I stared opened mouthed at the clay figure marching toward me.

It was crudely made with one leg shorter than the other so that it threw off his rhythm making him limp stiffly rather than striding smartly as the other clay statues were. Half of the face was gone, though I could still see that the head was a jackal while the rest of the body was definitely human. That didn't make the clay soldier any less scary. Even his spear looked wicked sharp.

I stumbled backwards, wondering what I had gotten myself into. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Carter turn into that falcon headed avatar again and was fighting his statue with that weird boomerang thing.

Julian hopped all over the place, jabbing at his clay soldier until finally he turned into a green falcon headed avatar and proceeded to demolish it to pieces. Felix ran around the room taunting his statue as it struggled to keep up with him. Some white powder shot out of the kid's hand toward the floor behind him. It turned into ice and the statue slipped on it and slid across the floor, shooting past Felix before crashing into a wall. The statue crumbled into several large chunks.

Alyssa stood a few feet away from me with her arms folded across her chest. She had a look of determination on her face as her clay statue came closer and then she calmly raised her right hand and lifted the warrior off its feet. It tried to throw his spear at her and she ducked out of the way. After that she tossed the statue half way across the room.

I turned my attention back to the jackal headed figure advancing toward me. His crude mouth (half of it missing) stretched into a hideous grin and he swung his spear lazily from side to side, knowing it had the easy kill.

Seriously, I knew nothing about magic or how to tap into it if I even had any. These guys were insane to just throw me in the middle of their games like that. I was going to die.

I continued backing up, looking around desperately for some kind of weapon. I saw a basketball laying on the floor next to me and kicked it as hard as I could at the Egyptian warrior. The basketball grazed his shoulder, knocking off small pieces of clay to the floor.

"Bonus points for using a basketball!" Felix shouted at me.

I didn't dare glance at him for fear that the statue would impale me with his spear the minute I looked away. I couldn't see anything else laying around that I could use as a weapon.

Slowly, an idea came to me. It was crazy and I doubted it would work, but I had to try something because there was no way I was going to let some stupid statue get the better of me. I stopped backing up and tried to look more confident than I felt.

I raised my hand in front of me and yelled the spell Sadie had used to shatter that plate she threw at my head. "Ha-di!"

Nothing happened and I felt foolish. I was trying to figure out what I had done wrong when the clay statue threw the spear at my head. I let out a strangled yell and ducked out of the way just in time. The spear stuck to the wall where my head would have been.

I rolled out of the way, jumping to my feet and kicked the statue in the leg. The only thing I succeeded in doing was stubbing my toe.

"Ouch, ouch!" I said, hopping around on one foot.

The statue merely grunted and pulled the spear out of the wall before turning around faster than I would have thought a deformed clay figure could to stab me in the gut. I panicked and threw myself on the ground, crawling in between his legs. The statue made a sound of surprise and attempted to grab my ankles. I managed to evade him and pushed him off balance from behind.

The Egyptian warrior only stumbled a few steps away before turning back around and swung his spear at me again and this time I knew I was a goner. All I had time to do was throw up my hands over my face and hope that I had a quick death.

The statue exploded and chunks of clay rained down on me.

Warily, I peered around my arms and saw the warrior in several pieces at my feet and sagged with relief, letting my arms drop. I glanced at the others who were all watching with various amazed expressions on their faces. No doubt they thought that was the worst performance they had ever seen. "Thanks," I said to them. "I thought for sure I was a goner."

They glanced at each other, wide eyed. "We didn't do that," Carter finally spoke up. "You did."

"Did what?" I asked puzzled.

"You cast the destroy spell without saying it," Felix said with admiration shining in his eyes. "Wicked."

"No, I didn't," I argued. "When I tried to do it before nothing happened."

Carter shook his head. "What ever you did was impressive." There was a look in his eyes that I didn't understand and I wasn't sure I wanted to.

"I'm telling you, I didn't do anything. One of you guys must have," I wondered if they were playing a practical joke on me.

"Nope," Alyssa said shaking her head. "Afraid not."

The others shook their heads too and I frowned thoughtfully. Did I make the statue blow up?

After a few seconds of awkward silence, Carter clapped his hands and addressed everyone. "Good work people, especially you Felix. I'm glad you didn't throw a shoe at your statue this time."

Felix grinned. "I told you, I'm following the god of ice."

I made a face, wondering what he was talking about. As far as I knew there was no such thing as the god of ice in Egyptian mythology since Egypt was in the middle of the desert.

Before I could ask about it, Carter jerked his head toward the door. "Go on, I need to prepare for my next class." His eyes met mine. "The others will show you where to go next."

Alyssa tugged on my arm, leading me to the entrance. We stepped aside to let a group of five to seven year olds through. "They aren't going to do what we just did are they?" I asked in alarm.

