Gates of Egypt

Book 1: He Whose Name is Hidden

It was February 10th, 2023 and a new fourteen-year-old had just returned home from the hospital.

"Lilly!" her twin sister Harper yelled, running down the hallway to hug her sister.

Lilly quickly pushed her away, giving her Lilly's You better stop stare. Harper looked down and saw the hospital band still on her sister's wrist.

"Are you doing okay?" Harper asked.

Lilly stared emotionless into Harper's eyes. She didn't know what to say. Medically, she knew she was fine, but she knew there was a deeper problem to this all. She just couldn't tell anyone because she knew no one would believe her.

"I think someone needs to rest," the twin's mother said, putting her hand on Lilly's shoulder.

Lilly nodded and slowly walked to her room.

Just a few days after the girls turned fourteen, Lilly started having episodes where she would black out for long periods of time, which occurred with no warning signs at all. It was impossible to wake her up. She would just lay motionless on the floor with her eyes rolled back into her head. Her skin would go pale and feel cold to the touch. No one knew what was going on, and doctors couldn't do anything about it. But, the weird part was that she had two episodes within 24 hours, but as soon as she went to the hospital, she was fine for three days.

Harper tried to respect her sister trying to rest. She knew she was probably tired and needed a break from people, but she needed to talk to her. She hadn't been able to see her for days and in that time, she had just been worried sick about her. Lilly and Harper didn't always get along, but they both knew that they weren't complete without each other.

Harper was the type of girl who could pull off any look she wanted. She had platinum blonde hair, perfectly matched with her emerald green eyes that stood out beautifully, no matter what she did. And her collection of beanies never ended. One day, it was purple and the next it was yellow. The cycle never stopped. Whereas her sister, Lilly, was the complete opposite.

Lilly was much smarter than her sister, always wanting to learn more, especially if it had to do with Ancient Egypt. Her rusty, shoulder-length, brown hair and dark eyes matched her personality completely.

At around eleven at night, Harper had had enough of waiting. She was starting to become irritated with the absence of her sister. Both of her parents were asleep, so she knew that this would be the best time to talk to her sister, while their mother wasn't monitoring her every fifteen minutes.

Harper walked down the hall, eager to speak with her sister. She hoped she was still awake. Even then, she hoped she was up for talking. The hallway wasn't too dark, bright enough that she could still see all the pictures scattered throughout the hall and the pattern on the floor beneath her.

When she reached Lilly's room, she knocked quietly, trying not to wake her parents in the room across the hall. Absent an answer, Harper opened the door slightly, just hoping to see inside.

"Lilly?" she asked, and opened the door further.

She found her twin sitting on the edge of her bed, staring out the window without any movement.

"Lilly?" she repeated.

"Be careful," Lilly muttered. "They're here."

Harper opened the door completely and stormed in, forgetting about the whole being quiet thing.

"What do you mean?" Harper exclaimed. "Who's here?"

"Shhh," Lilly said. "They're trying to tell me something."