"Where's Trixie?" Alfie asked as he dropped himself onto the end of Amber's bed. It had been two days since they had opened the second chamber and the group had agreed to meet that night to try and solve their newest riddle. Fabian and Nina were hunched over a book on Egyptian history and Amber was braiding her hair.

"She'll be he–," Amber's response was cut off when the bedroom door opened and Patricia stuck her head around the corner before slipping into the room and standing by the door.

"Oh, good, you're here," Nina smiled and leaned forward as if to start their meeting but Patricia cut her off.

"Um, we need to talk," Patricia watched as apprehension ran across the others' faces.

Amber frowned, "What happened?"

Patricia grimaced before she ducked out of the room, returning seconds later with Eddie in tow. The others sat up straighter, their eyes widening as Eddie came into the room. He grinned and rubbed his hands together, "So, how we doing with the riddle?"

"Patricia, what have you done?" Amber demanded.

"Maybe we should talk over here?" Nina waved her arm at the other side of the room but Patricia just rolled her eyes.

"Fine," Patricia made her way over to Nina before narrowing her eyes at Fabian, "But just you and Amber."

"Hey!" Alfie cried out, but he was quickly silenced by a look from the redhead. Fabian joined Alfie on Amber's side of the room, a wary expression on his face. The three girls huddled as far away from the boys as they could and started whispering.

"What happened?" Nina gestured over her shoulder at the same time Amber crossed her arms and said, "Explain."

Patricia checked to make sure the boys were out of hearing range before saying quietly, "Eddie saw my arm and thought I'd gotten hurt helping Mara and Tom. I had to tell him how it happened or he was going to fight Tom for no reason."

Amber's frown gave way to a radiant smile, "That is so romantic! He still loves you."

Patricia's heart gave a jolt but she squashed it down, "No, he doesn't. We agreed to still be friends and he was doing what any friend would do. Besides, it's probably a good thing he's involved. He's supposed to be your protector, Nina. Maybe his powers or whatever will help."

Nina had remained silent during this exchange, but she had to acknowledge that Eddie's Osirion abilities would probably be good to have around in the tunnels. "Okay, he's in. Safe to assume you already caught him up to speed?"

Patricia nodded her head guiltily and the girls returned to the center of the room and sat on the rug. Fabian and Alfie followed but Eddie sat down with a happy smile when Patricia looked up at him, "You going to sit down, Weasel?"

Eddie wasted no time in joining in to solve the puzzle as he pointed at the notebook in Fabian's lap, "Is that the riddle? Can I see it?"

Fabian handed the book over and Eddie silently read to himself. When he was done, he looked around at the others, "So, what are you thinking?"

The fact that Eddie was the Osirion and had previously been slightly involved in last year's quest made it much easier for the others to get used to their newest member and Fabian wasted no time in explaining what they'd come up with so far.

"Frobisher likes to use dates as the codes to things and the way to answer the riddle in the chamber is to use numbers so we think the answer is a year."

"And he uses the word 'majesty' so we think it has something to do with a pharaoh," Nina added on.

Alfie piped up soon after, "Three times three is nine, which means that might be one of the numbers in the code."

"Have you tried reading it in reverse?" Eddie suddenly said.

"Reverse?" Fabian scrunched his eyebrows together.

"Yeah, see the first line makes it sound like he's talking about a grave or something and the second line talks about this pharaoh guy ruling as king. It moves from death to life, but if you reverse them it's in order from life to death."

The group raised their eyebrows in surprise but Patricia felt only pride. This was a side of Eddie that no one ever got to see and she was happy to let him have his moment to shine if it meant he could prove himself to the group. Before anyone could say anything though, Eddie continued, "And doesn't 'ascent' mean moving? Maybe this guy didn't live in a palace, maybe he moved somewhere else.

Fabian's focus zeroed in on the riddle and you could practically see the gears turning in his head as he worked to sort everything out, "It does mean move but not in that way. It means to move up, like climb." His eyes scanned the lines again and he read out loud, "The day of ascent he was three times three. What if nine isn't part of the year but his age? And 'day of ascent' means–"

"His coronation!" Nina exclaimed.

"Coronation? Like, the day he became king?" Amber leaned forward with excitement.

"So this guy became king when he was nine?" Alfie asked in disbelief. "My parents wouldn't even let me have a slingshot when I was nine."

"That was for the safety of everyone else, Alfie," Patricia snorted.

"Which pharaoh became, well, a pharaoh when he was nine then?" Amber questioned.

"King Tut!" Fabian practically shouted. He jumped up from his spot and grabbed his computer, his fingers moving rapidly over the keys. "Here, it says that King Tut became pharaoh when he was nine. His tomb was discovered in 1922 after years of excavation...shrines with jewelry and statues were found...and King Tut was buried in four coffins."

