Chapter VI
Katya
Percy wasn't supposed to be here, and everything was going wrong. I didn't want him to see me when I finally got to Menshikov, it wasn't going to be pretty.
Luckily mortal security systems don't protect against magic. With a little concentration, ink and papyrus, and some tapped energy from Sadie and Carter's godly friends, we managed to get all four of us through the Duat.
One minute we were standing in the abandoned Palace Square. Then everything went gray and misty. My stomach tingled like I was in a free fall. We slipped out of sync with the mortal world and passed through the iron gates and solid stone into the museum.
Percy bent over, it looked like he was going to hurl, but he got back up, looking a little green, but better.
"Guess only blood of the pharaohs can travel through the Duat."
"What's blood of the pharaohs? And a duat?"
"Remember our deal about explaining later?"
"Yeah," Percy mumbled. "I remember.
The Egyptian room was on the ground floor, just as Bes had said. Sarcophagi in glass cases, hieroglyphic scrolls, and statues of gods and pharaohs littered the room. It wasn't much different from other collections I'd seen/raided, but the setting was impressive. A vaulted ceiling soared overhead. The polished marble floor was done in a white-and-gray diamond pattern, which made walking on it look kind of like walking on an optical illusion. I didn't think it helped Percy's stomach because he turned greener when he looked down at it.
Sadie summoned her staff and pointed it at the nearest security camera. The lense cracked and made a sound like a bug zapper. Even in the best of situations, technology and magic don't get along. One of the easiest spells to learn is to make electronics malfunction. I can just touch a cell phone to make it explode. And computers? If I'm in the same room as it it'll implode.
Still, there were other kinds of kinds of surveillance. I pulled a piece of black linen and a pair of and a pair of crude wax shabti out of my bag. I wrapped the shabti in the cloth and Carter spoke the command word: "I'mun."
The hieroglyph for Hide glowed briefly over the cloth. A mass of darkness bloomed from the package, like a squid's ink cloud. It expanded until it covered all four of us in a gauzy bubble of shadows. We could see through it, but hopefully nothing could see in. The cloud would be invisible to anyone outside.
"You got it right this time!" Sadie said. "When did you master the spell?"
Carter blushed. He'd been obsessed with figuring out the invisibility spell for months, ever since he'd seen Zia use it in the First Nome.
"Actually I'm still-" A gold spark shot out of the cloud like a miniature fireworks rocket and Percy jumped, grabbing my arm. "I'm still learning."
"What's got you so scared?" I asked Percy.
"N-nothing. Just not used to this kind of magic."
I rolled my eyes.
"Could we just get going?" Carter asked. "Where should we start?"
Sadie's eyes locked on a display. She drifted toward it in a trance.
"Sadie?" We followed her to a limestone grave marker-a stele-about two feet by three feet. The description to it was in Russian and English.
" 'From the tomb of the scribe Ipi,' " I read aloud. " 'Worked in the court of King Tut.' Why are you so interested...oh."
Of course, the picture on the gravestone showed the deceased scribe honoring Anubis. It was strange to see him in a three-thousand-year-old tomb painting, especially when he was pictured with the head of a jackal, wearing a skirt.
"Who's dog boy?" Percy asked.
"That happens to be a very cute god that I-nevermind."
"Sadie has a thing for him."
"He's got the head of a dog," Percy said.
"The form he takes now-a-days is much more handsome. Like a grown up Nico with warm amber eyes and a leather jacket."
Percy huffed. "Didn't need all of that."
"Walt likes you," Carter burst.
"No, really?" I said.
"I knew the guy for two hours and I knew Walt likes Sadie," Percy said.
"You have no idea what you're talking about," Sadie protested.
"Have you seen the gift he gave you? He made it. It means eternity. If he doesn't like you I'll throw myself off a cliff."
"Better find you a cliff," Sadie muttered.
"Plus, Anubis is a god. You don't honestly think-" I know Carter doesn't realise it, but him not liking Anubis makes Sadie like him more.
"Carter!" Sadie snapped. "I wasn't talking to you because of Anubis."
"You weren't?" Percy asked.
