Theodosia & the Eyes of Horus (22 page)

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"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

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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

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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.

When we reached the top of the stairs, I made everyone stop so I could make sure Flimp hadn't picked that precise moment to make his rounds.

"Don't take too long, miss," Will muttered. "This thing is right clumsy to 'old on to."

Once I was certain the coast was clear, we made our slow, bumbling way down the hall to the receiving dock. When we arrived, Henry leaped to his feet. "What took you so long? You've been gone for ages."

"It was only five minutes, Henry. Besides, I thought you weren't afraid of the museum."

"I'm not," he said. "I was just worried maybe Flimp had caught you."

"Well, he hasn't. Put him down gently," I instructed when we reached the coffin.

Once we had Tetley safely settled in the casket, I stepped back and studied him. Such a spiritual conundrum. Did a Christian man who'd been mummified according to ancient Egyptian custom require a Christian burial or an Egyptian funeral rite? If it hadn't been for Tetley's
mut
clinging to Henry like a macabre shawl, I would never have attempted what I was about to do. However, if Tetley was buried without

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his
ba,
then it might stick with Henry permanently. I couldn't risk that. I could only hope that by covering all the bases, Tetley would find peace at last.

"All right," I said, my voice suddenly solemn as the weight of what we were about to do settled on my shoulders. "This is serious business. Poor Tetley's eternal soul may be at risk." Not to mention Henry's. "So listen carefully to my instructions and do precisely as I tell you. First, the anointing with the sacred oils."

I turned to the tray where I'd set out all the oils I'd collected from home. In some ancient ceremonies, the priests had used their finger, while in other time periods, they used a piece of wood carved to look like a finger. I didn't have one of those, and I was highly reluctant to use my own finger, so instead I was using Cook's pastry brush. With the boys standing around in a semicircle looking appropriately serious, I began.

"I anoint thee, Osiris--"

"I thought his name was Tetley," Henry said.

"It is," I hissed at him. "But the ancient Egyptians always identified the deceased with Osiris so as to invoke his powers. Now be quiet." I cleared my throat. "I anoint thee, Osiris, with these sacred oils given to us by Ra in order that you may be purified and sweet smelling when you reach the Hall of Judgment." With that, I placed a smudge of lavender

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on his head. Next, I dipped the pastry brush into the cedar oil and touched the area over his heart. "That your heart may be pure and strong." I anointed his elbows and hands with the rose geranium oil. "That your limbs can fight off the demon hordes of the underworld who block your way." I dabbed Macassar oil on his ears. "So that your ears may be open to sound." Cod-liver oil went on his feet (as far away from his nose as possible!), so that they would carry him the entire length of his journey. And so on, until, at last, I once again smeared the top of his head, this time with the eucalyptus oil.

"Hey," Snuffles said with a loud sniff. "I can breathe!" Will nudged him. "Shh."

"Osiris has now received the sacred oils, which shall bless him and make him whole again on his journey to join Ra." I set the brush down and took a deep breath.

"Now what?" Ratsy asked.

"Actually," I whispered, "next there was usually a sacrifice of some sort of animal, but I've decided to skip that part."

"I should think so," Henry said.

At that precise moment, there was a small thud off to my right. We all startled and looked toward the sound. There stood my cat, Isis, holding a dead mouse in her mouth. As we watched, she walked toward us as calmly as you please and laid the poor rodent at the head of the coffin.

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[Image: Osiris, Ratsy, Henry, Isis, and Tetley.]

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Dumbfounded, I could only stare at her. '"Ow'd you train her to do that, miss?" Will's voice was tinged with awe. "I didn't!"

"Is it time for the feast yet?" Snuffles asked hopefully.

"Almost," I said. But before I could resume, there was a sound of clattering, like ...like claws on a marble floor.

I looked up at the door just as the jackal came bounding in. He trotted past our small circle, and the boys drew back with a collective
"Oh!"

Panic shot through me; I looked to see where Isis was, wondering what the jackal would do when he saw her.

But oddly enough, he never even glanced in her direction. He
click-clacked
his way over to the head of Tetley's coffin, sat on his haunches, then looked at me as if to say,
You may continue.

Well, he
was
the god of mummification and an important funerary deity.