"Four layers of stone," Nina grinned.

"So the 'thick walls' must mean the tomb," Patricia concluded.

"Our date has to be about King Tut. His birthday, maybe?" Nina looked over Fabian's shoulder.

"What about his coronation day?" Eddie asked. "That seems like it'd be a pretty important date."

Fabian looked at his computer screen again and smiled triumphantly, "He became king in 1332 BC."

"Nice one, dude. Welcome Aboard," Alfie smiled as he clapped his hand on Eddie's shoulder.

"Let's go to this chamber, then," Eddie made to stand up but Patricia grabbed his arm and pulled him back down.

"Not right now, Doofus. Victor's in his office, Trudy's in the kitchen, and everyone else is downstairs. We'll have to go down tonight," Patricia looked at the others and they all nodded their agreement.

"We'll meet back here after Victor's speech," Nina said. "Sibuna?"

Everyone except Eddie covered their eye with their hand and chorused, "Sibuna."

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

"So, I'm going to need an explanation for the whole 'Sibuna' thing," Eddie smirked as he waited in Nina and Amber's room for the others to join them. He'd barely been able to contain his excitement at the prospect of not only being a part of this adventure but of also getting to spend more time with Patricia.

"Amber came up with it," Nina smiled at her friend.

"It's Anubis backwards," Amber flipped her hair over her shoulder. "I know, genius."

"So you just hold your hand over your eye and say 'Sibuna'?" Eddie asked as he lifted his left hand and waved it in front of his eye.

"You don't wave your hand around," Patricia said. She grabbed his right hand and Eddie felt sparks of electricity run up his arm as she guided his hand into position in front of his right eye. "Now you say Sibuna."

"G-got it," Eddie stammered out. He felt his face flame and was suddenly grateful that the room was mostly dark. Eddie Miller didn't stutter and he most definitely didn't blush, and yet here he was doing both of those things and all because of Patricia. He tried to hide the disappointment he felt when Patricia turned away as if she felt nothing.

"We're here," Alfie's voice whispered loudly as he came into the room followed by Fabian.

"Sorry we're late, Victor came down to the kitchen and we couldn't sneak by him," Fabian said as he helped Nina to her feet. "Everyone ready? Let's go."

Eddie followed behind the others as they crept down the stairs and into the kitchen. His eyes widened when Nina's locket began to glow as she pressed it into the old oven and the door lifted up to reveal a narrow passage. They crawled through and Fabian quickly guided them to another wall where he entered a number just above the top of the shelves. A door slid open and Eddie stepped into what Patricia told him was Frobisher-Smythe's office. After one more hidden door, Eddie found himself being led down a series of tunnels until they stopped in front of a large chasm in the floor and filed one at a time across the narrow beam in the center. At last, the group was standing around the large podium in the center of the newest chamber.

Fabian explained the Egyptian number system to the others but Patricia just rolled her eyes, "Go on, Fabian, just do it already!" Eddie tamped down a laugh at Patricia's impatience and watched as Fabian took hold of a handful of the small stones squares embedded into the side of the podium.

"1332. That's one lotus flower," Fabian placed a stone in the first slot on the edge of the podium. "Two ropes, three hobbles," Eddie saw Fabian place down three stones with a curved image. "And two slashes," Fabian put the last stone in the ninth spot and quickly pulled his arm back. Eddie watched Nina grab Fabian's hand while Amber moved closer to Alfie and they all looked around the room.

"Do you think it won't–," Amber's question was cut off by a deep rumble that filled the chamber.

"Get back against the walls! Quickly!" Fabian pulled Nina to the nearest wall and Alfie and Amber ran across the room.

Not knowing why they were running but not wanting to stay and find out, Eddie grabbed hold of Patricia's hand and dragged her to the opposite side of the room. Just as they reached the wall, the room started to shake and dust fell from the ceiling. After a few more seconds there was silence and the group slowly walked back to the podium. Eddie felt Patricia's hand slip from his grasp and realized their hands had still been clasped together. Shaking off the empty feeling that started to creep over him, Eddie looked from one face to the next.

"Uh, what was that?"

"We aren't sure," Nina admitted. "They happen each time we open a new chamber. That's the third one so far."

"That's how I got this," Patricia gestured at her arm, indicating the awful bruise he'd seen before. "We weren't prepared for it the first time and we got tossed around a little."

"And these, um..." Eddie searched for the right word.

"Earthquakes," Alfie supplied.

"Right. These earthquakes didn't happen when you guys were down here last semester?"

