“Take it with you?” JD scowled. “The exhibit is heavily guarded. I have my best magicians surrounding it night and day. You think you can do better at Brooklyn House?”
We stopped at the edge of the garden. Across the street, a two-story-tall King Tut banner hung from the side of the museum.
Carter took out his mobile phone. He showed JD Grissom an image on the screen—a burned-out mansion that had once been the headquarters for the One Hundredth Nome in Toronto.
“I’m sure your guards are good,” Carter said. “But we’d rather not make your nome a target for Apophis. In the other attacks like this one…the serpent’s minions didn’t leave any survivors.”
JD stared at the phone’s screen, then glanced back at his wife, Anne, who was fiddling her way through a two-step.
“Fine,” JD said. “I hope your team is top-notch.”
“They’re amazing,” I promised. “Come on, we’ll introduce you.”
Our crack squad of magicians was busy raiding the gift shop.
Felix had summoned three penguins, which were waddling around wearing paper King Tut masks. Our baboon friend, Khufu, sat atop a bookshelf reading The History of the Pharaohs, which would’ve been quite impressive except he was holding the book upside down. Walt—oh, dear Walt, why?—had opened the jewelry cabinet and was examining charm bracelets and necklaces as if they might be magical. Alyssa levitated clay pots with her earth elemental magic, juggling twenty or thirty at a time in a figure eight.
Carter cleared his throat.
Walt froze, his hands full of gold jewelry. Khufu scrambled down the bookshelf, knocking off most of the books. Alyssa’s pottery crashed to the floor. Felix tried to shoo his penguins behind the till. (He does have rather strong feelings about the usefulness of penguins. I’m afraid I can’t explain it.)
JD Grissom drummed his fingers against his Lone Star belt buckle. “This is your amazing team?”
“Yes!” I tried for a winning smile. “Sorry about the mess. I’ll just, um…”
I pulled my wand from my belt and spoke a word of power: “Hi-nehm!”
I’d got better at such spells. Most of the time, I could now channel power from my patron goddess Isis without passing out. And I hadn’t exploded once.
The hieroglyph for Join together glowed briefly in the air:
Broken bits of pottery flew back together and mended themselves. Books returned to the shelf. The King Tut masks flew off the penguins, revealing them to be—gasp—penguins.
Our friends looked rather embarrassed.
“Sorry,” Walt mumbled, putting the jewelry back in the case. “We got bored.”
I couldn’t stay mad at Walt. He was tall and athletic, built like a basketball player, in workout pants and sleeveless tee that showed off his sculpted arms. His skin was the color of hot cocoa, his face every bit as regal and handsome as the statues of his pharaoh ancestors.
Did I fancy him? Well, it’s complicated. More on that later.
JD Grissom looked over our team.
“Nice to meet you all.” He managed to contain his enthusiasm. “Come with me.”
The museum’s main foyer was a vast white room with empty café tables, a stage, and a ceiling high enough for a pet giraffe. On one side, stairs led up to a balcony with a row of offices. On the other side, glass walls looked out at the nighttime skyline of Dallas.
JD pointed up at the balcony, where two men in black linen robes were patrolling. “You see? Guards are everywhere.”
The men had their staffs and wands ready. They glanced down at us, and I noticed their eyes were glowing. Hieroglyphs were painted on their cheekbones like war paint.
Alyssa whispered to me: “What’s up with their eyes?”
“Surveillance magic,” I guessed. “The symbols allow the guards to see into the Duat.”
Alyssa bit her lip. Since her patron was the earth god Geb, she liked solid things, such as stone and clay. She didn’t like heights or deep water. She definitely didn’t like the idea of the Duat—the magical realm that coexisted with ours.
Once, when I’d described the Duat as an ocean under our feet with layers and layers of magical dimensions going down forever, I thought Alyssa was going to get seasick.