Magic Tree House: The Return of the Three Keepers

Chapter Five: Trip to Egypt

Vicky frowned. She was getting more confused by the minute. The three of them were all out of the crack of the oak tree. She glanced at the magic mirror that Eva had magical appeared in the tree house and saw a sleek black cat with bright gold eyes stared back at her. Vicky blinked and the cat in the mirror did as well. Light from the sunlight gleamed on a wide gold and jeweled collar around her neck. (Even in their animals or birds' forms, they can still see five colors, like humans).
"You've got to be kidding me." meowed Vicky, they now spoke in meows, mews, hisses, and purrs for their new cat language.
Eva made the mirror disappeared with a single wave from her right paw. Vicky widened her eyes when she realized that her sister was still wearing her glowing aquamarine ring in her middle finger. Sasha was also still wearing her sapphire ring in her middle finger too. Vicky also saw she was also wearing her moonstone ring on the same finger.
Vicky looked up at her sisters and they also looked like her. Sasha has sleek black fur, sparkling gold eyes, long-limbs, and sparkling around her neck was a wide gold and jeweled collar around her neck. Eva was a little bigger but she too has sleek black fur, bright and clear gold eyes, and glittering around her neck was a wide a gold and jeweled collar around her neck.
"Sshh." hissed Sasha, she arched her back and her fur spiked up. "Hear that?"
Vicky sniffed the air and used her new cat ears. She scented Jack and Annie coming towards the tree house, she can hear them talking softly, but she couldn't make out the words.
"Quick! Outside!" hissed Eva.
Vicky gulped nervously as she watched from the window as Sasha and Eva jumped through the window and on sturdy branches. Vicky jumped through the window and unsheathed her claws. She landed carefully on a branch, she and her sisters crouched low in the branches. But they listened to their cousins as they got inside the tree house.
"Hey, this isn't wet anymore." said Annie.
"Let me see." said Jack.
Vicky exchanged a confused look with her sisters. Did their cousins traveled in the tree house before?
That's thought I thought I never thought of. thought Vicky with amused smile.
"Watch out!" called Annie.
"Put that away!" said Jack and there was a sound of a book being put down. "Once in dinosaur time was plenty!"
Wait. What? wondered Vicky. What does he mean by that?
"Wow! Look at this!" said Annie, by the sound of her voice, Vicky could tell that she had found a book that she likes.
Figures. thought Vicky with a soft purr.
"Let's go there," they heard Annie said. "Now."
"Wait." said Jack.
"Pyramids, Jack. You love pyramids." insisted Annie.
Pyramids? Vicky heard from Sasha's mind. As in Egyptian pyramids?
Vicky smiled despite herself and felt herself starting to purr. She and her sisters love Ancient Egypt. They love the stories about the gods and goddesses of Egypt, including the ones with animal-heads. But they're not big fans about the really hot temperature in Egypt.
"Okay," said Jack and the three of them purred softly and eagerly. "But hold the Pennsylvania book. In case we want to come back quickly."
Jack cleared his throat, Vicky and her sisters came out from hiding. They watched as Jack pointed to a page in the Egypt book.
"I wish we could go there." said Jack in a clear voice.
"Hi Jack and Annie!" meowed Vicky.
"Hiya Jack and Annie!" meowed Eva.
"Hi Jack! Hi Annie!" meowed Sasha.
"What was that?" Both their cousins looked up and stared at them.
Annie's eyes widened. "It's the three cats from the Egypt book." She whispered to Jack. 
Wait, what? Vicky widened her eyes with surprise, she glanced over her shoulder and saw her sisters were equally stunned. We're in that book? I – I mean, our forms is in that book? That's really ironic!
Before Vicky could think about it any further, the wind started to blow, making the leaves and the branches of the trees shake. Vicky and her sisters dug their new claws into their branches.
"Here we go!" said Annie from the inside of the tree house.
The wind began to whistle louder, the entire tree seemed to be shaking.
Yes, here we go. thought Vicky with a nervous shiver.
She shut her eyes tightly and held onto the branch. Vicky touched shoulders with Sasha and Eva. It felt like the whole tree was beginning to spin.
It spun faster, faster, and FASTER!
"Whoa!" yowled Sasha.
Vicky and Eva yowled with fear as the three of them flew off their branches. Vicky felt as her claws come loose and the wind picked them up off the branches.
Suddenly, everything was calm, completely calm.
That's the first thing that Vicky noticed.
The second thing that Vicky noticed that they were falling!
