Everything went dark. Gohan's stomach tingled with that top-of-the-roller-coaster weightlessness as he hurtled forward. He may fly a lot, but this feeling was different than that. Hot winds whipped around him, and his skin burned.
Then, Gohan tumbled out onto a cold tile floor, and was then buried under everyone else.
The first thing he noticed was the fine layer of sand covering his body like powdered sugar. It was really unpleasant. Gohan really hated sand. It gets everywhere, and it's really annoying to get rid of. Then, his eyes adjusted to the harsh light and found himself in a big building like a shopping mall, with crowds bustling around them. No...not a mall. It was a two-level airport concourse, with shops, lots of windows, and polished steel columns. Outside, it was dark, so he knew that must be in a different time zone. Announcements echoed over the intercom in a language that Gohan couldn't understand in the slightest.
Sadie spit sand out of her mouth. "Yuck!"
"Come on," Zia said. "We can't stay here."
Gohan struggled to his feet. People were streaming past—some in Western clothes, some in robes and headscarves. A family arguing in another weird language rushed by and almost ran over Gohan with their suitcases.
"I can't understand a word anyone's saying!" Gohan groaned as he climbed to his feet. Carter groaned as he dusted himself off.
"Well, that's Arabic over the speakers, that family's speaking German, and that one's speaking French…"
Then Carter turned and saw something he recognized. In the middle of the concourse stood a life-size replica of an Ancient Egyptian boat made from glowing display cases—a sales counter for perfume and jewelry.
"This is the Cairo airport," Carter said.
"Where?" Gohan asked with a confused look. Carter gave him a surprised glance.
"Egypt." Gohan still looked confused.
"Yes," Zia said. "Now, let's go!"
"Why the rush? Can Serqet...can she follow us through that sand gate?" Sadie asked
Zia shook her head. "An artifact overheats whenever it creates a gate. It requires a twelve-hour cooldown before it can be used again. But we still have to worry about airport security. Unless you'd like to meet the Egyptian police, you'll come with me now." Gohan grumbled.
"I don't exactly have a good track record with police." Gohan stated, remembering the vents of the past summer.
She grabbed their arms (excluding Gohan) and steered them through the crowd. They must've looked like beggars in their old- fashioned clothes, covered head-to-toe in sand. It would have been even worse if Gohan's tail was sticking out, but thankfully, he was keeping it wrapped around his waist, so that it appeared like a fur belt. People gave them a wide berth, but nobody tried to stop them.
"Why are we here?" Sadie demanded.
"To see the ruins of Heliopolis," Zia said.
"Inside an airport?" Sadie asked. Carter remembered something Dad had told him years ago, and his scalp tingled.
"Sadie, the ruins are under us." He looked at Zia. "That's right, isn't it?"
She nodded. "The ancient city was pillaged centuries ago. Some of its monuments were carted away, like Cleopatra's two needles. Most of its temples were broken down to make new buildings. What was left disappeared under Cairo's suburbs. The largest section is under this airport." Gohan frowned, and then tapped his foot curiously on the floor.
"Stop that." Zia glared at him.
"Anyway, how does that help us?" Sadie asked.
Zia kicked open a maintenance door. On the other side was a broom closet. Zia muttered a command —"Sahad"—and the image of the closet shimmered and disappeared, revealing a set of stone steps leading down.
"Because not all Heliopolis is in ruins," Zia said. "Follow closely. And touch nothing."
The stairs must've led down about seven million miles, because they descended forever. The passage had been made for miniature people, too. They had to crouch and crawl most of the way, and even so, Gohan bonked his head on the ceiling a dozen times. Thankfully, Gohan was able to light the way a bit by going Super Saiyan, as Zia led the way.
"Well, this is nice. Now you're the human flashlight! OW!" Sadie laughed behind Gohan, but was quickly cut off by his tail slapping her across the face.
"Try something, I dare you." Sadie was silent the rest of the way. This gave Gohan time to think a bit as he followed Zia down the tunnel.
"Now, Zia. About this House of Life…" she paused and glared at him.
"The Chief Lector will answer any questions you have." She answered briskly before continuing. Gohan wasn't exactly satisfied with that answer, but he remembered Chiron's warning and decided to keep his mouth shut.
Finally, they reached the bottom. The tunnel opened up, and Zia stopped abruptly. After Gohan's eyes adjusted, he saw why. They were standing at the edge of a chasm. Well, that really didn't bother him, since he could fly, as much as it would Carter or Sadie.
A single wooden plank spanned the void. On the opposite ledge, two jackal-headed granite warriors flanked a doorway, their spears crossed over the entrance.
Sadie sighed as she peeped over Gohan's shoulder. "Please, no more psychotic statues." Gohan frowned as he changed back to normal.
"Do not joke," Zia warned. "This is an entrance to the First Nome, the oldest branch of the House of Life, headquarters for all magicians. My job was to bring you here safely, but I cannot help you cross. Each magician must unbar the path for herself, and the challenge is different for each supplicant. No exceptions." She looked at Gohan at that last part. That did it. Gohan finally felt all the frustration from before explode, and before he realized what he was doing, he was already shooting across the ravine, only faintly hearing the shocked yells of Carter and Sadie.
