The Kane: The Serpent's Shadow Part 18

"Dad!" I shrieked. "He's right! We do need him."

My father turned toward me. I could practically see the grief and rage roiling inside him. He'd lost his wife again. He was powerless to a.s.sist his brother. A battle for the end of the world was about to begin, and his children were on the front line. Dad needed to serve justice on this ghost magician. He needed to feel that he could do something right.

"Dad, please, listen," I said. "I know it's dangerous. I know you'll hate this. But we came here because of Setne. What we told you earlier about our plan-Setne's got the knowledge we need."

"Sadie's right," Carter said. "Please, Dad. You asked how you could help. Give us custody of Setne. He's the key to defeating Apophis."

At the sound of that name, a cold wind blew through the courtroom. The braziers sputtered. Ammit whimpered and put his paws over his snout. Even the guillotine demons shuffled nervously.

"No," Dad said. "Absolutely not. Setne is influencing you with his magic. He is a servant of Chaos."

"My lord," Setne said, his tone suddenly soft and respectful, "I'm a lot of things, but a servant of the snake? No. I don't want the world destroyed. There's nothing in that for me. Listen to the girl. Let her tell you her plan."

The words worked their way into my mind. I realized Setne was using magic, commanding me to speak. I steeled myself against the urge. Sadly, Setne was ordering me to do something I loved-talk. It all came spilling out: How we'd tried to save the Book of Overcoming Apophis in Dallas, how Setne had spoken with me there, how we'd found the shadow box and struck on the idea of using the sheut. I explained my hopes to revive Bes and destroy Apophis.

"It's impossible," Dad said. "Even if it wasn't, Setne can't be trusted. I would never release him, especially not to my children. He'd kill you at the first opportunity!"

"Dad," Carter said, "we're not children anymore. We can do this."

The agony in my father's face was hard to bear. I forced back my tears and approached the throne.

"Dad, I know you love us." I gripped his hand. "I know you want to protect us, but you risked everything to give us a chance at saving the world. Now it's time we did that. This is the only way."

"She's right." Setne managed to sound regretful, as if he were sorry he might get a reprieve. "Also, my lord, it's the only way to save the spirits of the dead before the shadow of Apophis destroys them all-including your wife."

My father's face turned from sky blue to deep indigo. He gripped the throne like he wanted to tear off the armrests.

I thought Setne had gone too far.

Then my father's hands relaxed. The anger in his eyes changed to desperation and hunger.

"Guards," he said, "give the prisoner the Feather of Truth. He will hold it while he explains himself. If he lies, he will perish in flames."

One of the guillotine demons plucked the feather from the scales of justice. Setne looked unconcerned as the glowing plume was placed in his hands.

"Right!" he began. "So your kids are correct. I did create a shadow execration spell. In theory, it could be used to destroy a G.o.d-or even Apophis. I never tried. Unfortunately, it can only be cast by a living magician. I died before I could test it. Not that I wanted to kill any G.o.ds, my lord. I was just thinking I'd use it to blackmail them into doing my bidding."

"Blackmail...the G.o.ds," Dad growled.

Setne smiled guiltily. "This was back in my misguided youth. Anyway, I recorded the formula in several copies of the Book of Overcoming Apophis."

Walt grunted. "Which have all been destroyed."

"Okay," Setne said, "but my original notes would still be in the margins of the Book of Thoth that I...that I stole. See? Being honest. I guarantee you even Apophis hasn't found that book. I hid it too well. I can show you where it is. The book will explain how to find the shadow of Apophis, how to capture it, and how to cast the execration."

"Can't you just tell us how?" Carter asked.

Setne pouted. "Young master, I'd love to. But I don't have the whole book memorized. And it's been millennia since I wrote that spell. If I told you one wrong word in the incantation, well...we wouldn't want any mistakes. But I can lead you to the book. Once we get it-"

"We?" Zia asked. "Why can't you just give us directions to the book? Why do you need to come along?"

The ghost grinned. "Because, doll, I'm the only one who can retrieve it. Traps, curses...you know. Besides, you'll need my help deciphering the notes. The spell is complicated! But don't worry. All you gotta do is keep these Ribbons of Hathor on me. It's Zia, right? You've got experience using them."

"How did you know-?"

"If I cause you any trouble," Setne continued, "you can tie me up good like a Harvest Day present. But I won't try to escape-at least not until I lead you to the Book of Thoth and then get you safely to the shadow of Apophis. n.o.body knows the deepest levels of the Duat like I do. I'm your best hope for a guide."

The Feather of Truth didn't react. Setne didn't go up in flames, so I guessed he wasn't lying.

"Four of us," Carter said. "One of him."

"Except he killed his guards last time," Walt pointed out.

"So we'll be more careful," Carter said. "All of us together should be able to keep him under control."