"No. And I'm certainly not having an argument with my brother, my cousin, and a stray she brought in about Walt," Percy looked deeply offended from the 'stray' comment. "Contrary to what you might think, I don't spend every waking hour thinking about boys."
"Just most waking hours?"
She rolled her eyes. "Look at the gravestone, birdbrain. It's got a border around it, like a window frame or-"
"A door," Percy said.
"It's a false door. Lots of tombs had those. It was like a symbolic gateway for the dead person's ba, so it could go back and forth from the Duat," Carter explained.
I pulled out my staff and traced the edges of the stele. "This bloke Ipi was a scribe, which was another word for magician. He could've been one of us."
"So?"
"So maybe that's why the stone is glowing, Carter," Sadie rolled her eyes. "What if this false doors not false?"
"W'peh."
Open. A light blue hieroglyph burned into the stone.
The grave marker shot out a beam of light like a movie projector. Suddenly, a full size doorway shimmered in front of us-a rectangular portal showing the hazy image of another room.
Carter looked at me in amazement. "How did you do that?" He asked.
"I've been studying magic a lot longer than you two."
"Wait, how long have you known you were an Egyptian demigod?" Percy asked.
"We're not demigods. We're blood of the pharaohs. I've known since I was born. Come on, now is not the time," I stepped through the portal.
I almost fell on my face. The other side of the portal was a mirror hanging five feet off the floor. I'd stepped onto a fireplace mantel.
Percy came through next, I caught him just in time to keep him from toppling off the ledge.
Sadie and Carter both came through. "Ta," she whispered. "Someone's been reading too much Alice Through the Looking Glass."
I'd thought the Egyptian room was impressive, but it was nothing compared to his ballroom. Coppery geometric designs glittered on the ceiling. The walls were lined with dark green columns and gilded doors. White and gold inlaid marble made a huge octagonal pattern on the floor. With a blazing chandelier above, the gold filigree and green and white polished stone gleamed so brightly, they hurt my eyes.
Then I realised most of the light wasn't coming from the chandelier. It was coming from the magician casting a spell at the other end of the room. His back was turned, but I could tell it was Vlad Menshikov. Hatred surged through my body for that pudgy little man in a white suit. He stood in a protective circle, so I knew that it would be useless to attack now. The circle pulsed with emerald green light, he raised his staff, and the tip burned like a welding torch. To his right, just outside the circle, stood a green vase the size of a grown man. To his left, writhing in glowing chains was a demon. It had a hairy humanoid body with purple skin, but instead of a head, a giant corkscrew sprouted between its shoulders.
"Mercy!" it screamed in a watery, metallic voice.
Menshikov kept chanting. The green vase throbbed with light.
Sadie nudged me and whispered, "Look."
"Yeah, it's some kind of summoning ritual," I whispered back.
"No," she hissed. "Look there."
She pointed to our right. In the corner of the room, twenty feet from the fireplace mantel, was an old fashioned mahogany desk.
Sadie had told us about Anubis' instructions: We were supposed to find Menshikov's desk. The next section of the Book of Ra would be in the middle of the drawer. Could that really be the desk? It seemed so easy. As quietly as we could, the four of us climbed off the mantel and crept along the wall. I prayed to the gods the invisibility shroud wouldn't send up anymore fireworks.
We were about halfway to the desk when Vlad Menshikov finished his chant. He slammed his staff against the floor, and it stuck there straight up, the tip still burning at a million degrees. He turned his head slightly, and I caught the glint while the big green vase glowed and the demon screamed in his chains.
"Don't fuss, Death-to-Corks," Menshikov chided. His voice was even rougher than I remembered it-like a heavy smoker talking through blades of a fan. "You know I need a sacrifice to summon such a major god. It's nothing personal."
The House of Life didn't allow mortals to summon gods. It was the main reason Desjardins hated us. Menshikov was his lapdog. So what was he doing breaking the rules?"
"Hurts!" The poor demon wailed. "Served you for fifty years, master. Please!"
"Now, now," Menshikov said without a trace of sympathy. "I have to use execration. Only the most painful form of banishment with generate enough energy."
