Theodosia and the Staff of Osiris-Theo 2 (13 page)

I blinked as a realization hit me with the force of one of those artillery shells. Of course! The key to the staff was popping the Orb of Ra into place—that's what had triggered all the mummies! The power lay in putting the two together, just like a cannon was harmless until loaded with artillery!

And if I'd had a minute to think in the past forty-eight hours, I would have figured that out ages ago.

All I had to do was remove the wretched orb and the mummies would stay put. Excellent.

I glanced at Admiral Sopcoate, deep in conversation with Captain Bacon, then at Grandmother, talking with Petty Officer Tipton. Now I just had to get these two to quit jawing long enough to return me to the museum.

W
HEN THE CARRIAGE FINALLY PULLED UP
in front of the museum, it was nearly dark. It was all I could do to keep from hopping out and running inside, except I knew Grandmother would have taken that as a grave insult and very poor manners besides. However, instead of bidding me goodbye, she began to gather her things. "Oh, are you getting out, too?" I asked.

"Well, of course we are. We're not about to drop you off like a package."

My heart sank. I so needed to get to the staff and remove the orb! It would be dark soon, and the mummies would be on the march shortly after that.

I waited as patiently as I could while the admiral stepped from the carriage, then turned smartly to assist Grandmother. The way she smiled at him made me feel a little embarrassed for her, so I looked away. I would have thought grandmothers were much too old to get sweet on anybody, especially a salty old admiral.

Once Grandmother had finished her simpering and creaked her way out of the carriage, we all proceeded to the museum's entrance, where Flimp let us in.

"Mr. Throckmorton's in his office," he told us.

"Excellent," the admiral replied.

"Thank you very much for taking me to see your ship. It was most impressive, and I think you should be very proud." Not to mention it may have given me a very important clue to halting the mummy exodus.

"Not at all, not at all," the admiral said, patting me on the shoulder.

"Come," Grandmother said imperiously. "I want to check and see if Miss Sharpe ever made it here today. If she didn't, I'll want to know the reason why."

She strode off toward Father's office, Admiral Sopcoate and I lagging in her wake. Although I was very glad that Miss Sharpe appeared to have been taken down a peg or two in Grandmother's estimation, I was desperate to get back
down to the catacombs and try my new theory for deactivating the staff.

We reached Father's office, and Grandmother rapped once on the door and marched in. Mother, who'd been talking to Father, jumped to her feet and came over to greet me. "Did you have a good time, dear?" she asked.

"It was very interesting, Mother. And educational."

"Wonderful!" She put her hands on my shoulders. I was beginning to think she did that whenever Grandmother was around just to steady herself. "Thank you so much for taking her, Admiral Sopcoate. It was an opportunity of a lifetime. I'm only sorry we couldn't accompany you."

Grandmother snorted. I asked her, ever so sweetly, "Would you like to borrow my handkerchief, Grandmother, dear?"

She stared at me, truly shocked at my vulgarity. "I beg your pardon?" she said in her frostiest voice.

"Eh, what?" the admiral said. "Here, you can use mine, Lavinia." He whipped out a starched white handkerchief the size of a flag from his pocket.

She slapped it away. "Don't be silly! I don't need a handkerchief!" Her face reddened, and I felt Mum's grip on me relax a bit.
Take that, you old bat,
I thought.

Grandmother glowered at me, as if able to discern my thoughts. "Did Miss Sharpe ever show up?" she asked Father.

"Yes, she did. She arrived about a half an hour after you left. When I explained Theodosia would be out for the day, she said she'd see her tomorrow."

The scowl on Grandmother's face told me she wasn't happy, so I decided to press my advantage. "Grandmother, don't you think it would be best, given Miss Sharpe's missed appearance this morning, if we plan to meet here at the museum for at least the first week? That way, if she is unavoidably detained again, I won't be left home alone. At least here at the museum, if Miss Sharpe doesn't show, I have my parents nearby to supervise me."

