A/N: so here is a new chapter and I would really like to know what you think of the story so far, it is kind of hard to determine without comments (ones which don't have anything to do with the story don't count and kind of do the opposite then being motivating to write), even thought the favs and alerts are encouraging. I'm also open for suggestions if you have got an idea what could be also put in here and I will see if it fits the raw-plotline and if yes then if will be added.
P.S.: sorry if there should be lines which seem strange, my insomnia kicked in so I have not slept since thirty-two hours and I'm doing this in parallel writing to the HP/PJ crossover-reading fic, meaning I switch between the writing of the stories.
VI. Just your usual breakfast chat
Narmer would have liked to protest about him reading, but seeing how his brother and the two other rulers had also done this had he no choice. He only hoped that these books would make Ashkender see sense, the Red God was dangerous as were his followers, but it seemed that most present here failed to notice that. As both the oldest still living brother and pharaoh had he a duty to protect the land and the people living in it, his family was a great part of that, he could not allow his brother to end up used as a puppet of chaos.
How to describe it? Not a nightmare. It was much more real and frightening.
"Of course it is." Ruby huffed; Carter would prove to be a handful it seemed.
As I slept, I felt myself go weightless. I drifted up, turned, and saw my own sleeping form below.
I'm dying, I thought. But that wasn't it, either. I wasn't a ghost. I had a new shimmering golden form with wings instead of arms. I was some kind of bird.
[No, Sadie, not a chicken. Will you let me tell the story, please?]
"Of course was he not a chicken, he was a falcon." Horus said offended at the thought of one comparing his Eye's ba to a chicken.
"I don't care what type of bird his ba resembled; I wouldn't even care if it looked like a large kiwi bird, as long as he gets safe back into his body." Ruby snapped while some tried not to snicker, or laugh like Sadie, at the thought of a Carter headed kiwi bird.
"Mom, I'm fine." Carter tried reassuring his mother, but on the inside was he busy flinching, if this was how she reacted to his first ba-trip, then he dreaded how she would take the other ones, mostly when Set almost caught him.
"Ye…yes, you are safe. Never put that headrest away again." Ruby scolded both her unborn and young-adult son.
I knew I wasn't dreaming, because I don't dream in color. I certainly don't dream in all five senses. The room smelled faintly of jasmine. I could hear the carbonation bubbles pinging in the can of ginger ale I'd opened on my nightstand. I could feel a cold wind ruffling through my feathers, and I realized the windows were open. I didn't want to leave,
"At least you don't want to intentionally have them." Ruby said while massaging her forehead, she was resisting the urge to give Carter a scolding or Amos for not telling them about this fact.
but a strong current pulled me out of the room like a leaf in a storm.
The lights of the mansion faded below me. The skyline of New York blurred and disappeared. I shot through the mist and darkness, strange voices whispering all around me. My stomach tingled as it had earlier that night on Amos's barge. Then the mist cleared, and I was in a different place.
"Which was a good thing that I was there, but also could have lived without the experience of a Duat travel only with my ba." Carter said as he looked over at Set who raised an eyebrow, so she had been right when she felt irritation all of a sudden right after arriving, she had at that time thought that is was still a lingering effect of her claustrophobia and dismissed it.
I floated above a barren mountain. Far below, a grid of city lights stretched across the valley floor. Definitely not New York. It was nighttime, but I could tell I was in the desert.
Set smiled at this, she loved the feeling of the sun warmed sand, the freedom, and how everything tended to glitter either in gold, ivory or crimson, depending on the consistence of the desert. It always calmed her to roam around for long hours; this was why she tended in the first place to go to the desert when she was in heat. The once time his now ex-wife and sister had kept him at home had resulted in Anubis and all what that had brought with it…
Amos noticed the frown on the God's face so he tapped into their shared link to find out what was wrong.
"Set, do you feel alright?" he asked in concern, he hoped that it had nothing to do with what was brought up last chapter regards he snake-skin and the original Twenty-First Nome, he still felt nausea and dread when he thought about the memories bound to those two things.
"It is really noting Amos, I was just thinking about the desert." she replied back, glad that he was concerned about her, and not only because of the baby, but she was not up telling him.
"Fine, but tell me if something is." he told her, then proceeded to pull the surprised God closer to himself, luckily she didn't resist and the others had not noticed what he did.
The wind was so dry, the skin in my face was like paper. And I know that doesn't make sense, but my face felt like my normal face, as if that part of me hadn't transformed into a bird.
[Fine, Sadie. Call me the Carter-headed chicken. Happy?]
This was followed by a good deal of people starting to laugh while both Carter and Horus started pouting for the upcoming two minutes it took for the others to calm down somewhat.
Below me on a ridge stood two figures. They didn't seem to notice me, and I realized I wasn't glowing anymore. In fact I was pretty much invisible, floating in the darkness. I couldn't make out the two figures clearly, except to recognize that they weren't human.
Ruby tried reassuring herself that her son was fine and he will not be noticed, but that didn't stop her from holding Julius's arm in a way which would leave her finger prints on it for the reminder of the week. Zia was kind of doing the same as Sadie looked nervous, she hated her own ba-trips, but Carter had them more often then her in the past.
Staring harder, I could see that one was short, squat, and hairless, with slimy skin that glistened in the starlight—
ike an amphibian standing on its hind legs. The other was tall and scarecrow skinny, with rooster claws instead of feat.
A few people jumped suddenly in fright when they heard the people of the present growl, their eyes fixated hatefully on the book Narmer was holding, while trying not to shudder.
"What is wrong?" Julius asked, he had rarely seen his brother look so ready to destroy or hurt someone.
"You will see." Amos replied in a stained tone, that damned demon had been the cause for most of the torment they had went through, he could feel Set shaking in his arms from furry and he could certainly understand her. That demon was on a nice place on their hunting list.
I couldn't see his face very well, but it looked red and moist and... well, let's just say I was glad I couldn't see better.
"Sadly, not for long." Carter mumbled under his breath when Set spoke up.
"Yes, it is certainly one ugly enough that you want to rip it of." she said dangerously and the visitors were shocked that all those from the present, the Gods include – even thought both Isis and Hours looked a bit sick at the idea -, seemed to agree with her. Just what was it with this demon that they all hated it so much?
"Where is he?" the toadie-looking one croaked nervously.
"Hasn't taken a permanent host yet," the rooster-footed guy chided. "He can only appear for a short time."
"To bad I didn't use that short time to grill him." Set mumbled under her breath as Amos kept his arms around her, this time had Nephthys not the strength to kick Horus, she knew that her once husband needed comfort no matter how he tended to deny it, and sadly could he never feel that with her.
"You're sure this is the place?"
"Yes, fool! He'll be here as soon—"
A fiery form appeared on the ridge. The two creatures fell to the ground, groveling in the dirt, and I prayed like crazy that I really was invisible.
"And I can't believe that you did not pray to me." Hours fumed in annoyance while Carter only shook his head.
"Horus, at that time had I no idea that you existed." Carter told the fuming Falcon God, he could be so childish most of the time.
"That is still no excuse."
"I should have used him as a rug." Set continued on musing to herself, she had been so dumb to not realize that something was not right.
