In which Carter would very much like to not be dreaming thank you.
Replies:
Rage2091: You shall have to wait and see.
Batmanuchiha: Thank you for the compliment!
Unknownloser097: Percy when she eventually meets her dad, turns to Sally: You fell in love with a guy with the same fashion sense as BES?! I love Bes but seriously mom?
Undeath9087: Yeah, Percy is never lucky, and I mean she's very much a little kid still at this stage so as badass as she is it's not like it's hard to believe that she could be captured lol.
Guest: Yeah Desjardin's is massively in the dark about a lot of things at this stage- poor guy is not going to be happy when he finds out everything, and you can't blame him.
Guest: But they're fun! And I can just picture it in the future. Carter: Percy's been kidnapped again Sadie.
Sadie: Oh come on!
Carter: Eh she's better at escaping these days, give her twenty four hours and then we can worry.

Carter didn't want to dream- and he certainly didn't want his ba to drift as it so often did. But despite what he did or didn't want he found himself in the Hall of Ages, in front of the pharaoh's throne. Between the columns on either side, holographic images shimmered. Just as Sadie had described, the edge of the magic curtain was turning from red to deep purple —indicating a new age.

The images in purple were hard to make out, but Carter thought he saw two figures grappling in front of a burning chair. "Yes," said the voice of Horus. "The battle approaches."

He appeared in a ripple of light, standing on the steps of the dais where the Chief Lector usually sat. He was in human form, a muscular young man with bronze skin and a shaved head. Jewels glinted on his leather battle armor, and his khopesh hung at his side. His eyes gleamed—one gold, one silver.

"How did you get here?" Carter's voice was stiff, bitter as he crossed his arms over his chest, "Isn't this place shielded against gods?"

"I'm not here, Carter. You are. But we were once joined. I am an echo in your mind—the part of Horus that never left you."

"I don't understand."

"Just listen. Your situation has changed. You stand on the threshold of greatness."

He pointed at Carters chest. He looked down and realized he wasn't in his usual ba form. Instead of a bird, he was a human, dressed
like Horus in Egyptian armor. In his hands were the crook and flail.

"These aren't mine." his voice was quiet, "They're Ra's."

"They could be yours," Horus said. "They are the symbols of the pharaoh—like staff and wand, only a hundred times more powerful. Even with no practice, you were able to channel their power. Imagine what we could do together." He gestured to the empty throne. "You could unite the House of Life as its leader. We could crush our enemies."

"Is-" Carter felt his chest going tight, "How dare you- my- is that really what you're thinking of when Menshikov- when my sister is-"

"I am sorry-" Horus shook his head, "I understand that you're upset-"

"You do not understand." Carter gripped the crook and flail tighter- he had to resist the urge to whack Horus with them. "Your biggest desire is to rule over the gods. My biggest desire is to stop Apophis from doing whatever he's planning, and to rescue Percy and the only way for us to do that is to wake Ra and when we do I'm giving them to him."

Horus tilted his head. "Even though Apophis wants that to happen? Even though Ra is weak and old? I warned you about the divisions between the gods. You saw how Nekhbet and Babi tried to take matters into their own hands. The strife will only get worse. Chaos feeds on weak leaders, divided loyalties. That's what Vladimir Menshikov is after."

The Hall of Ages trembled. Along either wall, the curtain of purple light expanded. As the holographic scene widened, Carter could tell that the chair was a fiery throne, like the one Sadie had described in her vision of Ra's boat. Two shadowy figures were locked in combat, grappling like wrestlers, but he couldn't tell if they were trying to push each other into the chair, or trying to keep each other out of it.

"Did Menshikov really try to destroy the Book of Ra?" Carter asked after a moment.

