obviously their main attraction, but I’d missed ’em. Just chance, I guess. I’d wandered in at the wrong angle, or I’d been distracted by the crowd. Now, though? Now it was emblazoned overhead like the word of God Him-, Her-, or Themselves.
“
THE DUSTY TOMBS OF FORGOTTEN DYNASTIES OFFER UP THEIR SECRETS!!
” it said. “
COMMUNE WITH A GOD-KING FROM THE DAYS OF ANCIENT EGYPT!! WITNESS ONE WHO WATCHED THE BIRTH OF CIVILIZATION WITH HIS OWN 2 EYES!!
”
Then, in much smaller print, “Bring the family! Educational and fun for kids, all for less than you’d pay for a day at the museum! Only at Rounser’s Remarkable Fun Fair and Excellent Exhibition’s Funhouse of Mystery!”
They had a mummy. This rundown, flea speck of a sideshow carnie had a goddamn mummy.
Didn’t know they did that? Yep. Respect for the dead’s nifty and all, but it don’t pay. Some of Egypt’s preserved dead got lucky; once their burial treasures’d been raided, they at least got sold to this museum or that private collector. Sure, they’d be displayed like something from a tourist gift shop, but they were reasonably well preserved and often stored alongside some of the riches that’d been theirs in life and afterlife.
Others, though? Well, if they weren’t sold as kindling—yes, really; kindling—a few ended up as attractions in traveling fairs and funhouses. Offered a nice touch of spooky atmosphere, something to chill the onlookers just enough to tell their friends and maybe sell another fucking ticket.
Some carnivals pretended to have ’em and didn’t, of course; just more fakery and sleight-of-hand, another con in a long line. But Rounser’s? Had too many peepers on it—some of which belonged to people who knew their stuff—for it to be a sham. There was a genuine mummy here, and both Ramona’s and Shea’s bosses clearly believed it still had some power or value to it.
And hey… That might explain somethin’ else, too. This wasn’t the only mummy in town; the Field had a new Egyptology display that included a couple. But those didn’t have any lingering mojo, or at least not enough to reach beyond the walls of the museum.
If this one did, though? Well, some of that power might be in the form of a curse. Yeah, mummy’s curses are real, though not exactly common. And if most but not all of that curse had faded over the centuries, there might not be enough left to pester you lugs—but some of us Fae, with our sensitivity to luck and magic? Yeah, the last fading echoes of a curse might, just might, explain the run of misfortune I’d been having lately.
Seemed as though this desiccated corpse might hold the answers to a whole variety of questions. If nothing else, I needed the chance to give it the up-and-down before Ramona or Shea or whoever else tried to make off with the damn thing. It mighta still held traces of genuine Egyptian magics;
heka
they called it. Or it coulda had old spells or occult knowledge written in the wrappings; that was a pretty common part of the ritual. Or, or, or. Without knowing
why
they wanted it, or what sorta power or secrets it held, I wasn’t real inclined to let it fall into
anyone’s
hands, and this place sure didn’t have even the mundane security of the Field, let alone defenses against more magically inclined thieves.
Casually, tryin’ to make it look like I was just idly wandering and taking in the sights, I started making my way toward a funhouse I didn’t honestly figure was gonna be much fun at all.
As far as what happened next, I’m gonna make some excuses for myself. I was focused so hard my thoughts were aching and my brow was furrowed so deep my skull almost folded. I was casting out in all directions for the slightest feel or mystical “scent” of Ramona, or anyone else who mighta been packing magic heat, while also keepin’ on guard, ready to push back against the first hint that she was plucking at my emotions. I knew what kinda power she held, what kinda
“
THE DUSTY TOMBS OF FORGOTTEN DYNASTIES OFFER UP THEIR SECRETS!!
” it said. “
COMMUNE WITH A GOD-KING FROM THE DAYS OF ANCIENT EGYPT!! WITNESS ONE WHO WATCHED THE BIRTH OF CIVILIZATION WITH HIS OWN 2 EYES!!
”
Then, in much smaller print, “Bring the family! Educational and fun for kids, all for less than you’d pay for a day at the museum! Only at Rounser’s Remarkable Fun Fair and Excellent Exhibition’s Funhouse of Mystery!”
They had a mummy. This rundown, flea speck of a sideshow carnie had a goddamn mummy.
Didn’t know they did that? Yep. Respect for the dead’s nifty and all, but it don’t pay. Some of Egypt’s preserved dead got lucky; once their burial treasures’d been raided, they at least got sold to this museum or that private collector. Sure, they’d be displayed like something from a tourist gift shop, but they were reasonably well preserved and often stored alongside some of the riches that’d been theirs in life and afterlife.
Others, though? Well, if they weren’t sold as kindling—yes, really; kindling—a few ended up as attractions in traveling fairs and funhouses. Offered a nice touch of spooky atmosphere, something to chill the onlookers just enough to tell their friends and maybe sell another fucking ticket.
Some carnivals pretended to have ’em and didn’t, of course; just more fakery and sleight-of-hand, another con in a long line. But Rounser’s? Had too many peepers on it—some of which belonged to people who knew their stuff—for it to be a sham. There was a genuine mummy here, and both Ramona’s and Shea’s bosses clearly believed it still had some power or value to it.
And hey… That might explain somethin’ else, too. This wasn’t the only mummy in town; the Field had a new Egyptology display that included a couple. But those didn’t have any lingering mojo, or at least not enough to reach beyond the walls of the museum.
If this one did, though? Well, some of that power might be in the form of a curse. Yeah, mummy’s curses are real, though not exactly common. And if most but not all of that curse had faded over the centuries, there might not be enough left to pester you lugs—but some of us Fae, with our sensitivity to luck and magic? Yeah, the last fading echoes of a curse might, just might, explain the run of misfortune I’d been having lately.
Seemed as though this desiccated corpse might hold the answers to a whole variety of questions. If nothing else, I needed the chance to give it the up-and-down before Ramona or Shea or whoever else tried to make off with the damn thing. It mighta still held traces of genuine Egyptian magics;
heka
they called it. Or it coulda had old spells or occult knowledge written in the wrappings; that was a pretty common part of the ritual. Or, or, or. Without knowing
why
they wanted it, or what sorta power or secrets it held, I wasn’t real inclined to let it fall into
anyone’s
hands, and this place sure didn’t have even the mundane security of the Field, let alone defenses against more magically inclined thieves.
Casually, tryin’ to make it look like I was just idly wandering and taking in the sights, I started making my way toward a funhouse I didn’t honestly figure was gonna be much fun at all.
As far as what happened next, I’m gonna make some excuses for myself. I was focused so hard my thoughts were aching and my brow was furrowed so deep my skull almost folded. I was casting out in all directions for the slightest feel or mystical “scent” of Ramona, or anyone else who mighta been packing magic heat, while also keepin’ on guard, ready to push back against the first hint that she was plucking at my emotions. I knew what kinda power she held, what kinda
Similar Books
