Travel through time with Tom and Isis on more
adventures!
Time Hunters: Gladiator Clash
Time Hunters: Knight Quest
Time Hunters: Viking Raiders
Time Hunters: Greek Warriors
Time Hunters: Pirate Mutiny
Time Hunters: Egyptian Curse
For games, competitions and more visit:
www.time-hunters.com
Five thousand years ago
Princess Isis and her pet cat, Cleo, stood outside the towering carved gates to the Afterlife. It had been rotten luck to fall off a pyramid and die at only ten years of age, but Isis wasnât worried â the Afterlife was meant to be great. People were dying to go there, after all! Her mummyâs wrappings were so uncomfortable she couldnât wait a second longer to get in, get her body back and wear normal clothes again.
âOi, Aaanuuubis, Anubidooby!â Isis shouted impatiently. âWhen youâre ready, you old dog!â
Cleo started to claw Isisâs shoulder. Then she yowled, jumping from Isisâs arms and cowering behind her legs.
âCalm down, fluffpot,â Isis said, bending to stroke her pet. âHe canât exactly woof me to death!â The princess laughed, but froze when she stood up. Now she understood what Cleo had been trying to tell her.
Looming up in front of her was the enormous jackal-headed god of the Underworld himself, Anubis. He was so tall that Isisâs neck hurt to look up at him. He glared down his long snout at her with angry red eyes. There was nothing pet-like about him. Isis gulped.
ââWHEN YOUâRE READY, YOU OLD DOG?ââ Anubis growled. ââANUBIDOOBY?ââ
Isis gave the god of the Underworld a winning smile and held out five shining amulets. She had been buried with them so she could give them to Anubis to gain entry to the Afterlife. There was a sixth amulet too â a gorgeous green one. But Isis had hidden it under her arm. Green was her favourite colour, and surely Anubis didnât need all six.
Except the god didnât seem to agree. His fur bristled in rage. âFIVE? Where is the sixth?â he demanded.
Isis shook her head. âI was only given five,â she said innocently.
To her horror, Anubis grabbed the green amulet from its hiding place. âYou little LIAR!â he bellowed.
Thunder started to rumble. The ground shook. Anubis snatched all six amulets and tossed them into the air. With a loud crack and a flash of lightning, they vanished.
âYou hid them from me!â he boomed. âNow I have hidden them from you â in the most dangerous places throughout time.â
Isisâs bandaged shoulders drooped in despair. âSo I c-c-canât come into the Afterlife then?â
âNot until you have found each and every one. But first, you will have to get out of thisâ¦â Anubis clicked his fingers. A life-sized pottery statue of the goddess Isis, whom Isis was named after, appeared before him.
Isis felt herself being sucked into the statue, along with Cleo. âWhat are you doing to me?â she yelled.
âYou can only escape if somebody breaks the statue,â Anubis said. âSo youâll have plenty of time to think about whether trying to trick the trickster god himself was a good idea!â
The walls of the statue closed around Isis, trapping her and Cleo inside. The sound of Anubisâs evil laughter would be the last sound they would hear for a long, long timeâ¦
âIâm going to have such fun going through your things when youâre at school,â Isis said, rubbing her ragged hands together. âYour computer. Your football-sticker book. Your Star Wars figures.â
Tom dropped his school bag on the floor. âNO WAY!â
Mum put her hand on his forehead. âAre you feeling all right, dear? I only asked you if you had your lunch box. Thereâs no need to have a fit.â
Tom glanced over at the stairs, where the mummified figure of Princess Isis Amun-Ra was sitting. Her cat, Cleo, also wrapped in bandages, was curled up on her lap, invisible to everyone except Tom. Isisâs crumbly old wrappings had left ancient white dust all over the carpet.
âHave fun at school!â she said. Waving stiffly, she picked up Cleo and started to shuffle off to his room.
It wasnât fair! No one else in Tomâs class was beginning the new term knowing that the mummies of an Ancient Egyptian princess and her pet cat were at their home, snooping around and generally causing havoc. Mum and Dad couldnât see Isis and Cleo, so if the mummies made a mess, Tom knew he would get the blame.
âIâll just fetch your P.E. kit,â Mum said, disappearing into the kitchen.
Tom rounded on Isis. âListen! You mustnât touch anything while Iâm out. We donât know when Anubis will send us on our next mission. Soâ¦â He scratched his shock of blond curls as he searched for the right words, â⦠just keep out of trouble.â