The chapter that everyone's been waiting for! (So okay, maybe not everybody, but at least a few people have been waiting for it.)

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At the oasis, a fire was made and the cold Medjai stayed close to it to warm up. Jonathan and Rick were preparing for bed and Alex was already asleep.

"Good night everyone," Jonathan said before falling asleep.

Rick soon did the same, though with a lot of anger on his mind. Ardeth looked over at Evie, then over at Catlanda.

"Catlanda, I need to explain to Evelyn about your past. She can help us and she already knows the bond between us," Ardeth asked in Arabic.

"Yes, please do. I need some reassurance," she replied, Isis snuggling into her lap.

"Evelyn, I told you earlier that Catlanda is my daughter. She is not my daughter by blood but I raised her as if she were my own," Ardeth started.

"What?" Evie asked. "Then why did you tell me that she was earlier?"

Ardeth sighed before he gave another shiver. He pulled his arms closer, the fire dancing before him.

"Her biological father was a Medjai, like myself and a very good friend of mine. Many years ago, when Catlanda was only a baby, her parents found the rod she's carrying with the help of a mysterious lynx and they took it home with them. Catlanda was in her crib and they had it in the same room as her," he continued.

"My parents went into the next room. It was nighttime and they were soon ready to sleep when suddenly several strange men barged into the house," Catlanda put in.

"They were no doubt looking for the rod and somehow knew that they found it. When they didn't tell them where it was, they were brutally attacked. By the time we arrived, they were near death. Myself, being a young Medjai at the time, didn't know what to think. I knelt by my friend and he told me the baby, as far as he knew, was still alive and in the next room. I found her in the crib but no sign of the rod," he explained.

"Evie, I know what you and Alex were trying to ask before. This is the Spire of Isis," Catlanda told her.

"It is? Why don't you tell the others all this?" asked Evie.

"Both Jonathan and Rick wouldn't have listened. Jonathan would still continue to ask if there's any treasure hidden anywhere around here and Rick's attitude towards her now is worse than ever. I doubt he would have listened, even if we told him sooner," Ardeth replied.

"Please, go on with the story," Evie told them.

"I picked Catlanda up. As I did, I noticed a small crafted object in the crib in the shape of the Spire. I assumed it was a playtoy for her and I tried to pick it up. As I did, it grew back to its original size. It somehow shrunk to avoid getting stolen. As this young woman grew older, it became more and more obvious that she wanted to become like her father...a Medjai warrior. Only a small handful of female Medjai are willing to help protect the Earth from the evil like the Creature...or Ramses, or the Demon as he's now called. Usually if we have any willing, we assign them tasks that still help defend the world as we know it, but they never go into battle with the men," Ardeth explained, looking at the ground.

"And you assigned her the task of protecting the Spire," gasped Evie.

"When I was about fourteen, the Spire led me to Isis, a kitten then, her mother dead beside her. I took her home and cared for her. I named her after the Spire for it was her grandmother that led my parents to it," Catlanda told her.

"This is amazing. Everything that you know. Someone has to tell Rick," Evie said, standing up.

Ardeth grabbed her arm, his eyes pleading with her.

"No, please don't. He'll demand an explanation from me and will want to know why we didn't tell him before now. It's best if he doesn't know right now," Ardeth asked her.

"Alright, I won't. You know he'll probably find out sooner or later," Evie replied, sitting back down.

"And the reason she probably doesn't trust Rick is because she's been taught never to trust strangers unless they're Medjai," Ardeth said.

"But..." started Evie.

"Yes, I know about Rick's tattoo. I heard about it three years ago from Ardeth but it's him, not that. You saw how angry he was in the tunnel. He'll never trust me now, even if I am a friend of Ardeth's," Catlanda answered.

"The strange part about this is that the Spire has not been in our possession since after the days of Ramses. It somehow became lost and no one knows why," Ardeth said. "Nor do we know who was behind the attack. It has been a mystery to this day and I have a feeling we will never find out who it was."

Catlanda looked at Isis, then over at Geb. Evie followed her gaze.

"I found him when he was only a foal, alone and hungry. I took him in and he has never left my side. He has been a great help to me over the years," Catlanda answered Evie's unspoken question. "You never have to worry about anything."

"One more thing. If you were protecting one temple and Isis was protecting another and there was one here...?" Evie started.

"Isis was at the temple with a piece of the jewel, as you already know. I was at another that was meant as a decoy. One was here and as for the third, as you already mentioned to Rick at the temple you were at, its position has passed out of all knowledge. Nobody knows where it is now," Catlanda explained.

Rick quickly closed his eyes. Thankfully, they didn't see him awaken to the sound of their voices. He laid there, thinking about what he had just heard and why he treated them like the way he did. Though one thing still bothered him. If the third piece of the jewel couldn't be found, how were they supposed to face off against Ramses when he has the other half of it?

TBC...