‘That Travers gives me a bad feeling,’ George said with a shudder, nestling deeper into the velvet sofa.

‘What do you think they were talking about?’ Mimi asked. Bast was curled in her lap and the small cat purred happily as Mimi ran her hands over her fur. ‘They said something about the professor . . . and a mysterious girl?’

‘Well, there’s only one “girl” I know who works with Professor Gladstone,’ Khalid said grimly. ‘Amma Amina.’ He scowled. ‘And those other scholars are always calling her a “girl” to try and make her seem foolish.’

With a sinking feeling, Leah realised that Khalid was right, but there was more. She looked around the room as she thought, hard.

Amina had agreed to let the children stay at her house once Khalid had explained that their parents were away. Not wanting them to spend the night alone at their hotel, she had led them through the dusty streets of Cairo, back to her apartment.

Books lined the walls, stacked along shelves that ran from the floor to the very ceiling. All the surfaces were littered with artefacts, such as ornaments and pottery shards, and along the back wall was a glass case packed with carefully labelled items. Intricately decorated rugs covered the wooden floorboards and the place had a faintly spicy smell that reminded Leah of a candle her mum liked to burn. Velvet cushions dotted two embroidered couches and it was onto these couches that the children had settled themselves.

‘Did you hear what he said about the Fortune?’ Leah said, eventually.

‘The Pharaoh’s Fortune?’ William piped up. Leah shot him a look of surprise. She hadn’t realised he’d been listening that closely.

‘It has to be, right?’ George said, frowning.

Khalid groaned. ‘Oh no,’ he whispered.

‘But Travers said he thought it was just a myth!’ George argued. ‘And they don’t know about your aunt’s research, right? You said she was keeping it secret.’

Khalid threw up his arms. ‘She is!’ he exclaimed. ‘But Travers must have found out somehow. Maybe he paid someone to break in and read through all of Amma’s research. Or there could be a mole. Someone that’s spying on Amma and Professor Gladstone and feeding the information back to Travers.’

‘But why?’ Mimi asked, chewing her lip.

‘I think they’re going to steal it,’ Leah said. ‘Didn’t you hear them? They said they want to take it back to Cambridge.’

‘This is very bad,’ George said.

‘We can’t let that happen!’ Khalid cried, his eyes wide.

‘Hey!’ William suddenly said. He looked as though he’d just figured something out, and he smiled in triumph. ‘This is why we’re here!’

‘What?’ Khalid said, his dismay turning to confusion.

‘It’s why this thing brought us here in the first place! This is how we’re supposed to help,’ William continued, his hand digging around in his pocket. His face was full of excitement.

Panic bubbled up in Leah’s stomach. William was going to pull the watch out! What if he said something that made Khalid realise they weren’t exactly who they said they were?

Mimi seemed to be thinking the same thing. ‘Khalid!’ she suddenly cried. ‘I’m really thirsty. Could I have a glass of water, please?’

Khalid glanced at William but then he gave his head a small shake. He smiled at Mimi. ‘Of course,’ he said, pushing himself up from the sofa and padding off towards the kitchen.

Once Khalid was out of earshot, Leah glared at William. ‘What are you doing?’ she whispered furiously. ‘You nearly gave us away!’

‘What?’ William looked bewildered for a moment, but then his eyes narrowed. ‘What are you on about?’

‘We haven’t told Khalid about the watch, William,’ Leah said, exasperated.

‘That means he doesn’t know we’re from the future,’ Mimi hissed. ‘If you’d carried on talking about a mysterious, magical, time-travelling watch, we would have had some explaining to do!’

William was silent for a moment and then he said, ‘Oh.’ His cheeks were bright pink.

‘Exactly!’ Mimi rolled her eyes.

‘But I am right!’ William said defensively. ‘I have to be, don’t I? This is why the watch brought us back? This is how we’re going to get home, isn’t it?’

Leah, George and Mimi exchanged a look. As much as Leah hated to admit that William was right about anything, something in her stomach told her that the Pharaoh’s Fortune was the key to getting back home.

She shrugged. ‘You might be right,’ she said, ‘but that doesn’t mean you can just go shouting about the watch whenever you want.’

William glowered. ‘Don’t tell me what to do,’ he snapped.

Before Leah could respond, Khalid re-emerged from the kitchen, balancing a jug. ‘I brought enough for everyone,’ he said, placing it on the table. ‘Argh, I forgot the cups!’ He turned and hurried back into the kitchen.

