#pipyna

Reyna rolled her eyes, looking at Jason unimpressed, then looked over to Piper as if asking her opinion.

Piper just stared, blinking. Her kaleidoscope eye were wide, showing off every colour when usually only one or two would be dominant. Ms. Arellano stared at her awkwardly until finally she cleared her throat.

Piper coughed, avoiding eye contact with Ms. Arellano, “Yeah, you look...good, very...nice.” She coughed again and moved, turning to pretend to check on the camels.

Behind her back Jason gave Reyna a smirk, wiggling his eyebrows. Reyna glared at him, glad that the veil was covering to face to hide her blush.

***

 Sahara Desert, East of the Nile River

Reyna had thought that riding a camel would be similar to riding a horse, something that she’d done as a child in London. But it was different and strange. Instead of riding one leg on each side (which Reyna had always preferred to side saddle), you rode on top of the hump, your feet dangling down in front of you. At first it had been weirdly uncomfortable, but eventually she got used to it, even enjoyed it.

There was a deep wind moving over the desert as they travelled. Every now and then Piper would make a sharp turn, muttering under her breathe, and Reyna prayed that she actually knew where she was going like she said.

   Eventually she pulled the shawl off her head, and the veil. They were very pretty and she kept them, but the breeze on her skin was too much of an opportunity to pass up.

When they’d made another sharp turn, Reyna couldn’t help but lean forward on her camel, “You’re not lost, are you?”

“What?” Piper turned back to look at her, blinking when she noticed that Reyna’s shawl was off and her hair was blowing around her in the wind, like a halo. “No, no. We’re right on track.”

“Good.” Reyna nodded, “Cause we lost the map.”

“I am the map.” Piper smirked, turning back to leading her camel.

“Wait, wait.” Jason said, hitting his riding crop on the camel to catch up, “You lost the map?”

“I didn’t lose it!” Reyna defended herself, “Those men took it. And the puzzle box too, no doubt. That or it’s sitting on the bottom of the nile.”

“Well no.” Jason blushed, digging into his jacket. Finally he pulled out the hexagonal puzzle box, “I was gonna...well, no matter.”

He handed it to Reyna, who was giving his a stern look.

“Whats so special about that thing anyways?” Piper asked, frowning at the box, “I mean...the map was something. But without it it’s just an empty box.”

“It’s still ancient.” Reyna reminded her, “It might not be treasure, but it’s still worth something. Plus there’s something weird on here...”

“The name.” Jason added.

Reyna rolled her eyes, “Yes, Jason, thank you.” 

Piper looked at them with genuine curiosity, “What name.”

Reyna kicked her camel slightly, moving up so that she was side by side with Piper.  “Hamunaptra was an Old Kingdom city at first, so it’s very old. But most of the architecture is middle kingdom and new Kingdom - but never mind that. It was abandoned at some point during the New Kingdom, nobody knows why, according to myth. But not many people would’ve lived there even was it was a city. It wasn’t meant for living...it would’ve been more like a giant temple. But the point is, the city flourished when the Egyptian Civilization did.”

“Has this history lesson got a point?” Piper asked.

“Yes.” Reyna rolled her eyes, then pointed to a part of the puzzle box, “This is a cartouche. It’s a way of writing a name, usually of important peoples: Pharaohs, priests, etcetera. But the name in this Cartouche is greek: Perseus.”

Piper nodded, “The Greek Hero.”

“Well, yes.” Reyna nodded, “But probably not the Perseus, seeing as he’s fictional.”

“So is Hamunaptra.” Piper pointed out with a raised eyebrow.

“Well....yes.” Reyna conceded, a grin covering her face. “But I’m still fairly certain that this wouldn’t be that Perseus. But that’s not what’s interesting. There’s two things. One: How’s it written. This...Perseus obviously was a man of great importance. And Two: He’s someone who has a connection to Hamunaptra.”

Piper’s eyebrows were furrowed, “So?”

“So?!” Reyna looked at her in confusion, “So! Egyptians weren’t in the habit of giving their children greek names. Maybe this...Perseus, can prove that there was Greek Influence in Egypt long before Alexandra the Great conquered. I mean, yes...” Reyna nodded, “There was open trade between them, but for a Greek to be a great leader or priest...it’s fascinating.”

“If you say so.” Piper shrugged.

“I do say so.” Reyna stood up straighter, “I am the expert.”

Piper snorted, “That you are. Anymore interesting hieroglyphs on that thing?”

Reyna looked at it, shaking her head, “No, it’s weird. The rest of it is smooth, anything that used to be here would’ve been worn down by the sand, but the cartouche...” She frowned, “It’s pretty clear.”

