by Scott Peters
"What's the trouble, kids?" the man thundered.
"We're stuck on a rock," Zet called back.
The man set down his basket. He wiped his filthy hands on his barrel chest. "Get those girls outta my way," he snarled and waded into the Nile. "Don't need them out here. This is men's work."
Merit drew herself up to argue. The man studied her face. His eyes narrowed as if trying to place the Princess.
Kat quickly whispered to Merit, "Pull your hood over your head. Let's do as he says."
"I'll walk them to shore," Zet told the man. "This current is strong. I'll be back."
The man grunted but watched them go.
On shore, Zet spoke to the woman. "Do you have something to dry off with?" They couldn't bring Merit back to the palace looking like a drowned cat. "Some clothing we could borrow? We'll return it later today."
"No," the woman snapped.
Merit pulled her wet hood lower. "I'm fine, Zet," she said. "Really."
Zet grew fearful. Even though this couple had agreed to help, they seemed cruel. Had the man recognized Merit? What if they wanted to harm her? She'd already been kidnapped once.
Meanwhile, Kat and Merit had fallen to whispering about the mummy.
"What's all this about a mummy?" the woman said sharply.
"You haven't heard?" Kat asked.
"Tell me."
Kat bit her lip, glancing at Zet.
"Come now, don't leave me in the dark," the woman complained. "There's a curse? You'd better tell me. I'm a citizen, too. And my good husband is helping you, after all."
Reluctantly, Kat described the haunting. The woman clucked her tongue. Kat told her about their cursed stall, and how everyone was returning their pottery.
"I wouldn't keep your pottery neither," the woman drawled.
As Kat tried to explain that they weren't at fault, Zet's eyes fell on what looked like an old building block.
Were those hieroglyphics carved in its surface?
Why would a fancy rock like that be here by the river?
Zet edged closer for a better look. The woman, however, pushed in front of him and sat heavily on the fancy stone block. She spread her dirty linen skirt out around her, covering the hieroglyphics. Was she hiding them? Or did it just seem that way?
Kat could read. But she was still talking. He opened his mouth to ask about the stone when a great roar from the river made him spin around. The huge man had lifted the raft halfway out of the water.
"There!" the man shouted. "Now get lost, you kids. Stop bothering us poor fisher-folk."
Hui waved frantically. "Let's go!"
Zet and the girls were only too happy to comply. Before leaving the shore, Zet pulled up a pair of sturdy reeds and lugged them onto the raft.
"Lucky you didn't get eaten by a crocodile," the man shouted. "Lots of 'em down here. Stay away, if you know what's good for you."
"Thanks for your help," Zet called, ignoring the man's leering tone.
"Yes," the others chimed in. "Thank you!"
Using the reeds as poles, the children worked together to make their way back upstream.
"I hope this isn't a bad omen," Merit said. "The river doesn't usually run so fast here. And what caused that sandbank?"
Zet said, "Last time you boated here, did you see that couple?"
"No." She shook her head. "But fishermen come and go."
They finally reached the sandy shore from where they'd first set out. Together, the children beached the raft. They tied it to a gnarled acacia tree with an old rope.
"Mother will be worried," Kat said, glancing at the sky. "It's late. Getting unstuck took a long time."
"I'll walk Merit back to the palace," Zet said. "You two go home and tell everyone we're fine."
Hui nodded. "All right."
The four made none of their usual noisy goodbyes. Too many worries hung over them. Zet followed Merit toward the palace. When he glanced back, he saw Kat and Hui melting into the shadows of the dying day.
Zet and Merit hurried side by side through the twilight. When they'd first met, she'd been taller. Zet had shot up a few inches, however, and felt oddly pleased to be the taller one now.
Zet turned to her. "So treasury funds are running low?" He couldn't help worrying about his father fighting the invaders up north.
"I'm afraid so," Merit said. "This war is expensive. We need the coming harvest. Badly. A plague or a sandstorm would be disastrous."
"Or a curse," Zet said.
"Yes."
Zet said, "I saw the medjay questioning a priest about the mummy."