As he got closer to the opposite side, the doorway between the two statues began to glow, like a curtain of red light. Gohan took a deep breath as he stopped and waited to see what came next.
Then the first dagger shot out of the tunnel.
Gohan instantly moved. The dagger should've impaled him in the chest, but his hand shot out and caught the blade, which was less than an inch from his face. He chuckled as he tossed the knife into the ravine.
"That the best you can do?" Gohan yelled with a grin. As if to answer him, dozens of arrows shot out of the light. Gohan weaved, twirled, and fired ki blasts to counter the arrows. Then, he uncapped Ascension and charged, slicing arrows left and right, until he was surrounded by shattered pieces of wood.
"Come on!" Gohan roared as he advanced to the end of the plank, and slashed through the red light, which flickered and died. He waited for the statues to come alive, but nothing happened. The only sound was a dagger clattering against the rocks in the chasm far below.
The doorway began to glow again. The red light coalesced into a strange form: a five-foot-tall bird with a man's head. Gohan raised his sword and began to glow, ready to attack, but Zia yelled, "Gohan, no!"
The bird creature folded his wings. His eyes, lined with kohl, narrowed as they studied him. A black ornamental wig glistened on his head, and his face was etched with wrinkles. One of those fake braided pharaoh beards was stuck on his chin like a backward ponytail. He didn't look hostile, except for the red flickering light all around him, and the fact that from the neck down he was the world's largest killer turkey. And then… Gohan was plunged into black. It was like all his senses shut off. He couldn't see or hear anything. He groped out in front him, but failed to touch anything.
"Why are you here?" a deep voice echoed. Gohan was taken aback.
"What?" Gohan asked.
"Why are you here?" The voice repeated.
"Ummm… to save the world? Again?" Gohan was met with silence. He took this to mean that he didn't get it right.
"To help Carter and Sadie? To beat Set?" This time, the voice spoke again.
"Why?" the voice demanded
"Because he's a bad guy?"
"Where do your loyalties lie?" the voice demanded.
"What does that mean?" Gohan yelled.
"You serve the Greeks. The gods of Olympus." The voice stated. Gohan was startled.
"No I don't!" he answered.
"And yet, do you not ally yourself with demigods, such as the son of Poseidon and a daughter of Athena? Did you not aid them in recovering the Master Bolt of Zeus, and in doing so, avert a civil war between the gods?
"Well… yeah, but"
"Do you not wield a fragment of the Master Bolt, which you received as a gift from Zeus himself? The one that you are currently wearing even as we speak?" Now Gohan was getting mad.
"You miss the part where I fought Ares?" the ground seemed to rumble beneath Gohan's feet.
"Answer the question." The voice demanded.
"If you're asking if I'm an agent of Olympus, I'm not! If you're asking if I'll always help my friends, then the answer is yes! No matter who they are or who their parents are!" Then, Gohan found himself standing in front of the bird creature again.
The bird creature scratched at the stone floor. Then, unexpectedly, he smiled. "Farewell, Otherwolder." he told Gohan.
Zia gasped. She, Carter and Sadie were standing behind him now, their faces pale. Apparently they'd managed to cross the chasm without his noticing.
Finally Zia seemed to collect herself. She bowed to the bird creature. Sadie and Carter followed her example.
The creature winked at Gohan, as if they'd just shared a joke. Then he vanished. The red light faded. The statues retracted their arms, uncrossing their spears from the entrance.
"That's it?" Gohan asked. "A interrogation from a giant turkey?"
Zia looked at him with something like fear. "That was not a turkey, Gohan. That was a ba." Gohan sighed with frustration.
"Again, not familiar with these terms. That mean another monster?"
"A human soul," Zia said. "In this case, a spirit of the dead. A magician from ancient times, come back to serve as a guardian. They watch the entrances of the House."
She studied his face as if he'd just developed some terrible rash. "What?" Gohan demanded. "Why are you looking at me that way?" "Nothing," she said. "We must hurry." She squeezed by him on the ledge and disappeared into the tunnel, quickly followed by Carter. Sadie was staring at Gohan too.
"What happened? You were staring at that guy for like 5 minutes like a rock." Gohan glanced at Sadie.
"Just a few questions." Gohan stated before following Carter and Zia.
They passed through the tunnel and entered a vast underground city of halls and chambers.
"Wow." Gohan stated with wide eyes. The ceilings soared to twenty or thirty feet, so it didn't feel like they were underground. Every chamber was lined with massive stone columns in perfect condition, brightly painted to resemble palm trees, with carved green fronds at the top. Fires burned in copper braziers. They didn't seem to make any smoke, but the air smelled good, like a marketplace for spices—cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and others he couldn't identify. Gohan had to admit, this place was pretty cool, and way bigger than Camp Half-Blood.
He saw a few other people—mostly older men and women. Some wore linen robes, some modern clothes. One guy in a business suit walked past with a black leopard on a leash, as if that were completely normal. Another guy barked orders to a small army of brooms, mops, and buckets that were scuttling around, cleaning up the city.
