Chapter 13
Pip's Clever Tricks
Pip uses his small size and quick thinking to help Maya. He can slip into tight spaces and scout ahead, alerting Maya to any potential intruders.
The cool, papyrus-scented air of the pharaoh's tomb hummed with a familiar stillness. Maya, her linen bandages still clinging to her like a second skin, stretched languidly, a soft groan escaping her lips. It had been a long, satisfying sleep, filled with dreams of sun-drenched deserts and the gentle lapping of the Nile. But as she settled back into her sarcophagus, a faint, ticklish sensation began to dance across her arm. An itch. A most inconvenient itch.
She tried to ignore it, a common enough occurrence in her long existence. Perhaps a stray grain of sand had found its way beneath her wraps. But the itch persisted, growing bolder, more insistent. It wriggled and squirmed, a tiny, determined annoyance. With a sigh that stirred the dust motes dancing in the torchlight, Maya reached a bandaged hand towards the offending spot. Her fingers brushed against something small and surprisingly hard.
“Oh, for