"Don't worry, Carter goes easier on them."

I wasn't sure that made me feel any better. "If I'm a beginner why wasn't I with them?" I said as I followed the three of them out of the room.

Julian snorted. "You really want to put the kiddy gloves on?" I was about to retort when I saw a flicker of something across his face. Was that jealousy? Why would he be jealous of me?

"We're all protective of the younger initiates," Alyssa broke the uncomfortable silence.

"So I'm expendable?" I was only half joking.

Her face heated up. "No, of course not! I - I meant that…" her voice trailed off as she looked to the others for help.

I decided to ease up on her. "That was a joke."

"Oh," she looked relieved.

We walked back to the first floor in silence until Julian and Felix suddenly broke away from our group and turn to the left down another hall while Alyssa headed toward the front entrance. I stopped, unsure who I was supposed to follow.

Alyssa glanced back and motioned for me to keep up. I fell in step beside her. "Where are the other two going?"

"They're going to Napping."

"Napping?"

She nodded, looking a little wistful. "It has a long waiting list."

Sometimes I wonder if these people enjoyed being cryptic on purpose. I decided to put that aside and asked something else. "Where are we going?"

"To the library. It's Monday which means we have Sympathetic Magic today, but that's not for a couple hours so I'm going to introduce you to our librarian, Cleo. She'll help explain any questions you have since I'm sure you're still confused about some things."

That was a huge understatement. I eagerly followed her through the double doors with the eye of Horus painted on it. As we entered the room my first thought was that this had to be the biggest library I had ever seen. There were rows of shelves with cubby holes and stacks of scrolls, small statues, and various other objects that definitely looked Egyptian in each one.

Clay figures stood on pedestals in each corner of the room in much better shape than the Egyptian warriors we had to fight in the training room. A long table was situated in the middle of the library piled high with scrolls, maps, clay pieces, and a few other odds and ends.

I almost didn't spot the girl half hidden by all the stuff as she leaned over the table with a magnifying glass studying something intensely.

"Whoa, Cleo!" Alyssa stared at the table in amazement. "I've never seen this place so messy!"

Cleo looked up and made a face as she too surveyed all the stuff on the table. "I know!" she moaned. "One of the shabti went rogue and really tore the place apart and then Carter came in wanting me to decipher this scroll and—"

Alyssa held up her hands. "I was kidding, Cleo. It's not that bad. You should see some of the boys rooms."

Cleo shook her head, her bangs flopping into her eyes and she brushed them away impatiently. "I don't like disorganization."

"We can clean up for you. By the way, this is Jake Daniels."

Cleo gave me a blank look. "Like the whiskey?"

I sighed. "No, that's Jack Daniels. My name is Jake."

"Oh," she looked embarrassed. "Yeah, I knew that." She wiped some clay dust off her hand before holding it out to me. "I'm Cleo."

I shook her hand. "Nice to meet you."

Cleo turned to Alyssa. "I thought Sadie and Carter found all the magicians in Brooklyn."

"He's from California," Alyssa explained. "He's here visiting his aunt."

"Oh, I see. Welcome to Brooklyn," she smiled at me.

"Thanks," I helped Alyssa move everything off the table to the cubby holes Cleo directed us to until all that was left was the scroll she had been studying when we came in.

"Hey, isn't that the scroll from the Brooklyn Museum?" I stared at it, my fingers itching to touch the paper to see if it was as rough as it looked.

"Yep," answered Alyssa. "Any progress, Cleo?"

"A little. I should have it deciphered by the end of the day."

"Good, can you afford to take a little break? I was hoping you could answer some of the questions Jake has," she asked.

"Sure," she turned to me, waiting expectantly.

"Err," for a moment I had to think of a question. "What exactly does it mean to follow the paths of the gods?"

Cleo nodded enthusiastically like she was glad I had asked. "Following the Path of the Gods is the origin of Egyptian magic. As magicians we summon the gods power to create stronger magic. We can do without the gods and for the longest time magicians did when the House of Life locked them up after the fall of Egypt until Carter and Sadie began to teach the Path of the Gods again. Locking up the gods had some side affects none of the Chief Lectors foresaw. Not only were the gods significantly weakened, but so was the House of Life. So, I guess in a way the gods and the House of Life need each other to exist."

"Why were the gods locked up?" I asked.

"They created too much trouble," she explained. "Gods don't like to be dictated to and a lot of times they expect us to do things for them in exchange for using their power."

I thought about that for a moment. "That's not too bad. I mean if you siphon some of their power, giving something back in exchange seems like a good trade off."

Cleo shook her head. "It would be if they weren't gods. Most of the time they want us to host them, which could be bad if we host them for too long. Some magicians have been literally burned up because they can't handle all that power for too long. Gods also have a tendency to be sneaky and underhanded. They make something sound good and by the time you've figured out what their really up to sometimes its too late to do anything about it."

