I could not solve the crocodile problem which I had to shift to the top of my list. Andrew rode on Salzar and scanned the Nile while Slitzer searched through the water. They found nothing which was amusing since it was told that the crocodiles were relatively huge. After the relief attempt, I got bored and started to do my physics homework again but found that I could not concentrate. On top of that, I had no idea how we were going to capture the crocodiles once we did find them. Since Sobek was the crocodile god I decided maybe to ask him. But it was too late and I had to go home.

The first thing I did when I reached home was to slump on my bed and sleep. I didn't hear Mom come home and I didn't finish my homework. I got up at ten, ate dinner in front of the TV and dozed off again only to become late next morning.

Then I had to rush to school, almost missing the bus and found Andrew waiting by my locker.

'Cafeteria, lunch time,' he said and he walked away.

I had no idea why but I had my amethyst stone around my neck and I unconsciously rubbed it.

During the lessons, I worried about the crocodiles. I wondered how we can capture them. The first thing I wanted to do was to contact Sobek, but what if he was behind this all in the first place? There were rumors going around that he was to blame. Being a very overly anxious person, things like this hit hard for me. So basically, everything that was taught in front of me simply slipped through my mind.

'Amy,' said Isabelle. 'You seem distracted.'

'Me? No!' I Said. 'I'm just tired.'

'Stayed up late last night?'

I nodded. It was a pathetic lie.

Then during lunch, I found Andrew at our usual table.

'We can't just storm into Sobek's place and demand him to keep hold of the crocodiles,' said Andrew once I mentioned my idea. 'There is a great chance that he might feed us to them.'

'I know,' I said. 'But how else are we going to handle crocodiles? And trust me; I haven't seen much crocodile catching on the Discovery channel.'

'He is very moody and easily irritated and crocodiles are well, stubborn.'

'The whole city has noticed,' I said.

There was a silence. I lifted my head off my hand and looked at Andrew. 'So?'

'We need a plan,' said Andrew.

'Which is?'

'Would I bother to talk to you if I had a plan?'

'Oh,' I said. 'Isn't the Council doing anything about it?'

'They issued a warning not to go near the Nile,' said Andrew/

'Anything else?'

Andrew sighed. 'Amethyst, you are Queen. It's your responsibility. You plan, we execute. The others just follow your lead. The Council won't do anything without your permission and trust me, a lot of people are hoping you will fail. It's a single minded monarchial system going on in sightless right now.'

I gulped.

I felt even more stupid. I was definitely not someone to lead anyone and I was very lazy. I gave out a sigh. I guess I have no choice but to do something.

'I'll be there when school finishes,' I said.

'Do you have anything in mind?'

'Talking to Sobek,' I said. 'If he has something to do with this, we'll find out.'

'But_'

'It's a good start, even if he might feed us to crocodiles. Summon him; find out where he lives anything that will lead to him.'

Andrew stared at me. 'Er... is than an order?'

'Yes,' I snapped.

He looked down at his tray. 'It is a start. I'll inform the Council.'

'Wait... now? Aren't you going to stay for the rest of the lessons?'

Andrew didn't say anything, but left when Isa arrived.

I would have been better if I were in Sightless because I could not concentrate on anything in school. Then one the bell rang, I shifted to my room in Sightless and puked don the floor.

A nymph was waiting. She shrieked and called a few nymphs to clean the mess up.

'Ah, no,' I said. 'I'll, er, clean it up.'

She looked at me as if I were crazy.

If I puked when my Mom was around, I would have allowed her to clean it up. But asking some people I hardly know made me feel rather guilty.

'The Council needs your presence, immediately, my queen,' she said.

I gulped. 'The Council?'

Andrew was quick in his word.

And so once again, I found myself entering the Golden Parliament room. And guess what, I had a seat with the Advisors. Great. I saw Andrew leaning on a pillar near the corner.

'As we were saying,' said Hector Steel. I knew it was him since he had a came card on his portion of the golden table. 'We have made preparations for a crocodile trap in an estimated time of two months. If you may grant your permission, my queen.'

'Two months!' I blurted. 'The Nile will me trashed.'

Guess that wasn't the tome to be used. Everyone grew quiet and stared at me. I felt my feet tremble with nervousness.

'True,' said Mr. Carsson. 'The Nile will be destroyed by then. But then again, you seem not to take any measures for it so_'

'I said I will talk to Sobek.'

'What if it fails?'

'Well, then we can concentrate on the crocodile trap.'

'But then the Nile will be destroyed as you mentioned?'

