Who can say for certain . . .

Maybe you're still here

I feel you all around me,

Your memory's so clear . . . .

The younger priest's sandaled foot tapped in a steady beat against the dusty ground of the poorly lit room. He sat back in his chair and sighed, accidentally dropping the scroll he had been reading onto the stone table in front of him.

"Master Set, you are restless this evening." The other priest commented, smiling behind his scroll.

"I am weary of these old books." Set stood and bent down to retrieve the scroll.

"That is to be expected, my friend. You are always studying." Priest Set smirked.

"I believe it is time for a ka hunt, Shadah."

"But Master Set . . ." The younger Egyptian priest put his arm around his friend.

"I can feel it in the air tonight, my friend. There's power out there, and it's mine to find." Shadah laughed.

"You always say that, Set. You and your power trips."

"Come now, Shadah, no one has ever been injured in a ka hunt, have they?" Shadah shook his head. "Just a little entertainment." Set's friend rolled his eyes.

Set moved his hand across his face to remove the sand from his eyes. As the sand settled around him and Shadah and his vision cleared, he noticed some commotion to the west. "I'm going to see what that is."

"Set," Shadah began in warning, but his friend was already riding away. When he set his mind to something there was no stopping or distracting the young priest. All Shadah could do was follow. Set stopped abruptly about a mile from a small mob of people. They were shouting angrily and throwing stones at a young woman who stood in the center of their makeshift ring. The young priest's eyes widened when he saw her. She was on her knees in the sand, her hands tied behind her back with rope. Her unusually pale skin was marred with dirt and blood as was her long light blue hair.

"This is all your fault!" one of the men shouted, raising his fist in anger.

"Witch-girl!" another added. "So many of our people have been taken away from us since you came here." Set's mouth formed a tight straight line as he listened. Their victim didn't respond to their insults, didn't move to avoid the stones being thrown. She silently endured it all until a rock hit its mark on the back of the head, knocking her unconscious before she collapsed in the sand. The crowd lingered, as if waiting to see if she was still alive. Set's eyes slanted.

"That's it," he muttered under his breath and kicked the horse to ride past the mob to the middle of the circle. "Leave here," he commanded. "Go home." Shadah moved closer to watch, feeling fortunate he had not been noticed by the crowd. The men started to move closer in toward Set.

"What are you going to do? Make us leave?" asked one man, menacingly tossing a stone in his left hand. Another threw a rock that hit the priest's horse, making the animal fall forward and its rider slide off to the ground. Set found himself surrounded by a still angry crowd, of which he was now the target.

"If you're with her, then you're against us," a tall man on a horse, apparently their leader, stated. "Which means we have to take care of you as well." Set stood his ground, trying to think of a way out. Soon it was no longer necessary.

Shadah stared in amazement as the image of a great beast appeared and hovered protectively over Set. The monster flapped its terrible wings, and the terrified mob surrounding dropped their rocks and ran. As suddenly as it appeared, the great beast vanished. Set steadied his horse, then bent down to pick up the girl and lift her gently onto the animal's back. Shadah rode up on his own horse to meet him.

"The legendary blue-eyed white dragon!" he exclaimed. "It was the white dragon!" Set just shrugged and started his horse jogging. "Wait – you knew?" His friend was silent, but he slowed his horse to allow Shadah to catch up. "you knew about her – her ka – the blue eyes?" Set sighed.

"Yes, I knew," he finally responded. "A long time ago, she saved my life."

She seemed much thinner than he remembered. The years since he had seen her last seemed to have accentuated the stark contrast between her physical frailty and the overwhelming power of her spirit. Shadah gave him a strange look out of the corner of his eye.

"Are you going to tell me or do I have to just sit here on the dumb horse and wonder what you're thinking about?"

"I apologize, Shadah. I was lost in my thoughts."

"Not unusual for you, my friend." Seto smiled weakly.

"If you must know, I will tell you how we met. It was basically the same as tonight, strangely."

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Cheers!

Hope