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When Willow returned after her talk with Max she seemed more herself. He liked that they had a strong bond. He wrapped his arm around her. Whatever had been weighing on her had been removed. He could see it on her face. If only the issues that plagued him could be resolved with only a talk.
Part of him felt a little relieved that Gamal had asked them to limit their use of magic in public spaces. He had to admit he was feeling a little uncertain about his performance right now. The thought of someone needing to count on him or depend on him for his magic had him second-guessing himself. His magic wouldn’t be as powerful as it once was and he didn’t want to be the reason someone got hurt. If he only had to use his fighting skills he felt secure in taking on any attack or enemy, but knew he had to get his confidence back up when it came to magic or he was useless to them.
While they waited for Gamal to come back with information, Morgana and Mathilda walked across the hall to their apartment.
A short while later, Gamal came back. He slapped his phone against his thigh and looked a bit sheepish. “My father wants to meet all of you before he deals with having the Sphinx and Pyramids shut down.”
Phaedra stood. “We are happy to meet with your father if it means accomplishing what we came here to do.” She tried to appear diplomatic and levelheaded, but he knew her blood was boiling. If the man had met with them to begin with, as intended, they wouldn’t be sitting on their hands now.
“I will have the vans brought around so we can head to the coven.” Gamal left again.
“I apologize that things have been so crazy since your arrival.” Anippe addressed everyone. “There is always politics here when it comes to getting anything done. It is not my father’s way, but there are some in our coven that would rather see themselves making the decisions so he must jump through hoops to keep everyone happy.”
He understood all too well how that worked.
“Thank you, Anippe. We appreciate your father doing his best to accommodate us.” Phaedra gave the girl a genuine smile. Anippe smiled and returned to Ulrik’s side.
Eli knew this meeting was going to be anything but pleasant, especially since Gamal and Anippe had already mentioned some of the members of the coven didn’t like the fact that he and Willow were together.
Mathilda and Morgana returned and went to stand by Ulrik and Anippe. “Are you okay?” Ulrik leaned towards Mathilda with a concerned look.
“Yes... why?” Mathilda leaned away from him and looked annoyed at him invading her body space.
“Your eyes look strange.” He stared into her eyes and kept getting closer.
“I’m fine.” She moved away from him clearly creeped out and sat on the floor.
That was peculiar. He’d have to ask Ulrik about that later. Should he be concerned about something going on with Mathilda? He never figured her for a pill popper or any other sort of drugs, although drug use might explain her out of character behavior of holding a grudge for this long. He glanced over at her and watched her talk to Phaedra. No. He couldn’t see her doing that. Not much longer after that Gamal came back for them.
The drive to the coven took them to the affluent neighborhood of Heliopolis. They passed luxury hotels, swanky restaurants and upscale shopping centers before they arrived to the residential section. The houses were on a grandiose level and sat behind security gates.
The house they pulled up to was similar to the other homes in the neighborhood: terra cotta colored stucco with Roman motif ornamentation made of gypsum plaster. The house was three stories tall and even had a small spire on one side.
“I think I should remain out here. My presence won’t help your case, and I don’t wish to hurt your chances of getting what you need.”
Eli hated the idea of kowtowing to some people especially these idiots that were offended by his and Willow’s relationship. On this occasion, he was glad it was Phaedra calling the shots because he would have brought Ulrik in the house just to piss them off.
“Thanks for being considerate Ulrik, maybe it is best you wait outside.”
“I’ll keep you company... we can take a walk.” Anippe jumped at the opportunity to spend some time alone with Ulrik. The two walked off down the street before they made it to the door.
The door had a huge bronze door knocker that was a replica of the goddess Isis, with her wings spread out on either side of her and a solar disk with cow’s horns sat on top of her head. Like most coven doors there was no keyhole. Gamal pulled out a key and the keyhole appeared. When he placed the key inside it turned on its own and the door opened.
Gamal did a quick about face. “Please remove your shoes before entering.” He kicked off his shoes and left them by the door. They all followed suit.
When they stepped inside the décor consisted of deep jewel tones. There was no time to see anything other than the living room because off the side of the foyer they were led into a room that had a long wooden table that sat low to the ground. Floor cushions surrounded the table on all sides.
“Please have a seat. My father and some of the members will be here shortly.” Gamal left them to get situated while he went in search of his father. Eli sat in between Willow and Phaedra.
A woman came into the room carrying a tray. “I have brought you some Shai while you wait.” For a moment he wished he’d done some research on common words so he knew what Shai was.
The little glasses she sat down in front of each of them had a hot, brown colored liquid in it. He picked it up and took a sip.
Tea.
He took another sip. It was really good tea.
