-Amos Kane-
"Oh good, you finally decided to owe your uncle a visit?" I could not help but grin despite his ill expression aimed at me.
"I think you know why I'm here." Carter hesitated to start. "Dad caught me up."
I stiffened to the news. "So, he's willing to talk to you but not me?" I noted to discuss it with Julius later. "Tell me what you know so far so I can catch you up."
He went through the entire history lesson I had repeatedly drilled at Julius when we were younger, repeatedly saying Cleopatra's name like it was meant to piss me off. "And I suppose there are two demigods waiting for me."
"They did mention something along the lines of seeing you. But that's Julius' fault." I confirmed. "We will have to find a way to seal up the hole and send them back-"
"No." Carter stood his ground, the Kane stubbornness finally shining through in his eyes. "Amos, we have a chance to make ourselves allied with them rather than fight and run."
"Carter," I hesitated to argue against him on the topic. "Cleopatra was a very talented magician in her day, the host of Isis even. She tried the very thing you hope to do. But, she was a woman making deals with men; they didn't treat her with the respect she fully deserved because of that fact."
"Well this is different." Carter pointed out.
"They think of us as weak, they think they can rush in and overthrow us with their legions and pathetic Gods." I growled. "They even degraded our Gods by giving them split personalities. A full insult that should not be taken lightly. And it will happen again if that hole in the Duat keeps bleeding out Greeks."
"Julius said you would disagree." Carter grumbled. "But you are Chief Lector; do you think we look powerful running away from our enemies like that?"
"We've tried fighting back; we lost miserably because the Gods were busy fighting within themselves." I reminded. "Carter, don't give yourself away to them. They will think the same of us simply for your age. All they think about is domination. You think it was bad with Jacobi? They won't even bother trying to keep the First Nome in decent condition!"
Carter rolled his eyes and sat in the throne. "Summon the demigods; I am ready to see them." He instructed.
I sighed, irked that my words no longer had an effect when it was needed most.
Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase entered the Hall of Ages as quickly as my instructions were given. I cleared my throat so my voice could carry its weight in the room; make sure they knew an adult was ready for any quick moves they were willing to try. "Pharaoh Carter Kane, presented before you are two Greek demigods. Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon; one of the big three, the sea God. Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena; Goddess of Wisdom." I introduced.
"Whoa, he's younger than we are!" Percy was quick to say, earning a scowl from me.
"How dare you disregard our Pharaoh so quickly?" I snapped.
Carter gestured me to calm down with his right hand, which I restrained for the time being. "Welcome to the First Nome. I am Carter Kane, Pharaoh, and Eye of Horus." He spoke in such an innocent way that made me want to send Set after him. "Don't let Amos get to you, he's been stuck with my duty while I've been away until now."
"Are you two related?" Annabeth started with curiosity. "You have the same last name."
My eyes narrowed. If anything, I did not really trust her for her skills would easily turn against us. "Yes, Amos is my dear uncle." Carter answered easily.
"Oh boy, is this like a Lion King thing?" Percy spoke another series of words that simply pissed me off.
"No, and I am rather insulted that you would even relate me to Scar like that." I growled. "Also, I would like to add that I don't have to rely on others to fight my own battles."
"Amos," Carter's voice warned. "They don't understand us just as much as we don't understand them. Remember when Sadie and I were new to this?"
Of course I remembered, so I eased off again. "May I suggest the two of you start with your dire situation first?" I directed the conversation quickly before this Percy kid could find another way to insult someone.
Therefore, Annabeth went through the story, going into a little more depth on the Gods and Goddesses for Carter to understand. Of course, it came naturally to him since our struggle is about the same. "So, we need to gain contact with the rest of your party?" Carter finalized afterwards.
I cleared my throat for Carter to approve my advice. "There have been theories amongst Greeks and Egyptians alike that Gaia and Apophis are more linked than we would like to think." I started. "If you still desire peace, Carter, I suggest you bring Sadie along for extra help."
"Will you be okay here?" Carter asked; which I could not help but grin.
"I'm the Eye of Set, I can handle my own." I reassured quickly. "It was not that long ago since our last crisis if you recall."
His expression hardened to that, probably brought up the image of the fight held here. "If the need arises, I have already proven I can hold him back." I added.
He hesitated to nod and faced Percy and Annabeth again. "I think we will start by going to Brooklyn House. I will call Sadie and tell her to await us and ready for another set of fights." He informed the demigods. "This time, Amos, I'll try to keep up contact with you."
"I understand if you can't Carter-" I waved off.
"This has never been written down from what we know. I'm going to need all the advice you can give." Carter glumly stated.
"Sorry to be interrupting." Annabeth apologized. "Why is the Pharaoh coming with us? Isn't Chief Lector the Pharaoh's first lieutenant?"
I smirked at the thought of bringing up their success. "Carter and Sadie Kane have 'tamed' the God of Chaos, and banished the Lord of Chaos on their own."
"It was not on our own, stop making up stories-" Carter complained.
"May I also add that they successfully resurrected the Sun God? Carter is Pharaoh because he is given the honor to possess Ra's weapons and repeatedly saving the House of Life." I continued anyways.
"House of Life?" Percy questioned.