Horus's silver eye glinted. It always seemed a little brighter than his golden one. "Like most things Menshikov says, it was a partial truth. He once believed as you do. He thought he could bring back Ra and restore Ma'at. He imagined himself as the high priest of a glorious new temple, even more powerful than his ancestors. In his pride, he thought he could reconstruct the Book of Ra from the one scroll in his possession. He was wrong. Ra had taken great pains not to be wakened. The curses on the scroll burned Menshikov's eyes. Sun fire seared his throat because he dared to read the words of the spell. After that, Menshikov turned bitter. At first he plotted to destroy the Book of Ra, but he did not have the power. Then he hit upon a new plan. He would awaken Ra, but for revenge. That's what he's been waiting for, all these years. That's why he wants you to collect the scrolls and reconstruct the Book of Ra. Menshikov wants to see the old god swallowed by Apophis. He wants to see the world plunged into darkness and chaos. He is quite insane."

"Oh." Carter felt kind of sick at that revelation- it was a lot to take in, even if it did explain things.

On the dais next to Horus, the empty throne of the pharaoh seemed to undulate in the purple light. That chair had always intimidated him. Long ago, the pharaoh had been the most powerful ruler in the world. He had controlled an empire that lasted twenty times longer than my own country, the U.S., had existed. How could he be worthy of sitting there?

"You can do it, Carter," Horus urged. "You can take control. Why take the risk of summoning Ra? Your sister will have to read the Book, you know. You saw what happened to Menshikov when just one scroll backfired. Can you imagine if three times that much power is unleashed on your sister?"

And Carter flinched, his mouth went dry. It was bad enough that Menshikov had gotten Percy- could he really let Sadie take such a horrible risk too? Maybe they could save her without Ra-

"You see the truth now," Horus said. "Claim the crook and flail for yourself. Take the throne. Together, we can defeat Apophis. We can return to Brooklyn and protect your friends and your home."

Home. That was so tempting- he knew that everyone he loved was in terrible danger. He'd seen first hand what Menshikov could do. He doubted even Amos would be able to stand against him- with the weapons of Ra maybe he could protect Brooklyn House- he could get Percy home. He could rescue his baby sister.

Then his gaze was drawn to purple images flickering against the wall—two figures fighting before the fiery throne. That was the future. The key to success wasn't him, or even Horus—it was Ra, the original king of Egyptian gods. Next to the fiery throne of Ra, the pharaoh's seat seemed about as important as a La-Z-Boy recliner.

"We're not enough," he told Horus. "We need Ra."

The god fixed him with his gold and silver eyes like Carter was a small bit of prey miles below him, and he was considering whether or not he was worth diving for.

"You do not understand the threat," he decided. "Stay, Carter. And listen to your enemies plan your death."

Horus disappeared.

Carter heard footsteps in the shadows behind the throne, then familiar raspy breathing. Hr hoped my ba was invisible. Vladimir Menshikov stepped into the light, half-carrying his boss, Desjardins. His eyes flicked around, searching for Percy- but there was no sign-his heart twisted at that.

"Almost there, my lord," Menshikov said.

The Russian looked well rested in a new white suit. The only sign of the recent fight was the bandage on his neck from where he'd crooked him. Desjardins, however, looked like he'd aged a decade in a few hours. He stumbled along, leaning on Menshikov. His face was gaunt. His hair had turned stark white, and Carter didn't think it was all because he had seen Bes in a Speedo.

Menshikov tried to ease him onto the pharaoh's throne, but Desjardins protested. "Never, Vladimir. The step. The step."

"But surely, lord, in your condition—"

"Never!" Desjardins settled on the steps at the foot of the throne. Carter couldn't believe how much worse he looked.

"Ma'at is failing." Desjardins held out his hand. A weak cloud of hieroglyphs drifted from his fingertips into the air. "The power of Ma'at once sustained me, Vladimir. Now it seems to be sapping my life force. It is all I can do…" His voice trailed off.

"Fear not, my lord," Menshikov said. "Once the Kanes are dealt with, all will be well."

"Will it?" Desjardins looked up, and for a moment his eyes flared with anger like they used to. "Don't you ever have doubts, Vladimir?"

"No, my lord," said the Russian. "I have given my life to fighting the gods. I will continue to do so. If I may be so bold, Chief Lector, you should not have allowed Amos Kane into your presence. His words are like poison."