Merit nodded. "The medjay police are on alert. But getting to the bottom of it is the Royal Guard's duty. The mummy falls under religious disturbances—which fall under the realm of Pharaoh, the living god."
"But if the Royal Guard is busy looking for that mummy, doesn't that leave the Treasury unprotected? You said funds are low."
"It would be near impossible to break into that building. Only a few guards are needed to protect the Treasury. And the mummy went nowhere near there."
Zet breathed a sigh of relief. At least the Treasury was safe. He didn't need to worry about things he couldn't control. He needed to focus on two things: putting an end to the problems at the pottery stall and stopping that mummy from haunting Thebes.
They had reached the palace wall.
Zet made to help Merit over.
"I think you should come with me," Merit said, brushing her dark hair from her almond-shaped eyes. Jewels glowed on her ringed fingers in the moonlight.
He nodded. "All right. I'd be happy to explain why you disappeared." Even if the threat of Pharaoh's anger made his short hair stand on end.
She grinned. "Thanks, but no—I'll have to face that myself. There is someone I'd like you to talk to, though."
"Who?"
"You'll see. Will it be all right if you stay out a little longer?"
He grinned. "If you're going to be in trouble, I might as well be, too."
Chapter 6
Mummification Secrets
Zet and Merit clambered over the wall. They dropped into a quiet grove of citrus trees on the palace grounds.
"Who goes there?" demanded a sentry.
"Stand down," Merit said and pulled her hood back. "It's me. Princess Meritamen."
Bowing low, the sentry said, "Your Highness."
"Sentry, has anyone been looking for me?"
"No. What's happened? Are you all right?"
She smiled. "Thank you. I'm fine. There's no trouble. Have a good evening."
The sentry moved out of earshot.
"So I haven't been missed." She sighed with obvious relief. "Seems my ruse worked. Which means we still have time."
He didn't ask about her ruse. "Time for what?"
"Answers." Instead of heading for the palace, she guided them around a small lake. A temple stood in the distance. "Hurry."
Merit broke into a run. Zet fell into step beside her willowy form. Soon, the temple loomed over them. Merit skirted around it. She kept going until they reached a small stone building around back. The cane door was shut. Lamplight spilled through narrow cracks. Merit made to knock and then paused.
Inside, a man chanted. A prayer? Or a spell? Gooseflesh rose on Zet's arms.
Merit pressed her eye to a crack. Zet did the same. He nearly gasped out loud. Clapping a hand over his mouth, he stared at the shadowy form inside.
The figure towered almost to the ceiling. He had a man's body, but his head . . . by the gods! He had the head of a jackal!
Pointy ears. A long snout. Canine teeth. Sleek fur over a muscled jaw.
"Anubis!" Zet hissed, unable to help himself.
The divine figure stiffened. He turned and stared at the door.
"Who DARES disturb me?" boomed the God of Death. Anubis took three giant strides. He threw open the door.
Zet fell at Anubis's feet. He covered his face with both hands.
By the wings of Isis, this was it. The
y were dead. It was all over! And back home, Mother, Kat, and Apu were waiting for him for dinner. It all seemed so crazy and awful!
"Princess Meritamen?" boomed the deep voice.
Face still pressed to the dirt, Zet's brow wrinkled. Anubis knew Merit's name?
"High Priest," she said. "I'm sorry to disturb your work."
High Priest?
Zet risked a glance upward. The figure unfastened a strap beneath his chin. This was no god. He was a man in a mask. Thank Ra!
"You should not see me like this." Angered, the High Priest set the mask aside. "Even if you are Pharaoh’s daughter. And that boy should be punished!"
"I brought him," Merit said. "I am responsible. He's under my protection."
The priest pinned Zet with a cold stare. He turned back to Merit. "Why have you come?"
"It's an emergency."
"Indeed?" The priest frowned.
Zet, unable to hold his tongue, blurted, "Why were you dressed like Anubis?"