"My lord!" the toad said.
Even in the dark, the newcomer was hard to see—just the silhouette of a man outlined in flames.
Narmer felt annoyed that he got the chapter with Set in it, but at least would this hopefully show how the God threats those who serve him.
"What do they call this place?" the man asked. And as soon as he spoke, I knew for sure he was the guy who'd attacked my dad at the British Museum. All the fear I'd felt at the museum came rushing back, paralyzing me.
"And just where did that fear disappear to, if I may ask?" Set asked with a raised eyebrow as she looked at Carter who gave her a beaming smile.
"I had some good teachers and some hard experiences." he replied back to the God.
"Should have known, but at least have you not got your ego influenced by your bird." she said, ignoring the glare Horus sent her way.
"There were some close calls." Carter admitted in a grave tone at which Horus only stared spluttering at his host while some of the other started laughing.
I remembered trying to pick up that stupid rock to throw, but I hadn't been able to do even that. I'd completely failed my dad.
"No you didn't," older Julius said gently to his son. "You've never failed me Carter." he was glad when his son smiled at him.
"My lord," Rooster Foot said.
"Pah…as if I would have been his lord." Set growled while the others adapted their dark looks again, they knew how right Set was.
"Do you also have the feeling that we are missing something important?" Ruby whispered to those on their couch, they all nodded.
"They seem ready for murderer whenever this demon gets mentioned." younger Amos noted while watching his older self from the corner of his eyes tighten his hold on Set who looked murderous.
"The mountain is called Camelback. The city is called Phoenix."
"Why do I have suddenly the urge to say 'Oh, the irony'? Desjardins said while looking over at the people of the present who managed to give him a few small grins.
The fiery man laughed—a booming sound like thunder. "Phoenix. How appropriate! And the desert is so much like home.
"It really was." Set said gently, her anger subsisting a small bit.
"We can visit there for a short time with the baby seeing that in Egypt you have your home right outside the Nome." Amos whispered into her ear which made the God smile, she liked the idea.
All it needs now is to be scoured of life. The desert should be a sterile place, don't you think?"
Narmer read bitterly when Osiris suddenly took over again and spoke up, his voice laden with guilt.
"Is this idea because of the lies my priests had spread about you?" Osiris asked his younger brother, he had been furious when he found out what his followers had done only shortly after Ra had been forced to give up his throne and his little sister had only added more to it. Salt in the wounds indeed.
"How would you feel Osiris when you are still distraught over an unjust committed by kin as people like to put it, then get summoned by your panicked priests who tried doing that since a few weeks, and inform you that now the whole of Egypt believes you to be infertile." Set said while looking sternly at her brother, forcing her gaze to not travel over to Nephthys who had her head bowed deeply in shame while the Kane siblings and the initiates blinked in shock.
"You know that he could kind of not have ended up pregnant if he would be sterile, the gender does not matter." Jaz said in a stunned tone while the siblings were still staring incredulously at Osiris.
"Beside that, we all know that he is Anubis's father." Tawaret said, she still wondered from where their people got the impossible assumption that she was married to Set, both of them were to this day perplexed by those rumours. Really only because she met up with him trice a week to give him updates about how Lord Ra was doing hardly counted as an indication for that.
"He is?" asked the four of he antique at which Set looked even more annoyed while Anubis felt suddenly offended by those words, but he didn't know why.
"Yes, my sister had wished that Isis and I take over raising Anubis and when confronted by my brother…" Osiris said, he knew that he didn't need to finish for the four understood. "I still feel disappointed at the maliciousness of my priests."
"And one still wonders why there are issues between us." Set said bitterly before gesturing for Narmer to continue, this kind of brought the pharaoh out of his daze and he started continuing, if for nothing else then to avoid the look his brother was giving him.
"Oh yes, my lord," the toadie agreed. "But what of the other four?"
"One is already entombed,"
Both Osiris and older Julius flinched at this, it had ben no fun.
the fiery man said. "The second is weak. She will be easily manipulated.
At this raised Nephthys her head enough to look at Set who had her eyes closed, arms and legs crossed while she leaned into the hold Amos still had around her to make sure that she would be fine.
"At that time, I had the foolish thought of giving you a third starting over chance, but it seems that it was not a problem that I couldn't get to it, we would have ended up the same as by the other two times…" Set didn't need to elaborate; she knew what was not said. '…you would have betrayed me again without hesitation.'
That leaves only two. And they will be dealt with soon enough."
"Er... how?" the toadie asked.
"He should have stayed quiet, I may have not been able to see Carter being there, but I felt the same irritation which flows through me whenever Horus is near so if one takes a wrong step." Set said while Carter shivered, he knew what will come next.
The fiery man glowed brighter. "You are an inquisitive little tadpole, aren't you?" He pointed at the toad and the poor creature's skin began to steam.
"No!" the toadie begged. "No-o-o-o!"
I could hardly watch. I don't want to describe it. But if you've heard what happens when cruel kids pour salt on snails, you'll have a pretty good idea of what happened to the toadie.
Everyone shivered at this while Narmer looked over at his brother.
"Do you see my point now?" he asked his brother, but the other held his gaze.
"After my knowledge brother, am I still human and not a demon or so I hope that you still see me as one." Ashkender told his brother who tried reassuring him, but he had turned away so that his brother needed to go back to reading. He knew that Narmer loved him and he returned those feelings, Narmer was a good man and brother, but sometimes, he failed to see things as they are.
Joining the Priests of Set would solve a good deal of rebellions in Upper Egypt, whose people were not pleased with how their guardian deity was treated. He had already behind his brother's back taken up correspondence with one of the High Priests and the man had pleasantly surprised him with his openness to the idea, though he had needed to figure that out from the lengthily lines written on the papyrus with the skill of a scribe. He felt intrigued by the man's cunning and shrewdness and felt always a kind of anticipation whenever one of his letters got delivered to him in secret or hidden in the city, so that he would need to follow the clues written in the previous letter. He was intrigued to meet the other finally face to face, so that they have a chance for more deeper discussions, he would also accept something more if it should be in the Gods will, he had never put much difference in his liking for either gender, what interested him was the mind. Beside that, he was really doing all of this for the shake of his brother and the whole of their people, they deserved peace and not war!
Soon there was nothing left.
Rooster Foot took a nervous step back. I couldn't blame him.
"Now I wish that he would have taken a step forward." Carter said angrily as he tried to stop his hands from touching his neck.
"We will build my temple here," the fiery man said, as if nothing had happened.
"I was trying to control my irritation, should have let it just out." Set said, her eyes still closed.
"This mountain shall serve as my place of worship. When it is complete, I will summon the greatest storm ever known. I will cleanse everything. Everything."
"Yes, my lord," Rooster Foot agreed quickly. "And, ah, if I may suggest, my lord, to increase your power..." The creature bowed and scraped and moved forward, as if he wanted to whisper in the fiery man's ear.
"His only sensible idea, for which I'm grateful." Set said to Amos through their link making him glance down at the God.
"I agree on that matter, he certainly made a great mistake with that suggestion" Amos said back and was glad when he saw a small smile on the God's lips.