Desjardins caught a hieroglyph from the air and studied it as it revolved in his palm. I didn't recognize the symbol, but it reminded me of a traffic light with a stick figure guy standing next to it.

"Menhed," Desjardins said. "The scribe's palette."

Carter looked at the dimly flickering symbol, and he could see the resemblance to the writing tools in his supply bag. The rectangle was the palette, with places for black and red ink. The stick figure on one side was a writing stylus, attached with a string.

"Yes, my lord," Menshikov said. "How…interesting."

"It was my grandfather's favorite symbol," Desjardins mused. "Jean-Fran?ois Champollion, you know. He broke the code of hieroglyphics using the Rosetta Stone—the first man outside the House of Life to do so."

"Indeed, my lord. I have heard the story." A thousand times, his expression seemed to say. "He rose from nothing to become a great scientist," Desjardins continued, "and a great magician—respected by mortals and magicians alike."

Menshikov smiled like he was humoring a child who was becoming annoying. "And now you are Chief Lector. He would be proud."

"Would he?" Desjardins wondered. "When Iskandar accepted my family into the House of Life, he said he welcomed the new blood and new ideas. He hoped we would reinvigorate the House. Yet what did we contribute? We changed nothing. We questioned nothing. The House has grown weak. We have fewer initiates every year."

"Ah, my lord." Menshikov bared his teeth. "Let me show you we are not weak. Your attack force is assembled."

He clapped his hands. At the far end of the hall, the huge bronze doors opened. At first Carter couldn't believe his eyes, but as the small army marched toward them, he got more and more alarmed.

The dozen magicians were the least scary part of the group. They were mostly older men and women in traditional linen robes. Many had kohl around their eyes and hieroglyphic tattoos on their hands and faces. Some wore more amulets than Walt. The men had shaved heads; the women wore their hair short or tied back in ponytails. All of them had grim expressions, like an angry mob of peasants out to burn the Frankenstein monster, except instead of pitchforks they were armed with staffs and wands. Several had swords, too.

Marching on either side of them were demons—about twenty in all. Carter had fought demons before, but something about these was different. They moved with more confidence, like they shared a sense of purpose. They radiated evil so strongly his ba felt like it was getting a suntan. Their skin was every color from green to black to violet. Some were dressed in armor, some in animal hides, some in flannel pajamas. One had a chain saw for a head. Another had a guillotine. A third had a foot sprouting between his shoulders Even scarier than the demons were the winged snakes. Yeah, I know, you're thinking: "Not more snakes!" Believe me, after getting bit by the tjesu heru in St. Petersburg, I wasn't happy to see them either. These weren't three-headed, and they weren't any bigger than normal snakes, but just looking at them gave me the creeps. Imagine a cobra with the wings of an eagle. Now imagine it zipping through the air, exhaling long jets of fire like a flamethrower. Half a dozen of these monsters circled the attack squad, darting in and out and spitting fire. It was a miracle none of the magicians got torched.

As the group approached, Desjardins struggled to his feet. The magicians and demons knelt before him. One of the winged snakes flew in front of the Chief Lector, and Desjardins snatched it out of the air with surprising speed. The snake wriggled in his fist, but didn't try to strike.

"A uraeus?" Desjardins asked. "This is dangerous, Vladimir. These are creatures of Ra."

Menshikov inclined his head. "They once served the temple of Amun-Ra, Chief Lector, but do not worry. Because of my ancestry, I can control them. I thought it fitting, using creatures of the sun god to destroy those who would wake him."

Desjardins released the snake, which spouted fire and flew away.

"And the demons?" Desjardins asked. "Since when do we use creatures of Chaos?"

"They are well controlled, my lord." Menshikov's voice sounded strained, as if he were growing tired of humoring his boss. "These mages know the proper binding spells. I handpicked them from nomes around the world. They have great skill." And Carter wished that he didn't believe that. But he did.

Menshikov would wipe out Brooklyn House if he got the chance- and if they failed with Ra then that chance would come soon.