“Hmm, interesting.” Piper said dryly.

Reyna scoffed and placed the puzzle box into her robes, “You don’t have to pretend to care you know.”

“I’m not pretending.” Piper said sincerely, “I know there’s something weird with that city. Maybe it’s a curse, or maybe I’m crazy.”

“I don’t think you’re crazy.” Reyna said quickly without thinking, but instead of blushing and ducking her head, she kept her eyes firm.

Piper chuckled, “Well you’d be the only one.”

“How’s that?” Reyna asked, confused.

Piper snorted, “Well look at me. I don’t actually scream, ‘well balanced lady’. I cut my hair when it annoys me, I wear men’s clothing, which is more comfortably then you’d think, and I’m definitely not wearing proper undergarments.”

Reyna blushed at that, trying to look anywhere except at Piper’s chest to see if she could confirm this statement. Piper noticed and grinned.

“Can I ask...” Reyna said, trying to change the topic, “How did you end up here? You’re American right?”

Piper nodded, “Yes, but I’m not gonna just spill my life story to some woman I just met.”

“Not even one who saved your life?” Reyna asked, looking at Piper with a flirtatious grin.

Piper let out a laugh, her eyes sparkling in the sunlight, “Touché, Ms. Arellano. Although, in all fairness, I am taking you to Hamunaptra.”

Reyna chuckled, covering her mouth with her hand in the ladylike fashion that she’d been taught, nothing like the open mouthed laughter that Piper would let out. “I guess that is true. So what could I bribe you with to tell me your story?”

Piper raised her eyebrow, grinning at her in a lecherous manner. Reyna stood her ground, trying not to show how much her gaze affected her.

After a few minutes of eye contact that made Reyna feel warm in unspeakable places Piper chuckled and looked forward on the camel.

“What? Leave me to rot in that god forsaken city!” She slammed him further into the barrels, “You’re the one those American’s spoke of. You’re taking them to Hamunaptra. So whats the ploy? Hmm? You take them into the desert and leave them there to die?”

“Unfortunately no.” Octavian whined, “These three, they’re smart. They’ll only paying me half, and half when they get back to Cairo. They’re dead serious too. Hired themselves a fancy Egyptologist and everything.” Octavian struggled slightly, trying to get out of Piper’s grip, but he wasn’t going anywhere. “What about you? Why’re you going back to that city?”

Piper bit the inside of her cheek, turning her head to see Ms. Arellano standing beside a horse, petting it. Her face as no long angry, but soft and serene. She must’ve caught her staring and turned to look at her, giving her a small smile, before leaving returning to her room.

Piper turned back to Octavian, “See that girl over there. She saved my life.”

Octavian nodded and Piper stiffened when she saw the look in his eyes as he looked Reyna up and down.

“She’s nice.” Octavian smirked at her.

Piper laughed, but it was forced. Octavian missed this and laughed back. Piper sighed and patted Octavian on the shoulder, then gripped his shirt there.

“Goodbye Octavian.”

And with that she grabbed his hip, twisting and tossing off the edge of the boat.

She moved back to her bag with a pleased gin as she heard his cry, and the splash of the water.

***

Reyna returned to her room, changing into a long white nightgown. She let her hair out of it’s usual braid, and started to brushed it out, reading out loud as she tried to take her mind off of stupid Piper Mclean.

“Oh come off it!” She growled to herself out loud, “It wasn’t that good of a kiss.”

She stood in front of the vanity, pulling her brush through her straight hair which feel down to her breasts. She wrinkled her nose, wishing that she had a bit more curl to her hair. For fancy events she used to curl it, but it would be easier if it stayed that way.

She put her brush down on the vanity, but it fell to the floor. She groaned and leaned down, picking it up.

When she looked in the mirror, there was a man standing there, right behind her.

Immediately Reyna screamed, ducking when a sword flew over he head. She moved to run but the man was quick, grabbing her arm and pinning her to the wall, the sword pressed to her throat.

“Where is the map!” The man asked, his face and body covered in layers of black. Reyna could make out tattoo’s across the man’s face in Arabic, Egyptian and greek, but her mind was racing a mile a minute.

Without thinking she nodded her head to the small table where the burnt map lay.

The man took note of it, but turned back to Reyna, just as threatening, “Where is the key?”

“Key?” Reyna panted, trying to remain calm, but keeping her eyes on the curved sword underneath her chin, “W-What key?”

In that moment the door to her room burst open. Both her and the man turned to see Piper standing in the doorway, pointing her gun towards the man.