"No. But it might just be from the walls sliding open," Fabian offered.

"Or not," Alfie said. When the others turned towards him, the other boy waved his arm around the room, "I don't see any missing walls, do you?"

The group walked in different directions, scanning the room for any sign that something had moved, disappeared, or even appeared, but there was nothing. Patricia had stayed fairly close to Eddie when they were searching the room and he felt her stiffen beside him.

"Um, Nina?" Eddie heard the worry in Patricia's voice and turned to see her staring straight ahead. Eddie and the others followed her line of sight and froze at what they saw. The box sitting on the top of the podium was emitting a golden light that was slowly growing brighter and within a few seconds the light was so blinding they had to shield their eyes. Nina let out a small gasp, causing the others to turn back towards the now dying light. Standing in front of the podium was a man. He was tall with tanned skin and the muscles in his arms showed he was no stranger to hard labor. He looked to be in his forties and his richly colored clothing spoke of wealth.

"Not again," Amber whined.

The man turned his head towards the group as if noticing them for the first time. He took a step in their direction and Eddie instinctively moved to stand in front Patricia, seeing Alfie and Fabian doing the same with Amber and Nina.

Nina looked terrified but she spoke first, "Wh-who are you?"

Stopping in his tracks, the man narrowed his eyes for the briefest moment before the lines smoothed from his face and he spoke in a deep and even-toned voice, "My name is Cepos, seventh son of a seventh son and twenty-fourth in line for the throne." He bowed deeply before returning to a standing position, his shoulders back and head held proudly.

Amber's eyes lit up with excitement, "The throne? You mean you're a king?"

"No, I am not. That position was filled by His Majesty until his untimely death. The royal vizier is to ascend the throne now."

"Who was the king?" Nina's curiosity got the better of her.

"His Royal Majesty, King Tutankhamun." Shock was met by this statement which was so casually and simply stated as though it would be a part of everyday conversation.

"You knew King Tut? Was he handsome?" Amber's question drew incredulous looks from her friends and she quickly clamped her lips shut.

Fabian turned away from Amber and faced the man who called himself Cepos, "What are you doing here? That is, what do you want?"

Cepos frowned, "I am stuck. Trapped between two worlds, that of the living and the dead. I have been waiting many years for someone to free me so that I may begin my journey to The Field of Reeds."

"Can you go now, then? Now that you are not trapped?" Nina asked.

"No, I cannot. Before I died, I vowed that a scepter bequeathed to me by King Tutankhamun would never leave my side. The staff was entombed with me after my death, however, it was stolen. Until it is returned to me, I shall remain bound here."

"How sad," Amber sighed. "We could help you find it! We're pretty good at that sort of thing."

"Amber!" Patricia hissed.

Delight shown in Cepos' eyes, "I would forever be in your debt."

Fabian looked over his shoulder at Nina, who leaned up to whisper in his ear. Giving her a worried look, he faced forward, "We could try to help you, but it may take some time."

"Take all the time you need," Cepos smiled.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

"Way to go, Amber!" Patricia crossed her arms. After telling Cepos that they would try to find his beloved staff, the group had quickly left the tunnels and had just made their way into the cellar of Anubis House.

"What did I do?"

"You just promised an ancient ghost that we'd help him find a missing treasure. Ringing any bells for you?"

"If you're talking about last semester, this is completely different," Amber waved her off.

"You've got to be kidding me! Nina, say something!"

Patricia rounded on Nina who bit her lip in apprehension, "Well, he doesn't seem evil like Senkhara. She threatened me the first time we met and this one, Cepos, looked really happy to have our help."

"All I know is that I don't want to end up with another tattoo and writing in hieroglyphics again" Patricia huffed.

"Maybe this is the point of the quest," Alfie spoke up. "To help this guy get to the field of weeds."

"Reeds, Alfie," Fabian corrected.

"Whatever. Maybe Cepos is totally harmless and we just need to help him."

"Fine. But I want it on the record that I said I didn't trust him," Patricia dropped her arms to her sides and headed to the small tunnel that lead back into the kitchen. She didn't wait for anyone else, she just quietly went back up the stairs and laid in her bed to think about the last twenty-four hours.

Eddie had seemed so genuinely angry and upset when he'd seen her arm, as odd as it sounded she'd been thrilled though she hadn't shown it. For a minute she had felt like he still cared, like he still loved her. Friends get upset when their friends get hurt, she had told herself. It doesn't have anything to do with love. Her disappointment had then flared to excitement when he'd been accepted into Sibuna and she knew that she'd get to spend more time with him. Patricia smiled wryly to herself, she wasn't used to feeling such a flood of emotions in the span of one day but she couldn't say she disliked it. Eddie was now a Sibuna and while that meant Patricia was going to get to be with him, it also made her think about how stupid she had been to let him go.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

"Where are you off to, Mara?" Jerome swung his bag over his shoulder and hurried out the classroom door to catch up with the petite brunette, who had grabbed her books and left the room before the final bell finished ringing.