"Me-ow!" yelped Vicky as she opened her eyes to see sandy ground shooting up towards her.
Without thinking, Vicky and her sisters spun in the air so their paws were facing the ground, like trapeze acrobats. The impact jarred them, but it didn't hurt as badly as Vicky thought it would.
Too stunned to figure out what just happened to her, she sat down and started taking in their surroundings.
"Huh, I guess cats really do land on their feet." said Eva with a smile.
Sasha sat down by Eva's side and purred her laughter, Vicky smiled when she saw Sasha's sparkling and humorous eyes.
Vicky shook the hot sand from her paws and squinted in the hot sunlight, as did Sasha and Eva.
"Whoa!" gasped Vicky as she looked behind them.
They were sitting next to a group of palm trees surrounded by desert plants and a huge watering hole.
"We must have landed by an oasis." commented Sasha, a flash of humor light up her eyes. "It's a good thing that I have took a good, long drink before we left."
"Why you cheeky little sea-cat." teased Eva to Sasha with twitching whiskers with amusement.
Vicky and Sasha purred their amusements. They looked up at the nearest palm tree. The tree contained the tree house. They saw Jack and Annie looking out the window.
"Jack and Annie are two okay?" called out Vicky and her sisters at the same time.
Vicky knew they only heard meowing from them, but it felt like she had to do it.
Both of their cousins looked down at Vicky, Sasha, and Eva.
"Hi!" shouted Annie with a smile.
"Shhhh," Jack shushed her. "Someone might hear you!"
"In the middle of the desert?" asked Annie.
"Annie has a point there," pointed out Eva. "There's no else here."
"Nope, Jack's right." said Sasha, she was standing on the top of a  sand dune, out of Jack and Annie's sights.
Vicky and Eva caught each other's eyes and rolled their eyes as they joined their younger sister.  
Vicky and Eva's eyes widened with shock.
Standing a few feet away from them was an Egyptian man. He was wearing nothing but a white shirt lined with gold that went from his waist to his knees. The dark brown skin on his muscular chest seemed to gleam in the desert sun. He wore gold armbands and a gold-blue striped cloth over his head.
The man narrowed his eyes as he stared at them. Vicky shivered and looked away from him almost instinctively. There was something regal about him. So caring, yet so commanding. From the way he was dressed, Vicky nervously wondered if he was nobility.
Vicky, Eva. said Sasha firmly to them in their minds, her firm voice echoed in their heads. We mustn't show our fear to this man of nobility. We must show our courage, wisdom, and guidance of any warrior of heart would do. For he needs our aid, and that's what we are going to do.
"Wow, sis." said Eva as she looked at Sasha with wide, awestruck eyes. "When did you get so brave and wise?"
"Just now, I guess." said Sasha softly.
The man's gaze rested on Sasha and Sasha lifted her gaze. She bravely met the man's gaze with her warm and brave gaze, their gazes met for a while. But then the man's gaze went to meet Eva's eyes, Eva gulped nervously but she returned the man's gaze. The man finally met Vicky's eyes.
"H-hi there!" mewed Vicky, blinking up to him.
The man's eyes suddenly brightened as he looked at the three of them and his lips curled upward.
"Help!" he whispered in a hoarse voice.
Vicky and her sisters gasped, Sasha and Eva looked at Vicky. He . . . he heard us! Despite the heat, Vicky felt a wave of a cold grip on her body. One quick glance, Vicky saw Sasha and Eva were shivering too.
"Help . . . my . . . sister." The man whispered, like each word was a pain for him to say. With a shimmering arm, he turned and pointed away from the trees.
Vicky and his sisters followed his arm, and saw another strange sight.
Walking past the grove of palm trees was some kind of parade. It was led by a team of four oxen pulling some sort of sled. On the sled was a long golden box. Following the box was a large crowd of people moving in a slow, solemn state. Some were walking silently, some had thrown up their hands like they were mourning. Everyone was heading towards a pyramid not too far away.
Sasha narrowed her eyes at the pyramid and the box, her nose and whiskers twitched at the Egyptians' scent, and her ears were pointed towards the box and then to the pyramid.
"What's wrong little sister?" asked Eva to Sasha.
At first Sasha didn't answer, Vicky began to wonder if her  younger sister even heard Eva's question. Even the man started to look concern.
"I sense a spirit rising from that box." said Sasha at last, making Vicky and Eva sigh with relief.
"Really?" asked the man with wonder in his voice.
"I think so," said Sasha with a frown. "But it's very faint and went into the pyramid."
"My sister." whispered the man with a trace of awe and sadness.