Reyna took advantage of the distraction, grabbing the man’s forearm and pushing him away, ducking as Piper took her shots, taking out the man. Reyna ducked behind Piper as she continued to shoot.

One of the bullets hit the oil lam, and Reyna gasped as the curtains caught fire. She knew they were in trouble now - there wasn’t much on this boat that wasn’t flammable.

Reyna was vaguely aware that someone was shooting back at them, but her mind was on autopilot, running out into the hall and grabbing one of Piper’s suspenders and yanking her out after her, running down the hall.

“Who the hell are they?” Piper yelled as they ran, shooting every time she saw one of the men in the black.

Reyna shook her head, “I dunno, they’re after the map!” She paused, stopping in her tracked, “The map!”

She moved to go back to her room, but Piper grabbed her arm, forcing her back, “I am the map.”

“Oh...great!” Reyna mumbled sarcastically as they ran down the hall.

They move to the top deck, noticing that the fire had already spread quickly.

“What’re we gunna do?” Reyna gasped, looking at the ship. 

Piper looked around, biting her lip, then turned back to Reyna, gripping the top of her arms and she forced her to look her in the eye, “Do you know how to swim?”

Reyna blinked, “Well yes, when the situation calls for it.”

“Trust me.” Piper said, “The situation calls for it.”

And with that Piper lifted Reyna up and pushed her over the side of the boat.

***

Piper heard the splashing and swearing below her and smirked, knowing that Ms. Arellano was alright. She’d be pissed off later, but she was alive.

She turned, knowing that she had to collect her Dufflebag. She ran along the deck, trying to avoid everyone as she ran towards the table where she left her bag. 

She saw Jason and the Americans quickly jump overboard and let out a breath of relief. Grace would make sure Ms. Arellano was all right.

She ran down until she found the table where she and Ms. Arellano had been speaking earlier. Someone had cut the horses loose, and the fire was slowly consuming everything.

She grabbed her bag, swinging it over her shoulder.

“Katoptris!”

She turned and raised an single eyebrow. It was the prison Warden, the one who’d condemned her to hang. She wrinkled her nose at him.

But he was looking at her with wide terrified eyes, ‘What do we do?!”

She patted him on the shoulder, “Wait here!”

And with that she climbed over the edge of the boat and plunged into the water.

As she made her way towards the east bank of the river she counted to thirty before she heard the tell tale splash of Mr. D jumping into the river behind her. Maybe he wasn't as stupid as he looked.

Piper got to the shore, seeing a soaking wet Ms. Arellano and Jason Grace. She tried to ignore the way that the white nightgown that the women was wearing had gone transparent and clung to her body. Piper swallowed hard, and pushed herself to her feet.

Ms. Arellano watched the flaming boat drift down the river. “I’ve lost everything - All my clothes....my books!”

Piper ignored her, looking across the River to see Octavian working with the horses from the boat. She wrinkled her nose in annoyance as she saw him working with the group of Americans.

“Hey there Katoptris!” Octavian called, sneering, “Looks to me like we’ve got all the horses!”

Piper felt indignation ball up inside her, and smirked, “Hey Octavian! Looks to me like you’re on the wrong side of the River!”

She watched with growing amusement as Octavian blinked, realizing that he’d washed up on the west side of the bank. Piper knew the river well and they’d have to go upstream in the wrong direction a few miles to find somewhere to cross. It gave them enough of a lead that she felt confident.

“Well now what?” Grace asked, looking quite confident despite the fact that they were stuck on the edge of the Nile.

Piper let out a breath, “There’s a village that way, “ She pointed downriver, “About half a mile. We’ll be able to get camels there, and food.”

But she was...different.

Reyna could only gap at the woman in front of her. She still wore men’s clothing which was inappropriately tight on her thighs and left little to the imagination. But her skin was clean and seemed to shimmer, her hair, while still choppy and braided with strange odds and ends (Was that a scorpion?), was cleaned and brushed and rested lightly on her shoulders. On top of all that she was wearing makeup, something which Reyna hadn’t imagined seeing this woman wear in a million years.

Katoptris looked at Reyna’s gapping face and smirked, obviously seeing how out of breath she was.

“Well, hello there Ms...Katoptris.” Jason greeted, looking awkward as he didn’t know if that was her first or last name. Katoptris didn’t move to correct him and instead nodded towards his face.

“No hard feelings?”

“Nah.” Jason waved her off, “Happens more than you’d think.”

“I doubt that.” Katoptris quipped, then winked once more at Reyna, walking up the plank and onto the boat.

Jason looked at her, then at Reyna and grinned, “Oh yes, not much to look at.”

