Strange and Ever After (21 page)

I tried to swallow. Tried to breathe. My feet stumbled two steps forward, and my hand waved dumbly for Allison to follow. Two more steps . . . then one more. . . .

Then I stopped trying to move at all, for now I could see what had sparked the panic. His rotted, cloth-draped body had reached the octagonal case in the entrance, hopping along on one leg.

Thutmose II had woken up.

People kicked and heaved to get away as he clawed with skeletal fingers for anyone in his path. Then a guttural groan poured from a lipless mouth . . . and his head snapped toward Allison and me. In a twist of ancient sinew and bone, he lurched toward us.

A scream tore from Allison’s throat—then her hands shoved against my back. “Go!
Go!
”

But I stayed glued to my spot, unable to look away from the approaching mummy. There was something in his hand—something in each hand . . .

And the items were glowing blue—identical to the ivory fist.

“Do something,” Allison screeched. “Stop it—lay it to rest.”

“Not yet.” My hand moved toward my bodice.

“Yes yet!” Allison yelled at me. “Do
something
!”

But I did not do something. At least not what Allison likely wanted. And it was certainly not what Oliver or Jie would recommend. But they were not here to stop me.

I tried to swallow. Tried to nod, but the old hunger for magic was beating to life—and it was as loud and insistent as the mummy’s moans. Somehow Thutmose II was walking again—and somehow he was linked to the ivory fist.

And I needed to know why.

Then my eyes landed on the display of maces, and an idea ignited. I dived for the nearest one, its head of spiked bronze looking particularly effective.

For half a breath Allison gaped at me, her mouth hanging open—and in a flicker of a half-formed thought, I realized how
much
I would rather have had Jie beside me at that moment. She would know instantly what to do.

But then Allison caught onto my plan, and she snatched up another mace. “Now what?”

My only response was to slink back into the middle of the hall, for the mummy was close now. His groans—a sound like ancient wind—grated against my skin. The glowing items in his hands burned my eyes with their light. There was a heaviness in the air. An electrical shimmer. It set my teeth to grinding, and my hairs pricked up.

This wasn’t simply one of the Dead—the mummy reeked of power.

With a deep inhale, I sank low into my stance. But then Allison’s hand thrust up, pointing ahead to a lone figure limping through the entrance hall. “Milton,” she growled. “And he’s getting away.”

She was right. Why the professor was the last to leave—and why it looked like he could barely shamble out, I had no idea. But this was our chance to get what we’d come for.

“All right.” I tightened my grip on the mace. “I’ll distract the mummy, and you go after Milton.”

She nodded once, and a stiffening in her body told me she was ready—and absolutely unafraid.

“We’ll run straight at it,” I said, taking a single slow step. “And when I say ‘move,’ you’ll slip around it. Can you do that?”

She gave another sharp nod, and without another word we set off. Our heels clicked in unison, picking up speed until we ran almost as fast as the pounding light.

And the mummy hopped onward. Its moans grew louder and louder until they vibrated up my body, through my chest. The glowing items in his hands—whatever they might be—glowed more brightly. Blinding.

Then we were to Thutmose, and my arm was swinging back to aim for its one and only leg. . . .

“Move!”
I swung out just as Allison skittered left. As if on instinct, she threw in a twirl and ducked low to glide around the mummy. Then she was behind it and barreling onward.

My mace connected with its knee.

Shock waves thundered up through me. Thutmose II did
not move—
I
moved, thrown backward as if caught in an explosion. A shout burst from my lips. My back hit the tiles, my head cracked down, and as a thousand stars fell over my vision, I knew with deep certainty that I had made a mistake.

Oliver! Help!
Sum veritas
!
My mind screamed the command, unbidden yet absolutely needed.

Instantly, a sensual, explosive heat rushed over me. Perfect and pure. Oliver was coming, and I felt a tug in my gut that said he was approaching fast.

So I tried to sit up, tried to draw in my elbows. But when I lifted my torso, I instantly froze.

For the mummy had reached me. His twisted form was bent halfway, his closed eyes shifting as if the eyeballs behind could see me. I had the definite impression that Thutmose II was inspecting me.

“
Dormi
!” Oliver’s voice trickled into my ears, a million miles away and strangely drawn out.

“Eleanor!” That was Jie, also far off and dulled. When I squinted to see beyond the mummy and the pulsing glow, I found them running toward me—but each of their steps seemed to take an eternity.

It was as if Thutmose and I were trapped outside time—outside the earthly realm entirely.

The mummy straightened and extended his hands. I shrank back. The sandstone walls were bathed in blue flashes from whatever it was Thutmose held. Without thinking, my fingers eased into my bodice and withdrew the ivory fist.

“Is this what you want?” I held it out. The ivory blazed as brightly as whatever Thutmose held—and at the exact same tempo. “Is this why you came to life? Take it.”

He did not take it. Instead the light blinked faster and flared so brightly, my eyes screwed shut.

And like a breath held too long, magic burst from my chest—unsummoned and scalding, it poured out of me. I had to gasp to breathe, and my eyes could not squeeze tight enough against the light.

Two long heartbeats passed until suddenly I found I
could
breathe again. My eyelids peeled back—the light was gone. My vision was clouded with shadows, yet I could see.

And what I saw made my bowels turn to water.

For the mummy knelt. Its head was bowed, and in its skeletal fingers were two curved tusks. No longer glowing with light yet undeniably offered to
me
.

I stared at the ivory, each the length of my forearm. One was topped with an open hand—a flat palm that looked exactly as my own ivory fist had when I’d first seen it in Paris. The other curved piece was topped with a jagged, knobby end . . .

As if it had lost its hand.

