The Serpents Shadow Read online

  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