I got the impression he was going to say a different word, something not as nice as trained.
Iskandar spoke directly to me. His tone sounded kindly.
“The master warns that the Demon Days begin tomorrow at sunset,” Desjardins translated. “You must be kept safe.”
“But we have to find our dad!” I said. “Dangerous gods are on the loose out there. We saw Serqet. And Set!”
At these names, Iskandar’s expression tightened. He turned and gave Desjardins what sounded like an order. Desjardins protested. Iskandar repeated his statement.
Desjardins clearly didn’t like it, but he bowed to his master. Then he turned toward me. “The Chief Lector wishes to hear your story.”
So I told him, with Sadie jumping in whenever I stopped to take a breath. The funny thing was, we both left out certain things without planning to. We didn’t mention Sadie’s magic abilities, or the encounter with the ba who’d called me a king. It was like I literally couldn’t mention those things. Whenever I tried, the voice inside my head whispered, Not that part. Be silent.
When I was done, I glanced at Zia. She said nothing, but she was studying me with a troubled expression.
Iskandar traced a circle on the step with the butt of his staff. More hieroglyphs popped into the air and floated away.
After several seconds, Desjardins seemed to grow impatient. He stepped forward and glared at us. “You are lying. That could not have been Set. He would need a powerful host to remain in this world. Very powerful.”
“Look, you,” Sadie said. “I don’t know what all this rubbish is about hosts, but I saw Set with my own eyes. You were there at the British Museum—you must have done, too. And if Carter saw him in Phoenix, Arizona, then...” She looked at me doubtfully. “Then he’s probably not crazy.”
“Thanks, Sis,” I mumbled, but Sadie was just getting started.
“And as for Serqet, she’s real too! Our friend, my cat, Bast, died protecting us!”
“So,” Desjardins said coldly, “you admit to consorting with gods. That makes our investigation much easier. Bast is not your friend. The gods caused the downfall of Egypt. It is forbidden to call on their powers. Magicians are sworn to keep the gods from interfering in the mortal world. We must use all our power to fight them.”
“Bast said you were paranoid,” Sadie added.
The magician clenched his fists, and the air tingled with the weird smell of ozone, like during a thunderstorm. The hairs on my neck stood straight up. Before anything bad could happen, Zia stepped in front of us.
“Lord Desjardins,” she pleaded, “there was something strange. When I ensnared the scorpion goddess, she re-formed almost instantly. I could not return her to the Duat, even with the Seven Ribbons. I could only break her hold on the host for a moment. Perhaps the rumors of other escapes—”
“What other escapes?” I asked.
She glanced at me reluctantly. “Other gods,
many of them, released since last night from artifacts all over the world. Like a chain reaction—”
“Zia!” Desjardins snapped. “That information is not for sharing.”
“Look,” I said, “lord, sir, whatever—Bast warned us this would happen. She said Set would release more gods.”
“Master,” Zia pleaded, “if Ma’at is weakening, if Set is increasing chaos, perhaps that is why I could not banish Serqet.”
“Ridiculous,” Desjardins said. “You are skilled, Zia, but perhaps you were not skilled enough for this encounter. And as for these two, the contamination must be contained.”
Zia’s face reddened. She turned her attention to Iskandar. “Master, please. Give me a chance with them.”
“You forget your place,” Desjardins snapped. “These two are guilty and must be destroyed.”
My throat started closing up. I looked at Sadie. If we had to make a run for it down that long hall, I didn’t like our chances....
The old man finally looked up. He smiled at Zia with true affection. For a second I wondered if she were his great-great-great-granddaughter or something. He spoke in Greek, and Zia bowed deeply.
Desjardins looked ready to explode. He swept his robes away from his feet and marched behind the throne.
“The Chief Lector will allow Zia to test you,” he growled. “Meanwhile, I will seek out the truth—or the lies—in your story. You will be punished for the lies.”