Just when I thought Rooster Foot was going to become fried chicken for sure,
"Should have done that, but no problem the next time I see his slimy little face he will become just that." Set said threateningly, one of her crossed hands grabbing hold of the arm of Amos's suit, seeing how he still had one arm around her, keeping his hand from retreating.
"Let me guess we need to wait to know what is wrong." younger Julius said.
"You will know near the end of the book." Walt said in a forced calm tone.
he said something to the fiery dude that I couldn't make out, and the fiery dude
"Carter, try learning naming creativity from your sister." Set told the blushing Pharaoh, she could hardly wait till they stop referring to her as this while some of the others broke out laughing in amusement.
"Sorry Set, but I think that he is a lost case in that department." Sadie replied back good naturedly while trying to calm down again which took three more minutes.
burned brighter.
"Excellent! If you can do this, you will be rewarded. If not..."
"The 'if not' would have been brilliant." Sadie said with narrowed eyes, they were so lucky that she noticed it and stopped the spell in the last minute.
"I understand, my lord."
"Go then," the fiery man said. "Unleash our forces. Start with the longnecks.
Narmer's eyes narrowed, he hated those beasts while Carter flinched and hoped that his uncle would keep his arms around Set for a bit longer seeing how the God might become annoyed with him soon.
That should soften them up. Collect the younglings and bring them to me. I want them alive, before they have time to learn their powers. Do not fail me."
"Both fortunately and unfortunately they were without knowing pretty good at getting out of sticky situations, mostly with their capable help." Set said which made Ruby relax a small bit, but only a little seeing how her kids will be in danger.
"Nice that you accept our strength." Horus told the other God who looked back at him with a raised eyebrow.
"I was talking about their cat, not you and Isis." Set replied back which made both mentioned Gods glare at her while the siblings broke out laughing.
"I really wonder what is this about the cat." Desjardins said while Iskander felt confirmed in his suspicion.
"Beside that, Set wanted us captured alive, which I kind of forgot, "Carter admitted "that was kind of the better thing we had at that time." he finished while taking Zia's hand into his to show her that all this in the past and doesn't matter.
"So nice to know." Ruby huffed, people said that motherhood was full of challenges, but they failed to tell her that it was this challenging.
"It isn't it, by the way Set, hope you had a talk with him after his disaster." Sadie said while looking from her mother over to the God who answered her with an evil grin.
"No, lord."
"Phoenix," the fiery man mused. "I like that very much.
"It reminded me of Ra." Set whispered softly.
He swept his hand across the horizon, as if he were imagining the city in flames.
"It was more like past memories." was her reply, she kind of didn't even see the city while doing that, she wanted to hold onto her childhood memories as long as she could, but it was not easy and they soon disappeared again.
"Soon I will rise from your ashes. It will be a lovely birthday present."
The other Gods on the thrones bit back a flinch, raising from his ashes was something Ra always did in a metamorphic way whenever the sun raised again.
I woke with my heart pounding, back in my own body.
Both Ruby and Zia sighed in relief, his ba was again there where is should be.
I felt hot, as if the fiery guy were starting to burn me. Then I realized that there was a cat on my chest.
Both Carter and Amos shared and amused look with each other while Set tried not to blush, since her arrival back here had the way Carter walked in on them become with his incident a type of inside joke.
"What is so amusing?" younger Julius asked his son and brother, he didn't notice Set's reaction.
"Only a private joke." the two replied back, till now were they the only ones who woke up to find a God or Goddess in animal form on their chest waiting for them to wake up. When Horus got back had Carter kind of closed the window in accident right when the God was about to fly in through it.
Muffin stared at me, her eyes half closed. "Mrow."
"How did you get in?" I muttered.
"I don't care anymore, only that she did." Carter said now that he knew that it had been Bast who pulled him back.
I sat up, and for a second I wasn't sure where I was. Some hotel in another city? I almost called for my dad...
Julius smiled sadly at his son.
and then I remembered.
Yesterday. The museum. The sarcophagus.
It all crashed down on me so hard I could barely breathe.
Stop, I told myself. You don't have time for grief. And this is going to sound weird, but the voice in my head almost sounded like a different person—older, stronger. Either that was a good sign,
Hours grinned at this, he had finally some appearance here.
or I was going crazy.
"I'm still not sure." Carter said in a wondering tone which made Horus splutter again.
"I wonder when he will notice that Carter does this because he knows how Horus will react." Jaz whispered to Julian who was looking between Carter and Hours.
"I don't like admitting it, seeing how I also follow the Path of Horus, but I would say it might take a while." he replied back to the healer.
Remember what you saw, the voice said. He's after you. You have to be ready.
I shivered. I wanted to believe I'd just had a bad dream, but I knew better. I'd been through too much in the last day to doubt what I'd seen. Somehow, I'd actually left my body while I slept. I'd been to Phoenix—thousands of miles away. The fiery dude was there. I hadn't understood much of what he'd said, but he'd talked about sending his forces to capture the younglings. Gee, wonder who that could be?
Ruby narrowed her eyes at the siblings who were giving her innocent smiles while the initiates were trying not to laugh.
Muffin jumped off the bed and sniffed at the ivory headrest, looking up at me as if she were trying to tell me something.
"You can have it," I told her. "It's uncomfortable."
She butted her head against it and stared at me accusingly. "Mrow."
Carter looked sheepish while Set sent him a look of understanding, she had also gotten a few scoldings by Bast in the past.
"Whatever, cat."
I got up and showered. When I tried to get dressed, I found that my old clothes had disappeared in the night. Everything in the closet was my size, but way different than what I was used to—baggy drawstring pants and loose shirts, all plain white linen, and robes for cold weather, kind of what the fellahin, the peasants in Egypt, wear. It wasn't exactly my style.
Some of the initiates nodded their heads, but knew why they had those now and well, there are still the alternatives they are wearing now.
Sadie likes to tell me that I don't have a style. She complains that I dress like I'm an old man—button-down shirt, slacks, dress shoes.
Ruby looked over at her husband.
Okay, maybe. But here's the thing. My dad had always drilled into my head that I had to dress my best.
I remember the first time he explained it to me. I was ten. We were on our way to the airport in Athens, and it was like 112 degrees outside, and I was complaining that I wanted to wear shorts and a T-shirt. Why couldn't I be comfortable? We weren't going anywhere important that day—just traveling.
My dad put his hand on my shoulder. "Carter, you're getting older. You're an African American man.
A good deal of people scowled at this, they hated the way people acted around those who were different.
"It is annoying." Set mumbled so that only Amos could hear her, she got enough of that because of two of her divine properties and because she was also made a God of Foregainers in some aspects.
People will judge you more harshly, and so you must always look impeccable."
There were a good deal of nods, but no one commented.
"That isn't fair!" I insisted.
"Fairness does not mean everyone gets the same," Dad said. "Fairness means everyone gets what they need. And the only way to get what you need is to make it happen yourself. Do you understand?"
There were again nods at this, they knew that Julius had been right about that, to most degrees.
I told him I didn't. But still I did what he asked—like caring about Egypt, and basketball, and music. Like traveling with only one suitcase. I dressed the way Dad wanted me to, because Dad was usually right. In fact I'd never known him to be wrong... until the night at the British Museum.
