The Kuthun (23 page)

‘It’s okay, Phoebs. I’m sorry I put you through so much. I didn’t mean to,’ I say sincerely.

‘So what happened?’ she asks curiously.

I give her the short version of events, making sure to leave out Ama, the dream and the feeling of having been there before. I explain to her that I got lost and that maybe teleporting that far made me a little disoriented.

‘Oh, so nothing exciting happened?’

‘Sorry. That was it.’

‘Oh, okay. Well I’m just glad you’re alright. We were really worried.’

‘I know. I’m sorry.’

We say goodnight and plan to talk in the morning. I put the phone down, hop into bed and snuggle up beneath the covers. Magi jumps up beside me and we hunker down for the night. As I drift off to sleep I am able to catch the faintest scent of jasmine.

I hear footsteps lightly treading through my room. Someone is pacing up and down. I feel so tired, and the thought of opening my eyes takes too much effort so I keep them closed for now.

‘I’m not ready to wake up yet,’ I grumble to the nimble-footed intruder.

I hear a sigh and the pacing stops. ‘Good morning, Shem,’ Ama says warmly. ‘I’m sorry to have woken you.’

‘Too early, Ama,’ I respond annoyed.

‘Well, actually it’s not, but that’s not the point. I really need to talk to you.’

I stay silent under the covers.

‘Elena Wisteria Moonheart Cole, you better come out of those blankets. Do you want me to come in after you?’ I hear her foot tapping against the floor. I can imagine her with hands on hips and her famous one-eyed cocked brow routine being played out above the bed covers that conceal me.

I sit up, feeling resistant to life this morning. The faintest of smirks appears on Ama’s face as she looks at me
.
I must look horrible. I scratch my head and peer at her through half-shut eyes.

‘What is it?’ I ask yawning.

‘Well, after last night’s fiasco where you frightened everyone who loves you to death, I found some rather interesting information on Isis that I thought you would like to know.’

My back bristles at her cutting remark about last night but I bite my tongue and say, ‘Alright, I’m listening.’

She clears her throat. ‘As you know Isis was well-loved by thousands, and still has some very devout followers to this day. By sifting through information kept by these people I found records that I believe could explain who The Watcher is.’

My interest is peeked and I sit up straighter.

‘Isis had many priests and priestesses that aided in her rituals and spells for healings, protection, etcetera. Anyway, I found out that she did have three very powerful beings who worked closely alongside her all day and night. These beings were of physical form but some records indicate that they were also of supernatural origin.’ She sits on the end of the bed. ‘Now, I don’t know whether these beings were actually capable of certain things, but I know that they contributed to the Book of The Dead and helped to elevate Isis to an otherworldly spiritual level, consistent with her Goddess status. One was dedicated to her protection, he was her guardian. The other, was a woman who aided in the healing arts of the spiritual, physical and mental conditions of the body. And the third, was a man of spiritual enlightenment who confessed to being able to channel the word of the Gods through scripture. He was the one who helped Isis lead the people into the New Coming—changing the face of humanity through the worship of the “light”.’

The New Coming
? I remember saying those exact words myself. I rub my forehead. ‘So, The Watcher is one of these three beings you think?’

‘Yes, I think so. At least that would explain why he is revealing himself to you and maybe trying to help you. His name…was Neteru.’

I feel like I’ve heard that name before.

‘If what I was able to decipher from the scrolls is accurate, then he is the one who holds the staff of truth,’ she says.

I remember the golden staff and the whispered words that were spoken. ‘The truth you seek already resides within you. Seek the light and all will be revealed.’

Truth
,
seek
,
light
. These words are beginning to haunt me.

I swing my legs over the bed. ‘Okay, so that would explain why he’s here I guess. So Neteru was Isis’ guardian and he was also the bearer of the staff of truth.’ I ponder on this information and my mind starts to form a picture. ‘So he could be trying to help me find the truth within the light so I can…what? End the Puritans?’