“Oh, shut up Jason!”

She turned to move onto the ship only to be stopped by a short man with a fez, who smirked at her. “Good day, Ms. Arellano.”

“Mr. D.” Reyna groaned at the prison warden she had promised 50% to. “What’re you doing here.”

“Protecting my investment.” He glared, before making his way aboard the boat.

***

The Nile River

Katoptris walked along the boat, her green duffle bag swung over her shoulder. She knew she had a room somewhere on this boat, but she hadn’t cared to look for it. She’d find it, or at least she’d find a bed...eventually.

She heard the sounds of laughed and walked into what seemed like a party area, a few scattered tabled and a bar. She recognized the man, Grace, who came with Ms. Arellano, and walked over.

“Hello gentlemen.” She grinned cheekily at the group that Jason was playing cards with. They were all fairly good looking and she might have come onto them if she was into dick.

“Ma’am.” The one in the middle answered. He had sandy blonde hair and a scar down his cheek. The man to his left was Asian, an eyepatch over his eye and on his right was a tall man who looked similar to the blond, but with a dark brown hair. Al three of them screamed ‘treasure hunter’.

“Ah, yes Hello there Katoptris.” Jason grinned at her pleasantly, but Katoptris could tell he was drunk, “Yes, meet my friends: Luke Castellan, Ethan Nakamura, and Chris Rodriguez.”

“Nice to meet you.” Katoptris tilted her head. 

“Wanna join us?” Luke asked her pleasantly.

Katoptris looked at him, unimpressed, “No thanks gentlemen. I’m not one for gambling.”

“Really?” Chris Rodriguez smirked, “Well how’s about five hundred american dollars that we get to Hamunaptra before you do?”

Katoptris felt a cold pit in her stomach, “You’re going to Hamunaptra?”

“Yeah.”

“All the way too Thebes huh?” She tested, “Long ways.”

The three men exchange amused glanced, “We’ve got word that the city ain’t down by Thebes, but by Memphis.”

“Hmmm.” Katoptris nodded, her bad feeling getting worse. “And who says that we’re going to Hamunaptra?”

“He does.” All three said in unison, pointing to Jason, who looked at Katoptris sheepishly.

Katoptris rolled her eyes, “Yeah, well. What makes you so confident that you’ll get there before us?”

“We’ve got ourselves a man whose actually been there.” Nakamura said confidently.

Jason perked up, ‘What a coincidence cause K-” 

He was interrupted by Katoptris lifting her bag over her shoulder, smacking Jason in the shoulder. He got the hint and quickly quieted down, mumbling about whose hand it was.

“Well then.” Katoptris smirked at them, “Deal.”

And then she left them alone, hoping that Jason wouldn’t spill all their secrets.

She continued to wander around the boat, wondering where the brown haired beauty, Ms Arellano was.

***

Egyptian nights were cool, but Reyna was from England. The slight breeze from the nile waters was still very warm compared to the freezing nights she remembered from her childhood, long before her father had left her mother and packed up her and her sister, moving to Egypt to work at the museum.

But all the same she grabbed a shawl and covered her arms, partially for the cold and partially because of the less then pleasant look of the men on the ship.

Jason had escaped to the upper level of the ship where she could heard the loud drunken cheering. They were playing cards with a group of americans whom she’d met earlier. They seemed nice enough, if not a bit brash. 

And Katoptris...well Reyna both hadn’t seen the Egyptian and hadn’t been able to get her out of her head. She tried to focus on the book in front of her, making sure she knew everything possible both about Hamunaptra and what she was looking for.

A loud bang caught her attention.

She yelped, looking up to see a large green duffle bag on the table in front of her. She looked up to catch the smirking look of Katoptris, “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.”

Reyna didn’t believe her, but didn’t say anything. Instead she just raised an eyebrow in question and greeted, “Ms. Katoptris.”

“Just Katoptris, please.” The woman said, sitting across the table from her, “Ms. Katoptris was my mother.”

Reyna took that information in, nodding slightly, and turning back to her book, honestly not knowing what to say to her. Did she want to talk? Or was she just here to look through her bag?

“Actually...” Katoptris continued, looking a bit uncertain, “It’s Piper.”

“Piper?” Reyna repeated, confused.

Piper nodded, “Yep that’s my name. Katoptris is more of a....a nickname. Comes from this.” she gripped one edge of her bag and ripped it open. Reyna could only gap as she saw a small arsenal of guns and bullets lining the inside. 

But what really caught her attention was a beautifully crafted bronze dagger.

Reyna motioned to it, “May I?”