I wet my lips, and, with great care, I reached out . . . and plucked the broken ivory piece. When Thutmose II did not move, I peered beyond once more—but Oliver and Jie looked no closer than they had moments before.

Time had truly stopped.

So with a steeling breath, I slowly brought the broken tusk
to the half-clenched ivory fist. My fingers trembled, and my eyes shuttered over and over . . . until at last the pieces touched.

A strange, slithery sensation oozed up from the ivory. It felt like I was holding a snake—scaly and frantic—that wanted freedom. But then the feeling stopped, and with it time lurched back to its normal pace.

“
Dormi
!” Oliver’s voice slammed into me, and his footsteps pounded into life. Drumming loud and coming in fast. “
Dormi
!” Oliver was close now, Jie just behind him, and blue light blazed from my demon’s fingertips. His magic was finally working—this time he
would
be able to lay the mummy to rest.

But before he could do that and before he could reach my side, I yanked the second ivory piece from Thutmose II’s hand. Then, though they hardly fit, I shoved both ivory artifacts into my boots.

I could not say why, but for some reason I wanted no one to see these. Madame Marineaux had given
me
the ivory fist back in Paris, and the mummy of Thutmose II had woken up and given
me
the tusks. They were mine.

I had just gotten the folds of my skirt wrapped around the ivory when Oliver and Jie reached me—and the mummy collapsed in a heap of bones and shredded cloth.

“Eleanor.” Oliver dropped to the floor beside me. His arms flung around me, crushing my ribs in an embrace while Jie kicked at the heap of mummy bones—presumably for good measure.

Oliver quickly jerked back and examined me. His face shone
with an unearthly beauty—the result of his magic—yet his cheeks were flushed with worry.

“What the hell happened?” Jie demanded, crouching beside us.

“I-I don’t know,” I finally stammered out, yet before I had to offer up any pathetic explanation, Allison’s shouts echoed through the room.

“And that,” she roared, “is why you should never mistreat a Wilcox. Or
anyone
, for that matter, you sniveling excuse for a man!”

“Allison!” I shouted. Jie hauled me to my feet. “Don’t hurt him—we need his money!” Jie’s hand slid into one of my own, Oliver’s into the other, and we sprinted down the hall, toward Allison, towering over a sprawled figure.

“Get his wallet!” Jie cried.

“I did,” Allison yelled. “Don’t worry, I have this completely under control.” Yet her tone was anything but reassuring. There was a brutal edge to her words that sounded . . .
deadly
.

Oliver and I scrambled into the entrance hall. Milton’s nose gushed blood, and his lip was cracked in two. The mace lay several feet away.

“What did you do?” Oliver demanded, lurching toward the man. Milton was barely breathing.

“I didn’t do it,” Allison snapped. “He was like that when I found him—the mummy must have done it.”

My gaze darted to the mace—one side of it was covered in blood. But I didn’t say anything, for at that moment the
professor’s eyes fluttered open.

“Bitch,” he snarled. “Daughter of a whore. I won’t give your pathetic family a thing. May you all rot in—”

Allison’s foot came up faster than I could even see. With a thud, her toes hit the professor’s temple.

His eyes rolled back in his head.

“Dammit, Allison.” I grabbed for her, but she skidded back. “You knocked him out!”

“He deserved it.”

“He may have,” Oliver said through grinding teeth, “but an unconscious man is no help to us. So unless his wallet is overflowing with money, we’re no better off than we were before.”

“It
is
overflowing.” She tossed a black leather purse at Jie. Coins clanked as she caught it. “And,” Allison said, lifting her voice haughtily, “you should all be
thanking
me. You got exactly what you came for.” She bared her teeth in a smile. “And so did I.”

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..................................................................

“Did you heal the horse?” I asked Oliver. We were
nestled back in our carriage. Allison’s head was slumped over with sleep—as was Jie’s—and the darkened gate into Cairo lumbered overhead.

“Yes,” Oliver said softly. In the shadows I could see nothing but his glowing eyes. “Did you not feel it? Or
see
it?”

“I didn’t feel it,” I murmured, twisting around to glance at the horse. He trotted into the moonlight, towing us out through the gate . . . and yes, he looked fit and clean.

I glanced back to Oliver. “Thank you.”

His eyelids twitched, and he yanked out his flask. Then he gulped back several enormous swigs of liquor, exhaled sharply, and offered it to me. “Zabib?”

My nose curled up. “What’s zabib?”

“Alcohol, of course. I got it at the apothecary.”

Something about the way he said “got” gave me pause. My mouth fell open. “You stole it, didn’t you, Oliver?”

His only response was to return his flask to his waistcoat and lace his hands behind his head.

“Oliver—”

“Do. Not. Judge me,” he growled. “Not when you are just as morally decrepit as I. Neither of us would survive the final judgment. Remember that.” His eyes fluttered shut. But I knew he did not sleep. Whatever generous kindness had possessed my demon earlier, it was gone now.

“What bothers you?” I asked once Cairo had faded away behind us. “Oliver, is something the matter? You were so happy earlier,” I pressed. “What has changed?”

He refused to answer me . . . yet I knew he listened. “All was so good in the city. We were friends and getting along so well. For once you worked
with
everyone instead of turning me against—”

“Enough.” His eyes snapped wide, glowing and furious. “Stop speaking before you say something you will regret and force
me
to say something I will regret.” Then he sank even farther into his seat and did not move the rest of the journey. All I had for companionship were windy silence and moonlight—though at least we made better time on our return. The newly healed horse was quick and lively.

We reached Heliopolis in an hour and a half, and as we approached, I felt a change in the air. A heightening of my senses,
as if I were entering another world. Or another
time
.

The wheat fields around the ruins seemed spun from silver as they listed and swayed in the night wind. Even the crumbling walls seemed to glow from within.