maddening gold orb. While he trotted into the place, there was a feeling that this was not the end of the story yet.

Scene Change

"How are you guys holding up?" Jou asked once the camp was made for the night. Pegasus had spent all day searching for something. Even though they came to the treasure room, full of so many expensive and beautiful things, the man was still not satisfied.

They had to settle down by the time the stuffiness of the midday gave way to the chilling breeze of twilight. They pitched up tents and fires just about ten yards from the main burial chamber in the center of the ruined gorge. Dozens of slabs of plastered columns were scattered across the grounds.

"I've been out of breath. But I'm doing better now." Ryou said with a tiny smile and a shiver, causing the blond to jump out of his dusty thoughts. Jou patted him on his silky head. Bakura remained silent though. Jou sighed, expecting no less. Ryou was huddled up in a blanket and Bakura was fuming right next to him, soup bowl in hand.

They sat back for a while, just gazing at the twinkling lights hovering above them by millions of miles. Living in the big and hurried cities, the boy never saw a sky so full of stars. So lovely... It seemed surreal and they felt unworthy of its glory. Jou felt his orbs drop to the sand at his feet. He was beginning to suspect Pegasus was hiding something, and that was a very bad thing when it came to his friends' lives.

"Hey Jou," Ryou whispered shyly. Jou looked up to see his eyes a little sleepy and confused. "Do you know what these walls say? The pictures look really sad." The boy was busy try to read one of the pillars across from their tent. Jou followed his look, eyes raking over the glyphs. Mental images and words came to Jou's head as he translated them.

"It says that only one person is buried here." Jou translated softly. Bakura looked up from his poorly cooked dinner.

"Only one?" he asked without thinking. Jou nodded. Then a quiet filled them only to be broken when the youngest of the three yawned. Jou pulled himself up, brushing off his pants.

"You guys get to bed. We have stuff to do in the morning," he told them quietly. Then he walked into the shadows, disappearing like he was only a tired dream.

Sometime in the Afternoon

Jou was shoved up to another wall, a large hand roughly pushed between his shoulder blades. There was a moment for the boy to adjust to the closeness of the picture-graphs. "What does it say?" Pegasus demanded. Jou sighed and felt like banging his head on the wall just to piss off the Curator.

"It says that there a chamber down the corridor. It was used for mummification," Jou drawled. Pegasus mumbled and threw the boy down another corridor. He snapped those bony fingers, making the bodyguard drag Ryou and Bakura down the corridor with him. "Tell me what you are searching for. I could find it easily if I knew what it was!" His voice was growing louder in irritation. The hallways were stuffy and smelled of very old oils; Jou felt his stomach bubble in nausea

"Read this one! It looks younger than the rest of the place," Pegasus ordered. Jou rolled his eyes. He blinked as he realized Pegasus was right. This wall was younger by a few centuries. Honey eyes traveled over the glyphs and he could probably trace the year to roughly the time of the Pharaoh Yami.

Just like the box with the map… Jou opened his mouth and slowly said the words in Egyptian to himself to be sure he had the meanings right. Pegasus stomped his foot expectantly. Jou leapt and quickly looked over to the man. "Well?" the director inquired nastily.

"The glyphs tell the story of a Priest," Jou explained, knees quaking for some reason. Pegasus smirked in victory. The teen glanced back to the wall, fingers whispering over them, dust and cobwebs tickling his soft pads. "Tells you who he was born to and how he grew up. He seems average."

Pegasus nods. Jou gulped and nodded, crossing the room, looking for the next chapter in the story. It took them nearly an hour to find it. Pegasus threw Jou in front of the partition. Jou quickly decoded the glyphs with ease. "He was an advisor to Pharaoh Yami!" Jou read excitedly.

The air around the group of people was humming with anticipation.

