The Serpents Shadow
Page 32
I couldn’t hear the words, but I reckoned it was a similar speech to the one Carter had delivered to the House of Life.
“He’s doing the same thing I did,” Carter protested. “I bet he even stole my speech. That copycat!”
Bast clucked disapprovingly. “No need to call names, Carter. Cats are not copiers. We are all unique. But, yes, what you do as pharaoh in the mortal world will often be mirrored in the world of the gods. Horus and you, after all, rule the forces of Egypt.”
“That,” I said, “is a truly scary thought.”
Carter swatted me lightly on the arm. “I just can’t believe that Horus left without even a good-bye. It’s as if he tossed me aside as soon as he was done using me, and then forgot about me.”
“Oh, no,” Bast said. “Gods wouldn’t do that. He simply had to leave.”
But I wondered. Gods were rather selfish creatures, even those who weren’t cats. Isis hadn’t given me a proper good-bye or thank-you either.
“Bast, you’re coming with us, aren’t you?” I pleaded. “I mean, this silly exile can’t apply to you! We need our nap instructor at Brooklyn House.”
Bast wadded up her ball of yarn and tossed it down the steps. Her expression was quite sad for a feline. “Oh, my kittens. If I could, I would pick you up by the scruffs of your necks and carry you forever. But you’ve grown. Your claws are sharp, your eyesight is keen, and cats must make their own way in the world. I must say farewell for now, though I’m sure we’ll meet again.”
I wanted to protest that I hadn’t grown up and I didn’t even have claws.
(Carter disagrees, but what does he know?)
But part of me knew Bast was right. We’d been lucky to have her with us for so long. Now we had to be adult cats—er, humans.
“Oh, Muffin…” I hugged her fiercely, and could feel her purring.
She ruffled my hair. Then she rubbed Carter’s ears, which was quite funny.
“Go on, now,” she said. “Before I start to mewl. Besides…” She fixed her eyes on the ball of yarn, which had rolled to the bottom of the steps. She crouched and tensed her shoulders. “I have some hunting to do.”
“We’ll miss you, Bast,” I said, trying not to cry. “Good hunting.”
“Yarn,” she said absently, creeping down the steps. “Dangerous prey, yarn…”
Carter and I stepped through the portal. This time it deposited us onto the roof of Brooklyn House.
We had one more surprise. Standing by Freak’s roost, Walt was waiting. He smiled when he saw me, and my legs felt wobbly.
“I’ll, um, be inside,” Carter said.
Walt walked over, and I tried to remember how to breathe.
S A D I E
22. The Last Waltz (for Now)
HE’D CHANGED HIS LOOK AGAIN.
His amulets were gone except for one—the shen that matched mine. He wore a black muscle shirt, black jeans, a black leather duster, and black combat boots—a sort of mix of Anubis’s and Walt’s styles, but it made him look like someone entirely different and new. Yet his eyes were quite familiar—warm, dark brown, and lovely. When he smiled, my heart fluttered as it always had.
“So,” I said, “is this another good-bye? I’ve had quite enough good-byes today.”
“Actually,” Walt said, “it’s more of a hello. My name’s Walt Stone, from Seattle. I’d like to join the party.”
He held out his hand, still smiling slyly. He was repeating exactly what he’d said the first time we met, when he arrived at Brooklyn House last spring.
Instead of taking his hand, I punched him in the chest.
“Ow,” he complained. But I doubt that I’d hurt him. He had quite a solid chest.
“You think you can just merge with a god and surprise me like that?” I demanded. “Oh, by the way, I’m actually two minds in one body. I don’t appreciate being taken off guard.”
“I did try to tell you,” he said. “Several times. Anubis did too. We kept getting interrupted. Mostly by you talking a lot.”
“No excuse.” I folded my arms and scowled as best I could. “My mum seems to think I should go easy on you because this is all very new to you. But I’m still cross. It’s confusing enough, you know, liking someone, without their morphing into a god whom I also like.”
