Isis
We get woken up by a bucket of ice water. I want to be mad, but I find myself smiling. Nephthys used to do that when we were little. She'd sneak in my room and conjure a little stream. I'd wake up soaking wet and pretend to be mad at her. We'd chase each other down the hallway all the way to Set's room. He'd be waiting, door opened just enough for Nephthys to get in. Their laughs would reach me through the closed door. Set used to have such a nice laugh. Funny how it ended up haunting me in my sleep.
"Sadie! Get up," Zia says, bringing me back to reality.
"God!" Sadie yells. "Was that necessary?"
"No."
My host is wet, disoriented, shivering and moments away from strangling Zia. How long were we asleep for? A few minutes? A couple of hours? The dormitory is empty. All the cots are made. The other girls must've gone to their morning lessons. Zia tosses Sadie a towel and some fresh linen clothes.
"We'll meet Carter in the cleansing room."
Sadie twist her hair and water drips on the floor. "I just got a bath, thanks very much. What I need is a proper breakfast."
"The cleansing prepares you for magic." Zia swings her bag over her shoulder and unfolds the long black staff she'd used in New York. "If you survive, we'll see about food."
Sadie sighs, dresses and follows Zia out. We pass through another series of endless tunnels. Most nomes are mansions. First Nome is an entire city. We've been walking for half an hour, but I know from experience that we've seen only a 10th of the nome.
Finally, we reach a chamber with a roaring waterfall. There is no ceiling in here, just a shaft above us that seems to go up forever. Water falls from the darkness into a fountain and splashes over a five-meter-tall statue of Thoth. The water parts over his head and collects in his palms, then spills out into the pool.
Carter stands beside the fountain. He is dressed in linen with Julius's old workbag over his shoulder. The khopesh is strapped to his back. His hair is rumpled. Guess no one slept well that night.
At least he hadn't been doused in ice water.
At least there's that.
"What?" Carter asks. "You're staring at me funny."
"Nothing," Sadie says quickly. "How'd you sleep?"
"Badly. I'll...I'll tell you about it later."
He frowns in Zia's direction. A note appears in the air. It says: "Interrogate Carter about Miss Magic." Then the note flies away.
Zia goes to a nearby cabinet and takes out two ceramic cups. She dips the cups into the fountain and gives them to Carter and Sadie. "Drink."
Sadie glances at Carter. "After you."
"It's only water," Zia assures her, "but purified by contact with Thoth. It will focus your mind."
Sadie takes a sip while eyeing Zia. The effect is immediate. Her brain buzzes. Her eyesight sharpens. Her energy levels go up, her magic pulsating with power.
Carter sips from his cup. "Wow."
"Now the tattoos," Zia announces.
Sadie's eyes light up. "Brilliant!"
"On your tongue." Zia adds.
"Excuse me?"
Zia sticks out her tongue. Right in the middle, there is a blue hieroglyph.
"Nith ith Naat," she tries to say with her tongue out. Then she realizes her mistake and sticks her tongue back in. "I mean, this is Ma'at, the symbol of order and harmony. It will help you speak magic clearly. One mistake with a spell—"
"Let me guess," Sadie says. "We'll die."
Zia reaches into the cabinet again and takes out a fine-tipped paintbrush and a bowl of blue dye.
"It doesn't hurt. And it's not permanent."
"How does it taste?" Carter asks.
Zia smiles. "Stick out your tongue."
Like expected, the tattoo tastes like blue ink.
"Ugh." Sadie spits into the fountain. "Never mind breakfast. Lost my appetite."
Zia pulls a leather satchel out of the cabinet. "Carter will be allowed to keep your father's magic implements, plus a new staff and wand. Generally speaking, the wand is for defense, the staff is for offense, although, Carter, you may prefer to use your khopesh."
"Khopesh?"
"The curved sword," Zia says. "A favored weapon of the pharaoh's guard. It can be used in combat magic. As for Sadie, you will need a full kit."