"The fact that I didn't know that all five of them were in the Stone" here older Julius flinched at the look Desjardins was giving him "kind of complicated things." he finished explaining, he wondered that when everyone departs if they would have their memories about this.
Anyway, I put on the linen clothes from the closet. The slipper shoes were comfortable, though I doubted they'd be much good to run in.
'Now I know that if you need to run, nothing matters.'
The door to Sadie's room was open, but she wasn't there.
Thankfully my bedroom door wasn't locked anymore. Muffin joined me and we walked downstairs, passing a lot of unoccupied bedrooms on the way. The mansion could've easily slept a hundred people, but instead it felt empty and sad.
Amos flinched at this, but he soon relaxed when he felt a surge of warmth brush against his senses, he allowed it gratefully to wrap around him and make him forget the painful days. Set had a good understanding for his feelings about those days. Meanwhile tried the Kane siblings and their initiates to not glare at those issuing the abandonment of Brooklyn House as the younger version of their uncle got a hug from his sister-in-law. The two Juliuses meanwhile looked guilty for putting their brother through this.
Down in the Great Room, Khufu the baboon sat on the sofa with a basketball between his legs and a chunk of strange-looking meat in his hands. It was covered in pink feathers. ESPN was on the television, and Khufu was watching highlights from the games of the night before.
At this younger Amos smiled slightly and wondered if he may have let Julius babysit Khufu a bit to often, that he is so much into sports.
"Hey," I said, though I felt a little weird talking to him. "Lakers win?"
Khufu looked at me and patted his basketball like he wanted a game. "Agh, agh."
He had a pink feather hanging from his chin, and the sight made my stomach do a slow roll.
Those who had seen this at least once shuddered in agreement, well except the owner who got used to it.
"Um, yeah," I said. "We'll play later, okay?"
I could see Sadie and Amos out on the terrace, eating breakfast by the pool. It should've been freezing out there, but the fire pit was blazing, and neither Amos nor Sadie looked cold. I headed their way, then hesitated in front of the statue of Thoth. In the daylight, the bird-headed god didn't look quite so scary.
Thoth huffed at this in indignation.
Still, I could swear those beady eyes were watching me expectantly.
What had the fiery guy said last night? Something about catching us before we learned our powers. It sounded ridiculous, but for a moment I felt a surge of strength—like the night before when I'd open the front door just by raising my hand. I felt like I could lift anything, even this thirty-foot-tall statue if I wanted to.
"Not inside the house till you don't know how to use your powers." Amos said while looking at Julius on the throne who blushed, his younger version did the same.
"What did you do?" Ruby asked her husband, the children looked also interested.
"Uh…"
"He kind of nearly sent the couch flying out of the window, with out parents and grandparents sitting on it." younger Amos elaborated while ignoring his brother's glare.
"So this is why your parents insisted to use the chairs the first time you introduced me to them." Ruby said in a thoughtful tone while some of the others snickered at the older Kane brother's embarrassment.
In a kind of trance, I stepped forward.
Muffin meowed impatiently and butted my foot. The feeling dissolved.
'Thanks Bast.'
"You're right," I told the cat. "Stupid idea."
Besides, I could smell breakfast now—French toast, bacon, hot chocolate— and I couldn't blame Muffin for being in a hurry. I followed her out to the terrace.
"Ah, Carter," Amos said. "Merry Christmas, my boy. Join us."
"About time," Sadie grumbled. "I've been up for ages."
But she held my eyes for a moment, like she was thinking the same thing I was: Christmas. We hadn't spent a Christmas morning together since Mom died.
Ruby again teared a bit up at this, but was happy that her children finally spent Christmas together like they should.
I wondered if Sadie remembered how we used to make god's-eye decoration out of yarn and Popsicle sticks.
"I did." Sadie admitted with a smile at her brother while she leaned against Walt.
Amos poured himself a cup of coffee. His clothes were similar to those he'd worn the day before, and I had to admit the guy had style.
"At least you admitted it, you father was the option that I was like a girl." older Amos said, his younger self only glared at his brother while both Juliuses did their best to ignore them.
His tailored suit was made of blue wool,
"What gave you that impression?" Amos asked his nephew who shrugged, he was not an expert in what materials are used for a good deal of clothes.
he wore a matching fedora, and his hair was freshly braided with dark blue lapis lazuli, one of the stones the Egyptian often used for jewelry. Even his glasses matched. The round lenses were tinted blue. A tenor sax rested on a stand near the fire pit, and I could totally picture him playing out here, serenading the East River.
Set giggled at this, knowing that her Eye certainly does that, not that she was complaining seeing how it she was starting to like this type of music and the baby seems to also like it.
As for Sadie, she was dressed in a white linen pajama outfit like me, but somehow she'd managed to keep her combat boots. She'd probably slept with them on.
"I did," Sadie admitted, embarrassed as the others chuckled at her comment. This sounded so much like her.
She looked pretty comical with the red-streaked hair and the outfit, but since I wasn't dressed any better, I could hardly make fun of her.
"Um... Amos?" I asked. "You didn't have any pet birds, did you? Khufu's eating something with pink feathers."
At this looked the younger version of said man with interest at the book, he hoped that the answer will be not, but seeing how he kind of never liked birds as pets he doubted it, but knowing something more about Khufu would be nice.
"Mmm." Amos sipped his coffee. "Sorry if that disturbed you. Khufu's very picky. He only eats foods that end in –o. Doritos, burritos, flamingos."
"Excuse me?" come it from some of the past visitors.
"I'm not sure how that started, only that he suddenly started to refuse eating anything which didn't end in 'o'." older Amos replied with a shrug, after a month he had given up looking for an explaining and just went with it.
"He also likes people whose names end in that letter." Felix whispered to the others on the matt as they remembered how much Khufu adores Cleo.
"Nice to know, but at least is that manageable." younger Amos said, yes that little animal will certainly take his mind away from worries.
I blinked. "Did you say—"
"Carter," Sadie warned. She looked a little queasy, like she'd already had this conversation.
"I did," Sadie informed everyone and she would still like to forget about it.
"Don't ask."
"Okay," I said. "Not asking."
"Please, Carter, help yourself." Amos waved toward a buffet table piled high with food. "Then we can get started with the explanations."
I didn't see any flamingo on the buffet table, which was fine by me, but there was just about everything else. I snagged some pancakes with butter and syrup, some bacon, and a glass of OJ.
Then I noticed movement in the corner of my eye. I glanced at the swimming pool. Something long and pale was gliding just under the surface of the water.
I almost dropped my plate. "Is that—"
"A crocodile," Amos confirmed. "For good luck. He's albino, but please don't mention that. He's sensitive."
Hatshepsut looked interested at this and wondered if she should ask when they hold a pause if she could go outside to it for a little while.
"You never said anything about a crocodile." younger Julius told his brother.
"Though it is more then good to have them." Ramses said in an approving tone, no temple no matter the time period should be without at least one of them.
"His name is Philip of Macedonia," Sadie informed me.
Sadie nodded her head, she loved Philip.