Setne winced. "Oh, except...see, Sadie's got her little side task, doesn't she? She's gotta find the shadow of Bes. And actually, it's a good idea."

I blinked. "It is?"

"Absolutely, doll," Setne said. "We don't have much time. More specifically, your friend Walt there doesn't have much time."

I wanted to kill the ghost, except he was already dead. I suddenly hated that smug smile.

I gritted my teeth. "Go on."

"Walt Stone-sorry, pal, but you won't survive long enough to get the Book of Thoth, travel to the shadow of Apophis, and use the spell. There just isn't time left on your clock. But getting Bes's shadow-that won't take as long. It'll be a good test of the magic. If it works, great! If it doesn't...well, we've only lost one dwarf G.o.d."

I wanted to stomp his face, but he gestured for patience.

"What I'm thinking," he said, "is we split up. Carter and Zia, you two go with me to get the Book of Thoth. Meanwhile, Sadie takes Walt to the ruins of Sais to find the dwarf's shadow. I'll give you some notes on how to capture it, but the spell is just theory. In practice, you'll need Walt's charm-making skill to pull it off. He'll have to improvise if anything goes wrong. If Walt succeeds, then Sadie will know how to capture a shadow. If Walt dies afterward-and I'm sorry, but casting a spell like that will probably do him in-then Sadie can rendezvous with us in the Duat, and we'll hunt down the snake's shadow. Everybody wins!"

I wasn't sure whether to weep or scream. I only managed to keep my calm because I sensed that Setne would find any reaction extremely funny.

He faced my father. "What do you say, Lord Osiris? It's a chance to get your wife back, defeat Apophis, restore Bes's soul, save the world! All I ask is that when I come back, the court take my good deeds into consideration when you sentence me. How fair is that, huh?"

The chamber was silent except for the crackling fires in the braziers.

Finally Disturber seemed to shake himself out of a trance. "My lord...what is your ruling?"

Dad looked at me. I could tell he hated this plan. But Setne had tempted him with the one thing he couldn't pa.s.s up: a chance to save our mum. The vile ghost had promised me one last day alone with Walt, which I wanted more than anything, and a chance to save Bes, which was a close second. He'd put Carter and Zia together and promised them a chance to save the world.

He'd put hooks in all of us and reeled us in like fish from a sacred lake. But despite the fact that I knew we were being played, I couldn't find a reason to say no.

"We have to, Dad," I said.

He lowered his head. "Yes, we do. May Ma'at protect us all."

"Oh, we'll have fun!" Setne said cheerfully. "Shall we get going? Doomsday isn't gonna wait!"

C A R T E R.

11. Don't Worry, Be Hapi.

TYPICAL.

Sadie and Walt go off looking for a friendly shadow, while Zia and I escort a psychotic murderous ghost to his heavily trapped stash of forbidden magic. Gee, who got the better end of that deal?

The Egyptian Queen burst out of the Underworld and into the Nile like a breaching whale. Its paddle wheel churned through the blue water. Its smokestacks billowed golden smoke into the desert air. After the gloom of the Duat, the sunlight was blinding. Once my eyes adjusted, I saw we were chugging downriver, heading north, so we must have surfaced somewhere to the south of Memphis.

On either side, marshy green riverbanks columned with palm trees stretched into the humid haze. A few houses dotted the landscape. A battered pickup truck rumbled down the riverfront road. A sailboat glided by on our port side. No one paid us any attention.

I wasn't sure exactly where we were. It could've been anywhere along the Nile. But judging from the position of the sun, it was already late morning. We'd eaten and slept in my father's realm, figuring we wouldn't be able to close our eyes once we had custody of Setne. It hadn't felt like much of a rest, but obviously we'd spent more time down under than I realized. The day was slipping by. Tomorrow at dawn, the rebels would attack the First Nome, and Apophis would rise.

Zia stood next to me at the bow. She'd showered and changed into a spare set of combat clothes-a camo tank top, olive cargo pants tucked into her boots. Maybe that doesn't sound glamorous, but in the morning sunlight she was beautiful. Best of all, she was here in person-not a reflection in the scrying bowl, not a shabti. When the wind changed directions I caught the scent of her lemon shampoo. Our forearms touched as we leaned against the rail, but she didn't seem to mind. Her skin was feverishly warm.

"What are you thinking?" I asked.

She had trouble focusing on me. Up close, the flecks of green and black in her amber eyes were sort of hypnotizing. "I was thinking about Ra," she said. "Wondering who's taking care of him today."

"I'm sure he's fine."

But I felt a little disappointed. Personally, I was thinking about the moment when Zia had taken my hand in the dining room last night: Sometimes you have to follow your heart. This might be our last day on earth. If it was, I should really tell Zia how I felt about her. I mean, I thought she knew, but I didn't know that she knew, so...Oh, man. Headache.

I started to say, "Zia-"

Setne materialized next to us. "All better!"