“So you do like me.”
“Stop trying to distract me! Are you truly asking to stay here?”
Walt nodded. He was very close now. He smelled good, like vanilla candles. I tried to remember if that was Walt’s scent or Anubis’s. Honestly, I couldn’t recall.
“I’ve still got a lot to learn,” he said. “I don’t need to stick with charm-making anymore. I can do more intensive magic—the path of Anubis. No one’s ever done that before.”
“Discovering new magical ways to annoy me?”
He tilted his head. “I could do amazing tricks with mummy linen. For instance, if someone talks too much, I could summon a gag—”
“Don’t you dare!”
He took my hand. I gave him a defiant scowl, but I didn’t take back my hand.
“I’m still Walt,” he said. “I’m still mortal. Anubis can stay in this world as long as I’m his host. I’m hoping to live a good long life. Neither of us ever thought that was possible. So I’m not going anywhere, unless you want me to leave.”
My eyes probably answered for me: No, please. Not ever. But I couldn’t very well give him the satisfaction of my saying that out loud, could I? Boys can get so full of themselves.
“Well,” I grumbled, “I suppose I could tolerate it.”
“I owe you a dance.” Walt put his other hand on my waist—a traditional pose, very old-fashioned, as Anubis had done when we waltzed at the Brooklyn Academy. My Gran would’ve approved.
“May I?” he asked.
“Here?” I said. “Won’t your chaperone Shu interrupt?”
“Like I said, I’m mortal now. He’ll let us dance, though I’m sure he’s keeping an eye on us to make sure we behave.”
“To make sure you behave,” I snipped. “I’m a proper young lady.”
Walt laughed. I supposed it was funny. Proper wasn’t the first word normally used to describe me.
I pounded his chest again, though I’ll admit not very hard. I put my hand on his shoulder.
“I’ll have you remember,” I warned, “that my father is your employer in the Underworld. You’d best mind your manners.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Walt said. He leaned down and kissed me. All my anger melted into my shoes.
We started to dance. There was no music, no ghostly dancers, no floating on air—nothing magic about it. Freak watched us curiously, no doubt wondering how this activity was going to produce turkeys to feed the griffin. The old tar roof creaked under our feet. I was still quite tired from our long battle, and I hadn’t cleaned up properly. No doubt I looked horrid. I wanted to melt into Walt’s arms, which is basically what I did.
“So you’ll let me stick around?” he asked, his breath warm on my scalp. “Let me experience a typical teenage life?”
“I suppose.” I looked up at him. It took no effort at all to slip my vision into the Duat and see Anubis there, just under the surface. But it really wasn’t necessary. This was a new boy in front of me, and he was everything I liked. “Not that I’m an expert myself, but there is one rule I insist on.”
“Yes?”
“If anyone asks you if you’re taken,” I said, “the answer is yes.”
“I think I can live with that,” he promised.
“Good,” I said. “Because you don’t want to see me be cross.”
“Too late.”
“Shut up and dance, Walt.”
We did—with the music of a psychotic griffin screaming behind us, and the sirens and horns of Brooklyn wailing below. It was quite romantic.
So there you have it.
We’ve returned to Brooklyn House. The various catastrophes plaguing the world have lessened—at least somewhat—and w
e are dealing with an influx of new initiates as the school year gets properly under way.
It should be obvious now why this may be our last recording. We’re going to be so busy training and attending school and living our lives, I doubt we’ll have time or reason to send out any more audio pleas for help.
We’ll put this tape in a secure box and send it along to the chap who’s been transcribing our adventures. Carter seems to think the postal service will do, but I think I’ll give it to Khufu to carry through the Duat. What could possibly go wrong?
As for us, don’t think our lives will be all fun and games. Amos couldn’t leave a mob of teens unsupervised, and as we don’t have Bast anymore, Amos has sent a few adult magicians to Brooklyn House as teachers (read: chaperones). But we all know who’s really in charge—me. Oh, yes, and perhaps Carter a little bit.
