As soon as she sat at their table, Ius leaned over and asked, “are you okay?”

Poppy kept her eyes closed and nodded.

She then drank some water. “I’m okay. Thank you for asking. I’ll tell you later. For now, my stomach is torturing me.”

“Here, take some more water,” said Ius while handing her another glass.

Surprisingly, the adults didn’t seem to notice how unwell Poppy had become. Joe’s attention was solely on Altan who had been cluing him on what had happened, and Joe was worrying about Mokhtar’s next step.

“What type of Jinn is Mokhtar?” asked Joe

Altan smiled. “He is an Ifrit.”

“I have heard that they can be a tad difficult,” said Joe

Altan giggled, “not difficult, just mischievous and also stubborn! Mokhtar is actually a member of the High Council, like me.”

Joe frowned. ‘’ So why was he in confinement?’’

‘’Let's just say that he refused to comply with his duty to the board had to discipline him. But we will deal with him. You do not need to be worried, Joseph.’’

He added. “I have had some dealings with your coven before. Are you a descendant of Philippa Southhill?”

Joe’s eyes grew in size.

He smiled, “Yes! Where did you hear about Nanna Pippa?”

“It is a long story. But if I may, as a wizard, what treasures have you collected so far?” Asked Altan.

Joe’s eyes shone. “My greatest achievement is a piece of Jason’s ship, The Argo, currently on display in a private museum in Zurich. I was also fortunate enough to have found Freya’s necklace.”

“The Brísingamen? Interesting. How on earth did you find it?” Asked Altan.

Joe smiled. “I was lucky enough to discover a descendant of the dwarves that made it. He gave me a vial of his blood, and it led me to the necklace.”

Altan raised one eyebrow while staring at Joe. “I am impressed.”

Joe smiled, leaned over and whispered, “let me let you in on a secret. The real reason we are here in Egypt is that I am searching for the original Book of Thoth.'

Altan looked surprised. “Do you have any lead?”

“No, not really. I usually rely on my instincts, and it has never failed me!’’ Answered Joe in a confident tone. ‘’ But this time, I couldn’t make any connection. Maybe your presence has somehow blocked my senses.” And he laughed.

Altan’s eyes shone for a second. He stared at Joe, perplexed. ‘’ I do not think that, but keep at it. You will sense something eventually.’’

While the uncles were chatting, Poppy was getting progressively worse. Ius grabbed Altan’s arm and said, “Uncle, something is wrong with Poppy.”

Joe finally realised that his niece was pale and silent. He placed his hand on her forehead, checked her neck where some rashes had formed, and finally placed his hand on her stomach.

He turned to Altan, who nodded at him.

“What? What? What’s wrong with her?” asked a frantic Ius.

Altan placed his hand on his nephew’s shoulder. “It is alright, Ile Ulugan, she will be fine.”

Joe added. “She absorbs bad energy. A warlock must practise dark magic nearby. Her body is reacting negatively to his dark energy.’’

Joe rubbed her back gently. ‘’ Try to breathe, sweetheart. It will pass.’’ He looked at Altan and Ius, then added. ‘’ Her powers would help to ease the discomfort, but she has been without them for the past two years, so she will have to endure it. ”

Altan waved to a server and asked for fresh ginger tea and some mint leaves. ‘’ They are other ways than powers that can help,’’ he said, smiling at Poppy.

As soon as the tea arrived, Joe made a reluctant Poppy take a few sips. Immediately, her discomfort started disappearing; the more she drank, the stronger she felt.

She smiled and breathed a sigh of relief, but she couldn’t hide the shivers she felt when she remembered that a man tried to enter the loo while she was still in.

Ius who had not taken his eyes off her, took her hand and squeezed it gently. He turned to the adults and said, “we need to find that warlock and stop him.”

His uncle smiled. “Stop him from doing what? Last time I checked, it was not illegal to dabble in the dark art.”

