Chapter 38 - Nothing is Ever Dull for Louis

" Bad men? Dad! " Louis whispers and begins running further in to meet uo with his father.

" Louis! Let's hurry now, I found a shortcut that'll lead us to the treasure faster. " Justin hastily whispers looking back every so often to make sure the men weren't close behind.

Turning at a corner of the passageway, Justin stops Louis and pushes on few a random tiles that opens up a secret route for them.

Having no time to waste aweing at the new secret passage, the two head in and close the entrance behind them quickly to make it seem like nothing happened.

" How did you even find this? " Louis asks Justin in an excited whisper while Bandit gives starry eyes to the man.

" The map indicates where all the passageway entrances are in the pyramid. All I have to do is get the code right. " Justin informs as he ruffles Louis' head and walks ahead.

Reaching the end of the end of the passageway, justin pulls the torch next to his head opening up the door. When the two step out of the passageway, the door closes once more.

" If the map is right, then we've got at least three more floors before we reach the top of the pyramid where the treasure is held. " Justin states as looks at the map once more before keeping it back inside his jacket again.

" Okay then, let's hurry before those bad guys catch up. " Louis says, not really wanting to be the main reason why another ancient monument blows up again.

The first floor was a labyrinth filled with the most complex mind games that they had to get through.

The second floor was one where they had to dodge numerous obstacles and booby traps flying out at them at such a random pace, that even the world's best acrobat, would have the hardest time getting through it.

The third floor was different from the other two, considering the fact that there was a wall separating the room in half.

And the lever to get to the other side of the room - where the stairs was located, was on the other side of the wall.

The only way to pull the lever, was through a small hole in the wall that was far too small for Louis to fit his hand through.

And funny enough, the hole was just the right size for Bandit to squeeze through and pull the lever. " What are the odds. " Justin says at the discovery.

Once the door was opened and the two were on the other side of the wall, they hear a faint eagle's cry before the door closes.

The father and son look to each other and speak in unison, " We should hurry before they catch up. " Louis places Bandit back into his hoodie after giving the little guy a snack, and the two pick up the pace to get to the top.

After what seemed like hours for Louis, the duo finally made it to the top of the Pyramid where the pendent was being kept.

Walking forward both Princeton's notice that the room was quiet, too quiet for their liking and decided to do something about it.

Taking a small pebble lying around Justin tosses it on the other side of the room and waits for any sign of abnormalities.

Finding nothing out of place, Louis figures everything is safe and steps up to the centre.

Only for a roar to follow immediately after a single step is taken, taking both Princeton's by surprise.

' Who dares enter the Pharoah's Pyramid! ' A booming voice follows the roar making the pebbles on the ground tremor from the volume.

Louis and Justin's eyes widen at the voice, " You've been here? Guarding this place, for thousands of years? " Louis asks the voice softly.

Nothing follows but short silence after that, " Louis, get behind me. " Justin says slowly unsure of what was guarding the pendent.

' I've been guarding the Pharoah's pendent for thousands of years? ' The voice echoes back, softer this time.

" Yes, haven't you noticed? Your the only one whose still here minus the few of us. " Justin says softly as he gestures around them.

" Mind coming out? I've got some water if you'd like a drink. " Louis offers as he conjures a bowl with his wand and fills it with water.

Slowly but surely the owner of the voice steps out, but it wasn't something the two were expecting to see at all.

" A lion? "

• • •

" Hurry up you good for nothing pieces of meat! I've got a treasure with my name on it, and I'm not about to lose it to some Foreigners! "

A man bellows out to the others struggling to get through the second floor twisting their bodies at weird angles.

An eagle was perched proudly on the man's shoulder as it watched the suffering men in glee.

" We just don't get how those two managed to get through this boss. " The man whom sent the eagle to his boss states as he rubs his chin in thought.

" Do I look like I care how they got through this? NO! So get your a.s.s in there and get that lever so I can go get my trophy! "

And with a kick of his boot, he sends the man flying straight through half of the room before landing with a loud thud.

• • •

" Let's start with introducing ourselves before we get to the topic at hand, I'm Louis Princeton and this is my dad, Justin Princeton. " The young boy states as he refills the empty bowl with water once more.

' My name is Leonidas, protector of the pharaohs pendent till the one worthy is able to claim it. ' The lion says once finished with his water.

" If - and only if, your job is done, do you want to come back to England with us? " Justin doesn't know if he should say it's a surprise to him or that he expected his son to say that.

" I'm sure there's something to your liking back home. Or you could just stay here and we'll visit you every now and then. " Louis suggests.

' Why? ' Leonidas asks curiously, ' Why go to such lengths for an old relic like me? I do not get it. ' The lion questions once more.

" No one should be facing the world all by themselves - After all, standing by yourself is harder than standing together. Don't you think so? " Louis gives a small smile to the lion in an attempt to brighten up his mood.

Leonidas could've sworn he saw the pharaoh inside of Louis making him surprised, but the image went away when an explosion happened at the bottom of the stairs.