I knew about execration, it was awful, dark magic, but it was also extremely powerful.
"Who's the major god?" Percy whispered.
"We don't know yet, but I'm assuming it's not good."
From his suit pocket, Menshikov pulled a regular corkscrew and a shard of pottery covered in red hieroglyphs.
He held up both items and began to chant again: "I name you Death-to-Corks, Servant of Vladimir, He Who Turns in the Night."
As the demon's names were spoken, the magical chains steamed and tightened around his body. Menshikov held the corkscrew turned red hot, the demon's body began to smoke.
I watched in horror. I knew about sympathetic magic, too. The idea was to make something small affect something large by binding them together. The more alike the items were-like the corkscrew and the demon-the easier they were to bind. Voodoo dolls worked on the same theory.
But execration was serious. It meant destroying a creature entirely-erasing its physical form and even its name from existence. It took a lot of magic to pull of that kind of spell. If done wrong, it could destroy the caster. But if done right, most victims didn't stand a chance. Regular mortals, magicians, ghosts, even demons could be wiped off the face of the earth. Execration might not destroy major powers like gods, but it would be like blasting a nuclear bomb in their face. They'd be sent so deep into the Duat that they may never come back.
Vlad Menshikov worked the spell like he did it every day. He kept chanting as the corkscrew began to melt, and the demon melted with it. Menshikov dropped the pottery shard on the floor-the red hieroglyphs that spelled all the demon's various names. With one final word of power, Menshikov stepped on the shard and crushed it to bits. Death-to-Corks dissolved, chains and all.
Usually I don't feel any sympathy for creatures of the underworld, but I couldn't help getting a lump in my throat. I couldn't believe the casual way Menshikov had snuffed out his servant just to power a large spell. I knew he was evil, but I had no idea he was that heartless.
As soon as the demon was gone, the fire on Menshikov's staff died. Hieroglyphs burned around the summoning circle. The big green jar trembled and a voice from deep inside boomed, "Hello, Vladimir. Long time."
Sadie inhaled sharply, Carter covered her mouth to keep her from screaming. We knew that voice. I remembered it all too well from the Red Pyramid.
"Set," I growled.
Menshikov didn't even look tired from the summoning. He sounded awfully calm for someone addressing the god of evil. "We need to talk."
Sadie pushed Carter's hand away and whispered, "Is he mad?"
"Desk," I said. "Scroll. Out of here. Right now."
Immediately, Sadie started fishing supplies out of her bag.
Meanwhile the big green jar wobbled as if Set were trying to tip it over.
"A malachite vase?" The god sounded really annoyed. "Really, Vladimir. I thought we were on friendlier terms than that."
Menshikov's laugh sounded like someone choking a cat. "Excellent at constraining evil spirits, isn't it? And this room has a lot more malachite than any other place on earth. Empress Alexandra was quite wise to have it built for her drawing room."
The jar plinked. "But it smells like old pennies in here, and it's much too cold. Have you ever been stuck in a malachite jar, Vlad? I'm not a genie. I'd be so much more talkative if we could sit face-to-face, perhaps over tea."
"I'm afraid not," said Menshikov. "Now, you'll answer my questions."
"Oh, very well," Set said. "I like Brazil for the World Cup. I'd advise investing in platinum and small-cap funds. And your lucky numbers this week are 2, 13-"
"Not those questions!" Menshikov snapped.
Sadie pulled a lump of wax from her bag and worked furiously, fashioning some kind of animal shape. I knew she was going to test the desk for magic defenses. I wasn't sure how she'd do it. Egyptian magic is pretty open-ended. There are always a thousand different ways to accomplish a task. The trick is being creative with what you have and picking away that won't get you killed.
"You will tell me what I need to know," Menshikov demanded, "or that jar will become even more uncomfortable."
"My dear Vladimir." Set's voice was full of evil amusement. "What you need to know may be very different from what you want to know. After you killed Lucas Kane and sent his daughter on the run you should have learned."
"He killed Uncle Lucas?" Carter whispered.