Ius clenched his fist and then added, “ok, then let’s tell the manager what is going on in his restaurant.”

Altan shook his head. “My dear nephew, what exactly are you planning on telling him? That you have evidence of dark practice? And what will you say when he asks how you know a warlock is using dark magic on the premises?”

Joe said to Ius, “just let it go young man. Besides, I am fairly certain that the manager knows about the warlock. Unlike light magic, dark magic takes a lot of work and ingredients, not to mention chanting and summoning. It would be impossible for the warlock not to be caught by the restaurant staff.”

“Ok, so what are we supposed to do? Drench Poppy in ginger tea?” Asked Ius with a grimace on his face.

“No, but that’s not a bad idea. How do you say, can we have a barrel of ginger tea please in Arabic?’’ responded Joe between two chuckles while looking at Poppy.

His joke did the trick. Poppy giggled, and they all laughed.

‘’ I think it is time for us to leave. Let us take Penelope away from this place.’’ Concluded Altan.

Upon hearing this news, Poppy’s eyes brightened. Thank God.

As soon as they arrived at the Hotel, Joe and Altan sent them up to their rooms while they relaxed in the hotel’s lobby.

Poppy grabbed Ius by the sleeve and dragged him toward the stairs.

“Poppy, what the heck what are you doing? Someone definitely feels better!” Ius said while taking back his sleeve.

“Remember the guy that was staring at me at the restaurant?”

Ius giggled, “you mean the guy YOU were staring at, at the restaurant? Yeah sure.”

She slapped his arm. “Can you please be serious for a minute? I am scared, Ius, and I can’t even tell my uncle.”

Ius composed himself and tapped her on the shoulder. “Sorry, go ahead. Tell me. “

She took a big breath. “I have seen that man three times already, and he is not a guest at the hotel. The first time was in this lobby. The first day we arrived. He kept staring at Uncle Joe and me.”

“ Ok”

“Then I saw him at the reception desk one evening and tonight again at the restaurant, arguing with the hostess, remember?”

Ius nodded, “yes, I remember.”

“And now for the creepiest part. He tried to enter the girls’ toilets to kidnap me.”

Ius raised a brow. “Kidnap you? How do you know who was on the other side of the door? Maybe it was one of the restaurant customers. By definition, it is a public restroom!”

Poppy shook her head. “He said, ‘open the door, we need to chat or discuss something’. That’s when I knew it was an adult, a man.”

“That doesn’t mean it was THE guy you showed me,” said Ius with a pout.

Poppy gasped, then rolled her eyes. “When I saw him the first time, I started shivering. The same thing happens when he was trying to force his way into the toilet.”

Ius frowned, “and you said nothing? What if he had broken in or killed you?”

Poppy started pacing. “I just…I was worried my uncle would cut the trip short and take me home. I like it here; I’ve met you and we get along really well. I want to stay and enjoy my holiday.”

Ius smirked. ‘’ I understand. I’m an extraordinary kid, what not to like?’’

Poppy made a face and gently punched his arm. Ius laughed, “but seriously, I get it. Just do me a favour. Next time, please call me.”

Poppy nodded and Ius said, “Come on, let me walk you to your room.”

When the teenagers reached Poppy’s room, Ius took her hand, turned her palm up, and then murmured, “in the shadow, I stand, break me before you find me.”

A golden biscuit-shaped coin appeared; Poppy stared at it for a moment and looked at him, smiling, “I hope that is for you. I don’t think I will have the strength to eat anything else tonight.”

He shook his head. “This is not food. It is an enchanted coin. I was planning on giving it to you tonight so that we can try it for fun. It is a summoning coin. It is the only way for a witch to call on a Jinn. If you feel unwell again, break it in two, and I will appear instantly.”

“What if your uncle senses your magic like by the pond?” asked Poppy.

Ius raised his shoulders, “let me worry about that. Please take the coin. I will feel better knowing that you have it.”

Poppy nodded,” thank you, Ius,” then walked in.