"How come he gets Dad's kit?" Sadie complains.
"He is the eldest." Zia says and tosses her the leather satchel. Inside is an ivory wand, a staff, some papyrus, an ink set, a bit of twine and white wax. Perfect.
"What about a little wax man?" Sadie asks. "I want a Doughboy."
Oh, sweetheart, I'm sure you can make a shabti much better than that formless blob.
"If you mean a figurine, you must make one yourself. You will be taught how, if you have the skill. We will determine your specialty later."
"Specialty?" Carter asks. "You mean like Nectanebo specialized in statues?"
Zia nods. "Nectanebo was extremely skilled in statuary magic. He could make shabti so lifelike, they could pass for human. No one has ever been greater at statuary...except perhaps Iskandar. But there are many other disciplines: Healer. Amulet maker. Animal charmer. Elementalist. Combat magician. Necromancer."
"Diviner?" Sadie asks.
Zia looks at her curiously. "Yes, although that is quite rare. Why do you—"
"Don't tell her!"
Sadie clears her throat. "So how do we know our specialty?"
"It will become clear soon enough," Zia promises, "but a good magician knows a bit of everything, which is why we start with a basic test. Let us go to the library."
First Nome's library mirrors Twenty-first's with it's paintings and honeycomb shelves. It is, however, much bigger. The shelves seem to go on forever. Even so, the place is empty aside from the shabtis that teleport in and out of the library. Zia approaches one of the wooden tables and spreads out a long, blank papyrus scroll. She picks up a stylus and dips it in ink.
"The Egyptian word shesh means scribe or writer, but it can also mean magician. This is because magic, at its most basic, turns words into reality. You will create a scroll. Using your own magic, you will send power into the words on paper. When spoken, the words will unleash the magic."
She hands the stylus to Carter.
"I don't get it," he protests.
"A simple word," she suggests. "It can be anything."
"In English?"
Zia curls her lip. "If you must. Any language will work, but hieroglyphics are best. They are the language of creation, of magic, of Ma'at. You must be careful, however."
As she's talking, Carter draws a simple hieroglyph of a bird. The pictures wiggles, peels itself off the papyrus, and flies away. On its way out, the bird leaves some hieroglyphic droppings on Carter's head. He makes a face and Sadie laughs.
"A beginner's mistake," Zia says, scowling at Sadie to be quiet. "If you use a symbol that stands for something alive, it is wise to write it only partially—leave off a wing, or the legs. Otherwise the magic you channel could make it come alive."
"And poop on its creator." Carter sighs, wiping off his hair with a bit of scrap papyrus. "That's why our father's wax statue, Doughboy, has no legs, right?"
"The same principle," Zia agrees. "Now, try again."
Carter decides to observe Zia's staff, which is covered in hieroglyphs. He stops on the most obvious one and copies it on the papyrus. It's the symbol for fire.
Uh-oh.
This could have been a disaster, but instead of coming alive, the word simply dissolves.
"Keep trying." Zia urges him.
"Why am I so tired?" Carter asks.
He does look exhausted. His face is beaded with sweat.
"You're channeling magic from within," Zia says. "For me, fire is easy. But it may not be the most natural type of magic for you. Try something else. Summon...summon a sword."
Zia shows him how to write the word and Carter copies it on the papyrus. Nothing happens.
"Speak it."
"Sword." Carter says. The word flickers and vanishes. A butter knife appears in its place.
Sadie laughs. "Terrifying!"
Even though he looks like he's about to pass out, Carter grins, picks up the knife, and threatens to poke his sister with it.
"Very good for a first time," Zia says. "Remember, you are not creating the knife yourself. You are summoning it from Ma'at—the creative power of the universe. Hieroglyphs are the code we use. That's why they are called Divine Words. The more powerful the magician, the easier it becomes to control the language."