Leah followed Mimi and George towards the table, but she wasn’t really concentrating. Thoughts of Travers and the Pharaoh’s Fortune swirled in her head. More and more she was sure that William was right. But how could they possibly stop all of those scholars from stealing the amulet for themselves? If they didn’t figure something out, they’d be stuck in Cairo forever . . .

Suddenly, a familiar silver glint caught her eye. It was the watch’s silver chain, dangling from William’s pocket. All thoughts of the Pharaoh’s Fortune fled from Leah’s head as she stared at it. William felt more unreliable than ever. It would be better if she had the watch back. She knew how to keep it safe. This could be her chance. William wasn’t looking. If she could just be quick enough . . .

Without hesitating, Leah stepped forward and reached for the chain. Yes! She had it!

But before she could pull it, William jerked his body backwards and yanked the watch from her grip. Leah ground her teeth in frustration as he smirked at her.

‘Don’t you know it’s not nice to steal from others?’ he sang tauntingly. Leah glared at him, a handful of nasty words lingering on the end of her tongue.

Instead, she took a calming breath, trying to keep her temper under control.

Mimi glared at him. ‘William, I know you think you need to keep the watch. But you don’t really know how it works. If you want to get back to the future, don’t you think you should give it to someone who knows how to use it?’

‘What’s this about the future?’ came Amina’s voice.

William, George, Mimi and Leah exchanged startled looks. They hadn’t realised Khalid’s aunt had come back into the room. Now, she was looking at them expectantly, one eyebrow raised.

‘Errr . . .’ Leah didn’t know what to say.

Thankfully, Khalid saved her from having to think up a reply. ‘I’ve got the glasses!’ he called, holding up a stack of cups. His expression fell as he noticed Amina. ‘Oh, Amma, I’m sorry. Were we being too loud?’

Amina waved her hand. ‘Not at all,’ she said. ‘But I do think it’s time you all settled down to sleep, don’t you? We have a busy day ahead of us tomorrow, Khalid.’

Khalid nodded in agreement. ‘You’re right, Amma,’ he said as he put the glasses next to the water jug. ‘I’ll get the blankets.’

‘We can help you, can’t we, William?’ Leah said.

‘Um, yeah,’ William mumbled and they both hurried to grab the pillows and blankets from Khalid’s arms. Leah’s heart was racing. That had been too close! Although she was desperate to get the watch back from William, she needed to be more careful.

Once the bedding was arranged, Amina dimmed all the lights.

‘I want you all asleep within the hour,’ she told them sternly. Then she bid them goodnight and marched off, leaving the children on their own.

Leah yawned. Her body ached from all the walking they’d done that day. She was looking forward to being able to rest, but it seemed that Khalid had other ideas.

As soon as his aunt disappeared, he rushed over to one of the bookshelves lining the sitting room wall, beckoning the others to follow him. His fingers traced the spines of the books as he searched for the one he was looking for. Finally, he gave a sound of triumph and pulled out a book bound in tatty leather.

‘You want answers about why Travers is after Amma and Professor Gladstone?’ he said, his dark eyes bright with determination. ‘Well, here it is.’

He gave the book a quick shake and a small scrap of paper fell out. Khalid caught it with his free hand and held it out. Leah took it carefully.

It was a map. The paper was thick and bumpy. On it was a series of nonsensical lines.

‘That’s papyrus!’ George breathed, his voice thick with excitement. He stretched out a finger and ran it along the ridged surface.

‘What’s that?’ William asked, wrinkling his nose.

‘It’s a type of paper the Ancient Egyptians used,’ George explained. ‘It’s made from the papyrus plant. The reeds grow alongside the Nile.’

Khalid nodded with a smile. ‘And this is old papyrus. Amma Amina found it when she was on a dig at the Valley of the Kings in Luxor.’

‘A dig?’ Mimi asked, wrinkling her nose in confusion.

‘That’s what they call it when all the scholars go to a certain place and dig up all the mud and sand to look for ancient artefacts and buildings that have been buried,’ Khalid explained. ‘There are lots of digs happening in Luxor at the moment.’

‘Luxor is a city to the south of Cairo,’ George explained to Leah, Mimi and William. ‘And the Valley of the Kings is where all the greatest pharaohs are meant to be buried.’

‘Why are you showing us this, Khalid?’ Leah asked as she stared at the scrap of papyrus.