"Okay, so no hosting gods or making deals with them," I said, "Check."

She smiled. "Not all gods are like that though. There are some that like to help and don't ask for too much in exchange."

"Back to channeling the gods powers," I said. "Can you channel any of the gods powers? I mean, do you channel which ever god you want depending on what their power is?"

Cleo thought about that for a moment. "I suppose you can channel more than one of the gods powers, though I wouldn't recommend it. That might be like taking on too much and you could probably burn up or go insane if you tried. Deciding which god's power to channel really depends on two factors. What your specialty is and whether you're magic is compatible with them. Me for example, I follow the path of Thoth because like him, I seek to enlighten myself through knowledge. Alyssa follows the path of Geb because she has an affinity for earth magic. We usually let new initiates decide which god they would like to follow by learning their strengths and weaknesses through Magic Problem-Solving 101, Sympathetic Magic, Animal Charming, and other classes taught here." She turned to Alyssa. "By the way how did he do?"

"Well," Alyssa eyed me speculatively. "He didn't perform any combat magic like most of our initiates do on their first try. I'm not sure what he did."

Cleo turned to me with raised eyebrows and I shrugged. "I tried to use a Divine word and when that didn't work I prepared to die and hoped it didn't hurt."

Alyssa snickered at me. "Don't be so dramatic. He made the shabti explode without saying or doing anything."

Cleo's eyes widened. "Really? How did you do that?" she asked me in an awed tone.

I shrugged again. "I don't know. At first I thought someone else had made it explode."

"What Divine word did you try to say?"

"Ha-di." As soon as I said the word a statue from the cubby hole to the left of me exploded. "Oh, sure now it works."

Both Cleo and Alyssa stared at the shattered statue in shock. "Did you mean to do that?" Alyssa asked me.

I shook my head. "No."

They exchanged wide eyed glances and I began to worry. What if I was some kind of freak even among magicians?

"Magic can be tricky," Cleo said thoughtfully. "After all we're still not sure where Felix channels his power from." She smiled at me reassuringly. "Give it some time. I'm sure you'll figure out which path you'll follow. I know I didn't figure out what my specialty was right away. Any other questions?"

I thought about that for a moment. "How come this is the first time I've ever heard about gods and magicians being real? You would think that something like this would make it onto the tabloids at least."

"We're suppose to keep a low profile," Alyssa explained. "Plus if anything unusual happens during a conflict, mortals are notorious for not noticing. I think they can't perceive things the way we can. Or else they would rather believe in the mundane and explain away strange occurrences through logic and science. For example, did you hear about those freak storms that kept happening all over Egypt and that really big storm in Washington D.C.?"

"Yeah, that was really scary. Wait, that was you guys?"

"Yep."

"Sweet!" I said.

Alyssa rolled her eyes. "Leave it to a boy to think freak storms are awesome."

I was about to reply when one of my jean pockets vibrated. It took me a moment to realize it was the cell phone my mom gave me before I left home and I pulled it out. The caller ID said it was unknown.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Jake! Thank goodness I got a hold of you," came Ralph's voice from the other end.

"Ralph?" I asked, puzzled. "How did you get my number?" Not even my aunt knew I had a cell phone.

He didn't answer me. Instead he said, "Your aunt had a stroke and she was taken to Victory Memorial Hospital."

"Is she okay?"

"Your aunt is a sturdy woman. From what I hear it was a mild stroke, all the same I think she needs you right now."

"Yeah, okay. I'm on my way." I hung up and turned to the girls. "Sorry, I've got to go. My aunt was taken to the hospital."

"Is she okay?" Cleo asked, concerned.

"Yeah, I think so. Ralph, her doorman, said she had a mild stroke." I began edging toward the door. "Where do you think I can find the nearest taxi?"

"I'll take you there," Alyssa jumped in.

I stared at her dubiously. "No offense, but are you old enough to drive?"

"We're not driving, silly," she tugged on my arm, waving goodbye to Cleo as we exited the library. "We're taking Freak."

"Do I even want to know who Freak is?" I asked.

"He's our Griffin and he can get us there twice as fast as a taxi."

"A Griffin?" I gulped. "Not the same Griffin that caught me before I fell into the East River yesterday?"

Alyssa laughed. "Sadie told me about that. Yeah, it's the same one, but don't worry. Freak is a sweetheart."

"I think I'd rather take a taxi," I muttered.

She pretended not to hear me and stopped two four year old twins chasing each other around with hand paint. "Jamie, Jesse could you tell Carter that I took Freak out for a ride and I'll be back soon?"

"Uh huh," they both said in unison before taking off again.

