Beauty and the Pharaoh

Chapter 45 - [Beauty and the Evil Returned]

I saw tents. And hundreds and hundreds of people under a sky that had darkened suddenly. Then there was a loud, long, deep shout.

I knew instantly that it was Atem.

The sound made my heart race in a panic and created a feeling in me that made me feel sick. And the closer we got, the more scared I felt.

He was in danger.

Why else would he shout like that?

And though Atem's mother, Lord Hepu and I were riding the two horses straight towards it, all I could think of was what I was going to be able to do to help him.

I wanted to help him.

Whatever was happening, I wanted to do something.

But I felt so hopeless.

I was just a regular girl for crying out loud! What could I possibly do to help save the King of Egypt from an all-powerful wizard?

The feeling was dreadful.

But despite that, I knew I had to try something.

"Clear the way!" Lord Hepu yelled as he rode the horse we were on in front of the Queen.

The soldiers who were crowding around and looking panicked began to run off, creating a path for us to ride through.

And then we could see Atem.

I couldn't see him that well, seeing as I still didn't have my glasses or contacts, but what I could see was that he was just standing there, frozen.

The man standing not too far from him looked at us in shock. For a moment, he looked unfamiliar but then with the wave of his familiar staff, the red eyes returned and his skin darkened a couple shades.

The wizard.

Lord Hepu pulled the horses reigns, suddenly stopping it and making me hold tightly onto him to stop myself from flying off.

When he got off the horse I heard the wizard laugh, "I never imagined you to be so foolish, Lord Hepu." He looked like he was about to do something with his staff, but Lord Hepu was faster.

Lord Hepu pointed his staff at the wizard, causing him to suddenly look like something had grabbed his entire body.

The wizard gasped, dropping his staff and as he looked like he was trying to fight away the massive, invisible hand, Lord Hepu gripped his own staff with both his hands.

"What's wrong with him?" I asked as I jumped off the horse, almost falling onto my face in the process. The Queen however, got off much more elegantly despite the distress on her face

Khamenatem, who had rushed towards us when we arrived, looked at me in shock. "What are you–"

"What's wrong with Atem?" I asked again, cutting him off.

"I'm unsure," Khamen said, looking utterly worried. "The man said something about returning his evil–"

I had already started to run towards Atem before he could finish.

Aunty Maya was right.

The wizard was messing around in Atem's head.

I wasn't going to let that go on for much longer.

The only way he'd get to Atem was over my dead body.

"You cannot go to him!" Khamenatem yelled after me. "There is a barrier–"