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Chapter no 9 – We Run from Four Guys in Skirts

The Red Pyramid

SO, YEAH. OUR CAT WAS A GODDESS.

What else is new?

She didnโ€™t give us much time to talk about it. She ordered me to the library to grab my dadโ€™s magic kit, and when I came back she was arguing with Sadie about Khufu and Philip.

โ€œWe have to search for them!โ€ Sadie insisted.

โ€œTheyโ€™ll be fine,โ€ said Bast. โ€œHowever, we will not be, unless we leave now.โ€

I raised my hand. โ€œUm, excuse me, Miss Goddess Lady? Amos told us the house wasโ€”โ€

โ€œSafe?โ€ Bast snorted. โ€œCarter, the defenses were too easily breached.

Someone sabotaged them.โ€

โ€œWhat do you mean? Whoโ€”โ€

โ€œOnly a magician of the House couldโ€™ve done it.โ€

โ€œAnother magician?โ€ I asked. โ€œWhy would another magician want to sabotage Amosโ€™s house?โ€

โ€œOh, Carter,โ€ Bast sighed. โ€œSo young, so innocent. Magicians are devious creatures. Could be a million reasons why one would backstab another, but we donโ€™t have time to discuss it. Now, come on!โ€

She grabbed our arms and led us out the front door. Sheโ€™d sheathed her knives, but she still had some wicked sharp claws for fingernails that hurt as they dug into my skin. As soon as we stepped outside, the cold wind stung my eyes. We climbed down a long flight of metal stairs into the industrial yard that surrounded the factory.

Dadโ€™s workbag was heavy on my shoulder. The curved sword Iโ€™d strapped across my back felt cold against my thin linen clothes. Iโ€™d started to sweat during the serpopard attack, and now my perspiration felt like it was turning to ice.

I looked around for more monsters, but the yard seemed abandoned. Old construction equipment lay in rusting heapsโ€”a bulldozer, a crane with a wrecking ball, a couple of cement mixers. Piles of sheet metal and stacks of crates made a maze of obstacles between the house and the street a few hundred yards away.

We were about halfway across the yard when an old gray tomcat stepped in our path. One of his ears was torn. His left eye was swollen shut. Judging from his scars, heโ€™d spent most of his life fighting.

Bast crouched and stared at the cat. He looked up at her calmly. โ€œThank you,โ€ Bast said.

The old tomcat trotted off toward the river. โ€œWhat was that about?โ€ Sadie asked.

โ€œOne of my subjects, offering help. Heโ€™ll spread the news about our predicament. Soon every cat in New York will be on alert.โ€

โ€œHe was so battered,โ€ Sadie said. โ€œIf heโ€™s your subject, couldnโ€™t you heal him?โ€

โ€œAnd take away his marks of honor? A catโ€™s battle scars are part of his identity. I couldnโ€™tโ€”โ€ Suddenly Bast tensed. She dragged us behind a stack of crates.

โ€œWhat is it?โ€ I whispered.

She flexed her wrists and her knives slid into her hands. She peeped over the top of the crates, every muscle in her body trembling. I tried to see what she was looking at, but there was nothing except the old wrecking-ball crane.

Bastโ€™s mouth twitched with excitement. Her eyes were fixed on the huge metal ball. Iโ€™d seen kittens look like that when they stalked catnip toy mice, or pieces of string, or rubber balls….Balls? No. Bast was an ancient goddess. Surely she wouldnโ€™tโ€”

โ€œThis could be it.โ€ She shifted her weight. โ€œStay very very still.โ€ โ€œThereโ€™s no one there,โ€ Sadie hissed.

I started to say, โ€œUm…โ€

Bast lunged over the crates. She flew thirty feet through the air, knives flashing, and landed on the wrecking ball with such force that she broke the chain. The cat goddess and the huge metal sphere smashed into the dirt and went rolling across the yard.

โ€œRowww!โ€ Bast wailed. The wrecking ball rolled straight over her, but she didnโ€™t appear hurt. She leaped off and pounced again. Her knives sliced through the metal like wet clay. Within seconds, the wrecking ball was reduced to a mound of scraps.

Bast sheathed her blades. โ€œSafe now!โ€ Sadie and I looked at each other.

โ€œYou saved us from a metal ball,โ€ Sadie said.

โ€œYou never know,โ€ Bast said. โ€œIt couldโ€™ve been hostile.โ€

Just then a deep boom! shook the ground. I looked back at the mansion.

Tendrils of blue fire curled from the top windows. โ€œCome on,โ€ Bast said. โ€œOur time is up!โ€

I thought maybe sheโ€™d whisk us off by magic, or at least hail a taxi. Instead,

Bast borrowed a silver Lexus convertible.

โ€œOh, yes,โ€ she purred. โ€œI like this one! Come along, children.โ€ โ€œBut this isnโ€™t yours,โ€ I pointed out.

โ€œMy dear, Iโ€™m a cat. Everything I see is mine.โ€ She touched the ignition and the keyhole sparked. The engine began to purr. [No, Sadie. Not like a cat, like an engine.]

โ€œBast,โ€ I said, โ€œyou canโ€™t justโ€”โ€

Sadie elbowed me. โ€œWeโ€™ll work out how to return it later, Carter. Right now weโ€™ve got an emergency.โ€

She pointed back toward the mansion. Blue flames and smoke now billowed from every window. But that wasnโ€™t the scary partโ€”coming down the stairs were four men carrying a large box, like an oversize coffin with long handles sticking out at both ends. The box was covered with a black shroud and looked big enough for at least two bodies. The four men wore only kilts and sandals. Their coppery skin glinted in the sun as if made of metal.