With one last nervous glance in his direction, I resumed the ceremony by picking up a small iron adze and gently touching Tetley's eyes and mouth four times. "Osiris, I restore to you your sight and your speech so that you may defeat the demons in the underworld as you travel to be with Ra." Next I picked up the small bag of carnelian chips and

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repeated the gesture and the spell. I wasn't one hundred percent certain what the carnelian was supposed to do, but since it had been included in most of the accounts of the ceremony, I thought it must be important. "May the power of Ra shine down upon you; may the restorative powers of Osiris be at your fingertips and speed you on your journey. May your
ka
and
ba
be united again." As I said those last words, I touched the bag of carnelian to Tetley's chest, just over his heart. The air shimmered, and my spine tingled.

"What's that?" Will asked.

"You felt it too?"

He nodded as his gaze darted nervously around the room.

Just then, there was a faint sighing sound from Tetley. I swallowed the scream that rose in my throat and took a step back. His mouth was open and his chest was expanding, as if he were drawing in a huge breath. Faint tendrils of something--mist? life force?
mut?
--began to rise up from my poor brother like steam from a boiling kettle. He squeaked and went still, his arms frozen at his sides, his eyes wide.

"Is it supposed to do this?" Ratsy asked.

"I'm not sure," I confessed, my heart beating so wildly I could scarce get the words out.

The mist that had been hanging over Henry now undulated in Tetley's direction. Slowly the spirit began to ooze

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down into the coffin. Just as I started to breathe a sigh of relief, it paused, hovered for a long moment as if reconsidering, then began to ooze back up and move in Henry's direction again.

Had it changed its mind? Did it not want to go to the afterlife any longer?

Even as my poor mind scrambled for some solution to this problem, the jackal made his move. With a low growl in his throat, he bared his sharp teeth and raised his hackles. We all took a step back.

As the jackal advanced, the
mut
mist maneuvered itself so that it was behind my brother, using him as a shield! The jackal ignored that and lunged to Henry's right side, snapping at the mist behind him. The mist scooted out and quickly began seeping back into the coffin, the jackal snapping and growling at it the whole way. The mist gathered just above Tetley in one large mass, then rushed into the mummified body until the last wisp of it was gone.

Tetley gave one last sigh, then fell still.

The jackal went over to the coffin and sniffed. Apparently satisfied, he gave one sharp bark and wag of his tail, then took off back the way he had come.

Trying to hide how shaken I was, I looked around at the others. Their faces were all pale and wide-eyed.

"Blimey, mate! Look at that." Sparky pointed at Henry.

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My brother was rigid with shock, and his hair had turned white. Not all of it, but his cowlick was now white. Blimey indeed.

"Henry," I said rather sharply, since I was nearly out of my mind with fear. Jerkily, his head swung around to look at me. "Are you all right?" I asked, more gently this time.

"I-I think so," he said, but his voice sounded a bit hollow and far away.

"Can we eat now?" Snuffles asked.

"Er, no. Just one more thing: May the food we are about to eat bless your body and give it strength in the afterlife. Amen."

"Now?" Snuffles said.

"Now," I said.

As Will and his brothers fell upon the picnic basket, I hurried over to Henry's side. I felt his forehead, which seemed the right temperature. He slapped my hand away, which was a good sign, but the faraway look in his eyes wasn't. I leaned in closer and whispered, "Henry? Are you sure you're okay?"

He turned his head in the direction of my voice and nodded.

"Do you want to come have something to eat?" I asked.

He shook his head no, and I took advantage of his stunned state to administer a firm warning. "I told you you needed to be careful about the magic around here. I'd actually

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hoped you'd never have occasion to believe me, that you'd stay blissfully ignorant. I'm sorry this had to happen."

'"S okay," he said, then frowned. "What exactly
did
happen?"

I looked into his eyes and saw the fear and unease lurking there. "Nothing much. The smell of the oils just made you lightheaded, that's all."

He stared at me a moment, then nodded and went to sit with the other boys.

I felt sick about this, even worse than I'd felt when Isis had been struck by a curse. I could only hope it would have no lasting effects.

Just as we were packing up the last of the funereal feast, Stilton came looking for me. "Miss Theo?" he asked, looking surprised to see so many of us.

"Oh, hullo, Stilton," I said. "Thank you so much for your help. We're done, so you can take the, er, coffin back now."

That's when he saw the mummy formerly known as Tetley in the coffin. Slowly he advanced on it, a strange look on his face. He glanced from Tetley, to me, then back to Tetley. "You're seeing that he gets a Christian burial, aren't you, miss:

"Yes, Stilton. It's the least we can do for him."

A resolved look appeared on Stilton's face as he quietly