Sadie holds her breath. "Those hieroglyphs floating in the Hall of Ages. They seemed to gather around Iskandar. Was he summoning them?"
"Not exactly," Zia says. "His presence is so strong, he makes the language of the universe visible simply by being in the room. No matter what our specialty, each magician's greatest hope is to become a speaker of the Divine Words—to know the language of creation so well that we can fashion reality simply by speaking, not even using a scroll."
"Like saying shatter," Sadie says. "And having a door explode."
I freeze. Zia's scowl is piercing. "Yes, but such a thing would take years of practice."
Sadie starts talking before I can stop her. "Really? Well—"
In our peripheral vision, she sees that Carter is shaking his head. A silent warning to shut up.
"Um..." Sadie stammers. "Some day, I'll learn to do that."
Zia raises an eyebrow. "First, mater the scroll."
Tired of Miss Perfect's attitude, Sadie picks up the stylus and writes Fire in English. Zia leans over the papyrus and frowns. "You shouldn't—"
A column of flames erupts in Zia's face. Sadie screams, jumping back, afraid she's done something horrible. When the fire dies out, Zia looks astonished. Her eyebrows are signed and her bangs are smoldering.
"Oh, god," Sadie says. "Sorry, sorry. Do I die now?"
For three heartbeats, Zia just stares at her. "Now, I think you are ready to duel."
Zia opens a portal right on the library wall. We step through to the other side, covered in dust and grit. Harsh, blinding sunlight shines on ancient ruins.
"I hate portals," Carter mutters, brushing the sand out of his hair.
He looks around and his eyes widen. "This is Luxor! That's, like, hundreds of miles south of Cairo."
Sadie sighs. "And that amazes you after teleporting from New York?"
He doesn't care to answer. We've teleported right in the middle of a wide avenue, flanked by human-headed statues. Most of them are broken. The road goes on behind us as far as the horizon, but in front of us it ends at a vast temple. Stone pharaohs stand guard on either side of the entrance. A single obelisk stands on the left-hand side. It looks lonely and sad without it's right sister.
"Luxor is a modern name," Zia says. "This was once the city of Thebes. This temple was one of the most important in Egypt. It is the best place for us to practice."
"Because it's already destroyed?" Sadie asks innocently.
Zia scowls. "No, Sadie. Because it is still full of magic. And it was sacred to your family."
"Our family?" Carter asks.
Zia ignores him and gestures towards the entrance.
"I don't like those ugly sphinxes," Sadie mumbles as we walk down the path.
"Those ugly sphinxes are creatures of law and order," Zia says, "protectors of Egypt. They are on our side."
"If you say so."
Carter nudges Sadie excitedly as we pass by the obelisk. "You know the missing one is in Paris."
Sadie rolls her eyes. "Thank you, Mr. Wikipedia. I thought they were in New York and London."
"That's a different pair. The other Luxor obelisk is in Paris."
"Wish I was in Paris. Lot better than this place."
We walk into the courtyard. What was once a magnificent work of art, are now crumbling pillars and statues with various missing body parts.
"Where are the people?" Sadie asks. "Middle of the day, winter holidays. Shouldn't there be loads of tourists?"
Zia makes a distasteful expression. "Usually, yes. I have encouraged them to stay away for a few hours."
"How?"
"Common minds are easy to manipulate." She looks pointedly at Sadie. This girl is just begging for more scorched eyebrows.
"Now, to the duel." Zia summons her staff and draws two circles in the sand, about ten meters apart.* She directs Sadie to stand in one of them and Carter in the other.
"I've got to duel him?" Sadie asks.
That's absurd. Sadie is incredibly skilled already. Horus is either keeping at distance on purpose or he can't access the boy well. I hope is the first. If Sadie accidentally strikes them fatally, this will be the end.
Carter looks so nervous, he's started to sweat. "What if we do something wrong?" he asks.
"I will oversee the duel," Zia promises. "We will start slowly. The first magician to knock the other out of his or her circle wins."
