Chapter XIII

Katya

I wasn't exactly sure how it happened, but first we were going through a portal—standard business—then we were four feet off the ground, running towards the sky like in a cartoon, and then, we were falling back to earth. Sadie, Walt, and I landed in a heap on the sand.

The scene before us was rather confusing, and it changed far too quickly for me to fully comprehend it.

Bes turned to Vladimir Menshikov, planted his feet, and ripped off his Hawaiian shirt and shorts like they were made of tissue. His eyes blazed with anger. His Speedo was embroidered with the words Dwarf Pride, which was something no one needed to see.

Menshikov only had time to say, "How—"

I realized what he was about to do. "Percy, shield your eyes!" I yelled.

"BOO!" yelled Bes.

The sound was like the blast of a nuclear bomb. The ground shook. The river rippled. Carter's giant avatar collapsed, and Menshikov's spell dissolved with it. Zia had quickly backed away, and Percy rolled away, using Menshikov's shock to break his head out from underneath his boot. But Menshikov and Desjardins got a full blast of ugly right in their faces.

Their expressions turned to astonishment, and they disintegrated on the spot.

After a moment of shock, Zia gasped. "You killed them!"

"Nah." Bes dusted off his hands. "Just scared 'em back home. They may be unconscious for a few hours while their brains try to process my magnificent physique, but they'll live. More important—" He scowled at Sadie, Walt, and me. "You three had the nerve to anchor a portal on me? Do I look like a relic?"

We wisely didn't answer. We got to our feet, brushing off the sand.

"It wasn't our idea!" Sadie protested. "Ptah sent us here to help you."

"Ptah?" Carter said. "Ptah, the god?"

"No, Ptah the date farmer. I'll tell you later."

"What's wrong with your hair?" Carter asked Sadie. "It looks like a camel licked it."

"Shut up." Then she noticed Zia. "My god, is that her? The real Zia?"

Zia stumbled back, trying to light up her staff. "Get away!" The fire sputtered weakly.

"We're not going to hurt you," Sadie promised.

Zia's legs shook. Her hands trembled. Then she did the only logical thing for someone who'd been through her kind of day after a three-month coma. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head, and she passed out.

Bes grunted. "Strong girl. She held up under a full frontal BOO! Still… we'd better pick her up and get out of here. Desjardins won't stay gone forever."

"Sadie," Carter said, "did you get the scroll?"

She pulled all three scrolls out of her bag.

"We need to get to the Great Pyramid," she said. "Please tell me you have a car."

Not only did they have a car, they had a whole bunch of Bedouins. We returned their truck well after dark, but the Bedouins seemed happy to see them, even though four extra people came too, one of them unconscious. Somehow Bes made a deal with them to drive us to Cairo. After a few minutes talking in their tent, he emerged wearing new robes. The Bedouins came out ripping the remains of his Hawaiian shirt into strips, which they carefully wrapped around their arms, their radio antenna, and their rearview mirror as good luck charms.

We piled into the back of the truck. It was too crowded and noisy to talk much as we drove to Cairo. Bes told us to get some sleep while he kept watch. He promised he'd be nice to Zia if she woke up.

I sat next to Percy, and he gathered me in his arms without a word, both of us hoping for a dreamless sleep.

Super short but oh well. I hope you enjoyed. Please review. I'm gonna try to get this finished before school starts in a few weeks, fingers crossed and prayers for me.