“Sure.” Piper smirked, her eyes challenging her.

Taking up the challenge, Reyna took out of the dagger, studying it carefully. It was ancient, that’s for sure. No one used Bronze in their weapons anymore - except maybe for decorative purposes.

“It’s Greek.” Reyna said after a while, eyebrows furrowed, “Old too, Mycenaean period. Here..” She pointed to the writing on the bronze blade out to Piper, as if she hadn’t seen it a hundred time, “Linear scripture, Linear B to be specific. It’s a tricky distinction - but...I can’t know for certain what it says...Linear B is still be deciphered.”

“It says Katoptris.” Piper answered her softly, her coal lined almond eyes searching hers, but Reyna couldn’t distinguish what they said. “It means ‘Mirror’. And it’s said to have belonged to Helen of Sparta.”

Reyna raised her eyebrows at that, “Really?” She looked down at the dagger in her hand, weighting it, “It’s thats true, then this is worth a fortune.”

“Priceless.” Piper confirmed with a small smile, looking at the dagger with more fondness then Reyna had seen her give a human since she’d met her, “But some things were meant to be used.”

And with that Piper reached over and took the dagger back, hooking it into the bag.

Reyna looked at her, confusion written all over your face, “So you’re not looking for treasure then?”

“Oh sure.” Piper shrugged, “I love treasure as much as the next person. Treasure equals money, money means food. And I happen to like food.”

“I’ll pay you.” Reyna said quickly.

Piper narrowed her eyes at her, “I’m not here for the money. All the money in world wouldn’t make me go back into that city. I already told you why I’m coming.”

Reyna looked at her strangely, remembering her words from before, “Most people aren’t so noble.”

“Maybe I’m not most people.” Piper snapped, unloading one of the guns and loading it slowly. Reyna kept quiet, knowing that she’s offended her somehow.

She went back to her book, but her eyes kept focusing over the top, at Piper who was polishing her gun with a dirty rag. finally after what seemed like ages Piper spoke again.

“So why do you want to go to Hamunaptra?” She asked, “I mean, you don’t exactly scream ‘treasure hunter’.”

“Im not.” Reyna shook her head, her eyes brightening in enthusiasm, “There’s a particular artifact that I’m after. It’s called the Book of Amun Ra and it’s said to have all of the rituals of ancient Egypt. It’s supposed to be pure myth, how can it not. All legends say it was buried in Hamunaptra.”

Piper’s lips turned up in the corner, “And I suppose that it’s supposed to be made of pure gold doesn't interest you?”

Reyna grinned at her, “You known your Egyptian history.”

Piper tilted her head, “You hear things around. I’ll tell you though, I didn’t see anything the last time I was there except for stone and dirt.”

Reyna raised an eyebrow dubiously, “And that’s why you’ve brought the Queens arsenal with you?” She gestures to the duffle bag of weapons in front of her.

Piper closed the barrel of her gun with a snap, then placed it in her hip holster, “You might not believe in Curses, Ms. Arellano. Hell, neither do I really. But there’s something out there. Something evil...” She looked a million miles away, until finally she shook her head, “Doesn't matter - There’s other dangers in the desert. Bandits, desert men...it doesn't hurt to be prepared.”

“Suppose not...” Reyna let out a breathe, bitting her bottom lip. “So...Is there a last name? Or is it just Piper?”

Piper chuckled, “No, It’s Piper Mclean.”

“Well then, Ms. Mclean.” Reyna continued, starting to feel a bit flustered, “I feel I must ask...at the prison why did you..” Reyna blushed, trying to avoid eye contact, “Kiss me.”

Piper raised an eyebrow, looking amused at her discomfort, “I was about to be hanged! It seemed like a good idea at the time.”

Reyna felt a surge of indignation and a rage that she couldn’t quite explain. The red in her cheeks, which had been caused by embarrassment was replace by anger as she suddenly stood up, and stormed away fro the table with a aggravated sound.

“What did I say?” Piper asked, but Reyna just ignored her, stomping towards her bunk for the night.

She suddenly realized how very alone she was in the storage room. What if it was a robber? She was by no means stupid but when it came to physical confrontations, well...

She swallowed and took one of the torched off the wall, walking to the Sarcophagus closer to her. It was mostly Egyptian in nature - judging by the glyphs she assumed it from from further east, perhaps near the religious capitol of Tanis.

Reyna lowered the flame, noting the way it reflected off the three thousand year old gold. She swallowed as she raised it into the sarcophagus, just able to see a glimpse of the dried flesh barely bound together by rotten linen

And then the mummy snapped straight up into a sitting position.

