The day she had been sentenced, Tauret's guards held Kanika to the wall by her throat. Tauret stepped forward and fingered the green jewel around Kanika's neck. Aswad had given it to her on their wedding day.
"As I take this jewel, you will turn to stone. When it is returned to you, you will be freed," Tauret decreed. She pulled the jewel from Kanika's neck and within seconds, she was stone.
The day Tauret left she bid the statue farewell. "Don't worry, your day will come."
*****
Evelyn was not in bed when Rick woke up. "Not again," he mumbled. He got up to look for her. He found her ten minutes later in the lobby of the hotel they were in. She was at a table, writing.
When Rick joined her, she said, "The Bembridge scholars are going to love this."
"What?"
"I'm writing about what we've discovered. Also, I know what to do now."
Rick was skeptical. "And that is?"
Evelyn beamed at him. "Dig under the statue of Isis."
"Which one is that?"
"The big one."
"Oh." Rick sat down. "What are we digging for?"
"A jewel."
"Okay, makes perfect sense now."
"Don't be sarcastic."
Rick stood up again. "Let's go."
Evelyn stared at him. "Now?"
"Yes," he replied, helping her up. "The sooner we take care of this, the sooner we can go on a real vacation."
*****
Ancient Egypt
Anck-su-Namun went to Nefertiri's bedchamber. She didn't want to do this, but she felt she had to. Nefertiri answered the door and stared at her icily.
"I know about the statue you pray to." Anck-su-Namun thought being direct would save time and dirty looks.
Nefertiri stared at her for a moment. "Come in," she said quietly.
"How did you find out about it?" Anck-su-Namun asked, relaxing slightly.
"I should ask you the same thing."
"I saw you."
Nefertiri took that in. "I'd been having dreams about it. Enough to remind me of who I was, but then suddenly another woman entered the dream and said, 'It is not time yet.' The dreams then stopped."
"Have you talked to Asim?"
"Yes, he was having dreams too. He said he saw the same woman."
"So what are you going to do?"
Nefertiri sighed. "I can't do anything. 'It is not time.' All I can do is pray."
Anck-su-Namun surprised herself by putting a hand on her shoulder. "I'll pray with you."
Nefertiri smiled at her, for the first time.
*****
Thebes
For hours the two hacked at the base of Isis. Evelyn finally had to take a break. She studied the statue of Kanika. That's odd."
Rick stopped digging. "What?"
"Well, it seems that this statue has changed."
He came up beside her." How?"
Evelyn pointed at the eyes. "They were horribly sad yesterday."
Rick peered at the statue. "They look normal."
"Exactly."
"That is weird."
Evelyn looked back to their dig site. "We should keep going."
Only a few minutes later, Rick popped up with a smile on his face. He tossed the jewel at Evelyn. She examined it. It was small, round, and smooth, the color of lush grass. It was alone.
"Was there a necklace to this?" she asked him.
Rick searched the hole. "No."
Sighing, Evelyn took off her own necklace and switched her locket with the jewel. She fastened it to the neck of the statue.
The jewel began to glow. Within seconds, it surrounded the statue. The light became so bright they had to turn their heads. When the light began to dim, they looked again. There stood a woman in place of the statue. She looked at Evelyn, tears in her eyes.
"Mandisa," she said.
Evelyn smiled and stepped forward. "Finally, you were allowed to save me. I thought the day would never come," Kanika continued.
The two women hugged.
"You grew up so well. I have often wondered about you. Fadil could only tell me a little."
"What will you do now?" Evelyn asked.
Kanika smiled. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. And I will see you from time to time." Kanika looked to the sky. "Now I must go where I belong."
Evelyn looked up as well. She saw nothing but blue sky. She could only imagine what the goddess saw.
"I will miss you," Evelyn said.
Kanika hugged her again. "Not for long."
The jewel around her neck began to glow again. Rick and Evelyn had to look away as it engulfed her body. "I will leave you a gift," she said as the light dimmed and she disappeared.
In her place was another statue of her, this one much happier.
Back at the hotel, Evelyn finished writing her account of what happened, stretching the truth a bit to cover the missing pieces about the dreams. She sent it off to the Bembridge scholars, along with yet another application.
Two weeks later, they returned on from their vacation in America. Sitting neatly in the pile of mail they had recieved while away was an acceptance letter from the Bembridge scholars.
*****
~*~*~The End~*~*~