Carter was standing in front of Sadie's house, waiting for her to come out as the door burst open, revealing Sadie in all her glory. She had highlighted blonde hair, wore a white top with ripped jeans and combat boot while he, for a change was wearing a normal t-shirt and pants.
"I'm going out gran" she shouted and closed the door. "Sup Carter? Missed me?" she asked and hugged him. He was glad and shocked at the sudden contact but hugged her back. "Sure, missed you sis. Traveling might be interesting, but it is also boring at times" he said as they broke the hug.
"Why are you stalling? Let's go meet dad Brainy Boy!" she exclaimed and rushed forward, as he groaned at her as her tomboy side showed up. "Ok. Race you to the cab. I want you to meet someone." he said.
Of course, he would like to say that he had won the race, but had unfortunately lost by one dam second. "Well, well. Someone decides to show up with his sister uh?" Percy came up to them with a bag of popcorn.
"Hey Sade! Long-time no call I see" he said as Sadie gave him a confused look. "Who are you?" she asked. "Right. She doesn't seem to remember me" he grumbled. "That leaves me to do this the old way" he said.
Suddenly, he clapped his hands in front of Sadie, gaining her attention as he imitated tapping a boot, shooting a pistol and some other sound effects, he said "Cowboy Fish boy reporting mam."
Sadie looked stunned and a moment later, realising who he was, exclaimed "Percy? How are ya doing?" "I'm doing all well. Popcorn anyone?" he asked, and the other two politely declined. He just shrugged and motioned us to go towards the cab.
As they neared the car, they could hear some parts of the argument like "Are you insane?" "Is this necessary?" "The Per Ankh is watching every move" "This is very important" and all such things. Sadie finally lost her control and rushed up to Julius and hugged him.
"Alright kids, get back to the car and nice to meet you again Sadie. And Amos" he said, turning to the stranger he was arguing with "I will not budge from the plan. Good bye" he said and we all got into the car.
'That guy looked familiar' Carter thought, and Sadie had the same look on her face, but Percy had a look that said, 'I know something you don't'. "Now let's all head to the British Museum!" Julius exclaimed as Sadie groaned.
While Carter had gone to pick up Sadie, Percy had stayed behind, wanting to talk to Julius. "What is your plan about?" he asked. "Well... it is to fall back to the old ways to follow the paths of the gods actually. It is risky but that is the one that can stop the destruction that is about to happen." Julius explained.
"Oh! And I have kept a letter for Amos and another one for the kids in my tool bag so that in case anything happens, they get an explanation." Julius said. "Just be careful uncle J. I don't feel good about this." Percy warned as he saw Amos approach.
"Percy, go and buy something for all of us. I will just have a quick chat with my brother." Julius said as Percy left and quickly bought somethings along with some popcorn and quietly sat on top of the car, watching the uncles fight.
Amos came towards Julius and asked "Why do you want to go on with the plan? It killed your wife and still you wish to go on with it?"
Julius just looked at him and replied, "Because it is the only way to stop the crisis coming our way brother" "What about your children Julius? Will you just abandon them?" he asked. "They are protected Amos" Julius replied.
"Julius, the Per Ankh is watching over all your moves. They will surely stop you." "Are you insane? Chaos will spread if this does not happen. This is necessary to follow the Path of the Gods now." Julius argued back and this continued until Sadie and Carter came back.
"Alright kids, get back to the car and nice to meet you again Sadie. And Amos" he said, turning to the stranger he was arguing with "I will not budge from the plan. Good bye" Julius said and got on the cab.
While they were headed to the museum, Julius made a small stop at the Cleopatra's Needle. "Driver, stop here for a moment" he said and got down. The kids followed. "Why did we stop here dad?" Sadie asked.
"I had to. After all, this was the last place I saw her right? "Julius mumbled. My children looked shocked. "Time out. Are you talking about mom?" asked Carter and he nodded again.
"So, you mean that, all this while I passed mom had died in?" asked Sadie. "You still have the cat Sadie?" Julius asked, ignoring what Sadie had asked. "Of course! I have your parting gift dad" she said.
"And the amulets?" Julius asked, and Carter and Sadie showed their Eye of Horus amulet and Isis amulet respectively. Julius then gave Percy a Amulet with Nephthys and Onuris on it.
"Why two for me?" Percy asked. "Something Ruby told me to give you. I don't know why two but... yeah." Julius replied. "Alright. Now let's go." he said as he spotted other magicians trying to track us. "What were those flashes dad? How did mom die?" Carter asked as he noticed the weird lights.
Julius just said "I will explain everything to you after tonight. But for now, I need you to stay patient and listen to me ok? I am going to make everything alright. Now act normal" as they entered the museum.
After a small chat with the curator on the stone and other things, they finally reached the place where the Rosetta stone had been placed at. "Beautiful. And it's not a replica?" Julius said in awe.
"No, no," the curator promised. "We don't always keep the actual stone on display, but for you—this is quite real." "The Rosetta Stone," Carter said after racking up his brain on what it was.
