There was a much different mood emerging from the sky now. Cottony silver clouds began to float in, and for the first time, I felt the coolness of the shade on my sun-leathered face. In all my haze, I immediately recognized the shift. The freshly altered atmosphere enabled my nostrils to breathe in a refreshing, brisk air.

Disoriented and aching from the fall, I gradually picked up my head to observe Seth -- now displaying an altered appearance.

He wobbled as he walked while his elongated, bowed cane assisted his lanky limbs. His head still unmistakably expressed that of a Jackal, but now without the lengthy and powerful features he once boasted. His latest form fashioned the lower half of a frail human. In my mind, the new silhouette signified his certain loss. Seth no longer exhibited the deeply feared god his reputation upheld.

He strolled away in defeat with the elevated knowledge that Horus would always overcome him while he apprehended his whole physical truth. In salvaging his right eye, Horus would now hold control of day and night - the sun and the moon.  

With any hope to overthrow Horus with me permanently under his wing, Seth would have to re-strategize. He was no longer a threat for the time being and I welcomed this freedom.  One less evil to defend myself from equated to one step closer to recovering The Papyrus of Ani.

My bliss departed when I began to tune in to the whispers of the gargantuan, swirling black cavity that still existed next to me. “Oh my gosh! – Ashley!” That had sparked the thought that Ashley was still buried in a hardened sand casket waiting for me to rescue her.

I knocked on her protective helmet to make sure that she was okay. Her voice was muffled while it echoed as if in an underground tunnel.

“M.J. – please get me outta here. I am beginning to suffocate!”

“Okay Ash. Close your eyes tight. I am going to order my brush to chisel away until you are free.”

I held the brush in my hand and took into account that I was able to control it when I concentrated as deeply as my mind would allow. I could feel it reading my very thoughts. My eyes shut tight as I wiped my mind clean of any other thoughts and demanded the brush’s assistance.

The brightness of the brush’s luminosity blazed through my closed eyelids. My hands shook up and down as the end of the handle hastily broke off pieces of the shatter-proof outer shell that encased my best friend.

I heaved her up out of the ditch and wrapped my relieved arms around her. A new level of respect for me defined the reflection in her eyes. She wasn’t able to see a thing above her, but she never lost hope and trust in me. We both looked into the dusk lit sky and quieted as Horus began to declare nightfall.

He descended to the dunes to display his gratitude toward me.

Horus finally able to relax - his wings retracted – his sharp claws nuzzled into the soothing sand below his feet. Both eyes now illuminated through his stately helmet to brighten the shadowy, night sky. A deep voice commanded our attention.

“I have been watching you every night since your arrival…..waiting for the powers of the Chosen one to flourish. I could never have expected the gift I have received from you tonight. I will always be indebted to you, and you will forever be under my protection.”