'Then lure them to a remote area, that won't be hard if you have good bait,' I said. 'And the trap will be easier to make. By the way, why will it take two months?'

Claudius Larsner cleared his throat. 'They are about forty feet long, your highness.'

My eyes bulged. I was sure I say some crocodiles along the Nile that were about twelve feet or something. But forty! No wonder there was so many complaints.

'Are you sure?' I said. 'I mean, forty feet is definitely not something normal. Only prehistoric ones were that big.'

The Council stared at me. Guess they did not care for the origins.

'There is a rumor that they are Sobek's creation.'

'It will be unwise to meet with him.'

'He has a very quick temper.'

'Let's hammer them all!'

'Thor! Stop pulling that thing up whenever you say something!'

'What if another person is behind this?'

'Who else is there to blame?'

And so the Council room grew noisy again. Only then did I sit down.

'ENOUGH!' yelled Zeus number two in a Roman armor.

But instead the sound intensified.

I cleared my throat. To my wonder, everyone silenced. 'Uh...'

'I believe the queen should meet with Sobek,' said an African lady.

'Do you have a death wish for her?' said Zeus to her with a glare.

'No but_'

'I'll meet him!' I shouted. Remembering what Andrew said to me I yelled, 'Now shut up and wait, and don't try anything stupid while I'm gone.'

'I believe she has a death wish herself,' said Mr. Carsson under his breath.

'What if you get yourself killed?' asked a Seer.

'Well then,' I said, my temper rising. 'My ghost will inform you what to do.'

'You will meet him alone?' asked Athena.

'I will accompany her,' said Andrew.

The Council members then started to whisper among each other. I saw Andrew signal me to come. I got up and left, following him.

'Do you know where he is?' I asked.

Andrew nodded. 'I found it out.'

'You really are quick to follow orders,' I laughed.

He gave me a glare that told me to shut up.

We stepped under the Egyptian sun and Andrew blew a whistle. Then a slithery shadow fell over us. It was a welcoming sight to see Salzar again.

He bowed at us. 'Your highness, my prince.'

'Take us to Sobek.'

Salzar landed and allowed us to get on top of him. 'I warn you children, Sobek has a reputation for being unpredictable.'

He was calling us children. Guess the warning was genuine. Then he shot off into the sky.

I have to admit, Sightless was beautiful from above and the ride was quick. For a while, Salzar hovered on top of the Nile staring at a white palace like building at the bank.

'Is that Sobek's place?' I asked.

Andrew nodded front on front of me.

'He does have a nice place for a crocodile god,' I said.

Salzar entered Sobek's fortress and landed in the courtyard. Honestly, the place was pretty nice; there was a garden with stone tiles and a fountain with water sprouting out of four crocodile jaws. I got down from Salzar. To my horror, there were dozens of Nile crocodiles lazily snoozing along the bands of the pond around the fountain. They raised their heads as Andrew got down from the dragon. Being the Dragon Enchanter, I just hoped that Andrew might have some power of the reptiles.

'Come-on,' he said.

Now I was feeling that this was a very bad idea. Andrew led the way into the Crocodile god's lair which was an open hallway with pillars. It was white and spacey with a lot of bright light a warm slow breeze. Besides the hallway in front of the pillars were large rectangular pools with lotuses and baby crocodiles that looked up at us with their beady eyes. Once we reached the end of the wall, there was a large swimming pool where sunlight from around reflected the waves on the walls and the ceiling. There were even a few ornamental plants in pots around the swimming pool.

'He has to be here somewhere,' said Andrew, his hand reaching out for his samurai sword.

I took a peek at the copper sulfate colored swimming pool for a while and saw something slithering under the water. Whatever green thing it was rose to the surface and I jerked back only to shriek when a crocodile head poked out. The crocodile blinked while its transparent nictating membrane opened. Then the crocodile got out of the pool. I was expecting a flat animal with clawed small feet, but instead I found the trunk of a man walking out. He was about to fully come out when he noticed us and blinked again. He walked to the other end of the pool and took a towel. I turned away pretending to study his plants while he wrapped himself with his towel.

'I never expected her highness to visit me like this,' said the crocodile man. 'I could have arrived to the palace on quick notice.'

'We did,' said Andrew.

I was speechless as I stared at the crocodile headed man. This is Sobek? They said that Horus had a falcon head but this is just place ridiculous. Horus didn't run around with a bird head.

The crocodile blinked again and laughed. As he did, his face changed into a you8ng red haired man with a face matching his tan skin, but his eyes remained reptilian with the yellow eyeball and the black slit.