"The Per Ankh translated into English." I explained quickly. "We are not like you; we are not decedents of our Gods. Rather, we are simply Egyptians; some are special for being decedents of Pharaohs of long ago. It takes perseverance and dedication to be a magician in the House of Life. Even more to be an Eye of a God, minor or major."
"What does Eye stand for exactly?" Annabeth asked.
"We host Gods." Carter explained before I could direct the conversation somewhere else. "Horus, the God I host, is a vengeful Pharaoh with an irritating uncle who killed his brother for the throne-"
"Just like the Lion King." Percy placed his finger on Carter's words.
"Uh, I suppose you're right on that score." Carter smiled. "But don't go around calling me Simba, and Amos Scar."
"So, Amos is the host of the irritable uncle?" Annabeth made a wild stab on the subject.
"Being host doesn't make us like them." I was quick to inform. "In fact the Gods change to the hosts instead. It's complicated, but Set has softened quite a bit with me as his host."
"Dude, I don't know, you were acting like you wanted to kill us since we got in here today." Percy reminded, earning a glare from me.
"I am Carter's and Sadie's guardian," I snapped. "I stand on tense terms with you because of history. I've allowed participation because Carter wishes for peace between our worlds. However, if one thing happens to my nephew or niece-"
"Our heads will end up on the top of your staff, right?" Percy finished with a grin.
I snarled to his words. "You wouldn't even begin to imagine the power of Set even if we dueled."
"Amos, nothing bad will happen," Carter defended, "at least between us and the Greeks."
"And Romans," Annabeth added.
"Will you eventually take Carter to see the leaders of each group?" I asked, trying to calm down.
"Yeah, not an issue." Percy kept his grin. "I'm the current leader of the Greeks, but he will meet Jason soon enough."
"Good, I will defend your throne for your return." I finalized towards Carter.
Carter smiled with a nod towards me before facing the demigods again. "I will summon you in the morning," He dismissed.
They bowed before leaving, Annabeth before Percy once again. "I have a question to ask you," Carter started once the silence lasted a minute.
"I am here to advise you on anything, don't hesitate." I reminded.
"Well, dad mentioned something about you probably wanting to kill Annabeth and Percy," he started. "He told me 'If you need to, remind Amos of Cleopatra; that should get him to shut up'."
My eyes narrowed at the very idea. "Have I ever told you how much of an ass your father is?" I started coolly, earning a nervous laugh from my nephew. "What is the question?"
"Is he right?" Carter asked.
My expression saddened, recalling that day that I miserably failed to save Caroline. "Have you heard of a woman by the name of Caroline Smith?" I hesitated to start.
Carter shot me with a worried look. "No, why?"
"She was the decedent of Cleopatra." I informed. "And she was obsessed in everything involving her ancestor. She trained here in the First Nome, and then moved into the Twenty-First. Remarkable woman, she was well read in the fall of Egypt. Unfortunately, she was only a healer."
"Unfortunately?" Carter's eyes judged my choice of words again.
"Julius and I always managed to get caught up in sudden fights. She wasn't skilled in fighting; only healing. She always kept away until the end of it to help whoever needed her aid." I explained sadly, recalling the hissing words that had left her lips, the warning given to us that we contemplated for years.
"Why? Jaz is trained to fight at least a little." Carter pointed out.
"Back then, healers were only trained in healing. You changed the rules when training Jaz." I informed.
"So, what happened?" Carter hesitated to ask, expecting the worst from my reaction.
"She was possessed." I choked on the words myself. "In an effort to save her, I ended up killing her instead."
Silence remained between us for two minutes. "Were the two of you pretty close?" Carter asked.
I took a deep breath and worked a smile towards him despite my closeness to tears. "Perhaps as close as you and Zia," I explained.
He grew upset to the idea now. "I highly doubt you ever meant to harm her. Who possessed her for it to happen?"
My expression hardened now. "It was simply a warning." The words slipped from my lips.
Carter's shoulders slackened. "Simply a warning that killed her?" He judged my words again.
"Carter, I've told you more than I even imagined I would," I started strictly, "we are leaving the subject at that, understand?"
Carter shot me a testing look. "And don't try your Pharaoh voice on me; it won't work on personal matters," I snapped. "In fact, it rarely works on the Chief Lector." I informed quickly.
His right eyebrow rose. "Okay, I have to ask. Has Set returned?" He completely changed the subject.
"He did for a time, he's trying to punish me as of current, and it's not working." I smirked. "We got into a discussion on music genres. Let's just say, he's ignoring me until I admit disco is better than jazz."
"Wait, you got into a fight with the God of Chaos?" Carter spoke with amusement. "Over jazz, even?"
"He says it gives him a headache." I confirmed. "Anyways, it's actually been quite peaceful without him commenting on everything."
"So peaceful that you instead set your teeth on edge towards everyone else," Carter added.
"You know, I never liked the idea of Chief Lector," I started, "I knew it would require great dedication to keep up with everything going on around you. I don't think my irritableness should be blamed of Set but rather stress."
Carter stood up from the throne now as I stood up to stand on the side, bowing as he walked down the steps. "I'm going to call Sadie, and come back immediately after," Carter informed.
"I figured that was what you would do. But why do you wish to take the throne today?" I wondered.
"You just said you were stressed," Carter reminded, "I figure I should help."
"You've done too much helping me," I scolded.
He smirked, "I could say the same about you."
I frowned, ready to start comparing when he waved it off and left without another word.
