The Chronicles of Ether Drive

  Chapter 24: Sand and Water The next day, the morning of the sixth of October opened with a stark, raw blue sky, so clear that the line of the desert looked as if it had been cut with a scalpel. Omar’s black-and-white taxi left behind the lilac jacaranda trees of Zamalek and dashed toward Giza.  As they got closer, the air changed its texture. It became thick and hot, filled with fine grains of Saharan dust that dried their lips and settled like gold powder on Anemo’s clothes. Remi stood with her head peeking out of the transport bag, her blue eyes wide with wonder. Through the open window, the desert wind slapped her face—a heavy wind that carried the burning heat of sun-baked stone, but which, strangely, pulsed inside the pads of her paws like an electric current. When the car stopped at the edge of the plateau, the noise was deafening: shouts of camel drivers, the clinking of cheap souvenirs, and hundreds of people running around looking for the perfect angle for photos. B...

  Chapter 23: What Do We Do Now? Professor Simoon left his heavy briefcase under the coat rack in the hallway. He wanted to make sure he didn't bring all the seriousness of their race against time into the House of the Winds all at once. On the other side of the world, in Zamalek, Anemo let out a deep sigh and ran a hand through his hair, looking at his father with a serious face. "Our life, Dad, is ruled by a very fragile kind of arithmetic lately," Anemo said with a bittersweet smile. "We need to catch you up on the latest news. Dr Hazem El-Amin has given us a strict ban. No sessions with the cedar rope until the eleventh of October." "The eleventh of October?" Professor Simoon frowned, adjusting his glasses. "But that means nearly a whole week of a complete break! What on earth happened?" "The fever, Professor," Remi-Bise spoke through Anemo, though her big blue eyes, fixed on the screen, spoke for themselves. "Our last jour...

  Chapter 22: Pink Memories On Monday, the fifth of October, straight after school, Fleur ran into her house just long enough to drop off her school bag. Then, she dashed straight over to see the furry friends at the House of the Winds. "Mistral, Sirocco! Are you ready?" Mistral, who was waiting for her, perched on the living room windowsill, cleared his throat a little. Putting on his usual aloof, posh act, he spoke to Aeolus, the mouse, who was completely absorbed in reading a huge encyclopedia. "Just look at our little Topknot, Aeolus! I made one silly declaration of love in my life—forced by circumstances, mind you—and now she simply won't leave me alone." Aeolus pushed Anemo's protective shield-glasses out of the way, stood up on his hind legs on top of the encyclopedia, and greeted the little girl properly. "Hey, Topknot! What's the rush? What are we supposed to be ready for?" "What do you mean, for what?" the little girl said, ...

 Chapter 21: The Mirror Speaks The ticking of the tortoise-shaped clock broke the silence of the room with a sharp, metallic ring, rousing the quiet house. This time, Remi did not jump onto the floor straight away. She was completely exhausted. Her cat bones still felt heavy from the burning heat of ancient Egypt, so she waited quietly with her eyes half-closed. She needed Shehrazad to untie the tight knots of the cedar-scented rope. When Shehrazad freed her, Remi dragged her tired paws across the blanket. She pressed her warm face against Samir’s palm, licking his skin with her rough tongue.  "The fever is gone!" she thought to herself, feeling the cool air of the present finally replace the burning fire in her veins. Samir awoke instantly from the cat’s touch. He opened his heavy eyes, sat up in bed, and rubbed his left eye. Then, filled with desperate hope, he shook his brother, who was lying completely still next to him. "Hey, Demir, wake up! Come on, open your eyes!...

   Chapter 20: The History of the Fever Shehrazad’s calm, steady voice counted down. Remi awoke inside the Wall of Ether once more. This time, she wasn't just with Demir, but also with his twin brother, Samir. They were back in the past, at the court of Pharaoh Akhenaten. The two boys flanked the writer, who was restored to her human form, each holding one of her hands tightly. "Where are we now?" Samir asked. "Is this the place and time where we were born?" Demir looked at his brother sharply, then at Remi. He breathed in the hot, suffocating air deeply. "Do you smell that?" "It smells like sweet lotus essence, sacred incense—kyphi—and vinegar!" Mehyt’s voice rang out immediately. The black tomcat, who had been sitting quietly until then, trotted over to meet them. He had been waiting. "Now three of you have come," he said. "Follow me! I don't understand how you always ask for my help and then just vanish..." "We...

