Chapter 14

It was late by the time they pulled into Amun Boarding School. Eddie hadn't realized quite how long it would take, but between traffic and having to stop for food it took them six hours. It was past nine o'clock by the time Eddie directed them across the school grounds to the old servant's house that was awarded to the headmaster.

"You know we might be better off just getting a room for the night in town and then come back in the morning," Eddie suggested looking upon his father's house. There were a couple lights on, which meant his father was awake, but the place looked so peaceful. It seemed wrong to Eddie to disrupt that peace with his abrupt return.

"No way," Fabian told Eddie locking the car so that Eddie couldn't climb back in and hide any longer. "You've been away far too long. I did not just drive across the country for you to chicken out."

Eddie knew it was true and yet… "Really, I can be brave tomorrow."

Nina grabbed Eddie's hand and looked him dead in the eye. Eddie was actually shocked by the intensity of her glare. This was not the girl he'd once saved from Senkarah. Before him stood a determined woman who was going to give up what she wanted again so Eddie could have a reason to live. She was brave, braver than Eddie thought possible, and yet she said to him, "Edison Sweet, you are the Osirian even if you don't have the spirit of one anymore. You were born to be brave and selfless, so be brave and selfless and walk up to that door or so help me I will get every god I know to curse you a dozen times over."

Eddie's legs still shook, and it was a little hard for him to clamp his sweaty fingers around the knocker. For a moment he turned around, but then he saw Fabian and Nina standing there, and he managed the strength to knock on the door.

"Just a minute," Eddie's father called out, and Eddie couldn't help but laugh. His dad sounded just the same as always, so normal, so kind, so very frazzled. He had no idea what he was about to face when he opened the door.

The door swung open, and Eddie watched his father's jaw drop. It wasn't like in a cartoon, where the mouth landed on the ground, but small, relaxed. It was as if the tension which had held his mouth shut was dissipated by seeing Eddie alive and well. "Edison."

"Hi Dad," Eddie whispered, his voice cracking. He hadn't realized until that moment just how much he'd wanted to be with his dad, but now that he was there… Eddie felt almost whole. "Can we come in?"

Eddie could tell the moment his father noticed that Eddie wasn't alone, and laughed a little at his father's shocked expression. He fumbled in the doorway for a second, but finally came to his senses and opened the door wide. "Please, please, all of you come in."

Eddie's father disappeared into the house leaving Eddie, Fabian and Nina to follow slowly behind. Fabian and Nina continued to hang back a little bit, something which Eddie appreciated. His father was certainly frazzled, but clearly it had yet to cross his mind that he should also be furious. Nina and Fabian were smart to hang back and let father and son speak.

Except Eddie's father didn't seem focused on his wayward son. He was making tea and humming softly to himself. He seemed so calm it freaked Eddie out. How could his father be standing in the kitchen in a bathrobe making tea as if everything was perfectly normal. Nothing was normal.

"Dad, I'm sorry. I should have come sooner," Eddie began because what else could he say. "It… it just didn't feel right. Nothing felt right. But now I know why and we're going to fix it. Nina… Nina figured out the mystery, she'd good at that, and she thinks she knows how to fix me. But we need your help. I want to know if you know anything about the Egyptian god Banebdjedet. We think he's connected to your chapter of Freemasons."

Eddie's father didn't seem to pay him much attention, however. He finished up the tea and brought it over to the living room where he just sat down and began pouring four glasses. Unsure what else to do Nina, Fabian and Eddie just went to sit down, accepting the tea while exchanging weary glances.

"Dad," Eddie was beginning to wonder which one of them had gone insane. "Are you listening to me? I'm sorry that I left. I'm sorry that I stole your money. It was wrong and I'm a terrible son. But I need your help. Have you ever heard the name Banebdjedet before?"

Eric Sweet looked straight at Nina and ignored Eddie completely. "Miss Martin, I am glad to see you are in good health. I worried that the death of the Osirian could prove disastrous to you."

Nina looked between Eddie and his father, but Eddie just shrugged and sat back into the couch. He'd never gotten his father. It had clearly been too much to expect to think that would have changed over the time Eddie was gone. "Thank you Mr. Sweet. I'm well. I just worry about Eddie. I never realized it but when he lost the Osirian spirit it left a hole that nothing else could fill. We need to find the Ram of Mendes to get it back, and the only way to do that is to find Banebdjedet. Do you know him?"

"Banebdjedet is the Egyptian fertility god, am I correct?" Eddie nodded, glad that his father did at least know something. "Yes. I can get you in contact with him I'm sure. It may be a few days however. You are welcome to stay here of course, though I may have a favor to ask of you tomorrow. Edison, why don't you show Miss Martin to the guest room and make room for Fabian in yours, and then come back here so I can speak with you?"

Eddie breathed a sigh of relief. That sounded more like the Father he'd expected. "Yeah, okay," Eddie was still a bit confused, as were Nina and Fabian, but he just shrugged and led them through the house. They didn't speak, not about Eddie's worries or their confusion, they just walked through the old building until Eddie pointed out the two guest rooms. "I guess your stuff is still in the car, isn't it?" Eddie realized when he saw Nina standing awkwardly in her room empty handed. "I'll grab all our bags after I talk to my dad."

"Eddie," Fabian told him and Eddie could see his friend's concern. "It's okay. Obviously your father isn't too furious; he agreed to help us find Banebdjedet. Just keep your cool and you'll be fine."

Eddie nodded, but he was unsure. There were a lot more things that could go wrong then him getting angry and yelling at his dad. Keeping his cool was really the least of Eddie's worries. He was just hoping he wouldn't start to cry.