โ€œOh, thatโ€™s bad,โ€ Bast said. โ€œIn the car, please.โ€

I decided not to ask questions. Sadie beat me to the shotgun seat so I climbed in back. The four metallic guys with the box were racing across the yard, coming straight for us at an unbelievable speed. Before I even had my seat belt on, Bast hit the gas.

We tore through the streets of Brooklyn, weaving insanely through traffic, riding over sidewalks, narrowly missing pedestrians.

Bast drove with reflexes that were…well, catlike. Any human trying to drive so fast wouldโ€™ve had a dozen wrecks, but she got us safely onto the Williamsburg Bridge.

I thought for sure we mustโ€™ve lost our pursuers, but when I looked back, the four copper men with the black box were weaving in and out of traffic. They appeared to be jogging at a normal pace, but they passed cars that were doing fifty. Their bodies blurred like choppy images in an old movie, as if they were out of sync with the regular stream of time.

โ€œWhat are they?โ€ I asked. โ€œShabti?โ€

โ€œNo, carriers.โ€ Bast glanced in the rearview mirror. โ€œSummoned straight from the Duat. Theyโ€™ll stop at nothing to find their victims, throw them in the sedanโ€”โ€

โ€œThe what?โ€ Sadie interrupted.

โ€œThe large box,โ€ Bast said. โ€œItโ€™s a kind of carriage. The carriers capture you, beat you senseless, throw you in, and carry you back to their master. They never lose their prey, and they never give up.โ€

โ€œBut what do they want us for?โ€

โ€œTrust me,โ€ Bast growled, โ€œyou donโ€™t want to know.โ€

I thought about the fiery man last night in Phoenixโ€”how heโ€™d fried one

of his servants into a grease spot. I was pretty sure I didnโ€™t want to meet him face-to-face again.

โ€œBast,โ€ I said, โ€œif youโ€™re a goddess, canโ€™t you just snap your fingers and disintegrate those guys? Or wave your hand and teleport us away?โ€

โ€œWouldnโ€™t that be nice? But my power in this host is limited.โ€ โ€œYou mean Muffin?โ€ Sadie asked. โ€œBut youโ€™re not a cat anymore.โ€

โ€œSheโ€™s still my host, Sadie, my anchor on this side of the Duatโ€”and a very imperfect one. Your call for help allowed me to assume human shape, but that alone takes a great deal of power. Besides, even when Iโ€™m in a powerful host, Setโ€™s magic is stronger than mine.โ€

โ€œCould you please say something I actually understand?โ€ I pleaded. โ€œCarter, we donโ€™t have time for a full discussion on gods and hosts and

the limits of magic! We have to get you to safety.โ€

Bast floored the accelerator and shot up the middle of the bridge. The four carriers with the sedan raced after us, blurring the air as they moved, but no cars swerved to avoid them. No one panicked or even looked at them.

โ€œHow can people not see them?โ€ I said. โ€œDonโ€™t they notice four copper men in skirts running up the bridge with a weird black box?โ€

Bast shrugged. โ€œCats can hear many sounds you canโ€™t. Some animals see things in the ultraviolet spectrum that are invisible to humans. Magic is similar. Did you notice the mansion when you first arrived?โ€

โ€œWell…no.โ€

โ€œAnd you are born to magic,โ€ Bast said. โ€œImagine how hard it would be for a regular mortal.โ€

โ€œBorn to magic?โ€ I remembered what Amos had said about our family being in the House of Life for a long time. โ€œIf magic, like, runs in the family, why havenโ€™t I ever been able to do it before?โ€

Bast smiled in the mirror. โ€œYour sister understands.โ€

Sadieโ€™s ears turned red. โ€œNo, I donโ€™t! I still canโ€™t believe youโ€™re a goddess. All these years, youโ€™ve been eating crunchy treats, sleeping on my headโ€”โ€

โ€œI made a deal with your father,โ€ Bast said. โ€œHe let me remain in the world as long as I assumed a minor form, a normal housecat, so I could protect and watch over you. It was the least I could do afterโ€”โ€ She stopped abruptly.

A horrible thought occurred to me. My stomach fluttered, and it had nothing to do with how fast we were going. โ€œAfter our momโ€™s death?โ€ I guessed.

Bast stared straight ahead out the windshield.

โ€œThatโ€™s it, isnโ€™t it?โ€ I said. โ€œDad and Mom did some kind of magic ritual at Cleopatraโ€™s Needle. Something went wrong. Our mom died and…and they released you?โ€

โ€œThatโ€™s not important right now,โ€ Bast said. โ€œThe point is I agreed to look after Sadie. And I will.โ€

She was hiding something. I was sure of it, but her tone made it clear that the subject was closed.

โ€œIf you gods are so powerful and helpful,โ€ I said, โ€œwhy does the House of Life forbid magicians from summoning you?โ€

Bast swerved into the fast lane. โ€œMagicians are paranoid. Your best hope is to stay with me. Weโ€™ll get as far away as possible from New York. Then weโ€™ll get help and challenge Set.โ€

โ€œWhat help?โ€ Sadie asked.

Bast raised an eyebrow. โ€œWhy, weโ€™ll summon more gods, of course.โ€

โ€ŒC A R T E R

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