Chapter 15
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It was not difficult to figure out which chamber her father had been resting in. All she had to do was simply follow the sounds of the sudden commotion that seemed to echo throughout the entire Sphinx. She immediately began trying to come up with some sort of explanation that would come off as sounding at least somewhat normal. She had no luck.

//Ugh, this is going to be a pain in the butt to explain// she thought to herself.

"What's going on here? Where am I? Who are you and what have you done with Kiriana?!" Eric demanded as Kiriana walked in, Presley and Lakira at her heels.

"I'm right here, father," she said.

Then she moved to Eric's side and wrapped her arms around her father. He sat up and hugged her back, relief flooding through him.

"Are you all right?" Eric asked as he pulled away from his daughter.

Kiriana nodded. "Yes, I'm fine. It's all right. These people are friends of Presley's. They saved us," she explained reassuringly.

This seemed to put him at least somewhat at ease, and he smiled faintly at Kiriana.

"So you're the ones who came from out of nowhere and saved our lives," Eric remarked, glancing at Natalie and the other Guardians.

"Yeah, we really kicked Scarab's tut this time," Nefertina piped up enthusiastically, before a warning glance from Rath shut her up.

"Who the blazes is Scarab?" Eric asked for the second time that day.

Kiriana shifted uncomfortably at the mention of that name. She glanced over at Rath and Nefertina, gesturing almost helplessly. Behind her, she felt Lakira lay her hand gently on her shoulder.

"It is a rather long story," JaKal replied.

Eric listened with a skeptical expression on his face as the Guardians wove their tale, explaining how each of them, with the exception of Natalie and Lakira, in one way or another had been a member of Pharaoh Amenhotep's court 3500 years ago. They had eventually become the Guardians of Princess Sierra and her younger brother Prince Rapses until Scarab and JaKal's brother Araq had ambushed and murdered them and their two royal charges.

Scarab had been entombed alive, and now, in this new time, he was after them once more, seeking immortality. The mummies had reawakened to protect Sierra and Rapses, in the form of Presley Carnovan, from Scarab.

Kiriana flinched when Rath mentioned the part about her being the host for the reborn spirit of an ancient Egyptian princess who had been engaged to Prince Rapses, and the fact that she had magical abilities, the source of which was her fox amulet.

Kiriana pursed her lips together anxiously as Eric turned his mahogany gaze to his daughter again. The expression on his face was one of total seriousness as he regarded her in silence for a moment. Then his eyes softened a bit when he spoke.

"Is this all true?" he asked finally.

Kiriana nodded. "I wouldn't have believed it if Presley hadn't been here...yet I can feel it deep down inside of my soul that they're telling the truth. Besides, we owe them our lives," she answered.

Eric chuckled, shaking his head ruefully at his daughter, the look in his dark eyes now becoming one of calm acceptance.

"I always knew there was something unusual about that thing. Apparently your mother knew about it and decided not to mention anything about it. Very well, Rath, you have my consent to teach Kiriana your magic. We may need it in the days to come, especially if this Scarab decides to try something stupid again," Eric said quietly.

"Oh, believe me, we can count on him showing his ugly face again," Presley said grimly, unconsciously taking Kiriana's hand in his for a moment and giving it a quick little squeeze of reassurance.

"Yeah, it doesn't seem to matter how many times we kick his tut, he's just too stupid to get the picture!" Nefertina chimed in with a laugh.

"Tut?" Eric asked, looking at the mummy girl in confusion.

"It's kind of an inside joke," Presley answered.

"Oh, I see," Eric replied.



TBC...MWA HA HA!!! Let me know what you think of this. I'll add more if you like it. Ah, the heck with it, I'll add more even if you don't. You'll just have to live with it. ::Gets insane gleam in eyes:: LOL!! Yeah, I know I'm nuts, but oh well, a person's gotta do something to keep from dying of boredom.
~*Celestia Vitaria*~