Nursing his hand, he narrowed his eyes at me. "You're play-acting at your mysterious game again, aren't you?"
"Something like that," I admitted. "But I know you don't care for it, so I didn't invite you."
His eyes dipped back down to the basket. "So why d'you need all that food then?"
"It's for a picnic. After the game."
"Where's this picnic going to be?"
"At the museum."
"And you're going to eat all that?"
"No. Some friends are coming with me." Then, as if on cue, there was a light scratch at the back door.
Henry jumped. "What's that?" he hissed.
"My friends," I said, and opened the door. Will, Ratsy, Sparky, and Snuffles stood there, nearly hopping on their toes with excitement.
"Let's get a move on, miss. Makes me nervous to stand in one place so long."
"Hullo," Henry said.
"'Ey, mate!" Sparky said. "Will didn't tell us you was comin' too."
"He doesn't want to come," I said.
Henry shoved me aside with his elbow. "I never said that. Let me just get my coat."
He ran over and grabbed an old jacket from a hook near the pantry and slipped it on, and I fought down the urge to cheer. It had worked! He was coming with us. And I hadn't had to cosh him over the head and drag him the whole way.
The fog had moved in, casting a chilling, thick pall over our neighborhood. The street lamps glowed eerily through the gently undulating wisps. Henry scooted a bit closer to Sparky.
"Oy, watch out, mate. You're standing on me toes!"
"Oh, sorry," Henry said, then sidled closer to me.
Will and his brothers, on the other hand, seemed quite comfortable marching along the dark streets of London, as if they did it often. I, however, was greatly relieved to see the tall spires of the museum come into sight. Will's steps faltered slightly. "Looks a bit different at night, don't it?"
"Yes, it does." It was an unusual building to begin with, very Gothic looking, with tall towers and odd spires here and there that seemed very sinister when observed on a foggy night with no adults around.
"'Ow're we going to avoid that watchman of yours, miss?"
Flimp! I'd nearly forgotten about him. "The back entrance, I think. It's more of a storage and unloading area, so he probably doesn't check there that often. Besides, it's farthest from his post."
Will gave a nod, then motioned for his brothers to follow. We scuttled across the deserted square and around the side of the building to the loading dock.
When we reached the back door, Will and his brothers stepped aside to make room for me to open it. I looked at Will. "Er, I don't have a key. I was hoping you could, you know..." I waved my hand vaguely.
"You want me to pick it, miss?"
"If you wouldn't mind."
"I say, you can do that?" Henry stepped forward. "Can I watch?"
"Course, mate." Will set the basket down and drew something very small and thin from his pocket. He gently inserted the pick into the lock and poked around. Henry bent over so he could get a closer look, his nose practically resting on the doorknob. We all waited, holding our breath, until there was a faint click. "Got it," Will said. Then he opened the door and we all went inside.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
An Unexpected Sacrifice
WHY IS IT THAT THINGS ALWAYS LOOK so very different in the dark? While the receiving area was a large room, it felt positively cavernous at night. I fumbled my way over to the switch to turn up the gaslights. The boys behind me gasped. Annoyed, I turned to shh them, then saw that they were all staring wide-eyed at the coffin that was laid across two benches. Good. That meant stilton had been true to his word. I quickly checked the brass plate Grandmother had ordered to be sure this was Sopcoate's coffin. It was.
Henry broke the silence. He came over next to me and patted the casket. "It's just an empty coffin, nothing to worry about."
"We're not afraid of no coffin," Sparky said, puffing out his chest a very little bit.
Snuffles and Ratsy agreed.
"'Ush, you jabberers," Will said, then turned to me. "What now, miss?"
"First, we have to purify the place," I explained. Henry rolled his eyes, but I ignored him. Being a responsible older sister was a great burden sometimes.
"Here," I said, thrusting one of the oil-containing jars at Henry. "Make yourself useful and sprinkle this on that side of the room." Then I handed a lotus-shaped goblet to Snuffles and gave him similar directions. Ratsy and Will took the other oils and went to the other sections of the room. Not wanting to appear a complete idiot, I muttered the prayer invoking purification very quietly, under my breath.
When that was done, I handed out the four small braziers. "Put these in each corner of the room," I instructed them.
Will took the small dish. "What's this for?"
"Incense, to purify the air."
"You mean like they use in church?"
"Er, not exactly like that. Incense is very difficult to find, so I thought we'd just light lucifer matches and let the smell of the burning matches purify the air."
"Matches, miss?" Sparky perked up. "Can I do the honors?"
"Yes, if you promise not to burn anything else."
"Promise, miss." I gave him the matches and he busily got to it. I must say, he lit each match on the first strike, something I was rarely able to do.
It was time to collect the mummy. I had no idea how heavy it would be, so I had Will, Ratsy, and Sparky come with me. Henry and Snuffles were left to keep watch on the receiving area.
As the boys followed me down the corridor to the basement door, Will looked around nervously. "This place seems right different after dark, it does."
"I bet you 'ave some might 'ealthy rats around 'ere, miss," Ratsy added.
Perish the thought! It was all I could do to deal with Egyptian curses, restless mut, and a troop of urchins—I simply couldn't bear the thought of rats on top of all that.
When we reached the door to the catacombs, I opened it as slowly as I could in order to minimize any squeaking. I turned on the gaslights, then led my band of merry men down the stairs. While I was grateful for so much stalwart company, I was also a little concerned as to what effect so much ka would have on the artifacts.
Specifically, on the jackal statue.
We reached the bottom, and Will and Sparky looked slightly subdued as they stared at the row of mummies. Ratsy must have been far more used to dark and gloomy places due to his profession, for he merely whistled in appreciation. Then he pointed at the statue of Anubis that sat atop the Canopic shrine. "Hey, I've seen that dog before!"
Not wanting to discuss that particular trick, I diverted everyone's attention by asking, "Do you all have your protection on?"
"Right 'ere, miss." Will clutched his amulet and held it out for me to see. Ratsy and Sparky did the same.
"Excellent," I said. It was so nice having boys who listened to me, as opposed to Henry, who fought me at every turn. "You two take the mummy's feet," I told Ratsy and Sparky. "Will and I'll get the shoulders."
"Too bad you don't still 'ave that staff, eh, miss? Then you could just wag that thing at 'im and off 'e'd go."
"True," I muttered. But it was rare that Egyptian magic ever worked to one's advantage that way.
"On three," Will said. "One, two, three." With a series of grunts, we lifted the mummy, which weighed much less than one would think. Best not to dwell on why.
We began the precarious journey up the stairs, which required a lot of juggling and instructions. I glanced nervously at Anubis, trying to gauge how all this life force was affecting him. It was hard to be one hundred percent certain in this gloomy light, but he appeared to be unchanged. I wondered briefly what he would think of our ritual tonight, his being the god of mummification and all, then I put that thought aside as Sparky bumped his elbow against the banister and nearly bobbled the mummy.