Reyna screamed, jumping back before she could hear the sounds of laughing echoing throughout the room. She clutched her chest as she tried to get her heart rate under control.

“That was not funny.” She glowered, recognizing the laughing voice.

A man sat up in the sarcophagus, throwing aside the mummy carelessly as he pushed himself up. His blue eyes were dancing with amusement as he pushes his bright blonde hair out of his face.

Reyna sniffed the air and narrowed her eyes as he stumbled out of the artifact, his eyes unfocussed, “Have you been drinking?”

“Right there, Baby sister.” The man grinned, almost falling over himself as he sat down on the base of one of the many marble columns in the room.

Reyna huffed, crossing her arms, “I’m not your baby sister, Jason. And what-” She snapped her fingers in front of his eyes, trying to keep his focused, “Exactly do you think you’re doing! Trying to make me lose my job?”

“Oh lighten up.” He rolled his eyes, “I found something.”

“I doubt that very much!” Reyna glared, moving to straighten up his tan suit jacket, noting that his tie was mysteriously missing, “You come to me three times a month with some sort of new ‘artifact’ that you’ve found, only to find that you’ve been taken in my yet another scam and are broke to boot!”

“No, but this time...I’ve really found something!” He whined, reaching into his coat.

“Look Jason just-” She paused when he pressed something under her nose. She gasped, looking down at the dark stone of the device in front of her, “What...”

She snatched it out of his hands, holding it carefully in her hands. It was hexagonal in shape, and dark grey - nearly black. She could see etchings in the stone, like there had been writing once upon a time - but time and sand had worn it down smooth, and only a few symbols remained.

“It’s Egyptian,” Jason said quickly, sounding much more serious, but there was still that faint stink of alcohol on his breathe, “But...check this out.”

He pointed to something on the side of the box. Reyna leaned in closer, “A cartouche...?”

“Exactly.” Jason said, looking giddy, “But check out the name.”

She read it over, and her eyes widened to an enormous size, “No way...”

“Exactly what I thought.” Jason nodded. 

Reyna looked over at him, “It could be Ptolemaic, Macedonian....even late period.”

“Well yeah.” Jason said with a frown, “But what if it’s not!?”

Reyna bit in the inside of her cheek. She didn’t think she could handle the humiliation of handing yet another useless artifact to the museum director.

But as she studied it further she noticed something strange about the box. “What’s this...”

She twisted the top and gasped. It opened up into a star like shape, with strange indentations on the edge. But it was what was inside that caught her attention.

“Jason..” She gasped, slowly lifting the folded piece of papyrus, “I think you found something...”

***

“It’s a map.” Reyna explained to the man behind the desk. He had long hair and a scraggly beard and looked the exact opposite of what one would normally expect from a museum director. But Reyna knew that the man was rather brilliant.  She moved around the desk and pointed, “Here...this is Tanis, but here’s the exciting thing. Alexandria isn’t on here.”

She pointed to the area of the map, which showed all of lower Egypt as well a the spread of the Nile Delta. On the outcrop of land where Alexandria usually sat there was nothing.

“So I’m thinking it pre-dates Alexander the Great’s conquest of Egypt.” She said.

“Most likely.” The Director nodded, not knowing the significance of that as of yet. Reyna noticed that he seemed rather uncomfortable, twitching in his seat.

“I think it leads to Hamunaptra.” Reyna said quickly, feeling like she’d just let out a huge breathe of air. Before the Director could call her crazy she leaned forward and pointed onto the map, “See here, the name...”

“City of the Dead.” The director translated, still looking fairly unimpressed, “Ms. Arellano.. Hamunaptra is a myth. A story-”

“Wait!” Jason looked between them, his baby blue eyes glistening with greed, “Are we talking about...the Hamunaptra.”

“Yes!” Reyna nodded, looking at the director, “I know that it’s been thought of as myth, and I’ve been doing research-”

“It’s not your job to do research.” The Director reminded her harshly, but not unkindly.

Reyna winced slightly, “I know...I know. But I’ve been thinking. Most people believe that the city was near Thebes, but in my research I’ve been thinking that the city might be based further north, closer to Memphis.”

“Ms. Arellano.”

“Look.” Reyna interrupted, knowing that this would be the only chance she had to prove her point, “I don’t believe in...curses or anything of the sort. But if the city is real...”

“Then the treasure could be real too.”

They both turned to Jason, who was practically drooling over the idea of gold.

She looked over at the museum director. He was holding the map over a candle, trying to get a better look at it.