In the daylight, he looked almost like flesh-and-blood, but when he turned in a circle, showing off his new clothes, his face and hands flickered holographically. I'd given him permission to put on something besides the loincloth. In fact, I'd insisted. But I hadn't expected an outfit so mind-boggling.

Maybe he was trying to live up to Sadie's nickname for him: Uncle Vinnie. He wore a black suit jacket with padded shoulders, a red T-shirt, a crisp pair of jeans, and blindingly white running shoes. Around his neck was a heavy gold chain of interlocking ankhs. On each pinky he wore a ring the size of a jawbreaker, with the symbol of power-was-set in diamonds. His hair was combed back with even more grease. His eyes were lined with kohl. He looked like the Ancient Egyptian Mafia.

Then I noticed something missing from his ensemble. He didn't seem to be wearing the Ribbons of Hathor.

I'll admit: I panicked. I yelled the command word Zia had taught me: "Tas!"

The symbol for Bind flared in Setne's face: The Ribbons of Hathor reappeared around his neck, wrists, ankles, chest, and waist. They expanded aggressively, coc.o.o.ning Setne in a pink tornado until he was wrapped tight as a mummy, with nothing showing but his eyes.

"Mm!" he protested.

I took a deep breath. Then I snapped my fingers. The bindings shrank back to their normal size.

"What was that for?" Setne demanded.

"I didn't see the ribbons."

"You didn't..." Setne laughed. "Carter, Carter, Carter. Come on, pal. That's just an illusion-a cosmetic change. I can't really get out of these things."

He held out his wrists. The ribbons vanished, then reappeared. "See? I'm just concealing them, 'cause pink doesn't go with my outfit."

Zia snorted. "Nothing goes with that outfit."

Setne shot her an irritated look. "No need to get personal, doll. Just relax, okay? You saw what happens-one word from you, and I'm tied up good. No problems."

His tone sounded so reasonable. Setne was no problem. Setne would cooperate. I could just relax.

In the back of my mind, the voice of Horus said, Careful.

I raised my mental guard. Suddenly I was aware of hieroglyphs floating in the air around me-half-visible wisps of smoke. I willed them to disappear, and they fizzled like gnats in a bug zapper. "Stop it with the magic words, Setne. I'll relax when our business is done and you're back in my dad's custody. Now, where are we going?"

A moment of surprise pa.s.sed over Setne's face. He hid it with a smile. "Sure, no problem. Glad to see that path of the G.o.ds magic is working out for you. How you doing in there, Horus?"

Zia snarled impatiently. "Just answer the question, you maggot, before I burn that smile off your face."

She thrust out her hand. Flames wreathed her fingers.

"Zia, whoa," I said.

I'd seen her get angry before, but the burn-your-smile-off tactic seemed a little harsh even for her.

Setne didn't seem concerned. From his jacket, he pulled a strange white comb-were those human finger bones?-and brushed his greasy hair.

"Poor Zia," he said. "The old man is getting to you, isn't he? Having any trouble with, ah, temperature control yet? I've seen a few people in your situation spontaneously combust. Not pretty."

His words obviously rattled Zia. Her eyes seethed with loathing, but she closed her fist and extinguished the flames. "You vile, despicable-"

"Take it easy, doll," Setne said. "I'm just expressing concern. As for where we're going-south of Cairo, the ruins of Memphis."

I wondered what he'd meant about Zia. I decided this wasn't the time to ask. I didn't want Zia's flaming fingers in my face.

I tried to recall what I knew about Memphis. I remembered it was one of the old capitals of Egypt, but it had been destroyed centuries ago. Most of the ruins were buried under modern Cairo. Some were scattered in the desert to the south. My dad had probably taken me to excavation sites in that area once or twice, but I didn't have any clear recollection. After a few years, all the dig sites sort of blended together.

"Where exactly?" I demanded. "Memphis was a big place."

Setne wiggled his eyebrows. "You got that right. Man, the times I used to have in Gamblers' Alley...but never mind. The less you know, pal, the better. We don't want our snaky Chaos friend gleaning information from your mind, do we? Speaking of which, it's a miracle he hasn't already seen your plans and sent some nasty monster to stop you. You seriously need to work on your mental defenses. Reading your mind is way too easy. As for your girlfriend here..."

He leaned toward me with a grin. "Would you like to know what she's thinking?"

Zia understood the Ribbons of Hathor better than I did. Instantly, the band around Setne's neck tightened and became a lovely pink collar with a leash. Setne gagged and clawed at his throat. Zia grabbed the other end of the lead.

"Setne, you are I are going to the wheelhouse," she announced. "You will give the captain exact information about where we're going, or you'll never breathe again. Understood?"

She didn't wait for a response. He couldn't have given one anyway. She dragged him across the deck and up the stairs like a very bad dog.