ITโS CARTER AGAIN. SORRY.ย We had to turn off the tape for a while because we were being followed byโwell, weโll get to that later.
Sadie was telling you how we left London, right?
So anyway, we followed Amos down to the weird boat docked at the quayside. I cradled Dadโs workbag under my arm. I still couldnโt believe he was gone. I felt guilty leaving London without him, but I believed Amos about one thing: right now Dad was beyond our help. I didnโt trust Amos, but I figured if I wanted to find out what had happened to Dad, I was going to have to go along with him. He was the only one who seemed to know anything.
Amos stepped aboard the reed boat. Sadie jumped right on, but I hesitated. Iโd seen boats like this on the Nile before, and they never seemed very sturdy.
It was basically woven together from coils of plant fiberโlike a giant floating rug. I figured the torches at the front couldnโt be a good idea, because if we didnโt sink, weโd burn. At the back, the tiller was manned by a little guy wearing Amosโs black trench coat and hat. The hat was shoved down on his head so I couldnโt see his face. His hands and feet were lost in the folds of the coat.
โHow does this thing move?โ I asked Amos. โYouโve got no sail.โ โTrust me.โ Amos offered me a hand.
The night was cold, but when I stepped on board I suddenly felt warmer, as if the torchlight were casting a protective glow over us. In the middle of the boat was a hut made from woven mats. From Sadieโs arms, Muffin sniffed at it and growled.
โTake a seat inside,โ Amos suggested. โThe trip might be a little rough.โ โIโll stand, thanks.โ Sadie nodded at the little guy in back. โWhoโs your
driver?โ
Amos acted as if he hadnโt heard the question. โHang on, everyone!โ He nodded to the steersman, and the boat lurched forward.
The feeling was hard to describe. You know that tingle in the pit of your stomach when youโre on a roller coaster and it goes into free fall? It was kind of like that, except we werenโt falling, and the feeling didnโt go away. The
boat moved with astounding speed. The lights of the city blurred, then were swallowed in a thick fog. Strange sounds echoed in the dark: slithering and hissing, distant screams, voices whispering in languages I didnโt understand.
The tingling turned to nausea. The sounds got louder, until I was about to scream myself. Then suddenly the boat slowed. The noises stopped, and the fog dissipated. City lights came back, brighter than before.
Above us loomed a bridge, much taller than any bridge in London. My stomach did a slow roll. To the left, I saw a familiar skylineโthe Chrysler Building, the Empire State Building.
โImpossible,โ I said. โThatโs New York.โ
Sadie looked as green as I felt. She was still cradling Muffin, whose eyes were closed. The cat seemed to be purring. โIt canโt be,โ Sadie said. โWe only traveled a few minutes.โ
And yet here we were, sailing up the East River, right under the Williamsburg Bridge. We glided to a stop next to a small dock on the Brooklyn side of the river. In front of us was an industrial yard filled with piles of scrap metal and old construction equipment. In the center of it all, right at the waterโs edge, rose a huge factory warehouse heavily painted with graffiti, the windows boarded up.
โThat is not a mansion,โ Sadie said. Her powers of perception are really amazing.
โLook again.โ Amos pointed to the top of the building.
โHow…how did you…โ My voice failed me. I wasnโt sure why I hadnโt seen it before, but now it was obvious: a five-story mansion perched on the roof of the warehouse, like another layer of a cake. โYou couldnโt build a mansion up there!โ
โLong story,โ Amos said. โBut we needed a private location.โ
โAnd is this the east shore?โ Sadie asked. โYou said something about that in Londonโmy grandparents living on the east shore.โ
Amos smiled. โYes. Very good, Sadie. In ancient times, the east bank of the Nile was always the side of the living, the side where the sun rises. The dead were buried west of the river. It was considered bad luck, even dangerous, to live there. The tradition is still strong among…our people.โ
โOur people?โ I asked, but Sadie muscled in with another question. โSo you canโt live in Manhattan?โ she asked.