The priest shot Zet a sour look. "You've seen me. I suppose there's no point in keeping it secret. I am the royal mummifier. When I make a mummy, I wear the mask of Anubis. That way, the jackal-headed god's magic works through me to preserve the dead for the afterlife."
"But no one has died." Merit's hand went to her mouth. "Have they?"
"Rest easy, Princess. It was a sacred temple cat. I'm sending her on to Bastet, the cat goddess who watches over the home and hearth. Now, what's this emergency?"
"We need to learn about mummies," she said.
He drew himself up and towered over them. "That's priest's knowledge!"
Now it was her turn to straighten to her full height. Her eyes flashed. "I am Princess Meritamen. Royal Daughter. Child of the Lord of the Two Lands, of the High Priest of Every Temple, daughter of the Living God himself! Will you defy me?"
Zet's eyes widened. He'd never seen her this way. For the first time, he truly realized that she was more than just his friend.
Lamplight flickered behind the priest.
Finally, the priest said, "This boy is no royal. I cannot speak in front of him."
Zet smiled awkwardly.
Merit said, "His name is Zet. He's the famous boy who rescued me from my kidnappers. He saved Pharaoh when the palace plans were stolen. He has solved many crimes. And he's going to solve the mummy mystery haunting all of Thebes."
Zet couldn't help thinking it sounded pretty good when she said it like that. He practically glowed.
"Doesn't look like much of a hero to me," the priest said.
Zet's glow turned to embarrassment.
Merit said, "He has my royal blessing. So will you help us? Or do I need to wake my grandmother and bring her down here?"
Now it was the priest's turn to look awkward. Zet stifled a laugh.
"Oh, very well," the priest said. "But come inside and shut the door. The sacred Wag Festival approaches. With it, the veil between life and death grows thin. Restless spirits draw near when a mummy is being made. Even the mummy of a small cat."
As they squeezed inside, Zet's mind went to last year's Wag Festival. Like always, nearly all of Thebes had lined up along the Nile. They'd brought tiny paper boats; hundreds and hundreds of them. Each boat was a tribute to Osiris. People also made tributes to those who had passed into the afterlife. The boats had floated in a bright flotilla. Kat had called them pretty. Now, however, with a mummy on the loose, the coming Wag Festival unsettled him.
Zet quickly closed the door.
Inside, smoke drifted from the lamp. It cast a haze over the assembled tools, worktables, and containers. Zet shuddered. Merit did the same.
"Now." The priest drummed his bony index finger on his worktable. "How will sharing my secret arts help you?"
"I'm not sure yet," Zet said. "But I'm grateful for anything you can tell me."
The priest's deep-set eyes were like two black hollows. "I will tell you all,” he intoned. "But you must promise to never repeat what you hear tonight."
"I promise," Zet and Merit said at once.
Shadows played in the creases of the priest's lined face. "Then I will begin."
Zet and Merit stood spellbound as the priest lifted a mummified object from the table. It was tubular, around a foot long, and wrapped neatly from end to end. Gently, he held it upright. It was almost doll-like. The tiny cat mummy had been given pointy cat ears made from linen strips. He'd drawn a cat's face, too.
Instead of being scary, the mummy was almost cute.
Zet thought about their cat goddess statue back home. He sometimes spoke to it when he was worried. Now, he couldn't help making a silent prayer to Bastet to keep this temple cat safe until she reached the playful fields of the afterlife.
Perhaps the High Priest noticed, for he remained silent a moment or two.
Finally, the tall man cleared his throat. "This mummy, like all mummies, took seventy days to create," he said. "There are many steps. I will explain them."
Zet and Merit nodded in earnest.
"First, the body is carefully washed and purified. Second . . ." He paused, looking at Zet and Merit as if daring them not to faint. "Second, we cut out the organs. The lungs, the intestines, the stomach, the liver. Of course, we're not butchers. We do try to make the body keep its original shape."
"That sounds hard," Zet said, ignoring his churning stomach as he pictured it.
"It is." From a tray, he lifted a hooked stick. "We push this long instrument up the nose and stir it around." He demonstrated in the air, gyrating the stick with great force. "Do you know why?"