I wasn't sure how Sadie was taking this all so calmly, but I figured if she wasn't freaking out, I shouldn't be either.
"That's a long name," I said.
"He's a long crocodile," Sadie said. "Oh, and he likes bacon."
To prove her point, she tossed a piece of bacon over her shoulder. Philip lunged out of the water and snapped up the treat. His hide was pure white and his eyes were pink.
"He sounds really pretty." at this stared everyone at the queen who had a small smile on her lips. "My most beloved nurse Sitre had been an animal charmer and she teached me when I had asked her, my speciality are in crocodiles." she explained while those from the future felt that they now had another link how much the female pharaoh had loved her nurse to bury her in the Valley of the Kings and also the irony how the woman who had helped raising her in life, had been again her guardian in death.
"Great, I'm the best with penguins, I will show you them later if you want." Felix said excitedly, he knew that his family were descendants of the queen and it made him really happy that she had been also an animal charmer like him.
"I would really like that Felix." Hatshepsut replied with a smile.
His mouth was so big, he could've snapped up an entire pig.
"He's quite harmless to my friends," Amos assured me.
Everyone from the present noded their heads, that was certainly true Philip would never attack you if you ara a friend.
"In the old days, no temple would be complete without a lake full of crocodiles. They are powerful magic creatures."
More nods.
"Right," I said. "So the baboon, the crocodile... any other pets I should know about?"
Amos thought for a moment. "Visible ones? No, I think that's it."
A good few people snickered at this while Carter looked a bit embarassed.
I took a seat as far from the pool as possible. Muffin circled my leg and purred.
"I think at that time was Bast trying to console me." Carter whispered to Sadie, Zia and Walt who nodded in agreement.
"You really needed it, though at that time was I a bit annoyed that my cat was suddenly so attached to you." Sadie admitted, now she was more then grateful to Bast that she went to help her brother.
"I was also kind of confused why she seemed to be around me so much unlike in the past."
I hoped she had enough sense to stay away from magic crocodiles named Philip.
Some snickered at Carter's comment.
"So, Amos," I said between bites of pancake. "Explanations."
"Yes," he agreed. "Where to start..."
"It was not easy to decide with them having no clue about anything." older Amos said, he had spent half of the night awake trying to find out where to start the whole conversation. The siblings only looked sheepishly at their uncle while Julius gave him an apologetic smile.
"Our dad," Sadie suggested. "What happened to him?"
Amos took a deep breath. "Julius was attempting to summon a god. Unfortunately, it worked."
It was kind of hard to take Amos seriously, talking about summoning gods while he spread butter on a bagel.
"Could have been worse, our parents did the laundry while giving us the explanation, it is hard to take the whole explaining of he House seriously when after telling you that magic and Gods are reall, your father asks you to hand him the shorts." younger Julius said which caused the others to break out laughing as they imagined this.
"That would explain some things." Desjardins mumbled to himself.
"Mom and I were doing the dishes when she told me." Ruby supplied at which her mother blushed as the laughter increased.
"Any god in particular?" I asked casually. "Or did he just order a generic god?"
Carter gave the Gods and innocent smile as they looked at his with raised eyebrows.
Sadie kicked me under the table. She was scowling, as if she actually believed what Amos was saying. Amos took a bite of bagel. "There are many Egyptian gods, Carter. But your dad was after one in particular."
He looked at me meaningfully.
"Osiris," I remembered. "When Dad was standing in front of the Rosetta Stone, he said, 'Osiris, come.' But Osiris is a legend. He's make-believe."
"Am I now, Carter?" Osiris asked playfully as he took over for a few seconds.
"Certainly not." the Pharaoh of the House answered back.
"I wish that were true."
Older Amos shifted in his seat, but the fact that he could still feel the heat Set was radiating into him calmed him a bit, he got to much used to the Gods to wish otherwise anymore.
Amos stared across the East River at the Manhattan skyline, gleaming in the morning sun. "The Ancient Egyptians were not fools, Carter. they built the pyramids. They created the first great nation state. Their civilization lasted thousands of years."
"Yeah," I said. "And now they're gone."
Amos shook his head. "A legacy that powerful does not disappear. Next to the Egyptians, the Greeks and Romans were babies.
"Set" Amos said the God's name who chuckled a bit as she felt his slight nervousness.
"I got that one covered when we gave the basic explanation with their Pantheon to the demigods." she told him, it had caused a good deal of yelling and such, but they understood.
Our modern nations like Great Britain and America? Blinks of an eye. The very oldest root of civilization, at least of Western civilization, is Egypt. Look at the pyramid on the dollar bill. Look at the Washington Monument—the world's largest Egyptian obelisk.
"Those were part of the explanatory argument and the fact that we are still coexisting here." Set said.
"What are the Greek symbols here, beside the paintings, and the looks of some buildings and statues that is." Alyssa asked the God.
"I think the most prominent one would be the symbol of America, it represents Zeus's eagle." Set explained.
"Kind of ironic that the King of the Greco-Roman Gods and the King of the Egyptian Pantheon both have the same animal as their symbol." Ruby noted thoughtfully while the others wondered if this had also some significance that the two sides had been now brought together again through history.
"It certainly is, but let us continue." Iskander said, his voice thoughtful seeing how he combined the blood of both Ancient Lands in him.
Narmer nodded, but his face looked confused when he read the next line.
Egypt is still very much alive. And so, unfortunately, are her gods."
"The reasons for that sentence are more then solid and justified." Set spoke up when the other Gods turned in Amos's direction who tried not to smile at the God's protectiveness because he knew that it was partly because of the other's abandonment issue.
"I have an idea what those are." younger Amos mumbled to himself.
"Come on," I argued. "I mean... even if I believe there's a real thing called magic. Believing in ancient gods is totally different. You're joking, right?"
Carter motioned to his ancestor to read on before anyone could comment.
But as I said it, I thought about the fiery guy in the museum, the way his face had shifted between human and animal. And the statue of Thoth—how its eyes had followed me.
"Carter," Amos said, "the Egyptians would not have been stupid enough to believe in imaginary gods. The beings they described in their myths are very, very real. In the old days, the priests of Egypt would call upon these gods to channel their power and perform great feats. That is the origin of what we now call magic. Like many things, magic was first invented by the Egyptians. Each temple had a branch of magicians called the House of Life. Their magicians were famed throughout the ancient world."
"And you're an Egyptian magician."
Amos nodded. "So was your father. You saw it for yourself last night."
I hesitated. It was hard to deny my dad had done some weird stuff at the museum—some stud that looked like magic.
"But he's an archaeologist," I said stubbornly.
"Your stubbornness is showing." Zia whispered to her boyfriend who tried not to grin, this was a family inheritance.
"That's his cover story. You'll remember that he specialized in translating ancient spells, which are very difficult to understand unless you work magic yourself. Our family, the Kane family, has been part of the House of Life almost since the beginning. And your mother's family is almost as ancient."
The other two from the antique who had not figured out that some of here are descendants of at least one of them present here looked with interest at the gathered group, before Narmer continued reading.
"The Fausts?" I tried to imagine Grandma and Grandpa Faust doing magic, but unless watching rugby on TV and burning cookies was magical, I couldn't see it.
