The Red Pyramid

Looking at Anubis in the dim light of the graveyard, I saw a lonely teenage guy. I tried to remind myself that he was a god, thousands of years old, probably able to control vast powers well beyond magic toilet paper, but I still felt sorry for him.

“Help us rescue my dad,” I said. “We’ll send Set back to the Duat, and Osiris will be free. We’ll all be happy.”

Anubis shook his head again. “I told you-”

“Your scales are broken,” I noticed. “That’s because Osiris isn’t here, I’m guessing. What happens to all the souls that come for judgment?”

I knew I’d hit a nerve. Anubis shifted uncomfortably on the bench. “It increases chaos. The souls become confused. Some ca

“Then what are you waiting for? Give us the feather. Unless you’re afraid your dad will ground you.”

His eyes flashed with irritation. For a moment I thought he was pla

“Ha, ha. Are you going to give me the feather or not?”

He opened his hand. There was a burst of light, and a glowing feather floated above his palm-a snowy plume like a writing quill. “For Osiris’s sake-but I will insist on several conditions. First, only you may handle it.”

“Well, of course. You don’t think I’d let Carter-”

“Also, you must listen to my mother, Nephthys. Khufu told me you were looking for her. If you manage to find her, listen to her.”

“Easy,” I said, though the request did leave me strangely uncomfortable. Why would Anubis ask something like that?

“And before you go,” Anubis continued, “you must answer three questions for me as you hold the feather of truth, to prove that you are honest.”

My mouth suddenly felt dry. “Um…what sort of questions?”

“Any that I want. And remember, the slightest lie will destroy you.”

“Give me the bloody feather.”

As he handed it to me, the feather stopped glowing, but it felt warmer and heavier than a feather should.

“It’s the tail feather from a be

“No,” I said, which must’ve been truthful, as I didn’t burn up. “Does that count as one question?”

Anubis actually smiled, which was quite dazzling. “I suppose it does. You bargain like a Phoenician sea trader, Sadie Kane. Second question, then: Would you give your life for your brother?”

“Yes,” I said immediately.

(I know. It surprised me too. But holding the feather forced me to be truthful. Obviously it didn’t make me any wiser.)

Anubis nodded, apparently not surprised. “Final question: If it means saving the world, are you prepared to lose your father?”

“That’s not a fair question!”

“Answer it honestly.”

How could I answer something like that? It wasn’t a simple yes/no.

Of course I knew the “right” answer. The heroine is supposed to refuse to sacrifice her father. Then she boldly goes off and saves her dad and the world, right? But what if it really was one or the other? The whole world was an awfully large place: Gran and Gramps, Carter, Uncle Amos, Bast, Khufu, Liz and Emma, everyone I’d ever known. What would my dad say if I chose him instead?

“If…if there really was no other way,” I said, “no other way at all- Oh, come off. It’s a ridiculous question.”

The feather began to glow.

“All right,” I relented. “If I had to, then I suppose…I suppose I would save the world.”

Horrible guilt crushed down on me. What kind of daughter was I? I clutched the tyet amulet on my necklace-my one remembrance of Dad. I know some of you lot will be thinking: You hardly ever saw your dad. You barely knew him. Why would you care so much?

But that didn’t make him any less my dad, did it? Or the thought of losing him forever any less horrible. And the thought of failing him, of willingly choosing to let him die even to save the world-what sort of awful person was I?

I could barely meet Anubis’s eyes, but when I did, his expression softened.

“I believe you, Sadie.”

“Oh, really. I’m holding the bloody feather of truth, and you believe me. Well, thanks.”

“The truth is harsh,” Anubis said. “Spirits come to the Hall of Judgment all the time, and they ca

“Yeah. I feel so strong and courageous. Thanks.”

Anubis stood. “I should leave you now. You’re ru

“You’ll be just as a

He fixed me with those warm brown eyes. “Or perhaps you could bring me up to speed on modern courtship rituals.”

I sat there stu

“Oh, very fu

“What’s going on?” Carter demanded. “Where are we?”

“He’s horrible!” I growled. “Self-important, sarcastic, incredibly hot, insufferable-”

“Agh!” Khufu complained.

“Yeah,” Carter agreed. “Did you get the feather or not?”

I held out my hand, and there it was-a glowing white plume floating above my fingers. I closed my fist and it disappeared again.

“Whoa,” Carter said. “But what about Anubis? How did you-”

“Let’s find Bast and get out of here,” I interrupted. “We’ve got work to do.”

And I marched out of the graveyard before he could ask me more questions, because I was in no mood to tell the truth.

C A R T E R

29. Zia Sets a Rendezvous

[Yeah, thanks a lot, Sadie. You get to tell the part about the Land of the Dead. I get to describe Interstate 10 through Texas.]

Long story short: It took forever and was totally boring, unless your idea of fun is watching cows graze.

We left New Orleans about 1 a.m. on December twenty-eighth, the day before Set pla

“Set is not our only problem,” Bast said. “If your vision is correct, the magicians are closing in on us. And not just any magicians-Desjardins himself.”

“And Zia,” Sadie put in, just to a

In the end, we decided it was safer to drive, even though it was slower. With luck, we’d make Phoenix just in time to challenge Set. As for the House of Life, all we could do was hope to avoid them while we did our job. Maybe once we dealt with Set, the magicians would decide we were cool. Maybe…

I kept thinking about Desjardins, wondering if he really could be a host for Set. A day ago, it had made perfect sense. Desjardins wanted to crush the Kane family. He’d hated our dad, and he hated us. He’d probably been waiting for decades, even centuries, for Iskandar to die, so he could become Chief Lector. Power, anger, arrogance, ambition: Desjardins had it all. If Set was looking for a soulmate, literally, he couldn’t do much better. And if Set could start a war between the gods and magicians by controlling the Chief Lector, the only wi