Zet and Merit shook their heads.
"To mash up the brain and pick it out of the nostrils."
Eeeew, Zet thought. Out loud, he said, "What do you do with the brain?"
The High Priest leaned forward. "We throw it away."
"Throw it away?" Zet asked. "Where?"
"The garbage. The brain has no purpose."
Merit crossed her arms. "And then what do you do?"
Clearly disappointed at being unable to spook them, he went on. "The stomach, lungs, liver, and intestines are stored in what we call canopic jars. Each jar is guarded by a god whose head is carved on the lid. Next, when the body's empty, we stuff it with linen. That's to make it hold its shape. After, we soak it in special natron salts for forty days."
"Why?" Merit asked.
"To dry it out. It prevents rot. When the body is dry, the next step is to wrap the mummy in yards and yards of bandages. Magic amulets are tucked into the linen strips. Sometimes hundreds of them. We speak prayers over the body as we work. The mummy is placed in its sarcophagus. We place a carved death mask over its face. Then, it is ready for burial."
Zet said, "Did you mummify Aziza, Pharaoh's cousin?"
At this, the priest looked startled. Then a shade fell over his hawk-like eyes. "Why do you ask?"
"Surely you've heard what people are saying—that the haunted mummy is Aziza come back from the dead."
The priest set the cat mummy down. He fussed with his tools. "I don't listen to gossip."
Merit said, "You told us you put magic amulets in a mummy's wrappings. Could Aziza's amulets help him curse his enemies? Could he have come back from the dead? Like everyone's saying?"
The priest crossed his arms over his chest. Was the priest hiding something?
"I did not preside over Aziza's mummification," he said in a clipped voice. "I was not told what spells were used."
"But is it possible?" Merit asked.
"I've told you all I can, Princess. Now, I humbly ask that you leave me so I may get back to my work." His words, however, sounded less than humble.
Was he telling the truth? Did he know nothing of Aziza's burial?
The priest picked up his Anubis mask. The huge jackal's head with its gleaming teeth caused Merit and Zet to back away. This man held the powers of the gods. He understood the mysteries of death. He was a servant of Anubis. And that was a frightening thought.
"
My thanks, priest," Merit said. "We will leave you. My blessings are upon you." She took Zet's arm and they hurried back outside.
A chill gripped the night. Or maybe the priest's presence had turned Zet cold. Merit kept going as if wanting to put as much distance between them as possible. She only stopped when she reached the far side of the lake.
Yet the water felt like poor protection from the mystery swirling around them.
Chapter 7
No More Secrets
Merit sat down by the water, breathing hard. "I hope my father doesn't hear about this!"
"But you said—"
"If he found out I was grilling the priest of mummification for sacred secrets, he'd double my attendants. And I wouldn't be climbing over any more walls!" She grinned. "I've been told to act more regal. Awful, isn't it? I don't know why I'm smiling. It's not the least bit funny. That statue of me is going up outside the Temple of Isis next week. Everyone in Thebes will recognize my face after that." She grimaced. "Do you know what that means?"
Zet nodded.
"I won't be able to go anywhere."
Zet sank down next to her. "I wish I could do something."
"You can't. That's just how life is."
Zet glanced at the temple from where they'd come. In the light of the half moon, the lake waters looked black.
"Do you think that priest was hiding something? About Aziza?" he asked.
"I'm not sure. I doubt it."
Zet scratched his neck, thoughtful. The priest had been so abrupt.
Merit said, "I wish we could talk more. But a girl's covering for me at the palace. I can't leave her alone much longer." She rose and started walking again. They quickly reached the trees. "Come on, I'll go with you through the grove. And then I need to get back."
Before Zet could reply, the guard approached. Merit nodded at him. The man saluted. He stood aside to let them pass.
Branches groaned and whispered in the darkness. All around them, the heady scent of orange blossoms perfumed the night air. When they reached the wall, Zet clambered up it. At the top he paused and looked down at Merit's slender silhouette. She stood shadowed beneath flowering branches.