" What was that? " Louis asks as he wh.i.p.s his head to where the noise came from, Justin went to the entrance of the room to find out.

Things were not looking bright for their situation when he caught sight of a band of poorly dressed men gathered together at the bottom of the stairs.

Turning back to Louis he takes out the map and quickly scans for the closest exit in the room. " Dad? Please tell me it's not what I think it is. " Louis questions hoping that he's gut feeling is wrong.

" It's the raiders, and we don't have much time so we gotta go now. " Justin quickly says as he runs to the back of the room and searches the wall frantically.

" But what about Leonidas and the Pharoah's pendent! " Louis asks panicking at the thought of leaving a friend behind.

' Louis, " Leonidas calls for the boy, " What? " He asks the lion with desperation clear on his face.

' Follow me. '

Leading Louis to the top of the pedestal where the pendent lays, Leonidas nudges the boy with his head gently ' Take the pendent from the pedestal and leave the pyramid, I'll be right behind. ' He says.

" But! " Louis begins but Justin cuts him off, " Louis, there's no time to dilly dally, trust Leonidas and take the pendent! Their going to come barging in at any moment now! "

And as if to justify his statement, the banging on the now closed-off entrance at the top of the stairs, makes Louis turn and face the pendent.

' Here goes nothing! ' He thinks and heads for the grab.

With the pendent in his grasp and off the pedestal finding out nothing bad was going to happen, the three inside the room let out a sigh of relief.

" Let's get going! " Justin hurries Louis as the door to the secret passageway in the back room opens at last.

Seeing that Louis was running too slow, Leonidas decides to throw him onto his back along with his father, and run at full speed out of the sight of the pyramid.

And in the far off distance behind them, they could hear the anger in the voice that promised vengeance on them.

• • •

" So what do we do now? We certainly can't act like bringing a lion on the plane isn't a big deal, No offence Leonidas. " Justin says as they stop for a quick break.

" I could ask get Aego to bring us back home? " Louis suggest, " Doesn't he live in the states? " Justin asks.

" From his last letter, it seems like he is nearby. If I'm right, he said he was flying over the red sea for some rest and relaxation. " Louis recounts as he takes out a quill and some paper from his leather jacket.

' Who is this Aego you speak of? ' Leonidas questions the two, " You'll know soon enough. " Justin says as he takes a sit on the ground.

" Okay, Aego said it'll take him a sometime until he can get to where we are so we've got the rest of the two weeks to ourselves! " Louis happily informs the two with Bandit in his hands.

" Alright then, we should head back to the hotel to hide out for a while until the situation blows over. " Justin says as he stands up and heads to the direction of the hotel.

" What about Leonidas? Won't he be seen? " Louis asks puzzled, " He's fine, I already cast my spell on him to make him invisible so nothing can find him unless he wants to be found. "

Happy at the fact that Leonidas won't be found out or put in a zoo against his will, Louis and Justin also turn invisible and head back to the hotel.

• • •

It wasn't until after a few days of laying low, that Justin decided that the coast was clear and the three could leave the hotel without any immediate threat looming over their heads.

" Let's explore this area while we still can! " Louis decides out of nowhere and starts dragging his father through a busy street.

" Boss, we found them. " The man from the temple says as he hands the binoculars to his boss.

" Ambush them and get the treasure. Make sure they pay for what they've done. " The eagle perched on his shoulder lets out a shrill cry aimed at the two Princeton's.

• • •

For some odd reason, when the break was over and when it was finally time for Aego to give them a lift back to England, the raiders decided it was the perfect chance to get the treasure and their revenge too.

When the three were in a secluded corner with Leonidas being invisble and Louis and Justin being visible so Aego could spot them, the boss of the raiders decides to let his presence be known.

" Well, well, well look what we have here boys it's the thieves who stole my treasure! " He hollers out sounding like a dying donkey.

" What's dying here? A donkey or a horse? " Louis subconsciously says as he places his hands to his ears. The comment however, made Justin laugh aloud in tears and the boss blow a fuse.

" Shut up you damn midget, and give me back my the treasure you old man! " He angrily shouts at them sounding more like a dying chicken now.

" Can you please not shout? My ears are bleeding from the dying animal sounds. " Louis says once more without thought making Justin laugh even more harder.

" THAT'S IT! BOYS, TEACH THEM A LESSON. " The leader shouts even louder this time closely resembling a dying goose.

" Please don't, my ears can't take anymore animal noises. " For some odd reason, Louis couldn't help the words the spilling out of his mouth today. But it did make the situation liven up.

" Attack! " One of the men randomly yells out at his attempt of a battle cry, but he couldn't hide the laughter in his voice as he did so.

The raiders didn't even take three steps forward before fire breathed down on them from above.

Eyes catching onto the familiar flames, Louis turns his head upwards and waves his arms to the sky " Hi Aego! " He happily greets the menacing dragon above them.

Leonidas who was on the sidelines with Bandit in his mane, went up to the two with his eyes wide open.

' Aego is a Dragon?! '