“The treasure of Hamunaptra....” Jason continued, his eyes a hundred miles away, “The collected gold of the Pharaohs of the old Kingdom, all in one place...”

“Or so they say.” Reyna continued.

A gasp from behind her brought her attention to the director. She cried out as she saw that the candles flame had shot to the thousands years old papyrus. Immediately she grabbed it from him and quickly smacked out the flame.

She brought it up, looking at it desperately, “You burnt off the location of Hamunaptra.”

The Director let out a sighed and turned, moving to wheel his chair out from behind the desk, “It’s for the best Ms. Arellano. Many a scholar has wasted away their lives looking for that city. Trust me...it’s not worth it.”

***

The next day Reyna sat in the passenger seat of Jason’s car as they wove through the busy streets of Alexandria. A few times Jason honked the horn, yelling at the locals, then speeding up as they recognized him.

“Made a few friends have we?” Reyna winced as a man started to yell at them in a weird mixture of Greek and Arabic. She pressed her wide brimmed hat down a bit as the sun blazed overhead.

“Er-” Jason looked a bit nervous, “Yes about that.”

“What?” Reyna asked him warningly.

Jason winced, “I was thinking about how The Director burnt the map, right? And I was thinking maybe there’s someone else who’s seen it and knows where it is.”

“Like who?” Reyna frowned at him, “You’re the one who dug it up...no one else but you and me have seen it.”

“Yes, well...about that-”

“Jason!” Reyna gasped, rubbing her forehead. A headache was starting to form behind her eyes, “Why am I even surprised?”

“I got it off this broa- woman.” He cleared his throat, noting Reyna’s offended glare, “This woman in a game of chance...”

“And this game of chance?” Reyna asked, glaring at him, “Would it happen to be called ‘pickpocket’?”

“Ahha!” He chuckled, turning the vehicle down a street, “You know me well Baby sister.”

“I’m not your baby sister.” Reyna said without thinking, but her hopes were high, “Do you know where this woman is now?”

“As a matter of fact.” Jason winced, “I have a fairly good idea.”

***

“Jason Grace!” Reyna hissed under her breathe as he lead her through the prison yard. “Who exactly is it that you stole this thing from?”

“Her name’s Katoptris and she plays a mean hand.” Jason said, leading her forward.

Reyna frowned, trying to ignore the moans of the other prisoners in the open air yard. She moved forward, catching attention of the Prison warren, “Excuse me, Sir. What exactly is this...Katoptris doing here.”

“Ah, I do not know.” He shook his head which had a white cloth hanging from it to block the mid-day sun, “But when you called about her, I asked and she said, ‘I was just having a good time’.” He chuckled, amused as he brought them over to a the bars.

Jason stayed back as Reyna moved forward, peering into the bars.

A door at the back of the cell opened and two guards came in dragging a woman between them. Reyna gapped at her. 

She was small, thin with wide hips but no breasts, something she could see very clearly through her mans clothing. Her hair was choppy and a mess. Covered in dirt and sand just like the rest of her. Her skin was dark, Egyptian most likely judging by the dark almond eyes. 

“This is the woman?” She asked Jason, who nodded.

“Who’re you?” Katoptris asked, raising an eyebrow at them, trying to look in control despite the fact that she was a prisoner. Reyna was slightly shocked to hear an American accent.

“Right, yes...” Jason walked forward, “My name is Jason Grace and this is my colleague Reyna Arellano.”

“Do I know you?” The dirty women interrupted. 

Jason swallowed, “I’ve just got one of those-” He was interrupted as the woman reached through the bars and punched him in the face, knocking him into the dirt. One of the guards took out a baton and whipped it down Katoptris’ back, causing her to gasp in pain.

Reyna sighed, looking down at the body of her friend, then climbed over it, trying to get closer to Katoptris.

“Yes, sorry about him.” Reyna apologized, “But we found something...a box, and I wanted to ask you about it.”

The woman studied her, then shook her head, “No.”

Reyna frowned, “No?”

“Yeah, no.” the woman smirked, “You came to ask me about Hamunaptra.”

Reyna felt a burst of hope explode in her chest, “You know about the city? Did you read the map or...or-”

“I know about the city.” Katoptris continued, interrupting her again, “Because that’s where I was when I found the box.”

Reyna blinked at her in shock, “You’ve...actually been there.”

“Yeah, I’ve been there.” The woman answered, looking amused at Reyna’s enthusiasm.

Reyna leaned forward, her eyes wide. “Could you...” She paused looking around. She removed her wide brimmed hat and used it to hide her face from the guards, “Do you maybe remember the location.”

Katoptris leaned forward, “Do you wanna know?”

