-Sadie Kane-
"Well done!" Thoth encouraged. "And I see Alyssa joined you as well."
Alyssa smiled in recognition. "She helped us get past the retrieval shabti," I explained.
Thoth gave me a weird look, "What, did you let the worst of Isis rub on you?"
Walt nervously laughed in reaction, "Uh, actually it said something along the lines of a password and Amos' locker."
Thoth studied his expression for a second. "Interesting, never heard of such a concept. He must have been certain you would come upon it. Leading us to what he knows even."
"You know what it was about and weren't there?" I wondered.
"Well yes, it's exactly how the shabti said," Thoth shrugged. "Amos set it up so it could enter his locker. That shabti probably doesn't even belong to the library. But who knows, all we know for certain is he made a trail for us to follow, and we should catch up to where he is if that's the case." He gestured us to a room in the back, which we all poured into, "Set those books on the desk."
Alyssa did so and we watched him observe the books. "Well, looks like he's been studying more on my book than the rest," he started when he sat down finally.
"Why, you're the most irritating God-" I started.
He grinned in reply, "Because I'm the God of Wisdom, thank you. Besides, I tell the truth, unlike most authors that bullshit their way through the information. That is another thing to pick up on, telling the lies from the truth. It's difficult in writing, however, because you can only rely on the printed words rather than expressions and gestures when speaking."
"Just get to following the clues," I snapped. "I am more worried about my family rather than your ego."
He cleared his throat and opened to the first loose paper in his book, The Misread. "Well, been awhile since I've read his coding," he admitted as he studied it.
I looked over his right shoulder to take in the paper in his hands. It was a mix of hieroglyphs, well printed English, and some other language; changing it up every two words. Trying to read it easily gave anyone a headache, which I assume was the goal. "How are you supposed to translate all of this?" I complained to my headache from the first transition to English from Egyptian.
"It's quite easy; he's forcing you to go through it three times," Thoth explained. "First Egyptian, English, and then French. Any patient person can get through it. However, it's common knowledge that a majority of magicians are not patient." He handed me the paper he finished writing on and went to another loose page to start translating it himself.
"Wait, did you seriously just-" I stood in alarm.
"Like I said, it's easy," he continued with the second.
I peered at the paper in front of me to see it completely translated in hieroglyphs. "Hey, how about English?" I suggested.
"What? You are the host of Isis. Get some practice in while you are at it. I'm not about to switch it to English for you, takes too much time." He continued drawing the funny pictures, almost finished with the second page.
I sighed and focused on the page, Isis' voice helping with some of the more difficult words.
Cleopatra, host of Isis, powerful magician and Pharaoh of the Per Ankh. Greek contact not taken well, considered weak for woman on throne. Disregarded Chief Lector's advice for war, attempted peace with misguided people of Greece. Chaos stirring. Gave life force to flood Alexandria. Amulet still in San Francisco?
I read it again to make sure I understood it. "Host of Isis hu? Got something in common. But why would he be interested in her?" I asked Thoth as he handed me the second page.
"Patience, Sadie Kane. Or else you'll never get through this," Thoth grumbled. "I know that's something Isis lacks, but you can't keep running around like a rabid teenager that demands everything to be written in English and be completely understandable."
Dear Jazzy Hippo…
"Uh, what?" I raised my right eyebrow towards Thoth now.
"Hum?" He asked, halfway done with the third.
"Jazzy Hippo?" I pointed to it for him.
"Oh, probably a nickname," Thoth shrugged off. "As you can see, it's a message, not notes."
"Uh, why is there someone with a name like that?" Jaz puzzled.
"Hey, Amos is a jazz tenor. Maybe there was another musician that just went by that name?" Julian suggested.
"It sounds like an insult," I scorned and returned to the paper.
Dear Jazzy Hippo,
Sorry about the complex way of asking you such questions. Sorry I have not looked into seeing you since Julius became Osiris. Need your help again, if you will allow it.
First of which is on Cleopatra. The books never speak of why she resorted to such suicide. Do you know? I'm certain it has a connection with the tension between Egypt and Rome, but she very well could have made peace.
How much do you know on Greece? I've been studying to a pounding headache and can't catch the link between Apophis and Gaia, only Gaia and Geb which is obvious. Is it Chaos perhaps? Not even the Greeks are certain if it's her brother or father. If so, do you think a threat of this Goddess could have been the reasoning for Cleopatra's actions in Alexandria?
I'm sure you've heard of Sadie and Carter by now. Probably everything there is to know thanks to Ruby. Do you think Sadie has a chance? I don't want to let another die over something that brings only ruin upon the rest of us, it's too much of a heartache to think about.
I'm not sure if you remember much of the threat leading to your death, seeing as I know how much one can black out during possession now. I can't help but wonder if it went beyond his escape, if we were meant to go against a much stronger force than Chaos itself.
Also, this is hard for me to continue writing to you like you'll reply, but I miss you. I think of your eyes, your smile, the way you curled that strand of hair around your index whenever we studied (and yes, don't think I never saw that). That day haunts me still; I remember it like it only happened yesterday. I'm sorry, I know you'll slap me for it and say otherwise, but you know I could have made it turn out differently. And I can't help but think of what our life would have been, if I could be the man that protects you from everything that threatened us (without Julius or Michel).
I'm going to stop there, don't want to ruin this letter with tears. I do hope you get a chance to read this, and I swear I will plan to visit you soon (once the Per Ankh can settle down for a few minutes). If you don't, then I'll just see you after the trail.
Sincerely,
Morning Dew
"You sure Amos wrote this?" I asked.
"Yep, same coding," Thoth explained, piling ten papers for me to go through.
"I don't think Amos is a 'Morning Dew' kind of person," I explained.
"Morning Dew?" Sean judged.
"Can I read it?" Jaz asked.
"Go ahead," I handed it to her, Walt looking over her shoulder.
"It's a love note," Walt confirmed.
"What makes you say that?" I questioned.
"It's obvious, really," Jaz supported as she handed it back to me. "He mentions things he admires about her, and then wonders if he could have been the one fit enough to protect her. Obvious flirting in my opinion."
"He also asked a list of questions, ones he didn't know much on so he went to ask a ghost about it," Walt continued. "Thoth, you can stop translating. We're going to pay a 'Jazzy Hippo' a visit."