Gamal entered the room. “My father and some of the Elders are going to dine with you. A meal has been prepared for your arrival.” He glanced towards the door and then turned back to them and dropped his voice. “A few tips on dining with Egyptians.” Everyone leaned in to listen. “Let my father or one of the Elders serve you, do not serve yourself. Second, we eat mostly with our hands, but do not use or eat with your left hand. It’s considered unhygienic...” He looked upwards for a few seconds like he was trying to remember everything he needed them to remember before his father and the Elders arrived. “Oh yes, and don’t ask for salt... and also don’t ask how the food was made.”
Just as he finished up an older, portly man with a beard entered the room. The galabeya, a long-sleeved, floor length tunic he wore, was pristine white. Two other men, similarly dressed, but skinnier and beardless, and a woman wearing a flowing skirt and blouse followed him. They sat on the remaining cushions at the table.
“My name is Bakari. I am the head of the Badawi coven.” The portly man introduced himself. “These are some of the Elders: Kek, Sabra and Fukayna.”
Once the introductions were out of the way dishes were delivered to the table. Eli knew the falafel dish as soon as it came to the table, but some of the other dishes he wasn’t sure about. Gamal wasted no time in filling them in on the names of the delectable dishes that came to the table.
“That is mahshi.” He pointed at a dish of red and green bell peppers stuffed with a rice mixture. “That stew is called molokhia. Those green bits are chopped up leafy greens and there is chicken, coriander and garlic.” Everything smelled delicious. “That dish is fattah. On the bottom is rice and some crispy bread, then you have a tomato sauce and beef.”
He took his seat. “For dessert we’ll be having konafa. I’ll explain what it is once it’s served... Eat up.”
Maybe this meeting wouldn’t go as bad as he originally assumed, they were being served a meal. The thought had just barely passed through his mind when Kek, who had yet to serve himself or anyone else spoke. “So you are the Oracle.” He said it as a statement and not a question as he looked at Willow dubiously.
“Yes.” She smiled at the man. Eli could tell she hadn’t caught the man’s tone.
Kek’s eyes cut to Eli. For long, tense seconds they both eyed each other. Eli was trying not to be disrespectful or rude since he was a guest and no longer the leader of The Protectors, but this guy was starting to piss him off. It’s like he wanted to start something just so he could have a reason to make sure Bakari said no to them.
“Kek, let them eat their food in peace. We show our guests hospitality when they come here. There will be time enough for questions after the meal.” Bakari didn’t even look up from his plate of food when he spoke.
It took Kek a minute, but eventually he dished food onto his plate and ate in sullen silence.
“How are you enjoying Cairo so far?” Fukayna asked with a smile.
Willow, Mathilda, Zoriana and Morgana started making small talk with Fukayna.
Every now and then, Eli’s eyes would wander to Kek. The man picked at his food. Annoyance sat on Kek’s face like he’d eaten something bad. Sabra had yet to say anything other than hello. He was engrossed in his food.
Eli knew they were literally on a countdown before the shit hit the fan. This guy wasn’t going to just let this go. Twenty minutes later, Kek exploded just like he thought he would. “Nope. I’m not going to do it. I won’t just sit here and pretend to have a nice meal with these... these, this criminal.” He spat out and then threw his napkin onto the table.
Eli glared at him. Kek’s angry stare didn’t waver. For seconds there was only silence.
“You break the law and then come begging for our help...”
“And I answered for that.” He bit out.
“Yet here you sit... with her.” Kek sneered at him. “Thumbing your nose at us. How disrespectful of you to come here and ask for our help when you know this is wrong...”
Eli stood. “I’m not hungry anymore.” He was seething. There was so much more he wanted to say, but he didn’t want to give this man the satisfaction.
“Please, please, just sit...” Bakari gave Kek a dirty look, but it didn’t make him back down.
Phaedra spoke up. “Maybe it’s best if we go.” She placed her napkin on the table and stood. “We were told when we arrived that there were issues. We’re just here to locate something of importance. Gamal stated that we needed your permission... You asked us here so we came. We’re trying our best to be respectful in your coven, in your country...”
Kek interrupted her. “Respect? What do you know of respect? You bring this half breed in here...” He jabs his finger at Willow. “That’s showing us respect?”
Eli had had enough. If he stayed one minute longer he was going to leap across the table and beat the guy within an inch of his life. ‘Come on Willow let’s go.” Ulrik had the right idea not setting foot in this place. Their group started to get up from the table.
Sabra, Fukayna and Kek began arguing in Arabic.
Bakari followed them outside. He slightly wheezed as he tried to catch up with Phaedra. “Please... forgive... the bad behavior.”