Said pair only shook their heads at this.
"They had not practiced magic for many generations," Amos admitted. "Not until your mother came along. But yes, a very ancient bloodline."
Both mother and daughter nodded their heads at this.
Sadie shook her head in disbelief. "So now Mum was magic, too. Are you joking?"
"No jokes," Amos promised. "The two of you... you combine the blood of two ancient families, both of which have a long, complicated history with the gods.
"That is an understatement." replied the members of the two families and the Gods together.
you are the most powerful Kane children to be born in many centuries."
The siblings nodded at this while those from the past looked at them with wide eyes.
I tried to let that sink in. At the moment, I didn't feel powerful. I felt queasy. "You're telling me our parents secretly worshipped animal-headed gods?" I asked.
"I'm still wondering what the mortals of this time have against our hybrid forms." Anubis muttered to himself, it was annoying.
Suddenly Narmer gasped and looked up in shock.
"You can't mean what stands in here." he said while the Gods turned back to Thoth and glared at him.
"It is the truth, but it seems that soon the old order will return." Iskander said while letting his gaze wander over the magicians and the Gods among their midst.
"Brother, read on." Ashkender told his brother, whatever it was they could not stop because of it, it will come in the far future and will come to pass in this era.
"Not worshipped," Amos corrected. "By the end of the ancient times, Egyptians had learned that their gods were not to be worshipped.
The other three from the antique blinked at this as the glares of the Gods become stronger.
They are powerful beings, primeval forces, but they are not divine in the sense one might think of God. They are created entities, like mortals, only much more powerful.
"I made sure that when this line falls that you don't need to fear them deciding to prove you otherwise." Set whispered into Amos's ear who nodded, their allies were easy to offend.
We can respect them, fear them, use their power, or even fight them to keep them under control—"
Now had the other three from the far past scandalized looks on their faces, but refrained themselves from commenting, they didn't even ear the growls coming from the thrones.
"Fight gods?" Sadie interrupted.
"Constantly," Amos assured her. "But we don't worship them. Thoth taught us that."
Everyone ignored Thoth's yelp when some of his colleagues left their thrones to pounce at him.
I looked at Sadie for help. The old guy had to be crazy.
"Carter, my age has nothing to do with anything and I'm still three years younger then your father, who is at the moment sharing a body with a five thousand years old God." Amos told his nephew while still holding Set beside him so that she doesn't join the other Gods, it would not do good for the baby.
"Uh…sorry." he said seeing how he kind of met people older then his uncle and not looking it.
But Sadie was looking like she believed every word.
"I was kind of trying to make sense out of that what we heard." Sadie said.
"So..." I said. "Why did Dad break the Rosetta Stone?"
Desjardins growled again while the Gods joined the others on their thrones and Thoth started healing himself.
"Oh, I'm sure he didn't mean to break it," Amos said. "That would've horrified him.
"It did horrify me," Julius said in hopes to placate the French magician, but it didn't seem to do much.
In fact, I imagine my brethren in London have repaired the damage by now.
This on the other hand seemed to work rather well.
The curators will soon check their vaults and discover that the Rosetta Stone miraculously survived the explosion."
"But it was blown into a million pieces!" I said. "How could they repair it?"
Amos picked up a saucer and threw it onto the stone floor. The saucer shattered instantly.
"That was to destroy," Amos said. "I could've done it by magic—ha-di—
Sadie grinned at the mention of her favorite spell while her uncle wonderd why he had suddenly a bad feeling about telling them this.
but it's simpler just to smash it. And now..." Amos held out his hand. "Join. Hi-norm."
A blue hieroglyphic symbol burned in the air above his palm.
Amos smiled at this a bit, now his hieroglyphs had a crimson colour to them.
The pieces of the saucer flew into his hand and reassembled like a puzzle, even the smallest bits of dust gluing themselves into place. Amos put the perfect saucer back on the table.
"Some trick," I managed. I tried to sound calm about it, but I was thinking of all the odd things that had happened to my dad and me over the years, like those gunmen
Ruby scowled at the reminder.
in the Cairo hotel who'd ended up hanging by their feet from a chandelier. Was it possible my dad had made that happen with some kind of spell?
"It had been." older Julius said in confirmation.
Amos poured milk in the saucer, and put it on the floor. Muffin came padding over. "At any rate, your father would never intentionally damage a relic. He simply didn't realize how much power the Rosetta Stone contained. You see, as Egypt faded,
Here those from the antique flinched again while the others gave them sympathetic looks, knowing that this must be hard on them.
its magic collected and concentrated into its remaining relics. Most of these, of course, are still in Egypt. But you can find some in almost every major museum. A magician can use these artifacts as focal points to work more powerful spells."
"I don't get it," I said.
"I do now."
Amos spread his hands. "I'm sorry, Carter. It takes years of study to understand magic, and I'm trying to explain it to you in a single morning. The important thing is, for the past six years your father has been looking for a way to summon Osiris, and last night he thought he had found the right artifact to do it."
"I did, but failed to see that Osiris may not be the only one in it." older Julius said with a sheepish grin, he had been kind of to focused on Osiris to think about the others.
"Wait, why did he want Osiris?"
Sadie gave me a troubled look. "Carter, Osiris was the lord of the dead. Dad was talking about making things right. He was talking about Mum."
Suddenly the morning seemed colder. The fire pit sputtered in the wind coming off the river.
"He wanted to bring Mom back from the dead?" I said.
"I admit that it had crossed my mind, but after joining with Osiris I understood that this would be a terrible thing to do." Julius admitted, if a life is gone then had no one the right to force it to return, the dead should stay dead.
"But that's crazy!"
Amos hesitated. "It would've been dangerous. Inadvisable. Foolish. But not crazy. Your father is a powerful magician. If, in fact, that is what he was after, he might have accomplished it, using the power of Osiris."
Both Juliuses smiled at their younger brothers, knowing that it was not easy for them to admit this because they parents had often concentrated more on the progress of their oldest son then on that of their youngest which had lasted hard on Amos. Looking back on this did they note again a similarity between the Eye and his God.
I stared at Sadie. "You're actually buying this?"
"You saw the magic at the museum. The fiery bloke. Dad summoned something from the stone."
"Yeah," I said, thinking of my dream. "But that wasn't Osiris, was it?"
"No," Amos said. "Your father got more than he bargained for. He did release the spirit of Osiris. In fact, I think he successfully joined with the god—"
"Joined with?"
Amos held up his hand. "Another long conversation.
"I should have gotten to that one sooner." Amos said while shaking his head, that mistake had also caused some problems.
"You did not know that it would take that long to get to that one." Carter told his uncle.
"What happened?" younger Julius asked worriedly, but the others only shook their heads.
For now, let's just say he drew the power of Osiris into himself. But he never got the chance to use it because, according to what Sadie has told me, it appears that Julius released five gods from the Rosetta Stone. Five gods who were all trapped together."
Said Gods shuddered at the memory.
I glanced at Sadie. "You told him everything?"
"He's going to help us, Carter."
I wasn't quite ready to trust this guy, even if he was our uncle, but I decided I didn't have much choice.