"I have a practice session with Tom in ten minutes and I left my stopwatch at the house."

"Why don't you have Patricia grab it? She has to go back to the house to change before meeting you."

Mara shook her head, "Patricia isn't helping today."

Jerome's annoyance at Mara spending more time with Tom was replaced by slight panic at the thought of Mara spending time alone with Tom. "What if I go get it for you and bring it to the field?"

Mara stopped abruptly, almost making Jerome crash into her. She turned to him with raised eyebrows, "You'd do that?"

Jerome nodded, "I'll just go grab it and meet you there." He turned and walked away without another word, leaving Mara to walk alone to the football field while she wondered about Jerome's odd behavior.

Jerome sprinted to the house and ran to Mara's room where he found her stopwatch neatly coiled on top of her desk. He grabbed it and headed for the field, slowing his pace to a walk when he saw that Mara was only just setting down her things. He stopped at her side and dropped the watch into her hand, "Here you are."

"Wow, that was incredibly fast. Ever think about joining the track team?"

Jerome snorted and opened his mouth to retort when another voice interrupted him, "Sorry I'm late, Mar. Oh, hi Jerome." Tom smiled at him but Jerome was trying to keep the steam from coming out of his ears. Since when did Tom call her Mar?

"Hi," he gritted out between clenched teeth.

Tom didn't seem to notice Jerome's anger and simply turned to Mara, "So what are we doing today, Coach?"

Mara smiled, "You're doing laps. After that, we'll work on the moves that Patricia helped with." Tom saluted her before jogging off around the field.

"Thanks for grabbing the watch, Jerome." Mara seemed to expect him to leave but he just stood there.

"Mind if I watch?"

"You want to watch? Why?"

Jerome let one of his cocky smiles fall into place, "Guess I always wondered how jocks manage to think and play at the same time."

Mara pursed her lips to hide a smile, "Alright. But no mean comments!"

Jerome held his hands up in mock surrender before taking a seat on the bleachers. The remnants of any snow had melted away, leaving the days to decide between being dark and rainy to sunny but cool. Today was the best day yet, the sun was out without any clouds to take away the heat of the day and there was a warm breeze blowing through the trees. Jerome shrugged out of his school sweater and watched as Mara did the same. In truth, Jerome didn't care about sports all that much, he just didn't want Mara to be alone with Tom. His decision to stay was only cemented each time Tom ran by and did something funny to make Mara release her beautiful, tinkling laugh but he soon wished he'd never come at all.

Tom ran once more around the field before coming to a stop in front of Mara, bending over to rest his hands on his knees while he caught his breath, "So, how'd I do?"

Smiling happily, Mara handed him a bottle of water, "Much better! You ready to practice now?"

"You know, you're what my granda' would call 'a wee lass with a temper o' fire and the hear' o' a tempest."

Mara's eyebrows rose in amusement, "Is that a compliment?"

"It was one of the highest compliments he paid and there weren't too many people he'd say it to."

"And to what do I owe the honor?"

"You've made me run laps for half an hour, telling me to go faster each time I went by, and now that I finally get a break you want to put me to work again." Tom wiped his forehead with his shirt before laying on his back on the ground.

"How about you get up and practice and I won't tell Patricia you gave up and laid on the ground like a big baby?"

"Now, now. No need to tell Trixie on me. Help me up, won't you?" Tom extended his hand and Mara used all of her strength to pull him to his feet. The second his shoes were flat on the ground, Mara let go of his hand but the shift in their weight forced her forward. Before she could fall, Tom reached out and grabbed her arms. She stumbled into his chest and he made sure she was steady on her feet before he released her.

"I think I understand now why you don't play sports," Tom grinned and ran off to grab a football before Mara could smack his arm. She turned back to the bleachers to get a pen from her bag but stopped short when she saw that Jerome was gone. She turned her head from side to side, just missing the flash of blonde hair as it strode away.

Jerome knew he shouldn't have just left without saying anything but at that moment all of his energy was being used to stop himself from knocking Tom to the ground. Mara had seemed so at ease with Tom, laughing at his jokes and accepting his compliments. The last straw had been to see Tom catch Mara before she fell and watch as his arms wrapped around her. That was supposed to be him but it wasn't and it was his own fault because he hadn't had the courage to tell Mara how he felt.