Ama sighs and grabs my hand. ‘Elena, do you really believe that you would be having to fight for your life, and teleport to the ends of the earth, in search of a weapon that would only expel one little bloodline?’ She pats my hand.

She’s right. It is so much more than that. My mind feels like porridge. I can’t seem to make a clear distinction between what I’m learning and what I have to do.

I groan. ‘I’m sorry, Ama. I just can’t think straight right now. Can you just tell me what it is you already know?’

She stands up. ‘I told you, there are some things that you must find out for yourself.’ She grabs my chin in her hand. ‘You’ll figure it out. You have the Cole blood pumping through your veins.’ She smiles at me briefly and then is gone.

I groan with frustration. What am I missing?

‘Ellie! Are you awake?’ Uncle Jo’s voice echoes upstairs.

‘No,’ I mumble in defiance.

‘I heard that! Come down when you’re ready.’

I screw my face up. How the bloody hell did he hear me? I hop out of bed, get dressed, and make my way downstairs extra slowly.

‘There she is. Good morning sleeping beauty,’ he says sarcastically, as I walk into the kitchen. A pile of papers are strewn out over the table in front of him.

I run my hand through my tangled mess of hair and Aunt Lily hands me a warm cup of coffee. I mouth the words
thank you
and smile for the first time that morning.

Uncle Jo pats the bench beside him and I sit down next to him reluctantly.

‘Why are you so chirpy this morning?’ I grumble.

He keeps reading the pages in front of him. ‘It’s a beautiful day, the sun is shining, and everyone is safe. Why wouldn’t I be happy?’

I frown and look to see that Aunt Lily is frowning at him also. What is he up to? I take a sip of coffee.

‘Today would be a good day to venture to Egypt, don’t you think?’ he blurts out.

I splutter my coffee, burning my nose. ‘Uh…I’m confused. I thought I was in trouble?’

‘You are. But the plan still stands. We have to find the light. I also overheard your conversation with Amaris and I think she is right about Neteru.’

‘Do you have super-sonic hearing or something? That was supposed to be a private conversation you know,’ I say disgruntled.

‘Yes, well the fact that I broke down your door actually serves a purpose in that department. Anyway, I think you should have something to eat and we’ll get straight to it.’

The phone rings and he stands up quickly to answer it. ‘Hello. Yep. Good. Were you able to…what? Do you know where? Dammit, Bean, I needed this done now! Right, ring me when you find something.’ He slams the phone down making Aunt Lily jump.

‘Are you alright, Jo?’ she asks him gently.

He rakes his hand through his hair in frustration. ‘Yes, Lil, sorry.’ He walks over and gives her a hug. ‘I don’t know how long this will take, but I want you to remember what we spoke about, and I do not want you to leave this house.’ Aunt Lily nods and hugs him again.

He looks at me. ‘Ellie, when you’re ready meet me out the back.’ He strides out through the back door, grabbing his black knapsack off the counter as he passes.

The kitchen is quiet. ‘Your uncle is acting strange lately, Ellie,’ she says, as she watches him walk towards the barn. ‘I’m a little afraid of what he might do.’ She turns towards me, lines of worry creasing her pretty face.

I get up and walk over to her. ‘He wants to protect us that’s all. I won’t let him do anything stupid, I promise.’ I give her a hug, trying not to show her how unsure I feel about that statement.

I walk outside, telling her not to worry about breakfast as I don’t feel very hungry. I make my way to the barn, feeling the uncertainty surrounding today.

Uncle Jo is fiddling with something inside. He turns and I notice something in his hands.

‘What is that?’ I ask.

He holds it up for me to see. It looks like a vest. I move closer and reach out to feel it. My hand touches the fine material but then I feel something hard and stiff within the breast of it.

‘It’s a Kevlar vest,’ he says.

‘Kevlar! As in army combat protection Kevlar?’ I ask.