Amosโs brow furrowed as he looked across at the Empire State Building. โManhattan has other problems. Other gods. Itโs best we stay separate.โ
โOther what?โ Sadie demanded.
โNothing.โ Amos walked past us to the steersman. He plucked off the manโs hat and coatโand there was no one underneath. The steersman simply wasnโt there. Amos put on his fedora, folded his coat over his arm, then waved toward a metal staircase that wound all the way up the side of the
warehouse to the mansion on the roof.
โAll ashore,โ he said. โAnd welcome to the Twenty-first Nome.โ
โGnome?โ I asked, as we followed him up the stairs. โLike those little runty guys?โ
โHeavens, no,โ Amos said. โI hate gnomes. They smell horrible.โ โBut you saidโโ
โNome, n-o-m-e. As in a district, a region. The term is from ancient times, when Egypt was divided into forty-two provinces. Today, the system is a little different. Weโve gone global. The world is divided into three hundred and sixty nomes. Egypt, of course, is the First. Greater New York is the Twenty-first.โ
Sadie glanced at me and twirled her finger around her temple.
โNo, Sadie,โ Amos said without looking back. โIโm not crazy. Thereโs much you need to learn.โ
We reached the top of the stairs. Looking up at the mansion, it was hard to understand what I was seeing. The house was at least fifty feet tall, built of enormous limestone blocks and steel-framed windows. There were hieroglyphs engraved around the windows, and the walls were lit up so the place looked like a cross between a modern museum and an ancient temple. But the weirdest thing was that if I glanced away, the whole building seemed to disappear. I tried it several times just to be sure. If I looked for the mansion from the corner of my eye, it wasnโt there. I had to force my eyes to refocus on it, and even that took a lot of willpower.
Amos stopped before the entrance, which was the size of a garage door
โa dark heavy square of timber with no visible handle or lock. โCarter, after you.โ
โUm, how do Iโโ โHow do you think?โ
Great, another mystery. I was about to suggest we ram Amosโs head against it and see if that worked. Then I looked at the door again, and I had the strangest feeling. I stretched out my arm. Slowly, without touching the door, I raised my hand and the door followed my movementโsliding upward until it disappeared into the ceiling.
Sadie looked stunned. โHow…โ
โI donโt know,โ I admitted, a little embarrassed. โMotion sensor, maybe?โ
โInteresting.โ Amos sounded a little troubled. โNot the way I wouldโve done it, but very good. Remarkably good.โ
โThanks, I think.โ
Sadie tried to go inside first, but as soon as she stepped on the threshold, Muffin wailed and almost clawed her way out of Sadieโs arms.
Sadie stumbled backward. โWhat was that about, cat?โ
โOh, of course,โ Amos said. โMy apologies.โ He put his hand on the catโs head and said, very formally, โYou may enter.โ
โThe cat needs permission?โ I asked.
โSpecial circumstances,โ Amos said, which wasnโt much of an explanation, but he walked inside without saying another word. We followed, and this time Muffin stayed quiet.
โOh my god…โ Sadieโs jaw dropped. She craned her neck to look at the ceiling, and I thought the gum might fall out of her mouth.
โYes,โ Amos said. โThis is the Great Room.โ
I could see why he called it that. The cedar-beamed ceiling was four stories high, held up by carved stone pillars engraved with hieroglyphs. A weird assortment of musical instruments and Ancient Egyptian weapons decorated the walls. Three levels of balconies ringed the room, with rows of doors all looking out on the main area. The fireplace was big enough to park a car in, with a plasma-screen TV above the mantel and massive leather sofas on either side. On the floor was a snakeskin rug, except it was forty feet long and fifteen feet wideโbigger than any snake. Outside, through glass walls, I could see the terrace that wrapped around the house. It had a swimming pool, a dining area, and a blazing fire pit. And at the far end of the Great Room was a set of double doors marked with the Eye of Horus, and chained with half a dozen padlocks. I wondered what could possibly be behind them.
