17.03.2015

14:30, New York

Ayanna Kane

After lunch, some of the initiates decided to gather in the Great Room. I wasn't really planning on going, but Julian caught me.

"If you don't willingly distract yourself from the end of the world, I'll annoy you all day myself."

"I'm just tired, Jules."

"No, you're not. You're sulking. Now come!"

Unfortunately, Julian was right. I'd been in a constant state of worry ever since Carter and Walt left. Of course Sadie would get in trouble on her birthday! I knew I shouldn't have let her go, I should have found a way to convince her to stay.

A simple "We haven't celebrated together in six years" could have done it.

It had been two hours with no news. I kept on checking my phone.

The Great Room had really comfortable sofas. We were leaning on them while sitting on the snake-skin rug on the floor. Sometime you just wanna sit on the floor.

Cleo was just telling Julian "You're about as intimidating as a butterfly," when I finally heard the familiar tum-tum-tumtum.

Alyssa raised an eyebrow. "Is your ringtone the Addams theme?"

I nodded. Julian craned his neck to see the caller id. "Is it them?"

My breath caught. "It's Walt."

"He's probably with them." Cleo tried.

"Yeah."

I picked up while heading for the stairs. If this was about to get personal, I might as well make it to my room first.

Red flag number one: Walt sounded out of breath.

"Hey, Aya. You know how much I love you, right?"

Red flag number two: no one ever uses this phrase innocently.

"Is Sadie alright?"

"Yes-"

"Carter?"

"They're both fine. Just left for Russia, in fact."

"Thank gods. Wait, they what?!"

I realized too late that I'd yelled. Fortunately, the hallway was empty.

"Walt, wait a second."

I got to my room, closed the door behind me. "Why are they in Russia?"

"I'll explain everything later. I need your help."

Through my anxiety, I hadn't noticed how strained Walt's voice sounded.

"Are you okay?"

He went quiet for a moment, as if looking for the right words.

"I am stuck in London and I'm out of magic."

I sighed. "Where exactly are you?"

"Do you know where the Crystal Palace Sphynxes are?"

No. But I put Walt on speaker and opened Google Maps.

"Okay, there is a museum, like, 20 minutes away from you. Do you think you can get there?"

Despite the weakness in his voice, he laughed. "Are you looking this up online?"

"Mundane over magical, Walt. I may be a magician but I'm not all-knowing."

"Alright, alright." I winced as Walt's laugh turned into a cough. "A little problem: thanks to Sadie, the Ninth is monitoring all portals."

No portals then. We needed something subtle enough as to not attract attention.

"Aya?"

"Shh, I'm thinking."

What was a quick way to get to London and back while hiding from the House?

Of course! I looked at the map again.

"Walt? There is a lake 10 minutes away from you. It's called Low Lake, I'm sending you the location. Wait for me there."

"How would a lake help?"

"You asked for my help. Now trust me."

My father was the second most powerful magician in the world. He was currently teaching a potions class that would occupy him for at least an hour. Good potions took a while to make.

It was dangerous breaking into Amos Kane's room. That's why while he was in Egypt, I made a copy of his keys.

Carter was a little upset about that. But I had my reasons – dad's room was the perfect place to stare at the wall and think about life. Sometimes I'd sing and I'd imagine he was the one playing the melody instead of my phone.

Plus, we would have needed an extra key anyway if he… never came home. I doubted Desjardins would have given us his personal belongings back with the way things were going.

Anyway, once inside, I had to be quick. I wasn't really allowed to use the boat on my own. I hadn't been 'trained to navigate it correctly yet'. Whatever, I've seen dad do it enough times and it was straightforward enough.

Dad had a separate chest for the bigger shabti and models. Sealed, of course, but that wasn't a problem. It usually took me around five minutes to break dad's seals. He used the same technique on everything he was locking – the door to the Warehouse, the snacks cabinet, the uncensored section of the library. It was getting so repetitive, it took the fun out of breaking into places.