  Chapter 19: The Arithmetic of Fever Never had the way through the labyrinth of narrow alleys to Shehrazad’s house felt longer to Anemo. He walked hurriedly, panicking inwardly, along the cobbled streets with Remi in her carrier. “Hold on,” he encouraged her. “We’re almost there. I’m sure Shehrazad has already called the doctor.” The surrounding reality was an absolute explosion of light and color, a bustling hive of life, but Anemo was blind to it all. He was focused on a single thing: the safety of his childhood friend. She, his friend trapped in the body of an Angora cat, lay almost inert. Her feverish heat seemed to emanate steam, and Anemo felt as though he were trapped in a nightmare from which he desperately wanted to wake. He wanted to be back home in Ireland, with no other worries than his literary jealousy of Remi and the deadlines set by Arbalest. Once he reached his destination, he stepped into the mosaic-tiled courtyard with trepidation. The Mirror of Time was still, ...

  Chapter 18: Burnings Slowly, bit by bit, normalcy returned to the streets and to people's homes, both in Egypt and in Ireland. Everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief. The end of the world had not come just yet, and people suddenly felt luckier, wealthier perhaps, and a few inches taller. Anemo, the professor, and the white cat walked slowly toward the apartment the professor had rented, wrapped in silence. The exhaustion they felt after each of Remi’s sessions was brutal, and they couldn’t find a way to explain why. The people they passed on the street were just as tired, yet somehow at peace—their faces seemingly suggesting that wings must be cherished, and that it was time to take things slower. The moment they stepped into the stairwell, the professor's phone began to ring loudly, the sound echoing as if inside a cave. “Hello!” Professor Simoon answered immediately. “Yes, of course. It completely slipped my mind. But you should know I can't leave right away; it’...

   Chapter 17: The End Is Not Yet Remi sat right on the table in Shehrazad’s courtyard, surrounded by Anemo, Professor Simoon, Samir and, of course, Shehrazad. Anemo and the professor needed to touch her collar to understand her, but Samir and Shehrazad shared the same superpower that Fleur had gained—they could understand the language of animals. “I was there when the twins were born!” Remi said. “I saw the two sisters again, and they look exactly like I did at their age... Everything I’ve been through this year, ever since the summer solstice, is absolutely unbelievable.” “I can’t believe it either, Remi!” Anemo added. “From now on, we’ll have plenty of material to send to Archibald.” “Don’t remind me of him! Who knows how many missed calls and emails I have from him. Let’s focus on the here and now!” “Yes,” Shehrazad added. “We want to bring that stubborn boy back to us. Why won’t he wake up? What is he trying to do in there?” “He wants to save his mother... to warn her som...

   Chapter 16: The Birth of the Twins The collapse of the networks did not alter the atmosphere inside Shehrazad’s house in the slightest. The white cat’s mission had no need for internet or electricity; it required only the magic of the Collar of the Two Skies and the purifying presence of the white cat herself. In Demir’s room, it was quiet, filled with the usual pleasant, sweet aroma. Shehrazad resumed the familiar ritual with the string soaked in cedar resin. Everyone, including Samir, was lost in thought. Each of them wondered whether the awakening of the Mirror of Time was somehow connected to the apocalyptic reality into which they had suddenly been plunged. For a hyper-technological world, returning to a life stripped of technology is perhaps, from an evolutionary standpoint, akin to birds regressing to the age of reptiles. Once Shehrazad set the tortoise-shaped clock, Remi felt her collar vibrating again. Her eyelids grew heavy as lead, and she found herself back with...

   Chapter 15: Bubbles and Boils Professor Simoon opened the apartment door and, with a wide gesture, invited the taxi driver who had brought him from the airport inside. It was already past midday, and the chaos of the dead networks was making itself felt indoors too. Without the low hum of the air conditioning, the scorching heat felt as though it were squeezing Professor Simoon’s rented flat. Anemo and the white cat were sitting on the sofa, waiting anxiously. The Professor’s entrance with Omar had probably just interrupted a conversation. "We’ve made it, son!" the professor said, wiping his forehead with his shirt sleeve. "We were incredibly lucky with this young man... it’s total chaos out there." The taxi driver stretched out a hand to Anemo, who had just stood up to greet him. "My name is Omar. The likeness to your father is striking... you just need a bit of a tan." "Anemo, pleased to meet you! I’m a writer, and Dad did me the favor of letting...

  Chapter 14. Chaos Professor Simoon, completely drained of energy, could barely drag his feet toward the airport exit. Pushing through such a sea of people was an absolute ordeal. Stepping out of Terminal 1 hit him like a slap of scorching air. Outside, under the fierce morning sun, thousands of stranded tourists were wheeling their massive suitcases around, shouting over one another, while desperate guides waved colorful placards in the air. People were shaking their phones or lifting them high toward the sky, hoping to catch a signal, but the screens remained stubbornly blank. He managed to find a black-and-white taxi relatively easily amidst the bewildered crowd. The driver, a young man in his early twenties, turned on the radio immediately, but nothing came out of the speakers except a loud hiss, as if the device had swallowed sand. "Not a single station is broadcasting," he said in an even tone, neither alarmed nor bored, speaking in surprisingly clean British English. ...