"If Miss Sharpe is unavoidably detained again, she'll have to answer to me," Grandmother muttered. She studied me for a long moment, then said, "Very well. I suppose the idea of you left home alone to wreak whatever havoc and damage is too much of a risk. I'll send a note around to advise her of the change."

I glanced down at my feet, trying to hide the glow of victory from her. "Thank you, Grandmother. May I please be excused now?"

"What do you have to do that's so important you must leave?" Grandmother asked.

"Nothing—I was just going to ... write an essay! For Miss Sharpe. Discussing Britain's supreme naval power."

"I say, what a good idea, that," the admiral said.

Grandmother blinked, and then her face softened. "I agree. An excellent idea. Get to it, then."

Mother followed me out into the hall. "Theo? Can I have a word with you before you start on your essay?"

"But of course, Mother." She beckoned me to follow her a short way down the hall. When we were far enough away from Father's office, she leaned down closer to me. I could plainly see the exhaustion and worry on her face: the fine lines around her eyes, the slight crease of worry on her brow, the pale shadows under her eyes. Poor Mum!

"I just wanted you to know we'll be spending the night here tonight. Your father is determined to camp out and see for himself who is bringing all those mummies here and what their purpose is. I've sent around for some supper, but I wanted to let you know."

"Oh, excellent! What time shall I meet you and Father in the sitting room?" A nice, cozy family dinner was just the thing I needed to bolster my spirits.

"I don't think we'll have time for that, Theo. This whole mummy fiasco has put us too far behind. We'll just all eat on the run tonight, shall we?"

"Very well, Mum." I refused to allow myself to be disappointed. This would give me plenty of opportunity to take care of our staff problem, after all.

***

By this time, it was well past dark. I'd never been down to the catacombs after dark before. Who knew how many spells and curses down there came alive at night? Hundreds, probably.

Which meant I needed to wear as much protection as possible. There was only one amulet I knew of that would keep me safe in these circumstances, but it belonged to the museum. I normally didn't use it, but this time it seemed warranted. The Blood of Isis.

After the goddess Isis tricked the sun god Ra into giving her his real name, which she used to learn all available magical knowledge, she was attacked by Seth as she tried to protect her husband Osiris's body. The Egyptians believed that where her blood hit the ground, it formed jasper, a semiprecious stone they revered for it's magical properties. According to them, jasper and carnelian both held all the magical power that ran through Isis's veins. So, between all the new
mut
and
akhu
(not to mention mummies) invading our museum, I wouldn't mind a little of Isis's power right now. One could never have too much protection against restless spirits. Besides, being Osiris's consort, if anything would have a calming influence over the dead, it would be her.

As I headed across the darkened foyer, I heard it. The
rustling and groaning of the
mut
and
akhu.
Only, it was louder tonight. My mind flew back to the rows and rows of mummies that had been in the museum earlier that day. Who knew how many of them had been the victim of a violent death?

I quickened my steps. Even if they hadn't died horribly, surely their spirits were highly disgruntled at being paraded around London and disturbed from their resting places again and again. And once spirits became disgruntled, they became restless, and once they were restless, they might not be interested in returning to the realm of the dead until they felt they'd been avenged.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a dark shadow. My hand had crept halfway to my amulets before I recognized it as the mummy formerly known as Tetley. All the other mummies were gone, except him. Lord Chudleigh had most likely instructed Dolge and Sweeny to leave him here for Father to deal with, rather than have to take care of his own mistake.

Besides, what did one do with a fake mummy, anyway? I must say, I felt rather sorry for Tetley. Sorrier than I'd ever felt for him when he was alive.

However, that was not my problem. Not tonight, anyway.

Eager to be away from the restless dead and the mummified Tetley, I took the stairs up to the Egyptian exhibit two
at a time. Once there, I hurried over to the low glass display table. The Blood of Isis amulet lay on a black velvet backing. The flickering electric light gleamed off the burnished gold, making the red stone glow like an ember from a fire. Just looking at it made me feel safer.

I went around to the back of the case, removed the pin, then slid the door open and reached inside the cabinet.

Was it just my imagination, or was there a warmth emanating from my hand where I touched the amulet?

