CHAPTER 18

Promise Power Backfire

Up on the rooftop of the museum, Catty and Pharaoh were looking up at the sky, their faces aglow from the light of the comet. The roof was decorated for the ceremony with banners and statues and replicas of the strange star child who had once visited the Egyptians.

“I feel so… free!” Pharaoh was ecstatic. “You gave me the confidence to take off my mask in front of everyone! Thank you, Catty.”

Catty tilted her head and grinned. “No, thank you. You showed me your city, your music, and helped me find mine.”

Pharaoh reached out and took her hand, and they gazed into each other’s eyes, their hearts full. They didn’t see Nefera emerging from the shadows, the glowing comet crystal clutched in her hand. Pharaoh and Catty were singing to each other. “The time is right now. We’ve found each other…”

Nefera held the crystal up toward the sky and intoned her wish. “Comet crystal, fragment from above, hear my declaration and make it true: The musical voices of Catty and Seth will forever belong to YOU. Take away their music—and with it, their affection for each other.”

The crystal gleamed with power.

Catty and Pharaoh leaned in for their first kiss, their eyes shut. But just before their lips touched, they lurched forward and each of them felt something leaving their bodies, only they didn’t know what it was. They opened their eyes, confused.

“What was that?” asked Catty.

“I don’t know,” Pharaoh answered, looking around.

Catty opened her mouth to sing, but nothing came out. “I… I… can’t sing.”

Pharaoh realized the same thing at the same moment. “Me neither.”

“I feel…” murmured Catty.

“I don’t feel anything,” said Pharaoh. He let go of Catty’s hands.

Catty looked around embarrassed. It was like she was waking up from a dream. “I’m sorry. I have no music in my heart.”

Madame Ptolemy appeared on the roof. “Seth, come here immediately,” she ordered. She held out his gold mask.

“Yes, Mother!” he responded. “I gotta go.”

Catty sighed, but she wasn’t devastated. What had she been thinking? She couldn’t remember.

From the shadows, the pale light of the comet crystal shone on Nefera’s evil grin. Her plan was working.