But the real showstopper was the statue in the center of the Great Room. It was thirty feet tall, made of black marble. I could tell it was of an Egyptian god because the figure had a human body and an animalโs headโlike a stork or a crane, with a long neck and a really long beak.
The god was dressed ancient-style in a kilt, sash, and neck collar. He held a scribeโs stylus in one hand, and an open scroll in the other, as if he had just written the hieroglyphs inscribed there: an ankhโthe Egyptian looped crossโwith a rectangle traced around its top.
โThatโs it!โ Sadie exclaimed. โPer Ankh.โ
I stared at her in disbelief. โAll right, how you can read that?โ
โI donโt know,โ she said. โBut itโs obvious, isnโt it? The top one is shaped like the floor plan of a house.โ
โHow did you get that? Itโs just a box.โ The thing was, she was right. I recognized the symbol, and it was supposed to be a simplified picture of a house with a doorway, but that wouldnโt be obvious to most people, especially people named Sadie. Yet she looked absolutely positive.
โItโs a house,โ she insisted. โAnd the bottom picture is the ankh, the symbol for life. Per Ankhโthe House of Life.โ
โVery good, Sadie.โ Amos looked impressed. โAnd this is a statue of the only god still allowed in the House of Lifeโat least, normally. Do you recognize him, Carter?โ
Just then it clicked: the bird was an ibis, an Egyptian river bird. โThoth,โ I said. โThe god of knowledge. He invented writing.โ
โIndeed,โ Amos said.
โWhy the animal heads?โ Sadie asked. โAll those Egyptian gods have animal heads. They look so silly.โ
โThey donโt normally appear that way,โ Amos said. โNot in real life.โ โReal life?โ I asked. โCome on. You sound like youโve met them in
person.โ
Amosโs expression didnโt reassure me. He looked as if he were remembering something unpleasant. โThe gods could appear in many forms
โusually fully human or fully animal, but occasionally as a hybrid form like this. They are primal forces, you understand, a sort of bridge between humanity and nature. They are depicted with animal heads to show that they exist in two different worlds at once. Do you understand?โ
โNot even a little,โ Sadie said.
โMmm.โ Amos didnโt sound surprised. โYes, we have much training to do. At any rate, the god before you, Thoth, founded the House of Life, for which this mansion is the regional headquarters. Or at least…it used to be. Iโm the only member left in the Twenty-first Nome. Or I was, until you two came along.โ
โHang on.โ I had so many questions I could hardly think where to start. โWhat is the House of Life? Why is Thoth the only god allowed here, and why are youโโ
โCarter, I understand how you feel.โ Amos smiled sympathetically. โBut these things are better discussed in daylight. You need to get some sleep, and I donโt want you to have nightmares.โ
โYou think I can sleep?โ
โMrow.โ Muffin stretched in Sadieโs arms and let loose a huge yawn. Amos clapped his hands. โKhufu!โ
I thought heโd sneezed, because Khufu is a weird name, but then a little dude about three feet tall with gold fur and a purple shirt came clambering down the stairs. It took me a second to realize it was a baboon wearing an
L.A. Lakers jersey.
The baboon did a flip and landed in front of us. He showed off his fangs and made a sound that was half roar, half belch. His breath smelled like nacho-flavored Doritos.
All I could think to say was, โThe Lakers are my home team!โ
The baboon slapped his head with both hands and belched again. โOh, Khufu likes you,โ Amos said. โYouโll get along famously.โ
โRight.โ Sadie looked dazed. โYouโve got a monkey butler. Why not?โ Muffin purred in Sadieโs arms as if the baboon didnโt bother her at all. โAgh!โ Khufu grunted at me.
Amos chuckled. โHe wants to go one-on-one with you, Carter. To, ah, see your game.โ
I shifted from foot to foot. โUm, yeah. Sure. Maybe tomorrow. But how can you understandโโ
โCarter, Iโm afraid youโll have a lot to get used to,โ Amos said. โBut if youโre going to survive and save your father, you have to get some rest.โ
โSorry,โ Sadie said, โdid you say โsurvive and save our fatherโ? Could you expand on that?โ
โTomorrow,โ Amos said. โWeโll begin your orientation in the morning.
