Just as the phoenix started to cry, Elise’s blue third eye appeared on her forehead and each of them who was on board the raft lost their ears. Everyone of them went deaf without their ears.A nearby hermit ibis heard the phoenix’s cry, and it burst into flames. So did the others like herons and cranes that were hunting in the River Nile.Through Elise’s powers, the beaks of each phoenix were glued so that they could not open them and cry. After that, she gathered the four phoenixes into a golden cage and placed them on the raft’s bow.She returned everyone’s ears grow but…“Hey, those are my ears!” Eric complained, pointing at the Medjay.“Oops! Sorry!” Elise grinned at her mistake. She corrected the ears of Eric and Mazoi that were exchanged.Diana laughed at Eric. “You should have seen yourself in the mirror. You looked so funny with Mazoi’s big ears!”E

It was around five or six hours before the papyrus raft’s nose touched the other side of the bank of the River Nile, which was guided by the Medjay.They could still see the blue fire burning high and wide, just where they left it.One of Zadi’s guards carried the cage of the phoenixes. The other scooped up Zadi in his arms.Eric took his bag again while the girls got off from the raft with the help of Mazoi and Kent. He then followed right afterwards.It was so dark even though with the two present torches of the raft. The Medjay took one of the torches and Eric took the other.They started to walk on the land of Ta Shemau. It was already around midnight. The stars were hid behind the clouds, and the moon was nowhere to be seen either.“Do you have any idea where we are?” Eric asked Mazoi quietly.“We are already in my king’s land,” the Medjay’s answer.“I mean, ar

They all rested for the night after eating fruits and meat with drinks. On the morrow, they would march to the ninth district of Ta Shemau where they would meet the Scorpion King.The four teenagers shared a small campfire. They sat on the warm sands, encircling the fire, and meditated. Elise was holding hands with Eric on her left and Kent on her right, whereas Diana was holding hands with Eric on the right and Kent on her left side.For a moment, they imagined they were at Menominee’s Hut eating Wiikiops Bark or Summer Rolls. They were at peace as they meditated all through the night.Zadi and Mazoi just looked on while the guards and soldiers were asleep. They all felt that the enemy soldiers, sorcerer priests and witch priestesses were already getting closer and closer to them. They could no longer run away for long—and they had no reason to. They had to face their enemies sooner or later. But they had to rest as well. They had to preser

Priestess Nehes was just in time to protect herself and the rest by projecting a shield of her own. The blue eye was so powerful that it could freeze a living thing that it considered as an enemy. No one knew about it but her—and her sister. **** Kent looked at Elise adoringly as she closed her two normal eyes while the third eye was open. He saw it emitted a silver aura that extended and targeted the snakes. They all perished into dusts in the desert sands.Elise repressed her third eye again and opened her two eyes.It was time for the soldiers to act. Elise and the others stepped away from them as the Medjay gave the order to attack.General Meru also ordered his soldiers to charge at the same time the Medjay shouted his.Bows and arrows were exchanged. Body shields clung as spears and others were plunged here and there. The bloody battle kept going.The four teenagers regrouped. So did the witch p

“My mother was a slave,” Diana revealed, pausing as she waited for some reactions.“No!” Elise said in a whisper.“Really! Back in Mexico, she used to come home everyday with a bruise or a wound in different parts of her body. Originally, my grandmother was the slave of a rich family back there.”Elise could see what she was talking about as her friend relayed her real-life story. It was the first time she read the soul of her Hispanic friend.“My father could not do anything about it,” she continued. “It was because my grandmother owed a lot to that rich family a long time ago. Of what, we did not even have a clue. So, when my grandma died, my mother was taken as a slave in lieu of her. She was already married, you could imagine. She had me then.“I was already nine or ten and was studying at a local school. Everyday, I looked at her face with bruises and wounds. It was very traumatic for