"But we haven't been trained!" Sadie protests.
"One learns by doing. This is not school, Sadie. You cannot learn magic by sitting at a desk and taking notes. You can only learn magic by doing magic."
"But—"
"Summon whatever power you can. Use whatever you have available. Begin!"
Sadie looks at Carter doubtfully. She looks inside the leather satchel.
The lump of wax?
"No. Offense."
She pulls out the wand and a small rod. Once in her hand, the rod expands into a two-meter-long white staff. Like every beginner staff, it's completely plain. Hieroglyphs would begin to appear on it the more it's used.
Carter draws his sword. Unless my son is ready to blow our cover, I don't see how the sword could be useful from this far.
Sadie wants it to be all over as soon as possible, so she raises her staff, copying Zia.
Fire.
A small flame sputters to life on the end of the staff. Before I can lend her my energy, she wills it to get bigger by herself. The fire momentarily brightens, but then the world goes fuzzy. The flame dies. Sadie falls to her knees, her muscles aching.
"You okay?" Carter calls.
"No!"
"If she knocks herself out, do I win?"
"Shut up!"
"Sadie, you must be careful," Zia says. "You drew from your own reserves, not from the staff. You can quickly deplete your magic."
Sadie rises shakily. "Explain?"
"A magician begins a duel full of magic, the way you might be full after a good meal—"
"Which I never got."
"Each time you do magic, you expend energy. You can draw energy from yourself, but you must know your limits. Otherwise you could exhaust yourself, or worse."
Sadie swallows and looks nervously at the smoking staff. "How much worse?"
"You could literally burn up."
Sadie hesitates for a second, trying to formulate her question in a way that wouldn't get us killed.
"But I've done magic before. Sometimes it doesn't exhaust me. Why?"
Zia unclasps an amulet from around her neck. She throws it in the air and it expends into a giant vulture. The black bird soars over the ruins. As soon as it gets out of sight, Zia extends her hand and the amulet appears in her palm.
"Magic can be drawn from many sources," she says. "It can be stored in scrolls, wands, or staffs. Amulets are especially powerful. Magic can also be drawn straight from Ma'at, using the Divine Words, but this is difficult. Or"—she locks eyes with Sadie—"it can be summoned from the gods."
"Why are you looking at me?" Sadie demands. "I didn't summon any gods. They just seem to find me!"
Can't argue with that. I mean, it's not her fault she's a Kane. Zia puts on her necklace quietly.
"Hold on," Carter says. "You claimed this place was sacred to our family."
"It was," Zia agrees.
"But wasn't this..." Carter frowns. "Didn't the pharaohs have a yearly festival here or something?"
"Indeed. The pharaoh would walk down the processional path all the way from Karnak to Luxor. He would enter the temple and become one with the gods. Sometimes, this was purely ceremonial. Sometimes, with the great pharaohs like Ramesses, here—" Zia points to one of the huge crumbling statues.
"They actually hosted the gods," Sadie interrupts, remembering her conversation with Iskandar.
Zia narrows her eyes. "And yet you claim to know nothing of your family's past."
"Wait a second," Carter protests. "You're saying we're related to—"
"The gods choose their hosts carefully," Zia says. "They always prefer the blood of the pharaohs. When a magician has the blood of two royal families..."
Sadie and Carter lock eyes. Bast's words echo in Sadie's mind. "Your family was born to magic." Yesterday's conversation with her uncle comes up, too.
"Our parents were from different royal lines," Sadie says. "Dad...he must've been descended from Narmer, the first pharaoh. I told you he looked like that picture!"
"That's not possible," Carter says. "That was five thousand years ago… Then the Fausts..." He turns to Zia. "Ramesses the Great built this courtyard. You're telling me our mom's family is descended from him?"
Zia sighs. "Don't tell me your parents kept this from you. Why do you think you are so dangerous to us?"