Khufu, show them to their rooms, please.โ
โAgh-uhh!โ the baboon grunted. He turned and waddled up the stairs. Unfortunately, the Lakers jersey didnโt completely cover his multicolored rear.
We were about to follow when Amos said, โCarter, the workbag, please.
Itโs best if I lock it in the library.โ
I hesitated. Iโd almost forgotten the bag on my shoulder, but it was all I had left of my father. I didnโt even have our luggage because it was still locked up at the British Museum. Honestly, Iโd been surprised that the police hadnโt taken the workbag too, but none of them seemed to notice it.
โYouโll get it back,โ Amos promised. โWhen the time is right.โ
He asked nicely enough, but something in his eyes told me that I really didnโt have a choice.
I handed over the bag. Amos took it gingerly, as if it were full of explosives.
โSee you in the morning.โ He turned and strode toward the chained-up doors. They unlatched themselves and opened just enough for Amos to slip through without showing us anything on the other side. Then the chains locked again behind him.
I looked at Sadie, unsure what to do. Staying by ourselves in the Great Room with the creepy statue of Thoth didnโt seem like much fun, so we followed Khufu up the stairs.
Sadie and I got adjoining rooms on the third floor, and Iโve got to admit, they were way cooler than any place Iโd ever stayed before.
I had my own kitchenette, fully stocked with my favorite snacks: ginger aleโ[No, Sadie. Itโs not an old personโs soda! Be quiet!]โTwix, and Skittles. It seemed impossible. How did Amos know what I liked? The TV, computer,
and stereo system were totally high-tech. The bathroom was stocked with my regular brand of toothpaste, deodorant, everything. The king-size bed was awesome, too, though the pillow was a little strange. Instead of a cloth pillow, it was an ivory headrest like Iโd seen in Egyptian tombs. It was decorated with lions and (of course) more hieroglyphs.
The room even had a deck that looked out on New York Harbor, with views of Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty in the distance, but the sliding glass doors were locked shut somehow. That was my first indication that something was wrong.
I turned to look for Khufu, but he was gone. The door to my room was shut. I tried to open it, but it was locked.
A muffled voice came from the next room. โCarter?โ
โSadie.โ I tried the door to her adjoining room, but it was locked too. โWeโre prisoners,โ she said. โDo you think Amos…I mean, can we trust
him?โ
After all Iโd seen today, I didnโt trust anything, but I could hear the fear in Sadieโs voice. It triggered an unfamiliar feeling in me, like I needed to reassure her. The idea seemed ridiculous. Sadie had always seemed so much braver than meโdoing what she wanted, never caring about the consequences. I was the one who got scared. But right now, I felt like I needed to play a role I hadnโt played in a long, long time: big brother.
โItโll be okay.โ I tried to sound confident. โLook, if Amos wanted to hurt us, he couldโve done it by now. Try to get some sleep.โ
โCarter?โ
โYeah?โ
โIt was magic, wasnโt it? What happened to Dad at the museum. Amosโs boat. This house. All of itโs magic.โ
โI think so.โ
I could hear her sigh. โGood. At least Iโm not going mad.โ
โDonโt let the bedbugs bite,โ I called. And I realized I hadnโt said that to Sadie since we had lived together in Los Angeles, when Mom was still alive.
โI miss Dad,โ she said. โI hardly ever saw him, I know, but…I miss him.โ
My eyes got a little teary, but I took a deep breath. I was not going to go all weak. Sadie needed me. Dad needed us.
โWeโll find him,โ I told her. โPleasant dreams.โ
I listened, but the only thing I heard was Muffin meowing and scampering around, exploring her new space. At least she didnโt seem unhappy.
I got ready for bed and crawled in. The covers were comfortable and warm, but the pillow was just too weird. It gave me neck cramps, so I put it on the floor and went to sleep without it.
My first big mistake.