Jou ran down another corridor, eyes scanning for the next page to this fairy tale. Pegasus sprinted after the boy, also equally energized. The blonde's orbs scanned hallway after hallway before coming to another panel. The teen was reading the passage with wide eyes. He turned back to Pegasus, "He turned out to be a traitor…"

Pegasus watched the boy before waving at him. The male knew it was a sign to start looking again. The body guards caught up lazily, the two pastel haired brothers close behind. The man with one golden eye flicked his head toward the figure of Jou turning a corner. Soon, they all took off to go find the next part of the narrative.

Jou huffed and puffed, running around but not finding anything else in the twisted rows of hedges in an adobe labyrinth. It seemed those few panels were the only ones the priest had. He didn't know how many hours had been wasted. The wind was blowing cold enough to bite off a nose, so it had to be sometime after sunset. The teen sighed and bent over an ill placed statue of Anubis.

As he was catching his breath, the sight of his friends came into view. Bakura tugged along Ryou and they came to Jou's side, sitting in the sand. Pegasus sauntered over; the guards were lagging behind. With one flick of stormy locks, he knew there was nothing there. "That's all the glyphs you'll find on this priest, Pegasus," Jou panted. The Curator shook his head.

"No… I don't think so," he responded. Jou stared at the old man as he walked up to the statue. Pegasus pulled back his hair, and once again, there came the wince and pop of his golden eye. Jou scrambled up as the keeper sauntered over to Anubis and pressed the fake eye in a small hole Jou hadn't noticed.

He blinked as a hiss of air sounded from behind the statue. Then, slowly, the figure pulled back. The dust and sand had flown up in the air, swirling around in unplanned intricate designs. The teen stood at the opening of a dark corridor. "A secret passage…" Jou breathed. All three boys exchanged looks. Things were defiantly out of their hands now.

Pegasus popped his eye back in. He pushed Jou and the boy stumbled into the passage way. He quickly righted himself and began the trek into the sinister darkness of the path. Pegasus threw him a flashlight and Jou made a grunt of thanks. As they were walking Jou just had to know…

"How did you lose your eye anyway?" The blond peeked up at the gentlemen before realizing the man was thinking

"It is a long story. A story a young boy should never hear," he finally replied. The long was gray hair hiding his expression. For a moment, in the dark and musty tunnel, Jou pitied the Museum Director. Silently, as his foot fell across a doorway to a room, Jou decided that it wasn't a story for him to hear. There are much bigger things to worry about… Jou thought as his eyes drifted over the room.

"Oh shit," was Bakura response. Ryou nodded, wide eyed and coughed just a little. Tristan and Duke gawked. Pegasus entered and swung his arms around.

"At last!" he exclaimed, "This is what I have been searching for!" A malevolent laughter escaped the eldest man's mouth. His golden eye glinted behind strands of stormy hair. "You!" he immediately snapped at the body guards. They went rigid, waiting for a command. "Help me look for the book!" The two men saluted, shooting off, leaving the albino teens to themselves. Bakura let out a breath of relief and began to shove golden items in his pockets.

The room was expansive; huge and full of many priceless artifacts ripe for the taking. Bakura was practically giggling to himself while Ryou just took it in for a moment. The boy spied Pegasus and the body guards weave about the area. There seemed to be something stuck in the middle of the room, a large jackal character standing over it. It made the silver haired lad gulp just looking at it.

He turned back to Jou, just then noticing as Jou traced his fingers over the pictures scribbled on the walls. "J-Jou?" Ryou stuttered. Bakura looked up at the frightened voice. Jou paused, finger lingering on a glyph. He twisted around pale faced and eyes enormous. Bakura dropped a few jewels on the ground.

"What is it?" the older teen's tone left no room for sugar coating. Jou glimpsed over to Pegasus then back to his friends.

"We shouldn't be here," he clarified, voice threatening to crack. Bakura's brow came down violently. Jou felt goose bumps rise on his arms, prickling his flawless skin. "This priest was sentenced to suffer mummification alive. They sealed up his soul to stay in his decaying body. Anyone who dares awaken him… will die."