"Yeah, I'll explain later." Guess the secret is out.
"What that girl did to you shows that she has almost as much power as a god in that tiny mortal body of hers. Even at the age of six she managed to fight you off."
"Enough!" Menshikov yelled.
"Imagine how powerful she is now. Greek and Egyptian. I remember well, she took out my entire army of demons."
"I said enough, Evil Day. You will tell me the binding for Apophis," he said in a steely tone. "Then you will tell me how to neutralize the enchantments on Brooklyn House. You know the Kane's defenses better than anyone. Once I destroy the girl and her uncle, I will have no opposition."
As the meaning of Menshikov's words sank in, a wave of rage nearly sent me charging. Sadie clamped Carter's mouth shut.
"Calm!" she whispered. "You're going to start the invisibility shield popping again!"
Carter pushed her hand away and hissed, "But he wants to free Apophis!"
"We know."
"And attack Amos and Kat-"
"We know. So help us get the bloody scroll and let's get out of here!" She put her wax animal on the desk-a dog, I thought-and began writing hieroglyphs on its back with a stylus.
I took a shaky breath. Sadie was right, but still-Menshikov was talking about freeing Apophis and killing our uncle.
Set's laugh echoed inside the green vase. "So: the binding for Apophis and the secrets of Brooklyn House. Is that all Vladimir? I wonder what your master Desjardins would think if he found out your real plan, and the sort of friends you keep."
Menshikov snatched up his staff. The carved-serpent tip flared again. "Be careful with your threats, Evil Day. That isn't all, I would like to know more about the half-breed."
The jar trembled. Throughout the room, glass cases shivered. The chandelier jangled like a three-ton wind chime.
Inside the jar, Set growled with annoyance. "I really hate that name. Why couldn't it have been Glorious Day? Or the Rockin' Red Reaper? That's rather nice. Bad enough when you were the only one who knew it, Vlad. Now I've got the other Kane girl to worry about-"
"I need answers, Set!"
"Righty-oh. You can't defeat her."
Menshikov's face turned purple.
"Not unless you get to the son of Poseidon."
"What?" Percy whispered.
She tapped the wax dog, and it came to life. It started sniffing around the desk, looking for magic traps. Finally, it lay down and went to sleep.
Sadie frowned. "No traps."
"That's too easy," I whispered back.
She opened the top drawer. There was the papyrus scroll, just like the one we'd found in Brooklyn. She slipped it into her bag.
We were halfway back to the fireplace when Set caught us by surprise.
"The son of Poseidon is her weakness. Young love, a very powerful force. You can use that to your advantage."
I was blushing furiously, Percy smirked victoriously, and Carter and Sadie were laughing into their hands. It didn't seem to matter that my weaknesses had been exploited to my worst enemy, they thought it was funny.
"I'll even tell you where those two are. They're over there, with the other Kanes!"
We froze. Vladimir Menshikov turned, and our panic became too much for the invisibility shroud.
Half a dozen sparks shot up with a loud happy WHEEEEE! The cloud of darkness dissolved.
Menshikov stared right at me. "My, my...how kind of you to deliver yourselves. Well done, Set."
"Hmm?" Set asked innocently. "Do we have visitors?"
"Set!" Sadie growled. "I'll kick you in the ba for that, so help me!"
The voice in the jar gasped. "Sadie Kane? How exciting! Too bad I'm stuck in this jar and no one will let me out."
Set wasn't known for his subtlety, but surely he couldn't believe we'd free him after he'd blown our cover.
Sadie faced Menshikov, her wand and staff ready. "You're working with Apophis. You're on the wrong side."
"The wrong side?" Menshikov asked. "Girl, you have no idea the powers that are in play. Five thousand years ago, Egyptian priests prophesied how the world would end. Ra would grow old and tired, and Apophis would swallow him and plunge the world into darkness. Chaos would rule forever. Now the time is here! You can't stop it. You can only choose whether you'll be destroyed, or whether you'll bow to the power of Chaos and survive."
"Right," Set chimed in. "It's too bad I'm stuck in this jar. Otherwise I might have to take sides and help someone."