The lid of the chest was decorated with hundreds of tiny identical birds. You had to find the 'odd one out', count from the beginning to see which number the bird was, then whisper the number in the correct language. Usually, it was Egyptian Arabic. Sometimes French. Once it was Middle Egyptian and I was close to killing someone while trying to remember the correct pronunciation.

There it was, in the middle of the fourth row. 50 birds in a row, by 3 rows… I hate Math. 5 by 3 is 15 and we add a zero - 150. Plus 25. 170 plus 5.

"175."

With a little klick, the lid lifted itself. I spotted the boat quickly, right next to…

A stack of what seemed to be research papers – copies of scrolls with dad's handwriting filling any empty space. One name repeated itself again and again and again, the red ink popping out against the rest of the text.

Curiosity and terror mixed into one as I flipped through the stack. At first it was just random facts – myths, domains, sightings of chaos magic. Maybe dad was just trying to make sense of everything? Using research as a coping mechanism?

The very last scroll wasn't information. It was a summoning spell.

My phone beeped and I almost jumped. Walt had made it to Low Lake.

I shoved the papers back into the chest and tired to calm myself. Let's tackle the problems one by one. Walt was already waiting for me and dad was busy.

I was starting to really regret this plan.

"C'mon Hua!" I called to the blue coat, hanging by the door. "We're going to London."

I've heard the Red Pyramid recording. I was there when it was recorded. I edited the audio files. I know how negatively Carter described Duat Sailing.

Thing is, I've never had a negative experience with it. Most people don't. I can see how the speed could be a bit too much at first, but the voices whispering around have always felt friendly. Dad said they would sing lullabies when I was little.

Me and Hua made it to the dock unnoticed. About Hua: he was originally a shabti. When dad first made the boat, he used to steer it himself. Then I was born. He couldn't really rely on my mom because she didn't know magic existed, so he got a driver.

Each shabti carries a tiny spark of life inside it from the moment it is named. If you break that spark's physical vessel – the shabti – you can bind it to another object to animate it. That way you can have a sentient object without having to actively pour energy into it.

Hua was the… well, my mom would have called him a spirit and 'spirit' is a great word. Attention: Not all spirits are ghosts! Ghosts are simply a type of spirit. An entity doesn't have to have lived and died to be a spirit. Is it sentient energy? If yes, most cultures would label it as a type of spirit.

Hua was the spirit, which was bound to both dad's favorite blue coat and his reed boat.

The boat itself had two torches to light the way in the front and a big rudder in the back. It had no sail and it didn't need it. In the middle of the boat was a little hut made of woven mats. The hut was cozy and warm and the perfect place to await out arrival in London.

After the initial shock that he was witnessing the infamous Amos Kane boat, Walt not so much got as stumbled on. I helped him get to the hut, where he pretty much collapsed.

"Walt! Are you okay?" I touched his forehead. "Not burning up. Are you hurt?"

He shook his head. His clothes were soaked from the London rain. He was shaking but I couldn't tell if it was from the cold night or his condition. It was warmer onto the boat, but he had been freezing a second ago.

"There is a locker with extra provision in the back," I told him. "Do you want me to get you something wormer to change in? You'll catch a cold."

Walt managed a smile. "You sound like a mom when you're worried."

"While Carter and Sadie are saving the world, someone's got to think about the people living on it, too."

The locker was right behind the hut, a little wooden rectangle.

"Why did they leave you in London?" I asked while rummaging for fresh clothes. "It's raining, it's cold, it's dark."

"They didn't know I can't get home." Walt said.

I walked back in and handed him a shirt, pants, boots and a coat. "Why didn't you tell them?"

"Didn't want to worry them."

"A very stupid excuse. What's got you so exhausted, anyway?"

Walt sighed. "Life."

The boat speeded up and soon the scenery changed from London at night to Brooklyn in the afternoon. The second most powerful magician in the world was waiting for us at the dock.

Ai.