"Okay, yeah," I said. "The fiery guy said something like 'You released all five.' What did he mean?"
Amos sipped his coffee. The faraway look on his face reminded me of my dad.
"Seeing that we are brothers." older Julius said with a small smile.
"I don't want to scare you."
"Too late."
"The gods of Egypt are very dangerous.
Said Gods grinned at this, taking the words as a compliment for their strength.
For the last two thousand years or so, we magicians have spent much of our time binding and banishing them whenever they appear.
And now they looked darkly at the ground while those from the antique looked again horrified, they could not imagine betraying their Gods like this.
In fact, our most important law, issued by Chief Lector Iskandar in Roman times, forbids unleashing the gods or using their power.
Said man flinched slightly when he saw the four from the far past look at him, but strangely the Gods, those who had the most ground to be angered with him had returned to glare at Thoth and not him.
Your father broke that law once before."
Sadie's face paled. "Does this have something to do with Mum's death? Cleopatra's Needle in London?"
"It has everything to do with that, Sadie. Your parents... well, they thought they were doing something good.
"And you did, it helped save the world." Sadie said while looking at her mother who was held tightly by their father.
They took a terrible risk, and it cost your mother her life. Your father took the blame. He was exiled, I suppose you would say. Banished. He was forced to move around constantly because the House monitored his activities. They feared he would continue his... research. As indeed he did."
"And what have they done to you only because you were my brother?" older Julius asked so low that only Osiris could hear him.
I thought about the times Dad would look over his shoulder as he copied some ancient inscriptions, or wake me up at three or four in the morning and insist it was time to change hotels, or warn me not to look in his workbag or copy certain pictures from old temple walls—as if our lives depended on it.
"Looking now back on it, in the end our lives really depended on those." Carter said in a thoughtful tone, they had needed the Demon Days and all the other Gods to fight Apophis.
"Is that why you never came round?" Sadie asked Amos. "Because Dad was banished?"
"Now you kind of see the complication." Sadie told he younger version of her uncle who nodded in understanding.
"The House forbade me to see him. I loved Julius. It hurt me to stay away from my brother, from you children. But I could not see you—until last night, when I simply had no choice but to try to help. Julius has been obsessed with finding Osiris for years. He was consumed with grief because of what happened to your mother. When I learned that Julius was about to break the law again, to try to set things right, I had to stop him.
Ruby gave her brother-in-law a thankful smile, he had always been a considerate and kind person who took care about others.
A second offense would've meant a death sentence. Unfortunately, I failed. I should've known he was too stubborn."
"It seems to be kind of a family trait." Walt said while smiling as Sadie punched him in the arm, those who knew the Kanes only nodded in agreement.
I looked down to my plate. My food had gotten cold. Muffin leaped onto the table and rubbed against my hand. When I didn't object, she started eating my bacon.
"Last night at the museum," I said, "the girl with the knife,
Zia flinched and Carter pulled her closer.
the man with the forked beard—they were magicians too? From the House of Life?"
"Yes," Amos said. "Keeping an eye on your father. You are fortunate they let you go."
"The girl wanted to kill us," I remembered.
Carter tightened his hold on his girlfriend.
"But the guy with the beard said, not yet."
Desjardins scowled at being addressed like this, but didn't comment.
"They don't kill unless it is absolutely necessary," Amos said. "They will wait to see if you are a threat."
"Why would we be a threat?" Sadie demanded. "We're children! The summoning wasn't our idea."
Some gave Sadie incredulous looks as she blushed, they may be children, but they had done pretty many things most adults would never dare.
Amos pushed away his plate. "There is a reason you two were raised separately."
Ruby sat up straighter at this while the siblings winced and waved to their dad that he should grab her and if possible not let go.
"Because the Fausts took Dad to court," I said matter-of-factly. "And Dad lost."
"It was much more than that," Amos said. "The House insisted you two be separated. Your father wanted to keep you both, even though he knew how dangerous it was."
Sadie looked like she'd been smacked between the eyes. "He did?"
Ruby went for suddenly stiff in Julius's arms as her eyes slowly turned to the side while Desjardins decided to scoot a bit farther away and to keep the Chief Lector out of harm's way.
"Of course. But the House intervened and made sure your grandparents got custody of you, Sadie.
And this was the last drop.
"YOU WERE THE ONES WHO SEPERATED MY CHILDREN!" Ruby yelled furiously as she tried to get out from Julius's hold, but he held on tightly.
"Ruby dear, it won't do Carter good if you frustrate yourself even more, the spell gives a kind of protection for the baby from emotional stress, but the more stress the mother feels the more the seal weakens, this is why I will need to apply it more then once." Tawaret said in a kind tone as she managed to get the fuming woman's attention. "Also, don't forget that those two gentlemen come from a time where they had not done this at the given time, one can not be held responsible for the thins they will do in the future." she finished and Ruby stopped struggling.
"Fine, I will keep listening to the books." she said while others gave the Hippo Goddess thankful looks.
If you and Carter were raised together, you could become very powerful. Perhaps you have already sensed changes over the past day."
I thought about the surges of strength I'd been feeling, and the way Sadie suddenly seemed to know how to read Ancient Egyptian. Then I thought of something even further back.
"Your sixth birthday," I told Sadie.
"The cake," she said immediately, the memory passing between us like an electric spark.
At Sadie's sixth birthday party, the last one we'd shared as a family, Sadie and I had a huge argument. I don't remember what it was about. I think I wanted to blow out the candles for her.
We started yelling. She grabbed my shirt. I pushed her. I remember Dad rushing toward us, trying to intervene, but before he could, Sadie's birthday cake exploded. Icing splattered the walls, our parents, the faces of Sadie's little six-year-old friends. Dad and Mom separated us. They sent me to my room. Later, they said we must've hit the cake by accident as we were fighting, but I knew we hadn't. Something much weirder had made it explode, as if it had responded to our anger. I remembered Sadie crying with a chunk of cake on her forehead, an upside-down candle stuck to the ceiling with its wick still burning, and an adult visitor, one of my parents' friends, his glasses speckled with white frosting.
"We had not exactly expected those results, and to bad that the cake got ruined." older Amos said while those from the past stared in shock at the siblings.
"They are certainly powerful." Desjardins noted, no wonder the House had wanted to separated them when they banned Julius.
I turned to Amos. "That was you. You were at Sadie's party."
"Vanilla icing," he recalled. "Very tasty. But it was clear even then that you two would be difficult to raise in the same household."
"Wonderful now I don't only need to make the apartment baby safe, but also magic safe." younger Julius mumbled to himself, but he was also proud about his kids.
"And so..." I faltered. "What happens to us now?"
I didn't want to admit it, but I couldn't stand the thought of being separated from Sadie again. She wasn't much, but she was all I had.
Ruby smiled at this, glad that her children had so fast gotten over their rift.
"You must be trained properly," Amos said, "whether the House approves or not."
"In other words, you would have gone against the House to keep them with you and train them." Desjardins said while he did his best to keep his tone impassive.
"Yes, though I only could train them for some time, other matters kind of got in the way." older Amos replied mysteriously.
"What do you mean?" Ruby asked.
