The Collar of the Two Skies Chapter 27

  Chapter 27 Achoo

The flight turned into white noise for Remi-Bise, and even though she did not manage to fall asleep, she felt calm, left with her own thoughts about life, about what had been and what was yet to come. From down there, she realised that both Anemo and the professor had fallen asleep. Frost, exhausted by the rush of so many overwhelming emotions, had also drifted off, generating a fairly steady snore.

When the Airbus’s wheels finally struck the runway at Cairo International Airport, Remi let out a long sigh, taking a deep breath of air. Her ears were blocked again, but at least the high-altitude nightmare was over.

‘This is it,’ she thought the very second the aircraft’s massive doors opened. A wave of hot, dense, and heavy air hit her straight in the face, as if trying to push them back down the crowded aisle of the plane.

The transition from the air conditioning to Cairo’s thirty-five degrees made Remi breathe heavily in her plastic carrier, as if she could not get enough air, just like asthmatics during an asthma attack. The air was scorching, smelling of desert, jet fuel, and seemingly of spices.

Anemo tapped gently on the carrier and leaned down to soothe her.

‘Courage, Remi, we’re almost there! The hardest part is behind us.’

Then they entered, at double-quick time, a labyrinth of long, bright corridors, packed with people — people from different parts of the world walking mechanically, each following the person in front of them... Standard airport routine.

Anemo walked behind his father, who stepped forward confidently, as if he were returning home. He gripped the handle of the carrier containing Remi and focused on controlling his own emotions. He no longer paid any attention to Trench and his wife, who continued to be their shadows.

The detective was periodically wiping his face with a large handkerchief but was quiet now, holding Margo by the hand as he advanced just as mechanically as everyone else.

Passport control followed, then the visa, and finally, because they had a cat, the mandatory veterinary check.

Remi felt her heart thumping in her throat. Another cold metal table, voices, smells, a man in an immaculate white uniform...

Professor Simoon handed over the European pet passport and the vaccination certificates, explaining something in a calm, respectful tone. Remi realised with astonishment that the language they were speaking should have been foreign to her, but without being able to explain how or why, she understood them perfectly.

The officer nodded, adjusted his glasses, and leaned over the carrier to inspect the ‘passenger’.

At that precise moment, the fine Egyptian dust that had drifted in through the air vents, combined with the pungent smell of disinfectant on the desk, mercilessly tickled the white cat’s nostrils...

Remi tried to hold it in; she brought a paw up to cover her pinkish nose, which was twitching slightly... ‘No, not now! Please stop,’ the writer said to herself in her mind, but the feline in her was more sensitive than she would have expected. She sneezed sharply three times.

‘Atchoo! Atchoo-atchoo!’ her whole small, white body shaking with the effort.

The man in white froze. He withdrew his hand instantly, as if the cat were a time bomb, and furrowed his thick eyebrows. He looked at the paperwork, then looked at the cat, whose breathing was now slightly labored.

‘Your cat is sneezing!’ he said. ‘Symptoms of a contagious respiratory disease. In Egypt, we have very strict rules for the safety of our animals.’

‘Officer, it is merely the dust from the tarmac,’ Professor Simoon intervened quickly, trying to maintain his diplomatic smile. ‘The documents are in perfect order, the vaccinations are up to date...’

‘Impossible,’ the officer cut him off with a firm wave of his hand, rising from his chair. ‘The protocol is clear. The suspect animal must be isolated. Mandatory quarantine. Two weeks in the airport’s veterinary centre... at your expense.’

Anemo felt his legs go weak. Two weeks! The autumnal equinox was exactly two weeks away!

"If Remi remains locked up, she risks missing the portal.’

*

Discussions with the airport officials were futile. The Egyptian veterinary protocol was ironclad, and Professor Simoon, despite all his contacts, could not change the decision. Remi had to remain in isolation.

The separation was something none of them had expected. Painful and inevitable.

The veterinary officers, equipped with thick protective gloves, took over the plastic carrier. Rules were rules. During the fourteen days, visitors were not allowed under any circumstances to touch the animal in quarantine. They could only view her through a reinforced glass window built into the outer wall of the isolation box.

Anemo and Simoon pressed themselves against the cold glass, watching Remi’s white silhouette as she was taken out of the carrier and placed on a metal table.

‘Anemo! Simoon! Don’t leave me here!’ she mewed desperately, but the sound barely passed through the thick glass, turning into a muffled whimper.

Around her neck, the Collar of the Two Skies glinted inertly. Without direct physical touch between Anemo’s skin and her fur, the magic of the Priestess of Bastet’s ancient artefact was completely blocked. The mystical channel through which they communicated so easily in the kitchen of the House of the Winds had been severed.

Feeling helpless, Anemo tapped gently on the glass with his knuckles, trying to catch her blue eyes.

‘Hang in there, Remi! I promise we’ll come every day!’ he mouthed, hoping the girl would understand. ‘We still have time to catch the portal!’

Professor Simoon placed a warm hand on his son’s shoulder, gently pulling him back.

‘We must go, Anemo. There is nothing more we can do now. We need to settle in and prepare everything for the day of her release. Every minute counts.’

Leaving behind the clinical hell of the airport, the two Gales climbed into another taxi, leaving behind the Frosts as well, who were frantically searching for their hold luggage. The drive into the city took place in a deathly silence.

The apartment the professor usually rented, located in an old building with a high ceiling in the quiet district of Zamalek, now felt immense and deserted. The large windows looked out over the Nile, but inside the air was heavy and dusty. The professor left his khaki rucksack on a cedar wood table, whilst Anemo collapsed onto the sofa.

‘Two weeks, Father...’ Anemo whispered, staring up at the ceiling where a fan turned lazily. ‘That means they release her exactly on the morning of the autumn equinox.’