'What can I do for her highness today?'

'Did you hear about the prehistoric crocodiles that are roaming around in the Nile these days?'

He raised an eyebrow.

'So? What about them?'

'Can you help us get them out?'

Sobek gave a smirk and laid on a pool chair with a glass of lemonade materializing on his hand. 'And why should I?'

'They are terrorizing the city,' said Andrew with his arms folded.

'Really? That won't be a surprise, they are crocodiles.'

'They are forty feet long,' I said.

'Nothing much to be surprised considering you are in Sightless,' said Sobek.

This guy was not going to help us. I gave a frustrated sigh. 'We could really use your help here. Unless of course you are trying to say that you have no control over the animals you are the deity over?'

He frowned. 'What does that mean? I have complete control over every crocodile, Nile, saltwater and freshwater. I just don't like cooping them up.'

'That doesn't mean they can roam around everywhere.'

'I'm not taking them out!'

'Look here crocodile-brain, I don't know what_' I stopped once I say that the swimming pool was overflowing and felt water seeping onto my shoes. 'Er... forget I said that.'

'I don't like people calling me a crocodile brain...'

Andrew and I stepped back, seeing his eyes grow dangerously golden and shiny.

'Sorry, it's just that_'

'I don't take orders, even from the queen.'

'Look, we really need_'

'A few giant Sarcosuchuses roaming in the Nile is not a big deal, you know.'

I froze. 'Wait a minute, how did you know they were actually Sarcosuchuses?'

Sobek blinked again, and the water gradually retreated. 'Uh... You did say they were prehistoric...'

'You have something to do with this, don't you,' said Andrew.

Sobek this time grinned in a crocodilian way. 'I never said that_'

'You are behind this!' I cried.

'Oh no, you got a huge misunderstanding.'

'You know, I can throw you to the Imprisonatorium for all that matters.'

Sobek stood up. 'Look, I honestly didn't want to cause any trouble.'

I folded my arms. 'Then explain.'

Sobek drank his lemonade in one gulp and sighed, 'I cloned a Sarcosuchus from a sample I got from a museum, didn't actually know it might work but things got off hand.'

'You... what?' I gasped.

'I cloned them. You know... Dolly the sheep_'

'I know what cloning means! Why would an Egyptian god clone prehistoric crocodiles?' I felt my voice resonate. Sobek got a bit startled and rubbed the back of his neck.

'For the sake of science,' he said in a small voice. 'They got so wild that they trashed my laboratory, there was nowhere else to release them to but the Nile.'

Andrew and I stared at Sobek.

'Come-on,' he said. 'You would have done the same!'

I shook my head. 'I will not try to clone a reptile from the Cretaceous period. How many did you clone?'

'Just two,' he said with a shrug.

'Two?' I said. 'You mean one male and one female, right?'

I was hoping he would say no, but he nodded. 'It should be if you want to continue the species.'

'And how long will it take for them to reproduce,' I said.

He shrugged. 'Well, considering the time they have already spent in the Nile, I am not so informed on their mating seasons but_'

'Hold on,' said Andrew. He looked at the two of us. 'You are telling us that they might be a chance that they might have babies!'

'Well,' I said. 'Yeah...'

'And how many babies will there be?'

'It depends,' said Sobek. 'Crocodiles lay many eggs, maybe from twenty to ninety, but most don't survive to adulthood.'

Andrew's jaw dropped.

'So,' I said turning to Sobek. 'Where do you suppose they are now?'

He first gave a scowl before having a bravado moment and pulling out a smart phone, he showed us a map with two red dots, 'I placed trackers on them, just in case.'

Andrew snatched the phone away in the blink on an eye.

'Hay!'

He stared at it for a while before rushing out.

'Wait!' I yelled while running after him.

'Give that back!' shouted Sobek from behind. 'That is my newest Nokia Lumia! My children, get them!'

I had no idea what was going on but I jumped on to Slitzer behind Andrew and the blue Chinese dragon took off. Crocks leapt from the pool snapping at us as Slitzer flew over. I pretty much hugged Andrew and yelped while a crocodile almost caught my feet.

It took a while for things to settle down on midair when I tapped on Andrew's shoulder.

'What was all that about?'

He showed me the map on the phone. The two crocodiles were heading downstream to a place marker, "The River Market."

'Huh?'

'Mermen come there every month to sell ocean produce,' said Andrew. 'Today is the day of the market.'

I gulped. I was not ready to witness a mermaid massacre. Not yet.