Phaedra stopped so the man wouldn’t over exert himself trying to catch her. “I apologize for the insults you suffered in there.” He looked directly at Willow that time. She was doing her best to appear unfazed, but he knew Kek’s comments hurt her.
“That is not our way and I am embarrassed it happened.” The man wrung his hands. “What was it you said you needed again?”
Gamal spoke up. “They need access to the Sphinx and the Pyramid without the worry of tourists.”
Bakari nodded. “Yes, I will make some phone calls. Please... let me make amends for what happened.” He pleaded with Phaedra.
“Thank you. We appreciate that.” Her gracious manner lit up Bakari’s face.
“Okay. I will go take care of that and call Gamal when it is done.” He scurried back inside the house.
“I’m so sorry that happened.” Gamal looked appalled and embarrassed. Bright red blotches could be seen in the warm brown on the skin of his cheeks. Eli wasn’t sure because of embarrassment, anger or a mixture of both.
“You don’t have to apologize for other people’s stupid behavior.” Morgana consoled him.
“You okay?” Eli pulled Willow close. She nodded, but she wouldn’t look at him. He lifted her chin so she would have to look at him. “Don’t let what that asshat said to you get to you okay.” The word ‘asshat’ made her grin. “He’s just a small-minded bigot.” He was glad he made her smile. Leaning in, he pecked her on the lips.
Bakari must have really felt bad about what happened over lunch because they were ten minutes away from the apartments when Gamal got the call. He had the drivers change route to head in the direction of the Sphinx and the Pyramids.
The energy in the vehicle changed. Everyone seemed to be excited that they might finally find The Book of Prophecy. Willow was practically jumping in her seat with excitement.
It didn’t take them long to get there. As promised, whomever Bakari talked to had it cleared out. There were no tourists. In fact, no one was at the Sphinx or anywhere within the vicinity. The place was completely deserted. He wondered how that had gone down with the tourists being told they had to leave. What excuse had they used?
He couldn’t put too much thought into that right now. They got out of the vans and stood around trying to decide what should happen first.
“Let’s split into groups and walk around the statue. Look for anything that might lead to some hidden access: a button, lever, anything. Or if you see an area where someone could have hidden anything.” Phaedra laid out the game plan. Everyone broke off into groups of twos or threes.
“Please remember to be gentle. It is a piece of history.” Gamal called out to everyone’s back as they headed towards the statue.
His eyes wandered to the human face missing a nose before it raked over the lion body. Considering the myriad of supernatural beings that existed in the modern world he wondered if there had ever been a living, breathing Sphinx.
“Do you think we’ll find it here?” Willow looked up at the statue as she asked the question.
“I don’t know, baby.”
For the next forty-five minutes, they poked and prodded the base of the statue hoping to find a trapdoor, access panel or hidden compartment that held The Book of Prophecy, but nothing.
“I don’t think it’s here.” Willow said breathlessly, like she’d been running a marathon. She was disappointed.
Phaedra looked up at the sky. The light was beginning to fade from the day. “Let’s head over to the pyramids and see if there is anything there before it gets dark.”
Without hesitation, everyone rushed towards the pyramids. There were three in total. “We’ll take the Great Pyramid.” Max called out as he jogged towards the largest of the three pyramids.
“We’ll take the Pyramid of Khafre.” Anippe shouted and Gamal and Ulrik followed her in that direction.
“Okay...” He had no idea the name of the last pyramid. “We’ll take the last one.”
“Meet back at the Sphinx.” Phaedra yelled so her voice would carry over the distance.
Great.
He realized they’d been left with the pyramid that was the farthest away. They couldn’t lose the light. Since there was no one around to see him use magic, what was the harm? “Give me your hand.”
Willow looked over at him, out of breath with sweat on her brow. “What?”
He stopped running. “Give me your hand.”
She stopped and gave him her hand. Once she did, he teleported them closer.
“I thought...” She began.
“We don’t want to lose the light, right?” He winked and gave her a sly grin. She smirked.
They split up and each walked in a different direction around the pyramid. With the light waning, he wanted to make sure they had sufficient time to make it around the pyramid at least once before they had to call it. No matter how much he jabbed his hands and fingers here and there, into cracks, crevices or openings, nothing gave way or opened. He was beginning to believe they were about to hit another dead end. There hadn’t been any loud barks of discovery from any of the other groups either.
Time had slipped away from him, but by the time he looked up again, he could see he and Willow now explored the same side of the pyramid. As they drew closer, he saw the crestfallen look she wore. She shook her head once they stood side by side. “Nothing.”
It was certainly disappointing, but it had to be here somewhere in Egypt. They would find it. “Let’s rejoin the others.” He took her hand and teleported them back to the Sphinx.”