And then it finally clicks in her head. "You think we're hosting gods," Sadie says, stunned. "That's what you're worried about—just because of something our great-times-a-thousand grandparents did? That's completely daft."
No comment.
"Then prove it!" Zia says. "Duel, and show me how weak your magic is!"
Zia turns her back to Carter and Sadie, as if to show how little they matter. She's trying to provoke them. It works. Sadie snaps. Her emotions have been fueling her magic those past two days. It's bubbling, ready to explode.
She wants to see how dangerous we are? Well, fine.
"Um, Sadie?" Carter calls. He must have guessed from his sister's expression, that at this point she is beyond reason. What matters is anger. What matters is magic.
Sadie focuses on her staff. Maybe not fire. Cats have always liked me. Maybe…
I lend Sadie some of my energy as she throws the staff at Zia. It hits the ground at Zia's heels and changes into a snarling lion. Zia whirls in surprise. I smile, but then my heart sinks. The staff knows this is a duel. The lion knows Zia isn't her target. She turns and charges at Carter.
What have I done?
The cat lunges. Before I can do anything to help, Carter's form flickers. He rises off the ground, surrounded by a warrior avatar with the head of a falcon. They swing their swords, slicing the lion. The cat dissolves in midair and an useless staff clatters to the ground, cut nearly in half. Carter's avatar flickers and lets him down. He grins.
"Fun."
Sadie turns to Zia with hands on her hips. "Well? Better, right?"
Zia's face is ashen. "The falcon. He—he summoned—"
Before he can finish her thought and give us a death sentence, footsteps pound on the stones. A young boy races into the courtyard. Tears streak his dusty face. He whispers to Zia in hurried Arabic. When he's finished, Zia sits down in the sand. She covers her face, trembling. Carter and Sadie leave the dueling circles and run up to her.
"Zia?" Carter asks softly. "What's wrong?"
She sniffs, before taking a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. She looks up. Her eyes are red and filled with tears. She says something to the boy, who nods and runs back the way he'd come.
"News from the First Nome," she says shakily. "Iskandar..." Her voice dies out to an incoherent whisper.
It seems I, too, can rest at last.
"He's dead, isn't he? " Sadie says. " That's what he meant."
Zia stares at her. "What do you mean: 'That's what he meant'?"
"I…" Sadie almost tells her about yesterday's conversation, but the tears in Zia's eyes stop her. "Nothing. How did it happen?"
"In his sleep," Zia says. "He—he had been ailing for years, of course. But still..."
"It's okay," Carter says. "I know he was important to you."
She wipes her eyes before rising unsteadily. "You don't understand. Desjardins is next in line. As soon as he is named Chief Lector, he will order you executed."
"But we haven't done anything!" Sadie says.
Anger flashes in Zia's eyes. Once again, they're full of fire. "You still don't realize how dangerous you are? You are hosting gods."
"Ridiculous!" Sadie insists, but doesn't even believe it herself.
If it's true...no, it can't be! Besides, how can anyone, even a poxy old nutter like Desjardins, seriously execute children for something they aren't even aware of?
I shrug. "Like Bast said, magicians are paranoid."
"He will order me to bring you in," Zia warns, "and I will have to obey."
"You can't!" Carter cries. "You saw what happened in the museum. We're not the problem. Set is. And if Desjardins isn't taking that seriously...well, maybe he's part of the problem too."
Zia grips her staff, ready to fire. But she hesitates.
Sadie straightens up, ready to take a risk. "Zia." She says "Iskandar talked with me last night. He caught me sneaking around the Hall of Ages."
Zia looks at her in shock. We have maybe seconds before the shock becomes anger.
"He said you were his best pupil. He said you were wise. He also said Carter and I have a difficult path ahead of us, and you would know how to help us when the time came."
Smoke rises from the head of the staff. Zia's eyes look like a glass about to shutter. She says nothing.