"Book one and two will give you the answer." Amos replied back, the end of he second book will give them the most shock, he was not really happy that he left the cape in the First Nome.
"Why wouldn't they approve?" I asked.
"I will explain everything, don't worry. But we must start your lessons if we are to stand any chance of finding your father and putting things right. Otherwise the entire world is in danger. If we only knew where—"
"Phoenix," I blurted out.
"For a few seconds I was kind of confused about what you meant." Amos told his nephew, he had been not sure if Carter meant the animal, city or a metaphor.
Amos stared at me. "What?"
"Last night I had... well, not a dream, exactly..." I felt stupid, but I told him what had happened while I slept.
Judging from Amos's expression, the news was even worse than I thought.
"You're sure he said 'birthday present'?" he asked.
"Yeah, but what does that mean?"
"And a permanent host," Amos said. "He didn't have one yet?"
"I was waiting for the right one." Set spoke through their link so that no one could overhear, though she didn't count on it that after that statement would Amos need a good deal of his willpower to keep himself from blushing. And Set told him that he used double meaning comments.
"Well, that's what the rooster-footed guy said—"
"That was a demon," Amos said. "A minion of chaos. And if demons are coming through to the mortal world, we don't have much time. This is bad, very bad."
"If you live in Phoenix," I said.
"Carter, our enemy won't stop at Phoenix. If he's grown so powerful so fast... What did he say about the storm, exactly?"
"He said: 'I will summon the greatest storm ever known.'"
Amos scowled. "The last time he said that, he created the Sahara.
"I don't see what the problem is, beside that discuss it with the one who had decided to rile me up and start a fight right on the day I got served a lovely lye." Set said while looking over at Horus how was shifting in his throne and Nephthys who again had her head bowed.
"Great, I'm partly the fault for the existence of the Sahara." Anubis mumbled to himself, really nice to know how informed people kept him.
"One learns with Gods something every day." Sadie said while shaking her head.
A storm that large could destroy North America, generating enough chaos to give him an almost invincible form."
"That would have been the better option." replied a good deal of people form the present which confused those from the past.
"What are you talking about? Who is this guy?"
Amos waved away the question. "More important right now: why didn't you sleep with the headrest?"
"You will certainly make a good father." Ruby said with a small giggle while both Amoses blushed, the older one even more when he heard Set laugh in his head.
I shrugged. "It was uncomfortable." I looked at Sadie for support. "You didn't use it, did you?"
Sadie rolled her eyes. "Well, of course I did. It was obviously there for a reason."
Sometimes I really hate my sister.
[Ow! That's my foot!]
The Sadie of the present did just the same as in the past.
"Carter," Amos said, "sleep is dangerous. It's a doorway into the Duat."
"Lovely," Sadie grumbled. "Another strange word."
"Ah... yes, sorry," Amos said. "The Duat is the world of spirits and magic. It exists beneath the waking world like a vast ocean, with many layers and regions. We submerged just under its surface last night to reach New York, because travel through the Duat is much faster. Carter, your consciousness also passed through its shallowest currents as you slept, which is how you witnessed what happened in Phoenix. Fortunately, you survived that experience.
Both Ruby and Zia nodded their heads furrioulsy.
But the deeper you go into the Duat, the more horrible things you encounter, and the more difficult it is to return. There are entire realms filled with demons, palaces where the gods exist in their pure forms, so powerful their mere presence would burn a human to ashes.
"That reminds me, if a demigod tells you to turn away, then do it because it means that one of their Gods is coming or going and at that time they take up their pure forms." Set informed the initiates who nodded their heads in understanding.
There are prisons that hold beings of unspeakable evil, and some chasms so deep and chaotic that not even the gods dare explore them.
"Hades kind of says that if Nico should ever appear here saying that he is doing some investigations, that we should not let him anywhere near the Duat, finding out how he had taken a trip into Tartarus gave his father a heart attack and nearly a nervous breakdown to boot, so he would be grateful is that experience doesn't occur again in a different Pantheon's deepest hell." Set whispered to Amos who nodded his head.
Now that your powers are stirring, you must not sleep without protection, or you leave yourself open to attacks from the Duat or... unintended journeys through it. The headrest is enchanted, to keep your consciousness anchored to your body."
"You mean I actually did..." My mouth tasted like metal. "Could he have killed me?"
"Yes." everyone said.
Amos's expression was grave. "The fact that your soul can travel like that means you are progressing faster than I thought. Faster than should be possible. If the Red Lord had noticed you—"
"The Red Lord?" Sadie said. "That's the fiery bloke?"
"At least someone used a proper name for me." Set said, glad that this was over with that idiotic name calling.
Amos rose. "I must find our more. We can't simply wait for him to find you. And if he releases the storm on his birthday, at the height of his powers—"
"You mean you're going to Phoenix?" I could barely get the words out. "Amos, that fiery man defeated Dad like his magic was a joke! Now he's got demons, and he's getting stronger, and—you'll be killed!"
"Strangely I'm feeling pretty much alive at the moment." older Amos said jokingly, but he knew that he will soon have to deal with an emotional Set, a down part of pregnancies are the hormones and it seemed that they cause Set to have problems keeping up her mask and to show her deeper feelings which only Ra had known about and maybe Bast to a certain degree.
Amos gave me a dry smile, like he'd already weighed the dangers and didn't need a reminder. His expression reminded me painfully of Dad's. "Don't count your uncle out so quickly, Carter.
Said person nodded, his uncle was anything, but week he had proven that enough times.
I've got some magic of my own. Besides, I must see what is happening for myself if we're to have any chance at saving your father and stopping the Red Lord. I'll be quick and careful. Just stay here. Muffin will guard you."
"The cat?" some asked in confusion.
I blinked. "The cat will guard us?
There were some nods at this.
You can't just leave us here! What about our training?"
"When I return," Amos promised. "Don't worry, the mansion is protected. Just do not leave. Do not be tricked into opening the door for anyone. And whatever happens, do not go into the library. I absolutely forbid it. I will be back by sunset."
"Why do I have the bothersome feeling that I should have left those lines about the library out?" Amos asked himself while his nephew and niece gave him innocent smiles. "Yes, I definitely forgot that one of them may be to much like a certain girl who if hearing the word forbidden would immediately go for it the moment she gets the opportunity." he finished while Ruby blushed bright red, mostly when she saw her parents nod in agreement.
Before we could protest, Amos walked calmly to the edge of the terrace and jumped.
"You could have warned us." Carter told his uncle who smiled back at him.
"No!" Sadie screamed. We ran to the railing and looked over. Below was a hundred-foot drop into the East River. There was no sign of Amos. He'd simply vanished.
Philip of Macedonia splashed in his pool. Muffin jumped onto the railing and insisted we pet her.
We were alone in a strange mansion with a baboon, a crocodile, and a weird cat. And apparently, the entire world was in danger.
I looked at Sadie. "What do we do now?"
She crossed her arms. "Well, that's obvious, isn't it? We explore the library."
"Knew it." Amos said sighing.
"This was the end of the chapter." Narmer spoke up.
"Julius, you read the next one." Ruby told her husband who nodded and walked over to his ancestor and took the book back to where his group sat.
To be continued…