“All right,” I whispered.
Asten wove a spell and his body lit from within. A brilliant, starry-white light encompassed him and grew until it filled so much space, I had to back up and look away. The water was up to my knees now, and it lapped at Dr. Hassan’s feet.
A deafening bird’s cry drew my attention back to Asten. Instead of the handsome Egyptian prince, a sparkling white bird large enough to give the megaworm a run for its money danced back and forth in the water on long legs. It seemed at home as it dipped its head toward me, its tapered beak touching my shoulder gently.
Climb onto my back.
“Asten?”
Yes. Hurry. We must move quickly. Amon is tiring.
The great bird crouched down and I waded closer, taking hold of his neck, which was skinny compared with the rest of his body, but I could feel the powerful muscles beneath the downy feathers. “What if I fall, or get airsick?” I asked as I threw my leg over the bird’s back and settled myself.
I won’t let you fall, but if you get sick all over my beautiful feathers I will likely cast you off. His laughter echoed in my mind. After dipping his beak into a sodden pile of wriggling worms, the bird lifted his head and gobbled two giant mouthfuls before striding through the water.
Not the feast I was hoping for, but they will nourish me during the flight.
Grimacing, I stared at the gleaming worms and wondered if I would ever end up that desperate.
Asten extended his wings and flapped them before leaping dozens of feet in one powerful jump. I clung to his neck desperately as he hopped onto a rock protruding from the water. I glimpsed Dr. Hassan waving at us as Asten leapt into the air and spread his wings.
Surging wind whipped my hair back as the bird rose. The tips of his wings brushed the spilling waterfall and then we were out into the open sky, flying above the Oasis of the Sacred Stones. My stomach seemed to have been left in the cavern, and I wondered for a desperate minute if I was going to throw up. As Asten leveled off, circling over the mountain, I was finally able to get control over my stomach.
You are not sick, are you? he asked as if reading my thoughts. I wondered if, like Amon, he could.
I replied without speaking. Can you hear me if I talk to you through my mind?
Yes. Though it takes concentration.
“Then I’ll just talk to you as long as you can hear me.”
That is much easier. Thank you.
“You’re welcome. Now let’s go back and get Amon.”
Do you remember that you agreed to trust me?
“Yes, but—”
Just then, Amon, in the form of the golden falcon, burst out of the hole in the mountain, a soaking-wet Dr. Hassan clinging to his neck. The falcon pounded his wings furiously and moved from side to side, which at first I assumed was an attempt to help Dr. Hassan safely onto his back, but then the giant worm burst from the mountain right behind them, mouth open, its body bruised and broken.
It clamped on to the falcon’s tail feathers, and the bird cried out as it pulled away. The only prize for the monstrous worm was a single gleaming golden feather that spun in the air, dropping slowly until it met the wet rocks where the waterfall had once been. Almost mournfully, the worm screeched a final time before retreating back into the mountain.
The golden bird soon caught up to us and lifted his head to peer at me.
“Are you all right, Amon?” I called out, but as much as I concentrated I couldn’t hear his reply.
If you have a message for him, I can relay it for you, Asten said. I am connected to both Amon and Ahmose.
“Really? What’s that like? You can still hear Ahmose even though we haven’t raised him yet?”
Wait a moment. Asten tilted his head as if listening to something far off. Amon wishes for me to inquire as to your health, he said finally.