He nods. ‘I made it for you. To give you extra protection. It won’t stop
everything
but if we go off how everyone else in our family was killed previously, we can assume that the Venators like to use hand weapons. This should stop most things from penetrating through to your skin.’ He holds the vest up and helps me try it on.

It fits me perfectly. It feels a little heavy but I can still move freely.
So this is what he’s been making out here
.

‘How did you do this?’ I ask, surprised again at his repertoire of skills.

He shrugs. ‘I You Tubed it.’ He winks at me. ‘I made one for Magi also.’ He pulls out a vest that resembles a dog jacket—it’s black and flexible, making it easier for it to blend into Magi’s fur, but also enabling her to move unrestricted. He moves towards her but she backs away snarling.

‘Come on, Magi. Don’t be silly,’ he says.

She looks at me. I send her the image of her and I on the edge of the cliff, to remind her that if I jump she jumps. She grunts and I chuckle. She stops backing away and reluctantly lets him put it on her.

‘You look great, Mags.’ She starts to move about, getting a feel for the jacket. Within a few minutes she seems happy with it and moves to lick Uncle Jo’s hand.

‘Where’s yours?’ I ask.

‘I’m not the one in danger here, Ellie.’ He glances at me briefly before quickly changing the subject. ‘Okay, so are you ready to jump between worlds?’ He rubs his hands together in an
Evil Knievel
type of way and puts his knapsack onto his back.

‘I suppose. I still don’t know whether I can teleport all of us though,’ I say hesitantly.

‘Only one way to find out,’ he says. He wraps his arm around my shoulders and we make our way outside.

We take up our usual positions by the barn and this
time I’m able to remember the Temple of Philae much easier having already been there.

My magic converges with the earth and the air, with the lake and the mountains. When I feel their breath upon my face I take Uncle Jo’s hand and grab onto Magi’s collar. My power converges with the kuthun and the air around me stills, trapping time in a cocoon, waiting until I can emerge from the other side. It takes concerted effort to remain focused and not let the immense power now flowing through me to take over. Uncle Jo squeezes my hand, feeling the shift in energy, and I teleport us through space.

The dry desert air hits me with force. A strong wind has blown up and is stirring the earth and air all around us.

‘What is happening?’ Uncle Jo yells over the howling wind. He covers his face with the back of his arm.

‘I’m not sure. This didn’t happen last time!’ I yell back.

I look to see that Magi is covering her snout behind the back of my leg, trying not to ingest the sandstorm that is playing out around us.

‘We need to get inside. Follow me.’ I start to move forward, already knowing my way like I have been here many times before. Uncle Jo and Magi follow me and we use whatever we can to shield our faces from the biting grains of sand whipping around our bodies.

I see the hazy outline of the temple entry up ahead and make my way towards it with butterflies in my stomach. It isn’t long before we reach the stone pillars of the entryway and move inside out of the sandstorm.

‘That was something,’ Uncle Jo says as he dusts himself off. Magi agrees by shaking her coat, letting sand granules fly off in every direction.

‘Are you folks alright?’ By the way in which he is dressed—cargo pants; a khaki button-up top; a wide-brimmed cap that says Kentucky Wildcats on it; and a pair of white loafers—I can tell that the man who just asked us this question is an American. ‘You came in at a lucky time. That sandstorm just came out of nowhere only a few minutes ago and we all ran for cover. I tell you, nothing like the real experience here in Egypt hey?’ He nudges my uncle’s arm and continues in his southern drawl. ‘I didn’t see you folks out there earlier, otherwise I would have hollered out to you. You sure you’re all alright?’

Did I cause the sandstorm? Are my powers growing that much that I can alter the weather? The thought both excites and disturbs me.

‘We’re fine, thank you,’ Uncle Jo replies. He then keeps up a general conversation, trying to minimise the amount of time he has to spend talking to this man.

I feel a deep humming coming from underground. It vibrates up through the floor, entering my feet and travelling throughout my body. The kuthun starts to heat up on my chest.