and send you back to your home so that you will arrive just a moment after we left. No one will miss you. Your family will never even know you were gone.”
As he started pulling me along the path, I grew more anxious. “But what if your special location to do the Anubis ritual thing isn’t there anymore? I mean, there’s been a lot of archaeological digging in the last one thousand years, you know. Uh, that means they’ve been excavating tombs,” I added in case he misunderstood. “The whole thing is a long shot.” I tried to wriggle my hand out of his grip and continued, “I mean, the remains of your brothers could be anywhere. And speaking of that, why do
you
have to raise them? Why can’t they raise themselves, like you do? And another thing—”
“Lily.” Amon stopped and turned, placing his hands on my shoulders. Warmth seeped directly into my bones, my muscles relaxing so completely that every question I had melted away. I wondered if he was doing that on purpose again, or if it was just a natural part of being around him. “I promise you that I will answer all of your questions,” he said. “But I must complete the ceremony before the full moon has risen directly above the ancient temples of Giza. Those monuments still stand, do they not?”
“You mean the pyramids? Yes, but—”
“Then we need to get there as soon as possible.”
“But with the full-moon restriction that gives us only a month at best.”
“I fear our time is much more limited,” Amon said after glancing briefly at the sky. “By my calculations we have approximately one week.” He took hold of my hand again and guided me expertly out of the park.
The honking of horns grew louder and we were soon surrounded by people. If I was going to escape it would have to be now. The thing was, I wasn’t sure I wanted to. Yes, my emotions were erratic. Yes, Amon was using me like an energy bar. Yes, he was an Egyptian mummy come to life. But I couldn’t deny that I’d never felt more…alive in all of my seventeen years than I had in the past twenty-four hours.
Amon stopped in front of the horse- drawn carriages, smiled widely, and raised his eyebrows.
“Sorry, Spartacus, they only travel around inside the park,” I explained.
He sighed. “It is probably for the best anyway. Those horses look fat and lazy. It is likely they do not have the stamina for the speed I wish.”
“Hey!” an eavesdropping coachman protested. Ignoring the carriage driver, Amon spotted a cab and stepped boldly in front of it, holding his hands up in a commanding gesture, despite the fact that the off-duty light was on. “Stop, golden chariot!” he shouted.
Amon headed around to the driver’s side and spoke with him for a moment, ignoring the honking and rude gestures coming from the other drivers. Then he indicated I should come forward.
The driver shot out of the taxi and opened the door for me. “Please make yourself comfortable, miss. I’ll have you two to the airport in record time.” Amon handed my bag to the driver.
I hesitated by the open door. Lifting my eyes, I found Amon holding out his hand as he watched me and I wondered if he was using his power to read my mind.
“Will you come with me, Lily?”
Not
“You will come,”
or
“Come with me,”
but
“Will you come?”
Amon was giving me a choice. Which I wasn’t sure was exactly the case, but it was a nice gesture. This was the moment. I had, if not all the facts, enough details to make an informed decision. Amon still had the power to control me and he was desperate enough to force me to do his bidding, but at the same time, he was offering me a precious taste of free agency.
I knew I was a coward—a privileged, self-deluded, spineless coward who preferred sitting in her pretty little mansion, in her prim little room, placating her preppy fake friends, and all the while fooling herself into believing that she was as free-spirited as the people she drew in her
As he started pulling me along the path, I grew more anxious. “But what if your special location to do the Anubis ritual thing isn’t there anymore? I mean, there’s been a lot of archaeological digging in the last one thousand years, you know. Uh, that means they’ve been excavating tombs,” I added in case he misunderstood. “The whole thing is a long shot.” I tried to wriggle my hand out of his grip and continued, “I mean, the remains of your brothers could be anywhere. And speaking of that, why do
you
have to raise them? Why can’t they raise themselves, like you do? And another thing—”
“Lily.” Amon stopped and turned, placing his hands on my shoulders. Warmth seeped directly into my bones, my muscles relaxing so completely that every question I had melted away. I wondered if he was doing that on purpose again, or if it was just a natural part of being around him. “I promise you that I will answer all of your questions,” he said. “But I must complete the ceremony before the full moon has risen directly above the ancient temples of Giza. Those monuments still stand, do they not?”
“You mean the pyramids? Yes, but—”
“Then we need to get there as soon as possible.”
“But with the full-moon restriction that gives us only a month at best.”
“I fear our time is much more limited,” Amon said after glancing briefly at the sky. “By my calculations we have approximately one week.” He took hold of my hand again and guided me expertly out of the park.
The honking of horns grew louder and we were soon surrounded by people. If I was going to escape it would have to be now. The thing was, I wasn’t sure I wanted to. Yes, my emotions were erratic. Yes, Amon was using me like an energy bar. Yes, he was an Egyptian mummy come to life. But I couldn’t deny that I’d never felt more…alive in all of my seventeen years than I had in the past twenty-four hours.
Amon stopped in front of the horse- drawn carriages, smiled widely, and raised his eyebrows.
“Sorry, Spartacus, they only travel around inside the park,” I explained.
He sighed. “It is probably for the best anyway. Those horses look fat and lazy. It is likely they do not have the stamina for the speed I wish.”
“Hey!” an eavesdropping coachman protested. Ignoring the carriage driver, Amon spotted a cab and stepped boldly in front of it, holding his hands up in a commanding gesture, despite the fact that the off-duty light was on. “Stop, golden chariot!” he shouted.
Amon headed around to the driver’s side and spoke with him for a moment, ignoring the honking and rude gestures coming from the other drivers. Then he indicated I should come forward.
The driver shot out of the taxi and opened the door for me. “Please make yourself comfortable, miss. I’ll have you two to the airport in record time.” Amon handed my bag to the driver.
I hesitated by the open door. Lifting my eyes, I found Amon holding out his hand as he watched me and I wondered if he was using his power to read my mind.
“Will you come with me, Lily?”
Not
“You will come,”
or
“Come with me,”
but
“Will you come?”
Amon was giving me a choice. Which I wasn’t sure was exactly the case, but it was a nice gesture. This was the moment. I had, if not all the facts, enough details to make an informed decision. Amon still had the power to control me and he was desperate enough to force me to do his bidding, but at the same time, he was offering me a precious taste of free agency.
I knew I was a coward—a privileged, self-deluded, spineless coward who preferred sitting in her pretty little mansion, in her prim little room, placating her preppy fake friends, and all the while fooling herself into believing that she was as free-spirited as the people she drew in her
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