Isis was still avoiding the catacombs, so I descended the stairs alone, relieved when I didn't hear any restless stirrings. At the foot of the steps, I turned on the gaslight, grateful for even that feeble light.
The mummies were where I'd left them, which was a good sign. Apparently Chaos hadn't activated the staff. Yet.
I pulled the first amulet from my pocket and wrapped it around the neck of Rahotep, a powerful Third Dynasty priest, murmuring the spell once again just for good measure. I moved to the next mummy and the next, murmuring the spell each time until I finally came to the last of them.
Done with the scary part, I went up to the Egyptian exhibit and paused when I came to Statuary Hall. All the shadows looked darker somehow, and the air felt more restless. I was convinced that at least one of the visiting mummies had left their severely disgruntled akhu behind. I was going to have to do a mut sweep and see if I could trap it.
But that would be for another day. Taking a deep breath, I said a little prayer, then hurried down the hallway, looking neither to the left nor the right. The rustling grew louder, and at the very edges of my vision, I could see shadows detach themselves from corners and begin to follow me.
I picked up my pace, nearly breaking into a run to get to the exhibit room.
Not that it was much better. There was creaking and groaning going on in there, too. It was the sort that grownups brushed off as the building settling, but if you listened carefully enough, you could hear the rise and fall of murmured voices in chant, as if beseeching the gods or reciting a prayer—or a curse.
Well, the sooner I was done, the sooner I could leave. Starting with the New Kingdom mummy of Ipuki, an official during the reign of Seti I, I tied the raffia string around his neck so that the Blood of Isis amulet sat against his throat, then slipped the amulet under the edge of the linen wrappings so it wouldn't be immediately visible. When I was happy with the placement, I moved down to the next mummy, Suten-Ahnu, royal scribe to Sensuret I. And so I worked, trying not to think about what I was doing and moving as quickly as I could.
The unwrapped mummies were the most difficult to work on, their glassy eyes staring at me from old, dried-up skin, their mouths pulled back into leering grimaces. Don't think about her, don't think about her, I chanted as I strung an amulet around Henuttawy, an Eighteenth Dynasty priestess from the temple of Sekhmet. When I finally got the amulet around her neck, I pulled away quickly and shuddered, hoping if her ba was still hovering about, it wouldn't take offense.
When I reached Heneu, vizier to Queen Sobekneferu, I caught wind of voices. I paused in my work, trying to hear better.
Relief spurted through me when I realized it was only my parents, and I returned to my duties. As I placed one of the amulets on Meri-Tawy (royal architect and priest who served the god Ptah), I realized my hand was shaking. Thank goodness he was the last one.
Exhausted, I hurried back to my closet, hoping to catch a bit of sleep before morning came.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
A Test of Wills
FAR TOO EARLY THE NEXT MORNING, I was awakened by a soft rap on my closet door. "Who is it?" I asked, sitting up and rubbing my eyes.
"It's Miss Sharpe, lazybones."
The sound of Miss Sharpe's voice woke me up as thoroughly as a pitcher of cold water poured over my head. Come to think of it, that might just be what she was planning.
I hopped out of the sarcophagus and hurried to the wash-stand. "Coming!" I called out.
When I heard the door open, I fumbled for a towel and ended up using my extra pinafore in my haste. "Theodosia, why on earth aren't you up yet? Oh my!"
Miss Sharpe studied my small room with a look of marked distaste. "This will never do," she announced. "Everyone knows that a bedroom should be spacious, dry, and airy. Not some small, dank corner like this." She put her hands on her hips and shook her head. "We simply must get you out of this museum before it's too late."
I wanted to ask, "Too late for what?" but was certain I wouldn't like the answer. Instead, I followed Miss Sharpe to the reading room, where I was forced to begin my lessons without any breakfast. ("No breakfast for lazy girls who can't bestir themselves from their slumber!" were Miss Sharpe's exact words.)
The only good thing about the morning was that I was able to pretend to be working on translating Virgil's Bucolics while I was really translating Moribundus's grimoire.
Even with my familiarity with Latin, it was fairly slow going. Moribundus did have a tendency to ramble on and on about ancient secrets accessible to only a learned few. But finally, halfway through the morning, I came across the word baculu—the Latin word for staff. At last he was discussing the Staff of Osiris. Farther on, my eyes caught the word necro.
I didn't need my dictionary for that one! I recognized the prefix nec from the words necropolis and necromancer. Necro meant "death." My sense of discovery heightened, I kept going, excitement mounting. To extinguish the flame of eternal life, turn the jackal on his head and let Nun swallow him whole.
Was he really saying that the staff could be used to kill as well as to resurrect? The idea was so shocking, I was half afraid Miss Sharpe would sense me reading it. I cast a furtive glance her way, but she was still reading about womanly virtue.
Nun was the Egyptian god of the primordial waters from which all life sprang. Suddenly, I remembered Wigmere's tale of Rameses III using the staff to create a Fog of War that prevailed over his enemies. I flipped back to the page and double-checked my translation.
Not only was I correct, but Moribundus was giving veiled instructions as well. If one turned the staff upside down and submerged it in water, it could be used to kill.
And frankly, killing sounded much more up Chaos's alley than resurrecting!
This wasn't good. Not good at all. Chaos had had the staff for only one day now, but from what I knew of the Serpents of Chaos, it wouldn't take long for them to put it to use.
I had to get this information to Wigmere.
Once again I glanced at Miss Sharpe. How could I get free of her long enough to get a message to Will?
If she thought I wanted a walk, she'd be certain not to give it to me. Therefore, I had to be rather sneaky. "Excuse me," I said around a yawn.
"Cover your mouth," Miss Sharpe instructed without looking up.
I refrained from pointing out that I had and if she'd bothered to look, she would have seen it. Instead, using my most pathetic voice, I said, "I'm so sorry, Miss Sharpe, but I'm afraid my head has begun to ache terribly. Could I possibly go lie down?"
Miss Sharpe laid her book down on the table and studied me. "I think not. No, Little Miss Lazybones does not need extra sleep. What she needs is exercise. I think it's time for a walk. Let's get our wraps, shall we?"
"If you say so." I tried to look disappointed, but in truth, I was ecstatic. If we went out for a walk, there was a good chance Will would spot us and I could signal to him that I had a message to be delivered.
Miss Sharpe stood up. "Come along, then."
I shoved to my feet and followed her to the coat rack.
"How is that Latin text translation coming?" she asked, putting on her wrap.