"Which of my tricks most impressed Little Miss?" He smiled at me, revealing a gold tooth. "Clearly not my mummy act."
"Er, no." For some reason, I was reluctant to let him know what exactly had alerted me. "It was the oracle trick. The one where you used Ratsy here."
"Ah." Was it my imagination or did his face relax slightly?
"In fact, I wanted to ask if by any chance you know Aloysius Trawley? I've seen him perform the very same trick."
"Alas, I do not know this Mr. Trawley, and I am crushed to hear I am not the first to perform this act in London. However, I am curious as to how Little Miss comes to know so much about ancient Egyptian rituals?"
Bother. That was the problem with asking questions. Sometimes one revealed more than was wise. "I told you, my parents run a museum."
"Yes, but museums do not generally offer insight into the actual rituals performed by ancient Egyptian priests."
I ignored that for the moment. "That thing you had Ratsy say, about the black sun and red sky. Is that something you have all your volunteers say?"
Awi Bubu turned to Ratsy. "Did I tell you to say that?"
Ratsy shook his head.
The magician spread his hands wide. "I said nothing other than what you and the audience heard. Do his words mean something to you?"
"Of course not," I lied. "They were just odd, that's all."
"Exactly which museum do Little Miss's parents run? Perhaps I may come visit next time I am feeling homesick."
"The British Museum." The lie popped out of my mouth like an eager toad. Startled, Will turned and looked at me. Before more questions could follow, I bobbed a quick curtsy. "Thank you very much for letting us chat with you. It's been lovely, but your manager said we only had five minutes and we don't want to keep you." I grabbed Will's arm and we headed for the door, Ratsy right behind us.
"Goodbye, Little Miss! Thank you for honoring me with your visit." Awi Bubu's mocking voice followed us out into the hall.
As Ratsy led us to the nearest exit, I realized the conversation hadn't been as informative as I'd hoped. I had no choice but to chalk up the similarities between Ratsy's prediction and mine to coincidence. The only problem was, I wasn't very fond of coincidences.
We met up with Snuffles, and when we were outside, I asked Ratsy about it again, hoping that with Awi Bubu nowhere in sight, he'd feel free to tell me the truth.
"No, miss. 'E didn't whisper nothing in me ear or slip me a note."
"Ratsy couldn't read a note, even if Awi Bubu had given him one. 'E doesn't know 'ow to read."
"Oh." I didn't know what to say to that.
Will motioned his brothers on ahead, then pulled me aside. "So, wot'd you fink?"
"About what?"
"About the magician, o' course!"
"Oh. He was fascinating."
"So don't you fink that proves I have a nose fer Egyptian magic? Don't you fink I could 'ave a future in the Brotherhood as somefink more than a errand boy?"
"I would certainly think so," I said. Unfortunately, it wasn't my decision. It was up to Lord Wigmere, head of the Brotherhood of the Chosen Keepers.
"Then you'll put in a good word wif Wiggy next time you see 'im, won't you?"
Somehow, I didn't think a group of men dedicated to protecting their country from the influence of ancient magic and curses would give two figs about the Alcazar Theater or penny-show magicians. However, I promised that I would talk to Wigmere, then left Will to his brothers and began walking back to the museum.
My mind whirred frantically, trying to puzzle out just who exactly Awi Bubu was. I suppose it was possible that ancient Egyptian rituals were common knowledge among Egyptians. Except that was one of the things that were so exciting about archaeology; it unlocked the secrets to the past, secrets that even the Egyptians themselves had forgotten about their history, so that explanation didn't really work. It seemed more likely that he was simply unwilling to confess that he was a member of the Black Sun. Or, I thought, my steps slowing, perhaps he was a plant for the Serpents of Chaos. They also knew quite a lot about Egyptian magic. And were dedicated to using it to plunge our world into, well, chaos.
As I turned the corner off Phoenix Road, I detected a flicker of movement nearby, and then a man fell into step behind me. I thought it was Gerton, but I couldn't be sure. Either way, it wasn't good news.
Half a block later, another man stepped out of a recessed doorway as I passed. I kept my eyes in front of me and pretended I hadn't seen him. If I ignored them, perhaps I'd make it back to the museum without a confrontation.
However, when Basil Whiting, Trawley's second in command, stepped out of an alley and leaned up against a lamppost, effectively cutting off that avenue of escape, it became clear that not only had the scorpions found me, but they weren't about to let me pretend otherwise.
CHAPTER THREE
Scorpions on the Loose
BOTHER. I had hoped to avoid another meeting with the supreme master of the Arcane order of the Black Sun for a while longer. Say, a lifetime. In fact, that's why it had taken so long for Will to coax me out to the Alcazar to see Awi Bubu; I'd been trying to avoid Trawley. He was mad as a hatter and convinced I was a reincarnation of Isis and had mystical powers. Of course, that was all nonsense, but even so, he had a nasty habit of snatching me off the street.
Whiting stepped away from the lamppost and sauntered in my direction. He hesitated as a black carriage turned down the street and then drove past. Just as he started to move again, the carriage pulled sharply against the curb, merely a few feet in front of Whiting.
Oh dear, not reinforcements, I thought. Surely three grown men against one eleven-year-old girl were good enough odds for them. Wait a minute. I knew that carriage. It was spotlessly clean and shiny, unmarked black; it belonged to the Brotherhood of the Chosen Keepers. The door opened, and a worn, familiar face with a thick white mustache and solemn blue eyes looked out at me. "Theodosia?"
"Lord Wigmere!" My voice caught on a faint sob of relief as I hightailed it over to the carriage, giving Whiting a wide berth.
"What on earth are you doing in this part of town, child?"
"Attending a magic show," I explained, looking longingly inside the carriage.
"Here, get in. This isn't a safe neighborhood for a young girl to be wandering alone. Danger seems to find you easily enough without compounding the problem by being careless."
"It's not my fault, sir. Trouble does seem inclined to follow me around," I said as I hopped into the carriage, settled myself on the opposite seat, and smoothed my skirts to hide the trembling in my hands. That had been close. "Thank you, sir."
I thought briefly of mentioning the scorpions following me, but I didn't want to bring on another scolding. Besides, he had told me a while ago that they were harmless. Annoying, but harmless.
Wigmere rapped on the ceiling with his cane, and the carriage lurched forward. Although he was impeccably dressed in his frock coat and top hat, he looked older than he had the last time I'd seen him. More careworn. "I wouldn't have thought you were interested in parlor tricks and magic," he said.
In for a penny, in for a pound. "It was because of Will, sir. He'd located a rather suspicious Egyptian magic show and wanted to see what I thought of it."
Wigmere snorted through his mustache. "That boy! He has no idea what we're up against. He thinks he's landed in a penny dreadful and is having a grand adventure."
"It was an unusual magic show, sir."
"Bah!"
"And Will was extraordinarily helpful with the Dreadnought situation," I reminded him. "I could never have pulled it off without his aid."