Fun fact: Schizophrenia and Creativity are both caused by the way the brain processes Dopamine... basically thinking out side the box is made by having a different box...

Chapter 18

House of Sibuna

Eddie

"Is that your phone?"

Fabian's voice pierced my supernatural focus. Fabian had always been the studious one and I the one who couldn't pay attention, but 12 hours into our search for answers and we'd come up with nothing on why Raet might want Nina's shadow, or how to even give it to her. Still, I hadn't paused for a moment in hopeless gloom. Patricia, Alice, Nina-they needed me much more than I needed sleep or food or anything.

"Eddie," Fabian prompted. "I think your phone is ringing."

He was right; my phone had been going off the hook for a while now. Picking it up, I spoke gruffly, "Not a good time."

"Eddie?" Was that KT on the other end of the phone? I hadn't talked to her since I came to Egypt because of the ridiculous time difference between here and her New York City college. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, it's fine." It was very far away from fine, or course, but it was best if KT didn't know that Sibuna was still active… in a new, dangerous, form.

"He's lying!" I heard a voice cry from the background. Apparently I was on speaker phone and KT wasn't alone. At least Alfie was there too.

"Alfie?" Fabian spoke into the phone. "Why are you in America?"

"Why aren't you in England!" So Amber was in on this too. "Eddie we all have been waiting at the airport for you guys to show up. We thought you'd died!"

"No, I'm fine," I told them hurriedly. "Look. I just have a few things to tie up before coming home, okay. Thanks for the thought but… but it might be a while."

"Eddie, what's wrong," KT pressed. Besides Patricia, she was probably my best friend and it seemed I just couldn't get away with lying to her.

"Osirian stuff, okay?" I snapped despite it not being their fault any of this happened. It was all mine for coming to this horrible country. "I should never have let Nina go to Egypt!"

"But I thought you lost the Osirian thing…" Alfie recalled while I swore. I'd talked to the rest of Sibuna so little that they didn't even know of Nina and my trip to the Du'at.

"Well I got it back and now I have to go," I growled into the phone. I was about to hang up on them when Amber's voice pierced my smoky skull.

"We've already bought tickets. We'll be there to help soon… with whatever you need help with."

"Don't get on that plane. Go home, lock the doors, and don't trust anyone, okay. I don't want her to think that more leverage is better," there was a slight crack in my voice as I imagined my friends being plucked from the airport to whatever hole Raet already locked my family in.

Fabian, who could see I really just needed to get back to work, took the phone, "Hi guys, it's Fabian. Look there is a goddess who took Patricia and Nina as leverage so Eddie would find out how to open this box. Right now you're safe, but you can't come here no matter what. Raet's mad and if she thinks Eddie isn't doing his job she'll grab you too. Just please, stay where you are."

"I promise to look after them," my dad, who I hadn't even realized was there, said solemnly. "Just focus on saving them and don't let my son be a martyr again."

The phone went dim, but the distractions kept on coming. "So I wake up thinking you went back to England, when I hear Elena and Nile muttering about their mad alter-ego. We figured that whatever Raet was up to it had led you here." Elizabeth boldly said as she swept into the room Nile, Elena, and Justin behind her.

"Look, we're not going to fight Raet; it would be suicide," Elena pointed out with a shrug. "You don't live 5000 years by beinga martyr."

"What Elena is trying to say, but failing miserable at," Nile interjected. "Is that we can't fight ourself and expect to win. We can, however, offer you some info."

"Well I'm not living 3000 years no matter what, so I guess I can be a fool," Elizabeth's smile in such dire circumstances relieved some of the pain and fear I'd been bottling up in my heart.

"The only just course of action would be for me to help you," Justin flatly stated. "Raet is trying to overthrow years of tradition and peace. Know I will help you in your search, but will not do anything to risk upsetting Ma'at."

Typical scale all worried about his balance and order. Whatever, his reasons for helping I didn't really care-we needed all the help we could get.

"Look, I know she says it's the only way for you to get Nina and Patricia back, but you can't give Raet Nina's shadow." I was about to explode on Elena when she continued, "But I know that girl well enough into tricking her to free them before she gets her desired product."

"Um… I have a plan for how that would work," Fabian interrupted lifting his head from the book he'd been studying. "It says here that a shadow box can only be opened by the person it belongs to. We could show Raet that, have her free the girls, and then have Nina just not open the box."

The plan didn't sound very reliable, actually, I could think of a million things that would probably go wrong. Still, I didn't have any better ideas, so Fabian's plan it was.

"Well I'll go call the goddess then," I told them before stepping outside to summon Raet with our answers.