"Desjardins will kill us," Sadie persists. "Do you think that's what Iskandar had in mind?"
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9…
Just when we're both sure Zia's about to strike, she lowers her staff. "Use the obelisk."
"What?"
"The obelisk at the entrance, fool! You have five minutes, perhaps less, before Desjardins sends orders for your execution. Flee, and destroy Set. The Demon Days begin at sundown. All portals will stop working. You need to get as close as possible to Set before that happens."
Her word choice stuns me. Flee…
"Hold on," Sadie says. "I meant you should come with us and help us! We can't even use an obelisk, much less destroy Set!"
"I cannot betray the House. You have four minutes now. If you can't operate the obelisk, you'll die."
That's enough to convince Sadie. She begins to drag Carter towards the obelisk, but Zia calls out to her. "Sadie?"
When we turn around, Zia's eyes are full of bitterness.
"Desjardins will order me to hunt you down," she warns. "Do you understand?"
Unfortunately. The next time we meet, we'll be enemies.
Sadie grabs Carter's hand and runs.
The obelisk is seconds away when a portal opens down the path. A bold magician, dressed in white, steps out of it.
"Hurry," Carter tells Sadie. He reaches into his bag and throws his new staff to her. "Since I cut yours in half. I'll stick with the sword."
Sadie scans the base of the obelisk, hoping to find a spell or a hieroglyph on it that would help her out. "But I don't know what I'm doing!"
"Stop!" the magician shouts.
"Yeah," Carter mutters. "That's gonna happen."
"Paris." Sadie remembers and turns to Carter for verification. "You said the other obelisk is in Paris, right?"
"Right. Um, not to rush you, but..."
He point behind him. The magician raises his staff and begins to chant. Sadie turns back at the obelisk.
I'm sure Carter can hold that guy back for a sec, right? I mean, he did that avatar thing.
"Yes, we have to concentrate on opening a portal."
From the far end of the avenue, the magician calls out: "Serve the House of Life!"
There is a crackling sound coming from behind us.
Carter-
"Concentrate!"
"Soon!" Carter warns.
"Paris!" Sadie yells, raising her staff and wand. "I want to go there now. Two tickets. First-class would be nice!"
"Good. Concentrate on Paris. Concentrate on the sister-obelisk. Picture where we need to go."
Surprisingly enough, she listens. Her mind empties, holding onto the thought of Paris like an anchor in an open ocean. My power flows through her, enveloping the thought, as I chant silently. Soon enough, the ground shakes. The sky darkens.
Sadie yells, "Yes!" as the activated obelisk glows with purple light, humming with power. Pulled in by the portal's gravity, Sadie touches the stone and yelps as we're sucked in Duat. The portal spits us out on cold, wet stone. It's cold and it's pouring with rain. We're in the middle of a huge public plaza. The portal is still open, but it won't stay so for long. I hope they make it in time. Sadie staggers to her feet and walks away from the portal. If Carter is about to come running out of it, better give him the space to do so.
Horus's host finally appears. Sadie smiles, but the smiles quickly turns into a warning yell when she sees the two sphinxes right behind him. One jumps off Carter's back and charges at us. Sadie breaks into a run. She aims blindly over her shoulder with her wand and yells "Ha-di!". There is an explosion behind us. The sphinx is still running. Then, all of a sudden, the thud of its paws disappears. A little hesitant, Sadie turns around. The sphinx that has been chasing us is gone. The other one is still on top of Carter, however. Some woman in a black raincoat is running towards him. She flexes her hands and two knives slide into them. The woman shouts "Mange des muffins!" and slices through the sphinx. The monster dissolves into smoke.
Carter groans. Sadie stumbles over to him. "Carter! Oh god, are you okay?"
Instead of answering, he blinks at the woman. She throws off her coat. Her leopard-skin acrobatic suit stays dry despite the heavy rain. She grins, showing off her fangs and her lamplike yellow teeth.
"Miss me?" asks Bast.