"Shut up, Set," Menshikov snapped. "No one is crazy enough to trust you." With a wave of his staff, Menshikov made my body surge forward. He grabbed onto my collar and pulled my face dangerously close to his. "And as for you, I think I'll just keep you."
I squirmed, but this old man was surprisingly strong.
Percy uncapped Riptide, charging forward. "Don't touch her!"
He was still a little queasy from the Duat travel, so he was easily cast aside when he hit the protective circle.
Percy dragged himself off the ground. "I said, don't touch her."
"Oh, I plan on it."
I shivered to think of what he meant.
My mind raced, the others couldn't attack because of the protective circle, but now I was in it. I had an advantage.
I kicked the old man's chest, flipping backwards and out of the circle.
Menshikov threw his staff down.
"You're surrendering?" Percy said.
"No," I said. "That's not good," I grabbed his hand and we ran back to Carter and Sadie.
The staff began to writhe and grow. Another snake, instead of a tail, it had a head on both ends. Then the thing sprouted four dragon legs. Its body grew until it was the size of a draft horse, curved like a U, with mottled red and green scales and a rattlesnake head on either side.
"Yeah, not good," Percy said.
Both heads turned to us and hissed.
"Should I?" Sadie asked.
"Do it," Carter and I agreed.
"Do what?" Percy asked.
She pointed her staff at Set's malachite jar and yelled her favorite command word: "Ha-di!"
The green jar shattered.
Menshikov screamed, "Nyet!"
A sandstorm exploded through the room. Hot winds pushed us against the fireplace. A wall of red sand slammed into the tjesu heru and sent it flying sideways into a malachite column. Vlad Menshikov was blasted right out of his protective circle and banged his head on a table. He crumpled to the ground, red sand swirling over him until he was completely buried.
When the storm cleared, a man in a red silk suit stood in front of us. He had skin the color of cherry Kool-Aid, a shaved head, a dark goatee, and glittering black eyes lined with kohl. He looked like an Egyptian devil ready for a night on the town.
He grinned and spread his hands in a ta-da gesture. "That's better! Thank you, Sadie Kane!"
To our left, the tjesu heru hissed and flailed, trying to get back on its feet. The pile of red sand covering Vlad Menshikov started to move.
"Do something, Evil Day!" Sadie commanded. "Get rid of them!"
Set winced. "No need to get personal with the names."
"Maybe you'd prefer Rockin' Red Reaper?" I asked.
Set made a picture frame with his fingers, as if imagining that name on a driver's license. "Yes...that is nice, isn't it?"
The tjesu heru staggered to its feet. It shook both heads and glared at us, but it seemed to ignore Set, even though he was the one who'd slammed it against the wall.
"It has beautiful coloration, doesn't it?" Set asked. "A gorgeous specimen."
"Just kill it!" Carter yelled.
Set looked shocked. "Oh, I couldn't do that! I'm much too fond of snakes. Besides, GETM would have my hide."
"Get 'em?" Percy asked.
"Gods for the Ethical Treatment of Monsters."
"You're making that up!" Sadie yelled.
Set grinned. "Still...I'm afraid you'll have to deal with the tjesu heru on your own.
The monster hissed at us. I drew my sword.
The pile of red sand shifter. Menshikov's dazed face rose from the top. Set snapped his fingers, and a large ceramic pot appeared in the air, shattering on the magician's head. Menshikov slipped back into the sand.
"I'll stay here and entertain Vladimir," Set said.
"Can't you execrate him or something?" Sadie demanded.
"Oh, I wish! Unfortunately, I'm rather limited when someone holds my secret name, especially when they've given me specific orders not to kill them." He stared accusingly at Sadie. "At any rate, I may be able to buy you a few minutes, but Vlad is going to be quite mad when he comes around, so I'd hurry, if I were you. Good luck surviving! And good luck eating them, tseju heru!"
I wanted to strangle Set, but we had bigger problems. As if encouraged by Set's pep talk, the tjesu heru lunged at us. We sprinted for the nearest door.
We ran through the Winter Palace with Set's laughter echoing behind us.
