The Scorpion of The Sahara...Trials of Fate Book 2

CHAPTER 19: THE SCORPION FESTIVAL

I woke up to Natalia's boot on my face.

"Rise and shine, dumbass," she said as soon as I opened my eyes to wonder what the heck was going on.

"Ugh," I felt kind of weird, probably because I'd gone on a trip to heaven and back and lost my stomach on the way. I looked up at her, "Someone's in a good mood."

"Someone went out with my brother last night," she responded as I stretched, "What were you two talking about?"

"What makes it your business?" I turned to Sal, who was still asleep. I nudged her a bit, "Hey, Sal? Asalah?"

She opened her eyes and turned lazily to me.

"Time to get up," I smiled at her, "Today's the big day. We're finally getting you outta here."

She blinked, then yawned, "We...are...?"

"Yeah," Natalia bent to her and smiled, "We're gonna rescue Jones' mum and fly outta here in no time. Then you'll be free forever."

Sal's eyes were practically twinkling. "Forever...?"

Natalia nodded, "Forever and ever. They'll never come for you again."

That was all Sal needed to get up and excited. She stood up and turned to me, then said, "Then let's go!"

"We will in a moment, Sal," Hannah came over and looked at me, "But we gotta rescue Jones' mum, first."

I stood up, "That look on your face says you got a plan."

"I do," Hannah smirked. "Follow me."

She walked off, and Sal, Natalia and I followed her.

I turned to Natalia, "You look cuter when you smile."

She turned to me and blinked, a bit surprised. "Where did that come from?"

Hannah looked up and shouted, "Tueal, alsaqrand!" And in less than a minute Sam flew down from the skies.

At that moment Mac came over and Stan flew over from the direction of the kingdom, holding a bunch of clothes. He nodded at Hannah and said, "I got enough clothes for everyone. And you were right; preparations are still fully underway. Everyone's getting ready to celebrate the Scorpion festival."

"Then Plan A it is," Hannah responded and turned to us, "Alright, guys, the plan is simple: This fort opens up in about fifteen minutes, give or take. We'll have to dress up and leave here as soon as possible."

She turned to Natalia, "Natalia, you're in charge of taking care of Sal. We'll grab a bunch of clothes to use as disguises to blend in. Mac, Jones and I would advance closer to the Queen when the ceremony begins, while Stan makes sure you and Sal are as far away from harm as possible before we execute our plan."

"Which is...?" I raised an eyebrow, but Mac raised his hand, "Hold on, how's Stan supposed to make sure Natalia is safe? What if someone spots him flying?"

Stan smirked, "Oh, I'm not flying."

"What?" Mac looked at him funny before he explained, "There are swarms of insects in and around the kingdom, and as the son of the god of insects I can see through their eyes using a clairvoyance technique my father taught me. I'll just send off a few insects to keep an eye on them."

Hannah nodded, "That said, Stan's our main scout. We're gonna need him for this plan to work. Once he's determined that Sal and Natalia are safe, we make our move. There's a chance that she'll use Jones' mother as bait to lure him out, but if not, she'll be in one of the dungeons in the kingdom. Stan's clairvoyance would help us search for her above ground, and once he's determined that she's not, I'll tell you guys what to do.