“Yes.” Reyna said eagerly. This was it! This was her opportunity to prove that she was worth more than just being a secretary.

The woman brought her hand up, pulling her finger back in a ‘come hither’ and Reyna leaned in, “Do you really want to know?”

Reyna nodded, leaning in further, waiting for the woman to whisper the name in her ear.

But to her shock, Katoptris reached out and gripped the collar of Reyna’s shirt, pulling her through the bars and pressing her lips against hers,

The kiss was brief but gods be damned if it wasn’t the best kiss Reyna had ever had in her life.

Katoptris leaned away as the guards grabbed her arms, pulling her back, “Then get me the hell out of here!”

Reyna blinked at her for a few seconds, trying to get her brain back in working order, before she turned to the warden, “Where are they taking her?”

The warden barely looked up, “To be hanged.” He smirked looking up at Reyna, “Apparently she had a very good time.”

***

“Oh, well that’s rather unfortunate.” Jason commented as they forced their way into the arena, where hundred of people where cheering as Katoptris was marched towards the gallows.

But Reyna was desperate. Not minding the stink or the crowd she forced her way through the throngs of people and towards the Prison warden.

She found him and stood beside him, “I will give you a hundred pounds to save this woman.”

The large man snorted, “I would pay a hundred pounds just to see her hang!”

Reyna cursed mentally, turning towards the gallows to see them wrapping the rope around her neck.

“Two hundred!”

The man ignored her, but Reyna could see the greedy gleam in his eyes.

“Four hundred pounds!” She cried desperately, not knowing where she’d get that kind of money, but she would find a way.

“Any last requests?” The executioner asked Katoptris.

“Yeah.” She nodded, “Loosen the noose and let me go. Oh and I wouldn’t find another go with Ms. Arellano.”

Reyna blushed as Katoptris winked at her.

The executioner looked stumped, looking at the prison warden and yelling in arabic.

“No!” The Warden shouted, “Hang her!”

And with that the execution pulled the lever and Katoptris went down.

Reyna closed her eyes and looked away. But the cheering only got louder, she turned and saw that Katoptris’ legs were kicking as she moved around.

“Lovely.” The beady eyes of the the prison warden glittered with amusement, “Her neck didn’t snap. Now we get to watch her strangle to death.”

“Yeah, lovely.” Reyna mumbled, trying not to look at the struggling form of Katoptris. She got an idea and leaned down, “She knows the location of Hamunaptra.”

That got the guards attention, “This rat?”

“Yes,” Reyna nodded quickly, knowing she didn’t have much time, “She can take us there and we’ll give you....ten percent.”

“Fifty!”

“Twenty Five!”

“Fifty.” The man said more sternly. Reyna bit her lip and looked towards Katoptris, who’s eyes were fading out. She turned back, “Deal.”

The prison warden looked up, “Cut her loose!”

Reyna let out a breath of relief as the executioner swung his sword, cutting the rope. Katoptris landed hard in the sand pit, and quickly pulled the noose from around her neck, coughing loudly, before turning to look up at Reyna with a strangely blank look on her face.

Reyna stood there, back straight and a pleased grin on her face. She knew Jason would be upset for giving away fifty percent of their findings, but she had no need for money anyway. It was the prestige she was looking for.

And Katoptris was going to help her get it.

***

Reyna waited outside the prison for Katoptris, sending Jason ahead. She didn’t know why but she wanted her friend to stay away from the dirty Egyptian girl.

Most likely because he would offend her so bad she’d never help them - no matter what she’d promised.

“You know.” The familiar american accent said from behind her. Reyna turned to see the still dirty Katoptris walking towards her, “When I said ‘Get me out of here’...I didn’t actually think you’d do it.”

Reyna raised an eyebrow, “Are you still going to tell me the location of Hamunaptra.”

Katoptris faltered for a moment, before looking Reyna up and down, nodding, “I’ll do you one better. I’ll take you there.”

“You will?” Reyna asked in shock, not believing her luck.

“Sure thing, doll.” Piper smirked, “The thing about...Hamunaptra.” She said the word with obvious distaste, “Is that you need more than a map. You need someone whose already been there, or a fair deal of luck.”

Reyna shook her head, “It sounds like you hate the place.”

“I do.” Katoptris nodded, “But...you saved my life. So...I owe you one.”

And then the Egyptian started to walk away. Reyna quickly called after her, “We’re leaving in two days. At the port! Heading up the Nile!”

Katoptris gave her a thumbs up behind her back, then vanished into he mass of people.

Jason moved up behind her, watching the Egyptian as she walked away, “What a woman.”