I pulled it out and closed the display case so no one would see that it had been opened. I planned to have the amulet back by morning, so hopefully no one would ever know that I had borrowed it.

As I worked to string the amulet onto an old bootlace, I felt a faint draft across my face, then heard a soft rustling and creaking sound. I froze and forced myself to look up, very glad I had the Blood of Isis amulet clutched in my hand. My gaze fell on the mummy nearest me, and I saw that it didn't look as stiff as usual. Then the one next to it, Henuttawy, an unwrapped mummy from the New Kingdom, shifted on her discolored, bony feet. The creaking and popping and rustling grew louder and I realized the moon must have risen. The mummies were beginning to answer the call of the staff! I had to deactivate it now, before they all began marching downstairs.

I shoved the bootlace back into my pocket and, clutching the Blood of Isis in my hand, made a mad dash for the catacombs.

I stepped into the stairwell to the basement and paused. Faint whisperings rustled through the dark air below me. Quickly, I reached out and turned up the gas lamps, which did a surprisingly poor job of penetrating the shadows. Still grasping the Blood of Isis in one hand, I made my way down the stairs. The air grew colder, my arms and back prickling with the chill.

Or maybe something else was causing my uneasiness—best not to think about that right now.

When I reached the bottom stair, I paused. Everything felt so different in the dark, which made no sense, because it was dark down here even during the daytime. But that was Egyptian magic for you. The truth was, the
mut
and
akhu
down here were thick enough to spread on toast. (When I was lucky enough to get morning toast, that is.)

I took another step into the room and felt something watching me. I peered into the gloom and found the jackal statue staring straight at me. I froze, afraid he might leap off the shrine.

After a long moment during which he didn't twitch so much as a whisker, I decided he would stay put. I made a mental note that once I got the mummies under control, I
really had to remove the curse on the jackal and return Vicary Weems's coat to it's peg.

Putting the jackal out of my mind—well, as much as I could, anyway—I crept over to the mummies, keeping my movements as quiet as possible.

They were all still gathered near the hidden staff, staring at the bottom shelf as if it were the most interesting thing in the world. Perhaps it was, especially if it held a staff with the power to grant them life.

I gently squeezed through the bandaged crowd in order to reach the staff, whispering pardons as I went. It was actually quite horrid, squeezing past a mummy. One must have absolute discipline over one's mind to keep from thinking about touching a long-dead thing that had once been a person and was now a ... what? I shuddered and pushed my way between the last two mummies.

I knelt on the ground, gritted my teeth, and shoved my hand under the shelf to begin groping for the staff. I sincerely hoped the resurrected mouse was long gone and would not mistake my fingers for a bit of sausage.

At last my hand made contact with something sleek and hard. I grasped my fingers around the staff and pulled it from it's hiding place. When I stood, all the mummies' faces followed me. It was horribly disconcerting.

I reached down to pluck the golden Orb of Ra from the
jackal's mouth, then stopped. How was I going to lug a half dozen full-grown bodies across the room? Perhaps I should use the staff first to get them over against the wall where they belonged, then turn it off.

I cleared my throat, then jiggled the staff in front of their noses. That seemed to get their attention. As I slowly backed away toward the opposite wall, the mummies parted to let the staff through. "Come on, now," I whispered, waving the staff some more. "Follow me."

Much to my delight, they did.

Keeping their eyes on the staff, they slowly shuffled their way across the room. Behind me, I felt things fluttering around, getting out of my way as I approached. Was the staff driving the evil spirits away? Or was it the Blood of Isis? I wasn't sure, but I was grateful all the same.

When we reached the far side of the room, I had no clue as to how to get everyone to line up. As an experiment, I rapped the wall twice with the staff. Immediately, the mummies fell into place. Brilliant!

With them safely back where they belonged, I reached into the jackal's mouth, grasped the golden orb, and tugged. It popped out into my waiting hand as easy as you please.

There was a sighing sound. I looked up to find the mummies all rigid against the wall, no longer staring at the staff but looking straight ahead.