   Chapter 13: Freeze The image of the white cat suddenly froze on the screen of the phone Remi had left at Anemo’s house. Fleur and the fur-babies waited in complete silence for exactly five seconds, hoping the connection hadn't cut out for good, before they all started fidgeting, asking questions, and talking at the same time, without anyone really listening to anyone else. “What is that, ma belle? Remi?” Mistral began, followed instantly by Aeolus. “The connection’s dropped!” said Sirocco. “Why isn't she moving? Aeolus, do you think something’s happened to Miss Remi?” Fleur asked. “Should we try calling again?” The girl picked up the phone, closed the frozen call, and dialled again, but... nothing. It was only seven in the morning, just a few minutes past. They had barely managed to swap a few words with the crew in Cairo, and the sudden cut-off had turned the warm, relaxing atmosphere of a quiet Saturday morning into its complete opposite. The drumming of the rain outside ...

 Chapter 12: Network Crash First thing in the morning, Professor Simoon Gale turned up at the Veterinary Quarantine office at Cairo’s Terminal 1. He knew perfectly well that Remi couldn’t go home just yet because she was still needed in Cairo. However, he wanted to make sure everything was in order so nothing would stop them from catching the portal back to Ireland once it opened. He was determined to avoid any last-minute bureaucratic surprises. But as the saying goes, the best-laid plans often go sideways. What was waiting for him at the Egyptian airport was far worse than anything he could have imagined. Heat, chaos, shouting, thick crowds, and a sense of total panic had taken over the place, even more than usual. After a whole hour of standing in line, the professor finally made it to the front of the massive desk. It was topped with grey granite, its edges worn smooth by the corners of thousands of pet crates that had rested there over the years. Behind the thick pane of secur...

  Chapter 11 – The Cave of the Cats The round dip in the courtyard’s mosaic wasn't completely dry anymore. With a barely noticeable whisper, a tiny trickle of water had found its way onto the black-and-white tiles. The water mirror was filling up again, just like a rushing river after a long drought. Shehrazad, Samir, Anemo, and snowy-white Remi stared at the water mirror, their hearts full of hope. With their help, the Child would get better, and everything would be alright. "You know, El-Beyda," the grandmother said gently, "I feel a bit guilty that you're trapped in a cat’s body right now, but I don't regret what I did. Heaven heard my prayers and made sure the collar found you. It will also make sure you become a woman again when the time is right. I hope you'll come back tomorrow evening!" They said goodbye to the grandmother and her grandson, then set off through the narrow streets back to their old-fashioned apartment. "Tomorrow, we'l...

   Chapter 10: The Fountain Is Waking Up The long, loud buzzing of the tortoise-shaped clock stopped with a sudden click, plunging the room into a deep, heavy silence. It felt as if reality itself had frozen. It took a few minutes before Remi opened her eyes, feeling a bit dizzy, like someone shaken awake from a deep sleep. She was still curled up on Demir’s chest in her white Angora cat body. Once again, the boy hadn’t followed her back into the living world. Something was keeping him trapped on the other side of the Ether Wall. Everyone else in the room looked exhausted, even though they hadn't joined Remi on her magical journey. With quiet, solemn movements, Shehrazad began untying the strings from around everyone's wrists—a reverse ritual to break the spell. One by one, the professor, Anemo, and Samir started stretching to wake up their numb limbs. Remi jumped down to the floor with her usual feline grace and stopped right in front of Samir, the twin who had first brought ...

 Chapter 9: Mehyt In the house of the two boys and their grandmother, the air was always fresh, scented with citrus or delicate flowers. Shehrazad took great care to keep the smell of illness at bay. To her, Demir was simply trapped in a deep sleep, from the dream of which he no longer wanted to return to life. And this was where she, the grandmother, stepped in with all her heart, all her strength, and all her knowledge as an Epigraphist and Paleographer in Egyptology. Her profession, among other things, involved deciphering the ancient writings of the early dynasties and studying the rituals of the ancient Egyptians. Fate had led her to discover something incredible: a network of portals through fountains or water wells all around the world. These portals could only be activated by certain people, and they led into a true labyrinth of time and space. At first, this was hard to believe, especially for a brilliant scientific mind like Shehrazad’s. Paradoxically, however, she hersel...