"Like that cartoon," Sadie said. "Where Mickey Mouse tries to do magic and the brooms keep splitting and toting water."
"'The Sorcerer's Apprentice,'" Zia said. "You do know that was based on an Egyptian story, don't you?"
Sadie just stared back.
They walked through a hall of jackal-headed statues, and he could swear their eyes watched him as they passed. A few minutes later, Zia led the trip through an open-air market—if you can call anything "open- air" underground—with dozens of stalls selling weird items like boomerang wands, animated clay dolls, parrots, cobras, papyrus scrolls, and hundreds of different glittering amulets. Gohan was pretty amazed as he looked around in awe. Then, something caught his eye. Rather, someone. A woman who was running a booth filled with books and scrolls. She was dressed like an Egyptian archeologist, in a brown jacket and shorts. She had long black hair tied back in a ponytail, and a curious expression on her face. Then, she stared right at Gohan. Gohan felt a jolt as he stared right into the woman's brilliant grey eyes. She gave him a small smile. When he blinked, she was gone.
"Yo! You coming?" Sadie called out, snapping Gohan out of his daze.
Next, they crossed a path of stones over a dark river teeming with fish. Needless to say, he shuddered when he saw their vicious teeth.
"What monsters are those?" Gohan asked.
"Tiger fish from the Nile," Zia said. "Like piranhas, except these can weigh up to sixteen pounds. They'll rip all the skin off your bones in ten seconds."
He watched his step more closely after that.
The small group turned a corner and passed an ornate building carved out of black rock. Seated pharaohs were chiseled into the walls, and the doorway was shaped like a coiled serpent.
"What's in there?" Sadie asked.
They peeked inside and saw rows of children—maybe two dozen in all, about six to ten years old or so —sitting cross-legged on cushions. They were hunched over brass bowls, peering intently into some sort of liquid and speaking under their breath. At first Gohan thought it was a classroom, but there was no sign of a teacher, and the chamber was lit only by a few candles. Judging by the number of empty seats, the room was meant to hold twice as many kids.
"Man, this world is a messed up place for kids." Gohan thought, though considering his own past, that was a bit ironic.
"Our initiates," Zia said, "learning to scry. The First Nome must keep in contact with our brethren all over the world. We use our youngest as...operators, I suppose you would say."
"So you've got bases like this all over the world?" "Most are much smaller, but yes."
Sadie remembered what Amos had told us about the nomes. "Egypt is the First Nome. New York is the Twenty-first. What's the last one, the Three-hundred-and-sixtieth?"
"That would be Antarctica," Zia said. "A punishment assignment. Nothing there but a couple of cold magicians and some magic penguins."
"Magic penguins?"
"Don't ask."
Sadie pointed to the children inside. "How does it work? They see images in the water?"
"It's oil," Zia said. "But yes."
"So few," Sadie said. "Are these the only initiates in the whole city?"
"In the whole world," Zia corrected. "There were more before—" She stopped herself.
"Before what?" Gohan asked.
"Nothing," Zia said darkly. "Initiates do our scrying because young minds are most receptive. Magicians begin training no later than the age of ten...with a few dangerous exceptions. Not unlike a few of your companions, Gohan."
"You mean us," Carter said.
"They'll be waiting for all of you," Zia said. "Come along."
Finally, they arrived at a crossroads. On the right was a massive set of bronze doors with fires blazing on either side; on the left, a twenty-foot-tall sphinx carved into the wall. A doorway nestled between its paws, but it was bricked in and covered in cobwebs. "That looks like the Sphinx at Giza," Carter said.
"That's because we are directly under the real Sphinx," Zia said. "That tunnel leads straight up to it. Or it used to, before it was sealed."
"But..." Carter did some quick calculations in his head. "The Sphinx is, like, twenty miles from the Cairo Airport."
"Roughly."
"No way we've walked that far."
Zia actually smiled, and Carter couldn't help noticing how pretty her eyes were. "Distance changes in magic places, Carter. Surely you've learned that by now."
Sadie cleared her throat. "So why is the tunnel closed, then?"
"The Sphinx was too popular with archaeologists," Zia said. "They kept digging around. Finally, in the 1980s, they discovered the first part of the tunnel under the Sphinx."
"Dad told me about that!" Carter said. "But he said the tunnel was a dead end."
"It was when we got through with it. We couldn't let the archaeologists know how much they're missing. Egypt's leading archaeologist recently speculated that they've only discovered thirty percent of the ancient ruins in Egypt. In truth, they've only discovered one tenth, and not even the interesting tenth."
"What about King Tut's tomb?" Carter protested. "That boy king?" Zia rolled her eyes. "Boring. You should see some of the good tombs."
Zia turned to face the bronze doors.
"This is the Hall of Ages." She placed her palm against the seal, which bore the symbol of the House of Life.
The hieroglyphs began to glow, and the doors swung open. Zia turned to them, her expression deadly serious. "You are all are about to meet the Chief Lector. Behave yourselves, unless you wish to be turned into insects." Gohan grinned.
"About time."