Chapter 12: The Chase

“I didn’t mean you any harm. But I need to know where you are from and what you are going to do in our land,” the priestess said, who got nearer to them while still riding on the back of the horse.

“We did not wish to be here,” Diana said as well in Archaic Egyptian.

Eric was so impressed that he smiled a bit. But when he realized it was idiotic of him, he put on a serious face again. He had not a vaguest idea on what they were going to do in this ancient time and place. And just how they ended there…

The priestess frowned and sized them up again. “You fought very well,” she told the two guys and nodded. “My guards and I did not see anything like it before. I wish to keep you all in my temple with King Iry-Hor. I am sure he would want to keep you and use you against our enemies.”

The four teenagers frowned at the priestess. They looked afraid to be forced to fight for this priestess and her king—whoever King Iry-Hor was. They did not want to be a part of any war or anything like it, and certainly, they did not want to be here in the first place! They just wanted to find their way home. How to do that, they hoped they would be left in peace.

The priestess commanded the guards to take them away as she moved away. But Kent and Eric fought again against the guards. And out of nowhere, a magnificent man riding on a horse with a spear in his hand came charging. He did not have a headdress on his bald head but he wore a scanty stripe black-and-red linen cloth around his hips. His left ankle was adorned with garnet and jasper beads.

“Priestess Nehes, I will not let you take them away!” The tall dark man pointed his spear at the priestess.

The witch priestess’ eyes turned into slits in anger. How dared this Medjay come between her and the four foreigners? He even dared to look at her in the eye!

“Kill him!” the priestess commanded the remaining guards by her side.

The twelve guards came charging at the man on the horse but Kent and Eric helped the huge man using their martial arts. The Medjay killed most of the guards while the two young male foreigners managed to knock the others unconscious.

The priestess could do nothing but to run away on horseback, back to her temple.

“Quick!” the Medjay advised and helped the girls to get on the horse. “Go to the city.” He seemed to address the horse. The animal appeared to have understood it. It neighed and nodded before running off quickly with the two girls on it.

“Hey, wait!” Eric shouted as he followed the horse fast.

“Should we do the same?” Kent asked with sudden confusion.

“Yes, we must run and follow the horse,” the Medjay answered evenly and so Kent followed. He had no choice anyway.

They must be running for miles but their stamina helped them to get through the ordeal. The horse though still ran so fast compared to the boys who were after it.

Elise, on the other hand, thought of reigning in the horse to a halt. But it seemed that the horse had his own mind and kept going as if they were still running for their lives.

“Where are we going?” Diana asked. She was seated astride behind the younger girl.

“I don’t know. But the man did say to the city,” Elise answered to her friend, slightly turning her head. The desert night wind whipped their hair as they rode.

“I can see that they are still following us from a distance. I can’t believe they can run that far,” Diana remarked, looking over her shoulder. The moving flashlight was the sign of it.

“They’ll make it with us,” Elise spoke with certainty.

“We must hurry!” The Medjay told the two teenage boys. “The witch priestess will soon come after us with the king’s army.”

“What?” Eric interjected. “I did not even catch my breath yet!” he complained with a hoarse voice.

“What will they do to you if we got caught?” Kent asked the Medjay while they were still running. Their shoes were buried in the sand with every step, making their movements more labored than on flat ground.

They made sure that the horse and the riders were safe and still in sight. A tiny glow-in-the-dark piece that was part of the horse’s saddle was their hint that the girls were still moving ahead of them.

“They will never let me go. The witch priestess has been looking out for me since. She wanted to slay my whole clan after I went inside the sacred temple.”

“Why? Is it a crime?” Eric asked.

“Oh, yes! It is. Nobody should be inside the temple except the king, the high ranking officials, the priests and priestesses. And, of course, the guards as well because they watch the place. That’s the law and tradition in our land. No ordinary persons can enter the temple without permission, especially the temple’s garden and pool. Anyone could be punished severely because of it.” The Medjay explained.

“Why, what did you do inside the temple?” Eric asked him suspiciously.

The huge man chuckled a bit, if Eric was not mistaken.

“I wanted to witness the evening ritual. And after that, I visited the temple’s garden and took a bath in the pool.”

Eric shook his head glancing at the Medjay with a serious face. He could not believe that this serious looking man would do such a thing. It was like he was looking at a freak but an ancient peeping Tom.

“That was really too much, huh?” he mused aloud.

“The water in the pool is really cool after a very hot day in our land, you know?” the Medjay reasoned out.

Eric could imagine it as he was feeling so freaking hot now in his jeans and shirt. And they were still running to boot! Sweat already made his shirt and pants sticking to his skin that it felt difficult to move freely.

The city was very close now as they saw torches not far away. They could almost taste freedom in their mouth but Kent looked back and saw a big wave of torches coming after them.

“Eric?” Kent softly called out but his voice was filled with anxiety.

Eric looked in the direction where Kent was looking while they were running.

“Big man, is that what I think it is?” Kent asked for a confirmation from their savior.

“She’s so persistent!” Eric mumbled with a frown that twitched his handsome face.

“I suppose she’ll not ever let me go this time,” the Medjay stated, looking behind them as well.

They looked forward again. The horse and the ladies were safely entering the city gates now. But at this rate, they could catch everybody’s attention because of their clothes. And yet, they could not do anything about it at the moment. They had to resolve it when they themselves got inside the city gates.

The three guys stopped and examined their surroundings when they entered the city gates. The two guards were only looking at them with eyes open wide. They had never seen anyone with those clothes that Kent and Eric wore before in their life. And not to mention, they hadn’t seen their white face that looked so foreign with their strange hair colors, not to mention Kent’s eye color.

The buildings seemed so cramped together and some odd looking houses were also nearby. They found the horse at the end of an alley. The girls stood with their backs on the wall.

“I think my butt is sore.” Diana massaged her butt as she spoke.

“Hey, I don’t think we need the clothes I have packed in my bag after all. We need something kind of clothes like the locals,” Eric suggested.

“Wait here. The soldiers are coming. You just hide yourselves over there,” the Medjay said, pointing to a broken litter at the far side of the adjacent wall of a building and he was gone with his horse.

They did crouch low and hid behind the litter as told. The two guys were catching their breath while Elise closed her eyes.

“What are you doing?” Diana asked after moments of Elise’s silence with eyes tightly shut.

“I’m trying to hide us from the soldiers if they come this way,” Elise said and opened her eyes.

“What? How is that even possible?” Diana asked, bewildered. Her eyes bulged in the dim-lit place they were in.

“I think everything is possible here,” Kent supplied quietly. He looked above and around them. “We understand Archaic Egyptian. We can speak it. And I feel stronger than before. I think everything is just possible here,” he concluded.

“I agree, though I can’t wrap this around my head yet,” Eric said quietly, frowning.

Diana blinked her eyes fast and thought about everything since the beginning. “Then I don’t think it was not a small incident that we got here,” Diana deduced, looking at them straight in the eyes.

And it all dawned on them.