Egypt Rise of the Resistance (the Battle for Maat, #2)

By Amira Aly

Aya, your favorite Egyptian feisty teenager, blogs to you again after the events that transpired in Egypt: the Uprising (Book 1 of the Battle for Maat).

In this second installment, she will tell you of many things: of "the days that went unchecked", of an ancient Egyptian untold legend of a lost wheel of time, and of a revolution yet-to-be-completed.

The streets are drenched in blood and the ti

• Language: English
• Publisher: Amira Aly
• Release date: Jan 16, 2012
• ISBN: 9781465764324

Amira Aly

Amira Aly is a freelance writer and editor.She writes articles and blogs focusing on political activism and women condition in the Middle East. Her passion for Egyptology and admiration of the nationwide unrest events that took place in Egypt on the 25th of January are reflected in her debut novel "Egypt the Uprising." She studied Medicine in Cairo University and graduated summa cum laude. She also holds a Public health Diploma from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. She lives and writes in Cairo, Egypt.

Book preview

Egypt: Rise of The Resistance

Book Two of the Battle for Maat

By Amira Aly

Copyright 2012 by Amira Aly.

http://www.battleformaat.com

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Table of Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Epilogue

From the Author

Chapter One

I am Aya, daughter of the Badarian and grandchild of truth. What I am about to tell you in this series of blogs is real.

Magic has forsaken me. Ma’at has deserted me, and no matter how many times I try, I just cannot contact her, or summon Ben-ben.

I told you no one will notice, Mema mutters from under her reading glasses while crisscrossing her tricot needles.

It has been a week since we last looked each other in the eye. The underground blast is something that Aunt Mema will never be ready to talk about, I am sure. Neither will she ever be ready to talk about Shedy.

She points at the news briefing on TV. I told you that people are too self-absorbed to notice that their nails grew a few millimeters or that their beards are unusually long. Look at them! They believe that the collective blackout was only for a few hours because of a burst of solar radiation.

Abo ElAinin, legs crossed in a traditional scribe posture, reaches out and pats Mema’s knee lightly. Oh, they believe not. But people over the ages have learned to block the preternatural.

I have to admit that Abo ElAinin’s daily visits have been a source of great comfort for me over the past week. Being a wise elder, he’s the only one I can talk to, uninhibited, about my feelings and memories of the ‘days that went unchecked,’ as he calls the blackout period. What’s weirder than the fact that we were all conscious when the world slumbered is that we’re the only ones who know that the collective blackout lasted five days. We’re the only ones who know that the date, real history, has been altered forever. All clocks and calendars went down with the human consciousness when Shaymess’s device fired, then went back into motion when the device exploded into a million tiny fragments.

Celeste and Danny are comfortably crashing in our study. Danny has been reading books incessantly ever since he came around. And Celeste… well, Celeste is just spending her time being Celeste, staring vainly in the mirror to perfect her already-perfect self. Sometimes, I look at her and wonder if she even remembers who she really is, what she was to become if Shaymess’s mass destruction device was to go off. I dare not ask. Being as sappy and fragile as she is, she’ll probably burst into tears. The last thing I need right now is a crybaby.

Nour had only visited us once in the past week. He was distant and withdrawn, so I didn’t discuss anything with him, either.

The whole gang is pretty messed up. I know I have to get them back in shape somehow. Our mission is far from over. Shaymess may still be out there somewhere, and Shedy… well, Shedy needs to be found.

Chapter Two

The talk shows were ridiculous, even beyond their usual ridiculousness. They didn’t talk about the revolution, or the dead, or the slaughtered. They were preoccupied with rumors of what could have caused the world-wide fainting spell, as they referred to it. I turned off the TV. Are we just gonna lay around and pretend the world is still the same?

No answer. I got up and walked toward the study.

Danny held a leather-bound tome, sitting on the fauteuil, legs up on the coffee table. The cover of the book read On Loss. You gotta take it easy, Aya. Give everybody time. They’re mostly in shock, you know. Danny gave me an encouraging wink.

It seems like they’re just gonna sit in front of the TV forever, ready to rot here. They don’t want to face the truth of what happened. I thought about the nightly sugar-cane-sucking ritual the whole group was involved in, night after night, in front of the television. Without a care in the word. Really unnerving.

People handle life-altering events differently. You try to face it. Mema watches TV, and Abo ElAinin sucks on sugar cane. Celeste puts on heaps of makeup. And Nour, well Nour withdraws and shuts down. He looked straight into my eyes.

Well, what about you? I asked, trying to break the stare.

I understand. I read. I analyze and philosophize my way around disaster. He pointed at his book.

Well, I wouldn’t be surprised if you turned out to be a Channeller for Thoth, the god of wisdom, then! That came out sarcastic. I hadn’t meant it to.

This Channeller thing is not to be taken lightly, Aya. It’s not something cool and special. It is unnatural and illegal. Neteru, like all creatures, are supposed to wither and die. Holding on to a human, turning them into a Channeller, sometimes messes up the human. It is not a gift. It’s a curse. His voice dampened with worry, and he shifted his gaze across the room, to the small attached powder room where his sister stood.

Yeah, I know. I was just being silly. And Thoth is probably too wise to do something as stupid as that anyway. He wouldn’t disrupt Ma’at. Isn’t he supposed to be her husband or something?

He chuckled. Well, you can get us the scoop on that when you meet her again.

"If I meet her again." I missed Ma’at terribly, and Danny had unintentionally hit that sore spot. Naturally, I hadn’t told anyone of my attempts at communication with Ma’at, all of the pin-pricks and blood-letting, all the hours online. I didn’t think there was a waking moment that I didn’t think about Ma’at. I needed her guidance; we needed her guidance. But she was nowhere to be found.

Celeste waved at me from across the room. I envied how she smiled, as if all were fine and in place. Lady of Jubilation, that she was.

I didn’t envy her carefree attitude, though. In fact, I found it very irritating. Celeste, I called, don't you think it's about time we all sit and talk about what happened?

Mm, she mumbled, tousling her freshly curled mane.

Danny intervened. If you wanna call a meeting, you have every right to, you know. Hey, I can even make us some hot cocoa. He got up and headed to the kitchen.

I reluctantly dialed Nour's number.

Hi, Nour, I said to the answering machine. I just wanted to let you know that I'm… we're having a meeting tonight, and I would love it if you would join us.

I was going to come anyway, you know, the warm, familiar voice said from behind me.

Nour! I jumped up with a mixture of surprise, excitement, and anticipation.

He didn’t disappoint. He threw his arms around me in what must have been the most delicious embrace I’d ever felt.

Hi, kiddo, Nour said. Even 'kiddo' had grown on me as a much-needed relief from the tiresome weight of the world I carried on my shoulders.

Hey, handsome! Celeste said, prolonging the 'hey' way beyond necessary. She smacked a sultry kiss on the corner of Nour's mouth. How sleazy could a girl get?

Hey, gorgeous!