Chapter 3

Disclaimer: See previous chapters.

"...And this is why the House of Life goes to Canada to celebrate Canada Day every year," Zia Rashid, the first scribe of the House of Life, Sadie Kane's BFF (outside of Britain) and Carter Kane's girlfriend finished telling a rather informative tale to the siblings.

And speaking of them, they just sat there, staring at Zia with their mouths wide open. "Seriously?" Carter found his voice first. "Seriously? Canada? Is there even a branch of the House in Canada?"

"Well, we have to sneak over the Alaska-B.C. border," Zia replied before relenting. "Carter, seriously, there is – or rather was, a branch in Toronto until Apophis, as you have told me-"

"Sorry," Carter quieted down, "sorry. I guess it was slightly hard to keep track as we constantly raced through time and space to beat Apophis-"

"Through time?"

"Yes, from the present into the future," Carter tried to smile. "Um, the guys in my science club find this sort of thing amusing?"

"Yes, and they also wonder why there are no girls in the club either," Sadie rolled her eyes. "Anyways-"

"Anyways," Carter carefully shifted the subject, "how's life under uncle Amos? He's doing a good job as a Chief Lecturer, right?"

"Yes, quite," Zia nodded primly, "though there was a number of jokes regarding this, what's his name? Hamnet? Omlet?"

"Hamlet, you mean?"

"Exactly. Anyways, it's all over now, now that the Great House-"

"Please don't," Carter shook his head. "I know I'm the pharaoh and all, but right now I feel less of a king than Simba did, at my age?"

"Simba? Who's that?"

"The Lion King?"

"Say what?"

"The Lion King," Sadie sighed. "It's an American movie, made by Disney. Basically, it's the same Hamlet, but with animals!" she grinned, then remembered that Zia still tended to get somewhat confused by the popular culture of the modern times. "Not that Carter feels anything like Hamlet, do you, Carter?"

"No," Carter gave his sister an evil eye. "But I don't feel like the pharaoh either. I mean, just in lay person's terms, what's the pharaoh's relationship with the House is supposed to be?"

"Ok, first of all," Zia turned to Sadie, "I'm not that far 'out of it', not to understand that Carter doesn't feel threatened or anything. And second of all," she turned to Carter, "I think I see where you're coming from... that's the modern lingo, right?"

Carter shrugged.

"Right. Anyways, if what Sadie says was true, even Chief Lector Iskander agreed that it was time for a change, which is where Carter is coming from, right?"

Carter sighed. "I ought to kill Sadie for trying to teach you the 'modern lingo' while still not used to it herself. Anyways-"

"Did I miss anything?" Amos Kane, the Chief Lecturer himself came out of the portal and sat at their table.

Carter kept quiet. On one hand, the routine of the House that was its daily life outside of the apocalyptic events was, well, nice. He certainly liked routine; Zia generally did too, even if some of the ceremonies of the House were also somewhat weird. Uncle Amos, on the other hand, was more like Sadie, which meant that he definitely did not. Oh, he handled them well enough, and it was not anywhere as bad as his first Set possession, but even Carter could see that being the Chief Lecturer was somewhat depressing and wearing upon his uncle; it was almost the second case of 'Desjardins' syndrome, save that there wasn't a new Menshikov in the wings (Anubis had checked) and uncle Amos was doing it basically to himself by himself.

"So, what are you thinking about, young man?" Amos jovially asked his nephew.

"Um... that I should really prank Sadie for messing with Zia's head regarding the American mass culture?" Carter said the first thing that came to his mind and was kicked by Sadie for his troubles.

"As if!" the younger Kane sibling replied. "Anyways, uncle Amos, we were wondering if shouldn't try to match you with some young and eligible lady magician-"

"No," Amos said firmly. "Absolutely not. Your grandmother has already done that, and will be doing that, at every annual Kane reunion."

"...What?"

"Our other grandma, Sadie," Carter carefully. "I did write to you about me – and dad – going to the annual Kane reunions, remember? I even got you a photo, once."

"Good point," Sadie confessed, and pulled out a rather crumpled-up wallet-type photo from her pocket. "Which one is she, again?"

"The rather large and zaftig old lady that looks like uncle Amos," Carter said with a glance. "Acts rather like uncle Amos too."

"Hey! It is my mother you are talking about! And me! I don't behave like my mother!" the elder Kane yelled in a huff.

Zia giggled, looking amused at the Kane family antics, but that amusement vanished without a trace as Amos' face became distorted with a grimace.

"Am I at a bad time?" Set spoke through the Chief Lecturer.

"Yes," Carter recovered before his sister did. "What are you doing here, Evil Day? All of the gods have gone now that Apophis is troubling this world no more."

"Yes, well, it's me," Set grinned with Amos' face, and it was grotesque. "I'm here to ask you for a favor. Have you met my wife, lady Nephthys, Protector of the Dead, Avenging Mother, etc, etc?"

"Yes. Last time we did, she was in the river Nile," Carter continued to face the evil god. "What of it?"

"Well, now she is instead in Brazil, in the 251 Nome, instead," Set did not back down either. "Could you check up on her?"

"Yes we can," Sadie finally joined the discussion. "Why should we?"

"Because isn't that what the House does? Checks up on the errant deities," Set grinned. It was a nasty grin, and the fact that it was Amos Kane who was doing the actual grinning made it worse. "Besides, I got me an Eye – he should do something, if our partnership is to keep up!"

"Fine, I'll do it," Amos growled as he regained control of himself.

"Good." And Set withdrew.

"Well," Sadie tried to act chipper, but did not quite make it. "It looks like it's off to Brazil for us!"

Amos raised an eyebrow. "We?" he delicately asked.

TBC