"Isn't that a computer program?" Sadie asked. The curator let out a nervous laugh and said "Young lady, the Rosetta Stone was the key to deciphering hieroglyphics! It was discovered by Napoleon's army in 1799 and—"
"Oh, right," Sadie said. "I remember now." "Sadie, until this stone was discovered, regular mortals...er, I mean, no one had been able to read hieroglyphics for centuries. The written language of Egypt had been completely forgotten. Then an Englishman named Thomas Young proved that the Rosetta Stone's three languages all conveyed the same message. A Frenchman named Champollion took up the work and cracked the code of hieroglyphics." Julius said, adamant on explaining it to her.
Sadie chewed her gum, unimpressed. "What's it say, then?" "Nothing important. It's basically a thank-you letter from some priests to King Ptolemy V. When it was first carved, the stone was no big deal. But over the centuries...over the centuries it has become a powerful symbol. Perhaps the most important connection between Ancient Egypt and the modern world. I was a fool not to realize its potential sooner."
"Dr. Kane?" he asked. "Are you quite all right?" Julius just sighed and said "My apologies, Dr. Martin. I was just...thinking aloud. If I could have the glass removed? And if you could bring me the papers I asked for from your archives." Dr. Martin nodded. He pressed a code into a small remote control, and the front of the glass box clicked open.
"It will take a few minutes to retrieve the notes," Dr. Martin said. "For anyone else, I would hesitate to grant unguarded access to the stone, as you've requested. I trust you'll be careful." He glanced at the kids like they were troublemakers which mostly they were. "We'll be careful,"
As soon as Dr. Martin's steps receded, Julius said "Children, this is very important. You have to stay out of this room." I took my workbag out and unzipped it just enough to pull out a bike chain and padlock.
"Follow Dr. Martin. You'll find his office at the end of the Great Court on the left. There's only one entrance. Once he's inside, wrap this around the door handles and lock it tight. We need to delay him."
"You want us to lock him in?" Sadie asked, suddenly interested. "Brilliant!" "Dad," Carter asked "what's going on?" "We don't have time for explanations," he said. "This will be our only chance. They're coming."
"Who is coming and why dad?" asked Carter. "I'm sorry but we must hurry right now. And whatever happens, do not come to this room." Julius said. The two of them nodded and left, leaving Percy behind.
"This is about the plan. Right?" he asked quietly. "Yes Percy. Be careful and tell them what I said to you if I don't make it out alive" he said and went inside again as Percy stood outside. Julius went in, knowing all the consequences, but never thought the outcome will be dangerous than expected.
Percy was waiting outside for Sadie and Carter to join him after chaining the curator's door. That was when he noticed the saw blue light streaming from the Egyptian gallery. The two rushed towards Percy and asked "What is happening in here? What is the blue glow and what he's up to?"
"I don't know. Let's check out on him" Percy replied. "What's in his workbag?" Sadie asked. "I don't know. He told me never to look." replied Carter Sadie raised an eyebrow. "And you never did? God, that is so like you, Carter. You're hopeless."
"This fight is unnecessary right now. Let's g-" Percy started, but just then a tremor shook the floor. The three sprinted down the hall and reached the entrance of the Egyptian gallery, where they stopped dead in their tracks.
Julius stood in front of the Rosetta Stone with his back to them. A blue circle glowed on the floor around him, as if someone had switched on hidden neon tubes in the floor. He had thrown off his overcoat. His workbag lay open at his feet, revealing a wooden box about two feet long, painted with Egyptian images.
"What's he holding?" Sadie whispered. "Is that a boomerang?" Sure enough, when Julius raised his hand, he was brandishing a curved white stick. It did look like a boomerang. But instead of throwing the stick, he touched it to the Rosetta Stone. Everyone caught their breath. He started writing on the stone. Wherever the boomerang made contact, glowing blue lines appeared on the granite. Hieroglyphs.
The image was bright and clear: ram's horns above a box and an X. "Open," Sadie murmured. The other two stared at her, because it sounded like she had just translated the word. Julius raised his arms. He chanted: "Wo-seer, i-ei." And two more hieroglyphic symbols burned blue against the surface of the Rosetta Stone.
Everyone was stunned and Percy's eyes widened in realisation. "Let it not be what I'm thinking...let it not be what I'm thinking..." he murmured
"Wo-seer," Carter whispered. Though he didn't know what it was initially, he was shocked when he translated it..."Osiris." "Osiris, come," Sadie said, as if in a trance. Then her eyes widened. "No!" she shouted. "Dad, no!".
Said person turned towards them in surprise. He started to say, "Children—" but it was too late. The ground rumbled. The blue light turned to searing white, and the Rosetta Stone exploded, rendering everyone unconscious.
A/N: So there you go the 3rd chapter. Any criticism and comments accepted. Hope you all liked it! Some of these lines were borrowed from the original book and I may have skipped a few lines but yeah... until next time!
Thank you all for reading!
Rasi10 signing out
Published on 1 September 2018