‘Because, if you’re right and Travers wants to steal the Pharaoh’s Fortune, he’s going to need this. It might just look like a bit of worthless papyrus, but it’s so much more than that. Amma told me that she thinks it’s a map showing the location of Hatshepsut’s lost amulet. If she’s right, that would mean it’s buried in one of the pyramids on the outskirts of the city!’ Khalid’s voice rose as his excitement grew, but Leah’s stomach sank. If William was right and they needed to find the amulet to get home, this only made things more complicated.

‘What are all those little dots?’ Mimi asked, peering closer and pointing at a series of marks at various points along the lines. ‘And those symbols? Are they hieroglyphs?’

‘Hieroglyphs?’ William said, perking up. He leaned forward. ‘Let me see!’

‘Amma thinks the dots show where the booby traps are located,’ Khalid told them matter-of-factly. ‘As for the hieroglyphs . . .’

‘They’re numbers, aren’t they?’ William said.

Khalid beamed and nodded. ‘Wow, William, you are a fast learner! Can you tell what they stand for?’

William stuck his tongue out in concentration. ‘Um, the middle one is easy. It’s six. But I’m not sure about the top one – the three arches and the four sticks. I don’t know the bottom one, either. I think that’s fifteen and that’s three . . . but I’m not sure what those mean.’ He pointed to a collection of symbols.

‘I’d be impressed if you did,’ Khalid said. ‘You got all of the numbers right, but these are words. This first one means “torch”. And then this is “down” and this means “across”. I’m pretty sure they’re directions.’

‘Directions?’ Leah repeated.

‘Well, the amulet isn’t just going to be out on display for anyone to take,’ Khalid replied. ‘It’s hidden! Amma thinks it’s tucked away in a secret tunnel, and these are the instructions to get there.’

‘Cool!’ George said.

‘That’s why this papyrus is so important,’ Khalid told them. ‘Without it, you’d never get anywhere. And it’s more than that. Whoever has the map won’t just be able to find the amulet, they’ll be able to do it safely.’

‘So is your aunt going to follow this map then?’ Leah said anxiously. ‘She’s going to have to do it soon if she is. If Travers is after the amulet, Amina needs to be really careful.’

Khalid nodded. ‘Don’t worry. She’s going out to the pyramids tomorrow. Professor Gladstone’s friend, Dr Simons, is running a project out there. When she gets the chance, I’m sure Amma will try to follow the map to see if she’s been right all along.’

‘That sounds kind of dangerous,’ George said, biting his lip.

But Khalid only shrugged. ‘Being an Egyptologist is dangerous. You never know what you’re going to find when you enter a tomb. But that’s part of the fun.’

‘Are you going as well, Khalid?’ Leah asked, and when he smiled broadly and nodded, George groaned in jealousy.

‘That’s so cool! I wish I could go on an archaeological dig at the pyramids,’ he said gloomily.

‘Hey!’ Khalid cried, his face lighting up with excitement. ‘Why don’t you come with us? Amma won’t mind. You can share our tent and we can keep an eye on Travers together!’

‘Oh!’ George beamed. ‘That would be amazing!’

‘Are you sure your aunt will let us come with you?’ Leah asked.

‘I can be very persuasive,’ Khalid said with a grin.

Leah looked at Mimi, who only gave a small shrug. George was nodding enthusiastically, and when Leah glanced at William, he raised his eyebrows.

‘I think going out to the pyramids could be a good idea,’ he said casually. ‘It would be a cool story to take home with us.’ He widened his eyes slightly and Leah understood what he wasn’t saying. If the watch really did want them to find the Pharaoh’s Fortune, going to the pyramids might get them one step closer to home.

Although she hated to admit it, William was right. Khalid grinned widely. ‘This is going to be so much fun!’ He slipped the papyrus map back inside the pages of the book and carefully pushed it back into its place on the shelf. ‘I’ve never taken anyone on an archaeological dig before! William, we should practise your hieroglyphs again. There are tons out there! It’s like a codebreaker’s heaven.’ Khalid grabbed a piece of paper, a quill, and an inkpot from Amina’s desk and joined William on the sofa. Within moments, the boys were lost in the symbols of Ancient Egypt.

With thoughts of Hatshepsut’s lost amulet swirling in her mind, Leah settled herself amongst the blankets alongside George and Mimi. Her stomach churned uncomfortably. She hoped she was doing the right thing. It would be great if they could solve the watch’s mystery and help Khalid and Amina, but even more importantly, she wanted to get home. To get back to normal and see her parents. Her eyes flicked to William, who was laughing quietly at something Khalid had said.

More than anything, she wanted to not have to worry about William and the watch that was stashed in his pocket. Being stuck in the past with no real idea why was bad enough, but being stuck in the past with your enemy was even worse.