Alyssa led me up to the roof, only making a brief stop to snag a whole turkey from their deep freeze. Near the back of the house they had made a giant nest for their Griffin where it lay in the afternoon sun snoozing so loudly it was a wonder no one could hear it from below. On the other side of the roof gleamed a golden boat big enough to hold half of their initiates.

"You have a boat on the roof," was all I could think to say.

"How else are we suppose to ride Freak?" Alyssa raised an eyebrow.

Of course silly me. At the mention of his name the creature lifted his head sleepily and gave us a considering look. I wondered if he remembered me.

"Hey sweetheart," Alyssa cooed. "Look what I brought you!" she held up the frozen turkey and the Griffin sat up eagerly. She tossed it in the air and Freak jumped up, his powerful jaws snapping around it.

As Freak's enormous tongue licked it's chops, Alyssa harnessed him to the boat and then motioned for me to get in. After giving the Griffin one more dubious glance, I gingerly stepped in and we took off.

"Which hospital did they take her to?" Alyssa shouted over the sound of Freak's hummingbird wings.

"Victory Memorial!" I shouted back.

She nodded to acknowledge that she'd heard and I sat back on one of the seats, not wanting to fall out and splatter all over the ground.

I had to admit after I got used to the idea of being up in the air in a boat it was kind of fun and I found myself leaning over the side to get a birds eye view of the world below.

"This is awesome!" I told Alyssa.

She smiled weakly at me and gripped the reigns tighter.

The ride ended sooner than I would have liked, but once we landed on the roof of Victoria Memorial reality slammed back into me and I began to worry about my aunt again. "Thanks for the lift," I said. "I-I probably won't come back tomorrow or the next day." What I didn't say was that I wasn't sure I would be able to come back at all.

"Take your time," she said.

I waited for her to take off and when she remained where she was I asked, "What's wrong?"

Alyssa bit her lip and then laughed nervously. "It's just that I have a fear of heights."

I stared at her in disbelief. "You didn't look like you were afraid of heights earlier."

"Yeah, well that's because you were with me and I was able to trick myself into thinking the boat was solid ground." She ducked her head sheepishly. "It's harder to pretend when I'm alone."

"Do you want me to call someone?" I offered.

"No," she raised her chin defiantly. "I can do this." She snapped the reigns and Freak took off to the sky again. I waved at her, though I doubt she saw me since she was staring straight ahead.

I took the stairs down to the first floor and asked the nurse at the desk for my aunt's room. The lobby was busy with both ingoing and outgoing patients and the nurse looked a little frazzled.

After she gave me the room number I thanked her and took the elevator up to my aunt's floor. I knocked softly on the door to announce my presence, then pushed it open to reveal my aunt alone in the bed with her eyes closed.

I walked around the bed to get to the chair on the other side and sat down, taking her hand. I hadn't realized just how fragile she looked until now. "Aunt Lucinda?" I called to her softly. "Aunt Lucinda, it's me, Jake."

Her eyes fluttered open sleepily and she turned her head to look at me. A smile flitted across her face. "Jake, how did you enjoy your second trip to the museum?"

"It was all right, but enough about me. Are you okay?"

"Oh, I'm fine," she squeezed my hand. "I feel well enough to go home, though they're keeping me overnight for observation."

I had a feeling she was downplaying things and I wished I knew who her doctor was so I could ask him for his opinion. "I'm sorry I wasn't there, Aunt Lucinda."

"I'm fine," she repeated. "It was a mild stroke, hardly did any damage at all." She let go of my hand and placed it on top of my head to run her fingers through my hair. "I've had some time to think while I've been laying here doing nothing. It's been a rough four weeks for the both of us hasn't it? I've never been married or had kids so I don't know the first thing about taking care of a teenager. I tried to let you have your space while you dealt with your parents divorce and I know I'm not a good cook," she chuckled when I made a face.

Her hand fell from my hair back to the bed as she looked me straight in the eye. "I don't want you feeling bad about not being there for me because it's not your job to look after me. It's your job to be a teenager and to enjoy life while you can." She hesitated before going on. "I don't know if I'm stepping out of line here by saying this, but I think it needs to be said. You're not to blame for your parents divorce, Jake. There was absolutely nothing you could do to prevent it from happening, if anything the blame lays with your mom and dad. Do you understand?"

I nodded, feeling a lump in my throat. I didn't know how Aunt Lucinda knew that I secretly wondered if I was the cause of my parents divorce. I wasn't sure I believed her since a lot of their arguments had centered around me, still it was nice to hear that all the same.

"I'm feeling a little tired," my aunt admitted. "You can go on back to the apartment if you like."

"Okay," I said and remained seated.

She huffed at me before closing her eyes. Soon she was snoring softly and I stared down at the floor, wiping away a tear that managed to escape.

A/N: Sorry about taking so long to write this chapter. I want to thank everyone who has followed this story and/or left reviews. I will try to post the next one faster.