The Society of Imaginary Friends (Book 1 of The Conjurors Series)

Chapter 11

The next day, Valerie and Thai decided to explore the Giza Plateau, where they could go inside the three huge pyramids that they could see from the window of their hotel room, as well as see the Sphinx, a giant statue that was half-lion, half-man.

As they were about to leave, Thai paused. “Hey, Tan. You have something to say?”

“H-h-hi,” Tan’s gravelly voice said with obvious effort. Valerie almost jumped in surprise.

“Your eyes didn’t change!”

“Yeah, that happens sometimes. It takes less effort for him just to speak without taking over completely,” Thai explained.

It was going to be strange talking to two people in one body. It would take some getting used to. She took a deep breath. “Hi, Tan. Do you want to see inside the pyramids?” she asked.

“Y-yes. Thai told me a l-l-lot about them.”

Valerie smiled. “You’ll have to tell me what you’ve learned. It’s all new to me.”

“Ready to go?” Thai asked, in control of his voice again.

“Definitely,” she said eagerly, excited to visit the site that would launch her to the Globe that night. Chisisi was waiting at the entrance of the hotel as they left.

“Good morning to you both.”

“Morning, Chisisi,” Valerie replied.

“I caution you to stay alert today, young ones,” he added.

“Thanks, we will,” she said, waving goodbye.

Once they were out of his earshot, Thai whispered, “Who does Chisisi think he is, calling me young? I’m a grown man!”

“Not much fun being treated like a kid, huh?” she said with a little snicker. “But Chisisi’s cool. He’s looking out for us.”

“I know. I wish he would tell us who his employer is. Maybe he would know more about Venu.”

Valerie shrugged. She didn’t want to dwell on the battle at Stonehenge. It was her last day on Earth, and she wanted to relish every second. The Giza Plateau was a ten-minute walk from their hotel, and she stared as the pyramids grew even larger the closer they came.

After getting their tickets, she hurried over to the base of the Great Pyramid, Thai trailing behind her. As she stood in line waiting to enter, she looked up at the thousands of golden brown stones that made up the Great Pyramid. It towered above her, hundreds of feet high, its ragged edges standing out in sharp relief against the cloudless blue sky. “So what do you know about this place?”

“I know it was the first of the pyramids built here. A pharaoh named Khufu had it built a long, long time ago—around 2500 BC, I think. It was supposed to be where he would be buried when he died, but they never found his body inside,” Thai said.

They reached the entrance to the pyramid, and Valerie squinted, staring into the dark opening and trying to see what was in store for them. The second she stepped inside, an oppressive, humid heat hit her like a punch in the face and made her start to sweat. The hall was dark and narrow. Was the space around her was shrinking, about to crush her? A bead of sweat trickled down her back, making the hair on her neck rise. As they walked deeper into the heart of the pyramid, the same vibrating hum of magic that she felt at Stonehenge returned. It was so strong that it almost overwhelmed her.

“It’s d-dark. I don’t like it,” Tan’s gravelly voice said.

“Don’t worry, buddy, we’ll be out of this hall soon,” Thai said quietly.