Cainus trembled as the Unpharaoh continued the story of her childhood.

“I decided purple magic was the key,” she croaked. “The very thing I needed to become worthy of the Pharaoh’s Beard. So one night I sought out the magician. He lived in a sorry, forgotten place by the Nile. It was a disgusting, depressing, revolting spot. Ooh, how I wish I lived there now!”

The misty scene changed again. It showed a foul patch of dying reeds by the river. The land was littered with the skeletons of birds and serpents, and strange animals the likes of which Cainus had never seen.

As the girl trudged over the soil, a man appeared from the reeds. His face was terrible to behold, with a brow that jutted so far forward Cainus couldn’t see his eyes. Ripples of moonlight glowed from beneath his moist, purple skin.

“He frightened me, but my will was strong,” the Unpharaoh continued. “I asked him to train me.”

Cainus’s eyes were wide. His mistress had never admitted to being frightened. “And you learned purple magic from this man?”

“No, I learned it from a friendly talking giraffe. Of course I learned it from this man, you oaf! That’s why I’m telling you the story!”

“I am a poor audience,” the jackal sighed.

“His training was hard. It tore at my mind, my very soul. It turned my brown eyes red, and my teeth grew sharp. My father and mother spurned me, forbidding me to enter their house. But night after night I returned to the riverbank, and I grew strong in magic. One evening, however, when I arrived for my usual session, somebody else was there!”

Cainus sat up, excited. “The talking giraffe?”

“There’s no giraffe, you twit! It was another girl, my own age. I was no longer the man’s only student.”

Cainus now saw the other girl, projected on the mist.

“From then on, he taught the two of us. He taught us the very same spells, though the lessons affected her differently. Her mind was not as fierce as mine. We completed the training after four long years . . . then Egypt was ours!”

Cainus frowned at the mist, confused. “I think I remember that girl. She used to visit you in your gorgeous palace and get awfully cross with you about things. Anyway, are we still keen on revenge? Or are you writing your life story instead?”

“Ah, Cainus,” chuckled the sorceress, “that girl from long ago is the very seed of my revenge. Sometimes I can sense wisps of her thoughts, for we shared a deep connection. After I died, I became curious about her. I listened in sometimes with a little . . . trinket I keep. One day, I sensed that she was in agony, for she had created this!”

The misty scene shifted to a room made of glowing stone. Its walls were decorated with hieroglyphs, showing all manner of people. None of them looked very happy.

“A dingy room?” said Cainus. He could hardly hide his disappointment. “What was she, some sort of decorator?”

The Unpharaoh’s voice swelled with relish. “What she built is far more wicked than a mere room, Cainus. It’s a void. A chamber of terrible purple magic, hidden away in the greatest pyramid in all of Egypt. The god Osiris described it to me, but I am not sure of its exact appearance. What I can sense is that my classmate’s deadly chamber is still there to this day. Few people have discovered it, though one more is about to. For you, my dearest slave, will lead Bab Sharkey to the Void . . . and trick him into going inside. Not even the Pharaoh’s Beard can protect him against the evil of that place. Once he goes in, the Beard shall become mine!”

“I’d be delighted,” said Cainus, looking anything but. Three of his four legs now twitched uncontrollably.

The crone clicked her fingers and the mist cloud evaporated.

“Not as delighted as I,” she whispered. “I detested that girl. All our dealings with magic of late have reminded me of her after all these centuries. My connection with her and the Void is rather vague, but there is one thing I am sure of. She would have been especially sad to see someone like Bab Sharkey meet his end in that place. It is time to use the Spongy Void against him!”

Cainus blinked. “This deadly chamber of terrible magic,” he said. “It’s . . . spongy?”