We’re not done with trouble, either. I’m still worried about that murderous ghost Setne, who’s on the loose in the world with his devious mind, horrible fashion sense, and the Book of Thoth. I’m also puzzling over my mother’s comments about rival magic and other gods. No idea what that means, but it doesn’t sound good.
In the meantime, there are still hotspots of evil magic and demon activity all over the world that we have to take care of. We’ve even got reports of unexplainable magic as close as Long Island. Probably have to check that out.
But for now, I plan on enjoying my life, annoying my brother as much as possible, and making Walt into a proper boyfriend while keeping the other girls away from him—most likely with a flamethrower. My work is never done.
As for you lot out there, listening to this recording—we’re never too busy for new initiates. If you have the blood of the pharaohs, what are you waiting for? Don’t let your magic go to waste. Brooklyn House is open for business.
GLOSSARY
Commands used by Carter, Sadie, and others
Drowah “Boundary”
Fah “Release”
Ha-di “Destroy”
Hapi, u-ha ey pwah “Hapi, arise and attack”
Ha-tep “Be at peace”
Ha-wi “Strike”
Hi-nehm “Join together”
Isfet “Chaos”
Ma’at “Restore order”
Maw “Water”
Med-wah “Speak”
N’dah “Protect”
Sa-hei “Bring down”
Se-kebeb “Make cold”
Tas “Bind”
Other Egyptian Terms
Ankh: a hieroglyphic symbol for life
Ba: one of the five parts of the soul: the personality
Barque: the pharaoh’s boat
Canopic jar: vessel used to store mummy’s organs
Criosphinx: a creature with a body of a lion and head of a ram
Duat: magical realm that coexists with our world
Hieroglyphics: the writing system of Ancient Egypt, which used symbols or pictures to denote objects, concepts, or sounds
Ib: one of the five parts of the soul: the heart
Isfet: the symbol for total Chaos
Ka: one of the five parts of the soul: the life force
Khopesh: a sword with a hook-shaped blade
Ma’at: order of the universe
Netjeri blade: a knife made from meteoric iron for the opening of the mouth in a ceremony
Per Ankh: the House of Life
Pharaoh: a ruler of Ancient Egypt
Rekhet: healer
Ren: one of the five parts of the soul: the secret name; identity
Sarcophagus: a stone coffin, often decorated with sculpture and inscriptions
Sau: a charm maker
Scarab: beetle
Shabti: a magical figurine made out of clay
Shen: eternal; eternity
Sheut: one of the five parts of the soul: the shadow; can also mean statue
Sistrum: bronze noisemaker
Tjesu heru: a snake with two heads—one on its tail—and dragon legs
Tyet: the symbol of Isis
Was: power; staff
EGYPTIAN GODS AND GODDESSES MENTIONED IN THE SERPENT’S SHADOW
Anubis: the god of funerals and death
Apophis: the god of Chaos
Babi: the baboon god
Bast: the cat goddess
Bes: the dwarf god
Disturber: a god of judgment who works for Osiris
Geb: the earth god
Gengen-Wer: the goose god
Hapi: the god of the Nile
Heket: the frog goddess
Horus: the war god, son of Isis and Osiris
Isis: the goddess of magic, wife of her brother Osiris and mother of Horus
Khepri: the scarab god, Ra’s aspect in the morning
Khonsu: the moon god
Mekhit: minor lion goddess, married to Onuris
Neith: the hunting goddess
Nekhbet: the vulture goddess
Nut: the sky goddess
Osiris: the god of the Underworld, husband of Isis and father of Horus
Ra: the sun god, the god of order. Also known as Amun-Ra.
Sekhmet: the lion goddess
Serqet: the scorpion goddess
Set: the god of evil
Shu: the air god, great-grandfather of Anubis
Sobek: the crocodile god
Tawaret: the hippo goddess
Thoth: the god of knowledge