Saving Sakhmet: Part Three

by princess_zelda38

"It says…first we must go to the front of the Employment Agency," I said. So we walked over.

"Next go fifty Grarrl paces right," said Tide. So we started walking in big, giant, Grarrl steps.

"Look to the sky and say this poem:

Faeries grant wishes
So be good
And do your dishes

Bryte_Fyre giggled. I could tell, though, that this morning seemed so far away to her. We all looked at the sky and said the poem, when a Faerie came down, it was an Air Faerie.

"Like, wow! My job is like so dull, guarding…and guarding…but finally people have come! Like what a great day!"

"May we please pass?" I asked the Air Faerie politely.

"You have to like…uhh…teach me a game I can play by myself so I won't be bored!"

Bryte looked at me. We smiled and decided to show the Faerie our secret game.

"It's called Pyramids," said Bryte. "Here's how you play." And we taught the Faerie

"Can we pass now?" I asked.

"Like…sure." The Faerie was totally absorbed in the game. As she said this, the clouds formed into stairs that led down to Spooky Woods. My heart was beating so hard as I saw Spooky Woods, but I knew we had to go.

"I'm scared," said Bryte as we saw the Spooky Forest looming ever closer. Scarab gave her a pat on the back and she smiled. Following Scarab's example, I hugged my pets close to me.

"We'll get through this," I whispered.

The Woods were and still are the scariest place I've ever been to. The minute we got in, I noticed why it is called the Haunted Woods. Every time you move, you hear a bat's shriek. Every time your foot touches the ground, a hand reaches out to grab it. Every time you look behind you, there's a shadow. Every time you think you're safe, know you're not.

I could tell that Bryte_Fyre felt pretty bad. We were going through all of this for her, but she knew she needed our help, and so did Sakhmet.

It was getting dark, so we found holes in tree trunks (one for each of us) and went to sleep.

I woke, and no one was in his or her tree holes. I couldn't find them anywhere, no matter which path I took, I ended up in the same spot. I sat down and started to cry. I felt so lonely.

"Perfect…it worked. Ha…ha…ha." I turned, only to find the Swamp Ghoul staring at me. His hair was matted and unkempt, all his clothes were filled with holes and his face was little more than bone. But, the scariest parts were his eyes. They glowed a demonic red, sunken into his skull.

I was no fool; I had read the articles in the evil section. I knew the Swamp Ghoul liked preying on lonely people best…so I remembered, hard. I thought of Ari, Hiteru, Tide, Bryte, and even Scarab comforting me, and the Swamp Ghoul looked panicked.

"No…this can't be…oh…shoot!" He added the last one as the world faded away around me.

"Where were you? We were so worried!" said Bryte.

"Swamp Ghoul." They never asked me any more about it.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!" screamed Aristothonea.

I turned to see a tree picking her up by the hair. I started to run, but I found another tree had grabbed my leg. Hiteru jumped, but not before a tree had his hair. The trees had already picked up Tide by his wings. As Scarab was being snatched, Bryte grabbed his backpack. She grabbed a small vial out of it and opened the sand to the winds. As her Acara mark glowed, the sand swirled around, blinding the trees' eyes. They dropped us and we ran as fast as we could.

Aristothonea looked at Bryte_Fyre and said, "I know now you can save Sakhmet." Then, wonder of wonders, Aristothonea turned into the Faerie Queen. "I had to see if you were the one, I realize now that you are, here is the real Aristothonea back. We changed places when she was getting the deck of cards for the Air Faerie Here Bryte_Fyre, you will need this." The Faerie smiled and vanished.

Ari turned and said, "It was fun staying in the palace." I just hugged her, I was glad she was back.

Then I turned to see Bryte holding a staff. It had a golden pyramid on the end with a diamond top. The staff itself was strong palm tree wood from an oasis, inlaid with diamonds.

"Can I have some sand, Scarab?" Bryte asked distractedly. She opened the diamond top and poured the sand in the opening until it was full. Smiling, she closed the lid shut. The whole staff began to glow.

"It is the Staff of Pyramidaria, the first Queen of the Lost Desert," Scarab said reverently.

"What do you do with it?" asked Bryte. She started to wave it around and the trees opened up to reveal the Lost Desert.

To be continued...