"Jou… It's not real. That can't happen. Plus, why would Pegasus want to awaken a dead guy?" Bakura joked, trying to ease his tension. Some how though, Bakura could have sworn he was seeing his misty breath as the words left his mouth. Ryou looked between the two, unsure of what to do.

"'Kura… If you awaken the mummy and survive, you are bound to him… and all his powers," the Egyptian learned one stated, eyes sweeping over to Pegasus, as he stood by the sarcophagus in the middle of the room. The older brother's heart suddenly dropped from his stomach.

"Jou…" Pegasus called in a sing song voice. The boy felt his spine straighten. "C'mere." Jou slowly made his way to the man. Ryou reached out to grab a hold of the blonde's arm. Jou stilled for a second. Then he bent his head a little.

"You and Bakura hide. This could get nasty," Jou advised him quietly continuing toward Pegasus. He heard the tiny feet scamper over to Bakura. There was a shuffling as they went to conceal themselves behind the support beams of the chamber. The Curator wouldn't care though. No, that crazy bastard shoved a book at Jou. The blond let out a puff of breath as it was shoved into his diaphragm.

Jou had looked down at the book. It was old, dusty, and felt terribly heavy. Yet at the same time it was warm and leathery, almost like the skin of a creature long past death. Identifying it quickly, the young man stared back up to the golden eyed man in disbelief. The man nodded.

"It is the Book of the Dead. Now I want you to read the passage to bring back the damned," he demanded without some much as a blink. Jou held the book close to his chest, already losing the will to take in fresh gulps of oxygen.

"If I refuse?" the blond dared to ask. Pegasus laughed manically and walked around Jou tauntingly. Fingers reached out and brushed away the hair covering the boy's ear.

"Surely you wouldn't be that stupid?" the man posed. Jou struggled for some way out of this situation by pulling the book closer to his body, though he knew that it was one of the problems. His heart felt like it wouldn't stop icing over.

"Please don't make me do this…" Jou pleaded feebly. Pegasus clucked at him and slowly brought his hands to rest on Jou's shoulders. The blond bit his lip and shut his eyes tight to keep from crying. I don't want to die!

Pegasus had pressed behind the boy and gripped the orphan's banged up hands. Jou felt his arms being pulled out from their tight position on his breast in a deceptively gentle motion. Circling his skeletal digits around the scratched up ones, the Book of the Damn was opened carefully. Jou felt so very, very used as the pages were sonorously turned. Eventually the gentlemen came to a halt.

"Read it…" he commanded softly. It caused Jou to choke on his own saliva. His clouded amber eyes opened up to stare at the hieroglyphs. They were beginning to form words in his mind as clear as day. "Go on." So Jou felt his mouth form the words slowly his orbs misted.

Jou felt some thing spark inside him, drawing out and flowing off his tongue. The words tasted bitter and the room began to grow dim. The gold didn't glitter, and the air was thick with something; a fog of something unnatural and horribly real. When the last word came off Jou's full lips, the room sung.

It started with a pulse. It shook the room and all its occupants. Their very essence was pulled out and elongated to the point where it flung back like tight rubber band. A rumbled caused them all to jump. Then there was a bang… and in a flash, a violet light consumed the room, causing them to see nothing. A loud burst and one more bang sounded just in front of Jou.

Jou felt himself lose all sense of reality. The lid of the coffin had flow off and shot passed them, scattering dozen of treasures. But the boy couldn't care less for the worldly possession that caused so many good men to become fiends. Instead, the blond was much more captivated by the rotting, moss brown flesh of what was once a hand coming to lay of it's own accord on the side of the sarcophagus.

In the swirling dust fairies reflected by the light off the gold, a silhouette arose. Dead, decaying flesh of what may have been a tanned man was stretched across fractured bones. What was left of mahogany color hair dangled in a stringy manner; ancient linen from the bandages was eaten away and hanging limply about the monster. "God help me…" Jou breathed as his bronze orbs locked with unholy ice blue.

But God was not there. No, not in the Valley of the Damned.

TBC

A/N: Oh wow. This is a weird one. It's going weird places. FEED BACK PLEASE!