[Sadie, stop it! Yeah, Iโm getting to that part.] Sorry, she keeps trying to distract me by setting fire to myโnever mind. Where was I?
We barreled off the Williamsburg Bridge into Manhattan and headed north on Clinton Street.
โTheyโre still following,โ Sadie warned.
Sure enough, the carriers were only a block behind us, weaving around cars and trampling over sidewalk displays of tourist junk.
โWeโll buy some time.โ Bast growled deep in her throatโa sound so low and powerful it made my teeth buzz. She yanked the wheel and swerved right onto East Houston.
I looked back. Just as the carriers turned the corner, a horde of cats materialized all around them. Some jumped from windows. Some ran from the sidewalks and alleys. Some crawled from the storm drains. All of them converged on the carriers in a wave of fur and clawsโclimbing up their copper legs, scratching their backs, clinging to their faces, and weighing down the sedan box. The carriers stumbled, dropping the box. They began blindly swatting at the cats. Two cars swerved to avoid the animals and collided, blocking the entire street, and the carriers went down under the mass of angry felines. We turned onto the FDR Drive, and the scene disappeared from view.
โNice,โ I admitted.
โIt wonโt hold them long,โ Bast said. โNowโCentral Park!โ
Bast ditched the Lexus at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
โWeโll run from here,โ she said. โItโs just behind the museum.โ
When she said run, she meant it. Sadie and I had to sprint to keep up, and Bast wasnโt even breaking a sweat. She didnโt stop for little things like hot dog stands or parked cars. Anything under ten feet tall she leaped over with ease, leaving us to scramble around the obstacles as best we could.
We ran into the park on the East Drive. As soon as we turned north, the obelisk loomed above us. A little over seventy feet tall, it looked like an exact copy of the needle in London. It was tucked away on a grassy hill, so it actually felt isolated, which is hard to achieve in the center of New York.
There was no one around except a couple of joggers farther down the path. I could hear the traffic behind us on Fifth Avenue, but even that seemed far away.
We stopped at the obeliskโs base. Bast sniffed the air as if smelling for trouble. Once I was standing still, I realized just how cold I was. The sun was directly overhead, but the wind ripped right through my borrowed linen clothes.
โI wish Iโd grabbed something warmer,โ I muttered. โA wool coat would be nice.โ
โNo, it wouldnโt,โ Bast said, scanning the horizon. โYouโre dressed for magic.โ
Sadie shivered. โWe have to freeze to be magical?โ
โMagicians avoid animal products,โ Bast said absently. โFur, leather, wool, any of that. The residual life aura can interfere with spells.โ
โMy boots seem all right,โ Sadie noted.
โLeather,โ Bast said with distaste. โYou may have a higher tolerance, so a bit of leather wonโt bother your magic. I donโt know. But linen clothing is always best, or cottonโplant material. At any rate, Sadie, I think weโre clear for the moment. Thereโs a window of auspicious time starting right now, at eleven thirty, but it wonโt last long. Get started.โ
Sadie blinked. โMe? Why me? Youโre the goddess!โ
โIโm not good at portals,โ Bast said. โCats are protectors. Just control your emotions. Panic or fear will kill a spell. We have to get out of here before Set summons the other gods to his cause.โ
I frowned. โYou mean Setโs got, like, other evil gods on speed dial?โ
Bast glanced nervously toward the trees. โEvil and good may not be the best way to think of it, Carter. As a magician, you must think about chaos and order. Those are the two forces that control the universe. Set is all about chaos.โ
โBut what about the other gods Dad released?โ I persisted. โArenโt they good guys? Isis, Osiris, Horus, Nephthysโwhere are they?โ
Bast fixed her eyes on me. โThatโs a good question, Carter.โ
A Siamese cat broke through the bushes and ran up to Bast. They looked at each other for a moment. Then the Siamese dashed away.
โThe carriers are close,โ Bast announced. โAnd something else…something much stronger, closing in from the east. I think the carriersโ master has grown impatient.โ
My heart did a flip. โSet is coming?โ
โNo,โ Bast said. โPerhaps a minion. Or an ally. My cats are having trouble describing what theyโre seeing, and I donโt want to find out. Sadie, now is the time. Just concentrate on opening a gateway to the Duat. Iโll keep off the attackers. Combat magic is my specialty.โ
โLike what you did in the mansion?โ I asked.
Bast showed her pointed teeth. โNo, that was just combat.โ
The woods rustled, and the carriers emerged. Their sedan chairโs shroud had been shredded by cat claws. The carriers themselves were scratched and dented. One walked with a limp, his leg bent backward at the knee. Another had a car fender wrapped around his neck.
The four metal men carefully set down their sedan chair. They looked at us and drew golden metal clubs from their belts.
โSadie, get to work,โ Bast ordered. โCarter, youโre welcome to help me.โ The cat goddess unsheathed her knives. Her body began to glow with a green hue. An aura surrounded her, growing larger, like a bubble of energy, and lifting her off the ground. The aura took shape until Bast was encased in a holographic projection about four times her normal size. It was an image of the goddess in her ancient formโa twenty-foot-tall woman with the head of a cat. Floating in midair in the center of the hologram, Bast stepped forward. The giant cat goddess moved with her. It didnโt seem possible that a see- through image could have substance, but its foot shook the ground. Bast raised her hand. The glowing green warrior did the same, unsheathing claws as long and sharp as rapiers. Bast swiped the sidewalk in front of her and shredded the pavement to concrete ribbons. She turned and smiled at me. The giant catโs head did likewise, baring horrible fangs that couldโve bitten me in
half.
โThis,โ Bast said, โis combat magic.โ
At first I was too stunned to do anything but watch as Bast launched her green war machine into the middle of the carriers.
She slashed one carrier to pieces with a single swipe, then stepped on another and flattened him into a metal pancake. The other two carriers attacked her holographic legs, but their metal clubs bounced harmlessly off the ghostly light with showers of sparks.
Meanwhile Sadie stood in front of the obelisk with her arms raised, shouting: โOpen, you stupid piece of rock!โ
Finally I drew my sword. My hands were shaking. I didnโt want to charge into battle, but I felt like I should help. And if I had to fight, I figured having a twenty-foot-tall glowing cat warrior on my side was the way to do it. โSadie, IโIโm going to help Bast. Keep trying!โ
โI am!โ
I ran forward just as Bast sliced the other two carriers apart like loaves of bread. With relief, I thought: Well, thatโs it.
Then all four carriers began to re-form. The flat one peeled himself off the pavement. The sliced onesโ pieces clicked together like magnets, and the carriers stood up good as new.
โCarter, help me hack them apart!โ Bast called. โThey need to be in
smaller pieces!โ
I tried to stay out of Bastโs way as she sliced and stomped. Then as soon as she disabled a carrier, I went to work chopping its remains into smaller pieces. They seemed more like Play-Doh than metal, because my blade mashed them up pretty easily.
Another few minutes and I was surrounded by piles of coppery rubble.
Bast made a glowing fist and smashed the sedan into kindling. โThat wasnโt so hard,โ I said. โWhat were we running for?โ
Inside her glowing shell, Bastโs face was coated with sweat. It hadnโt occurred to me that a goddess could get tired, but her magic avatar mustโve taken a lot of effort.
โWeโre not safe yet,โ she warned. โSadie, howโs it coming?โ โItโs not,โ Sadie complained. โIsnโt there another way?โ
Before Bast could answer, the bushes rustled with a new soundโlike rain, except more slithery.
A chill ran up my back. โWhat…what is that?โ โNo,โ Bast murmured. โIt canโt be. Not her.โ
Then the bushes exploded. A thousand brown creepy-crawlies poured from the woods in a carpet of grossnessโall pincers and stinging tails.
I wanted to yell, โScorpions!โ But my voice wouldnโt work. My legs started trembling. I hate scorpions. Theyโre everywhere in Egypt. Many times Iโd found them in my hotel bed or shower. Once Iโd even found one in my sock.
โSadie!โ Bast called urgently. โNothing!โ Sadie moaned.
The scorpions kept comingโthousands upon thousands. Out of the woods a woman appeared, walking fearlessly through the middle of the arachnids. She wore brown robes with gold jewelry glinting around her neck and arms. Her long black hair was cut Ancient Egyptianโstyle with a strange crown on top. Then I realized it wasnโt a crownโshe had a live, supersize scorpion nesting on her head. Millions of the little nasties swirled around her like she was the center of their storm.
โSerqet,โ Bast growled.
โThe scorpion goddess,โ I guessed. Maybe that shouldโve terrified me, but I was already pretty much at my maximum. โCan you take her?โ
Bastโs expression didnโt reassure me.
โCarter, Sadie,โ she said, โthis is going to get ugly. Get to the museum.
Find the temple. It may protect you.โ โWhat temple?โ I asked.
โAnd what about you?โ Sadie added.
โIโll be fine. Iโll catch up.โ But when Bast looked at me, I could tell she wasnโt sure. She was just buying us time.
โGo!โ she ordered. She turned her giant green cat warrior to face the mass of scorpions.
Embarrassing truth? In the face of those scorpions, I didnโt even pretend to be brave. I grabbed Sadieโs arm and we ran.